Chan Weng Kit's Blogspot: DAY 76

Nov 16

1) Today was an EXTREMELY challenging day for me. Woke up to have my breakfast as usual, before revising the lecture notes until noon. Then, I went to Dicey's for my lunch, and tried their grilled Cajun salmon with sides. Tried to eat really healthily today, as I was scheduled to go for a 10km race called "Run in the Dark" later in the evening.

2) Sat down for the remaining lectures, and by 5pm class was finally over. Went home for a brief respite, and along the way I stopped by at a delicatessen to buy some pastries for energy later on. Had a power nap before walking all the way to the "Run in the Dark" event (which was about 2.2km from my house!)

3) My gosh; I wasn't expecting the cold! A quick search of the weather forecast revealed why - the wind chill temperature at night was 0 degrees Celsius! And I wore but a singlet and jacket, with short pants, since anything more than that would be really cumbersome for me. But the harsh winds were really killing, especially when we were waiting for the event to start...

4) Finally, at around 8.15pm, we were flagged off. Once I had a chance to warm up, things got better for me, since the body heats up when exercising. Either that, or all the nerves in my extremities were irreversibly damaged so I couldn't feel cold anymore haha. Anyway, I ran without stopping, for just under an hour, and we finished at the same point we started - at the Custom House Dublin. It was such an exciting experience for me, running in the cold weather, in a foreign country, with people I didn't even know. Certainly another feather in my cap, as they say.

5) Came back to retrieve my bag at the drop-off station, before an unknown elderly gentleman started talking to me. We talked about the chilly weather, the huge turnout tonight (25,000+ runners) and he told me about bringing home the free glow-in-the-dark bangles for his daughter. Really pleasant chap, I might add. Anyhow, I left soon after that, but not before taking some nice pics of the Custom House and of the event in general.

6) Then began the long march home. In hindsight, I should've taken along my thick winter jacket that I bought at Penney's, but as this was my first run in Dublin, I didn't know what to expect haha. Returned home as fast as my legs could carry me, and here I am, typing this out in the kitchen since my roomie is fast asleep. That's all for today, and enjoy the pics from the "Run in the Dark". Cheers!

P.S. I have no idea how long I took for the 10km run, but it should be available online shortly. Stay tuned... ^^