(no) Fun on Foot

"Fun on foot" really made me realise how unfit I must have become. It was far from fun for me. Right from the start, 30 min into the game, I could feel my stamina wearing thin as we sprinted across cavenaugh bridge. Heaven knows how I pulled through the next 3 and a 1/2 hours.

We ran from Raffles landing site, to the pandang, to the supreme court, to the war memorial, to the Esplanade, through the whole of city link, to the Raffles place MRT, to Aljunied, to Singapore Badminton Association in Mountbatton, to geylang, to mosque between laksa stalls in Katong, *CENSORED*, from Park Mall, to Musuem beside Wesley near SMU, to Cathay Cinema, up and down Fort Canning, to MICA, past Clarke Quay to George Street, back to Clarke Quay station, to Raffles Place, to Lau Pa Sat, Back to Raffles place, to Asian Civillisations Musuem across the Singapore River. All of these on foot, all of these running, running, running...

It was torturous to be at the back, watching fellow team mates metres in front, and not wanting to drag the team down but held back, held down by physical limitations. As Grace has so aptly put it, we were all "shagged like shit." Elroy told us after the race he felt like lying flat on the ground half the time.
I felt like digging a hole in the ground so that when my team members turned back, they'd not find me, and I could then spend a lifetime catching my breath in that hole, far away and safe from that hell of a race.
The run up Fort Canning was really the killer. We ran up the steep slopes of Fort Canning and through it.
Halfway through Fort Canning, we were flying past angsana trees lining the very broad walkways which I, myself, had months ago, spent blissful moments looking down upon, (while on higher grounds on the balcony of Cafe Sunrise, where we had gone through a cooking lesson.) I thought "what if I had looked through time then? Would I have seen my future self clad in yellow and running like a mad woman? Would I have joined this competition then, knowing the ordeal I was asking for?" Whatever it was, I certainly had no idea then, what I was to go through on July 21st at the very same place.
It was a race that demanded a hell load of stamina. For most of us, it was a demand our bodies couldn't meet, these we compensated for with sheer mind power. "Grace says its all in the mind" I told myself, and that was what kept me running. Mind over matter was the most important thing the race taught me.
So what happened in the end? Did we win? Did we win?
No. We lost.
The disappointment was tremendous. Other supposedly stronger teams came in even later than we did. Mind over matter. What happened to them? They didn't even made it before 1430h and so they were disqualified. So much for "much stronger team." The juniors bagged 3 out of the top 8 positions instead. Competition comes from unexpected quarters was another lesson the race taught me.
A nice chocolate chip ice cream (which Grace resisted "so fattening!" but gave in to in the end) lifted some of the pain. MsToh also showered us with all sorts of good food... Curry puffs... Peanut and sesame cakes ( to Elroy's delight) We also got 3 goodie bags each, and they were really goodies! Among other things found in there were Muesli bread, a bottle of Shokubutsu shower cream, Nivea deodorant, cookies, coffee packs, chips... Well if we can't get the $1000 prize money, we might as well reward ourselves with a lifetime's supply of Nivea! xD
So the day wasn't lost, and we dragged our tired feet home to a deep afternoon nap. Its coping with lactic acid for us now. It pleases me though, to know that though the pain batters my four limbs, at least 3 other persons in this world shares it.