Marathon Blues

Whoo! For the last 5 weeks or so, we've been experiencing extremely hot and humid weather with minimal or no rain at all. This alone could easily make one succumb to flu and I became one of the victims.

Thank God, the showers came this afternoon and we finally breathe a breath of fresh air!

While my running buddies and many other runners did their 30km LSD (Long Slow Distance) training last Sunday, I had to settle for a mere 25km with John. Currently, I'm feeling a little anxious because every runner I knew seems to be going 'ga-ga' and busy preparing for their Standard Chartered KL International Marathon and I, was not as excited at all. Somehow that "competitive chromosome in my body" have vanished!

I do not remember precisely when it happened - maybe, it was around the time when my age and my buttock became one and almost the same...LOL Ha!Ha!Ha! Then one morning I awoke and just realized that I no longer possessed the body of a 20 year old! Gravity had begun to exert a sneaky pull on me - a bump here, a sag there, a vague thickening over here. Hmmn...you know what I mean.

Obviously the days were gone when I could maintain a casual jog and still look reasonably fit. Gone, too were days when I could rely on my body's indestructible resiliency to recover from my exertions in just a matter of hours. Now it takes days! The once-effortless diversions, were enough to reduce me to a hobbling mess.

Many times I gave myself the excuse that it's just age catching up on me. But then again when I observed how persistent Uncle Hooi and Francis ran and live their lives, I am instantly inspired. Both of them are in their seventies; living life to their fullest, running marathons after marathons and hardly complaining, simply because they enjoy running. I sincerely admire and salute them!

Still, exercise - especially running remains as one of my valued routines. Over the years it has helped release my tension, reduced my stress level, cleared my sinus etc. Sure, I am still keen in endorphin rushes and so on. But right now, I guess I need to inject something more meaningful in order to perk me up and give me a reason to return to peak performance and run the race of my life again. Just like I used to.