from the moment i took up running and gimrama at the same time, it was as if i played 2 roles. by day, i was a carbo loading, daily (almost) training, muscle bound, just-propel-on-and-on runner. by night, i was a weightless feather, graceful from toes to fingertips, sweets and french fries absteining, poised rhythmic gymnast.
ok...so i exaggerated the gymnast in me. frankly, i was still that carbo loading, mucle bound, ice cream scarfing girl who just happened to be apart of rhythmic gimnastics. but i am the author of this blog, am i not? =)
anyway, either was it almost always clashed. my gimrama coach always commented on my thighs. Marathon thighs, she called them...in races, the dinners are filled with delicious carbo infested food and the servings disappear within minutes. in gimrama competitions, there's vegetable soup on the table and everyone sips it as if slurping it down would make up bloat up.
today, 7 years from the day i took up 2 sports, and 3 years after i quit one, i almost had to choose between the 2 of them again when the Serdang Angels Cup almost coincided with the SJ10K run. Lucky for me, the competition was pushed to the afternoon, so i could go for both.
***
This morning's run was...amusing. i started off without any target, knowing i have not been training much. Sam was with me again, and i knew for sure i'd be losing to him. Met Darren which was surprising. Met a lot of others too, including Seng Chee! it's been so long since i last saw him. we reached there with only a couple of minutes to spare before we flagged off, so i didnt quite warm up. started of steady...Sam and Darren slowly picking up speed and moving ahead of me...owell, boys will be boys. they say they don't train and yet they're kicking dirt in your face in no time. curse those testosterones.
about 15 minutes into the race, my stomach started to twist. oh no. i usually don't have breakfast, but i skipped supper the night before and woke up reall hungry this morning. so i had 2 slices of bread with peanut butter. bad bad idea. soon i had the urge to go. we happened to run by some shop lots and i really wanted to run into one of them. but, refusing to lose that few precious minutes, i told myself the feeling would pass. just keep going!
at about 27 minutes i couldn't take it any longer. everytime i decided to pick up pace my stomach twisted even more. i had to go. so the moment i saw a mamak i ran over. i have to say in all my years of running this has NEVER happened to me before. i thought it was hilarious. i would've laughed if it wasn't for the fact that i was staring at my ongoing stopwatch. have u ever been PRESSURED to do your business? it's like sitting on a freakin time bomb! pun intended.
anyway, as soon as i hit the road again, i regretted not going earlier. i felt so much more at ease that i broke into a mild sprint, trying to gain back as much momentum as i can. i saw Cindy who was actually very good. Further up i saw Darren...walking! ha! "Hey i thought you were in front of me?" he exclaimed when i ran past him and tapped his shoulder. hehe...now i am....=)
well, despite the fact that i was running abt 5 km in agony, and the approximately 5-10 minute loss due to "unforseen circumstances", i managed to come in in 1 hr 2 minutes. not bad watttt....:) lost to Sam tho. which eventhough i was totally fine with it, he demands a rematch. one whereby healthy stomachs was a constant variable. hehe...
***
There were times when the little devils really upsetted me. like the time i was forced to choose reserves and they were all so jealous of one another.
There were times when they seriously pissed me off. like the time i rushed all the way from subang only to wait for them for 30 minutes because they take AGES to change out of their uniforms.
There were times when they really shocked me. like the time my tiniest, most angelic looking gymnast came to me and called me a "Stupid dumbass".
There were times when they left me feeling like the lousiest coach in the world. like the time i was shouting till my i heard my voice screech and all they did was sulk and asked where Coach Regina was.
but those times were worth every minute when the girls perform on the most beautiful carpets in the country, got last place, but lined up to have a picture taken with me or have my hand salam-ed or gave me a tight squeeze with their skinny arms.
there were times when they really make me feel like i've done the right thing. like today when they all came into the gymnasium with zero confidence levels, and left hand in hand alongside proud parents with smiles because they've taken part in a competition before.
:)
anyway, check out this clip. it's of the team that won first. I swear, their coach is a choreographing GENIUS.
No comments:
Post a Comment