My First Marathon Experience

I always have this impulsive habit of signing up for marathons but ended up not training and not turning up for them. Yesterday, I FINALLY completed my first marathon.

It started with signing up with the U Run premium package at the end of last year and feeling very motivated to start off the year with more running and training. Actually, I did just that. 2013 is definitely the year I went to gym/workouts/jogging more than previous years, its almost comparable to the time I was ten years young and still active camping and kayaking. As of today, my nike+ accounted for 64 whooping runs this year!

These are the races I completed this year:
1) U run (10km+OMB Climb)
2) Nike We Run SG 2013 (10km)
3) Shape Run (10km)
4) Great Eastern Women's Run (HM)
5) Brooks Happy Run (9km)
6) Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (FM)

Other than signing up and completing these races, I didnt really keep to the marathon training as planned. One month before the marathon, I was having second thoughts about going for it due to the lack of training and there was no way I could cram more long runs into this short period. After reading about many others with similar concerns and encouragement from the rest of the running community, I decided to just go for it and only aimed to finish the marathon, telling myself this is really something I have to achieve.


I started reading up on motivational articles, running tips and training methods, preparing myself during the last one month before the race. During the REPC, instead of just picking up the race pack, I spent a bomb getting all the running gear I need: SPI belt to hold my energy gels, new Oakley sunglasses, new compression top and bottom etc. Lots of articles mentioned that I should not be wearing/doing anything new during my big race, but since I was not aiming to achieve any PB, I just wanted to make sure I was comfortable enough (and looking good as well).

After the REPC, I was really excited when I was packing my stuff and getting ready for the race. I only had less than two hours of sleep but the caffeine in the energy gels kept me going during the race so I didnt really feel the fatigue. I woke up before 3am and started to gear up for the event. I was really glad that SCM is a big running event, as the MRT was already up and operating by 2.30am. This was unlike the few previous morning races when I took a cab to the event site.

Even while I was waiting for the train, there were already other FM runners waiting on the platform. Soon, the train arrived and it was filled with other marathoners. I felt so happy and excited that I was one of them, just attending the race was already an achievement in itself. However, upon reaching the event site, I was quite frustrated that the baggage deposit took up 20 min as I felt the urge to visit the restroom even while I was still queueing. I initially planned to make it to the start pen early but ended up spending the time queueing and feeling nervous about it.

Anyway, there were still lots of others behind me when I finally reached the race pen, I knew the first wave had started but there were lots of people still waiting to inch forward and start the race. During the first part of the race, most people really paced themselves well and the overall momentum was slow and steady. Surprisingly, the roads were wide enough and there were no bottlenecks despite the big turnout of the running. Due to the lack of training, my strategy was to adopt the Galloway method of Run-Walk-Run and I specially ordered a Gymboss timer to clip onto my new SPI belt a few weeks before the race. It kept me going quite effortlessly all the way till ECP and 1/3 into the race.

As I was running along ECP and eager to approach the U turn point, it eventually became harder to start running after my one minute walking break. I walked through all the drink stations along the way, but on top of that, my walking breaks became longer. I started to look forward to the next distance marker and I noticed most people around me were also slowing down and eventually walking, there were only a few still jogging and overtaking me after 25km. When I finally left ECP behind me at the 29km mark, I had already given up trying to jog and just walked along with the rest. The pain in my knees became hard to ignore and there was just no way I could command my legs to jog or even run any longer. It was really a test of endurance and I kept doing mental calculations of how fast I was moving along and how long it was going to be before the race will be over. Unfortunately, it was still another 2 hours to go when I hit the many many "runner's walls".

I was amused that even we approached the last 500m, I couldnt get my legs to move faster unlike other races and I was still strolling along. It was only the last 200m when I saw so many people lining the finishing point that I forced myself into a slow jog. Finally, when I finished the race, the pain in my knees and the urge to visit the toilet overcame the feeling of euphoria I was supposed to feel. But after some rest, I'm now determined to train harder next year and achieve a better timing in my next marathon or even HM. I'm eagerly looking forward to next year's running events. :)

Philippines Trip Day 2 (8/12)

We woke up with these bread hot and ready on the dining table. These bread rolls are call Pandesal and is a type of breakfast food they have here. K had been missing the taste of these when we were still in SG and for the past few days, we were saying that we will wake up early to buy them for breakfast. Of course, that didnt happen and we were lucky that his uncle brought them to us. It taste just like normal bread to me, really nice when dipped with coffee (I think it will taste even better when dipped in Milo). I only had three of them and I was already feeling full. On the streets, I can see a lot of bakeries and small stalls selling the Pandesal too.

It was already 11am when we woke up, and once again we set off to Angeles where K is going to collect his Iron Man stuff (roll eyes). As it was already late, we went there in his Nissan pickup. It was the second time I ha a ride with K driving and its not easy to drive around in this part of the world as the traffic is not smooth, he was really stressed the first day when we drove to the dentist and other part of Tarlac city since his license had expired and he had not been driving for quite some time. I could hear him cursing and swearing a lot more when he's at the wheel, and tension sort of built up at times and I tried my very best to be patient then.

We dropped by at KFC for lunch, we had been going to KFCs at different parts of the world (Sin, Phuket, Vietnam etc) and he was looking for the sauce that they will serve with rice here. He was disappointed again and again and had been looking forward to come back for his rice in KFC here. In my photo, you can see the sauce in the middle and the rice is wrapped up like a burger. There's also a dispenser at the side where they can refill the sauce. Most of the combo meals come with rice in this land as its the favourite staple of the locals as mentioned before. He order salad for me and I realised that I missed the leafy greens, veg and fruits are almost non-existing in K's diet and I feel that I'm really deprived of those when I'm with him.

It took us a whole day just to settle the Iron Man thing, the fact that its already pitch dark by 6.30pm here make the day seems to past really fast. I was totally sleepy and tired on our way back, the slow traffic and dim lights of the dusk didnt help me to get more energized. However, I was excited when we got home as K's mum had brought home some Baluts. I was eager to try this exotic dish as its well known that we can get to eat this here in the Philippines. In fact, its more like a fear factor dish, akin to the fried cockroach they have in Thailand. The Balut is a unhatched duck egg with duckling embroyo already developed inside (around 16-17 days), and then boiled like a normal hard boiled egg. K had been telling me that they will usually sell them at night, when the temperature is cooler and the warm balut will feel really good when eaten. I was expecting myself chewing some soft bones and my mouth full of duck feathers but that didnt happen. The Balut is very much like a hard boiled egg except for the fact that the egg yolk is covered with dark crimson liquid when we broke the shell. There's the egg yolk and part of the egg white which is already harden (they call it the stone), but there's also a very small slice of bloody skin that looks like a small duck, some people find this too gross to consume and would just finish up the other parts without this.

After a little rest, we took a bus to Tarlac City and met some of his friends who are also working in SG as TAs. We went to Kart City and K was really looking forward to have a go on the Go Kart, I wasnt too keen as I was feeling a little lazy although I had recovered a lot from the late afternoon fatigue. To save my day, it started raining and his other friends are not exceptionally keen to go on the Go Kart. We were just having our chillax session and dinner at the cafe next to the track. The place was quite nice when we were sitting outdoors before the rain. We ordered pizza again as I really loved the pizza they served at Zulu the previous night. It was too dark in the restaurant to get a proper shot at the pizza, but I can almost taste the thin crust with fresh ingredients and veggies! Mmmm....

After leaving the cafe, we went to pick up a new kitten that K had bought a few months before we were back in the Philippines. Luckily, the kitten is really tame and shy, it loves cleaning itself and doesnt make any noise (till we switch off the lights and it was pitch dark in the room). I wasnt mentally prepared when K wanted to let it roam around our room when we were sleeping, I was concerned about it peeing and pooping on our bed as we're not too familiar with it yet. On top of it, I will get paranoid about the kitten brushing against my skin in my sleep. Finally, he compromised and brought in a cage for the kitten to sleep next to us. I really heaved a sigh of relief when he did that, even though I felt sorry for the poor cat. Luckily, it didnt whine and just left it to us to decide its fate. K was looking at our gadgets in the room, and as a big fan of Apple products, he decided to name his new kitten Apple. He was really unsettled until he finally he made up his mind about the name.

Philippines Trip Day 1 (7/12)

This is the land of pork and rice. Before I came to the Philippines, I already realised Filipinos cant do without rice in their meals, we are cooking rice at home everyday and they consume it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You can imagine how hard it is for me to stay with my no carbs diet, I feel worried for K's health and weight when I see him eating that amount of rice everyday. We have less of the pork at home, and we usually cook more chicken instead. The first two meals I had over here was sisig and liempo, and it goes without saying that we had them with rice. I must say, those are really good. I always have sisig at Gerry's Grille in SG, and the ones over here are even better. Sisig is a dish cooked with all parts of the pig head (tongue, ear etc) sauteed with onion and garlic on a hot plate. It was past midnight when we went out to hunt for dinner and balut (another exotic dish which I havent get to try yet), therefore I tried to taste just a few mouthful of that.

A trip to the Philippines is really a test of self control for me in terms of diet, sigh. I kept reminding myself to eat in small portions and just a few mouthful to try the taste of the different food. However, I already have the feeling that I'll put on A LOT of weight after the first day.

After a good night's rest, we're ready to set off. We actually planned to go out really early as K had planned a long list of things to do. Deep in my heart, I was almost sure we would sleep in, and that was exactly what happened. We only went out after 1pm.

 The first stop was the dental clinic, I havent been to the dentist for years and I was doubtful that I would want to get my teeth checked in a foreign land. However, the dental clinic proved to be clean and I went ahead with the scaling and polishing, it cost only SGD $15 and that is at least 4 or 5 times cheaper than in SG. I have a fear of visiting the dentist ever since my primary school years and the high cost of dentistry treatment is a real put off too. If we had more time, I would have gotten my fillings done as well, it would be sooooo much cheaper than to do it at home. I made a mental note to visit the dentist as soon as I'm back as the dentist explained that both my front teeth need fillings to be done. Sigh..

One of the places we went after that was a traditional cake shop. K missed the taste of cakes in his homeland and bought a 9inch cake just to finish off on his own. He also got me some traditional cookies and snacks, I must say that they taste really good.

The ones on the left are my favourite, they are known as Boat Tarts as they're shaped like a boat. It's a half pastry, half sweet tart and its really tasty. The white ones on the right are like candy wrapped in rice paper and they are Turrones de Casoy, it sound really Spanish to me.

We took the public bus to Angeles (another city near here) and I had the experience of taking both the air-con and non air-con bus, the difference is obviously in the price. The air-con bus is like the private bus serving us back in SG, the non air-con one is not too bad too as the air is cool and I get a whiff of what I call the 'forest smell' (just the normal non-industrial area smell that I love). I must admit I was really reluctant when we board the non air-con old bus when heading home, but it was already 1am and I slept most of the way back. That evening, we went to a really nice restaurant owned by one of his many friends in Angeles and the ambiance there really nice. The food in this Zulu restuarant is really good and of course seems really really cheap to me.

This is the Sinful cake that K had been telling me about since the early days of our friendship. I was doubtful then that I would ever get to try it, but I'm really glad that I finally did. The texture of the cake is really good, I think we might be able to find similar ones in SG but it will be much more expensive. As the name suggest, every mouthful feels sinful to me and I think it goes without saying that there's loads of calories there.

It's December.. I'm back...

I realised the past few posts were all made in December, when I get really bored inspired during the hols. Anyway, I'm back again. This may be my one and only post for this year but nevertheless, I'll just write something as I'm in the mood right now. This is the first day I'm in the Philippines (yesterday was just taking the flight and exploring K's place) so I'm thinking of recording the stuff I'll see around here. Therefore you see, last year I had a motivational blog in mind and this year I intend to transform it into a travel journal. We'll see if that will happen..

I also changed the template for the blog after using the last one for many years, I just revisited the blog this morning and realise that the width and border of the blog are all out of place. I dont really bother to customize it like the previous one and just adopt the nicest template blogger can provide me at the moment. :)

Oh my goodness

Blogging is kind of outdated I guess and I've not been here for two years at least. Obviously I'm not 20-something anymore as this blog was created ten years ago, nevertheless its still my personal space and record of my past doings. I'm back again as I saw some interesting articles which I wish to keep and use as reminders for myself, so I'll just dump them into this space. :)

1.Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.

2.Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on. No, it won’t be easy. There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them. We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems. That’s not how we’re made. In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall. Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time. This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.

3.Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself. Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves. Read The Road Less Traveled.

4.Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. Yes, help others; but help yourself too. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.

5.Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else. Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you. Don’t change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.

6.Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.

7.Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success. You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.

8.Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us. We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.

9.Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive. But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.

10.Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either. You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else. Read Stumbling on Happiness.

11.Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place. Evaluate situations and take decisive action. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. Making progress involves risk. Period! You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.

12.Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.

13.Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.

14.Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you. But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.

15.Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others doing better than you. Concentrate on beating your own records every day. Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.

16.Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own. Ask yourself this: “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”

17.Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you. You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough. But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past. You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation. So smile! Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.

18.Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart. You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate. Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.” It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.” Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself! And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too. If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.

19.Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.

20.Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway. Just do what you know in your heart is right.

21.Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.

22.Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.

23.Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done. Read Getting Things Done.

24.Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile. Don’t take the easy way out. Do something extraordinary.

25.Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while. You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.

26.Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.

27.Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out. But making one person smile CAN change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus.

28.Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time? Three years? Five years?” If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.

29.Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen. Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.

30.Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

Everything came from this superb blog.

Inspirations

Anyway, after having some inspiration for blogging in the middle of the night, I created the previous post. But I guess I'm still not done yet.

I could have left the post on its own, but after reading through my blog, most of my posts were accompanied by a picture, so I took some time to choose a suitable theme to accompany my last post. Initially, I wanted to find a photo of the sunset as the title of my blog was "End of 2009". However, I decided to post a photo of the sunrise instead (even though to some people it look the same). Why not make it as a new starting point instead of a ending point?

The end of 2009

I'm so used to sleeping late, I can't fall asleep at this time and its 3.30am! I don't know what inspired me to blog after leaving this space in dust for more than 2 years. Anyway, I'm in the midst of the Dec hols 2009. Time flew so fast during the precious hols and its another two more weeks or less before we're due to report back to school. I didn't travel that much this hols (although I went on a trip to Bangkok with the kids), I feel that I'm having some time on hand for myself after completing a module for the Masters course.

The course was interesting, it taught us about what we're lacking as creative individuals. I had always known that I'm not artistic or creative, I lack the creative juices to do anything spontaneous. I wish for a change. This sort of change is not just doing something creative or fun but I feel that I need to do something different for myself after staying stagnant at my current stage all these years.

The course helped me in making the elements of my weaknesses clearer for myself. For e.g, I'm too agreeable to things, I'm too lazy to take the initiative even when I had good ideas. What's good about myself? I'm quite opened to new experiences even though I might be too lazy to work on things after the initial stage. I like new experiences to a certain extent, as long as its within my comfort zone.

After the course had ended, we're expected to write an essay about how we wish to make changes for ourselves to become creative individuals. And of course with the industrious side of me lacking, I haven't really started on the essay. As I'm brain-storming, I've started to pick up some invisible whip and reminded myself to be more PROACTIVE in life. I'm hoping that 2010 will be something different for me. I guess I don't even mind if its a turning point for my life.