My First 6K Run

I have never been a runner my whole life. I hated running. My knees and calf muscles hurt everytime I ran. But that has changed!

Even since I started doing the Beachbody workouts, I felt that I could take on anything. Everytime after the workout, I felt this energy inside me that could power me for another workout session or for a run. Went for a run, I did. I started running for 15 minutes at a 5mph pace to running 30 minutes at a 6mph pace and eventually to 45 minutes 6mph pace. Again, I’m no runner and I don’t intend to run more often that I have been. I am just glad that I could go for a run whenever I want to.

A couple of weeks ago when I was still vacationing in Malaysia, I participated in a “Run for Peace” event organized by Soka Gakkai Malaysia (SGM). There were about 50,000 people participated in this event which was held pretty much simultaneously in all 13 states. I joined 6,000 others, including my dad and younger brother, in the state of Johor.

The run was scheduled to start at 8am but we arrived at the venue at 6:30am. When we arrived there were already a bunch of people scattered throughout the area. All of us wore a pink shirt. It was very easy to spot the runners 🙂

The run was quite a big deal in Malaysia and the Chief Minister of Johor sent a representative to open the ceremony (he should’ve attended himself). After the opening ceremony, all of us did a quick warm-up. This “warm-up” picture was taken in another state where 15,000 people attended. I didn’t take one myself so I’m borrowing it just to show you the scale of the event.

It was a non-competitive run. Meaning you don’t get prizes for beating others LOL. There were still some hardcore runners keeping their own time. When the bull horn sounded, some of them serious runner rushed out of the gate. Whereas, my dad, brother and I got tangled in the rest of the crowd.

There were so many people that it took me more than 15 minutes to get out of the crowd to gain some momentum.

I finished the run in about 50 minutes. A 6K run equals to about 3.75 miles so the average speed is less than my 6mph training pace. Despite the slow speed, I was still very happy with my accomplishment and that I was able to run for a cause 😉

The reward? Well, since this wasn’t a competitive run (and not that I would win the it, otherwise), each of us got a goodie bag from the organizer. In the bag there were 2 bread with butter and cream fillings, a wrist band, an apple, some snack bars, a fruit snack, and a pen (LOL).

Will I be running more in the future? You bet! But I probably won’t be going for a full marathon anytime soon.