It is that time of the year, when one takes stock of all the things that have been done (or not), events that happened, people who come into our lives, count our blessings and look forward to the next year.
2012, on hindsight (which is always 100% perfect), was an absolutely crazy year on all account. Every year I try to top the previous year, but this would be hard to match.
2012 was a pure running year for me. It was the first year that I did not have an ironman race, happy to hang up my goggles and bicycle and lace up my shoes instead. Trail running is my first love, the sense of being alive in nature is hard to beat. This was also the year that I started a new routine in my new home, having moved in auspiciously on 31-Dec-2010. I love love love being able to tumble out of bed, get dressed and hit the trail within 2min of my gate. I love my little 小山洞!
It was a year that I foolishly signed up for and completed my first 100k trail ultra at the HK Vibram 100. I missed the trophy cutoff by 50min, but still finished within the overall race time limit. It was a strong reminder to self about mental perseverance, I was that close to giving up at 60km, but thankfully did not. Then it was back to HK again within two weeks for our annual marathon and shopping pilgrimage. A few months later, I found myself at the Jeju 80km trail event. That was a tough race, and we were stopped at 50km. It was worth the experience, I had never expected to be running up Mt Halla, amongst colour-coordinated obasan-trekkers, nor to be skidding in snow and slush for a good part of the race. The next trail race was our local TNF100, where I managed to clock my PB for the 50km, kudos to the good weather.
The penultimate to end the year was my climb at Mt Chulu East (6,584m) in Nepal. We were extremely lucky to have missed the bad weather and snowfall by a day, and managed to summit and descend to Base Camp before the snow carpeted everything. I love being in the mountains.
Studies-wise, 2012 was also the year where my classmates and I decided to bite the bullet and take on a full load during the special semester. That meant attending classes 4 evenings per week, getting through the assignments and projects. Translated: absolutely no life, no dinners and huge stresses. We cramped the schedule and took our 8h-long Capstone exam. I was extremely surprised to be graded the Best Capstone Paper, that was a nice bonus. Four more months to graduation...!
Work was equally demanding, if not more, in 2012. Lots of traveling in the first half of the year, and many new projects which had no precedence to follow (= much brain-juicing for ideas). I also did my first 360-degree evaluation, and it was a sobering and humbling moment to read the report. But it was also a good opportunity to reflect on how to and areas of improvement. It was not an easy transition or learning curve, but I was glad to have the support of good colleagues and boss. It was also a year of thinking through what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go and so forth. A lot of self-discovery, and learning to work with different people. The bright spark in work was the OD Certification Programme that I managed to get myself onto, after months of mulling. There was so much positive energy from the trainers, classmates, and knowledge to learn from everyone. No regrets being on the Programme.
On the personal and family front, many many events happened as well, which I would not openly pen here. Suffice to say, there were many sobering moments and reflections.
As the clock counts down to 2013 in another 5h, what would the new year bring?
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Festive Running
Thank goodness for the long xmas and new year holidays. Happy to be out running the trails after our Nepal trip.
Pre-Xmas Sat: did my usual loop 22-23km
Pre-Xmas Sun: recee-d the BT trails for routes for a corporate climb that I'm organising. Ah-ha! Now I know where all the trails lead to and how they inter-connect! Including where the "Summit" trail from Wallace education centre goes. I've always ran past the opening but never knew where it went.
Xmas eve: again, my usual route
Xmas day: one more time, bliss
The weather has been gorgeous in the past week, cool and not too humid. Parts of the trail were splish-splosh muddy though, after intermittent downpours. I had a hard time washing and getting my shoes dry in time for the next run.
Pre-New Year Sat: long run, 36-37km, woohoo!
It was a perfect day. In the zone, totally. Great weather, legs were finally back in rhythm after Nepal, breathing in sync, and no low-sugar bonking. Ran to MR, did two complete loops, back to Belukar and Zhenghua, and the BT MTB trail. It was one of those I could have gone on forever days. Loved it.
Pre-New Year Sun: usual route, but with Durian Loop
Strangely, Durian loop smelt of jackfruits instead of durians. There was the annual MR-Ultra event at MR today. Happy to spot many familiar Ultra faces, as well as new faces taking on their first ultra. The weather was still cool, though there were bouts of light drizzle and sunshine. Spotted a bruise on my foot arch, the result of overly tight shoelaces from yesterday.
Looking forward to another two days of lazy trail runs. :)
Pre-Xmas Sat: did my usual loop 22-23km
Pre-Xmas Sun: recee-d the BT trails for routes for a corporate climb that I'm organising. Ah-ha! Now I know where all the trails lead to and how they inter-connect! Including where the "Summit" trail from Wallace education centre goes. I've always ran past the opening but never knew where it went.
Xmas eve: again, my usual route
Xmas day: one more time, bliss
The weather has been gorgeous in the past week, cool and not too humid. Parts of the trail were splish-splosh muddy though, after intermittent downpours. I had a hard time washing and getting my shoes dry in time for the next run.
Pre-New Year Sat: long run, 36-37km, woohoo!
It was a perfect day. In the zone, totally. Great weather, legs were finally back in rhythm after Nepal, breathing in sync, and no low-sugar bonking. Ran to MR, did two complete loops, back to Belukar and Zhenghua, and the BT MTB trail. It was one of those I could have gone on forever days. Loved it.
Pre-New Year Sun: usual route, but with Durian Loop
Strangely, Durian loop smelt of jackfruits instead of durians. There was the annual MR-Ultra event at MR today. Happy to spot many familiar Ultra faces, as well as new faces taking on their first ultra. The weather was still cool, though there were bouts of light drizzle and sunshine. Spotted a bruise on my foot arch, the result of overly tight shoelaces from yesterday.
Looking forward to another two days of lazy trail runs. :)
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Nepal - Mt Chulu East Climb (Dec 2012)
My much awaited Nepal climb, happiness is going into the mountains and not being connected (no phone, no internet, back to basics)! This year we attempted Mt Chulu East (6,584m), which was located along the Annapurna side of the country. Ou
My much awaited Nepal climb, happiness is going into the mountains and not being connected (no phone, no internet, back to basics)! This year we attempted Mt Chulu East (6,584m), which was located along the Annapurna side of the country. Our trip was 18 days - 2 days to fly in/ out of Kathmandu, 2 days to take a 7-8h mini-bus ride in/ out of Bhulbhule, and 14 days of trekking and climbing (comprising 9-10 days of ascent and 4-5 days of descent).
It was my first time to that region, my past 4 trips to Nepal have always been to the Everest region. The ethnic composition and scenery was different this time. There was a lot more Indian influence, in terms of the food, dressing and looks. It was only about Day 3 into our trek that the landscape became more Tibetan (prayer flags, prayer wheels, Buddhism etc).
Food
As it was a climbing expedition with a couple of days of camping outdoors, we had our own kitchen crew for this trip. No more ordering the same food items from identical menus from teahouses for 14 days. We had fun guessing what our creative cook had planned for us - 3 meals a day. They were amazing. Breakfast usually comprised a pot of oat porridege or museli + hot milk, and a plate of toasts or Tibetan bread + eggs. Lunch was sometimes an outdoor picnic, where we laid out groundsheet and ate in the company of river streams and mountainous backdrops. We would start off with a hot lemonade or orange juice, followed by a plate of pasta + veg + ham, or Tibetan bread and various condiments. Dinner would be more luxurious. By late afternoons, we would have reached and settled into a teahouse for the night. Our kitchen crew would set up a cooking tent nearby and prepare huge amounts of food for us. Tea comprises a hot juice and some biscuits. Then it was time for pre-dinner snacks, like pop-corn, crackers or papaduams. Followed by soup, and the mains - which could be rice, pasta or pizza, with an assortment of vegetables (stir-fried, boiled, curried etc) and perhaps some meats if available. We would then end off with canned fruits for dessert, or an occasional apple pie, and a chocolate cake for our last night. I loved having our kitchen crew, it made the trip so much more bearable!
Logistics
For a client group of 5 pax, we had a support crew of 17 pax (3 climbing guides, 5 kitchen crew, and 9 porters). In between the porters, they lugged our giant duffel bags, and all the camping and climbing equipment up to high camp at amazing speed. Each porter could easily manage 50 - 60 kg, with finesse and speed. They must have wondered what on earth we brought, to warrant such huge duffel bags, when each of them only had an extra jacket and a small pack of necessities.
Itinerary
Our itinerary was a mix of staying in teahouses and camping (see table). From Bhulbhule to Humde, we stayed in teahouses. From Yak Khara onwards, we pitched tents and camped outdoors. In addition to the sleeping tents, we had a toilet tent and a dining tent. The nights got colder as we went higher, especially those camping nights where my fingers were absolutely in pain from touching water in the cold. Brrrr.....
The bus rides took about 7-8h each way. Each trekking day required anywhere from 3 - 8h of walking. The initial days were spent walking along a winding mountain road, and it was depressing to see jeeps going by while we were on foot. After Chame we were back in the trail and it was a much more enjoyable walk.
I enjoyed the Base Camp. It was a nice open area (ie. exposed to the warmth of the sun), next to a running river (water source), and non-windy. Perfect for setting up base. The first day we arrived at Base Camp, I managed to scoop out water from the river for a hair wash - cold but so refreshing! We spent an extra day at Base Camp for acclimatisation and some basic ice-climbing training. Not the ice-axe kind of climbing, but the basics of using crampons and going up a frozen ice-wall with a jumar. We would need that for the summit day.
From Base Camp to High Camp, it was a relatively steep ascent, taking us about 3h to complete. High Camp was not as hospitable, there was no running water except for a frozen 'pool' near our tents. Our kitchen crew had to hack the ice and snow and melt them for water. We also did not have a toilet tent and every call of nature required a fair bit of walking away from the campsite.
Summit Attempt
Summit Day saw us waking at 3am to prepare for the summit attempt. The plan was to trek up a rocky morraine path to the snow line, put on our mountaineering boots and crampons, and continue the rest of the ascent with fixed ropes and jumars. Our climbing guides were amazing. They had just spent the day before going up the summit and fixing the ropes (while we rested at High Camp). And they now had to repeat the process with us. It was a gloomy, cloudy day, with not much sunshine but lots of wind.
At the start of the summit attempt, it was still dark and I could not really see where I was going because my headlamp was not bright enough. My guide noticed my unsure steps and swapped my headlamp with his stronger piece. As usual, I was not very awake nor functional before the sun was out. I actually contemplated turning around if the guys ahead of me decided to give up. But I could not do it. I ran a mental checklist of 'discomforts' or reasons why I should turn around - cold? (no), hungry? (no), tired? (no).... Oops, ok, I had no excuses and I would not be able to forgive my decision if I stopped. So I plodded on, and I was fine once the sun rose! Especially after we got into our boots and crampons and hit the snow. The summit was nowhere to be seen, we were simply going up the ropes, one undulating slope after another, it seemed endless.
There were 5 of us on the slopes. One guide, Tenzing, was ahead, bringing up the fixed ropes. Alber and WH were the two dots in the middle, and I was with another guide, Dawa, at the back. My guide was very encouraging. He kept reminding me to go at my own pace and not try to catch up with the guys. Half the time he was helping me up the slope, making sure that I did not slip, or holding my arm and setting the pace for me. All of us finally reached the summit at 11am on 11-Dec-2012! It was extremely windy up there. Even though I was dressed warmly enough (including a ninja balaclava), whatever that was left exposed of my face was getting lashed by the wind.
Our summit took us 7-8h, and we spent another 3h descending to High Camp. Of that 10h, I sipped a grand total of 2 mouthfuls of water and ate 1 museli bar! There was hot noodle soup awaiting us once we got to back High Camp. After some rest, we packed up, broke camp, and descended to Base Camp.
Descent
I recall getting out of my tent at 430am for the toilet. It was chilly compared to a couple of days ago. Imagine our surprise when we woke up to a white campsite dumped with overnight snow. Everything was covered and awashed with fresh snow. The entire landscape changed overnight, from grey-brown morraine, to a winter wonderland feel. What a huge difference the snow made.
For the descent, we walked an average of 8h each day, in a bid to cover as much distance as possible to reach the next teahouse.
[to be continued...]
My much awaited Nepal climb, happiness is going into the mountains and not being connected (no phone, no internet, back to basics)! This year we attempted Mt Chulu East (6,584m), which was located along the Annapurna side of the country. Our trip was 18 days - 2 days to fly in/ out of Kathmandu, 2 days to take a 7-8h mini-bus ride in/ out of Bhulbhule, and 14 days of trekking and climbing (comprising 9-10 days of ascent and 4-5 days of descent).
It was my first time to that region, my past 4 trips to Nepal have always been to the Everest region. The ethnic composition and scenery was different this time. There was a lot more Indian influence, in terms of the food, dressing and looks. It was only about Day 3 into our trek that the landscape became more Tibetan (prayer flags, prayer wheels, Buddhism etc).
Food
As it was a climbing expedition with a couple of days of camping outdoors, we had our own kitchen crew for this trip. No more ordering the same food items from identical menus from teahouses for 14 days. We had fun guessing what our creative cook had planned for us - 3 meals a day. They were amazing. Breakfast usually comprised a pot of oat porridege or museli + hot milk, and a plate of toasts or Tibetan bread + eggs. Lunch was sometimes an outdoor picnic, where we laid out groundsheet and ate in the company of river streams and mountainous backdrops. We would start off with a hot lemonade or orange juice, followed by a plate of pasta + veg + ham, or Tibetan bread and various condiments. Dinner would be more luxurious. By late afternoons, we would have reached and settled into a teahouse for the night. Our kitchen crew would set up a cooking tent nearby and prepare huge amounts of food for us. Tea comprises a hot juice and some biscuits. Then it was time for pre-dinner snacks, like pop-corn, crackers or papaduams. Followed by soup, and the mains - which could be rice, pasta or pizza, with an assortment of vegetables (stir-fried, boiled, curried etc) and perhaps some meats if available. We would then end off with canned fruits for dessert, or an occasional apple pie, and a chocolate cake for our last night. I loved having our kitchen crew, it made the trip so much more bearable!
Logistics
For a client group of 5 pax, we had a support crew of 17 pax (3 climbing guides, 5 kitchen crew, and 9 porters). In between the porters, they lugged our giant duffel bags, and all the camping and climbing equipment up to high camp at amazing speed. Each porter could easily manage 50 - 60 kg, with finesse and speed. They must have wondered what on earth we brought, to warrant such huge duffel bags, when each of them only had an extra jacket and a small pack of necessities.
Itinerary
Our itinerary was a mix of staying in teahouses and camping (see table). From Bhulbhule to Humde, we stayed in teahouses. From Yak Khara onwards, we pitched tents and camped outdoors. In addition to the sleeping tents, we had a toilet tent and a dining tent. The nights got colder as we went higher, especially those camping nights where my fingers were absolutely in pain from touching water in the cold. Brrrr.....
Date
|
Itinerary
|
30-Nov
|
Fly in to KTM
|
1-Dec
|
Take bus to Bhulbhule (840m)
|
2-Dec
|
Trek to Jagat (1314m)
|
3-Dec
|
Trek to Dharapani (1920m)
|
4-Dec
|
Trek to Chame (2713m)
|
5-Dec
|
Trek to Humde (3300m)
|
6-Dec
|
Rest day at Humde (equipment training)
|
7-Dec
|
Trek to Yak Khara (3870m)
|
8-Dec
|
Trek to base camp (4500m)
|
9-Dec
|
Base camp rest day & acclimatisation (ice-climbing training)
|
10-Dec
|
Trek to Chulu East high camp (5300m)
|
11-Dec
|
Chulu East summit attempt (6584m) and back
to base camp
|
12-Dec
|
Trek Base camp to Humde (3300m)
|
13-Dec
|
Trek to Chame (2713m)
|
14-Dec
|
Trek to Chyamche (1700m)
|
15-Dec
|
Trek to Bhulbhule (840m)
|
16-Dec
|
Take a bus back to Kathmandu
|
17-Dec
|
Fly out of KTM
|
The bus rides took about 7-8h each way. Each trekking day required anywhere from 3 - 8h of walking. The initial days were spent walking along a winding mountain road, and it was depressing to see jeeps going by while we were on foot. After Chame we were back in the trail and it was a much more enjoyable walk.
I enjoyed the Base Camp. It was a nice open area (ie. exposed to the warmth of the sun), next to a running river (water source), and non-windy. Perfect for setting up base. The first day we arrived at Base Camp, I managed to scoop out water from the river for a hair wash - cold but so refreshing! We spent an extra day at Base Camp for acclimatisation and some basic ice-climbing training. Not the ice-axe kind of climbing, but the basics of using crampons and going up a frozen ice-wall with a jumar. We would need that for the summit day.
From Base Camp to High Camp, it was a relatively steep ascent, taking us about 3h to complete. High Camp was not as hospitable, there was no running water except for a frozen 'pool' near our tents. Our kitchen crew had to hack the ice and snow and melt them for water. We also did not have a toilet tent and every call of nature required a fair bit of walking away from the campsite.
Summit Attempt
Summit Day saw us waking at 3am to prepare for the summit attempt. The plan was to trek up a rocky morraine path to the snow line, put on our mountaineering boots and crampons, and continue the rest of the ascent with fixed ropes and jumars. Our climbing guides were amazing. They had just spent the day before going up the summit and fixing the ropes (while we rested at High Camp). And they now had to repeat the process with us. It was a gloomy, cloudy day, with not much sunshine but lots of wind.
At the start of the summit attempt, it was still dark and I could not really see where I was going because my headlamp was not bright enough. My guide noticed my unsure steps and swapped my headlamp with his stronger piece. As usual, I was not very awake nor functional before the sun was out. I actually contemplated turning around if the guys ahead of me decided to give up. But I could not do it. I ran a mental checklist of 'discomforts' or reasons why I should turn around - cold? (no), hungry? (no), tired? (no).... Oops, ok, I had no excuses and I would not be able to forgive my decision if I stopped. So I plodded on, and I was fine once the sun rose! Especially after we got into our boots and crampons and hit the snow. The summit was nowhere to be seen, we were simply going up the ropes, one undulating slope after another, it seemed endless.
There were 5 of us on the slopes. One guide, Tenzing, was ahead, bringing up the fixed ropes. Alber and WH were the two dots in the middle, and I was with another guide, Dawa, at the back. My guide was very encouraging. He kept reminding me to go at my own pace and not try to catch up with the guys. Half the time he was helping me up the slope, making sure that I did not slip, or holding my arm and setting the pace for me. All of us finally reached the summit at 11am on 11-Dec-2012! It was extremely windy up there. Even though I was dressed warmly enough (including a ninja balaclava), whatever that was left exposed of my face was getting lashed by the wind.
Our summit took us 7-8h, and we spent another 3h descending to High Camp. Of that 10h, I sipped a grand total of 2 mouthfuls of water and ate 1 museli bar! There was hot noodle soup awaiting us once we got to back High Camp. After some rest, we packed up, broke camp, and descended to Base Camp.
Descent
I recall getting out of my tent at 430am for the toilet. It was chilly compared to a couple of days ago. Imagine our surprise when we woke up to a white campsite dumped with overnight snow. Everything was covered and awashed with fresh snow. The entire landscape changed overnight, from grey-brown morraine, to a winter wonderland feel. What a huge difference the snow made.
For the descent, we walked an average of 8h each day, in a bid to cover as much distance as possible to reach the next teahouse.
[to be continued...]
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
I Have Been Running...
Yes I know, silence for three months. But I've been running, just not been able to find the time to write. I finally have some respite now that school is over and work is winding down for the year.
Trying to do a massive recap and download of what happened in the past months.
The key event would be the annual TNF 50km race in Oct 2012. The weather was fabulous this year ... but! I still cramped. At the same area each year, around Rifle Range Road, approximately 40km +/-. Each year, without fail. Sigh. Despite that, I managed to clock my PB for this race, so I was rather satisfied.
That night after the race, I flew to Brazil with a colleague. Trapped in the 20-odd hour flight, my feet swelled like trotters. People tell me that Rio is a beautiful city, and we were staying on the Ipanema Beach - the place where songs are composed after. A popular running area was along the 12km coastal front. I did that for a couple of mornings, can't say that I enjoyed the runs though. Firstly, I must declare that I do not like running on an endless pavement by the beach (I love trails). Secondly, The morning sun was really blazing - the sun there at 7am felt like the sun in Singapore at 10am.
I kept up with my morning and weekend runs, not as much as I would like to though. Had a few days of study leave in Nov and managed to squeeze in long runs each day. Great way to de-stress and recall my readings.
Then it is off to Nepal for a Chulu East climb - miss the mountains already!
Trying to do a massive recap and download of what happened in the past months.
The key event would be the annual TNF 50km race in Oct 2012. The weather was fabulous this year ... but! I still cramped. At the same area each year, around Rifle Range Road, approximately 40km +/-. Each year, without fail. Sigh. Despite that, I managed to clock my PB for this race, so I was rather satisfied.
That night after the race, I flew to Brazil with a colleague. Trapped in the 20-odd hour flight, my feet swelled like trotters. People tell me that Rio is a beautiful city, and we were staying on the Ipanema Beach - the place where songs are composed after. A popular running area was along the 12km coastal front. I did that for a couple of mornings, can't say that I enjoyed the runs though. Firstly, I must declare that I do not like running on an endless pavement by the beach (I love trails). Secondly, The morning sun was really blazing - the sun there at 7am felt like the sun in Singapore at 10am.
I kept up with my morning and weekend runs, not as much as I would like to though. Had a few days of study leave in Nov and managed to squeeze in long runs each day. Great way to de-stress and recall my readings.
Then it is off to Nepal for a Chulu East climb - miss the mountains already!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
New Shoes - TNF Women's Double Track
I have several brands of trail shoes. I have tried Asics, Salomon and TNF, and I mix them around for runs, depending on the distance and my mood.
I had a pair of TNF Sentinel which I won from a previous TNF race, and it was surprisingly a nice pair of shoes for the trail, with good support for my arches. I was looking for a replacement, googled some ideas, and came upon a fellow runner's blog about a new model from TNF. So here's another ultra runner who used to wear the Sentinel and tried a new pair, enough persuasion for me to check it out when I was in Chicago.
The TNF Women's Double Track is an award winning trail shoe, providing structured cushioning support while maintaining a lightweight body. It weighed about 272g per shoe and had a very roomy toebox. The shoe did not feel constricted and I felt like I was running with my normal road shoes (eg. Asics GT or Kayano). By comparison, my other pair is the Salomon Crossmax Guidance (structured/ stability), which reportedly is 300gm per side (to be fair, they have their pluses too). The Double Track had a very cushy tongue and heel cradle (it felt snug, like the Asics Kayano), and a mesh front with a couple of drainage holes near the toe area to rid water quickly (should you step into puddles).
I took the Double Track on a maiden run. It was light enough for the tarmac, and snug enough for the trail. I started off with a loose lacing, and my feet slid as I went into the trail. After tightening the laces, I was a lot more in control. The grip was ok - but then again, it was a dry trail.
The run turned into a mud-slosh when the downpour hit. Oh might as well, a chance for me to test the shoes in the wet trail. They were lightweight to begin with, so they did not feel too heavy even when totally soaked. The front drainage holes also helped in relieving the water inside the shoes. However, they had no grip on wet down-sloped granite covered with algae. Trail runners in Singapore would understand that terrain - huge slabs of granite on an incline, covered with a layer of green moss and algae, and incredibly slippery when wet. Otherwise, the traction from the shoes was fine on the trails and other rough rock surfaces, even in the rain.
The other downside of the shoes was the soft mesh toebox. I guess it is a tradeoff between weight, protection, and responsiveness. The ability to flex our toes and respond quickly to the terrain means that the toebox area cannot be too stiff (eg. road shoes vs trail shoes, Double Track vs Crossmax). As such, I could feel rocks and stones on the sides if I stepped into a messy bunch of them. I am sure as a run gets longer, and my legs more tired out, I would end up losing my posture, strides and control of where my steps go. That meant that I am bound to kick into more rocks, which is not good with a softer toebox.
Nonetheless, I was happy with the shoes. First run, 26 - 27km of dry road, dry and wet trails, and I had no abrasion or hotspots whatsoever. The arch support worked well too (no discomfort is good news). All in, it is a superb pair for soft trails, eg. MR loops, and 20 - 30km distances. I will try the shoes again for a better sense of the 'rock-kicking' impact, before deciding if they can go on an ultra.
I had a pair of TNF Sentinel which I won from a previous TNF race, and it was surprisingly a nice pair of shoes for the trail, with good support for my arches. I was looking for a replacement, googled some ideas, and came upon a fellow runner's blog about a new model from TNF. So here's another ultra runner who used to wear the Sentinel and tried a new pair, enough persuasion for me to check it out when I was in Chicago.
The TNF Women's Double Track is an award winning trail shoe, providing structured cushioning support while maintaining a lightweight body. It weighed about 272g per shoe and had a very roomy toebox. The shoe did not feel constricted and I felt like I was running with my normal road shoes (eg. Asics GT or Kayano). By comparison, my other pair is the Salomon Crossmax Guidance (structured/ stability), which reportedly is 300gm per side (to be fair, they have their pluses too). The Double Track had a very cushy tongue and heel cradle (it felt snug, like the Asics Kayano), and a mesh front with a couple of drainage holes near the toe area to rid water quickly (should you step into puddles).
I took the Double Track on a maiden run. It was light enough for the tarmac, and snug enough for the trail. I started off with a loose lacing, and my feet slid as I went into the trail. After tightening the laces, I was a lot more in control. The grip was ok - but then again, it was a dry trail.
The run turned into a mud-slosh when the downpour hit. Oh might as well, a chance for me to test the shoes in the wet trail. They were lightweight to begin with, so they did not feel too heavy even when totally soaked. The front drainage holes also helped in relieving the water inside the shoes. However, they had no grip on wet down-sloped granite covered with algae. Trail runners in Singapore would understand that terrain - huge slabs of granite on an incline, covered with a layer of green moss and algae, and incredibly slippery when wet. Otherwise, the traction from the shoes was fine on the trails and other rough rock surfaces, even in the rain.
The other downside of the shoes was the soft mesh toebox. I guess it is a tradeoff between weight, protection, and responsiveness. The ability to flex our toes and respond quickly to the terrain means that the toebox area cannot be too stiff (eg. road shoes vs trail shoes, Double Track vs Crossmax). As such, I could feel rocks and stones on the sides if I stepped into a messy bunch of them. I am sure as a run gets longer, and my legs more tired out, I would end up losing my posture, strides and control of where my steps go. That meant that I am bound to kick into more rocks, which is not good with a softer toebox.
Nonetheless, I was happy with the shoes. First run, 26 - 27km of dry road, dry and wet trails, and I had no abrasion or hotspots whatsoever. The arch support worked well too (no discomfort is good news). All in, it is a superb pair for soft trails, eg. MR loops, and 20 - 30km distances. I will try the shoes again for a better sense of the 'rock-kicking' impact, before deciding if they can go on an ultra.
Back in the Humidity
Chicago is not called the "Windy City" for nothing. Despite temperatures of 15-18 degC, the wind chill factors were enough to cut through my micro-fleece (lesson: research more on the place before packing), which was the only warm jacket that I brought. I was ignorant of the 'wind' until I arrived. Brilliant...
So after a few days enjoying the cool weather, I was back and blasted by the heat in Singapore.
Did a short recovery run on Tues morning, like 50min up and down Rifle Range Road. Legs started off light, then became weights after 30min.
Went down to Safra and ran around Canterbury with Alber on Thurs, about 12km. Ok, decent.
On Saturday, I tried out my brand new TNF shoes (I will blog about that separately). Felt in form and aided by the cool weather, I went from BT-MR-Zhenghua-DairyFarm MTB route. It was about 26 - 27 km, of which the last 4km was a sudden downpour. It was one of those catchment area rainfalls, coming down strong and hard. In no time, the trail was transformed into a teh-tarik-orange mud pool. At many parts, there was no where to step but right into the puddles, with no clue of how deep it might be. Most of them were feet or ankle-deep. After a while, I gave up trying to circumvent the waters (conserving the new shoes was futile). There is something about running in the rain, in the trail (very important - not roads, but trail), that makes one feel alive. Like a child told not to go out and play in the rain, this is like a rebellious streak at work. :)
Sunday was spent on a supposedly last long run with friends (before the TNF race comes up in two weeks' time). I ran to MR and met them inside along the way, then back out again to Zhenghua, up the park connector for a distance, u-turned and retraced the route. I got it wrong and continued towards the Ranger Station for a water refill, instead of towards Jelutong Tower. It was a good mistake anyway because by the last 1 km, I was very low on sugar and energy. Glad to make it back and end the run. 24km. Starving. Iced chocolate milk to the rescue.
So after a few days enjoying the cool weather, I was back and blasted by the heat in Singapore.
Did a short recovery run on Tues morning, like 50min up and down Rifle Range Road. Legs started off light, then became weights after 30min.
Went down to Safra and ran around Canterbury with Alber on Thurs, about 12km. Ok, decent.
On Saturday, I tried out my brand new TNF shoes (I will blog about that separately). Felt in form and aided by the cool weather, I went from BT-MR-Zhenghua-DairyFarm MTB route. It was about 26 - 27 km, of which the last 4km was a sudden downpour. It was one of those catchment area rainfalls, coming down strong and hard. In no time, the trail was transformed into a teh-tarik-orange mud pool. At many parts, there was no where to step but right into the puddles, with no clue of how deep it might be. Most of them were feet or ankle-deep. After a while, I gave up trying to circumvent the waters (conserving the new shoes was futile). There is something about running in the rain, in the trail (very important - not roads, but trail), that makes one feel alive. Like a child told not to go out and play in the rain, this is like a rebellious streak at work. :)
Sunday was spent on a supposedly last long run with friends (before the TNF race comes up in two weeks' time). I ran to MR and met them inside along the way, then back out again to Zhenghua, up the park connector for a distance, u-turned and retraced the route. I got it wrong and continued towards the Ranger Station for a water refill, instead of towards Jelutong Tower. It was a good mistake anyway because by the last 1 km, I was very low on sugar and energy. Glad to make it back and end the run. 24km. Starving. Iced chocolate milk to the rescue.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Travelling Runs
Lots of things happened in the past two weeks, and I was grateful for a couple of runs to clear my head.
Did the same BT-MR route twice last weekend, and then I was off to Chicago for a few days.
Managed to get only 1 run done while I was there - about 12km along the Downtown lakefront (shoreline). It was a very long stretch of shoreline that linked a couple of parks and residential areas together, and looked like it could extend for quite a bit. I heard it was about 18mi long one way (~28-29km), would have been nice if I had more time. .... Then again, it was rather boring as well, simply going up and down along the coast with not much to see (Imagine ECP extended 3 times one way).
Through my travels, the commonly found running spots in every city tend to be along an extended coastline, or around a river/ lake, or some huge water bodies. While I have since realised that I do not much enjoy those routes, they do make for plan-less, safe and no-brainer runs. No need to figure out directions, just go and u-turn where appropriate. There would be fellow runners, walkers, cyclists and water-coolers (!) along the routes for company.
In my oft-garang-overly-enthused states, I have gone out running/ jogging in temperatures ranging from 0 degC to the 20s degC. On snow, slush, sand and tarmac. It was kinda fun layering and experimenting with my running gear (I was often the over-dressed runner around...) and taking in the sounds and sights. I see what the locals are wearing, and learn about interesting gear that never feature in the running scene here in Singapore.
The rare few occasions when I had to hit the treadmill in the gyms, it was a pure mental torture. I'm convinced that running on the treadmill takes out the feeling and experience of 'living' that running outdoors provided. Nothing like getting the cold air smack me in the face, waking me up instantly. Or breathing in the cool, crisp freshness of the morning dew and plants. Or listening to the rhythmic crunch of snow-slush under my shoes (never mind that my runners were white-coloured and not waterproof).
That pair of running shoes is the first thing that goes into my luggage each time I pack. They take me places. :)
Did the same BT-MR route twice last weekend, and then I was off to Chicago for a few days.
Managed to get only 1 run done while I was there - about 12km along the Downtown lakefront (shoreline). It was a very long stretch of shoreline that linked a couple of parks and residential areas together, and looked like it could extend for quite a bit. I heard it was about 18mi long one way (~28-29km), would have been nice if I had more time. .... Then again, it was rather boring as well, simply going up and down along the coast with not much to see (Imagine ECP extended 3 times one way).
Through my travels, the commonly found running spots in every city tend to be along an extended coastline, or around a river/ lake, or some huge water bodies. While I have since realised that I do not much enjoy those routes, they do make for plan-less, safe and no-brainer runs. No need to figure out directions, just go and u-turn where appropriate. There would be fellow runners, walkers, cyclists and water-coolers (!) along the routes for company.
In my oft-garang-overly-enthused states, I have gone out running/ jogging in temperatures ranging from 0 degC to the 20s degC. On snow, slush, sand and tarmac. It was kinda fun layering and experimenting with my running gear (I was often the over-dressed runner around...) and taking in the sounds and sights. I see what the locals are wearing, and learn about interesting gear that never feature in the running scene here in Singapore.
The rare few occasions when I had to hit the treadmill in the gyms, it was a pure mental torture. I'm convinced that running on the treadmill takes out the feeling and experience of 'living' that running outdoors provided. Nothing like getting the cold air smack me in the face, waking me up instantly. Or breathing in the cool, crisp freshness of the morning dew and plants. Or listening to the rhythmic crunch of snow-slush under my shoes (never mind that my runners were white-coloured and not waterproof).
That pair of running shoes is the first thing that goes into my luggage each time I pack. They take me places. :)
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Second Warrior Weekend
The incessant cough was still around last week. Due to an unfortunate combination of work and coughs, I again was unable to get in any runs for the entire week. But! at least this past weekend was better than last week.
I managed the full loop on Saturday. The trail was surprisingly empty. Many runners must have stayed away to keep their energies for the Army Half Marathon the next day. I did not sign up. It just did not feel worthwhile paying to run 21km, especially since I had no time targets whatsoever and also far from any podium finishing.
On Sunday, we revisited the 32km route from last weekend. I decided to use my supposedly 'race day' shoes - my Salomon XA Pro 5. My word, they weighed and felt a tonne! Perhaps I had been so used to my Salomon Crossmax and TNF trail shoes, both of which were lighter, that I felt the drag on my legs. My quads had to work harder to lift my legs, and I had to concentrate on a proper running posture rather than shuffling and stomping my feet on the ground. Anyhow, by 10km, my legs were totally in fatigue. Another 22km to go, up and down, and up and down!
Despite the shoes, I was in better shape than last weekend. I could still run after the Golf Link and the remaining 5km. Last week, I was pretty much walking on low-batt by that time.
My friends were doing very well with their training plans and conditioning. Everyone completed the distance in better condition than the weeks before. I am so proud of and inspired by them all!
I managed the full loop on Saturday. The trail was surprisingly empty. Many runners must have stayed away to keep their energies for the Army Half Marathon the next day. I did not sign up. It just did not feel worthwhile paying to run 21km, especially since I had no time targets whatsoever and also far from any podium finishing.
On Sunday, we revisited the 32km route from last weekend. I decided to use my supposedly 'race day' shoes - my Salomon XA Pro 5. My word, they weighed and felt a tonne! Perhaps I had been so used to my Salomon Crossmax and TNF trail shoes, both of which were lighter, that I felt the drag on my legs. My quads had to work harder to lift my legs, and I had to concentrate on a proper running posture rather than shuffling and stomping my feet on the ground. Anyhow, by 10km, my legs were totally in fatigue. Another 22km to go, up and down, and up and down!
Despite the shoes, I was in better shape than last weekend. I could still run after the Golf Link and the remaining 5km. Last week, I was pretty much walking on low-batt by that time.
My friends were doing very well with their training plans and conditioning. Everyone completed the distance in better condition than the weeks before. I am so proud of and inspired by them all!
Monday, September 3, 2012
Our Weekend Warrior-ing
For the past two weekends, I tried to complete back to back long runs. Not as long as some of my fanatical friends, but ranging from 20-30km each.
Two weekends ago, I managed my usual 22-23ish km out-and-back route on Sat, followed by 30km on Sun with my friends who were training very hard for TNF and HK100. My waterbag bladder was leaking and within 20min, my shorts were dripping wet, straight into my socks. By the end of the run, my feet were like in a goldfish pond. Everyone finished the run. So very proud of my friends at the strong base that they were building up, consistently over the weeks. Doing very well!
And then I must have over-ran, aka ran too much, over-pushed. I fell sick for a week, in between flu-ish, shivers and hot, and coughs. So I stopped running for 5 full days, a record. The aches and temperatures went away, but not the cough. :(
When I attempted to run this last Sat, it was anything but easy. It should have been a nice run with fresh legs, but no. It was lethargic, and I did not finish my usual route. Cut short somewhere in MR and ran about 2h+. I reckoned it was 16km. Popped two panadols max that day and drugged myself with cough syrup.
Sunday was a lot better. I had a new hydration bladder (the inner waterbag piece) and new cool-dry socks. We planned a new route for 32km. Incorporated a 4km loop around Durian Loop, and I brought them to Wallace Education Ctr for pitstop. It was a different and tougher route, having more slopes and tricky tree roots. The weather was hot and I was so near to cramping. The last few km I just hobbled and jogged along. I only ate one Stinger waffle and was starting to feel energy-less by then. Again, everyone was able to complete the route despite the pain.Very encouraging!
Two weekends ago, I managed my usual 22-23ish km out-and-back route on Sat, followed by 30km on Sun with my friends who were training very hard for TNF and HK100. My waterbag bladder was leaking and within 20min, my shorts were dripping wet, straight into my socks. By the end of the run, my feet were like in a goldfish pond. Everyone finished the run. So very proud of my friends at the strong base that they were building up, consistently over the weeks. Doing very well!
And then I must have over-ran, aka ran too much, over-pushed. I fell sick for a week, in between flu-ish, shivers and hot, and coughs. So I stopped running for 5 full days, a record. The aches and temperatures went away, but not the cough. :(
When I attempted to run this last Sat, it was anything but easy. It should have been a nice run with fresh legs, but no. It was lethargic, and I did not finish my usual route. Cut short somewhere in MR and ran about 2h+. I reckoned it was 16km. Popped two panadols max that day and drugged myself with cough syrup.
Sunday was a lot better. I had a new hydration bladder (the inner waterbag piece) and new cool-dry socks. We planned a new route for 32km. Incorporated a 4km loop around Durian Loop, and I brought them to Wallace Education Ctr for pitstop. It was a different and tougher route, having more slopes and tricky tree roots. The weather was hot and I was so near to cramping. The last few km I just hobbled and jogged along. I only ate one Stinger waffle and was starting to feel energy-less by then. Again, everyone was able to complete the route despite the pain.Very encouraging!
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
My Weekly Thrills
Guess I'm probably only able to record my runs on a weekly basis, takes too much time to blog daily. We just had another long weekend, straight after National Day. It was Hari Raya Puasa on Sunday, which meant a public holiday on Monday. Did a couple of short morning runs, but saved my legs for the long weekend.
Ran my BT-MR route on Saturday, the weather was rather forgiving. It started off very hot but cooled off towards the late morning. 2:45h, normal.
Met up with friends for a long run on Sunday. They started from MR and I met them along Rifle Range Road. I brought my hydration bag that day (I normally hold a water bottle), and spent some time adjusting the bag to minimise bouncing and abrasion. What a huge difference the bounce and no-bounce made!
We were clocking mileage for TNF100. Well, sort of. I love long runs, regardless of events. :) We ran through the field to Zhenghua, cut through the Park Connector and flats, under the overpass, and over to the Gangsa MTB trail. It was a slightly different route from the actual TNF race, but eventually merged back to the same path, at which point we u-turned and made our way back to MR. We parted company there and I made my way back home through Rifle Range Road (again). Took about 4:30h in total, the last 8+km was in between jogs and walks. I think it was 30+abit km. I was starting to get hungry, but the run felt so good. :)
Rested on Monday. Wanted to run, but thought better otherwise.
So I ran in the BT-MTB trail this morning (Tues) before work. A recovery run as legs refused to be agile. They felt heavy but when I checked, there were no ankle weights. Ahh. Anyway, while I was on my slow-plod, I saw something slithering away. I stopped to make sure it fully disappeared into the grass before I continued. It looked like a snake, with vertical stripes, but I could be mistaken. It could possibly be the tail of a skink... though it looked longer than that. Eeeeks, snakes never fail to send me shivers just by seeing them.
On my way out, I spied two blue-breasted birds chirping and fighting over some berries atop a bush. Then there was a grey-yellowish bird pecking at the berries, oblivious to its rowdy neighbours. I think I should go get an animal-bird-watching book, so that I can start naming them right and sound smart, instead of describing everything as a bird, tree, or snake!
Ran my BT-MR route on Saturday, the weather was rather forgiving. It started off very hot but cooled off towards the late morning. 2:45h, normal.
Met up with friends for a long run on Sunday. They started from MR and I met them along Rifle Range Road. I brought my hydration bag that day (I normally hold a water bottle), and spent some time adjusting the bag to minimise bouncing and abrasion. What a huge difference the bounce and no-bounce made!
We were clocking mileage for TNF100. Well, sort of. I love long runs, regardless of events. :) We ran through the field to Zhenghua, cut through the Park Connector and flats, under the overpass, and over to the Gangsa MTB trail. It was a slightly different route from the actual TNF race, but eventually merged back to the same path, at which point we u-turned and made our way back to MR. We parted company there and I made my way back home through Rifle Range Road (again). Took about 4:30h in total, the last 8+km was in between jogs and walks. I think it was 30+abit km. I was starting to get hungry, but the run felt so good. :)
Rested on Monday. Wanted to run, but thought better otherwise.
So I ran in the BT-MTB trail this morning (Tues) before work. A recovery run as legs refused to be agile. They felt heavy but when I checked, there were no ankle weights. Ahh. Anyway, while I was on my slow-plod, I saw something slithering away. I stopped to make sure it fully disappeared into the grass before I continued. It looked like a snake, with vertical stripes, but I could be mistaken. It could possibly be the tail of a skink... though it looked longer than that. Eeeeks, snakes never fail to send me shivers just by seeing them.
On my way out, I spied two blue-breasted birds chirping and fighting over some berries atop a bush. Then there was a grey-yellowish bird pecking at the berries, oblivious to its rowdy neighbours. I think I should go get an animal-bird-watching book, so that I can start naming them right and sound smart, instead of describing everything as a bird, tree, or snake!
Monday, August 13, 2012
National Day Runs
Over the last national day short work-week, I managed to clock in my usual trail runs.
National day saw me waking up early and hitting the trail by 8ish (very early by my standards) and finishing the to-fro route within 3h. I had wanted to join my friends and meet them halfway for the run, but woke up late and missed timings, so I ran alone.
Then on Saturday, I was able adjust the route a little and add another 3.5 - 4km. I headed off Rifle Range Road and went towards Zhenghua, before rejoining along the Belukar MTB trail to get home (via the Wallace Centre and DF Quarry walls). The sun was blazing, the exposed field to Zhenghua was a downer, so difficult to run. Under the shade was a lot better. As I went to the water-cooler at Wallace Centre, I bumped into an old schoolmate, Wilson. Ah-ha! I did not know that one could book the exhibition space there for events. Idea, albeit very hot.
Sunday, my legs felt a bit tired. I was up early as I had a curfew to be home by 1030am. It was a dash, I put in effort to go faster than my usual comfortable pace. And lo behold! I actually made it sub-2:40h, saving about 5 - 7min. Pleased. :)
National day saw me waking up early and hitting the trail by 8ish (very early by my standards) and finishing the to-fro route within 3h. I had wanted to join my friends and meet them halfway for the run, but woke up late and missed timings, so I ran alone.
Then on Saturday, I was able adjust the route a little and add another 3.5 - 4km. I headed off Rifle Range Road and went towards Zhenghua, before rejoining along the Belukar MTB trail to get home (via the Wallace Centre and DF Quarry walls). The sun was blazing, the exposed field to Zhenghua was a downer, so difficult to run. Under the shade was a lot better. As I went to the water-cooler at Wallace Centre, I bumped into an old schoolmate, Wilson. Ah-ha! I did not know that one could book the exhibition space there for events. Idea, albeit very hot.
Sunday, my legs felt a bit tired. I was up early as I had a curfew to be home by 1030am. It was a dash, I put in effort to go faster than my usual comfortable pace. And lo behold! I actually made it sub-2:40h, saving about 5 - 7min. Pleased. :)
Monday, August 6, 2012
Olympics Season!
A whirlpool of runs in the past weeks, relishing life without classes.... for now. Shortish, longish, evenings, mornings and weekends, roads and trails. That sounds about all possible combinations of runs, doesn't it? I'm trying to run 2-3 times on weekdays, and twice on weekends. Did a couple of my usual BT-MR trails over the past weekends, decent to earn my next lunch. But not decent enough to burn off dinners. That weight gain is beginning to be an irritant...
This being the Olympics season, I managed to catch a couple of race replays over Youtube. Watching those well-trained, well-toned athletes in action was simply inspiring. If I were into the sport, it was inspiring to watch them execute those well-rehearsed techniques with such grace. If the sport was Greek to me, it was inspiring just oogling at those washboard abs and lean physiques (yes, superficial, I admit. :)).
I watched Mo Farah win UK's first 10,000m Gold, with a clear lead ahead of the runner-up. The last 2min of his race was pure brilliance, long gazelle-strides, graceful, steady. With an equally compelling story behind the scenes. And caught Michael Phelps in action to win his 18th Gold medal from the 4x100m medley. Watched the men hammer through the 100m heats with such thunderquad-power, and the women pole-vault themselves with agility. Saw Maria utterly thrashed by Serena (was she even playing tennis?). I missed our Singapore's table-tennis bronze medal match, but read the excitement over Facebook. Olympics is in the air! (At least within my community of sporty friends.) Would love to catch the showdown for the men's 100m final, but it will be at 4am and I do not have a TV. I think the Jamaicans will sweep the podium - Bolt, Blake, and Powell. Gay may successfully gatecrash the party, we will know in a couple of hours.
Back to keeping tabs on the Youtube channel.
This being the Olympics season, I managed to catch a couple of race replays over Youtube. Watching those well-trained, well-toned athletes in action was simply inspiring. If I were into the sport, it was inspiring to watch them execute those well-rehearsed techniques with such grace. If the sport was Greek to me, it was inspiring just oogling at those washboard abs and lean physiques (yes, superficial, I admit. :)).
I watched Mo Farah win UK's first 10,000m Gold, with a clear lead ahead of the runner-up. The last 2min of his race was pure brilliance, long gazelle-strides, graceful, steady. With an equally compelling story behind the scenes. And caught Michael Phelps in action to win his 18th Gold medal from the 4x100m medley. Watched the men hammer through the 100m heats with such thunderquad-power, and the women pole-vault themselves with agility. Saw Maria utterly thrashed by Serena (was she even playing tennis?). I missed our Singapore's table-tennis bronze medal match, but read the excitement over Facebook. Olympics is in the air! (At least within my community of sporty friends.) Would love to catch the showdown for the men's 100m final, but it will be at 4am and I do not have a TV. I think the Jamaicans will sweep the podium - Bolt, Blake, and Powell. Gay may successfully gatecrash the party, we will know in a couple of hours.
Back to keeping tabs on the Youtube channel.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Evening 10ks
Term break for now, free of evening classes until mid-August. Time to recharge and focus attention on getting my backlog of work cleared up.
Joined in the club's run last night, 11km with Alber, relaxed. MF 10km + 1 loop. Ran another 10km tonight on my own around the club - 2 loops around Telok Blangah. Lost in thoughts about stuff that I needed to finish tonight for tomorrow's work. Will be away this weekend in Krabi and trying to get some work out of the way so that I would not be the bottleneck.
I think I much prefer morning runs - IF I can wake up early enough for a decently comfortable run, aka 1-ish hour. Legs often feel so much fresher and lighter in the mornings, and my mind is always cleared up after that.
Joined in the club's run last night, 11km with Alber, relaxed. MF 10km + 1 loop. Ran another 10km tonight on my own around the club - 2 loops around Telok Blangah. Lost in thoughts about stuff that I needed to finish tonight for tomorrow's work. Will be away this weekend in Krabi and trying to get some work out of the way so that I would not be the bottleneck.
I think I much prefer morning runs - IF I can wake up early enough for a decently comfortable run, aka 1-ish hour. Legs often feel so much fresher and lighter in the mornings, and my mind is always cleared up after that.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Annual PD Triathlon 2012
Time for our annual drive up to Port Dickson for the triathlon race (OD of 1.5k/ 40k/ 10k) over the weekend. My last race was exactly 1 year ago at PD, just before school started. Since then, I swam once (at Safra pool) and never touched my bicycle saddle. Ha! Only tuned my bike 3 days before the race and off we went. I think I should be able to complete the race, swimming and cycling were kind of 'mechanical' memory - slow but would not forget. It was my first chillax weekend after a crazy week, I was just beginning to switch mental modes.
We stayed at the Regency Apartments 1.8km away from the official hotel, Admiral Pavilion, which was fully booked. It turned out good because they did not have our rooms and upgraded us (4 pax) to a 4-bedroom apartment, each with attached bathroom! Obviously, my group was not as concerned with the race than the food. We had 'tze-cha' (aka stir-fry) seafood meals throughout the stay - 3 sumptuous meals, one for each of the race discipline. Way too much food.
As testimony of my (and fellow travel companions) lack of race experiences in the past year, (a) I forgot my race belt, and (b) my Timex watch strap broke - it was such a trusty but worn-out well-thrashed watch. Awww.....
For (a), I almost bought a new belt, when Wee Haur and Sok Hwa suggested that I use the string from the race pack paper bags instead. Great idea, saved money. For (b), I looked for duct tape to mend it but no one brought it (we would typically bring along many tools for a race,... if it was an important event...). Luckily Melvin had a Garmin, so he lent me his Timex. It was a Men's watch so it was not very fitting, but good enough, it was not sliding along my forearm.
Morning of the race, another boo-boo. My goggles were a tad loose, which I only realised the implications after the race began. Water seeped in, so I either had to close my eyes when I surfaced to breath for front crawl (cos a sideway head tilt would send water into eyes). Breast stroke was fine, so I used a combination of both. And treaded water twice to clear goggles.
The weather was cooling until the run, so the bike was at least enjoyable. I could still clip into my cleats and not fall off. I think 40km was about the max I could get away with without training. I would certainly need some butt time if I wanted to do a half-IM distance of 90km.
The run was the best part of the race. My legs did not cramp after the ride, courtesy of the great weather. So I was able to ease into the run and then pick up speed. We ran through sand and bits of trail-like dirt track. About 2.5km to the finish, Alber came out to look for me and paced me back. So I actually ran (like panting run). The distance, according to Melvin's Garmin, was only 8.9km though.
Time recorded by Trusty Timex:
We stayed at the Regency Apartments 1.8km away from the official hotel, Admiral Pavilion, which was fully booked. It turned out good because they did not have our rooms and upgraded us (4 pax) to a 4-bedroom apartment, each with attached bathroom! Obviously, my group was not as concerned with the race than the food. We had 'tze-cha' (aka stir-fry) seafood meals throughout the stay - 3 sumptuous meals, one for each of the race discipline. Way too much food.
As testimony of my (and fellow travel companions) lack of race experiences in the past year, (a) I forgot my race belt, and (b) my Timex watch strap broke - it was such a trusty but worn-out well-thrashed watch. Awww.....
For (a), I almost bought a new belt, when Wee Haur and Sok Hwa suggested that I use the string from the race pack paper bags instead. Great idea, saved money. For (b), I looked for duct tape to mend it but no one brought it (we would typically bring along many tools for a race,... if it was an important event...). Luckily Melvin had a Garmin, so he lent me his Timex. It was a Men's watch so it was not very fitting, but good enough, it was not sliding along my forearm.
Morning of the race, another boo-boo. My goggles were a tad loose, which I only realised the implications after the race began. Water seeped in, so I either had to close my eyes when I surfaced to breath for front crawl (cos a sideway head tilt would send water into eyes). Breast stroke was fine, so I used a combination of both. And treaded water twice to clear goggles.
The weather was cooling until the run, so the bike was at least enjoyable. I could still clip into my cleats and not fall off. I think 40km was about the max I could get away with without training. I would certainly need some butt time if I wanted to do a half-IM distance of 90km.
The run was the best part of the race. My legs did not cramp after the ride, courtesy of the great weather. So I was able to ease into the run and then pick up speed. We ran through sand and bits of trail-like dirt track. About 2.5km to the finish, Alber came out to look for me and paced me back. So I actually ran (like panting run). The distance, according to Melvin's Garmin, was only 8.9km though.
Time recorded by Trusty Timex:
Swim - 43m24s
T1 - 5m58s
Bike - 1h30m
T2 - 3m04s (best lap time according to Timex =P)
Run - 51m32s
Total - 3h14m47s
All in, a fun post-exam race. Definitely survived the race, and almost could not survive the feasts!
Friday, July 6, 2012
A Mega Crazy Capstone-cum-Running Week
I could not even begin to count how crazy this week had been.
We had a Major Capstone Exam. An 8h long paper with a Pass/ Fail grade - my Prof said that it was impossible to fail, and I would take his word for it. But I would still have to put in the minimal readings and preps. So I was on study leave for a a couple of days to coop myself up at home and mug. I must say that my place is really nice and quiet to be focused and productive. In between the mugging, I squeezed in times for runs and clocked a fair bit of mileage this week.
Let's see,
Mon - ran in the morning 1.5h before dashing to school for a study group, then back home, worked a bit, and out for a class dinner. After the long runs over the weekend, I was surprised that my legs could still push and go fast, so I covered more ground this morning within my usual duration.
Tues - again, dashed a quick 50min, cut 2min before heading to work. Then home to study.
Wed - clocked a 2h through the evening trails in the nice, cool post-rain weather. Back to the books.
Thurs - Capstone! Survived! Desperately need a mental break. So another 1.5h in the evening, this time on the road to avoid the mega-downpour in the day.
Fri - Mad rush at work, then off to Valedictory Dinner and my last chance to see my foreign classmates, who were graduating and returning home this weekend. And to pack for my PD Race trip tomorrow.
Literally madness. Average of 2am bedtime each day.
Did not know howI survived, but I did. Whew!
We had a Major Capstone Exam. An 8h long paper with a Pass/ Fail grade - my Prof said that it was impossible to fail, and I would take his word for it. But I would still have to put in the minimal readings and preps. So I was on study leave for a a couple of days to coop myself up at home and mug. I must say that my place is really nice and quiet to be focused and productive. In between the mugging, I squeezed in times for runs and clocked a fair bit of mileage this week.
Let's see,
Mon - ran in the morning 1.5h before dashing to school for a study group, then back home, worked a bit, and out for a class dinner. After the long runs over the weekend, I was surprised that my legs could still push and go fast, so I covered more ground this morning within my usual duration.
Tues - again, dashed a quick 50min, cut 2min before heading to work. Then home to study.
Wed - clocked a 2h through the evening trails in the nice, cool post-rain weather. Back to the books.
Thurs - Capstone! Survived! Desperately need a mental break. So another 1.5h in the evening, this time on the road to avoid the mega-downpour in the day.
Fri - Mad rush at work, then off to Valedictory Dinner and my last chance to see my foreign classmates, who were graduating and returning home this weekend. And to pack for my PD Race trip tomorrow.
Literally madness. Average of 2am bedtime each day.
Did not know howI survived, but I did. Whew!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
The Ipoh (not) Weekend
Sigh... the guys are away in Ipoh for a half-marathon-cum-weekend-trip, and I'm stuck at home supposedly preparing for my Capstone exam on Thursday. It's a 9h paper (!) and the school has catered two tea breaks and a bento lunch for each of us. Such love... And to prepare for that, each of us has an one-inch binder of a case study on a Thai industrial estate that faced an environmental disaster. Something like that. Obviously the readings were so dry that I have not gone past 20% of it.
Meanwhile, to make up for my 2nd 'lost trip' because of exams (argh!), I just had to clock my long, long runs. I seldom have the chance to get a 30km in over the weekend, simply because it takes up an incredible amount of time.
So on Saturday, despite waking up terribly late, I headed off at 11am (ahem... sheepish) and aimed to do a 2-loop in MR and back. The weather turned out nice and cool actually. It was slightly hot on my way to MR, and then it turned cloudy. On my first loop, I heard thunder but missed the rain. Bumped into WH at the visitor lobby, he had finished his run. The skies had cleared, so I thought it was ok to go for my second loop. Halfway through, and the rain started again. I was between wet from sweat and wet from rain. The run was vastly different from my previous attempt - the difference in having breakfast or not. I was equipped this time with some chocolatey snacks, but did not have to activate them. I actually managed to run throughout. On the contrary, the snacks attracted a snarly monkey which tried to snatch them from me. Run done, ~ 33km. Happy. Back home, back to readings.
Did another long run this morning, managed to wake up earlier and get home by noon. It drizzled, which cooled the weather for a bit. and then the sun came out strong again. I was more drenched today than yesterday - a toxic mix of sweat and raindrops. ~ 23km. Ok, back to the boringly dry readings...
Meanwhile, to make up for my 2nd 'lost trip' because of exams (argh!), I just had to clock my long, long runs. I seldom have the chance to get a 30km in over the weekend, simply because it takes up an incredible amount of time.
So on Saturday, despite waking up terribly late, I headed off at 11am (ahem... sheepish) and aimed to do a 2-loop in MR and back. The weather turned out nice and cool actually. It was slightly hot on my way to MR, and then it turned cloudy. On my first loop, I heard thunder but missed the rain. Bumped into WH at the visitor lobby, he had finished his run. The skies had cleared, so I thought it was ok to go for my second loop. Halfway through, and the rain started again. I was between wet from sweat and wet from rain. The run was vastly different from my previous attempt - the difference in having breakfast or not. I was equipped this time with some chocolatey snacks, but did not have to activate them. I actually managed to run throughout. On the contrary, the snacks attracted a snarly monkey which tried to snatch them from me. Run done, ~ 33km. Happy. Back home, back to readings.
Did another long run this morning, managed to wake up earlier and get home by noon. It drizzled, which cooled the weather for a bit. and then the sun came out strong again. I was more drenched today than yesterday - a toxic mix of sweat and raindrops. ~ 23km. Ok, back to the boringly dry readings...
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Permanent Imprints
The long run weekend endorphins did not last too many days. Did a couple of 10km short runs on Mon, Wed, Fri. Classes were officially over by the end of the week *cheeeeers!* Two more papers to go over the next two weeks, but they should be fine. The nice thing about adult studies and exams is that it is just another item on the checklist. Moving on.....
The sun was scorching over the weekend, I was totally toasted. Ran my usual route to MR on Saturday. Bumped into some friends and we chatted about Salomon shoes and which models to get or avoid. Continued home and got back close to 1pm. I felt crispy....
Woke up late on Sunday and had to shorten my run. :( Ran to the ranger station, out to the Northern Trail and the first pavilion and u-turned. Met WY, Lynn, KH and Winnie along the way, going in the opposite direction.
By the end of this weekend, my sports bra and shorts have been permanently imprinted on me...I guess it's a happy problem! :) Looking forward to the coming weekend of long runs again.
The sun was scorching over the weekend, I was totally toasted. Ran my usual route to MR on Saturday. Bumped into some friends and we chatted about Salomon shoes and which models to get or avoid. Continued home and got back close to 1pm. I felt crispy....
Woke up late on Sunday and had to shorten my run. :( Ran to the ranger station, out to the Northern Trail and the first pavilion and u-turned. Met WY, Lynn, KH and Winnie along the way, going in the opposite direction.
By the end of this weekend, my sports bra and shorts have been permanently imprinted on me...I guess it's a happy problem! :) Looking forward to the coming weekend of long runs again.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Happily Sedated Long Runs
Yes! Two long runs this weekend. I'm happily sedated now. :)
Yesterday was a bit of a challenge. Against all wisdom, I headed out without breakfast nor power gels nor money. That would not have been a problem until I decided to run another loop in MR. Since I typically run from home to MR, the decision point is always after the ranger station - whether I then veer right to get home, or I go straight for another loop. So I foolishly went straight as I was still feeling ok at that point and wanted to clock some more mileage. 30min into the extension and I could feel my stomach rumbling. I reached the visitor lobby and filled up with more water. The section through the Northern Trail to the ranger station again was a disaster. Any hint of an upslope and I would walk. Jogging on the flats and downslopes was manageable for a while. Then I would walk.
After re-filling at the ranger station, I headed towards BT. Another disastrous mix of walk and trot, not withstanding the sun beating down on me. When I got to the Rifle Range Road, I was so tempted to hitch-ride passing vans to get down the road.... which of course I did not. So I decided that a brisk walk would be faster and less energy-intense than my futile attempts to jog-walk. And I sort of walked the entire stretch until I got home. Low sugar and hungry, I could have eaten anything at that point!
Distance covered: 34km.... of which I probably walked like 10km. CMI....
This morning I did the same route, minus the extra round. My legs were tired, yes, but not as sore as I thought. I could actually complete it in a faster time than some of my previous runs. Not bad. Must be the slice of bread I took before the run. Distance ~ 22-23km.
I'm at peace now.... :)
Yesterday was a bit of a challenge. Against all wisdom, I headed out without breakfast nor power gels nor money. That would not have been a problem until I decided to run another loop in MR. Since I typically run from home to MR, the decision point is always after the ranger station - whether I then veer right to get home, or I go straight for another loop. So I foolishly went straight as I was still feeling ok at that point and wanted to clock some more mileage. 30min into the extension and I could feel my stomach rumbling. I reached the visitor lobby and filled up with more water. The section through the Northern Trail to the ranger station again was a disaster. Any hint of an upslope and I would walk. Jogging on the flats and downslopes was manageable for a while. Then I would walk.
After re-filling at the ranger station, I headed towards BT. Another disastrous mix of walk and trot, not withstanding the sun beating down on me. When I got to the Rifle Range Road, I was so tempted to hitch-ride passing vans to get down the road.... which of course I did not. So I decided that a brisk walk would be faster and less energy-intense than my futile attempts to jog-walk. And I sort of walked the entire stretch until I got home. Low sugar and hungry, I could have eaten anything at that point!
Distance covered: 34km.... of which I probably walked like 10km. CMI....
This morning I did the same route, minus the extra round. My legs were tired, yes, but not as sore as I thought. I could actually complete it in a faster time than some of my previous runs. Not bad. Must be the slice of bread I took before the run. Distance ~ 22-23km.
I'm at peace now.... :)
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Missing Blogs of Runs
Right ok, missing blogs do not mean missing runs. Everytime I get into this time-tension with Alber over running and he asks if "don't run will die" (a literal translation from Chinese slang), I say "Yes!" without hesitation. I need the space to chill and recharge, and running is my space. But my space also takes a long, long time, and I like to pack-squeeze everything (im)possible into an ultra tight schedule. And that fixation with cramping and doing everything causes much grief. *grin*
I managed to keep up with morning runs, but they have since grown shorter to around 55min, followed by some lunges and push-ups. I blame that on my sleep cycle, which I blame on my studies and others, but which I think ultimately it is just my poor last-min time management and obsession with not wanting to give up anything. Even my weekend supposedly long runs have been shortened, or missed. :(
Take last weekend, I only ran on Sunday. Went from home to MR ranger toilet and rushed back for lunch. Thankfully I caught the cool pleasant weather, which turned scorching by afternoon. To soothe the guilt, I very disciplinedly ran (jogged) every morning this week. And since I am alone this weekend, I must get some long runs into my system! The Monday exams can wait. My runs cannot. :)
I managed to keep up with morning runs, but they have since grown shorter to around 55min, followed by some lunges and push-ups. I blame that on my sleep cycle, which I blame on my studies and others, but which I think ultimately it is just my poor last-min time management and obsession with not wanting to give up anything. Even my weekend supposedly long runs have been shortened, or missed. :(
Take last weekend, I only ran on Sunday. Went from home to MR ranger toilet and rushed back for lunch. Thankfully I caught the cool pleasant weather, which turned scorching by afternoon. To soothe the guilt, I very disciplinedly ran (jogged) every morning this week. And since I am alone this weekend, I must get some long runs into my system! The Monday exams can wait. My runs cannot. :)
Monday, June 4, 2012
Out of Room 3-5 and a Chillax Run
No class today, tmrw, and Thurs. Hooray! Like a kid released from school, I was relishing my freed evening(s).
I was out on Fri and Sat at the OBS as part of my school module with my classmates. It was a most enjoyable experience, we had great team mates who made the entire 2 days a hilarious affair. Their wicked humour and laughter were so infectious, I must have laughed my quota for the month!
And then I promptly slept through the whole of Sunday. I guess it must be the prospect of no classes this week, I felt like my tightly-wound spring had uncoiled itself and I simply refused to do anything else.
So tonight I was able to have an evening run in place of class. Ahhh. Love. Just a simple chillax 10km around MF. Chill..... :)
I was out on Fri and Sat at the OBS as part of my school module with my classmates. It was a most enjoyable experience, we had great team mates who made the entire 2 days a hilarious affair. Their wicked humour and laughter were so infectious, I must have laughed my quota for the month!
And then I promptly slept through the whole of Sunday. I guess it must be the prospect of no classes this week, I felt like my tightly-wound spring had uncoiled itself and I simply refused to do anything else.
So tonight I was able to have an evening run in place of class. Ahhh. Love. Just a simple chillax 10km around MF. Chill..... :)
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Hello Shoes! I'm Back!
Three weeks since my last post. My runs had been as smattering as my blogging. A couple of morning runs, all under an hour (translate: bad... too short), were all I managed over the weeks. I still kept up the long runs over the weekends, but those were getting slower and slower. Where the route from my house to MR and back used to take 2:45 - 2:50h, I was clocking 3h now. *shake head*
Then I laid off for one entire week, and had bouts of ups and downs (mostly downs) for the next two weeks. Runs were so lethargic, I walked an awful lot. Something was not quite right.
Anyhow, I'm so glad things are sort of back under control, and I'm fitted snuggly into my shoes again. :) Happily went out for my long run this morning. Glad to report that apart from burning legs (because of the stair-climbing last night), I was not out of breath and totally enjoying the run by myself. :)
Hello shoes! Yes, I'm back to hit the trails again! :)
Then I laid off for one entire week, and had bouts of ups and downs (mostly downs) for the next two weeks. Runs were so lethargic, I walked an awful lot. Something was not quite right.
Anyhow, I'm so glad things are sort of back under control, and I'm fitted snuggly into my shoes again. :) Happily went out for my long run this morning. Glad to report that apart from burning legs (because of the stair-climbing last night), I was not out of breath and totally enjoying the run by myself. :)
Hello shoes! Yes, I'm back to hit the trails again! :)
Friday, May 25, 2012
Stairs Oh Stairs
Today was "Eat with Family Day" and everyone could be let off at 5pm. Unfortunately, my family, one was out at an office function. And my mum whom I was supposed to have dinner with 'flew my aeroplane' and abandoned me for an outing with friends. Brilliant.
Thankfully my friends decided on an impromptu stair-climb training that evening. I did not have any gear with me and had to borrow practically everything from Winnie (thanks!). It was my first time joining them in this drill, and also my first time at the 40-storey TPY flats - I usually train at the 30-storey flats in Tiong Bahru.
Drill - 6 sets of up and down
1-up: 7:11min
1-down: 5:56min
2-up: 7:13min
2-down: 6:52min
3-up: 8:05min
3-down: 7:06min
4-up: 8:54min
4-down: lift!
5-up: 8:50min
6-up: 8:42min
I alternated between taking double-steps for one set, and single-steps for the next set. The former was less tiring (surprisingly), perhaps because it engages the bigger muscle groups in the quads. The latter was a strain on my calves, with the higher leg turnover and cadence.
It was such a long time since I last did any stair-climbs. My legs were burning and jelli-fied by the end of the session.
Thankfully my friends decided on an impromptu stair-climb training that evening. I did not have any gear with me and had to borrow practically everything from Winnie (thanks!). It was my first time joining them in this drill, and also my first time at the 40-storey TPY flats - I usually train at the 30-storey flats in Tiong Bahru.
Drill - 6 sets of up and down
1-up: 7:11min
1-down: 5:56min
2-up: 7:13min
2-down: 6:52min
3-up: 8:05min
3-down: 7:06min
4-up: 8:54min
4-down: lift!
5-up: 8:50min
6-up: 8:42min
I alternated between taking double-steps for one set, and single-steps for the next set. The former was less tiring (surprisingly), perhaps because it engages the bigger muscle groups in the quads. The latter was a strain on my calves, with the higher leg turnover and cadence.
It was such a long time since I last did any stair-climbs. My legs were burning and jelli-fied by the end of the session.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Crazy School Weeks Make Sub-par Runs
Over the weekend, I tried to relish whatever free time I had left before school term begins again. Saturday morning was a washout and I happily slept in til late. It was generally a very cool day and I went for an evening run along the MTB - yes, mud pools and couple of fallen branches all over. Then on Sunday morning, I did my usual to-and-fro MR loop. Of late, the weather has been utterly random. It was sweltering hot on Sunday, compared to the previous day. I was toasted, again. However, by the time I reached home, it started thundering and I barely missed the short but intense downpour. Whew, at least I got my run done.
And.... *drumroll please* .... the start of school. Four evenings per week. The schedule was simply crazy. That meant that all runs had to be in the mornings. Given that I get home anywhere between 10 - 11pm each day, followed by random To-do tasks, I was most reluctant to get out of bed each morning. And consequently overslept.
I only managed to get myself out on the tarmac on Wed and Thurs. :( And only managed to tackle 52min each time on the tarmac Rifle Range Road. Sigh. :(( Way off norm. But no matter how short, I needed those quiet me-time to simply breathe normally, un-tensed, and ease into the craziness of each day.
*Deep breath*
One week down, five more to go.
And.... *drumroll please* .... the start of school. Four evenings per week. The schedule was simply crazy. That meant that all runs had to be in the mornings. Given that I get home anywhere between 10 - 11pm each day, followed by random To-do tasks, I was most reluctant to get out of bed each morning. And consequently overslept.
I only managed to get myself out on the tarmac on Wed and Thurs. :( And only managed to tackle 52min each time on the tarmac Rifle Range Road. Sigh. :(( Way off norm. But no matter how short, I needed those quiet me-time to simply breathe normally, un-tensed, and ease into the craziness of each day.
*Deep breath*
One week down, five more to go.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
My Little Evening Run
Life feels normal again, just for this week. School's over. Exam's over. And I can go join my friends at MF for an evening run and dinner, with no time pressure and back-of-mind stress. Ahh, life is pretty good for now.
I started late but followed the MF designated route for today. The start of the road run was a bit lacklustre. Went up Morse Road and across the Henderson Wave. The wooden bridge looked rather nice against the sunset. I think Singapore won some urban award for this bridge design. Across the bridge and down the other end, I bumped into Melvin who was waiting for the last runners. They had gone around the TB Hill loop, so I skipped that and rejoined the group towards Depot Road. Re-joined, as in they were within sight, not that I was running with them. A big difference.
I ran into Canterbury estate. Jaime and Melvin both said that we were supposed to do the 'short loop', but I had no idea what was the shortened version. I had only one route around Canterbury, or else I would get lost somewhere. So I simply ran that complete loop that I always did. I sort of like running in Canterbury and peering into all those big, nice Colonial bungalows. They were state property and not for sale. Only for rental and I think all to foreigners. They pay rents in the region of S$20,000 per month for a giant house nested in the greens and seclusion, full of character. After the loop, I continued to Alexandra and TB St 31 to get back to clubhouse.
A nice little evening run. Ahhh.
I started late but followed the MF designated route for today. The start of the road run was a bit lacklustre. Went up Morse Road and across the Henderson Wave. The wooden bridge looked rather nice against the sunset. I think Singapore won some urban award for this bridge design. Across the bridge and down the other end, I bumped into Melvin who was waiting for the last runners. They had gone around the TB Hill loop, so I skipped that and rejoined the group towards Depot Road. Re-joined, as in they were within sight, not that I was running with them. A big difference.
I ran into Canterbury estate. Jaime and Melvin both said that we were supposed to do the 'short loop', but I had no idea what was the shortened version. I had only one route around Canterbury, or else I would get lost somewhere. So I simply ran that complete loop that I always did. I sort of like running in Canterbury and peering into all those big, nice Colonial bungalows. They were state property and not for sale. Only for rental and I think all to foreigners. They pay rents in the region of S$20,000 per month for a giant house nested in the greens and seclusion, full of character. After the loop, I continued to Alexandra and TB St 31 to get back to clubhouse.
A nice little evening run. Ahhh.
My Random Thoughts on Being Singaporean
Of late, I have been uncomfortable picking up news and observations about life in Singapore from the lens of a Singaporean. As I read more online posts, forum letters, newspaper commentaries and so on, the lingering discomfort got stronger.
In no order of sequence or synthesis (and take this as me mumbling to myself in some disorganised, random way), these are the issues that triggered my thoughts:
1. Housing - yes, the perennial election hot potato. The runaway property market prices and insanely tiny shoeboxes are recipes for disasters once interest rates revalue and rise.
2. Universal insurance coverage - the unhealthy minority that all insurance companies reject and avoid will ultimately become societal's healthcare and fiscal cost. Unless there is mandatory state regulation to cover this group at higher premiums (spread out) for all. It is not a question about economic efficiency, at least not directly because there is nothing efficient about cover already- or have-recovered sick people. The decision to make it mandatory or not cuts to the core of what do we want really as a society and nation.
3. Singapore, our home - I'm tired of reading yet more reports about how Singapore is the XX (insert any high-ranking number) most desirable place for some unknown foreigners or overseas Singaporeans who have the world to choose from. Imho, Singapore should be the MOST desirable place to live and work for Singaporeans. If it is not, and if we are 'stuck' here out of no choice, then something is seriously flawed.
4. Income inequality - that runaway Gini coeff has made Singapore the most 'unequal' place in Asia. Such, everyone can tolerate some measures of inequality so long as everyone else has enough. The flyaway nouveau rich gap against the rut-stuck poor has widened. Globalisation and growth are no longer seen to be delivering the golden fruits as they once promised. The benefits are diffused and not clearly seen, but the costs are becoming localised and painfully felt.
5. Inflation another culprit - Any econs student will tell you that Singapore is an open economy, with trade in our lifeblood at 3.5x our GDP. As such, we are very susceptible to imported inflation onto our shores. However, as one newspaper commentary recently pointed out, the sources of our recent 5% (persistent) inflation is not so much directly imported as domestically generated. Eg. high property prices (from hot money) and transport prices (from COE system). On the other hand, wages have not been rising at 5%. one does not need to be a maths whiz to figure out that we are actually poorer by the day.
6. Cars and a warped COE - Every newcomer to Singapore is astounded by the high prices we pay to own a car. The expensive thing called a COE that one has to bid for. When I studied Econs in school, COE was a clear-cut demand-supply illustration, very straightforward, very easy to understand its policy mechanism and rationale. But I wonder if sometimes this is also a case where policies constructed in a very engineering way ignores the unintended social consequences. With a tightening of COE, car prices have been shooting through the roof. The warped outcome is that people see no value in paying an expensive COE for a normal Honda or Toyota sedan (the usual family cars) as it is not worth the price in proportion to the cost of car. As a result, COEs are being bid up by car collectors, people who are buying the Lamborghinis and Maseratis. So the average resident who needs a car to get by with his family, elderly or children, is unable to get a car. The above-average resident gets to buy a car for showroom purposes.
I look at my colleagues - young elites - who easily earn more than the combined household incomes of many median families, by him/herself, and I wonder if they really empathise with the average median Singapore. I look at my friends, we and their children are considered lucky because we can afford to make choices, offered a life of comfort and opportunities. To operate from a position of having options is to operate from a position of power. The more options, the higher the power. Again, I wonder if these young children will grow up being able to empathise with their many counterparts who do not have such luxuries (now termed necessities) in life.
This is my selective random rambling to self (I like 'talking' to myself :)). I just wanted to get it jotted down somewhere and off my chest, so there. It is not so much a critique (hardly organised enough to be one), but thoughts gathered from simple daily observations as a Singaporean. I have no solutions, except to repeat that Singapore should be the most desired place for a Singaporean. Otherwise, it is time to reflect.
.... I think I should go for a run soon. It's much easier than mulling over these issues. Run, yes!
In no order of sequence or synthesis (and take this as me mumbling to myself in some disorganised, random way), these are the issues that triggered my thoughts:
1. Housing - yes, the perennial election hot potato. The runaway property market prices and insanely tiny shoeboxes are recipes for disasters once interest rates revalue and rise.
2. Universal insurance coverage - the unhealthy minority that all insurance companies reject and avoid will ultimately become societal's healthcare and fiscal cost. Unless there is mandatory state regulation to cover this group at higher premiums (spread out) for all. It is not a question about economic efficiency, at least not directly because there is nothing efficient about cover already- or have-recovered sick people. The decision to make it mandatory or not cuts to the core of what do we want really as a society and nation.
3. Singapore, our home - I'm tired of reading yet more reports about how Singapore is the XX (insert any high-ranking number) most desirable place for some unknown foreigners or overseas Singaporeans who have the world to choose from. Imho, Singapore should be the MOST desirable place to live and work for Singaporeans. If it is not, and if we are 'stuck' here out of no choice, then something is seriously flawed.
4. Income inequality - that runaway Gini coeff has made Singapore the most 'unequal' place in Asia. Such, everyone can tolerate some measures of inequality so long as everyone else has enough. The flyaway nouveau rich gap against the rut-stuck poor has widened. Globalisation and growth are no longer seen to be delivering the golden fruits as they once promised. The benefits are diffused and not clearly seen, but the costs are becoming localised and painfully felt.
5. Inflation another culprit - Any econs student will tell you that Singapore is an open economy, with trade in our lifeblood at 3.5x our GDP. As such, we are very susceptible to imported inflation onto our shores. However, as one newspaper commentary recently pointed out, the sources of our recent 5% (persistent) inflation is not so much directly imported as domestically generated. Eg. high property prices (from hot money) and transport prices (from COE system). On the other hand, wages have not been rising at 5%. one does not need to be a maths whiz to figure out that we are actually poorer by the day.
6. Cars and a warped COE - Every newcomer to Singapore is astounded by the high prices we pay to own a car. The expensive thing called a COE that one has to bid for. When I studied Econs in school, COE was a clear-cut demand-supply illustration, very straightforward, very easy to understand its policy mechanism and rationale. But I wonder if sometimes this is also a case where policies constructed in a very engineering way ignores the unintended social consequences. With a tightening of COE, car prices have been shooting through the roof. The warped outcome is that people see no value in paying an expensive COE for a normal Honda or Toyota sedan (the usual family cars) as it is not worth the price in proportion to the cost of car. As a result, COEs are being bid up by car collectors, people who are buying the Lamborghinis and Maseratis. So the average resident who needs a car to get by with his family, elderly or children, is unable to get a car. The above-average resident gets to buy a car for showroom purposes.
I look at my colleagues - young elites - who easily earn more than the combined household incomes of many median families, by him/herself, and I wonder if they really empathise with the average median Singapore. I look at my friends, we and their children are considered lucky because we can afford to make choices, offered a life of comfort and opportunities. To operate from a position of having options is to operate from a position of power. The more options, the higher the power. Again, I wonder if these young children will grow up being able to empathise with their many counterparts who do not have such luxuries (now termed necessities) in life.
This is my selective random rambling to self (I like 'talking' to myself :)). I just wanted to get it jotted down somewhere and off my chest, so there. It is not so much a critique (hardly organised enough to be one), but thoughts gathered from simple daily observations as a Singaporean. I have no solutions, except to repeat that Singapore should be the most desired place for a Singaporean. Otherwise, it is time to reflect.
.... I think I should go for a run soon. It's much easier than mulling over these issues. Run, yes!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
First Swim, Totally CMI
This is our 1 week of term break before the crazy schedule starts again next year, and I was savouring the relaxed, un-rushed mode. :) A tad chill-out, if I might add.
Went to Safra in the evening for a swim. Yes, a swim. That activity that takes place in chlorine-filled water. My last swim was in July 2011, almost a year ago, at the Port Dickson race. I since stopped swimming after that, until today.
I only had 30min and only managed 20 laps. Even then, my arms were aching and my head was giddy from the turning around. And there was water in my ear, as usual.
Totally CMI imho. Will think about whether I will be in shape by July to take part in a race or not. I think I will be very happy just driving up to Malaysia as a supporter too.
Went to Safra in the evening for a swim. Yes, a swim. That activity that takes place in chlorine-filled water. My last swim was in July 2011, almost a year ago, at the Port Dickson race. I since stopped swimming after that, until today.
I only had 30min and only managed 20 laps. Even then, my arms were aching and my head was giddy from the turning around. And there was water in my ear, as usual.
Totally CMI imho. Will think about whether I will be in shape by July to take part in a race or not. I think I will be very happy just driving up to Malaysia as a supporter too.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Lovely Long Runs
Spent my entire weekend preparing (or pretending to) for my last paper on Monday. Prof very generously loaded us with two sets of 70pg "supplementary" readings on Thurs night, and expected us to digest all of that over the weekend. :( Alber was off to Kapas for the 6.5km swim in Malaysia and I was stuck at home with the stacks of papers and notes.
It poured heavily on Saturday morning, the land-sliding kind of rain. Perfect excuse not to run and get focused on my readings. Goodness gracious, the readings were so dry, it took me an average of 1h to get through 10 pages. And in between that, I managed to wipe the floor and do my laundry (that showed how uninspiring the cases were...). I finally finished the first set of readings after 6-7h! Tak boleh tahan (Malay slang for "cannot take it!"), it was now late afternoon. I decided to ditch the case and head for the trails. A short run became about 1:40h but it was nice and cool in the trails by evening time. I ran through the MTB trail, Zhenghua 3x loops, and back the MTB trail. After the run, I contemplated ordering pizza delivery, or MacDonalds, or KFC... yes all that junk! And then resisted all of that and drove to a nearby coffeeshop for dinner instead. After an entire day of cereals and yoghurt, I needed something savory.
Sunday morning, yes! Bright sunshine and very hot weather. Time for another long run, uninterrupted, no time pressure. I was about to step out when I spotted a dead bird in my balcony! The poor thing must have kamikaze-d into the glass doors thinking it could fly through, smashed right into it, thud-ded onto my outdoor table (there were feathers all over the table), before dropping dead on the floor. Ouch. :( It was a rather pretty bird, with yellow and green feathers. Quite big-sized too.
Anyhow, I finallly managed to get to my run. It was blazing hot out there, and I sought refuge in the trails. But even then, it was extremely humid. My shirt was sticking to me and I was literally dripping with sweat. By the time I got to MR, I had almost finished my water. I extended my normal route slightly by about 30min (a few kilometres). The extension was to the Ranger Station and to the barricade, and back, before continuing with the normal MR loop. At some point I regretted the extension because suddenly my legs were feeling very unrecovered from last night's run. And I was simply wilting under the weather. But I had a study group discussion to get to, so I had to get home in time by hook or crook. So no choice, pressing on.... Finally finished the 3:30h run. Possibly about 26.5km?
Monday - last paper! Rest day too.
Tuesday - Labour Day and a much-needed public holiday. Woohoo! Again, a blazing hot day. There were some intermittent clouds, but otherwise, it was hot. I ran my usual BT-MR route, and saw Jancy & Vincent. They were training for the Great Wall marathon - wow, that's a tough one. There were many hikers and families in the trail today, and they were sitting/ resting everywhere on the open grass patches, especially near the golf course area. I was part amused by the sight (have never seen so many 'picnicking' groups before) and part worried that they might get hit by flying golf balls! I also saw a guy who managed to hook a beautiful fish - not sure what it is called, but it had a white-silver base, with black and yellow stripes. It was quite a big fish, and he then released it back into the water. Running on.... after my third bottle of water, I got out of the trails and bumped into Jancy & Vincent again. We were all drenched and dying from the heat. Managed to get home in 3h. Whew! Absolutely toxic with sweat! But loving it. :)
It poured heavily on Saturday morning, the land-sliding kind of rain. Perfect excuse not to run and get focused on my readings. Goodness gracious, the readings were so dry, it took me an average of 1h to get through 10 pages. And in between that, I managed to wipe the floor and do my laundry (that showed how uninspiring the cases were...). I finally finished the first set of readings after 6-7h! Tak boleh tahan (Malay slang for "cannot take it!"), it was now late afternoon. I decided to ditch the case and head for the trails. A short run became about 1:40h but it was nice and cool in the trails by evening time. I ran through the MTB trail, Zhenghua 3x loops, and back the MTB trail. After the run, I contemplated ordering pizza delivery, or MacDonalds, or KFC... yes all that junk! And then resisted all of that and drove to a nearby coffeeshop for dinner instead. After an entire day of cereals and yoghurt, I needed something savory.
Sunday morning, yes! Bright sunshine and very hot weather. Time for another long run, uninterrupted, no time pressure. I was about to step out when I spotted a dead bird in my balcony! The poor thing must have kamikaze-d into the glass doors thinking it could fly through, smashed right into it, thud-ded onto my outdoor table (there were feathers all over the table), before dropping dead on the floor. Ouch. :( It was a rather pretty bird, with yellow and green feathers. Quite big-sized too.
Anyhow, I finallly managed to get to my run. It was blazing hot out there, and I sought refuge in the trails. But even then, it was extremely humid. My shirt was sticking to me and I was literally dripping with sweat. By the time I got to MR, I had almost finished my water. I extended my normal route slightly by about 30min (a few kilometres). The extension was to the Ranger Station and to the barricade, and back, before continuing with the normal MR loop. At some point I regretted the extension because suddenly my legs were feeling very unrecovered from last night's run. And I was simply wilting under the weather. But I had a study group discussion to get to, so I had to get home in time by hook or crook. So no choice, pressing on.... Finally finished the 3:30h run. Possibly about 26.5km?
Monday - last paper! Rest day too.
Tuesday - Labour Day and a much-needed public holiday. Woohoo! Again, a blazing hot day. There were some intermittent clouds, but otherwise, it was hot. I ran my usual BT-MR route, and saw Jancy & Vincent. They were training for the Great Wall marathon - wow, that's a tough one. There were many hikers and families in the trail today, and they were sitting/ resting everywhere on the open grass patches, especially near the golf course area. I was part amused by the sight (have never seen so many 'picnicking' groups before) and part worried that they might get hit by flying golf balls! I also saw a guy who managed to hook a beautiful fish - not sure what it is called, but it had a white-silver base, with black and yellow stripes. It was quite a big fish, and he then released it back into the water. Running on.... after my third bottle of water, I got out of the trails and bumped into Jancy & Vincent again. We were all drenched and dying from the heat. Managed to get home in 3h. Whew! Absolutely toxic with sweat! But loving it. :)
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Of Exams and Runs
Two days of study/ exam leave this week, and another paper next week. But never mind, run first, think later. Or else I'd be so distracted throughout the entire day and won't be able to focus on the books!
So after Sunday's hot run, I ran another 2h on Monday. I was trying on a pair of new Salomons. Ran on the MTB trail, round the Wallace trail, then to Zhenghua and did 3x the small-ish loop, and retraced my route.
Then I fell ill on Tues, the night before my paper. I was shivering and slept early, with blind faith that I had read all that there was for the exam. Alber got me some medicine and I was in between drinking it and going to the loo.
Thankfully was all up and alert the next day for the exam. The fever and body aches had dissipated and gone! Good, focus. Finished exam, 3h, 7 questions. *whew* Ran another 2h in the evening, had to head out of the trail before sunset.
And that was it... feasted an entire table of live seafood and good cakes tonight. Goodness, too full! Would need to run tmrw and burn off some crabs and shells! Then books again. :(
So after Sunday's hot run, I ran another 2h on Monday. I was trying on a pair of new Salomons. Ran on the MTB trail, round the Wallace trail, then to Zhenghua and did 3x the small-ish loop, and retraced my route.
Then I fell ill on Tues, the night before my paper. I was shivering and slept early, with blind faith that I had read all that there was for the exam. Alber got me some medicine and I was in between drinking it and going to the loo.
Thankfully was all up and alert the next day for the exam. The fever and body aches had dissipated and gone! Good, focus. Finished exam, 3h, 7 questions. *whew* Ran another 2h in the evening, had to head out of the trail before sunset.
And that was it... feasted an entire table of live seafood and good cakes tonight. Goodness, too full! Would need to run tmrw and burn off some crabs and shells! Then books again. :(
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Post-Jeju Struggles-to-Run
We had such a good time feasting in Jeju and Seoul, I was most reluctant to get back into running mode. Random did a smattering of runs, short ones in the mornings, extremely lazy. And obviously not enough to burn off all the excess Korean calories that have been deposited on my butt.
Attempted the MTB trail once, but got caught in ankle-deep loose mud near Rifle Range road. My shoes sank in and nearly lost one that got stuck in the mud. Yucks. So then I switched to running on the Rifle Range tarmac. Hit the end of the road and u-turned. It was a very short route, just about 52min in the mornings.
On the first weekend post-Jeju, I ran my usual trail route to MR. Met up with W, KH and group and did three-quarters of the MR loop with them, and ran home. Was "chiu" on the way back. Age is upon me, the legs are not recovering fast enough. :(
This week was the same, a couple of random runs in the mornings and evenings. It was "study week" and there were no classes. So I could go to Safra for an evening run. Alber took me along the new Labrador boardwalk and we ran into Reflections and the newly done-up Keppel Bay area. Very scenic, it reminded me of the Vancouver waterfront.
I managed to get Alber to join me this morning for the long run. It was the same arrangement as last week, ran to MR and met up with friends for the MR loop, and ran home. It was very hot on the way back and we were melting. Alas, the run did nothing to reduce my water-retention or weight, I felt like an elephant on the run this morning. Sigh.
Back to my revisions. Studying and assignments are so detrimental to the waistline...! Too much sitting around and snacking!
Attempted the MTB trail once, but got caught in ankle-deep loose mud near Rifle Range road. My shoes sank in and nearly lost one that got stuck in the mud. Yucks. So then I switched to running on the Rifle Range tarmac. Hit the end of the road and u-turned. It was a very short route, just about 52min in the mornings.
On the first weekend post-Jeju, I ran my usual trail route to MR. Met up with W, KH and group and did three-quarters of the MR loop with them, and ran home. Was "chiu" on the way back. Age is upon me, the legs are not recovering fast enough. :(
This week was the same, a couple of random runs in the mornings and evenings. It was "study week" and there were no classes. So I could go to Safra for an evening run. Alber took me along the new Labrador boardwalk and we ran into Reflections and the newly done-up Keppel Bay area. Very scenic, it reminded me of the Vancouver waterfront.
I managed to get Alber to join me this morning for the long run. It was the same arrangement as last week, ran to MR and met up with friends for the MR loop, and ran home. It was very hot on the way back and we were melting. Alas, the run did nothing to reduce my water-retention or weight, I felt like an elephant on the run this morning. Sigh.
Back to my revisions. Studying and assignments are so detrimental to the waistline...! Too much sitting around and snacking!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Jeju Ultra-marathon 2012
My friends and I signed up for the Jeju ultra-marathon, lured by the free race registration as well as 1 night of free accomodation in Jeju. The race had a road category of 50, 100, and 200km, as well as a trail of 50mi (80km). Both the 100km and 50mi had the same cut-off time of 15h. We chose the latter (but on hindsight, might have been a better choice to pick the road 100km instead). Jeju island was about 73km lengthwise, and 64km in width. We started from the northern point. The trail race route was to go south, traverse Mt Halla and a second mountain, before ending at the World Cup Stadium at its southern end. The 200km road runners were expected to run one loop around the perimeter of Jeju island (some 175km) within 34h.
Breakfast was ready at 4am. The race organiser put us up at a hotel just across the race start point, and we were flagged off at 6am. I was not expecting to be running 20.5km on the road right from the start. Even though a Swiss runner kindly shared the race map and tips with us, I guess it did not register - a half-marathon before we hit the trail. And a 100% upslope at that. It was mind-boggling how there could be a distance that long which was only upward going. Along the way, we saw white sakura trees lining a short section of the road. Alber and I had the foresight to use the toilet at the last petrol kiosk because there was nothing but endless winding road thereafter.
The first check-point (CP) was at 10.5km. Time check: 1:36h. We were the last to arrive. It was literally a mobile CP - it was delivered by a race organiser providing race support from the trunk of his car....! There was only water, Pocari Sweat and bananas.
We literally ran from sea level (where hotel was) towards and into the mountains. Along the way, we caught up with WH, Jo, KL and Sarge. That segment took us almost 3h(!) to get to the 2nd CP at 20.5km (1:16h). We arrived at Seongpanak, a very popular tourist spot where many Koreans go to start their trek up Halla-san (Mt Halla). The race volunteer advised us to 'accelerate' as we were close to the cut-off times.
Alas, the trek was chok-full with leisure hikers, elderly aunties and uncles on a day-hike. They were all decked in fancy colourful gear, backpacks, proper shoes and trekking poles, gorgeous looking shells and apparel. Their aim, like ours, was the summit of Mt Halla at 1,950m. We tried to overtake where possible, and nimbly skipped our way up. Then I heard loud breathing close behind me, someone was not letting up on the pace. Turning around, I realised that WH had caught up with us very quickly and within a blink of an eye, far overtook us.
Our 'nimbleness' was short-lived. We soon hit snow and slush. Yes, the race director did warn about bringing cleats to attach to our running shoes (the fact that my group of four did not get that notification email while my other group of friends did was another puzzlement) but none of us had the proper equipment. I had only a pair of trekking poles with me. So we slid and skidded our way through the slush and occasional ice. It was hard work going up and trying not to slide backwards. We were also overtaken by friends from behind. All the while, there were no signages nor support points. Even if one were to give up, it was either upwards or downwards to civilisation.
With great effort, we made it to the summit. It was an exposed section and very windy. The locals were happily seated, picnic mats and all, and tucking into their bento lunch boxes and soju with great gusto. We, on the other hand, were munching on snickers bars. We took a couple of pictures, and made our way down.
The descent was even more painful because of the slippery slush. I was bad on ice and snow, and worse without proper equipment. Alber took to it like a child's play, skipping and hopping his way down, while I was frozen to the spot (pun intended). A couple of times, he had to come back up to get me down. Part of the reason was also because my Salomon shoes were worn out and had no treads on the soles. I had zero grip on the snow unless it was very rough or slushed up. Needless to say, we lost a tremendous amount of time on the descent. The snow was interspersed with wooden steps and bridges. After a while, even friends who had the cleats gave up putting them on and taking them off repeatedly.
Once we cleared the snow section, we tried to run and catch up. But there was also a limit to how fast we could run while descending on giant rocks and steps. Sarge described them as 'melon-like rocks'. One had to be careful not to mis-step and wedge the foot in between them. There was a cut-off time of 2:30pm at the next check-point and we were all rushing to meet it. I finally got there at 2:40pm, but luckily the officials did not enforce the cut-off. CP3 was about 38km, and it too me a total of 5:43h to clear the distance between CP2 and 3 (~8km)! This CP was a restaurant rest-stop and we had freshly made rice-roll each. It was a thick uncut sushi roll, but it was limited to 1 roll per runner. By then, we had gone for about 8plus hours with no proper food. We walked and ate the roll at the same time, it was such comfort food.
We managed to run a little after that, trying to make up for lost time. We had gone up, over and down one mountain, and were running on the road towards a second mountain. So it was the same story again, running from a low base upwards to the foot of the mountain. At some point, we hit the path to Eorimok trailhead. It was a ruthless 10% incline up - the road signs said so. We walked the entire 4km of 10% incline and got to CP4, the 50km point. Time check: 2:14h for the lap, and 10:40h total.
Unfortunately, the race official cut us off then as they did not want runners to be stuck in the dark on the descent of the second mountain - said to be tougher and more technical than the first. Or so I heard, the first 7km of the next mountain would be straightup stairs. The whole lot of us (6 Singaporeans) stopped at CP4 and had kimchi instant ramen while waiting for transport to get us to the finish point. I was not too hung up about being stopped because it was already a decent effort and experience just getting to that point. We found out that 2 other friends had gone on an earlier car to the end-point, leaving only Melvin and WH still running in the trail. We were somewhat worried if they might be caught ill-prepared or get lost in the dark.
The ride back to the end-point took another 25-30km. We saw a steady stream of 100km and 200km runners as we neared the Jeju World Cup Stadium (end-point). They all looked very seasoned, some even dressed simply in T-shirt and shorts/ tights, as if they were just on another daily run. The road runners apparently had better aid stations. We half-joked that we should return next year but opt for the 100km road category instead.
At the finishing tent, volunteers served hot (but tasteless) beef noodles soup, rice and kimchi. We rested a while and took the first shuttle bus back to the hotel. It took us almost an hour by bus to drive from the southern to northern end of the island. We left messages for Melvin and WH but there was no reply. Finally at 10plus pm, Melvin got back to the hotel. He was the only Singaporean to finish the race in 14:23h, within the time limit, and received a finisher medal for his effort. Meanwhile, WH was still somewhere out there. We found out the next day that he finished the trail but made wrong detours as there were no directions to the end-point. He only got back to the hotel at 1:30am! So then I was secretly glad that I was pulled out of the race.
Verdict:
Terrain-wise, I felt that it was tougher than HK Vibram 100k. The 15h cut-off was also very tight. In terms of organisation, there was very little race support or signages. Most participants were Koreans and obviously knew how to get around and where to run.
It was an eye-opener. I did not expect snow and ice, but it made the experience all the more exciting.Would we return in 2013? Perhaps, but perhaps not the trail category again.
Breakfast was ready at 4am. The race organiser put us up at a hotel just across the race start point, and we were flagged off at 6am. I was not expecting to be running 20.5km on the road right from the start. Even though a Swiss runner kindly shared the race map and tips with us, I guess it did not register - a half-marathon before we hit the trail. And a 100% upslope at that. It was mind-boggling how there could be a distance that long which was only upward going. Along the way, we saw white sakura trees lining a short section of the road. Alber and I had the foresight to use the toilet at the last petrol kiosk because there was nothing but endless winding road thereafter.
The first check-point (CP) was at 10.5km. Time check: 1:36h. We were the last to arrive. It was literally a mobile CP - it was delivered by a race organiser providing race support from the trunk of his car....! There was only water, Pocari Sweat and bananas.
We literally ran from sea level (where hotel was) towards and into the mountains. Along the way, we caught up with WH, Jo, KL and Sarge. That segment took us almost 3h(!) to get to the 2nd CP at 20.5km (1:16h). We arrived at Seongpanak, a very popular tourist spot where many Koreans go to start their trek up Halla-san (Mt Halla). The race volunteer advised us to 'accelerate' as we were close to the cut-off times.
Alas, the trek was chok-full with leisure hikers, elderly aunties and uncles on a day-hike. They were all decked in fancy colourful gear, backpacks, proper shoes and trekking poles, gorgeous looking shells and apparel. Their aim, like ours, was the summit of Mt Halla at 1,950m. We tried to overtake where possible, and nimbly skipped our way up. Then I heard loud breathing close behind me, someone was not letting up on the pace. Turning around, I realised that WH had caught up with us very quickly and within a blink of an eye, far overtook us.
Our 'nimbleness' was short-lived. We soon hit snow and slush. Yes, the race director did warn about bringing cleats to attach to our running shoes (the fact that my group of four did not get that notification email while my other group of friends did was another puzzlement) but none of us had the proper equipment. I had only a pair of trekking poles with me. So we slid and skidded our way through the slush and occasional ice. It was hard work going up and trying not to slide backwards. We were also overtaken by friends from behind. All the while, there were no signages nor support points. Even if one were to give up, it was either upwards or downwards to civilisation.
With great effort, we made it to the summit. It was an exposed section and very windy. The locals were happily seated, picnic mats and all, and tucking into their bento lunch boxes and soju with great gusto. We, on the other hand, were munching on snickers bars. We took a couple of pictures, and made our way down.
The descent was even more painful because of the slippery slush. I was bad on ice and snow, and worse without proper equipment. Alber took to it like a child's play, skipping and hopping his way down, while I was frozen to the spot (pun intended). A couple of times, he had to come back up to get me down. Part of the reason was also because my Salomon shoes were worn out and had no treads on the soles. I had zero grip on the snow unless it was very rough or slushed up. Needless to say, we lost a tremendous amount of time on the descent. The snow was interspersed with wooden steps and bridges. After a while, even friends who had the cleats gave up putting them on and taking them off repeatedly.
Once we cleared the snow section, we tried to run and catch up. But there was also a limit to how fast we could run while descending on giant rocks and steps. Sarge described them as 'melon-like rocks'. One had to be careful not to mis-step and wedge the foot in between them. There was a cut-off time of 2:30pm at the next check-point and we were all rushing to meet it. I finally got there at 2:40pm, but luckily the officials did not enforce the cut-off. CP3 was about 38km, and it too me a total of 5:43h to clear the distance between CP2 and 3 (~8km)! This CP was a restaurant rest-stop and we had freshly made rice-roll each. It was a thick uncut sushi roll, but it was limited to 1 roll per runner. By then, we had gone for about 8plus hours with no proper food. We walked and ate the roll at the same time, it was such comfort food.
We managed to run a little after that, trying to make up for lost time. We had gone up, over and down one mountain, and were running on the road towards a second mountain. So it was the same story again, running from a low base upwards to the foot of the mountain. At some point, we hit the path to Eorimok trailhead. It was a ruthless 10% incline up - the road signs said so. We walked the entire 4km of 10% incline and got to CP4, the 50km point. Time check: 2:14h for the lap, and 10:40h total.
Unfortunately, the race official cut us off then as they did not want runners to be stuck in the dark on the descent of the second mountain - said to be tougher and more technical than the first. Or so I heard, the first 7km of the next mountain would be straightup stairs. The whole lot of us (6 Singaporeans) stopped at CP4 and had kimchi instant ramen while waiting for transport to get us to the finish point. I was not too hung up about being stopped because it was already a decent effort and experience just getting to that point. We found out that 2 other friends had gone on an earlier car to the end-point, leaving only Melvin and WH still running in the trail. We were somewhat worried if they might be caught ill-prepared or get lost in the dark.
The ride back to the end-point took another 25-30km. We saw a steady stream of 100km and 200km runners as we neared the Jeju World Cup Stadium (end-point). They all looked very seasoned, some even dressed simply in T-shirt and shorts/ tights, as if they were just on another daily run. The road runners apparently had better aid stations. We half-joked that we should return next year but opt for the 100km road category instead.
At the finishing tent, volunteers served hot (but tasteless) beef noodles soup, rice and kimchi. We rested a while and took the first shuttle bus back to the hotel. It took us almost an hour by bus to drive from the southern to northern end of the island. We left messages for Melvin and WH but there was no reply. Finally at 10plus pm, Melvin got back to the hotel. He was the only Singaporean to finish the race in 14:23h, within the time limit, and received a finisher medal for his effort. Meanwhile, WH was still somewhere out there. We found out the next day that he finished the trail but made wrong detours as there were no directions to the end-point. He only got back to the hotel at 1:30am! So then I was secretly glad that I was pulled out of the race.
Verdict:
Terrain-wise, I felt that it was tougher than HK Vibram 100k. The 15h cut-off was also very tight. In terms of organisation, there was very little race support or signages. Most participants were Koreans and obviously knew how to get around and where to run.
It was an eye-opener. I did not expect snow and ice, but it made the experience all the more exciting.Would we return in 2013? Perhaps, but perhaps not the trail category again.
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