[serial] without codoon I measure distance with tape measure

Editor's Note:The protagonist of this story felt he was living an uneventful and ordinary life before the age of 30, heading towards the end of his life along this path. However, an accidental decision in September 2012 changed the trajectory of his life. This article is the third chapter of his memoir series...

The speaker is unintentional, the listener feels ashamed. A splash of cold water is just right.

In the previous chapter, I talked about enjoying the praise from all sides after signing up for the first Guangzhou Marathon. But this time, I didn't just talk; I started preparing for the race in action.

With more than a month left before the opening, the plan was to run every day. I started running on the track of the neighboring Zhongkai Agricultural Technical College, and later began running along the Pearl River, starting from the Grand Marshal's Mansion Pier, running along the riverside greenway, using several cross-river bridges as landmarks. I marked different time points on the calendar, and when I reached those points, I would increase the distance accordingly. As the race approached, I even planned to scout the race site. I was serious about this first time.

At the beginning, the distance didn't increase according to the plan. I ran from Jiangwan Bridge to Jiefang Bridge and back, a distance later measured to be 3 kilometers round trip. Here, I must mention my female colleague Jenny, who played an important role in my running career, simply because of one sentence she said. One morning, we were talking about my daily running preparation for the marathon. I said my current running distance was two to three kilometers, 15 minutes. Jenny, a very straightforward person, exclaimed loudly, 'What? Only two to three kilometers? My cousin runs at least 5 kilometers every time!' Accustomed to receiving flowers and applause at that time, the sudden ridicule made me immediately speechless and stunned. Jenny, who has never been into sports, probably doesn't remember this incident now, but I must thank her! Compared to flowers, sports sometimes need ridicule more, as it stimulates us to accept new challenges.

I started running laps on the track to break through, beginning with the lofty 5 kilometers Jenny mentioned, 12.5 laps. I ran at the most comfortable speed until everyone else on the track had left. No problem, challenge succeeded, it took about 28 minutes. At the finish line, I raised my arms to celebrate another breakthrough! After that, 5 kilometers became a regular morning exercise, and then I gradually transitioned to 10 kilometers, a little over an hour.

Running on different types of tracks has different pleasures. By the riverside, you can enjoy the river view; on the track, you get safety with few unexpected incidents. In the morning, you can look at the sky, listen to birds singing, and think quietly while half-closing your eyes, breathing deeply, and listening to the sounds of nature. Is running alone boring? On the contrary, I enjoy the feeling of being alone, completely living in my own world.

A rubber ruler measures things, two iron legs tread north and south.

To solve this problem, I used Baidu Maps to measure the distance between two points. Because it involved the scale, I used a rubber ruler to measure the computer screen in centimeters and then converted it to approximate distances. Looking back now, it seems so primitive. At that time, I had no running friends, didn't know what Codoon Sports was, and was learning everything on my own, step by step.

Using Baidu Maps, I found the distances of the routes I wanted to run, knowing the distances between several landmark bridges on Binjiang Road. I started running from Jiangwan Bridge to Renmin Bridge and back, a distance of about 7.3 kilometers. The next step was to achieve my first 10 kilometers on the road.

On a Saturday morning in October, after an early breakfast and drinking glucose, I asked my wife to bring a bottle of glucose saline to the Grand Marshal's Mansion Pier at the approximate time. I started my first complete 10-kilometer road run from the Grand Marshal's Mansion Pier, heading east to Guangzhou Bridge and back, then past the starting point to Haizhu Bridge and back again, completing the 'feat' of 10 kilometers. This was another new attempt, meaning I had passed the 10-kilometer simulation test and could confidently complete this distance.

At that time, I didn't know that if I continued 1 kilometer past Guangzhou Bridge, I would reach Canton Tower, making the half-distance exactly 5 kilometers, eliminating the need for two turnarounds to run 10 kilometers. This route has now become my regular morning run.



University Town Test Race: Gaining Experience

On the day before the test race, Saturday, November 3rd, I attended a marathon training session organized by the sponsor Amway. There, I measured my lung capacity, which was still over 5,000, maintaining the excellent level since my school days, making me happy for a while.

On Sunday, November 4th, the organizing committee held a marathon test race at University Town. My wife accompanied me. Speaking of my running activities, although my wife didn't run much before, she is always part of the conversation.

The race was voluntary. By then, I felt my wings had grown strong, and 10 kilometers was no problem. I eagerly awaited the race and wanted to participate in any warm-up events.

During the first 5-kilometer lap, I passed the starting point and was pleasantly surprised to see my wife standing in the crowd. She wasn't just playing with her phone but was watching the race. In the few seconds as I passed the starting point and continued the second lap, we noticed each other. She shouted 'Go for it!' and took precious race photos of me, making me feel goosebumps all over.

This 10-kilometer inner loop gave me enough experience. Before this, I had never run on slopes. Here, there were continuous ups and downs, with no flat road to catch my breath. My breathing was much faster than usual, and I could say I endured through the two laps, but the satisfaction after finishing was also very strong.

I realized that after starting to exercise in 2012, I developed a trait: whenever I encountered difficulties during exercise, the impression would be particularly deep. I would immediately find ways to overcome them afterward, without shrinking back. This trait helped me overcome many challenges later on.

I now recall a small detail. When I was tired during the run, to boost my spirit and create some 'intimidation' for my opponents, I deliberately amplified my breathing. At that time, I was quite proud of this so-called tactic, thinking I had many ideas. Now, I find this behavior annoying. I love enjoying the tranquility while running. If there were someone around me breathing heavily or with particularly heavy footsteps, I would find it very annoying and try to get rid of them quickly.

On the afternoon of November 11th, at Tianhe Sports Center, the sponsor organized a marathon training camp. Besides practicing pace running and stretching exercises, and earning a sponsor's shirt, the most important gain was meeting a group of people,thisgroup of people played a crucial role in the continuation of my running career.

(To be continued... This article is originally created by a Codoon user. For reprints, please contact the Codoon editor.)