Wednesday, June 29, 2011
blog
I always held the view that running is a fundamentally lonely sport, especially long-distance running. This is why I prefer to run alone because I feel that one's pace is best known and executed by himself/herself. There is hardly anyone else who will have the similar pace to provide you the companionship during the run. Besides, during running, one faces a battle not with others but with his/her own mind to push on towards the finishing line.
So that the view I held, until this morning.
It was another usual morning 5km run around Bedok Reservoir. To be more accurate, it was more like a jog because there was hardly anyone on the running track and I was not inclined to go full out in the morning.
Around the 2km mark, I passed by this guy who ran in the opposite direction. Before long, I heard him turn around and started to overtake me. Usually, I do not get overtaken while running in the morning, so the competitiveness in me spurred me to up my speed. As such, I was matching his pace, stride for stride, with the hope of overtaking him instead. Somehow, it felt exhilarating with the adrenaline rush pushing me faster and faster.
Finally, at the 3.5km mark, he slowed down. What he did next, though, surprised me pretty much. He turned towards me and said, "Thank you." For that split second, I was stunned (but my legs kept on running). Faced with this abrupt development, I could only manage a weak smile and raised my hand in acknowledgement while continuing my run, albeit at a slightly slower pace.
As I continued running, I thought about what just happened. Then, it dawned on me that he was trying to match my pace as much as I was trying to match his pace. It turns out that running with a partner is actually useful because it switches on your competitive mode and spurs you to run at a faster pace and not lose out to your partner.
Given that I managed to complete my run today faster than usual and the lessons accompanying it, I came up with an answer to the guy silently.
Thank you to you too.
shermon blogged @ 6:21 pm
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