Eindhoven Marathon

Gosh...It was the first time I participated in a run overseas...and I must admit, European races are DEFINITELY more expensive than the Asian ones. I guess Singapore's races are pretty cheap compared to here! Paid €21.50 for the half marathon (21km) and it was almost €1 for 1km ran! Gosh. In Singapore, it IS definitely cheaper (thinks AHM, SCSM)

Anyway...the race ended. Back home. Totally shagged. Weather was GREAT! Cool, not humid, and there was the sun because it was a 2pm race (compare that to SG??) Think ave temp is probably 22 deg or so. Occasional winds which really made my hands feel cold, which I am very adverse to.

Did not have much time to train prior and I had strained muscles in the right thigh prior to the race due to a training course I was undertaking in the school sports centre - called outdoors (think Army haha)

I would say that the "people" part of the race was absolutely excellent! Gosh. There were people cheering u everywhere along the 21km route!!! Some cheered, and some brought out their bbqs and had outdoor bbq there and then, watching the race. Others, brought out their sofas and sipped beer/wine and had a great time chatting whilst enjoying the race! On top of that, there are live bands playing from those huge container trucks (they served as stages), and there was ample water, energy drink resupply every 5km, and even oranges every 10km! These are things which u don't see in Singapore, I'll bet!

The glitch was that there was probably 15K people running the 21km race, and maybe even more for the 42km run! Gosh. It was slow to start, and when it ended, they ensured that everyone went through a certain route to get the 'freebies' - race medal, some advertisement material, energy drinks, water etc.

The bag holding area was the most interesting. Situated in an underground carpark (someone use the Esplanade carpark pls?), there were ample signs to direct u to the station to place ur bag, and there were plastic bags to store ur items, and hooks to hook them up on the mobile fences placed behind the counter. Very interesting. And being a relatively large carpark, there were a lot of space for people to change, benches were provided to allow people to sit down! Now that's what I call thoughtful organisation.

All in all, it was really an eye-opener to me. Though I completed it, it was not my fastest as I started off relatively slow and I had problems with my strained legs, but made it through nonetheless. Guess I need to train more huh? Timing was approx 2:10 I think...or lesser as it took me some time to reach the start point!

Some pictures from the event:

The start point!


Crowds...


The setup for the stage and other stalls for the marathon event.


The changing/locker area!


Runner's Medal!


Yay...me and my medal!


There's a person in the silver foil. Apparently dehydration and suffering from cold. I think.


There were more of these on the run!


The stage set up


Leaving the place...all shag!


Interesting race...but I gonna train up more!!! But first...I think I need a shoe upgrade. It's dying!!! And more badminton and outdoor activities to come!

Current Mood: Exhausted

Current Music: Hairspray Cast - You Can't Stop the Beat

Jogging!

Tried to jog in the cold weather (21°C!) and nearly lost my way. Haha. Made a turn too early, landed up on some unknown place towards Veldhoven, and I realised it because of the all-too-familiar railway track which I seemed to be on the wrong side of.

A jog of 28 minutes in the cold weather...quite tough and difficult for my lungs, I guess, since they are more used to the warmer and more humid air in which I breathe in. The air in Eindhoven is kinda polluted(?), dry and cold. Not to mention, a slight runny nose.

But I broke a sweat within my sweatsuit after about 10 minutes, so that's good

Tried to cook some apple soup like what my mum did, and it sorta succeeded, though I needed better pork (not knowing how to read it does not help!) and a better cooking pot too! That was lunch for me, with breakfast being milk and cereal!

And dang. I found another site which has a slightly cheaper flight BACK from Denmark. Sighs. I could've saved €33! Hmphs. Was looking at the hostels in Rome...thinking if I should go ahead with the trip myself...sighs.

Current Mood: Achy

Current Music: Li Sheng Jie - Wo Yi Wei

Wet & Muddy Morning Run

Woke up to a cold rainy day and attended my 3rd Mizuno Run today morning, but the state of organisation of the Mizuno Run was simply too pathetic to be mentioned here. (I'm betting that almost all running groups/forums are complaining about the state of disarray, lack of organisation and command & control this event had)

I was actually wondering whether to attend the run in the morning, stoning in front of my computer. It was raining heavily, and I was kinda sleepy. Tired, I dragged myself out of my house, took 59 and reached Tampines Poly in 30 mins (wow!). Actually, I had intended to take taxi due to the rain (and I was running late), but I couldn't find any taxis at all! (I'm not very lucky with taxis lor...) First time taking 59 and I was surprised to reach TP so early.

As it had stopped drizzling, I quickly made my way to TP, looking at the huge jam in front of TP due to cars dropping passengers who were going to run...It was seriously bad and I wondered why they did not allow the cars to enter TP to drop off the passengers.

Walking to the stadium was relatively easy, and as I neared the stadium I was stunned by the turn-out. It was really full and people were still streaming in! Gosh, I was wondering what is the total number of people at the event when the MC announced that there was over 8000 runners! I was like "WTF?!" as memories of the poor organisation and handling of previous Mizuno runs came to me. I was a little hesitant to place my bag into the baggage deposit truck also, when I noticed that there were only 2 pathetic trucks loading the horde of bags. What made matters worse were that they just dumped in the bags with no apparent system of tagging or marking out of the bags in the truck, which meant that the bags would be unloaded in a bulk!

Walked around the stadium to find the registration spot (yea...never mark out...no signs...WTH!) and saw Zhan Wei, his friend and Henry.

The queues for the toilets were also super long, and at the start of the run, I was super far from the starting line (or balloon) lor! Tsk. And barely 1km from the starting line, there was already a chokepoint. Gosh. The route gets worse on entering Bedok Reservoir, where the gravel path had formed puddles of water, and muddy paths greeted the runners. Spent most of the time jumping around and trying to squeeze past the slower runners.

Furthermore, I was told that the end point of the running event was at the reservoir instead of TP! Quite shocked at the last minute change. Managed to finish the run with a raw time of 53 minutes, but the time did not seem accurate given that I had practically walked from the start till Bedok Reservoir.

At the end of the run, I saw Lionel (Muscular) and went to collect the goodie bags with him. Having no signs, we walked up and down till we saw people holding those Mizuno bags, and asked for directions. And the queue(s) were super long! We were a queue, and were shocked to know that it was the queue for Fun Runners only! It's really bad to not have signs, but the command & control of the event was sorely lacking! We went to find the Competitive Goodie Bag queue, only to see 3 queues! OMG. We had to queue for half an hour for the goodie bags, and all we got was a shoe bag and a singlet. I guess the saving grace was the wonderful ORANGE singlet! Haha.

Walking around, I realised there were many more people I know who attended, like Heng Hong, Hwi Bee, Jonathan, Lionel, Qiu Rong, Sandip, Sarah, Yi Si, Zhiwen.

Went home with muddy shoes (heart pain!), caked calves and a smelly running kit. I'm seriously considering NOT joining future Mizuno races...getting from bad to worse.

Had an afternoon nap and met my cousin Cynthia to go out and get some of my clothes for the upcoming exchange - Boots and Socks. Intended to get my soft shell rain-proof/wind-proof jacket, but there was either last piece/no stock.

After spending some time walking around here's a note about the different stores I've went to:
- X-trekkers (Velocity) do sell decent equipment from brands like Mountain Designs (Australia) and Black Yak (Korean). The staff were pretty knowledgeable, but I found them slightly pushy in terms of selling their items. Got my boots and socks from them.

- Adventure Gear Post by BOAC (South Bridge Road) sells mainly China brands like Kingcamp. Again, the sales staff is pretty well-versed with his equipment, though it relates more to personal experiences.

- Adventure 21 (Chinatown) is a shop which deals with fairly mid to high ranged equipment from European brands like Mammut and Trezeta. Prices are kinda steep, cos of the brands.

- Campers' Corner (Capitol Building) is a little outlet tucked away in Capitol, along the main road. Sells via online also, and carries brands like Leki, Marmot and Arcteryx (all expensive brands! But I must admit, Arcteryx is worth the price)

- Outdoors by World Of Sports carries the Columbia and Hi-Tec brands. Columbia, for its rugged outdoor jackets, fleeces and boots. Hi-Tec, for the boots. Limited range though.

Current Mood: Sleepy

X-Physique!

We Came, We Saw, We Conquered...

Din expect to leave with so much stuff at the end of the race, in which there was minimal training and we were so busy with our stuff that we decided to just go for the experience (and thrill?) of adventure racing. X-Physique is like the entry-level or stepping stone for adventure racers and wannabes.

And it turned out pretty well for us, in the end that is. But the route to victory was quite unforeseen.

Nianjia met me at my house to head down to National Youth Park near Somerset, where the race was to be held. We reached Orchard super early and took our time, while waiting for Bing Ying and Cindy.

There were not many people there at the NYP and it was quite dead, with the Mixed Open wave having gone at 8am and should be back around 11 plus, it would be some time before the place got noisy and brimming with people again.

While we waited, we saw the other teams, the JC teams as well as the varsity teams, which were early for the event. The JC teams numbered about 15 in total, and there were multiple teams from each JC's ODAC (usually). Notable ones present were CJC (of course...), NJC, Innova and Meridian. Looks like a tough fight for the Challenge Shield this year.

The race started in the hot afternoon sun of 12 noon, and we were the third of many teams which started the race, which consisted of the Inter-Varsity (31) and JC (15) teams. The lead team was apparently a JC team, most likely CJC, while the 2nd team in front of us was from NTU. We were third, and maintained a steady pace behind the 2 teams. The rest were behind us, keeping pace.

As we went down from NYP to Marina (first stop), we 3 teams split up - the JC team went left towards SMU before the Fort Canning tunnel, the NTU team moved right in a bid to circle around the tunnel and go in through the Tanjong Pagar side. For us, we just went into the tunnel and ran in a single file against traffic. The rest of the teams apparently followed us, but we managed to shake them off as we crossed 2 junctions in the nick of time.

Our goal was to reach the Sheares bridge, head up the steps and go into Marina via the Sheares bridge side. That's along the path where people usually go to watch fireworks (yes i do!) and we managed to get into Marina, past a checkpoint which we'll go later, and towards the cycling station. We were first, apparently, and our hopes lifted.

The 3 rounds were rather torturous for us as 1)Cindy got a bike which cannot change gear, and 2) I changed bikes for Cindy but got a bike which apparently has its brake pads permanently 'glued' to the front wheel, making it as though you are riding with resistance. It was pretty bad, and Bing Ying changed with me to help me out. I was really slow, and I was thinking how the heck could I be so slow, get so much resistance, when I was on the lightest gears?!?

Apart from that, we got caught up by other groups and they managed to finish first, which resulted in us being second for the dash towards the next station, in which we had to do a river-crossing with ropes, to and fro. It was a wet affair and I swear I've drunk some of the most polluted water possibly! The water was quite dark, and since you are pulling yourself using the overhead rope, it was difficult to prevent yourself from getting water onto your face, nose and mouth.

After clearing the obstacle, we were in second place, and went on towards the kayaking area at Marina Promenade. However, while running I started to feel a thigh cramp coming up, so I stopped to do a brisk walk to prevent it from settling in. It worked, and the kayaking started.

This was one of the most horrendous kayaking I've ever done! The kayak was really unbelievably prone to major changes in direction! After paddling 7-8 strokes, me and Nianjia had to readjust our direction again cos we were doing zig-zagging! Gosh. When we finally finished, we were really wondering how we managed to get it all done. But we were in the lead! Wow!

After the kayaking component, there was this brief Red Bull advertisement and we were given some Red Bull (the silver/blue ones) to drink and try! Not bad, I felt...but it was not to be so as I felt the urge to burp but I couldn't do so while running...and the mouth was already super dry! Shucks. Plus the slight thigh strain, we ended up walking a bit in front of the Concourse en route to the DHL balloon in Bugis, where we played Pharaoh's Shift at the open field. It was a game where we had to move a (heavy) load from point A to B using rollers, and it was up to the Engineer-wannabes to do it! We managed to do well after some trial and error initially, and the last part of changing the direction of the load was pure brute force! I was already heck-caring and since the load was on rollers and we couldn't touch the plank, I just pulled the load and did a 180 deg turn on the rollers. It worked. Whew.

Next we made our way to the nearby Shaw Towers where we did abseiling. Luckily we managed to find another way up to level 6, and we quickly cleared the cargo net. By then another JC team had caught up, but we were still in the lead. The abseiling was rather fun! With gloves, it was easy to let go the ropes and let yourself 'fly' for a longer distance!

The last stretch back was met with a lot of vehicles which apparently were going for the IT Fair at Suntec. We managed to keep a steady pace and reached NYP. Nianjia and I saw these 2 organisers walking nonchalantly across the pathway, and they were shocked to see us coming back! It was quite funny, and suddenly the music there stopped and we were welcomed back by the emcee for coming back first. It was such a sweet feeling.

So as we walked around to rest and recover, the other teams trickled in, with the Innova JC team coming in right after us, and followed by a couple more JC teams, then a Varsity team, and some more JC teams. I was wondering if the JC teams were actually more fit than the Varsity teams. lol.

And we waited for roughly 1.5 hours before deciding to answer our hungry stomachs, and headed for the food court at Cineleisure. Sure looks weird in all the muddy tees! After waiting for about an hour or so for the prize presentations, the final result was announced...and...we're the winners of the Varsity Category! Woohoo! Mans...IT was THAT lucky. And the prizes this time round was really great. Gosh. Maybe I should list some here:

Swatch Watch
Cobian sandals
Teva Sandals (who needs?)
New Zealand Natural Ice-cream voucher for a take home tub (!!!!)
Millet Bag (w/ a lotta more stuff inside!)
Nivea Men products (loads of it...who uses them?)
And the list goes on...

I'm now feeling the 'heat' from the entire event. Gosh. Need some air-con...DESPERATELY. Ice cream sounds good, but it adds to the fat instead. Sighs.

Anyway, one last parting word before I leave you with some pictures (as always)...Nianjia said that he's gonna shave his head, while I'm going to leave long hair, IF we win the race. So...I'm just gonna see a shaven NJ soon... *laughs wickedly*

I can't believe we actually betted on that. lol

Before we set off...Bing Ying, Me, Cindy, Nian Jia!


A green worm


Finishers!


My shoes AFTER the race.


Whose fingers?


Us relaxing after the race


The holding area.


Holding the person in it is what this sign tells us to do.


Singer singing Snow Patrol's - Chasing Cars


Our medals!


The 'roll' of watches


A close-up of the medal


Part of the loot.


Me!


Final departing shot! :)


Current Mood: Happy

SCSM marks the end of another year of running

Oh yea. Well, actually MR25's Ultra Marathon really marks the end of running for us runners, but for me, I cant make it for the New Year Eve run this year, so I've to step back and take the SCSM as the last (official) running event this year.

This year wasn't a good year for runs, for me especially. After the Dualathlon in Feb, I came down with chicken pox and never really got going after that. So essentially I think I lost about 3 months of fitness.

Then the major events came. Mizuno, NBRR, AHM. Of the 3, I missed the NBRR and AHM, 'cos of Rovers commitments. But I planned to try training on my own to make up for the loss training during AHM.

Sadly, was mistakened and the packed reading week and exam schedule proved fatal. Din manage to better my timing last year, only managed to squeeze in a sub-5 with loads of thanks to Lionel who kept pushing me on and running with me throughout from the turning point at ECP till the end.

Essentially I think I need more training la. The thighs do not feel good this year, and I reckoned I hit the wall at an even earlier time, possibly at the 20km mark or so. So that meant that I could last maybe an additional 5-7 km before I'll pull up with cramps.

The start was so-so for me. Intended to go slow and take it easy for the first half of the marathon 'cos it would mean that I could last longer, and I think I kept pace within the first 10km. The next 10km was rather fast, with about 3 100 Plus stations, 1 banana point and seeing the 21km racers returning from their U-turn. The banana did not seem to go down well, but I still managed to finish it. My priority was to try to get to ECP and maintain my speed and form. But it kinda failed. lol.

Was looking out for the deep-heat stations and stretching the muscle groups cos I felt tension on running from Fort Road towards Kits Runners. Was thinking to myself "Why din I try to get more runs under my belt? Or run the 21km?" Well, did contemplate doing the 21km instead of the full on the eve, but it was kinda too late. lol.

So as I went along, I saw Tianyuan and Huiqin, as well as Lionel, who joined me for the return leg after the U-turn. Saw OTC and some other familiar faces, and managed to pass him a spare Powergel cos he seems to need it.

The return leg was painful. Cramps came in, felt like puking and I hit the 'wall' and personally I felt it was quite doomed. 'Cos I knew what this would become. The puking part was probably due to the banana + 3 packs of powergel + not enough food. With 9km to go, each step taken hurts. But to finish, was a miracle. Haha. After the race, was really relieved to finally sit down, do nothing but nuah in pain and agony.

Shall go and train up some more, and hope to get back to shape next year! More runs!!! For those who've done their marathons, happy resting and stretch those muscles! Sleep is good...as always~

Time for trekking season! :)

SGRunners :)


Me and Lionel!


Current Mood: Achy

Current Music: Penny Dai - Tan Shui He Pian

Mizuno Wave Run...completed!

A so-called 'anniversary' for the SGRunners forumers...remembered how we first met the 'oldbies' over at Kovan MacDonalds for this first run together last year. And this time round, there was an even larger turnout. Super surprised, but why should I be? More people come and go, and this time round I've seen so many new faces.

Had to catch up with some old friends and chat about the times when we ran the Big 4 Runs - Mizuno, NBRR, AHM, SCSM. Too bad, can't take part in the AHM this time round, so it's kinda sad for me. -sigh-

The weather was great! No problems with dehydration for most of the runners, and for me, still in the recovering period, it was pretty good. Finished the run with a (official) time of 52.22, but I reckoned it to be about 50 mins as I was way back at the start point, and I had mainly walked and even stopped at a traffic junction for cars -_-"

After the run, we took pictures, rested and then had prata for the 30+ of us. Illegal gathering? Sure it seemed that way o_O"

Now...resting my legs at home. Tired tired. Chalet for Scarela coming up tomorrow! Woohoo!

Anyway, never hit my PB. Sheesh. But I guess I should be back in good shape for NBRR (I hope!)

Current Mood: Tired

Current Music: Yuki - How Deep Is Your Love

Singapore Dualthon

Completely in a shagged out mood now, and with Enping's news that he has confirmed gotten chicken pox, I was more sian...'Cos I might have gotten it from him already.

P.S. Spots on body tells much huh?

Just returned from Singapore Dualthon, held at ECP F2 Carpark, which basically is a run-bike-run routine. Seems pretty easy, but I was tired out even before the run started. The event commenced at 8am for the kids juniors and 9.30am for my wave, which was about 300 strong, of ages 19-39. Pretty large group huh? In fact, age does not help muchm most importantly is the bike one uses, and the training time involved. For me, I had neither.

Why? Just returned from night cycling last Sunday feeling super shacked, Mon-Tues was my Datuk trip, and I managed to do a lil' bit of cycling on Wed (en route to get my goodies and stuff for the race) and on Friday (on Enping's road bike after he had been forced to pull out due to administrative issues).

So I was just under-conditioned, for the biking part at least. Never mind, I had hoped that my physical fitness would overcome that, since biking is just...biking?

I was so so so WRONG.

First I cycled from home down to ECP due to lack of vehicular transport to transport my bike down to ECP. Now, I regret the decision made then. I had thought that taxis could not fit the bike in, so I've dismissed the idea of puttting the bike in the boot of the taxi, and taking a nice ride down.

Next, on starting my run, I felt a little tired. I did not know why, but the tiredness came from my legs. Then I realised that because I had biked down about 10km (or more, considering from TPY), I would have used up much of my energy and my muscles are more than warmed-up. They were tired, and it was an omnimous sign. Completed my 10km in 1:20, which was pretty bad, and I knew that I would be having cramps soon.

And it did. Happened in my biking leg, after the first round. Was nearing the transition exit area, full of bikes coming out on the left, and overtaking speedsters on the right. A person behind me shouted, "Keep left!" But I was already sandwiched between him and another 2 guys coming out from my left. In trying to pull apart from the pack, I strained my muscles, and stopped at the pavement.

Both calves were tight and strained. I was just cursing under my breath of what that guy had done. Geez.

Tried to stretch, but it was futile, till one of the uncles from the Triathlon Association came over and told me how to stretch, and to use a lower gear. My rationale for using the higher gear now is to chase the lead pack (or maintain at least) and handle the distance and speed first.

Recovered to continue cycling, but half-way through the 2nd lap, felt my thigh muscles cramping, and the calf muscles cannot make it also. Rested at the sides for about 5 minutes or so, stretched and rested, and mounted the bike again to try to chase.

The thing about biking is that, once you're left behind, it is very difficult for you to chase back up. Especially with the low gears I am using due to my calf strains. Managed to clear the 3rd and 4th laps with no problems, and returned to the transition area with energy exhausted, and to face another 5km of run.

And the last 5km was probably the worse run in my whole life. I started off with bad cramps on both my thighs and calves, and had to walk and stretch for 100m. By the time I had started a little jogging, I had reached the Bedok Jetty.

Then, the inevitable happened. Both my calves, afer being strained for some time, just decided to give up together, rendering me helpless, on the ground, trying to stretch. The right thigh muscle also fully tightened up, and the pain was excrutiating.

Luckily enough, I had passed by some of my fellow sgRunners people, and xuanjing helped me to stretch my fully tightened muscles. After about a minute or so of stretching, I'm hobbling, and soon enough the tightened muscle loosened and I could jog already.

All along the 5km route, I was in quite a pain for both legs, and I just wished I had been in better condition. Sighz. Shall learn from the mistake this time round. Finally, managed to end (ran in!) and I think the timing was about 3 hours. Not bad for a newbie?

Later, collected my t-shirt and winners medal, met up with fellow sgRunners dualathletes such as Ben and James. My legs had already been rendered useless and completely tired out already. Lucky enough, Ben was driving, and I had a nice lift to Enping's place, where I returned him his bike, got the news at the same time, saw his pox-es, and returned home...

And now I'm lying on my bed typing all these admist 2 almost-dying legs, 1 abrasion and a near-concussed Shiyao. Haha.

Current Mood: Tired

Current Music: Fan Wei Qi - Ru Guo De Shi

Surf N Sweat!

Wad a day! A day spent under the hot sun, running at 1pm in the hot afternoon sun, sure helps in getting a tan (or did I NOT get one. Geez).

Early morning, met up with Kossy, Kym, Steph, Matthew and Kym's bf *ahem* for makan at Harbourfront MRT...din eat much, cos I grabbed some bread before leaving home.

I was paired with Kossy for the Mixed Open category, with her surfing and me running. Best combo, how about that? Haha.

Basically I just din feel like running in the hot afternoon sun. Totally draining and dehydrating. But I thought "Less than 5km, should be okay..."

I was so wrong.

When I started the run, I was already feeling shacked and just refused to move my limbs fast enough. Basically a jog pace. And looking ahead I see the guy runners all pushing forth, increasing the distance between us with each second.

Gritted my teeth and told myself that I can do it, I started to pace myself. The hot weather was affecting me a little, plus the empty stomach meant that I was sorta running on reserve energy.

When I hit the winding uphill in the forest, I was telling myself "OMG, why am I subjecting myself to this torture? It's disastrous!" Basically, for those who do not know, the slope was just going up and up without any sign of stopping. Pretty bad, I must say. I keep losing sight of the front runners, and I panted and heaved my way up.

And after that, it was much more smooth sailing already. Soon, we hit back to the beach and it's back to the endpoint. Which was good, definitely.

Totally famished at that point in time, and we went to wash up. Not knowing the change in routes for the Blue Line due to the activation of the new 'Interchange' between Sunset and Palawan Beach, we ended up waiting for the Blue Line, going 1 big round to the Underwater World, before reaching the terminal stop to board the bus to the mainland.

By then, Kossy and Kym were like seriously late for their canoe-polo reunion dinner. And still have to go over to Bishan to grab some stuff for the steamboat.

So we all went up to Bishan (where I managed to grab some food, FINALLY!) and spent time shopping in NTUC. Left shortly after, and went home to put down my stuff, soak my dirty (and wet) clothes into the water, and went out again, this time with my camera equipment.

The sunset at MacRitchie and the fireworks at the Esplanade area were simply amazing. And nice too! I had a field day trying to frame the shots carefully, hopefully it comes out well. Hehs.

And time spent was great too. The rain did not dampen spirits, and it was definitely great night spent! Oh yea! Hehe...

Tonight, Chelsea vs Liverpool. Let's just hope Chelsea loses.

And, homework time. Sighz.

Current Mood: Hyper

Punggol Park!

Simply beautiful and serene park in the north of Singapore, just a little off Hougang. And the name of the park is definitely misleading...It's NOT in Punggol. Haha.

Just suddenly had the urge to run up to Punggol Park, run a couple of rounds there, and head back via Upper Serangoon Road (yes...the LONG route). I've attached the pic for the dist covered on the way up, the trip down is similar.

Brought along my ez-Link card, a $10 note, and my handphone just in case. A long run calls for contingencies, and the most important things are ez-Link card (bus/MRT) and handphone (to call ppl! *lol*)

Met Heng Hong for the run at Punggol Park. Ran 3 rounds with her, and 1 round myself. Her stamina was good, and would probably have ran more if she had not ran at Hougang Stadium herself in the first place.

The breeze was nice, air was cool, and the water was indeed calm. How serene, how beautiful...Running really allowed me to relax and forget certain things, at the same time, it allowed me to focus and concentrate. Call it runner's high or whatever, it really IS good for you.

Went over to Hougang Mall, bought a drink of Ribena for some energy, and saw XMY there. Haha. Then ran back, same route. Took around 50mins or so, had a drink of Milo from Mac's.

Hmm, never really measured distance again, probably would be in the range of 15km? I'll check it ASAP.

Current Mood: Exhausted

Current Music: Liang Jing Ru - Lu

t.i.r.e.d

Today was the Mizuno "Heat" Wave Run, as can be seen by the lack of shade and the sun baring on our backs throughout the run.

In fact, I was running facing the sun in the first 5km.

I wasn't really feeling that good today, there was a sense of uneasiness within me that I would blunder and not do a good run, not building upon my NBRR just a week back. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or maybe the lack of training, which I had missed on Friday due to the rain.

Reached Kovan Hub's MacDonalds very early, at 6.10am, and registered for the run immediately, since the queue was short. Waited for the rest of the sgRunners people, and met up with new faces (as usual!). Oh and I wasn't the youngest runner anymore. There were 2 even younger people (both 19!) who were damn good runners. Sigh. I old liaoz...*lol* The guy is in Ngee Ann Poly, while the lady is in NUS Arts Faculty.

Took some time to intro, meanwhile pysching myself up for the entire event. However, I just did not feel into it...

Didn't even attempt to try to go to the front to start. In fact, I figured that I had spent like 2 minutes walking since the gun started. A mad rush to the front loop, in fact.

It was a hot, sunny day, and my body seemed to be unable to respond to my need for speed. Relax, I told myself. Did a comfortable pace, but pushing it higher as I passed the 2.5km mark. In fact, I was surprised it was even 2.5km already. 5km should be within sight soon.

But I was wrong. Soooo WRONG.

It seemed like a never-ending journey along (Old) Tampines Road. Moreover, there was a lack of uphills and even shade! The run grew mundane, and the only thing which kept me going probably was chasing after someone, cutting in and out.

Ended up I finished the race WITHOUT knowing my time, which was really bad organisation, since almost every run has at least a final clock showing the time you reach back!

And the severe lack of water, was really poor logistics on their side. Which running event would last without water? Luckily, it was just a 10km run, not a 21km or more. If not, I'll certainly not be here typing this blog entry already.

I roughly gauged my timing to be around 50 mins or so, probably faster, probably slower. No real gauge since I had no watch on me. Prolly would get a HRM soon, need to save cash. Or a bike, and that's worse.

Met up with the rest of the sgRunners at the end point, took pictures, relaxed and awaited for the start of the Lucky Draw Contest. As usual, nobody won. After that, we left for makan at the kopitiam, and I went home after that, to collect my AHM Race Pack at Bukit Merah with my parents.

It was raining! What a sharp contrast to barely 2 hours ago. Freakin hot one moment, Freakin wet the next. Best described: Singapore's freaky weather.

After collection of my AHM Race Pack (with another Dri-Fit tshirt!), we headed to Queensway for lunch. My parents and brother went to have lunch at IKEA, whilst I zipped to Queensway to take a look at the shoes which I intended to buy. In fact, I shortlisted 3:

1) Asics DS Trainer X (I want IX!!! *sob*)
2) Mizuno Wave Creation 6
3) Mizuno Aero Wave (It's a racer, prolly less use of it?)

Looking at the above 3 options, guess I should go with the Asics DS Trainer, retails at $140, hoping to get a cheaper price when taz goes down to have a look. Hopefully, can get it at $120. Might consider the Mizuno Wave Creation 6 too, take it on trail running, or at least as a backup shoe.

Who wants Mizuno 20% discount, Adidas 20% discount and New Balance 40% discount, let me know!

Current Mood: Tired

Maiden Run!

Did a run around the rear of NUS (okay, you might question where the rear of NUS might be, I would just define it as the area near KR Hall, along Pasir Panjang Road).

Since it was my maiden run in school, I had to explore. Exploring in the sense of getting my feel of how the slopes were in school.

And boy, were they tough. Here's my route:

Hit the road from YIH and headed out to Clementi Road, past the KR Terminal. After that, it was Pasir Panjang Road, which was a relatively quiet stretch, as compared to that along West Coast Highway.

I was deciding whether to explore the Science Park Rd or to continue along the stretch of Pasir Panjang Rd, which will lead me to the now defunct Har Par Villa. Eventually decided to try out Science Park Rd, with all the funny building names there. But I realised that it was approaching a dead end, so I decided to hit a flight of stairs to reach South Buona Vista Rd, which reminded me of the movie Initial D. Why? The endless numbers of winding curves in the forested area eventually led me to the Kent Ridge Park and some houses.

Luckily, it was mainly a downslope stretch. Soon, I managed to see the West Coast Highway and I turned right into Pasir Panjang Rd, passing by Har Par Villa en route back to NUS.

Turning in via KR Hall and Kent Ridge Rd, I must say that the slope there is freaking difficult to conquer! The upslope was terrible and punishing, but managed to overcome it.

Overall, it was a nice route, but I think I should refine it further (on looking at the map) and do a better route next time. Unsure of the distance I covered this time round, but it was great.

Especially with NB Run and AHM looming...

Took a quick shower, and nearly caused Candice, Kossy (now I know he's a she!) and Huiqin to be late for the meeting. Actually, more for Candice lar. 'Cos she's the prez, and prez shouldn't be late...esp for the first meeting.

The meeting went on smoothly, and Liquan reminded me to do a point on the transferring of assets to a bank account, which I left for last. The discussion for the day centered mainly on Cyclohunt, our big event for this Semester. Just wondering what my role would be, route IC maybe?

Lumbong trip, redux, upcoming! ^_^

Current Mood: Sleepy

Current Music: Penny Tai - Fang Kong Dong

A Run A Day, Keeps The Doc Away

Gah...Woke up early in the morning @ 6.30am, feeling groggy, to run. Had managed to turn in at 12.30am the night before, so it was pretty good, considering that I've managed to clock in back-to-back 1am+ sleeping times.

Running today was okay, but I felt that I've not been doing enough runs of late. In fact, a 5km short run today left me breathless. Was it a lack of sleep? Tiredness? Or was it a lack of exercise? With a month of running activites upcoming, I need to get my performance back up.

Moreover, I've not been training consistently for the AHM 21km, which I've signed up for. I wonder whether I'm able to make it till the end. If I don't, you guys know where to look for me.

Upcoming events for me are as follows:
1) New Balance Run - 10km (28th Aug)
2) Mizuno Wave Run - 10km (4th Sep)
3) AHM - 21km (11 Sep)
4) NUS Heritage Run - 10km (18th Sep)

I guess what Candice and Eups said about me is true. I'm siao.

But I love running! It's a way for me to de-stress and get away from the vigours of life. Even though my stamina and fitness has dropped tremendously now, I still push on, hoping to become better.

And talking about runs, Henry (aka ah kops21) told me about the site sgRunners.com and the Swissotel Vertical Challenge Marathon. For the Vertical Challenge, anyone interested? Can train thigh muscles :P

Since I'm on the top of runs, I might as well say this out: I'm freakin' pissed with WoS yesterday for making me go over to their Wisma outlet from the TPY outlet! The TPY cashier actually told me that the Wisma outlet still had places for the Fun Run, and I asked her to double-confirm, which she did. However, when I went down to Wisma (luckily, it's near), there was no more space left!

And I had to fork out an extra 5 bucks for the Mizuno Run. Ah darned. I did not want to compete, just need a place for running ^_^

Anyway, I guess I'll be having quite a number to tee-shirts coming in, New Balance, Mizuno, AHM (most likely cotton...AGAIN). Sounds like a wholesome collection of tees shalt begin.

I've a 20% discount voucher, off Mizuno items, till 15th Sep. Anyone wants anything? ^_^

Current Mood: Actively Awake

Current Music: Cai Chun Jia - You Yi Tian Wo Hui

World Harmony Run

Just back, showered and warming down from the amazing 30km run which started at MacRitchie Reservoir at 7.40am, with Ms Eunice Olsen flagging off the run, till the Merlion in downtown city area.

It took us through an amazing number of different religious places. Kong Meng San temple and Salvation Army HQ in Bishan, Ceylon Sports Club at Balestier Road, Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple and Civil Service Club along Serangoon Road, Central Sikh Temple along Boon Keng Road, Masjid Darul Aman Mosque at Eunos, Joo Chiat Community Club, Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple at Ceylon Road, Nicoll Highway, Merdeka Bridge, Esplanade Drive and finally Merlion Park.

A long distance indeed.

In fact, I had some thigh problems already en route to the Masjid Darul Aman Mosque, as I could feel my right thigh muscle pulling up on me, and the left calf muscle aching a little. Both eased off after some time, but one of the runners, Philip, told me to take some cold pack and cold spray to ease the situation there. (Philip's taking a private course in Sports Medicine, which means he knows quite a bit on our running techniques, methods of recovery, and signs of pain. Interesting. )

Moreover, during one of the rest stops, we din realise we sat under hanging clothes till we looked up when water dripped down. Haha.

It was definitely a hot run in the late morning part, when we covered the rest of the 16km journey from Eunos to Joo Chiat and the ending point. As it went, I could feel my legs getting numb. It gave way, in the end, at the rest point at the National Stadium. Luckily, I had some help from another fellow runner, Mr Akira (who's Japanese and a former figure skating champ, and is a mean runner at his age) helped me stretch the muscle using a 'special' technique. I felt better after that, and rared to go. Nonetheless, I could feel that my body was fatigued and not the same as before.

Still, I managed to grit on and finish the run with my fellow runners, all 18 of them. It was a great run, and this is also the first time I've pushed beyond my limit of 21km, last set in AHM 2004.

This run also allowed me to know more fellow runners, all of whom are older than me. Uncles who have the stamina and determination to push on, and seemed to finish the 30km with relative ease, certainly told wonders of the training they had done during their prime. The working people were similarly fighting fit, and most of them did at least 20km. I had a great time hanging out with these guys.

Now...It's time to rest...and fill thy stomach

Current Mood: Hungry and Sleepy