Running

About two years ago I injured myself and so I couldn't run for a year. Then around a year ago I started running again. I started slow to make sure I don't injure myself again and soon I could run at full speed. It felt incredible! I was free again. So in the first few months I ran at every opportunity that I got, kind of like "Forest Gump" after losing his disability.

I especially like to run when it's raining heavily. (We get insane showers here in Malaysia sometimes.) It's my way of defying nature! I'm like, "I'm gonna run tonight and nothing can stop me, not even God!" Hehe.. When I pass by a group of people crammed under a building or a sheltered bus stop, I like to observe the expressions on their faces. They're usually thinking, "This guy is either really determined or really stupid!"

Unlike most people, I find running long distances at a slow pace terribly boring. In my case it is also utterly useless, given I don't have a weight problem. Instead, I do short intervals of sprinting with rests in between. After all, this is the kind of real-life situation I need to be prepared for: catching a leaving bus, running away from danger, or chasing after a thief.

To boost my performance, I use this strange mental technique I invented myself: I imagine I'm a soldier on a battlefield in World War 2; I have no weapons and the German Nazis are chasing me closely behind. I got the idea from watching "Saving Private Ryan". Try it! It's horrifying! I get this sudden adrenaline rush and I start running like mad. The adrenaline really helps me run faster and farther than I normally could. I get so caught up in it that I can't stop running until I remind myself that it's all in my imagination. :-)