RunForFunds - StanChart Marathon 2015 Update 3

Happy new year everybody as I start off this year's first entry.

This entry is overdue as a result of Adrian needing to settle some personal family matter.

In any case, thank you once again to the RFF supporters who have contributed generously.

• JayWalk Online (17 Nov 2015) - RunForFunds - StanChart Marathon 2015 Update
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• JayWalk Online (15 Dec 2015) - RunForFunds - StanChart Marathon 2015 Update 2

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RFF Update January 2016

Hi folks,

Happy New Year!

Trust all of you had a blessed Christmas and a great New Year break.

2015 was a fruitful and eventful year for  the Run For Funds movement (RFF).

• Our P6 Maximise Your Potential (MYP) winners did very well in their PSLEs.
  .
• We raised $17,375 to help Nepal earthquake victims rebuild their homes.
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• Superfriend Jaywalk raised $5,799 from his Dec 2015 StanChart marathon run.

1.  MYP Results

We are very proud of the achievements of our P6s.

They worked hard and reaped the rewards of their efforts.

Average score of the 6 students was 221, with the top 3 averaging 247 and top score of 255!

They have been posted to schools of their choice (some closer to their homes): Cedar Girls'' Secondary School, Victoria School, Punggol Secondary School, Geylang Methodist Secondary School, Beatty Secondary School, Anglican High School.

May God continue to watch over them and bless them with good health and wisdom as their embark on their new adventure in their secondary schools.

MYP 2016 MYP ceremony will be held in March/April'16 - watch this space.


2. Aid For Nepal Quake Victims

A total of $17,375 was raised in July 2015 for the victims of the Nepal earthquake.

Thank you so much for your generous contributions.

To date, $13,600 has been deployed to rebuild homes. (see July 2015 email update or repost by Superfriend Jaywalk http://www.jaywalkonline.com/2015/07/runforfunds-for-nepal-update-july-2015.html).

The rebuilding efforts were fraught with difficulties e.g. landslides, petrol shortage (due to border blockage), monsoons, a very cold winter etc.

I'm thankful that my contact, Nepali school principal Bharat, was faithful and resilient in his service to his people.

I'm now waiting for Bharat to activate us for the next phase of the rebuilding efforts.


3. Superfriend Jaywalk Runs For Funds!.
Jaywalk, has been a strong supporter of RFF since its inception.

He's RFF's defacto comms/IT manager because I'm an IT dumb-dumb.

Early in 2015, Jaywalk wanted to raise funds for RFF and a determined year-long effort to train for his StanChart half marathon in Dec 2015.

I'm so proud of my kaki for finishing his run and grateful to him and his supporters for raising $5,799 for RFF.

This contribution will be put to good use.


4.  Account Update

Funds available in RFF's dedicated account, as of 31st Dec 2015: S$42,546.89.

I expect to contribute $21,000 to GMSP this year to continue the MYP for the next 3 years.

The remainder of funds will be set aside for prudent, accountable use to aid those in need.

Again, thank for your continued support for Run For Funds.

God bless you and your loved ones with love, peace and joy for 2016.

Cheers,

Adrian

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- Voxeros

RunForFunds - StanChart Marathon 2015 Update 2

• JayWalk Online (17 Nov 2015) - RunForFunds - StanChart Marathon 2015 Update

A very big heartfelt thanks to those who stepped forward and dropped a little something into the hat for the RunForFunds project.

Words cannot express my gratitude for the generous gestures.

The above is the contributors' list. The contributors' respective names, for privacy purposes, have been replaced with a reference number, whom I had earlier informed each and everyone who is which.

The list above has to be published so that the amount tallies with the screen capture of my outgoing internet transfer of the corresponding amount (see below).

All in the name of transparency.

(Click Image To Enlarge)

As for the half marathon, I am happy to report that I did complete the 21km, albeit in a less-than-stellar time of 2:57:39. Way off my intended target of 2:29:59.

Still, I am thankful for the encouragements that kept me going.

I promise I will clock a better half marathon time at the next Sundown Marathon 2016.

Once again, I thank everyone for supporting RunForFunds.

Thank you.

Afternote: I have a last minute contribution that was missed at the time of this entry earlier. I am adding the wire transfer slip below and have updated the contributors' list above. No prize for guessing who was late! :P

Nevertheless, still an awesome big thank you for the support! Muakz.

- Voxeros

A Year Of Running 2015

The recently concluded StanChart Marathon 2015, which I completed the half marathon, marked the end of my running calendar for the year.

While the result has not be satifactory due to cramps midway, I still managed to scrape in under 3 hours.

In any case, inadequate training due to haze, cramps and/or bad route planning causing human traffic jams are just excuses.

I will run better the next round with the Sundown Marathon 2016 (Half Marathon) on my radar.

More importantly, I am happy to report that I raised some money for RunForFunds which I will publish the details shortly.

• JayWalk Online (04 Feb 2013) - Running Gear

Remember the above entry from 2 years ago? Perhaps an update is in order.


1. Shoe Wallet.

It is still serving me well. The velcro has died during my time in QQland but I managed to get the Drycleaner Auntie below my apartment to "re-velcro" the wallet. It was a most unsightly patch job as she just used whatever velcro she could find in her drawer. I was ok with it considering that fact that she was not a professional seamstress and she charged me only RMB 5.00 (about SGD 1.00) for the job.

She was surprised why I hung on to this shoe wallet for dear life when most people would simply just throw it away.

Let's face it, where on Earth can you find a shoe wallet in this day and age? I can't. Not even on the almighty taobao.com.

So anyway, for a modest sum of a mere dollar, I get to extend the life by at least another 5 years. Why not?


2. Runner's Belt

The zip broke off 2 weeks ago, thus ending its loyal service of more than 2 years. I have since replaced it with a double zipper version. Bought it off Qoo10 for SGD 7.50 after getting a SGD 2.00 discount coupon off the purchase.

This is for short runs when I don't need to carry water on me.

3. Water Belt

The last water belt was given away and since I haven't been doing any long runs (more than 10km) when I was in QQland. It wasn't until when I started training for the StanChart half marathon this year, that MistressGrace had so kindly given me her belt since she no longer needs it.

Thank you, MistressGrace. Muakz.

The belt is very comfortable. However, the water bottle capacity is a tad small. The back pouch was also a tad too small that I had to sacrifice a bottle space to put my mobile phone. On the actual day of the half marathon, I had to sacrifice a second bottle space to store my gels.

All things considered, they are just mere minor problems, since there are adequate number of water stations along the route of the entire race.

4. Music

I gave away the Creative Zen to Faith since it made no sense to carry an additional item when the iPhone can double up as an MP3 player. That too had gone to Walkman Heaven earlier this year after 6 years.

As for earphones, the Sennheiser PMX-80 Sport is also long gone and I wasn't able to find this model in Singapore anywhere. In its place, I opted to go bluetooth wireless and bought the Jabra Sport Wireless+.

Initially, I thought the built-in FM tuner would be a welcoming change from having to listen to my playlist over and over again and bluetooth would save me the hassle of having to deal with wires.

I thought wrong.

First off, the FM tuner sucks. The neck strap, across the back of your neck connecting the two ear pieces, doubles up as an antenna is too short, resulting in almost-to-nothing reception. Secondly, the battery life lasts shortly under 2 hours. Good for a simple 5K run but certainly falls short of my long run requirement.

As a result, I replaced it with a cheapo Philips SRS4840 for about SGD 20-something from Best Denki. Good value for money considering this fella is close to indestructible.

5. Heart Rate Monitor

Since the last Polar disasters (plural), I got the Wahoo BlueHR in May 2013.

• JayWalk Online (22 May 2013) - Wahoo BlueHR Bluetooth 4.0 Heart Rate Monitor

This items is relative cheaper than all the other HRMs as it does not come coupled with a watch. This fella connects directly with my phone.

2 years on and 2 battery changes since, it is still working perfectly. I coupled this with the Digifit's iRunner app and has never looked back since.

6. Running Shoe

The Asics GT-2140 was showing signs of wear and tear since the beginning of the year but I kept procrastinating, pushing it back to the end of the next run after next run. Finally from Green Corridor, to HomeTeam Real Run, to Sundown Marathon and to Asics City Relay, I got a new pair of shoe.

Besides, the StanChart Marathon was too big a risk to run in a pair of shoes that was threatening to fall apart any time and also I needed enough time and mileage to break in the new pair.

Introducing the Asics GT-2000 (T500N).

This pair of shoes is a tad lighter and bouncier. Not sure, it is one of those new tech energy-return thingie or just a refreshing change from dying rubber.


7. Running Socks

In the past, I swore by Thorlo sock. I love the added padding at the ball of the foot as well as the heel. Not only do they feel comfortable, you get some sense of added security knowing that there is some sort of reinforcements down there.

Still, when it comes to long runs, I had to tape up my feet, especially under the balls of my feet to prevent the risk of blisters. I used Strappal rigid strapping tape for that, by the way..

When I bought the new running shoes at Feder Sports (ask for Jeffrey), I thought I'd pick up new running socks as well. Unfortunately, the nice sales lady (Jeff was busy with another customer and I didn't want to kachow him) said that they don't carry Thorlo anymore and recommended Feetures instead.

I was initially skeptical about it being as good as Thorlo which I have been running with for years. The Feetures socks felt very snug when worn and it didn't have that extra padding that I was all so familiar with Thorlo.

Suprisingly, and pleasant, if I may add, Feetures socks are good. I don't need to tape up my feet during my long run trainings anymore. However, for this last StanChart, I still taped the balls of my feet up as a precaution even though I know it is more for psychological peace of mind than anything else.

As expected, I cleared the StanChart half marathon without incident.

I am going to try doing without taping during the next Sundown.

Image Credit: www.kwout.com; http://images.philips.com/; http://feeturesrunning.com/

- Voxeros

RunForFunds - StanChart Marathon 2015 Update

This screencap was taken last year during Sundown Marathon 2014 with Adrian.

Details are in my facebook entry but only accessible to my friends for legal reasons.

Click Here To Proceed --> http://tinyurl.com/pm2mfq9

• JayWalk Online (29 Jul 2014) - BarRun 2015 - Prelude

- Voxeros

Sundown Marathon 2015

No BarRun this time round as I flew solo at this year's Sundown.

Timing wasn't fantastic and I thought I fared very badly this time round compared to last year's 62 mins. As it turned out I remembered wrongly. Last year's time was 64 mins, and so my 68 mins was worse off a lesser 3 mins 49 seconds.

Mai hiam buay pai lah.

The consolation was that ranking went up to 548th from 589th last year. Maybe the better runners all graduated to the 21km category liao. Haiz....

Prior to the race, we were treated to an awesome display of fireworks. It was just our good fortune that Sundown Marathon coincided with SG50 NDP rehearsal.


Well, now that Sundown 2015 is done and dusted, it is still not time to take a breather as I have the Asics City Relay just round the corner.

Pushing on!

- Voxeros

Running

I love to run and am blessed to be living in the Punggol area where there are many scenic routes to enjoy.

The picture above is Punggol End.

The neighbour police post (above left) should be where the lone Shell Station of the old days used to stand.

The breathtaking scenery is just reward for an awesome run.

I have been encouraged to take up cycling but I baulk at the idea of splashing thousands of dollars on a bicycle and no place to park it, lest I risk theft by parking outside on the HDB corridor.

Don't even get me started on the clothes (my tummy and I look terrible in 'em tight spandex) and helmet that will set me even further back by a couple hundred more.

There is this organic element that I like about running. Just put on a pair of running shoes and off you go. Every single kilometer covered can be called your own. No assistance from any gears nor levers. You own every step of the way.

This morning's run was very good. I was making good pace with every km under 6:30 quite effortlessly.

Perhaps I should chart a new route to Punggol End and then from there via Punggol Road all the way back home. That should be a good 16km route.

Good preparation for the half marathon to come.

- Voxeros

BarRun 2015 - Prelude

It's been two months since the Sundown Marathon where I completed the 10K with fellow Barflies. It was great fun and my decent timing improvement over last year was the cherry on top.

I enjoyed the run. Not so much about the timing but rather the fact that a few good friends are running together and who can say no to supper thereafter?

That brings me to looking forward to next year. Assuming my work dates don't clash with the event, I am torn between running 10K again or going up the next rung to 21K.

The 2014 Sundown saw the 10K event had an earlier start than the 21K Half and 42K Full Marathon, where the latter starts after the 10K has finished.

If I were to take up the 21K challenge, it would very much mean flying (or in this case running) solo. It won't be as fun as starting off together and going for supper there after.

And if I were to take up the 10K again, it would mean missing out on the chance to challenge myself further and this opportunity diminishes with every year I grow older.

So how?

- Voxeros

BarRun 2014 - Sundown Marathon 2014

Yup, this year is still the Fantastic Four of us doing the BarRun. Word has it that Airpork no longer run and we are in the midst of recruiting new people for next year's.

This run this year was much better, the change the running route and we were running clockwise this year instead.

Our 10K run was also flagged off earlier at 22:30 so that we finish before 0:00 for the actual Marathon and half marathon to start at 01:30 and 00:30 respectively.

Result? No bottlenecks! Good. For some strange reason, we found ourselves near the front of the starting pack and that turned out to be a blessing as well. No start-off traffic jam too.

• JayWalk Online (03 Jun 2013) - BarRun 2013 - Sundown Marathon 2013

My time this year at 64:15 was an awesome improvement from last year where I came in at 78:14. From 2699th to a whopping 589th! By interpolation, I am estimating that I improved from 1933th to 310th in the Male category and 337th to 50th in the Male 40-49 Age Group category.

Perhaps the only disappointment is the missing infographic analyst of your run that usually comes with the official release of your results. They had it last year and I believe the year before too. It was loads of fun to read.



I have always liked Sundown Marathon's tank top as the material is really comfortable. This year's look better than last although I fear the back decals may start to peel after a few washes.


Special mention goes out to my Wahoo BlueHR Bluetooth 4.0 Heart Rate Monitor which again, worked flawlessly. Guess what? It is still on its first battery since I bought it in Apr 2013 and it's not like I haven't been using it regularly. I have over 50 runs amounting to over 40 hours of running and it's still going on strong.

Kudos!

- Voxeros

BarRun 2013 - Sundown Marathon 2013

Well, not exactly an official BarRun since there was no official invitation for the BarFlies to come run.

Still, we have a tiny handful running. That's KingMeng and his aunt on the left and the Yum Yum Long Legs Aloe between the two guys.

Airpork as chio as I last saw her like what? 4 years ago, went off running with her colleagues. Still, it was nice to be able to say hi before we ran our separate ways.

My timing of 1hr 18mins was a mixed bag of feelings.

On one hand, I was glad that I managed to finish the run in a single puff, and very comfortably if I may add, despite laying off training for an entire month due to my work relocation.

I took a lesson from running veteran Adrian from RunForFunds as I made sure I taped up my 4th toe and my left arch, before putting on two layers of socks. Result? No blister at all and I finished the run comfortably.

Surprisingly, there was no aching or soreness after the run sans a tightness at the back of my right knee.

On the other hand, I was disappointed as I have been training since December last year and was close to cracking the 60-minute mark only to be disrupted and have everything undone is just mere 4 weeks.

As I ran, my confidence took a big hit as I now contemplate switching down to 10K instead of the 21K for StanChart, at year end, as originally planned.

Thoughts on this run? I am not particularly happy with the route as there were a couple of bottle necks along the way jamming up route. I won't complain about the start-of-race traffic jam as that happens to every run. It was inevitable.

So that still makes the Real Run as my favourite run so far. The worst has got to be the Mizuno Wave Run. Incompetent organisation and coordination. Hope they are better now but it is irrelevant to me now that it has been struck off my list of runs to participate.

Anyway, I ran with the Wahoo BlueHR Bluetooth 4.0 Heart Rate Monitor and am happy to report that the HRM worked perfectly throughout the entire 10K. I would certainly recommend this to all my friends. Below are the screen caps of my run tracked by Endomondo, which I probably would review this genre of software in another entry sometime in the near future.


There was a slight discrepancy due to the gun time and nett time different. This to due to the sheer number of people at the starting point that it took me three minutes just to get to the starting line after the gun had gone off.

The first indication of fitness, or rather the lack of, is the timing as I clocked less-than satisfactory time. Still, when it comes to timing, several factors come into play and human traffic jam is perhaps to biggest delay of them all.

The other and more important factor was my average heart rate. 172 bpm is really working the ticker really really hard. On a good day, i.e. regular running and in good fitness state, my average heart rate on a 10K run is around 150 to 160 bpm.

The maximum heart rate of 217 was just a one-off jump during the final sprint approaching the finishing line.

Here are the rest of the race details below.

- Voxeros

Wahoo BlueHR Bluetooth 4.0 Heart Rate Monitor

I got a new toy.

It's the Wahoo heart rate monitor that uses Bluetooth 4.0 instead of some proprietary network or ANT+.

It was relatively cheaper since it doesn't have a receiver watch.

It wasn't a big problem since I don't stare at the watch every step of my run.

The signal goes straight to my phone where notification, at regular intervals, is via audio through the earphones.

The best part? Signal transmission is consistent. No more dropped signals or ridiculous heart rate readings.

Finally.

I was glad to be finally rid of the stupid Polar HRM which I gladly gave to the Towkay Neo of Lucky Bar.

I figured it shouldn't be a problem for her since she runs less than 5km.

When I first brought it to her bar for her to try it, it didn't work properly.

Her heart rate was 205 bpm which obviously was incorrect.

I figured it's probably the battery in the transmitter running out of juice.

I have yet to hear from her if she has had the battery replaced. I hope it works.

- Voxeros

Hotel Gyms

I love hotel gyms and I make sure I pack my running gear whenever I travel on overseas trip.

First of all, if the hotel has a gym, it can't be too shabby to begin.

Still, there are the hotels with the token gym i.e. small little room with the bare essentials and possibly just one of each machine i.e. it's a one-man gym and two's a crowd.

My favourite is the one at Grand Millennium in Bangkok. It is a full sized gym with everything and there is a service attendant stationed at the gym. Oh and there is that super friendly service with a smile of the awesome Thai people!

So anyway, what I also like about hotel gyms is that you don't need to squeeze all your barang barang in tiny lockers and you get to shower in the comforts of your own room which is an elevator ride away.

Well, this recent one was at Dorsett Regency Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. It's an old hotel and it is one of those with the token gym of 1 treadmill, 1 elliptical machine, 1 bicycle and 1 universal machine. Which is fine as long as you are the only person there.

This gym open at 7am (which I thought was a tad late. All gyms should open at 6am or earlier!).

I made my way downstairs on the dot and was dismayed to see someone on the treadmill already. It was 7:05am and someone beat me to it. Dammit!

What surprised me was that he got off the machine and told me that he was done. The machine was all mine.

Wut?

5 minutes? That's it?

As it turned out, this chap was an old bird guest of the hotel and he said that while the official opening time of the gym is 7am, the gym is never locked i.e. you can come in anytime you want.

Damn. I should have gone to the gym at 6am then, instead of lying on my bed waiting for the clock to hit 7am.

Then again, it was a blessing in disguise coz I would have to wait for him till 7am to finish the treadmill, had I gone to the gym earlier.

Oh. Guess who got hold of the TV remote control after that.

Heh.

- Voxeros

Running Gear

I do quite a bit of running but it is only recently that I decided to take stock on what I bring along for something as simple as a run.

I used to laugh at people at runs who are armed to the teeth with gadgets but uh-oh. I just realised I am not very far away from these folks.

So let's take stock of the stuff (on top of the essential shirt, shorts, socks and shoes that is) that I carry from the toe up.


1. Shoe Wallet (pictured above)

I have no pockets in my running shorts and so the shoe wallet, though ugly, is a nifty little thing to carry my house keys and a little bit of money for emergencies while I run.

Given this day and age, your mobile phone goes everywhere with you, the shoe wallet would be inadequate as you can't run with a mobile phone on your foot, now can you?


2. Runner's Belt

So instead of a shoe wallet, I got myself a runner's belt that cost me RMB 35 (about SGD 7.00) just so I can put my mobile phone in. These days mobile phones have running aids like trackers and GPS to give you a better analysis of your run. It also doubles up as an MP3 player.

I was tempted to keep your shoe wallet on coz I was worried that the keys might scratch my phone if there were put inside the pouch together and jiggled together for the next 10km. Then I thought otherwise against the idea of getting carried away with carrying (no pun intended) everything but the kitchen sink, just for a simple run.

With all due respect, I find people who strap their mobile phones or MP3 players to their arm damn bladdy dorky. So no. A runner's belt discretely hidden under my tucked out tank top.


3. Water Belt

I have a water belt for runs above 10km, which I have given it to nadnut on a permanent loan basis. The one good thing about water belt is that you do not need to stop at water points on runs which essentially translates to easily overtaking 30 to 40 people at every water point AND to gloat over these poor sods fighting over miserable cups of water or 100-plus or H20 isotonic or whatever.

So with a water belt and a runner's belt, it is one or the other. For sure.


4. Music

 

I run with music. There is another school of folks who are against running with your ears plugged in. They say you won't be able to hear your own breathing, pacing etc. Well, I am not that pro and so I need my music to keep me distracted while I zoned out into yonder.

I got the Creative Zen during one of the office Secret Santa's gift exchange thingie. I loved it. It is small, and best of all, it has a clip that allows you to hook it onto your shorts. And Yes. It is light lest it weighs down your entire shorts down to your ankles. While. You. Run.

The only bad thing about the Zen is that it has only a capacity of 1 GB which means for a person who runs very often, you run out of songs to listen to very quickly.

Enough of that. Let's talk about the earphones.

I have this PMX-80 Sports. It is over-the-ear and back-around-the-neck which means it will never drop off your ears when you start to do some really serious perspiration. Then when you are not listening to music, you can easily just hang it around your neck.

The cord is rubber insulated and so you don't have to worry about your sweat soaking into the cable.

As I have said earlier, the mobile phone now doubles up as an MP3 player and so my trusty Creative Zen is now retired.


 5. Heart Rate Monitor

The heart rate monitor is for safety precaution. I have read so many news about people in their prime suddenly dropping dead during runs. While doctors were never conclusive, my suspicion is that these unfortunate souls did a Juan Pablo Montoya i.e. engine blow.

Over exertion.

Hence, the heart monitor to keep a check on my heart rate while I run. Regardless of how good I am feeling, as soon as it hits 180 and above, I would slow down my pace or even stop just so I get my heart rate down to a more adequate level.

Better to stay on the safe side.

Before I go on, I want to say. Polar. Never. Again.

My first Polar HRM was a birthday gift from my darling MistressGrace. It was perfect until I lost it accidentally. :(

Having such great user experience with the first one, I bought another Polar as a replacement.

It. Was. A. Nightmare.

I sent it back for repairs 5 to 6 times and was in vain. I wasn't able to resolve the problem of the watch losing signal somewhere after the 6th kilometer. I changed everything from the battery to the transmitter to the watch motherboard(?). Still the same problem.

I was so exasperated with the incompetent service staff at Amoy Street, that I threw away the watch in angst (though it was very satisfying to hear the watch bounced from wall to wall down 8 floors of the rubbish chute).

I got another Polar (the FT-40 that you see in the picture is my fourth. I gave my third one away) thinking that I got a lemon previously in a barrel of apples.

I. Was. Wrong. 我. 错. 了.

This current one has the same problem. After running a few km, it cannot find my heartbeat. WTF?

Here's the thing. It's ok actually if you are a short-distance runner. But for me, my normal runs go beyond 6km which means, I get grief with every run.

In any case, I am on the look out for a replacement HRM. One that is not Polar. Feel free to recommend.


6. Cap and Shades

While the shades are optional, the cap is a must. Not so much to give me shade from the sun but more to hold my hair away from my face as I have quite a long fringe. It is really irritating to have your fringe constantly slapping into your eye with every step.


Ok. Enough about me. To my fellow readers who also run. What's your gear list like?

- Voxeros

My Last Pair Of Nike

It is official. I am no longer a fan boy of Nike after 25 years.

My last pair of Nike tennis shoes is finally dead and replaced by my newly acquired Adidas Barricade 6.0.

I anyhowly bought the pair at Queensway simply because I needed a pair to play tennis when I am back and given that I only only 4 times a year, it is hard to take my shoe shopping very seriously. That was until I returned in 2009 before I really punished it with tennis marathons that at one time, I played a whopping 10 hours in the glorious sun (with breaks and lunch in between).

So after 4 years, it finally gave way. Not bad for a $50 pair of shoes.

I fondly remembered my first pair of Nike Waffles. I picked up running partly to rid myself of anemia and partly also to siam having to perform First Aid duty during school runs. Those St John Ambulance uniforms are really a bitch to be wearing under the hot sun.

I fell in love with running and both literally and figuratively ran away with the sport. I have had many Nike running shoes over the years as I run through them very very frequently. From Air Pegasus, to Windrunner, to Air Max, just to name a few. Then there were also the cross-trainers, golf shoes and as mentioned earlier, the tennis shoes which have served me well over the years.

Eventually, I switched my running shoes to Asics as it is a tad wider which suits my broad feet better. I am using the GT-2140 at the moment.

So with the final pair of Nike tennis shoes in the trash can. I bid Nike adieu for now and thanks for 25 years of good service.

Perhaps another pair of Nike in the future? Perhaps. Perhaps. Perhaps.

Image Credits: http://www.finishline.com; http://www.polyvore.com

- Voxeros

A Tale Of Two Runs

It was the New Balance Real Run 2009 and it was a fantastic run last Sunday at the Changi Exhibition Centre where I clocked 1 hr 43 mins to clear the tri-terrain 15km run. The sea breeze early in the morning was most refreshing and quality of the air was good. Ironically, it was the shady Casuarina trees path that proved to be one of the hot spots as the neatly lined-up trees blocked the wind and we were like running through a tunnel of still air.

I am surprised how people were saying how fast my timing was as the folks at SGRunners.com were all claiming to clock around 1 hr 30 mins. Then again, the bar (no pun intended) of the CowBoyBar is certainly set much lower.

Truth to be told, I believe I could have easily clocked a better timing if not for the 2 factors.

• This is the first time I am running the New Balance Real Run and I have no idea what the route is like and hence I was very conservative in my speed as I kept worrying about running out of steam before I reach the finish line.
  
• Given what happened to the previous Mizuno Wave Run where I did run out of steam at the 10km mark, I was not sure if I am trained up to tackle 15km.

Well apparently, I was wrong on both counts. I shall return next year and will clock a better time. 1 hr 30 mins perhaps?

And speaking of the Mizuno Wave Run 2009, I clocked the 16km run in 2 hrs 18 mins.

Anyway, the Mizuno Wave Run sucks monkey balls.

I cannot believe HOW BADLY ORGANISED it was.

• First, the road marshal at the YioChuKang-Casuarina junction send us the wrong way. By right, we should have just made a simple right turn and run along the road. Instead the errant road marshal sent us up the Peirce Reservoir hill which is an a uphill-then-downhill route of 2 additional km.
  
  Many of us ran out of steam as we did not "budget" this climb into our run plan.
  
• The toll it took to run that extra hill was evident as the water points right after the hill ran out very early. I didn't get any water for 2 subsequent water points after I cleared the hill.
  
  In fact, all that was left at the 2nd water point was buckets of ice but no water. I had no choice but to just grab two handfuls of ice cubes and run with them in my hands.
  
• The last point that really pissed me off was the final stretch from Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 back to Nanyang Polytechnic where they were unable to get the permit from the Traffic Police to seal off the road for running. We ended up having to stop at almost every traffic light. What kind of a stupid run is this if running have to start stop start stop?

I am still ok with the first two obstacles where extra distance is just merely an extra challenge and I could always get a water belt (which I did for the New Balance Real Run) to tackle the water shortage situation.

But not sealing off race route is just simply unacceptable. It is miserable to run and it is also a safety risk to the runners.

I will not return to the Mizuno Wave Run. Other than the very nice backpack, everything else sucks monkey balls.

- Voxeros

POSBank Run For Kids 2009

JayWalk I don't get it. How do you lose your own shoes inside your own home? WTF? - JayWalk - #14jwsj via kwout

JayWalk I found my running shoes. I am going to be so dead when I get home. >.< - JayWalk - #17kbfc via kwout

As it turned out, the shoes were left in the gym and ended up in their lost-and-found section which I managed to retrieve 2 weeks later.

Fortunately, I was able to run in today's POSB Run For Kids 09.

Yeah. I got my shoes though I almost couldn't find my number bib. Well almost.

The morning turned out nice and cool with a light drizzle with the occasional flash of lightning.

In all, the whole event was badly organised as no one seemed to be around to guide the arrivals of the runners.

I guess most of us just did the logical thing and just walked over the the starting line which the flag off was a bit later.

I started off slow as I don't see the need to have to jam myself with the eager pack. It's not like I am going to win this thing anyway.

Not knowing the route as in run the route before certainly has its disadvantages as I have no idea how to pace myself.

So I just agar agar try not to run too fast or risk running out of gas towards the end.

At the 5km, I clocked at 27 min 42 secs on my watch. Not bad. A bit faster than I would have "budgeted".

Then I started to struggle as I find myself unable to sustain the speed that I was running. Worse it did not help that I have to climb a flyover at the 6km mark.

By the time, I hit the finishing line, I mistakenly thought I finished in 1 hour 01 min 02 secs. I was sorely disappointed as I did not expect my timing to be to off.

I kept thinking about it throughout the day, scratching my head how the heck did I take more than 30 mins to clear the remaining 3 km?

So by the time I got home after tennis (yeah, I went on to play tennis in the afternoon. I am so going to die tomorrow), I rechecked my watch only to see my timing to be 44 mins 42 secs.

Ok, I don't feel so bad now. =)

- Voxeros

1. msvindicta left...

Monday, 13 July 2009 1:49 am

8k's super impressive already, don't give yourself so much stress over the timing!
i wld die if i ran 8km. 0.0

2. Mistress Grace left...

Monday, 13 July 2009 9:34 am

Kauz... 44 mins for 8 KM I dont want to do any runs with you lah.. Basket sipei pressure! I buy u your breakfast... Hahahah :P

3. sunflower left...

Tuesday, 14 July 2009 11:24 pm

Woot! Pro Jay! walk 44mins for 8km... become stronger though you are older now.

4. JayWalk left...

Monday, 20 July 2009 12:10 am :: 

msvindicta: I think my timing is decent and possibly not going to obsessed with improving it.

Mistress Grace & Sunflower: To be honest, I have doubts over the accuracy of the timing. Shall find another 8km and do it all over again.

5. Mistress Grace left...

Tuesday, 21 July 2009 4:36 pm

Sure do another 8Km but hor, leave me out of it Heheheh Dun want to run with u..

6. JayWalk left...

Friday, 24 July 2009 11:47 am :: 

Mistress Grace: Lai lah... mai shy wokay?