When I started running less than 2 years ago (thanks to pandemic), I never aspire to be a marathoner. The thought of enduring >5 hours running scares the hell out of me.

But as I gained pace and lowered my HR rate, I increased my distance. 3, 5, 10, and then 15K. My longest run was 16K.

This morning I pushed my self for Half Marathon distance. Gosh, it was a lot harder than I thought.

Controlling the pace from the beginning to preserve energy, I suffered a lot in the last 5K of run. Barely caught my breath and felt a bit of cramp. The hard rain in Jakarta didn’t help either, as my sock and shoes were drenched. The legs felt so heavy. The HR maxed out. I had to walk few times to get it back to the safe zone.

But in the end, I completed the HM, albeit a lot slower than I thought. But nevertheless, it’s my longest run to date. And posted my first time for HM. So on that note, mission accomplished.

So, if you ask me today whether I will push for completing a marathon, I would say “no, thanks”

But hey, never say never ☺️