It's About Time

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Look out for me if you're running, an adidas Inspirator! If I can complete a marathon, so can you!

I'm not one to do things differently. I like routine, so maybe that's why I like non-competitive running. You run, you listen to more or less the same playlist, and you try to go farther each time (OK, so the only competition is with myself). I like knowing how each day will start and end and the game plan for getting from wake up to wind down.

This year, I prepared for the Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon I am not ready to run in another way. I did not make many of my long runs, due to minor injuries I did not want to aggravate, travel, a cold and bad excuses I'm not proud of (just a few). I may be better conditioned with the number of triathlons I trained for, but I feel like I don't have the same super powers I do when I boxed regularly. I'm a little stronger, but I think I'm also a couple of pounds heavier. So, I don't know what to expect tomorrow. Instead of pasta, I ate my mom's amazing keong chou (braised pork in sweet vinegar sauce) with rice for dinner. Instead of resting, I was honored to be a part of Aiwei and Zull's amazing traditional Malay wedding (after completing Kat and Greg's historically significant, society-moving-and-shaking matrimonials last weekend). However, tomorrow I will be wearing exactly what I wore last year, save for the running tights (one of my downfalls was a new pair of tights that proved too tight by the 30th km -- this pair will be well-seasoned and comfortable), socks (new abrasion-free adidas Formotion ones!), shoes (well, of course the same pair from last year couldn't have lasted this long -- these are the adidas adizero Tempos). I'm not wearing my mellow yellow gear because it got stuck in Bangkok and the replacement top doesn't fit me. I guess no one figures for a ball player to run marathons. Instead of a Cubs bandana, I will be wearing my Beijing 2008 hat to start, switch to my Cubs retro hat one-third of the way when I see my folks for the first time, then finish up with the 2008 Cubs National Division Central Champs hat when I see them again. My running playlist will remain exactly the same, because I want Bruce juice pumping through my ears and blasting some serious gray matter into pieces.

I ran my last couple of times this week, a four-miler and a three-miler, both with ease. As with most of my short runs, I don't really get excited until I start sprinting the last mile-and-a-half or so. So, that's a good sign -- I'm running normal and feeling normal. It's a little harder remembering how I felt when I did my last long run, which was about five weeks ago and 18 miles. But I know it went by seamlessly and a great confidence booster.

Tomorrow, I'll just run. I'll start slow and try to maintain a 65-minute pace for every 10km, which will help me achieve my target of 4:45. But I won't kill myself getting there, because I have 10 days of the Annapurna Base Camp trail waiting at the end of the month. Sas reminded me that I once ran 18 miles of the Chicago Marathon without training. I'll have to keep that in mind. I'll also be thinking of Ah Ma, who I miss tremendously still.

I know it's late, we can make it if we run.