This Saturday, I will turn 33 and it qualifies to state it’s been 20 long years from when I was 13. At that point in my young life, I was a scrawny, wimpy kid, easily pushed around and highly dazed by the near-monotonous routine of high school life.
Oh yeah, I sucked at running too. Finished
at the bottom two in a class of about 40 back in ’95 (or ’96? I can’t quite
remember), but who could blame me for not cultivating the love of self-afflicted
exhaustion? The notion is virtually unthinkable two decades ago, especially in
an all-boys school when the main interests were computer games, the nearby
arcade centre and porno.
So imagine the current era when time travel
is possible and I could zap myself back to the past, ala Kyle Reese, and
hopefully, with my clothes still on. What will I say to my teenage me? I’m
pretty sure the boy who could not hack a 2.4km would be quite astounded to
learn that his much older doppelganger was able trudge through 100km of foot
mileage, sometimes over foreign mountain trails.
So here’s a few things I would like to say
to my 13-year old self (or at least, some life lessons I learned from running):
1. You have yet to discover
how far you can really go.
Life, at certain stages,
possesses its unique circumstances and limitations. But the walls that keep us
from discovering our true capabilities crumbles over time if we dare dream and are
crazy enough to act against the impossible. For many people, it will take years
of living to realise your true passions, which is quite all right.
In my adolescence, running
the complete perimeter of Hougang would, in my naïve opinion, qualified as a tremendous
feat in its own rights (turned out it’s only about 7km of ‘epic’ distance).
Then, five years ago, I
thought that the marathon would be the pinnacle of all that I could devote to
running. After finding out such a thing as a 100km race in Singapore, I was
emboldened on venturing beyond the 42.195km mark. This is the emergence of a
kind of maturity, in that you grow to accept your strengths, potential and
responsibility to your dreams, both new and old.
Of course, this could only
come with deliberation and at a considerable cost of time and effort, some trial
and error, and, occasionally, a black toe nail or two.
2. You will leave your old
life behind.
Well, if not entirely, a
significant aspect of your life will eventually be pared down to make way for
(gasp!) more training hours.
Being a film buff, I used
to watch movies at Orchard Road, like about 2-3 times a month or buy toys to
expand my humble collection.
Now?
Visiting the cinema only
occurs about once every 2-3 months on average, if I’m lucky. Most of my toys, including
MacFarlane figurines, Nerf projectile launchers and a remote-control tank, had
since been donated as I gathered new toys, namely Garmin watches, New Balance minimalist shoes, hydration
systems and running apparels.
Some folks I know had to
reduce their social networking hours or cut down the partying and drinking.
What’s unanimous is that our weekend activities will likely involve something vigorous,
in contrast to a previous existence of late sleep-ins, binge TV watching or
simply, lazing the rest of the day away.
3. Running will improve your
self-image.
After I succeeded in a
35km+ attempt to run from my home in Hougang to my church in Jurong West, news
of this reached my church friends and the feat soon swelled into an over-glorified
rumour that I did it on a weekly basis.
The point is, by running long
distances, especially ultra-distances, people will look at you differently,
yourself as well. If you are in need of an effective confidence booster that’s
simple and, hopefully, affordable, do a 50K. Or an 80. Or a 100.
The experience of overcoming
a tough race could teach you a thing or two about fortitude and patience in
face of mounting difficulties. Also, the lessons are conveniently applicable to
ordinary non-running scenarios. Like balloting for a HDB flat or stuck in a
three-hour MRT breakdown.
And, yes, you will feel
bad-ass.
Imagine the faces of your
former bullies when they realise you could execute killer mileages and leave
them dying at 5km.
4. You will do more stuffs
other than what you love.
I don’t think I ever quite
get the essence of running that motivates you to pursue other endeavours and interests,
never mind they sometimes had absolutely nothing to do with running.
In the years following the
completion of my first marathon, I was stirred to do different things which
resulted in a renewed love for photography, taking a kayaking one-star course,
solo backpacking in Japan for 16 days and attempting my first triathlon (which
I finished earlier this year).
I definitely felt a zest
to pursue many more interests in life, particularly travelling in the US in
addition to learning Krav Maga and mastering the basics of the Japanese language.
Perhaps it’s the primal ambition
for personal development being awakened by a sport that demands more and more of
you?
Which brings to point 4…
5. Running is NOT everything.
However enjoyable and
inspiring running can be, remember that, at the end of each session, you are
not going to wear your sweat-soaked attires to the office the next day. Unless
you work in a gym.
Just as with anything, too
much of a good stuff can get pretty bad. Suffice to say, running will
eventually become a major component of your life when given the consistent
investment of efforts. But it’s not the Alpha and Omega of your entire
existence, the CPU core that, should it cracks, will result in a total collapse
of your humanity.
Love running whatever you
want, finding the next overseas race to tackle or delighting in the lively camaraderie
of like-mined folks on the trail. Keep in mind that most runners will not advance
towards becoming professional athletes and in virtually all cases, likely to hold
onto their day jobs.
Your major decisions, such
as finances, career and marriage, will not or rarely hinged on how hard you
pound in the weekly kilometres.
Remember there will always
be more meaningful things to pursue like studying for a degree, meeting up with
old friends more often or serving in a voluntary organisation.
Nevertheless, you could
still discover a little piece of heaven and purpose in an evening after-work
run.
6. There are many good
reasons why you should run.
In fact, too many, I
deduce. It would be implausible to state all valid reasons under just one blog
post, and a treasure trove of those waiting to be opened only in later years.
Surely, others should have
different, even better, reasons to go running. Regardless, find one that helps and
keeps you moving.
Find one that makes you feel
alive.
