Running Sucks

Running Shops's Weekly Runs

2012-02-12T23:51:00.000+08:00

Since Running Lab started the trend of having group run from the shop, many other sports retail outlets have jumped on to the bandwagon. Add in product sampling, shoe trial, store discounts and the move is a smart marketing tactics to build loyalty to the shop.

Runner Lab, the pioneer has its runs on Tuesday and Thursday at its Novena Velocity and Funan outlets respectively. Athlete Circle has it weekly Thursday run from Boon Tat Street. New Balance holds its run every Wednesday and Thursday from its Novena Velocity and Scape outlets. Newton hold theirs every Wednesday at Marina Square and so does new kid on the block, Asics. Adidas and Nike used to hold weekly runs as well but for some reasons, these have been replaced by adhoc special themed run during weekends. (somebody correct me if I am wrong on this).

Photo from RL - Circuit Training on 9 Feb 2012

Attendance at each run generally averages from single digit to mega numbers such as those like the Newton and New Balance runs which wisely tie up with running groups like Punggol Runners. Some are well organised with free drinks, storage and proper warm up and cool down drills. Some like Running Lab and Newton occassionally come up with special program like the recent Polar Circuit training for Running Lab and Run Injury Free talk by Newton.

Warming up at the Newton Run on 8 February 2012. Photo by Francis Chia

The emergence of such runs is good for the development of running in Singapore. But the retail shops need to be more professional in their approach and come up with more value added programs to keep the runners returning. Just having runs week in and week out will lead to runners inertia. In addition, almost all the outlets do not make the runners sign any indemnity and touch wood, in the event of a mishaps, the shops may end up facing a big legal bill. Something for the shops to think about?

Launch of Brooks Pure Project

2012-02-08T22:39:00.001+08:00

I been waiting for the launch of the Brooks Pure Project series of shoes since it was launch in the US but Sportslink did not bring it in.

But it is finally here in Singapore, courtesy of Key Power International which has taken over the distribution of Brooks shoes in Singapore. Hopefully, they will be able to raise the profile of Brooks shoes which has been languishing right at the bottom of the running shoes hierarchy here.

Key Power choosed to launch their distribution of the Brooks shoes with a bash at the sports hub, Velocity United Square.

On show was all the 4 shoes in the series, the Pure Connect, Pure Flow, Pure Cadence and the Pure Grit. So Brooks has at one go, released 3 shoes to fit all the standard category of runners and one for trail as well. The Pure Project shoes are meant to be Brooks answer to the barefoot/minimalist movement with its lightweight, flexibility and low heel to toe drop. But barefoot advocates will sniff and laugh at this imposer which comes with an arch support, cushioning and thick sole. The other unique feature of the shoe is its split toe between the big toe and 2nd toe. I am not too sure what is the purpose of that since it is neither here or there unlike the Five Fingers. If anything, I think it may cause problem for some people. However, without a proper run in the shoes, I will never know right?

Women Pure Connect

Men Pure Connect

Brooks running shoes are now available at all 2XU outlets at Velocity, Marina Square, Queensway and Macpherson.

S.I.C.K.

2012-02-04T20:38:00.001+08:00

There must be some streak of masochism in human being. Otherwise, why would one willingly subject themselves to torture what more pay for it! And that was how I found myself when I went through an hour of hell. Actually it seems like more than an hour and it never seems to end.

To start from the beginning, the dashing and hunk, IMD has an ongoing weekly training session which he very aptly named S.I.C.K training at the Queenstown stadium. From the Facebook page, I knew it was some sort of circuit training but exactly what, I have absolutely no idea. So being the typical kaypoh I have to find out. So on Thursday night, and bored of running around the neighbourhood, I made my way down to Queenstown Stadium.

The brief from the coach aka torturer was do 3 rounds of warm up and 4 rounds of faster pace run or what he called a "time trial". So I went all out which was a bad idea considering that I have not been doing much running nowadays not to say speed run. And after 1 round, I was KO and had to slow down drastically.

And then came the real torture! After a brief warm up, the sadistic coach with a smile on his face asked everybody to go do a fast round! And this was followed by a static exercise. Now I fancy myself quite good at push up but after the 400m run and without much rest, I found to my horror that I couldn't do the push up. And the runs and exercise continue! Round and round and back to the static exercises which could be push up, lunges or anything that coach fancies. We were literally not left with any time to breathe.

Of course, I got smart and started running at easy pace so that most of the rounds, I was one of the last few to finish but that still left me gasping and panting when doing the static exercise or what he calls "circuit"

Anyway, I am proud to say I survived S.I.C.K. and being a masochist, will probably go back for the torture again.

S.I.C.K. training is conducted by Ben Swee, a qualified running coach/Ironman/Ultramarathoner at Queenstown Stadium every Thursday (except when there are S-League matches) at 8 pm. A fee of $5.00 is payable. S.I.C.K training is suitable for masochist and sadists. It is also suitable for those who are looking to pass IPPT, NAPFA test, lose weight, lose fat and build speed. Finally it is highly recommended for ladies and some guys who want to get up close to the hunky and charming coach aka torturer. For more information, check out the Facebook page.

Project Tummy Week 1

2012-02-01T22:55:00.003+08:00

Times flies and 1 week is over since I start on Project Tummy.

Here's a recap of the week:

Wednesday 25/1/2012: Went to the gym. Did 25 mins on the elliptical trainer and another 45 mins playing around with the weights machine.

Thursday 26/1/2012: Running Day. Foot felt weird so decided to ~~slack~~ rest. Went through the motion of doing weights. Does that count as exercise?

Friday 27/1/2012: Off day from work. Managed to get up early and went for a swim. 20 laps in 1 hour:(. Then had a rich expensive lunch. So much for all the calories that was burnt during the swim.

Saturday 28/1/2012: Finally a real run. 11km slow and easy run. Followed by a buffet dinner in the night. Calories gained?

Sunday 29/1/2012: Supposed to join IMD and friends for another run. But the body is not agreeable to waking up early 3 days in a row. That plus the late night on Saturday. Made up for the missing run by doing a 25 minutes run in the early evening before going for another fat inducing dinner.

Monday 30/1/2012: Rest day but played around with the weights again.

Tuesday 31/1/2012: Another 25 mins run. The runs seem to be getting shorter and shorter.

Wednesday 1/2/2012: Another weigh in. Last week inaugural weigh in was 80/35 ie weight 80 waistline 35.

Today weigh in: Surprise surprise 78.5/35! How about that? I had expected a gain or at best, same weight but a loss of 1.5? The weekly weight in is currently done first thing in the morning on Wednesday.To double check, weighed myself at the gym tonight and back home again. 78.3kg! Hmm I must be doing something right.This call for a celebration.Think I shall have my box of chocolate.

Field Report Saucony Kinvara

2012-01-29T01:06:00.002+08:00

More than 1 month and 45km later, I am ready with a field report of the Kinvara 1. Well, the Kinvara 2 is now out in the market and available in outlets here in Singapore but then better late than never.

First, the usual technical stuff:

Breathable nylon upper.
Endoskeleton Synthetic Lockdown ensures a secure, supportive fit.
Strategically placed memory foam in the collar provides a snug, comfortable feel.
Hydrator Collar Lining helps wick away moisture and offers great next-to-skin comfort.
EVA insole for lightweight underfoot plush.
Heel ProGrid LITE midsole is 20% more responsive than EVA and supplies exceptional cushioning.
High Abrasion EVA (EVA+) is an extremely lightweight grade of EVA that provides supreme cushioning and durability.
XT-900™ carbon rubber outsole delivers multi-surface traction and long-lasting wear.
Weight: 9 oz

I must admit I am not too sure whether these stuff are for the Kinvara 1 or 2 or they are the same for both.

Pic from Runblogger

Design: Like most of the newer Saucony shoes, the Kinvara comes in an assortment of colors of which the most striking is the sole. It doesn't really look like a conventional running shoes, what with it almost flat heel to toe drop compared to the usual big solid piece of heel lift and thick outsole. However, it is still a good 18mm thick at the heel and this makes it very different from the thin sole of minimalist shoes which the Kinvara claims it is.

Sizing: Saucony shoes does not come with wide version but I had no problem with the fit so far although it felt a big loose on first wear and subsequently after adjusting the lace, it felt too tight on the instep but I guess it is nothing an adjustment of the laces won't solve. So far no blisters, no abrasions on the big toe, yet.

Grip: Dry ground, wet ground. The triangle shape outsole gripped wet on both wet and dry ground. However, I have not worn this for trail running since it is not a trail shoe so I can't comment on how it will perform on trails. But so far I like that even on the smooth surface of the overly common pavement of our parks, the shoe ride well unlike some running shoes which tends to have poor grip on wet pavement.

Pic from Runblogger

Flexibility: Because of the thicker insole, it is not as flexible as say the Terra Plana or the NB Minimus. But there is no hard plastic under the arch so it does allow for a fair amount of flex although it would have been better if the EVA foam on the arch would have been reduced.

Ground Feel: Not as good as I would have like. In fact, I felt the Fastwitch provides for a better ground feel.

Cushioning: There is a fair amount of cushioning which will probably have the barefoot advocates throwing up their hands in horror but in my current condition, the cushioning suit me just fine. It was cushy enough but yet allow for a fair amount of bounce.

Waterproofing: To date I haven't run in wet weather so far and have no chance to test how good is the waterproofing. But the upper comes with an unique thin net like cover which presumably will deflect away rain drop. But whether water that gets in will drain away easily, remains to be seen.

Conclusion: Saucony claims the Kinvara is a minimalist shoe. In my opinion, it is not a true minimalist shoe since it does not have the full characteristic of a minimalist shoes i.e. 0mm heel to toe drop and zero cushioning. At most, it is an in between shoe or a transitional shoe - for those switching from conventional shoe to barefoot running and not yet ready to take the full plunge. But it is a wonderful nifty transitional shoe. Just reading the many well written favourable reviews on the web made me go gaga. And if not for the fact that Kinvara 3 is on the way, I would strongly recommend those who are looking for a sufficiently cushioned shoes to wean themselves off the traditional shoes to try out the Kinvara.

My jingly Tummy

2012-01-25T22:34:00.001+08:00

I knew I was going to pay for it with all that reduced running. Some more with the tons of makan over the course of the past few months. So there I was at the mall trying out a trouser and I realised to my horror that I can only fit into a 1 size larger pants. Okay maybe it was the cutting but true be told, the signs were all there.

The trousers were getting tighter. The Princess keeps saying that my stomach jingles and I can see a protruding tummy from my running tees. And is that a moob I see?

So I need to do something. So now barely 1 month into the new year, I have a new resolution - to lose 2 inches off the waist line and 5 kg off the body. And to do it within 3 months!

Possible? Watch this space!

More than Garmin

2012-01-22T16:35:00.000+08:00

Here in Singapore, practically every runner I know who wear a GPS watch have a Garmin. Mostly because there isn’t much of an option in the first place. Other than the Garmin, the only other “running” watch easily available here is the Polar.

But unlike the Garmin, the Polar watches do not come with any built-in GPS. For measuring distance, it relies mainly on the separate foot pod or as in the Polar watches which all require a separate GPS pod which comes with its own arm band for wearing on the arm. Not very runner friendly!

Then there are a small number of people who go for the sexy factor and pump for the Nike Sportband. This is of course a poor cousin to the GPS based watch as it utilizes a pedometer to count the strides and distances.

But there is hope for those who do not want a Garmin.

First off is Nike who has come up with a GPS watch – the Nike+ Sportwatch GPS. It looks pretty cool too and should be a hit when it reaches our shores.

Timex, the Ironman watch has been surprisingly slow in catching up with Garmin and I am sure it has lost market share but it is slowly catching up with the Timex Global Trainer launched in 2010 and the Timex Run Trainer last year. The Timex Ironman Global Trainer is now available in Singapore but it may take a while for the Run Trainer to find its way here. Hopefully they can also price the watch as cheaply as their Ironman series!

Timex Run Trainer

And then there is the uber expensive Suunto X10. A beautiful rugged looking watch for the adventurers and trails runners but at a big hole to the pocket. Price check on Amazon is USD580.00

For those who are budget conscious and not prepared to cough up well over $300.00 for their watch and do not need all the works but just need a watch to tell them how far they ran, there is the nifty cheaper Soleus GPS 1.0. Just a basic watch with a built in GPS to measure the distance and that’s about it. No frill and with a no frill price of less than USD100.00.

Surprisingly, there is a new entrant to the market – the Motorola MOTOACTV. Now just why Motorola has chosen to enter this segment of the market beats me, maybe because they getting a beating in the mobile phone market and needs to look for new revenue stream? This is a great little watch with GPS and MP3 and wifi and a thousand other little features. And oh yes, it tells the time too. USD300.00

Finally, fresh from this year CES, comes the Magellan Switch and Switch Up GPS Multisport Watch. Not a very pretty looking watch but quite feature packed from the review. But will it ever reach our shore? And at what price?

Last not least, there is a rumour that Casio is also coming out with a GPS watch. Now that will be one watch to look forward to.

New Balance MT101

2012-01-18T00:00:00.000+08:00

This comes more than a year late. Prior to this review, I worn it once for a short run at MR and thereafter, it went back into the box where it has been sitting. Between then and now, New Balance has come out with a replacement for it and by now it is probably no longer available at the retail outlets except maybe during clearance sale. Nevertheless, now that I have finally decided to wear it, I will still do a field report of this shoe.

First off, the technical stuff from New Balance:

Rock Stop® embedded into forefoot provides protection from sharp rocks and debris
Synthetic/Mesh upper provides lightweight comfort and support
ACTEVA™ Midsole cushions and resists compression set - 12% lighter than standard foam
EVA foam on the upper provides visual contrast and supports and cushions the Achilles; it does the same with the ankle as the EVA extends to the shoe collar
SURE LACE™ secure shoe laces provide added midfoot support and keep the shoe snug around the foot

What does all that means? Go read it yourself lah!

Now the stuff that I make up:

Photo from runblogger.com

Design: It is a beautiful pair of shoes. Overall a darkish green with shiny bright light green reflective strips, it looks rugged and very suited for running in the woods and forest unlike the colorful trail shoes nowadays. There is no insole or at least the strip of what pass off as an insole cannot be removed when I tried to peel it off. The other interesting thing is that instead of the usual fabric heel collar, there is a piece of soft plastic cuff. This makes it easy for one to just slip the shoe on/off. The upper material is made of a light weight synthetic mesh which promises to allow water to drain out quickly. One final thing is the tongue. I find it quite short compared to other shoes although reading other reviews, most seem to like it that way. But the tongue held well and do not slip or move. And did I mention that it is incredibly light even for my size 12?

Sizing: According to the New Balance website, the last for this shoe is RL-3 which means it comes with narrow heel width, standard instep height, standard toe box height and wide forefoot width. I have no problem with my size 12. The toe box was wide enough for my toes to splay and move slightly but not too much to cause discomfort. But again maybe because of my Morton toes, after the last 20km run, I could feel the beginning of some blister underneath the joints of the right toes. A new place which I have never encounter before. Maybe I had laced it too tightly?

Photo from runblogger.com

Grip: So far apart from the last run in 2010, I have clocked a total of 38 km with the majority of it on trail. The outsole comes with short 3 sides box shape lugs. At the Tampines Eco Green, the shoe grip well on the soft carpetlike grass and even the moss filled part of it. On the more rugged Gangsa trail, grip was good on the well trodden soil trail. But it wasn't that good on the wet clay surfaces as I could feel my foot sliding forward. And finally on the hard rocky ground of Lorong Asrama, there was absolutely no problem at all. One thing though, the sidekick has been wearing her WT101 for the past year and her feedback is that on wet concrete ground, the shoes cannot grip at all and it becomes very slippery.

Flexibility: This is the second of New Balance Minimalist shoe series and like all minimalist shoes, it does not have a piece of hard plastic insert in the arch thus allowing for a great amount of flex. There is a Rock Stop system embedded into the shoe and this is visible from the many circular holes in the outsole. The purpose of the Rock Stop is to protect the foot from the sharp rocks, disperse pressure and reduce foot pressure. Surprisingly, the Rock Stop did not have any impact on the flex at all.

Ground Feel. With barely any EVA foam or cushioning of any sorts, it was almost like running bare foot. At the Tampines Eco Green, I can feel every little dips and twigs under my feet. At Lorong Asrama, I could feel every single piece of rock under my feet but the Rock Stop worked very well to bear the brunt of the poking jutting rocks.

Cushioning. What cushioning? With only a 10mm heel drop and on the little hard concrete ground that I ran, I can feel the impact on my foot but I actually felt that I could run fast in it. In fact, the sidekick wears her WT101 as a racing flat for her road races so I guess it doesn't really matter if there is no cushioning as long as one take cares to run with a mid foot strike and not heel strike.

Waterproofing. Weather has been rather dry recently and there wasn't much wet ground to run into but just off Track 15, there was a big puddle of water and I gleefully went into it. Of course, the water got in straight away but less than 10 minutes later, all of it had drained out. The only problem was I was wearing socks and the socks got wet but other than that, I believe the shoes will do very nicely in wet weather.

Conclusion: This would be a real great trail as well as road running shoes but New Balance has already come out with a replacement in the Minimus series so I guess it is rather pointless now to sing too much high praise of this shoe. But for those who don't want to pay top price for new shoes and do not mind settling for past season's shoes at reduced price, this will do just great as long as you can still get hold of it.

Running Lab Night Run

2012-01-14T00:00:00.000+08:00

Rules of Thumb

2012-01-11T00:00:00.000+08:00

As in everything in life, there are rules of thumb for running. Here are some of the more common ones and what I think of them.

1. The 10% rule. Increase mileage by no more than 10% per week. Okay this is probably the most well known rule among runners and also probably the least observed. Let say a new runner starts at 2km. Assuming he follows the rules religiously, he will be doing 2.2km the next week, 2.4 for the following and he will hit 5km in about 11 weeks. Did I interpret this correctly? Does anybody actually follows such a schedule? But that is not to say that this rule of thumb is bad or flawed. In fact, I personally think it is very sensible advice if taken with a pinch of salt and some common sense.

2. For every km that you raced, you should rest 1 day. Nowadays, it is common to hear of people doing back to back marathons over the same weekend or running marathons week after week. The generally consensus is that marathon running should be restricted to 2 a year but of course I don't think anymore stick to that. But again this is good advice. The body can only take so much punishment and there should be time for it to recover from racing. This does not mean no running. Just take it easy for a while!

3. Wait for about 2 hours after a meal before running. Again sensible but impractical especially in our climate. With races or even weekend running starting at 6 - 7 am, following this rule means waking up 2 hours before the run to eat! With not enough sleep, how to run? A more practical approach is to eat something light like a sandwich and a energy drink before the run regardless of time. This is to fuel the body and provide enough energy for the run.

4. You should be able to talk while running. Yes if you are just jogging with friends or maybe doing a long slow distance run. Not true if you are training for a race, doing a fartlek or interval. Better to concentrate on the run rather than waste energy yakking!

5. You need to carbo before a race. Maybe for those who don't eat a lot of carbohydrates in their diets but certainly not applicable for Asians where the staples are rice, bread and noodles. All the extra carbo is going to turn to sugar if not burn off on a daily basis. Better to stick to the energy bars and gels on race day for the energy than to rely on store up carbo.

Don't agree with the above? Let me hear your views then.

Found a Dog - A Pomeranian

2012-01-05T22:38:00.000+08:00

The Princess found a Pomeranian on her way to school.

Anybody know of anybody living who lives in Pasir Ris and has lost his/her dog, give me a buzz or email me here.

If no claimant within 2 days, unfortunately will have to hand the dog over to SPCA or whichever organisation willing it take it in since we can't keep 2 dogs.

Eastside Run 01012012

2012-01-03T00:30:00.000+08:00

I can't believe the last time there was a Eastside Run was exactly 1 year ago. It used to be a once a month affairs but due to the packed race calendars the past year, somehow I have not been able to find a free day to slot this in on a more regular basis.

Anyway, I decided since there was an extra long weekend and being its anniversary, it was a good time to hold one. This time round, the route picked was a part trail part route covering 3 separate trails in the East. Invitations were send out via the sgrunners forum and Facebook. I had expected in view of the many runs over the weekend to have at most 15 - 20 pax but the numbers kept growing and growing and before I knew it, there were close to 50 respondents which was more than the 2 of us can handle. So last minutes I had to rope in buddies from Simei to help manage the group. Many thanks to Gary, Zco, Ming and AC. Especially the latter 2 as they still had a World Harmony Run to do in the afternoon.

We started off from Sun Plaza Park at about 7.20 am. The first trail was the "carpet" trail of Tampines Eco Green, in my opinion the best and most comfortable trail in Singapore, JB and some say Batam! Surprisingly, many of the runners have not been to this park even though a majority of them stay in the East.

Next trail was the Tampines Mountain Bike Park, a more familiar place for most of the runners. But of course they didn't bargain for a "water" obstacle. I had recced this place a few times prior to this and decided that the water course was more fun than the usual out and out trail. And it was hilarious to see the new runners to trails picking their way gingerly over the water. And some kind dude finally decided to help the ladies in distress and picked up some more rocks to help the ladies walk over the water. Who says chivalry is dead?

The final trail was the wild but scenic Tampines Quarry, a place that I believe was new to almost everybody. We had a group photo taken at the most scenic park of the quarry before proceeding up to the wild trails.

And wild trails it was, with tall grasses, mud and 2 fallen trees which had everybody climbing and crawling all over. Surprisingly, it appears that Nparks or some kind soul had trimmed a bit off the 2nd tree on Saturday afternoon and we could easily walk across.

Finally, after a fun and exhilarating 12km, we reached back Sun Plaza Park for a final group photo.

And with that, it was the end of another Eastside Run. Hopefully, it will not be the last one for this year. But whether there will be another this year will depend on the demand, the race schedule cos that will affect my ability to get pacers and whether I can hustle up new and interesting route instead of the usual Bedok Reservoir or East Coast Park.

Looking Forward 2012

2011-12-31T00:00:00.000+08:00

Just a few days left to 2011. Time to say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012.

What's there in store for me in 2012? I wish I have a crystal ball so that I will know. But unfortunately, that is something I don't have and so I will again have to make do with some pathetic dreaming.

Races - Definitely low on the agenda. Probably not going to sign up for more than 4. Top of the list still is to do the TNF 100 Duo and try and better my 2010 timing. That is unfinished business and the only time target I will set for any race. Okay, maybe at this point in time. Meanwhile, already signed up for 1 race in April which means 2 more to go. Something new and hopefully fun. Still no intention to run a full marathon but that can change if an attractive one comes along at the right time, right place.

Running - Definitely less. Currently mileage averages 30km a week. Don't see myself exceeding that. Will be looking to do more easy and enjoyable runs rather than gruelling training sessions. With age catching up and constant injuries, it is better for me to take things easy. In line with this, will wind down my involvement with group runs and other organised events. Will continue to run trails once the wet season is over. But will do it for myself and friends and not for any organisations. So no official tie up.

Injuries - Hopefully no more. But with my love to tinker around with running gaits and experiment with different shoes, this might be a pipe dream. But touch wood, with reduced running, hopefully will not be plagued with any thing major.

New Activities - Maybe try something new. Like Tai-chi. Ha ha, don't choke. I am going into the half century mark soon. Tai Chi will fit in nicely with the age group. Then can combine and come up with Chi-running. Sound good? What? Somebody has already invented Chi-running? Oh well........

Volunteer - Not going to sign up as volunteer anymore. But will definitely chip in if asked directly. So anybody organising races or events and need my help, feel free to give me a shout.

Okay that's it. A simpler, easier 2012 for me. Hopefully.

Here's wishing all friends and readers a blessed, healthy, fun filled and prosperous 2012.

5 Years on....

2011-12-29T23:00:00.000+08:00

Time flies. 5 years ago, I attended my first Running Lab Night Run at Funan Centre as one of the trio of run leaders. It was the inaugural event for Running Lab and was instrumental in kicking off group runs by other retailers. The number of participants grew and grew but over the past 2 years, with the departure of handsome Eddie and the charismatic Ben and speedy Arzeen, the numbers started to drop to the current average of above 12 per session.

Being the only original run leader left from the initial trio, I have more often than desired, been cast as the unofficial "Chief Run Leader", a title that I am not comfortable with since I do not possess most of the qualities that qualify me for it. Probably that is why the runners have stopped coming as well since they do not see any value-add in joining the run - no speedy runners to compete with or someone knowledgeable to share and impart tips.

Anyway, with age catching up and a constant almost non-stop flow of injuries, it is now the right time for me to step down and let the younger run leaders take over. Hopefully, they will be able to resurrect the run to its original glory days.

So after 5 long years of making new friends, some of which has become good friends, I will be bowing out from the Running Lab Night Run. To Running Lab, Management and staff, it has been a wonderful 5 years of collaboration and I wish Running Lab and everybody all the best for its future endeavor. To all the friends and runners that I have met during these years of running together, I wish you all happy running and I hope to see you around in the running scene.

Looking Back on 2011

2011-12-24T23:12:00.000+08:00

Things started well this year.

Firstly, I got all the shoes that I wanted; most of them either at very good discount or even free! Organised the North Face trail run series for the TNF store in Singapore and made many new and wonderful friends. Managed to volunteer in a few races as well. All in, it was a great 6 months up till June and than wham, it went downhill almost from July!

The injury brought everything almost to a stop. At least for the next 3 months and so I ended the year with just 3 races. The least ever since I started running.

The volunteer part also went down hill. After a promising start with 3 volunteer stints, I couldn't get anymore. Problem was I only want to do the charity or non-profit races events and the bigger one doesn't want individual, preferring to get all the volunteers at one goal from organisations like schools. Of course, I also screwed up badly, getting the date mixed up for one event. In the end, I ended up with 4 volunteer stint, 2 short of target.

But despite all these setbacks, this has probably been my most enjoyable running year so far. I no longer feel the need to out run myself, my run while much slower has been more easy and fun. I learnt to relax and "smell the flowers", a result of doing all those long slow trail runs.

What will 2012 be like?

First "Drive" Saucony Kinvara 1

2011-12-19T22:54:00.000+08:00

.Finally took out the Saucony Kinvara which was bought almost a year ago for its maiden run. A lot of people have only good things to say about this shoe. But my first impression wasn't too good. Maybe because I didn't lace it up properly and it felt loose. Maybe because I had inserted my own insoles instead of using the original insole. Or maybe the ground was wet after the rain and it being a new shoe, I didn't want to dirty it so was more conscious about my movement....

Managed to take it out for another spin on Saturday. This time with laces properly done up.

First impression, it was light, very light especially after wearing the Brooks Launch and the TNF Sentinel. But it was very comfortable more so I must say with the insoles.

But the insoles is slightly thicker than the original insoles and that I guess, while providing better cushioning reduces the ground feel. But in my current condition, I don't really have any problem with that and I enjoyed wearing the shoes. Just the right mix of cushioning and minimalist feel.

I think I will stick to this pair of shoe for a long time provided it last long enough.

Date of Purchase: 10 January 2011

Cost: $102

Purchased from First B Marketing

Worn in Races:

Changi Simei Run

2011-12-15T23:04:00.000+08:00

Got an invitation to join friends from the old neighbourhood for a run. Since moving out of Simei last year September have not gone back to that area to run. It was drizzling when we reached Blk 108, the start point of the run.

Team Captain and Champion Runner, Gary Goh was there with a few other current and ex-Simeians. There were also a few "PR" and "FT". Not a very big crowd though but it's nice getting to get to know new running people.

The run took us through the usual Simei St 3 before going into Changi Business Park. The place is real quiet during the weekend and running post rain, it was shiok.

All too soon, the run came to an end, just about 9km and it was breakfast time courtesy of Changi Simei CSC.

Running in Phnom Penh

2011-12-10T21:18:00.001+08:00

I read a lot about my running friends running whenever they are abroad. So far although I do go overseas now and then, I have never run in any country unless it is during a race. So when we were in Phnom Penh, our friend suggested going for a short run and I was stunned.

We, meaning the sidekick and I were travelling light coming over from Siem Reap and we had not brought along any running gear. Fortunately, we were wearing our running shoes so we ended up wearing our day cloth which was for me, a polo tee and a quite longish short and casual socks. Definitely very uncle looking, I must say.

First thing we learnt about running in Phnom Penh, crossing the road is like dicing with death. And there were several roads to cross before we got to where we want to start our run. But with fairly cool weather and many nice things to see on the way, it was a breeze to have my first overseas casual run.

We started from here. I think this is the Independence Monument.

Then we ran along this wide stretch of the Neak Banh Teuk park.

Crossing the road to the riverside, we are amazed that there are a whole lot of activities going on. Not my image of what a 3rd world should be.

A group of judokas or is it taekwondo practising. Sure beats doing in indoor!

Another group dancing away.

Yet another practising tai-chi

A group of seniors strutting their stuff

Not just the humans were out enjoying the fresh air, even the elephant came out for a morning stroll

Managed to snap a picture of the rising sun over the river

Saw this big beautiful riverboat. Wonder is this the one that brings passengers to Siem Reap?

The run came to an abrupt end when our way was blocked by a restaurant covering the whole walkway. Not wishing to run alongside the heavy traffic, we adjourned for a hearty bowl of beef noodles.

Angkor Wat International Half Marathon

2011-12-06T22:10:00.001+08:00

This was supposed to be my 6th and final race of the year but instead it was just the 3rd race. But what a great race it turned out to be!

Held in the beautiful Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia, this is a half marathon organised as a fund raising project for the underprivileged and poor people in Cambodia. The race is popular with Caucasians from all over the world and the Japanese.

Flags of all the countries of the participants

It was a small race by Singapore standard though - just over 8000 participants but that means it was never going to be a congested course for the runners unlike a certain race held in Singapore on the same day. On top of that, even though there were 4 categories (the half, the 10km and the 3km and a wheelchair event), the routes were designed such that there were minimum overlap even with 10 minutes difference between each event's start time.

Runners waiting for the flag off

The support for the race by the locals were fantastic. Even though we were running in the temple complex, the villagers staying there all turned up to support. All the darling little kids were there, either to give out the water or pick up the bottles or just to cheer and high 5 the runners. I had such a wonderful time just looking at the smile on the kids' faces.

Children high fiving the runners

Villagers out in full force to support the runners

The organisation was superb. They even paid so much attention to the little things like putting up signs to warn runners of the various type of terrains they might be expecting ahead; although I do think they tend to be a bit kiasu and exaggerate the degree of difficulty,especially the Danger Course sign which turned out only to be a speed hump on the road.

Warning Signs of what to expect up ahead

But of course, the main highlight are the sights and that means the various ruins and temples. There weren't that many to see though. Just enough to make me curious to pay a return visit in the afternoon for a real tour of the place.

Singapore of course has not just me running in it. Here are a snapshot of some friends from Singapore at the race. And these are the people I know or friends of friends. Spotted a few others in Singapore's running event's tees.as well. Me think we all did the right choice - to do this instead of the Singapore Marathon.

All in a great race for a good cause. Nevermind that my timing wasn't great. After all, where got time to run with so many things to see?

More photos of the race here and blog posts on the visit to Cambodia coming up soon in the other blog.

Marathon Musings

2011-12-01T22:31:00.000+08:00

It is now just 3 days to the 2nd Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore. Previously, it was known as the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon. And I have no part in it much to the surprise of all my friends and running acquaintances. After all, this is the marquee event of the Singapore's running scene and the holy grail for all local runners. So friends are surprised that I am not doing it, since I am almost an running addict.

Truth is, I have not ran the Singapore Marathon or for that matter, any full marathon for the past 3 years. The last full marathon that I did was in 2008 after which I had decided that I have achieved what I set out to do. Actually, the thoughts of those hours and hours slaving away to train for it just turn me off. Nevertheless, every time the marathon comes along, my mind wanders back to the past and sometimes a "what if"

I started running in 2004 and completed my first marathon in 2004. Back then, I was a newbie and greenhorn in running and I just ran. I thought I did pretty well, at least for the first 32 km and then I hit the wall and had to walk all the way back. The resulting cramps and aches were so bad that I had to call my friend to come down and drive me home!

In 2005, I got to know people from sgrunners and joined them in their long runs. I also got valuable tips from the sifus there. That plus the previous year experience gave me the confidence that I could do better in the year's edition. I crashed even more badly and ended up with a even worse off timing. Again, I was doing well until the 30km at East Coast Park when the cramps came and refuses to go away. It was another long long walk back to the finish line. I swear I will never do another marathon but everybody knows that is pure bullshit!

I sat out 2006 due to injury and came roaring back in 2007. I had to find out for myself that I could do this. This time with 4 years of running experience behind me, I got smart and less ambitious and came up with a game plan which went according to plan. I got a personal pacer; a superfast runner who was also coming off an injury to pace me; and stuck to a 7 mins pace throughout. Its worked like a charm and I finished right on schedule. No cramps, no ache!

In 2008, an ankle sprain killed my race in the Borneo Marathon but that did not deter me from trying again in the year end marathon. This time round, I stick to the same game plan but got a new pacer in the form of the sidekick who was doing only her 2nd marathon. And we got a PB! That was it for me. I decided I got enough of FM to last me a life time.

But don't be surprise if one day, sometime, somewhere, you caught me running another FM. Never said never!

Good luck and enjoy your race, all my friends and acquaintances doing the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore!

Tanjong Rhu/Gardens by the Bay East

2011-11-26T13:42:00.000+08:00

Next week is the 2nd Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore. I will not be doing it but just so that I can get a whiff of the excitement, I decided to run a teeny weeny portion of it. East Coast Park don't count so settled for the 2 km (I did say teeny weeny portion ok!) stretch along the new Gardens by the Bay East.

Started off from East Coast Park Car park B1. The actual full marathon route takes one up the green metal bridge to Area A but since that is still closed off to public, we detoured and went via Fort Road/Tanjong Rhu.

We ran into Kampong Arang Road and hit the waterside. This was part of the route for this year Marina 21 (I think they could have done better if they have adopted my route today). Running along the riverside was great. It was partially sheltered from the heat by the trees and building along the side and we had a great run along the river bank. There were nice view of the buildings in front and on the opposite bank like this view of the Tanjong Rhu estates with all the condominiums in the background.

Further down across the water, we can see the construction for the new Sports Hub. This area is going to be real hot in a few years time!

Once passed the condominiums, we were in the new Gardens by the Bay East, a big hot park, hot as in searing hot from the sun. The park like all other new parks in Singapore, does not come with big shady trees, just saplings which does not provide any shade at all! Also didn't notice any shelters and Singapore is one of the most lightning prone place in the world! I seriously wonder where all these people who design our parks come from. Don't they know the weather here is not great for outdoor strolling! The plus side is there is a nice wide asphalt path to run and walk on. The view on the other bank was gorgeous. And that distracted me enough to take my mind and body off the blazing hot sun.

Soon we reached the Marina Barrage. There was a gate between it and the Gardens by the Bay but it was opened and we ran through to cross the barrage. Behind the gate, other than the sea was more construction.

But on the other side, looking back where we came from, was more great view of the city skyline including the now iconic 3 main structures, the Marina Bay Sands, the Flyer and the Gardens by the Bay's Flower Dome and Cloud Forest.

All in, a great place for a short run or a stroll, provided it isn't so damn hot!

Insoles

2011-11-23T22:42:00.001+08:00

Since my first injury in 2006, I have been using some sort of orthotics for my shoes. Over the years, I have chosen not to use the insoles that comes with the running shoes and chosen to use my own. But ever since I moved on to mid foot running, I stopped using them and just went with the conventional insoles. However, with the latest injury, I have switched back to using orthotics again.

Here is a rundown of the orthotics that I have used or am using (left to right):

1. Sole Footbed. This was one of the earliest orthotics that I got. It is heat moldable. Just put it in a toaster or oven and heat it up. Once it soften, stand on it and volia, an insoles that mold nicely to the foot. I worn this pair for a long long time back in those days when I was a heel striker. Like most typical orthotics, it is semi rigid and do not allow for any flex at all. Looking back, I wondered how in the world I got used to it but it certainly does provide very good cushioning and support. Till today, I am still using it, but not in running shoes but my heavy duty walking shoes. The Sole Footbed is available at Running Lab outlets.

2. The 2nd orthotics is the small little Vasyli Orthaheel prescribed by my osteopath and cost an arm and a leg. It is also a heat moldable insole but instead of the full insole, I was prescribed the half insole. The osteopath's reasoning was that a half insole can fits most shoes and provide adequate support for the arch and heel. And that is really the truth. This pair of insoles has raced with me through almost all my earlier races right up to 2009. It provides extremely good heel cushioning and was so comfortable that I don't even feel the weight. But that was when I was wearing heavy chunky shoes like the Asics 2120 and a very hard core heel striker. Today this pair has been consigned to the shoe cupboard never to see the light again.

3. After my latest injury, I decided that I need some sort of cushioning and one day while walking through a mall, I saw this guy demonstrating an amazing feat. He dropped an egg on to an insole and to my wonder, the egg did not break at all. Okay, I am well known in the family for being a sucker for these street stalls' products so naturally I bought one pair. No. Actually 2. Not really cheap. But it cost $30.00 for 1 and $50.00 for 2 so it make sense to buy 2 right? This is a pair of Taiwanese made air-cushioned insoles. It bottom is filled with many air sacs which supposedly provide good support by absorbing all the impact. In addition, according to the product information that comes with it, it is made accordingly to foot reflexology principle and in addition to reducing impact, it is anti-bacterial, provides acupuncture therapy and has deodorizing effect by "far infrared radiation" (whatever that means). Is it effective? Let's just say I have since bought another pair. The kid was complaining about knee pain in his early days of BMT and I asked him to switch to this instead of the army issued Asics' insole and believe it or not, his knee pain disappeared! The sidekick is also using it in her shoes and has no complains so far and is in fact recommending it to her friends. Me? since I discovered the next pair of insoles, I have switch these to my daily work shoes and no, I haven't tried dropping any egg on it. Yet.......

4. Finally, my latest pair of wonder. The Formthotics Shock Stop insoles. It was prescribed by the podiatrist at CGH during my last visit. How good is it? Today after my visit to the podiatrist, I asked for another 2 pairs so that I don't have to keep switching them among my shoes. This, accordingly to the product info, is a custom medical orthotics but as far as I am concerned, it is absolutely the best I have ever used. It is soft and yet provides very good cushioning and support. It is very flexible as well and it molds to the feet without needing to go through any heat treatment. The website said this particular model is for the elderly and diabetics etc so I guess I have come to the stage where I am now deemed elderly. So sad :( But hey they really works so who care! I know its going to sound sacrilegious but I am going to use them with my minimalist shoes. They cost $60.00 a pair but unfortunately is only available from the hospital and are not sold in any retail outlets here in Singapore.

So that's about it for the time being. Until something better comes along.

And finally, except for the Sole Footbed which was given to me by Running Lab, I paid for all the other insoles.

Which is the most suitable running shoes/form?

2011-11-20T22:24:00.001+08:00

Over the years, I have been asked many times by friends, fellow runners and others some very interesting questions about running. Of course, I am not qualify to answer their questions but that does not stop the questions from coming. I suppose it is par for the course since I have been a run leader for the Running Lab Singapore for some years now and that adds some legitimacy to my status.

Picture from kenyaaid.org

In the early days, the most common question I get was which is the best running shoes for them, Back then, my answers would have been "depends on your foot type and your running gait". And most time, I will add in a "do not choose shoes purely for the design". Of course, people who knows me well, know that that is an advice I never follow myself . There was no such things for me as stability shoes or cushioned shoes. I chooses my shoes primarily based on 1) the color and 2) how cheap it is.

In more recent times, the question becomes "which is the correct running form re mid foot or heel strike?". When I first started running in 2005, it was heel strike. Not that I consciously adopted it but it came naturally to me. Back then, it was the most natural way to run and I corrected a few friends who were running on their toes.Of course, when the trend moved to mid foot strike, I kept up with the development and switched over to mid foot strike in 2008.

Nowadays, the question has evolved into "should I go into barefoot running or not?". Me again had kept up with the latest development and indulged in it since 2 years ago and has formed some opinion about it.

So what answers do I gave for all these 3 questions? Actually, I cover my arse and give the most general answers - which is "whatever you are most comfortable with" and "do not change for the sake of changing". Incidentally, these answers are more or less the conclusion that these group of researchers came to after their research, Quote: “We tell people we don’t know a thing about the best technique,” he said. He tells runners to use the form they naturally adopt." unquote. And they need to do research to come to this conclusion?

5 years later and older and hopefully wiser, I have come to realise that there is no one best shoes or best running form. Likewise, barefoot running is not the cure all for all the running injuries. The most expensive shoes are not necessarily the best shoes. In fact, a lot of runners swear by Saucony shoes which is one of the cheapest in the market. Likewise, while heel striker tends to get injuries to the heel, mid foot runners gets injured on the shin and achilles. Ditto barefoot running which comes with its own set of injuries. While I have many friends who are happily running barefoot, I have just as many friends who have gotta injured after switching over to the 5 Fingers. So I end with 3 last words or sentences:

Don't fix it if it ain't broken.
To each its own
Change only if there is a need.

Garmin Forerunner 210

2011-11-16T23:48:00.000+08:00

On the spur of the moment, went and bought the Garmin Forerunner 210. The 210 is the upgraded version of the 110 which I bought almost a year ago. Back then, I bought the basic set without the heart rate monitor for $299.00 but now due to the favourable exchange rate, the 210 with the heart rate monitor is only selling for about $260.00.

The 210 looks classier with its all black strap. Other than that, it looks no different from the 110 down to all the printed words on the face.

The 210 (left) together with the 110 (right)

Even the charging mechanism is the same.

But inside it, there are some slight improvements.

1. Instant pace. The 110 only shows average pace which is actually fine with me. But I believe the faster and more competitive runners would like instant pace.

2. Interval. There is now options for various type of intervals, such as warm up, rest, cool down, laps, etc. This can be either in time or distance. There is even a countdown timer than beeps towards the end of each interval, provided I can hear it.

3. Footpod option. There is apparently now an option to pair a footpod to it. Great for indoor running where the watch cannot detect the GPS signals. But then again, if indoor, it means I be likely on the dreadmill so why could I need to know the distance from the watch?

That's all there is to the 210. In my opinion, not really a great upgrade. But it serves its need for those looking for a plain vanilla running watch and at a fairly decent price too. At the moment, there is no competition until the Timex Run Trainer reach our shores.

Still Exploring - Ponggol Coney Island

2011-11-12T20:17:00.001+08:00

It started off as a routine run just to get back in shape. The plan was to just run along the new Ponggol Waterway and Ponggol Promenade and hopefully survive a distance of 16km.

After crossing the nice red bridge to the Ponggol side, our tour leader for the day decided that we should cross to the far bank of the Ponggol Waterway and run, hopefully, to Ponggol Jetty/End. This part of the route was surprisingly not the usual asphalt/concrete/tiled road but what the signboard there said "natural" road. Actually it was nice soft laterites soil. I just hope it stays that way but judging from the many waterlogged spots along it, sooner or later some idiot will complain that the ground spoils his/her shoes and it will be paved over.

The "natural" path on the left and extreme right of the picture. Photo by Broken Runner

We ran with Coney Island on our right separated from us by the sea. Then we came to an abrupt stop as there was a zinc gate right across the path. Apparently, the path on the other side was not completed yet. Awww, shucks! But then every cyclists, walkers, joggers and the ah ma ah kong were just causally walking through the unlocked gate despite the warning sign. So we did what every natural Singaporean does. We copied them and walked across and continued our run.

We ran and then we came to this bridge that connect the path to Coney Island. So of course being the typical Singaporean, we walked across to take a look at what lies on Coney Island. The only problem was there was another gate and this one was locked! And there was a sign that says

Too bad........but hey we Singaporean are quite well known for being kapo and we definitely have to satisfy our curiosity. So locked gate or not, we walked right through. You guys won't want to know how we did it:)

Looking back where we came from after going through the fence

Behind the gate was a beautiful forest and a very nice long straight trail, all 2km of it.

Nice trail

Nice forest with the most amazing number of butterflies

We ran and eventually reached the Serangoon Reservoir Tidal Gate which was not too far from where we had started the run.We met a contractor on the other side of the fence and he warned us to be careful of the wild boars and the cow. Cow! That got us even more excited but unfortunately all we saw was these tracks from the wild boars.

Photo by Francis Kayano Chia

Back onto Ponggol Waterway, we came to another fenced up gate. This one was totally locked but did that stop us?

Obviously not. Ingenious us figured a way to go over and boy were we glad we did so because we soon came to the Ponggol End which was awesomely beautiful! There was nice view, a nice pond and a nice toilet complete with showers! Too bad there wasn't any refreshment kiosk.

The lotus pond at Ponggol End. Photo by Broken Runner

After a rather long break there to take pictures, we continued and came to Ponggol Marina!

Ponggol Marina

What a surprise! No need to run along boring Ponggol Rd and 17th Avenue! From there we made our way back to Ponggol Waterway via Ponggol Way.

Although we took well over 2 hours to cover the 16km or so, a big chunk of the time was spent taking photographs, looking at butterflies and for a pit stop at Ponggol Marina. And I am glad I dragged my lazy bum out of bed for this run, not only because it was a nice run with wonderful friends but it is the longest run both in terms of timing and distance I done since the injury. So yes, I'm back and still exploring!

Chia Seeds

2011-11-09T23:52:00.000+08:00

In Christopher McDougall's Born to Run, apart from the story of the Tarahumara, he also mentioned one of the food that they ate, a drink the Tarahumara called iskiate and which supposedly gave them the energy to run all day. The main ingredient that went into iskiate is Chia seeds.

I have been eating Chia seeds for the past 2 months or so. Did it gave me the additional energy that I need? The verdict is still out since I am not doing a great deal of running. But I am eating them regularly if not for the energy but for the many health benefits that purportedly comes from it.

But just how exactly does one eat Chia seeds? In the book, chia seeds is added to water and lime juice and stirred until the Chia seeds expands and dissolve into a soft gel. Nectar is added to taste. This is a picture lifted from this website. Doesn't look very appetizing does it?

Me? I am the lazy sort and I can't be bothered to go through all the trouble. These are some lazy man way to eat Chia seeds.

1. Put 2 teaspoons into your drink. Fruit juice or milo. No need to add anything else. Great as a pre-run drink.

2. Sprinkle them on bread spread. I love it on kaya

3. Add to bread, muffins before baking

4. Add them to pizza in addition to the chilli flakes and cheese

5. Add them to egg or tuna mayo for a delicious sandwich

6. Add as toppings to ice cream

In fact, they are so versatile that one can add to almost anything or just eat it on its own.

Finally, where to get them in Singapore?

I got my first bottle from a shop in Parkway Parade at $15.00 for a 250gm bottle. They are also available in satchet from the major supermarket, marketed as Chia Shots but I think this one is quite ex. Finally, they can be purchased from this blogshop at $19.50 for a 400 gm pack.

Super Efficient

2011-11-05T23:17:00.001+08:00

I am really impressed with the organiser of the Yellow Ribbon Prison Run. I have just received my race certificate in the mail just a little bit over 1 month after the event. In fact they are so efficient that I even got a certificate even though I didn't run the race!

I did signed up but didn't start. The bib was kept in my camera bag and I was outside the prison gate taking photograph. I didn't even went near the start line. Hmm okay that's why there is no Net time stated. But then again I also make sure I didn't cross under the finish line. I took care to walk along the side pavement. The super duper timing chip machine they used must have been so powerful that it somehow managed to capture my bib inside the bag. If only the TNF 100 organiser has used the same chip system than it wouldn't have so much problems!

So now I have an official slowest 10km run timing:( Hopefully the next time I do another 10km race, the timing will be better than this:)

Running is Good for You?

2011-11-02T00:00:00.000+08:00

Singapore's No 1 runner, Mr Mox Ying Ren wrote this article for the Straits Times some time ago. For a clearer version of the article, read in in his blog here.

To summarise, running can be done anytime, anywhere, is cheap, can be done alone and is directly related to the effort you put in without needing to rely on somebody else, and has health benefits. These are all rather common sense isn't it?

But surprisingly, a few days later, somebody wrote to the ST Premium to rebut that. And surprisingly, it came from a doctor who should have know better!

So are they talking about the same thing? And who is talking crap? The doctor wannabe or the qualified doctor? The pro runner or the social runner? And who is right or wrong?

Special Conoction

2011-10-29T17:49:00.001+08:00

Some people who run with me will know that occasionally I like to bring along a special drink which I find makes for a good recovery drink. At the recent TNF 100 race, I resurrected it in a slightly different form. This here is the ingredient that went into it.

So for those who have been too polite to ask, those floating bits inside the drink are real orange pulp and sometimes seeds not some loose stuff from the kitchen. And for those who managed to have the "sng bao" at the TNF 100, the little black thingy inside the frozen drinks are not the dirt from Lorong Asrama but Chia Seeds.

The next time you go for a run, why not try the above instead of buying 100+ or H20.

MacDonald Waterway Fun Run

2011-10-24T22:58:00.000+08:00

The HDB celebrated the completion of the S$235m Punggol Waterway with a full day Fiesta. As part of the Fiesta, there was a 3.2km fun run sponsored by MacDonald Restaurant! So naturally, when we were asked whether we want to join in the fun, we gladly came along. After all, it is free!

The 4.2kmPunggol Waterway runs along the outskirt of Punggol and connects the Sungei Punggol and Sungei Serangoon. So now it is possible to walk, run, blade, cycle all the way from Pasir Ris to Punggol end without having to cross major traffic junctions!

Back to the run. There was about 2000 participants which I could see was too many for the 2km wide pathway. But except for a few "heros", nobody else run. Everybody was walking and enjoying the beautifully cultured garden and waterway. Too bad about the hot sun though. Wondered why they can't leave some of the trees and have to cut down everyone of them and replant small saplings which does not provide any shade at all!

The start of the event. Nobody was running.

Just one part of the waterway

Bridge over the waterway. And there are several crossing

The part of the waterway that extends to Sungei Seranggon.

Finally the end is in sight but we can't walk anymore cos everybody is queuing up for the goodie bag

The end point at last!

I reckoned the whole stretch from Old Tampines Road to the end here at Punggol Waterway and Punggol Point is about 10km one way and will be a wonderful stretch for runners staying in this part of Singapore looking to do long runs. No more need to go to East Coast Park!

To Give or not to Give

2011-10-19T21:44:00.000+08:00

There are many issues and problems arising from the just concluded TNF 100 in Singapore. One of them was the issue of whether to give the finisher's medal to runners who did not meet the cut off timing.

Photo from one of the albums in somebody's facebook account

One of the rules state: "only runners that finish the race within the cut-off times will be entitled to a finishers’ medal". So a runner was peeved when medal were given to everybody who completed the race regardless of their timing. So the question is, what is the rule for if it is not to adhere to?". Another runner chipped in that the gesture devalue the worth of completing the race as anybody can just walk the entire race and "earn" the medal + bragging rights. This is not unlike the perpetual debate on the finisher's tee that is given out after major race.

Does giving out the medal to everybody cheapen the race for the others who truly worked hard to earn it?

From the organiser point of view, it make sense for them to give it away. After all, the medals have already been made and they can't recycle it for the next year so they might as well give it away instead of dumping them. For the runners who get it despite finishing after the cut off, at least there is a little memento to take away from the race. After all, the TNF 100 is a grueling race regardless of the distance and anybody who completes deserved a pat on the back right?

Does this devalue the race? Does this give the finisher bragging right? I don't think so. Unlike a finisher tee, nobody (or at least anybody I know) goes around wearing a finisher medal to show off that they complete a race. However, there are many people who goes round signing up for races with no intention of "racing" and just want to get their hand on the finisher tee for the bragging rights. Some of them will even just buy the finisher tee just to wear it to show off.

I remembered when I was in Macau last year and saw the runners who returned after the cut off walking away empty handed. No finisher towel, no medal. The look on their face said it all. After all the hard work, to go away empty handed, what a bummer! So I support the giving of the Finisher Medal but not Finisher tee to everybody who finish a race regardless of their timing. But of course, the results will have to reflect that they DNF. That is only fair.

What say you?

The North Face 100 Challenge

2011-10-15T22:49:00.000+08:00

I have been looking forward to this race since last year when I ran into the dreaded wall and got defeated by the trail and the heat. But as things turn out, despite putting in so much more trail runs this run, the injury put paid to all my plans. Hopefully this will be the final race that I have to sit out this year.

A number of friends are doing this and of course, the sidekick. She jokingly said she is on a blind date since she does not know who her running partner is. TNF people managed to swap my place with somebody. As things turn out, she never even got to see her partner.

After dropping the sidekick off at MacRitchie and after the flag off at 10am (why must it be so late?), I went over to Mandai. The original plan was to go the Dairy Farm first to catch the 100km Duo people and some of the 50km Duo. But after calculating that the majority of the 100km Duo people would have passed Dairy Farm by 10.30am, decided to go straight to Mandai.

At the junction of Mandai Road and the road to the zoo, there was a waterpoint there. Went in with Ultrawoman Kelly who had DNF after the first round when her back of knee came back. Took some photos before being driven away by the swarm of mosquitoes.

Crossed the road to Lorong Asrama to await the runners coming out from there. Had earlier prepared some frozen drinks and fruits for Ocean 9, the group of TNF Trail Run Leaders and friends. Of course took some photos in the process. Photos didn't turn out too good. Must be cockeyed!

Unfortunately couldn't wait for Alck, the only Ocean 9 members left doing the 100km solo after the sidekick called to said she was not feeling well and had to rush back to MacRitchie. Anyway, was glad all the Ocean 9 members completed within the cutoff and got their finisher medal.

The TNF 100 Singapore Challenge has always been a tough race for the local. The terrains are not as bad as other overseas TNF edition I supposed since we do not have steep hills and rivers but the heat more than make up for it.

As per past years, there was a nice spread of food at the end of the race; Subway sandwiches and cookies, fruits, jelly and cakes. Overall, I would give the organisation a 6 out of 10, the 4 being some feedback from friends which hopefully the next year organiser will take note:

1. The last minute change of start time from 7am to 8am was unprofessional. It affects travelling plans for the overseas participants and should never have happened.

2. Signage were put up too early and the results were that they were either stolen, vandalised or damaged by the rain and a lot of runners went the wrong way, some running up to 2km extra

3. Insufficient water. Water ran out at several water points and even at the finish line. There were milo aplenty but not everybody can take milo throughout the race. It could have been better for them to have isotonic drinks at the water points instead of milo. Or maybe at alternative water points.

4. Start the race earlier for all categories. Our weather is simply too hot for afternoon running. Maybe the 100km Solo can start at 7pm and continue into the next day. The 100Duo and 50Duo can start 1 or even 2 hours earlier.
5. Have a baggage deposit. The lockers at MR will not be enough for all the runners.

More pictures here

Back to Running

2011-10-11T22:35:00.000+08:00

Exactly one week after the medical review, I have done 4 runs to date. The doctor have given the go ahead to run except that I have to do it on 'soft' ground but not trail. And to do at a pace no faster than 10km per hour. As if I can run faster than that:) And I have to stick to the soft ground for at least 3 weeks and if there is no problems, then I can go onto harder ground.

So I started last week with 3 km on the dreadmill followed by 4 km 2 days later. Because the SSC gym has a time limit of 25minutes, I moved on to the Meridien JC track and ran 5 km on Sunday followed by 6 km today. So far so good!

The doctor also said no more barefoot running. He attributed and I reluctantly agreed with his assessment that the barefoot running was a direct cause of the injury. The doctor said he did some research and it seems that metatarsal injuries are quite common among barefoot runners due to the repeated pounding on the fore foot. My barefoot friends are sure going to be upset about this!

Sighed. Does that mean I have to retire my Saucony Kinvara and NB MT101 without wearing them at all?

Project Love Sneaker

2011-10-07T00:18:00.000+08:00

Running Lab Project Love Sneaker is back.

The life of a running shoe isn't necessarily over after 800km... There are literally millions of people that could really use your shoes.

Donate your pair of previously loved running shoes (adult sizes in cleaned and reusable condition) at any Running Lab store in Singapore from 30 September to 30 October 2011 and receive a S$50 Running Lab shoe voucher*! The collected footwear will be transported by Jet Airways to be donated to needy communities in rural India.

*Terms and conditions apply. Please refer to in-store for details.

How to Lose Weight the Cheapo Way - Part 4

2011-10-04T23:59:00.003+08:00

In the earlier 3 posts (part 1, part 2, part 3) I talked about losing weight without going to those fancy slimming centre, eating expensive supplements or going on weird diet. I also mentioned that there is no need to do any real exercise. Weight loss, like most expert will tell you, is a simple method of less calorie in, more calorie burnt. But of course we know that it is not so simple as that. Firstly, most of us have no clue how much calorie is in each serving of food and it won't be an enjoyable experience if we have to count calories, although there are now apps available to make it easier, every time we eat something.

But back to the million ton question. Did what I advocate in the earlier posts work and most important of all without doing any real exercises? Coincidentally, due to my current injury, I have stopped all form of exercises for the past 10 weeks. I also don't do any housework other than walking the dog for 10 minutes every now and then. I still do some strength training at home but that is mainly static and non-aerobic. On top of that, this period coincide with the Lantern Festival, so I had my fair share of mooncakes. And there were a few occasions when I dined out with friends and families where we had buffets and seafood. And I continued to eat the way I suggested in post no 3. So how many kilos did I put on during this period?

As of today, 10 weeks after I stopped running, exactly 1.5kg! But I like to think that if there had not been so many feasting sessions this period, so many mooncakes, I would not have put on any weight at all. But even with all these extra, it was only 1.5kg. So what I suggest may work.

Anyway, the thing is, while it is possible to lose weight strictly by controlling food intake, it is better to combine it with some sort of exercises be it running, cycling or brisk walking. Or even doing housework like moping, sweeping, vacuuming. Not only does it help to burns the calories but it will make one healthier and more fit.

So in conclusion, eat wisely, do some exercises if you got the time, if not, do some housework. Most of those ladies I know who are always talking of themselves being fat or need to lose weight, believe me, you ladies are definitely not fat! and if you are not fat, don't try to lose weight.

Pasir Ris Sports Complex

2011-10-01T00:36:00.000+08:00

I have been waiting eagerly for the Pasir Ris Sports Complex to open since I moved to Pasir Ris last year. Then I don't have to go all the way to Tampines to work out in the gym or swim. And it finally opened in July this year but I have not step foot in it yet.

But after 2 and a half month of feeling sorry for myself and moping around at home, finally picked my butt up and went for a workout at the gym.

The Pasir Ris Sports Complex is one of those new generation multi purpose all in one place with something for everyone.

This is the artist impression of the whole complex. Pasir Ris people will not only be able to get a healthy dose of exercises for the body but also plenty of opportunity to work the stomach. Spotted doing renovation now are MacDonald, Pastamania and Once Upon a Milkshake! Isn't it wonderful? So convenient to recoup all the lost calories from the workout in the complex.

On the top floor is this 5-a-side soccer court

Next to it is the tennis court.

Inside is the multi-purpose hall where the badminton courts are located. I counted 8 courts!

The highlight of the place is of course the swimming pool. Certainly it will give the Wild Wild Wet at Downtown East a fight for its money.

There is a 3 storey high water chute

Not forgetting a mega size water playground

And there is the Olympic size pool + a training pool + a jacuzzi! And all these for $1.50 per entry(weekday) and $2.00 (weekend)! How about that for value for money!

After the pool, the gym was a big disappointment especially after having got used to the mega commercial gyms and the gym at Tampines. The gym at Pasir Ris is small. Only 3 bicycles, 3 x-trainer, 2 rower, 6 treadmills and the usual weight machines. However, 1 plus point was there was a small area set aside for ladies although I think it is in quite a stupid location facing the corridor (see picture below) and there were only 1 bicycle, 2 pc of mat inside!

But still it will do for the time being since it is just 800 metres from my place. At $2.50 per entry to the gym, it is really value for money despite the limited equipment.

Tour De Trail 2011

2011-09-27T22:24:00.000+08:00

Haven't meant to take photos for this race but was at MR waiting for M to finish her run and decided to kill time by taking some photos. Small race in the format of the end of year MR UltraMarathon. Each runner have to run loops of 12km. Minimum to complete and earn a finisher tee is 4 loops.

There seem to be slightly less than 100 runners. Except for brief instances when my attention was diverted by yakking with friends, I think I managed to shoot 80% of the runners. Some of them are simply outstanding and can put all of us to shame.

This man must be at least 70 years old?

The ever inspirational Mohan. He did another full marathon the next day in Malaysia!

The female Champion

The Men's Champion

Here are the rest of photos.

Chia Seeds Basil Seeds

2011-09-24T13:58:00.000+08:00

Been hearing a lot about Chia Seeds. No I have not read Christopher McDougall's Born to Run yet but have heard enough talk about Chia Seeds. A quick search on the web and was bowed over by its so called health benefits. After several futile search, finally managed to find it.

Haven't yet open it cause I have found an alternative. And it is this little pack of Basil Seeds, a native plant of Asia. Most of us older folks will remember that it is commonly used in Bandung drink, a local rose syrub and condensed milk drink. The Muslim in the region also add it liberally to their drinks during the fasting month.

The basil seeds in its original form. Looks like the Chia seeds but a little bigger.

Put it in water and it will expand and there will be a coating of jelly like membrane just like the Chia seeds.

Exactly how beneficial is Chia Seeds or Basil Seeds to us? What are the differences between these 2 so similar looking seeds? Read here.

Yellow Ribbon Prison Run 2011

2011-09-20T21:53:00.002+08:00

I have been very selective in my choice of races this year. This should have been my 5th race for the year but as it turns out, this has become the 3rd DNS with hopefully only one more to come before I resume running.

But even though I can't run, I have to drag my butt down to the race site. Unlike the previous 2 editions, there was no rain this time round and it was a bright sunny morning. After dropping the sidekick and friend off at the race site, I plod myself outside the main Changi Prison Gate to wait for the runners.

There, I have the privilege of meeting the famous Malaysian 'photorunner' Tey. He had came down from Malaysia just to take photographs for his Singapore's friends [clap clap]. Took the opportunity to get some tips from him on taking photos.

Mr Photorunner Tey all the way from Malaysia

The first lot of runners to reach this approximately 8km at about 20 minutes and soon it was snapping time as I snapping away. Eventually, the mass reached and when it was no longer possible to take individual shots, I made my way into the Prison compound for more picture takings. To view the pictures, click here

M did reasonably well finishing below 1 hour; considering that she has automatically reduced her running without me to run alongside her. Lazy lazy!!

From what I observed, the race was well organised. There was no complaints of longer/shorter distance, missing distance markers or lack of drinks etc. In fact, they are so super efficient that even though I didn't run, I managed to register a finishing time of 1hr 19mins! Now how did that happened?

Trail Maintenance

2011-09-17T21:57:00.000+08:00

After 2 previous failed attempts to participate in the TNF trail maintenance programme with Nparks, finally managed to get my act together and went for my first ever trail maintenance. Of course, I dragged both the sidekick and the Princess along.

We met up at the Bukit Timah Visitor Centre, hopped up onto a truck and were driven to the all too familiar Dairy Farm Carpark where we alighted and walked into the Belukar Trail. We were then split into 2 groups. Our mission: to create drainage at 2 waterlogged area for the water to drain away.

For many of us, it was the first time toiling with a changkul. Everybody gamely went about their work, digging small drains, clearing away branches and roots. I don't know whether we succeeded in our task but we certainly managed to clear away a lot of top soil from the side. Hopefully, that will be enough for the water to drain off when it rains.

After 2 hours of labour, we called it a day but not before we unearthed some forest creatures. More of it here. I hope we didn't kill any others in the process though.

The trail maintenance programme is part of the agreement that the TNF has with Nparks in return for using the trail for the TNF 100 Challenge. There are a total of 3 sessions, the first one was on 3 September (read Kelly's report here); today was the 2nd and the next one will be on 1st October at MacRitchie Reservoir. Those who are interested in participating, can obtain more information here. Participants will get a token memento from TNF and a lot of appreciation from trail users.

Changi Simei Road Run 2011

2011-09-14T05:42:00.000+08:00

Got a last minute call up to help in the Changi Simei Road Run at Bedok Reservoir. Roped in the sidekick and the Princess and off we went. Weather was great after the earlier rain.

This has got to be the cheapest race in the history of Singapore. $3.00 and participants get to run, timing, goodie bag, baggage and isotonic and plain water and bananas. Where else can one get so much for so little? Despite that, and more likely due to the low key publicity, there were only about 300 signup but maybe because of the rain, only about half turned up, which was a pity.

The race was flagged off by Miss Jessica Tan, MP for Changi Simei. It was a short and sharp affair being just 1 round of the reservoir and the runners soon came back with the winners earning a small cash prize.

The Winner

The Women Champion

All in all, a well organised and fun race without any complaints whatsoever.

More photos of the event on my Facebook Album and here

TNF 100 Singapore 2nd Progressive Run

2011-09-11T17:25:00.001+08:00

How time flies. We are now onto the last TNF 100 Progressive Run before the TNF 100 Challenge in October. This time round, there were more participants compared to the first one in August despite the rather steep cost of taking part in what was a routine run for most along a by now very familiar route.

After a short briefing by Dirt Traction, the hired organiser, the runners took off. Again for me, I had to again contend myself with snapping pictures. There was an option of 2 distances, 15km and 30km and from what I could see, only a few runners choose to ran the 30km.After a wait of about 40 minutes, the first runner returned and soon the other followed.

With this run, the informal run up to the TNF 100 has ended. I enjoyed the time spent on these series of runs, getting to know new routes, new running friends and I hope to be able to do more of these runs with my new found friends in the future.

More pictures on my Facebook album or here

Are you a Camel?

2011-09-07T22:51:00.001+08:00

Sometime ago in the Sgrunners' forum, some bloke posted how he was going to dump the main bulk of his water after crossing the start line at the forthcoming TNF 100 Challenge. Of course, most of us old birds were a bit shocked and some of the more kapo one, including old uncle me joined in with; I am sure most unwanted advices and warning on the danger of doing so and how he will suffer in the run if he does so.

I still remember vividly my experience last year. Carrying a full 1.5ltr of water + stopping at every water point, of which there were 3, I still ran out of water and suffered tremendously during the last 5 km!

But on hindsight, maybe this guy knows what he is talking about. He could be right in that he don't need to carry water.After all, he is younger, fitter and faster and only doing the 25km. He claimed he has been running in trails and only need a small quantity of water each time. Come to think of it, if the route for the TNF100 is the same as last year, there will be at least 3 water points at roughly 10km, 12km and 18 km. Beside that, there is the ranger station which is approximately 4 km from the start and end point making a total of 5 water points along the entire route. That could be more than adequate in a 25km race if one is fit enough. Or is it?

Coincidentally, I have a colleague who is going to take part in the 50km duo for the first time. So he has been diligently training in the trails over the course of the past few weekends. Of course, old uncle me again got to give his 2 cents worth of advice to carry water and of course, he being younger, said he sees no need for it. Beside, he finds the hydration bag troublesome and heavy. But he being the good boy that he is, listens to old uncle here and diligently carried his water-bag. Yesterday, he came up to me and told me that to get use to the later start time for the 50km duo, he started his last weekend run at 10am. And he confessed, he had to refill his 1.5ltr waterbag twice! So in the end, he ended up drinking almost 3ltr of water.

The moral of the story? Uncle eat more salt than young people eat rice so unless you are born a camel, go without water at your own peril!

How to Lose Weight the Cheapo Way - Part 3

2011-09-04T13:51:00.001+08:00

The average person needs about 2000 to 3000 calories a day depending on the type of activities. Generally, a office bound person needs less calories than an outside office worker or a sportsman. Weight loss is simply a matter of more calorie being burnt than taken in. There are various websites available to calculate how much calories required each day for each type of work but then living life around calorie is not going to be fun. How to calculate how much calorie each type of food contains? I rather eat smart and enjoy myself than obsessed myself with what to order each time I dine out.

Anyway here is a sample meal for a day.

Weekdays:

Early morning - Breakfast - 2 slice of wholemeal bread sandwich. Spread with peanut butter or margarine or butter. Or tuna. Go easy on the mayo though. Add a cup of unsweetened coffee or tea.
Mid morning - Snack. A banana or a slice of papaya with a cup of unsweetened or reduced sugar soya drink.
Lunch - Porridge or reduced rice with 2 - 3 side dishes. Avoid fried stuff like fried chicken, fried fish. Go for steam fish, tofu, vegetables and egg.
Mid afternoon - Snack. More fruit or a fistful of nuts/grains or a salad (go easy on the toppings) or a low fat yogurt.
Dinner - Reduced rice with 2 - 3 side dishes. Or Pasta with reduced sauces. Or fish noodles. Do not go for the fried noodles.
Night snack - Fruits or nuts.

Weekend:
Stick to a sensible meal plan as above but relax a bit and eat some nice but not so "healthy" food. As mentioned in the earlier post, eat drink and be merry and if you can't enjoy nice food, what is the point of living?

The trick to weight loss is not to lose too much too soon but gradually in small doses. Rather than starving oneself and going on a crash diet, do it sensibly. Eat in moderation and slowly and surely you will get there.

Happy weight loss!

Part 4 - Non food way to lose weight.
Part 1 and Part 2

How to Lose Weight the Cheapo Way - Part 2

2011-09-02T22:03:00.001+08:00

So we now come to the exciting part. All ready to lose weight without spending excessive money? Read on.

1. Eliminate processed sugar from all your meal. Sugar is possibly the biggest single contributor to weight gain. Don't take any soft drinks. Not even those diet or low sugar drinks. Look at the labels on packaging. Don't take anything that in its ingredient's listing ends with a "ose" like fructose and sucrose. Don't take anything that the seller has to add sugar water like cold desserts, mixed drinks, soya drinks and bubble tea. Be discipline about this. Go cold turkey without sugar for 3 months and I guarantee you see results. No sugar - drinks etc don't taste nice? Not true. Fruit juice, the type straight from the fruit and not in the carton taste much better. Smell the aroma of rich coffee without the sickening sweetness of sugar or condensed milk. Use natural raw honey if absolutely necessary.

2. Reduce carbohydrates from your meal. Now this one is a bit difficult seeing as in Asia, the main meal always revolves around rice or noodle. So the key word here is reduce not eliminate. Eat less rice, noodles and bread. Ask for less rice. Where possible, replace them with brown rice or wholemeal bread. Those who think they need the energy to run or sustain them throughout the week, there are alternatives that can provide energy - fruits, nuts, cheese etc.

3. Cut out snacking unhealthy one that is. That means no potato chips while watching tv, no biscuits to munch on during afternoon tea. Replace with fruits and nuts. Don't even think of those so called "healthy snacks" like brown rice rings, cereals or trans fat free biscuits. Most of them are fried and processed and have a lot of artificial ingredients added in.

Does all these sound very boring? Not really. Nuts (the unsalted type) are great to eat and snack on. For variety, go for the mixed nuts containing almond, walnut, pistachio, brazil nut and cashew nut. Don't take peanut though. Most peanut sold are salted. For even more variations, add in seeds like chia seed, sunflower seeds and dried fruits like raisin, cranberries and blueberries. Eat all type of fruits. The great thing about Singapore is that we are at the cross road of the world and we get to eat all types of fruits. Don't just stick to apple, pear and orange. Go for the most brightly coloured fruits. Mixed and match and fruit eating will never be boring.

4. Eat frequently. Do I hear you go ??? Eat like a king at breakfast, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper? No no no. I don't believe in that. Eat small meal at frequent intervals so that the body has time to digest the smaller portion and use it up. The frequent eating will also keep you feeling full instead of overeating at a single meal. I eat at least 6 times a day and those who know me will know that I cannot be even remotely be described as fat although the belly is quivering most of the time nowadays but that is another story!

Just doing all the above should guarantee weight loss. So like promised - save money on sugar, save money from eating less carbs, save money on snacks and no need for any extreme diet plan or expensive slimming program. But how to execute it?

Next Part 3 - A sample daily meal.
Part 1 here

Some Whinings

2011-08-31T06:24:00.000+08:00

This is one of those whining post so don't read on if you can't tahan this.

It has been 7 weeks since the injury and I was all hopeful when I visited the doc for a review. After all, there has been no pain in the foot for almost the whole month and I was walking normally without the Hellboy's shoe. Got the x-ray done. A callus was forming over the fracture but the crack could still be seen very clearly. So the doc said no running, not until the next review in early October. What a bummer! That means I will have to dns 2 more races including the TNF 100. Sighed. And I have signed up for so few races this year and now got to sit out 4 races. But that wasn't so bad. There will always be another race another time so it's no big deal.

But what is bad is that without any form of cardio, I am going to get fat, not just fat but fat fat! My 6 - 7 meals a day is still ongoing. Habit dies hard although I am trying to cut down on the portion but it's a nightmare at home during the holidays and weekends. There is always food on the table and every hour, somebody will utter "eat" and the eating can go on and on. The only real form of exercise I can do now is some strength exercise. No cycling, no swimming, nothing that can weight load the foot or stress it too much. Luckily, following yesterday review, I am now given the go ahead to swim but swimming has never been my forte and I don't see myself swimming more than once a week even though the swimming pool is now just a 5 minutes walk away.

The other thing that pissed me off no end is people telling me not to run forever. I appreciate the well meaning concerns but would I be better off being a couch potato? After all, at my age, there isn't really much safe activities that I can do. Cycling? I think here in Sg more people get injured and die from cycling accidents than runners dropping dead. Swimming? How often can I swim anyway? 3 times a week? Is that going to be enough to compensate for all the calories that I consume? Racket sports? With my bad knee and now foot, any jumping up and now is definitely a no-no. Balls sports? I believe I know more people with ACL injuries from playing soccer than from running. So maybe table tennis or croquet? Or what about chess? So to my friends and relatives if you are reading this, if I choose to kill myself by running, so be it. I appreciate your concerns but please keep your advice to yourself unless you are a trained professional.

How to Lose Weight the Cheapo Way - Part 1

2011-08-27T16:46:00.004+08:00

Actually I wrote about this before. But from time to time I hear friends. mainly the ladies, talking about losing weight, which left me baffled since most of them are not obese or even mildly fat!

Anyway, I thought it will be idea to rehash some cheapo i.e. low cost ways to lose weight and most important of all, for those who do not exercise - without any need to do any real exercise, although frankly some exercises will help tremendously. By the way, I am neither a dietitian or nutritionist. I am also not a medical doctor not even of the quack variant. So what makes me think I am qualify to dish this? As most old fogeys will said "I eat salt more than you eat rice" so that should ably qualify me. So here goes:

1. Those fancy diet plans dreamed up by the angmohs do not work. Not in the long run anyway. Forget about such diets as Atkin, Zone, South Bridge and what's not. Nothing works. And you won't get to enjoy life if you stick to these extreme plans. What do you live life for? To eat, drink and be merry. And if you can't do the former, what is the point of living?

2. Those expensive diet or food supplement do not work. Things like the Xando, TrimUp or even those weight loss tea, coffee, diuretic pills only help you to lose water, maybe some oil or is a meal replacement at most. Why eat such tasteless stuff when you can eat real food? And have a lot of change left over!

3. Don't go for those slimming programs by those so called beauty parlours or clinic. The most they do is help you lose some water which you will gain back at the next meal. I am constantly amazed at the people who put in money to be wrapped up like a mummy, soaked in a tub like a rubber duckie or lighted up with fire on their stomach hoping for a miracle. Fat chance! They could just as easily do it at home without fattening the wallets of these contrepreneur.

So forget all these. Better to save the money and ~~give half of it to me~~ errr go for a holiday and have a nice meal.

Continue here..

TNF 100 Singapore 1st Progressive Run

2011-08-20T22:52:00.001+08:00

The 1st TNF 100 Singapore Progressive Run and the response was a bit disappointing. Maybe it is the location, the Tampines Mountain Bike Park which since the YOG, has been downsized and only half of the original site is now open to the non-cycling public. Maybe it is also due to some communication problems from the event organiser but quite a few of the regular TNF series runners have informed that they were not aware of the run today.

In any case, I am still not up to running yet. Nevertheless, I walked over while the sidekick ran over from our place in Pasir Ris to the park. This time round, the event organiser is Dirt Traction and not us run leaders. The route, as I understand, is 3 loops of the park for those doing the 15km. Gu drinks were served at the start point which also serves as the u-turn for the loops.

I contended myself with snapping away.

The photos can be found here and on my facebook.

The next progressive run will be on 10 September 2011. Venue to be confirmed. Look out for more details here and on TNF Facebook.

Running Guild No Frills Series 2011

2011-08-14T14:33:00.000+08:00

This race was not on my agenda originally but after thought decided to sign up for the team event and put the whole family in the team. Just for a bit of fun. As it turns out, in the end I had to do a dns and contend myself with watching and snapping from the sideline as the Tekkokia kicks off a family run.

This race is I believe one of a series of race organised by the Running Guild, a company set up by Ultramarathoner Ben Swee and friends. True to its name, the race is a no frill back to basic event. No medal, no event or finisher tee, no timing chip, no flashy race expo or extravagant race site and most important of all, expensive race fee. But it more than made up for all this by being well organised, adequate hydration and fruits for everybody including the non-runners. Of course there are some room for improvement- like the route could have been better designed without so many u-turns (although they did removed one u-turn in the end) but judging from the expression on everybody face, almost everybody came away happy with the overall experience.

The Tekkokia took part in the team event. The Princess was roped in as a last minute replacement for me. With only 2 weeks to train for the 10km, her longest distance previously being only 5km, she did admirably well finishing in exactly 1 hour. The kid fared much better as compared to his baptism at the Marina 21km clocking in a 51 minutes. That left the experienced veteran M who finished behind the 2 young fellas. Look like the Tekko family has sprouted well!

More pictures of the events can be found here.

No proof that running on soft surfaces can foil injuries!

2011-08-11T03:03:00.000+08:00

Caught your attention? The Strait Times on Saturday 30 July 2011 reproduced an article from the New York Times. The article, as the headline suggested, is that running on soft surfaces does not reduces injuries. The actual headline in the NYT is even more provocative: "For Runners, Soft Surfaces Can Be Hard On The Body". Read the full article here.

To summarise, the writer quoting several physiologists and sports specialists concluded that because there are no scientific evidence ie published studies and because runners including exercise physiologist, Hirofumi Tanaka have got injured from running on trails, therefore it concluded that "runners are more likely to get injured on soft surfaces, which often are irregular, than on smooth, hard ones". Finally, it went on to recommend that "with no evidence that softer surfaces prevent injuries,there is no reason to run on softer ground unless you like to".

So basically what it is trying to say is that contrary to the generally accepted consensus that running on trail(soft ground) is kinder on the legs, it is in fact not true.

So is running on soft surfaces that bad? Yes it is true that running on uneven ground can leads to falls and sprains. Presumably running on hard surfaces or even ground will not cause falls and sprains. Generally, this is true unless one step into a pothole or tripped over his own shoelaces. But running on hard ground can lead to problems like ITB, shin splint, stress fractures etc due to the higher impact on the hard ground. Not that running on soft ground will not cause these problems but since almost all runners, I dare say do not run exclusively on trails, we will never know the extent that soft ground running can contribute to the usual running injuries. But what everybody assume is that because soft ground running means lower impact to the joints, direct running injuries will be reduced. Falls and sprains arising from the fall are indirect injuries which can happen to anyone whether running or otherwise and should not count as direct running injuries.

So my take on this? Run as you deem fit and ignore whatever studies that are published. If we listen to every studies that have been done, we will just have to stay at home and watch TV and not do anything. Oh wait, there are studies that staying at home and watching TV is bad for the health! So how?

Not the Usual Trail Shoes

2011-08-09T01:03:00.000+08:00

In recent years, there has been a lot more interest in trail running and the various manufacturers have been coming up with more and more trail shoes catering for the highly technical trail to the all terrain and to minimalist too. However, most of them have yet to reach our shores.

Here in Sg, when we talked about running shoes (trail or otherwise), it is the usual big 4; Nike, Adidas, NB and Ascis. For trail, most runners goes for Solomon, Adidas, New Balance and North Face (if they do wear trail shoes) in the first place.rail

Here are 3 of these new shoes which we may get to try out in Sg one day in the future if we are lucky.

1. K-Swiss Blade-Max Trail

More renowned for their running shoes, K-Swiss has come up with a very mean looking trail shoes. This should most likely make it to our shores by mid August. Look out for it at the K-Swiss shop at Marina Square and all Running Lab outlets. Read the review in the Singapore's Edition of Menshealth.

2. La Sportiva Vertical K

La Sportiva is more well known for their mountain climbing shoes but it has come out with a minimalist mountain running shoe that looks pretty cool. Read the review here.

3. Inov-8

A close competitor to the 5-Fingers, the Inov-8 caters mainly for the barefoot running community. And it has come up with a range of very cool looking trail shoes. One of these shoes that appears to be quite popular with trail runners is the X-Talon 212 which was first released in 2008.

Not too sure whether this is available in Singapore although I think Inov-8 is distributed here.

Now this is the part where the purpose of this post is revealed and for me to be thick skin. So here goes. Hint hint to the shoe distributor out there. You guys got very nice looking shoes and it could be even nicer if somehow I can get hold of a pair of these shoes for a field test. You reading this?

Your Guide To Trail Running | Men's Health Singapore

2011-08-06T12:30:00.002+08:00

I can't run for the time being and so since I can't run, I talked. And uncle here shared his 2 cents worth with the reader of Menshealth Singapore for the online edition. Read the full article here:

Your Guide To Trail Running | Men's Health Singapore

New Water Carrier

2011-08-02T11:30:00.001+08:00

Some runners want to run long distance but for some reason or another, are reluctant to carry a hydration bag or fuel belt. Fortunately, for the majority of runners in Singapore, "refueling" facilities are readily available in most of the popular running routes. However, what do you do when you really need to carry bottle of waters and maybe the odd towel or keys and stuff and do not have a bag or belt?

This innovative lady seems to be got the problem solved:

Can't see the solution? Have a closer look:

Not only does the top holds her erm "assets" in place, it also held a bottle and if I am not wrong, a towel or is that another bottle? What else? A phone? Or a spare change of clothing? Ladies, you might want to give this a try if you too lazy to carry a bag or don't like the bounce of the bottles on your hip.

Guys, sorry you can't do this unless you also want to wear one of those super tight top!

Figuring out the Cause

2011-07-28T13:47:00.000+08:00

I got a fair bit of well wishes. Most of them are the usual get well soon. But from my colleagues, a number came with a reminder not to run too much. Because I am the only chap in the office to run, they think that the running caused the injury. Of course, technically, that is not wrong. The injury was a direct result of running but the question that I have been muddling over is - what was the actual cause of the current injury?

Was it really a result of running too much? I really don't think so. Compared to a lot of my other running friends, my weekly mileage pales in comparison to what they are doing. Most weeks, I am averaging about 35km spread over 3 to 4 sessions which works out to an average of less than 10km per session - certainly not a lot by any running enthusiast's standard.

Which leads to the next likely cause. Was it a result of my slightly more unconventional footwear? I now wears a myriad of different shoes - from a conventional trail shoe, to the stability Zoot Ultra+ to a minimalist wannabe the Brooks Launch; a real minimalist Terra Plana and then there is the Tyr booties and finally I run barefoot occasionally. Not for me sticking to one favoured brand or certain type of shoes. I wear whatever I get foc or is cheap. Did these cause the injury? If so, I should have got it like a year ago when I started the trend instead of now much later when my mileage is very much reduced and logically my legs have gotten used to the changes.

The next likely cause I think and here barefoot aficionados is going to murder me for saying so is that the injury was caused by my barefoot running. It happened when I was running barefoot at Meridien JC. Just before that, I had ran 2km in my Tyr water socks to the JC. The doctor and physio at CGH seems to think so too. What they think happened is that the foot couldn't take the impact of barefoot running read: lack of cushioning over the period of time which to me is a surprise since I been doing barefoot running for almost a year now. But of course they could be right since I have been increasingly the number of runs in my Evo as well. So did barefoot running caused the injury?

Finally, I recall a friend had a similar injury when she was running. She was, I believe wearing an Adidas booties. Maybe it is not barefoot but the booties? I recalled sometime ago I had very bad arch pain when I worn the booties for a 9km run. Maybe the booties is not so suitable as a replacement for a minimalist shoes or for barefoot itself. Under real minimalist shoes like 5 Fingers which still have some sort of sole, the sole in a booties is almost non-existent. Without any cushioning or arch support, (it is just a soft piece of covering), yet fitting snugly over the foot, the foot or brain could be tricked into thinking it was a proper pair of shoes and hence the landing would have been different resulting in a heavier impact thus causing all sort of problems.

But then again, it could be just me. Not suitable for running. Time to hang up the boots..er shoes?

Marina 21K

2011-07-24T14:58:00.002+08:00

At $58 and $48 respectively for the 21km and 10km distances, the Marina 21K has got to count as one of the most expensive local running race. The lure was an early bird opportunity to run in the brand new Bay East at Garden, part of the Gardens by the Bay, a giant garden scheduled to be opened only in mid next year. For me, it was 'triply' expensive as I had to pay for 3 participants (me, M and the Kid). Of course, to add salt to the injury (this time literally), I had to sit this one out as well. What a bummer!

The event didn't got off to a good start as well. In addition to the expensive race fee, the route was announced extremely late, in fact just 2 weeks before the race leading to all sort of speculation including one from me.

Then the lack of a goodie bag raised another howl of disappointment. Why? Not that the organiser had promised any but for the price the participants were paying, they had rightfully or not expected something more than the usual t-shirt and medal. The organiser didn't help by keeping silent. Maybe they got a bit worried after the Tri-Factor debacle last week!.

Back to the race. Dropped off M and the Kid. The kid was doing his first competitive race and I think we were more excited for him than he himself. After that, the princess and me went to recce the route in the car. The route had attracted a lot of controversy by firstly it late announcement and secondly the many u-turns. The map itself was not so clear. There was no distance marker on the route map. There were several overlaps and the return route clashed with the forward runners. We took this picture of one portion of the route where the runners have to run next to parked vehicles severely restricting the running space.

Subsequently, we parked ourselves at the 10km u-turn point and witnessed the 2 marshals sitting there eating while the runners came along. The ambulance was parked right in front of the u-turn and timing mat and the lead rider had to scream for it to get out of the way so that the runners can do their u-turn! The 2 marshalls were also totally clueless about the logistics like the distance they were at, how other participants were to get to the race site and even directing runners to turn!

It was blazing hot at 6 plus in the evening and after the Kid came along, we packed up and went for dinner before I returned after 9 to pick up M after she completed her 21km run. The 21km runners have to do 2 loops of the 10km route which means 6 U-turns plus running on narrow path, grass and roads.Of course, the promised run in the Bay East turned out to be just a short 1km round the perimeter. Oh well.... But generally, there wasn't too much complaints as I think by then everybody just want to get the race over and go home.

One final note. There was only 1 single finisher tee for both group of runners. That should not have been the case. The least the organiser should have done is to print 2 separate set of finisher tee (for the 10k and 21k) or have one generic shirt without the word "finisher". Another issue was that they ran out of X-S and S size shirt very early. That again smack of lack of foresight knowing that most locals are of smaller physique.

From comments by friends, most will not be back if there is a next year edition but knowing the runners' mentality and general apathy, it will still be business as usual if there is one next year.

Some photos mainly of the 10k runners here

Trail Running 101 again (actually part 2)

2011-07-21T12:42:00.001+08:00

Now for the “heart ware”. Trail running is not like road running. Generally, it takes about 20% more effort to run on trail than on the road so if you are wondering why you are not able to maintain your sub-60mins pace for a 10km, fret not. It is the terrain. Not you.

That said, here are some stuffs (from own experiences, friends, and glean from the net) on running trails.

Target ahead. Watch where you are going. Not left or right. The scenery may be beautiful but if you are not watching where you are going, you may end up eating mud! Look at the ground 3 to 5 feet ahead of you. Do not look down! Scan the surfaces, watch out for that root, rock or mud which may cause you to trip, fly or slip. What your eyes see, your brain will register and move your legs accordingly. That is unless you are so fatigued that the brain cannot process the signal first enough in which case

Take Five. If you are tired, slow down and walk. Stop if necessary. Drink your water. Eat something light. Best time now to enjoy the beautiful view of the reservoir or smell the flower. There is no shame in walking during a trail run.

Attention. Most trails are narrow. Give way to faster runners, mountain bikers and the occasional wild boars. Instead of trying to outrun them, if the path is too narrow, stop and wait for them to pass otherwise be prepared for a feast of expletives. Keep to the left unless there is a ravine there.

Enemy Ahead. Be alert for danger. Watch out for overhanging branches. Look out for wasp or hornet’s nest. You don’t want to run smack into one. Also, there are snakes, scorpions and all sort of wild creatures in the forest. The forest belongs to them. Avoid them if possible (detour, stop until it go away). Try not to crush any insects, maybe except the mozzies). Another creature to avoid is the Mountain Biker. Most trails in the Bukit Timah areas are actually mountain bike trails which mean they get right of way. Stand to one side and let them pass if one is approaching. At their speed, sometime it is not possible for them to brake. You won’t want to get run down by a bicycle going at 50km per hour!

Take Cover. If you need to go, you need to go. Some runners are prone to runners’ trots. There is no toilet in the forest. Actually the whole place is a giant toilet! Just make sure that whatever business you need to do, watch before you squat down. You don’t want to drop a dump on a spitting cobra! Also make sure you are well camouflage. You also don’t want the dirty old man going fishing or the mountain bikers looking at you while you are doing your business. Best is to get a friend to stand guard for you. Oh and in this region, there is this belief that nature is infested by spirits so it is common for the superstitious to say a silent prayer to the spirits to ask them to ‘move away’ and for forgiveness in case you pee on them.

Keep in line. Stay on well trodden and clear paths or trails. Do not attempt to bash through vegetation. You never know what is underneath or above. Beside this is trail running not trekking we talking here!

Silence is golden. Keep quiet. Listen to the sound of nature. Not your MP3. Don’t bring your MP3 player for a run in the trails. You want to listen to the sound of the crickets, the frogs and oncoming cyclists. And don’t sing. Don’t scare away all the birds and creatures with your singing.

Leave Nothing. Do not leave used ~~condom~~ sorry gel packing, food stuff behind. If you must leave anything, leave only your footprints or if you had crap, well that of course.

Take Nothing. Do not take anything away. Trust me, the pretty flower you see won’t last inside your hydration bag. Or that nice little bird egg will be a soft boiled egg inside your bag. If you must take anything away, take only memories and pictures.

Run Smart. Ok I am not an expert in this so this one I will leave it to the experts:

- Trail Running 101 (the real thing)

- Trail Racing 101

Run Well Run Smart. Never Stop Exploring!

TNF Trail Run Series #6 Woodcutter's Trail

2011-07-17T14:47:00.006+08:00

Since I couldn't run, RSM Jancy or Brokie as she is more famously known has contributed the field report for the final TNF Trail Run Series at the infamous Woodcutter's Trail. Below is her account of the run with photographs from fellow run leaders, John and Kelly.

Talks about the much anticipated Woodcutter Trail (WCT) Run started on Friday afternoon when parts of the island started to rain. Those who run trails often enough will know why we the TNF Run Leaders were lamenting. Slippery…. Mud…. Wet… wash shoes…. Hahahaha….. But aren’t all these what trail running is made up of?

Chris, Molly, Kelly and I arrived in one car at the Upper Peirce Reservoir Car Park slightly after 7am. :P We were late…. :P The runners were already interacting among themselves. Some tying their shoe-laces, some doing final adjustment to their hydration bags, many bantering…. After Chris gave a snappy briefing in his happening new shoe, off the merry runners went.

We trotted for about 500m, I think, before we came to the entrance of the WCT. There wasn’t a prominent sign stating that. Someone who knows the way has to show. This is precisely what we run leaders were there for. To show the way…..

We went over a mini orangey yellow mud ridge and came to a rusty green barricade. What barricade? Nothing can stop us! Some went over the barricade while some went around it on the right and down the slope. After this, it was a long windy, undulating and laden-with-obstacles trail.

Obstacle #1 : Pools of muddy water. (Milo Peng?)

Those who didn’t want to be slowed down will just bash through or leap over. For me, I wouldn’t want to find out how deep the pools were. I avoided them all by slowing down to a walk and looking for the driest path around them. Heh….

Obstacle #2 : Swamps of mud. (Chocolate Fudge?)

This one I don’t know how the rest did it but I did the same as what I did for #1. This is to minimize the effort required to wash my TNF Trail Shoes.

Obstacle #3 : Streams

There were 3 to cross. There were logs placed across them so the runners can avoid wetting their shoes. But on the return leg, these streams seemed to have swelled and I got my shoes wet. Sigh…. I must be damn exhausted by then because I found it a challenge to balance on these logs and needed the help of a fellow runner behind me. Thanks, Sim!

Obstacle #4 : Fallen trees

There were about 3-4 of them which fell cross the narrow path. They were there a week ago when we did a recce run.

Obstacle #5 : Overhanging branches and Thorny vines

Must be the weight of the rain on the leaves and branches. There were more low-hanging branches. These branches would be swung back by the front runners and they smacked right into the faces of those behind. Don’t just grab anything you see for support in the woods. There were thorny vines and one would be very sorry to hold onto one for support by mistake. I think Suan learnt it the hard way. As for me, I think I ran into one such vine. The thorn broke off and was embedded in the middle of my thigh. The wound kept bleeding until I stopped running to remove the thorn. Gosh! What a thorn in the flesh!

I am very very bad at running up hills. My run reduced to a jog and then to a walk every time I came to an up slope. I really admire those who could sprint up hills…..Boy! How did they do it? Doesn’t gravity act on them?

Our first Kodak moment was at this place we called The Four Stones. Without fail, the task of organizing the group for the shoot was thrusted upon me. Archer Wee tagged me in this shot and he called me RSM. Paiseh…. :P

After this, Terence Lim led the way again. But not long later, he realized it was the wrong way. We only ran wrongly for a very short distance but when we turned back, the whole party behind us was already on the right track. Henry Han, our guest run leader, was leading the right way. I wonder how Terence knew that he was wrong. Everything in the forest looked the same. Hm…. Must be the markers we made a week ago. Our markers were the plastic red-white tapes we tied on the branches at strategic points.

Soon we were out of the WCT and made our way to the vegetable plots of Zhenghua and the Gangsa Trail. We brought the runners into an unmarked trail which we discovered in one of our discovery runs. This trail is called the Fisherman’s Trail (FT).

Here in the FT, something happened. A runner called Triple, his nickname in SGrunners.com, suddenly yelled out loud and threw his 2 bottles of water away. He stopped and pulled his sock down. Something bit through his sock. It must be very painful. I left him to check out his bite and led the runners on.

When I emerged from the FT, no runners were insight. I decided to wait at the exit in case the runners behind me didn’t know which way to turn. Honestly, I needed a break. Hahaha…. I took this opportunity to catch my breathe.

Soon, a few runners arrived and they told me something happened back in the trail. Amy was bitten by something just below her glute. That something bit through her Adidas tights. Hm… it must be the same something that bit Triple.

To buy more time for resting, I told the runners about our friend Francis who was bitten by something. This something caused him high fever and a swollen leg and a few days in the hospital bed because of blood infection. I later also told Amy and Triple about it so that they can monitor any not-so-good development.

The whole group then gathered at a little bridge. We were going to enter the WCT again and the entrance is an obscure one. It was mainly an uphill course and very soon we came to a flat grassy opening which was the second spot for a picture. We called it the S. Why? Because the route traces the letter S.

Here, our Ultramarathon Queen, Kelly Lim, displayed her photographic skill and the soldier in her. For the former, she managed to capture all of us… ALL, in one frame and we were all standing in a line. For the latter, er… I jokingly told her to go into the thick undergrowth to take pictures for us and she did just that! She stoically trudged into it and took beautiful pictures for us. Hm… Didn’t know she took me so seriously and obeyed what I said. :P

After this, it was all the way back to where we started. Some runners picked up pace and ran all the way. I decided to take it easy and led whoever was willing to run my pace….. which was snail-pace. Hahaha…. I was delighted when I spotted the rusty green barricade and called out to Suan who was a short distance behind me. She, too, was glad to be out of the woods and seeing the sun again. You see, 95% of the time, we were in the trail under the canopy of the forest.

I would like to mention one runner. He is Roger. When I met him 3km into the trail, he had already sprained his ankle. I told him he could turn back if he wanted to and that if he went further, he would have a longer distance to run back. He decided to carry on running. I ran behind him for a while. Though injured, he still turned back to look out for me a few times.

Then we came to slippery slope and I witnessed Roger slipped. OUCH! Although it was not my ankle, I could feel the pain for him. Aiyoooo…… But our brave Roger soldiered on. He could still run faster than me, you know. At The Four Stones where we took our first group picture, I gave him some heat rub.

I didn’t see Roger anymore until 2-3km towards the end. He was walking with his friend, Kok Leong. I learnt that Roger sprained his ankle for the third time and this time he was beaten. I must say I admire that die-die-also-must-complete-WCT spirit of his. I do hope his ankle is feeling better now.

Back at the car park, Karen and Carey, as well as Christopher, welcomed us back with Gu gels, sports wash and sng bao. Today I brought mangoes. Ooh la la…. Icy cold mangoes taste so damn good after a run. The last to return were Roger and Kok Leong. Luckily there were still some mangoes and sng bao for them.

Trail running is made of these : friends, mud, sweat, laughter and sng bao…..

With this run, we conclude the first ever North Face Trail Run Series, an initiative by The North Face Singapore. On behalf of my fellow run leaders; Francis, Terence, Shu Ming, John, Alvin, Kelly, Jancy, Molly) we would like to thank TNF Singapore especially Karen and Carey, and all participants for their support. Many thanks also to the Too family led by Henry Han for helping us with the route planning and showing us some of the routes. We hope those who have participated have enjoyed the trails and have as much fun as as we had in bringing this run to you. We also hope that through this series of runs, we have managed to bring the beauty and majesty of nature that can be found in this tiny little red dot we called home to everybody. Once again, many thanks to everybody for allowing us the privilege of leading you in the runs and for the friendship and camaraderie.

Additional field report by Kelly here. More photographs on FB of Kelly and John

Deja Vu

2011-07-15T18:15:00.001+08:00

Not bad. My earlier guess. Unfortunately, it is not tendonitis but a metatarsal stress fracture. The affected bone is the2nd toe and the site is almost at the joint portion which means it is more serious because the more movement the more the fracture will develop. The earlier x-ray at the A&E did not show up anything but today's x-ray shown very clearly the break in the bone.

So end up with this super big and super heavy shoe and a pair of clutches + mc for another 21 days.

Wonder whether I can get a refund for the Marina21?

Another Break

2011-07-13T21:41:00.001+08:00

It was good while it last. I knew my luck wouldn't hold out for so long. It's been rare for me not to sustain one major injury a year but the last major injury was the stress fracture in September 09. There were some minor scares here and there in 2010 but nothing that developed into anything major or force me to lay off running for a longer time.

But this time, it looks like going to be a long break. Was running at Meridien JC. Had ran the 2km from home to the JC without any problem. There, I had barely ran 100 metres of the track when I heard a loud snapping sound from the left foot and then the pain shot in. Walking, not to even mention running was almost impossible as I couldn't even put the foot down.

Quick check of the web reveal 2 possible causes: tendonitis (hopefully is this) or worse case scenario: metatarsal stress fracture. However, an x-ray at CGH expectantly revealed nothing.Will need to go for a follow up at the Sports Medicine Centre a few days but meantime, there goes the final TNF Trail Run, the Marina 21K but hopefully should recover in time for the No Frills Run in August.

Meanwhile, it's makan time!

Never Stop Exploring -TNF Trail Run #6 Preview

2011-07-09T21:59:00.001+08:00

The mysterious Woodcutter's Trail. Much has been said about this trail. Where is the exact location? How to get in? From which end and how not to end up in the swamp or the helipad? No such problem for us as we prepared for the final TNF run in the series. We got the service of a "tour guide" and we ran, very smoothly I must said from one end to another and back again.

But was the route as difficult to run as it was made out to be by those who have went there before? Certainly, one of the most difficult thing I find about the place was that we were running mainly in heavily forested area along a small trail passable most of the time to a single person. Everywhere looks alike and one can easily get lost if one take a wrong turn. Furthermore, the ground was full of hidden and "visible" dangers. There were rocky paths, leave strewed paths that cover roots, stumps and what not's that could easily trip an unsuspecting runner. Looking at the ground is not enough, there were many fallen branches, trees, vines hanging every which way waiting for the poor runner to run smack into it. Then there were some water crossings - small little streams with fishes which if one is not careful, could mean a nice little bath. Enough said, a picture is worth a thousand words and here are some pictures of what participants in the next TNF run at Woodcutters Trail can expect.

Most of the trails were in densely forested area

Everywhere looks alike

Finally out of the woods!

Back into the dark forest

A path that is totally overrun by roots. No running here for sure!

A fallen tree blocking the whole path. Climb over or crawl under?

What to make of this?

Notice the broken off stumps dangling in the middle!

A vine hanging right across the path. No problems?

Don't be so sure. Check out the thorns!

Another fallen tree. Mind the head!

"River" crossing! Lucky got rope to help walk across the log

No rope for this one. Just balance carefully lah!

Forgot to add. A lot of upslopes

When will this forest end?

Nope more of the same!

A stream, a brook or just a big pool of water?

More upslope!

More fallen tree!

More river crossing!

More forest!

Finally out of the woods! Hurray

Awww we back in there:(

No Frills Race

2011-07-06T23:19:00.001+08:00

I have signed up for another run and busted my quota for the year. Suppose to do only 6 but had good reasons to sign up for the 1^st No Frills Series of Run organized by Running Guild.

First thing of course is to lend some support to running pal Ben Swee and his team, the people behind the Running Guild. Their objective for these series of runs, in their own word “….wished we could return to the good old days where races were just a few bucks and they were kept simple, pure and people ran for the sake of the experience, the joy, and the exhilaration of racing with fellow friends/competitors and/or just want to have fun outdoors and meeting new friends, some even become lifelong partners” is so admirable. Okay maybe I don’t qualify for the lifelong partners part of it but yes especially in these times when every other race organizer just want to make a quick buck and oversell the race like the Marina 21K race (which I will reserve my full ranting in another post after I collect the race kit this weekend).

Secondly of course is the cost. At $13.00 per participant it is so far the cheapest race I ever signed up for nevermind that the actual cost for me is $39.00 since I kena pay for the team members. Which bring me to my 3^rd reason.

I will be doing this as part of a team which will comprise naturally the sidekick and a new addition to the Tekko running family – the Tekkokia! The kid is finally ready to be blooded in a competitive race. Actually, this will be his second, the first being the upcoming Marina21K. And I will definitely cherish this opportunity for the family to run as a team.

Finally, I have not been doing any 10k races since the NTUC OMB in February and this will be a good opportunity to assess whether I am still able to do sub 60 minutes. Also good as a sort of practice run for the Yellow Ribbon Prison Run the following month.

Anyway, for those who have always been complaining about the ever increasing cost of participating in races, why not sign up for this race? Going by past experience when Ben and his team organized the Banana Relay, the Twilight Ultra and even last year MacRitchie’s Simple Run, it will be well organized, great fun and everything that is promised in the first paragraph above. No medal, no certificate, no finisher tee? Think about it… most time what do you do with the medal and certificate anyway? Dump them in a drawer like I do, never to see the lights of day again. As for the tee, I think we have more than enough and for me, I am still trying to clear some of the event tees from the past races. Any takers?

GE Women 10K 2011

2011-07-05T01:20:00.000+08:00

Last year the sidekick skipped this race but this year due to the considerably attractive pricing (as compared to the other races), she is back for this and so poor old me got to drag my butt down to be driver and supporter.

As usual, parked myself somewhere just in front of the start line. Seems like all the other guys also got the same idea and soon the stretch of Nicoll Highway was filled with photographers and staunch supporters. Spotted a few guys all decked out ready to run alongside their angels.

After the flag off, I moved towards the finish line but choose to place myself about 100 metres away to avoid the mass of photographers who had amass there. There had a fantastic view of the first few runners coming in.

First was who else but a Kenya.

Far behind was Suzy Walsham with Singaporen Ann Qi trailing her closely. Surprisingly though, Suzy slowed to a jog where I was and allowed Anne Date to overtake her to become the 1st Singapore Women 10k road run record holder. I really can't understand why Suzy gave up her 2nd position unless she was totally tired like this poor lady.

She was running erratically coming down the road and I think she was really badly dehydrated and was going to collapse soon. But with barely 100 metres to go, everybody was rooting for her to finish but unfortunately she collapsed into the arm of the security officer at the interim timing mat.

The first of the 2 lady friends that I know, Stella and Roonz soon came in strongly to finish among the top 15. Too bad there were so many foreigners this time round otherwise with their timing, it would definitely have been a top 10 finish.

A big surprise was Sumiko Tan didn't do so well. Maybe she haven't recover from the exertion last week when she finished top in the Sundown Ultramarathon.

Then the mass of runners starts coming in and I was busy trying to look out for friends and interesting characters.

Happy to note that M managed to finish under 60 minutes despite the nagging problem with the foot.

Saw the security evicted 1 man, quarrelled with non-registered participants. One angmio lady started arguing and the guy pointed to her shoe. I think he was saying no chip. But the lady in the end just push him aside and ran off. But surprisingly, they allow a lady with a pram to complete behind though the rules said no pram!

Walking around the Padang after the race, noticed the crowd of women happily queuing up for at the photobooth, for balloons (guess balloons are not just for kids); and whatever freebies that are available and I can understand nowadays why there are so many races just for women and none just for men.

Photos that I took here

Sleep Can Wait

2011-07-02T17:44:00.001+08:00

My own version of the Sundown Marathon but a mini one. Since M had decided to skip the Saturday run, and too lazy to wake up early for my own run, decided to do my run in the night. After a nice dinner and reaching home only about 10pm, managed to set off only at 11.30pm. A record for me! First time starting a run so late!

Started off as usual down Pasir Ris Town Park before running along Drive 3. Damn, outside of Downtown East, the pavement is always crowded with pedestrians and even at this time of the night, had to take evasive actions many time. Luckily, after the traffic light, it was all clear. The air was fresh despite the fumes from the passing cars. Decided to run along Loyang Drive inside the factories area instead of Loyang Ave to avoid the traffic. Of course eventually had to go out to Loyang Ave and continued along the dreadful boring long road. Wondered how the ultra runners can do such a 'mental' route? Finally turned into Cranwall Rd. Sianz. The slopes here seems never ending. Took a wrong turn and ended up at the Aloha holiday camp and had to u-turn back partially. Nevermind, that adds to the distance.

My initial objective was to do 20km seeing I had no 'shadow' with me this time and was free to roam and run at will. But upon reaching Changi Village and after getting a drink, while the mind was willing, the body was weak and decided to turn back. At this juncture, it was only 8km done. Ha ha so much for 20km!

Went back via Loyang Ave instead of doing the reverse way. The pavement along this stretch was narrow and dark but what was irritating was this group of teenage cyclists. They would cycle past forcing me to give way which was fine if it was one off but then they are to stop every now and then for their lagger friends to catch up and the end result was that they passed me 3 times and it was not 1 or 2 but a whole bunch of them! Looks like sleep can wait for a lot of people.

To shake them off, decided to cross over the road and run via the Selarang camp way adding another 2 km to the distance. So it the end it was 17km done finishing back at PP at about 1.25am for my first even midnight run!

Sundown Ultra Marathon 2011

2011-06-28T21:51:00.019+08:00

For the 4th continuous year that this race has been organised, I did not take part. Ha ha, I am not up to that calibre to do an ultra. But a number of my friends are. And to these people, I salute them for their perseverance, tenacity and endurance to take up to 18 hours to do a run. Me. Probably will kill myself if I have to run anything more than 5 hours.

Anyway, even though I wasn't running, there was no stopping me from soaking in the actions by dragging my sleepy body down to support my friends. Of course, over the years, the support stuff has been getting more and more pathetic. First year, we had a big group, all sort of food including a barbecue, it was down to drinks and some bread in the 2nd year, last year it was just some drinks and this year, we only had coke and coffee. This was mitigated by the fact that the full marathon had been spin off earlier and so it was just 900 ultra runners.

After leaving the house, we cruise around the race route looking for familiar faces and stopped to give them a sip of hot coffee or coke before we eventually settled at the East Coast Park with fellow Ocean 9 pal, John to wait for everybody else to turn up. And bit by bit, one painful step by another, they staggered passed us enroute to the 100km finish line.

Our fellow TNF Trail Run series run leaders who took part in the Ultra:

Alvin

Kelly

Francis

Mindful of the limited drinks that we have, we gave only when asked by runners ensuring sufficient drinks for our own friends. But at this point in time, what counts for these runners is not just some refreshments but words of encouragement and support to see them through to the next mile and the next.

And they did it!

Run Home #???

2011-06-26T21:06:00.000+08:00

It's been a long time since I ran home from work. The last time was sometime in August last year, a run which came to an premature end at Bedok Food Centre, just 3 km from home in Simei.

This time round, we are now staying in Pasir Ris. A further distance. My original plan was to run via Sims Ave and link up to the Siglap PCN before going by Bedok Reservoir. But the sidekick decided in her usual style to run via ECP cos less traffic and less people even though I told her not to join me since the foot was still giving her some problems. So in the end, to keep peace, agreed to do it her way.

But as things turned out, we both didn't get to run our way. We started off late and took the usual Esplanade, Marina Promenade route. It was tough weaving in and out of the crowd with so many people blocking here and there taking photos. The pace became a little bit easier as the crowd thins out after the Helix Bridge but it was also construction time for the F1 and certain stretch of the pavement were reduced to single lane. At Nicoll Highway, we climbed up the stairs and down again over the river intending to go into the Stadium area to cut across to Tanjong Rhu via the Indoor Stadium. But this was where we met our first obstacle. The work for the new Sports Hub was in full stream and we couldn't go in. So in the end, it was the full distance along Nicoll Highway until the junction of Mountbatten Road.

That was when the sidekick finally realised that her intended route via ECP would means an extra 4km. So she chickened out and we continued into Guillemard Road. More traffic fumes. I think we inhale more toxic in the run than smoking a pack of cigarettes! From Guillemard Road, it was across the road to Sims Ave. More traffic but eventually we reached Kembagan MRT where we turned into the Siglap PCN for a slight respite from the fumes.

Our run took us through the HDB estates of Bedok Reservoir fronting the PIE and to Bedok North Rd where we crossed the road via an overhead bridge only to find our way into Bedok Town Park blocked - by another construction! So it was along Bedok North Rd and Tampines Ave 10 for more cancer inducing fumes but that also means a discount of at least 1 km. We turned into Bedok Reservoir Park and came straight into the tentage for the next day Sundown Ultra Marathon. Too bad only the tents were up. No drinks or food, otherwise.... Also, we didn't manage to spot the upper body of the poor chap who got half his body eaten up by the fishes there!

From Bedok Reservoir, back on to Tampines Ave 10 and then Ave 9 before we finally hit the Tampines PCN which means another 1.5km to go to Pasir Ris. Total time taken, 2 hours 18 minutes including various breaks for traffic. Total distance 19.8km according to the Garmin. So a total discount of almost 5 km from the initial planned 24km. Maybe I should do this more often?

Ouch!!!!!!!!!

2011-06-24T00:11:00.002+08:00

Interesting.

3 weeks ago I ran 4km barefoot and got no problem. 2 weeks before that,did 2.4km also without problem. I thought I finally overcome the thin skin problem.

But surprise, on Tuesday after 6 rounds on the track, could feel the skin tearing on the little toe. By the 8th round, there were at least 2 more. Enough for me to call it a day and ran another 2 painful km back.

Final tally, 4 on the left foot (picture above) and 1 on the right.

Sighed. Back to square 1.

TNF Trail Run Series #5 Pulau Ubin

2011-06-21T08:11:00.000+08:00

Woke up to an orange sky and the wind howling and trees rustling. Oh no not again! Sure enough, it starts to pour. It was the morning of the TNF Trail Run #5 at Pulau Ubin. Rather pessimistically, I changed into my North Face attire. Is the Pulau Ubin jinx going to strike again? It had rained the first time we went in February to recce the route and as a result, we had aborted the recce and postpone the run in February. Then at our next recce, it rained again and we had to delay going over to the island until nearly 8 am. It didn't rain during the last recce but it poured right after we finished our recce. So don't blame me for being apprehensive.

The rough sea after the rain

By the time we reached the ferry point, most of the hardcore runners were already waiting. Still it was a smaller than usual crowd. Only about 30 persons compared to the usual 50 - 60 of the past few runs. Credit that to the rain and the early meet up time. Fortunately, the rain stopped and we sailed over no doubt most of us with a silent prayer that it will not rain again.

And the sky held up! And in the end the rain turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it became one of the best run ever with beautiful scenery, cool weather and great company.

RL Brokie pointing the way to the Secret Garden

Our route took us through various highlights of the island. First was the cutesy named Secret Garden which was actually a garden with all sort of vegetables and fruit trees including coffee, bitter gourd, starfruite, pomelo, corn, watercress.........

From there, it was a winding run through the trails passing swamp, rubber trees and cemetery to the Chek Jawa wetland. We stopped for a group photo at the jetty. However, I think everybody was busy eyeing the beautiful coastline of Pasir Ris and Changi and looking for the many sea creatures hiding in the seagrass. That plus the windy breeze and it was with great reluctance that the runners finally decide to continue the run.

One of the many quarries on the island

More trails and a quarry later, we came to Mamam Beach. From there we ran past some old huts, remnants of the villagers and fisherman on the island maybe? Unfortunately one part of it was filled with rubbish. There was an oily smell in the air and the ground was uneven and there were potholes all over. Kelly one of the run leader fell around here the last recce and I reminded the runners with me to be careful but barely had I ran a few metres when I heard a shout and turned round to see one of the runner down on the floor. The first thing he said when I asked whether he was hurt was "hurt nevermind, most important is camera not damaged".

The 'danger' part where runners fall

We continued through this oily dirty stretch before hitting the road enroute to our second stop, Noordin Beach where we had our second group photo.

The sprawling Ketam Mountain Bike Park

After that, it was non-stop road run passing more cemeteries, jack fruit, coconuts before and durian and more durian trees before we reached our final destination, the Ketam Mountain Bike park. Due to a lack of time, we only managed to do a 1km stretch of the park. That stretch took us through a winding trail before coming up to an open ground where we could see the Ketam island of which the park was named after.

From there, it was a 3 km run back to the Jetty for our return trip to mainland Singapore. And that conclude one of the most relaxing and easiest run in the series. For many of the runners, it was their first time on the island and even for those who have been there previously, most had not covered the trails that we covered on this run. We hope we had managed to convey the beauty of the island to the runners and that they will come back to explore this last little bit of nature on their own soon before modern development claims the place.

For those who are interested, this is the route we took.

More photos here and more of Pulau Ubin here

It's not cheating????????

2011-06-19T00:58:00.000+08:00

A second winner has been disqualified from the Sundown Marathon. This time it is the winner of the 10km category, a 14 year old boy who won in the time of 39 mins +. He was disqualified after a tip off that he had actually ran using another person; his girlfriend's 50 years old father's bib. After the news broke, his parents in an interview with the New Paper defended his actions and claimed that it was not cheating. Quote: "It's not like he registered in the veteran's category and won, that is cheating. But (for his case), I don't see why it’s considered cheating." unquoted.

Fair enough, he won fair and square. His timing was superior to the other runners; he did not consume any drugs or took shortcut so he did not "cheat" but he broke the rules.

1. Race bibs are non-transferable.
2. Minimum age is 18 years at 28 May 2011.

That is clear enough. Maybe not to a 14 years old boy but certainly a 50 years old man or the boy's parents should understand that.

What is so disturbing about the whole farce is how the parents are justifying the actions. Being runners themselves, the parents should know better. Fine, everybody swap bib but these people do not win so it doesn't really matter although it is still against the rule. In fact, there were another 2 runners who came in faster than the boy but they were gracious enough to inform the organiser that they were running using some other person's bib and disqualify themselves accordingly. Unfortunately the boy did no such things and his parents who also took part in the Sundown Marathon did not advise him to own up. Subsequently, in the press interview, they defended his actions claiming he did not have an "unfair advantage". They further justified the actions by claiming that other events allow 14 years to participate.

What a load of bullshit. If all parents adopt this stance, then they might as well pay somebody to take their children's school exam for them. And if other events allow certain people to take part, does it means that they can insist on the same for all other events and if not, to flout the rules as they deem fit? I shudder to think what type of value they are inculcating to their kid with this type of attitude.

The other thing about this whole farce is it need not have happen if the organiser had been more careful in their screening of the winners. Surely, a quick verification of the runner's particulars before they award the prize is not too difficult or troublesome? Or are they so naive to believe that bib swapping is not happening here? How could a 14 year old pass off for a 50 years old without anybody noticing the discrepancy?

If this has been a SAA sanctioned event, the boy would have been slapped with a ban and his whole running career would have been prematurely terminated. Fortunately for him, all he got was a whole lot of publicity for which he seems to be enjoying the infamy and an offer from the SAA to train with them. I think he should take up the offer, get a coach who can bring out his potential and also keep him on the right track.

And one last word, what the hell is a 14 years old boy doing having a girlfriend at this age? Again, I wonder what sort of parents he has....

Event Bags and Caps for Sale

2011-06-14T09:53:00.003+08:00

Event bags and caps for sale. All bags at $10.00 and caps at $5.00. Cash only. Self collect at Pasir Ris, Tanjong Pagar or Raffles Place MRT.

~~2010 F1 Nature Race Hydration Bag~~ Redeemed! (FOC) with any purchase. First come first serve

~~Adidas Shoe Bag S$10.00~~ Sold!

New Balance Real Run Shoe Bag S$10.00

2007 & 2008 Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon Gym Bag S$10.00 each

New Balance Real Run Messenger Bag S$10.00

Assorted Caps Left to Right:
2010 North East Run (White), ~~2009 Yellow Ribbon Run,~~ Sold! White Run (can't remember from what event), 2010 North East Run (Orange) S$5.00 each

Interested, please email or call/sms me (if you know my phone number)

Running Barefoot

2011-06-11T09:01:00.000+08:00

Another article attempting to analyse the benefits or danger of running barefoot:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/are-we-built-to-run-barefoot/?ref=health

Barefoot wannabes should take heed of the advice given there.

Don't be in a hurry and do it one baby step at a time.

Jogger Rage?

2011-06-09T09:53:00.001+08:00

Now this is a first.

Letter to Today Online 06062011

http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC110606-0000013/And-then-there-is-jogger-rage-,,,

Seriously, I doubt the version of the cyclist's story. Certainly, I think he didn't list out all the facts. And if you kena punch in the face, you stop and "politely chastised" the fella? I would have smash my helmet into him if someone punch me for no good reasons especially if he is the one in the wrong.

What did the cyclist do to get the guy to get so pissed off, that he punched the cyclist?

My Idea Marina 21K Race Route

2011-06-08T03:25:00.003+08:00

Somebody posted in the forum the route for the Marina 21km race which I had signed up. It encompass a major part of the East Coast Park and with a little bit of extension to the Marina Barrage. If this map is correct, then I will be very pissed to have been cheated and to sign up for what was promised on the website:

"Marina 21K is a half marathon and 10km run set in the newly minted Marina Bay East Park of Singapore. An evening race, runners will get to set foot on the footpaths that winds through Marina Bay, Tanjong Rhu and Kallang River Basin. Never too far from the water, this race promise to open up your senses by drawing you into the captivating scenery of the Singapore Marina Bay skyline."

I wouldn't have sign up and pay $48.00 if there was nothing new to see. After all, I can run at East Coast Park for free anytime and I certainly don't need the t-shirt or medal.

This would be my choice of race route. A run through the 3 new Garden by the Bay and then the Marina Promenade with the beautiful night lights and then through the serene Tanjong Rhu estate before going into East Coast Park (not much choice but at least just a small portion of it and better than 2 loops).

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/36714134"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Tanjong Rhu, Marina Bay, ECP&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/?location=Singapore, Singapore"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Runs in Singapore, Singapore&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

Marina 21Km race organiser - you reading this?

Trails in the East - Tampines Quarry

2011-06-05T00:23:00.001+08:00

Been doing a lot of runs in the Central Catchment area so it was a nice surprise to find a trail right in the East that is near enough for me to run from home. So this, plus Lorong Halus plus Eco Green & Tampines Mountain Bike Park made 3 trail routes all within 5km from home.

The entrance to the latest newly discovered trail:

The place is mainly forested area with lot of vegetation and sound of chirping birds all over. Of course, on the minus side, there are also plenty of mozzies.

Some part of the trails are lovely to run. Like this portion with beautiful overhanging trees forming a well shaded canopy.

Unfortunately, there were also plenty of mud pools like this one which almost render the whole path un-passable. In facts, there were many parts along the way where I had to u-turn in order not to get too dirty.

The long grass on the side hide many small little paths with bike tracks. Went along a few but unfortunately due to the above mentioned mud paths, was forced to turn back several times.

However, the reward for running in this virgin area was a great view of the Tampines Quarry.

Unfortunately ran out of time and couldn't explore the far side behind Paya Lebar Airbase or the HDB sand quarry. In the end had to contend myself with a 5km run around the quarry. Will be back again and next round hopefully can carve out a 10km route.

Never Stop Exploring - TNF Trail Run #5 Preview

2011-06-01T20:10:00.000+08:00

Pulau Ubin must be one of those places that most Singaporeans know about but have not visited. On weekends, the place is bustling with cyclists. So the group of us must have made a odd sight for the bicycle shops owner with our hydration bags but no bikes.

We were of course not there to cycle but to run. More precisely to carve out a running route for the next TNF Trail Run. We had with us a "tour guide" Ayin who showed us the way.

Our very first Kodak moment was this beach. In fact along the way, there were another 3 or is it 4 beaches all with breathtaking view of the sea.

Then there are the quarries. Mainland Singapore has 4 quarries. Pulau Ubin has if the info on the net can be trusted 25 quarries and this is just one of them.

Then we got to run through a rubber plantation. Very nice and shady but lots of mosquitoes though.

We came out to this dike or dam which led to a swamp like area.

And we round off the run with what else but another quarry!

All in, it was a nice easy run. No major slopes, no technical trails, just fresh air, nature and our stinking sweating bodies.

Sundown Marathon 2011

2011-05-29T11:04:00.001+08:00

After 3 years playing a passive role in this night race, decided to get involved more directly and signed up for the race itself. Not the Ultra distance or even the full. Just the half to add one more piece to the race jigsaw.

The half starts at 8pm so after a light dinner, we drove there about 6.30pm. There was heavy traffic build up along Changi Aviation Park Road and it took more than 20 minutes just to clear that 2km stretch to reach the race's carpark. So we still had a little bit of time till flag off or so I thought. Had arranged to meet a friend to pass him some stuff but unfortunately, he too became a victim of the jam. After waiting and waiting, finally gave up when I heard the flag off. The sidekick had already gone to the start line earlier and should have started. Ran back to the car to keep the item and ran back to the start. Wasted 5 minutes and started right at the tail end.

With that inauspicious start, my whole race was blown. While I do not have high expectation for myself, I have hoped to be able to maintain a sub 2 finish and with the flat route and cooler night temperature, maybe even a PB. With this in mind, I have a mental plan to run at certain pace and to do it with as little stress as possible. However, the late start means that I was caught behind all the walkers and stragglers and try as I could, I could not clear the massive crowd in front of me. To do a sub 2, I need to do constant minimum 5.35 pace but the first km was done in 6.37 minutes. The next 2 km were no better. I took 31 minutes + to do 5km. Way too slow. And since I am not a fast or strong runner, there was no way I could do a negative split to make up for the lost time. And the route was so boring. Just one long pitch black road with nothing to see except the back of all the sweaty runners.

After 5km, I managed to clear the main bulk of the stragglers and was able to run at a slightly faster pace. Even then, it was 1 hour on the dot when I hit the 10km mark. I knew the sub-2 was now a pipe dream. There was no way I could do 11km in under 60 minutes. Nevertheless, I wasn't going to do a stroll. Took a gel and after a short breather, started to run with a little bit more urgency. Managed to do the next 5km in an average pace of 5:50 minutes. At 15km, I was staring at the watch and it shows 1:29:34. So I had managed to move into sub-6 minutes region. Even then, 6km in 30 minutes? Was contemplating what should be my strategy when I saw the sidekick just 50 metres in front. There and then, I decided to run with her but not wanting to stress her, I stayed behind her all the way keeping a distance of about 20 metres. Even at the drink point when I caught up with her, immediately fall behind when we resume running. Don't want her to chew my head off for giving her stress:). Consequently, the pace dropped to an average of 6.30 minutes.

Back at Changi Aviation Park Road at the 19km mark, finally went to her side and told her we will finish together. So we ran side by side along what seems to be a never ending last 2km before we finally crossed the finishing line together.

Overall, I gave this race the thumb down for the poor traffic management and the boring route. However, the race site activities was first rate. There was an open shower area for a quick wash down, changing room, adequate toilets. The width of the route was adequate despite only a partial road closure. Water point was at 2km interval with isotonic drink 4km apart. Lightning along the route could have been better as certain part was fairly dark.

Myself? The slower timing means that I finished the race still fresh and not fatigued although a tad sleepy causing me to do a wrong turn on a very familiar road while driving back. Maybe I should not stress myself so much and just forget about the timing issues.

Before the race, I was contemplating which pair of shoes to wear. In the end I settled for what a friend of mine described as "fashion" shoe - the Terra Plana Evo. Prior to this race, I had only worn it 8 times with a total mileage of 83km and the longest run was 12km. I didn't really know whether my feet could take the shock of 21km of minimalist running. In the past runs, I had some discomfort on the left sole with a blister forming on the ball of the foot. The slightly smaller size of the shoe also wasn't very encouraging but the lighter weight was the decisive factor in my decision. To overcome the problems, I replace the original thinner insole with a slightly more cushioned insole from my retired Saucony Fastwitch. That's seems to take care of the blister problem and I had no problem running in it. At the end of the race, the whole shoe was soaking wet from my sweat but strangely enough, during the run, I did not feel the water at all. The lighter shoe also helps to reduce the "dead weight" feeling that used to come from prolonged running. Overall, I am glad that I choose the Terra Plana Evo over the other shoes. At least I know now I can do up to 21km in a pair of minimalist shoe.

Cold Storage Kids Run 2011

2011-05-25T21:54:00.001+08:00

4th year being involved in the biggest kid run event in Sg. This year edition is back at the Padang after switching over to the F1 last year. The event keeps getting bigger and bigger with more children, more categories but at the same price. Very rare indeed for a race nowadays not to increase its year on year registration fee. Even the activities by the various sponsors have improved with simple booth games to traditional children game like hopscotch to the usual balloon castle to obstacle course! The kids never had it so good!

Flag off was at St Andrew's Road. There were so many categories including pram rice, parents and children, fun run, 800 metres and 1600 metres races for kids of various age groups.

The kids are fast. Super fast. The first 4 kids in the 1.6km race came in sub 6 minutes and for the kids in the 800 metres, the average time for the top finishers was around 3 minutes +!

Children from the Spastic Children Association of Singapore also took part

A giant size climbing obstacle course for the kids

These cute little kids from a preschool walked away with the School Challenge's trophy with the biggest number of participants and put up a little dance to the delight of the crowds.

There was also a little fairy.

Everybody seems to be enjoying themselves. Well almost.

Cheap Thrill

2011-05-23T00:20:00.000+08:00

Came across this photo contest held in conjunction with the runbikeswim expo held as part of the Sundown Marathon race pack collection. Decided on a whim to submit some photos (each person is allowed 3 entries) and did so 1 day before the contest closed.

And by the grace of God, all 3 photos were accepted and got displayed at the expo. And one even got a merit award which came with a $100.00 cash prize. A nice end to the super shiok week with plenty of good news and cheers.

These are the 3 entries. First time my photos have been displayed anywhere other than in my photo album.
Cheap thrill!

Trail in the East - Tampines Eco Green

2011-05-19T09:17:00.003+08:00

Running trails have never been this good. For the longest time, there was practically nothing and nowhere to do a trail run in the East. Then the Tampines Mountain Bike Park was opened and it opened up a whole new dimension of running in the East. Unfortunately, that was a victim of its own success and it was soon commandeered by the YOG and closed to the public. Then Lor Halus Wetland opened and with it another new playground abit a rather oily and smelly one.

Now there is a new addition. The Tampines Eco Green. One day after its soft opening, me, the kid and the sidekick promptly ran the short 1km from our place to this new park.

The whole place is created from a vast piece of empty land which has been left unchecked for more than 20 years. There is a 3km "carpeted" trail and it was fun to run on it. Like running on air.

The path or trails were clearly marked out with directional sign and the distance clearly marked out.

More interesting was the sight. The place was left unkempt in most areas and there were areas that look like a big Savannah and swamp land

We managed to do an almost 4km run within the Eco Green before crossing the road to the Tampines Mountain Bike Park and continuing another 5km. By the time we reach home via Pasir Ris Dr 1 instead of the Tampines PCN, we had cover a total of 12km. I am pleased like hell that I now don't have to go all the way to MR if I just want to enjoy a short trail run.

And there's more. A new trail just another 2km away. But that shall have to wait for the next post.