Blessed run

Che Joyce encouraged me to sign up for a run and I did. I signed up for a 5km charity run even before I finished my chemotherapy. Che Joyce said I would have something to look forward to. If I couldn't run, she would walk with me. She said she was confident that I would be able to complete the run.

My progress was good after chemo. Thanks be to God. I managed to run 4km to 5km non-stop before the run. I felt strong the day before the run. I should be able to complete the run. Well, poor Che Joyce was down with flu and bad cough. She was considering to pull out from the race but she wanted to run this race with me. She came along.

It was my first race in Brunei. We saw a guy dressed himself in ATM suit. I bet he would be crowned with 'Best dress participant'. It was a long queue in the ladies. The ladies chatted and looked healthy. I had tint of sadness. I was as healthy as they were. Standing besides them, I felt weak. Anyway, I told myself it was just a fun run.

We joined the rest for warm up but left very quickly. We surveyed and observed the participants. Interesting! GOH flagged off the 10km and followed by us. I told Che Joyce that we would meet at the finishing line just in case we lost each other. I started the run easily. However, 1km into the run, my mouth was extremely dry. I was dying to sip water. At about 2km, there was water point. I splashed my mouth. It felt much better.

There were two ladies ahead of me. I didn't push myself to overtake them. I just wanted to finish the run. I ran easy and at the steady pace. At about 4th km, I overtook them. I had no idea it was nearing the end of the run till I saw the sign 'All runners run in'. Geez, I had to speed up. Suddenly there was a lady who ran besides me. We ran in together. I picked up my speed in the last 50m and she chased me. I crossed the finishing line and she crossed in the next second. Argh! she was given the 6th position tag because she stopped. I went ahead and was given 7th position. The lady was worried that I would fight for the 6th position. She told me she was 46 but joined Open category. I didn't know how to respond and 'er' away from her.

I didn't expect I would come in top 10. I was more than happy. One and a half month after chemo, I managed to come in 6th/7th position in the run. This is more than what I asked for. I called Mama to update them. Papa and Mama were proud of me. Mama said this to me, "Meh, I thought you would come in 4th or 5th position. I never doubted your running capability. You'll be in top 3 in the future races."

I had a very blessed, happy run!