Tomorrow I will run Auckland's premier road race for the 3rd time, the Auckland Marathon. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to train for the marathon, so this year I've settled to running just 21 km.
But the remarkable thing was that I only entered this event two weeks ago, considering that entries sold out nearly two months ago. There is a limit to the number of runners competing in this event, and each year the entries just sell out faster and faster. A colleague at work had to pull out, and I saw it as a chance for me to take part in this prestigious event before I leave NZ. How cool would it be to run over The Bridge one final time! I arranged to get his entry transferred under my name, and now I'm a registered runner.
With that, I only had two weeks to train, and the fact that I've never run more than 10 km since the start of the year made completing a half marathon a near impossibility. So for two weeks, I undertook a super-charged training regime. If you watched the Rocky series, you would have seen Rocky Balboa undergo insane training in preparation for a big boxing fight, e.g. running in the snow, doing squats with heavy weights, lifting huge barrels above his head, punching a dead carcass as a punching bag in an abattoir. Add the Rocky theme music with it, and you have one of the most inspirational scenes in film history.
And in doing my training, I felt a lot like Rocky getting ready for my big fight. The fast tempo runs, the mile repeats, the V02 sprints that left me reeling over in pain - all quality sessions that maximised my output in the least amount of time available.
When I filled out the entry form, I indicated that I would complete the half marathon in 2 hours. My personal best is 1:47:08, and when I started training I thought there was no hope of breaking that. But now that I've finished possibly the hardest training programme I've ever set myself, I dared to dream. Having survived that harsh programme, I believe I could get close to my personal best, and even set myself a new personal best. I know it's a slim chance, and even if I got 1:47:09, 1:50:00 or 2:00:00 tomorrow I would be happy to know that I still tried.
It's going to be a fun day tomorrow, no matter what time I get. I will take part in Auckland's premier road race again this year. I will get to run over The Bridge one more time. And I will try to run hard and finish strong.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
The Visa Has Landed
After around 6 months, I finally got a UK visa. A page on my passport has got the stamp of approval.
It was a long time coming. I applied under the HSMP category (because I'm a skilled migrant, of course), and at the time the rules and regulations were going through a big overhaul. Unfortunately I applied under the old rules for the HSMP category, meaning my application had to be processed by the British Home Office in the UK. They spent 5 LONG MONTHS processing applications that were lodged before mine (about 2 months worth of applications). Finally they reached my application, and in a matter of days, they gave me a letter stating that I was approved under the HSMP scheme.
Woohoo. I finally got a letter stating that I can apply for entry clearance. So I submitted another application for entry clearance, this time to the British High Commission in Wellington, New Zealand. Fortunately, their application turnover was much faster than British Home Office. In just 3 weeks, I got my passport back, complete with a page sized stamp.
At last I have a visa. I can get a job (well I already have one), I can get paid in pounds, I can stay in the UK for 3 years. But the wait was more than I could bear. The new HSMP scheme, named Tier-1, was implemented shortly after I lodged my HSMP application. The advantage of Tier-1 is that applications do not need to be processed in the UK, and there is only one application step, as opposed to the two-stage application procedure I was required to undertake.
Talk about unfair! Especially when a few people I know applied for UK visas under the new Tier-1 scheme, and got their visas in a matter of weeks. Oh, the injustice of it all!
It was a long time coming. I applied under the HSMP category (because I'm a skilled migrant, of course), and at the time the rules and regulations were going through a big overhaul. Unfortunately I applied under the old rules for the HSMP category, meaning my application had to be processed by the British Home Office in the UK. They spent 5 LONG MONTHS processing applications that were lodged before mine (about 2 months worth of applications). Finally they reached my application, and in a matter of days, they gave me a letter stating that I was approved under the HSMP scheme.
Woohoo. I finally got a letter stating that I can apply for entry clearance. So I submitted another application for entry clearance, this time to the British High Commission in Wellington, New Zealand. Fortunately, their application turnover was much faster than British Home Office. In just 3 weeks, I got my passport back, complete with a page sized stamp.
At last I have a visa. I can get a job (well I already have one), I can get paid in pounds, I can stay in the UK for 3 years. But the wait was more than I could bear. The new HSMP scheme, named Tier-1, was implemented shortly after I lodged my HSMP application. The advantage of Tier-1 is that applications do not need to be processed in the UK, and there is only one application step, as opposed to the two-stage application procedure I was required to undertake.
Talk about unfair! Especially when a few people I know applied for UK visas under the new Tier-1 scheme, and got their visas in a matter of weeks. Oh, the injustice of it all!
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