The eventful month of May.

This was the month I finally got to take a well-deserved break from my usual two-job routine.
This was the month I conquered my maiden long-distance night run.
Without doubt, May has to be one of the best months in 2016 thus far.

To tell the truth, during the first half of May, my mind was already on holiday mode. Eventually the moment came, and it was time to set foot on unfamiliar territory. Alone.

*Malaysia backpacker trip - 18 May to 24 May 2016*

As I boarded the Tigerair flight bound for Penang International Airport, my emotions were a mixture of anticipation, excitement and anxiety. What if the plane encountered technical problems en-route? What if I got robbed while away from home? There were simply too many of what-ifs on my mind, and after some time I told myself - Just go out there, enjoy the trip and make new friends along the way.

One week on, my objective was achieved.

- Covered four states of Malaysia: Penang (Georgetown), Malacca, Negeri Sembilan (Kuala Pilah) and Pahang (Cameron Highlands)
- Encounters with people from different nationalities and backgrounds: Malaysian, French, Thai & German

During the few days on the road, I came to realise how laid-back the Malaysian way of life could get, outside of Kuala Lumpur, Johor or Singapore. For instance, motorists were far more patient and willing to slow down when pedestrians were crossing the road. In contrary, our SG counterparts tend to be more in a hurry and would start to blast their car horns when something/someone is in their way. Probably could attribute this trend to the pace of life here. It's nothing short of hectic. People rush to work, rush during lunch hour, rush to get home, and the cycle repeats itself day after day after day. I guess sometimes, we should take a step back and take stock of what's happening around us. Spend more time with your loved ones, be it in a park or at home, because you can never predict what's gonna happen tomorrow.

Just a handful of photos showing my trip's major destinations. More pics can be found in my Facebook album. =)

 

 

 *OSIM Sundown Marathon - 28-29 May 2016*

Barely a week after the Malaysia road trip, came my fourth running event of the year.

Registration was done during the Stanchart Marathon race expo, way back in December 2015. The fees for half-marathon category were only S$50 then, a relatively decent rate given the price inflation in recent races. Signed up without much hesitation.

Due to my Malaysian trip, I wasn't able to collect the race entry pack over the 20-22 May weekend. Many thanks to my beloved Mum for travelling down all the way to Suntec to get it on my behalf! <3

And before I knew it, it's race day (night to be precise).

Started in the 2nd wave at about 11.55pm. As I had not trained sufficiently prior to race day, I decided to go slow for the entire journey and brisk walk if necessary.

There were 2 major upslopes. One was within the first kilometre (towards Benjamin Sheares bridge & ECP) and the other between the 18-19km mark (Marina Barrage).

Cleared the ECP sector without much issue and maintaining a 7:00/km pace. The real torture began soon after I reached the Gardens By The Bay (Bay East) sector. About 7 kilometres left at that point in time, but I could feel both calves cramping up and the sleep monster setting in. Even the energy gel and banana at the subsequent hydration stations could not help much to stave off the fatigue within.

Giving up was never an option at this juncture. When you see your fellow comrades trying their best to overcome the sleep monster, you knew you had to give your all.

After a slow walk up and down Marina Barrage, I knew it was less than 3km to the finish. Picked up the pace and at last, the battle was won.

 
Will be taking a break for the month of June. From July onwards, it's time to get busy again.

- 23 July: Pocari Sweat Run (10km)
- 28 August: SAFRA Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon (HM)
- 04 September: Yellow Ribbon Prison Run (10km)

Goodnight readers & have a great week ahead!

Yours sincerely,
Chris

Green Corridor Run 2016 - in pictures.

*** Disclaimer: Image-intensive post ahead! ***

Hello readers! Sincere apologies for not updating this space as often as I normally would.

2016 is panning out to be a continuation of the second half of 2015. My weekdays are packed to the brim with both day and night jobs (till 1am+ everyday). Sunday is the only day where I could really get a breather and at the same time, commit to my long run.

As this post's title suggests, I shall let pictures do all the talking, followed by the ratings. Did Green Corridor Run 2016 manage to surpass the 8.8 rating set by Brooks Run Happy? Read on to find out...

0752hrs: Arrival at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station

0817hrs: Minutes before Wave 2 flags off.

0958hrs: We came, we conquered!

 

1004hrs: Due to the sheer numbers of runners posing for pics, I could only manage a far shot of the Bukit Timah Railway Station signage.

1030~1040hrs: Parting shots of the bridge spanning across Bukit Timah Road. Not forgetting the mandatory selfie!

Ratings

Pre-race: 7/10

• Fuss-free online registration
• About 10 minutes' waiting time during race pack collection (27th Feb ~1700hrs)
• Quality of race pack could be better. That said, the 2015 GCR race pack ranks among one of the best in recent times (Remember the information pamphlet by Nature Society?) so it would not be easy to match such standards.

Race precinct: 9/10

• Only one entry/exit point from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station - slight bottleneck. Could understand this was for security reasons though.
• Entry points for different waves were clearly demarcated (sorry, no picture to show for this)
• Presence of Volvic water point
• Sufficient portable toilets, but they struggled to keep up with the demands of close to 11,000 participants.

Race: 9.8/10

• The earlier flag off (0820hrs vs 2015's 0920hrs), coupled with cloudy skies, made the race experience a far more enjoyable one.
• Installation of spotlights at the underpass below Portsdown Avenue/Queensway Viaduct - a major plus point, shows the organisers are doing their part to make the race as safe as possible.
• Would have been a perfect 10 if isotonic drinks were available at the 3 water points along the race route.

Post-race: 9.5/10

• Little changed from 2015. Received all entitlements at the end point without any issue of shortages etc.
• Long queues seen again at baggage collection - only serves to reinforce my rationale of not utilising baggage deposit services unless absolutely necessary.
• Witnessed an ambulance pass by while resting near the row of tentages. This is really the last thing every runner would wish to see. Hope the casualty is recovering well as I'm penning down this post!

Overall: 8.83/10. It is indeed a pity that the beautiful greenery will be giving way to redevelopment, but I believe change is for the better. Looking forward to the revamped Green Corridor once the works have been completed in 3-5 years' time!

Race Review: Brooks Run Happy 2016

Brooks Run Happy was the first event in the 2016 calendar with a Half Marathon category. And in my opinion, it did not fail to impress.

Apologies for the lack of race day photos, I'll try to make up for that during March's Green Corridor Run~

Registration (16 Dec 2015)
A straightforward and fuss-free affair. Registered online for HM on the last day of early bird promotional rates. Also purchased the shuttle bus ticket (pickup point Serangoon) when it was made available in early January, for the practical reason of saving on cab fares.

REPC (9-10 Jan)
Held at the Key Power Sports outlet in Velocity @ Novena Square. I went there around 4pm on the 9th. There were no queues, no hype nor buzz. It was business as usual. The availability of sample race singlets for trying was a plus.

Day before Race Day (16 Jan)
Went with my usual daily routine. Part-time work ended close to 11.20pm, it was beyond midnight when I reached home. Staring at the prospect of less than 3 hours of proper rest, I took a quick shower and tried to sleep in as soon as possible while activating alarms on both my iPhones. The last thing I'd want to see happen was to oversleep and miss this race altogether.

Race Day (17 Jan)
Fortunately, I managed to awaken at 3am sharp. Taken bread with half a glass of chilled 100Plus, and started making my way to the shuttle bus pickup point, a 25-minute walk from my residence. Reached the race precinct at East Coast Park's Big Splash around 4.35am, and the race pen opened at 5am sharp.

Started in wave 1 at 5.30am. Knowing my body condition would not be anywhere near to achieving a PB, I maintained a slow 6:20-6:30 pace for the first 10km. Taken the first hydration at the 12km water point, and at each point thereafter. The weather wasn't as humid as I'd expected, and there was little or no congestion throughout the entire route. A pity that I was not able to take full advantage of these positives, and started walking after 17km mark. The last 4km seemed like eternity despite my brisk walk/slow jog combination.

I'm sure many participants had an issue with the final U-turn between 19-20km. It was a muddy patch (not that it mattered, since I was already walking at that point). Shortly after this U-turn, I realised Team Pink Apple's 2 hour 30 minute pacers were right behind me. Thanks to their encouragement and motivation, I pushed on and completed the race with an unofficial nett timing of 2:24:05 as given by the Racetime SMS notification.

While most events had kept to the usual formula of isotonic drinks (think Pocari Sweat Run), Pink Apple ventured into uncharted territories with UFC Refresh as the main hydration sponsor. Personally, I felt the coconut drink's aftertaste was good and kept me going for a little longer, although I'd still prefer 100Plus over this on any other day.

Medal quality was decent, as what you would expect from an ELM medal.

Post-Race Reflections
Sure, it was a 6-minute improvement from December's SCMS (2:30:56). Yet in all fairness, the latter's conditions were far tougher with the Highway of Hell posing a challenge to even the most prepared.

Moral of the story? Don't compromise on quality of sleep the night before race day. It will have a drastic effect on your performance, as I had learnt the hard way. Am thankful to come through safety in one piece, there is always the next race to better your PB!

Overall, Brooks Run Happy 2016 might be one of the most low-profile races I'd participated till date. However, the race experience is among one of the best too. Probably because the runners' turnout was relatively low - when I passed the start point on the opposite side, the 5km run was about to commence yet the race pen was not even half full! There was sufficient hydration at every single water point, though it would be good to provide more water as an alternative for those who didn't like the UFC Refresh coconut drink.

Ratings
- Pre-race: 7.5/10 (smooth registration, scale of REPC is on the opposite end of SCMS)

- Race precinct: 9/10 (simple set-up, water provided for participants who wanted to get a quick sip before the race proper)

- Race: 9.5/10 (the ECP route was wide enough to accommodate all participants even after the 10km/5km runners joined, no issues with hydration though more water would be perfect)

- Post-race: 9.2/10 (decent ELM medal & unconventional design, collection of finisher's entitlements was a smooth process)

Overall: 8.8/10 - A contender for Best Race of 2016 perhaps?

Starting 2016 on the right note.

Last month, I plotted a new half-marathon running route from my residence to East Coast Park. It is a welcome change from my previous route via Bedok Reservoir Park / Bedok Park Connector, as you get to take in the sights of the city skyline along Helix Bridge and Gardens By The Bay. In addition, the route's gradient is generally flat, save for the flight of stairs up & down Helix Bridge and a mild upslope at East Coast Park Area A.

The cool weather provided a great opportunity for runners to achieve a first Personal Best of the new year. Bettered my old unofficial PB (2:21:44) by more than six minutes, but was so agonisingly close to breaking the 2 hour 15 minute threshold. Well, shall see if I could achieve that during Brooks Run Happy in a fortnight's time!

Some updates from my earlier post:

1) 2015 running mileage

Squeezed in three runs on the 26th, 27th and New Year's Eve to bring the grand total to 726km. Didn't achieve the targeted triple 7 for the year, but I knew I have been putting in consistent effort to clock more miles despite the hectic work schedule. So no regrets here.


2) 2016 resolutions

Besides to complete my first ever full marathon, I have set a relatively conservative target to cover 800km for 2016. Translates to about 67km per month, which should be achievable if I stick to my usual Sunday long runs (with the occasional Saturday short run).

Will be turning in early for tonight. Have a great week ahead readers! ^_^

The transition begins here.

Hi Readers :)

So, I have made the decision to retire my decade-old blog http://dont-tell-me.blogspot.sg/. Looking back at the very first post on 22nd August 2004, I couldn't help but feel amused by the way I expressed myself at the tender age of 15.

Fast forward to 2015, age 26. Acquaintances were aplenty, but those whom I still keep in contact with till today are far and few between. This can be attributed to my packed work schedule since the turn of 2015. My typical weekday starts at 6.30am, and only ends after 1am. It was never gonna be easy to cope with two jobs from the beginning. I know I'll have to persevere and hang in there, till my personal financial issues have been satisfactorily resolved.

Since July 2015, I have been putting in painstaking effort to plan my monthly budget on a daily basis. As the saying goes - "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". Six months down the road, I'm glad to see that for the first time, there will be a decent surplus for December with one week remaining.

Clubbing days are long history, though I still keep myself up-to-date with the latest Electronic Dance Music (EDM) from time to time.

There is also one activity which I cannot do without despite my busy schedule: running. As of today, my total mileage for 2015 stands at 693km. That is still some 80 kilometres short of my intended target of 777. Will put in more effort during the upcoming Christmas and New Year period, targeting to push the grand total above 720.

Have signed up for three running events in 2016 so far (more to come):

1) Brooks Run Happy - 17th January (HM 21km)
2) Green Corridor Run - 6th March (10.5km trail)
3) OSIM Sundown Marathon - 28th May (HM 21km)

My goal for 2016 is to complete a full marathon, which will most likely happen during Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2016. Will continue training hard to make this goal a reality.

Alright. Gotta return to my work for now. Stay tuned for more updates!