.....times of refreshing.....

This was my third consecutive half-marathon with Income Eco Run, which was organised by NTUC Income. It was also my fourth run with them, having did my 10KM on my inaugural run. Thus, this is the marathon I almost joined annually for the past 4 years as well as the most runs I did with the same event. What impressed me most with this run was it is the most affordable among all the running events in SG, well-organised, lots of hydration points with bananas and gels given out even for a HM and finisher-tee. This was also my first run of the year after 'considered' recovered from my plantar faccittis (Heel pain) injury.

My third HM medal from Income Eco run!

I gotta woke up at 2.30am on a Sunday morning in order to board their shuttle bus. That means I gotta sleep at 7.30pm in order to have enough rest for the run. After a simple breakfast of a protein shake and two wheat buns, I started out around 3.15am. It was a 20 min walk from my home to the MRT station to board the bus but I took a cab instead, as I don't feel like walking in the early morning. Once I am on the bus, it pass by some of my running lanes around the neighbourhood and I was tellling to myself, well, that's my preparations. Anyway, I didn't really prepared well for this HM and it was one of the toughest HM for me!

Reached the F1 Pit building at 4am and the run starts at 5am. All folks slowly walking in.

Some thought its a good idea to clear the bladder first

 

I was at the pen which was not opened yet.

At the first pen and selfie with my running buddy, Ravi.

The starting of the run was smooth and I found myself following a group of 2:45 hours pacers. I thought its a good idea to follow them since I will be slow anyway, due to lack to training. However, my short evening runs of 6-7 KM training doesn't really help me much as I 'hit the wall' after 6KM. I was worried that I might not complete the race as when I look ahead, there are still 15KM ahead!! The pacers were slowly leaving me behind and I decided to relax by going to the loo at a nearby toilet. I took a GU gel later at 8KM and started to run slowly combined with brisk walk. It helps me a bit as I seems regained some energy but it was a struggle all along till the finished line.  *phew*

This was taken around 12KM where we are on the way to Gardens by the Bay from East Coast Park and Stadium.

My mood always lightens up when I see the 15KM signage, which means I am into my last quarter of the run.

The last 3 KM seems longer than usual or maybe it's just me! from 17KM to 18KM seems short but 18KM to 19KM was like forever! Anyway, I recorded 21.91KM in my GPS and most of folks also commented it seems longer than 21.1KM. However, I was glad that I managed to finish the run! It was also a humid run!

My sweet finisher tee!

Yours truly in action, nearing the finish line.

Meatball Pasta

Have a good weekend!!

The running and cycling path

Panoramic view of the sea , facing Indonesia

Another running path , it was quiet then.

Almost sunset ... nice to run with a beautiful view

Weekend is around the corner, have a good rest! :)

I guess I posted too many heavyweights posts over the last two months covering my trip to China, thus I decided to go light today or for the next few posts. Oh, you are right, I also running out of ideas to post or probably suffering from a 'withdrawal symptom' , not mental block.  I am looking for more travelogue to write, actually!! LOL

Well, I actually decided to wake up early to run in order to train for my coming NTUC 350 and Sundown Half-Marathons in April and May respectively. However, since I gotta have my breakfast at around 7.30am or else I be late for work, it seems impossible for me to run more than 10KM or cover between 10KM-15KM. To my standard, that would take 2 hours+. If I were to do that, I needed to wake up at 5am+ to run! I think that's really tough for me, who is not a morning person. And, because of that, I salute the disciplined runners who managed to sleep early and wake up as early as 5am to train! I think I can only wake up at 6am+ and that would mean I can only covers 5-6KM the most. So, it's still back to night runs where I have more time but I will try a few morning runs as most of the runs starts in the early morning.

I was at Dragon-i restaurant at Aeon Bukit Indah last weekend, which I think it was opened not too long ago. This was actually the first time my family and I dined there, as we usually go to Canton-i instead.

My pork ribs La mian ... I must say it's very nice, especially the soup

That 'big' Shanghainese Pau again... my kid wanted it and he said it's so much better than the one we had in ChengHuan Miao in Shanghai, and cheaper too here! Oh, he shared my ramen too, since he had a JCO donut not long ago and still full.

A chicken and mushoom rice for my wifey and little princess to share.

A refreshing pot of Pu-erh tea

I think I will patronize Dragon-i more than Canton-i. The food seems more delicious while I can find the HK dim sum from Canton-i from a lot of places.

I have two friends who joined me for the Standard Chartered Marathon, Singapore (SCMS) last Sunday and both were doing their maiden runs. One of them did the 10KM while another one joined me for the half marathon. They were casual runners who jogged regularly but entering a running event never really cross their mind until they signed up for SCMS. The one who did the HM with me was a fast runner, who's paced for a 15KM run averaged around 6 minutes plus and sometimes he hits 5 minutes +. Well, he was a trained policeman before and I guess that was one reason he can run fast. hahaha... After finishing the SCMS, both seems bitten by the running bug and started looking for other runs next year. Well, me too, after I did my maiden 10KM run last Dec, I was also interested into it and the rest are history, though I only participated once every quarter of this year. And, I am also planning for my next runs for 2016. Well, I guess it is addictive after all and I am glad I have more running companions!

Oh.. it's been a while I had my bento, thanks to my late gym workouts. Here's one to reward myself before the weekend! :)


Have a great weekend! :)

Somehow when I am nearing a running event and after been training for it for months, I kinda got lazy during the last few weeks. Well, maybe I was running alone as well as feeling mentally tired to train for it. Well, it's just 2 weeks to go for the Standard Chartered Half-Marathon and I have been dragging myself to train lately...hahaha. It happened to the Sundown HM in last July where I slacked in the last three weeks, just ran 5km to 10KM only and I didn't do too well in that run.

Due to that, last Wednesday, I decided to try on a different route and it seems works. I managed 15KM on almost running on the border of the little town that I stayed in. Well, Singapore is small and the town's border is not big either, unlike Malaysia. However, it was great as I scaled the border of the town in a round as well as trying a new route. It was exciting and refreshing!

Oh.. and I rewarded myself with a ramen set at Ippudo in Orchard.

Salad for starter

Miso Tonkotsu Ramen

And a refreshing cold green tea!

Have a good week!

The cafe at Muji in Paragon, Orchard

My light breakfast, a coffee and an Earl Grey Tea Chiffon Cake

 Have a great weekend!!

Pancake

Bulgogi

Dakgalbi

Ginseng soup

Another egg pancake

Kimchi and vegetables to go along, especially with the Dakgalbi

I think I need to find more information on how to wear the compression socks. hahaha.. .Have a good week!

The haze seems playing hide and seek with us. There were days when it was so bad that I gotta do my runs in the gym, which was packed with people. The treadmills were all full house and I gotta wait for my turn in order to be able to run. And, I dislike running  too long on a treadmill as I usually ends by 5 KM. It's too boring already though I can do some pace runs like 4 * 400 meters in a fast pace. However, I usually just do a 5KM run after a strength workout and leave for home. Then, on a nice day where the haze decided to take an 'off-day', I will try to take the opportunity to run outdoors.

It's actually raising and not raisin, if you got it wrong. Me too, I was wondering where are the raisins! hahahhaha... Well, this is a charity event which  includes running as their first event. My ex-boss actually asked me to join her for the run where my other colleague also took part later, hearing that this is for charity. Though it is for charity, the goodies bag was actually quite good. They gave us 8 packs of meal replacement drinks, biscuits, isotonic drink, lots of vouchers as well as the Brooks running tee which I love it very much!! We opt for 10KM which is the longest run for the event.

The run was pleasant though its a smaller scale event compared to the big boys like Sundown, NTUC or Standard Chartered runs. It was held at the beautiful Gardens by the Bay and the route was similar to the Sundown Half-Marathon towards the last 10KM. The only complaint I had was the hazy skies where the readings are 'moderate unhealthy'. Other than that, it was really a nice, pleasant run and well-organised! Water points are available almost every 2.5KM...well done!

Folks warming up at 6.30am

The MBS in the early morning from Gardens By The Bay

It was still dark

What a nice and beautiful morning before the hazy skies

The flag off ... it was well on time at 7am . can you spot Yours Truly with the runkeeper on and wearing a bluetooth earpiece? hahaha...

Love this pix ... taken by the organiser at no cost. Mak Glam just commented that I look serious  in my instagram...well, actually I am running out of breath and finishing line is just ahead..hahaha... The run was not really difficult except after the 1st KM where we needed to run up the steep path at Marina Barrage. That was a killer stretch I guess. After that, it was all the way down to the Marina Barrage bridge and the terrain are mostly concrete and flat. Near the 5KM mark, there was a grassy path which helps to relax our feet due to the softer terrain.  The finishing line Took a pix with the sporting runners who lifted up the mood of the run. Well, they indeed finished 10KM wearing these and really kudos to them!! Initially I thought there's no medal since this is a charity event but well, to my surprise , I got another one to add to my collections!!

Have a good week!

Have a good mid-week and stay positive !! :)

Have a blissful week and try to achieve 10,000 steps a day. :)

Braised beef set.

'Bonsai' ice-cream

Thank God my ankle is almost fully recovered and I have been running consistently lately, though I only trained for 5KM. I ran for three consecutive days already since Sunday and managed to hit my usual pace. That was great though I was huffing and puffing due to inactivity for almost 3 weeks and it seems running 5KM quite a challenge to me. I guess I will get better with training. I even woke up at 6.50am this morning to run, despite with only 5 hours plus of sleep. :)

Well, last Friday was the last day of the buy one , free one coffee from Starbucks. I decided to treat my colleague with a free similar coffee as well as a raspberry cheese cake. I love the cake, it's slightly salty, sourish and sweet. Then, I ordered my favourite ice blended dark mocha in venti size. It was an awesome afternoon as I worked in Starbucks till around 5pm.

Raspberry Cheese cake - It's slightly sourish and I love it!

My favourite Ice blended Dark Mocha

The queue was kinda long there too on that day where lots of folks take away the coffee. Looking forward to another 1-1 promotion. :)