Greetings from India

So work brings me to India for the week. My Lotus Notes email and calendar functions on my computer have both effectively packed in, a promising start!

However, I do have access to internet (though patchy, but I can get to Google Reader and Blogger so can't complain!) and now find that I have time on my hands to write this entry. And so, a flip side to every coin.

I never quite got to recap on Run for Japan - it was a wonderful experience. I had a colleague and a handful of friends come and run with me, and together we had a great time! I covered 22 laps to finish a shade over 30km. With the rest of the team, we completed a total distance of just under 2 marathons and raised over HKD60,000 (close to USD8000) for Japan earthquake and tsunami relief. It was good fun, meaningful, and was an edifying time for all involved - tick, tick, tick, good job! :)

I then started to have pain in my left foot the next day. A sore, swollen and slightly bruised area appeared at the top of my midfoot, just in front of the ankle. A stress fracture has been ruled out, but it took a good week for it to finally get better. I didn't (couldn't...) wait for the pain to go away all together, but still stayed off the roads (and treadmill) until Saturday (Read - new record, no running for a full 7 days!). Happy to report that after a 10km and 6km respectively on Saturday and Sunday, my foot actually seems better and the pain is almost entirely gone now :) Was it the rest or was it the 'heck, let's just get back to it now!' that did it? Guess I'll never know... but fingers crossed, I'm a-okay now!

I was recently thinking that I run/train the way I live life - planned, controlled, cautious, with a tendency towards over-deliberation and worry... and for all that that means, I am still glad that I can be thankful for 2 things:
- That when I run/race, I can just let go of the angst before and the fretting after... for the most part, when I'm running, I'm free... I'm able to just go and keep going, focusing on the now, living the 'truth'. All the thinking before and after don't change the reality of the run, just as it doesn't necessarily add anything to life.
- That the caution has meant that despite a few minor injury scares that have kept me off running and the last bad flu I had, I've not been off running more than a week due to these. Since running regularly since 2009, I've had niggles with my right groin, right SI joint, left knee and left foot, but all resolving reasonably quickly with just a bit of rest. I am running for the long haul and I don't have to get there today. I am cutting myself the necessary slack, but also making sure I enjoy this journey... I love running too much to do it any other way :)

Have a good week, my fellow runners and lovers of life!