Own Time Own Target

E has been very health conscious and even checking up on me from time to time.

So I was unperturbed when he asked for my current height and weight, which I knew he must be checking my BMI again.



Out with a result of 21.


Based on the guidelines of Singapore Health Promotion Board for adults:

BMI (kg/m2) for Adults	Health Risk
27.5 and above	High Risk
23 – 27.4	Moderate Risk
18.5 – 22.9	Low Risk (healthy range)
Below 18.5	Risk of nutritional deficiency diseases and osteoporosis

"Whoa! Very good leh!"

"Ehm, yeah, ok...."
"What do you mean VERY GOOD LEH"
"What were you expecting" as I crooked an eyebrow.

"Er, em, you know, you've just given birth and so, ah, good lor." as he pretended to be busy with something.

"Hmmm..."

I wonder if this is supposed to be a complement or he was seeing me no up...

Labels: to Sweat

And I thought it was another routine couple of days' stay at the hospital to stop the bleeding and I could go home / back to work after that. 24hrs later but 73 days early, Baby V was born.

It was a stressful couple days preparing the big audit by our HQ, and I've worked hard staying late most of the week before. Right after the 2 day presentation and meeting, all were satisfied and we went for dinner.

I drove home after dinner and rested. But I noticed some blood clots and immediately got E to send to me my gynae's hospital (un-named due to possible repercussions). On the way there, I felt cramps and thought this MUST be false contractions, I am WAY TOO EARLY to be starting labour.

But when we were there, I was indeed in labour. 4 cm dilated to be specific. I was given Dexsar to help the baby's lungs develop faster to adapt to the breathing in air world. The hitch was the medication needed 2 doses administered 12 hours apart, and a total of 24 hours for it to work fully. We may not have that much time. I was put on sabutamol to relax the womb and hopefully buy some time.

The pedae arrived and was on standby, and the prognosis according to him was worrying. Lots of things could go wrong with a birth this early. 29weeks + 2 days. Not to mention the astronomical costs of Neonatal ICU (NICU) at a private hospital, estimated at $1k per day, for 2-3 months...

We frantically pulled on strings to move me to KK where I hope to get into a C class ward, but KK told the doctors that they were full and I will not be excepted if I were to transfer there. We tried NUH and SGH where both are going to be more expensive than KK, but have a system for reduced charges once fees hit a certain ceiling.

It was passed 12mn, and I woke up my parents. Demanding over their protests to wait till a more godly hour like when the sun is up that they pull on some very distant strings, waking several families in the mean time. And the final verdict was to have me change back into my street clothes and transfer to KK in a private ambulance (making no mentions of the hospital I came from) and just show up at KK A&E. The delivery was thought to be imminent and my gynae and padae were worried enough to hop into the ambulance with me and deliver the baby in the ambulance if necessary. I can't tell you how gratified I was with their unselfish thoughtfulness and professionalism, and the comfort in thought that they were there.

There was some grilling at KK admission, and was told that if not for the dire circumstances that I was in and being unfit to be moved, I would have been moved for there were not enough ventilators. But thank goodness the long distant strings were pulled and favors were granted. No time were lost even during the questioning, and I was quickly changed and examined.

6 cm dilated.

I was given another dose of dexsar at 230am. The doctors dithered with their administration of sabultomol in increasing dosage of 15ml per half hour due to the side effects (both short term and long term) on the heart. But I pleaded with them to up it to the max that my heart could withstand ASAP, before the window closes and the tipping point reach, where too little too late was given before the labour proper starts and the baby would have lost all fighting chance (time) for her lungs to be ready.

They agreed with me, but not before counselling us on the pros and cons, and amongst them... we have 2 other children. The very stark message being, they were responsible for both mother and child, but they judged it to be more important to have 1 mom + 2 kids than 3 kids with no mom. Yes... but still. They upped the sabultamol.

The next 20 hours were filled with waiting, where waiting was good. I was prescribed anti-biotics, blood drawn for various tests, monitored closely to ensure that my heart rate was no higher than 130 per min.

We waited and counted down the 24 hours required for dexsar to work. We didnt dare to hope for much, but celebrated every 30min. At first just to reach 6am (3.5hrs) than to 8:30am (6hrs where a quarter of the dexsar would have worked) than to 2:30pm (for the 2nd dose of dexsar to be administered at KK). We didnt believe that we managed to hold till then, I suspect not even the doctors.

At some point, my heart rate went racing above 138 and blood pressure dangerously low at 94/54. They lowered the sulbutomol, and soon the contractions gotten so much worst that I thought I was going to deliver, they gave me the gas mask and I breathed in freely. We held on and they increased the dosage of sulbutomol partially as my vital stats stabilised.

The target was 2:30 am 1/8/09 but by 10pm, I was post-dilated and the baby's head was low in the birth channel. I felt weak and told E that I could not go on.

He was dissappointed. And I was dissappointed that he was. I mean, the objective was both lives, wasn't it? At this time the doctors came in and he asked again about the side effects of the salbutomol and told them that I was feeling weak. My faith in him thus restored. And the doctors decided that there was no point waiting further. It was 20 hours after the 1st dose of dexsar in KK was administered, the baby's lungs had more than a fighting chance.

The 2 teams of doctors came in to the labour room, and the neonatal team was told to "be ready for resuscitation". I prayed as they pricked the water bag and I started pushing.

Baby V was born 1350gm, 41 cm long and 26 cm head circumference. Stats that were better than we had dared hoped for at such an early gestational period, and historical data from her elder petite siblings.

A CRY! A small cry from the baby! She's breathing! She does not need resuscitation!

That took everyone by surprised. She was quickly cleaned up and wrapped in cling wrap to preserve her body temperature. When she was ready to be pushed into the NICU, the neonatal doc gave E a slap on the back and congratulated him, telling him what a good girl we have there.



It was a minor miracle.

We thank all who had helped and prayed for us.

Labels: to Despair, to Love, to Sweat

I've found THE dream marathon.

The Marathon du Medoc, in Bordeaux France.



42.195km winding between Chateaus, vineyards and rose bushes; interspersed with 22 WINE stands and some of which serve STEAKS and SAUSAGES! A tradition of fancy dress, a party the night before, during, after and the day after!


I'm breathless for having just typed those descriptions.

While I plan out the logistics, work up the courage and save up the moolah, here's a beautiful account of 1 who participated.

Labels: to Sweat, to Travel

Sent my car for 40,000km servicing this morning, and tried to hail a cab back to office.

Started walking towards the main road. Missed a cab as I was walking behind a parked trailer. ARGH.

Crossed the junction, no cab.

Started walking in the direction of my office. Still no cab.

Next junction, a cab turned but it was already hired.

Kept walking and I was just 1 junction away from my office. Decided to walk to the office.

And I reached my office. 2.1km away according to Google maps, and I saved maybe $5 on cab fare.

............

Time to collect my car. I decided to save money (since I'm seriously broke now) and not call a cab, but to try my luck by walking out to hail one.

Walked along the road, saw one cab coming towards me with somebody in it. Perhaps it is my lucky day? I walked a little more to the further junction (to save money, like 10cents...) thinking it "had to" reverse and come out this way... But lo and behold, it was GONE!

Walked out to the main road. No cab.

Crossed the road. Still nothing. Only lots of lorries and FTs on bicycles zooming by, and i'd have to be injured AND crazy to hitch-hike on one...

Kept walking towards the service center. Still no cab.

...

...

...

Yes, 15 min and 2.1km later, I had walked back to the service center from my office.


I'm not sure whether to be glad of the $10 savings, be perplexed over the gods of healthy lifestyle that had chosen me, be thankful for the cloudy weather during the walks, or plain forget about today.

Labels: to Sweat

so we finally went to buy new shoes suitable for running for the kids, not real running shoes cos hello~? you think we print $ ah? Just something with rubber soles, abit flexible and not too heavy.

and we test ran them (the shoes, not the kids, with the kids in them) over the weekend.

We started with a stroll, then a jog and then it became a free for all to reach the starting point at the park near our place.

E went off for his run, and I led the kids to a warm-up.

The kids trying to look serious but I couldnt hide my grin while we went:
- how high can your hands reach? straight up! higher!
- how wide can they go? like you are getting ready for a BIIIGGG hug!
- make small circles, and bigger and BIGGER! then smaller and smaller
- put your hands on your waist, and turn! Turn again, and again!
- ok, touch your toes! nooooo... dont bend your knees. can you touch? errr... ok, just bend down , no need to touch your toes.
- now rotate your ankles like this. (they started dancing to the twist and i almost fell over laughing)

then we went running up and down the route again. Total about 750m. SCSM kids dash, here we come!

after that, the huge reward of playground! a solid 45min worth. LOL.

i sent them home for their shower, and E gave them dinner.

and then i went for MY run.

my first since my last half marathon, ahh... more than a year ago. :blush:

felt good to limber up and feel the breeze in the evening.

Gotta do it again, soon.

with the kids too.

Labels: to Laugh, to Sweat

E completed his 1st full marathon in 5:12:00 hr

I am immensely proud

His Nike Inspiration that he's tacked to his back said

"B'cos my wife completed hers"

awwwww...

Labels: to Sweat

nooo... i didnt run in this year's Bay Run/ Army Half Marathon.

E did.

and he completed in about 2:26

so proud of him.

more importantly, he came back safe and almost injury-free.




* Condolences to the family of Captain Ho Si Qiu, only 25...

Labels: to Sweat

New Balance Real Run 2007

Date : 28 October 2007, Sunday
Venue : Changi Exhibition Centre@ Changi Coast Road
Flag-off : 7:30am (15km), 7:45am (10km)
Registration : 22 Jul ~ 30 Sept 2007
Fees : S$31 for all categories.
Distance : ROAD 12KM or 7KM / SAND 1KM / TRAIL 1KM / RUNWAY 1KM

Did you see that last word? RUNWAY (1KM is the distance, not a word...)

RUNWAY as in aeroplane runway.

wow.

are they ever going to do this again?

I so want to do it... but is #3 plan on or not?

am pushing E to register for this as part of his training for the full at end of the year. so happy that he has listened and registered early for the full at the shears bridge and full at SCSM

Registration info here

Labels: to Sweat

It seems almost as soon as the dream had started, it was over.

I had re-evaulated my:

1. Fitness level - alright but nothing fantastic, 2.5km no prob though i dont know what is it going to feel like doing that same 2.5km AFTER the swim and bike legs.

2. Swim competence level - cant swim free-style properly (cos i belong to the kenna-throw-in-pool-so-swim school), my breast stroke and back stroke are ok but havent swam a full length in over 5 years = 375m in pool already problem , in open sea major problem.

Swimming is more technical than brute strength (of which i also dont have lah...), and i strongly believe in 欺山莫欺水 (unlike being in a mountain, there is no recourse if troubles arise in the waters).

It is much more responsible to tri (or do anything for that matter) when well equipped/ trained than to hazard a tri on a whim.

3. Bike competence level - no bike, no helmet, no road biking experience = 10km lagi major problem

4. Time commitments = already doing 2.5 jobs (1 being covering for staff on maternity leave, 1 being my own work, and 0.5 being work in the subsidiary and overseas companies)

5. Family commitments = wife and mother of 2 small kids. 'nuff said.

6. Financial commitments = i have all the running gear, none of the biking and swimming gear. I "can" afford the gear but i need to know what kind of mileage i'm going to get out of them.

So at the end of the day = there is no way i can do the mini of Swim 375m, Bike 10km, Run 2.5km in Triladies this Sept.


Even if I kill myself going for both swim and bike class for 12 weeks from now till tri-date, and forsake all semblance of family/ social life in the mean time. I dont think there will be much fun if you cant take time to enjoy the learning and the experience especially if you also cross the finish line all battered and bruised. No?



But it is not OVER over.

Just a postponment to 2008 or 2009 depending on #3 plans come through or not.

I'm starting my tri adventure by looking for an adult swimming class :)

Labels: to Read Think, to Sweat

bike as in the bicycle leg of a triathlon.

did a bit of research and found that:

- i should use my own bike for the triladies triathlon training. If I rent, i may not get the same bike and that will hamper the training.

- a decent no frills bike cost +/-S$1,000.00 MINIMUM

For 1, i dont have that kind of money to spend,

for 2, i dont know if i will continue biking (enough) to justify such a purchase. i mean $5/km or even $1/km is crazy.

for 3, this is money ON TOP of tri registration, bike training, swim training, swimming costume, googles, helmet (free swimming cap courtesy of FL) and thats already almost S$1k... can die.

Alternative is buy a dirt-cheap one like FL told me to try from carefour, or rent from a reputable bike shop like bikehaus but dunno how much IF they have 1 for my XS size. I'll probably need a bike rack for my car too...

Now you know why my favourite exercise is running: You can start with the minimal basics of just a pair of shoes plus any old t-shirt and shorts, socks optional.

And suddenly there is this explosion of bike-related news (Tampines trial on allowing bikes on footpath) and blog posts (Jeff , Mr. Brown)

Triladies triathlon registration now open liao leh!

how how how?

Labels: to Shop Buy, to Sweat

Dropped by SgRunners during a multi-tasking-break and saw a thread on a unique women-only triathlon event and even training programmes.

my heart skipped a beat.

September 23.

Is this my chance?

- to learn to swim the front crawl properly and swim in the sea
- to learn to cycle on the road in a group
- to attempt my first triathlon?

i could start small, the Sprint at Swim 750m, Bike 20km, Run 5km seemed doable until Ade reminded me that the length of a pool is only 50m, i.e. 15 lengths...

But Super Sprint is "only" Swim 375m, Bike 10km, Run 2.5km, gotta be doable IF i can master open sea swim and conquer my fear of road cycling, right?

worst case scenerio i do the breast stroke right?

but i have no worst case scenerio for the cycling leg, not since i flew down a steep slope on a borrowed bike too tall for me, into the side of a parked car when i was in my early primaries.

Especially not after i may have misjudged a junction today, making a right turn on clear on-coming traffic except a lone cyclist who was going straight. I went for it, and he passed by just behind me. I dont know if it was safe, even on hind-sight which is supposed to be 20/20.

was it divine intervention to say "nobody died, go for it" or "see what could have happened to you"?


i dont even have a bike.

i've never owned a bike


but oooh to dream, just a little longer.

maybe the dream will turn into reality too.

Labels: to Sweat

was contacted by a fellow SgRunner from out of the blues, very Blue becos i've not been active in the forum since my last race, and even more BLUE cos we've not spoken before

courtesy msn back.

turned out he is looking for subjects to do a marathon special...

with ME as a subject?! there are so many younger/ older/ faster/ way faster marathoners out there...

he must be desperate, very desperate. to the point that he tried to sell the idea of pp want to read about "down to earth pp doing marathons".

Riiiight. cant get more DOWN to earth then me who finished a marathon in 7:48

good grief.

and oh, did i mention that it was for a MAGAZINE?

what have i gotten myself into?

Labels: to Sweat

So i had enough of my none-too-white teeth, and went for "laser tooth whitening" as part of my self-improvement drive

The whole thing started quite innocently with me glancing through the NUSS flyers, and found that there was actually a discount for tooth whitening package at Angel Tooth at $640.00. I believe standard prices are easily $1200. I HAD TO GO!

secured sponsorship from E for all the presents he owed, current and goodness knows how many future presents...

So we went on a bright Saturday morning, full of anticipation. Alas, the Dentist had to clean my teeth and that lead to some bleeding at the gum, so we had to reschedule for the following. but but but the offer was laspsing at the end of the month wor... Oh, you'll hold the offer for me? cool.

The next week, the gums were no longer bleeding, i hadn't developed sores, or had a chip/ huge hole in my teeth. All systems go.

First step. Determining the hue and value of my teeth. D4.
oh oh. did i like, fail some test?


Based on Hue

A1

A2

A3

A3.5

A4

B1

B2

B3

B4

C1

C2

C3

C4

D2

D3

D4

ok, apparently, the hues are based on types of races. As are mostly whitish for ang-mohs, Bs are greyish for Indians, Cs are yellowish for Malays, and Ds are brownish for Chinese.

Based on Value

B1

A1

B2

D2

A2

C1

C2

D4

A3

D3

B3

A3.5

B4

C3

A4

C4

To see how many shades of improvement there is, the most usual way is to measure against value. Interestingly, B1 is 1 shade higher than A1. And my D4 is not the last of class, but shade #8... still.

Our aim is to get to B1, or A1, 7 or 6 shades improvement. Okay, as long we're clear that we are not going for the artificial hollywood plastic white (which incidentally cannot be achieved by teeth whitening, and only by veneers. ah so.)

THE TREATMENT

We started by fixing some kind of braces/ mouth guard which made me grin permanently while exposing all my teeth. This was just a little uncomfortable, and i had to make sure i didnt move my jaw too much and be able to swallow saliva without disloging the braces.

Some gel was applied to my teeth, we waited for 10min then activated the bleaching agent (in the gel) using laser light for another 10min. The gel was stirred on the teeth in between each set and the dentist checked on my condition. Through successive sets, the pores on the enamel will open bigger and let more of the bleaching agent into bleach the dentin (which is naturally off-white/ yellowish), but not much till the bleaching agent seeps further to the pulp or hit the nerves in the root canal. OUCH!

This was done in maximum 4 sets, depending on tooth sensitivity and condition of teeth. Basically, if you have very sensitive teeth, you will be crying and howling in pain by 2nd set, and if you have dead nerves, you can go all the way to 4th.

I was alright all till half way point of the 4th set. By then it felt like a drill was going into my temples, while finger nails were scratching across a blackboard behind me AND froze ice-cream jammed into my mouth. (this feeling was to hit intermittently throughout the 1st night requiring 2 of my stashed ponstan, and thankfully with less frequency throughout the 1st 3-4 days.)

But the good news was: I had acheived shade B1!

FORBIDDEN FOOD (and drinks)

I had done some research earlier and understood that i wasnt too eat/ drink stuff that would stain my teeth, especially for the 1st 2 weeks as the pores on the enalmel were still open and will close slowly over 2 weeks. Ok, no coffee, no tea, no orange juice, not nice, but i can handle it.

However, I was not prepared for the full extent of forbidden stuff. NO COLORFUL STUFF

NO chilli - curries, laksa, chilli sauce, etc
NO tomata - stews, pizza etc
NO black sauce - char kway teow, lor mee, chai tow kway etc
NO coffee/ tea/ juices/ red wine etc
NO yellow noodle - ALL noodle dishes etc
NO cheese - burgers, pizza, baked rice etc
NO vegetables - well, anything that has color, carrots/ leafy veg/ pumbkin etc

seriously can die right? and oh my goodness...

NO chocolate - 'nuff said...

The analogy was, if it stained a white shirt, you can't have it. ARGHHHH!

The stuff that i could have were:
- Milk (fresh, not flavored)
- Water
- white fish (no salmon etc)
- chicken without skin
- white rice, rice noodle
- baked potato
- green apple
- pasta in white sauce

oh good grief.

2 weeks later

First thing first, by the end of 2 weeks, i had lost weight. LOLz.

I went back for a review and found that my teeth had rebounded to 1/2 shade between B1 and A1. The dentist thought we should get it done properly, and go for another treatment to gun for B1. i.e. another 3-4 sets to touch up.

i was aghast, another $640?!

no lah, free lah.

ermmm... oh. yeah! sure. (all the pain and suffering after the first treatment forgotten on hearing the word FREE, so human)

And we did acheive B1, half a shade better than B1 in fact, and it had just that little bit of fakeness...

MORE SUFFERING, but migated with a desentizing gel that the doc prescribed that will help to decrease the sensitivity and temporary close the pores.

Another 2 weeks.

This time the review showed that i had rebounded a full shade to A1. The dentist couldnt understand why, but i supposed i had cheated a little on the food...

Still A1 is pretty good lah, 6 shades improvement leh!

I'm gonna be smiling alot more brightly from now on.

:D

Labels: to Eat Drink Party, to Sweat

Aftermaths of SCSM 06

Read about the courageous lady with the tyre on her blog


My Recovery:

1. Dried up blister measuring 4.5cm in length, 1.5cm in width in one end and 1cm in the other end, and a narrower width in the middle of 0.5cm. Kinda like a number 8 :D
2. 2 days of walking stiffly and falling into chairs instead of sitting down properly, but all clear after a full body deep tissue massage :)
3. Slightly twisted ankle needs some exercise. :(

My stand on how long the clock should tick for the marathon in this post

DO quoted an MR25 member's post in another forum

Good to see the results up so quick.At the start line they were saying how
wonderful that there were8,900 odd runners in the half.

Interesting to note that only 6159 finished the race. Only 70%turned up??? or are they still out there??7100 did the full and about 9000 the 10km.22,000 runners. Does that mean there were 8,000 in the kids dash?Or have the figures been inflated to make the organisers feel good.we were told 30,000 were running.

One thing is for sure. If they all turned up then it would have beenworse than hell trying to get through the slow moving marathon pack.Another interesting fact that in last years race the average timefor the marathon was 5 and a half hours and only 7% ran under 4hours. Not exactly something to brag about for a world class event.

Tis a comment fm a MR25's Ang MO abt te No Show SC Marathon Runners n te current situation... in tis instance, I have to agreed with... especially with further observation fm another SGrunner's own Ang Mo "at I saw of some very unfit runners being taken off to hospital after collapsing at the finish line the organizers may be trying to avoid any negative press to help keep the numbers growing for next year."

Must things must be done to correct te current situation..... hmmmm

Freddy @ Dec 4 2006, 02:44 PM

To consider a world class event, the marathon should not set at 12 hrs, a shorter time i.e 6 hrs should be considered. More runners should be encourage to run the 10km or 1/2. Marathon should not be consider as part of fun run.

yojanjan @ Dec 5 2006, 11:23 AM

ooohhh... do i smell elitism in the air?

the fact is Singapore still does not have a huge running culture, we dont have enough history behind us, we dont have enough races (only ONE a year), we dont even have supporters along the route, other than volunteers, family and friends - and we are already talking about exclusion?

A world class event is more than timing. It is heart.

could the lady with the tyre have "completed" if the clock was dismantled at 6 hours?

If you stop the clock at 6 hours, how many runners would have been prevented from the route of self-discovery by going the whole works, digging deep and finding their inner reservoir of strength and self-belief?

sure we have pp who run well and fast. that's great and kudos to them!

but i also salute the runner who came in last but who had finished. and i thank the organisers for waiting for the last runner to come in.

if you want world class timing for the entire field, hold a qualifying round to prevent the amatuers from "spoiling" the race.

oh wait. even Boston has wild card entries for pp who does not meet the timing to enjoy the race.

so the only way is go for the Games, the Asia Games, the Olympics, guarantee no "hell going through the slow moving pack".

ultraman @ Dec 5 2006, 12:35 PM

“Elitism”? Aiyo, this word has been greatly discouraged in Europe recently. It is a discrimination indeed, a segregation of status code, a drawing a line between top and bottom.

Anyone who can complete a marathon is an “elite” in that person!

Look at our "Realrunner", he has suffered from very bad cramps, was down and tormented for almost an hour with the pain and agony; for many lesser runners would have already given up and left, but he continued to complete the run even though he finished it over 5hours. That is the kind spirit and sportsmanship that we seldom get.

I would respect Realrunner more than those who have took the run lightly without much training/foundation and fainted on the actual day.

After all, its not a mere 10km or 21km......it is a 42.195km marathon.

Ultra

yojanjan @ Dec 5 2006, 02:33 PM

i agree with you that a marathon journey is not one to be taken lightly, without preparation. The journey starts from the point a person decides to run one, then the training, getting to the start point and the running on the actual day.

One who runs a marathon without thinking and without training (i dont know which is worst) is a fool for not taking the opportunity to learn about himself, and a fool for putting himself in danger.

but lets not forget that even well trained and even experienced runners do fail to complete becos of inevitable problems during the run, and i applaud all who attempt the marathon journey, finisher or not. so in the same vein, lets do applaud those who had the courage to start, sub-6 finishers or sub-12 finishers.

embrace all.

Labels: to Sweat

the short

- i finished the half in 3:12.24 gun time and 3:05.39 chip time.

- surprised that i did better than the 3:30 i had expected, but didnt break the sub-3 that i wanted...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The full report

It was almost shaping up to be the race i didnt run.

I had the flu for almost a week before the run, and a combination of Lemsip, flu medication and warm clothings helped. But i hadnt slept much the whole week from my blocked nose, body aches and looking after 2 very fretful kiddies (who were also down with cough and sniffles) in the night. PLUS it was the middle of the very inconvenient time of the month.. (#$^%@&)

Finally it was the night before the race. I was excited, if apprehensive.

I pinned my bib to my top (the red GE10k singlet which fit well, not the official SCSM singlet which i havent had time to wash :p), packed plasters, money, handphone, heat rub sample sachet, tissue paper, powergel into the various pockets of my raceready tights. Socks and socks liner.

ARGH. i left my shoes in my shoe bag in the car, will have to change in the morning and tie the chip in the car park....

i should try to sleep, but E was still packing his suitcase for his golf trip to Chiangmai on the same morning of the race. We had packed the kiddies to my in-laws for the night, so it was relatively quiet and i took the opportunity to tidy up the disaster zone with toys and books strewn all over.

I drank another Lemsip and felt better. Then by chance E channelled surf to live coverage from the Doha Games and the Singapore table tennis women were playing against North Korea, the defending champions who defeated China in the last Games.

1st match was won easily by Sun Beibei, the 2nd was won by Li Jiawei. The 3rd was lost by Zhang Xueling. The 4th should have been won by Li Jiawei but she succumbed and suddenly we were 2-2 against the North Koreans.

The 5th and final match was Sun Beibei again, a 22 year old in her first major outing. Alas, she lost the 1st 2 games, she cant lose again or it will be all over. YES! She took the next 2 games 11-8. Amazing, she took the lead in the last game, but oh-no. The North Korean caught up with her at 10-10. Is she going to earn glory and grow tremendously, or is she only to choke? She raced to take the next 2 points and Singapore is through to the semi-finals. The Singapore coach jumped over the barrier to bear-hug Sun as tears welled up in her eyes. What grit, what determination. If ony our lions were more like her...

Oh-oh, it was already 1:50am time to sleep. but swimming is up next. It was worth it as i caught Tao Li winning the bronze in the 50m backstroke. Alright. Really time to sleep! 2:30am!

Di-Di-Di-Di... it wasnt mine. It was E's at 3:40am for him to get ready to leave for airport at 4:00am. Have a good trip dear.

I slept abit more and woke up at 430am. Had breakfast of biskuit and coffee. started changing into my gear.

1. Sportsbra - check

2. Singlet - check

3. plaster on feet - check

4. Tie up hair - check

5. Sports cap - check

6. Raceready tights - errrmmm... whats this gooey stuff on the pants? ARGH! the powergel had leaked in the night and soaked through the pants!!! i quickly took out everything from all the pockets and stuffed them into a plastic bag, while quickly rinsing the pants out. Where's my other raceready shorts? oh-oh, in the car with my shoes. sigh.
7. Socks liner + socks - check

5:10am Lets Go. LETS GO ALREADY.

I ran to the car park and when there i looked for my handphone. Not in the bag! I drove and parked the car at the foot of my block and ran up to look for my phone. Not at the sink, the kitchen table, the table where i laid out my gear. Had to call my self. No ringing! It must be in the car! I ran down and found the handphone in the plastic bag where i had shoved everything in, which is why i didnt feel it in the bag. duh!

I drove madly in the light traffic to Raffles City where i intended to park. In fact i drove so fast that i missed a turn to Lavender Road and went via a slightly longer route. I made it to Raffles City but there was a long queue of cars going into the car park. The car park indicators said ONE lot... i waited for awhile and it was already 6:00am. People were getting off the cars and letting their chauffeurs park the car while they walk to esplanade, I had no such luxury and decided to park at suntec, the walk from Padang to suntec after the run be damned.


Managed to find a lot and parked quickly, stealing a look around and seeing no people or cameras, i quickly changed into my raceready shorts in the car, stuffed everything into the pockets and then changed shoes.

I ran out of the car park and came right upon a toilet, yes, a godsend. and then I ran to the esplanade... eh? i dont remember it being that far from suntec to esplanade? When I finally reached esplanade, my way was blocked by central dividers too high to jump across like some other guys did. A policeman told me to turn around and use the underpass. I told him my race is starting NOW! he shrugged and waved me along.

I came to the starting pen and the gun had already gone off! oh shucks. NO CHIP NO TIME. my chip was still in my pocket. I tied it to my shoe quickly and joined the last of pen 4 people shuffling towards the start line. As i was about 10m away from start line, a tall sweaty chinese man who looked to be in his 20s nonchalently pushed me aside and moved ahead! He did this to other pp too but i was quite startled. But no time to rue over it as we came upon the start line. The adrenaline pumping and it was time to RUN!

The fact is despite the difficult registration, the mishaps of the morning and the recent illness, i've not felt this good in many days.

I felt alive and that the wind would carry me.

In fact I felt so good that it was a good half km before i realised that i had forgotten to start my stopwatch again... I estimated that i was off by a good 5 minutes and started my watch anyways.
We ran down Raffles quay, and Shenton way. The sound of pounding feet on quiet roads was magic as the sun rised. The weather was cool and a light breeze blowing, you couldnt ask for more perfect weather, at least until the sun comes up totally anyways. :)

And then we hit a left to go to Marina South, running down the familiar canel. At about 3km, my left instep started to feel raw but why since i had already taped it?! oh goodness, i had used a different brand of plaster, it was cheaper and i thought it wouldnt matter.... i hope it wont cost me too much.

We came upon the first water station. Trying to avoid the water retention and swelling last year, i only took a sip to rinse my mouth like Philip told me to, and used the rest to splash upon my face, neck, shoulders and arms. The drinks were served in paper cups but it was still prudent to not trip over any of them.

As we ran down Marina way, i had to stopped and slap another plaster over the blister which was throbbing. I could only hope that it didnt get worst and burst.

Just as I started running again, I came upon an old man with a shirt that says 台中.长青 and i was suddenly filled with respect with this spritely old man who flew all the way from Taiwan to Singapore to shuffle as well as he could. i gave him a thumbs-up and said "加油!" as i ran passed him. He looked startled but returned a smile.

The rest to the U-turn was uneventful but i had never known that there was a Marina Jetty at the end of civilisation in Marina South. The u-turn was thaaat far. The long route out made me think of a queue for a Disney attraction: you join a long snaking queue and as you come to the top of the queue, you realise that it continues snaking for another section and yet another.
After the U-turn, I ran passed the first of the full-marathoner. He was wearing a Reason To Run bib that said "not running 42km, conquering 1km 42 times". There were lots of other people who wore the RTR bib on their backs, including "Kick me", a pair of girls who had "Slower" and "Then Us!" respectively which made me wanting to kick THEM. Another trim young man had one that said "Becos I used to weigh 97kg". Two that had their RTR made into T-shirts said "I've procastinated long enough" and "To eat more cookies 'n cream" :D

We ran back the same way we came and at about 11km, i heard the sound of cans being dragged on the ground. Just like those tied to a wedding car in movies. I couldnt believe my eyes. It was a girl with a rope around her waist, dragging a tyre with a stylofoam box with plastic bottles and snack wrappers and cans around it. She had a message on the box "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle". She smiled and talked to people who asked her the who-what-whys while continuing to run. It was tough enough running a full marathon, but being so burdened... Her commitment to the cause was admirable.

I came upon a man who had collapsed at shenton way, he was already being attended to by other runners and volunteers so i didnt linger. But when we were coming upon the bridge near Fullerton, a police bike stopped all of us and made the volunteers removed the central divider barrier to let a police escort and an ambulance through. I hope it wasnt the same guy i saw earlier at shenton way, and it was, the situation was not too serious or too late...

At about the 15km, the blister became full blown and stopped bothering me as it had became so large and water-filled that it was self-cushioning. Unfortunately, my left ankle had become slighted twisted from running so far while trying to accomodate it. But that was going to be the least of my problems as my muscles start getting tighter and tighter.

It was only near Republic Boulevard that i realised that there were volunteers dispensing heat rub near water stations. Another godsend! I gratefully took some and massaged them into my thighs, calves and shins. I stretched a little and was able to run again.

Unfortunately, it was yet another demoralising long way to a U-turn at nicoll highway that turned around at 17km. I was just glad that i wasnt running the full this time. As I headed back, i could see that i was ahead of a couple of hundreds of half-marathoners, even overtaking some, and that lightened my heart. And it was really funny when some of them asked "where is the u-turn" to familiar faces, and their so-called "friends" kept telling them "VERY FAR!".

As I came down Nicoll Highway onto Republic Boulevard, i saw the girl with the tyre again. This time she was in full concentration and with pain written all over her face, and there were 2 ladies helping to pull her load. I thought no less of her then when I first saw her, and could only hope that more people will become aware of her cause, and maybe help her along.

I had began to take some walking breaks, but always with a weary glance towards the darkening sky which at some point started to drizzle lightly.

But when i reached Saint Andrews i caught my second wind, and was about to run the last 200m to the finishing line. Like Alex said in the last marathon, "Look good for the cameras!"

I had crossed the finishing line at Gun time 3:12:24


I gave a call to Leng, who was supposed to pick me up and drive me home in my own car, and she was surprised that I was already done as I had told her to meet me at 1030, 4 hours after the start. LOL

While waiting for her, I ate a banana and some isotonic drinks and tried to stretch. Again, thankfully there were roving volunteers dispensing heat rub and that helped tremendously.

I called BigLady and asked how did she do. She finished her 10km in 1hr 54min. Her first race on bad knees! I was so proud of her.

There lots of other friends who ran well, including Philip who did a 4:37 and Brokie a 4:17 (and who came in 28th in her age group) in their full marathons, and Terence who did a 1:01 for his 10km, but I was the most proud of BigLady's achievements because of the obstacles she had to overcome. I just wish she'll be less hard on herself and savour the moment.

Finally met up with Leng and by then i had cramps in my bum from sitting too long, and the blister was threatening burst, and i couldnt bend my knees. She helped to get milk and food for me, and sent me home. Leaving only after I managed an ice-bath, feeding me, and ensuring that I was comfortable. Did i say that I'm blessed with great friends? yup. But i'll say it again. I'm Blessed With Great Friends.

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So the Official Chip Time was up. Mine were:

Chip time 3:05:39
I almost wanted to cry when Mike broke down the stats and told me that if i had ran 15sec faster per km, i would have broken sub-3 :(

But nonetheless, it was an enjoyable race, all the memorable because it was a pretty good race despite my aboslute lack of talent.

My race results based on gun-time:
- 5471st amongst 6165 half-marathoners
- 1504th amongst 1814 lady half-marathoners
- 217th amongst 237 lady half-marathoners of my age-group.
---> i was ahead of 384 men half-marathoners!

YES!

Labels: to Sweat

(edited on 23-11-06 to add in comparison against men's results at the end of original post)

Okies, so the full results are in.

and me, being super competitive, want and need to know where i stand.

(nah... kidding, i just want to bench mark and see how much better i could and should have done... *sniff*)

Group (Women)	Total	Fastest	Slowest
Open	61	8:32.55	33:14
Under 20	20	12:18	22:46
20 - 29	63	10:46	41:29
30 - 39	43 (incl 1 DNF)	11:22	20:59
40 - 49	19 (incl 1 DSQ)	12:06	25:44
Above 50	7	11:47	23:29
Total	213

There were a total of 213 ladies who took part, with the fastest this year clocking in at a blistering 8:32.55 (A NEW RECORD!) and the slowest 41:29 (HEY! at least she completed).

Unfortunately 1 Did Not Finish and 1 was DiSQualified. The DNF is sad, but i wonder what happened with the DSQ? Did she run in another person's bib? i dont believe anybody will cheat for this event....

The largest group was in the 20-29 age group, but it also reflected in the large variance in timing. The other groups were smaller but were more competitive within each group, especially in the 30-39 where the difference between the 1st and the last was just 9:37min.

I suppose when you are 20-29, you will try anything at least once, regardless of physical condition. And the older ladies are more prepared, since none of them finished slower than 25:44min.

Yours truly weigh in at 131st out of 213.

Room for improvement?

yup.

out of curiousity, i checked out how i stacked up against the men...
- i would have came in 123th out of 140 men in 30-39 group,
- 386th out of all 451 men. i.e. my time is ahead of 65 men!
- in the whole field of all 664 participants(eh? i thought there were 1000 people who signed up? turn up rate is only 60%?), i came in 517th.

what fun! :D

Labels: to Sweat

the short is :

I completed in 17:38min
All 73 storeys, 1336 steps of it and it was the hardest 17:38min of my life.

*****************************************************************

the race report

Had been feeling under the weather the whole week, and worst had a sprained left wrist from Kiddie J playing her newest game of holding hands with me 1 min and the next sec lifting her feet up and twirling herself around, at the expense of my wrist... she looks really cute and it is great that she is so strong and fearless, but OUCH~!

coupled with a bloated tummy from japanese dinner the night before, and little sleep from taking care of the kids through the night, it was no wonder that of all the races that i've entered, this is the first one that i really comtemplated not going to...

i didnt even bother to pack my race kit the night before like i always do.

but the saving grace is the bib collecting is at a late 8:30am, and the race for my group starts at 9:58am. so i went anyway after clearing the tummy troubles in the morning.

One step at a time.
- First get out of the house,
- catch a cab
- then collect bib and secure chip,
- have breakfast,
- warm up,
- line up,
- climbing one step up at a time,
- and then amazingly, TADA! The TOP! thats the plan anyways... :D

i knew Ade was going to be there, i called her hp when i collected my bib, and she looked amazing, passing for a 18 year old. sigh~* we went for breakfast at mos burger to catch up over 2 years of friendship in suspended animation, and while there passed by a group of sgrunners at sub-way, but we had to wait for our breakfast to be served in mos and didnt join them in the end.

after breakfast, i caught up Ade's brother too and we did a slow warm up running a lap around raffles city. we didnt feel out of place at all as there were so many of us, over 1200 participants and pp from 22 countries.

i did talked to T@z and meteor before my wave, and spied meteor and alvo sharing a good luck kiss before alvo's race, so sweet, the newly weds. :)

pretty quickly, it was the start time for women 30-39 group, Ade and I lined up, and we were in wave 82, 6 of us at one minute intervals. i told her to feel free to move ahead, way ahead of me, dont wait. and set myself 2 targets, first to complete, and to complete within 25min if possible (since last year's last persons in both women 20-29 and women 30-39 clocked 26:20+min.)

the official blew his whistle and with a wave of his hand, we were off! a short sprint from outside swissotel lobby to the staircase landing next to starbucks, and the first steps... turning ANTI-CLOCKWISE???!!! bad bad bad, cos i couldnt put any weight on my left wrist to pull myself up, only being able to hold slightly to steady myself as i went up.

oh wait! the steps arent the same as our HDB stairs with equal steps and a short landing between each turn. It was a 5 m run to the next flight of 2 steps, a short landing, 15 steps or so then 5 m run. no chance to build up a good rhythm.

i looked at my chrono and realised that i didnt start my stopwatch.... (quah-quah...)

no time to think, everybody else in my wave sprinted up the steps 2-at-a-time and i decided to conserve energy and went up steadying step by step.

relief at 5th storey, it went back to clockwise turning. and by now i was breathing hard, through both nose and mouth, my heart pounding wildly, and i started thinking, another 60+ storeys???

most of the door way to each level were opened to facilitate air flow and i supposed for pp to drop out. :D but there were volunteers/ ushers/ officials urging the contestants on too. i gave every of them who shouted encouragement or clapped their hands a thumbs-up sign, partly to thank them, partly to let them know i am ok even though i looked like death, and mostly to psycho myself that i am still well enough to continue

i tried not to look at all the storey indicators, and was sometimes pleasantly surprised that i made up a few more flights of steps i thought i had. it was mind-numbing steps after steps after steps. i didnt know how much time had passed in there.

about 40 storeys, it began to turn anticlockwise again, but the landing between each flight was shorter at 2m. and at this time, i was passed by meteor who was in a wave behind mine. i saw her coming and made way for her. soon i was passed by about another 5 or 6 girls, and miracously i passed ONE girl!

fatique really started to set in then, and i refused to slow down, for fear that i will eventually slow down to stopping point.

and then 70th storeys, with the green painted floor, and it was near! i struggled on the last few flights, and i saw skylight! no time to comb my hair, just a few more steps, and i'm through! a volunteer threw a medal over my neck and another thrust a bottle of cold mineral water into my hands, and i move zombiely to look for Ade.

she was already resting and stretching on the floor, and i was still trying to catch my breathe. i walked around some more and a volunteer came asking for me to return my chip. I was still too breatheless to sit down, and Ade helped. i am blessed with great friends.

i asked Ade how did she do, and she grimaced and said probably 16min+, slower than her last year's climb. i had no way of knowing how far ahead she was, but put my timing at 20min+ to be conservative.

only after that did i manage to take in the view from the top, and took some pictures. way cool. i ran into mythos who was there taking pics with his SLR camera and a full-looking backpack, he said he wanted to weight, no doubt as part of his training for ironman on 3-Dec. salute!

when we had rested enough, we made our way down, only to realise that we had to walk down to 70th storey to take the lift... no kidding. while on the way, i saw volunteers carrying boxes of drinks up from 70th storey to the top, i had to thank them.

waited for an hour for the race certificates to be printed out, and i got mine after a short queue. 17:38min.

i cant believe it.

i'm glad i didnt give up even before getting to the starting line.

Labels: to Sweat

So after 4 parties in 3 days... i've decided to run, per schedule.

But was unable to do the 12km that i had wanted, and settled for 9.2km in 1:08 hr at a pace of mostly 7.5min/km.

Found a bunny pacer when i was into my 4km, he crossed the road into my path about 50m ahead. i maintained my pace and slowly caught up with him. As he heard steps behind him, he started to pick up his pace, but i had already decided run a fast one down the narrow 300m so that i didnt have to worry about him on my tail after overtaking him. And OFF I WENT, sprinting down at easily a 5min/km pace and left him in my dust.

As i turned into the beginning of the canal from the road, i slowed down and walked a little, preparing for my second lap. The bunny caught me finally and sprinted away and i lost sight of him. I caught my breathe and started running too, finally having him in my sight at less than 200m ahead about 1km in, catching him again at about half km before the turn around at the end of the canal. He looked startled! not that i was trying anything... I went all the way to the end to the road, while he turned promptly at the 2km mark. Instead of doing the outside loop again, i decided a 180 degree turn around back to the canal too as the sky as getting dark.

And inexplicably i caught him again at the return, around 400m towards the start point. This time, he sprinted away from me as soon as i passed him in my normal pace, I wasnt planning to sprint after him as i was into my warm down stretch.

WHAT FUN! well, for me lah, dunno how he felt... giggles*

Labels: to Sweat

E was out the night before a mah session with his friends. promising to return by 3am or so.

I had work (housework, work-work and getting ready for the race) to do and didnt manage to get to bed till 330am. not the best way to prepare for a race, but oh well.

I woke up at 550am before my alarm went off at 6am. and to my surprise that E wasnt home yet! did he meet with some accident? called his hp frantically only to learn that he was "finishing" and will be home by 630am.

upset, but went about having my breakfast and feeding the kids their milk, and packing their day-out bag. E got home at 638am. and i flew out of the house in a huff.

There were other pp waiting for cab! no, didnt look like they were going to the GE 10k... good grief... i was too cheap to call for a cab, so i went over to the other side of the road to try my luck and finally got 1 close to 7am.

we reached esplanade drive at 720am, just 10min before flag off. i walked around and didnt see any water points, and made my way to the pen. i was travelling light, with everything i need in my raceready pants. my SE W800i, tissue paper, a plastic wallet with some cash, a credit card, a bank card, plaster and blister plaster.

AND OFF we go! no time for warm up or stretches, i limbered up a little as we made towards the start point. The weather is really good, no haze at all, not much breeze and a overcast sky. I felt good, i felt safe. there was no jostling as in other competitive events, and no leery men. Just a pang of jealousy when i saw other men and kids urging their lady runners on. but thats alright, i'm used to running alone.

the route was esplanade drive, Nicoll Highway, Stadium Road, Stadium Drive, Nicoll Highway, Republic Avenue, Republic Boulevard, Marina Pronmenade Park, Raffles Quay, U-turn at Shenton Way, Fullerton Road ending at St. Andrew’s Road.

it was an easy LSD for me, no pressure. though the heat eventually got to me. i drank as much as i could and splash water on my face, neck and limbs at every water point. some might have trickled into my socks cos i developed a blister at 6km on the left instep. i stopped and applied blister pack but it was too late... it was already a full-blown blister by then.

otherwise, it was a really nice run. there were little to worry about jostling, not with so few of us running, just about 2750 for the 10km.

when we came down the esplanade pronmenade park, we heard loud music, but alas, we had to go down shenton way and u-turn to fullerton road then back to st. andrews again. that was abit demoralising, to have been hyped up only to realise that you are just passing the end point en-route before coming back. ie. running away from the end point, and then running back again. DUH!

there was no clock at the end point, but i thought i managed a 1:23:15 from my stopwatch. exchanged my champion chip for the medal, then had a drink, a banana and an orange while queueing up for massage. chatted with the ladies around me and pointed them to SgRunners if they wanted run info or running companions.

For the massage, we had a choice of lava-hot, very hot, hot and cold. i chose cold. good.

breakfast at ah-kun at funan with E and the kids and headed home for a nap. :)

----------------------------------

post-script:

1. my official chip time was 1:23:34, terrible compared my Sentosa Real Run last year, but different circumstances. i'll take it. :)

2. Regina signed up at SgRunners and pm'd me hi, nice. :)

3. Decided not to join the 2nd link run on 12-Nov-06. A wedding dinner the night before, and a birthday party the day's tea time. The 10km is also too short for my SCSM half marathon buildup. I'll run a LSD after the party that day instead. Save me $10. ;)

Labels: to Sweat

Signed up for another run, this time the GE 10K on 29 Oct 06

paid $38 for 10k with a promo code even though early bird is waaaaay over (otherwise it would have cost $50). still too expensive IMHO. They must be suffering from a pathetic turn out if they still havent met their target of only 5000 runners for both 5k and 10k by now. Must be extremely underwhelming for the organisers.

but i can use the tune up for my half marathon, and for the novelty of seeing my nick in the bib. if it is of good quality, i just cut it and use it on the bibs of my future races.

Labels: to Sweat