Then something unfortunate happened. I had quarrels with some people and it made me feel very terrible. I was soon to be leaving the country and it has left me feel like I can never return to it again. For those of you that know, thank you so much for being there for me and listening to all that I had to say, comforting me and helping me feel better. For those that don't know, this is the past and it taught me to bite my tongue sometimes, and just learn to observe a situation rather than be so hot blooded and speak my mind all the time.
When I went back to Hong Kong this year in February, I took part in the Standard Chartered Half Marathon, a race that meant so much to me because in my mind, this was my dad's race. He is getting old now, passed 60, and slowly he is declining in his running abilities. Also it does not help that with this race, the entries are filled up within the hour of registration opening. My dad could not really be bothered to enter it anymore. So this year, I took his place (metaphorically). It was also my first time participating in a Bridge The Gap event. What an amazing experience. Not only was I able to see all my friends from Harbour Runners again, I made new friends with running crew around the world. I even had the pleasure to meet Cedric, one of the two founders of Bridge Runner and the BTG movement. What an honour. Although I did not had the opportunities to fully soak up the whole BTG week, as I was living with my parents, so therefore I had to at least give them the respect that, we have not seen each other for a year, and therefore I would spend the majority of my time with them; I was still able to meet most people in the meet pre race, and after party. Once again, my international circle of running friends has just expanded again, immensely this time.
I have also started going back to RDC West more often, as I said, I was leaving the country (for an unknown period of time) so I wanted to soak up as much positivity as possible. I had made great friends while I took part in their sessions and wanted to rekindle these friendships. I also went over to RDC for the first time in my life. I could not move away from London having never been to RDC. I knew quite a few people there already so when I first attended I did not feel out of place. In fact, I felt very warmly welcomed even though I was introduced as a visiting runner (Cynthia from Harbour Runners). I made even more friends and I was able to run again freely, without worrying about leaving anyone behind (in terms of a pacer, not in terms of a fellow runner). This might have been quite a selfish thing to do, but I felt my running abilities slightly went downhill after I took up the part of a pacer. I wanted to help others to get better but in the time of doing that, I have slowly let down on my own training and therefore not been able to improve on my running. Once again, one could argue no one ever asked you to do this for other people or that I brought this upon myself, but I genuinely enjoyed helping others and seeing their progression, so yes, I guess you could say I only had myself to blame and no one really ever asked for the help. But I enjoyed it, so I am not blaming others. I am simply going to say, my decision to not be a pacer anymore was an act of selfishness. But when I ran with RDC, it felt slightly different, it felt like everyone was looking out for everyone and there was no one person that solely had that responsibility. I know that by saying this, I could be offending OH SO MANY people and clubs right now, so please refer to my first blog entry, and accept my apology in advance. I guess I am just to selfish to completely give up on caring my own time for others, or that I am in no position where I have enough time to do both.
Anyway, on a lighter note, my last run in London was very enjoyable. I did it with RDC and it was a great route. Charlie ran with the Cheetah Elites and I managed to have a few words with him. This movement is growing and going stronger and faster everyday. and I am so proud and glad to be part of it. Needless to say, I am also very excited to be going back to London and be part of this movement once again.
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