Addicted

I woke up at 4.15am this morning to get ready for the 12km (7.5 miles) Sheares Bridge Run. This is the 3rd consecutive year we're running in this event organised by the army. By 7am, we were joining thousands of runners at the start point along Esplanade Drive. As you can imagine, we were surrounded by army chaps who are young enough to be my son!

The first 3km saw us running past gleaming skyscrapers in the central business district. This area feels different on a Sunday morning, especially when the road comes alive with sweaty bodies instead of busy executives in smart business suits.

We turned off at Prince Edward Road and started the uphill climb on the Sheares Bridge. The organiser made the right decision to close up 3 lanes on this stretch of the highway to give the runners more room, eliminating the frustrating human jam at the bottleneck that we have encountered in the previous years. I cleared the 2km uphill climb quite effortlessly today, thanks to the cool weather. At 8am, the gentle morning sun was just peeping out from the clouds.

We have alot more water stations this time round so there's abundant supply of mineral water and 100 Plus throughout the running route. As we turned off Sheares Bridge into Fort Road, the runners doing the half marathon (21km) started appearing from East Coast Park to merge with us. At this point, they have already covered 15km whereas I've barely cleared the first 6km.

Somehow the next 3km was really strenuous. My legs were beginning to feel the strain from the pounding and it was getting hot. Besides, the heavy vehicles on the road were spewing too much smoke. Time for water break!

When the sign board showed that we've 3km more to go, I started running with renewed energy. What joy to see the finish point looming ahead! Only 500m to go. I kept going though my legs were begging me to stop. I picked up speed when I reached the final 250m stretch so that I can sprint my way across the finish line with dignity.

Finally, I finished the race! As I write, I'm still thinking why I put myself through this. Too late! I have already registered for a 10km run in October and a 21km run in December.

When the pain is gone, I'll be up and running again! It's an addiction.