Sunday 27th October 2019 @9:00am
On Sunday 27th October 2019, John and I did the Annual Stroud Half Marathon. It was a perfect weather to run (dry, sunny and cold considered the torrential rain the day before and the day before) and the course is the flattest Half Marathon I’ve ever done. Plus, it was the first day the clock moved an hour back so we all had an extra hour of sleep. Sounds really perfect to do a good time in this race, right?! But unfortunately, my fitness level didn’t match the weather, the course conditions and the favourable clock change. My total and utter failure of fitness for the past few months from very lay back July and August to holiday in Hong Kong and China in September has taken it’s toll. There is a combination of factors contributing to my unfitness. First of all, I started my new job at Raytheon in July. I am earning more money than Capita but busier in the new job to help set up the team. Then I was planning my holiday to Hong Kong. Before going to Hong Kong, I only occasionally checked the news about the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill (ELAB) movement in which the protests started in June. During my trip in Hong Kong, I got to know more about the reason behind why 2 million Hong Kong people went out to the street to protest against the government to withdraw the bill and to maintain the “one-country-two-systems” until 2047 (there are still 28 years left before the expiry of the Sino-British Agreement on the Basic Law). I witnessed many protests when in Hong Kong. After coming back to London, I continued to follow the news about the protests. The only down time I have is in the evening before I go to bed. I was looking up the pro-democracy movement on YouTube and Twitter for hours each night and I ended up only sleeping for 5 hours. I spent too much time following the Hong Kong protests instead of sleeping. With lack of sleep and lack of training, I only managed to finished in 2:11’54”. John Finished in 2:43’26”
For full results, please check:
http://www.chiptimingresults.co.uk/results.aspx?CId=61&RId=387&EId=1&dt=0
I really hope the Hong Kong government will honour the implementation of the Basic Law to maintain the “One-Country-Two-Systems” at least until 2047 and Hong Kong can return back to where it was – ie: a politically stable and economically prosperous city and the Asian Financial Centre.
