freezing out at macritchie.

today was armour inter-unit cross country. i don't know how i got arrowed or how i ended up running for my unit, but that happens most of the time.

it was a little bit of nostalgia as i went back to macritchie, but upon arrival at the old toilet (not the one in manchester, england) i realised there was no old toilet. and there was a whole new sorta structure opposite where the toilet had once been. wth!

almost a full 2-3 years after cross country, the fallen son of long distance running is back. though "fallen son" is debatable since i don't ever recall being exactly good at it. nonetheless the park is now a much more pleasant place to lepak and chill. wasn't quite the same as before when we had dingy toilets and a huge carpark where cars seemed to appear out of nowhere.

change is the only constant, indeed. the event organisation was horrible cos i turned up at 1:30pm and it wasn't till 3:30pm before we started doing warmups and stretching. prior to that we were just chilling and talking cock by the riverside. it was pleasant enough, but the rain in the morning had made the air rather heavy and humid.

nonetheless, when the time came for warmups, the usual feeling of butterflies in my stomach came about. even though it was a competition i knew i could afford to f*** care, somehow it always gets to you.

it was great to be running the 4.8km route again. having ran it since the age of 12 (albeit on a highly irregular basis), i did my conservative lepak pace at the start and only picking it up towards the end. it somehow paid off and i finished with a decent timing of around 18:28.

actually it was a personal best. and after almost a week of not running, i fail to understand how can this be. many times i think i actually underestimate my own fitness. or maybe just because it was a competition i put in extra. i finished a bloody 20th though, there was no way i could take on the elites from 4 or 41. they're damn insane.

nonetheless i felt a sense of achievement at clocking a pb. i had this impression that our sports performances would keep improving until we hit a certain peak, and that peak would be around 18 or so. perhaps not. judging by the fact i don't train much the age factor must be what's moving those legs of mine.

then after the run i wanted a drink. the redbull team were there, and knowing army boys well they got a bevy of hot girls. or rather, they THOUGHT they got a bevy of hot girls. trying to get redbull from them was as tough as telling my _____ not to take MC.

so i had my hand outstretched to take the can; and the girl held it away from me. so i thought "wtf" and tried to take it again, but she deftly put it outta my reach. she then started reciting the benefits of redbull and how the austrian one (blue and silver) is the authentic formula whereas the thai one (golden) wasn't as good, and i was to take note.

小姐！do i give a damn??

well according to the encyclopedia deng chao, i think i recall that redbull did indeed originate from krating deang in thailand. so who's copying who now? and when i'm suffering from a post-run thirst, you do not expect me to be impressed by saying something obviously scripted.

anyway the austrian redbull tasted like shit. so gassy and stuff, it took me just one sip to be outraged by how many people these dudes were conning. i think i'd stick with ASEAN PRIDE and go for gold.

the best part was that it started to rain afterwards, and it really got fricking cold in pt kit. wound up huddling beside the redbull car and waiting for the usual ceremonial prize-giving thingies to be over. then in a bid to revive those sentimental memories of my x-country days, i took a slow walk back in the rain.

would not be surprised if i fell sick the next day. don't really give a damn either. i haven't taken an MC since forever and anyway i figured the chances weren't that high.

like the old days, went to get a steaming hot green pancake. the price went up by 10 cents, but that's okay. never felt so nice and warm before. and i felt like i've earned it. one of the more pleasant days i've had recently, despite the fact i was trudging my way home all drenched in my pt kit.

life is greattttt till i book in tomorrow. right now it's pure bliss, pure joy and for all the effort i've put into this life that's stagnating like the dead sea, I THINK I DESERVE IT YO.

ORD LOH
104 more days.