Today I'm going to revisit the events of the 100 rounds ran for Charity. The lessons, the challenges and the experiences. This is going to be mainly about the run because there are so much more things to talk about when it's about the whole journey of raising $10,000 for Charity. Also I'm still looking for more people to realize the ten thousand dollar donation so the whole story is not completed yet..
It was an amazing and very emotional experience for me. A week before the run I went to visit the home to remind myself of why I am doing this and who I was doing this for. It was only then that I realized that the idea was not only as big as the giving but the also the possible impact it could have influenced others to have the courage and ability to do the same. I went with a bigger vision: to give in a very big way and to empower others to be able to do that too.
Anyone who wanted to give in a very big way could have come up with the idea. Anyone who had prepared and planned could have succeeded in the hundred rounds.And even if they didn't run they could have come up with another idea to raise the money. Anyone who had seen the needs of these people could have wanted to help. Anyone could have weighed the options of doing something for someone against other things and decided that they wanted to do something for others. Anyone could have done it. And if more of us do it, then even more of us would do it. When everyone starts to contribute and give I think there would be more than enough for everyone. When we all become generous and give in creative ways there will be no lack. We will find homes, food and necessities for everyone. Because of that we can only become better because we have better to focus on instead of ourselves. And good giving will not even be called Charity. It would become a way of life. We would build greater civilizations and greater wisdom would flow. As old conventional resources deplete we will discover better and longer lasting resources. It would be Utopian but not impossible.
And yes on the 2nd of October, after all the planning and organizing it was finally going to happen. Close friends came to support and help.. Bao Wen came with her camera to take videos of the run, Jeraine came with her camera to take pictures, Kai came to help with the water point, Valerie came to run the last 50 rounds with me, my whole family came to support and make sure I was alright. And many more friends came: louis, Seow Wei with his two adorable kids, rachel, sherman, dax, mus who was a student of a school I went to speak in, lay ping a really nice office friend with a big heart, David who was my friend since primary school, and Kang my ns sergeant. :)
I woke up at 4am feeling quite nervous about the run. I prayed hard for it not to rain the night before and for everything to be carried out smoothly. My dad woke up early just to drive me there, yes he was quite worried about everything(which was sweet).
The thing is I've been training for the run since june but not when it was nearing the date of the run. Work has been quite busy for me to keep the training consistent. My dad would advise me on what to eat and frequently remind me about conditioning my body for the run. He believes I could have done more in terms of the preparation.
It was quite funny at the start when bao wen and jeraine were taking pictures of me in different stretching positions. It made me feel like a star and it felt so giggly. But it was wonderful.
When we were all ready, mus and me started running. It wasn't like a grand start maybe because we started slow. I figured if we ran like we could run forever we could finish it.
Round one. Probably the easiest and the fastest round to finish. Kai was already ready with a cup of water just in case I need it. I just smiled and told him that it's still really early.
By the time it was round 5 I've picked up a really good rythmn in terms of how I breathed and the pace of my steps. At this time there was a temptation to go faster but I had to remind myself that there were 95 more rounds to go. So I made sure that my optimism didn't spoil it for the rest of the run (which you will come to understand is a very wise thing to do).
The first signs of thirst came at around round 9. Kai passed me the water but I spilled most of it as I jogged and tried to drink at the same time. Most of my trainings didn't have people to pass me water so I drank at the end of my jogs. But Kai, thanks so much for your support! Really appreciate your enthusiasm and commitment at the water point;).
Everything from round 25 onwards became about taking my mind off the number of rounds left. I just needed to run like I could run forever. Friends running with me was really encouraging. Jeraine came up on one of those rounds and ran with me. :) She said that her gym sessions has really paid off. Jeraine has been a friend for very long. This friendship counts for much more than acquaintance. For jeraine and me we exchanged inspirations, support and acknowledgment. We grew through a couple of events together and this was no exception.
As I ran against the flow of the other people running, I had to side step quite a couple of times. There was this uncle who seemed like a real frequent user of the track that didn't want to compromise at all. He purposely crashed head on with me and screamed something like: please lah! Run with the flow! But that was my point. First of all I didn't mean to anger him and secondly I had good reasons to run "anti-flow". We were there to create an awareness. And if I run against the flow people would know I'm coming. Especially the later parts of the hundred rounds when I'm tired I might not even look ahead when running (even though by the time I was finished we were the only people there).
By round 30 many people were at the stadium exercising already. There were many uncles and aunties following an exercise routine with some really funny music. My parents, brother and sisters and friends started helping me clear out lanes one and two for me to run. It felt so weird at first but later on there were people smiling at me and an uncle even shouted "jiayou!" a couple of times. People started hearing that I was doing the 100 rounds for Charity.
All this while, everyone was so on the ball about knowing what I needed like water and power gel. It was so much care that people started worrying about me. Obviously the pace has slowed tremendously and I didn't want to push too hard before the 3/4 mark. Too much water was being given to me and I think I had an overdose of sugars as well.
As the 50 round mark approached, I could see Valerie preparing to join me. There something about seeing one more person that excited me. Maybe because the rounds around the same track started to take it's mundane toll on my mind. Even before before the 50 round mark I asked Valerie whether she was going to run with me(just to make sure).
Valerie's promise and addition to the run proved to be one of the more important elements to my completion. She was assuring and confident in the pace. Encouraging and never overbearing. As amazing as we all know her, she always impresses us more. With her I felt happy to start having fun again. We chatted as we jogged. I told her how much I appreciated her company and thanked her before proceeding to tell her how the run is going. Then I had a revelation. Like me the people who live in the Red Cross Home for The Disabled seem to be like running in circles. Life is quite hard when you cannot do many things that you should be doing yourself. I remembered how one of the beneficiaries smiled when we visited him. Friendship and company must have been such a big part in their life. I also remembered the Red Cross Home of the Disabled staff telling me that the beneficiaries needed many befrienders. People who could come and talk, or do little things like read to them.
That made me realize that giving in a very big way is so important not just in monetary sense of help but in spreading the word of the existence of people who need care and friendship. I've volunteered with YMCA's Minds outings to know the importance of friends to beneficiaries; actually to any human being. With disabilities it sometimes seems so hard to converse and know someone. It's like running rounds forever and hoping that the person you are running with will come by again the next round. Volunteers have such an important role in terms of enriching the lives of the beneficiaries.
At round 63, under the bright rays of the Sun it began to rain! I was shocked and speechless at the start.
This happened the first time I wanted to run the hundred rounds. It rained cats and dogs and flooded a portion of the tracks on the 17th of July; the first attempt at the 100 rounds. No, I didn't get to run. I turned to Valerie in an almost upset tone to complain. Then I decided to turn to God to stop the rain. Under my breathe I uttered: please lord, stop the rain don't do this to me. Around about this time Victoria came chasing from behind asking us to stop running. Victoria is a really nice Red Cross staff who has been liaising with me and organizing the first aid team for me to do the run. I think she had the responsibility to ask us to stop the run as it might be dangerous. I ran a little faster at first and then slowed down to tell her that I'll finish another round first. At the start I just wanted to continue and finish the run, then I realized there were people running with me. If I was the only person running and I decided to continue I guess that is alright. But I shouldn't risk anyone else getting injured; who came to support me.
As we approached the line where I started I looked around at the 3 or 4 people running and asked if we should stop. I can't say that at that point in time I didn't want to stop. There was a little voice in me that started saying: dude you're not going to make it! Give it up. Get some rest and try again another day. Look at the state you're in! The pace you're running!
While my questions of whether to stop remained unanswered from the friends that were running with me, almost magically the rain stopped. As surprising as the way it started, the rain ended quite abruptly too. There was no doubt then whether we were going to continue the run. I don't remember being drenched for very long so I guess the winds must have dried our clothes pretty fast.
We were running at a very slow and steady pace. It was really great to have company and different people running with me at different rounds. Seow Wei brought his two kids! They were so cute! :) Lay Ping came too. Her smile really brightened up the stadium. Every additional person that came seemed to lift my spirits. It just goes to show that together everyone achieves more.
There was an additional point to note though: too much worry might lead to disaster. In short there were football players who were training on the field as I ran. One of them told my parents that I wasn't sweating enough and that I should be drinking more water. The next thing I know I was being fed water at every turn! The thing is when you run it's good to sip some water but not too much. Everyone was probbing me to drink till I was almost going to vomitt water. Not only will water dilute my rate of energy production, it made me uncomfortable! I was just sharing with Valerie that the water level was coming up to my throat. So we started to reject all the water offered. My mom was the hardest to refuse because she had a worried look on her face. Bao Wen knew better than to drown me with water so she poured water on me instead of asking me to drink. But there was one point she asked me to put ice water on my head -_-!!! My dad just kept giving me some health supplement drinks.
I don't remember at which point my legs started cramping up but my left leg cramped first. And then a few more rounds my right leg cramped twice. It gave me reason to have more banana! :)
Also at that point in time I saw a group of people walking into the stadium! Actually someone alerted me of their arrival. They were the Red Cross nurses and volunteers in their white polo shirts carrying bright green pompoms. I ran a little faster when I saw them and then slowed down to rub on some Alleviate (a sort of heat rub to relax my leg muscles). I must say it really felt better after I put some of it on.
The Red Cross people cheered a couple of cheers and when all the cheers ran out they just shouted my name. The last ten rounds was easier on my mind but harder on my body. Easier because I knew that I'm going to finish it and harder because I felt the strain in my legs. But everyone's presence made me smile. At one point in time I really couldn't stop myself from smiling; which was awesome.
The amazing feeling of the final round is indescribable. Jianwei, my sister who made the round count flip charts made the 100th round like a flag which my mom gave me to hold as I ran the last round. It was finally accomplished. It was quite overwhelming for me in terms of what we have all accomplished together :) Check out the Video at www.one100hundred.blogspot.com
