My very first 10km clocked in. Seriously, I have never done any serious running before. The most I jogged was 7km. Despite the lack of training, I think I am rather satisfied with myself, just for the sheer determination to finish the race without stopping.
I slept for 3 hrs on Sat night and was really worried that I am not able to handle the run...whats more my first time running 10km.
However, I should really thank God for the perfect weather on Sun morning. Having rained heavily the previous night, the morning air was crisp and breezy.
While waiting for a cab, I even met 2 other girls going for the run and we shared the cab down together. They were just staying around my area. As we were all wearing the same Fila sponsored Tee, we could recognise each other and there was the welcoming smiles exchanged on first sight. I really like that a lot.
I reached the starting point at about 7.02am or so... but there was already many many many runners in the line up before me. My start delay time was 4min and 47s. I didnt had the time to do warm ups! I remembered running past a whole bevy of crowd cheering us, with some funky music blasting through the air.
I hooked on mp3 and there I go! As I run through the sea of red, I paced myself well and stayed close to my breathing. I was enjoying the breeze and the smell of morning dew.
Very soon, I ran past 3km. At 5km, I told myself I am halfway to the finishing line. I recall seeing some familar faces from church. It was rather nice.
I replenished my body with H20 and 100 plus and it perked me up. Maybe it was psychological.. hahaha..
At around the 7km mark, there were many who slowed down and started to walk. I was very tempted as I felt my knees going really soft...But I keep telling myself to hold on for 1 more km and then, I'll rest. When I reached 8km, I told myself that it was a new resistance broke! 2 more km!
At 9km, I didnt want to stop anymore. Thoughts were running through my head rapidly. I told myself that since I can still run, I should just run all the way, non-stop to the finishing line. Its a personal commitment and if I achieve it, I can overcome anything.
I was probably somewhere around the Flyer area, where we were running on the F1 tracks. It started to drizzle lightly. The 8am sun was shining through and I told myself that its the last leg!
Throughout the run, I kind of mentally marked a certain runner in front of me and told myself to run past the girl. Once I ran past her, I give myself a "Good Job Done" and went on to overtake the next girl. Gosh, there must have been a competitive streak in me.
Thanks to Joewe's lightweight mp3, there was no burden in running at all, unlike the days where I carry the itouch. I downloaded Boa songs and I must admit that music carries a big impact for me.
At 9km, the marker was cheering us on. He was an uncle in his 50s and I cannot stop but marvel at the zest he had. He was standing in the light drizzle, waving the flag and shouting out "1km more! Girls go on !" I smiled at him and ran with all my might.
At the last 500m, I was feeling really good about the whole thing. It is almost coming to an end and I was very glad at myself.
Then 300m, 200m and then the last 100m....it was the last burst of fire.. I saw the finishing line and the crowd with their cheers and cameras. I saw the ticker for the timer. It was ticking away and I was sprinting with all the might my legs can carry me to the finishing line.
And YES! Finally, I made it!
Extracted from GE Women Website:
NAME: ONG MEIFANG LINDA
EVENT: 10Km
DATE: November 1, 2009
BIB/DIV: 3673 / Women Open
TIME: 1h:15m:22s (gun) / 1h:10m:35s (net)
Result in Entire Field - 2171st place (about 40% of finishers ahead)
Result in Division (Women Open) - 1061st place (about 33% of finishers ahead)
From Halfway to Finish, I passed 764 runners and 23 passed me.
Average Speed: 8.5Kph
My first half was : 8.3Kph
My 2nd half was : 8.7Kph
All along, I was never interested in running and could not understand the fuss about all this timing shito. But after this race, I finally understand when they say "To understand the value of 1s, ask the Olympic Silver Medal Winner".
1 second is all that matters.
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