MIZUNO WAVE RUN 2008

I have never joined any such events prior to this. I did contemplate joining other similar events last year but didnt get down to it. So here I was, wide awake at 530 am in the morning of the run, on 27th july2008, and hoping that I will be able to finish the race. Being a beginner at running, I was more worried of not being to complete the race than how fast I would be running and which position I will be getting. I am glad that I have supportive friends who tell me not to stress over running and to keep running consistently. They also said that i should run my own race and enjoy the run and to experience the run in a leisurely manner but still moving along consisitently. 730am on the same day, I was at the stadium of Temasek polytechnic. We were doing a mass warm up conducted by the organisers. There were a lot of people at the stadium. All shapes and sizea, all races, all ages came together to participate in this run. I suddenly realised that its a growing phenomenon of locals getting more health conscious. Thus the large number of people taking part in this race. Along the way, there were people who cut through the line and snaked in and out of the track. That was expected and probably inevitable with the large number of participants. The early morning air was marred by the smell of sweaty bodies lol:P It was a good thing that the route was off the usual road. Some roads were closed so that we had more space to run. Which was a good thing. I cant imagine being suffocated and being out of breath at the same time.. There were drinks stations set up along the 10km route. The helpers handed out cups of isotonice drinks. What appalled me was that people took advantage of the fact that they were tired due to the run, to throw the paper cups along the grass verge along the route. Now we got a paper cup trail too.. interesting.. very..

I had my paper cup in my hand til i came near to a rubbish bin and threw it away. I wasnt trying to be a role model or trying to be angelic. I just wanted to do the right thing and not condone what I dont agree with. I know I am doing the right thing and that is all that matters.

I think it was due to exhaustion or that I was not feeling very refreshed after a night of fitful sleep. I seem to wonder when I will be reachin the finishing line. I had my ipod on, loud music blasting away, which was the only way i could get motivated to persist running when my body was tired. But I was also left wondering how much longer I could reach the finishing point. Good for me that there was a pretty long trail of runners in front of me.. that seemed to work for me. I told myself that it wont be too long before I finally reach the finishing point..

1:10:30

Thats the timing for my first run. Much better than expected. Way much better. I am stil not too sure which is the motivating factor, my ipod or the long trail of runners in front of me, or the morning air or whats left of it after being polluted by sweaty bodies or the suprisingly cool weather. Either way, I am happy with my timing for the run and I know this is only the beginning of a series of runs...