A male runner walked up to me to pick up his bib in the 2000-range. I was staring at his face as I handed his ID back to him along with his number.

Seeing that he had a hispanic name and spoke with a slight accent, I decided that he would know who I was going to talk about.

I grew up in Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore.

When I went to school, I had friends from humble backgrounds among my schoolmates. I did not come from a family of means either. Today, my friends who went to school with me are well educated and make a meaningful living as engineers, teachers, accountants, doctors, civil servants and homemakers. Many are parents raising their own kids.

Looking at where my friends are today, I feel special to be of this generation who got to improve our lives through our access to a good education. Yet, this group of people with whom I grew up is still down to earth enough to not take things for granted and harbor a sense of entitlement.

The schools we attended were so-called “Chinese schools” in a previous era. While we studied all our subjects in English, my class also studied Chinese and Chinese Literature. Today, when I meet up with my high school friends, we still converse primarily in Mandarin. If, however, the social or professional setting calls for it, we will readily switch to an English conversation. We are as comfortable speaking in either tongue.

The education system that was put in place in the early decades of Singapore’s independence by Mr. Lee and his colleagues shaped my years as a child and teenager. Did I wish for something different? Maybe. But that was the only option opened to me. Life doesn’t spoil us for choice all the time. My education gave me a foundation to build upon as I acquired more experience and means later in life.

My favorite story about Mr. Lee is the one on his meeting with Deng Xiaoping in Singapore in 1978. I first heard it on a video interview Mr. Lee did and later read about it again in his memoirs. At that meeting, Deng congratulated Mr. Lee for having transformed Singapore into a modern city. Deng said that it would take a long time for the Chinese economy to recover from the tumultuous Cultural Revolution. Mr. Lee replied that the Singapore of that time was the result of the hard work of the Singaporean people, among whom were migrants from Southern China who came as coolies and laborers. He went on to tell Deng that China could achieve much more with the descendants of its scholars, mandarins and literati among her population.

That, I thought, was a very insightful remark. It was so not only because of the era during which it was made, but also because I believe Mr. Lee formed this opinion out of his understanding of China’s history and he saw a leader capable of transforming China in Deng Xiaoping. It was a real joy to read about his encounter with Deng. One can tell from Mr. Lee’s writing that both men had tremendous respect and admiration for each other.

A great man has left us. He was someone whose life was part of the history of the country where I grew up. Respect, gratitude, sadness and even pride… There were a multitude of emotions that go beyond words.

Sir, I’m fortunate to have lived part of my life during your times.

It was a tough but good run today. Notes from today’s run:

1. Heat and humidity – Very important factor. The body could not be cooled quickly enough and every bit of effort exerted felt strenuous. Always remember to listen to the body.
2. Mid-foot strike – This was my first time running a race after I changed to mid-foot strike. However, I couldn’t maintain my mid-foot strike after 5 to 6 km and had to fall back on heel strike from time to time. Perhaps I didn’t train properly to engage the right muscles. I must find out how to.
3. Interval training – Only managed to do one session this time, on a synthetic track. During that session, I didn’t how to run fast using my new foot strike. I should give myself more time to learn it. Maybe try it out on a harder track first.
4. Breathing – During my evening training runs, I felt stronger taking long, deep breaths, breathing in over 3 strides and breathing out over the next 3. Couldn’t keep up with this rhythm today. Had to take shorter and more frequent breaths. It could be because of the heat and humidity. The body did not feel strong enough to carry myself forward.
5. Plantar fasciitis – Had this nagging problem for about 3 months. Other than that, my left foot and knee have also been feeling “weak” for a long while. Now that the race is over, it’s time to get more RICE.

I’m happy with my results today. I did not know how much the weather was going to affect me and I was just aiming for a sub-hour run. It turned out that I did my 2nd personal best time for a 10k.