Open your mind

Went for a very informative talk by a podiatrist and a physiotherapist. The physiotherapist is apparently one of the pioneer in this line in Singapore. Both speakers were very articulate and knowledgeable and there was even short demo session.

However, one thing about the talk irks me a bit. Both speakers were quick to dismiss the 'unorthodox' shoes like the Nike Free, Vibram 5 Fingers and even the MBT and Newton shoes. They based their reasoning on their knowledge of the foot anatomy and how it works and what is the 'acceptable' or 'perceived' way of how the foot should move.

Now while I certainly am no expert, I think it is wrong to dismiss outright any thing that is 'alien' to us or not within our sphere of knowledge. But I guess this is something that is quite common among all of us. Take TCM for example. For many years and even now, Western doctors have always been quick to dismiss the effectiveness of Chinese herbs and medical pratices. However, today, I know of Western doctors who uses acupuncture in their treatment and Western pharmaceutical companies are rushing to produce medicine and supplement from plants etc.

In this case, it was even more sad that these professionals are so quick to dismiss these shoes when by their own admission, they have not even tried it. While I cannot speak of how effective the Nike Free, Vibram are, I have worn a pair of MBT for over a year and I can certainly attest to its effectiveness (for walking). The Newton? So many people are wearing it - can they all be wrong?

I guess what I trying to say is - don't judge a book by its cover. It may not look good on the outside but there may be gem inside it. Take the durian. It smells horrible but if we don't try it, we will never know that it taste darn shiok right? So to those who love to rubbish all the new technologies out there, give it a chance or at least have a personal experience on it.

Accidental New Route

With 2 of the regular routes out of bound due to the F1, we were left with only the Kim Seng/Tanglin route but there was the pcn closure somewhere along the route so was a bit stuck as to where to do a proper run without having to run around in circle.

In the end decided to just go ahead and run the Kim Seng/Tanglin route since there wasn't any option and to just run a shorter distance in the worse case scenario. True enough, just after crossing River Valley Rd, the Alexandar park connector on the left was closed. Directed the first group of runners to cross over and run on the right side of the PCN while I waited for the 2nd group.

By the time the 2nd group arrived, the 1st group had disappeared. Thinking that we will meet them as they return, we ran along the PCN which sadly again was closed off less than 200metres from the road. With no where to go and hoping to meet the returning group of runners, made the decision to run along Jervois Rd, Jervois Road is a winding gently sloping road with high class private residences on both side of the road. It was peaceful and a very nice place to run even though there was some traffic zipping up and down. At the junction of Jervois Road and Jervois Lane, I faced a small dilemma. We had still not bum into the returning runners and I was wondering where they had ran to and eager to follow but I knew the small group of runners were running out of steam. In the end, we split up with 4 of us pressing on and the other 4 turning back. Imagine my surprise when within a short distance, we reached Tanglin Rd and was able to turn back onto the other end of Alexandar PCN. Further down the road when we hit the closure, I got a bit worried about the other group and decided to hunt for them. So our small group of 4 split further with 2 going back and 2 of us turning back to Jervois Rd. But in the end couldn't find any one and had to turn back clocking 11km - more than what we were supposed to do on a typical RL TNR.

However, I am glad to discover Jervois Rd. It is a nice neighbourhood to run in and a good substitute for the closed Alexandra PCN and I shall henceforth make it a part of the RL regular run routes.

The Kid

I am glad the Kid has finally decided to join the Koh family 'running club'. Been nagging him to start some fitness program since half the time he's on the com. Actually he promised to start end of the year so that he has 1 year to bring his fitness up to par for NS but somehow at the beginning of the month, he suddenly decided to run.

Started slowly with a 2.6km jog which he completed without walking. A surprise considering that the last time he did anything remotely close to exercise was in his secondary 4 days 2 years ago. After 2 more same distance runs, both of which was done at increasingly faster pace, he did the RunSingapore 4km with us.

Yesterday 2.8km run was done at close to 6.05min pace a drastic improvement over the first run which was at a closer to 7.30min pace and leaving the Mummy far behind.

Welcome to the club. Princess - you lagging behind already!

Hunt for Nike LunarGlide

Went to Queensway to get a pair of the Nike Lunarglide. All the shops there are selling it at $160.00 except for Sportslink at $161.00.

But the black and orange version is being phased out and they have it in the new colour (white with a light blue swoosh) but that looks like a school school. Went shop after shop and what the heck none of them have the black/orange version in my size 12.

The Nike shop is selling it for $189.00. That almost $30.00 more than Queensway. Unfortunately, even RL don't carry size 12. Is size 12 that big?

Anybody got any lobang?