One of my “wildest” decision this year is to attend a half-marathon that happened a few months back. I wasn’t even well-prepared for the run though, it all started so randomly, out of nowhere, a thought of running a marathon came across my mind. To be clear, I am a totally noob/newbie/whatever you would call it. I have zero knowledge regarding running, and running is never my strong suit either, plus I have never run any long runs before. I looked at the calendar and I had roughly about 2 months time to prepare for the half-marathon, I figured well, I am not that old and I should be fine right, right? So I started running in the beginning of March 2025, my body condition was pretty alright at that time, except I was having quite some allergy reaction during the end of April 2025. The marathon date was May 4th, 2025. Looking back, the way I trained for marathon was quite intense, imagine started by running 5k, then double up to 10k, and all the way to 18k (my highest training result) in few weeks time. Did I mention I ran all by myself, no coach and no running buddies? It was quite a wild ride.
So on the marathon day, I got up early and got there before the event started. I felt quite good and excited, the morning was pretty chill, the crowd was pretty lively too. I waited for my round and began running with fellow runners. My stamina was pretty stable for the first few kilometers, but then my legs started breaking down and I felt some numbs and pains on my legs. To remediate, I started slowing down a bit until the numb and pain feeling went away. I kept myself together and pushed myself all the way to the finishing line, and I am so proud that I finished my first actual half-marathon in about 2 hours 45 minutes! My first and my best half-marathon PR!
So after the event, of course my whole legs were pretty sore and also very unfortunately, I had been suffered by the infamous IT band syndrome, where you felt pretty tight and sore (also pain) on the side of your knee cap. I had to stay at home and rest for a few weeks. Flashed back, I should have iced my knee earlier to reduce inflammation, and maybe consult therapeutic doctor for quicker recovery. Up to this day, I still felt I wasn’t fully recovered from the IT band syndrome, and I wasn’t dare to run few more kilometers which might trigger some old pains.
I really wanted to make running my lifestyle. I really get the fun and excitement of running, but my legs were not the best kind for running. My doctor told me maybe I wasn’t made for running, which got me a little upset to be honest. But heck, who cares what people said, I should be the one who decides what I am capable of. For now, I will make running my lifestyle and I am going to stick with it. I have also registered another half-marathon in this December 2025. Compared to last time, I have a solid 3 months time to prepare for the half-marathon, and I have learned much more about running since then. This time, I am more aware of my body potentials, know how to avoid getting hurt, and also know how to run faster for longer. I will not back down easily, and I will make sure that running will be my best investment in 2025.
Let’s fucking go!!!!!!