I was one of those that goes āI donāt understand people who jogs. Theyāre just going round and round and round and itās so boring!ā And 4 years after I took running seriously, I will now start a debate if you ever used the word ājogā instead of ārunā and said you hate running. In short, if I met myself 4 years ago, I would pick a fight with me.
My running journey started quite as clichĆ© as a romance film. I needed to focus my negative energy from a bad breakup into something positive. So my friend (whom I thank for introducing me into running with all my glorious heart) made me sign up for Nike Run KL 2011. It was 10km. And the only races Iāve ever joined were 7km and they were all school races.
I was terrified. Ten-freaking-kilometres. But I did it. No training, no running shoes, no drugs. Just my pure determination to tell myself to turn those tears into sweat.
I ran in my trusty squash shoes (the only sports shoes I owned).
I pounded the KL roads for 90 minutes.
I cramped and ached all over the next day.
āNo really, I still donāt understand why people do this to themselves. Run so far, ache so much.ā And yet, I signed up for my next run. And another. And another. Until today.
I run 7km on normal basis.
I run 10km or more on weekends.
Iāve done 4 half marathons.
Yet to do a full marathon.
In training to be a marathoner.
On days I feel badass and really donāt care about arriving to work half hour late, I wake up at 6am to get ready for a run at 7am, be back home an hour plus later, and shower, eat, then rush to work.
On days I feel like an angel, I wake up at 5am, drive to a park nearby my office, and start running before the sun is even up, and drive to office in time to sneak in a shower and breakfast before starting my 9 to 6 shift.
Throughout the gruelling 5 days of work and traffic jam, I look forward to my weekend long runs. It has become my bane of existence. If anyone ever took my weekend long runs away from me, Iād go crazy. For real. Itās that 90 minutes where I relax and unwind and sweat out the whole weekās worth of accumulated stress. Then Iām ready for the start of a new week.
Running has changed my life so much. I repeat ā running has changed my life so much.
- Iāve learned to wake up before the sun and have things done before 10am (I can run, sweep and mop my roomās floor, make breakfast, and set the dayās agenda).
- Iāve become stronger mentally: I deal with stress effectively, I have a better and sharper focus at work, and Iām rough and tough where I always tell myself āIf you can run 21 kilometres, then you can get through thisā whenever a challenge at work, home or life presents itself to me.
- Iāve become stronger physically: my legs are not chopsticks anymore, with more definite shape and muscles. Try as you might, you can never pinch my thighs (but it comes with a price, I can never fit my legs into skinny jeans anymore or find the perfect jeans. Who cares? I love my runner legs more than any jeans). Backache from prolonged sitting has become a thing of the past. I can actually see my body as a whole more toned. My left knee pain (surprisingly!) is less severe now.
- The years before I started running, I was always underweight. For my height, my 46kg does not suffice. My weight increased to 48kg and remained stationary throughout college. Today Iām a proud 52kg and FINALLY not underweight anymore. Although Iām sad that I canāt fit into most of my favourite outfits anymore, but hey, more reason to shop and I really canāt complain about my increased muscle and bone mass.
- Iām more independent and responsible (though I am not sure how running affects that, perhaps I grew along with my running). I think it might those hours spent on finding and planning my way to running events, making sure I have that energy bar, that peanut butter sandwich, that heat spray, ice spray, tape, bib, safety pins… No one in my family shares my passion in running so I ended up doing everything for myself.
- I have lessened my intake of oily and fried food. Keropok lekor, pisang goreng, nasi lemak… all my favourite Malaysian food. Junk food become sparse. Chocolate and ice-cream on days I really needed to surrender to my sweet tooth.
- And nothing, NOTHING is more calming than running in the tranquillity of the half-light and the cold early breeze, watching the waking world where the streetlights go out to welcome the sun, the birds singsong and dogs barking and fellow early birdsā camaraderie.
However (yes, there is always the downside), running can be painful at times as well ā injuries at places I never knew could injure are made known to me. Hips, ankles, shins. Ouch. Thank god for Kinesio Taping. And R.I.C.E. Yeah, I thought rice was edible until running proved me wrong. Iām currently incorporating cross-training into my running to fight these injuries!
When Iām faced with these setbacks, I always turned to my favourite mantra I found in Haruki Murakamiās What I Talk About When I Talk About Running ā āPain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.ā
For anyone who wants to start running, my advice is to invest in good-fitted running shoes, get off the Internet, lace those shoes and go run. Canāt last a few houses down the road? Donāt give up. Try again tomorrow. And repeat the day after. Rome was not built in a day.
If someone asked me what my long-term goal in running is, I donāt think I want that. I donāt want to put a finish line to my running. I want to keep on running. I just want to go further. So I donāt think I can ever find an ending to how much I love running. Maybe thatās why Murakami wrote a book about it. Even that was not enough for me.
– Wendi
Meet my partners. Running partners. They bring me far, shelter my feet, they keep me company. They, clockwise from the centre top, are:
the run.nerd 