Thursday training: venue at CCAB

Reached late for training due to swimming coaching which ended only at 545pm...

din do much warm up.. regretted... Hurried my way and joined JJ in the 1.2km workout..

My body din feel well at the start... menses is causing me trouble .. always the case every month. My cramps are really bad, I could feel my legs and lower body from the abdominals downwards started to react to the pain. They cant move, they are non existence on this particular day.

The workout has immerged from marathon to half marathon: meaning that we will have to run at a faster pace..

supposed to do 1.2km sets at 5min 6secs each with a 1 minute rest.

These are the results:worst results i ever achieved...

1) 5.00min

2) 5.03min

3) 5.06min

4) 5.11min

5) 5.08min

and thereafter i had to stop.. it was too painful.. my mind had kept telling me to stop the workout. my body was not functioning as per normal. I had given up.

JJ stopped after 4 sets, Melinda stopped after struggling to finish the 6th set with me. Natalie was unable to finish the 600m workout that was planned for her...

only Vivian managed to finish the 1.2km workout and the boys 15 x 400m...

JJ and me felt really bad. Like weak. We were thinking whether the 20km on sunday had taken the toil on us. We felt like we were not performing and deep down inside, we wished that we could have finish the workout.

I knew that on a normal day, I would be able to complete it..

I ran in my fav racing shoe...the Kantana Air Zoom...the same shoe I wore for my gold coast marathon. It is my favourite racing shoe.. I use them for speed work on the track and races only. Its very light and quick in reaction. However, it is wearing out already... its time for a new racer!

Last but not least... I really wish that

...Menses... please go away...

Tuesday:

went to NTU CCA fair to meet up with the biathlon team. Suddenly it brought back memories when I was in NIE. the place has revamped into another nice and yet cosy area. The people have mostly graduated leaving a few familiar faces. However, I still missed studying there.

Met up with Faizal and Rachel and had a short chat. Work has been piling up for them too. Happy that they are both dancing in NIE now. Great!

My swimming coaching was cancelled due to the heavy downpour that was expected to follow on.
Went to Mount Faber Safra to watch Olympics while waiting for the rest to slowly turn up for training after their work.

645pm: training at Safra was announced to be a 8 x 800m workout at telok blangah hills.

to my pleasant surprise, Lai Chee arrived. I had earlier received a message from her informing me that she was not coming. However, her last message informing me she eventually can make it, did not make it to my phone:(

nevertheless, we did a good training session. Not too fast and not too slow..was running right behind JD in the first 7 sets... clocking timing about 3min, 3.01min, 3.04min, 3.05min, then i slowed down because of an irritating stitch.. had laichee to run with me for the next 4 sets...
did 3.08min, 3.10min, 3.11min and lastly 2.56min...

lai chee and me went for cool down together up the other side of the hill and headed back to join the rest.

It was a good workout!

dinner with the usual 6 tri pple whom 3 of them are riding CEPPO bikes now... hahaah...
dinner was at the coffee shop at Clementi which sold Botak Jones western food:)

we had pasta, pizza and i had fish soup. The soup was not really appetising... and so in the end i ate 2 slices of the thin and crispy and delicious pizza...

had a long talk about insects and creatures, snakes and reptiles... reached home around 811pm and taught my sister oral examination for O levels:)

really yearn for a hair cut... hair is dropping and balding soon...stress level is going up.

happy to hear from Sunny that he has gotten the President's Sports Award... felt really honoured to be asked to attend this ceremony in Sept. Have been a loyal friend, fan and supporter of him all this while. Never once doubted him of his ability:) you deserve it bro! great job! thanks to the NUS Bi team that

recommended him:)

From this entry onwards, will put a photo of the shoe i am wearing everyday! whether is sports shoe or high heels.

Wed:7am to 3pm

Work: Air pegasus

Comfort and cushioning. For long distance training. I wear them to work and training during long runs.

speech

speech by Adrian Tan. forwarded to me by P.S.

> Life and How to Survive It

> Below is a speech to the graduating class of 2008 at NTU
> convocation ceremony last week by Adrian Tan, a litigation lawyer
> and the author of The Teenage Textbook.

>>> I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee
> School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give
> your convocation address. It's a wonderful honour and a privilege
> for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction,
> defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so
> as a husband.

>> My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one.
> She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living.
>She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly
> by practising at home during conversations between her and me.

>> On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day
> telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being
> disagreeable.

>> Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home.
> That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument,
> the one who triumphs is always the wife.

>> And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men:
> when you've already won her heart, you don't need to win every
> argument.

>> Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may
> already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you
> will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you
> will be married many, many times. Good for you.

>> The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The
> end of education. You're done learning.

>> You've probably been told the big lie that "Learning is a lifelong
> process" and that therefore you will continue studying and taking
>masters' degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on.
>You know the sort of people who tell you that? Teachers.
>Don't you think there is some measure of conflict of interest?
>They are in the business of learning, after all.
Where would they be without > you? They need you to be repeat customers.
> The good news is that they're wrong.

>> The bad news is that you don't need further education because your
> entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some
> of you. You're in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you
> that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life
> expectancy.

>> I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to
> mean the average life span of a group of people. But I'm here to
> talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.

>> You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as
> the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind
> Andorraand Japan, and tied with San Marino.
> It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long.
> We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless.
> There's very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by
> watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be
> lulled into a gentle and restful nap.

>> Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men
> live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more
> than five years longer, probably to take into account the
> additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.

>> So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you'll have
> another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and
> prosper.

>> Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when
> they're 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after
> finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that
> they didn't meet their life expectancy.

>> I'm here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.

>> After all, it's calculated based on an average. And you never, ever
> want to expect being average.

>> Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to
> working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told
> that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much,
> where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.

>> That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will
> be an awful waste.

>> If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be
> living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I
> have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be
> them. And you don't need years of education by the best minds in
> Singapore to prepare you to be average.

>> What you should prepare for is mess. Life's a mess. You are not
> entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything
> does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no
> control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour
> by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.

>> Don't expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your
> life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as
> tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will
> ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best
> that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all
> downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.

>> What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.

>> Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many
> wonderful things that you can do when you are free.
>> The most important is this: do not work.
>> Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature,
> it is undesirable.

>> Work kills. The Japanese have a term "Karoshi", which means death
> from overwork. That's the most dramatic form of how work can kill.
> But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day
> by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until
> there's nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.

>> There's a common misconception that work is necessary. You will
> meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are
> "making a living". No, they're not. They're dying, frittering away
> their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best,
> meaningless and, at worst, harmful.

>> People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a
> certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan "Arbeit macht
> frei" was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration
> camps. Utter nonsense.

>> Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you
> hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life
> in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.

>> Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something
> you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good
> at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that
> will have value in itself.

>> I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I
> enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn't do that, I
> would've been in some other type of work that still involved
> writing fiction – probably a sports journalist.

>> So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don't
> imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life,
> you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In
> fact, I'll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you
> will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions. By this
> time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing
> off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher.

>> Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an
> obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If
> you don't, you are working.

>> Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication.
> To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I'm
> not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when
> it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a
> great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the
> closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise
> or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being
> evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can
> blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes
> great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.

>> In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That
> requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the
> mirror.

>> I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work,
> and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you:
> be hated.

>> It's not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you?
> Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has
> been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That
> hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be
> shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a
> cross.

>> One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it's often the
> case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right
> by one's own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one
> merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then
> one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average.
> That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the
> world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself.
> Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.

>> The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.

>> I didn't say "be loved". That requires too much compromise. If one
> changes one's looks, personality and values, one can be loved by
> anyone.

>> Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd
> for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally,
> without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love.
> We've taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and
> shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone,
> than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires
> complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I
> find palatable.

>> Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning,
> attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we
> call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better
> ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of
> material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the
> soul.

>> Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also
> important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love
> doesn't happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance
> floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and
> blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers
> every storm.

>> You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is
> less important than the brain, and the body is less important than
> the heart.

>> You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not
> reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is
> to inspire you.

>> Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes
> to loving someone. You either don't, or you do with every cell in
> your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology.
> It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.

>> Don't work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.

>> You're going to have a busy life. Thank goodness there's no life
> expectancy.

photos from pearl izumi run series - 1st one

Monday - Holiday day in lieu of national day...

Spend the whole day resting.. leg pain and sore... but did night cycling training with JD and Eddie.. felt really good...

sat training at coach's house was great! was really tired though.. did lots of plyometric drills and lots of lunges... strained my muscles a little. did a 2 hour workout there with the guys, JJ and Vivian...
enjoyed it but suffered with stiff muscles and sore ones..

sunday: pearl Izumi run series.
woke up shouting in pain. Was suffering from a sore pair of legs with muscle pain from the hips to the hamstrings to the thighs... due to sat workout. was contemptating whether to go for the 20km run.decided to go ahead as JD was going too...

suffered - started too fast. saw my watch at the 3km mark and realised i was way too fast for a training run... slowed down and waited for JJ to come up and we ran at a nice pace for the next 5 km together... after a water point, she sped up. heh she is fast man! she is singapore's top marathon runner for the veteran category.! aah..
i maintained till the 10km mark.. and felt a slight strained in my right hamstring..decided that if we were to u-turned at the start point i would just stop.. but we did not.. we u-turned at the stadium... and twice!...

after that i slowed down to make sure my leg dun suffer a pull... at last, i managed to endure the pain and completed the 20km...

position a mere 5th... but to me, a great training run at an a moderate pace.. but to me, marathon is still my main focus:)

GOLD coast article

Gold Coast Marathon Entry: for athlon running website, i wrote an article for the website:)

I just came back from Gold Coast Marathon on 6th July 2008. My coach, Mr Guy and I have planned this race 6 months before hand.

The Gold Coast marathon organization was very different from Singapore. I was greeted with surprise when I arrived 3 days before the race at the race expo. The road closures were already executed and directions to the race expo were very clear. It was very different from marathons in other countries where race expo were usually small and we had to look for the map for directions. It was totally different in Gold Coast. I was also greeted with a howl of cold air! The temperature was about 13 degrees!

The course of the marathon:

It was clear and straight forward. We had to start from the starting line, run straight to broadbeach, then Mermaid beach and Maimi beach, make a U-turn there at around 14km and then head back the same route. As we come to the initial start point, we just had to make our way to Runaway Bay and then make the last U-turn at around 36km and finally run straight back to the finishing end line. It was clearly marked out with 1km signs. We did not join in with other runners from the 21km and 10km category. There was ample space and sufficient supply of drinking water. There was also pacers running with balloons stating specific timings.
Pre-race registration:
It was done as swift as I could imagine. They had all the names printed on a list of paper, all I had to do was to produce my identity card. Within 2 mins, I had received my race pack. No long queues, specific instructions and even a counter to double check my chip.

Pre-race preparation

Mr Guy had planned out my race meals very specifically. Friday afternoon, I had zuchinni. It is a type of pasta which is rather starchy but gives me a good form of energy for the carbo loading and teppanyaki chicken for dinner.
Saturday, I had cereal and egg for breakfast. I had chicken sandwich for lunch pasta at night. It was cooked by coach. The pasta was made of potato and gives me the sufficient energy throughout my marathon.

I hydrated myself with lots of water and Gatorade before 8pm.

On race day morning, I had the same cereal and 2 eggs, and a cup of milk.
I also purchased a think long sleeve top to wear for the marathon. I wore long compression tights too. I even had gloves with me before the race!

Race day registration:

Coach parked his car at a big field, no hassle about worrying to get summons. We took an easy warm up jog to the race start point. We started off right after the 21km runners and in the opposite direction. It was easy to get a spot at the front as people were courteous and kind. There were also no boundaries set at the side and runners were allowed to wave their way into the start area from any directions.

After race:

I had very little perspiration from the race and did not feel hungry during the race. Felt strong and could walk after the race. Coach had also included an after race ice-treatment where I had to soak my legs into a bathtub filled with ice cubes! It was extremely cold, but very effective in recovery.

Previous beliefs and current performance:

I ran a 3 hr 24min 54secs. It was a 10 min pb from my previous marathon in Kuala Lumpur in March 2008. Mr Guy took on a very different approach to my training. I used to believe that running marathons is about how much mileage a person clocks every day. We do not need any speed to be able to do a good marathon. However, he showed me otherwise.
My training had moved to a pure mileage training to include intervals and speed work as well as plyometric drills.

A typical training week:

Monday: Interval training as either turf city or Bukit Brown graveyard where we do 2min, 4min or 6min run intervals with rest intervals about 1-2mins. Every third Monday, we would do slope training at Turf City where we run up slopes ranging from 100m to 200m, 9 times. This is done with variation according to Mr Guy.

Tuesday: Moderate pace long run of 10-12km and swim about 30 laps.

Wednesday: Easy pace long run of 10-12km and swim about 20-30 laps.

Thursday: Speed workout at Singapore Poly or CCAB stadium. We do sets of 400m, 800, 1.2km and 1.6km at a marathon race pace or slightly faster than that. These are done with specific timings and I ensure that I do not run faster than the set pace. We do approximately 10-12 sets of 400m 6-8 sets of 800m, 5 sets of 1.2km or 4 sets of 1.6km.

Friday: Rest day. I swim about 30-40 laps.

Saturday: Woking workout at Mr Guy’ house. We warm up with a 3.2km jog around woking road, thereafter we do leg swings. Next, we go onto 5min of skipping. We then move to a grass patch where we complete one legged hops for a short distance. We then do bounding up a slope. Last but not least, we do weight training which includes lunges, chest press, arm swings with weights, weight ball throwing and also sit ups and push ups. All these are done as a team.

My targets:
2008 - 1 hr 35min half marathon in Cambodia on 7th December.
2009 – 3 hr 10min full marathon in Boston

Advice to beginner marathon runners

Choose a good marathon with better climate. Train for it and not plunge into it. Commit to it fully if you really want to do well for it. Last but not least, get a coach to guide you along!

Appreciation

I want to thank my coach, Mr Guy Ogden for his patience, tolerance and professionalism throughout this whole 6 months. I actually fell ill for 3 weeks just before the marathon. He took really good care of me as a coach and tapered the training programme to suit my ability. He also made sure that my before the Gold Coast marathon was in line with the training so that I have ample time for recovery. Mr Guy’s encouragement to me made me pull through these 6 months of hard training. I also managed to slim down 6 kg and race in a lean body through this training.

Thank you coach

training at mount faber

today training started at 645pm at Mount Faber Safra. met up with quite a lot of friends...
now that i have completed my NCAP course, i can join them every Tues.

Ran from Safra out and headed to harbour front and then ran st to telok blangah and then turn into Mount Faber and up a long steep slope.. and then downwards...

Lai Chee was running with me all the way until we reached the slope.. I just had the sudden urge to go fast... i sped my way up and relax at the top of the slope... legs rolled down and exited fragance hotel near the esso...

Jd was with us all the way too.. he slowed down because his heel was really painful. but he endured it...

after exiting mount faber.. we headed towards harbour front again... went st all the way and headed back for mount faber... at the last 2 km i just dashed off and pulled a dist... felt really good and light... and strong ..

reached the end point, stretching and talk with laichee and then met up with Alber and PS and Alvin and Karen... went off dinner..! COFFEE SHOP at clementi Botak Jones..but i ate noodles instead of unhealthy food!

took a picture with fellow lady runner whom i respect.. humble and nice lady Lai Chee.. my training partner every Tues night.

Training on Monday:

15 sets of 2mins fast and 2 mins rest...at Botanical gardens.. thanks to Ilyas for volunteering to pace me for the last 3 sets...

Training today:

10km run at Safra Mount Faber... will do it slow and easy!

sat and sun

Sat:
Had woking workout at coach house with the guys...went for coaching and then went to support JD at his yearly ICA cross country race! yeah yeah ... he won first! a large margin off the runner-up! iT was burning hot and scorching... but nevertheless he did not disappoint me.. after all the training and intervals as well as long runs, he managed to do well. good job dear!
dinner was with his family at Chong Qing Huo Guo at Tanglin Mall..:) his bro is back from china and leaving on Sunday:)

sunday:
NIKE human training run. Another day of meeting with running friends and kakis, NIKE people, another day of enjoying the day of emceeing:)
Jd went too... saw Uncle Lim, Uncle Chia, Sacha, Benny, Uncle Aik Hock, Andrew from NIKE, Jon and Ben Pulman... yup it was nice!
the event was a 6km run. the leading runners were as usual from MR25.
They had a booth to borrow NIKE shoes and sports band out to interested runners.
they also had free flow of Hundred Plus and plain water and bananas... the runners just had to sign up online or on the spot and join in the run. It was a simple but yet well organised race.

the number of people present was more than 100. and they started off at Big Splash and U-turned near the chalets...to and fro ... ang chee yong of mr 25 came back in about 24minutes:)and then came along the rest of the uncles from mr 25. Jd came back 6th and following on quite a lot of people.

Lucky draw prizes were available and sponsored by NIKE and Racer's Tool Box... great job:)

Mingled with the pple there and then headed off for own training. did 16km moderate pace run and jd did a 50km bike ride.

went down to Bukit Gombak to watch Sunny's 800m race... Singapore Open ... he really did very well! it's his 2nd track race for 800m and he managed to emerge 3rd position with a timing of 2min 1sec or was it 2 min flat?? anyway whatever it is... its just sooo good! congrats bro!

start of school marks a tiring day for me everyday... looking forward to the weekends always.:)

this sunday Pearl Izumi run series...20km

now thinking hard whether not to race army half... should i give up

27th JULY 2008

MONDAY training:
first training of the season

thanks to coach who was kind enough to run with me, because I had reached training late for an hour due to my CCA in school!

Warm up: 5 rounds on the CCAB grass field

Workout: Interval training of 6mins
Rest interval: 2 mins
Sets: 5 sets

Though it was a short session, but the session felt quite long to me! it felt as though it was never ending. I was trying to correct my running posture and bring my legs up a little higher. I have been too used to having low running posture and also in a sitting position which fabian always mentioned in past few trainings ...

I am trying very hard to correct it..Coach had said that it was a very good workout and I looked strong at the end of the day! thanks coach! appreciate it very very much for all your concerns and kindness!

Sunday-27th JULY 2008

sunday went for NIKE plus human race training run..
Uncle Vincent msged to ask me to be a pacer. However, upon arrival, realised that there was a need for finishing time keepers.

I met Sunny there! i was really happy... it was like a sudden happiness hahaha! i went mad, ran over to give him a brotherly big hug and we both started chatting like never ending! haha...

anyway he was the Emcee of the day... I met Ben Pulman and Jon Fong there too.. as well as Sacha and Andrew from NIKE..they were busy like beesssss....

the training run was supposed to be 5.2km.. Ben started to brief the pacer runners and then he briefed the signed up runners. He then led the warm up and stretching. He did some plyometric drills and also some good stretching...

the race started off. I was there having a chit chat with Mika and Johnson of MR 25 who were the finish timers... Uncle vincent was taking the timings... and then Somehow, i found that something was just missing there.. though there was music, however, there was an emptiness.... and the immediate reaction I had was... ran to Ben, got the mike from him and started to wait for the first runner's arrival...

"Oh, I can see the first runner approaching the finishing end point!... with a tag number..." ahah that was me. yes, I had the sudden urge to emcee. Maybe because of the events I had emcee in school. I had the natural instinct and urge! haha... Anyway my job was to read out the tag numbers to Mika and Johnson and i realised that the mike played a very gool role in this case...
I tried my very best to use different words of encouragement and finishing sentences... hope it did not sound as bad!

when sunny came back, he told me he could hear my voice from very far away, across the river! oh my gosh! am i sooo loud?but he said it was very encouraging! ahah at least it did not seem that bad! Andrew from Mr 25 also came over to comment.. felt quite ok... hope i did not do a bad job!

anyway the run was completed with everyone having smiles on their faces... they had free hundred plus, water and subway sandwich! my gosh, reminded me of the days when i worked in subway as a supervisor after my a levels!

after that, they had a lucky draw and winners went home with IPOD, NIKE sports band and nike stuff! It was real good!

They also borrowed trial shoes to runners who would like to experiment NIKE running shoes... it was a good and humble event with interested participants and hardworking and refreshing employees... the next run will be this sunday at east coast.. have promised to go down to help...

after the event, i headed down to macritchie to meet JD for a 1 hour 20mins run! it was a good run, but i was complaining the whole way that there was no water, and he did not bring any money along! a thirsty sumiko is a grouchy sumiko... he was really tahaning my temper for the whole route..! ahha...

sunny

it's just so amazing how 2 strangers can come together to know each other from an event... and become good friends, move on to good bro and sisters... and maintained that relationship for years... supporting one another on a good basis and support each other emotionally...

he has been the best guy i have known so far.. one of the best that have been there for me whenever i feel very down.. someone whom i have supported much wholeheartedly... and someone who has earned the respect from not only me but also my bf... someone who knows how to treat his little sister - me really good... someone who is good at sports but yet humble.. someone who is quiet but yet strong...

he is he.. he is Sikhandar Singh.. he is Sunny..

though he did not really do well in the last sea games and pple have been questioning him abt it.. i have not yet question him the reason why.. because i understand that every athlete has their down days...

It is him who has known me through national squad training 4 years ago.. when I was fat and he was unfit! hahaa...

he is Sunny... who has gone through so much trouble for his NUS tri team...

He is Sunny, who loves his gf Angela a lot..

He is Sunny, who was my bro last time, now and future...

whenever I see him, I feel so happy! because to us, the frienship bond between us is sooo strong!

Thanks bro for being whoever u are to me! thanks bro!

Port dickson Triathlon

port dickson triathlon...

stayed at a haunted place!

reached there after 6 hours of bus ride.

it was an apartment building... 4-5 buildings. the outer view looked so majestic, but yet very runned down!

we reached the apartment and realised out of the 400 plus units that were available, we were one of the only ones occupying the apartments... all our units were away from each other.. none was just beside each other...

entered the apartment and found out that there were 2 rooms there.. the kitchen had no utensils, very badly maintained... there were no bed sheets.. dirty rooms...

the worst was, i went to toilet and the next thing i found out was, the water, instead of flushing downwards, it was flushing upwards and going to overflow ... and in it held much dirty contents!

we wanted to change the room, but was told that maintenence could not help because the pump had spoilt. in the end, they offered us a change of room, with 3 bedrooms instead of 2 ( that was a totally bad choice). we swopped rooms from C block to A block. on our key for the A block, it wrote level 13A. Hence, we pressed the lift for the 13th floor. But the maintanence guy told us that there was no 13th floor... 13th floor will not be open for customers.!

we reached the 14th floor... and checked into the room. the basins were bad, spider webs could be seen. there were lizards also!haiz.

anyway 2 of our friends left our apartment and headed home when they were trapped in the lift between the 5th and 6th floor! and they forced open the door and jumped to the fifth level!

the next morning, the lift was still not working. JD had to run down several storeys to press the lift for the lift to go up to pick us up. However, he ran to the 13th, 12th and 11th storey. To no avail... and finally the lift suddenly proceeded to the 14th level when we could not even press the button at the 14th level at all! JD dashed up all the way to join us... scary yeah...

finally race starts... i was hanging ard with darling SHU throughout the race... the race entry was a small one .. the swim start was quite messy.. but because there were few pple, it was still manageable... they used loud hailers to call for the swimmers into a start point...and off they went...

the swim was relatively easy.. i dashed for the start...was in front.. swam an easy swim to the u turn point.. looked at my watch and realised it was 13mins... then i sped up.. in the end, finished the swim in 25min and 3 seconds... realised i was the second/third girl out of the water...

took my bike and prepared for my weakest leg of all...the bike leg...

as usual, i took off, and was overtaken by more than 15 ladies! ... demoralised... when i met S as i was turning into the transition area, she was already 2km in front of me in the run leg... i dropped off my bike... and then ran off.. not expecting to come in top 10 at all... but as i ran, i realised i could start to see several ladies in front of me...i tried to increase my pace... and as i ran faster, i could feel my legs performing...

i tried very hard to catch up with S.. throughout my run, there was nobody that caught up with me.. i was catching up with all the guys and ladies!! yeah!

just 2 km towards the end point, i saw s... chased hard... and then ran with her for a distance.. we were playing the catching game! she is really strong! i wanted to give up at a point of time!... but the at last km mark... i saw a water point, then i sped off! not looking back.. and caught another girl!

when i reached the end point, timing was 2hr 40min... and realised i had came in 5th! JD did an excellent job.. it was his first OD.. came in 2 hr 33 min.. so proud of him!

received 600 ringgit as prize money! Shu also won some money.. she came in 10th! good job!

when we reached the apartment back there... the lift was still not working. jd and me placed our bikes at our friends' apartment in block c and came back to block a and climbed all the way up 14 storeys!! .. packed our stuff, walked down 14 storeys with PS, alber and SHU... and realised the life suddenly worked!!!I will never ever want to stay in this apartment anymore! it's soooo errie!!!!

photos after the race:

article on redsports

my interview on redsports is up! thanks to Ps for the photos!

Have pleasure reading it.
http://redsports.sg/2008/07/24/sumiko-tan-triathlete/

Training at mount faber...

yest training at Safra Mount Faber.. ran with Laichee... runner up of the 84km sundown marathon...

i could feel my legs have not yet recovered fully. it's quite painful to run a 13km ... i could not breathe properly either.. but i have to do it... ran fro mount faber to depot road then to queensway all the way to portsdown road, woking road and the back to commonwealth and queensway and back to depot road..

i was contemptating to stop because i could not breathe properly... but i just kept moving. din want jd to worry about me if i had not come back in time...

but he did got worried! haha Lai Chee and me reached back the first ladies... and then we did our own stretching. Went by the back door to join the rest. JD was actually waiting for me to be back! He was wondering what had happened to me, did i do a slow jog or ? haha... in actual fact we had already been back eons ago! haha...

Lai Chee is a very nice lady... a nice running partner and a good friend. Have known her for years.. and she is an experienced lady in the running scene. I love running with her.. wish her luck for her next up race this weekend - Mizuno Bedok run..

as me for.. I am going to be a pacer at the NIKE 5km run this sunday.

Gold Coast Marathon

Gold coast marathon update:

it is a late entry... but i was too busy with work.. so sorry guys... late ...

4th July 2008. Reached the airport and was sent off by Darling and Fabian...reached Brisbane airport 8 hours later... started to miss Darling already...

coach rented a car...and drove us around for the next 4 days...it was cheap and good... cosy and nice car...we drove to University of Queensland to meet Renuka. Renuka used to be a runner from MR25 and now she is studying there for 4 years... she has improved in her running form tremendously!

after meeting Renuka, we went to check in at our apartment. Called BelAir.. it was very big. 1 room with a queensize bed and 2 sofa beds in the living room. There was a washing machine, dryer, toilet with bathtub and big kitchen for cooking..! it was really great stuff!
we went for lunch and carbo loading... and then drove up to the race expo to collect my race tag. The race expo was huge and affordable stuff... it was filled with videos showing marathons of the past and also race attire and other races details. Was very well organised ..! dinner was an easy teppanyaki chicken meal at an outdoor japanese restaurant...

I forgot to mention that I was freezing in the cold weather! It was 13 degrees, but to me, it felt like snow! ...look at how thick my clothes are~

the next day, i was greeted with even colder weather.. fell to a 9 degrees... I wore 3 layers and still could feel the coldness bitting my skin! we went back to the race expo and met up with coach's friends from Aussie... after that i went back for some shopping and coach went to the beach for a run...I bought a pair of 2 XU long sleeve top to run in for my marathon. The weather was sooo cold that i could not afford to run only in a sports bra as my top...

dinner was great! coach cooked pasta for me! it was specially chosen from the sauce, pasta to the filling of the pasta. It keep me full till the next day. I could remember what we ate, pasta, salad with some nice sauce and even ice cream! we bought goat's ice cream in a tub which costs only 13 aussie dollars! cheap deal and nice! i loved the passion fruit flavour.. missing it already...

race day. Woke up at 6 am. ate 2 eggs, corn flakes (coach calls it the champion breakfast) ... reached the start point. Saw the 21km race flagged off.. they ran in the opposite direction... after the 21km was flagged off, coach told me that he will meet me at the 28km... I was wearing gloves at the start...

however, just before the race started, i threw away my gloves, it was getting a little warmer. I started off with running at a 5min pace for the first 3km... it was the target time... however, i started to push the pace after the 3km... i was supposed to maintain at around 4.55min per km for the next 8km... however, i made a mistake. I ran a 4.45min per km... i tried to drop back a little but my legs were pulling me forward. it was a grave mistake...

coach had wanted me to maintain at 4.55min per km... but i had gone too fast... i had hit 4.30 min per km at the 13km to 15km... I knew i will suffer majorly if i do not slow down.

However, what was pushing me so fast was the pacers that were ahead of me.. there was a balloon hanging 3 hr 15mins and another one hanging 3hr 30mins. Coach had wanted me to kep behind the 3 hr 15min but in front of the 3 hr 30mins...

however, i realised i was all the way behind the 3 hr 30mins and that kept me pushing on the pace to catch up... Was not a good thing to do!

I managed to past the 3hr 30min balloon at the 18km mark... and sped up... felt still quite strong at that point... but felt really warm when we were heading back!... I took off my long sleeve top and ran in my NIKE sports bra... it felt much more comfortable after that. However, i had to hold on to my top till the 28km when i met coach.. i was thinking, oh no, 28km!!!

met coach at 28km, passed him my top and he took a video of me... he mentioned... good job, good posture, keep the legs going...! i was really motivated!

towards the 40km , weather was getting a lot warmer, but i was still not perspiring!!! i met coach at the 40km and he told me to speed up. its the last 2.195km!!! i sped up and was looking at my watch.. i kept a close look and shorten my steps...

in the end, i crossed the finishing end line at 3 hr 24min 54seconds...

It was a really good race. I cried after the race because all the training that i had put in for the past 7 months has shown his worth. Coach had targetted for me to hit 3 hr 25min and i was on the dot...! coach was really happy ... but at the same time, he was upset with the fact that i had gone too fast in the start. he said based on what he had analyse during my race, he realised i could hit a 3 hour 23 min instead..

coach was happy because i had shaved off 20 minutes from my previous marathon in dec 2007...

but this experience hit me hard. taught me a good lesson. learn to pace myself well..

next marathon: London or Berlin 2009. Berlin marathon would hope to hit a 3 hour 5 min at that time. Hope and pray for full sponsorship for the marathon. San Francisco marathon would be great too.

after the race, i went to harbour town to shop.... went to the NIKE shop and bought many things! 3/4 of them belong to JD and only a few pieces belonged to me.... I called a cab myself and went back to the apartment while coach went for his sports massage!

the last day was spent at brisbane... went shopping again! NIKE store, sports shop and sweets shop... things were relatively expensive there.. so din buy much...

was happy to be back in Singapore. However, i was greeted with a late arrival of JD and his nephew! I was already out of the departure area and he had not arrived! I called him and he say he is slightly late... haha... he dashed to me when he saw me...

that taught him a lesson: never be late for your gf's flight... if not she will complain her whole life...

nike plus:)

i just saw the change in the NIKE plus website with my new photo...
thanks to Zesamine! hahah... some friends commented the interview picture on the webie is sexy..oh my gosh..
when ever have I gotten any sexy image for myself..

i would rather think that it is nice, sporty and nice:)

http://inside.nike.com/blogs/humanrace-en_SG/2008/06/21/sumiko-tan

Keming Track

Keming Primary track and Field.
A team I build up only this year:)

One talented boy won the 800m gold..he was also leading in the 200m finals for the a division boys.. but fell at the last step. he got up, ran to the end and got 6th... sad as he was
but i was very amazed by a boy who came forward to him...offered to give him the trophy... I was amazed by the fact that he was willing to accept the fact that he was not the rightful winner...
that moved me nearly to tears... I was trying very hard to hold back my tears for the fact that Yusuff was near to winning the whole race... but a trip had made him fall... his dreams were gone..

however, he is still very talented:) winning the 800m at 2 min 40 seconds with only 1 month of training has already proved himself :)

good job !

Pearl Izumi Run Series

Pearl Izumi Run series...
first one was 12km... went down with JD.. met up with Pei Shan and Alber.

it was my last race before Gold Coast marathon.
I ran an easy pace... just making sure that I was running around marathon target pace.

It was a fun, enjoyable and heartwarming race where many people turned up. i met up with many friends.

The route was not easy... it had several slopes, 3 bridges and many turns!

in the end, i completed it in 54mins...:) got 3rd.. the prize was good... a watch which could measure heart rate!
pictures after the race...
jd and alberpeishan and me

back from gold coast marathon

Back from Gold Coast.... long time have not updated... soon will update.. lots of info and pictures.

I managed to do a PB of 3hr 24min 54seconds for the Gold Coast Marathon... dun ask me how i did it... I have only one answer : My coach's formula worked for me.. it was right on target..

However, I still have a long way to go.. all the way to 3.10hour next year at Berlin...

interview

My interview is out...

http://inside.nike.com/blogs/humanrace-en_SG/2008/06/21/sumiko-tan

But the photo is .... erm a little ugly and old!

I am still waiting for the photoshoot photos to be out....hopefully it will be!

Leaving for Gold COast.... midnight...be back soon!