First 2 days of 2010

I have not been running on my own for quite some at night. It was a good opportunity for me to run alone. And i must say that i missed those days of running and training on my own, especially at night. As it was long weekend, i finally have time to do my own things. And i actually slept till late mornings on New Year and the day after New Year. That was not the usual me.

Just completed ultra marathon a week ago and i just managed to resume my running training last night (6 days after ultra marathon which was pretty long, considering that my frens already resuming theirs like a few days later). Decided to run from home to ECP via Bedok Camp and Bedok Park connector. Was quite happening at ECP as there were many groups of campers having BBQ. Was quite humid although it was quite crowded. Ran with my newton shoe and nike shorts and without my top. Was already perspiring before i entered ECP. Must be all the junk food accumulated during the festive seasons. Ran at a fast pace. After SCSM in dec, i was not able to run at the usual fast pace that i used to have. This was due to the past few months of pace training. Hence, i need to resume my pace as soon as possible and get ready for the Hong Kong Marathon in late Feb and Sundown Marathin in late May. Perhaps, i should focus more on ninja running which was what i used to do.

Have been spending some time at the gym lately for the past 1 month doing work out and carrying weights. For one reason - to improve my overall fitness level. I need to gain some strenght and improve my core muscle to achive a better performance. Have been eating quite alot and loading up with proteins. Have gained about 3kg for past 1 month. Body seems to expand quite abit. My shirt is getting tighter and i think soon i need to get myself a new set of office shirts. I need to bulk up abit. I think i am too skinny. Haha. My friends and colleagues told me i looked fitter now. :) i thank them for the compliment but i do think there is still alot more to work on. I used to dislike carrying weights at the gym, but somehow i am enjoying it. It was tiring and tough for me as i have no strength, but i am coping well.

New Year eve was fun. Was hanging out with running kakis at orhard. Dinner followed by movie. Movie ended at 12.00am sharp and just right in time to view fire work from Orchard. Was the same scenario back in 2008 eve. Thanks frens for the company. It was fun and enjoyable although the group was small.

Wishing all a Happy 2010 and may the year filled with hopes and peace for all of us.

A Series of Events in the last Quarter of 2009

Pics from New Balance Real Run:

Pic from SCSM:

Pics from MR25 Ultra Marathon:

I have no time to update my blogs as i was too busy with training and stuff. Now that it is 2010, i thought maybe i should round up 2009 with the rest of the running events before i kick off with my 2010 blog entries. As i could not recall much, hence my thoughts will kinda short and sweet.

Mizuno Wave Run

The run was held at Ang Mo Kio - Yio Chu Kang area. Was my third time running for this event. A total distance of 17km ran although with a timing of 1 hr 11 mins with a relatively competitve fast pace. Was ranked in the top 20 position for the Men's Open Category. The route was pretty nice and there were quite a number of slopes. It was by far my best performance for the 3 mizuno wave run that i have participated.

New Balance Real Run

I remembered i did a 38km the day before the race. I thought i would not be able to perform for the Real Run. It was my second time running for this event. I signed up for the 15km competitive Men's Open category. It was a run which the route involved different types of terrain. They are road, trail and sand. I arrived very early before 6am to avoid the heavy traffic. Wore my 2XU tights and the TFB black running top. The 10km cat started off first. There were many elite competitors in the 15km category. I thought it would be tought to finish in top 10. I was hoping i could finish no longer than 1 hr 8 mins which is my record timing for the 2007 Real Run. It was a nice run and weather was not very hot. The trail part is great and was not those kind of trail at MR. Was dashing fast since the horn sounded off and was cheered by several runner frenz along the way. Finished the race in 1 hr 01 mins with the position of 16th for the men's open category. Was surprised with my timing depsite the LSD that i had before the day. Had a great time meeting up with several running frenz after the race at the air-con hall.

Nike Human Race

For this run, i chose not to participate in the North Face trail run. Anyway, 2nd time running for this event. 2008 was held in the late afternoon. This year in 2009 was held early in the morning at Singapore Flyer area. A 10km competitve race. A run that i looked forward to and the unique part of this run is that all participants were required to waer th official red nike running top for the race. It was like a sea of red at Singapore Flyer. As usual, ran a very fast pace for the first 7km and slowed down a little. I remmeber i was ranked 90+ in 2008. I didnt perform well iun 2008 but i am happy that i was also to run well and finished the race with a time of 39 mins + which was a new personal record time. Position was 26 for Men's Open Cat. Finally i managed to run below 40 mins for 10km. It was a target which i long wanted to achieve. I made it!

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon (SCSM)

It was my 2nd time running for SCSM. Didnt run in 2008 due to clash with other activities. Anyway, came back to run in 2009 but not competitvely. I was running as a pacer this year. Yes, a 4:00hr marathon pacer. Frankly speaking, initially, i was not really able to accept the pace that i was assinged to. I was quite challenging for me actually. I didnt know the right pace to run to achieve a 4:00 hr timing marathon. My past marathon timing were like sub 3:30 hr. But through weeks of tranings, I was able to run correctly, confidently to achieve a 3 hr 59 sec marathon timing this year. I was really great to be a pacer. It was a different kind of experience as compared to running competivetly to achive personal best. As a pacer, we were supposed to help others to achieve their PB. Together with other 40 over pacers from team fatbird, we managed to deliver and performed well for SCSM 09. For your info, TFB pacers was the official pacers for SCSM 09. Anyway, i remembered we gather as early 3.30am in the morning to prepare ourselves for the race. Looking into 2010, i hope i can be a pacer again, but this would mean i cant run competively in 2010 SCSM. It is going to be another tough decision to make. Anyway, congratualtions to all marathon finishers and pacers. It was a job well done.

MR25 Ultra Marathon

Initially, i didnt want to run for this one. But in the end, still went for it. I was worried that my injuries would return. I was hoping to do as many rounds as possible. Probably at least 8 rounds. I started off the race quite fast and was in the top 5 positions for the first 4 loops. Was running quite close together with Henry, Baldwin and Bug for the first loop, but decided to speed up. Completed 4 loops (42km) in 4 hrs and continued another 2 loops to end my race at 2pm plus. I still have 6 hours to do at least 3 rounds and that should be able to put me in top few placing. But somehow i decided to stop at 6th loop. Reason: Lazy and worried my ITB will come back. Haha. But was a nice run, especially the 5th loops when Bug and i were walking for the first 5km and then continued with a fast and furious pace of 4min/km kind of pace. Was like speeding and flying in the jungle under the dark cloud with some drops of rains cmng down from the sky. Luckily, didnt ended up with heavy downpour. Congratulations to Darren, Henry and YN who all finished with top 10 placing.

Run Singapore

This was the 2nd running event for the day. Earlier on in the morning I had the Yellow Ribbon Prison Run. Run Singapore is not a competiitve race. It was a charity run and part of the President's Challenge 2009. The distance was about 4.5km along the SingTel Singapore Prix F1 route at Marina area. The start point was at Padang. Instead of doing the usual run alone. A group of us (Team FatBirds) actually thought of doing something different again this year. After the fun we had at the KPE run last year, we decided to do it again at Run Singapore.

I got the group some balloons and whistle while Jancy prepared the red ribbon. The concept was so tie the 13 of us together with the red ribbon and run together as a group through the route. This was something new to me and of course first time for me. We met up at about 4pm at Esplanade. It was still quite cooling after the rain in the morning. Jancy, Esther, Suan, Beng, YN, Darren, Terry, Spencer, Charmane, Nicholas, AC Leong Anthony and Beverlywere in the formation. We formed up ourselves at the padang while waitng for the President to arrive to flag off the event. It was very crowded for the first 1km and it was very difficult to move through the crowd. We had our whislte to help us 'open up' the road infront. Some of the runners cheered us and were impressed by our initiative and creative idea. Freddie was there to support us by taking pictures of us along the way. We cheered and shouted along the way. Was indeed very fun and really bring us together as a team. Took several pictures and hang around at the field before we proceed to wash up.

YN arranged us for wash up at the gym and we arranged for a dinner at one of my favourite vegetarain restaurant at Chinatown area. I reserved a table of 12 and we had a yummy good dinner though the waiting time was quite long. We had food like shilin chicken, fried cheese wonton, tom yum soup, mango prawn, broccoli with mushrooms, sweet & sour fish, hot plate toufu and not forgetting desserts. We enjoyed the food very much and Beverly mentioned that she will bring her family soon. Great Job TFB. More fun run in the fuure. :)

Yellow Ribbon Prison Run 2009

It was Yellow Ribbon Prison Run. One of the new running race added to my list this year. It was a 1okm race cocering area in the east around Changi and Loyang area. I was in the Men's Open category. It was a meningful run which i believe that i can help the ex-offenders unclock their second gate. Indeed, this was the mesaage to bring across for this year's run. It was part of the Yellow Ribbon Project to raise funds. Somewhat, it was a charity run. And it was the first time i run of the route and first time entering Changi Prison Compound.

The start point was at the road nearby Changi Village. The race was scheduled to kick off at 7.30am and Mr Teo Chee Hean (DPM) was the Guest of Honour. Glad to see runners like Han, YN, Danny, Jancy & family, Serena, SC Lim & family, Stella, Eileen Khoo at the race. My legs were not very in very good form due to the long 18km i had the day before at ECP. There were quite a few competitive runners. I was at the start line as early as 7.10am but YN, Danny and Han. It started to drizzile a little when the race was about to start but it didnt really affect the runners. The mood and spirit was still high, really for a 10km run with several slopes along the way. I ran at quite a very fast pace for the first 2km but then slowed down my pace after that to save some energy for the slopes ahead. It was totally a new route for me and i must say that the route was nice. Something different and very nice view as well. The weather was so cooling and nice. Soon, i entered the prision, and it was about 1km left to end point. The view in the prison was great. Ran around the prison one round and reached the end point in about 40mins for a 10km route with slopes. Impressed with my timing although i was not in my good form. But it waa a new PB. Impossible.. i think the route is less than 10km.

Stayed around and enjoyed the view, the ice cream, the ice milo from the milo van, the goodie baf collection, etc. The weather was still very cooling and the wind was getting stronger. YN was fast enough to secure a 8th placing and Stella at 10th placing for the Women's Category. Very happy for both of them. As for me, i secured a 16th position for the Men's OPen category. I then started to rain. But we stayed at the large tentage to enjoy some performance put up by the prisoners. I was very impressed by their performance. It was a LIVE band with musicans and vocalist. Great performance and well done!

Took a shuttle bus to EXPO Mrt with Danny and YN and from there, we parted. Went home to rest before heading down to the next running event in the evening - Run Singapore. The 2nd race for the day. Tired but very fruitful day ahead for me.

With all the positive feedack on Yellow Ribbon Prison Run, i believe this is a MUST run event for me next year and i would encourage my runnning friends to participate.

RunNUS 2009

This is probably one of the most hilly run road run i had in Singapore. Organised by NUS sports club - it was the RunNUS 2009. This was the first time i signed up for this race. Frankly speaking, i was attracted by the event running attire last year. I thought i should give it a try. The race start/end point was at NUS Sports & Recreation Centre. The race distnace was 12km covering NUS compound and some areas nearby beyond NUS.

I arrived quite early on time at about 7am as my flag off time was scheduled to be 8am. The registration process was so long and took me more than 20 mins to be myself reported for the race. My category was the Men's Open. Apparently, there was supposed to have 2 waves for my category and i was scheduled in the 2nd wave based on my bid number and in the instruction manual given out as part of the race pack i collected one week before the event. However, it seems that there was a change in plan. There were at least 5 waves on that day and it was a first come first serve basis. WHen you report early, you go to first wave, when you report late, you go the the later wave. Anyway, i was in the 2nd wave.

Saw several farmilar runners like SC Lim, Amy, Yong, Andy, Serena, Danny, Wei Ming, LS and MF SAFRA runners at the race. It was not a very big event and there were many other categories. My category was the first to flag off. The flag off time was delayed for half an hour which i dont know why. There was explaination given. My wave started off at about 8am. Together in the same wave with me was Andy and Yong. Soon after wave 1 flagged off, my wave flagged off then and there were about 75 over runners in each wave. I was running at quite a constant fast pace and maintaining the lead for my wave. I didnt allow any runners in my wave to overtake me. The slopes within NUS is still manageble, but those beyonf NUS can be slightly tougher. If it is a training, it is still arlgith but imagine you have to race through the slopes ? Sometime i felt very insecurerunning in the front as there was no one to follow and the marshallers may just give you the wrong directions. But overall the young student marshallers are not too bad.

I finished the race in about 50min for a 12km route of slopes and roads. I was happy to lead all the way for my wave and came in first in wave 2 but Ranked 9th position in overall with other waves. I was satisfied with the result and unfortunately prizes were only given to top 3 placing. Missed it again. But anyway, it was a good experience. Sad to say, it started to rain heavily shortly after i completed my run. Quite a big group of runners in the mens open cat got totally wet. And the most disappointing thing was that the rest of the categories (which was not even flagged off) was cancelled. It was indeed very disappoiniting for these groups of runners. But i do respect the organiser decision as i believe it was due to safety reasons. It is really unsafe to run in the rain when the slope ground is wet. Can you imagine competitive runners dashing down the wet slopes.

Because of the rain, most of the programme was cancelled or postponed such as lucky draw, prize presentation ceremony, etc. I waited for a while before i had my shower at NUS and proceeded to Clarke Quay and TPY sports hall to collect my race pack for other running events.

Anyway, after much delay, the results timing and the lucky draw result was released via their official website about 2 weeks later. It was not very well organised and there were many complaints. It was a nice route and i think i will run again next year despite all the negative feedback. Let's give the organider a chance to improve.

The Race Against Cancer

It was Sunday morning. It was raining as early as 2am at night. However, the rain has more or less stopped by the time i woke up at 6.15am. Changed into my running attire to head to East Coast Park. I was still having that little kind of tiredness after the 15km run at MR the day before on Saturday with fellow TFB and friends, and not forgetting the laps training at the pool as well. Sometimes i thought weekend is supposed for me to sleep longer and wake up later when the sun is up. But it seems that i wake up evern much earlier than my weekdays. I long for the day when i can sleep till say 8 or 9am.

Ok anyway, i did a short jog to ECP big field near the Hawker Centre. This was the starting point for the Race Against Cancer. By the time i reached ECP, it started to dizzile and i saw many participants were already seeking and getting themselves waiting at whatever shelther they could have. For a moment, i thought the dizzile could make the run more meaningful. The path of life is not always smooth. At times, we see bright sunny day and sometimes we see rain or even thunderstorm. There are many obstacles in life that we can overcome and fight against if we believe we can do it. I told myself this could be a Race Against Cancer & Rain which signifies our obstacles in life. Somwhow, the rain stopped just and when most of the particpants arrived and when the Emcee started to get people ready to assemble infront of the stage to witness the presentation of the cheques donation from sponsors. It was quite a big crowd with most of the particpants wearing the event tee shirts. As for myself, i wore my own running singlet, shorts and newton shoe.

There were 2 categories. A 5km run and a 10km run. I signed up for the 10km run, It is not a cmpetitive race. Meaning that there is no prize to award the top runners. Of cours, i still take it as a competitive run to compete with my mental and to compete with the runners. I came with the intention to run for a cause and helped those who in need of our help. Those cancer patients that need our help and also those children whose parents are disgnosed with cancer. We are healthy people and we should do something to give back to the society. It is a meaningful charity run. Doing something i love and at the same time helping others. I would encourage my friends to do more of these.

The race for 10km flagged off at around 8am after the mass warm up. I didnt participate in the warm up. Instead, i already stationed myself at the start LINE. The Guest of Honour Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Minister, Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Finance and Transport, together with the CEOs of SingTel and Singapore Cancer Society flagged off. My colleague Linda happened to be there for the 5km run (which flagged off later) cheered for me when i ran past her a few meters after the start line. I waved at her increased my pace. I was constantly runing at a good pace and constantly maintaining a leading position together with another 'ang moh' runner. However, i could not really overtake him. I was about 8 meters away from him all the way from the start to the u-turn point at carpark B1. From there, our gap started to widen. Along the way, some cheered for me, although i dont know them at all. It was a good run and i reached the finishing point in the 2nd position. Good run and had a hand-shake with the first position runner and the 3rd position runner. I came in empty handed with no bag with me. Had a few cups of free milo from the milo van. It was rewarding.

Stayed around for a while, walked around and then took a slow walk back to home and had a good sleep and rest for the entire late morning and afternoon. And did a 42 laps recovery swim in the evening. Bought a new pair goggles, supplement products from GNC. All set ready for my lunctime swim when TPY pool re-opens tomorrow after months of renovation for YOG. Gonna get dark and tanned again.

Up next. RUN NUS on 30 Aug 09.

AHM 2009

It was the Army Half Marathon/Singapore Bay Run. If i am not wrong, this would be the 4th time i participated in this event. It was one of the most significant runs that i would always want to participate in the year> It was Singapore largest running event. For the past 3 races of AHM, i registered as a Men Open category. But this year, i thought i should try the Men Closed category. However, whether it is open or closed, it is still the same to me. I came for this run with the imtention to do my best and to achieve a new personal best record time. I remembered i did a 1 hr 38 min last year. I didnt do well due to the injuries i had from Sundown Ultra Marathon 2008. Hence, i expect myself to do a much better time this year round. Have been training quite hard for the past several months every sat morning at ECP. Really appreciate Team FatBird's Ops KingFisher training programme that actually allow me to train and pace at a 1hr 30 mins time. I must say that i was hoping to see a sub 1 hr 30 mins for this year AHM race.

Anyway, i reached the start line at about 4.45am which was quite late already. Many runners were already getting standby and ready at the start line although it was still 45 mins to flag off. I did a short warm up by running towards the start line. Just wanna get my heartbeat ready and my tired body warmed up. It was a pretty nice weather. It was dry as compared to AHM 2008 when i was drizziling then. It seems to be quite humid and there was hardly any wind. I had my newton shoe, 2XU compression top and tights and my Sun shade for the race. I didnt get myself a watch although i wanted to. I dont really want my race to be restricted to the time on the watch. I rather dash and run throguh the race without looking at the watch. Hence, i never wear a watch to run. But perhaps i should start to get one soon since i will taking up the role as a pacer for the upcoming Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009.

Anyway, my running kakis were all closed together near the startline. We were about a few meters behind the line. at 5.30am sharp, the 21km competitive race flagged off by the Chief of Army. But i must say that the flagg off didnt really create a big bang. It was like an anti-climax. There was no air horn at all. The Emcee just said 3, 2, 1, GO! over the mike. I thought they should improve on this. A big bang will stir up the atmsphere and get the runners motivated for the race.

I told myself not to dash too fast for a start. I was not really on a good form. I had an hamstring pull and it was quite painful. I got that 2 days before the race during a squash training. But thank god the pain didnt really affect my running. I could only feel the pain when sitting down or lying down on the bed. I was running at quite a constant pace, over taking runners most of the time with a few runners over taking me occasionally.On avergae, i was running at a 4 min 20 sec per km pace. It was still quite hard as i entered and exited ECP. But i really this particular area at ECP when the lamp post lights were not on. It was very dark but there were green/red light stick on the side of the pathway. For a moment, it was like a mini runway. It was cool man.

Very soon, i exited ECP and ran throught Nicoll Highway. I would say that the route this year was much better than the one in 2008. Part of the route this year reminded me of SCSM 2007 and the AHM which i did in 2007. I simply love the route especially the Mouthbatten area. Soon, i was left with 1km to go. I still maintian the constant pace and ran through the finishing line at a time of 1 hr 31 mins. I was happy with my performance. There was a mixed feeling. I was happy yo achieve a new personal best timing. It was a 2 mins improvement from the previous PB whicch i got in 2007. I was a bit disappointed that i could not run below 1 hr 30mins. But anyway, i have done my best. I was happy to see that many of the runners who participated in Ops KingFisher managed to get their own PB as well. Kudos to TFB! Cngrats and Well done to all who completed the race, regardless of the time clocked.

Had some pics taken after the race. Photo courtesy of FatBird David Ong

Endurace Swim

I have addicted to swimming. No, it is not just simply swim, but ENDURANCE swim. After a long run on the road, i thought i would be good that i can so some recovery sports and at the same time improve on my stamina.

I have started to resume my laps swimming. Endurance swim is somewhat similar to endurace run, just that i dun use my lower limb to swim. I simple use my upper body to glide through the water with the free style. So far, i have tried doing 60 laps at one go. It was damn shiok, the more i swim, the more shiok i feel.

What's more, swimming helps to build up my body. Yeah my frens all complained that i am too small size. I do not like to frequent the gym. I do not like to carry weights. It is not challenging and it is quite boring. I have no patience to stay in the air con room and do the reps of carrying those metal bar. I will prefer to jump into the pool in a sunny day to do my continous laps swim. Kill many birds with just one stone. I am glad Toa Payoh pool is re-opening soon. I can swim during my lunch time alrwady. :) People said i am crazy. But i enjoyed what i am doing. It is tiring but no pain no gain.

I have a target to hit 100 laps at one go. If others can do it, i see no reason why Keonz Quek cannot do it. Arghh, my shoulder is feeling tired. . .

21km Training @ ECP followed by 4.2km X Country @ MR

It was saturday morning. As usual, i woke up early to report for training at ECP for the Ops KingFisher session 4. It was a day of excitement as it was the so called full dress rehersal cum shoe trial cum time trial. Met up with Terry and Samantha and headed down to Sand Pit, Big Splash @ Plyground which is currently the nest of Team FatBird.

It was good to see so many participants turned up for this session. There were close to 70 over runners. The day session started off with briefings by Anthony and David. I then took over to brief on the safety/health aspect as well as the running route for the day. There were distances caterd for 10km, 15km, 18km and 21km. Most of the runners ran for the 21km. I was the pacer for the 21km which target to complete the half marathon in 1hr 30 mins. I have yet to achieve this timing in the previous AHMs that i participated. However, i am now able to achieve that timing in the trainings runs. It seems that my running has somewhat improved after my recovery from ITB injuries. I was quite worried and dare to run too fast, too hard as i had a running race on that afternoon. Yes, correct 2 runs in a day with a short rest of a few hours. I was worried that i might have no ore energy to dash for the afternoon race which was a very fast pace 4.3km run at MR.

Anyway, though i told myself not to run too hard, i still managed to run on target timing. I finished the 21km training run within 1 hr 30 min. Unfortunaely, i was running alone and there was no runner targeting to run the pace of 1 hr 30 min, or rather Choon was not there to dash with me. I really hope to see more runners to run with me at the pace. Running alone can be quite bored. hahah..

After the 21km, i took some video interview with a few runners. Thanks Henry who provided us with our new toy for the TFB media team. Our prop are just getting more and more. It is not surprise that sooner or later, people will thought that mediacorp is at ECP doing some shooting. More professional props coming in soon. Keep a loook out for TFB Media.

Anyway, i did not join my running gang for lunch as i need to rush back home to have a quick rest. I had my own lunch and by the time i reached home, it was already 12pm. I took my shower followed by a quick 1 hour nap and then changed to my running attire, ready to proceed to the next run at Macritchie Reservoir.

It was the 25th Ministry of National Development Recreation Club (MNDRC) Cross Country. It was a running race which statutory boards (HDB, AVA, BCA, NDHQ, NParks, URA) under the MNDRC compete against one another. I was there to represent my company (HDB). HDB has the got the largest team with close to 50 runners competing in Individual events (Men open, Ladies Open, Veteran Open, Senior Veteran) and team events (Men/Ladies Open, Veterna/Senior Veteran). We were all in red saucony singlet top which was quite eye catching. For me, i wore my nike running short and my nike shoe for this race.

I was actually quite stressed as my main competitor was the defending champion from URA who was the champion for the past 2 years. His timing last year was very very close to my recent cross country timing. It was going to be very competitive. I had the full support and wishes from my team. My teammates even told me about my competitor running style and strategy which he adopted last year. I tried not to think too much and told myself to do my best to go for the champion.

Soon, at 3.30pm, the race flagged off. I kicked off pretty well, but started to realised that my running shoe was a bit loose. I could not run faster on the road than i wanted as i worried that my shoes might came off. Luckily, as i entered the trail, the loose feeling got better due to the terrain. I was in the lead all the way from the start which i always believe to be crucial. A leading men is at least half way to success. I do not like to see runners running ahead of me and my strategy was not to let any runners overtake me. Chin, my team mate was close behind me. I was surprised that the defending champion was not running closed to me. As i ran further in to the trail, the running footstep sound got softer and softer and i knew i have managed to widen the gap abit which hence further raise my confidence level.

From Left to Right (Keonz, Chin, Dennis)

Soon, i exited the trail and entered to the pathway beside the road. It was hot. Chin was still behind me, probably about 100m apart. I mainatained my pace and dashed through the finishing line to become the champion for the Men's Open category. This would be my second champion medal for the year. Chin came in 1st runner up and Wilfred, the defending champion came in third. My other team mates Daivd and Dennis came in 4th and 5th respectively. I was happy but i knew it was not my personal best. It was in fact 30 sec slower that my PB timing. Perhaps, it was the hot weather, my shoe, the fact that i just completed a half marathon in the morning? I do not know the reasons. I would like to thank all my frens for their besr wishes and support. Thank You !

I was also happy to see Bee Leng, my finance colleague to come in as female champion for the Ladies Open Category. It was simply an excellent performance. Club HDB managed to sweep the top posistions in almost all the category ranging from all individual to team events. No doubt, my men's open team was the champion team. The race ended off with prize presentation ceremonty and lukcy draws. I received my medal and vouchers. Perhaps, i am one of the younger runners there and this explains why the Guest of Honour asked me "How old are you?" I replied: "I am 26." Took a memorable pictures with the entire Club HDB Team.

Had a quick shower that the newly renovated toliets at MR. It was really a total different look after the renovation. The toliet is so much bigger, cleaner and more showers facilities. But the shower head is quite bad. Not much water. It was just like 6 lines of water shooting out from the holes at the shower head. Anyway, washed up and proceed to Esplanade to watch an evening play - SING DOLLARS.

Yellow Ribbon Prison Run

This is the first Yellow Ribbon Prison Run. I have registered for the 10km competitve race.
It will be held on 6 Sep 09. Since this is a new race, so i thought maybe i should try this out. Sometime, it is good to run new race. Also, i have not been running many races this year as compared to 2008. But 2nd half of the year is going to be months of races. I counted that on average there will be more than 8 running events in the coming months.

For more details, check it out @ http://www.yellowribbonprisonrun.sg
Join me along for this run and give the ex-offenders another chance to start their new life ahead.

Updating

I have not been blogging much lately simply becuase there is nothing much to update. There is no races lately. The next race for me will be in late July which is the Ministry of National Development (MND) Cross Country @ Macritchie Reservoir. It is going to be a race competition between all the statutory boards under the umbrella of MND. It is going to be a quite competitive since i was told that the men open defending champion timing from URA was somewhat very close to my timing. Have to start training to short distance dash next week already.

Anyway, i have not been able to run as much as i want to for the past 2 weeks. Monday to Sunday are so packed up with work, running training and course training. One after another, back to back. I am quite tired and some body parts especially my arms are painful. But was a good pain that make me tougher. Instructor told me the more my arms got hit, the more pain it will get and the more layer of flesh will develop and the tougher and fitter i will get. But really, no pain no gain. Instructor is right, treat ecery training very seriously as the world outside now is very different and it is not as simple as what we thought. I am learning to be more aggressive. I think i am not that agressive yet.

I missed swimmming so much. I could not swim during my lunch time already as the pool near my workplace is closed for renovation for next year's YOG. So on wednesday, i went to do my swimming at bedok pool. It was a good swim followed by a run. It was a cold night with some drops of rain coming down from the sky which i thought it as quite clear. I did my short biathalon. I didnt bring my towel. After getting out from the pool, i just wore my socks, shoe and my running shorts and ran to bedok reservoir. It was very cooling indeed. I really enjoyed myself becuase i brings back the beautiful memories in the past when i ran alone at the park. I was running at a quite a fast pace, but not race pace. I really hope i can have this kind of time. I could only afford to do this once or twice a week due to the packed schedule. How i wish i have more time for myself.

It was Friday today and i something quite meaningful just now. I actually did a voluntary work ti distribute groceries to the needy residents at one of the HDB rental flats at Indus Rd. It was a programme conducted by HDB Care Team. My colleagues at work are in the organising team. I thought i should show some support and also experice the life of those rental flats residents. It seems to me that the residents are really so poor. The flats they staying are 1 room flat wiith long dark corridors alley. Most of the residents are senior citizens. I had a good time distributing the food to them with Tze Liang and Li Ping. I will come again for the next voluntary charity event next month.

Long term course

It is getting more intensive, fast pace week by week but yet getting more interesting and fun at the same time. It has been almost 1 month since my course started mid last month. So far, i have not missed any lesson. I cannot afford to miss any lesson as every lesson is a new topic. It will be so difficult to catch up if i missed a lesson. I remembered the chief instructor told us that when we came in dry, he would make sure that we leave the venue wet. True enough, i was wet at the end of each lesson. Tired, shag and with some sore and pain on my wrist and arms since i have to make use of my wrist and arm power to learn the tactic taught. Practice and practice.

It has been fun and something i will never get to learn outside. I know very sure for myself why i attended the course. I could have rested at home and enjoyed watching TV at home, but yet i chose to spend 4 hours learning new skills and techniques which is very essential in the near future. A total of 12 of us were selected to attend the course. It is the 70th intake. A team of 12 people with a strong interest and passion for the course we are attending now. I do not want to announce to the whole world of what i am currently doing. Only a handful of my friends are aware and they are supportive of my decision. Some admire of what i do. When i post my 'graduation' pics 8 months later here. You will know.

8 more months to graduation.

One moment in, one moment out and finally in.

It was a mistake. A mistake that disappointed me at the recent Saucony Passion Run 2009. One moment in, one moment out and finally in. What's this?

I was disappointed with the way the organiser derive the position of the top 10 competitive runners. At the race, i was told that i am the 1oth finisher for the 15km. I was happy at that time as it was first time being able to squeeze in into a large scale mid distance local competitive race. 5 mins later, i was informed that they had some miscommunication and realised that they missed out someone in the list. Hence, i became the 11th finisher. Meaning? It means i have no chance to go up the stage to receive my prize from SM Goh. Not only i felt a moment of disappointment, some of my friends felt the same too.

Few days later, the official results was released on the web and i saw my name in 1the 10th position. I was puzzled and i wrote to the organiser. A few days later, the organiser replied with this:

Thank you for your email and sorry for the late reply.

We are pleased to inform you that you have came in 10th position. Kindly provide your mailing address for the organizer to send the prize to you.

What a stupid mistake they made. Actually, i am not eyeing for the prize. I do not know what's going on. Anyway, i just hope they can look into the procedure and ensure such things doesnt happen again in future.

Sundown Marathon 09

It was Sundown Marathon 2009. This is the first marathon for year 2009. I participated in the ultra marathon 84km category last year. This year, i decided to do the marathon of 42km. Once is enough for the 84km or at least i do not want to get injured again.

I have been training quite well since March this year. All thanks to the Team FatBird 12 weeks training programme which i did not missed any of of the sessions. Prior to the race day, a group of us actually met up for a carbo loading session at one of the restaurants in town. As the restaurant does not serve vegetarian food, i 'dao bao' my food (vege pizza and pasta) to the restaurant to eat. I must said that i loaded quite a bit.

On the race day, a few of us met up as early as 1pm at Changi Village to have our lunch before we checked in to the Changi Village Hotel. Yes, we booked a room to rest and also for showering and rest after the race. Hence, we had our afternoon nap and woke up at 6pm to have our dinner. We were quite tired that none of us actually woke up on time. But thanks to the sms that one of our friends sms us that caused all our phone to sound off at the same time, creating a form of 'alarm clock' that woke us up from our nap.


We planned and arrange to wear our new 'I LOVE RUNNING WITH TEAM FATBIRD' white top prior to the race. It was like our first attire for the night. In fact, the support crew and photograph crew also wear the same. This simply shows the unity of TFB. The emcee even saw our tee ans read out what he saw on our tee over the mic.


We proceeded to Subway for our dinner and then to the race start point. Although our 42km flag off time was 12am, we actually went down to support and bid our final wishes to some of our 84km ultra marathon friends and TFB NightHawk participants. Their race was scheduled to flag off at 7pm sharp. Max and Jane were there to be the official TFB photograph crew. They had with them the cool professional camera and the TFB poster board. The sky seems to be very cloudy and i thought that it was going to rain but luckily it didnt and for the rest of the night, it remained relatively humid and warm considering it was a night race.



Then, we went back to the hotel room to rest for a while and watched TV show before we changed to our final race gear. As TFB has set up support crew around the route, we recived LIVE updates from some of the crew on the performance of the 84km runners. It was kinda of exciting and interesting. I had my usual race gear which was the 2XU black compression top and tights with my Kayano14 shoe as well as the New Balance visor and race belt and race tag. Of course, i did not include my sunshade with me since it was a night race. The rest were equipped with additional stuff like MP3, power gel/bar, fuel belt and water, polar watch, etc. We had a mini fashion parade to show some of our second attire for the night. We joke about the 'latest season' thingy. It was fun.

We reached the start point as early as 10.45pm, getting ready to pass the power gel to Henry who was on his way to complete his first round of ultra marathon with a respectable timing of less than 4 hours. It was already quite crowded and it seems the marshallers had to direct and stop the crowd to give way to the ultra marathoners to use the bridge which is very narrow. I was glad to see my fellow HDB runners and friends (Bee Leng, Bee Leng's Hubby, Annabell and Ivy). As they were not sure on how to use the new timing tag, i showed them the way to attach it to the shoe. Afterwhich, it was photo taking. Then, final toilet break followed by warm up of running short distance around to get our heartbeat up and warm our body. As early as about 1130pm, we stationed ourselves near to the start line. It was a strategy that i always adopt to start the race at the front which i believe is essential as i wont ended up being blocked by the crowd and of course it give an initial competitve atmosphere.

At 1159pm sharp, the race kicked off. I was running at a fast paceAt 11.59pm sharp, the race kicked off with a fast pace. I was running almost side by side with Dr Ben Tan for the first 5km. I was constantly maintaing in the top 5 position for the first 10km until some of the runners overook me. The first 10km was the most crucial part for me as i felt my stomach bloated at certain point. I even developed stitches in the first 10km although i didnt drink any water at this range. I felt quite weak. However, by the time i reached ECP, my body seems to resume the normal form and ready to take off again. Haha. Yup, the stitches and bloated sensation was slowly gone. Soon, i reached Bedok Town Park which i have been looking forward because i know that TFB support crew was there ready to support me and the rest. I really felt a sense of 'warmth' from i saw them. Really appreciate their support. You guys rocks and i knew it was not an easy task, having to be there during late night hours when they could actually sleep in their air con room at home. But they chose to be there. This shows how supportive and motivating they are. Apart from TFB support crew, my HDB support team were there as well. I was still within the top 10 position when i reached the 27km point. Had my drink and left the support point in less than 30 seconds. I didnt stop long. It was like a split of a few seconds. I was so concentrated on my race that i could only see David, Edwin, Anthony, Samantha, Max & Jane although there were like many more there. The rest were like just figures. I knew you guys were out there. Thank you !

Ran and ran and soon i reached 32km where another TFB support crew was stationed. Jancy, Beng, Suan, Kai Juin, Mattew Ho and the rest were there to give the support just like those at Bedok Town Park. Again, the warmth was felt here. Thank you very much. I had my drink here and i remembered i asked Suan for the time. She told me it was 2:45am. This means that i only have like 35 mins left to complete the remaining 9km plus if i want to achieve a new PB. But i knew it was quite tough. I was maintaining at a constant pace if no more runners over taking me. I confidently knew that i am still able to finish the race in the top 10 placing. The Pasir Ris, Loyang area was not as tough as what i thought. I was still able to increase my pace at this range of route.


Soon, i reached Changi area. At the last 2km, i stopped to take my final drink and suddenly my leg alsmost got cramp. Almost. I felt the slight cramp but luckily it was gone within a few seconds. I asked the marshaller for the time and was told that it was 3:30am. Felt a little disappointed as i could not run within the timing i target to. As i approached the bridge, i was told to turn tight a make a loop to reach the end point. It was a surprise instruction given as i didnt know that was the route. It was different from last year's route. Anyway, the marshallers cheered me and told me i was still in top 10. I picked my my final pace and dashed thtought the finishing line. I didnt know my position but confidently, top 10 was for sure. I knew only the top 3 would be awarded. But that doesnt matter. I am happy to be in the top 10. Anyway, when the result was officially released a few days later, i managed to secured a 7th position out of 3000 over runners for the Men Open Competitive category for 42km. YN managed to secured the 5th position for Women Open competitive category. Many complained that the route was more than 42km. Yes, it was more than 42km for sure, but not sure by how much. I believe it was out by at least 1km. For me, i personally feel that the race was quite tough. But glad i completed it well, although no PB.

The rest of my running kaki came back soon. YN, Spencer and Terry got their PB. Congratulation to them. You guys have really improved. Well done. We then took pictures, both individually and as a group before we headed back to the hotel room to have a nice warm shower and had our well deserved sleep. Terry, Spencer, YN, Charmane only had less than 2 hours of sleep before they proceeded to ECP Big Splash for the first Shape Run training. They were on duty. Darren and i wanted to tag along but we only have one vehicle and it was impossible to squeeze all into the car. So Darren and i continued our rest till 9 plus before they returned back again. Washed up, breakfast and checked out. Went home, rested a while and went for a recovery swim of 10 laps in the evening. Surprisingly, i didnt feel much pain and sore on my lower limb as what i usually have after completing a marathon race. I could walk normally. Perhaps, i have reached the 'seasoned' stage.

Sundown Marathon. It was more than just a race. It was a race that bring all TFB members and friends together to work together as a team to contibute to the local running community. It was a well planned and execution for the support. We received many compliments and thanks from the participants. Job Well Done, Team FatBird.

Sundown Marathon completed. What's next?

Saucony Passion Run 09

It was the Saucony Passion Run 2009. I remmeber that in 2008, this run was held one week after Sundown Marathon which i did my 84km. This year, i am glad it was held one week before Sundown. At least i do not have to run with injuries and pain like what i did last year.

I registered for the 15km competitive men open category. I prefer longer distance and competition. The competitive atmosphere makes me perform better as there is a drive and motivation. That's my personal opinion. I came with the objective to break my personal record timing. Yup, i was hoping to achieve a new Personal Best. I arrived at about 6am sharp. Bose, Darren and Kai Juin were already at the carpark when i reached. The sky was still dark but the crowd had already started to come in despite it was still one hour before the race flagged off.

Went over to the SGRunners booth and took some pics. Soon, Darren and i proceeded to do our warm up by doing some short run to get our engine started. YN, Samantha, Spencer and Terry arrived shorty. Of course, saw other running friends like Beng, Suan, Andy and Serena. Max and Dave were there to take pics with their professional SLR camera. And i must say that their photography skill is great. We gathered very near to the start line to get ourselves ready. Already at the start point, i could feel the competitive atmosphere when i saw several elite runners.

At about 7.10am, the race flagged off and there i dashed. I started off doing quite well. I was running constantly in the 3rd position for the first 6km. Mok Ying Ren was obviously leading all the way. I could only catch his dust for the first 6km. Afterwhich, i could hardly feel the dust. haha..Anyway, i came in at least in the top 11th position. I was glad to recceive the 'potential winner' tag. It was my first time receiving this tag. Of course, it is only potential winner and not guaranteed winner as the timing still need to be finalised. Only the top 10 position will get to the podium. I knew i was not here nor there as i counted that i was around in the 9-11 position. Getting a new PB is my main objective, getting into the top 10 position is a bonus for me. I didint expect myself to get into the podium as it was always a competitive race. I ran this event since 2007 and i was never in the top 10. I was only in the top 40 (if i can still remember) for the past years Saucony Passion Run.

Soon, YN came back and she also received her potential winner tag. I was so happy for her since she really put in alot of effort. Ok the timing has been finalised. At back stage, the official announced me as the 1oth runner which mean i was in the top 10. I was happy of course as i never expect myself to squeeze into the top 10. But shortly after 2 mins, i was then called back again. The official actually missed out one of the runners who actually should be in the top 10 position. Hence, with the addition of this runner, i became the 11th runner and it means i have no chance to be in top 10 already and i missed the podium again. So close yet so far.

I was quite disappointed. I believe the timing between the positions were very closed, perhaps a few seconds of differences. But never mind about the position as long as i have break my personal best record timing. I have improved my timing by 5 mins. I am satisfied with my performance. YN secured the 8th placing for the ladies 15km competitive open category. Congratulation, well done YN. All the trainings paid off. We were all very happy for her and we cheered very loud for her when she moved up the stage to received her award from SM Goh.

Overall, it was a nice run and perhaps my best performance so far this year. 2009 seems to be a good year for me after the recovery of the injuries in 2008. I have achieved 3 PB this year for 4.3km, 1okm and 15km. Hopefully, i can achieve another new PB for the coming Sundown Marathon this weekend.

We (Myself, YN, Spencer, Terry, Darren, Charmane, Bose, Kai Juin) then went to Suntec City gym to washup and proceeded to collect our racepack for the Sundown Marathon. There was hardly any queue and i managed to collect my racepack in less than 3 mins. Had a nice lunch at the foodcourt and then to movie at Orchard. Tired long day but an enjoyable run and outing Sunday.

HDB Cross Country

It was the HDB Cross Country. It was held on Saturday at Maritchie Reservoir Park. I have waited for this race for one year. I reemembered that i could not join this race last year as i was have not joined the organisation then in 2008. Personally, it was a highly aniticpated race. A race which i hope i can achieve something for myself and for my department.

I registered for the 4.2km Mens open category and team event as well. The weather was not very good. It was like going to rain as i could see from the dark clouds and the lightnings. I came as early as 2.30pm staright after collecting my race pack for the passion run at Novena Square. The race flagged off at about 3.55pm sharp. Personally, i feel a little bit stressed as my Big Boss was there to flag off the race. Also, there was some pressure on me to secure the first position for the men's open. There were several fast runners competing as well. And there were 'black horse' as well. My target was to run below 17 mins as last year champion timing was less than 17 mins. I did a time trial earlier last week and could not run below 17mins at the time trial.

As soon as the race flagged off, i tried to maintain a constant pace of 4mins/km pace. The initial part was quite competitive as we were quite closed together. But as we entered the trail, the gaps gets wider apart as the running footsteps that i heard get softer and softer. To fast forward, i dashed through the trail, exited to the pavement beside Lornie Rd and reached the end point with a timing for 16mins and 45s, coming in in 1st position for the men open category. I felt very happy. I performed up to expectation and didnt disppoint those who predicted my position. I was also happy to see my team mate came in first position for the ladies. Looks like my department performed pretty well this year.

Glad to see YN and Spencer who came down to support me. Really thank them and helping to take pictures. You guys rocks. Also Not forgetting my Finance dept runners who came to support and run for this event. My dept ladies team came in champion as a team while the my mens team came in 4th position (the best so far in history). Overall, my dept came in as 1st runner up which was just few points behind the champion department. Nevertheless, i am still satisfied with the results. I was lucky enought to get a 2nd prize for the lucky draw which was a voucher worth $160. Here are some pics to share.

A long awaited news arrived

Ok. I have finally received the call from them. It was a voice mail as i believe my phone was off when they called. But anyway, i am glad to be confirmed to attend the course. I waited for months since i made my application 8 months ago in Aug last year. After going through a series of test, interview, screening, checks, it is finally confirmed. I dont know why i choose to attend this course. But i believe is my passion and interest. Is going to be a long course of up to 9 months. I am attending the 70th batch course which commence in mid May 09.

Dusty Run II

It was Dusty Run II. This was the second time i have organised the run. Dusty Run I was first organised and completed on 11 April 2008. This year, it was on the 10 April 2009, which falls on Good Friday as well as the 15th day of the month in the Lunar Calandar. Hence, it was a run under the full moon on a holy day. What a good combination. This date was decided exactly one year ago, which was a day after the completion of Dusty Run I.



Extracted from TODAY newspaper - 13 April 09


Prepration of Dusty Run started as early as Jan 2009 with the initial planning of the route. It took me quite a while to decide on the location of the run. Last year was in the West. So this time round, i was decideing where to run. It was deciding between East and Central area. With the advice of Team Fatbird, i decided to have thr un at Easten Singapore. The prepration was followed by recee nad picture taking of the route. I had Spencer, Terry and YN to join me to recee through the route to ensure the route was safe and feasible one. Really appreciate their effort, especially when some of us got sunburnt and bruises/cut after the recee. Followed by the making of Dusty Run video trailer as well as the publicity Poster. A very big thank you to Terry
who actually helped me to design the official Poster for Dusty Run II. I am sure the poster caught a lot of attention which explains why the response was overwhelming. With the launch of the mass publicity to the local running community via forums, running clubs, blogs, facebook and even at Raffles Place i-run, we managed to attract over 100 participants. The next was the preparation of the props like the luminous light stick, conffetti and sng baos. Thanks to Samantha, Spencer and YN for the making of the Sng Bao. They were delicious and rewarding after a long night run. Also to thanks Esther for taking the trouble to loan the cable from her friends. Feel sorry that eventually, we didnt make use of the cable. But really appreicate her effort. The prepration continues even a few hours before the run where the map was senting for printing and purchasing of the poster stand, laser pointer, stationery. etc. I thought the map would be good to enhance my route briefing. It was very rush and it was a raining very heavily on that day and this made my travelling even more toublesome. But luckily all props and prepartion was well prepared on time before the show goes 'LIVE' at 8.30pm at ECP Carpark



It was a long day for me after the last min prepration. Was at the start point as early as 8.15pm with Spencer, YN, Terry and Charmane. We started off with the setting up of the poster, map and the loud speaker. Soon, we saw a few runners reporting. Without realising, soon, it was already 9pm, and the turnout was already as big as 100 particiapants. We saw participants from SAFRA running club, SGRunners, I-runners and others who joined in who just joined in for the training. There were also many first timers. I was happy to see the great response. Sunddenly, the start point at ECP become so packed that it is almost for the night cyclist at ECP to cycle past the track cos it was fully packed. We had Wee from TODAY newspaper to join us for the run and he took several pics. So perhaps, this run will be covered in the paper in the next few days. We took several group pic with the poster. As it was almost 9.15pm, we began our briefing with Anthony kicking off with the welcome speech, David's safety breifing and followed by my route briefing. And then is the big group pic before the run kicked off. After 5 mins toilet break, we gathered and the NightHawk Central 8 gathered infront of the crowd with Anthony and myself flagging off with the grand opening of the Dusty Run II with the Conffetti. POP! The run began.


If you were at ECP, you will see a long stretch of runners running through the park. Some of the night campers and cyclist were surprised to see such a big group in action. I believe we seldom get to see this except for Sundown Marathon. As planned, we ran thorugh the route. Some runners were running very fast at their own pace. While most of us adopt a moderate pace. I was running wit the mid pack for the first 15km. After that, i have to slow down and wait for some runners at the back of the mid pack to ensure they do not get lost. To fast forward, i reached the end point. The 10km and 20km runners were back and some have left. Some of the 30km runners were also back while the rest of the 30kmers were making their way back to the end point. The drinks were already set up by Beng, Suan and Jancy. The 5okm runners were making their way to the Changi Coastal Rd before they complete the remaining 20km.




It was a cooling night. The sky was clear with the moon in full shape watching us. It was rainning heavily in the day and i was very worried that the weather would be bad at night. But glad everything was fine. It was not that humid too. I must also thanks all the photographers who brought that camera to snap the pic for this run. And really appreciate Max and Jane who travlled to various location of the route to take pic of us with the poster. It was not easy for them to travel from point to point in the shorest time to catch us in action. Thank you. This really make Dusty Run II a very memerable one with the pic taken. By 4am, we have cleared up and proceeded to the nearby Mac for a nice breakfast. I was so sleepy that i dozing off in the car. And thanks to Bryon who gave Terry and I a lift.

With the completion of Dusty Run II, we are now half way through the TFB NightHawk Training programme. Thank you everyone who came to support Dusty Run II. The route was tough and physically and mentally challenging. This is the feature of Dusty Run. I hope everyone had fun and enjoyed the night with Dusty Run II. Thank you TFB for integrating the run into the NightHawk Training Programme. Some of us signed at the back of the poster. This is a good opporttunity for us to look back into this poster one year later we orgainse Dusty Run III.



Dusty Run III will return on 10 April 2010 with more features.