22 seconds.
Somewhere between what I gave and what I dreamed, there’s the silence where I learn.
The limbo between almost and enough.
And in that space… time slows down.
Two days before the Milo Marathon, I found out the gun start would be at 3:00 a.m. not the usual 4:30 or 5:00 I was used to after running Milo races for almost a decade. That detail, small as it seems, threw me off. I tried to stay calm, warm up properly, and trust my training. But deep down, I knew I was already playing catch-up with sleep and nutrition, two things I’ve learned, especially as I get older, you can never ignore.
At the start line, I felt that mix of nerves and focus. The plan was simple: first 3 km at 6:00/km, climb steadily up to the turnaround with control, then open up the legs on the downhill. And for the most part, I did, hitting consistent splits, running smooth, even enjoying the rhythm of it all. On the return, I pushed downhills around 4:50/km, then closing the final stretch at 5:30/km. It was measured, technical, and deliberate.
“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.”
Theophrastus
When I crossed the line and saw 2:00:22, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Twenty-two seconds.
Just shy of sub-2. That 22 seconds somehow summed up the story, not failure, just data. Another iteration in the long process of becoming better.
“It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.”
Later, I reflected: this wasn’t just about missing a time goal. It was about alignment, how training, recovery, and mindset all sync, just like the parameters of an AI model. You can’t force output without refining input. Every detail matters, from sleep to hydration to the people who surround you.
It was fun sharing the road again with familiar faces: Metro Run Club, Dead Toenails Running, my training buddies Ge, Chel, Tin, Stacy, and friends from Team Hawhaw, Bon, and TR. I even joked mid-race seeing the same “patients”, all of us runners chasing our own versions of improvement.
“It’s not failure. It’s feedback. Every race, even by 22 seconds, brings me closer to mastery.”
Like in AI, I’m still training the model, tweaking, learning, evolving. This wasn’t the finish line. It was just another dataset for the next breakthrough.
PS
2more weeks until Forty For Maya.
See you at the starting line.
Hoping everything aligns on the 26th of Oct.
Rap
OGRap 
3:00AM is much too early for me… 22 seconds… I can’t imagine how that must have felt like… But it’s good that you have a positive outlook on the result of this race. Keep running!
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Haha yes, that 3:00AM gun start really threw me off! Those 22 seconds stung a bit at first, but I realized it’s all part of the process, every second teaches something. Thank you for the support! On to the next run! 🏃♂️💪
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