Todo sucederá como fue escrito por el Señor

Today, I tried to read some La Quinta Montaña, the novel by the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. I managed to go through the part about Elijah (el profeta israelita, Elías) meeting the widow (la viuda) of Serepta, and then being called up to meet the priest, the governor and the military chief (el sacerdote, el gobernador y el jefe militar).

My favourite line/paragraph in this chapter?

- Todo sucederá como fue escrito por el Señor -- respondió el profeta --. Hay momentos en que las tribulaciones se presentan en nuestras vidas y no podemos evitarlas. Pero están allí por algún motivo.

It's a slow process, reading a book like this, but it's really challenging on the mind, and I enjoy it. ;)

Spanish Chatroom

I found a great Spanish chatroom. :)

- ¡Hola! ¿Como estás? Soy de Singapur. Estoy estudiando español por mi cuenta/desde casa. ¿Eres tu profesor español?
- Si, doy clases de español en Madrid.
- ¡Muy bien! Estuve en España en 2003. Quiero aprender español.
- ¿Verdad? Un momento, por favor...(long pause)... Estoy. ¿Usted?...Lo siento, antes no lei su nick. Por ello, pregunte de donde era.
- No problema.
- Jeje (risas). ¿Tienes alguna duda de español que quieras contarme/hablarme a mi/decirme? ¿Hace cuanto tiempo estudias inglés?
- Lol, English is my first language. I also speak Chinese. I'm learning Spanish as a hobby.
- ¡Te admiro!
- ¡Gracias!
- De nada. Chino es muy difícil, ¿no?
- Sí, jeje.

Memorial Run at ECP

Tomorrow, there's going to be a Memorial Run at East Coast Park. It's a run to raise funds for Mr Ho Wai Piew, who suffered a heart attack during the New Balance Corporate Triathlon. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.

The Triathlon Association of Singapore (TAS) is now collecting donations on behalf of the family to assist them with the financial burden arising from the loss of the family's sole breadwinner.

For those of you who want to chip in, you can make out donations in cheque to the Triathlon Association of Singapore. Please write your name, contact number and "Ho Wai Piew, Appeal Fund" at the back of your cheque.

All cheques should be sent to:

Triathlon Association of Singapore
19 Aroozoo Avenue
Singapore 539830

Making up for my MC

Yesterday, I ended up leaving my workplace at around 2:30 am, because I had to clear yesterday's work plus the work that I couldn't have done the day before because I was on MC. Now, I am feeling ill, ill-tempered and very tired. :<

But I was gladdened to receive a snail mail from Andrew T, my good Christian buddy from Cambridge. He wrote me a letter in mid-September, and I had only just got it in my postbox because the postal services somewhere, somehow wrongly routed the envelope to Malaysia. It took quite a while before the letter eventually came to me.

I now notice that I am beginning to leave double-spacing between my sentences. This is worrying.

On medical leave today

I went to the doctor's this morning. Maybe I hadn't really recovered from my flu and I shouldn't have gone running. In any case, the doctor measured my stats, said that I was mildly dehydrated and that I needed rest, issued me an MC for today, prescribed me some tablets and a bottle KMnO4 solution and Combiderm cream for my foot infection.

I spent the whole afternoon in bed.

Knocking off early to run

Today, I was actually able to pack up and go off from the office at 6:15 pm. Incredible!

I chose to go running. Even though I didn't have my running gear with me (chest-strap and foot-pod), nonetheless, I roughly knew the distance of each lap, and so, off I went! I did two laps of 7.2 km in 42 minutes and 44 minutes respectively, then did a cool-down walk of an additional 2.7 km.

Thinking back, about this time last year, I was also training for the 42-km marathon. Perhaps I was fitter back then, having more regular training (a couple or more times a week)...but shorter distances, around 6-10 km. This year, I'm running 15-20 km at one shot, but only once every week... Either way, I'm not clocking the recommended mileage of 50 km per week. I'm not sure which training regime is better, but I seriously doubt I can go under 4 hours 30 minutes for the full marathon this year. Ah well, to finish will be an accomplishment in itself, I suppose :)

Dreadful news

Just heard the dreadful news about the 40-year old man who drowned in the New Balance Corporate Triathlon yesterday. My deepest condolences to the family. :(

Visiting K

I met up with Paul and Angeline in Orchard Takashimaya today. We bought some snacks and a set of stickers and a sticker album as gifts, and then went down together to Hougang celebrate my kid K's birthday. Because of a slight traffic congestion, we arrived at 3:10 pm, ten minutes later than planned.

Fellow Club Rainbow befriender Amelia was already in K's house, and was helping K with his homework. K was noticeably pleased to see us. He was shy as usual, and his brother even more so. But after receiving his birthday presents, and seeing the spread of delicious goodies laid out across the table, K was all smiles. =)

Over the noise made by the children as they played with their toy cars and M&M dispenser, my three fellow befrienders and I talked heart-to-heart with the children's mother, and discussed some matters which weighed heavily in her heart. I can only barely begin to imagine how tiring and stressful it must be, looking after children born with such medical conditions. The social stigma, the physical demands, the financial burden, the curtailing of personal freedom to pursue one's own interests, the sacrifices...it's tough. K's mum came close to tears several times during our conversation. I really don't know how I, in my limited capacity, can help K or his family, other than just provide a listening ear.

K's dad came back home as we were wrapping up the birthday party. We chatted briefly, listened to K's attempt at a karaoke rendition of a song by Hokkien singer Chen Lei (陈雷), and then bade farewell to the entire family and went off.

Of late, I have been feeling rather under the weather (a bit of flu) and extremely exhausted, because I have been averaging 4-5 hours of sleep every day for the past two weeks. After today's emotionally draining session, I'm feeling even more tired. But I received an SMS from my supervisor once I got home from Hougang - there was work which he wanted me to do over the weekend. *sigh* That means I've got to miss my dinner appointment at Geylang Serai with the other SgRunners. What a shame, I really wanted to meet up with The Lonely Runner.

I also really need an outlet to release all my pent-up fatigue and stress...

TLR's trip to Pakistan

The Lonely Runner came back to Singapore from Muzaffarabad, Pakistan yesterday.

He was part of the 44-member Singapore Civil Defence Force overseas rescue contingent sent over to assist in the aftermath of the terrible earthquake in South Asia. Other international search and rescue teams have also been alerted by the UN to withdraw from the area, since long term relief and recovery bases by humanitarian agencies such as the World Health Organisation and World Food programme are being set up this week. TLR's team helped to provide medical care and treatment to casualties at the base hospital in the city centre, and conducted heli-evacuation exercises in remote towns made inaccessible by landslides. They treated over 500 casualties, including an 80-year old woman suffering from severe dehydration and multiple fractures.

Later today, I might meet up with him and the other SgRunners for dinner. It'll be a good chance to hear about his experiences there.

Hectic week

I have been too busy this week to blog. What a shame. I'm so thankful for the weekend. Tomorrow, I'll be meeting up with some folks from Club Rainbow to celebrate my kid's birthday. It should be good session. =)

ECP Run # 2

Today, Chris Ang and I went to ECP for a long run, together with one of his friends. We spent about 2 hours and 40 minutes on the approximately 22 km journey, of which only 1 hour and 56 minutes was spent on running and the remaining time spent resting, drinking H2O and 100-Plus and consuming chocolate-flavoured Power Gels.

My stats for today's run:

Lap 1 (From 7-11 to SAFRA Resort ~ 8.17 km)
Time taken: 43 min 12 sec
Maximum/Average Heart Rate (bpm): 199/178
Average Pace: 5 min 27 sec / km

Lap 2 (From SAFRA Resort to ECP Hawker Centre ~ 5.02 km)
Time taken: 27 min 22 sec
Maximum/Average Heart Rate (bpm): 204/183
Average Pace: 5 min 19 sec / km

Lap 3 (From ECP Hawker Centre until Fort Road, minus walking distance ~ 5.53 km)
Time taken: 30 min 06 sec
Maximum/Average Heart Rate (bpm): 200/187
Average Pace: 5 min 26 sec / km

Lap 4 (Fort Road back to 7-11 ~ 2.65 km)
Time taken: 15 min 44 sec
Maximum/Average Heart Rate (bpm): 189/182
Average Pace: 6 min 42 sec / km

Total
Time: 1 hr 56 min 25 sec (excluding water breaks)
Time: ~ 2 hr 40 min (including water breaks)
Distance: 21.4 km
Average Heart Rate (bpm): 182
Average Pace: 5 min 26 sec / km
Calories Expended: 1619 kcal

Back from China

I'm finally back from 中国. I haven't been there in over a decade, and how it has changed! On the whole, I'm very impressed by the sights that I see. Beijing is the midst of constructing many new buildings and complexes, one of the reasons being in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This time in Beijing, I visited the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall (北京规划展览馆), the National Grand Theatre (国家大剧院) and the Great Hall of the People (人民大会堂), among many other places.

I would have loved to stay on and experience more of the Middle Kingdom, but I am also very glad to be home at last! ;)

To the Middle Kingdom

Tomorrow morning, I'm flying off to China. I won't be returning to Singapore until the morning of 15 October 2005.

ECP Get-Together-Run

I was at East Coast Park today for the SgRunners get-together-run. I came along with three ex-colleagues, Chee Kong, Chee Keong and Chris Ang. The four of us were supposed to reach the starting point at 7:30 am, but because we arrived slightly late, most of the SgRunners had already set off. However, Eunice, Balasing, Fatty, Fd and Tiwazz were still around.

At 7:50 am, after some simple warming-up, my ex-colleagues, Eunice, Balasing and I started our run, wondering when we would catch up with the other SgRunners who had set off about 15 minutes earlier.

We ran from the 7-11 near the ECP MacDonalds towards Fort Road (and along the way, we said "hi" to about 30 SgRunners who were doing the return leg), did a U-turn at Fort Road and headed back to the 7-11, continued running in the other direction until we reached the opposite end of ECP (meeting Yan Lee along the way), then U-turned back to the 7-11. Chee Keong, Chee Kong and Chris Ang were much faster and had more stamina, so they had pressed on ahead of me.

At around 10:30 am, when I finally returned to the 7-11 (about 21 km), I was informed by the SgRunners there that my three friends had decided to do a repeat of the Fort Road leg (so effectively, a total distance of 30 km for the day). I figured that I needed a rest first, so I joined the SgRunners for photo-taking. (At this point, many thanks to Tiwazz for offering me a much-needed bottle of 100 Plus! *grin*) And gosh, there were so many SgRunners present today...The Lonely Runner, BrokenRunner, Sotong, DreamRunner, Superboy, Skyvers, Meteor, DO, Cheow12, Taz, Alvo and more, including many new faces!

SgRunners after our 7/21 km ECP Get-Together-Run

After that, I hit the roads again, half-limping, half-walking, trying to catch up with Chee Keong, Chee Kong and Chris Ang. I didn't run until Fort Road though. I made a premature U-turn, and came back to the 7-11 after a punishing 25 km in total. But the run had been good and the weather couldn't have been better (breezy and cloudy). Later on, Chee Keong, Chris Ang and I drove to Old Airport Road for lunch. I had a plate of hokkien mee, some char kway teow, one chwee kuay and a bowl of ice kachang. ;)

And the highlight of my run today? I was really pleased to have met Adrian Mok (the 168-km runner) today! I think he was probably doing his recovery run after completing an equivalent of 4 marathons last weekend, but still, he ran faster than I did and overtook me!

My stats for today's run...

Lap 1 (From 7-11 to Fort Road and back ~ 6.91 km)
Time taken: 38 min 02 sec
Maximum/Average Heart Rate (bpm): 190/177
Average Pace: 5 min 30 sec / km

Lap 2 (From 7-11 to opposite end of ECP ~ 7.14)
Time taken: 41 min 10 sec
Maximum/Average Heart Rate (bpm): 210/182
Average Pace: 5 min 18 sec / km

Lap 3 (From opposite end of ECP until I had to walk ~ 4.83 km)
Time taken: 29 min 25 sec
Maximum/Average Heart Rate (bpm): 189/176
Average Pace: 6 min 05 sec / km

Lap 4 (Slow walk-jog phase ~ 1.52 km)
Time taken: 8 min 56 sec
Maximum/Average Heart Rate (bpm): 183/175
Average Pace: 5 min 52 sec / km

Lap 5 (Back to 7-11 ~ 1.2 km)
Time taken: 8 min 22 sec
Maximum/Average Heart Rate (bpm): 200/179
Average Pace: 6 min 58 sec / km

Lap 6 (Reduced Fort Road leg ~ 2.67 km)
Time taken: 18 min 10 sec
Maximum/Average Heart Rate (bpm): 191/170
Average Pace: 6 min 48 sec / km

Total
Time: 2 hr 24 min 05 sec (excluding water breaks)
Time: ~ 2 hr 46 min (including water breaks)
Distance: 24.9 km
Average Heart Rate (bpm): 177
Average Pace: 5 min 46 sec / km
Calories Expended: 1910 kcal

Top 10 Reasons To Do 168 km

I couldn't resist sneaking in Balasing's wonderful creation... =)

Good times with old friends

At 8:30 am this morning, I caught a ride from Chris Ang to Seah Im Food Court, where I met up with the other folks, such as Audrey, Richard, Chee Kong, Chee Keong, Ming Jern, Wei Wen, Pei Jun, Joseph and Linus. After a short breakfast there, we drove in to Sentosa, and headed for Siloso Beach. We were later joined by Lilian, Jeremy and a few other new faces at the beach itself.

Although it began to rain soon after we had arrived, we managed to take shelter in one of the huge open-air halls, and continued our games of frisbee and volleyball there. It felt really good to be in the company of my beach bumming cum running kakis. We chatted about races, training, overseas excursions...it was awesome! I haven't yet found any such pals in my new workplace, and that had, unfortunately, been rather stifling.

I really miss my friends in DSTA.

Dinner and Dance 2005

My organisation's Dinner and Dance was held earlier in the evening at the Orchard Hotel. It was a grand affair, and the entertainment for the evening was quite enjoyable, the emcee being totally hilarious, but the food wasn't exactly all that great. Guess what, I also won a prize for showing off some martial arts moves on stage. (But honestly...it's been almost 3 months since I stopped taking lessons under Vincent Ng, and I'm rather shocked by how out-of-form I have become! :P)

The dinner ended at around 11 pm, after which I headed back to the office to finish up some work and to prepare for my upcoming overseas trip on Monday. I finally dragged my tired self back home at 1 am in the morning.

Going overseas again soon

I am due to go overseas again soon. Sigh, the madness of packing shall resume on Sunday night. Thankfully, there's an outing at Sentosa on this coming Saturday to brighten up the weekend :)

NTU Run-Round Singapore

I salute the outstanding sportspersons who participated in the NTU 168-km Run-Round Singapore! You guys and gals have my utmost respect and admiration for your guts and determination! Especially to the 8 NTU runners, Lim Nghee Huat, Goh Chor Boon, Inderjit Singh, Yong Yuen Cheng, Adrian Mok, Teng Teck Hou, Liow Yi Hao and Sumiko Tan!

Also, I'm very proud of the many SgRunners who have shown excellent comaraderie, team spirit and unity in accompanying and supporting The Lonely Runner in his participation in this event. Well done, SgRunners!

Some of the SgRunners with TLR during the first night of the Run

Johor-Singapore 2nd Link Bridge Run

At 3:15 am this morning, I crawled out of bed, washed up, consumed a banana and a glass of milk with Banana Nut Crunch cereal, grabbed my running gear and made my way out of the house to catch a taxi to City Harvest Church. I arrived there at 4:15 am. Chin Seng and Chee Keong showed up not long after. At 4:45 am, Chee Kong arrived with his car, and we all hopped in and headed for Tuas for the Johor-Singapore 2nd Link Bridge Run.

It was a short but eventful car-ride. Just prior to arriving at the Singapore Immigration, we realised that we had forgotten to top up the vehicle's petrol to the 2/3 mark and so had to U-turn to find a petrol station. Later on, after clearing the Malaysian customs, we couldn't find any place along the poorly lit (i.e. dark) highway to make a U-turn to reach the Petronas parking lots on the opposite side of the highway. In the end, we almost drove up to Gelang Patah before we were able to make a U-turn back to the parking area. After we had finally gotten out of the car and registered ourselves with the race organisers, we moved to the Runners' Assembly area where we met Chris Ang and his two buddies.

Since Chee Keong had a late night yesterday, helping out his brother-in-law with some computer repair work, and like me, Chee Kong had spent much of the previous night searching high and low for his passport, we reckoned it would be unwise to push ourselves too hard for this half-marathon. Indeed, between the three of us, we had slept a total of 7 seven hours. :) Together with Chris Ang, we decided to run as a group and cover the 21 km leisurely.

The race began at about 6:45 am, and off we went, keeping to a 5:30 min/km to 6 min/km pace. The four of us chatted merrily as we went along, discussing miscellaneous matters including which person in front of us to overtake next and which was the next competitive running event that we would be taking part in. ;P

We stuck together for about 14 km, at which point, I began to feel rather fatigued. My strides got smaller and smaller. I persuaded Chee Kong and Chris Ang to continue running ahead at their faster pace, while Chee Keong offered to keep me company for the remaining 7 km. Chee Keong was a great source of encouragement, spurring me on and providing me with advice on how to conserve energy even as I was running. I finished the half-marathon in 2 hours 1 minute and 40 seconds.

My former DSTA colleagues and I after our 2nd Link Bridge Run

My 2nd Link Bridge Run Bib

My stats for this run...

Time: 2 hr 01 min 40 sec
Distance: 20.53 km
Maximum/Average Heart Rate (bpm): 211/180
Average Pace: 5 min 55 sec / km
Calories Expended: 1662 kcal

Everyone's running, running, running...

Chee Keong just SMS-ed me to inform me to meet him outside City Harvest Church at 4:30 am tomorrow morning. Chee Kong will be driving over to pick the both of us up, and then we'll proceed to Johor, Malaysia for our 2nd Link Bridge Run.

Goodness, 4:30 am. I have to wake up at 3 am and catch a cab to get to the church in time.

Anyway, it's almost 12 hours since the 168-km Run-Round-Singapore event began. I can't imagine how it must feel, running for so long. And the guy I was talking about earlier, Adrian Mok (莫岳麟)...he's aiming to finish the whole thing under 24 hours. Read about the press article here. Impressive. I salute you, Adrian!

And a salute to another outstanding runner, The Lonely Runner, who's also running the full distance! :) Here a picture of him which I got from Carine's site. She had run with TLR from Station 9 to 14. Well done, Carine! :)

Stopping for a short rest at Station 12, MacRitchie Reservoir

168-km Run

Recently, there's been quite a fair amount of coverage in the media about this weekend's 168-km NTU Run-Round Singapore. I think that's awesome. It'll give running in Singapore a much needed higher profile, and help to promote running as a good way of keeping fit and staying healthy :)

I recognised one of the runners in the 168-km event as the sales promoter for Polar products during the last New Balance Real Run race-pack collection. He's inspirational :)

Anyway, here's just wishing all the runners, including my SgRunner chums, who would be clocking the miles today and tomorrow in this run.

Tomorrow morning, I'll be catching an early morning shuttle to Malaysia for the 2nd Link Bridge Run. I hope to finish the 21-km race under 2 hours 15 minutes.