Runs ahead of Genting...

Will be going off to Genting for 3 days, starting from Thursday evening. So decided to join the MF Runners for their 8 x 800m track interval training on Tuesday. We did the usual 4km jog to Queenstown Stadium, before all started on their 800m intervals, with 3min rest in between.

I decided to do 1.6km, 1,6km, 2,4km and 1.6km tempo runs, averaging 1:50min per 400m lap. I had a nice time doing the longer, albeit slower interval sets. The rest had it rough by pushing for the 800m intervals...really 'mental' to do 8 sets of them.

Will do a 14km tempo run on Thursday, before resting in cool Genting...hope to be able to get back on Saturday night, and able to get up for Sunday's MR25 35km Progressive Run.

New Balance Real Run 2007

This year's New Balance Real Run was to be different, ran from the Changi Expo area, along Changi Coastal Road, part of Changi Beach, and offered a 15km distance, on top of the regular 10km. I decided to do this year's run just to get the new experience of a 15km race in Singapore, and to run along the new stretch of road from Changi Expo out to Coastal Road. I have not trained specifically for this, and till this morning, did not really have a good idea of the route...just take it as a fun run and get to meet running kakis and people watch a little.


Arrived at the large Carpark near the Expo halls with DO and Lim Teck Heng at 6.20am. Took us about 10min to get parked, and was a little surprised not to bump into that many familiar faces...met Ultraman first at the Port-a-loo, and then saw chuacath...great to see her in good form. Kayano was in the queue too :). We went for a short warm-up run, and when we came back, Gentle, kclschin, AiChai. sealboon, Kayano had gathered. We were joined by more SgRunners, and then Lai Chee came along to say hello too. Then tekko came with his pretty running babes in tow...really jealous of him lah....haha. Met ShortRunner for the first time.

The 10km were flagged off by Pressident Nathan who was a wee bit late, and it took about 10min for the whole line of runners to clear the start point. We lined up near to the front, and to my surprise, the 15km run was flagged off just 5min after the 10km runners....sure to be some jam in front. The first 2.5km out to Coastal Road was new road, as I took my time to tag along the front runners of DO, Ultraman and Lai Chee. At my 5:10mikn/km pace, I was passed by a few runners along the way....could see TLR, Kumaran and the young runners zooming by. The real jam came when we ran onto the cycle/foot path next to Coastal Road. We slammed into the back of the 10km runners, and I had trouble weaving through the narrow confines. There was a gal runner running close by, and I decided to just tag along her 5:15min/km pace.

By the 5km, I was doing 5:05min pace...running alongside the 2 strong gal runners kept me moving steadily, and I started to enjoy the run when the 10km did their U-turn. The coast was a lot clearer by then, and I had clearer views of the runway to my right, and also of some of the runners I lost earlier. I began to pick up a little to try to make up for lost time, but yet was careful not to push hard for I could see the sun coming on strong in the distance. Saw DO again near the U-Turn, and when I got to the Coastal Road proper, it was easier for me to move about....I could see the bunch up now on the footpath, to my right then. By the 7km, I decided to go below 5min pace to recover some time, before hitting the sand...slowly overtook the gals, then moved past DO, Ultraman, Kumaran's boss, and a couple others. saw leh-lio running on Coastal Road in the opposite direction and waved to her.

Reached the 10km mark in 48min...hmm, felt ok, still breathing easy. I found the runners in front slowing down, and decided to just maintain the pace...overtook the gal in orange who had looked so strong throughout. The shady section along Changi Beach trail provided a little relief just before hitting the beach. The sand was soft, and sloping down, and I was afraid of getting my legs or ankles twisted...after about 200m, I decided to move up to a flatter and firmer section....fortunately, it was not that crowded at the beach area....by the time I finished the 1km sand stretch, my breathing was a little heavier. Took a final cup of isotonic drink, before making a push for the final 3km in the hot sun.

The run back along the long road to the end point was really 'mental', with the blazing heat from the sun beating down and glaring in the face. Loads of people were walking, as I kept to the middle of the road to get a clear running path. There were only very few people running, and we tried to encourage more to move quickly out of that 'no shade' hot stretch. Many seemed to have their heads drooping and tongues hanging....they must have suffered in that heat. My desire to get out from that HOT stretch kept me going at steady pace, overtaking many in the process. I just wanted to finish and get into some shade...haha. Finally, heard a group cheering and souting 'Keep going...1km more'. I was elated to hear that, and kept up my sub 5min pace to finish off the final km....the time on the board showed 1hr14min as I crossed with my arms raised. I walked forward after the finish, and was not breathing hard...I felt quite good actually, and in retrospect, I did enjoy the run in spite of the initial human traffic jam and the heat...:)

Collected my race bag, and joined the SgRunners at the air-cond NBRR podium area. Had a good round of barley, thanks to Brokie...acleong, Fatty-Bom-Bom, loneshark, Jasonlow, RogerHub, sealboon, kcslchin, alecchua, Jodan, ST, DO, Lai Chee, Kayano, Brokie, Vincent, Sotong, Roonz (my, she sure has lost some weight....looked good though :)) and more SgRunners gathered around, taking photos and relaxing. I also met Sam, Edmund, Shirlyn and many of the SAFRA TP Runners...all of them were looking so cool....guess they must have enjoyed the run as well. The generous cash prizes attracted a good turnout from the elite Malaysian runners (this Superman guy ran 15km in just 52min...reall SUPER lah!)...the usual suspects from Singapore also claimed some glory for Singapore...Lai Chee did well to win $750 for her 3rd position in the 15km Women's Open. Mika Kume, Pauline Mulroy, Kien Mau from MR25 did very well. Trevor and Kumaran did good timings of 1hr10min+.

Team BroKiE was proud of Jancy for her 18th position in the 15km Women's and she deserved the medal awarded for her good effort...Gentle was neck-neck with her at the finish...whoo, I can't wait for the SCSM07 showdown...hehe. RogerHub did well too with his 16th position 10km race. We hung around for the exciting Lucky Draw afterwards, and congrats to Eliza for getting 2nd prize...wow! We left the place at 12pm, spending 3hrs after the run to enjoy the cool comfort of the air-cond expo hall with about 10,000 runners all having enjoyed what I would consider a very well organized New Balance Real Run....it was enjoyable for me....I hope to be back next year!

Distance: 15km__Time: 1hr14min__Pace: 4:56min/km

Official NBRR07 Results (Men's Open)
Managed 1:14:04 Chip Time...94th overall (out of 2350 runners)

NBRR Photos

Tired legs....refreshed

Did 5 easy laps of MF loops for Thursday training, averaging 9min for the 1.6km loop. Quite a large crowd showed up, and since MF was going to have a 38km LSD this Sunday, the stairs training was done away with. I took it real easy, taking the longer but less steep paved walkway. I felt quite good during and after the run, and was left with quite some reserves, as opposed to Tuesday evening's run. Had good sharing with Phei Sunn, Thomas and Kok Kong about regular sports massages, 'delaying the WALL' pacing, using different set of muscles by varying running styles, and stretching in general.


7 laps round Labrador Park slopes...that was the menu for Tuesday evening at SAFRA MF. Many new runners...met FunRunner of SgRunners, who is a fast American just posted to Singapore. Meetings got me tied up the whole day, and I did not have much to eat. Managed to grab a banana just before the run, and that helped me get going.

The first few rounds were done a little fast, and by the third round, I was feeling weak and thirsty. Took a drink after the 4th lap, and by the 5th lap, I was getting hungry. My legs were tired, made worse by the heavier PI SynchroFloat I had on. I kept moving after another water break at the 6th lap, and was damn happy to complete all 7laps in 1hour....not fast, 8:30min average per lap. I was so tired on the way back to ClubHouse, and was craving for some good carbo. After a good stretch, quick washup, went with Bev to have delicious Kway Chap at ABC Food Centre.

Chi Running Sunday

With the upcoming SCSM, and the need to do more LSDs, my weekly mileage has crossed 60km. There was a scheduled of Chi Running video at the SAFRA MF ClubHouse, courtesy of Phei Sunn, so a relatively shorter 26km LSD was scheduled. I woke up at 5am to the sound of rainfall, happy that it started early, so it would be dry when we start the run at 7:15am.

Decided to bring along the fuel belt as the route in Marina South offered scant water points. I planned to do a 5:45min/km average pace just to fall in line with the 4hr pace job I am up for on Dec 2. DO, Yong, Alber and myself ran at about 5:30min/km pace into Marina South, and after a little confusion over the turning points, we managed to reach the Marina Jetty in about 1hr10min. There were tour buses and long queues of people going into Kusu Island, and Alber explained his company was tasked to man the checkpoints. We spotted familiar MR25 faces doing the Runahaolic run, and waved them on.

The sun was out, although not as HOT as the previous weekend. It was nevertheless good conditioning for the runners preparing for SCSM. Alber ran along with me at about 5:30 pace for most of the way. I decided to move a little forward along Keppel Road to try to complete the run faster ahead of the sun...hehe. By the time I hit the Kampong Bahru slopes, my body was feeling the heat. I chugged up slowly, and walked for 25m near the top to take a forced walk-break. Then it was all the way down for recovery, and when I reached the Kampong Bahru slope again, Amelia, Wong and Shirley, who had decided to skip the slope were on their way back the final stretch. I went along with them for a bit, and completed the full 26km in about 2hr30min.

We did a quick wash-up, had nice kopi-c and toast at Ah Kun's before watching the screening of Chi Running by Danny Dryer. I have had the book for 2 years, but still, it was great watching it on screen and seeing how some of the drills actually work...and the lady model sure has nice legs :). Lots of goodies courtesy by Julie and cm's wife. Thanks to PS for making the arrangements of the screening....hmm, I will want to work on those leans and cadence-count the next time :)

Distance: 26km__Time: 2hr30min__Pace: 5:46min/km

Heavy Rain & Peking Duck...

The skies were gloomy and drizzling when I finally got out from my long day of meetings. I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it for the scheduled loops at Labrador Park, but managed to finish up to rush down. Picked Bug and Beverly on the way...we got changed and waited with the rather large group of MF Runners. Trainer Ong briefed about the change of route to a OTOT 7-lap run at Telok Blangah Hills instead.

As we ran out of the ClubHouse, the rain got heavier, and by the time we ascended to the carpark at Telok Blangah Hills, it was pouring HEAVY. We ran off with a very short brief to cover the 1km laps. I was fortunate to have brought along a cap, which was most useful in this heavy downpour. All the runners, including the gals, were gamely doing their laps in the midst of lightning flashes, with gusto. I did a reasonably hard pace, but did not feel it because of the COLD weather.

By the time I did the 4th lap, the rain was down to a mild drizzle, and finally stopped by the 6th lap. I ran with Bev for her 6th lap, before calling it a day. I skipped the stretching and went straight to the showers, and then home for a quick dinner. It has been quite a while since I did a run in such heavy rain....the last I recalled was when we did the MF 10km route earlier in the year.


Wednesday's weather forecast was for rain as well. Fortunately it was dry at NUS Hills, although a little humid. Doreen, Takashi and Jancy started off their 12km run first in order to make the Haw Par Villa route. I waited for tktan and Ronnie before going off on our own 11km route passing Vigilante Drive, the PGP and NUS Slopes. It was a nice run for me....I enjoyed running inside NUS at night along nice and quite enclaves, interspersed with a hive of activity of runners, football players, students, lecturers and many people just moving about. The rolling hills provide a very good variation to the runs, and the workout always help to burn off quite a fair bit of calories without feeling the effects nor after-effects.

I arrived back to the Guild House in 1hr4min, about the same time as what we have previously done for that route. Doreen went to pre-order the yummy Peking Duck, the prized dish we were there for. The gals did not bring their rubber duckies along this time, thus the wait was shorter and sweet enough for us to take in all those nice food in good time. Lots of nice chats about running and Japanese food....arhh, I enjoy having a nice social run and makan with friends anytime .

A Tribute To A Great...

The man who started it all...one of the key initiatives of which I had the good honour to take part - The World Harmony Run (2006 WHR and (2007 WHR) an Olympic-style global relay which crossed the world seeing for themselves how the best qualities of humanity - kindness, empathy, largeness of heart - were qualities that could be found anywhere, and then spreading that message to everyone they met along the route.

Thursday, October 11, 2007 - A lifetime dedicated in the service of humanity has ended with the passing of Sri Chinmoy, the global humanitarian, meditation teacher and advocate of the boundless potential of the human spirit, at the age of 76 in his New York home...

.....

In addition, his many grassroots initiatives aimed at uniting his fellow beings behind the vision of a world based on harmony and oneness won him a unique position as a figure above political, religious or regional considerations, a person with truly the betterment of the world at heart. These initiatives included the World Harmony Run, an Olympic-style global relay which crossed the world seeing for themselves how the best qualities of humanity - kindness, empathy, largeness of heart - were qualities that could be found anywhere, and then spreading that message to everyone they met along the route. In 1990, he founded the Oneness-Heart Tears and Smiles humanitarian initiative, which provided aid to 24 countries with a philosophy based on recognizing that those we 'give' to are in fact giving us much more by enabling us to expand our heart. Sri Chinmoy was repeatedly honoured during his life, receiving the UNESCO Nehru medallion and the Mahatma Gandhi award, and being twice invited to hold the opening meditation for the Parliament of World religions in 1997 and 2004...

The passing of the Great, Sri Chinmoy

Super HOT Saturday

It was to be a 36km Pacers training run this Saturday, one of the longest yet, before tapering down for SCSM07. Quite a good turnout at ECP, and many familiar faces joined us for the training too...xdd, tktan, Lai Chee, Brokie, RealRunner & wife, Raven, Kok Sin, YangLin, Desmond, Marcus, as well as some new faces whom I have not met before. Introduced a few of them to David Tay, and away we went towards Fort Road for the first lap.

By the time we reached the end of Fort Road, the rest have left Brokie and myself in the dust. We decided not to 'chiong' too fast, and was taking our time to warm up, though I felt we were still running at quite a fast 5:45min/km pace...fast that is, for 36km. However, some of the runners were doing shorter, so they could go fast.

As we coasted along the Cable Ski area, we caught up with DO and ran together for a bit. I moved up slightly and used xdd as target to keep me moving along this 'mental' route. By the time I hit NSRCC, the sun was out in its full glory, and David Tay and many frontrunners, including RR were on their way back for the first lap of 21km...xdd and tktan proceeded on to Coastal Road, while we took a U-turn from NSRCC back to MacD. The heat of the sun was really getting to me, and my body was threatening to heat up. My pace slowed and my legs were starting to feel heavy.

I was glad to reach back to MacD, and it felt more like 23km instead of 21km. I grabbed a can of ice-cold 100plus, and proceeded to walk and drink for 5min....heavenly taste. Saw Brokie, RR and a few others coming back...all drenched and sapped by the sun. Meteor ran past and signalled that Alvo was with her too. As usual, I met many familiar faces, including Highbury, doing their own ninja runs. It was real hot facin the direction of the sun, and when I saw some pacers turn back earlier, I decided to cut short my run too. The heat was just unbearable, and I was drinking like a camel....but my tummy was so full of water, it made running even more uncomfortable.

I could see many runners, including ironman hunks, all being drained by the heat, and slowing down. I made my way slowly to F2, drank lots again, did sone stretches, and walked back for 3min again....hmm, never felt so good to walk...haha. I flagged to Desmond and Marcus that I was turning back, and gave them a thumbs up to move on. Knowing that I have only about 3km to go, I picked up my by-then heavy legs and chigged all the way back to MacD. I was so glad to see DO, Brokie and the rest with 100plus and choco milk....took a can of 100plus and proceeded to the gents to cool off....really hot just to be around in the open.

I drank and drank while chatting with the rest....everyone mentioned that it was really hot, and all were affected. When we saw David Tay walk back with his tongue hanging out, we knew instantly that this got to be one of the hardest runs many of us have experienced....we should be prepared for the worst on race day....hehe. Ronnie and Lai Chee came back real strong, having gone all the way to NSRCC and back for a second time...*respect*. As we were about to go for a quick wash-up, the skies grew dark, and we decided to go home to bathe. On the way back, it poured....we were glad to have completed the run before the rains came. I felt so hungry when I got back, and right after I have had something to eat, the sun came back on in its full glory again.....wow, a really super HOT Saturday!

Distance: 30km__Time: 2hr50min__Pace: 5:40min/km

Hill Runs

Did 6 loops of 1.6km at the MF Hills on Tuesday. The crowd was slightly smaller, and lots of regulars were not around. However, had some runners like Karan, hyperactive whom I have not seen in a while join in. I took it easy with a 2.4km slow jog from ClubHouse to the start point at MF Loop carpark. That was followed by 6 laps of 1.6km, which I averaged at 9min+, as I took the larger but safer sidepath. Was happy with the run, but was quite pissed when I had to wait for a long time for my dinner, which was delayed through no fault of mine.

tktan, xdd, brokie and myself had a nice NUS Hill Run on Wednesday. We started off earlier at 6.30pm, and had a chance to detour through Haw Par Villa...hmm nostalgic as we ran past those figurines. Went up Vigilante Corps, the PGP slopes and the NUS slope to complete a 'always enjoyable' rolling-hills exercise for me. Took us 1hr11min to finish the approx. 12km distance, and was treated to cold 100plus...courtesy of tktan. We were amply rewarded with very nice makan at Guild House.

HOT HOT Saturday with the Pacing Team

Joined the SCSM07 Pacing team for what turned out to be a super hot Saturday LSD. I did not bring my fuel belt as I could not find my Powergels in the fridge....wonder where I put them...hmm, nvm, just take it as conditioning training...hehe

There was quite a turnout....we had Colleen who has decided to join in too. Aichai mentioned the xdd will be pacer for 21km...good...hmm, wonder if IMD, Fennel, teelee and the rest of the SgRunners should join in the fun too...will ask them. David Tay welcomed the group, and mentioned the 30km route where we have to run 2 laps of MacD->NSRCC->MacD...wow, a mental to/fro route. I decided not to follow the fast pace of the frontrunners, and ran an average of 5:45min/km pace for the first lap of 15km. Was rewarded with a can of cold 100plus at the mid-point, and since quite a number of the folks have finished their target and will not be doing the 2nd lap, I proceeded on my own.

I decided to cut around the Cable Ski area to reduce the distance by about 1km, as the sun was beating down. Signalled to DO and Colleen to take the 100plus before continuing. Along this 2nd lap, I met taz and many of the SgRunners doing their ninja 'Coastal Road' training...first was Bee who waved at me and caught me by surprise...it sure was nice to see her smiling face, and I gave a bright smile too...then it was Roentgen, Piglet who was complaining of thirst....haha....Yankee and Tao....It was real hot as I proceeded towards NSRCC. On the final stretch back, I saw the rest of the Pacers coming up to do the 30km as well...Saw Aichai at the Sailing Centre, and then Caroline and Kok Sin.

The heat was really getting to me, and my mouth was parched. I stopped at 2 more toilets to drink...but without isotonic nor gels, I was feeling slightly weak. Fortunately, it was about 4km to go. I met the bunch of Bee, Piglet and taz at F2 again, and was happy to know they completed their gruelling 'Demoralizing Run' training...I pushed on, taking a step at a time...and finally made it back to the start point in 2hr45min. Based on timing, I felt it was certainly not 32km, more likely to be about 29km.

I was glad I was able to be conditioned in such weather, and with a few more sessions, I hope to be ready for my pacing role for 4hr. A gtough, but good training session. I hope to be able to 'jio' more running kakis to join in to be Pacers...fun as well as a way of contributing back to the running community by way of a service...hope we can help some to achieve their SCSM07 marathon and half-marathon tagets.

Distance: 29km__Time: 2hr45min__Pace: 5:41min/km

LL

Lomantic Labrador...yup, thats the place for our slope repeats on Tuesday evening. Progressively, we have moved on to do 6 laps of that 1.4km loop, of which the slopes along the secret tunnels to the Olive Restaurant at the top are most challenging.

A large group of gals and boys gathered....the gals given a 400m headstart, with the boys giving chase. I took the first 3 sets easy, 8min+, and felt rather ok despite the rather humid weather. Started lapping some gal runners, but was also lapped by some speed demons in the 4th set. I took 2 water breaks at the top, and completed the 6 laps in 49min.....felt good that I did not pant too badly, despite being subjected to an afternoon of cigarette smoke in a private room...yucks!

Thursday will be at the Labrador Park again....just that it will be 850m flat intervals around the scenic seafront. Have not decided if I should go for that, as I have another appointment to rush to. There are LSDs at ECP both on Saturday and Sunday this week....I am more inclined to go for the Sat's Pacers Training session (paisey I haven't been able to be regular for their trainings), yet at the same time, very tempted to go for Sunday's interesting MF menu....aiya, choices, choices :(