we run seoul 10K

last year, nike called it the human race. i missed the deadline by one day and vowed that the following year, i would take my place along with some other 20,000 seoulites and participate in one of nike's greatest advertisement gimmicks with the perk of a free t-shirt, after of course, the registration fee is paid. how i managed to get my name on this year's roster is pure luck.

unbeknown to me, the deadline was september 6th but i didn't submit my email until september 13th! thanks to a computer glitch, the person to whom i sent my email didn't respond to my application until a few days after...and apologized for the tardy reply. thanks to him, i was able to claim a spot even though i myself was tardy.

i was also tardy when it came to training...i didn't really get into the swing of running until the second week of october and after two weeks of perhaps 6 runs total, i realized that my aim for 54:00 was a tad unrealistic. i opted instead for a time just under an hour. that, would suffice. that, would make me happy.

race day!
my fabulous friends, kyung and amanda, came out to support me and to also check out the digs before the race, which commenced at 4pm. they toasted with an afternoon beer.




i, smartly drank water. though, i must admit, the weather was blissful for a beer. the warmth of summer lingered today and the buzzing of all the highlighter neon yellow jerseys was contagious. i had my pre-race jitters but felt pumped by the masses around me. there were 4 groups, a being the fastest and d being the least fastest. i was in the b group and when the countdown began, and the fireworks shot out, my competitive streak took over.

i felt like i kept a steady pace throughout the entire time but wished for some candy, my throat was dry. the coolest part about the course was that sections of the highways were taped off and we ran next to cars...so literally, we ran seoul, as the name of the event implied. there were various stages set up throughout the race where rock or hip hop music boomed and some very cute children gave me high fives as i went by. as i ran past the 8K mark, i picked up my pace and ended with a sprint. i finished in 57:00, red-faced, sweaty mcsweaty and content. high five nike we run seoul 10K!

status update

it's sunday, october 24th, and i'm sitting facing the window as the sunlight illuminates my room. 2ne1, a fierce kpop all girl bands is serenading me and in a few hours, i'll go participate in the nike "we run seoul" 10K race. there's only 10 weeks remaining until the end of the year and i am still in shock at the realization of how quickly time passes--no joke. not too long ago, i didn't think i'd make it to the end of the year. over-consumed by work and my own cesspool of anxiety, i felt stunted by the length of time. and now? i'm still stunned by time...and the seeming lack of it.

i've regained a renewed sense of appreciation and energy for things quintessentially korean: kimchi--despite the hike in prices, is still served free of charge in restaurants, norehbang--singing rooms!, and nights out with various rounds of fun--restaurants, bars, and clubs.

i've been feeling rather all over the place and my mind won't quit...i want to breathe more during these last two months and to aid this meditation, i'll post more to this blog that hasn't seen many recent additions. they're a coming babies!

nostalgia

the rosy room
of forgotten pains.

something to think about...

"he offered her the world. she said she had her own."

homesick...

and sick with nostalgia. it may be one of the loneliest conditions in the world.

my first half-marathon!

group stretch by the river:

pre-race shop talk:

tamra and me, smiles!

i fell in love with running all over again in october of last year. it was a time i remember fondly, a time where i created my own schedule instead following the constricting confines of predetermined time slots. for me, one of the joys of temporary unemployment was the time i had to dedicate to running, and the time i allowed to actually ENJOY running. i realized that on average, i ran 5-6 miles per run and wondered about signing up for a race, either a 10k or a half marathon.

somewhere between the fall and spring, the urge to run in a race softened, but was not forgotten and towards late spring/early summer of this year, i grew annoyed at my own lack of motivation and finally signed up for a race. signing up was easy, training, a bit more challenging. thankfully, the numerous months of running beforehand provided my unofficial training and after 4 weeks of official training, i successfully completed my first half-marathon!

as of now, the fastest half-marathon time from a male is 58:23, set by zersenay tadese of eritrea. the fastest female time is 1:06:25, set by lornah kiplagat of the netherlands. i am wowed by the sheer athleticism of these runners--their splits per mile, are on average, 4:48 and 5:08, respectively. IMPRESSIVE and INTENSE.

i ran 13.1 miles in 2:08:51, which means that i ran each mile in just under 10 minutes. i had hoped to get closer to the 2 hour mark, but in my inexperience, i started off too quickly and lost too much steam for the miles remaining. running is as much a mental exercise as it is a physical one. i periodically told myself, "come on!" to keep pace and i also sought out the water stations as mini-precursors to the final water station of them all: the finish line! it was a wonderful experience to be surrounded by a community of people, who, like me, ran in the heat, the humidity, to owe it to themselves the satisfaction of a goal accomplished. all in all, i'm pleased and proud.

and...i'm hooked! i'll run my next half on august 29th!

victorious!

sweaty mcsweaty!

my first medal!

a lil ditty