Spirit of Marathon

I climbed the world's tallest building! :)

I had a fabulous towerthon in Taipei 101 this morning. I arrived there at 7.15 am, much earlier than scheduled, and picked up my race wrist-chip (No. A0111), my race bib (0103), my event singlet, my event shorts and my event tee. Changed into the singlet and shorts (great fabric!) and then had a quick chat with some of the other Taiwanese and American participants before heading to the start-line at 8.30 am. The elite team (those that were seriously competing) had set off earlier at 8 am sharp. My category was for the less competitive, but still competitive nonetheless :)

I was the third in the queue for my category, and we were flagged off at intervals of 30 seconds. The first few storeys were very tall because those were the shopping mall floors and so the ceilings were much higher. Subsequently, the storeys became shorter and thus easier to "overcome". I had a brisk walk up the building, stopping at regular intervals to take pictures and chat with the very friendly volunteers who were manning the drinks stations and the first-aid points. There were volunteers at every floor, and some of them were exceptionally encouraging, cheering all the way at every participant. :) Well done, guys and gals!

My first twenty storeys were okay, but beyond that, I began to feel rather breathless. But it's amazing how my mind can push on. I kept telling myself, there's a great view out there, up there, and I've got nowhere else to go but up! And I kept pulling myself up the stairwell with whatever strength was left in my arms.

I exited at the 91st floor, where there was a media crew waiting and lots of people cheering. It felt great! I completed the event in 22 min 25 seconds. :) As I stepped out of the stairwell onto the open-air platform, I was given a large Mizuno towel to cover myself because the winds at that height were chilly and any participant dripping with sweat could easily catch a cold up there. I then went around and took some pictures, and chatted with some of the other finishers. It was a pity that the weather was cloudy, and it was also drizzling. But there was a beautiful rainbow too. :)

Collection of the race certificate was on the 86th floor. I walked down to that storey, picked up my certificate, and was ushered to the food and drinks station there. They were serving bread, egg and mayo sandwiches, and they even served coffee! :) It was all very organised, and very well done. Great logistics! However, I must qualify, it was still rather early in the day. The towerthon was scheduled to last until 4 pm in the afternoon, and it's anybody's guess how tidy the place would still be by that time. But all the same, the place was very well organised when I was there.

Later on, I went back downstairs to the ground level to attend the prize presentation ceremony. The top sixteen winners from the men's and women's categories went on stage to receive their prizes. The fastest guy finished in 11 minutes and 39 seconds. The fastest woman took 12 minutes 55 seconds. Incredibile timings! :) After the award ceremony, there was another surprise in store. On the of the male participants proposed to his girlfriend at the top of the building and she agreed to marry him, and this was all captured on film and broadcasted to everyone who was watching the event off the big-screen from downstairs :)

On the whole, it was a fabulous race, and I felt very pleased and very happy to have tried it and completed it. Thanks to God for seeing me through this, and thanks to my SgRunners buddies for encouraging me to give this event a shot :D

Chill

Perhaps it's the cold winter that's setting in, and the early descent of night every day. Maybe it's the twin typhoons that are currently circulating south of Taiwan, which is bringing dismally wet and biting winds to the island. There's a chilling gloom, and a kind of tired loneliness, and a dull headache that wouldn't go away. I don't know what's wrong, and sleeping away this morning and all of this afternoon didn't help either. Perhaps things will pick up after the Taipei 101 event tomorrow...

Shoes and running

I bought two new pairs of shoes from ASO (阿瘦皮鞋) yesterday. It was the retail shop's 55th anniversary sale, and I got an average discount of about 25% on my purchases. The first was a pair of classic-style dark brown leather shoes to replace my current pair which, for reasons unbeknownst to me, wore out very quickly on this Ilha Formosa. The second pair were sneakers, my very first pair of sneakers :D I figured that I needed some footwear to match my casuals; I can't be wearing my running shoes all the time, can I? :D

This evening, I went for a jog with 保良, 士哲 and 信初 around Da'an Linsen Park (大安林森公園). We started from Roosevelt Road Section 3 (羅斯福路三段), cut across National Taiwan University (台灣國立大學), went down some alleys until we reached the park where we did three laps of about 2 km each. Then, we headed back to the starting point. It was great fun having some company to run with! :) The whole exercise took us about 55 minutes, and judging from our pace, I reckoned we covered around 8 km. Now that I've covered this distance, I'm feeling slightly more confident about finishing the 9-km competitive event in the December 2007 ING Taipei Marathon.

I had dinner with my fellow runners and some other folks from church, and then got back to Lingguang Station after a rather circuitous and long Metro ride. I stopped by the supermart to purchase bottles of isotonic drinks (can't survive without them if I'm going to run regularly!) as well as fruit juice, yoghurt and almond jelly dessert. It's amazing how my craving for sweet things balloons after a run :D

By the way, the weather's getting cold in Taipei. The weatherman said that the temperature tonight would dip to 17 degrees Celcius when the cold front hits northern Taiwan. It could get colder still. I will probably buy a jacket by the next weekend. I can feel my wallet loosing weight rather quickly, heh heh.

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Update as of 18 November 2007, 2355 hours

Just thought I should pen down this piece of Scripture that was discussed on Saturday because it really made me think (emphasis mine).

But Joseph said to [his brothers], "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
~ Genesis 50:19-21

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Update as of 19 November 2007, 2355 hours

I am registered for the 2007 Taipei 101 Run Up! :)

Preparation for Taipei 101 Run Up

Hit the gym this evening for some cardio. Had to train for the Taipei 101 Run Up. 30 minutes on the treadmill and I only managed a paltry 5 km. Threw in an additional 10 minutes on the Stairmaster and another 10 minutes on the Elliptical Machine. Could feel the fatigue setting in early, not a good sign. I need more training, and build up my endurance! :P Otherwise, I will be in so much trouble on 25 November 2007! *sweat*

279吃到飽

I met a new bunch of friends this afternoon at Truth Lutheran when I went there for a Beta gathering. It was a bit of a struggle to memorise all their names but it was more or less mission accomplished by the time we finished our discussion and motor-biked our way to 798羊肉郭 along 興隆路一段 for a sumptuous lamb-stew dinner. At the end of our meal, we celebrated three birthdays and then strolled over to Jingmei Night Market (景美夜市) for some beancurd dessert. The company I was with this evening was totally enjoyable. Funny, friendly and very welcoming. :) And before I forget, happy birthday 保良, 裕仁 and 德昭!

Ryan Shay

My condolences to the family of US marathoner Ryan Shay (28) who passed away after shortly embarking on the New York Marathon on 3 November 2007. It's always difficult to come to terms with sudden death in seemingly healthy young athletes. It's also a sober reminder of the fragility of life, and that we should treasure each moment that we have and share.

牽我的手

Was touched this evening by a timely sermon and the Hokkien worship song that followed...

牽我的手 我的主啊
請你麥離開我
這條路 我擱要行 我需要你來作伴!

牽我的手 我的主啊
請你麥離開我
有時我會驚 有時不知按怎行 有時幹那聽不著你的聲!

牽我的手 請你甲我作伴
互我的腳步又穩又定
走到你的門前 聽著你的聲 甲我講："入來我的子!"

And by the way, I've signed up for the ING Taipei International Marathon (9-km category) scheduled on 16 December 2007, and will probably go for the Terry Fox Taipei Run in November 2007 as well. And I might just be doing the Taipei 101 Vertical Marathon too. Hooray! :)

Meanwhile, let me also do a publicity plug for another fabulous event...the "Fit for Running" forum on 11 November 2007! This forum builds upon the success of the inaugural forum organised by Emmanuel Physiotherapy and SgRunners.com earlier this year. Don't miss it! :)

色 | 戒

Watched "Lust, Caution" in all its 157-minute entirety earlier this evening. A powerful production, though I wouldn't say that the acting was great. Still, I find the ending rather unacceptable. Why did the female lead do what she did for that silly stone? Why? Why? Why? :P

美滿人生

Watched the Singapore production "Singapore Dreaming" (美滿人生) at the local cinema the other day. Peppered with Hokkien and English, it was a short and simple heartlanders sort of film, which really reminded me of home. Worth seeing :)