broga hill at 4am on a saturday morning

you know you're in good company when you find people who are willing to wake up at 4am to go climb a hill on a saturday morning. ('although our ring leader woke up late, you might want to add', says paul, who really should be studying his CFA textbook instead of peeking at my blog).

now i'm really not the hill climbing type, and less than a year ago, the thought of even bukit gasing made me groan. but after two 10ks and mount kinabalu, i've been discovering the thrill of challenging myself physically. starting out is the hardest when it comes to these things, because it seems like just about everyone is fitter than you, doesn't it?

but i'm glad to say my stamina has improved tremendously since i've started taking running more seriously and getting over the mental hurdle of 'i can't'.

there's been a few times in my life i've felt really fit - one when i was doing a story for i.m. magazine on Original Bootcamp, and joined for one month to get a firsthand experience, and the other was when i had the luxury of going to the uni gym within walking distance almost every day in the uk.

since starting a very hectic full-time job, it's been awhile since i've felt really healthy and strong. and i've been reminded in the last two weeks how much i've been missing by letting my workouts slide.

it seems too simple to be true, but i think i know what drives all great athletes and fit and healthy people. they torture themselves, drag themselves out of bed at ungodly hours of the morning, challenge themselves, push themselves... because they know that the pain and the resistance will make them stronger.

they know that if your body feels strong then it's a lot easier for your mind and your will to feel strong. and that if you can discipline your body and train it towards a goal then you can also discipline your actions and your thoughts and train them towards attaining your targets.

that said, it's always easier to push yourself and get stronger when you're surrounded by friends and company who are equally dedicated to doing the same. i remember reading an african proverb that goes: 'if you want to go fast, go alone. if you want to go far, go together.' 

and far / high is generally where i want to go, in life and in random things like climbing rocks. 

i made it a point to climb as many climbable rocks i could on the way up and down. this was one of the more challenging ones - which i needed the rock climbing sifu's help for.

only one of us could stand on the top at a time (it was a very sharp peak!), so here's what chi ming was doing while i was getting a shot on the top:

(if you can't figure it out he was trying to hide from the camera while clinging to the side of the rock. i don't know how he does it - he's like spiderman and has sticky webs coming out of his fingers.)

and speaking of getting to a destination, here's a quote i really like:

and another one:

as you can tell, this is a group that loves to pose. chi ming, especially, who's good at pulling faces...

...and posing like a frog. 

...and jumping really high.

jason is a kungfu master...

 ...who apparently morphs into a turtle:

and then there are the rest of us - emily, sue lynn, paul, and myself - who are slightly more sane.

thanks everyone for being such great company and waking up at 4am to climb!

broga conquered
05.05.12
broga hill @ semenyih