The feeling after a hard run

     I have just finished a 5 Km run around my estate. I started at 5.03 pm and finished at 5.35 pm, roughly 31 minutes and 40 seconds later. I am recording this down for people who have never experienced the 'runner's high'.

     Firstly, as I approach the bend towards my home, every muscle, every sinew, and my heart, mind are pumping and fixated at the end point of the run. The focus is 110 %, sounds of cars and buses rushing by (the last stretch is by the Main Road) are dimmed, and I am enclosed in my own little world of self motivation, every thought is now on the words "Come On, go for it !!:"  as if my life depended on running this race, as the Best Race of my Life.
I am not sure why, but I drive myself this way, every run, except when I am running with little children, will ultimately end up with me pushing every sinew, every breath to reach the finish line with a great intensity.         

      Once I have reached the finish line, (an imaginary line just outside my house), I realise that my heart is beating like 160 beats per minute, I am gasping for air, and I have discovered  how to make a smart retort to some debate on a point on Facebook. Every sinew is aching, loose, and then I realise,   

     " I am alive, This is me. I have done it "

     The endorphin chemicals start to kick in around 10 minutes after the run, and the feel good aspect of relaxing muscles, more brilliant colours around me, and sounds more acute, make me realise that hey, my five senses are suddenly stimulated to the point that 

     It feels Very Good. 

    Every care or concern of the day or the week has dissipated, and I am transported back to the Carefree days of my youth. No pain, no worries, just happiness and warm fuzzy feelings. 

   At least for a few hours anyway.

    This is the feeling I experience after a hard or long run, especially around 10K or longer.

       

View from Eiffel Tower ; La Defense

                                         The View of Paris from the Eiffel Tower, only building is La Defense

      I read some years back, this wonderful story about the German Governor, General Dietrich Hugo von Chiltitz, who was in charge of defending Paris (during Germany's occupation of the France during the 2nd World War), in 1944. Once D - Day came on June 6th 1944, the Germans bid a hasty retreat and sometime in September, the Allies troops were within capturing distance of the city.

      The SS (or Secret Police) had ordered the General to burn Paris and all its monuments, so that the victorious Allies would be left with the hulk of the city. The General, actually disobeyed the instructions and withdrew. It was disputed who actually delayed the planned explosions, but my guess is that the French Resistance and American Allies were busy negotiating this so a major catastrophe had been averted.

      So the title of the book "Is Paris Burning ?" was very apt.

     Paris, the city is full of iconic structures. France probably was once a Great Power during the 1600 -1800s during the Renaissance Period, however, many of its economic and political powers have been much reduced in the last 50 years rendering it to be like a Third World Country with slums and poverty all around. Paris has seen better days. 

     However, as a Fashion Capital, it is still right there at the top. All the brand names, Hermes, LV, Givenchy, Giorgio Armani, Jill Sander, Prada, Balenciaga etc. all have their flagship stores of Europe right smack at Georges V, or Avenue Champs Elysee. The real estate rents or sales are probably in the millions of Euro per month.   

     I find the city quite charming, and the French cuisine is practically the best in Europe. French people can be very welcoming, provided you speak their language. English is a language best reserved when mingling with the shop assistants in the branded boutiques.

     I found this anecdote quite amusing. In 2008, my wife and I went to Paris for several days, and we arranged to meet for lunch at the Printemps rooftop. I had 'learnt' some basic French (French in 1 day), so was using it for all kinds of interaction with the people. I found them quite approachable, back to the lunch, so when we decided to order, I chose the steak and fries and placed my order in French. The chef, was responding to me in kind, in French and even grinned and me. Next behind me, came this burly American, and he ordered the same thing in English. The French chef put on a dour face and handled his order quite rudely, and dumped the steak on his plate !

      In Rome, do what the Romans do, in Paris, same thing, speak French and be treated like a guest of a Once Great Power. Act like a dumb American and be prepared to be insulted !!

     Seize the Day.  

            

I need to do 2 to 3 x 10 K runs from now on

                                          Before my 25 K run at ECP, in 2010, Newton Run

      This morning, on National Day (Singapore's Independence Day ; 48 years old), I did my 10K run at Dalvey Eastate Road. Nothing spectacular, nothing out of the ordinary, but I remind myself ever so often, " time is running fast away, life is now today today, Up and On" from our School Song. I am 50 turning 51 later this year. So every opportunity to do the things I love to do, like running, I will make time for.  

      I also reflected on some of the articles written years ago by the great runner writer Dr. George Sheehan, and how he would dutifully put pen to paper, and write down how he felt after each run. So today on 9th August, I have again put electronic pen to virtual paper and write down how I am feeling after today's National Day Run. 

     I guess I have been running every National Day for the last 11 years now, when I took up running as a serious hobby. Some were great like today, some were just way too hot, like the time I ran one in 2010 and nearly passed out at East Coast Park.

     Every run is different in the sense that I think about random things, which float into my mind. So today, I thought about my committment to my serious hobby and how in the last 3 marathons (2010 - 2012) I have slowed down from a 4 hours 45 minute marathoner to an over 6 hours 5 minutes marathoner. This is inenvitable, I thought. But, when I pulled out my dairies from the earlier years (2009, 2010), I realised that my timing from those years and the timing now is about the same for 5 Ks and for 10Ks. So what is the problem ? Is it slowing down due to age ?

       I do not think so, it is lack of motivation and insufficient training. I have been cruising these last 2 - 3 years in my training, so much so that it reflected in my run times. I take comfort that the gentleman who was pictured during the Boston Marathon in May (he was on the ground just near the finish line) was a ripe 78 years old. His finishing time, was just over 4 hours.

     What ?   If at 78 he can run slightly below 4 hours or thereabouts, what about a young spring chicken like myself !!  I am 27 years younger !. 

     Its time I picked up the pace of training and achieved much better body conditioning. 

    I will need to do at least 3 - 4 10Ks per week and build up the distance from there. I have barely 4 months to my goal early December. Starting today. No excuses. Just pure endurance and persistance. 

    Let me do it again. 

Goodbye Mr. Jansen 1951 - 2013

                          
                                                A great loss to Singapore's Rock Music Scene

    I read yesterday that Mr. Atwell Jansen, the frontman for Singapore's foremost rock band, Heritage, passed away from a freak accident, a fall from his bicycle in Bukit Panjang Nature Reserve on Wednesday 7th August.

    I do not know him personally, but some years ago (2009), I had the good fortune of visiting a pub in Duxton Hill, and with my German friend Frank Rigley, my Malaysian Sales Manager Kannan, we witnessed some awesome rock music from the band Heritage. I was totally blown away that such an iconic band from the 60s and 70s heydays were still plying away at what they do best, making good music. And we had a front row table ! I remember writing a blog post about that visit too.   

   They did fantastic covers of Eric Clapton, The Who, even Queen. Atwell was either on the electronic Violin or played the harmonica while his brother, Jorden was the lead guitarist.

    What a loss, at a relatively young age of 62, 

Argyle Sweater

    
        This is one of my favourite cartoons, called Argyle Sweater, it is featured every Sunday as a single strip cartoon, so the punch line must be made in just one panel. I have 'got it' most times, maybe 8 out of 10, but one needs to be quite conversant in common English phrases and quotes to realise it is a play (occasionally a pun) on the phrase or even a word.

       In this case, this cartoon above is a play about the phrase 'selling like hotcakes' which means to sell so very well it does not need a dedicated salesperson. In Arnie Winkler's case, he has these cartons upon cartons of hotcakse and he can't seem to sell them, hence the title "World's Worst Salesman".

       Geddit ???

This song is for Mr. Everyman

                      Here's to Us.

      Let's face it, maybe only 5% of us end up as 'winners', the ones who have made that pile of cash, found the love of their life and retired by 40 or at most 50. They are the ones who are out in the Caribbean (or South China Sea) in their 72 foot yachts sipping on Mumm champagne and tanning their (bum) cheeks. Holidaying or globesetting is serious living, or so it seems.  

      The rest of us minions, like the song typifies, have to slog it out, day in day out, 40 to 60 hours a week living from paycheck to paycheck, raising families, coping with issues on relationships, family crises , business disasters, health costs, and rising costs of living compounded by an increasingly complex and expensive world. Retire ? You got to be kidding, seems to be the mantra I hear from everyone around me.

      Anyway, Mr. Everyman who struggles with job uncertainty, business failures, aged parents issues, growing children needs on a daily basis can take heart.  You are not alone. 

We must be resilient to weather any crisis and be stronger for it.   Our attitude  and our vales will determine whether we will be winners or losers in life.   

As the Song Says, "Here's to Us" . Seize the Day

What age and authority dictates, sound logic equates

            I will not so humbly attribute this statement to yours truly. Logic is the great leveller for everybody. We use logic in practically every aspect of our concious thinking. There are exceptions to this rule, and these are (not comprehensive in any way) :

1. Religion - faith will always trump logic, but then God works and behaves in mysterious 
    ways.

    Religion will always have their followers, so I will not even want to tread there. 

2. Consumer behaviour - this again is very hard to predict. Crazy unexpected queues for 
    non-sensical soft toys like Hello Kitty and the Minions in Singapore lead me to believe that   
    there is no hope for humanity. Maybe its just Singaporeans who have illogical bouts of 
    collective behaviour !
  
    The fact that it was touted as a limited edition, and reports of people throwing their junk 
    food away (actually that is quite a logical act, but the purchase of McDonalds food just to 
    get their hands on a soft toy is an illogical act in itself)

                                       Nothing better to do than to queue for my Hello Kitty 

3. Impulse Purchases - Branded Bags, Holiday feel good shopping, Fridge Magnets, 
    Crummy T-shirts telling everyone where you've been, the list is endless. Everyone has 
    that (or many) shirts or dresses in their wardrobe which has been hanging there and the 
    guy or girl is wondering, 'now why did I buy THAT ???'.   

    Logic does not have a linear correlation with age, in fact, sometimes the older we get, the crankier or eccentric we become. that is when we become 'one screw loose' or 'lose our marbles' or 'Woodbridge' (mental hospital's previous name) case.

     Common sense or logic is not so common then after all ? 

     Cherish the logic you (and I) have. For that separates the normal from the truly brilliant. Go beyond that and people may call you Mad.  Normal people want to follow rules and regulations so that they do not have to apply logic to the situation. That applies to 98% of the population.

    'Just Follow Law'.

    Seize the Day.