Running on course for a cause

15th May 2011 – The day finally arrived. When I first agreed to take part in the Rotary Ekiden Run For Charity event, all I was thinking of was to raise funds for my PLHIV families. It was only later did I realise that the day coincided with the International AIDS Memorial Day.

So yes, yesterday I ran… in memory of all those who died of AIDS-related diseases… and in support of my own PLHIV families. Somehow this year’s run meant a whole lot to me, because by Saturday, I managed to collect RM4.5K for my 3km run. My donation card was full to the very last line! So many people were willing to donate just because this almost-half-a-century-old woman was willing to run! With the amount collected, I knew I simply had to complete the run.

And ran I did…

The run being flagged off… spot me if you can!!

I just followed my own pace, not too fast (unlike some runners who actually attempted to get into the top 5 placing), but not too slow either, else my other 3 teammates would have to wait so long for me to arrive. (I jokingly told my treasurer however that if I wasn’t back in an hour, to please go look for me…)

Throughout the run, I had to go up and down quite a number of pavements, and halfway through the run, when I was stepping down from one of the pavements, I miscalculated my step and felt a slight pain on my right knee. I then decided to slow down and walk… until the last 500 meters when I decided to run again and pass the ribbon to our 2nd runner, a 16 year old girl.

I completed my run in 19 minutes, and noticed our 2nd runner made it in 15 minutes… so hey, I didn’t do too bad for a 48 year old woman who seldom take part in runs, did I? :)

Handing over to 2nd runner

Anyway, at the halfway point, each runner would be given different coloured ribbons by the organisers. Red ribbon for first runner, blue ribbon for 2nd runner etc. While I was waiting for my second runner to arrive, a lady, who noticed that some of the 2nd runners had blue ribbons in their hands before handing over to the 3rd runner, asked, “Mana dapat ribbon warna biru tu? Saya lari tadi tak dapat ribbon pun?”

Oh, so she ran! Wow, she must be one tough lady, she looked so fresh! She wasn’t even sweating! Later I found out why…

You see, the first runner would pass the ribbon to the 2nd runner at a designated area. The 2nd runner would pass the ribbons to the 3rd runner at a designated area slightly further up, while the 3rd runner would pass the ribbons to the 4th runner at a designated area slightly further up than that. Of course all the runners would have to run around the whole course of approximately 3km before handing over the ribbons. What this lady did, was, as the second runner, she took the ribbon from the first runner, than immediately handed over the ribbon to the 3rd runner at the 2nd to 3rd runner handover area, without even running around the course. She hardly even ran 100 meters before handing over to the 3rd runner. No wonder she wasn’t given any blue ribbon… and no wonder she looked oh so fresh!!

Well, anyway, while waiting for the other runners to finish their run, I went to sit down under a tent. Later when it was all over, when I wanted to go back and send my 2nd runner home, the moment I got up I felt excruciating pain on my right knee. The slight pain I was feeling during the run had become worse. But I managed to walk to my car… driviing wasn’t a problem at all as there was no pressure on the knee.

The moment I got home, I had trouble trying to walk from my car into my house. Had to hold on to anything I could get hold of in my path. It was SO painful. The knee support wasn’t able to support my knee! So, as far as possible I tried to avoid moving around to avoid putting any weight on the injured right knee. But of course, I still had to walk lah in the house… to go to the toilet, to go to the kitchen etc. Luckily I wasn’t too bad with my fitness, so there were no muscle pains whatsoever. My hips, my thighs were A-okay. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have been able to walk at all if those were added to my knee injury.

Anyway, after 2 rounds of applying cold ice on my knee, this morning my knee was still in pain, but a bit more bearable. I then decided to also try cupping (bekam) since we do have the set at home.

As of this moment, the knee pain had subsided a lot. But I’m still making sure I’m taking a break from my activities for another day at least to make sure my knee injury is healed before I go out again.

Having said all that, I must say, the pain was worth it. For the 3km that I ran in 19 minutes, I managed to collect a total of RM4,700. No pain no gain huh?

So, am I willing to run again next year? Errrrrrrmmm….