Rain Reigns; Can't Rein In The Rain

Saturday, 31 December 2005 Why should calendar dates matter, that we define life by weeks, days and months, years and life cycles? I was just glad to wake to another day of life, and vaguely guess what the rest of the day holds, let alone know what I might do in the evening of this day or the rest of the afternoon. Does knowing the future matter? By late afternoon, this last day of 2005, in what may be described as the most peaceful year (era?) of my life (or in another mind's eye, the most tumultous yet?), the weather seemed to wane but the last dripping of bright afternoon sun pre-supposes that there is a chance of yet another great day to run in the open. By 4.30 pm, I am out of my usually lethargic body and my happier self is afoot in a trot by Westlake Secondary School. I make good pace, and find myself very much in the best of moods. I pass the canoe lodge at MacRitchie Reservoir I think I recognise a friend sleepily lazing on a bench unawares I pass behind him. By this time, I decide to wish every jogging passer-by "Happy New Year". My first greeting meets a couple, and I get a hearty greeting a few surprised footsteps behind me, and I know that I have already done the unexpected. I mean, it is New Year's eve and we are sharing an activity outdoors. This must indicate a kindred spirit of sorts. You think. But I also get to meet a few others to trudge the same route coming from the opposite direction who seem too lost at words to return the same greeting. Perhaps, they did not understand me. Somewhere along the first two kilometres, the forest gets very silent, and then around the 2KM bend, the frogs all come alive and I am humoured by this. The overcast sky and drop in atmospheric pressure must have fooled them that it is already night, this smart mind of mine thinks. I jauntily laugh as I increase my pace. The cool air and overcast sky keeps the air fresh and keen, my body does not tire, and I feel the light breeze that comes from my quickened pace cool my skin and refreshen my kinetic spirit. Just past the 2.4KM mark, the drizzle begins with an onslaught that immediately made me certain this would be a great run, probably the best in my whole life... a simple man's backyard penny adventure, almost. The light over head is now just a grey blur, and my brand new Tag Heur sport sunglasses have nothing to polarise any more. The rain is now pouring, and transforming puddles into pools by footsteps I take. The leaves which were rustling just now are flapping in the petering rain, and the sound of the forest - once quiet before the storm - is drowned by the liquid madness. But I get entranced and now I am less worried but more excited... as just the thought of trail hikers being waylaid and hiding out in the cramped shelters seep into my mind. When I do run past the shelters in this mad rain, I feel some kinetic energy pulse through me, perhaps from knowing that these people must all think I am mad and just too absorbed to know better. That latter is true... and to be honest, it was my best pace in the post-triathlon race "era" for 2005. I run past the ranger station, smiling and energized, my body not feeling dehydrated or even dampened by the pouring rain. It seems like the weather is just fuelling my spirit and that is just energising my effort to keep the race and run, run, run, splashes and skids, and miss even spraining my right ankle when I slip. The rocky trail has turned into a gushing stream and disappeared beneath it. The trail is just splurting downstream after the ranger station towards Jelutong Tower, and if you know that route and the direction I am taking, it is sheer fun to run that stretch with wild rain turning trail to raging stream... My Salomon GCS Comp in now really proving how great the shoe really is... the grip, the aeration, the feel, the support and lift, the plough and the stride. The shoe was built for extreme conditons and it surely underperforms when it's used in any less wild situation than this...! I am like - wow, now I really dig the shoe - even when previously I have test-used it in other conditions and already believed it's potential... but now, you just know that for the outdoor and wet conditions, this works wildly great, man! So, I past a few more stranded trekkers, and they all seemed so surprised and shocked to see me run at the pace I am at... I am quietly surprised at what my body is doing as well, and I can bet that my heart rate never exceeded 159 bpm... In any case, the experience still had some real "hair-raising" surprises like when the lightning cracked overhead relentlessly and disturbingly near, too. When you are out in the open, as I quickly came to realise, the sky and anything which thunders overhead all seem strangely near. The high humidity in the dense wet air transport sound so effectively it makes every thunder sound closer... but when I tried to call out the seconds after the lightning and did not get pass "one", I found myself ducking and thinking, "Hey, if my hair starts to stand on end, I am going to dive to kiss the ground and don't care any more what I look like..." But I am drenched to the skin, and luckily, the Salomon XA Tech Tee and race tights are all doing a fine job of insulating me despite being soaked clean. Also, as I hit the Golf Trail, and pass the golfers in their shacks, I note their expressions of bewilderment and concern for my safety. I thought to myself if they would call me to safety and lend me a jacket to keep warm (?), but instead I hear myself calling out: "Happy new year, gentlemen!" and they all gaily reply back. That kept me warm for the next kilometre, you bet! Back into the MacRitchie trails in the last few KMs, and it was a breeze. No stitches or anxiety. At the 9KM mark, the rain breaks... like the eye of storm, and I look to the left to see the lake, the forest trees and sky in ethereal light and crystal clearness. The scenery is more like it apperaed out of a New Zealand postcard, temperature and all, then anything you might feel about Singapore if you have been stucked too long in an aircond office or stuffy flat. By the time I run to the end of the trail, the weather seems to have come to the end of its tantrums, and I feel powerful enough to continue back to Westlake and Toa Payoh North. But when I get into the Westlake school campus grounds, the rain starts to pound again. My thoughts go out to the small group of Malaysian student hikers speaking Cantonese who just got started on their trekking towards the Treetop Bridge inside the MacRitchie trails. Hahah! Well, it is all the adventure that outdoors in Singapore can offer - out fickle weather - to make up for the scarcity of geography and space! I get back home, soaked, and just wished my best pals were all awaiting me with absolut apeach vodka and the TV spluttering noise from the new year eve programming. But instead, it is not a fantasy, and no one has broken into my flat to surprise me. I get home, bathe, change, and within a few hours am downtown, lounging and wet again in a spa, to welcome the new year with fullness to get more physical in 2006. No prizes to guess my new year resolution, but I know better now, it will be sporting alone and for my own sake, too. With rain, who needs company!