East Side Run

Had a good East Side Run this morning with jamessoh, dragonchua and ripley. The weather was nice and cool and cloudy. We started off from the carpark outside Kembangan Community Centre, then cut across the Siglap Park Connector until we reached East Coast Park itself. From there, we turned eastwards towards the Swim Start point of the OSIM triathlon, and then did our u-turn. Only pity was that it was too cloudy for me to get a tan... :P

I didn't see anyone I recognised there at the Swim Start point, but i saw Ironmandreamer and SportsVenturer on my return leg to Kembangan. It was a good run, although my stamina is still not yet quite back yet.

Total distance: 9.5 km
Time taken: 1 hr 15 min

After the run, jamessoh drove us to the food centre at Old Airport Road where we feasted on the famous wanton noodles :) Yummy!

Then I had to go back to the office for a while, the second time this weekend. q(-;)p Ah well... Hope I won't have to forfeit my leave the next weekend as I have already made all my arrangements to depart Singapore for KL for the Adidas King of the Road race.

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Update as of 2320 hrs

Had dinner at Margarita's at Dempsey Hill with kops21, charlotte, kickjazz, angelica_wonders, teelee, roentgen, taz and junie. The area brings back memories. I recall coming here over a decade ago for my secondary school attachment with a defence technology organisation. How the place has changed! It's now a posh-looking area, frequented by guests with huge and expensive-looking cars. I ordered the Enchilada Verde de Pollo which was rather filling :) We finished off the evening with a combined birthday celebration, and then headed off for home.

When I got back, I finished a book which I had borrowed from the library yesterday which was entitled "Zacarias, my brother" by Abd Samad Moussaoui, the elder brother of Zacarias Moussaoui who was convicted of conspiring in the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. Both men were first-generation French citizens of Moroccan descent. The author sets out to explain how his brother, hardened and disillusioned by racism on the one hand and lacking any other accessible source of Islamic teaching on the other, turned to Wahhabism and became indoctrinated with extremist ideologies.

"...I use the term 'Blacks' even though we are Arabs, because that's the way most born-and-bred French people saw us. It was hard to label us at a glance. The only thing that was clear was that we come from somewhere else. From Africa, or from the Caribbean? I've lived with this ambiguity my whole life, and so has Zacarias. Now that I'm an adult and settled, it no longer bothers me - I've gotten used to it. But as children, Zacarias and I found it extremely unpleasant to be forced so often to explain our origins. There was something humiliating and unsettling about it - it was as if we didn't have any formal identity...We were born here, on this Earth, in this country. We had grown up here. So what did our 'integration' mean? How were we to become 'integrated' in French society when we were French? Making the shift from childhood to adolescence, and then from adolescence to adulthood, is very upsetting for people who have trouble finding a place for themselves." ~ pages 28 and 62

A Lousy Race - Mizuno Wave Run 2007

The Mizuno Wave Run today is the WORST race that I've ever participated in so far. The only semblance of organisation is DISorganisation. So what if the weather had been wet and cold this morning...the race could have still been very much enjoyable. But the sore lack of foresight and contingency planning on the part of the organisers laid the stage for chaos.

First, the registration point was a mess to begin with. Second, the location for baggage storage was only decided and announced about 15-20 min before the scheduled start of the race. That doesn't leave runners with much time to store their bags and warm-up for the run. Third, the choice of running route is appalling. Why would anyone plan a route for an 8,000-participant event across a a tiny bridge that can accomodate about 4 persons across its width? This bottleneck made everyone stop to walk. So much for a race. Fourth, there was lack of "knowledgeable" road marshalls along the way. Many of those marshalls present had no clue about the route itself. In particular, these marshalls were noticeably missing at the most critical position, i.e. the 5-km/10-km decision point. Many 5-km runners like me ended up on the 10-km route instead because there was no one to tell us where to turn! Fifth, there was a lack of medics. While there were medical points peppered along the routes, not all of them were manned. Having unmanned medical points really defeats the whole purpose of having one, doesn't it? Sixth, there was a last-minute change in the location of the end-point. I find this extremely bewildering! Seventh, the competitive race clashed with the Aljunied GRC Walk-a-Jogathon which was held at the same Bedok Reservoir on the same morning! It doesn't take a genius to realise that this would lead to lots of confusion, both among the runners and the joggers/walkers! Eighth, there were no clearly visible labels, signages or banners indicating where the goodie-bag collection or drinks points were. Not to mention that the mushrooming of Aljunied GRC Walk-a-Jogathon booths all over the same area made it even more confusing! Ninth, bags that were stored with the organisers were placed onto muddy grass during transportation from Temasek Polytechnic to Bedok Reservoir. I was extremely shocked to hear about this! These bags are the private property of the participants who had entrusted them to the care of the organisers during the race. Their bags are not TRASH. Please treat them carefully and with respect!

This run leaves a foul taste in my mouth. I was almost going to say "Organisers, please reflect upon the lessons of this race and avoid the mistakes in next year's race", and then I decided that I will simply NOT join the next Mizuno run next year. After a few consecutive years of lousy event-planning and organisation, I think there's NO need for me to give the organisers any more second chances.

Thankfully, I met friends at the event, so that was the only saving grace. And thanks to Babumouse for the car-ride to Temasek Polytechnic this morning. And I'm so sorry to hear that Bee's keys were lost from her bag during the baggage deposit/collection.

Distance: 10 km
Time: 1 hr 2 min

充电

我好累哟。忙了五天，总算到了周末。但是期盼已久的周末，似乎已经被我浪费了一大部分。原本希望利用这时间到外头溜一圈儿，做我想要做的事情，但是身体就是不听使唤，整个人懒洋洋，无精打彩，拖了半天，还呆在家中，一直没出门。嗨，为什么会是这样呢？一个人为了工作忙碌，忙到周末已变成了纯粹使用于“充电”的日子，没剩多少时间享尽人生，这值得吗？

同时，心中那块巨石也一直放不下来，又能向谁诉苦呢？话说回来，又有谁能够体会，愿意聆听呢？

Survivor

On some days such as this one, it becomes exceedingly stark to me that honesty and trust are sorely lacking in places where I had, in foolish naivete, sought for them. The world is a stage, and all is an act. And I find myself voted off the island.

Conquering the hills

Went for the BG Run this morning with nyquist, charlotte, tiwazz, chip, BoSe, jamessoh, eliza and philip. Charlotte was leading most of the way, and showed me a new route that I've never tried before. So that was cool ;)

In the beginning, my pace was rather strong and I could easily open up my strides to really "swallow up" the metres of tarmac under my feet. By the time we reached the end of Tyersall Avenue (about 3 km), I was feeling slightly fatigued, but since we were heading into the Minden-Ridley-Tanglin-Nassim stretch (which was familiar home terrain), that helped me mentally to push on with the running. However, by the time we were running past the British Council (about 5.6 km), my legs were already turning into jello. But there's no stopping me now! :D And even though I had to slow down from that point on, I completed the journey! :) (Route map below)

And that was how we conquered the BG hills (8.2 km) in a timing of around 55 minutes :) Not bad for my first real BG Run in about half a year. :) Almost twisted my ankle at one point during the run, but luckily nyquist was there to support me before I could fall over.

Had a quick shower after the run, and then we trooped over in two brigades to Adam Road Food Centre for breakfast. I made the unwise decision of ordering a plate of wanton noodles from a rather rude hawker, and it tasted absolutely foul. :P It didn't help that the iced milo was less sweet than usual. Ah well, but the company was great and so that made up for everything :) Mid-way through our makan session, dreamergal showed up and joined us for casual chit-chat. We talked about overseas races...man, are they addictive or what! :D

After that, tiwazz, charlotte, dreamergal, philip and I popped by Cold Storage, bought a cake and some snacks, and hopped onto a bus bound for McRitchie Reservoir where we were suppose to spring Sotong's surprise birthday party :) Roonz was there as the decoy :) While we were there, we bumped into Dexter, Fabian and Shiyao, as well as a lot of young lean, mean human running machines. After the birthday gang sang and ate the cake and seedless grapes and bottomed-up our Aloe Vera-Lemon juice, we packed ourselves like sardines into Sotong's car and went over to Commonwealth for cheng-teng to quench the famous "runners' post-run thirst". :D

Splendid day, today. Got back, had lunch, and slept the rest of the afternoon away :)

Have a cuppa

Went to the gym with BoSe this afternoon. They've installed this new machine but I couldn't use it much 'cos of the shoulder problem. But managed to do some arm and chest exercises nevertheless. Lateral raises are still a bit of a struggle, but I think there's a shadow of improvement.

Went over to Raffles City afterwards for some window-shopping, which was rather uneventful. Wanted to buy some office garb, but I couldn't find what I really wanted to buy. :P Bumped into Ronnie and Bee along CitiLink, which was a pleasant surprise :) Topped off the evening with a casual meet-up with Chris Ang, Chee Kong, Melvin and Ming Jern for a nice cuppa at Menotti. Except that I didn't have the cuppa, but ordered a fruity pastry instead. Can't believe it's almost two years since I've left the defence tech organisation. Miss the folks there terribly, and look forward to chilling out with them more often. Some of them invited me to join them for salsa classes. Sounds interesting, but I fear I have two left feet and a dearth of time.

Have also been spending some time thinking about my future, what I plan to do with my life, and whom I want to spend the rest of it with. Too many questions with no certain answers.

Ah well... tomorrow morning will be the BG Run, a great way to spend any Sunday in my humble opinion. Will try to cover 5-6 km if my stamina allows. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

SgRunners 2nd Anniversary

Incredible weekend. Got up on Saturday morning for a quick gym session at Velocity with BoSe, then headed down to East Coast to meet up with the rest of the SgRunners moderators to prepare for our grand 2nd anniversary celebrations. Haven't seen a number of them in a while since my injury, and it was good to catch up with them again. It was really a fabulous feeling to meet friends and have friends all around. Haven't done that in such a long time :) We had great fun playing the games that only runners would enjoy, and had a memorable certificate presentation ceremony. Thanks IMD, for passing me my Pacesetters Great East 30 km certificate in mint condition! :)

I must say, SgRunners is one of the best things that had ever happened to me. I've grown so much in the guidance and informal coaching of seasoned runners and have been inspired by their determination and passion for the sport and their zest for life and good food. Thank you TLR for your vision and pursuit of that vision to make SgRunners what it is today. May SgRunners continue to soar to even greater heights!

When the partying came to a close at around 10.30 pm on Saturday night, we lounged around a bit, and then Babumouse had me an irresistable offer - watch The Flying Scotsman at Orchard. It's a movie based on the struggles and achievements of Scotsman Graeme Obree, who was the world's cycling champion in 1993 and 1995. A fascinating film, and the Scottish accent brought back sweet memories of the UK, although seeing Billy Boyd larger than Hobbit-size took a while to get used to. We finished the show at around 2 am, went back to the chalet to get some rest before the Saucony Passion Run later the same morning.

But alas, I overslept and refused to be awaken. By the time I roused myself out of my deep slumber, the race was already into its final minutes. Ah well. Wasted the opportunity of a lovely Sunday morning jog.

Can't wait to bounce back into action again. Start running like the rest are. Start pumping iron like I used to. Start soaking in the view of a island-city awakening. Start packing my bag for my next overseas race. Start breathing the air and enjoying the feeling of doing so.

More than meets the eye

Watched Transformers this evening. Excellent action, right from the word "go". So the storyline wasn't all that related to the cartoon series, but it's rockin' good fun nevertheless. Bumblebee is my favourite Autobot :)

My first real run in 5 months...

Got up this morning for a run at MacRitchie Reservoir. Arrived there at 8 am, met Bose, and the two of us began with a steady pace around the reservoir. It's my first run in 5 months! :) But about 3 km into the run (~ 20 minutes), when we reached the ranger station, I became dreadfully out of breath, and my right thigh started to register this acute pain whenever my right foot landed. So I had to walk the remaining 7.5 km, and made Bose walk all the way with me. Thanks Bose for your patience!

Met Ronnie, Brokie, Vincent, Bug, Meteor and Alvo at the carpark/wash-up area after the run -- they had finished their 25 km progressive run by the time I returned from my 10 km run-walk (~ 2 hours!). :) We chatted briefly, and then they were off.

The rest of my afternoon was spent with my kid at Kovan Community Centre for Club Rainbow's Appreciation Tea. Having too many screaming kids running around like unmanned vehicles really wore me down. And I think I was feeling the drain of the morning's run and the overimbibing of sunshine. I was really fatigued beyond words by the end of the event. :) But my kid enjoyed himself, I think, even though he remained "scared" of loud noises (which couldn't be helped whenever the emcee spoke into the microphone). And I realised that my kid prefers to be pampered by "chey cheys" rather than by "kor kors". Ah well... ;)