The Run that Changed my Life
Two months before 8th
February, 2004, I was a very different
person from what I am now - in terms of
physique, life-style and my attitude
towards life.
In the cold and wet
morning of 8th February 2004, I ran my
first 10K race. When I crossed the
finish line, I felt like I was a hero, a
champion and that I had done the
greatest thing in life!
Prior to that, I had
been leading a sedentary life for many
years. It was during a dinner with my
MEICOM (MSc in E-commerce and Internet
Computing) Alumni that I was persuaded
to join the Standard Chartered Hong Kong
Marathon. At that time, the only running
I had ever done was back in PE classes
in primary school. I had never liked
running or jogging and thought this must
be the most boring sport to do! I was
thinking to just walk the whole distance
within the 2-hour limit.
I noticed there was a
running clinic and signed up out of
curiosity. I was taught some warm-up
exercises and running drills. But when
we were told to jog for two laps around
the sports ground, it was nightmare! I
began to puff after about 100 m,
struggling for the next 100m, walked and
jogged the next few hundred meters. And
when there were still 2-300m to go, all
others had finished so I half ran and
half walked as hard as I could. When I
finally finished that 800m, I was so out
of breath that I had a blackout. I then
realized what 10K would mean.
It was then that I
determined to do something to be able to
"run" the 10K race. I only had seven
weeks to train.
My first workout was
running and walking, alternating every
30 seconds, for a total of 10 minutes.
Each day, I gradually increased the
run-and-walk interval times as well as
the total time until I could run
continuously for about 5 minutes. After
that, I added one minute or increased
the pace slightly each day. It was quite
hard to keep going after the 10-minute
mark as the body and mind kept
suggesting quitting. But then, this was
how I trained myself not to give up. I
made myself achieve some progress
everyday.
It was quite amazing
that the body could really adapt very
fast. After 3-4 weeks' daily running, I
could run continuously, at a very slow
pace, for about 20 minutes. And, after
the 20-minutes mark, the body became so
"comfortable" that I could run "as long
as I wish". But then, I chose to keep
just a very small daily increment to my
running time or pace.
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