GE Women's Run 2015

We ran. We panted. 

1 November 2015, GE Women's Run... Once again, Opus and I did the 10k. Favourite run! Great route, well-organised, and like Opus says, it's all girls and no sweaty men. Aaaah. And this year, they had volunteers spray you with sunblock while you're in the starting pen waiting for the gun. So thoughtful!

Another new feature this year was the tutus. Yes, TUTUS! Women who were running for a cause they supported chose to wear a tutu while they ran. Many did so. And the tutus came in all colours and some took the effort to decorate their tutus with badges, feathers, pompoms, lace, hand drawn pictures and embroidered motifs. Really cute. A super girly run.

The haze cleared a few days before so it was all systems go as far as the weather was concerned. I'd been down a cold the past week or so and wasn't sure how I'd feel on the day itself but was quite sure I wanted to run anyway as long as the PSI was below 100 on race day.

It turned out to be a great sunshiny day! It had been raining too so it was nice and clear. Met J and Opus but second year in a row. we just couldn't find C. We were flagged off in the second wave and it was a good, comfortable run.

I'm really getting used to the NB Nimbus zero drop shoes though it seems that NB is phasing them out of production. They're getting harder and harder to find! I'm not sure it's such a good idea to stock up on them either.

Post run, they offered the BEST drink - sparkling Ice Mountain! Only gripe is that them organisers were a tad stingy. Only one bottle per runner. Bah. Oh wait. One more bit of unhappy news - no Nando's this year!!! And heyyyy, where was the bouncy castle this year?!

Anyway, I decided to do a screen grab of my timing to help me track how I've been performing.

Quite happy with the time. Tried to push through even during the slightly uphill bits, didn't let myself stop but tried to change my stride, take deeper breaths and think calm, happy thoughts of getting a cold shower and possibly prata for lunch. Whatever it takes, right?

Dusting off....

It's been quiet here! But I'm back.

I can't explain why it took so long to start (or, re-start) blogging again, especially when there have been more than a few occasions when I thought to myself, I should blog about this! I can't seem to hold on to those thoughts, as much as they were inspirational, epiphanic or stirring at the time. Of course there have been the smaller, lighter observations which were blog-worthy too. All gone, crowded out by busyness and forgetfulness.

I've just finished reading Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall (thanks, Opus!). It's a fascinating book with amazing, almost unbelievable characters. I was compelled to google some names mentioned to see what some of these people looked like, to check out if they were even real. What intrigued me was, the idea that humans were designed physically to be running machines. How can this be? I find running a chore, even after all these years of trying to like it. What am I doing wrong? A related thought was, wouldn't it be interesting to be trained by the likes of professionals, e.g. Eric Orton?

The other thing that struck me was how there seemed to be a correlation between great running and pure hearts. Examples are littered throughout the book with ironmen with hearts of gold. Has running made me a better person? Or more likely, is it the case that I'm a bad runner because I don't quite like people?

One other thing in the book also impressed me. That these ultrarunners experienced great joy while running. And we're talking about running impossibly long distances, through rugged terrain and extreme weather conditions. Insane!

I mostly feel a quiet peace to be alone during my runs, listening to the water, resenting the heat and thirst I feel, estimating the distance left, thinking about the day ahead, organising errands mentally and sometimes, consciously correcting my footfall and trying out different rhythms of breathing. Not a very others-centric activity at all, even during times when I am burdened about someone and silently talk it through with God during the run. And my default expression is definitely not a pretty one, nothing close to a smile.

70 year old triathloner

I wanted to show you this article to inspire you - 70 years old and running triathlons! She only started when she was 52. A good reminder that it's never too late to start, and that it's all in your attitude. Good job, lady!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2013/jul/21/britain-oldest-female-triathlete

...and then the comments reminded me: man, I hate being passed by old people when I run! Ha. And believe you me, I get passed by plenty of fleet-footed oldies. Dang it.

Commitment Made

I have gone and done it. Signed up for a 3-in-1 deal, so I'm committed to: an aquathlon, a duathlon and a triathlon next year.

Yay!!

Ouch

Yesterday I decided to try out the new trainers. This is after zero running the past 10 days. I took the advice of the NB guy at the shop and took it easy...he had painted a picture of the worst case scenario and I really had no idea how difficult or painful it would be to run on these new shoes.

To be safe, I wanted to be near the car in case I had to crawl back. Ended up running little circles in the  Bougainvillea Park. So many people at the beach today!

The shoes feel great, fit like a glove though now I'm much more aware of how the left and right feet are not quite symmetrical. They are almost weightless and you can feel what's you're stepping on, so I was extra careful to avoid pebbles and cones.

Urgh.  I ran for about 10 minutes, slowly and deliberately trying to land mid-foot, and then stretched. Could already feel tense in my calves. Another 10 minutes and I'm done, I thought.  But I couldn't even make 5 more minutes.....

Today, I'm suffering. Yes I stubbornly refused The Stick.  I can hobble along but it's torture to go down stairs.

Is this a sign I'm doing it right?

Duathlon Numero Uno

Duathlons are fun!

They're certainly less boring than running 10K, that's for sure. Tried out my first duathlon yesterday (was it only yesterday?!) which consisted of a 3K run, a 20K bike, then a 3K run again.

A duathlon is not the same as a biathlon, as some people might think. A biathlon generally refers to the sport of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Yes! Hm, that sounds fun too.

Not what I was doing.

So anyway, back to the duathlon. The first 3K was a nice run, then you hop onto your bike and start riding - a stretch of road in Sengkang was blocked off for the event. I loved how there were your hardcore competitors as well as regular folk and newbies. I saw more than a few fat tyres (hybrids, mountain bikes) and even 1 or 2 fixies and foldies! The depressing thing is, they ALL passed me. I was slow. Slow slow slow.

The second 3K I was wheezing and shuffling my feet badly. Barely faster than walking pace. Nice people ran past me and called out encouragement. That's how sad and pathetic I looked, ha ha. Even an uncle and auntie out for a stroll/picnic asked me if I wanted an umbrella. Uncle asked this. Then Auntie told him not to kachow me.

After 1 hour and 51 minutes, I finished. I was one of the last few, but I achieved my goal of not being the ACTUAL last person, and my personal target of getting in under 2 hours.

Yay! I've bitten the multisport bug. What now? Join me, runningstitch!

Some Ramblings

Today I ran! My GPS failed and I've no idea how much I covered today. I did stop to take a photo (しゃしんをします）of a fish 魚 I saw stuck when the tide went out.

It's hard to believe It's been 5 years, and one of the things I said to Opus during the run was, time to get new shoes!  My Asics have served me faithfully but they are old （古い ）and worn.

So....today I went to the New Balance store at I12 Katong and got myself a pair of minimus trainers!  Photo soon! Quite excited about learning how to "run naturally ". 新しい靴ですね！

More running related shopping in store; the elusive perfect bottle belt that can fit this giant phone.

I am also trying to practice Japanese! 頑張ります！