My Reason For Running The PJ Half
Below is the mail trail between PM12 and I about my decision not to participate in our company's Treasure Hunt this year (even though the team I'm in are favourites to win) in favour of the PJ Half Marathon which happens on the same weekend.
Running, really, is much more to turning up on race day. It's much more personal than that. When you run well on that day, it's a culmination of all the hard work put in over the weeks and months. The regimen and habits that you've incorporated into your lives. It's about knowing what you want and decide on your own accord and free will, to adopt the lifestyle required to achieve your goal. When you have that mindset, skipping a social outing like clubbing or drinking session, for example, is no longer an issue, no matter what your friends think of you. All these make it a much more rewarding experience regardless of your success level.
The same attitude can be seen in the lives of successful people out there. Of course, in that context, the application of such discipline becomes even more complex - but in essence, they're the same mental approach. The more I immerse myself in running, the more I see the relevance of Bill Bowerman's message to his fledglings in "Without Limits". In the motion picture, the character played by the perfectly casted Donald Sutherland said, "Men of Oregon, I invite you to become students in your events. Running, some say, are an absurd past time upon which to be exhausting ourselves. But if you can find meaning in your running, chances are you'll find meaning in another absurd past time...Life".
The wonderful thing is that I don't need to become an elite athlete to appreciate that pearl of wisdom or to see the benefits. Like me, you can also balance family and work commitments with running. The challenge is to apply it to our daily lives.
If you're not yet a runner, isn't it time to give yourself a chance to be one?
"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired...You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going." - George S. Patton, U.S. Army General and 1912 Olympian
-----Original Message-----
From: PM5
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 10:56 AM
Subject: RE: PJ Half registration
should be. you see, once winning something has become a quite normal, it not unusual to seek a greater challenge, or even quitting (like lance armstrong...wah lau comparing ourselves to him!). for me the hunt has failed to excite me as much as last time (time constraints aside). i feel that i've been running particularly good this year and i need to see how much better i can do. i'm always amazed at how much the human body can be pushed. reading about the performance of elite athletes is one thing but to actually run at higher intensity and pushing it is another - and it's really a high especially AFTER the event.
-----Original Message-----
From: PM12
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 10:49 AM
Subject: RE: PJ Half registration
i also have a grudge with PJ Half after being mistimed last year.
is the qualifying time still 2 hrs 15 mins?
Regards,
PM12
-----Original Message-----
From: PM5
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 10:43 AM
To: PM12; PM18
Subject: RE: PJ Half registration
cannot lah! the pj half medal remains elusive for me after 3 or 4 attempts. must try harder to get it this year. need to finish sub 1:50 to be assured. either way it needs to be a pr attempt for me in order to get a medal. the week before is putrajaya where i'll take it easy and enjoy the sights as medals are assured. after pjhalf, it's shah alam 10K where i'll try to pr yet again - the shah alam route is apparently very fast with many fellas pr'ing last year. it'll be nice to be able to pr the 10k distance 3 times this year!
-----Original Message-----
From: PM12
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 10:39 AM
Subject: RE: PJ Half registration
???
but you guys are the favourites!
actually it is still possible to kill 2 birds with one stone.
go for the hunt on Sat morning, return on Sat night (sleep
and carbo load in the car) OR wake up super-early on Sunday
morning and drive straight to the Stadium!!!
Regards,
PM12
-----Original Message-----
From: PM5
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 10:30 AM
To: PM12; PM18
Subject: RE: PJ Half registration
even if it's treasure hunt, i'll be going for the run. just let me know.
-----Original Message-----
From: PM12
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 10:27 AM
To: PM5; PM18
Subject: RE: PJ Half registration
Sept 18 right?
i have a feeling it is Citibank Leisure/Treasure Hunt Day.
PM18 is going to check with Bernard...
Regards,
PM12
Running, really, is much more to turning up on race day. It's much more personal than that. When you run well on that day, it's a culmination of all the hard work put in over the weeks and months. The regimen and habits that you've incorporated into your lives. It's about knowing what you want and decide on your own accord and free will, to adopt the lifestyle required to achieve your goal. When you have that mindset, skipping a social outing like clubbing or drinking session, for example, is no longer an issue, no matter what your friends think of you. All these make it a much more rewarding experience regardless of your success level.
The same attitude can be seen in the lives of successful people out there. Of course, in that context, the application of such discipline becomes even more complex - but in essence, they're the same mental approach. The more I immerse myself in running, the more I see the relevance of Bill Bowerman's message to his fledglings in "Without Limits". In the motion picture, the character played by the perfectly casted Donald Sutherland said, "Men of Oregon, I invite you to become students in your events. Running, some say, are an absurd past time upon which to be exhausting ourselves. But if you can find meaning in your running, chances are you'll find meaning in another absurd past time...Life".
The wonderful thing is that I don't need to become an elite athlete to appreciate that pearl of wisdom or to see the benefits. Like me, you can also balance family and work commitments with running. The challenge is to apply it to our daily lives.
If you're not yet a runner, isn't it time to give yourself a chance to be one?
"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired...You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going." - George S. Patton, U.S. Army General and 1912 Olympian
-----Original Message-----
From: PM5
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 10:56 AM
Subject: RE: PJ Half registration
should be. you see, once winning something has become a quite normal, it not unusual to seek a greater challenge, or even quitting (like lance armstrong...wah lau comparing ourselves to him!). for me the hunt has failed to excite me as much as last time (time constraints aside). i feel that i've been running particularly good this year and i need to see how much better i can do. i'm always amazed at how much the human body can be pushed. reading about the performance of elite athletes is one thing but to actually run at higher intensity and pushing it is another - and it's really a high especially AFTER the event.
-----Original Message-----
From: PM12
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 10:49 AM
Subject: RE: PJ Half registration
i also have a grudge with PJ Half after being mistimed last year.
is the qualifying time still 2 hrs 15 mins?
Regards,
PM12
-----Original Message-----
From: PM5
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 10:43 AM
To: PM12; PM18
Subject: RE: PJ Half registration
cannot lah! the pj half medal remains elusive for me after 3 or 4 attempts. must try harder to get it this year. need to finish sub 1:50 to be assured. either way it needs to be a pr attempt for me in order to get a medal. the week before is putrajaya where i'll take it easy and enjoy the sights as medals are assured. after pjhalf, it's shah alam 10K where i'll try to pr yet again - the shah alam route is apparently very fast with many fellas pr'ing last year. it'll be nice to be able to pr the 10k distance 3 times this year!
-----Original Message-----
From: PM12
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 10:39 AM
Subject: RE: PJ Half registration
???
but you guys are the favourites!
actually it is still possible to kill 2 birds with one stone.
go for the hunt on Sat morning, return on Sat night (sleep
and carbo load in the car) OR wake up super-early on Sunday
morning and drive straight to the Stadium!!!
Regards,
PM12
-----Original Message-----
From: PM5
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 10:30 AM
To: PM12; PM18
Subject: RE: PJ Half registration
even if it's treasure hunt, i'll be going for the run. just let me know.
-----Original Message-----
From: PM12
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2005 10:27 AM
To: PM5; PM18
Subject: RE: PJ Half registration
Sept 18 right?
i have a feeling it is Citibank Leisure/Treasure Hunt Day.
PM18 is going to check with Bernard...
Regards,
PM12
posted by Jamie Pang at
3:04 PM
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