doraemon_red's running blog

Taking a long break...

2008-11-13T10:19:00.004+08:00

Will be hanging up my running shoes for the next 12 months...

Though reluctant, it is for the good of our little precious one -- so as not to subject to too much "bouncing trauma"! TK is afraid that our little precious one will have "run" phobia when s/he joins us next May... hahaha...

Here's a blog to share the marathon-like journey to welcome our life's little joy http://tkdo-lifeslittlejoy.blogspot.com/

Marathon Training

2008-10-10T10:52:00.005+08:00

Yesterday, I was attending a technical seminar when a guy came up to me and said "Hello, xiao ding dang"... Blurred for a moment as I cannot recognise him.. A look at his name tag and I realised he is kanglc who joined me for NUS Hill Run. We chatted about his marathon training for the upcoming SCSM. After doing 2 long runs on Sat and Sun, he has developed PF. So I shared with him how me & tktan trained for SCSM.

4 months training of weekly mileage 50-65km
- 1 weekday short run (10-12km)
- 1 weekday short run (13-15km)
- 1 weekday mid-distance run (18-20km) with a day rest after
- 1 weekend long-distance run (24-36km) with 1 day rest before and after
outcome : 3:58 finish time

For all training runs, I'll do it at race pace -- coz I wanna train my body to get accustomed to the breathing, speed and pacing. Add some hill training to work on different sets of muscles for weekday runs. For LD, if you have home ground advantage, train on the actual race route and at the same start time.

Race strategy :-
- start ~ 12km : maintain 5.15min/km pace
* refuel with 1 pack of energy gel 15min before the race start
* refuel with 1 pack of energy gel at 12km
- 12km ~ 30km : maintain 5:30min/km pace
* refuel with 1 pack of energy gel at 22km
- 30km ~ end : maintain 5:45min/km pace
* refuel with 1 pack of energy gel at 32km
* refuel with 1 pack of energy gel at 36km (final boost)

For me, I cannot start slow -- engine will stalled and I am unable to pick up speed later. So I will let go and run at my own unconstrained pace before settling in a comfortable pace.

What works for me may not work for you. So, please train with caution and most importantly, enjoy the run!

P.S. After SCSM, we went on to take part in Nagano Marathon 4mths later. Vary our training schedule as below :-
4 months training of weekly mileage 45-60km
- 1 weekday short run (13-15km) with a day rest after
- 1 weekday mid-distance run (18-20km) with a day rest after
- 1 weekend long-distance(LD) run (24-36km) with 1 day rest before and after
outcome : 4:12 finish time

Nagano Marathon on 15 Apr`07 (Sun)

2007-05-16T23:50:00.000+08:00

It had been a long time since I took part in a cool climate race -- my first was in Silicon Valley Marathon @ 1999 after 5 mths of training (switched breathing style to nose-in mouth-out). After the surprise sub4 completion @ SCSM 2006, I should be able to meet the 5-hour cut off and signed up for Nagano Olympic Commemorative Marathon – held in spring where weather will be cool with sakura bloom and beautiful scenery of Japan alps. My running buddy n koibito, tktan, readily joined me for this enjoyable race – his first cool climate race and first visit in Japan!

We arrived in Japan 4 days earlier to acclimatize. Met with a cold front and weather was freezing cold at <>! Our first acclimatization run was at 10am ard Shirakabako (a lake of 4km circumference). I put on my long sleeve running top and long tights while tktan was in shorts but put on his windbreaker. Brghhhh.... the sun was shining but it was COLD – we were still nice and cool after 4km! Oh, my Injinji toe socks kept sliding down :( Kinda distracting as I had to stop n pulled it up numerous times during the run (silly me forget to bring my Ironman socks). The cold air also made the throat dry. Next morning, we woke up early to do another run -- boy, this ended disastrously after 2km as we started to experience pain in the ear due to the cold air from strong wind! In panic mode, we went gear shopping upon reaching Nagano City – 2 day prior to race day. The CW-X running tights did not fit tktan -- very tight at the calves and I advised him not to get that as it would bother him during the run. Instead, he bought a long sleeve CW-X top to keep his upper body warm. I bought Nike toe socks to replace Injinji socks. We did our last acclimatization run a day prior to race day in our new gear -- warmer in the city than @ the lake and both felt good :) Yeah, we were all set for an enjoyable race!

Pre-race
A series of program was lined up to kick start the Nagano Marathon at JR Nagano station. With the help of race volunteers, we located the pickup point for the shuttle bus to race pack collection hall. Race pack collection was a breeze with a dedicated booth for foreign participants – juz need to sign the indemnity form and choose the size for event T-shirt. We went on browse thru the stalls at the race expo and bought the special edition Nagano Marathon T-shirt and Amino sports drink. tktan was elated to find an ear warmer and I bought a sock with arch support. That evening, we attended the opening ceremony at Hotel Kokusai – to check out the invited athletes and the pace runners. There were lots of runners in track suit, representing various running clubs in Japan. At the line of national flags representing countries of all participants, we saw the Singapore flag and took a pic :) After carboloading was a HUGE ramen dinner, we returned to the hotel to get ready for our race gear and had an early nite. P.S. I decided to wear my long sleeve red running top in anticipation of colder weather.

Race Day
Woke up at 6am and had my breakfast of 2 rice balls & a bottle of Amino sport drink. Board the 7am train bound for the start point and followed the crowd for a warm up walk to the start point at Nagano Athletic Park next to Aqua Wing. After a quick toilet break, we did a warm up run and I down a packet of Gu Gel to give me an energy boost. After depositing our bags, I went for another toilet break (maybe due to the cold weather). The lady queuing in front of me seemed to be a celebrity – everyone was coming forward to shake hand with her! And she had a manager standing beside her. tktan joked that he was acting as my manager, too! By the time I came out from toilet, announcement was made to urge all runners to enter the runners’ pen before it closed at 8.20am. We quickly ran to the runners’ pen and tried to squeeze to the front. I was feeling a bit puzzled why the runners had such small bib numbers. tktan gave me a tug and whispered to me that he was stopped by the race marshal – this pen was for the elite runners! Gosh, so embarrassing! We wriggled out and looked for our pen. Hmm, mine was located at the pen after the elite pen but tktan was at the pen behind mine (but our timing was juz 3min apart for SCSM?!!) After giving each other a final encouragement for a good run, we entered our respective pen. Saw a runner with a Taiwan logo on top of the bib and strike a conversation with him. He was a 3-hr runner and also first time @ Nagano Marathon – after hearing great review from fellow Taiwanese runners who took part in previous year. We both agreed that the race was very well organized – race pack collection, transport to start point, baggage deposit etc. We shared with our previous marathon experience – faint, this is his 40+ marathon after starting running for 3+ years! But he commented that Singapore Marathon is one that he does not dare to attempt due to the hot humid weather. We saw the 3-hr and 3.5-hr pace runner moved ahead. We wished each other a good run and the race started at 8.35am on the dot.

All the runners shot ahead and countless overtook me – haiz, coz I was in the 3-hr pen with super fast runners, different league from mine. I stayed focus and ran at my own pace – felt good as need not switch my breathing technique. tktan caught up with me and commented that the runners were super fast! After making sure that I was alright, he moved ahead and became my chasing target. The cool weather dried up my lips and I looked forward (literally with long neck) to each water point. Superb supporters lined the entire 42km route as we ran through the city, bridge, paddy fields etc. They cheered their hearts out and even called out my bib number – “nana-sen ju-san, ganbatte”(7013, keep going)! There was a group of kids dressed in baseball suit and high-5 with runners and old ladies handing out salt to runners after 30km. My knee pain came after 25km which limit my stride length. Tried my best to not think abt the pain and enjoyed the picturesque scenery of Japan Alps as we ran thru paddy fields and route lined with sakura full-bloom trees. Was surprised to see tktan waiting for me at the 22.5km water station – his leg was in pain and needed my deep heat. He passed the tube back to me and urged me to continue on. He would catch up, overtake me and wait for me at the next water station. Finally, at the 36km water station, I dun expect any major cramps and passed the whole tube to him (did rubbed some on my right thigh juz in case). After the last water point at 40.1km, a long straight road of 2km awaited me and I happily ran and greatly encouraged by the signs of “2km to go”, “1km to go”. Finally, I ran into the stadium -- surprised to step onto the bouncy track but widen my stride and rose up both my arms as I crossed the finish line in 4hr 12min! A huge finisher towel was immediately wrapped ard me. I searched thru the crowd for tktan but he was not there! Huh, how come he is not ahead of me? Our previous races, he would catch up towards the end and finished in front of me! Then I turned and saw him entered the stadium – clapped and cheered for him as he finished exactly 1 min later. Gave each other a bear hug for a good run! Yeah, we completed the race and did not get on the bus!

Post race
We returned our timing chip and each handed a bottle of amino sports drink and a 2-page newspaper of the winner of the marathon, a Kenyan, who finished at 2hr 13min – that’s how efficient the Japanese can get to print out the news within 2 hours! We took a cool down walk. Saw some runners lying on the grass with ice pack and asked a Caucasian where to get the ice pack – he pointed to the box behind and tktan got 2 packs for us. Heavenly to ice my sore knees! We saw many runners with rice balls and went in search of food. We took extra drinks and 2 rice balls – the sour ume taste was not to tktan’s taste. Baggage collection was fast and efficient – in fact, as I walked toward the tent, they spotted me and brought the bag to me! After taking some pics, we took the shuttle bus to Nagano Station for a proper lunch, wash up and attend the farewell party later in the evening.

While taking turns to take shower, we watched the delay telecast of the marathon – the video crew followed the elite runners on the entire route! It was a close finish between the Kenyan and Russian – they entered the stadium side by side and the Kenyan edged the Russian to give it all! They finished with the same timing but Kenyan touched the finishing line first! The Russian was runner-up for 3 straight years!!! Another amazing thing was that the Kenyan hardly drinks! Other elite runners had special drink mix at each water station but we only saw the Kenyans start drinking after 30km, from the sport drinks provided for the other runners.

So engrossed in watching the telecast that we arrived 30min before the farewell party end. Luckily, we managed to spot the Kenyan winner and took a pic with him – he was fascinated with my red camera :) We told him that we juz watched him on TV and what an exciting finish he had. We took a pic with the female winner, a Russian lady, as well. There were lots of food and beer at the party and an auction session for apparels of the elite runners. We left after taking a bite and head back to our hotel for a well deserved rest. Look forward to the rest of our holiday – with more onsen, yummy food and beautiful scenery!

Time check at each water stations :
1st water point @ 5.1km : 25:59min – wah, that’s a fast 5:06min/km pace!
2nd water station @ 7.5km : 38:39min – my ideal pace of 5:15min/km, hope I could maintain for 12km.
3rd water station @ 10km : 52:44min – yup, still maintaining my ideal pace of 5:15min/km
4th water station @ 12.5km : oops, forget to take lap timing….
5th water station @ 14.5km : 1hr 17:11min – slow down slightly to 5:19min/km pace.
6th water station @ 17.3km : 1hr 32:35min – manageable 5:21min/km pace.
7th water station @ 19.3km : 1hr 44:27min – ok 5:25min/km pace.
8th water station @ 22.5km : 2hr 03:56min – getting slower 5:30min/km pace.
9th water station @ 25km : 2hr 18:52min –5:33min/km pace, hope I can maintain this pace.
10th water station @ 27.7km : 2hr 36:03min – 5:38min/km pace, knee pain came after 25km which limit my stride length.
11th water station @ 30.8km : 2hr 50:03min – 5:38min/km pace
12th water station @ 33.7km : oops, forget to take lap timing….
13th water station @ 36.5km : oops, forget to take lap timing….
14th water station @ 40.1km : 3hr 59:34min – oh dear, that my finishing time for SCSM06…5:58min/km pace.. must have slow terribly after 30km :( well, wat the heck, will juz run the final 2km of straight road to the finish line…
Finish point 42.195 : 4hr 12min – glad to make it back in one piece. Great feeling of nice and dry!

Distance : 42.195km
Time : 4hr 12min
Avg pace : 5:59min/km

West Coast Run on 9 Apr`07 (Mon)

2007-04-10T12:26:00.000+08:00

Went for DTM on Saturday -- REALLY PAINFUL 3hrs!! Neny helped to "untie" the knots and ease my arch pain on my right feet due to PF. Met renoh, fennel, swoop and tktan for dinner at Chinatown -- to hear the "war" stories from swoop's Langkawi Ironman and fennel's KL marathon. Recommended this nice home-run Korean restuarant at Mosque Street -- yeah, we got to try the spicy octopus which we missed at our last visit.

Muscles still sored from DTM. Did an easy run to West Coast Park. Ok, we are all set -- Nagano Marathon here we come!

Distance : 6.5km
Time : 37min
Avg pace : 5:42min/km

Good Friday Run on 6 Apr`07 (Fri)

2007-04-09T12:16:00.000+08:00

It had been ages since we did leisure run. Decided to SgRunners for Good Friday Run aka Hot Spring Run -- highlight was to end at Sembawang Hotspring. We met the group at Yishun Stadium -- lotsa of new & familiar faces like littletigger, james, ripley, BR, lelio girl, cokiee etc. James took the lead and we followed at chit-chatting pace. Interesting places that we passed thru were the park behind Safra Yishun (had been rockclimbing there for ages but dunno the park exist!!), temple in the mist of an industrial estate, the long unsheltered stretch along the park connector to Bottletree Restuarant etc. Made a mistake not to bring along my camelbak -- felt dehydrated under the hot sun and had to gulp down loads of 100plus later (too late). Was really glad to reach the hotspring and soaked the feets n knees in the burning-hot water! SHIOK!

While the guys head straight for breakfast/lunch at Chong Pang, the girls took a cab back to Yishun Stadium to shower. So paiseh to make the guys wait sooo long, we finally had a yummy breakfast at a coffeeshop. Great fun chatting with BR, lelio girl, ripley. Many thanks to james for organising this fun run!

P.S. This marked the last long run before Nagano Marathon. Maybe due to dehydration, my nose started running and I had to rest for the entire weekend -- afraid that it will "bloom" into a flu!

Distance : 15km

Labrador Park Run on 5 Apr`07 (Thu)

2007-04-06T12:05:00.000+08:00

We head towards Labrador Park again but start off to Clementi Rd instead of Pasir Panjang Road. Getting accustomed to this route and set on auto-cruise mode soon. Reached Labrador Park in 41min @ 7.8km -- cool 5:22min/km pace. Yeah, regaining some of my confidence. After a quick water break, we u-turned back to KRGH via the same way. tktan was turbo-charged and I was left smelling his dust. Finally completed the run in 1hr 14 min @ 13.3km -- reasonable 5:34min/km pace.

I stopped to abruptly at the traffic light and suddenly felt faint -- had to sat down at the roadside to regain my breath. That got tktan real worried -- thank goodness I felt ok after the short rest. We grabbed a quick dinner at KRGH -- had panfried bak chang from the Hainanese food promo.

Distance : 13.3km
Time : 1h 14min
Avg pace : 5:34min/km

West Coast Run on 3 Apr`07 (Tue)

2007-04-04T13:02:00.000+08:00

Was feeling tired and went for a short run @ West Coast. After 30min, I felt a funny twitch @ my right ankle. Stopped to check -- hmm, nothing perculiar... Asked tktan to go ahead and do 1km loops while I take a water break. Take lap timing for him -- 5:25min for 1 lap. Joined him on his 3rd lap -- chased after him and we did 5:20min :) We stopped @ Clementi Rd and took a cool down walk back to KRGH. Wah, rarely do short runs and we made it in time to try the red wine chicken mee sua & fish mini hotpot @ Harbourfront -- hmm, so-so only.

P.S. Oh oh, my right leg is not feeling good. Think PF is affecting my foot landing and kinda worsen my ITB which trigger my knee pain :( Dun panic, relax relax...

Distance : 7.5km
Time : 42min
Avg pace : 5:36min/km

LD @ HSP on 1 Apr`07 (Sun)

2007-04-02T12:45:00.000+08:00

Went home late on Friday nite and postponed LD to Sunday as I wanna sleep late on Saturday (it was a long tiring week @ work and need to re-charge). We started the run @ 5am and ran towards the canal @ Hougang Ave 7. Time check @ end of canal at 5.2km was 29 min -- 5:35min/km pace. We continued along Tampines Rd (part of Mizuno Wave Run route) and U-turn @ entrance to TPE -- boy, there were lots of buses and I had to slow down / stop to avoid them. Took a refuel break @ 12.2km -- time check was 1hr 7min (cool, still 5:30min/km pace). Felt a light drizzle but continued on to Punggol. As we head towards the Punggol Jetty, I was caught in a heavy downpour and had to hide under the LRT line. Lucky it was a passing shower and we reached Punggol Jetty(20.6km) @ 1hr 57min -- oops, slower 5:41min/km pace. As we ran towards Marina Country Club, the rain got heavier and we took a pit stop @ the clubhouse. After 30min, the rain was still pouring and we were forced to cut short the run -- tktan was elated and said thanks from the bottom of his heart :) We did our warm down stretch while waiting for the rain to stop. In the end, we took the 8.30am shuttle bus to Punggol MRT -- had breakfast before taking a bus home.

P.S. Haiz, suppose to be our last LD of 35km. But did not want to risk running in the rain and catch a flu. Well, will juz give our best shot @ Nagano -- though feeling under prepared...

Distance : 23km
Time : 2h 12min
Avg pace : 5:44min/km

Labrador Park Run on 29 Mar`07 (Thu)

2007-03-30T13:00:00.000+08:00

Did the same route as Tuesday -- to Labrador Park. Instead of running on the narrow uneven path along Pasir Panjang, we tried the path along West Cost Highway. Much better -- dun have to jump on/off the pavement :) However, gotta be careful along this stretch -- nearly collide with a cyclist as my view was blocked by the signboard @ bus stop! Weather was better with slight breeze as we ran thru the park. To avoid the hazardous area @ Alexandra, we took the same way back and continued towards West Coast Park. tktan was on turbo mode and sped ahead. Again, I was left wondering abt my slow pace with the increasing gap! tktan accidentally tripped on the pavement n triggered his knee pain. The clicking sound on my right knee came on @ the same time and we called it a day -- time check was 1 hr for 11.5km.

P.S. Haiz, is my mind getting weaker? Gotta remind myself to push on and complete the entire distance!

Distance : 11.5km
Time : 1h
Avg pace : 5:16min/km

Labrador Park Run on 27 Mar`07 (Tue)

2007-03-28T12:35:00.000+08:00

Wanna have a change of route from flat Ulu Pandan and add some small hills. Picked the gentlest of the 4 hills, Labrador Park for a mid distance run. We started @ 6.40pm and ran along Pasir Panjang Rd to Labrador Park. It was humid and no sea breeze :( Time check was 37min @ 7km -- good, 5:17min/km pace. Then we head towards Queensway via Alexandra Rd -- the pavement was uneven and had to take extra cautious (last week, one Safra MF had a bad fall along this stretch). Lots of human traffic and had to shout "Excuse me" numerous time. tktan nearly tripped when one lady blocked his path -- triggered his knee pain afterwards! Reached Science Hub via Portsdown Flyover, time check was 1h 7min @ 12km -- slower 5:35min/km pace. After running thru SPI, we passed NUH, SRC and UCC -- nice to be back in NUS hills! Dashed up the final slope to NUS and completed the 16.5km run @ 1h 31min.

P.S. Good run! Think I have overcome my hill phobia :) Will do a few more hill runs while tapering next week. Oh, hope tktan's knee pain will recover speedily.

Distance : 16.5km
Time : 1h 31min
Avg pace : 5:31min/km

Animiles Run on 24 Mar`07 (Sat)

2007-03-26T13:31:00.000+08:00

Had been ages since we last joined the Animiles @ LPR. Decided to join DR, DO, Bug, cheow, fennel & swoop for an early morning run to touch the zoo gate. Was held up by the traffic lights and arrived @ 5am. The group started off first while tktan n me did our warm up stretch. We skipped the windy OUTR to avoid straining my knees n ankles. However, the path on the road was swarmed with insects n we had to run on the road! Original plan was to do an 8km extension after touching the zoo gate. But we changed plan to do the extension first as high chance we would be tired and skip that.

It was quiet along Sembawang Road -- tktan was leading ahead. U-turned @ Gambas Ave and then turned left at Mandai Rd to the zoo. Saw fennel on her way back (she did 19km) and she happily waved to us. As we passed UPR, crossed path with bug, swoop, DR, DO, SC5 and cheow -- they had touched the zoo gate n on their way back. Finally we touched the zoo gate and took a break to refill our camelbak. It was day break when we made our way back to LPR. Detour to Seletar Reservoir -- tktan was feeling hip pain but pressed on for the next 6km. My knee pain came on along Upper Thomson Rd -- had to stop a couple of time to stretch. I thot the end was near when I saw traffic light -- false alarm and I juz continued dejectedly. Finally, reached cassurina and flew down the final 1km to LPR. Saw sassyrunner n teelee (looking shwee on their bikes) -- their cheer spurred me to sprint to the end point. Yeah, completed the 32km run in 2h 59min!

The group had left for breakfast and we took our time to cool down, stretch and change. On our way to the hawker centre, we met fennel and swoop -- they joined us for 2nd round of breakfast. Nice to catch up with them -- been ages since we last met!

P.S. Did not feel too good for this long run. Usually, was able to run faster and less tired in the early morning. But this time, felt tired early in the run. Maybe not use to the slopes since we had been running mostly flat. Will do some small hill run next week to strength the quad. Uh oh, tktan still bugged by hip pain and my knee pain still persistant :(

Distance : 32km
Time : 2h 59min
Avg pace : 5:36min/km

Ulu Pandan Canal Run on 21 Mar`07 (Wed)

2007-03-22T12:45:00.000+08:00

Ulu Pandan had became our hot spot for flat run. Did another mid-distance run with tktan. Yup, the calve pain came on along Pasir Panjang Rd. Guess I have to live with the pain -- maybe I am getting use to it, barely noticeable nowadays. tktan was in speed mode -- he juz sped ahead and left me wondering y I was so SLOW! Time check @ Bouna Vista MRT was 41:50min (that's a 5:14min/km pace!). After a water break, we continued with 3 laps @ Ulu Pandan Canal.

Lap 1 : 10:49min (wow, the fastest I had ever ran here @ 5:09min/km pace!)
Lap 2 : 11:25min (slow down as part of the canal was not lit @ 5:26min/km pace)
Lap 3 : 11:25min (maintain same pace as Lap 2)

My knee pain came on @ this point but I pushed to complete the run. However, I felt exceptionally tired and finally raised my white flag @ the AYE flyover. We took a cool down 2km walk back to KRGH.

P.S. tktan was in superb condition -- paiseh that I was not is good shape and had to cut short the run. Hope the next run, both of us will be in good condition.

Distance : 15.5km
Time : 1h 25min
Avg pace : 5:29min/km

West Coast Run on 20 Mar`07 (Tue)

2007-03-21T12:30:00.000+08:00

It had been a while since I ran solo. Took off for a short run @ West Coast after work. Hmm, my left calves started to ache early in the run :( Luckily, it became barely noticeable when I entered West Coast Park. Wah, saw a couple of guys running and started to chase after the targets :) Did extra loops @ MacDonalds and completed the 10km @ 56min. Took a cool down walk to KRGH followed by warm down stretch.

P.S. Suspect that my calve ache is due to the slanted road surface along Pasir Panjang Rd. Will test it out again tomorrow.

Distance : 10km
Time : 56min
Avg pace : 5:36min/km

HSP Run on 17 Mar`07 (Sat)

2007-03-19T19:07:00.000+08:00

Carboloaded with cabbage rice on Friday nite, in anticipation for 30km+ LD on Saturday. Had plan a new route covering Hougang, Sengkang & Punggol. tktan joined me for the run and we started @ 6.50am. It was nice and cool as we ran through Sengkang to the park connector @ Hougang Ave 7 -- great running along the breezy canal. At the end of canal, tktan requested for a break as his right leg felt uncomfortable -- adjusted his shoe n lace. Time check was 30min for 5.2km -- slow n easy 5:46km/min pace.

We continued on to Punggol via Punggol East flyover (a slight slope here). Followed the LRT line and ran the perimeter for Punggol Town -- weather breezy and the vast view of the open green fields were relaxing. tktan had warmed up his engine and leading 20m ahead. We turned right and Punggol Rd to a shady path with tree lined on both sides of the road. Then, we were greeted with a rolling hills infront of us -- arghh, didn't expect hills in this area and was pleasantly surprised. Glad we reached the end of the road, which was Punggol Jetty -- time check was 1hr 19min @ 13.6km(5:46km/min pace). A few people were waiting for the boat (dunno to where). The place was desserted -- no shelther, except for a bus-stop and a locked portable toilet. We re-fueled with our 1st pack of Gu Gel before continue on. Hey, the return route was faster than we expected :) By then the sun was out in full blast. Did an extra 6km ard Punggol and refueled with 2nd Gu Gel & re-fill our water bag @ Punggol MRT station -- time check was 2hr 12min @ 23km (5:44min/km pace). tktan was feeling left hip pain but he pressed on as we head toward the final loop from Sengkang to Jalan Kayu.

This was a demoralizing stretch -- long stretch and see no end. The weather was oppressed heat from the haze. The hip pain was bothering tktan and he asked me to go ahead as he walk back to the end point. To avoid the hot sun, I ran under the shaded path of the right lane -- motorists were surprised to see me but gave way to me :) Really glad to reach the end point -- time check was 2hr 58 min @ 31km (avg 5:45min/km pace). Backtracked a little to meet up with tktan. He was totally burnt out! We did a warmed down stretch before heading for shower n brunch.

P.S. Happy that I dun feel much pain @ knee for this run and despite the hot weather, I was able to maintain a consistant 5:45min/km pace :) Yeah, I have gradually increase my mileage -- will peak my mileage within the next 2 weeks! Felt under-prepare for the marathon -- this was my first 30km run (did many 30km+ run during training for SCSM06). Sorry that tktan was experiencing hip pain -- hope the next LD will be better for him!

Distance : 31km
Time : 2:58min
Avg pace : 5:45min/km

Calibration Run on 16 Mar`07 (Fri)

2007-03-16T13:04:00.000+08:00

Not enough mileage for the week, so dragged myself out of bed @ 5.45am to do a 10km run @ Sengkang. After light stretch, started the run with the 1km loop at my block. Here's the lap timing :-

Lap 1 : 5:28min -- Nice, not-chuan pace
Lap 2 : 5:31min -- Good, managed to keep to 5:30min/km with minimal pain @ my left leg
Lap 3 : 5:26min -- Was contemplating whether to run to Punggol, decided against it as that area would be desserted and unsafe for a solo lady runner.
Lap 4 : 5:24min -- How abt follow the LRT track to Jalan Kayu? Hmm, that area also quite desserted...
Lap 5 : 5:33min -- Wah, half done oledi! Then continue doing loops...
Lap 6 : 5:29min -- Counting down... 4 more laps
Lap 7 : 5:34min -- Oops, slowing down. Maybe I should stop @ 8km...
Lap 8 : 5:33min -- Ok, one more km then I am done...
Lap 9 : 5:30min -- Aiyah, might as well run another km to make it 10...
Lap 10 : 5:21min -- Huh, thot I was running slowest?!!

Cannot believe I actually ran 10 loops!! Super boring but my mind was kept busy :) Did a warm down stretch, replenished with 100plus, watched the news while I did cold treatment on the knees and had a good hot shower. Glad that I made it for the run :)

Distance : 10km
Time : 54min
Avg pace : 5:29min/km

West Canal Run on 14 Mar`07 (Wed)

2007-03-14T13:03:00.000+08:00

Heavy rain on Tuesday AGAIN -- went for carboloading instead. Luckily we managed to get a table @ Wacha -- tried a few times and they were fully booked (even on weekdays!). The set dinner consists of various side dishes, clear soup, lasagne, tea leave fried rice and strawberry sorbet. We ordered Takeyama sake to go with the food. YUM YUM!

Weather looked bad on Wednesday -- luckily the rain stopped at 6pm and we proceed with our mid distance run. We started off @ KRGH at 6.55pm and did the same route as last week. As usual, left leg began to feel achy early into the run -- though not as bad as last week. Time check Bouna Vista MRT was 43min -- ok 5:23min/km pace. Took a toilet and water break before proceeding to Ulu Pandan Canal. Hmm, less ache and I was happy to run @ my auto-cruise mode. Here's the lap timing along the canal :-
Lap 1 : 10:57min - avg 5:13min/km pace
Lap 2 : 11:16min - avg 5:22min/km pace
Lap 3 : 11:10min - avg 5:19min/km pace
Then we did a slow run back as the road was uneven and not well-lit. Dashed up the final slope to KRGH -- tktan was trying to out-run the bus!

P.S. Felt better -- think I have overcome the mental block on my knee pain. Though still feel achy on my left leg for the first 8km -- bearable. Will peak my mileage for the next 2 weeks before tapering :) Went home and did the hot/cold treatment on my knees -- felt good the next morning. Heel pain still there but I found a way to relieve it -- massage on the arch of the foot. Suspect it may be a mild case of PF...

Distance : 17.5km
Time : 1h 32min
Avg pace : 5:25min/km

F2 run on 11 Mar`07 (Sun)

2007-03-12T13:23:00.000+08:00

Took a lift from DR at Serangoon MRT along with DO & cokiee. When we arrived @ ECP F2 carpark, a group had gathered -- tktan, ultra, sealboon, trencen (dropped by after his bike session), alvo & meteror, teelee, sassyrunner, shutelup & his fren etc. DR lead some of them for a warm up run to the lagoon and return back in time for BR and tooty to join in. tktan n me started later as we needed more time to stretch. Time check after making a loop and back to F2 was 20min -- hmm, should be 3.5km instead of my estimate of 4km. We soon caught up with them and lead the way to NSRCC. Most of them were in chatty mood :) Then DR & teelee took the lead at Changi Coast Rd -- the demoralising stretch. DR was wearing HWA luminous orange top -- good target to follow. The road was never ending.... Was hoping to see DR turned in to Changi Beach -- but he kept going straight :( Finally, we reached the first toilet @ Changi Beach! Time check was 1hr 24min -- avg 5:25min/km pace. Took a break to refill my camelbak -- thanks to DO, BR & cokiee for helping to finish the first pack.

On the return leg, the sun was out in full blast. My knee pain kicked in abt then and I slowed down when DR & BR overtook me. When I tried to widen my stride, the pain became more -- so I kept to small stride. Was literally melting under the sun! So glad to reach NSRCC -- hope to have some shade along ECP. Caught up with tktan @ NSC -- his CPU was overheated and needed to cool down. I went on ahead and caught up with BR -- she said she wanna run 2hr only and gonna walk back to F2. Next was teelee -- he was also walking back. Yeah, finally reach F2 and completed the run -- time check was 2hr 34min. DR was chatting with meteror and tooty who did a leisure 10km. tktan came back shortly and we went for a cool down walk before joining the group. While waiting for the rest, we did our stretching. There was a van selling ice cream and cold drinks @ F2 -- thanks to DR for the 100plus treat. When most of them were back, we proceed to shower -- wah, first time I showered in the open n had lotsa fun!

Next was the hightlight of the run -- we set off for Changi Village for beef noodle lunch. I was a satisfied n happy gal after the yummy lunch -- the tough & hot run was all worth it!

Distance : 27km
Time : 2h 34min
Avg pace : 5:42min/km

Sengkang-Punggol Run on 10 Mar`07 (Sat)

2007-03-12T13:02:00.000+08:00

Due to the strange ache @ my right leg after Wed run, I took 2 days rest and went for a short run on Sat morning. It was daylight by the time I started the run @ 7.30am. Was cautious to start slow and monitor my legs condition. Hmm, my left leg had this nagging ache @ the ankle n calve -- my right leg was pain free! Aiyah, dun care -- juz run... Didn't see any runner along the way -- no one to chase, so I juz ran at an easy pace. Before I knew it, I crossed the flyover from Punggol to Sengkang and reached home. Time check was 43min for 8km -- lucky not so slow, decent 5:23min/km pace :)

After cool down n wash up, went back to office to work :(

Distance : 8km
Time : 43min
Avg pace : 5:23min/km

West Canal Run on 7 Mar`07 (Wed)

2007-03-08T13:49:00.000+08:00

Due to the heavy rain on Tuesday, my plan to do a mid-distance run was postponed till Wednesday. tktan n me started off @ KRGH at 7pm and did the same route as last Tuesday. This time, I was determined to complete the entire distance -- pain or no pain. Hmm, left leg was feeling achy early into the run -- especially @ the ankle. The ache eased somewhat when we ran along the slightly upslope South Bouna Vista Rd. Slow down considerably @ Ayer Rajah Ind Est and managed to do a quick calve stretch while waiting for the traffic light. Time check Bouna Vista MRT was 43min -- hmm, slower 5:43min/km pace. Took a toilet and water break before proceeding to Ulu Pandan Canal. Hmm, left leg ache disappeared and I was happy to run @ my auto-cruise mode. Here's the lap timing along the canal :-
Lap 1 : 11:00min - avg 5:14min/km pace
Lap 2 : 11:23min - avg 5:25min/km pace
Lap 3 : 11:06min - avg 5:17min/km pace
Then we did a slow run back as the road was uneven and not well-lit. Yeah, we dashed up the final slop to KRGH -- so long since we last did it and felt good! Clap clap, we completed the entire run!

P.S. Went home and did the hot/cold treatment on my knees -- felt good the next morning. However, I felt a strange ache on my right feet (ankle & heel). Could barely walk when I got up from sitting but the ache would go away after walking a while. Was it becoz my right leg was compensating when my left leg ache during the run? Hope the ache will go away before my LD this weekend.

Distance : 17.5km
Time : 1h 37min
Avg pace : 5:33min/km

Marina Promenade-ECP on 3 Mar`07 (Sat)

2007-03-05T12:18:00.000+08:00

My first LD after a long break. After depositing our bags @ Suntec Planet Fitness, tktan and me proceeded to Marina Promenade for warm up. Wow, the construction to the left of Esplanade was massive -- wonder how the RL group detour for this route. Started the run towards ECP via Indoor Stadium & Tanjong Rhu. Weather was cool and cloudy as tktan lead while I followed @ slow pace. Crossed path with roentgen & divey @ Kallang Riverside Park -- they were heading in towards Esplanade. They asked whether we were heading towards Changi Coast Rd -- yup, that's was my plan. tktan waited for me to catch up @ Indoor Stadium before crossing over to Tanjong Rhu and towards Fort Road.

Happy to reach ECP -- time checked was 40min (ard 5.30min/km pace). tktan asked me to go ahead while he stretched to relieve pain/aches (maybe he started too fast?). Went into auto-cruise mode -- not many runners in sight, so no one to chase after :P tktan caught up shortly -- glad to hear that he felt better after the stretch break. Then we bumped into ronnie & bee who were training for their KL marathon. Oh oh, at 15km, felt the knee pain coming(clicking sound appeared) and finally signaled to tktan that I needed to stop at NSC(16km). Haiz, was hopping I can endure the pain longer and finished at least 20km. tktan was prepared to walk back with me but I urged him not to slack with me and continue his run -- arranged to meet back @ MacDonalds. While he ran to NSRCC, I turned back and walked towards MacDonalds. Hmm, felt better after I stretched my hamstring and able to continue running. Oops, knee pain came back near Lagoon and I took a quick stretch break and continued on.

Finally call it a day @ toilet after tennis centre -- time checked was 2h 5min for 21.5km (avg 5:49min/km). Well, at least I managed to ran > 20km. Weather was still cloudly -- aiyah, else I can cover more ground. While I did my cool down stretch, bumped into Eddie -- he juz finished swimming in the sea and doing a short run. He stopped for a chat -- asked me how come I dun join RL run lately. Told him I was recovering from hamstring tendon mico-tear(after KL 30km) and also working late. We chatted abt the KL 30km -- too many hills!! Then he asked me what is my next event and was interested after hearing my plan for Nagano Marathon. Aiyah, too late oledi as registration is closed. He asked whether I will be interested in Hawaii race in December -- to early to decide after I would be taking a run break after Nagano Marathon. After Eddie continued on with his run, saw ronnie running alone (bee was waiting @ MacDonalds). He stopped to check how's my recovery -- told him not so good as my knee pain came back @ 15km.

tktan came back 40min later -- after covering 4km more. He was completely flat out (stopped at every toilet along the way back) and gulped down my excess drink from my camelbak. After cool down, we walked to Marine Cresent and catch a bus to Suntec. After a hot shower, we had lunch @ Pho House at Suntec's Sky Garden -- I had the tomato crabmeat noodle soup while tktan had the spicy beef with rice. Yummy! But no pics to show as we didn't bring our cameras -- our bags were @ Planet Fitness as we planned to go for Yoga class after lunch. Enjoyed our lunch too much and decided to skip yoga class and went shopping @ suntec (to digest the huge lunch).

P.S. Finally crossed the 20km mark. Next week, will increase weekly mileage to 50km+ with a 26km LD on weekend.

Distance : 21.5km
Time : 2h 5min
Avg pace : 5:49min/km

West Canal Run on 1 Mar`07 (Thu)

2007-03-02T12:48:00.000+08:00

Work late till 7pm and we decided to start off from my office @ 7.30pm. Took a short cut thru SP2 and continued on to South Bouna Vista Rd and underpass to Ayer Rajah Ind Est. Skipped water break @ Bouna Vista MRT and proceed to auto-cruise mode @ Ulu Pandan Canal. tktan went ahead while I ran @ my slow pace. Cool, able to maintain a 5:30min/km pace. Did 2-lap up and down the canal. On the third lap, could feel the knee pain coming and decided to stop @ Dover MRT. Walked 4km back to my office.

P.S. Oh dear, didn't even hit 10km this time!! Panic mode! Will the knee pain go away? Arghh, 2nd time in a week that we had to walk back. Hope the next run we can complete the run @ KRGH!

Distance : 9km
Time : 51min
Avg pace : 5:40min/km

West Canal Run on 27 Feb`07 (Tue)

2007-02-28T12:47:00.000+08:00

Work late and only managed to start the run @ 7.30pm. From Pasir Panjang, tktan n me continued on to South Bouna Vista Rd and underpass to Ayer Rajah Ind Est. While stopping @ the traffic light, I suddenly felt faint and had to take a seat by the road side -- tktan was very worried and suggested that we stopped the run and walked back. After a short rest, I felt good enough and decided to continue on. tktan followed closely behind me -- for fear that I juz fainted along the way. We carried on to Dover Rise and took a water break at Bouna Vista MRT. tktan cautioned me to run slow @ the canal. We did a 5:30min/km pace for the first lap. On the second lap, tktan started to feel pain and we stopped @ Dover MRT and did a 4km cool down walk back to KRGH.

P.S. Really puzzled abt the fainting spell -- I was well hydrated and even carbo-load with bread 2 hours before the run. Good thing the faint was short-lived and I was able to continue with my run.

Distance : 11km
Time : 1h 1min
Avg pace : 5:33min/km

Sengkang-Punggol Run on 25 Feb`07 (Sun)

2007-02-26T12:20:00.000+08:00

Was preparing to do a mid-distance run on Thursday -- gotta cancel the run due to rain. Went for makan session @ Rama Thai -- had the claypot sharkfins, crab with glass noodle and phad thai (the waiter didn't warn us that the food will be too much for 2 pax!!). My plan to do a 2-hr run on Saturday morning also backfired -- attended a drama performance @ Esplanade on Friday evening and reached home closed to midnite :( CNY dinner party at home (Hokkaido Crab Ramen & sake, maki sushi, yusheng & fruit jello) ended ard 10pm and I managed to clean up & zzz before midnite.

Thank goodness my last bet to run on Sunday morning materialized :) Woke up at 7am and started the run at 7.30am. Warmed up with 2 1-km lap ard my neighbourhood :-
Lap 1 : 5:12min/km (surprise that I can still run at this speed! breathing was easy...)
Lap 2 : 5:30min/km (slow down a bit to more relax pace -- yeah, my ideal pace)
Weather was cloudly and cool. Continued on to Punggol via the flyover and ran along the LRT line. Only saw a handful of runners in the opposite direction. Spotted 2 guys ahead near the Punggol MRT station. Wah, finally have company :) When I caught up and ran alongside one of the guy, he kept turning side to look at me. Turned out it was SgRunner kayano! Oops, didn't recognise him until her called out to me. He asked how was my ankle pain -- told him it was my knee that has problem :) Ran ahead as I was trying to beat the sun (peeping thru the clouds). Intended to do a 6km loop to Jalan Kayu but abandoned the plan when I crossed over to Sengkang -- the sun was out in full blast and I didn't carry water/money with me. Did my cool down stretch followed by hot/cold treatment for the knees.

P.S. Very happy that I can maintain 5:30min/km pace and no knee pain during the run -- juz ITB tight. OK, looks like I gotta run on relatively flat surface for the time being. Shall increase my mileage from next week onwards and start LD @ ECP real soon.

Distance : 10km
Time : 55min
Avg pace : 5:30min/km

CNY Heng Heng Run on 20 Feb`07 (Tue)

2007-02-21T12:45:00.000+08:00

Skipped CNY Eve Run @ LPR as the slanted surafce @ OUTR may not do good to my injured knee. So joined DR's CNY Heng Heng Run @ Safra MF on Chu 3 (after 3 days of feasting) -- thru 3 hills (Kent Ridge Park, Labrador Park and Mount Faber). Took a lift from DR @ Serangoon MRT, together with DO and fennel. tktan was already warming up when we arrived. After putting our barang in DR's car, we did our warm up stretch while waiting for the rest -- cokiee, kayano, SV and new faces hkflyer & sealboon. Wah, most wore red/orange to add on to the festive run. After DR briefed us on the route, we started the run @ 7.30am -- running along Depot Rd towards Kent Ridge Park. DR, DO & cokiee played guide to the tourist, hkflyer, while fennel and me followed closely behind. Could hear the guys, SV, sealboon, kayano and tktan chitchatting behind. Followed DR via a new route to Portsdown flyover -- crossing the railway track, a mosque and private housing along Jalan Hang Jebat.

When we reached Kent Ridge Park, DR, DO, hkflyer and tktan went for another loop while the rest took a break @ the tank. kayano brought his camera phone and we took a group pic @ the tank. Became lost sheep when I stopped to stretch my hamstring (pulled it when I jumped off the tank after the group pic). Instead of the canopy walk, we ran on the path. To prevent further injury to my knees, I opted to walk down along Pepys Rd while tktan ran down and waited for me @ the base. We continued and ran to Labrador Park. Spotted the group running up to Olive Restaurant and we followed suit. Re-joined the group @ Dragon Teeth. Took another group pic before moving to Mount Faber. My knee pain came on at this time -- despite stretching, the pain persisted. Decided to call it a day -- tktan didn't have enough sleep and slacked together with me. We walked back to Safra MF via Henderson Rd. Shortly after, cokiee and fennel came back -- beated from the hot weather. Soon, the rest came back.

We had a yum-seng toast with red wine (courtesy of DO) to mark a good run for the pig year! Had a quick breakfast @ the food centre opposite the clubhouse. Then tktan and me head off to the aiport to send off fennel & George to the Langkawi Ironman.

P.S. Not sure whether the walk break disrrupted the momentum or the slope @ Kent Ridge/Labrador Park triggered the knee pain(at different location from last week). Next run, will target non-stop running for 1.5 hours without slope.

2nd Recovery Run on 15 Feb`07 (Thu)

2007-02-16T12:43:00.000+08:00

Enjoyed a romantic 5-course vday dinner with my koibito - appetiser of Goose Liver Terrine and Pan Fried King Prawns, intermezzo of lime sorbet, Double Boiled Chicken Consommé, main course of Grilled Imported Angus Beef Tenderloin & Grilled Salmon and dessert of Lemon Mousse with Strawberry Ice Cream and Blueberry Sauce.

In need to burn off the excess, went for my second recovery run @ West Coast -- did not do ITB massage using tennis ball. This time, I was determined to run at my own pace and not try to chase after tktan. Lost sight of tktan in West Coast Park and I did an additional 1km loop before spotting him near the toilet close to MacDonald. He asked me to go ahead as he would be doing interval. So I ran another loop -- took time and was glad that I was running 5:45min/km pace. tktan then joined me as we ran back to the Dog Run Area. Was experiencing pain in the right knee(at different location from Tue's run) but wanna try how long more I could sustain. Finally ended the run at MacDonald -- time check was 1h 1min. Yeah, glad that I was able to run continuously for 1h -- improvement from previous run of 30min. We took a cool down walk to Clementi Woods Park -- wanna explore new routes. Erhm, it was a small area of 500m width. We checked out the restaurant @ the top of the hill, Sakura, which serves Japanese Buffet. Found a shortcut back to NUS. After cool down and shower, we walked over to Fong Sheng area for dinner. Experienced sharp pain @ right knee! Oh dear, did I worsen the condition by continue running after the knee pain surfaced? Dutifully went home and do hot/cold treatment on my knees. Phew, felt better the next morning.

P.S. Though worried abt pain after the run, happy that my slow pace is still 5:45min/km pace -- that means I can possibly complete Nagano Marathon in 4.5hr :) Will concentrate on building up my mileage slowly from here.

Distance : 10.5km
Time : 1h 1min
Avg pace : 5:49min/km

Recovery Run on 13 Feb`07(Tue)

2007-02-14T12:48:00.000+08:00

kops21 sms-ed me to join the CBD's Valentine Eve Run. Unable to make it as would be working late. He then asked me to join them after the run for chitchat and makan -- but I planned to do my recovery run @ West Coast after work. Indeed I worked till 7pm and only started the run closed to 7.30pm. tktan, who was nursing a hamstring injury, joined me for the recovery run. Was feeling fine along Pasir Panjang Rd to West Coast Park -- hmm, instead of my right leg, felt some discomfort at my left shin. It was still bright when we reached West Coast Park -- tktan cautioned me to stop anytime if I dun feel good. We were running at a relax smell-flower and chitchatting pace. The park was quiet with a handful of joggers. Tried to switch my breathing to nose-in mounth-out -- still felt out of breath. tktan periodically asked me whether I was feeling ok. On the return route, I started to feel uncomfortable @ my right knee -- knee cap felt loose/mis-aligned and ITB became painful. Endured and hoped the pain would go away soon -- it didn't go away and I decided to stop the run. Oh dear, that was juz after 30mins of running :( We took a cool down walk back to KRGH -- could hear my right knee "clicking". Was feeling lousy and defeated -- was I too rush to get back to running? Or did I overdo it with ITB massage using the tennis ball? *faint* tktan suggested that I skipped the ITB massage and try running again on Thursday. OK, hope Thursday run will be a better one :)

Another Date with Osteopath on 10 Feb`07 (Sat)

2007-02-12T12:39:00.000+08:00

After 1 WHOLE week of no running, I was almost tearing my hair out of boredom. The only exercise I did was a short swim on Tuesday -- felt pain at the back of my left knee for no reason as I was swimming leisurely :( Had to cut short the swim and I dun even dare to think about 'secretly' going for a run. Thursday morning, woke up with a weak right knee -- could barely lift up my leg! Did I do something wrong? The swim worsened the condition instead of improving? The only additional thing I did beside the stretching exercises was ITB massage using golf ball (my tennis ball had gone missing). Luckily, felt much better on Friday morning -- didn't do the ITB massage with golf ball. Went for cycling with tktan and his colleague @ East Coast on Sat morning before our appointment with Paul, my osteopath.

Told Paul about my weak right knee and he said the golf ball may be too hard for massaging -- may do more harm! *Faint* Lesson learnt -- listen to the expert and dun try to substitute the tennis ball with another ball without consulting him! He was glad to hear that I was feeling less tight around the back of my knees -- the 1 week rest indeed helped to improve my condition slightly. Pelvis was slightly rotated and ITB still tight. So he massaged to put my pelvis in place and loosen the ITB. Mine, the ITB massage was REAL PAINFUL -- he was using a new circular stroke and he was surprised that I noticed the difference! Of course, it was MORE painful! Good news was he gave me the green light to resume light running for the next 2 weeks -- at most 10km for each run with rest day in between and lotsa stretching. Twice this week and if I feel good, add in another short run on weekend. He will review my condition again 2 weeks later.

Phew, glad that my hair will be in tact! Ok, will start off with an easy run on Tuesday next week and see how it goes... Keep my fingers crossed that I will feel good!

P.S. Like to thank many SgRunners who showed their concern and support during my "down" period, especially my running buddy & koibito tktan :)

Lunch Date with Osteopath on 3 Feb`07 (Sat)

2007-02-05T13:09:00.000+08:00

Paul, my osteopath, was shaking his head when I listed down my problem areas -- he had to patiently wait for me to describe my injured shoulder from skiing and hip & knee pain from running. First he checked my hip -- way off as my pelvis was rotated again! He started with my shoulder -- there was a strain @ biceps as it was painful when he massaged. Next, he tried to identify the point where I felt pain at the back of my knee. Bad news -- it was a tendon micro-tear @ my hamstrings! Felt a burning sensation when he massaged -- OUCH! He moved on to ease my hip pain with his elbow -- PAIN! This was followed by massage on my ITB to ease the knee pain... Phew, was glad when the pain therapy was finally over! More bad news -- to allow the micro-tear to heal, he advised me to stop running for at least 2 weeks -- no bike either, juz swim :( He will review my recovery a week later -- and see how soon can I get back to runnning. That's on the condition that I dutifully do the stretching exercises for my shoulde, hip and knee and ice my knees daily. Also, it will do me good if I train up my core muscles and stability...

Here's some links on hamstring injury :-
1) Hamstring Injury
2) Extract from Hamstring
In my experience dealing with hamstring strain in long distance runners’ I find that they do not have an imbalance with the quadriceps muscle being stronger than the hamstring, but just the opposite the hamstring is stronger than the quadriceps. This can happen if there was a previous injury to the knee leading to residual atrophy of the quadriceps muscle. In many circumstance the quadriceps and hamstring muscle work synergistically to extend the knee. If, the quadriceps muscle is weak the hamstring will compensate in order to extend the knee. This leads to an over worked hamstring muscle. Another muscle imbalance, which can lead to hamstring strain, is a weak lower abdominal muscle (external oblique abdominal muscle) and an overly developed hamstring muscle. This situation can occur on one side of the body if there is a history of an inguinal hernia. In certain situations both the lower abdominal muscles and the hamstrings act to tilt the pelvis in a posterior direction. If the lower abdominal muscle is deficient in its action to stabilize the tilt the pelvis the hamstring compensates by working harder.

In both of these situations rehabilitation and prevention should address the weak synergistic muscles. Recent work by Sherry (2004) supports this concept. He demonstrated the addition of core stabilization exercises to traditional stretching and strengthening exercises are more effective than just traditional and strengthening exercises for hamstring strain.

P.S. Really have no idea when or what caused the micro-tear! Disheartening news with 2+ months to Nagano Marathon -- well, I juz have to take a break from running and pursue my other sporting interests for the time being...

NUS Hill Run on 31 Jan`07 (Wed)

2007-02-01T12:06:00.000+08:00

Skipped LD on last Sunday as my right knee was still painful and I needed a fresh mind to work (yes, worked the entire week 7 days). Though I brought my swim and run gear with me on Monday, was unable to do either -- stucked at work till 9pm :( So Wed NUS Hill Run was my first run of the week -- after 4 days of rest.

This week, we had a smaller turn out -- ronnie, fennel, George, cokiee, tktan and me. Little tigger went ninja training, hohorunner had CNY dinner, DO went to the pool to "eye" chop chop and DR unable to make it last minute. Haiz, George, fennel n cokiee were late -- managed to start the run @ 7.20pm. tktan, who was trying out his new Saucony shoes, took the lead while I was sweeper and fennel as sweeper's sweeper :) fennel was having calve/shin pain from her LD with Safra MF last Sunday -- so we gals were running @ smell-flower pace while the guys chiong. When we reached Haw Par Villa, I suggested to fennel to take the short cut -- run up the slope and exit @ Zehnder Rd to South Bouna Vista Rd. fennel, being an upright person, opt not to take the short cut and we continued along Pasir Panjang Rd to South Bouna Vista Rd. Crawled up the killer slope -- hmm, no sight of the guys! Boo hoo, they didn't wait for us!

Recovered our breath @ the KRP downslope and continued on to SP1 -- skipped the water break @ Sci Hub. Lead fennel to the new route via underpass to Ayer Rajah Industrial Estate and South Bouna Vista MRT. We took a quick toilet break @ the MRT before proceeding to Ulu Pandan Canal. Set to auto cruise mode and enjoyed running with the wind on the face. Oh, remembered that I was suppose to switch my breathing technique to nose-in mouth-out (in preparation for Nagano Marathon where air is cold n dry). Erhmmm, somehow, could not synchronized my new breathing style with my stride -- felt out of breath. Gotta try this again at a slower pace. Mid way, felt pain on the back of my left knee -- oh no, not a good sign :( Slow down and the pain eased. We decided to skip Sunset Way Canal and head back to NUS. Chiong up the final slope and completed 13km in 1h15min. Took a recovery walk while waiting for the guys to come back. Poor cokiee, he was a lost sheep after taking a wrong turn @ KRP and couldn't find the front and back pack. Instead, he did his own run @ KRP. Warning to new comers, do stay with the lead or sweeper! Or, the sweeper's sweeper didn't do her job?! :P

Thanks for tktan for the ice and isotonic water and fennel for extra isotonic water. After a quick shower, we went to Clementi for dinner. ronnie and I had fried hokkien mee served with "oh pare" leave -- hmm, only complain was the prawn was not shelled (George was "kind" enough to demo how to de-shell the prawn using the handle of a spoon -- of course he ate the prawn after the demo). tktan had black bean sauce beef horfun, George had fried rice and fennel has dried noodle with mushroom n jiao zi.

P.S. Felt a sharp pain @ my right knee cap when I went down the stairs @ MRT station. Very disturbing as I had not felt this kind of pain before, plus the pain @ the back of my left knee during the Ulu Pandan Canal stretch. Dutifully ice my knees thoroughly before I zzz. Thank goodness, my knees felt much better this morning. Now, I juz hope that when I see my osteopath on Saturday, he will not asked me to stop running -- keeping my fingers n toes crossed!

Distance : 13km
Time : 1h 15min
Avg pace : 5:46min/km

West Canal Run on 26 Jan`07 (Fri)

2007-01-27T10:29:00.000+08:00

With juz one run on Wed, decided to do a mid-distance 15-18km run on Friday. Since I had to work during the weekend, left office early to start the run @ 6.30pm. tktan joined me and was my mobile water support (thanks!) :) Suggested we ran a shorter and less traffic route via PGP to SPI -- tktan was in the mood for longer run(or hill?!) and said we sticked to the original route via Kent Ridge Park. Well, cun slack with this run addict :P Weather was nice and cool as we ran along Pasir Panjang to South Bouna Vista Rd. Time check @ end of the killer slope was 18:10min -- nice 5:11min/km pace. Then we proceed to Alexandra Industrial Estate via the underpass @ SPI. To avoid the messy construction work @ Bouna Vista MRT, we took a detour to Ulu Pandan Canal via Dover Rise. Wah, it was still daylight when we started the auto-cruise mode @ Ulu Pandan Canal! Always like running on this stretch -- unknowingly, we picked up pace to 4:55min/km with tktan leading. Proceed on to Sunset Way Canal -- quite desserted as there was a light drizzle. I felt fine running to the end of the canal but felt pain on my right knee n hip for the return route (due to the slanted surface). tktan was still full of energy and we continued to run back to NUS via Clementi Rd. It was dimly lit and had to slow down to avoid tripping on the uneven surface. When we reached the traffic junction, I raised my white flag as the pain behind the back of my right knee was annoying :(

So we took a cool down walk back to NUS. The rain became heavier -- thank goodness we managed to hop on the shuttle bus to KRGH. After a hot shower, we grabbed dinner @ King Fisher Cafe -- share the Cantonese Style Horfun and Hot n Sour Soup.

P.S. Oh oh, my right knee pain seemed to worsen -- DTM didn't help. Gotta bear with it for another week before my appointment with my osteopath -- gonna take it easy next week. Meanwhile, will do strength condition for my quads...

Route : Start @ KRGH -> Pasir Panjang -> South Bouna Vista Rd -> Kent Ridge Park -> Sci Park I -> Alexandra Ind Est -> Dover Rise -> Ulu Pandan Canal -> Sunset Way Canal -> Clementi Rd

Distance : 15.5km
Time : 1h 25min
Avg pace : 5:30min/km

NUS Hill Run on 24 Jan`07 (Wed)

2007-01-25T13:07:00.000+08:00

Weather was nice and cool -- thin layer of cloud amist blue blue sky. DR was the first to arrived followed by hohorunner, babumouse, ronnie, tktan and LM. Littetigger sms-ed that he was unable to make it last minute. George sms-ed that he was held up at work and would be late for 15mins. While waiting for him and fennel, we did our warm-up stretch and chat abt the KL 30km last Sunday. Hmm, still no sign of them @ 7.25pm. As it was getting late, we changed plan from running route 5(ulu pandan canal) to route 6(familiar route and would play catch up later) -- tktan would lead the group on the 12km route while I waited for fennel and George. They arrived juz when the guys turned out to Pasir Panjang Rd. Passed my locker key to fennel so that they could put their bags -- started to chase after the guys. Finally caught up with them @ SPI -- tktan was waiting for DR, hohorunner n LM who stopped for water break while ronnie and babumouse continued on. I took over the lead from here with DR closely behind. Briefly chatted with DR as we ran thru SPII -- he was nursing a cold and still able to run fast! As usual, I lag behind on the PGP upslope with DR leading infront. When I caught up at the end of PGP slope, we proceed on to NUH n NUS (oops, later found out that DR was catching his breath and would welcome a break). Finally, we reached the final slope -- chiong up and finished the run in 1h 3min. Good run!

LM took a short cut and came back via PGP. tktan and hohorunner came back shortly, followed by fennel n George who did the 8.5km route. Once again, thanks to tktan for providing ice and isotonic drink after the run. babumouse enjoyed his maiden NUS Hill Run, esp. PGP slope. DR, hohorunner and babumouse gotta rush off and didn't join us for dinner. After a quick shower, we had dinner @ the Taiwanese noodle place next to Feng Sheng/Cheese Prata Shop - fennel n me had stew beef noodle, tktan had ban mian, George had you mian, ronnie had fried hokkien noodle(not the black type @ KL) and LM had pineapple fried rice(a huge mountain).

P.S. Haiz, still felt pain @ my right shoulder and knee -- gotta bear with the pain for another week till my appointment with my osteopath next Sat. Better cut down on hill runs and replace with flat runs -- allow the knees to rest.

Distance : 12km
Time : 1h 3min
Avg pace : 5:15min/km

KL GE Pacesetters 30km on 21 Jan`07 (Sun)

2007-01-24T13:04:00.000+08:00

Pre-race
Heard good review of the Pacesetters 30km run from DR and DO -- so many SgRunners signed up way in advance. Thanks to sotong, shutelup, freddy n renoh for the logistic support -- to book train tix, coach tix and hotel. While most of the group were taking the Friday overnite train to KL, 5 of us (LaoKaYu, fennel, George, tktan and me) opt for 2-way coach and set off for KL on Sat morning 7.30am. We took the Transtar First Class coach(16 seater) for the first time -- very impressed with the spacious seat, large personal LCD with wide selection of video on demand(VoD), meal served on board etc. With one toilet break, we arrived in KL at 12.30pm -- wow, that's fast and I had yet to finish my 3rd movie! P.S. Had breakfast of Thai Chicken Noodle @ Golden Mile Complex while waiting for the coach.

We walked from Pasarakyat Bus Terminal to Coronade Hotel in Bukit Bintang -- as the rooms were not ready for check-in, we left our bags @ the hotel and went to Lot 10 food court for lunch. Had hot plate yee mee and cold 'liu wei' dessert -- my yee mee had the same taste as tktan's "bee che mak" coz the same multi-purpose sauce was used. After lunch, we returned to the hotel to check in and went shopping @ Sungei Wang. Came back empty handed -- by then, the hotel lobby was crowded with many SgRunners -- waiting to collect the race pack from IMD's wife, Yee Hua. Everyone exchanging tales of train/coach ride and what food they had makan so far. Wah, my number tag is D911 -- nice! DO came by to strike a deal with me -- if he win any prize, he would give 100% to me; if I win any prize, I would give 50% to him. I readily agreed coz there was no chance of me winning any prize with so many fast runners :P This race was juz one of my LD training runs for Nagano Marathon in April :)

My sailing buddy, SL, had moved to KL and we arranged to meet up for dinner. tktan joined me and we took the LRT from Bukit Bintang to Hang Tuah (wow, the LRT was packed to the brim!) and transfer to Star Line to Sri Petaling where SL came to pick us up. Boy, it was pouring elephants and pigs! Due to some construction work near the train station, SL had some difficulty getting over. Well, we finally got into her car and she drove us to her apartment 20-30min drive away. Her husband. Yoo, is a rafting guide and he was out on a rafting trip. We had a good chat while waiting for her husband to come back and join us for dinner. But he was held up and unable to make it for dinner. So SL drove tktan and me to a nice local Chinese restaurant where they frequent. We had a yummy spread of ABC soup, steamed African fish (Teochew Style), house specialty beancurd and stir fry veg -- thanks to SL for giving us a treat (all these cost RM35 only)! Met up with Yoo at their apartment -- we had not met for 2 years! In the mist of catching up, we watched an action-pack video of his rafting trip. As we had to wake up early for the next day's race, SL sent us to the train station ard 9pm. Hope to meet up with them when they visit Singapore soon :) By then, the rain had stop and the train ride back was nice with view of the skyline. It was 10pm when we reached the hotel. After a hot shower, I packed my race gear and zzz at 11pm.

Race Day
Woke up at 4am and ate 2 raisin buns with water. Rub deep heat on my feet, shin and ITB. Went down to the lobby at 4.45am where the shuttle bus was waiting to send us to the start point. The bus journey was full of laughter -- everyone was in a fun and relax mood. First thing we did after getting off the bus was to head for the toilet. After a group pic and deposit my bag, tktan and me went for a warm-up run followed by stretching exercises. We reported to the marshalls, received a colored band and moved closer to the start line. The run flagged off promptly at 6am. Had a slow start due to the crowd -- managed to move ahead and settled in my cruising pace. Weather was cool and cloudy. tktan, who was strong in running upslopes, took the lead and soon I lost him in the crowd. At first, there were street lights and I could see with my prescriptive sunglass. As the run progressed, some parts of the route was not lit and became pitch DARK to me -- had to remove my sunglass and ran like a blind mice :( Slow down considerably for fear of stepping into pot holes. As warned by IMD, the terrain was hilly with slopes after slopes. Thanks to NUS Hill Run, I tackled each upslope slowly and "flew" down each downslope. Drank at every water station with half cup of water and half cup of endurox. At strategic point, we were handed colored bands.

Didn't spot any distance marker and kinda of running @ smell flower pace. Had company of same few guys -- overtook them @ downslopes and they overtook me @ upslopes. Was calculating the distance based on water stations (supposed to be at every 4km mark -- erhmm, I took 1h 22min for 12km (must have ran super slow in the darkness and at the upslope). Then I saw the runners in the opposite direction -- consoled myself that the half way mark should be near. KPO and searched for familiar faces at the runners on the return leg. Spotted Kumaran, teelee and DO and gave them the thumb up. No sign of my running buddy tktan -- maybe I missed him among the runners. Where is the U-turn point? The road was never ending... Then saw the sign "water station 100m ahead", picked up speed to grab the drinks. Collected a color band and asked the marshalls what was the distance -- 2 of them replied in unison "10km more". Haa haa, I had miscalculated the distance all this while - felt a sudden spur of energy and picked up pace, YEAH! Saw many SgRunners (BR, fennel, roentgen, shut, tigger, hohorunner, JT, gentle etc.) on my way back -- gave them all a thumb up. Then I heard IMD calling out names from behind -- shouting encouragement at the same time. Soon he was beside me and encouraged me with "good pace" before running "leisurely" ahead. IMD became my target and kept him in sight at a comfortable distance.

Overtook some runners and an Ang Mo greeted me with "Good morning! How are you doing?". I replied "Great. Keep going! We are almost there!". Saw the back view of Bee (she was running 20km and walking up the slope) -- gave her a thumb up as I ran passed. As I entered Lake Garden, heard a familiar voice calling out "Doreen, I am coming from behind" -- tktan caught up with me and asked me to chiong to the finish line. Hey, thought he was infront of me (found out later that his left knee hurt @ the 4km mark and he stopped to ease the pain)! I was conserving my energy for the final sprint till I see the finish line. Saw Ripley(SgRunners photographer) and gave her a broad smile with Victory sign. YES, saw the finish line 50m ahead -- widened my stride and dashed thru the finish line (kickjazz was snapping pic at the end point -- thanks!). Hurray, completed 30km in 2h 45min(unofficial) -- under my target of 3 hours!

Post Race
Was given a number card "14", returned the colored bands, collected the finisher's goodie bag and t-shirt. My shoulder blades cramped up and tktan helped to relieve the pain with shoulder massage. DR and Freddy came over to ask whether I was ok. Luckily this time was not as bad as SCSM06, the cramp subsided soon. Met DO and told him that I dun have prize to share with him :( He gave me an ice cream as reward for running so hard :) tktan and me then stationed ourselves at the milo van and gulped down 2 cups of milo and endurox each. Went to collect my bag and we did warm down stretch by the lake. We returned to the makan area and joined the rest of SgRunners. Everyone did well to meet the cut off time. I drank a bottle of water mixed with Recoverite, courtesy from George. There was a sumptous spread of food -- dou hua, fried bee hoon, nasi lemak, chendol etc. I had a bowl of dou hua while tktan ate dou hua and nasi lemak. Not sure whether it was the dou hua or Recoverite, I had stomach upset -- thanks to tktan for giving me his last supply of toilet paper.

We took a ride with the Safra runners to KL city and walked back to Coronade Hotel. After a quick shower and pack our bags, all of us checked out at 12pm. As we were catching the 3.30pm coach, we opt to have lunch nearby -- in case of rain. So 9 of us went to Secret Recipe @ Lot 10 -- tktan n George had lamb stew; fennel, Ripley, run3, LaoKaYu, babumouse had chicken chop; ronnie had fish n chip; and I had vietnamese beef noodles. After lunch, we walked over to MacDonalds -- I wanna get the Spicy Beef Foldover (craving for this since KL Mizuno Wave Run last year!). The coach ride back to Singapore was smooth except for a brief traffic jam -- reached Singapore @ 9.30pm. Oh, we took the premium class coach(37 seater) back -- definitely less spacious, smaller LCD and no VoD, but still good as the massage functions was great and a meal was served on board.

Water station 1 : 27:48min
Water station 2 : 29:56min --> 59:45min
Water station 3 : 24:25min --> 1h22:10min
Water station 4 : 26:55min --> 1h49:06min
Water station 5 : 26:55min --> 2h16:01min
End point : 29:48min --> 2h45:49min

P.S. A very fun weekend with lots of laughter and cheer. Ran with no expectation at a smell-flower pace. Enjoyed the hilly terrain and seeing so many familar faces along the route. Weather n traffic control were superb! Hope to do the same at Nagano Marathon -- enjoy the sakura and beautiful scenery while not being chase up the bus :)

Distance : 30km
Time : 2 h 45min
Avg pace : 5:30min/km

Calibration Run on 20 Jan`07 (Sat)

2007-01-23T13:03:00.000+08:00

My right knee didn't feel right -- had this nagging pain @ the back of the knee, like a ligament/muscle pull. So I rested on Thursday n Friday and decided to do a calibration run on Saturday morning before heading off to KL. Woke up at 5am and did a quick run. Here's the per lap timing :-
Lap 1 : 4:51min/km -- legs feeling ok, can slow down abit
Lap 2 : 4:58min/km -- breathing was smooth, can i do another lap under 5min/km pace?
Lap 3 : 4:56min/km -- yes, i did it!

Did a thorough warm down -- legs felt good. OK, all set for KL 30km race :)

Distance : 3km
Time : 14:45min
Avg pace : 4:55min/km

NUS Hill Run on 17 Jan`07 (Wed)

2007-01-18T12:56:00.000+08:00

This Run is attracting hill addicts -- rumours are spreading abt the shiok rolling hills of NUS and its vicinity. We had 9 runners (juz one short from last week) -- fennel, George, ronnie, littletiger, hohorunner, LM, IMD, tktan and me.

tktan took the lead and spring forward @ <>IMD asked whether he was training to break 2hr for 30km :) For a change, I enjoyed being sweeper and run @ smell-flower pace with first timers littletiger, hohorunner and IMD. At the killer slope, could hear hohorunner exclaiming that the slope was so steeeeep! Clap clap to all who make it to the top! Took a water break @ Science Hub and continued on from SPI to SPII. fennel warned the first timers abt the upcoming PGP slopes. After passing I2R, littletiger and hohorunner thot the end was near(KRGH was so near) -- but was shocked to see me turn to PGP. hohorunner did very well here as he was juz a few steps behind me. After the daunting PGP slopes, we proceed to run inside NUS. Stopped at the SRC track to wait for littletiger n hohorunner while fennel and IMD ran ahead. Encouraged littletiger n hohorunner that only left with 2 more small hills (actually more hills to come :P). And we dashed up the final slope and completed the run in good style :) Oops, lost LM @ SRC and he came back via Central Library -- clap clap to him for completing his first 10km run.

Thanks to tktan -- we gulped down the cold isotonic drinks gratefully. We proceed to The Cheese Prata for dinner after a wuick shower. George had a special treat for us -- homemade soup(consisted of garlic, onion, carrot, potato, chicken, mushroom, rice etc.). Yummy! We presented the NUS Hill Run finisher's cert to George and hohorunner -- littletiger n IMD. who didn't join us for dinner, gotta claim theirs from us @ next run.

P.S. Didn't start my stop watch, so no time taken.

Famous Four Hill Run on 13 Jan`07 (Sat)

2007-01-14T12:54:00.000+08:00

Had a very nice pre-bday celebration with tktan (my running buddy n koibito) -- to carboload for the next day's 4 hill run :) We had dinner @ Altivo, Jewel Box @ Mt Faber -- escargots n salmon as appetizers, a clear soup n main course of cod fish with mushroom and whip potato from the winter menu.

Oh, had a yummy sharks' fin dinner @ Thai Village Goodwood Park on Thursday -- company and pre-bday treat :) We had claypot sharkfins (serving enough as a meal), crab with glass noodle, seafood fried rice, fried fish, scallop, black pepper deer meat n fruits -- total 7 courses *slurp*

Received sms from gentle @ 5.20am that his bike training was cancelled due to rain and he would join the 4 hill run -- great to have more runners and best part was he would give me a lift to NUS! roentgen was kind to pick up ronnie @ Somerset and tktan @ Clementi. fennel worked till 3am and unable to get out of bed to join the run :( So 5 of us gathered outside the Temasek Hall carpark, opposite KRGH. It was still drizzling -- we were tempted to cancel the run and go for breakfast instead. As this will be the last long run before KL 30km race, we all agreed to proceed with the run and stopped if the rain got heavier ( suggested going for the 12km NUS Hill Run route and see how was the weather before extending the route). After warning of wet n slippery ground, we set off for the run at 7.05am with tktan leading and me as sweeper -- ronnie was keen to run 30km, while roentgen was target for 25km and gentle 15km. tktan shot ahead like a bullet with ronnie trailing behind -- leaving roentgen, gentle and me smelling their dust! The first hill was Kent Ridge Park via Vigilante Dr -- QED for everyone :) As the sky was clearing up, I suggested running to Labrador Park for the 2nd hill. So we exit at Pepsys Rd (everyone welcomed the downslope with open arms after the killer slope). By the time we reached Labrador Park, the rain had stopped. We took a quick water break and ran one round the park before tackling the 2nd hill -- gentle took a shorter loop and elated to "overtake" tktan and ronnie :) roentgen was taking pics with his hp as we ran up the slope.

gentle n roentgen was prepared to run back to NUS but I persuaded them to give the 3rd hill a shot as the KL 30km was said to be 3 times of Mt Faber(MF) -- oh, told them we were using the gentler but longer route via Morse Rd (the steeper and shorter route is via Kampung Bahru). Well, it worked and we ran @ smell-flower pace to MF via Telok Blangah Rd. As we ran up via Morse Rd, could hear roentgen uttering that the slopes were nowhere "gentle" like I said earlier -- oops, oledi board the pirate ship! Took a 2nd toilet break @ Jewel Box -- the guys went to the "posh" toilet @ Altivo. tktan refuel with Gu gel but I decided to skip mine as I was feeling ok. From here, I lead as tktan was not familiar with the route. We "flew" down the slope to Kampung Barhu and turned left to Telok Blangah Rise/Way, passing Safra MF clubhouse. At the traffic junction, I suggested stopping the run @ AV and persuaded gentle n roentgen to run the 4th hill, Telok Blangah Hill. So all of us chiong up the last hill. Ronnie and roentgen were keen to run back to NUS -- abt 8km more. By then, we did abt 20km and gentle was low on battery -- could not be persuaded any more, he activated his "cab" option and took a taxi back to KRGH. The rest of us continued to Queensway and Portsdown Flyover. Felt pain in my right knee and asked tktan to take over the lead to SPI. roentgen requested for a short cut and we splitted with tktan and ronnie -- instead of SPII, we ran down PGP and back to KRGH. Clap clap to roentgen for completing 25km -- running 4 hills and MF for the first time! Oh, ronnie did 1 hill more than the rest -- NUS Hill!

Met gentle @ the car park -- he had his breakfast @ bizad canteen while waiting for us. After a good chat, he left for home while the rest took a good shower. roentgen drove us to AV for tktan's favorite Bak Kut Teh. The guys enjoyed the hot soup while I had seafood horfun and avocado shake. YUM YUM!

Had another round of bday celebration with fennel, George and tktan -- Korean BBQ dinner at Se Ra Bel @ Furama Hotel. We had apperizers, marinated pork, chicken n beef for BBQ, ginseng chicken soup, stir-fry glass noodle and seafood pancake. Many thanks to tktan for the cake n handmade card and fennel n George for the present!

P.S. Thanks to tktan for leading the run, gentle for the lift to KRGH and roentgen for the lift to Dhoby Ghuat MRT. Oh, my fuel tank was low when we reached SPI and I regret not refuelling @ MF. So, for future runs > 20km, should make it a point to refuel.

Route : Start @ KRGH -> Kent Ridge Park -> Labrador Park -> Mount Faber -> Telok Blangah Hill -> Queensway -> Portsdown Flyover -> SPI -> KRGH via PGP

Distance : 25km
Time : 2h 52min (including rest stops n toilet breaks)
Avg pace : 6:53min/km

NUS Hill Run on 10 Jan`07 (Wed)

2007-01-11T12:39:00.000+08:00

With the attraction of finisher's cert and goodie bag, we had the largest turnout of 10 runners for the first NUS Hill Run of year 2007 -- nyquist, LM, fennel, DO, ronnie, cosmic_wind, DR, sotong, tktan n me. The run was scheduled to start at 7pm(half an hour later than our usual 6.30pm) so that those working in CBD can join in. Wah, DO, ronnie, cosmic_wind and sotong wore the luminous orange HWA T-shirt! After a quick group pic, we set off for the run with me leading and tktan being the sweeper.

As usual, my initial pace was faster (hmmm, found out later that it was 4.40min/km pace! *faint*) with DO, ronnie, DR closely behind. Everyone enjoyed the killer slope @ Vigilante Dr and welcomed the recovery downslope @ Kent Ridge Park. Took a quick water break at Science Hub and picked up the pace as we ran thru SPI. At the junction of South Bouna Vista Rd and SPI, the group was given a choice of 8.5km or 12km route -- wah, first time majority opt for 12km route. So I led them thru SPII, passing my company, and then up a secluded slope back to NUS. Developed stitch at this point and asked the rest to proceed ahead. tktan caught up from behind and I asked him to take over the lead -- he had to chase after the guys infront to direct them to Prince George Park(PGP). Haa haa, the guys that the worse was over until they saw PGP -- never ending upslope when running with low reserve! tktan "effortlessly" ran up the slope while the rest followed behind -- my stitch eased slightly at this point and I slowly "crawl" up the slope. Overtook fennel who was having ITB pain. Before the guys could take a breather, I reached the end of the PGP slopes and took over the lead thru NUH & NUS. cosmic_wind(who DNF @ the last NUS Hill Run) suddenly experience a new burst of energy and took over the lead with DR & DO at SRC. I followed closely behind to shout directions to them. At the final slope, we all chiong up to finish in 1h 3min -- that's a decent 5:30min/km avg pace! Thanks to LM for the post-run isotonic water and tktan for the ice -- all of us gratefully gulped down the ice cold drinks after a tough run :) Everyone was happy to receive the finisher's cert n goodie bag -- consisted of Hokkaido goodies from my recent ski trip.

Took a quick shower and had dinner at King Fisher's Cafe. We ordered dishes from the "Tai Pai Tong" promo -- Stewed Eight-Treasures Chicken, Wok Baked Mongolian Pork Ribs, Rojak Flavoured Prawns, Special Crispy Beancurd, kailan and hot & sour soup. YUMMY! With sotong around, the food was "cleaned out" :P

P.S. It had been a long time since we last ran the 12km route. Siong but shiok :P Thanks to tktan for designing the finisher's cert. It was a fun run with so many runners -- always enjoy showing the rolling hills of NUS :)

Distance : 11.5km
Time : 1h 3min
Avg pace : 5:29min/km

Recovery Run on 8 Jan`07 (Mon)

2007-01-09T12:02:00.000+08:00

After the 3-hr PAIN theraphy of DTM on Sunday, I was advised to do a recover run. So I went for a quick run @ NUS after work. Oh dear, felt a sharp pain on my left knee when I ran down the first slope -- ok ok, better slow down. Undecided about the route, I juz ran along Pasir Panjang Rd towards South Bouna Vista Rd. My right shoulder was still sore and my right thigh n ankle felt stiff from DTM. At the foot of Vigilante Dr, I decided to run up -- abeit at a snail crawling pace n grasping for breath! Reached the end of Vigilante Dr in 19min -- slower 5.45min/km pace. After the killer slope, the rest of the route was a breeze... Without the "slave master" chasing behind, I ran "leisurely" up the final slope to KRGH. Completed the NUS Hill Run route in 48 min!

P.S. Didn't feel good during the run as my right side (shoulder, thigh n ankle) was sore. Hope the soreness would go away soon.

Distance : 8.5km
Time : 48min
Avg pace : 5:39min/km

Three Hill Run on 7 Jan`07 (Sun)

2007-01-08T12:29:00.000+08:00

Safra MF runners were doing a 30km 3 Hill Run, with additional loops in Kent Ridge Park, Labrador Park and Mount Faber. Decided to join them for my first LSD of the year -- would skip the additional loops as dun wanna ramp up my mileage too fast. Wah, a big group of runners gathered at the clubhouse when I arrived at 7am -- happy to see familiar faces like fennel, cosmic_wind, DO, DR, Bug, cokiee, BR and SV. With some delay, the run finally started at 7.30am. Kumaran n Bug lead the way and I gave chase -- wah, they were FAST and I soon lost sight of them along Depot Rd. Ran solo along Queensway towards Portsdown Flyover. Heard someone shouting "Oei Oei, this way" from behind -- oops, one of the Safra runners thot I went the wrong way as they turned off to the railway and I was going straight. Paiseh, later heard that he had to chase after me to get me on the right track. I sticked to the route I was familiar with -- went straight and climbed up the stairs to Portsdown Flyover. At the traffic junction, crossed path with DO and we ran together briefly to Kent Ridge Park(KRP). DO got a little lost and ran up a slope instead of turning left to Science Hub. I chased after him and lead him out after a slight detour. Joined up with fennel who emerged from Science Hub and ran up the slopes in KRP. While the rest continued the extra loops, I ran on to exit via Pepys Rd -- saw Kumaran waiting for the rest and told him I was heading to Labrador Park.

After the jumps on/off the pavement @ Pasir Panjang Rd, I saw the troupe of Safra Tampines runners exiting from Labrador Park -- waved to Bee and suanxing. The heat was getting to me and I could feel my CPU heated up. Increased pace as I was looking forward to the shades and toilet break. Did a loop along the perimeter of the park and gulped down mouthful of water from the water cooler (trying to conserve some water in my camelbak for the last hill). Then embark on the hill climb up to the Olive Restaurant. On my way out of Labrador Park, saw some Safra MF runners running in to start their loops.

Entered the last hill, Mount Faber(MF), from Morse Rd. Didn't know Kumaran was behind me and he shouted "this way this way" -- informed him that I was running my own route (their route was to run to Harbourfront and enter via Kampung Bahru -- wanna avoid this stretch). As I slowly crawled up the hill to top of MF, met many strollers coming down and they cheered me on :) Did half of the MF loop and proceed to run down, passing Jewel Box. Saw Kumaran and he was walking and uttered that THIS slope was killing him! Cheered him with "the end of the slope was near"! The last stretch to the clubhouse was nice and shady -- so happy to complete the 3 hill run of 18km in 1hr 44min!

Emptied my camelbak and did my warm down stretch with Safra Tampines runners. Stomach felt upset and went to toilet to clear the system. By the time I got out, fennel, DO and DR were back. Waited for 1hr+ for majority of the runners to come back. Collect our bags and brought out my Japanese goodies to share -- corn coated with white chocolate, Royce's apple chocolate and black sesame cookies. As I had an appointment for DTM, need to rush off -- didn't join the gang for lunch. fennel joined me for beef noodle lunch at Harbourfront before going on shopping spree.

P.S. It took a bit of getting use to running with camelbak and under the heat! Good training and I did enjoy the solitude while running thru the 3 hills -- smell-flower pace and watching people. Haiz, gotta start from square one for running upslope -- crawl like a snail! With the KL hilly 30km juz 2 weeks away, better throw in more NUS hill run next week.

Distance : 18km
Time : 1h 44min
Avg pace : 5:49min/km

Calibration Run on 6 Jan`07 (Sat)

2007-01-06T22:26:00.000+08:00

Gotta get back my sense of pace -- gone haywire after 3-week break. After a nite of merry feasting n drinking @ Dempsey Rd, was kinda of amazed that I could wake up @ 7am :) Ran on an empty stomach and here's the timing per lap :-
Lap 1 : 4:39min/km pace -- wow, improvement from my last calibration run in Dec!
Lap 2 : 4:52min/km -- still a tad too fast for cruising
Lap 3 : 5:02min/km -- getting comfortable
Lap 4 : 5:12min/km -- very comfortable
Lap 5 : 5:05min/km -- about right

Had to stop at 5th lap as my growling stomach was protesting!

P.S. So glad that I have not slacken too much :)

Distance : 5km
Time : 24:50min
Avg pace : 4:58min/km

RL Run on 4 Jan`07 (Thu)

2007-01-05T12:16:00.000+08:00

Had a great ski holiday over Xmas n New Year in Hokkaido, Japan -- pure joy to spend the days juz eat, sleep, ski n onsen :) After 3 weeks of zero mileage, I was looking forward to my first run of year 2007. RL was having a promo of 1-for-1 socks promo for the runners and that attracted a few rare guests from SgRunners (or were they tempted by the mention of me bringing some Japanese goodies?!) Haiz, at 5.30pm -- it started to pour pigs n elephants EVERYWHERE! Took a lift from my colleague to Tanjong Pagar -- the rain was still heavy. Sms-ed to tktan that we should skip the run and go makan! To our surprise, the rain reduced to a drizzle when we reached City Hall -- no chance to slack! A group of runners already gathered at RL when I got out of the changing room -- among them were Eddie, DO, Terence, Ayin, ronnie, cfred and SV. The RVP gals came but decided not to run due to the impending rain. After some delay, we went ahead with the run -- did our warm up outside RL. The route was Esplanade -- suit me juz fine as I needed an easy n flat run :) Started the run in the drizzle. Surged ahead as I lost my sense of pace -- maybe I had rested for too long and my legs were too eager to run :P The guys caught up @ Marina Promenade and we were running abreast while chatting abt upcoming KL 30km race. Soon some of the guys(Eddie, Ayin, Terence, DO, tktan etc) picked up speed n sped ahead. cfred overtook me at end of Marina Promenade and I tailgated him to Kallang Riverside Park. After the U-turn point, I started to have stitch and slowed down to control my breathing. No sign of relieving the pain but mid-way at Marina Promenade, the stitch juz disappeared! Widen my strike and finished the 10km run @ 53min (forgot how to use my stop watch and registered unbeliveable timing of 39min! A check with cfred on his timing -- he did 50min+, so I should be 2-3 mins more)

After a quick change of clothes, DO, SV, cfred, tktan n me met up with George n fennel @ City Hall before proceeding to Marche @ Suntec for dinner -- to celebrate George's bday. In place of a cake, we had dorayaki for George -- with a lit candle. Everyone got a taste of dorayaki (doraemon's favorite food with red beans and chestnut filling) -- specially handcarry from Otaru, Hokkaido.

P.S. It felt good to be running again! Could feel the strain on my right shoulder (from a bad fall while skiing) and didn't push hard -- juz enjoy the run. Good to know that my pace was still 5:15-5:30min/km :) Gotta go for another calibration run to get back my sense of pace.

Distance : 10km
Time : 53min
Avg pace : 5:18min/km

NUS Hill Run on 13 Dec`06 (Wed)

2006-12-14T11:42:00.000+08:00

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)

2006-12-13T10:16:00.000+08:00

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)

2006-12-11T13:00:00.000+08:00

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)

2006-12-08T12:51:00.000+08:00

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)

2006-12-07T12:43:00.000+08:00

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)

2006-12-05T12:54:00.000+08:00

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)

2006-12-02T14:45:00.000+08:00

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)

2006-12-01T12:15:00.000+08:00

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 :)

CBD Run on 28 Nov`06 (Tue)

2006-11-29T12:13:00.000+08:00

Littletigger had kindly arranged for the SCSM Trifam pacers to come down to CBD run -- a chance for us to get to know the respective target-finishing-time pacers. We were encouraged to talk to the pacers and find out their strategy during the marathon. fennel gave me weather update @ CBD ard 5pm+ -- sunny! Wah, such rare chance to have a non-raining day for running! So I relayed the good news to tktan and head on to Tanjong Pagar. Arrived ard 6.45pm and a big group of 40+ runners already gathered there. There were abt 20 pacers -- forming group of 5 for the 4, 4.5, 5 & 5.5 hour finishing time. DR & DO were very nice to look for the 4hr pacers and introduced David to me -- David's strategy is to start off with 5:30min/km pace and then maintain 5:45min/km pace. Sounded good to me :) OP came in his matching white running top, red shorts and new red-white adizero shoes! The pacers led the runners towards Marina South -- part of the route for SCSM. Hmm, felt strange running behind the pacers and had to control my pace -- guess I was used to have ample space during my runs. As we turned off from Maxwell Rd to Marina South, babumouse and me decided to run on the road instead of the uneven pavement. With no hindrance, juz let go and ran @ my comfortable pace -- oops, the gap grew between us and the pacers! As we were unsure of the route, we slowed down for the pacers to catch up. Re-joined the group but ran ahead of the pacers (wanna have more space) -- David teasingly said that I was the pacer for the pacers :P tktan caught up with me to check that my legs were ok -- hmm, I was feeling good (later, he told me that I seemed to be limping from backview and he was worried that my calves were acting up like last Wed). At the steamboat area, some of the pacers via off to the toilet. CW led the group from here -- was running alongside tktan, gentle, babumouse, fennel, DO, Terence in the front pack. As we turned off to the jetty, it was familiar ground to me and I started to open up my stride and overtake the pacers. The rest followed suit -- think we disrupted the pace of the pacers! After the u-turn @ jetty, some of the pacers started to speed up and we all chiong back to Tanjong Pagar MRT. Wow, that was a shiok run! Later found out that we were running at avg 5:10min/km pace for 9.5km! *faint* tktan didn't get drafted by the group and ran @ his comfortable pace *clap clap*.

After everyone came back, we took a group pic with the pacers and adjoined to dinner @ Maxwell market. tktan and I became "lost sheep" -- found no one after changing to dry clothes and too hungry to walk to Maxwell market. So we settled for dinner @ Golden Cafe (opp Tanjong Pagar MRT) -- had seafood ee mee and fried rice. Gonna rest for a day and do more run before complete rest till D-day! And it's carbo-loading time -- give me lotsa rice, pasta & potato!

P.S. David cautioned me about my pace and to drink @ every water station -- if not, I will feel the effect @ 35km onwards. My initial plan is to skip the water station till 10km mark -- wanna save time and run faster before the sun comes up. Well, since many seasoned runners have strongly recommend to drink @ every water station, guess I will heed their advise :)

Special NUS Hill Run on 27 Nov`06 (Mon)

2006-11-28T12:45:00.000+08:00

This run was specially organised for OP(SgRunner residing in Germany) who would like to experience the rolling hills of NUS on his annual home trip. Invited shortlegs, SgRunner residing in Australia, who's back for SCSM, too. Started to pour @ 3pm and the thunderstorm reduced to drizzle @ 5pm. Decided to meet @ KRGH and if rain still persist @ 6.30pm, would call off the run and go carbo-loading instead :) shutehelup was the first to arrive @ KRGH followed by LM. tktan met up with OP @ Clementi and helped to direct MV (shortlegs' fren Mun's van) to KRGH. Wah, largest turnout of NUS Hill Run -- 7 runners in total *cheers* By the time everyone changed into their running attire, the drizzle almost stopped. Oh, OP was decked in all RED -- running top, shorts n socks, minus his running shoes! After warm up, I briefly described the route and warned everyone of the traffic @ Pasir Panjang & be careful of wet ground. We started the run @ a relax pace in the cool evening. OP was running with his camera and taking pictures along the route. It was 7.20pm when we reached Haw Par Villa which closed @ 7pm. We ran up our first hill into Haw Par Villa -- could hear the "yiak yiak" sound of the shoe's traction on the wet ground. Midway, shutehelup and the rest were stopped by the security who informed them that the gate at the top was closed and we were not supposed to run inside. No choice, we had to backtrack to Pasir Panjang Rd and continued on to South Bouna Vista Rd (99-bend road). At the junction with Vigilante Dr, we all took a deep breath before taggling this killer slope. OP was going strong and overtook me @ the 2nd bend -- tktan juz whisked by us! Clap clap to shutehelup, shortlegs & Mun for their first attempt! You gotta come and run this slope for an "unforgettable" experience -- like shutehelup said, "something worth telling your grandchildren abt"!

With the "worst" was over, everyone welcomed the downslope @ Kent Ridge Park. It was too dark to see the pond as we ran round it -- reflection of the building on the water made it looked taller. We climbed up the stairs to Science Hub where we had a toilet and water break. Chit chat with OP as we ran alongside in Sci Park I and pointed out the grand building of Reuters and Sotong's office @ CINTECH. OP said his muscles oledi warmed up and could run faster :) Soon, we reached NUH and NUS Science Faculty -- shutehelup was running beside me and I was telling him how I enjoyed the gentle slopes @ NUS. Hmm, he saw the slope up to University Hall and pointed to me that it was not gentle! Haa haa, I meant gentle compare to the killer slope *cool_grin* We chiong up the slope and wait for the rest at the bus-stop overlooking the track @ SRC. Another downslope and upslope @ the roundabout @ YIH and we were almost done. shutehelup suggested taking a short cut via Central Library -- no no, we gotta do the original route via Clementi Rd. It felt great to dash up the final slope to KRGH! OP's watch registered a total distance of 8.86km (with a little de-tour @ Haw Par Villa). Well done to everyone for a good run! As we cooled down and stretch, ice cold 100plus was passed around -- thanks to LM for the 100plus and tktan for the ice! shutehelup was super hungry after the run, so we chop chop took a quick shower and head over to The Cheese Prata Shop for dinner. OP had roti john with chicken n cheese, shortlegs & shutehelup had prata and tktan & me shared roti john chicken and mushroom prata. Had good laughs over dinner with conversation about shoes, overseas marathons (OP mentioned abt one which serves wine & cheese @ water station!) etc. On our way to the bus-stop, we stopped by the crepe shop and the boss told me the waterchestnut dessert was sold out but he had special cheese cake. No no, I dun eat cheese and turned away disappointed. OP's eyes lit up @ the mentioned of "cheese cake" and bought one @ $2 immediately! His face was all bliss with the first mouthful of cheese cake -- he made the night (instead of day) for the owner (all chef feels happy when their food is being appreciated). The westsiders, OP & shortlegs, followed tktan while the eastsiders, shutehelup n me, took the bus and NEL home.

P.S. It was a relax and fun run -- always enjoy showing the hilly route to new runners :) Beside the great company, it was such a joy to juz run timelessly (didn't start my stopwatch)! Thanks OP for the Erdinger Light -- all the way from Germany! Oh, now we know Germany's oktoberfest is held in September and not October!

ECP Run on 25 Nov`06 (Sat)

2006-11-25T18:40:00.000+08:00

DR organised a Pre-SCSM International Friendship Run for SgRunners residing overseas -- OP in Germany & shortlegs in Australia. The plan was to run 10-20km, followed by brunch @ Marina Square and SCSM race pack collection @ Suntec. Abt 20+ SgRunners gathered @ F2 carpark on a sunny Saturday morning -- thanks to Kayano who gave shutehelup, fennel, George & me a lift from Kovan MRT station to the start point.

After a quick intro and group photo, we started the run @ 7.40am. Hmm, everyone was in a relax mood and chatting along the way. I pulled infront and settled in my cruising pace. George overtook me @ PA adventure centre -- checked that he knew the route to NSRCC. The last time we did the Demoralising Run, I access ECP from Changi Coast Rd via ECP Service Rd -- quite dangerous with the big trucks on the single lane. From NSC, we ran on a nice shady tarmac rd all the way to NSRCC and made a U-turn @ the gate. Renoh was right behind me and I could hear his breathing and foot steps. Soon he overtook me and I kept a distance from him. Near F2 carpark, BR & Sotong was taking pics of us running past. Time check @ F2 carpark was 39min for 7.2km -- nice 5:25min/km pace. Was feeling good and up the pace -- overtook Renoh, he looked tired! First time running without my camelbak for heat run, I could feel my lips drying up and was contemplating whether to take water break. Hmm, knew there is a water cooler @ B1 toilet near Fort Rd -- well, I should persist till I reach there. The heat was building up by then (ard 8.30am). Guess the thought of water cooler spurred me on -- was glad to gulp down mouthful of water! As it was another 6km to finish, I decided to skip re-fuel with Gu Gel. Time check @ end of Fort Rd was 1h 15min for 14.1km - avg pace of 5:19min/km (from F2 - Fort Rd was 5:13min/km pace). George seemed to slow down as I caught up and maintained a short distance away from him. Waved & smiled @ fellow runners and encouraged them with a thumb up :) OP came along and asked how far to U-turn -- the heat must be unbearable to him, coming from a cold to hot climate! DR, who was shuttling between the front and back pack, encouraged me with "keep up the good pace". As George was running on the cycling path, it was quite hazardous -- so I switched to the jogging path. He came up shortly behind me and commented on the hot weather & sipped on his energy drink -- aiyah, he didn't offer me a sip(my lips was dried and covered with salt)! He went on ahead as I melt under the sun. After the lagoon, I welcomed the shade with open arms! With less than 1km to F2 carpark and a long straight path, I opened up my stride, overtook George and dashed all the way to the finish -- BR was waiting there to take pic. Oh, we were supposed to practise our pose when we crossed the finishing line @ SCSM. Mine was raised up my hand with a Victory sign :) Time check was 1h 55min for 21km -- nice avg pace of 5:29min/km (from Fort Rd to F2 was slower 5:39min/km pace). Thanks to Superboy82 who passed me a cup of Gatorade -- was dying of thirst! Went to the toilet and gulped down more tap water.

While waiting for the rest to come back, had a nice chat with OP & George. Sotong was going round taking pics -- my red nike top seemed to attract his attention, along with my red pack n water bottle :) Brought isotonic jello to share -- Pocari Sweat with konnyuku and apple, water chestnut and orange bits. Nice of DO to bring the tub of jello to all the runners! While the rest went to take shower before brunch @ Marina Square, I head off for a swim @ my friend's place at The Makena (close to Fort Rd). Thought it would be a quick cool-down walk from F2 to Fort Rd -- it took me close to 1 hr (including a stop to get ice cold drink @ the Lagoon FC) for that 6km stretch! Nevertheless, it was a refreshing swim at the 40m pool -- did 10 laps. Indeed, a swim after a long run aids recovery -- loosen up the tight muscles.

P.S. Very happy with this final heat run -- was able to maintain a good pace under the hot sun. Hopefully I will be able to keep to this pace on D-day! Felt good & relax during and after the run -- hope to have the same feeling on D-day, too! George n fennel looked good to finish well in their maiden marathon! Many thanks to DR for organising this run and BR & Sotong , who did not run, but spent the whole morning taking pics for us! Yipee, next week will be short runs and carbo-loading time!

Route : Start @ F2 carpark -> NSRCC -> F2 carpark -> U-turn @ Fort Rd -> End @ F2 carpark

Distance : 21km
Time : 1h55min
Avg pace : 5:29min/km

RL Run on 23 Nov`06 (Thu)

2006-11-24T12:25:00.000+08:00

My left knee didn't feel right when I woke up in the morning. There was this pain behind my left knee -- oh no, not another ligament/tendon strain!!?? It was pouring @ NUS area when I left office for Running Lab @ Funan at 6pm -- hope the weather would be ok @ CBD. Yup, received weather report from tktan that rain had stopped @ CBD. Always nice to see familiar faces @ RL run -- Terence, George, fennel, stalza, Mrs Tekko n VRP gals. Eddie lead us on a quick warm up before starting the run @ 7.20pm. George took the lead and soon lost sight of him. tktan overtook me @ Esplanade and reminded me to stop if my knee pain persist. Terence came up from behind @ Marina Promenade -- he said I was his pacer and then overtook me! fennel was following closely behind me - could hear her breathing and foot steps. Weather was nice and cool after the rain -- didn't feel much of the knee pain and juz contented chasing the runners in front (not pushing hard at the same time). Waved at Terence n tktan near to the U-turn point -- hmm, where was George? Saw him @ the staircase -- he was coughing but asked me to go ahead as he would be fine. Maybe he was not used to the air after juz returning from his trip to UAE. On the return route, saw more runners heading for the U-turn - everyone in good shape for D-day :) I was running alone and kinda enjoy the peace n quiet. Up the pace after Esplanade and completed the run in 51min -- huh, definitely a more relax run and juz 1 min slower than my previous RL dash run!

While waiting for the rest, chatted with Peter, a guy from Sydney who was here on biz trip. He commented on the hot weather but I told him it was actually one of the coolest nite(after the rain)! He asked me how often I run and the distance -- was surprised to hear abt my high mileage. Explained that we were training for SCSM. He said he only take part in half marathons and there are some good races in Sydney n Melbourne. He asked abt my target timing and I said sub4.5 -- he gave me a confidence boost that I can hit sub4 (earlier he asked how long I took to complete the RL run). Haa haa, thanks but I dun wanna have unnecessary pressure -- will be happy with sub4.5 :) Coincidently, he used to have problems with his knees and had the same "stairs phobia". He shared with me some exercises from his physio therapist that helped him to get rid of the pain. Will try that out when I figured out how to do them :) Runners are such nice people -- always willing to share tips!

After the cool down stretch lead by Eddie and quick change of clothes, we head off to the food court @ Funan -- wanna try the beef noodle. Hmm, beef slices were tender but the noodle a tad hard. George n fennel had chicken rice with tomyam soup -- they sure like spicy food! Parted way with tktan as he took the EW train. Had a good chat with George n fennel on the NE train.

P.S. Spoke to Eddie briefly after the run -- he asked me to rest well and dun run too much. Huh, how did he know I have been running alot??!! Ok ok, will do a relax run for Sat's heat run (final one before D-day). Then it will be carbo-loading time!

Route : Start @ Hill Street -> Esplanade -> Marina Promonade -> Kallang Water Sports Club -> Cross Sir Arthur Bridge -> Kallang Riverside Park -> U-turn @ Furniture Warehouse

Distance : 10km
Time : 51min
Avg pace : 5:10min/km

NUS Hill Run on 22 Nov`06 (Wed)

2006-11-23T12:18:00.000+08:00

Erratic weather for the past few days! Baking HOT in AM and followed by rain pouring buckets in PM! My running plan was disrupted -- was gonna do a mid distance run on Monday. Was washed out by the rain and went for spinning on the bike @ the gym instead :( When it was still raining @ 5pm on Wednesday, checked with fennel on the weather @ CBD -- may switch camp to join AdiRun @ Suntec if weather was favourable. Then the sky cleared up @ 6pm -- yeah, finally get to run @ NUS n Ulu Pandan Canal! Reached KRGH early as my colleague gave me a lift from office. Oops, tktan was held up by traffic and arrived at 6.40pm. LM and Andy gave the run a miss -- hopefully not intimidated by the distance of 18km *cool_grin* We started the run closed to 7pm -- weather was nice and cool but the ground was wet. Gotta be extra careful with foot landing. Hmm, after 3 days rest, thot I should be feeling fresh -- but felt my left calves tightened even on flat road. Somehow felt better after climbing the killer slope. Time check @ end of Vigilante Dr was 18min -- cool 5:30min/km pace. But the tightness came back when we hit Sci Park I -- was running with a limp as I try to shift my weight to the right leg. After the underpass to Alexandra Ind Estate, I slowed down considerably as we continued on to Bouna Vista MRT. Did a light stretch on the calves @ a traffic light stop -- that helped to relieve the pain somewhat. Time check @ Bouna Vista MRT was 41min for 7km -- oops, slower 5:50min/km pace. tktan was happy to follow my slow pace as he was nursing hip pain and weak left knee. When we hit Ulu Pandan Canal, I felt better running on the flat surface and up the pace. We made a dash to the end of Sunset Way Canal -- like the feeling of the wind on the face! Haiz, on the return leg, due to the slight slanting surface, the pain was back and I signalled to tktan to go ahead as I slowed down. Felt that I was putting additional stress on my left leg if I continue running and decided to stop at Clementi Rd. Time check was 1h 22min -- still a good 5:30min/km pace (Ulu Pandan & Sunset Way Canal was 5min/km pace!). Thanks to tktan for the mobile water station!

After the cool down walk of 3km back to KRGH, we took a quick shower and had dinner @ Taiwanese makan place next to Fong Seng Nasi Lemak. We ordered beef stew noodle and steamed seafood dumplings -- the noodle was a tad hard and the dumplings were so-so. On the way to the bus-stop, we passed by a new crepe place and the boss beckoned us to take a look at what he has to offer. Interesting concepts of healthy food. The water-chestnut dessert caught my attention and we bought one to try -- yum yum, was a happy gal with a nice dessert to complete a meal :)

P.S. The onset of pain @ my calves triggered FEAR in me! Was it because I rested too many days? Or didn't warm up enough? Over-stretched? Over-trained? So frustrating at the thought that I would not be able to run on D-day -- all my training gone to waste! Ok ok, keep calm. The pain will go away before D-day and I would run and complete the race in style :)

Route : Start @ KRGH -> Pasir Panjang Rd -> South Bouna Vista Rd -> Kent Ridge Park -> Sci Park I -> Underpass to Alexandra Ind Estate -> North Bouna Vista Rd -> Bouna Vista MRT -> Ulu Pandan & Sunset Way Canal -> End @ Clementi Rd

Distance : 15km
Time : 1h22min
Avg pace : 5:30min/km

Marina South-Esplanade-ECP Run on 18 Nov`06 (Sat)

2006-11-20T13:13:00.000+08:00

Yeah, this would be the final 30km+ LD before tapering! tktan, fennel and gentle joined me for the heat run -- indeed it was a HOT run! George was unable to join us as he was on duty the night before -- sharks, he was craving for oysters @ SCGH. As this was a OTOT(Own Time Own Target) run, I emailed the route map to fennel and gentle -- hope they dun get lost like George. Arranged to meet gentle @ the last cabin of the first train from Punggol and tktan & fennel @ City Hall MRT. The ground was wet from last night or early morning rain -- oh oh, may feel hotter when the sun came out and the water evaporated. We put our barang @ Suntec Planet Fitness and proceed to Marina Promenade for warm up. tktan applied muscle rub on his shin/calves and me on my right ankle -- hopefully, that would prevent onset of pain during the run. gentle's previous LSD @ Punggol was avg 6min/km pace and he may follow my pace -- asked me to run faster else I would slow him down! fennel would be running at her own comfortable pace. We all agreed to meet at the B1 carpark(near to Fort Rd) after the run. I lead the first part of the run to Marina South via Shenton Way -- tktan & gentle were running close behind. tktan overtook me at the upslope to Sheares Bridge but stopped at Marina MRT station to stretch his calves -- same spot as last Sun heat run. He asked me to go ahead and he would catch up. So I ran ahead to the steamboat loop -- hmm, no runner in sight for me to "target". Saw fennel running in the opposite direction, close to Marina City Park -- gave each other thumb up :) Hmm, no sight of tktan n gentle. Continued on to Shenton Way -- crossed path with Bug at Maxwell Rd and waved to him (he was escorting his MHA). The shade along Shenton Way was a cool welcome from the hot sun. Increased pace across Esplanade Bridge (no shade!!) and took re-fuel break @ 1st toilet at Marina Promenade. Time check was 1h 5min @ 12.4km -- wah, same as last Sat, 5:15min/km pace.

Still no sight of tktan or gentle, I reluctantly continued the run along Marina Promenade -- the heat was getting unbearably hot. Found a target(a cascasian guy) infront and slowly close up the distance -- overtook him and soon couldn't hear his foot steps. Juz before reaching Republic Ave, heard fast foot steps and saw the cascasion guy ran passed me. As I closed up the distance again, he stopped and U-turn back -- aiyah, lost my target! Crossed over Air Arthur Bridge to Kallang Riverside Park, then cross over the bridge @ Geylang Rd to the other bank of the river. Finally spotted tktan on the opposite side -- good, he would catch up soon. Continued to Indoor Stadium and took a quick walk break -- hoping tktan would join me from here. When I reached the suspension bridge, still no sight of tktan -- then the sun was covered by clouds and I started to run to take advantage of the short cool break. The sun came out shortly and I looked for shady area along Tanjong Rhu Rd. Reached Fort Rd in 1 hr 48min @19.8km -- oops, slower 5:28min/km pace. Next milestone was tennis centre -- not much shade along this stretch. I was so happy to finally reach my re-fiuel and re-fill break! My camelbak juz ran out of water! Re-fill with Pocari Sweat -- too bad dun have ice. Continued towards Lagoon FC -- crossed path with TLR near to the ski cable. Exchanged greetings and gave each other thumb up. Still felt good to go on @ Lagoon FC and continued on to F2 Carpark. Felt my body heating up and decided to U-turn @ F2 carpark instead of my plan to U-turn @ PA Adventure Centre. Time check was 2h 32min @ 27km -- 5:43min/km pace. By then, I was MELTING! Saw gentle as I ran passed the ski cable -- he looked tired. Felt like I was running at a snail pace -- took another refuel break @ toilet before tennis centre (30km). Then pushed on to Fort Rd -- stopped to point to fennel the direction to her U-turn point. Poor fennel, got lost and backtracked quite a distance. Yeah, I completed 33.5km @ 3h 12min -- so glad to gulp down cold 100plus.

Was stretching on the bench when I spotted tktan @ a bench across the running path. His hip pain didn't ease during the run and he finally call it a day @ Indoor Stadium -- walked from there to Fort Rd. Wise of him to stop running! Next to come back was gentle -- clap clap for completing 31km + some backtrack @ Indoor Stadium. And fennel walked back with a bottle of 100plus -- oh dear, she had stomach upset twice during the run and didn't re-fuel as she dropped her energy gels along the way! We "stoned" there for a while before moving off to catch a cab back to Suntec. Felt pain @ my right knee and could hardly walk -- I need ICE!! After some stretching, was able to walk with a limp. Going down/up the stairs at the underpass was challenging! Hopped into a cab and reached Suntec in a wink. gentle was too hungry and ate a pizza before we head off for shower. Lunch was sumptuous spread @ SCGH -- baby spinach, cabbage chicken, crispy Soon Hock, shark fin's soup and rice. Had nobemberfest, too -- gentle got to try Erdinger Light, I had Stella Artois and tkan had English tea. gentle's MHA joined us briefly before we parted way -- gentle went shopping, fennel went for foot massage and tktan & me went for pilates class. Boy, the pilates instructor was in the mood for abs work -- thot it was juz a relax stretching session but I was perspiring! Stopped by Running Lab to get a pair of Ironman thick socks -- tktan bought 2 pairs (1 thick and 1 thin triathlon type).

P.S. It was a good run for me -- the heat did get to me but I kept running. Though felt knee and hip pain, I continued to run and the pain disappeared. Not sure whether it was a wise decision -- anyway, it would be tapering from now on with more rest and shorter distance. Hope all the pains and aches would go away before D-day -- especially tktan's hip & knee pain. Oh, many thanks to tktan for getting a pack of ice for my knees!

Route : Start from 1st toilet @ Marina Promenade -> Marina South -> U-turn to Marina Promenade -> Kallang Water Sports Club -> Kallang Riverside Park -> Cross Sir Arthur Bridge -> Stadium Rd -> Indoor Stadium -> Cross bridge to Tanjong Rhu -> Fort Rd -> East Coast Park -> Lagoon Food Centre -> F2 Carpark -> U-turn and end @ Fort Road

Distance : 33.5km
Time : 3h 12min
Avg pace : 5:44min/km

West Coast Run on 17 Nov`06 (Fri)

2006-11-20T12:57:00.000+08:00

What do runners do during rest day? Carbo-load (aka feasting) time :) To cheer up tktan who needed a rest day for his sore knee & hip, we went for a carbo-load session @ Chinatown. Erm, excuses lah -- I also need a rest day after 2 days of hill run (skipped RL run as it was Fort Canning route :P). First stop was Jiang Xiang Sarawak Kuching Kolo Mee @ North Bridge Rd (junction with Mosque St). Heard from my fren who stays in the vicinity that there are 3 outlets along North Bridge Rd and the noodles are imported daily from Sarawak. We shared a bowl of traditional kolo mee and dumpling soup. Compared to the Bedok's stall, this version has stronger taste -- maybe less noodle or more sauce. Noodle is springy and dun turn soggy. But the dumpling soup was a disappointment -- barely can taste the tiny meat fillings.

Next stop was Togi @ No.11 Mosque St -- small authentic Korean restaurant that I discovered recently. On a weekday, it was fully booked inside and we were contented with siting @ a table outside. We ordered glass noodle, kimichi jige and potato pancake, rice & Hite(Korean beer) -- plus 6 complimentary side dishes. A Korean couple came along and sat at the table next to us -- they juz ordered a plate of octopus, kimichi jige and Korean Shochu. Oops, think we ordered too much food. The kimichi soup tasted great -- liked the rice cake inside. Glass noodle was ok -- the miniced garlic would taste better if fried golden brown. Hmm, cannot taste the potato in the pancake -- maybe they use potato flour? I was eyeing at the octopus at the next table -- must go back again to try that dish :)

Decided to do a quick run on Friday -- warm up before Sat's LD. Weather was sunny and bright @ 5pm and I was looking forward to run in daylight. Haiz, last minute was tied down by work and only reached KRGH @ 7pm. The run addict, tktan, was also stucked at work but managed to rush down in time for the run(via taxi from his workplace). We started the run @ 7.15pm -- skipped the hills and did a flat run @ West Coast Park. From Pasir Panjang Rd, we turned right @ Haw Par Villa to West Coast Highway before entering the park -- it was not brightly lit, so had to be careful of foot landing. tktan unintentionally "breathed" in an insect -- unable to spit it out and swallow it instead! YUCKS! As we ran passed MacDonalds, tempted by the good-smelling food. Adjusted my pace according to tktan's foot steps -- was afraid he would push too hard and aggravate his hip pain. After exit from the park @ Clementi Rd, we turned right at Pasir Panjang Rd -- wanna try the short steep hill @ Heng Mui Keng Ter to KRGH. tktan asked me to go as fast as I could -- huh, it was still a long way from the hill. Soon, tktan overtook me and sprinted all the way. Wah, this hill was tougher -- end @ KRGH with upslope unlike the other way which end with downslope! Time check was 42min for 7.5km -- relax 5:36min/km pace. After cool down, stretch and quick shower, we grabbed dinner @ KRGH's KingFisher Cafe -- Punggol Mee Goreng, Ta Ao Bee Hoon and CoCo Delights(coconut ice cream served in coconut). Hmm, only took pic of the dessert as we were too hungry when the main courses were served :) On our way home, we could see twinkle stars up above the clear sky -- tomorrow will be a good day for running!

Route : Start @ KRGH -> Pasir Panjang Rd -> West Coast Highway -> West Coast Park -> Clementi Rd -> Pasir Panjang Rd -> End @ KRGH

Distance : 7.5km
Time : 42min
Avg pace : 5:36min/km

NUS Hill Run on 15 Nov`06 (Wed)

2006-11-16T12:27:00.000+08:00

Gotta solve a bug @ work last minute and could not make it for NUS Hill Run. So tktan lead the run with LM and Andy(another ex-colleague). They did the route to Ulu Pandan Canal via South Bouna Vista Rd, underpass to Alexandra Ind Est and Bouna Vista MRT -- 13km @ 1h 15min (good 5:35min/km pace). Yeah, LM finally crossed the 10km mark -- though he got lost but found his way back to KRGH. Since I brought my running gear, decided to do a quick run to clear the head after "squashing" the bug @ work. Reached KRGH at 8pm and sms-ed to tktan that I would be going for a run and asked them to go ahead with dinner if they could not wait. When I came out from the changing room, saw tktan, LM and Andy cooling down @ the car park opposite KRGH. Walked over for a quick chat -- looked like they had a good run. Oh oh, tktan's left knee was not feeling good (after the "stunt" on Tuesday) -- seemed like he gotta take a rest from running on Thursday. The run addict looked despondent as we had planned to do another mid distance run :(

As it was getting late, I bade them goodbye and started my solo run. Did the reverse of the usual NUS run -- wah, more shiong with more upslopes! It was a quiet nite -- only met a few runners in the opposite direction. Weather was great -- cool and breezy. At the junction of South Bouna Vista Rd & Sci Park I, I was feeling good and decided to do a loop in Sci Park I. U-turn at Science Hub -- time check was 23min for 4.35km (cool 5:17min/km pace). As the 99-bend South Bouna Vista Rd was very dark, I backtracked the same way back -- nice nice with more downslopes this time. Dashed up the final slope to KRGH -- time check for 8.7km was 46min -- even split of 23min! Went for a cool down walk and stretching before shower -- received sms from tktan that they were finishing dinner at Fong Seng Nasi Lemak and going off.

P.S. It has been a long while since I run solo -- somehow, I always feel that my pace is slower and will tend to push harder. For this run, I didn't push hard and juz enjoyed the run in a cool evening :) Shiok run! Hope tktan's knee would recover in time for Sat's LD -- last one before tapering off...

Route : Start @ KRGH -> Kent Ridge Cres -> Clementi Rd -> Lower Kent Ridge Rd, passing UCC, SRC, NUH -> South Bouna Vista Rd -> Sci Park I and U-turn

Distance : 8.7km
Time : 46min
Avg pace : 5:17min/km

IBP Run on 14 Nov`06 (Tue)

2006-11-15T12:42:00.000+08:00

Heard from fennel abt the foot bridge at end of Sunset Way Canal that connects up to International Business Park(IBP). So tktan and me set out to explore this new route -- our eyes must be pasted with stamps as we didn't notice the foot bridge for our previous runs there :) Thanks to fennel for the map that illustrate the location of foot bridge. In case, we cannot find the foot bridge, tktan has a backup plan to backtrack 200m to reach IBP via another way. Lucky I managed to "squash" a bug @ work and made it for the run. tktan was early and we set off for the run at 6.40pm. Was trying out my red nike top for this mid distance run -- if comfortable, will wear it for D-day. Felt good and started off with a faster pace -- reached the end of Vigilante Dr in 17min (that's a cool 5:10min/km pace). Oh, I was still huffing and puffing up that killer slope when tktan was oledi taking a breather at the top :( We cruised down Kent Ridge Park -- tktan said his calve muscles were aching from Sun's LD. As we ran passed Science Hub, I was smacked by a huge black thing on my right shoulder that scared the wits out of me --tktan said it must be a blind bird! We continued on to DSTA and connect to Alexandra Industrial Estate via the underpass. When we reached Bouna Vista MRT, time check was 39min for 7km -- nice 5:30min/km pace. Skipped the toilet break and continued on to Ulu Pandan Canal and Sunset Way Canal. Feeling good and up the pace along this stretch -- time check at end of Sunset Way Canal was 1h 5min for 12.3km (another 5:10min/km pace for this stretch).

tktan put on his specs and located a muddy path to the foot bridge -- there is a railway track next to it. We crossed over it with caution. After tktan re-fuel with Gu Gel, we continued our run along the canal. Reached Boon Lay Way and turn left to IBP. Did a loop in IBP and connected to Jurong Town Hall Rd. This was tktan's home ground, so he was leading the way. Hmm, y was he running to the right of the bus-stop when the path was on the left. Before I could call out to him, to my horror, saw him stumbled over a drain and ramped into the fence with another drain beside him! Oh mine, rushed up to check whether he was injured! Phew, he was not hurt -- reacted fast enough to avoid falling into the drains! Asked him to stretch his legs to make sure no pain before we continued. This time, I WILL lead! We turned left to West Coast Rd -- paiseh, I lead to a route with many traffic lights, kinda disruptive to the run (should have stick to tktan's plan to run to West Coast Park). We passed Ayer Rajah FC, Ginza Plaza, Clementi Woods Park and finally reached Clementi Rd. Had this nagging pain at the top of my right ankle during the run and started to feel a strain on my shin. Decided to stop the run as we stopped at the traffic light -- time check was 1h 48min for 20km (avg pace of 5:26min/km). Took a warm-down walk back to KRGH. Had ice cold 100plus and Ribena, courtesy of tktan. After a quick shower, we had dinner @ Clementi -- I had traditional Hokkien Prawn Noodle in Or Peh leaf and tktan had horfun with sliced beef in black bean sauce.

P.S. Haiz, it was not tktan's day! Glad that he was not injured and able to complete the run! Hope the coming runs will be inhury free -- so close to D-day! We'll stick to familiar routes for now. Oh, the nike top sticked to my body after a while -- gotta find another top for D-day.

Route : Start @ KRGH -> Pasir Panjang Rd -> South Bouna Vista Rd -> Kent Ridge Park -> Sci Park I -> Alexandra Ind Est -> North Bouna Vista Rd -> Bouna Vista MRT -> Ulu Pandan Canal -> Sunset Way Canal -> IBP -> Jurong Town Hall Rd -> West Coast Rd -> End @ Clementi Rd.

Distance : 20km
Time : 1hr 48min
Avg pace : 5:26min/km

Marina South-Esplanade-ECP Run on 12 Nov`06 (Sun)

2006-11-13T13:27:00.000+08:00

Heed the advice of my osteopath to rest on Sat, went carbo-loading with tktan instead -- our food motivation would be closed on Sun and hence we brought forward the carbo-load session :) It was a rainy day and perfect for hotpot – we had cod fish hotpot, chawan mushi(egg custard) and amaebi(sweet prawn) & tako(octopus) sashimi @ Wasabi Tei, a Japanese restaurant @ Far East Plaza (the boss is “famous” for his bad temper). tktan had been pre-warned about the “rules” of eating at this restaurant and was rather curious & nervous. We had to take pics of the food secretly – risked being “scolded” by the boss! The amaebi was fresh and succulent – tktan disregarded the high cholesterol and sucked the roe from the prawn’s heads. Tako was huge and chewy. Chawan mushi is the hot favorite here -- with fresh prawn, shimeji mushroom, chicken, crab meat etc. The cod fish hotpot came with chucks of cod fish with assorted veggie, shitake mushroom, konnyuku, tofu in a tasty broth – and a special sauce for dipping. Rounded off the meal with green tea ice cream. tktan was drooling @ the thick slices of salmon sashimi that was being cut and served to other diners – had to drag him out of the restaurant!

Part 2 of carb-load session was authentic Japanese ramen @ Ken Ramen @ Orchard Plaza (next to Orchard OG). I had miso ramen with additional corn while tktan had char siew ramen in tonkotsu(pork bones) broth. And we shared gyoza and Sapporo beer. Wow, after the Japanese food carbo-load session, we should run better on Sun!

Late on Sat nite, George sms-ed to check about my LD plan and keen to join me & tktan for the heat run. As Planet Fitness opens at 8am on Sundays, we could only start after 8am – after depositing our barangs @ the locker. After warm up and stretching, we started the run @ 8.40am with George leading the way to Marina South, passing Esplanade & Shenton Way. First time we started our LD in sunny weather and could feel the heat early in the run. We overtook George @ Marina MRT as he stopped to adjust his fuel belt. tktan felt his calves tightened and stopped to stretch while I carried on. Wow, there were many runners doing heat run – as usual, Safra runners were everywhere and crossed path with Mrs. Tekko and VRP gals. tktan caught up with me as we turned out from steamboat loop – his calves were better after warm up. Happy to be on the “return” route, we increased pace. Tekko, the supportive hubby, waved as we ran passed Esplanade – he and VRP gals were waiting for Mrs. Tekko who went for another round @ Marina Promenade. We took a re-fuel break @ the 1^st toilet under Sheares Bridge. Time check was 1h 5min for 12.4km -- wah, start off with faster 5:15min/km pace.

Next milestone was Indoor Stadium. On familiar grounds, tktan sped ahead – this time, he was leading abt 200m! Felt slight pain @ my right ankle and slowed down – was contemplating whether to stop but tktan was too far infront for me to chase & inform him. So I continued and reached Indoor Stadium where he was waiting. By then, the pain felt bearable and we set the next milestone to Fort Road. In any case, if I do stopped, we agreed to wait at Lagoon FC or Fort Road. Crossed the suspension bridge over to Tanjong Rhu and continued on to Fort Rd. Still felt good to go on @ Fort Rd and proceed to Lagoon FC -- keeping tktan in sight in front. Tried to increase pace but felt pain @ my left arch -- well, had to be contented with running slow. The weather was ouching HOT by then (ard 10.30am). We stopped @ toilet after tennis center to refill our camelbak and re-fuel. Time check was 2h 5min for 23.5km -- avg 5:20min.km pace (slower 5:25min/km pace for segment from Marina Promenade to toilet after tennis center).

tktan was heated up and suggested u-turn earlier @ Lagoon FC instead of NSC. I lead the way from here as he tried to cool down with slower pace. Surprised to see SassyRunner doing her heat run at such late hours! My stitches came on as we rounded the cable ski lagoon -- slowed down and control my breathing. As we "melted" under the hot sun, tktan asked me to go on as he stopped for walk break after the tennis centre. Then saw George at Marina Cove and signalled to him that tktan was walking behind. Continued my solo run towards Fort Road -- hmm, no runners for me to overtake. Saw Bug resting near B1 toilet -- the Safra runners had finished their LSD. Finally, saw the end of the path and completed the run @ 2h 55min for 31.5km -- cool avg 5:33min/km pace (slowest pace was 6:11min/km for the last stretch). Soon after, tktan also completed the run and we waited for George under the shelter while doing our warm down stretch. Apparently, George was experiencing pain on his feet and unable to run -- he had not been running for 10 days due to work. Also, he got lost on the way to ECP and backtracked for 3km+! When George finally reached Fort Rd, he was happy to sit down for a rest finally!

We took a cab back to Suntec, shower and had lunch @ NUS Guild House -- fennel joined us for lunch after her own heat run @ Ulu Pandan Canal. We ordered the 3-course set lunch for Savour Britain food promo. I had appetiser(Mosaic of Shrimp and Avocado In Scotch Whisky Dressing), soup(Carrot, Sweet Potatoes and Coriander Soup with a hint of Indian spice) and main course(Grilled Half Baby Chicken topped with Sherry and Stilton Cheese Sauce). The rest had appetiser(Cobb Salad with Grilled English Sausage) and soup. tktan's main course was Roast Beef accompanied by Yorkshire Pudding, Gravy, Roast Potatoes and served with English Mustard, George's Slow Roasted Traditional Oxtail Stew with Creamy Leek Mashed Potato and fennel's Pan Fried Smoked White Fish Fillet on a bed of Mashed Peas and served with Grain Mustard Sauce. English tea was served after the meal. Parted way with George n fennel as we returned to Planet Fitness for Body Balance class -- combination of tai chi, yoga and pilates. Good stretch to loosen the muscles after the LD :)

P.S. Was worried that my sprained ankle may cut short the distance drastically. Glad that I pushed on at Indoor Stadium and went on to complete 30km+ run. Yeah, dutifully ice my ankles and hopefully the pain would go away before my next run. Happy to get accustom with my cruising(5:30) and slowest(6:11) pace. Oh, had a black big toe :( Loosened my shoe lace so as relieve the pain @ my right ankle -- haiz, felt my feet sliding forward during the run. tktan was not in tip-top condition as he rested for 2 days -- guess he could only afford 1 day rest inbetween his runs to keep his "engine" warm. He experienced cessation of sweat and hip pain during the run, too. Hope he would be in better form for the next heat run!

P.S.S. Had craving for Korean zha jiang mian and cooked it for dinner -- here's pic of the before and after mixing the sauce. Yum yum

Route : Start from 1st toilet @ Marina Promenade -> Marina South -> U-turn to Marina Promenade -> Kallang Water Sports Club -> Kallang Riverside Park -> Cross Sir Arthur Bridge -> Stadium Rd -> Indoor Stadium -> Cross bridge to Tanjong Rhu -> Fort Rd -> East Coast Park -> Lagoon Food Centre -> U-turn and end @ Fort Road

Distance : 31.5km
Time : 2hr 55min
Avg pace : 5:33min/km

"Lomantic" Run on 9 Nov`06 (Thu)

2006-11-10T12:42:00.000+08:00

Gave RL a miss as wanna do a mid-distance 20km run before this weekend 35km LD. After the storm in the afternoon, it was still raining lightly @ NUS ard 5pm. Fennel tried to tempt me to go to RL run instead, coz the weather was ok @ CBD. Decided to stick to my orginal plan and hope the rain would stopped in time. The run addict, tktan, rushed down from his workplace to join me for the run - 10min late due to slow traffic @ wet weather.Yeah, the rain indeed stopped when we started the run @ 6.55pm -- nice n cool weather. Ground was wet and we were careful while running on the slippery pavement. Heard that DR, DO & Bug would be doing a "lomantic" run @ Labrador Park -- so we head towards there, too. After the gentle slopes @ South Bouna Vista Rd and Jln, we turned left to Pasir Panjang Rd. Careless me tripped on a step, left foot hit the side of the curb and nearly fell flat on my face! Managed to recover in time when tktan caught hold of me -- PHEW! No pain -- so we continued running. Labrador Park was quiet after the rain. We did a loop by the coast and ran up the slope to Olive Restaurant. As we recovered our breath on the downslope towards Pasir Panjang Rd, I felt slight pain @ my upper part of left feet. Hmm, hope it was not the after-effect of the little mishap earlier. Then we saw DR, DO & Bug running up -- they juz did a 8km run @ Canterbury (will check out this new route at my next run). Decided to join them for an extra loop before heading back. They were in high spirit - Bug still nursing a cold, DR almost fully recovered and all running at a fast pace. tktan gave chase and maintained 2 stride-length away from DR. I did the same and stayed behind tktan. As we entered Labrador Park, Bug disappeared in the dark trails, DR increased his pace and DO went for toilet break. Wah, chuan chasing after DR! When DR turned to make another loop, we decided to stop the chase -- DO came up from behind and we informed him that we were heading back.

Instead of continue on to Ulu Pandan Canal, we took the same way back via Pasir Panjang Rd. Ran through puddles of water on the wet floor and the good-smelling-food @ Pasir Panjang FC. Tried to push all the way back to KRGH but I started to experience pain @ my left arch -- finally raised my white flag to tktan @ junction of Pasir Panjang Rd and South Bouna Vista Rd. Haiz, we cooled down for the 2km+ walk back to KRGH -- along the way, I nearly sprained my right ankle while stepping off the pavement! ARGHH, this was not my day! Felt silly n frustrated for being so careless! Sorry to tktan for cutting short the distance -- weather was great for a mid distance run! Thanks to his mobile water station -- ice cold Pocari Sweat tasted great! After shower, we went to Clementi for dinner -- I had spinach noodle with dumplings while tktan ordered pork rib curry noodles and otah. On my way home, the train got stucked a few time -- finally reached home at midnite! Juz not my lucky day :(

P.S. Woke up this morning and still felt pain @ my left feet. A bit worried that it may be due to some ligament/muscle strain and fixed an appointment with my osteopath during lunch. Turned out that I had sprained my left ankle slightly which resulted in the sore tissue @ the top of the feet. Paul did an ultrasound around my left ankle as he cannot do deep tissue massge when the "damage" was still raw (Ultrasound treatment to the ankle was used to warm the ankle to improve the healing process. It would be like putting a hot pack on the ankle). He also massage my ITB to reduce the clicking sound of my right knee and my hip to relieve the nagging pain from the rotated pelvis. He said no-no to LD on Sat -- rest and ice the ankle 2-3 times. Do my LD on Sun and run with care - ice the ankle(even without pain) after the run. Due to my high weekly mileage, he recommended me to go for massage to loosen my tight calves n thigh muscles. And of course do more stretching before n after running. He advised me to reduce my mileage after SCSM and do more cross training like swim/cycle. OK, gonna take a break from running after SCSM anyway -- my favorite ski season is here :)

Route : Start @ KRGH -> Pasir Panjang Rd -> South Bouna Vista Rd -> South Bouna Vista Jln -> Pasir Panjang Rd -> Labrador Park -> U-turn same way back to KRGH

Distance : 13km
Time : 1h 12min (including traffic light stops)
Avg Pace : 5:30min/km

NUS Hill Run on 8 Nov`06 (Wed)

2006-11-09T12:22:00.000+08:00

This week, 2 new SgRunners, nyquist2000 & charlene73, joined in the weekly NUS Hill Run -- welcome welcome and nice meeting you in person after communicating in the forum. It had been a long while since we ran the ORIGINAL route -- always enjoyed showing new runners the "rolling" slopes of NUS :) The usual suspects, tktan & LM, were already @ KRGH when I reached there @ 6.20pm -- tktan actually took a cab from his office in Woodlands! nyquist2000 & charlene73 were early, too, and waiting @ the reception of KRGH. After handshaking and introduction, nyquist2000 & charlene73 saw tktan's new shoe(Mizuno Elixir2) & yanz lace and they launched into discussion about them. We started the run @ 6.50pm after a brief description of the route with option to extend to Sci Park II or West Coast Park. As I "rolled" down the first slope from KRGH, heard charlene73 commented "y so fast?!!" -- oops, sorry guys, prefer to take advantage of the momentum rather than resist. On the flat stretch along Pasir Panjang Rd, the group closed up and I chatted briefly with charlene73. As we approached Haw Par Villa, I pointed out the route that runs through and nyquist2000 & charlene73 gamely took on the challenge (hmm, they were blissfully unaware of the upslope ahead!). nyquist2000 was transported back to his childhood day when he saw the God of Mercy @ the entrance(same as the one that he took picture with when he was a kid) as we ran up the slope. tktan was encourgaing LM and charlene73 while nyquist2000 tailgated me up the slope -- well done for the first slope of the run. Recovered our breath as we ran down Zehnder Rd -- charlene73 noted that downslope always seemed shorter than upslope! Next to come was the killer upslope @ Vigilante Dr. nyquist2000 was going strong and matched my pace up the slope. charlene73 was taken aback by the steepness and walked up. Clap clap to LM for finally conquering the slope for the very first time with slow jog! Everyone welcomed the downslope @ Kent Ridge Park and picked up pace @ Sci Park I. At the traffic junction, we had the option to turn left to Sci Park II(12km) and turn right to NUS(8.5km) -- wise choice for nyquist2000 & charlene73 for choosing the right turn (that'll avoid another steep uphill to NUS). We "flowed" through the gentle slopes as we passed by NUH, Science faculty, SRC and UCC. Knowing the end was near, we up the pace along Clementi Rd. At the traffic junction, again we had to option to turn left to KRGH or go straight for another 3 km @ West Coast Park. nyquist2000 raised his white flag as he oledi used up 100% while charlene73 still have 10% reserve :) Consenus was to head back and we used our last ounce of energy up the final slope to KRGH! Time check was 47min for 8.5km -- that's a nice 5:47min/km pace :)

Well done to nyquist2000, charlene73 and LM for completing the "famous" NUS Hill Run! Oh, they were disappointed that the distance was ONLY 8.5km -- felt like 10km!! Thanks to LM for the 100plus and tktan for bringing ice -- the ice cold drink was great! As we cool down, the conversation changed from running, marathons to triathlons etc. We finally parted way as nyquist2000 & charlene73 headed back while tktan, LM and me went for shower followed by gourmet feast at KRGH. The guys had appetizer(Dill Cured Salmon with Sweet Mustard Sauce), soup(Homemade Traditional Cream of Carrot) and main course(Layers of Chicken Breast & Chicken Liver served with Potatoes and Veal Sausage braised with Swedish Beer) while I had appetizer(Sauteed Scallops, Mussels and Morel Mushrooms with Asparagus and Broccolli in Noilly Prat Sauce), main course(Steamed Lake Superior White Fish with fresh Avocado Sauce, Fricassee of Crayfish, Pimentos and served with Parsley Rice) and dessert from buffet spread. Yum yum :)

P.S. Haiz, guess I have no chance to slack during my runs! nyquist2000 asked me to bear with his "slow" pace -- like that called "slow", then I wonder what is his "fast" pace *faint*?!! charlene73 is another good runner -- can pick up speed fairly quickly on flats.

Route : Start @ KRGH -> Pasir Panjang -> Haw Par Villa -> Zehnder Rd -> South Bouna Vista Rd -> Kent Ridge Park -> Sci Park I -> Lower Kent Ridge Rd -> Kent Ridge Crescent -> Clementi Rd -> Kent Ridge Dr -> End @ KRGH

Distance : 8.5km
Time : 47min (including traffic light stops)
Avg Pace : 5:47min/km

Portsdown Run2 on 6 Nov`06 (Mon)

2006-11-07T12:46:00.000+08:00

Instead of having 3 consecutive runs on weekdays,think it is better to have a day rest after my weekday LD followed by 2 short runs. So I started off the week with 18-20km LD on Monday. Carbo-loaded with Sarawak Kuching Kolo Mee @ Bedok the night before. Hmm, taste so-so -- maybe my expectation was too high after reading good reviews. Dessert of mixed fruits ice was much better - my body still felt warm from Sat's run and the dessert helped to cool down :)

tktan was planning to go gym to "put" back his muscles but changed "camp" and joined me for the run -- the distance was too tempting (he is confirmed a run addict!). It rained in the afternoon and weather looked nice & cool when I gave him weather update @ 5pm. Duh, it started to rain again when I got onto the bus, on my way to KRGH! Sms-ed tktan about the weather change -- he was already on his way and would meet me @ KRGH anyway. Contingency plan was to hit the gym lor. Thank goodness, the rain stopped @ 6.50pm and we proceed with the run -- yeah! Weather was a tad humid after the rain and we were cautious of the wet grounds -- also first time starting the run in the dark. It had been ages since we ran the killer slope @ Vigilante Dr -- tougher as it was slippery and I was panting as usual *sweat*. tktan felt a bit out of sync as he could normally ran up with ease -- this time, he felt a bit breathless (maybe due to his new shoes?). Time check @ end of Vigilante Dr was 15min for 2.7km -- nice 5:30min/km pace. Recovered our breath @ Kent Ridge park downslope and continued on to Portsdown Flyover. Enjoyed the slight hilly terrain @ Portsdown Road, followed by North Bouna Vista Rd to Bouna Vista MRT. We skipped toilet break and continued on to Ulu Pandan Canal. Quiet evening with few runners -- breezy and great for cruising. tktan sped ahead and I maintained my comfortable pace -- managed to close up the gap towards the end. Both of us felt ok to continue on to Sunset Way Canal. tktan overtook me and I played catch up later -- add some fun to the else monotonous run :P Took a break @ the end of the canal --tktan needed to re-fuel with Gu Gel. We increased speed @ the return leg -- avg 5:15min/km pace for this stretch of 4.6km. tktan was a bit tired (he had a busy day at work) and we took the shorter route back to KRGH. At the final upslope, we dashed up with him pushing me to go faster -- I could only increase my stride frequency but not stride length :( Thanks to tktan for the mobile water station and after-run ice milo! Boy, he was one busy man -- had to return missed calls from work while doing warm down!

After feeling fresh from a hot shower, we had dinner @ The Cheese Prata Shop -- ordered onion prata, roti john chicken, seafood pattaya with maggie, teh tarik and fresh lime juice. Wah, finally gotta eat the roti john that I have been dreaming of since last Wed! Yummy!

P.S. Felt good and happy that my sense of pace is coming back. Comfortable pace along Sunset Way Canal -- hope to maintain this pace for this Sat's heat run :)

Route : KRGH -> Pasir Panjang Rd -> South Bouna Vista Rd -> Kent Ridge Park -> Normanton Park -> Portsdown Flyover -> Portsdown Rd -> North Bouna Vista Rd -> Bouna Vista MRT -> Ulu Pandan Canal -> Sunset Way Canal -> Clementi Rd -> KRGH

Distance : 18km
Time : 1hr 43min (including traffic light stops and snack break)
Avg pace : 5:43min/km

Marina South-Esplanade-ECP Run on 4 Nov`06 (Sat)

2006-11-06T00:12:00.000+08:00

After my bad experience of running under hot sun @ Phuket Mountain Beach (the last 3km was flat but I was unable to speed up under the hot melting heat! So frustrating!), wanna tried the Esplanade-ECP run again – added in a 9km loop to Marina South and return to Marina Promenade via Sheares Bridge. Most SgRunners were taking part in the MR 35km Progressive Run and Nike Runaholics 25km Run, so tktan & I ninja-ed for this run. In anticipation of the heat, we put ice in our camelbaks to ensure cool drink along the way – tktan’s brilliant idea and tried & tested @ NUS runs : ) After depositing our barangs @ Suntec’s Planet Fitness, we did warm up stretch and started the run @ 7am. Weather was clear with a grey sky(a bit humid, maybe haze is coming?!) – hmm, missed the blue sky in Phuket. After 2 weeks of not running with my camelback, felt uncomfortable & hot – would take a while to get use to that again. Lead the way to Marina South as tktan was running this route for the first time(minus during previous races). Nice running in the early morning when the CBD was still sleeping and we had the road to ourselves! After we did a loop round the steamboat area, we entered Marina City Park and found the staircase leading to Sheares Bridge – oops sandy patch and sands got into our shoes. tktan was encouraging me as I slowed down on the upslope @ Sheares Bridge – haiz, the run had barely started : ( Took our first break at the traffic light – to clear the sands in my socks & shoes. Time checked @ 9km was 47:51min – hmm, 5:20min/km pace.

From here, tktan was familiar with the route and ran ahead along Marina Promenade and Kallang Riverside Park. Tried to control my pace so as not to run too fast and heat up my body prematurely. Oh, think we crossed path with Animiles runners – VT zoomed passed in the opposite direction @ Marina Promenade and a couple of guys gave me thumb up for good run @ Kallang Riverside Park. tktan would slow down periodically to check whether I need a water break. Tahan till Indoor Stadium (abt 14km) and we took a break to re-fuel with our 1st Gu/Hammer Gel. Then we crossed the bridge to Tanjong Rhu and ran towards Fort Rd. Surprise, we met Sotong who was doing his ninja run @ ECP (he missed his run on Friday). We ran alongside for 3km with tktan leading 100m ahead – Sotong commented that tktan was on “Energizer battery” and could run on and on : ) Our camelbak was almost empty and parted way with Sotong as we took a re-fill break @ toilet after tennis center. Time check @ 19km was 1h 44min – cool, back to 5:30min/km pace. Topped up with 100plus and tktan took his 2nd Gu Gel. Then we continued towards Lagoon Food Centre. Feeling fresh after the break, I followed tktan closely but slowed down when I experienced stitches. Oops, didn’t know that there was Corporate Triathlon held that day -- the path towards National Sailing Centre was closed. We decided to u-turn here – we took a water break and I re-fuel with my 2nd Hammer Gel.

On the return route, we saw many participants and supporters of the triathlon pushing/riding their bikes with barangs to the start point. There were boxes of H2O at the water stations – so tempted to grab a few bottles to re-fill our camelbaks :P By this time, the sun was out in full blast and I felt my body heating up. Thanks to the cool drink from my camelback, my head was kept cool and I maintained my slow pace. Overtook a few runners along the way towards Fort Rd until only tktan was infront. Joined him when he took a splash break at toilet after Big Splash – his CPU(aka head) was heated up and needed to splash cold water to cool down. We pushed on till Fort Road and he took a brief walk break under the Sheares Bridge while waiting for me. I crossed over the road and ran to the traffic junction. Signaled to tktan that I ran ahead first as he would catch up soon (oops, forgot that he cannot see without his specs!). Ran “meltingly” under the hot sun towards Indoor Stadium via Tanjong Rhu – wah, so glad to reach the shade of shelter! Hmm, strange -- tktan was nowhere in sight. After a seemingly long wait, I decided to backtrack to Fort Rd – was relieved to spot him running towards the bridge. Oh dear, he was waiting for me @ the junction! He needed a toilet to cool down his CPU and the nearest toilet was @ the Kallang Sea Sports Centre abt 1km away – we ran there instead of walk. He juz put his head under the tap – could “see steam” coming out! I was already cooled down but tktan was keen to complete the run. So we crossed over Nicoll Highway and ran back to Marina Promonade. Weather was great for the last stretch as the sun was shielded by the clouds. tktan sped ahead while I followed 100m behind. Yes, we did it – completed >32km! Time check @ 33km was 3h 3min – avg pace of 5:34min/km! Slightly off my target but glad that we finished in good form : )

We walked back to Planet Fitness for a good hot shower and attended a yoga class for thorough stretching. It was tktan’s first try @ yoga -- had some laughs over certain poses when the instructor gave him extra pull! Then it was time to reward ourselves with a good lunch – zha jiang mian @ Neil Rd (this was our motivation during the run)! We made it to the restaurant 15min before closing and juz in time for their last order. Without hesitation, we ordered zha jiang mian, hot & sour soup and xiao long bao. We were so hungry that we finished the food within minutes! Thumbs up for the yummy spread – very unqiue Beijing food, especially the xiao long bao’s meat filling that melt in your mouth!

P.S. Before I went for this run, was apprehensive whether I should do 30km+ LD after 1 week of zero mileage and with juz 2 runs during the week. Glad that I went ahead and complete it! Thanks to tktan for the being a “target” – for a change, I was doing the chase :P Sorry to make u wait @ Fort Rd! Hope to condition my body better with more heat runs before SCSM. Oh, need to add in one more re-fuel break -- my stomach was growling at the last stretch @ Marina Promenade!

Route : Start from 1st toilet @ Marina Promenade (under Sheares Bridge) -> Marina South -> Marina City Park -> return to Marina Promenade via Sheares Bridge -> Kallang Water Sports Club -> Kallang Riverside Park -> Cross Sir Arthur Bridge -> Stadium Rd -> Indoor Stadium -> Cross bridge to Tanjong Rhu -> Fort Rd -> East Coast Park -> Lagoon Food Centre and U-turn

Distance : 33km
Time : 3hr 03min
Avg pace : 5:34min/km

RL Run on 2 Nov`06 (Thu)

2006-11-03T12:22:00.000+08:00

Felt fresh after a day rest (thanks to the rain) and joined RL run for another "cheong" session. tktan & LM joined us for the first time. Good to see many familiar faces like IMD, fennel, George, Terence, cokiee, dasher, SV etc. Hmm, seemed like I only appeared once a month nowadays! LM was late and tktan waited for him while the rest headed for warm up at open space opposite Hill Street. After a quick stretch lead by IMD, the group started the run and the speed monsters(George, Terence, cokiee, dasher) sped off. Had to run through a "raining tree" outside the Asian Civilization Museum -- yucks, slowed down as I dun wanna get my shoes wet! Lost of sense of pace as I chased after the speed monsters -- was I slow or they were fast??!! Crossed path with Eddie who was in his relax running form. IMD would slow down periodically to wait for the runners and gave encouragement to passing runners. Uhm, heard he did a 8km run prior to this 10km run. Caught up with fennel @ Marina Promonade -- she slowed down as she was feeling discomfort from a heavy lunch. As I approached Sir Arthur Bridge, saw dasher on the return route -- he u-turned earlier due to dry throat. It was dark @ Kallang Riverside Park as the street lamps were out of order. Close to the u-turn point, saw George, Terence and the front pack on the return route -- we gave one another thumb up. Time check @ U-turn point was 25min -- huh, y was I so slow today!! (Later realised that I mis-calculated -- 5:30min/km pace should be 27.5min @ 5km) Panicked and started to increase my pace -- abandoned my plan to do an extra loop @ Kallang Riverside Park. After crossing Sir Arthur Bridge, saw IMD chatting with another runner while waiting for the rest. Met tktan & LM and signalled to them that U-turn was after the bridge -- they decided to cut short the distance and followed me back. LM stopped to catch his breath shortly while tktan followed closely behind -- hmm, could hear his foot steps and sound very relax. Aiyoh, I must be running slow! So started to chase after runners infront of me and overtook one by one. Had to slow down a bit when I started to experience stitches @ Marina Promonade. tktan took a breather @ Esplanade to wait for LM while I finished the run with final dash. Time check was 50:58min -- HUH, 5:06min/km pace!! It dawned on me that I had mis-calculated! Very shiok run and enjoyed the warm down stretch lead by Eddie. Back @ RL, I bought another set of lock lace and stocked up on hammergel (yummy raspberry & tropical flavour). Had dinner @ Komola's(Indian fast food at Peninsula Plaza) with fennel, George and tktan -- my paper dosai was HUGE!

P.S. Boy, thanks to my lousy maths, that's my PB after my last run @ 53:29min in August :) During the run, my breathing was fast -- definitely not a chatting pace. And I felt my body heated up -- good thing the cool breeze helped to cool down. Must control my pace for this Sat's long run -- dun wanna experience another burnt CPU! Oh, LM did well -- he ran his longest distance of 8.6km! Next NUS run, we can try 10km :)

Route : Start @ Hill Street -> Esplanade -> Marina Promonade -> Kallang Water Sports Club -> Cross Sir Arthur Bridge -> Kallang Riverside Park -> U-turn @ Furniture Warehouse

Distance : 10km
Time : 50:58min
Avg Pace : 5:06min/km (Didn't know I can sustain this pace for so long!)

Halloween Run on 31 Oct`06 (Tue)

2006-11-01T12:48:00.000+08:00

After a week of zero mileage while on holiday, was eager to resume running -- warm up my cold engine and take my new Mizuno Inspire2 for it's maiden run. Decided to check out the Halloween parties at Labrador Park & Holland Village -- distance abt 10km with options to extend. tktan joined me for the run with his new Mizuno Elixir2 -- wah, orange shoes with luminous orange lock lace! After a quick warm up, we started our run toward Haw Par Villa -- the upslope was managable :) Then we breezed through Zehnder Rd and South Bouna Jln to Pasir Panjang Rd where we did hurdle jumps on/off the pavement. As we turned into Labrador Park, tktan suggested taking the first upslope -- erhm, that would mean running down the steep downslope. We both agreed it was better to run up the steep slope and take the second upslope. The park was rather quiet except for a Halloween party by the Saint Andrews Society -- the witches/wizards were doing the BBQ. Nothing happening... Took a water break @ the toilet before tackling the upslope to Olive Restaurant. Time check as we exit Labrador Park @ 6.9km was 37min -- cool 5:20min/km pace.

Our next stop was Holland Village. Along Alexandra Rd, I miss-stepped on an uneven surface and nearly tripped -- phew that I didn't sprained anything! Strangely, felt my right shoulder/neck aching -- hmm, tktan's shoulder ache is contagious?!! Maybe due to my arm swing was not full as mentioned by William, the osteopath. Then it was weaving through pesdestrians along Queensway and Commonwealth Dr. At Commonwealth MRT, we turned left and ran along the MRT line. Made a right to Holland Ave and dashed up the slope to Holland Village. At the taxi stand, I was ready to stop but tktan was feeling good and exceptionally energized -- he suggested carry on to Bouna Vista MRT. So we continued and ran through Holland Village -- hmm, not many people were dressed up for Halloween. We left the party scene and took a water break @ Bouna Vista MRT -- oh oh, the vending machine was not working and we dun have cold isotonic water! Only took a few sip of tap water from the toilet and off we went to Ulu Pandan Canal -- aiyoh, thought we were gonna stop here! tktan was high spirited and I tried to keep up with his pace -- though feeling fatigue slowly creeping in. We overtook a runner who was breathing heavily -- he gave chase and was panting down our necks. Rather annoying, so we slow down to let him pass. He would slow down and when we caught up with him, he gave chase again -- think he was using us as pacer. Wow, glad to leave him behind as we turned left to Clementi Rd @ the end of the canal. The road surface was uneven along this stretch and I was feeling tired -- hardly lifting my foot which resulted in near tripping. As we stopped for the traffic light @ junction of Commonwealth Ave and Clementi Rd, I finally raised my white flag and asked tktan to end our run.

We took a cool down walk back to KRGH and round up the run with special treats of cut orange slices and gatorade with agar agar strips :) After a quick shower, we had dinner @ the Taiwanese store next to Feng Seng Nasi Lemak -- I ordered Ban Mian while tktan tried the black pepper chicken noodles. Mine was so-so while tktan's was no-no -- black pepper juz coated on the chicken chucks and not into the meat.

P.S. Very happy that my new Inspire2 felt comfy throughout the run (hope to season it well before SCSM) and my pace had not slacken after 1 week rest :) Sorry, if not for my weak mind, tktan could continue running -- great seeing him in good form.Uhm, this time is he "tortured" me and not the other way round :P Wonder whether it was the lack of isotonic water or I was not prepare to run longer. Or could it be post holiday blues? Well, gotta work on my weak mind and not let it dominate! Hope the next run will be better!

Route : KRGH -> Pasir Panjang Rd -> Haw Par Villa -> Zehnder Rd -> South Bouna Jln -> Pasir Panjang Rd -> Labrador Park (6.9km) -> Alexandra Rd -> Queensway -> Commonwealth Dr -> West Commonwealth Ave -> Holland Ave ->. Holland Village Taxi Stand (13.2km) -> Holland Rd -> North Bouna Vista Rd -> Bouna Vista MRT (14.5km) -> Ulu Pandan Canal -> Clementi Rd.

Distance : 17.75km
Time : 1hr 42min (including water breaks & traffic light stops)
Avg pace : 5:45min/km

Phuket Mountain Beach Marathon on 22 Oct`06 (Sun)

2006-10-30T12:58:00.000+08:00

Pre-race
Set off for Phuket on Friday night via Tiger Airways -- my first time @ Singapore Airport Budget Terminal and due to the after office peak hour, I was unable to flag down a cab and unbeliveably took the bus & train to airport! CY, C & W were waiting for me and after a swift check-in, we had a quick dinner @ Hans and rushed to board the plane (5mins before take off). Smooth transfer from Phuket Airport to our hotel, Golden Sand Inn @ Karon Beach -- perfect location as it was right opposite the start point of the marathon. A little disappointed with the room though -- small & musty smelling (gotta bear with it for 2 nites). There was a loud party by the beach that last till 5am! We woke up late for breakfast on Saturday morning and popped by the race expo to register for the marathon -- weather was great with clear blue sky (gosh, after the haze, it was a joy to breath in fresh air) and the expo overlooked to a lake and mountain. The organisers were setting up tents for post-race party and some local participants were pitching up tents in shelters next to the race expo(save cost on accomodation). This was more of a local race and everything was written in Thai -- volunteers were very helpful and spoke Mandarin to us as they could hardly speak English. For half marathons, we got a RED shoe bag, yellow event T-shirt and a finisher's medal at the end of the race -- very good race pack for 400 baht registration fee :) Oh, no timing chip for this race and the start time was changed to 5.30am instead of 5am. With some time to kill before the pre-race party @ 5pm (hightlight was 5km bikini beach run), we went for ATV adventure for 1,500 baht/pax -- exhilarating 1-hour with some nervewrecking moments (while rolling down a steep slope, I lost control of the bike and ramped into the trees! With no reverse gear, the guides had to help push my bike out!). The base camp was after the view point and we got a feel on part of the 21km route -- boy, the slopes were long and steep! Our quad bikes were rolling down the slopes FAST -- imagine running up the same slopes, ARGHHH! We had a late lunch and was stucked in our room when a storm delayed the start of the pre-race party. After raining pigs and elephants, we walked over to race expo -- there was free food & drinks and a bazzar selling running shoes & attires (prices similar to wat u get in Singapore). Met 2 runners from MR25 and chatted with them briefly -- was told that my category was competitive with many strong Thai runners. These runners took part in races to win cash prizes equivalent to their monthly salary! After carboload with seafood pasta @ a nearby restuarant, we had an early nite -- thank goodness we could sleep in peace with no loud music!

The Race
Woke up @ 4.30am, quickly washed up, down a packet of PowerGel and left for the start line @ 5am. Did a short run to warm up and followed by stretching. Gathered at the start line 10mins before flag off -- abt 100+ runners and was behind the MR25 veteran who was taking part in the Male 60-65 category. The horn sounded and off we ran along the coast -- boy, the MR25 veteran shot ahead! Decided not to follow his pace and maintained my 5:30km/min pace. The first 4km was flat and great for warm up -- was careful with my foot landing as it was still dark and I had my prescriptive sunglass on. Time check at 4km mark was 21:39min -- nice comfortable 5:25min/km pace. The hills began here -- runners began to stop and walked up the slopes but I persisted to run up the slopes. Huffed & puffed my way to the view point -- took my first water break. Huh, no isotonic water -- juz diluted tea. Still felt good -- calve muscles not tight, thanks to the NUS hill training runs! Then it was a long descent -- I flew down part of it and slowed down when my left knee hurt slightly. It was daylight by then -- saw runners on the return route. Couldn't helped but exclaimed out loud that the downslope was never ending!! Was happy to see the hill turned upslope and then a short flat portion before the U-turn mark -- the race marshall radio back my bib number as I round the marker. Time check @ 11km was 1hr3min -- managable 5:44min/km pace. Sigh, must have slow down during the upslopes! Gotta push hard to achieve sub2!!

The return route was tough -- practically all the runners around me was walking up the slope and I was so tempted to join them!! Arghh, I continued my snail pace up the slope -- C waved & overtook me but stopped to walk slightly ahead. When he heard me coming, he would pick up and run with me. Took my second water break at 13km -- no more cups!! The volunteers picked up a couple of cups from the ground and washed & re-used them. Re-fuelled with Gu Gel and resumed running up the slope -- overtook C and a handful of runners. Many gave me a thumb up for my effort of running SLOWLY up the slope!! SO GLAD to reach the view point finally -- the worse was over!! Gulp down a cup of diluted tea from my last water point and flew down the slope. Time check @ 16km was 1hr 34min -- oh oh, slower pace of 5:53min/km. Was a bit lost when there was no sign at a junction -- a kind Thai veteran pointed me to the right way and paced me for a distance along the coast. By then, the sun was beating down on us and I literally melted! The road was not closed off and traffic was getting heavy. Time check @ 19km was 1hr 57min -- *shake head* 6:09min/km pace, there goes my sub2 :( There was marker per 100m for the final 1km and I pushed on & dashed through the finishing line @ 2hr 08min -- gave the camera-man a victory sign and big smile! Yeah, I completed the race and felt good! Pleasantly surprised when I was handed the tag for 3rd place in my category -- wow, even had trophy and cash prize of 1,500 baht! That was a good consolation for not achieving sub2 :)

Post Race
Went searching for isotonic drink but couldn't find any -- went back to my hotel to pick up my camera and bottle of gatorade. There were lotsa food for the runners -- fried rice, noodles, fruits etc. C & W came back 10min and 30min after me -- all of us happy to complete the run! We met the MR25 veteran -- he came in first for his category @ 1hr 56min. He informed me that I had to gather the top 5 runners in my category for the prize presentation. Huh??! He managed to gather the runners for his category and we gave our support for our fellow Singaporean with loud applauds when he went on stage -- he got a trophy and cash prize of 3,000 baht. After a long wait, No. 1 & 2 runners were still missing -- the rest of us decided to forgo going on stage and juz collect the trophies. Boy, the trophy was bulky and heavy -- oh no, had to lug it along for the rest of my holiday!! Thank goodness CY came to my rescue -- she was going back earlier and helped me to bring it back to Singapore (along with some of my excess baggage)! With the race over, we moved on to our first climb site @ Koh Panyee (a floating Muslim fishing village @ Phang Nga Bay). We met the 2 MR25 runners while waiting for the tuk tuk to Phuket Town -- the veteran helped to negotitate with the driver to drop us @ the bus station. Along the way, we picked up some tips on marathon running from him -- he was sharing with the other MR25 lady runner who completed the full marathon in 4hr 55min @ 4th place. We parted way as they boarded the bus to Hatyai -- they travelled by coach from Singapore which took 1 day!

P.S. The MR25 lady runner ran the Phuket International Marathon @ Laguna in June and said this was a tougher route. And heard from DR that the MR25 veteran's average timing for half mary is 1hr40min+ -- this must have been a very tough course! I got eye no see tarzan -- luckily I didn't follow his pace! Though I was off my target by 8min, I had fun and it was a very good race experience! Runners were encouraging one another along the route and scenery was beautiful :)

Distance : 21.1km
Time : 2hr 08min
Avg pace : 6:04min/km

Pace Calibration Run on 20 Oct`06 (Fri)

2006-10-20T12:12:00.000+08:00

Was planning to run 12km this morning. Gentle may joined me if he didn't run yesterday -- he would sms me @ 5.20am if he can join me. Well, turned out he had a midnite run :) Woke up at 5am and dismayed to see the thick haze outside -- hmm, to run or not to run? Laze for a good 30min before I got out of bed -- it had been a while since I check my pace and gonna do a pace calibration run (to find my comfortable pace for "auto-cruise" mode). There is a 1km route round my neighbourhood - perfect for this run. Got out of the house @ 5.45am and started the run after a quick warmup. Breathing was too fast for Lap 1, maybe still fresh and bursting with energy -- huh, 4:50min (didn't know I can do that speed!!). Try to slow down the breathing for Lap 2 -- argh, 5:01min (too fast to sustain for longer distance). Reduced speed further for Lap 3 -- ok, 5:14min(close to the comfort zone). By Lap 5, my breathing was almost constant -- abt 2 strides per exhale. Haze getting worse and decided to stop after 6 laps -- total time taken 31min. Did a cool down by walking 1 lap and stretching after that. Happy to see some improvement -- my last pace calibration run before KL Mizuno Wave Run, my best lap was 5:15min and avg pace of 5:30min/km :) All set for the half-marathon this Sunday -- hope to maintain a 5:30min/km pace and achieve sub2!

P.S. Finally received my 3rd pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire2 from USA! The length is the same as my 1st pair :) Can't wait to take them out for a test run after my hols.

Lap 1 : 4:50 min/km
Lap 2 : 5:01 min/km
Lap 3 : 5:14 min/km
Lap 4 : 5:17 min/km
Lap 5 : 5:22 min/km
Lap 6 : 5:20 min/km

Distance : 6km
Time : 31min
Avg pace : 5:11min/km

NUS Hill Run on 18 Oct`06 (Wed)

2006-10-19T12:46:00.000+08:00

Haze was back to moderate level and a good day to run -- YEAH! tktan's ex-collegue, lm, was not feeling well and skipped the run. So tktan and me took a longer route -- I needed more hill practise and planned to tackle Kent Ridge Park via Pepys Rd (the long long upslope). tktan bought a bottle of gatorade to carry along the run -- thot it would be a short run and didn't bring camelbak. From KRGH, we ran along Pasir Panjang Rd and turned into Haw Par Villa -- very breathless going up the slope and calves muscles tight as my legs not warmed up yet. Recovered on the downslope along Zehnder Rd. While waiting to cross the road @ South Bouna Vista Rd, bumped into my ex-colleague, M, who was cycling home. He asked me about my knees -- well, still pain but I am still running :P He is recuperating from knee operation and cannot run for 1 year -- can only swim and cycle :( Boy, tough to chat while I was on the run and he on the bike! We parted way when we reached his home along South Bouna Jln. Continued on to Pasir Panjang and turned left to Pepys Rd -- there, the long upslope was waiting for us. tktan pulled ahead of me in no time -- I stayed focus on my foot landing & tried not to look up the slope. Yeah, I made it to the top without stopping! Oh, the view point at the top offered a clear view of the PSA port! Managed to catch my breath as we ran thru a few flights of stairs in the park. We exited the park via Science Hub and ran thru the underpass @ DSTA to Alexandra Industrial Estate. From there, we continued along North Bouna Vista Rd and took a toilet break @ Bouna Vista MRT. Next was Ulu Pandan Canal -- cool and breezy as we up our pace (time check for this stretch @ 2.5km was 12min55sec -- wah 5:10min/km pace!) Usually tktan would wanna chiong on this stretch but he was rather quiet during the run (later found out that he was experiencing runner's trot and had to slow down & control!!) Happy to be on our way back, we ran along Clementi Rd and chiong up the final slope to KRGH. Very shiok run - thanks to tktan for the gatorade and pushing me @ the final slope to KRGH!

After cool down and shower, we had dinner @ KRGH Kingfisher Cafe -- Country Style Braised Mee Suah Soup, Bamboo Fish with Bitter Gourd and Homemade Beancurd with Soya Paste & Pork Floss. YUM YUM :)

Route : Start @ KRGH -> Pasir Panjang Rd -> Haw Par Villa -> Zehnder Rd -> South Bouna Jln -> Pasir Panjang Rd -> Pepys Rd -> Kent Ridge Park -> Sci Park I -> Alexandra Industrial Estate -> North Bouna Vista Rd -> Bouna Vista MRT -> Ulu Pandan Canal -> Clementi Rd -> End @ KRGH

Distance : 14.6km
Time : 1hr 22min
Avg pace : 5:37min/km