| Current mood: |  nostalgic |
| Current music: | Dvorak - New World Symphony, Allegro con fuoco |
Reunion II - AHM and Family
AHM 2009... My 5th half marathon (2003, 2006-2009). (2004 and 2005 only took part in 10km runs.) Definitely the timing is not my personal best but I do not intend to break the record. Age is one factor and also training is another. I didn't want to push myself too near to limits as I did not want to have a painful recovery and also not want to risk any injury. I have been blessed to be relatively injury free and I would want to maintain it this way. With age comes higher chance of a longer recovery period. Also I haven't been going for frequent long runs (>20km) due to time constraints. Usually at most only managed to do a few mid-distance (10-20km) runs. However I did push myself a little for this time, as a guide to how much I had moved away from "the peak".
Officially at 02:05:12, I'm content that it was 10 mins better than last year though I initially intended to push for below 2h. Physically I could feel that my stamina was still going strong, no breathlessness or pains related to respiration. However when my lower legs eventually began to show signs of fatigue and wear, I decided to slow down. First my right ankle then the left and the issue was that it ain’t those kind of “good pain” but rather some “bad pain”. Two possible reasons, either my legs require more conditioning or it is time to change my running shoes. I’m currently running on the Asics Kayano 14, which served me well in the long runs since Jul 08. I suspect that the cause be very well due to the mis-positioning of the additional heel cushioning pads that I added. The pads were supposed to reduce the impacts of landing on each foot but apparently they moved away from their intended locality and caused obstruction to the bore of my right feet. So far I had no problems with the Kayano 14 without the pads. Moral of the story, take out the pads.
My main philosophy in all races is to complete in one piece with minimal pain. Timing doesn't matter to me anymore. What matters is to complete the race comfortably without any injuries and minimal stress. As much as I wanted to complete below 2h, it was definitely more rational to listen to your body and pay attention to any warning distress signs. Performance assessment wise… I would rate as satisfactory The benchmark timing for 21km at 2h still remains realistic and with a little more training, should be able to maintain this standard (as I age). Optimal effort was put into the pacing, with a consistent average speed of 10.1km/h. Overall position puts me in the top 20% of the entire race. Damage assessment wise… Some lactic acid strains on both thighs but recovery is almost at 100%, after 2 days. The only “bad pain” is my edge of my right foot, which hurt a little as I walk but recovery is currently rated at 70%. Swimming remains no issue for me but I’m still off from the track.
Why do I run? My slogan for the Std Chart Marathon 2007 was “Why you ask so much?! Just run LAH!!” For the records, 2007 had the two best timings at 01h 57min for AHM and 04h 37min for Std Chart. Hmm, this year’s slogan would be “I run because I want to, as far as my legs would bring me to”. Frankly, I missed those days when I trained in my unit’s AHM team. The team spirit; the thought that knowing your team mates will all be waiting for you at the finishing line. Ironically I ran all races solo and the only one that I completed together with a buddy was this year’s Sundown Ultramarathon. The 84km and 13.5h of sheer madness… I wonder what it would be like to do it alone. Though I have to admit that it was pure madness, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of going for it again next year, if I can find someone to join me to conquer the madness together. Then again, that is another story for another day.
As I probably had mentioned a couple of times before, AHM does have an additional meaning for myself as I made it a point to attend every single one ever since my first participation in 2003. It is not just any race events that I sign up for. To me, it is a family reunion, an event when I can meet up with my entire extended family from the Force once again at the same time and place. People come and go, posting orders relocate us but this is the event where we would gather again, at the same place, doing the same thing in unison. This is the day and the event when we are one again. We are family. This salute goes out to everyone of my extended family.
Looking back, I cannot image that I once said this after completing my first AHM in 2003 that 21km will be my limit. Never did I know that 6 years later I’m still competing to complete the AHM and also increased the limit to 42km and then now to 84km. One thing’s for sure: never say never. Not many people knew of how my fanatism towards running began with an irony. In the past, running was never my forte. I went for runs but rather short ones. Before I got drafted to my unit’s AHM team in 2003, the max distance that I clocked then was merely 6km. It was the team spirit that kept me going as the distance increased and after breaking the psychological 10km mark, there was no turning back. From there, it was all the way. For my team, for my unit, for myself.
The story of my patented “Charging Wildboar” finisher… Though I often use the wildboar to illustrate my primal self, my callsign was actually “Lionheart”. I did not use “Wildboar” as it was then already used by my first WSM Encik. I also did not change callsign when he got posted out, in honour and respect to my Encik. One interesting story not known to many that I used to “siam” my Encik during the evenings when he tried to jio pple to run with him. Ironically months later after being drafted into the AHM team, it was the other way round when I became the one whom my bros try siam when I jio them for runs. By then Encik Liaw had already posted out of the unit and I was acting WSM for a while. He was remarkable as he is more than 10 years my senior and can run at paces and speeds comparable and if not better than the NSFs. Respect. Heh, 6 years from AHM 2003 and 5 years after my ORD, I’m glad that I am still able to outrun and outlast many younger NSFs. Heh heh. I run because I want to, as far as my legs will bring me to.
Dvorak’s New World Symphony (Symphony No. 9 - Op. 95), Allegro con fuoco (4th Movement) is hereby dedicated to everyone of you out there, my extended family of the Force.
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