Before joining SVTECH, I had a very strong belief that I was not suited for running. This was because I had tried running before and gave up after only 3 – 4 sessions because I couldn’t breathe, even though I only ran one lap around the yard of about 600m.
But then I still “took my first steps” to SVTECH’s FIT Club, was it because of a love for running? I’m not sure. Perhaps it was because I felt happy running with my colleagues. However, the 15km/week challenge still made me struggle terribly in the early days.
The club has a rule that anyone who does not complete the challenge must “contribute” to the common fund. So I contributed quite a bit to “fattening up” the club’s “piggy bank.” At this point, I again had a belief that I COULD NOT RUN LONGER THAN 10KM..
And then, from an invitation: “Want to run a 21km race? Just try it, what do you have to lose?”, accompanied by an encouraging word: “You have yoga to ‘protect your body’ already, you will be able to run” and BOOM… I registered for an official race!
The encouragement along with those “keywords” pulled back the desires I had “intentionally” forgotten for a long time, simply because of a lack of self-belief: When I used to look at seniors participating in running races and receiving medals, I admired them immensely. I wished for something that seemed like it would never come true: “In my life, I must definitely experience the feeling of running a race once to see what it’s like.“
So I started practicing running with Coach Nam. The fixed schedule was after work on Monday – Wednesday – Friday. From running 3 – 5 km continuously at a “snail’s pace” and being unable to breathe, the numbers gradually increased every week.
But the hardest thing when practicing running is not those numbers, but maintaining a regular running schedule according to a fixed frame. So I used “persistence” to make up for “speed.” Regardless of the weather, including rain or summer afternoons with temperatures of 38 – 40 degrees, I still “rolled out” to Cau Giay Park near the company or Hoa Binh Park or An Binh Lake near the “Chairman’s” house to complete the lessons on schedule. The teacher and student traveled back and forth to make it as convenient as possible.
There were many, many running sessions called “struggling runs” – struggling to overcome my own limits. Thanks to that, I could see how much I had changed: From running 7 km straight and feeling “lightheaded counting stars,” to running 12 km straight, then long run sessions of 14, 16 km, and the fulfilling end with the long run session conquering the hardest milestone – 18 km before the official race, with the Chairman himself acting as the pacer and the kind brothers in the HM group escorting and encouraging me.
The “combat” day finally arrived. I joined my teammates in a running race with a scale of up to 11,000 athletes, and my heart couldn’t help but tremble. Despite practicing hard, I had only been in the club for 4 or 5 months after all, so I didn’t have too high expectations for a medal. But of course, I would still try my best to reach my long-held dream.
The signal gun fired, we entered the track… 7 km, 12 km… 18 km… then… I ran and ran, the feelings of the training sessions with Coach Nam flooded back… And 21 km completed. I burst with happiness when I touched the first medal of my life, my very own medal.
Participating in running activities organized by FIT or external races over the past time, along with the seniors and juniors in the club, has ignited a love for RUNNING in me. Accompanying each other on every running route are the most wonderful happy moments and memories that we always cherish.
And that is the story of the “21 km-long girl” at SVTECH – which is me. The important thing after conquering that milestone is that I realized when running, not only does my body become healthier and the bond with colleagues become stronger, but above all, it is the time when my mind experiences “happy emptiness.” I no longer have worries amidst the bustling and dusty life. I believe you will also have an experience like mine if you are truly persistent with this very interesting sport.
Ha Bui
HR Generalist (L&D) – Hanoi Office
