As i woke up at 7am this morning, and drove towards East Coast Park this morning, i felt that cool breeze hit my face, and wondered "what am i doing awake at this hour to go for my run training?" Then, i thought about an article i read the night before ...
Lifted from The New Paper Oct 27, 07
Titled : Detoxing? No, i am preparing for a race by Esther Au Yong
"I have not had a drink for close to two weeks. And, boy, am I yearning for a pint of beer now.
No, I'm not quitting alcohol nor am I on a detoxification programme.
(I'm taking part in races held on consecutive weekends; this Sunday will be the last one.)
Detoxification, of course, is all the rage these days among clubbers, especially after a heavy week of drinking.
Take some messages I've seen on my friends' Facebook status updates - that's the part where Facebookers tell all and sundry how they're feeling, what they're doing, whether their pet dog has eaten... you get the drift.
One said: 'XX is detox-ing... two more days to go!'
Another read: 'XX is proud of herself for finishing the nine-day detox.'
Earlier this week, when I told a work acquaintance that I can't drink with him this week, he asked: 'Oh, are you on a detox?'
Okay, since it has become a noun, I guess it (detoxification, I mean) should be taken seriously.
Then - and this takes the cake - while buying a packet of my favourite orecchiette pasta at Jones The Grocer at Dempsey Hill one night, the sales assistant, who looked like the partying sort, said to her colleague: 'I sooo have to detox. And this is the kind of pasta I should be eating. This is good pasta.'
If I wasn't shocked to silence, I would have been polite and said: 'Why, thank you very much, I'm glad I chose the right pasta.
'But pray tell, what's this detox all about?'
A quick search on the Internet threw up this general definition - a detox is a dietary regimen that attempts to 'detoxify' the body by removing 'toxins'.
Usually, detox diets suggest eating fruits and vegetables and limiting the intake of processed food, including alcohol.
So, I suppose, I am on a detox of sorts. Trust me, when avoiding alcohol, it's far easier - and apparently more fashionable - to tell people that I'm detoxing than to explain to them that I've a 15km race coming up.
Besides, I hate getting disbelieving gasps, which are inevitably followed by shrieks of 'you got wake up so early to train one meh'?
Or the classic, 'you gotta be joking, right?'
Hey, party girl doesn't have to mean unhealthy girl okay?
But I bet you that pint of post-race beer on Sunday will go down smoother than any I've tasted on a typical, alcoholic night out with the mates."
This article details what i wanted to tell my gfs, I made some of them read it. Few understood why i chose to hang up my Gucci heels and swapped them for my Asics DS Trainer. Give up my beauty sleep and head out for some heart pumping andrenaline rush. Few thought my craze for multisports is going to be a one-off, but no one saw it last for six months and counting.
Hey, like seriously, a party girl doesn't have to mean unhealthy girl. That Saturday morning, the rain fell on my face, i had to run in some faint drizzle, after a delay of an hour. It is on that faithful morning, i clicked in between 8 to 9km. It's been some time, and was unbelievably fast too, much to my surprise.
And you know what, it felt GOOD. :)
