Wearing Yellow For A Wet Day

This morning, despite a persistent rain, I joined about 7,600 runners in a run-for-a-cause: Yellow Ribbon Run. For a $2 donation, I wore yellow show-laces with the words ‘Yellow Ribbon Project’.

I did not register a PB this morning, but I was pleased that my legs held and I could take the slopes with more ferocity than last year. I was glad to bump into old friends and fellow Ironman finishers, Johnson Jacob and Adrian Wong; Adrian posted a 43-minute run with minimal training. He has youth and talent on his side, which I am envious of (mainly, his talent). Johnson transitioned from Ironman triathlons into ultra-running and has run several ultra-marathons including two grueling desert runs; he is setting a tough pace for aging gracefully into one’s 40’s. He looked happy running with his wife, son, daughter and brother.

The challenging part of the run was mainly the rolling profile, and running in wet shoes. I was somewhat embarrassed to bare my feet for the masseur at the athlete’s massage tent.

Upon recovering from a demanding pace (for me, at least) at the end-point, I joined fellow magicians of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) Ring 115, Singapore. Led by a public officer, Jimmy Lee the band of 11 magicians entertained the recovering runners with close-up magical illusions and balloon sculpting. As my civilian clothes arrived later, and with a long queue for collection I did not perform. Instead, I kept fellow members company by being part of the audience and giving positive feedback to their presentations. Both audience and magicians kept me suitably entertained. A large group of giggling teenagers were so captivated by the magic that our magicians took turns to impress them – and they did.

The sun made an appearance when we departed. It was a warm start to a wet but good day. Next week: Army Half-Marathon. Let’s see how that pans out in terms of race preparation.

Photo-credits: Jimmy Lee