A Chronicle of Running

Constant downpour and glum weather had frazzled me badly. I can't stress it enough - I _need_ to be outdoors to keep my spirits up and senses ticking, and that's exactly what I couldn't do in this weather. Fortunately, the sky grudgingly offered some sunshine over the weekend. And I did what I do best - go running outdoors. 

I ran along the riverside for the first time - it's a gorgeous stretch of parks, meadows and lush foliage on one side. The opposite side offers sweeping views of 新北市 and of mountains girding the city. Pumped up, I ran faster and longer than usual with a couple of stops in between and very proudly ended up with sore calves.

I am no great runner, but I can run much faster now than I did nine months ago when I left Singapore. And I made most of my progress in the past two to three months, thanks to the cold weather.

My first run in the post-employment itinerant phase was in Seoul. I participated in a free 10 km running event organized by Seoul Flyers. The location was a well paved riverfront along Han river. It was spring in full bloom, and the entire run was as smooth and calming as morning breeze. It took me an effortless forty five minutes, but later in the day my latent IT band injury resurfaced, and I limped badly for the next two days.

During the three weeks I spent in Laos, I went running just one day. It was different world, and I was more in awe of the place than usual. I spent some of the most intense, and some of the laziest days there. The day I went running in Nong Khiaow I had to constantly dodge vehicles on the road, and when I agreed to put up with that mild annoyance I was chased by a bunch of xenophobic canines. So much for a run.

Thailand was a big flop. I had a presentiment of it being banally touristy, and it came true. I recoiled in Bangkok, and spent time touring lavish malls of Sukhumvit and reading in spare time. Koh Samui was much nicer and it had the much needed space and nature. After weeks of torpidity, I swam in the choppy water and then ran on the beach barefoot. It was nothing less than a transporting experience, and it was one of the few memorable experiences I had in Thailand. This was Lamai beach, I tried running again at Bophut or BangRak beach, but it turned out to be too rocky to run. In spite of all the tawdry commercialization, the beaches in Thailand are heavenly!

Xiamen is a coastal city renowned for its university and its marathon. It's unlike any other city I have been to in China, and its neighborhoods resemble Taiwan more than China. It has a LOOONG stretch of beach that starts from 下大 which has been very efficiently decorated. The concrete pavement is meters away from the water, and sits on an elevated land. That's where I ran. And after a long time did I run for more than an hour. 

All these running drills were sporadic and non-incremental. Then came a phase of two months or more when I hardly ran. A big jump then came in November when I went to Nepal.

Nepal is the only place other than Laos where I spent days in a different state of mind. I spent a month in a mountain town nestled among giant hills. In this one month I tried my best to eradicate all randomness from my schedule, and took incremental steps for my fitness and career both. I used to go running early morning in the biting cold on a fixed path that ran along a scenic lake for a fixed distance. My run ended on top of a small hill that overlooked the lake, the town and a landing spot for para-gliders wafting gracefully in the air. On weekends, I used to hike up a mountain, trying to go as fast as possible. This was the month when my fitness went up a notch. I spent a long time working out, and I was totally enjoying the intensity of my lifestyle.

While I tick 'running 5k in less than 20 mins' off my list, I jot down new goals. I go running in a stadium nearby, and usually it stays as the highlight of the day. Currently my progress is highly incremental in nature, and I guess it will take a while before I hit another plateau. It just compounds the kick I get out of running including the little quanta of joy I feel while writing about it.

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