On the road again....

Tonight's post is about my fandom of a different sort...but one which I approached with the same degree of fanaticism, no less.

First off, I have to qualify by saying that one event which I absolutely abhorred in school was the annual cross-country run at MacRitchie Reservoir.
I have no idea how long that distance was but it was always a gasp-and-pant affair for me and the only reason I could find to endure it was that it was fun to suffer along with my similarly-inclined friends. We'd end up walking most of the last stretch along Lornie Road back, chit-chatting (and jogging occasionally), till we reached the Finish line, usually somewhere at the back of the pack. :)

Suffice to say, "I hate running" became a refrain which kept with me after that until one fateful day in 2008.
That was when my dear cousin (who was and still is, an avid runner) persuaded me to take part in a 5K Run for a church event. I must have been somewhat inspired by her running the Standard Chartered Marathon in 2007 because, for all my so-called aversion to running,  I agreed!
I also roped in my family and with a little practice before that, we managed to huff and puff our way to the Finish line....and...

The feeling was good!
Endorphins ran high!
It was exhilarating!!
And therafter, I began reading up on running from books, magazines and websites.
And diligently tried out all the advice in them!
I also discovered that many others were also getting hooked on this sport at that time and it was with immense pleasure that I reconnected with a primary school friend to train more regularly.

One very useful book was Chi Running by Danny Dreyer, which emphasised forefoot running and had many other tips for reducing pain and injury.
The Newton shoes (pictured above) are designed for such a technique and the 21K I ran was quite pain-free throughout and after. :)

I signed up for many organised runs, with distances from 5K to 10K, 12K and culminating in a 21K, of which I'm still very chuffed that I managed to complete, albeit very slooowwwly. It was a very enjoyable experience, as I had decided beforehand that I was going to take it slow but steady, and also take photos along the way of the different parts of the route.Besides documenting the scenery, I also had great fun with the supporters and had several pics taken with them. 

However, after that, I must have rested on my laurels or some other obsession took over 'cos my running momentum declined somewhat to zero for many months.
But this year, I have decided that this spell of laziness and unfitness had to end and when the annual Shape Run was announced, I quickly signed up for it to re-motivate myself!

Another factor which stimulated me back into running was my son.
He is, shall we say...big-sized but had never been able to keep up with any exercise, but something clicked in him this year and he began running around the neighbourhood regularly, to keep fit and lose weight.
His enthusiasm rubbed back off on me and before long, I was back in the groove but am still a far cry from the level I had achieved previously,
Nonetheless, the love for running has returned a little and I trust I'll keep it up....but as to whether I'll do another 21K is another story.
For now, 10K is good enough to work towards...again. :)