Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2011

Yay.. I got home and this was on my table. Gorgeous. By the way, must remind myself it's out of 955 runners. Since I have 2 more half marathons coming, I'm keen to improve on timing.

That's the semangat self talking. Truth is I went jogging just now and I am totally sluggish. Need to buck up!

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The 3 am Run

When you find your world begins to have a gray tinge, what do you do?

I would gather my paints and start touching up. That was the reason why I wanted to do a 3 am run. I wanted to feel it for the first time to run when the rest of the world is asleep.

The best part is I expected people calling me crazy but I found a person to go along this roller coaster ride with me.

And at this point, like they all say - it's history.

Never be short of passion. 

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Nike Goddess 5k Singapore 2011

Here's a reason why I love this run. I can run with my best friend. Yahoo! For the first and probably the last in my life, I got to run with my best friend. Seriously how many of you all got to run with your best friend before? Team Hortis (short for Hare and Tortoise) is proud! Gotta credit Iris Lee for coming up with such a cool name. Something we hadn't do since high school. Lol. Yes, running is for Girls and the guys can hand out flowers and towels at the finishing line. 

For only SGD$35 for registration, it's seriously worth it but no I won't go back for a second time unless my bestie would team up with me. Why? There were too much kids interested in snapping their photos to upload on Facebook. It's good publicity for Nike and as for me, I'm kinda in for a more serious run.

I also love the running tee a lot. It's so light and thin, feels like as if I wasn't wearing anything. Though I hope it would be fuchsia...

The day of the race... I was getting ready.

Here's bits of the drama. I was under the hot sun for 40 mins waiting for a bus to shuttle me to Marina Barrage. Thank god I brought along an umbrella.

Being in the bus felt like a relief to me. Finally I got to know I wasn't going to be late for the run. Still out there, many girls were waiting for their turn to board the shuttle. 

It's a different culture altogether. It's been years I never boarded a bus. I always have my Kelisa with me! *sobs*

Time for a break. Here's a public service announcement. Running doesn't make you fat or give you ugly muscles. It tones you up and I love my skinny toned arms. Muahaha.

 I love this though not clear. After the run, finally, there's time to look around. So many kites in the air. Lovely. It was a lovely evening.

 Here's another special thing about the race. On their Facebook fanpage, the fans can put up any running quotes and the quote with the most likes end up being banners of cheers and motivation. Talking about good ideas. 

Here's another sample... Brilliant. Since I was interested in runs, I took opportunity to read up on it. We probably took it for granted today but like anything else, marathons were for men. Here's a reason to be grateful, I was born in a generation where there's a run solely dedicated for girls.

 |Here's the bridge where it all started. Apart from the tremendous heat, my next complaint was the route was too narrow. Sadly, just wasn't my best time.

The dinner was a big consolation :) 

My departure from Singapore was a drama, I missed a flight for the first time in my life. Can't explain how I missed it... I reached an hour before departure, queued up for tax refund, queued up at info counter to ask stuff, then took a train and then shuttle to budget terminal. I just missed it by the time I was there. A pure question mark. Shit happens.

One of the gifts I bought from Singapore. Totally addicted to the La Senza lip gloss. 

Thanks to Nike for offering 30% discount to all participants of the run. I got a pair of socks. For the first time,  I got a left sock and right sock. Must wear it correctly k. 

Back in Penang... been a week after Nike Goddess 5k. I did another run today. Finally, upgraded from 8km to 12.3km today. I still have a few kilos before I reach 21km but I'm determined to reach it before Run 3 - Standard Chartered KL Marathon, 26 June 2011.

About the ring, I was thinking who should I run for today. I think I would run for god. Don't ask me what's my religion. I have selective belief. Whatever my religion is, I believe, someone died on the cross for us.

 I ought to snap a photo of myself after running 12.3km since it's a milestone. Haha. Every run is different and has its own story. For me, Run 2, is to rekindle friendships and in a sense to redeem what I didn't do well enough in my previous trip to Singapore in February.

I'm sorry I hurt you with my stuff back in February but now in May, I think I've changed much. Forever thankful that I've got you in my life. Thanks for doing the run with me even though you don't like it. This experience means a lot to me and I think I owe you a big one on this.

xoxo

Danni

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The Last of My 8km Run

Courage is like fixed deposit or the last of my assets. I don't use it out until I've run out of my liquid cash. On top of that, courage and change seem to go hand in hand. For someone like me who's been dwelling in my comfort zone, to change does need a lot of courage.

To be able to run again after 10 years of being stagnant took me a lot of courage. I must say, as absurd as it may sound, sadness is a good motivator. I had a desire for running - yes BUT I could never lift up my legs until I was heartbroken. I had excessive energy when I was sad so I told myself to channel my energy to do something good - like burning it.

Here's the funny part, after I got over my sadness, I no longer feel like running.

* Ok, at this point I'm thinking how to continue my narration... I'll try...*

Truth is deep down, running has a greater reason for me. I begin to see that life is more than just how much I earn or what job I do for a living. Running gives me a sense of freedom and joy that money can't buy. Running reminds me that I'm breathing and my heart is pumping alive. Running makes me hear the wind blowing against my direction, the waves hitting on the shore, the laughter of people at play; lets me feel the cold of the rain; allows me to see the shuffling cotton clouds and the baby kites thriving in the wind... When I looked up, there was a black eagle circling on top. Just as I thought, the strong wind would blow me off or the rain would make me sick and most of all should I be going home... I wonder how that black eagle feel when he's gliding high up in the sky when lightning's striking and sheets of rain pouring.

Before I ran the 8km in Malakoff Penang, I was a coward fearing that I couldn't meet my goal. Anyway, I did it and I can't be any happier. In fact, I completed 8km a couple of days before the race and I completed another one today and it doesn't feel so much as killer as it once did. I could go on and on and I could fall asleep at the 8km boast.

This is really time to say goodbye if I want to make another milestone in my life.

So, next stop, 12.87km!

*xoxo*

wanting

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"Son, you never quit"

I think I can only give justice to this book by blogging it. Some months ago, Joseph saw a Haruki Murakami book on my desk, "What I talk about when I talk about running" and to my surprise the very next day he brought me Lance Armstrong.

So I was reading just that. One of the lines that I love most was, "Son, you never quit." I fell and tumbled so often and I did just that, I quit. I quit sports some years ago and I quit from courage, I chicken out from determination, I gave up on anything that would make me sweat in more ways than one. People don't like sports because it was like a torture. Yet, I used to like it because it gave me a sense of freedom and gave me purpose. Maybe my challenge now is to go back to the point where I had given up and keep going.

Reading the book felt scary at first because it dealt with cancer and life so nakedly. Eventually when I kept going on and on and by the time I finished reading altogether, I have a different feeling for it.

It was encouraging.

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