On Saturday afternoon, after much persuasion, I finally tore myself away from the laptop and put on my jogging shoes. By the time I got into the car, it started to rain.
"See - the heavens are shedding tears of joy that you are finally coming out to behold God's creation," was my dear hubby's witty reply.
"Let's just take a drive around," was my response.
"We will run with umbrellas," was his retort :-(.
By the time we reached Botanical Gardens, there were so many empty parking spaces. Happily, Nicholas took out the umbrellas and most grudgingly I grumbled when we walked into the once-upon-a-time lovely gardens.
I forgot to warm up as I was just too busy mumbling and grumbling to myself (son and hubby are deaf to my complaints by now) and by the time I walked up the slope, I felt as though my calves were about to explode. In my mind, I could see the veins swelling in protest and kaboom the veins highly distended and then exploding with the blood squirting everywhere in mini crimson fountains.
Nothing like that happened.
Instead, an elderly man and his wife were about to overtake me.
Pride took over and gave me this new found stamina and forward march as I lunged forward. By the time I walked past the reservoir area, I jogged with Nicholas leading the way. When I reached the gate, I begged hubby to take me home as I was simply too exhausted.
Lesson learnt : I really had to get into shape.
Yesterday, hubby took us to Youth Park and we hiked up Strawberry Hill.
When we reached the foot of the hill at Youth Park, I saw an ambulance waiting there and a crowd had gathered around the vehicle and the RELA members who were obviously having a meeting. A lady told me that an elderly lady had fallen down somewhere at Number 5. Apparently, she fell headlong onto the rocks, was bleeding profusely, had broken her wrist and the bone was sticking out from her hand.
I felt my legs turn to jelly and my whole body turned cold. I have had TWO hiking accidents. The first one was in 1988 when we went hiking at the hills near Chee Seng Gardens. It was completely undeveloped then and we had gone with Adrian and Andy. Each of the guys was carrying a parang to clear the undergrowth before we walked through. The gradient was extremely steep and being the only woman in the team was a serious handicap. It was a difficult hike and we discovered two caves that had very strong animal scent (presumably wild boars) and tracks. Frightening indeed! When going down, I slipped and rolled down the hill. Thank goodness I was not injured then.
The second accident I had was in December 2001 at the hills near my home. I slipped on a wet leaf and fell on my derriere, hitting the edge of a step and injuring my spine. My condition worsened till I was hospitalised and could not walk for three months because of a slipped disk. The road to recovery took two years.
And so, you can imagine how I was filled with extreme fear and walked with trepidation.
In the past, I took 18 to 20 minutes to hike to the top. Yesterday I took 40 minutes!!! Along the way, we came across the rescue team. The lady was on a stretcher and her whole body was covered with blood. Her face could not be seen except for her nose and mouth. Her hair was also coated with blood and her hands and legs were bandaged. A group of people took turns to carry her to the bottom of the hill and sent her to the hospital.
This is the part which I hate most...the steep climb to the top. There is an easier route but hubby and Nick always want to go by this way...
And he took a pic of me panting away as I made my way to the top. At least I did not hold on to the ropes like the two guys behind me :-) haha...When we reached No. 3, an old man was selling retractable hiking staffs that can be adjusted to terrain and our height. It has a wrist loop, firm grip, steel spike for rocky trails, a rubber tip for walking on roads and a small cap about two inches from the spike that can help us to have a more secure footing in muddy areas. Hubby bought one for me and initially I was so happy but later, I realized that the purchase gave him the license to go ahead with Nick leaving me behind :-). There were many hikers there who were accompanied by their pets - from poodles to shih-tzus to mongrels...My boy was fascinated with the cliff and wanted to sletch and paint the scenery the next time we came up...
I cannot imagine how I used to go up the hill almost effortlessly almost every weekend - either to this spot or to Bukit Jambul or Green Hill near Jalan Tembaga and another spot near Kek Lok Si. For sure, we are going to keep fit, stay healthy and shapely :-) lest I look like some pear-shaped blob of protoplasm walking around!!! This evening, I will be going for my line dancing class and after I put up this post, I am going on the treadmill to walk briskly for 15 minutes before I do my weights. Serves me right for eating chocolates so religiously for the past few months!!!
Have a nice day, dear reader. Hope you will have the time to do some exercise...Take care and God bless you.
Anonymous Next time bring an iPod or MP3 with you. You'll be so tuned in by the music that you wouldn't notice how far you have climbed.