6for600

I ran for Life Church's 6for600 event today and it was pretty cool. For one thing, i ran alongside Ching, Lily's friend whom I've come to know and hear that she was a very good runner. And I guess the competitor in me kicked in even though i didn't want it to. She was a nice girl, and I really just wanted to see how good was good, and where do I stand against "good". So I ran with her today and the people who raved about her were right. Ching was FAST. She was probably clocking a 5 minute pace and I could feel it. I kinda semi knew if I kept up with her I was gonna wind up burning out at some stage. But I also wanted to see if I could keep up. And for the record, I did! For half the way I was stride for stride in sync with her, and though I felt the burn in my lungs, I also felt the confidence that my recent training has given me. I thought, I could do this. Just FOCUS.

And it all went well. Until we came to this MASSIVE monstrous inclination they call a "hill". And I had my iPod plugged in on max volume, and Ching was gesturing something to me, which I just nodded and smiled and showed her thumbs up signs. I assumed she just meant to say "take it easy, we can do this!". So we made it up the hill. She was steady. I noticed she took small quick steps. I tried doing the same but my pace wasn't as fast as hers so I was forced to take larger steps to keep up. At the very top, right before the very peak, I gave in. My heart was banging against my chest and I just couldn't breathe anymore. I think I let out a growl. And Ching and this other girl went on ahead. Needless to say I so wanted to kick myself in the butt.

And then...the organizer had a sense of humour! We had to that uphill loop another time! on my own, with no pressure to up the pace or anything, I told myself to make it all the way without stopping. So I took small steps at a not so fast pace. But even then, at the very top, probably just 2 steps further than the previous time, I stopped to catch my breath. It was embarrassing! I was so angry at myself.

Frustrated, I kept on going with my newly aquainted pace. I knew I was running way ahead of time, but when I saw the arch looming ahead and my watch showing about 1 hour 12 minutes, I was honestly quite surprised. I came in at 1 hour 14 minutes in the end. A quick calculation would say that is a sub 5 minute pace! But I knew it was too good to be true.

I came home and mapped the route out and found it was only 14.4km. So it was a 5:11 pace on average. Not too shabby I guess.

I saw Ching and she said that she didn't do the second loop because the marshall had directed her the other way. Like a true runner, she didn't look too pleased about that. haha I completely understand her. She also said I am probably the first female 15k runner to come in! WOohoo~! But then again, i think if Ching did the second loop she would still be ahead of me. =)

Running ranting aside, this event was really awesome. Lily and her friends all had different pledges to their sponsors. They also raised a collective amount of a few thousand dollars which is nothing short of admirable. So they each carried out their pledges today. Lily ran in her pj's. Min ran in a garbage bag. Jaime shaved her head bald! Chow ran 10km blindfolded! I really am very impressed by their dedication. Makes me feel a little silly for not doing more to raise funds.

I am now inspired to do something for when I run back at home. Either run in my pj's, or blindfolded or even shave my head. I think it will be pretty cool. And I think i know of some friends out there who would pay to see me do any of the above. haha...Great event, peeps. Hope you've managed to raise enough funds!