Many people run, with different reasons with different goals and different motivation. I run for many reasons. Do you remember how and why you start running?

I recently always have this in mind: Running is not my life but running is part of my life. True enough, someone tells me: Running is your life, running consumes huge amount of your time till you don’t manage your life. But my life is not about running.

Sometimes, some of us are not fortunate enough to find someone to share our life with, it’s fate and destiny or it is yet time. Sometimes, it is better to be alone in some situations, and sometimes you wish that you could turn back time and be single.

I’m still learning to manage my time and life better. Nobody is responsible for you but yourself. What is life? What is growing up? I’m working, I’m studying, I’m eating and I’m breathing. But these are just living and being alive. Still figuring about how to live my life and what is the life I want to live. Maybe most people is searching for the answer to it throughout their entire lifespan.

I started running in 2014 shortly after I finally decided to consult a doctor because I got some knee pain. The doctor says because I’m too heavy and my leg could not support my body weight and I need to lose weight.

I’m not always fat. But I guess it’s because over the years, I’m getting too comfortable in a relationship that I put on 18kg! It’s a gradual weight gain over three years. Life revolves just around food and Dota(online gaming) and we seldom leave the house. He was lean but gains weight too but maybe because he is tall and metabolism rate is higher, he dosen’t gain as much weight but me, standing only at 1.57m, weighing 70kg, my BMI is a freaking 28.4!

It was when my weight shows a scary 70kg on the digital weighing scale then I finally decided to consult the doctor regarding my weight issues. Omg! The first digit changed to 7! I asked for diet pills and was told to run at least 2.4km per week. I don’t run, so I asked the doctor, can I do other exercises like play basketball(I used to play Basketball everyday in my early teens) or swim(I don’t really know how to swim well but I guess I prefer swimming which also means I will swallow mouthful of water accidentally in the pool than running, I don’t really like the idea of running). And the doctor response is epic: You compare all the athletes, runners are the slimmest.

True to a certain extent. So obediently, I listened to the doctor advise and run. Running 2.4km is achievable I thought, so I started with running my first 2.4km after years without running but then I started to find myself running more frequently because I’m motivated as I could see the weight decreasing and I’m losing fats!

I didn’t run a lot back then, with average distance about 60km per month. Within the first 3 months, I lost a impressive 10kg. But could not credit all the weight loss to running, it’s also the pills the doctor prescribed. The medicine name starts with D, think the famous blogger XX also took it last time, unless prescribed by doctor, it is better not to try because of the side effects like palpitation, insomnia and others. I couldn’t sleep for two weeks and every night for that period I only slept for only 2 hours but I’m not tired at all. Had palpitations and is always thirsty. Till after a month or so, I get used to it. Long term consuming of that medicine will results in depression and worst case suicidal, that’s why I stop taking it. I continued losing additional 6kg the next 5 months without the diet pills.

People change. Love change. Life change. On the day my boyfriend of 5 years left me, I went for a run. And I continued to run more since then. It was a tough period for me, someone so close can become a stranger overnight. I was depressed, very depressed. Life changes overnight and I couldn’t adapt. Life was meaningless till I even questioned myself what is the purpose of living. 5 years together is not something that can be so easily left behind and move on, it took me quite a lot of time to finally pick myself up again.

Ironically, I was studying for my examinations during that difficult period and I was taking Psychology. Words like depression, suicidal, love, stages in life and etc keeps on coming up that I just want chunk my textbook down the rubbish chute. Then I read that it is proven exercising is also a form of “therapy”. I run, I need the “therapy”, I need to help myself, so I started running more. And it helps. I guess those who used running for healing will know what I mean and how it feels.

Maybe some will say that it’s “running away from reality”, but I find peace in running then, especially at that difficult times. If it’s what hurts you, don’t think about it since its not beneficial at all, so the time I’m running is also the time I use to reflections, learning and thinking. Running is not just running.

Suddenly friends and family starts to wonder did I even eat because I have gotten too “skinny” they say. I lost another 8kg in 4 months. I was eating lesser and I ran close to 200km a month. For a non competitive or a leisure runner, it’s considered a lot to run like this. It was only until a friend wanted me to look properly at my pictures then I realised I’m so “flat” and looked so tired. It is not what I wanted.

So I started to eat normally again but the running mileage does not decrease because I registered for a full marathon, looking back I think I’m crazy to do that. Because I run but I didn’t really run more than 10km for each run. I survive that full marathon.

I continued running till now because I think it’s a long term “therapy” and for general health. I’m happy running and I made friends through running. I dare not say I will keep on running but I’ll continue running till I’ll stop just like Forrest Gump.

If my memory serves me well, it was August 1995.

It was then called the Sheares Bridge Run, also organised by the Army with the same categories, 21km, 10km and 5km.  The highlight then was all runners, including the 5km category, had to run up Sheares Bridge (hence the name) and back along Nicoll Highway. I will always remember that first 1km stretch of torturous climb.

After 21 years, my running has come of age and reached full circle. This year, at the SAFRA Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon (SSBRAHM), I celebrated a special occasion.  I was back to running the 5km to commemorate my running journey since the first race in 1995. The logo below, which has been used since, depicts a man running over Sheares Bridge (in case you don’t know.)  But gone are the days of having to run up the bridge but instead we are blessed with a relatively flat Marina Bay area for this event.

Unlike most race reviews, I will skip the race pack collection bit as I intend to make this article more of a personal reflection of my running journey.  Suffice to say, the REPC was well organised and I was in and out within 20 minutes.  Bumped into a running friend, Kenjoe, who blogs regularly for JRL, and convinced him to take a photo at the JRL booth; together with Zhi Yong, the founder of the Performance Series and Yvonne Siew, the ambassador for the series.  Do I get a free slot for this series? Haha

Since 1995, I have not done many races.  A couple of years thereafter, I had a fall and injured my foot, leading to plantar fasciitis plaguing me for years before I dared to run again.  My physiotherapist, who was a runner, then told me that my recovery would depend very much on my diligence to work through the therapy. I guess I was either too lazy or ill-disciplined to see myself through that. Since then, I never quite came back to running till about ten year later.  Then in 2005, I started to experiment with short runs, but no more than 2.4km thinking that it would be enough to stay fit and healthy.  Also, then I did not have the time to go for long runs – juggling the demands of family and work.

All these short runs were enough to satisfy me until I turned 55, and that’s when I thought of doing something different – so much for midlife crisis.  In 2014, I ran my first 10km at SCMS2014 and in Nov 2015, I ran my first 21.1km.  See my first blog here (comments are welcome).  And since 2014, I had gone on to run more than 15 races and even lucky enough to podium once!  I was busy chasing personal best timings and amassing medals and finisher tees that I lost my original aim of running – to run for fun and fitness.  The wake up call came in April this year, just right after my NTUC Run350 half marathon.  My knee gave way and I was not even be able to run even 1km without any pain.  And so I began my long journey of recuperation and recovery from runner’s knee.  What happened during that period will be left for another blog.

Four months have past since I hurt my knee. Throughout that period, in order to stay active, I did a lot of strengthening and stretching to rehabilitate my knee coupled with a few 5km races that I only managed to jog and walk. You can read some of these in my previous race reviews of OSIM Sundown and Pocari Sweat.  Long before I had this injury, I was already eyeing the Army Half Marathon because of its significance to me.  Alas, I could only choose the 5km category so as not to further aggravate my injury.  Nevertheless, I am still happy to join the hundreds of NSmen and army personnel and their families for this fun run.

I woke up very early on that race day morning and was already at the starting point around 7am (when my flag off was only at 8am).  I saw wave after wave of red filing past me as they made their way to the starting point – which made me a bit nervous about the run. Recalling the 1995 event, I cannot remember if there were so many people running at the same time; even for the 5km.

While waiting for the 5km to be flagged off, I found the entire atmosphere very different from the competitive 10k and 21.1k categories which I used to participate.  Runners lining up were generally more relaxed.  Many were accompanied by their children and wives or partners (I’m being LGBT sensitive hehe).  The cosplay stilt walkers added to the carnival mood and there were a bunch of seniors right at the front row of the starting line.  Such an inspiration to see these old uncles donning their gears and lacing up their running shoes to join the fun.  Kudos to them; even the 5km seemed like a marathon to them!

At 8am sharp, we were flagged off by Acting Minister for Education, Mr Ong Ye Kung.  He waved and said hello to one of these old guards. Apparently they knew each other from before.  Although it was a fun run, I was left in the dust barely 50m from the horn, with some uncles and young kids way ahead of me.  Smiling to myself, I just let them each overtake me and before long, the lead runner was out of my sight.  The route took us through Esplanade Bridge and towards Shenton Way and snaked back to the Promontory where a surprise awaited all of us.

When we past One Marina Boulevard building and hit the grass batch at the Promontory, I heard “Red tag keep left, Blue tag keep right!”; signaling all the fun runners to make their way to the two inflatable obstacles.  Wow!  What a fun way to run the 5km and celebrate my coming of age with regards to running.

Climbing up the Apex Ladder was relatively easy and it was to be done on all fours; and when I reached the other side all I needed to do was to slide down (which was quite fun). I wished there were more photographers on site to capture the fun moment of an old uncle going down an inflatable slide! These two obstacles were inspired by the Standard Obstacle Course that every army recruit has to go through.  In my NS days, it was called Jacob’s Ladder.  However, the Rubble was non-existent in those days.  Navigating the Rubble was not easy, if you want to do it fast.  A few of the NS boys fell and tripped, being not used to the soft rubber.  For me, I just took my time to get through it; but then it also disrupted my pace.  I tried to find my rhythm again but it was painfully difficult.  Clearing the obstacles disrupted my breathing pattern and my running gait.  So I gave up thinking about it and just enjoyed the Marina Bay scenery.  I ran past the DREAM sign and thought about how my dream of running again has come true (after my injury.)  Picking up a drink and downing it very quickly, I went along my way.  Going past the Marina Bay Sands, I thought about those runs I had at the Bay; often tempted to run into the coolness of Marina Bay Shoppes each time I ran by that place.

Hitting the Helix Bridge meant that I was almost half way through the run.  I found my rhythm again. As I came down from the bridge, I was met with a rude shock.  The 5km route converged with the other category routes.  When two streams of human traffic merged, there was much jostling and everyone was trying to find some space to run. It was one huge human-traffic JAM!  It continued to be packed with runners all the way to the Padang. I had to weave my way through the half-walking, half-jogging runners to ensure that I did not break my rhythm again. The crowd began to thin out after Anderson Bridge and the different categories were funneled into different channels to collect their drinks, medals, etc.

I saw the digital clock ticking away at about 30:45 and I knew I wasn’t going to do less than 31mins. If not for the delay at the inflatable obstacles, the subsequent loss of pace and the jam at the last 1-2km, I would have been able to achieve my targeted 30min. Since this was supposed to be a fun race and I was still in recovery mode; it doesn’t really matter. Still I was happy that I could achieve such timing. Crossing the finishing line, I picked up the medal and made my way to find some friends. The entire Padang was swarmed with so many runners, many of them from the 10k and 21.1km categories and it was impossible to locate any friendly faces. When I was about to give up, I heard someone calling “Mr Chia”. I turned and saw one of my ex-students, Bertram who just finished his 10km run with his fiancée. What a nice way to bond their relationship.

After taking a wefie with him and his fiancée, I cooled down, stretched a bit and started to head home. While I was walking to the Raffles Place MRT, a thought came to me. How nice it would be if I had run the 21.1km to mark this 21^st anniversary of my SAFRA Sheares Bridge Run. But it was just a fleeting thought. More importantly, I enjoyed this 5km fun run very much, particularly reliving my childhood when scaling the inflatable obstacles!

With my knee braced, I was well protected for this run. Although it was just a short run; a distance to most army boys is a walk in the park, it did prove to me that my injury is recovering well. When will I be ready to run the half marathon again? I cannot say for sure. Being a conservative runner that I am, I rather play it safe and let my knee recuperate fully for the next few months before attempting anything more than 10km.

While I make this journey to recovery, I am also celebrating my new discovery of the joy of running. During my 4 months of recuperation from the injury, I learned other lessons about being a runner. I am slowly making my way back to regular running again; but I am now approaching running very differently.

How an injury can cause a mindset change for a runner? This sounds like a good theme for the next blog; maybe I will consider that.

Meanwhile, EVERYONE, run safe and celebrate each milestone of your running journey.

Blessings,

SY

N.B. Follow me on Instagram @twtwriter or Facebook [Chia Sie Yong]

One foot in front of the other. Repeat.

I still remember the first time I ran. It was back in March of 2012.

The mood just came out of the blue one day. So I decided to run around a small field outside of my apartment, roughly the size of a track, and laced up my antique sport shoes (which I last wore God knows when).

Seeing all the crowd on the field that day, I had a sudden bout of shyness.

Omigosh all those people are going to laugh at me!

I mustered all of my courage and started my first, and final lap.

I huffed, puffed, and willed my feet to move faster. But that’s it for the day. A meagre 300m.

As I reached the last corner of the field, my lungs and legs gave up on me. I started walking, consoling myself that at least I managed something for the day. I did not make any eye contact with anyone on the field, for fear of judgment.

I guess many people would stop at this stage and say, “running is not for me”. The thought did cross my mind.

Surprisingly my interest did not wane the next day. I laced my old shoes again, and achieved three slow tortoise-like laps that day, before my lungs and legs protested again.

The next week, I managed five laps, and two months later I was running 15 laps.

I registered for my first 10k race at the Allianz Penang Bridge International Marathon (APBIM) 2012.

When the day arrived, I was surprised that I finished the run in one hour and seven minutes.

I never stopped running since then. It is a habit, a lifestyle, something which is part of me now.

My motivation to run is simple: running frees my mind from discouraging thought. It has given me confidence that I am able to do something that I thought I could never achieve.

I enjoy the absolute silence that surrounds my mind when I run: peaceful and tranquil; just you, your breathing, your body, your sweat, your pain, and razor-like focus; a very good feeling of being alive and well. The shyness vanished; all I see when I run is the path in front of me, and the mileage goal of the day.

What are your motivations to run?

One foot in front of the other. Repeat.