My first run of the year

21km. 29 May 2009. 9pm

Bukit Timah Fun

Bukit Timah nature reserve is still a hotly sought after weekend venue after all these years. Upon reaching at about 9plus, cars are all lined up by the roadside. Where there is road, you will find such car parking illegally. But surprisely, no summons were issued.

We started out hike after roti prata breakfast at Al Azhar Restaurant just opposite Beauty World SC. It was a fine morning and thru'out the hike, becos of the overhead vegetation, it didn't feel too hot =) So on and on we go, we completed the whole trail in just less than an hour. The trail is pretty decent and should not pose too big a challenge to the youth I believe. For us, the fun part actually came when we are at the summit. With a camera on hand and empty grass spaces, we just had fun snapping away. Haha... how typically of a young singaporean these days.

With camera on timer-mode, we attempt our jumping adventure.
Take 1: We kind of jumped too early...

Take 2: Only Theresa got it....

Take 3: Ok, think we all got it....

Us in yet another weird pose

Mission Accomplished =)

Run on a morning

For a change, we had cell on Friday for the first time. (At least ever since I joined in this cell) It was a change from the usual Sat late morning timing and the turnout was pretty encouraging. As it was after a whole day of work/school, we kept it short.

After cell, we decided the night is still very young and thus went down Holland Village for a drink. It was pretty packed everywhere but we eventually found this pub place near Harry's where there was Oktoberfest promotion. In the end, we ordered mostly beers and some liquors for the gals. We also had Wedges, sausages and pork knuckles to go along with our drinks. It was my first time eating pork knuckles and I must say, I enjoyed the taste despite the layers of fats. It's nice! It was priced at S$36 which we all tot was so much more worth it (it was a big knuckle!!!!) compared to the S$45 mixed sausage types which is really over over-priced.

Despite the late night, me and XB still went on with our originally scheduled morning run! In the end, Grace and Alice came to join us. Alice, having to rush for OT course in church, ran just a couple of rounds. Due to XB enthusiasim, we ran 16 laps round the track in all. It was a record for me... never ran so many rounds on the tracks before. I actually do not fancy running on track. But it was a good morning workout thou. Oh, and there was a good morning crowd running there as well.

What a healthy way to start the weekend proper!

PS: Will be getting my new tennis racket later. Can't wait to try. Hope the feeling is great :)

Pressing on Ahead...

First and foremost, an update to my driving test Take 2 result. I failed. This time circuit was good, no demerit points. However, it was pretty bad on the road. As I intentionally slow down this time round to avoid any costly mistakes, it turned out my slower driving and constant looking around conveyed an unprepared and nervous impression to the tester. These by themselves were alright in fact. It was the road pedestrians that cost me my heaviest penalty this time round. Can't blame them, shouldn't blame them and don't want to blame them. Next test scheduled in Nov. In about 7 weeks time. Not far away. Going to try harder this time.

My level 2 tennis lesson is ending soon, with the last lesson on Monday. I am more and more into tennis. What a sports... loving it more as I grasp more of the right techniques. I am going to restring my current racket. Do not particularly like my current tension. Moreover, it has been the same string since my sister bought for me like 5 years back? How much am I into tennis? I kind of get excited whenever I see a tennis court. haha... It's to that extent. Of course, it must be a nice brightly lit court. I have seen some real poorly maintained courts. The nets comes with holes, the flood light is not working and those working ones are real dim. The court playing areas have cracked with tree roots or something popping out of it. It just puts the player off. Do not even feel the urge to play.

Time for gym session. Due to work and other commitments, i have no time for workout and such. Now time to hit the gym and maybe vent my anger for failing my TP. Haha... But I will be safe.

Sunday evening

Date has been confirmed for my Driving Test. Scheduled on 20th July 2009. I must admit it's pretty soon considering my first lesson was on 1st March. But after some calculation, i will have completed at least 21 lessons by then, so should be ready i guess. The only concern now is my circuit. Having some troubles with certain courses in circuit and have not yet been exposed to BBDC circuit. I will need more circuit lessons to be more steady and zai.

Have been working out lately, thks to motivation from some frens and (must give myself credits) self-discipline. Not really been running, but keen to develop a habit for that as well. All gym no run is not a good idea. And there's tennis too. Have been playing rather often with some uni frens.. luckily for them, no lack of tennis khakis. So tennis passion is still gg strong. Strokes seems to be improving but more practises can only be more beneficial. Have got some opportunities to play at cousin's place too. But Yew Tee a bit inacessible.. Still like my fren's CCK condo court best. Bright lightings with clean courts. Also lately played once from 10-12plus mid-day, and liking the combi of playing tennis while sun-tanning. Simply great!

Coming weeks will be back to army life. 3 weeks to be precise. Got to adjust lifestyle for this period. Hope it will be a ful-filling 3 weeks in camp. It will be a break from work and perhaps it's a good time for me to consider my career direction. Where to move next when I am moving.

Late work + Gym

Have been staying back in office late these days due to the added work load that comes with my new role. But I am not complaining. For the first time, I am learning systematically and experiencing the joy of having mentors. I foresee the exposure I am likely to get in my new role and it gets me excited. However, before all that, I first need to catch up with my technical knowledge.

And I am making effort to make my California Membership worthwhile. I have been going down often these days after my work at about 8-9pm. The gym turned out to be pretty empty, which is good. Less crowd and no waiting for machine.

Tat's pretty much what I been up to these days. Looking forward to Vietnam trip thou :)

Wed Evening

Due to a last minute tuition cancellation, I found extra time on hand. Hence, decided to go for a night swim. Checked the opening hours online and found that the pool closes at 10pm. Was down 845pm, but realised the tickets vending machines are all offline. Checked with the staff only to realise the pool closes 930pm and that all swimmers must vacate the pool by 9pm. If this is the case, they should state in their website mah! Dampen my mood. But was motivated enough to head home, change into my running attire and ran 3 rounds at my canal.

Just yesterday was down California Fitness for the Body Combat class. It was a high intensity workout, sweating away while boxing/kicking to fast paced music. Certainly feels good to get my engine running again. Gonna keep it up.

Standard Chartered Run 2007

It was a BLAST.

We reached the starting point just a few minutes before the flag off time. The atmosphere was electrifying. The music was pumping away and it gotten the runners all excited. Just before the half-marathon flagged off, some of the full marathon runners had ran past the starting point after their first U-turn. All were cheering for them. I am sure they felt motivated to run faster for that instant.

And so my half-marathon started shortly and I was basically running for the next 2 hours 38 minutes. And that was my timing. Timing was not of priority, rather I was only aiming to finish the race in one piece and I am just glad to achieve that and under 3 hours.

Everything was so well-organized for this race.
We had no difficulty making our way to the starting point, thanks to the signs along the way. The race started on time and it was spacious enough not to have frustrated runners even before the race starts. Water-points were aplenty along the way leaving the choice to the runner at which point of their race they would like to replenish their fluid. Muscle rubs stations were available as well to soothe any aching muscles as well. Bananas were also provided for hungry runners. I didn't take thou, wouldn't want to risk getting stomach upset. The routes were also wide and spacious and runners seldom need to compete for space and hence no slowing down due to space constraints.
There were even live school bands at some points to cheer the runners on. Cheer leading teams were also spotted. I must say the organizers also took some effort to recruit quality Runspirators (pple engaged to cheer the runners on). Some of these sure knows how to cheer up the runners as they shout words of encouragement when the running gets tough. Some other even Hi-5 the runners. And they were so passionate in their cheering, it spurs u on in the remaining distance. Distance markings were positioned strategically to update the runners on their coverage as well.
The collection of medals was a breeze. Enough stations were setup to ease any congestions. 15 seconds was I took to exchange my running chip for my medal. There were plenty of water/Isotonic drink point catered for the runners. The sponsors were also generous enough to allow unlimited flow of 100plus canned drinks.

When I thought they had me impressed, I was further impressed at the after race analysis that was provided free on their website. U just need to enter ur race number and u get to see all the statistics. Ur ranking, Ur speed at various section of the race, Ur neighbours who completed the race with you, ur performance as compared to ur friends etc etc. Photos were also up with 2 days. I am amazed at how they sort the enormous amount of photos they have. Even though these services were out-sourced, I am still pretty impressed they took the effort.

Here's a break-down of what my $45 marathon race fee gotten me so far:
1) 1 Standard Chartered Bag
2) 1 Adidas SC Run 2007 Singlet
3) 1 Half-marathon Medal
4) An achievement of completing my second half-marathon
5) Motivation to train for the next Standard Chartered half-marathon with improved timing