sukaRUN.. perkongsian dari Madridgirls: Loly

Seperti yang dijanjikan dalam last entri (pengalaman sukaRUN keliling Madrid Marathon), harini aku nak kongsikan satu-satu perasaan dari my running buddies. Salah seorangnya iron lady Lolyta Poniman, seorang yang memang gila adventurous, boleh buat apa saja! Bukan maksud aku setakat berlari atau bersukan (termasuk yoga handstand!) jer, tapi macam-macam lagi, dari sedaring terjun kapal terbang hinggalah ke buat kek yang super cantik dan sedap, you name it you’ve got it gitu.

(dari kiri: Hani, Nanie, Yeen, Loly)

Bagi dia, berlari tu dia belum lagi sampai tahap enjoy gila, tapi dia still suka nak teruskan sebab syok dengan the-after-feeling effect. Sebab tu dari km, naik 5km, naik 10km naik 21km dan sekarang dah berjaya habiskan 42.195km! Hebat tak hebat kan? Jom kita baca apa perasaan dia, dan macam mana pengalaman pahit manis nak mengharung larian marathon di Madrid haritu.. ini entri bahasa omputeh, faham-faham sendiri la ek 😀

Loly menulis;

Today last week I was in Madrid running my first ever Full Marathon! I remember saying 2 years ago that I will NEVER (yes, with capital letters!) run a Full Marathon because, are you kidding me? 42.195 km is just too bloody far! However this year Mohd Syafei Ahmad managed to convinced me to do it along with my 3 other running buddies, whom are also the reason why I had the guts to just go for it — I thought if I’m gonna run a full marathon i’d rather do it together with them.

I can tell you that running a marathon is not easy. The trainings were taxing and at one point really took a toll on me — I was constantly exhausted juggling kids, work and trainings that I got depressed, I swear I was beginning to hate it and sometimes even running feeling angry (my running buddies can attest to this).

And the race day itself — it wasnt just about the physical but the mental challenge. For someone who still dont find joy in running (yes, I dont enjoy running — I just love the post-run feeling), 42km is a big deal. I needed something monumental to keep me going and so decided to dedicate the run to my late aunties who passed away of cancer.

I was really nervous before the race, particularly because I had an unsettled bad ankle injury but I promised myself that I would take it easy. The first half of the race was smooth, thanks to the weekly half marathon trainings we did for 3 months prior to the race. It was at 25km that I started to get leg cramps and the pain on my right ankle started to intensify. And the weather … Oh! The weather definitely didnt help — it was cold and the rain poured heavier after every km. I was drenched, my fingers were numb and I couldnt feel my toes. I was at war with myself from then on, trying to convince myself to keep going.

The last 5km was the hardest. My ankle was screaming “STOP!” and leg cramps came more frequent at this point. As if he knew I was in agony, at 37km i received a call from Pie telling me not to quit and to just keep going. I was feeling really angry at the time — told myself this would be my first and last full marathon! There will be no more after this. NO MORE!!

At 39km Pie called me again to remind me why I ran this race. He reminded me the pain that I was feeling is nothing in comparison to what my late aunties had to endure while they were battling cancer. Alhamdulillah I finished the race within the cut off time despite all the drama. I was so happy when I saw Yeen after I crossed the finish line — we both hugged and cried cos it felt so emotional; we did it!! We bloody ran the 42.195 km !

And guess what? I know I said earlier I will never run another full marathon, but now that the pain has subside I am already itchy to run another. My boss said I’m in need of a serious intervention and that he is not going to approve anymore of my leaves if I’m going to do more of these Running a marathon is really addictive, I must say. Its painful but the satisfaction you get after crossing the finish line, I cant explain it, its something you have to experience yourself. When I first started running I thought 10km was my limit but hey, I ran 42km and I’m still alive! And now that I’ve done 42km …. I am itchy to do an ultramarathon because I’m curious to see what my body is capable of. I’m still trying to convince my running buddies to do it with me next year but no luck so far. Thats okay though cos I BELIEVE with every single fibre of my body, that they WILL do it with me, right Yeen Maszleen,Noraini Aliash, Akmal Hani Ahmad Kamal, Adderiyati Meor Adam?

My heartfelt gratitute goes to all ‪#‎PelariStyloYo‬ members for your constant support and words of encouragement. You believed in me/us even when I didnt! You inspire me like no other and I am blessed to not only have you as my support system, friends, running budddies but most importantly, my family.

You rock my world!