Daily Life: the unofficial official 2XU 21K run April 7 2019

Took over a female bib from a friend who cannot run. Went to the start point but was stopped as the security saw i was wearing a female bib so ask me to change to a male bib one.

Went over to information counter n paid S$15 for the change. Since already check in bag went to get money before getting the bib change. Went into the start point but there is so many people so was in wave 5 which is a good 40mins  away from the first wave (each wave is 10mins apart). Once out i was in the lead till i went to the toilet right before first u-turn point.

Kept my pace up n focus on running form. There was a jam along tanjong rhu park connector which is not surprising as there are already people walking throughout. Still went along n keeping the pace up.

Finish in 2hrs 04min. Though not my best nor under 2hrs, its still good to see fellow friends n runners along the route. since its not my bib i treat this as a LSD.  

Daily Life: Army Half Marathon 2018

The cheapest half marathon run in town at the moment. that should be the tagline as most runs in Singapore for 21K are around S$50 which is rather ex if you ask me.

Every year this is the one race i will take part as its in the middle of the year n a good gauge for my running for the next half of the year.
This year I took the shuttle bus service which cost me S$6 from aljunied mrt bus stop to the start point at 3am. Its always hard to wake up at 1am...

The baggage deposit is very smooth n there was a little queue as only one baggage deposit counter was open though this was very quickly resolved as all the baggage deposit counters open due to more n more runners coming in.

Reach the start point early n was in front, saw many friends n familiar faces. had a chat while waiting for the flag off at 4.30am. 4.33am we are flagged off n run towards DBS building before making a turn after that towards garden by the bay east. I was running fast & within my limit but my stomach decide to go for shit time. Shit.... I had to cut down the pace as was feeling the stomach grinding n letting off gases... Once reach the canopy at gardens by the bay I straight went to toilet n saw Mark going to the toilet. The 'bombing' took place while i press my lap button to see later how fast i was in the first 5k.

With the shit out, its business as usual though i did not go fast till i have my isotonic drink at the marina barrage water station. Had 2 cups n off i go towards ECP. Engine is doing well so pick up some speed though when i reach ECP i dropped down to walking speed to enjoy my banana. ECP was a rather short distance before we make the u-turn towards fort road. There I saw chern n encourage him while i run off towards stadium. There I took my gel at the 14K mark n towards the finish line. Along the way saw some more friends n also Jai who was with me at the start line. He say he aiming for 2.30 but when i saw my GPS watch, 2.15 is within reach. By the time i finish the run the 10K runners have flagged off for a good 20mins.
Met more friends n took photo before going back home to take breakfast at a nearby hawker centre with owen since we live around the same area.

All in all the race was good n without the extended toilet break, i should be able to break 2hrs. A good run with no issues on my body form n pace. Think the weekly tues runs do very well to me to increase my pace gradually.

New timing for 21K Run

For many runs I am trying to push for a newer PB for 21K. I got what I aim for in Sept 10 2016 during the JB 21K run. Granted the run is not well organized but based on the GPS on my sunnto watch, I clocked 2hrs and 27 secs for 21K which make it the fastest to date for my 21K runs.

The weather did play a good part in allowing me to run fast but my pace was around on average 5.37min/km so it will be the timing to follow to achieve the same timing if not better.

Until I go to below 2hrs, there is no reason for me to 'show off' on FB since many runners have went under 2hrs or around 2hrs around me. Still a good present n a good start for 21K running timing

Aftermath of AHM 2016

I thought I broke my PB for 21K but looking back, mine best results is in 2014 AHM. Despite that I can see a good improvement throughout the 2016 edition with my pace much faster than previous. That in itself is good enough.

I think I may have got off too fast early in the run so by the time I reach mid point I am out of fuel especially at the tanjong Rhu connector. Thankfully the banana is around so i can grab some sugar for the extra burn. I will have to balance with more bananas for future runs since they are proved to be a good source of carbo for me.

Daily Life: PNM and SCMKL 2014

First time did a B2B run. Its a challenging, not impossible but very important to take a shorter distance to better manage the body especially when body will not be getting any much rest in between the runs.

For PNM, its the first time i running there and its a challenging route with lots of slopes and highway to no where. I started the race at the first and since i know i need to preserve energy for the SCMKL, i maintain pace at 6-6.5min/km. Man Lim was the first to run past me... then followed by Debbie. finally Jamie also run past me towards the end. All these while i was trying to play catch up with Debbie but even when i run my lungs out, I cannot catch up with her.

Right after the race, i changed into the finisher t-shirt and take the second shuttle bus out of Putrajaya. Despite leaving Putrajaya at 11.00pm, I did not reach Wisma OCM until 12.30pm. Along the way, there was 2 traffic accidents and a police roadblock. After a RM15 cab to hotel (forget about walking as need to rest), bath and change into clean clothes. Set clock timer and prepared all items for SCMKL race before I go to bed. Managed to get 2 hrs of sleep and walk to SCMKL start point around 3.30am. By then there are tons of people there but did not see anyone familiar.


Then at 4.30am, the 42K of the SCMKL kick off. This year is a new route and despite seeing the video to know that there are many slopes and highways, the run is still challenging as did not fully recover from yesterday night run. I however did not fall asleep as i fear will but was on cruise control for most of the journey. Only at the end did i went all out as I have a few mins before the 6hrs cut-off. I think I run the fastest 1K in my life, flying like there is no tomorrow but maintaining my running form and giving all I have left... Reach at 6hrs 05 mins.

Not bad given the new route and the previous night before run. Will attempt it next year and with more hill trainings, will be better prepared.

Daily Life: Official 2XU 21K race results

Looks like i really did improve though not as much as i wanted to be.... Still i am contented with the results and going for faster speed this sunday for the Run350.

Daily Life: 2XU Compression Run 2013

Today is the 2XU compression Run 2013 and I took part in the 21K category. As focus for this year is on 21K and above, i trained running fast on my 8-9k runs on daily basis. I also focus more on eating right the night before the race n on the day of the race itself.

My diet will include a banana, a cup of yoghurt and a glass of plain water after dinner on the night before race and same items for the race itself with the additional of bread since i need some cabo to fuel my run.

I prepared all my items the day before the race and its the first time i running with the Nathan hydration bag. I did not fill in any water as i still got some water left over from the previous week trail run. As the distance is 21K, i packed only 1 sports gel for the 15k mark. I managed to wake up early today with enough sleep the night before. The booking of the taxi is also fast and i reach the start point at around 4am. I have lots of time to do my warm-up and do my warm-up runs around the start point. its part of my focus to run better this year also.

The run started on time at 5.30am from the F1 race track and takes us around the stadium walk, tanjong rhu park connector and marina barrage before ending back at the F1 race track. During the 15k mark, there was banana and sports gel provided so i decided to grab some instead of using my own. bad mistake. The gel is covered with gel (it's not torn but suspected got another packet leaked). i was also unable to tear the package due to the gel and my wet hands. its only until i reach the 16k water point did i manage to clean the gel package of its gel and tear it open to consume the much needed gel inside.

I have my thanks to my hydration bag as i did not stop for any drinking station except for the 15k & 16k ones to do the above. I didn't put any sports drink into the hydration bag: only plain water mixed with the elete electrolyte i bought in Jan. it has no taste beyond water taste and did not stain my hydration bag which is important.

Another important news is the timing i got is 2:23 when i cross the finish line. Little did i realize that is my PB as my last 21k was at 2:40 which means i improved another 17mins. its not a lot but its a step closer of realizing my goal of 2hrs for 21K runs.