My First Half Marathon

6 Dec 2009 - Singapore Marathon 2009

My bib number is not exactly the most auspicious - too many 4's for my liking. But I suppose if you say it with the zero and one, it does sound ok, like die die sure first! LOL..

I ran my first 21.1k Half Marathon last Sunday, and Mag did the 10K ... we trained together on 2 weekends at East Coast Park although she didn't really complete the whole course with me on the jogging path (up and down East Coast is around 20K).

At the end of her race last Sunday, Mag proclaimed the 10k not shiok anymore!! SO NEXT YEAR, we will go for the FULL marathon because we REALLY want the Finisher's tee !! So jealous of people who have it.. haha...

We were given a blank sheet to write encouraging words to pin on our backs for other runners. I thought that the most inspiring and appropriate phrase is from the man himself, Lance Armstrong - "PAIN IS TEMPORARY. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever."

I pinned this on the back of my t-shirt and I burned this phrase in my own brain. So many times I wanted to stop and walk but I remembered these words and somehow managed to muster enough strength to continue jogging. I wonder if anyone read my back and felt inspired...

The start time for Full marathon was 5:30am. For my Half marathon, it was 6:45am. I had to start alone because Mag's start time for 10K was 8:30am (so late!! and so hot!! )

I woke up at 4:30am (actually, I woke up many times before that, too excited I guess... even got called by office as I was on support roster) and tried to do my "morning BUSINESS" but cannot do!! DIE LAH... I thought I sure kena do big business along the way! I did a bit the night before lah. Ate my usual breakfast of cereal and milk and dressed in my bright pink t-shirt (sure cannot miss me in photos!) - I asked Dina to take a photo of me with Chewie (in her sleepy state) - something we always do before we go out for our early morning runs like Shape Run, Nike Run or GE Women's 10K. Sort of like a "pre-race" photo.

Downstairs, 5:35am, the air was cool and it was peaceful. Walked down Bencoolen Street and a girl popped out from Bencoolen Hotel dressed in the SCSM outfit with cap and shorts. Ah ha... booked into a hotel nearby and walk to venue - quite smart! Or maybe she's Malaysian or from overseas. Good choice of hotel - a bit sleazy but much cheaper than the Oriental, Marina or Fairmont.

More and more runners appeared as I walked towards the War Memorial Park (that's where the baggage deposit is). It was so dark my phone camera could not really capture much. The ground was muddy and soggy from a full day's rain the night (and day) before!! Maybe somebody 'prayed' for rain the previous day so that we can have cool weather :-)

After depositing my bag, I made my way towards the start point on Esplanade Bridge, near Fullerton Hotel. Some people were giving out Dr Joint Pain - so funny, one auntie even shouted, "come! Dr Joint Pain! Apply on your legs now! Win Number One!!" Haha... I took some - got a very generous squirt and applied the pain suppressing cream around my knees and the muscles around the calves. I think this is what helped me along the way too. Mind you, this cream isn't cheap! A small tube sets you back by more than S$15 !! So free cream must take lah! Haha...

I was so thirsty by the time I got to the Esplanade... luckily they already had the FIRST of MANY MANY water points!! OMG!! The floor was littered with mountains of empty Ice Mountain cups!!! (see picture) Sigh.... what to do ? It's such a dilemma - Runners have to be hydrated - so how to be environmentally friendly at the same time??? I took my one cup and threw it on one of the piles :-( No choice lor... maybe next time they will make runners carry their own water. Might not be a bad idea actually.

I got as near to the starting point as I could, and snapped pictures to while away the time. Nobody around my section paid much attention to the DJ, so when they started to do the little marathon dance, no one around me bothered. Everyone was just too psyched and eager to push off!! I met a fellow JoyRider, Bubble Sharon Khoo, and we chatted about our timing and how fast or slow we were going to be. She's a tri-athlete, fit and young (in the 25-29 yrs category), so I expected her to do much better than me.

The 42K runners were trooping pass us on the other side of the Esplanade Bridge, sweaty and some already walking!!!!! Aiyoh... all the more I think we must do the FULL marathon next year !! FINALLY, the horn sounded and we were flagged off !! Wooot !! The pace was pretty fast in the beginning. I even had trouble keeping up with the 2:30hrs pacers. But later as people tapered off, the pace slowed down. Many people passed me and I also passed a few. At certain vantage points, I could see a herd of people ahead of me!!! Why were they faster? sigh.... nevermind lah... I plodded on and on... argh... felt pretty cool and good. I kept reminding myself that I need to keep hydrated. Even though it slowed me down, I stopped at all the water and isotonic points and even the one banana station ! More trash and more mountains.. sigh... plodded on... at some point, I felt numbness in my legs but it passed. Wow... it's not 2 x 10K, it's actually 2 x 10K + 1.1k !! Grrraghhhh.... When back on the Esplanade Bridge and on the way to the FINISH LINE, the feeling cannot be described.. Just so elated and also relieved that it's going to be over soon!! and FINALLY I MADE IT to the Finish line and DID NOT HAVE A PHOTO TAKEN OF ME!!!! Haha.. Too crowded I guess... sigh..

OHHHHHH the pain after that was just UNBELIEVABLE !!!! I can't imagine how badly the 42K runners must feel if I'm already feeling this bad !! PAIN x 2 x 3 ?? Everything ached, including my shoulders and my collar bone muscles!! Very hard to walk. but glad I was still quite ok.. Heard that someone collapsed and some people had cramps etc. And here's the reward :


Met Mag at the 10K finish line and we were too tired to explore the grounds - and anyway, it was too disgustingly squishy and muddy!!



That's all for the story I guess.... will you join me next year? It's now Tuesday and I still cannot go down stairs properly... I just applied Dr Joint Pain on my aching thighs. Not helping much. The worse pain is from sitting and getting up from the .... WC !!!! HAHAHA.. I hope you know what "WC" stands for! Look it up on wiki please!

Official chip time: 2hr 23mins 57secs

Oomphatico's

163 Tanglin Road, #01-03 & #01-35/36 Tanglin Mall, Singapore 247933, Tel 67339088 http://www.oomphaticos.com

Mag suggested dinner at a funky new place at Tanglin Mall called Oomphatico's. Cute name. Creative menu. Check out the cat plates and the OTT decor...





Mag points at the huge Pomelo salad called "Passionate Pomelo"




Tomato & Beef broth served in a cup - I hate it that they do that these days. I wish they'd just serve soup in a bowl and charge more.


Green with Curry - spicy - was it?? LOL.. Found it too sweet.


Be careful you don't leave through these doors... haha..

Left door says, "Behind these doors, MAGIC POTIONS BREWING!"
Right door says, "ENTER. Only if you have a strong urge to wash our dirty plates"


Wish we could order more... their desserts and drinks look interesting too but we didn't have room to try anything else. Maybe next time...

Olympic Fever

Ooooooh!!!!! Singapore has a chance at GOLD for Table Tennis!! But little did you know... some of our friends have been practicing their Olympic routine in secret!!! And they are no foreign talent!!

I managed to catch them in action finally! What marks would you give them?

Enjoy their Solid Gold performance!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

And you can tell who's not afraid of heights...

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Don't you love the jump shots at the end of the vids?? LOL..

Last but not least, someone shows off her newly acquired Costa Rican muscles!!!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Ahem...! And one more for good measure, to bring back those disco hop days...

... presenting.... our disco dancing couple!!! (err.. I use the word 'couple' losely of course.. not implying anything ah!!)

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Chewie Takes a Star Turn

Heyyyyy! Chewie was asked to 'act' in a commercial just last month!

Here are a couple of shots taken in Hair & Make-up... although she needed neither! She's a natural beauty!! LOL.. spoken like a true 'xing ma', right?






AND..... this is the result - her < 1 second of fame! HAHAHA...



THIS I KNOW... BUT NOW THIS YOU KNOW!!!!

Happy Belated CNY!

I just love Chewie in her new outfit which I brought back all the way from Guangzhou! If not for limited luggage space, I would've bought more stuff for her! But s'ok lah, I'm sure all she wants is to have me home. Don't you just love dogs, they demand so little and give us so much! <3

First day of CNY, Ruth's dog Tuesday also came to visit!!! The doggies get along so well..

Strange thing about Chinese New Year - the first and second days are always the hottest! ALL I can remember about visiting relatives is feeling icky and sweaty all day long and this year was no different!

Here's a rare family shot with BOTH doggies :)


On the 2nd day of CNY, I organised the almost-traditional choir gathering at my place with the usual suspects.

Before choir friends arrived, Mag took a quick picture of me and the pack of cards that we found while geocaching because the stripes on the cards matched with my dress almost perfectly!



I had almost a FULL HOUSE this year except for CK (*sob*). Can't really consider the children as kids anymore because they have all grown up and take up much more space! Believe it or not, Wei Jee (who made a rare appearance this year) is taller than most of us now!

Sorry CK, this is the only picture I can find of the pumpkin cake! By the way, most of these pictures were taken by Mag and Beng.


The ladies huddle up in preparation for the great Yu Sheng toss up!


Doesn't Andy's daughter remind you of BOO from Monsters Inc.???? She's sooo cute!


We had a special Guest of Honour this year - Nelson - whom we had not seen for probably 15+ years! He looks great but is still as cheeky as ever!





Thanks to Steph's insistence, we managed to squeeze everyone into my tiny living room for a group photo! Not a mean feat I might add!

Here's Mag standing on the chair for the shot!


You can see Mag's final product in her blog but here's a picture taken by Beng.


After dinner, some of us played Polish as usual! I think after the last few years' lessons, most of us were quite wary of 'polishing' when the pot grew and grew! You could almost hear the hearts pounding and the spouses yanking the reins from behind!

I have added some bubbles that will probably be quite funny to those who were playing! Congrats to the winners (Shin and the Shings I think! Should I change my name to something that begins with "shin"? ha..) and to the non-winners - I forgot to present Brian Wong's and Patricia Mok's autographed photos to the one who lost the most as a consolation prize! haha...


THIRD day of CNY, I decided to see what the fuss with Pen Cai was about and ordered a set from Man Fu Yuen restaurant at the Intercontinental Hotel. The set costs about $238 and consists of the pot of expensive goodies, a plate of salmon yu sheng and glutinous rice.



Poster outside the restaurant advertising their "Treasures of the Sea Pot set".


Here's what the real thing looks like. There's a huge meaty pork trotter underneath, roast duck and stewed goose web on top of a layer of white radish and chinese cabbage.


I still don't get what the fuss is about! Ok.. there's all that good stuff inside but they all taste the same (same sauce). Where's the thrill? My family couldn't finish the pot and had it for lunch AND dinner the next day (tastes better actually)!

Need lots of punishment at the gym after all this feasting! Haha..

Who Let The Dogs Out !!!

Chewie and I went to a spiffy human/doggie restaurant on Deepavali called Pawtobello at Mohd Sultan Road.

We'd signed up for this Paw Wow event organised by a radio station (93.8 Live). The event was supposed to include a talk on aromatherapy for our furry friends. Not to be too critical, we found the speaker a little too pretentious and not at all informative. She was fudging over subjects and did not answer questions to the point. I'm still not sure how aromatherapy can help Chewie.

Anyway, it was still a fun day for Chewie because she got to meet so many dogs!! There was a super friendly Rottweiler (who was posing as a Golden Retriever that day. shhh...) and some hyper spaniels. Some dogs were barky and some dogs were shy. Others liked to snap and smell. But one thing's for sure - they were all spoilt pooches!



CHOW TIME!!!!



Enjoy the video :)

Great Eastern Women 10K

Sunday, 21 Oct 2007
GE Women 10K website

This is the second run we did this year - the GE Women 10K. Perhaps I've forgotten the pain, but I'm kind of looking forward to next year's event. Haha...

The goody bag is nice and the Adidas running shirt fits better than the Shape Run one. And it could all be collected in advance which reduced the queuing time on the actual event day.


Once again, it was 5am wakey time for us. Poor Chewie still had her sleepy eyes but she never let me out of her sight (my sweetie pie) until we left the house. We took turns to give her hugs.


These are all the photos I took (other than the medal one right below). The rest of the pix are courtesy of Mag and her trusty little Cybershot handphone.

Here I am pretending to be jogging.


Spot Mag !! We were right behind the competitive runners at the starting line but we came in in twice their time. hehe...


I must say that this event was more fun and better organised than the "September event". There were free bananas, sample cereal & milk, lots of ice cream and drinks and even a free 10 min massage!




Little bowls of cereal




Here's Chewie trying on the medal for size :)

I'm quite happy with my results. It isn't under an hour but it's exactly double my 5K Shape run :

Gun time - 01:04:11.11
Chip time - 01:04:05.05
Open Category placing - 743
Masters Category (for women > 35 yrs old) placing - 338

Click here to read Mag's blog