A mini but SIGNIFICANT Milestone

I was the only one wearing the blood red of NTU today amongst my running group which comprised 10 fellow dragonboaters, senior and junior ('07 batch the seniors say).

Another junior remarked, perhaps jokingly, that because of the red singlet, I was the one carrying the pride and honour for the group.

I smiled weakly showing my lack of amusement. I was still high and bloated, from one too many strawberry Hello Panda(s) that I coudn't stop shoving into my mouth around 1740, right before training.

And it showed in the run: my thighs felt as though burning wires were strapped around them. The stomach churned and diarrhea beckoned. The breathing was clogged, laboured and the profuse sweating started. One of my most painful runs.

Those circumstances, made my achievement all the more unique.

I finished first, in my running group, for the first time in about 5 months since I joined the team.

Granted, the famous runners of team NTU dragonboat, Jonathan, Vincent, Zili were not in my group, but today, I beat good seniors, some juniors and best of all myself and my expectations.

Running is indeed all about mentality. It just shifts. One moment, focus is lost while in the lead. Next moment, the breathing stabilizes, the person in front slows down, and the opportunity to gear up and overtake arises.

It's amazing how close to giving up I was. 5 seconds of hesistation would see me finishing third or even fourth. It was really a race at the brink, where in the end, mentality and morale, played the deciding role.

And to that fellow junior, cheers and pride, to the famous blood red singlet.