Laksa Run (The Remake)

In 2006 when social group running was still in its infancy, I joined a group of the Sgrunners for what was known as the Laksa Run where we ran, took photos and end up with a nice meal. Since then, such group run has ran out of fashion with so many races every weekend. 

Fast forward 8 years later and finally we have a remake of the Laksa Run!  This is the then and now photo.

Photo Credit: Jancy

But so much has changed since then. For one thing, the railway track is no longer there. Now this place is called the Green Corridor. And of course back then quite a lot of people have much more hair. Now some have less - almost to zero! And some are of course no longer into running. And last but not least of the original cast of 15, only 4 turned up this time round. Can you identify them?

One of the highlight and sometimes bane of this sort of run is the crazy time taken to cover the route. Like this run which has a distance of just under 10 km but we took more than 1 hour 30 minutes to complete it stopping constantly to "smell flowers" and take photos. Of course it didn't help that there were plenty of slopes to challenge our creaking joints.

Up the slope at Kent Ridge Park

Up another slope at another part of Kent Ridge Park

The infamous zig zig path at Hort Park

Plenty of slope at Canterbury estate

 There used to be a tank here but it is gone now replaced by this information board.

Canterbury estate has plenty of this type of beautiful black and white bungalow. The air is so fresh and crisp here. 

The last stretch down the Alexandra Park Trail before our final destination

Our final destination. This claypot laksa at Alexandra Village Food Centre.

Our reward after 1 hour 45 minutes of sweat and toil. 

Sighed... the things we do to burn away the calories so that we can enjoy sinful delicious food.

Long Run Tea

Not only are there isotonic drinks and energy drinks for runners but now there is something else...tada...

Tea! Freshly brewed for long run.

Chia Seeds Energy Food - Fact or Myth?

The interest in Chia seed has continued unabated since the publication of Born to Run. Unlike other super food which has been processed into pills, drinks and what nots, at the current moment, Chia Seed is still sold in its seed form. 

So is it really that great a super food? Does it really provide the much needed energy to fuel a run?  Unfortunately, the truth is after 1 and a half year, I seriously still don't know.

After a period of almost 1 and half year of consuming it, I still haven't come to a conclusion whether it is of any benefits to runners. The thing is, unlike the Tarahumara who eats it daily, I am a teeny weeny bit inconsistent in my consumption. The Tarahumara make it into a sort of gel which means they put loads of the Chia seeds into their mixture and when the whole thing coagulates, it becomes sort of jelly/gel like. Therefore, it is likely that the mixture provides a more filling meal than what I usually do.

Typically, I add Chia Seeds to my drinks, (when I remember). But I don't add a lot. Just a sprinkling. enough to cover the surface of the cup. And this is not for my runs. Just a typical after dinner drink. For runs, if I am carrying a water bottle, I will make my own mixture comprising gatorade mix or whatever energy mix available; orange juice, honey if available and water topped with Chia Seeds. But most time I don't carry a bottle while running which means the mixture becomes an after run recovery drink which kinda defeats the purpose and runs contrary to how the Tarahumara uses it.

The past year has also coincide with a year of less intense running, shorter distance, less races and more slacking. So performance and speed has deteriorated. Of course, that could also be the result of ageing. So there has been nothing positive that I can pinpoint as the direct result of consuming Chia Seeds.

So the thing is, is Chia seeds really that good? Does it really provide energy for running? Is it a myth generated by Born to Run, unintentionally? And how do people in this region consume it?

Anybody care to share their own experience? 

Chia Seeds

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.

Special Conoction

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.

Chia Seeds Basil Seeds

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.

Tip for Marathoner Wannabes - Drink

4 weeks more to go to the big day for all Singapore marathoner wannabes and I am back with another series of posts for marathoner wannabes. But you gonna take these with a pinch of salt. Hmmm actually you should. Take the salt that is. It will come in useful when you run the final 10km of the marathon. For the other pro marathoners, the seasoned marathoners, the atas marathoners, you can read, you can dissect, you can criticize, you can add your comments, your advices, in fact you can do anything you want including go away but if you really 吃饱没事做, by all means, carry on reading.

This 1st post shall be about drink - what to drink during the run up to the marathon other than your usual coffee, tea, milk, isotonic drink and sky juice.

Vitamin C. You trained and trained and 1 week before the big day, you catch the damned bug from some idiot standing in front of you in the train and who sneezed big time into your face! And there goes your race. So what to do? Load up on vitamin C now. Build up your immunity. Eat fruits rich in vitamin C. Better still, pop a tablet of soluble C into your pre-run/post-run water and drink it. And don’t worry about Vit C overload. Our body will know how to flush away the excess (smell your pee if you don’t believe me).

Honey. You see bees flying around non stop the whole day? Guess where they get all the energy from? From the honey of course! Studies have shown that honey builds up energy and helps wounds recovery. All the better to help you recover quickly from all the running.What more do you need? But wait, Like Vitamin C, honey helps build up immunity. It contains anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal substances. So what are you waiting for? Go get one bottle now. Better still get Royal Jelly if you can afford it!

Healthy Food

Was going through my desk and came across this chart which kinda try to relates certain type of food to certain illness. The chart is very ambitiously entitled 'Never Sick Again' but I seriously doubt that.

Then there is this website that list all the food that is beneficial for each different parts of the body. Seems sound and all the food listed are healthy wholesome food.

Give it a try. Nothing to lose.

Me, Run and Coffee

So while waiting for a friend yesterday, decided to have a cup of coffee. Heck while at it might as well eat something so bought a piece of mian chiang kueh. Did the coffee help in the run after that?

Maybe it was the late starting time - we started at 8.30am, may be it was the weather, may be it's the mian chiang kueh coming to the surface. maybe ....

but let just said the run was one of the slowest I did over the same route and distance. Right from the word go, M was running in front, something that is quite rare nowadays and try as I could, I couldn't muster up the energy and strength to catch up with her.

Maybe I better stick to my Milo:)

Run Faster on Coffee

The headline said it all: "Run faster on Coffee". Reading through the Sunday Times Life section this evening, the headline caught my attention. Experience runners have always warned of the danger of drinking coffee before a run and here was something that ran contrary to the advice.

The article went on to describe the experience of 2 runners and the effect the caffeine in the coffee has on their run. Apparently, what works is that the caffeine increases the power output of muscles by releasing calcium that is stored in the muscle. This enables athletes to keep going longer and faster in the same length of time. Caffeine also affects the brain's sensation of exhaustion so in effect keeping one going longer.

This is the best news ever. So the next time I head out for a run in the morning, I going to give that milo a miss and have my cuppa!

Cholestrol

Runners run a lot and burn up so much calories, therefore will not get high cholesterol. Myth or Fact?

This is what most of my colleagues said to me whenever I lunch with them. They assume that because I run so much, I burnt up everything that goes into my stomach and therefore will not get high cholesterol. How wrong they are.

To explain to them, I like to use the example of a running tap and a sink. Just turn on the tap and let the water run and the sink will not get choke. But if at the same time, someone continuously pours pot and pot of oil or sludge into the sink in addition to the water, sooner or later, the thicker oil will start to coat the pipe and over time the sink will start to clog. Imagine therefore a runner as the water flowing down and the drainage pipe as our arteries. The oil represent the cholesterol laden food that is taken in without regard. Sooner or later, the arteries will start to get clog.

The key to everything is moderation. By all means continue to eat the char kway teow, laksa etc but in moderation cos if we stop eating all the nice food out there (and somehow all the nice food are rather unhealthy), what's the point of all these running?

Recovery Food

As usual after today's run, I had a ripple ice cream. Somehow I can't resist it. Probably the body craving for sugar but it sure make me very happy That and a cup of teh halia.

Try it. It definitely aid in recovery! No need fancy expensive mix!

Lunch Treat

Had lunch on the Company at Triple 3 Mandarin today. Food there is good as usual.

Give way to temptation and took more than usual and loads and loads of chocolate. Must have gain at least 2 kg.

Need to run the excess away. Maybe tonight although just did some speedwork yesterday.