NUS Hill Run on 13 Dec`06 (Wed)

By special request from my running buddy, fennel, this week NUS hill run would start @ 7pm instead of 6.30pm -- so that she can rush down from her workplace @ CBD. fennel missed the killer slope after her first run many moons ago :) cosmic_wind finally could join the run -- he was on leave and travelled all the way from Tanah Merah! As it was tktan's birthday, we bought a cake to celebrate -- tried to lurk the west side runners over :) Sotong n IMD couldn't make it but tiwazz readily agreed to join us for post-run makan. Haiz, weather NG -- started to pour ard 6pm. Luckily, the rain reduced to drizzle close to 7pm. Was held up @ work and arrived 10min late -- paiseh to tktan and fennel for waiting. Hmm, cosmic_wind went merry-go-round in bus 96 -- he didn't know where to alight and the loop service brought him back to Clementi! tktan ran to meet him at the bus-stop -- to avoid him getting lost again. Oh, tktan was 'dressed' in orange from head to toe -- HWA orange top, grey/orange shorts, orange socks n shoes! Finally, we started the run after 7.30pm -- by then the rain had stopped!

Felt cool running after rain as I lead the group along Pasir Panjang Rd and South Bouna Vista Rd. There, the killer slope was waiting for us -- slightly slippery but I huff and puff up the slope, calves tightened slightly due to the long layoff. fennel did well -- she said siong but enjoyed the process :) tktan was jaga-ing cosmic_wind but he cun go slow when going upslope and sped up effortlessly. Gave fennel n cosmic_wind a clap for their effort! Recovery time as we ran down the slopes @ Kent Ridge Park. At Science Hub, we all skipped the water break and continued on. At junction of Sci Park I and South Bouna Vista Rd, we had a choice to extend the route to 12km -- fennel n cosmic_wind opt for shorter 8.5km route. Then we ran passed NUH, Science faculty and SRC. But we had to take shelther @ bus-stop outside Raffless Hall when the rain started pouring again! Aiyoh, we were so close to finish the run! We did our warm up stretch as we waited for the rain to stop -- stranded as we had no money, no handphone. Then I suggested taking the shuttle bus back. Erhm, we boarded the bus but had to get off and wait for the next bus -- that was the direction to the bus terminal.

Finally, we made it back to KRGH @ 9.15pm. Oh dear, tiwazz had arrived long ago -- paiseh to make him wait so long!! Quickly called him and he said they(with roonz) were having dinner @ the Cheese Prata Shop. We had a quick shower and joined them. After placing our fd order, we brought out the pandan kaya cake and sang happy bday song to "23-year-young" tktan :) Everyone enjoyed the yummylicious huge slice of cake. fennel n me had seafood pattaya with maggi, cosmic_wind had maggi mee goreng and tktan had ikan billis nasi goreng. Converstation revolved ard upcoming races like ultramarathon, KL race etc. Finally parted way @ 10.30pm -- with a very full stomach :) Oh, we declared cosmic_wind DNF for NUS hill run -- coz he didn't complete the enture route. So, cosmic_wind gotta join us next year to get his finisher cert :P

West Canal Run on 12 Dec`06 (Tue)

The sky was grey with hanging dark clouds that threathen to pour at anytime. We started off the run ard 6.45pm and went by a new route (via Prince George Park instead of Pasir Panjang Rd) -- wanna get to the Ulu Pandan Canal as soon as possible, before the rain pour. Wah, my muscles were not warmed up yet and the upslopes were not easy! As usual, tktan juz sped ahead! Phew, managed to catch my breath when we reached Sci Park I and ran through the underpass to Alexandra Industrial Estate. From there, we continued on to Bouna Vista MRT -- did a slight detour due to construction. Skipped toilet break and started my favourite route on Ulu Pandan Canal. tktan was in chatty mood -- I had a tough time replying him, catching my breath and running at the same time! (Hmmm, later he told me that my breathing sound ok!) Boy, I was GLAD when he asked me to go ahead as he wanna slow down. Increased pace and the gap between us grew. It had been a while since I ran @ tempo pace and this was the first run after SCSM that I took timing. Kinda lost my sense of pace and had the feeling that I was running slow. So chiong along the 2.2km stretch -- time check was 10min36sec, a shocking 4:50min/km pace! Felt stitch coming on but persisted and continued on to Sunset Way Canal. tktan went ahead as I slowed down and control my breathing to relieve the stitch. After U-turn @ end of the canal, I began to experience left ankle pain due to the slanting surface. Well, next time, I could only run 1-way instead of U-turn! Finally completed the 4.6km stretch -- time check was 24min, still a good 5:15min/km pace! I called for a water break as my lips were dry from Sunday's run. We took a walk break to a nearby petrol kiosk and bought a bottle of H2O. Forget to re-start the stop watch and lost track of time for the 3km run back to KRGH -- tktan still had excess energy to chiong on the final slope!

After a quick shower, we had dinner @ KRGH KingFisher Cafe -- ordered the Slipper Lobster Hor Fun in black bean paste, Ta Ao Bee Hoon and homemade beancurd with durian puree. The portion was huge and we only managed to finished the Hor Fun & beancurd -- tktan ta pau the bee hoon back for supper :)

P.S. Felt much better running with my 3rd pair of Inspire2. Is it physchological that I think the 2nd pair is heavier n bulkier? Ok, gotta reserve my 3rd pair of Inspire2 for race days.

Route : Start @ KRGH -> Prince George Park -> Sci Park I -> Alexandra Ind Est -> Bouna Vista MRT -> Ulu Pandan Canal -> Sunset Way Canal

Distance : 11.5km
Time : 1hr 1min
Avg pace : 5:21min/km

Labrador Park Run on 10 Dec`06 (Sun)

Was doing Xmas shopping @ Orchard on Saturday. Stumbled into a doraemon wonderland @ Takashimaya -- there were all kinds of doraemon bags, stationery, soft toys, cups etc. How abt doraemon sushi? There is a doraemon print on fish cake maki :) Finally done with shopping, rewarded ourselves with yummy Kyoto dessert -- haiz, disappointed that the food served differ from the one on the menu and didn't taste as good as it looked :( Carbo-loaded @ my friend's dinner party -- paiseh, think I ate the most!! Oops, SCSM oledi over -- carbo-load for wat? Last minute sound out George, fennel and tktan for a hill run @ NUS on Sunday -- had to go back to office and needed a place to shower and change after run (the last I heard was BG run did not have barang service). fennel was taking part in the Indoor Triathlon @ Velocity and unable to join in. So George, tktan and me settled to meet at KRGH @ 8am -- locker service only start @ 8am on weekends. Oh, tktan jumped into the pirate's boat when I mentioned the run would end @ Queensway -- lurk of bah kut teh @ Alexandra Village FC.


Woke up @ 6.15am and got out of the house @ 6.45am. Munched on 2 slices of bread during my quick walk to Sengkang MRT station. Good timing, hopped on the 6.55am train and sms-ed George that I boarded the train and seated @ the last cabin. At Harbourfront, we transfered to bus and reach KRGH at 7.50am. tktan arrived almost at the same time and we waited for the locker service (start @ 8am on weekends). Finally we started the run @ 8.20am. We ran along Pasir Panjang Rd and turned up to Haw Par Villa -- oops, the gate was closed (open @ 9am). So we continued along Pasir Panjang Rd to South Bouna Vista Rd, followed by South Bouna Jln. Then we had to jump up/down the pavement along Pasir Panjang Rd towards PSA. George was new to the area and had to stop to wait for tktan n me to catch up. Hmm, somehow, my form was not good -- left ankle and right ITB pain. tktan was having left knee pain. As we turned into Labrador Park, George n tktan ran ahead while I followed behind. When we reached the carpark, tktan asked George to follow the girl (presumed she was running a loop) infront while we took a break @ the shelter. Hmm, saw the girl u-turned but no sight of George -- turned out he ran all the way to the construction side on the left. While he did the loop to the jetty, we took a walk and enjoyed the cool sea breeze. Then 3 of us chiong up the hill -- think George was surprised by this unexpected hill. As it was the first time we ran here in daylight, I suggested a stop @ the viewpoint -- George continued on and said he would wait for us at the start point. When we ran down to the start of Labrador Park, there was no sight of George. So we walked back to the carpark. Yeah, found George near the toilet. He ran up the slopes 3 times, thinking we would be taking the same route up! We were glad when George decided to skip Mt Faber and walked to Alexandra Village FC for breakfast -- tktan thanked him from the bottom of his stomach :) Along the way, we walked up to explore the canterbury hills that DR & DO mentioned -- ok, will try this out next week. Breakfast was bah kut teh soup, freshly-made chee cheong fun with roasted pork & turnip and yummy advocado drink. Took bus 51 back to KRGH and enjoyed steambath n hot shower -- George went off to support fennel @ Velocity while I head back to office (tktan showed me a short-cut to my office, also his former work place).

Finished my work pretty quick and sms-ed George to check whether fennel had finished her tri -- if not, would go down and support her. Wah, received good news that she came in 3rd place! Instead, we head over to VivoCity in search for good makan. After passing many restaurants, we finally settled for Japanese food @ Shin Kushiyaki -- lurked in by the dessert of black sesame ice-cream :) We had Vivo Maki, tsukune with curry sauce, asparagus wrapped with beef, ika sugatayaki and the ice-cream dessert. Food so-so but I like the ice-cream :) Later in the evening, we had a celebration dinner with George n fennel @ Qun Zhong (Beijing food) in Tanjong Pager -- zha jiang mian, suan la tang, xiao long bao & guo tia. YUMMY!


P.S. Weather was HOT -- we were glad this was not the weather for marathon! Not sure whether it was my shoes, but I felt this 2nd pair of Inspire2 was heavier and I then to supinate (roll out). Let me try running with my 3rd pair of Inspire2.

RL Run on 7 Dec`06 (Thu)

Rushed down to join the RL run. Thanks to fennel for the weather update. Arghh, as predicted, we were running Fort Canning route -- asked Eddie why not we run a flat route for recovery, he said SCSM too much flat, so good change to run some hills. First time tktan ran this route and he juz tagged along with the front pack led by mightyjoe. DO, shortlegs, DR & his MHA joined us for the run, too. Terence, fennel, tktan & me were running ahead and soon lost the rest who were running @ leisure pace. Felt ok when I climbed up the hills @ Fort Canning -- calve muscles not tighten. Enjoyed the scenic route along Singapore River and pointed out the various restaurants that I had tried @ Robertson Walk/Quay. Did a little detour @ Kim Seng Park due to construction -- distance was abt 9km. As usual, Eddie led us on a thorough warm down stretch. The hot topic of discussion was still SCSM :) Eddie asked me whether I had stitches during the marathon -- surprisingly, I could not remember, or rather I had learn the "art' of running with/without stitch :P After a quick change of clothes, we went for dinner @ the newly renovated food court. DO and me ordered the korean bibimbap while fennel had korean noodle. tktan queued for the claypot rice that was cooked on the spot -- hmm, turned out he had a dissatisfied dinner as the claypot rice was bland! Mine tasted yummy :) Nice to bump into lelio girl and had a nice chat with DO & compass71(waiting for the same train @ Dhoby Ghuat) on NEL.


P.S. Much better run than Wednesday -- able to up the pace but didn't push hard. tktan was able to maintain pace with me, despite having a flu! Better pop more vitamin C as I could not afford to fall sick now -- busy @ work and my ski holiday is juz round the corner :)

NUS Hill Run on 6 Dec`06 (Wed)

After the PO (Pig Out) session @ CBD Run (erhm, no running as it rained, so we juz ate and chat the whole night long), in need of a short run to burn off the extra calories. Weather was clear @ 5pm and updated tktan who promptly packed up & left his office. After I changed into my running gear and on my way out of my office building, it was raining heavily! Huh, the weather juz changed in a matter of 10min! Called tktan to inform him of the change of weather -- hmm, Clementi was still clear. LM, who was topping up petrol for his car, drove over and gave me a lift to KRGH. The rain reduced to a drizzle and stopped by the time we were ready to start off. As tktan & me were still recovering from SCSM, the run would be lead by LM -- for the first time. We ran to West Coast Park for a easy & flat recovery run. Looked like a storm was approaching with thunder and lightning. We ran @ "smell flower" pace and related our SCSM experience to LM -- post marathon high! However, our run was cut short to 5.3km -- caught in heavy downpour and had to hideout @ underpass. Did our warm down stretch while waiting for the storm to pass. Finally, the storm reduced to a drizzle and we walked back to KRGH. Took a hot shower and LM lead us to Fong Seng Nasi Lemak for dinner. Hey, saw a new stall selling ice cream in retangular waffle-like holder. Upon closer look, they even can replace the ice cream with chicken/beef in various sauce like teriyaki, black pepper etc. I chose the chicken and the boss recommended black pepper sauce. Wah, looks very yummy -- initially, the sauce tasted too salty but became better. I was prepared to skip rice and go for dessert of cut orange (brought from home). Saw someone walked passed with the nasi lemak wrapped with banana-leaf. Oh, it had been ages since I last had that kind of nasi lemak. So went in search for that and came back with it and otah to share with the guys. Managed to reach home ard 10.30pm and played with my darling niece before KO. Boy, juz a short run and I felt so tired!

P.S. Relax run but felt that I couldn't pick up pace. Guess gotta rest a couple more days before resuming pre-SCSM pace.

Singapore Marathon on 3 Dec`06 (Sun)

Pre-race
Was stucked at office till 8pm+ on Sat -- didn't get the much needed rest before a marathon :( After a quick dinner of Korean Bibimbap (mixed vegetables and chicken meat over rice with hot sauce) @ Harbourfront, I reached home at 10pm. Luckily I had pack my race stuff on Friday night -- juz need to pin my race & reason-to-run bib and tie the timing chip to my running shoe. Had to adjust the lock lace to release the extra tension with the timing chip. Heed ultra sifu advice and drank a cup of concentrated salt water before going to bed. Finally managed to sleep at 11.30pm -- but was woke up by a sms closed to midnight from a friend (to wish me good luck for the marathon)! Arghh -- good thing I was tired after a long day at work and fell back to my sleep soon. Woke up at 2.30am to go toilet, "conveniently" ate my breakfast (2 raisin buns) and went back to bed. Alarm rang @ 3.45am and gave George & gentle a wake-up sms (we were sharing cab to the start line). After putting on my race gear (nike red top & black running tights and Mizuno Inspire2 shoes), I was all set for a fun and enjoyable race. Received sms from tktan -- "Good morning! All ready to fly? Dun 4get 2 bring ur helicopter. :)" Haa haa, can this RED doraemon fly without her helicopter 2day?

Race Day - Part 1 of race
Reached City Hall @ 5am+ and went for a quick toilet break @ the shopping mall(there was a queue for the gents but not the ladies :P) -- chanced upon roentgen, JT and BR and wished everyone a good race. We proceed to the baggage deposit to drop off our barang. Did a slow jog to warm up the legs (George saw me running and said "the marathon has not started yet!") and followed with stretching exercises. Then "power up" with a pack of Hammer Gel (tropical flavoured). As we made our way to the start line, met up with more SgRunners (tktan, cokiee, andy, alvo, meteror, teelee etc.) along the way -- wish one another good luck! teelee, tktan & me squeezed into the under 4hr section -- spotted sub4 pacers and some Safra Runners. After a seemingly long 10min wait, the race was flagged off by Minister of Health. Started my stopwatch as I crossed the timing mat and tried to weave through the crowd. Hey, Uncle Ee, whom I met @ Phuket Mountain Beach Marathon was infront of me -- he was much faster in zig-zagging thru the human maze! Spotted freddy infront and tailgated him @ Marina South. Wow, the elites sped passed on the opposite side at the steamboat area -- clapped to cheer them on. After the u-turn @ Marina Jetty, heard sub4 pacers behind me -- David was chatting loudly with an ang mo(with 2 ballons tied to his back) who juz pee in the bush. Oh dear, was I running slower than my intended 5:15min/km pace -- the 4hr pacers' strategy was to start @ 5:30min/km pace and slow down to 5:45min/km pace? At the 11km mark, heard DO shouted that "Doraemon, Ee Ah Seng is running beside you!". Sure enough, Uncle Ee was right next to me. We exchanged greetings and he commented that my pace was good for sub4 -- hmm, the sub4 pacers juz overtook me! Stopped for my 1st re-fuel break @ water station near 12km and kept the sub4 pacers in sight. As we exit from Marina South, tktan was running alongside me -- gave each other a thumb up for good body condition so far. He cautioned me to run at my own pace -- think he could sense my anxiety that the sub4 pacers were infront. Time check @ 13km was 1h 08min -- hey, that was 5:15min/km pace! Phew, began to relax -- the sub4 pacers were doing a much faster pace! Along Nicoll Highway, IMD ran passed and stopped to snap picture of tktan & me. Caught up with Terence -- he was glad his pacer(me) finally arrived (we ran together for the rest of the race -- at times, I stopped for water & re-fuel break and caught up later).Time check @ 21km was 1h 52min -- wow, that's a cool 5:20min/km pace. Took my 2nd refuel break @ 22km.

Part 2 of the race
There were many supporters along ECP -- near MacDonalds, saw roonz and FD who cheered for me (Terence was impressed with my "popularity".. haa haa). Weather was great (cool & cloudy) and I was feeling good, except for a growing blister on my 4th toe of the right foot -- haiz, it was due to the lock lace being adjusted to fit in the timing chip. Could feel the bubble getting bigger and had to adjust my foot landing to minimize the pain. Ok Ok, mind over body -- think less pain. Juz before the U-turn @ the lagoon, was glad to spot the sub4 pacers and waved to David. After the U-turn, TLR caught up with me and encouraged me with "good run". Spotted many SgRunners(BR, dasher, gentle, roentgen etc.) on the opposite lane -- gave one another a thumb up! tktan MIA for a while and re-appeared ard the 28km mark -- haa haa, he stopped for a "bomb session" and had to skip 3 water station to catch up with me! He needed deep heat for his sore thigh -- I wanted to pass him mine but he said he could wait till the next medical station. We were greeted by a group of SgRunners supporters @ 30km -- tktan went straight for the sponge and deep heat spray. I juz waved and zoom passed -- sorry, kickjazz, didn't stop for photo shoot. Took my 3rd re-fuel break @ 32km. Towards Fort Rd, more runners stopped to walk -- seemed like many suffered muscle cramps(due to the flat terrain) along this stretch. This is typically know as "hit the wall". Time check @ 33km was 2h 58min -- cool 5:24min/km pace. Wow, very happy to exit Ford Road and continue on to Mounbatten Road. Families were having picnic with kids and wine in wine glasses while waiting to cheer their loved ones. Then it dawned on me that I may be able to make it under sub4! Refuel with my final Gu Gel with caffine @ 36km and pushed on -- tktan enjoyed the spraying water while re-fuelling, too. With final 8 more km, tktan encouraged me with "do ur best and go for ur best timing!" and ran ahead. His luminous yellow camelbak became my target. There was a loud band playing music to cheer the runners. DR overtook me "silently" @ Kallang Rd and I soon lost sight of tktan as he turned into Crawford St to Marina Promenade. Was contemplating whether I should skip the water stations for the last 3km -- decided against it and made quick stop juz to sip half a cup of water/isotonic drink. Saw the 40km marker -- juz 2 more km to go... Then Esplanade appeared ahead -- and 41km marker! As I ran up from the underpass, the timing clock showed 3h 57min -- Eddie saw me and cheered with "RUN -- 2min to sub4! U can make it!" With the last 100m, the crowd was cheering and bee, our SgRunners' runspirator, shouted "Xiao Ding Dang" but all I could hear was the emcee shouting "2 more minutes to sub4" and he turned and looked at me "Can she do it?". Let out a scream and dashed through the finish line -- gun time 3h59m3s & chip time 3h58m25s. YES, I did it under 4 hours!

Post Race
Created some drama after I crossed the finish line. Think I over-swing my arms for the last 100m and strained my left shoulder -- so pain that I stopped in the middle of the lane! The marshalls came up and asked me whether I was OK and I told them my left shoulder hurts. They helped me to the stretcher area and asked me to sit down -- a cameraman even came and took pic of my agony! The medic guys came over and asked me to move to the medic tent acrossed the road -- HAR, how to get up when I am in PAIN?!! Took 2 guys to lift me off the ground without worsening the pain. tktan, who finished 3min earlier then me, was shocked to see me at the stretcher area and rushed over to check whether I was OK. As I was blocking the lane for the kids dash, the medic guys tried to move me to the medical tent but I cun move. tktan asked the guys to put me on stretcher but I declined coz it would be difficult to get up later. So they moved me to the side and tktan juz hold & support me while the pain spreaded down to my ribcage. We stood there for a looong while till the pain subsided -- luckily tktan's camelbak still had some Pocari Sweat left and I gulped down thankfully! When I was able to finally move, we walked over to return the timing chip and collect our medal and finisher's T-shirt -- haa haa, it felt funny walking like duck. While doing our warm down at a corner, saw the sub4 pacers and went over to chat with David. Yah, he said he was running faster than 5:30min/km pace initially and had to slow down to a relax pace for the 2nd half :) We crossed over to the food & drink tent and grab a banana, water n 100plus. Chatted with ronnie(suffered cramps) and loneshark (lost his powergels becoz his plastic bag broke) before moving to the Cenopath for SgRunners Group Photo. Along the way, met RR -- he suffered from serious cramps at 38km mark! A group of SgRunners had gathered there. Still had some time to spare, we went over to the bag deposit area to collect our barang. Quickly called my friend CY -- she and YL were cheering for me @ the Esplanade underpass but I told them to be there ard 10-10.30am. Ehm, they missed me as I unexpectedly finished before 10am :)

Photo & Makan Session
Glad to see many happy faces of SgRunners @ Cenopath when we took the group pic in the rain -- all completed the race with good timing, especially BR, fennel and George for their maiden marathon! George, fennel, tktan and me head over to Suntec for recovery swim and shower -- wow, the cold water did wonder to sooth the sore muscles! Then we rewarded ourselves with a Yuletide Food feast. George had appetizer(Marinated Norwegian Salmon with Mirepoix, Fresh Herbs and Pink Peppercorn) & main course(Shepherd’s Pie Minced Lamb Stew with Mashed Potato Topping), fennel had appetizer(Yuletide Seafood Terrine served with Winter Greens and Honey Lemon Sauce) and main course(Turkey Cordon Bleu Escalope of Turkey with Ham and Cheese accompanied by Winter Vegetables and Roast Potatoes) and tktan had salmon for appetizer and main course(Honey Glazed Boneless Gammon Hamwith Cinnamon Pineapple Sauce and Mashed Potatoes) -- they had Harvest Pumpkin Soup topped with Sour Cream and Nutmeg to go with the food. I had appetizer(Avocado and Crabmeat Quiche served with Mesclun tossed in House Vinaigrette), ham for main course and dessert(Chocolate Royaltine drizzled with Winter Berry Coulis). Oh, not forgeting my ice cold beer -- cheers with Hoegarden! Good times over and I had to head back to office :( Thought I could sneak out, joined the celebration @ Brewerkz and returned to office -- haiz, had to work till 8.30pm! Well, fear not as the celebration will continue for the rest of the week :)



P.S. For 6 years, told myself that I will NOT run another Singapore marathon(HOT & HUMID) becoz it is IMPOSSIBLE to break my best marathon timing of 4h 40min @ Silicon Valley Marathon, California(COOL & SUNNY). After my passion for running was re-ignited when I met so many crazy and die-hard SgRunners, decided to give it a try and set my target of 4h 30min -- but mentally I was prepared to withdraw from the race if my left knee condition worsen. With tips on training, nutrition and gears from the ever-helpful SgRunners, started to train hard to achieve my target. Met many like-minded runners and training became fun and not so "torturing" -- as we encouraged & spurred one another and of course, not forgetting the makan sessions to reward ourselves :) It was heartening to see improvement as D-day drawed nearer and disheartening (at times) when pain/injury hindered the progress. But our running kakis were always there to share the joy and sorrow :)

Now that D-day is over, I can safely say that the IMPOSSIBLE has happened -- blessed with perfectly cool weather, good body condition and surrounded by wonderful & supportive friends & strangers! Till this very moment, am still amazed and unbelievable that I reach my ULTIMATE goal of sub4! A great marathon experience to remember and I enjoyed every second of it!

Distance : 42.195km
Time : 3h58min
Avg pace : 5:39min/km

Calibration Run on 2 Dec`06 (Sat)

SgRunners' penghulu TLR organised a SCSM Kampung Carbo Loading Session @ Swensen at Crown Prince Hotel on Friday nite. Thought of crashing the party IF I dun have to work late. Haiz, as predicted, gotta work late :( Finally finished work @ 7.30pm and arranged an impromptu Japanese food carbo-load session with tktan (he juz finished a run near his work place). Back to Wasabi Tei @ Far East plaza -- was craving for the gyu ju (beef rice bento) and tktan was eyeing the salmon. Thought the crowd would have left when we reached there @ 8.30pm -- hmm, there was a queue outside the restaurant! We took our time to decide what we wanna order while waiting. The Sushi & Udon set looked more tempting and I changed my mind (skipped the gyu ju this time). tktan chose the salmon teriyaki set. When we finally got seated at 9pm, our stomachs were "protesting" and placed our order immediately. Salmon was done "al dente"(juz right) and the sushi was big flap of raw fish with small dough of rice! Udon was cooked "al dente" in tasty broth. Oh, we shared the chawan mushi -- still as smooth and yummy! tktan was too full to finish his bowl of rice but I still had room for dessert :P But it was too late to join the gang @ Swensen for dessert. Plus I need to wake up early for my calibration run -- before going to work on Sat.

Woke up at 6am and head on out for a quick run. Weather was great -- cool & cloudy. As usual, juz let it go and Lap 1 was 4:42min/km pace -- wah, improvement from my previous calibration run! Delibrately slow down to an easy breathing pace -- Lap 2 was 5:08min/km. Adjusted the pace slightly slower -- yeah Lap 3 was juz right @ 5:14min/km pace. Ok, this "feel" of the pace was calibrated to my mind. Did a cool down walk and thorough warm down stretch -- my legs felt fresh and ready for D-day :)

P.S. Afraid that I forget how to run, so had a rehearsal this morning :P It was a good short run in a perfect weather. Let's hope the weather will be like that on D-day and everyone has an enjoyable race!

Lap 1 : 4:42 min/km
Lap 2 : 5:08 min/km
Lap 3 : 5:14 min/km

Distance : 3km
Time : 15:05min
Avg pace : 5:02min/km

West Coast Run on 30 Nov`06 (Thu)

After the chiong CBD run, decided to take a rest and went carbo load on Wed instead. The Transtar coach tix for KL 30km was ready for collection and tktan went down to make payment & collect them. His ex-colleague and me joined him for dinner @ Golden Mile FC. Supposed to go for chilli mee but the stall was closed for holiday. Was in the mood for Italian food and bingo, found a stall that serves pasta! Ordered Seafood Marinara and mushroom bread. We shared char kway teow and chilli chicken with rice. Dessert was sesame & peanut tang yuan in peanut soup -- yum yum!

Weather was great on Thursday - clear & sunny. Gave tktan the weather update @ 5pm and he made his way to KRGH. Haiz, last minute gotta work late, so called to inform him. We changed the start point from KRGH to my office @ SP2 as I had to go back to work after the run. Weather changed from clear & sunny to dark & cloudy by the time we started the run @ 7pm+. Thunder and lightning threathened that a storm was looming -- otherwise, nice to run with the cool breeze. Did a relax run to West Coast Park and did a loop of 7km. Hmm, a bit worried that I felt slight pain on the right knee and tight @ ITB. tktan also dun feel good with his left knee. Maybe this was symptom of pre-race anxiety - imaginery pain :P After cool down walk to SP2 and warm down stretch, I returned to work while tktan was occupied with Sudoku. Finally wrapped up my work at 9pm and we had dinner @ Bloogie -- carbo-load with meatballs and mushroom pasta.

P.S. Yeah, 2 more days to D-day! Will do a calibration run on Sat morning and then I am all set for D-day. Hope all the knee n hip pains will be non-existant during the race! Mind over body -- think no pain and there will be no pain :)