I was very active in cycling before we moved to Singapore. I remembered waking up at 4am for a 22km round trip ride up to the famous “Magnetic Hill” at the base of Mt Makiling in Los Baños Laguna from our apartment in Calamba. I would do this almost every day before going to the office! So when an opportunity to work in Singapore came up, I resigned myself to the belief that it would be the last time I would be cycling, since Singapore is such a small island with limited opportunities for cycling, be it on the road, much less in the mountains or hills (oh, how I was so wrong, but more on this in future posts). I thought that I should take up running instead, as it would probably be more feasible in the small red dot city-state. I have never taken running or jogging as a physical activity before. I did play football during my school days, which requires some running, but I have never run for the sake of running.
Given Singapore’s size and limited cycling opportunities (or so I initially thought), I decided to take up running as a more practical alternative to maintain my fitness. I needed to continue exercising to stay healthy, especially since I had been failing my blood pressure tests since I started applying for work after graduating from university.
Confident in my cycling fitness, I laced up one day and ran to meet a friend, with the Singapore Zoo as our destination, 20km from where I stayed at that time. This was our first training run after signing up for the 2008 New Balance Real Run in Singapore, which had a distance of 15 kilometers and featured a mix of terrain including sand, trail, and road, making it a unique challenge for participants. Halfway through the run, we made a wrong turn and ended up running on the expressway! It was an honest mistake, and we continued to follow the signs towards the zoo. As we neared our destination, my knees started to buckle from pain, which I later figured could have been due to my ITB, or iliotibial band.
From that point on, I started to build a training routine, running almost daily for at least 2km. On certain days, I would also run home from the office. I initially adopted a run-walk strategy until I was able to sustain running non-stop for the entire distance. To motivate myself to continue training, I signed up for running events up to half marathons within the first year of starting running.
Running not only maintained my physical fitness but also served as a form of active meditation. During a run, especially a long run of more than 10km, it is just you and the road. Cycling, particularly climbing steep hills, taught me to pace myself, especially at high intensity and heart rates. It also helped me develop strong mental toughness, never giving up, and always going back home the same way I left.
Injury was a minor setback that never stopped me from continuing to train and run. In July 2009, I underwent an appendectomy. After being cleared by my doctor a month later, I was determined to still participate in a half marathon that was scheduled a month and a half after my surgery. Although I had originally planned to run the full half marathon distance of 21.1 kilometers (13.1 miles), I wisely opted to take the shorter 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) route instead, considering my recent recovery.
Despite the setback of the surgery, I was proud of my accomplishment in completing the race and maintaining my commitment to an active lifestyle, while also listening to my body and adjusting my goals as needed during the healing process. For beginner runners, my advice is to just start running. However, make sure not to neglect flexibility training to minimize the risk of injuries.
Cycling and running have provided me with not only physical health but also mental toughness. During the pandemic, I stopped these activities, which has affected my health tremendously. But these experiences helped me to bounce back and get back on my feet again. So pursue running and cycling, or any activities that you find suit you. You will not only reap the benefits of good exercise but also enjoy the beauty and serenity of nature and the outdoors.
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