Waktu beberapa minggu yang lalu saya lari ke kali Muli semua orang yang saya sapa dan bertanya, "Kali Muli masih jauh kah?" menjawab, "Ah sudah dekat, di bawah saja itu!" Untuk orang Eragayam jalan kaki 5 kilo naik turun tanjakan pegunungan itu dekat saja.
Sabtu siang yang mendung. Lagi lari di tengah hutan dan jalan setapak yang sempit dan sepi menuju kali Muli bertemu seorang bapa (baca: laki-laki) yang membawa parang dan senapan laras panjang. Hampir enam bulan tinggal di Eragayam melihat laki-laki kecil, muda dan tua membawa parang sudah biasa. Tapi ini senapan. Sedikit was was. Langsung memperkenalkan diri, "Saya ibu guru Ob Anggen, sekolah bahasa Inggris," berharap titel guru bisa menyelamatkan hidup saya. Bapa heran bukan main saya lari seorang diri dari sekolah sampai kali Muli hanya karena ingin melihat kali Muli saja. Jarak dari sekolah ke kali Mui kurang lebih 7km. Rasanya dia tidak percaya karena ia tidak juga beranjak pergi malah mengikuti saya. "Jangan turun, air deras, tidak bisa menyeberang," katanya berulang-ulang. Ketika saya tidak mengindahkan nasihatnya ia bertanya, "Bu guru mau kemana? Bapa (baca:suami) ada pukul kah?" tanyanya kuatir. Saya hampir tersedak menahan tawa. Apparently wanita lari sendirian ke kali Muli di Eragayam berarti ada masalah dirumah. Bapa itu menunggu saya mengambil foto kali Muli. Dengan sabar ia menjawab pertanyaan saya karena saya heran melihat lebar kali yang begitu besar tapi aliran airnya hanya kira-kira 1/7 bagian saja, sisanya kering penuh batu dan pasir. Apa lagi waktu diceritakan bahwa aliran sungai bisa berpindah-pindah. Sebenarnya masih ingin berlama-lama disitu sambil menghayal betapa kerennya foto di bagian kali yang kering. Tapi Bapa itu tidak mau meninggalkan saya. Mungkin dia kuatir saya akan mengahiri hidup saya di kali Muli karena dipukuli suami di rumah. LOL. Ahirnya pulang ditemani bapa yang baik hati sampai di pertigaan puskesamas. Sepanjang jalan ia bercerita banyak tentang hutan Papua dan kekayaannya. I love Eragayam!
A wide sidewalk. An even sidewalk. A smooth sidewalk. A safe sidewalk. Kurang apa lagi coba? Masih jatuh juga? Kalau Kamis jatuh bego karena lari di tanah bebatuan yang nggak rata masih bisa dipahami rasanya. Tapi ini? What is wrong with me? Sidewalk rash di bahu kanan, lutut kiri dan di jari tangan. Jatuh bego keterlaluan tidak terkira. :-)
Jatuh bego lagi sepeda karena pake sepatu cleat? Nggak heran. Jatuh bego lagi lari karena kesandung akar pohon? Sungguh sangat keterlaluan! Fokus. Fokus. Fokus!
Kalau kemarin-kemarin naik sepeda dapat banyak greeting, hari ini lagi lari somewhere di kota di foto pake handphone sama mas-mas tim oranye DKI, yang berjasa amat sangat untuk kebersihan Jakarta tercinta. Harusnya marah kali ya, ambil foto tanpa izin. Tapi as a token of appreciation of their hard work untuk membersihkan sampah, I gave him a big smile and a peace sign. Mudah-mudahan nggak beredar jadi meme di dunia virtual. LOL
Ketika saya nggak pusing soal pace atau waktu atau cadence atau heart zone atau aspek teknis lari lainnya. Ketika saya hanya fokus pada pola nafas dan belajar "mendengarkan" apa kata badan saya. Ketika saya kembali ke alasan kenapa saya begitu mencintai lari in the first place. I brake my own barrier. Yay, I'm free!
One cloudy and cold Monday Morning. North Shore Triathlon. As I was approaching the finish line a male announcer said over a loudspeaker, "And here comes another finisher. Let's welcome this young lady, number 382.... Dewi!" I ran even faster to the finish line with my hands up in the air. Not so much because I made it to the finish line but more because I was a young lady for a second. LOL. And then to top it off he continued, "... from Jakarta! She came all the way from Indonesia for this triathlon!" Woohoo! \(^_^)/
My usual chat with my sister never venture outside kids or family gossip. Now we have another common denominator. After almost four years of running I finally have a running sibling! Not only that she agreed to register for a 5K race in October. Her first! \(^_^)/
Bangun pagi disambut langit kelabu. Cuaca yang sempurna untuk lari jauh! Lupa kalau saya tinggal di negara tropis. Matahari boleh sembunyi tapi humidity tetap mengikuti kemana saya lari. Ibu jari kaki kanan mulai berkeluh kesah di kilometer sembilan. Rasanya extra Vaseline Jelly untuk menghindari blister tadi pagi tidak ada hasilnya. Berhenti di mini market hanya untuk menyesali diri tidak bawa uang cukup untuk beli satu pak plester. Ibu jari langsung mengumpat ketika saya paksa lari lagi. Tiga ratus meter kemudian ada warung pinggir jalan. Hore! Bapak pemilik warung punya plester dan boleh beli hanya dua buah seharga dua ribu rupiah! Masih ada sisa uang untuk menghadiahi diri sendiri sepotong pepaya seharga tiga ribu rupiah karena berhasil menyelesaikan target 18K. Yay! Tepuk tangan untuk warung & pedagang kaki lima!
Muscles are like work animals that are quick on the uptake. If you carefully increase the load, step by step, they learn to take it. As long as you explain your expectations to them by actually showing them examples of the amount of work they have to endure, your muscles will comply and gradually get stronger. It doesn't happen overnight, of course. But as long as you take your time and do it in stages, they won't complain - aside from the occasional long face - and they'll very patiently and obediently grow stronger. If however the load halts for a few days, the muscles automatically assume they don't have to work that hard anymore, and they lower their limits. Haruki Murakami
There is something about the first month of a new year that make people feel optimistic and promising. The other day out of the blue and out of curiosity I told my sister, "Let's get you into a walk/run training program to do a 5K race within 3-4 months." I was shocked when she agreed to my challenge! Yay! So I'm letting the world know so you can cheer, encourage, and high-five her from now to finish. Perhaps even inspired by her. Because if my couch potato sister can do it, so can you! Life is short. Run for your life!
Minggu pagi mendung penuh awan kelabu. Sampai hari ini saya masih ingat hebohnya pertama kali lomba lari. Jakarta Marathon 2012. 5K. Menikmati sensasi melewati garis finish untuk pertama kali. Cape tapi senang, senang tapi pegal, pegal tapi puas serasa terbang ke langit ke tujuh. Walaupun waktu itu tidak ada medali finisher untuk 5K. Fast forward tiga tahun kemudian. Lomba 5K yang ke dua. Tidak seheboh dulu rasanya, baik di garis start ataupun finish. Yang lebih bikin gugup gembira dan gegap gempita adalah dapat PB 5K walau itupun menurut hitungan jam Garmin bukan official time race. Heja!
Kata orang hanya keledai yang membuat kesalahan dua kali. From my last marathon I already learned that having only a 21K run as my longest run for a marathon training is not enough. Yet here I was doing the same thing again. Auckland Marathon 2015. I was feeling rather smug after I reached half way right on target when my body and my mind just gave up on me. Just like that. No warning. Within seconds everything turned from awesome into awful and awry. I struggled all the way to the finish line. New rules to abide or else! Never underestimate 42.195K (no matter how many marathons I have under my belt) Do my training thoroughly. NO shortcuts. Hee haw!
One lovely Sunday. 22K mark. My body was killing me. My calf stabbed me in the back, my thigh strangled me, my ankle kicked me in the stomach and my knee used my shin bone to beat me up. When I reached water station #8 at 26K a young volunteer handed me a cup of water and said, "Hang in there Rina! Keep going!" Huh?! I thought that was it, I had lost my mind. WAIT! He must've had seen my pin on my hat. This was nothing compare to what she had to endure. Without warning tears just rolled down my face. There I was running jogging and sobbing. And somehow my calf, my thigh, my ankle and my knee had a change of heart. Instead of killing me they just inflicted a little pain here and there all the way to finish line. This one for you Rina!
AKL passport control. "When did you buy your ticket?" "Do you have relatives here?" "Where have you been in the last 12 months?" Unfriendly tone. Sour frown. Interrogative stare. Then when I answered, "I'm here to run the marathon." to his what-is-your purpose-of-visit-question he had a change of heart. "I wish I could do a marathon. I did some half marathons." "Is this your first marathon?" "How many marathons so far?" "What is your best time?" "Good luck!" Pleasant tone. A smile! Inquisitive stare.
One fine Saturday on a treadmill in a gym of an apartment. Feeling rather awesome I'm almost accomplish my goal when suddenly, "Are you done yet? You've been using it for more than an hour!" An elderly lady said in a rather harsh tone. "Could you wait ten minutes? I'm almost done," I said in between breaths. First she stood right beside me and just stared at me for a while. When her staring didn't stop me, she went outside and called a duty manager. That didn't stop me either. I kept running until my ten minutes was up. I said what I meant and I meant what I said.
A half hour jogging never felt so good after a seven and a half weeks running break.
Running, for me, is a prayer, a meditation. I don't compete. I run because of the way I feel when I run. My thinking mind shuts down and my body takes over, moving in sync, creating the act of running. And I a totally aligned with my surroundings. My feet can feel the paint on the road in Central Park, my body can sense approaching cyclists on the bike path, my ears can pick up the different languages in Time Square. I'm not running but flowing. I'm one with the universe. (Rashid Naseem in Dr. Jordan Metzl's Running Strong)
A session with a sport physiotherapist. She gave me a resistance band. Her instructions: Place the resistance band above your knee. Lay down with your knees pointed forward and bent at a 90 degree angle. Lift your top leg, make sure you don't raise your ankle higher than your knee. Hold it for 5 second. 2 sets of 10 for each leg. Piece of cake! So I thought. I couldn't even hold it for 2 seconds by repeat #6. In the first set. Wake up glutes!
