Daily Life: SCMS 2012

The SCMS 2012 will be the last marathon for me for year 2012. Being the last marathon, I prepared as usual using previous setup. A meal of 2 bananas, yoghurt and subway for dinner and the same setup for breakfast on the day of the run. I also tried to sleep earlier than usual (8.30 to 9.30). This will allow me to sleep at least 5 hours as i need to wake up before 2.30am on Dec 4.

The MRT are running from 2am so was able to reach the starting point at 4am. This is important as i will able do warm-up before the starting run of 5am. The run route remains the same but I was not in the best of health to be running. i had a run of sore throat 2 days before as my air-con was not working. The mosquito was bitting me so I was not sleeping well. But i still continue to run all the way until i reach the east coast park where my cough got worse so i have to take slower steps.

I continue until I went out of East Coast park which is the 29KM mark. Its around 8.45am. With a band of 5 hours mark on my hand, i reckon i will be able to run without 2 hours to the end point which i tried to do so. It looks to be a good idea as many runners are already walking due to the morning heat. The heartbreak bridge remains to challenge me as its the end and as before, i conquered it with many runners walking.Towards the end i was running towards the end point as its getting hot and the only way out is to complete the race.

At the end, i crossed the mark at 5.31 but on the facebook tracking, it shows 5:25. If its 5:25, it will be my Personal Best as i never before for my 10years of running reach below 5:30. In any case, its a good run and I will continue to challenge it next year on.

Daily Life: Results of SAFRA AHM 2012

I was free only at night to take a look at the results and i was surprised the results are out

I am in the Men's closed due to my status as a active NSmen and out of the 2674 runners in my category, I am 1173 in the listing. Its a good start and i hope to move up the ladder next year round

Daily Life: Changing to Chi Running

Recently my company got a trainer on chi running to teach those interested to take up chi running. The total participants is about 12, not a lot of given that the lesson is conducted after work near the park connector. Most people will love to get out of office after office hours.

In any case, Chi running focus on the running form & breathing. There is little difference between Chi walking or running except for the speed taken. Chi walking is within 120 metronome while running is within 170 to 175 depending on the runner's height. I must admit it takes a while to get use to this form of running and to take things further, i change to run in barefoot. I started running only with my running socks but as there is lots of small foreign objects on the park connector path, my socks gets dirty after that plus i had a hard time to avoid them as there is no protection. The good thing out of it is my running stride gets smaller and i can feel my running as my feet impact on the ground.

I since bought a pair of aqua socks from Army market for S$23 after some reviews and runners running with them on the Runner's world forum. Yes, its more for people taking water sports and does no have any form of protection. But the whole idea is to have some small form of protection of the elements when running on the road and it does have the thin rubber difference. It still takes time to get use to it as I have to avoid landing on the heel. As i can feel my feet impact, i can adjust my running stride and form as i progress. Now I impact on the whole feet and i running small stride. My knee no longer feels the pain after a run and my legs no longer has any muscle ache. ( that is provided that i run correctly, it not the muscle ache will still be there)

I have been practicing Chi running for the past 3 weeks and move from 2K to 9K on runs once every 2 days. The results are good & encouraging for now. I will have to move up the distance to 20K to better prepare for my upcoming KL 42K marathon.

Daily Life: Results from my 21k Run350 Run

Just 3 week ago I went for the Run350 21k run. After the long hard run I throw away my BIB tag as it is wet and I thought no need anymore. How wrong I am.

3 days after the event, the results are posted on the Run350 website and I went in to take a look at my results. It prompt for my BIB number which I did not remember. There is no option to key in either NRIC or passport no so I am struck. Only this week did i remember that my colleague went to call up Run350 earlier before the race and asked for the number. Before I called, I went to the website to confirm there is no other way to get the BIB no. The hotline was re-activated and I made the call to get the BIB no. The customer service was kind enough to look up the database and let me know my BIB no within 10 mins.

I was surprised by the results. For 21k, I took 2hours 48mins. That is the standard timing I had for my 21K runs. The results are within my expectations as I run to keep fit not to kill myself. Given that my left knee cap gave me issues early in the race and I was able to run complete without any further issues for the remaining is a blessing.

I will have to train harder for the upcoming KL 42k marathon though. It will be the first full marathon for the year and it will determine if I take part in the Penang or Chiang Mai full marathons.