It’s been quite awhile (relatively) since I’ve last participated in a race. This was therefore an enjoyable experience, despite a variety of aspects that could be improved. As always, I will try to provide an objective account of the the race, though you may choose to view my personal blog here 🙂 Do keep a look out for the font in italics that I feel are aspects many runners would take interest in.

Race Category
10km for me! Or maybe more…?;) Read more here.

Pre-Race Matters
Race Entry Pack Collection (REPC) was held from the 16 to 17 July from 11am-7pm at Velocity. A pretty convenient location, yet queues were lengthy during the first day. (Note to all: minimise collection of race packs during the first few hours of the first day of any REPC if you’d like to avoid the crowd.) Race tee printing was available, though waiting times were arguably unbearable.

What were the runner’s entitlements? An Asics running tee, including other goodies were included. Not forgetting a lucky draw chance to win a trip to Japan. If you were a past-participant from 2012-2015, you’d receive an exclusive Pocari Sweat jacket!

The Race Precinct
Baggage deposit, restrooms and ample hydration was available at the race precinct – the Floating Platform. The location is definitely a reminder of the 24km route march to many of the younger guys that have been through Basic Military Training during their National Service.

The Race
I entered the start pen just before 6.30pm and managed to start in the second wave, which was flagged off about 6mins after the first wave was flagged-off at 6.30pm. The race route of the 10km category would take participants past the Esplanade to Fullerton Road, weaving through Marina Bay Sands and looping at Gardens by the Bay (East). It would then conclude back at The Float at Marina Bay. Notable challenges would definitely be the bottlenecks and hairpin turns (no exaggerations here) at multiple occasions, such as the wooden boardwalk near Marina Bay Sands. Furthermore, holding a race through multiple tourist attractions in the evening (as opposed to typical early morning runs) meant that there were crowds that runners had to contend with. Last but not least, with runners moving in both directions on the same portion of the route, it certainly was potential hazard and contributed to the congestion of the route. The saving grace, in my opinion, was the beautiful skyline and comfortable cool weather (there was an initial light drizzle before the race commenced).

The race offered hydration stations at appropriately spaced-out points. There was definitely ample Pocari Sweat available, in addition to plain water. My only qualm was that hydration was served in plastic cups (as opposed to paper cups). This meant their top ends could not be pinched together (a feature that makes drinking while running tremendously easier).

Distance markers were spread out throughout the route at every kilometre. Some participants fedback that the race was longer than 10km. Personally, my Garmin FR15 did register a slightly longer route (10.2km~), though I do recognise that running through the Central Business District and under bridges/overpasses does distort the GPS signal as well.

Post-Race
I was rewarded with an ELM Finisher’s Medal, a banana and a bottle of Pocari Sweat. There were a variety of post-race activities to engage in, such as performances and an ambassadors’ talkshow. Race results were subsequently released 3 days after the race.

That’s all for me for this review. Hope it was informative and accurate! If you’re interested, you may view my JustRunLah! review of the 2015 edition of the race here. You could also check out my personal blog here 🙂

Cover photo credit: Pocari Sweat Run’s webpage.

No run is a bad run. Although I did quite a bad timing this time as compared to my previous 2 half marathons. I was quite sad about it at first because I walk a lot in this run but then I have to tell myself that no run is a bad run because a run is better than no run at all. Congrats to Chee Beng getting 4th position in the half marathon and congrats to Eugene for getting PB! ? Congratulations to all runners for completing the run! Thank you all my running friends for giving me advices, encouragement and motivation! Hopefully my next half marathon next weekend at SCMKL will be better! ?

Was figuring what went wrong for me that cause me to walk a lot in this run. Maybe is because I was going faster than my usual pace at the start. Both overestimated myself and underestimated the run this time. After Sundown Marathon, I didn’t really run any run more than 10km. Or I was too focus on a running method landing with the front part of the foot causing my calves to be super tired which I didn’t have proper or enough training. Or I was screaming inside because of the pole class yesterday which must be the reason that causes both my shoulder to ache since I woke up so while I run I need to do some arm/shoulder stretch. We did something called the scissors climb yesterday where I need to use my arm strength to pull myself up the pole.

There’s the Ekiden half marathon category, the half marathon and 10km. The flag off for the Ekiden is at 5am and flag off for the half marathon is at 5.15am. The sky is clear, the moon can be seen and is in crescent shape. July says it is as if the moon is smiling at us ? But it is very humid and I’m sweating a lot just by standing still and waiting for the flag off.

While I was running along the way, I saw many female runners who ran in sports bra ? I would want to run in sports bra too because of Singapore humid weather but I’m all fats ? And it’s always my dream to achieve abs, I don’t need the 6 pack abs but the two super nice vertical line is very good already! However it will always be a dream if I keep on eating what I’m eating ? Jordan Yeoh(Or someone else) says its 80% diet and 20% fitness. I seriously need to do something about it because I’m running YOLO run in October ?

There is not a lot of runners running this CSC run as compared to other runs and the participants for Ekiden is very very little.

There were pacers to follow but I didn’t manage to follow even the slowest group of pacers as they overtake me shortly after 10km. And desperately seeing them vanishing makes me feel so terrible. Sabrina is the pacer of 2hr10mins, it’s nice to have a friend that is the pacer right? But I can’t manage to follow Sabrina as her pace as it is too fast for me. I’ll need to be realistic with following the timing group of the pacers next time, because I lost them even before 2km and find myself very breathless and tired. Maybe if it is a 5km run then I can try something like that.

My feet usually don’t get wet with sweat, but this time, I don’t know why my socks is all wet. I’m very wet as if I was soaked in the rain. Just a little squeeze on my shorts and the sweat drips out, it’s shiok to see so much sweat ?

(Photo Credit: Pris Chew)

There’s many water stations and I simply love the cold water. Nice! Most runners will really appreciate the cold water ? The last part when we completed the run, we get our finisher tee, medal, banana, a can of isotonic drink and ice cold towel! Love it! ? Although there’s photo booth, but by the time I came back there’s a long queue for it already so I didn’t go and queue but my friends sure get nice photos because they ended early and there’s no queue at the photo booth ? That’s one of the perks of being fast runner other than getting podiums ?

I like the medal, it’s nice and this run is torturous to me, this medal is also not an easy earn for me.

But actually I don’t really like the finisher tee and the race singlet, think it’s because of the colour. So I wore my own top for the run ?

After the run, we went to Starbucks for breakfast ?

[Some thoughts]

The more I run, the more I realise I didn’t push myself to run hard enough. The more I run, the more I don’t understand running. The more I run, the more I don’t know what do I want to achieve through running. I think I’m undergoing what I would call a “running crisis”.

Today marks the last day of July. And it’s a eventful month and I’ve collected 4 beautiful medals ?

[One day before race]
I’ll consider this a runcation as July and me is having a staycation at Rendezvous Hotel. Although it’s about a 20mins walk to the flag off venue @ The Float, but what is 20mins walk to runners who is going to run a half marathon afterwards? ???

I think that I’m also sort of having this love hate kinda thing with pole. I dread to miss class and I dread to attend class. Running a half marathon next day is not easy with the stretching and core workouts done in pole class, the bruises and soreness that is always guaranteed the next day is really a torture just to thinks about ? It’s like we always complains of the pain and ache but then after that feels that all the torture is worth it. It’s the polemates and pole instructor that keeps me going. Without them, I think I wouldn’t have continued after the first few lessons. So, before start of class yesterday I tell my pole instructor: Please go easy on me. I’m running a half marathon tomorrow ? Then she said: Then how? Every week you have runs and marathons? Ok, she’s not very happy about that. She is a very good instructor, very supportive and encouraging but I think I’m really not a very good student. Pole class will never be easy no matter what, so I’ll just do what I have to ? Just going to cry father cry mother tomorrow again ?

So after pole class, I head down to Rendezvous directly to meet July, Sabrina and Yiheng for dinner then we went to llao llao for desserts with Justina and Chee Beng too ? Eat because tomorrow gotta run! ?

I must have been mad to even register for this in the first place! Could it be mid-life crisis? Probably so.  Or maybe a sense of adventure?

To start off, I was not exactly a seasoned and competitive runner, having taken up running again from mid-2014 onwards (a break of probably more than 8 years) for health purposes. To motivate myself (to earn all the nice medals), I participated in a few 10k, half-marathons and a marathon race.

To start off, I was not exactly a seasoned and competitive runner, having taken up running again from mid-2014 onwards (a break of probably more than 8 years) for health purposes. To motivate myself (to earn all the nice medals), I participated in a few 10k, half-marathons and a marathon race.

But having registered for the ultra-marathon, I pushed myself to train harder. In the two months leading up to the 23rd July 2016 ultra-marathon, I had increased my weekly mileage to 40 – 45km, which was about all the limited time I could spare, besides juggling with work and family life. I even got myself a new pair of racing sunglasses, presumably to shield my eyes from the sun during the ultra-marathon, since the race was to stretch into the late afternoon. I even planned how to tackle the 12 rounds (each loop 4.3km), along the lines of four phases consisting 3 rounds each, with a break in between each phase to recover my breath, rest my legs and refuel.

But having registered for the ultra-marathon, I pushed myself to train harder. In the two months leading up to the 23rd July 2016 ultra-marathon, I had increased my weekly mileage to 40 – 45km, which was about all the limited time I could spare, besides juggling with work and family life. I even got myself a new pair of racing sunglasses, presumably to shield my eyes from the sun during the ultra-marathon, since the race was to stretch into the late afternoon. I even planned how to tackle the 12 rounds (each loop 4.3km), along the lines of four phases consisting 3 rounds each, with a break in between each phase to recover my breath, rest my legs and refuel.

The day finally came. I was extremely excited as I made my way to Bedok Reservoir at 6am in the morning. The last time I ran at this location was in 2014, at the Tampines Run 10km. So I was not exactly unfamiliar with the terrain. I recalled it was mostly sandy trail round the reservoir. Not exactly fun to run on as the little rocks and sand will try to sneak into your socks and shoes!

The day finally came. I was extremely excited as I made my way to Bedok Reservoir at 6am in the morning. The last time I ran at this location was in 2014, at the Tampines Run 10km. So I was not exactly unfamiliar with the terrain. I recalled it was mostly sandy trail round the reservoir. Not exactly fun to run on as the little rocks and sand will try to sneak into your socks and shoes!

When I reached Bedok Reservoir, there was already a small crowd of runners gathering, collecting their bibs, race singlets and preparing themselves. The atmosphere was jovial. I placed my special needs bag at one of the tables and checked through the items: 10 packets of GU gel, a 2L bottle of Pocari Sweat sports drink, sun screen spray, extra socks, etc. Thereafter, all of us took a group photograph before being flagged off at 7am sharp. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins as I started out on my 1st loop enthusiastically. But I managed to calm myself down and slow down my pace to a mere jog to conserve energy for the remaining 11 loops.  Somewhere through my 4th or 5th loop, it had started to rain rather heavily. I thought this benefited the runners as we do not have to contend with the searing hot Singapore weather. At the end of my 6th loop, I saw my wife and kids waiting by the starting point. They were there to support me. I was very touched and happy. I took a photograph with my family, before going off on my 7th loop.

During the 7th loop, the rain ceased and the sun came out. The sudden change from a cold morning to a hot late morning/noon did made a great difference! The hot sun started to take a toll on me as my pace started to slow down considerably. My legs also started to show signs of muscle cramps and I had to rest longer than expected at the start point for every subsequent loops. I must say the food spread provided by the organizers was good, i.e. bananas, bread, cup noodles, biscuits, watermelons, etc. I had a good time gobbling down bananas, watermelons and chocolate wafers!

Going round in loops around the reservoir could really drive one crazy. Especially if it took hours to do so. It really requires plenty of physical and mental strength to complete this ultra-marathon. While the early afternoon was hot, towards the end of my final 12th loop, dark heavy clouds gathered once more at the reservoir, providing a cool environment to run in. I think this helped a lot and I managed to cross the finishing line at 9h 17mins with a distance of 51.6km. With my shaky legs, I happily waddled over to the registration table to collect my medal and took a standard victory photograph, posing with my hard-earned medal.

This ultra-marathon was a very wonderful experience for me, in terms of realising that I could push my limits to complete one and showing me that nothing is impossible, so long one’s mind is strong and focused on the objective.

Would I take part in another ultra-marathon? I do not know. All I want now is to have a good rest before thinking about the next race. And also many thanks to Running Shots for taking so many nice pictures during the race. I appreciate the efforts as these photographs captured wonderful memories of my first ultra-marathon.

Cheers!!

Sickness and injury are the twin nemesis of all runners.  Once you are hit with either of these, it takes humility to accept the slowdown and focus on recovery and rehabilitation. This happened to me recently, and I entered this Pocari Sweat Run 2016 with a half-rehabilitated knee.  Here was my journey.

Race Pack Collection

The REPC was scheduled to be on 16 and 17 July, a week before race day.  I vaguely remembered experiencing a long queue time last year.  This year, I went on Saturday after lunch to pick up my race pack.  When I arrived, this was what I saw:

The queue snaked all the way from the atrium to outside of Novena Square.  There and then, I had to decide to stay on or come back the next day.  Still feeling upset that I wasn’t able to collect my race singlet due to a shipment problem, I gave up and decided to head home. When I returned the next day, it just took me a mere 5mins to get my race pack. Kudos to the organisers for ensuring that the queueing time was drastically reduced.  I almost sweared that I would not sign up for Pocari next year for the ‘bad experience’ but their service recovery was excellent.  They gave me an ASICS shoe bag in place of the singlet. So, I was an appeased customer!

Race Day

For those of you who have been following my postings here and on Instagram (@twtwriter), you would have known that I reported my knee injury during the OSIM Sundown.  This Pocari Sweat Race was already registered long before the injury so I just had to run; just thankful that it was only 5km. Prior to race day, I have been exploring various methods to rehabilitate myself so that I don’t have to take NSAIDS (Non-Steroid Anti-inflammatory drugs) to stave off the pain.  I also strengthened my quads and hamstrings; basically the muscle groups that worked my knee.  These rehabilitative exercises had helped to prepare me for this day.  I set myself a target of no more than 35mins (although my PR for 5km is 27mins)

Taking a ride from a friend, my son and I arrived at the race village at the Float and made our way to the starting pen (including the mandatory visit to the potable loos first of course) after a brief warm-up.  En route to the venue, it was drizzling and every runner was hoping the skies would clear before 6pm. At around 5.30pm, the clouds thankfully cleared and the temperature dipped to 25degC to give us a cool start to this edition of the Pocari Sweat Run 2016.  The 5km runners were flagged off first.

After asking my son to run ahead of me, I strategised by doing a 5min jog+ 1min walk to ensure that I did not over-stress my knee and and maintained some decent momentum to last the distance.  It was a humbling experience to run/walk in this way throughout the 5km; particularly so when runners began to overtake me when I was doing the 1min walk. I had to resist the urge to change my strategy and pace. I stuck to my 7min jog pace throughout and it worked fine.

The weather was so awesome that even my run/walk routine was rather enjoyable.  I increased the pace slightly as the distance increased. The hydration point for the 5km was only at the 2km mark and I gulped down just one cup of Pocari.  I overtook the pink balloon pacers and was ahead of them from mid point onwards. Since it was a short race, there weren’t many cheering parties.  The route was also mixed with many other non-racing runners and weekend folks enjoying the sights of Marina Bay.  The sea of blues along the entire route was quite a sight to behold.  Even those who did not manage to get this year’s race singlet donned the previous year’s apparel just to be one with the rest of the blues. Everyone seems to be very happy, partly thanks to the cool evening.

Nearing the last stretch of the route, I spotted the orange balloons who were the 35min pacers.  I was trying to spot them so that I can be sure of doing 35mins.  The last km saw the climb up the road next to the helix bridge and many runners slowed to just a walk; this was expected as 5km run usually comprised of not-so-seasoned runners (except for that few elite runners at the starting line-up who were vying for a place on the podium.)  I found myself opening my stride up the bridge as I overtook the orange pacers.  Applauding and thanking them, I went on to complete the last 5km in a reasonably good pace. Running through the finishing arch, I saw my gun time was about 34mins.   When I checked my GPS watch, this was what I got (unofficial results) – which was a pleasant surprise considering I was still nursing a recovering knee.

When the official results were released (the next day) my nett time was about 33:56 which exceeded my set target.  However, what’s more important to me was that it was a easy run; giving me hope that I could be recovering well from my injury (discounting the fact that I was wearing a knee brace and took walking breaks along the way.)  I still think an overall 6:45min/km was a decent pace.

Post Race Recovery

After crossing the finish line, I picked up my Pocari drink, banana and the finisher medal. This year, they did not give out any finisher tee but instead provided all loyalty runners with a Pocari windbreaker jacket.  After the run, it’s warming down time and photo taking. Unfortunately, most of my running friends were in the 10km category so I took a couple of photos with my son, Austin and went home happily.  He, incidentally, finished a full 5mins ahead of me, and he didn’t train at all – the advantage of being young and strong!

When I went home to count my medals, it was the 17th that I had accumulated since I started joining races in Dec 2014.  Then, I chose the blogging name “Beyond55” and now this race marked a new milestone for me.  Even though I am nursing an injury, I continue to be optimistic to make a full recovery to run better (not necessarily faster).  I have learnt from this recovery process that running for the long haul requires strength and not speed. I have also realised that to run strong does not mean running often or covering longer distances, it is about getting myself adequately prepped and trained to be a more efficient, versatile and stronger runner.

Looking back over the last 2.5 months of rehabilitation and recovery, there are many lessons (shall save that for another post) learned. I know I am on the road to recovery. Although my knee has not regained its full strength and function, I am still glad to run this 5k pain-free at a slower pace.  The runner in me wants to go further and faster; sign up for more races and resume normal training, but I have to say no to the inner voice.  Having experienced the pain of injury; I am not going to compromise on the recovery process.  So I am going to go slow; but I am going to be stronger – eventually.

Stay tuned for my next post 🙂

This is in fact a joint collaboration of blog by me and Francis and the reason will become obvious as you read through.  Two Saturdays ago, I had queued for 40 minutes in a very long queue running from outside of Novena Square snaking down the stairs into the mall to collect the race pack.  So I was looking forward to the Pocari Sweat run in some ways…

And that Sunday, Francis and I had completed our aquathlon at OCC.  I wrote about the small mishap with the bird shit falling into the plate of curry I had.  In the blog, I happened to say if it was an omen of something to come.  Actually, that day, when we were walking back to the car park, I suddenly found I was hindered in my steps somehow when I walked.  Then I realized my slipper strap had broke.  I still didn’t think too much.  I went back and when I was trying to pour myself a glass of water, I fumbled uncharacteristically and broke the glass.  I thought I was just too clumsy somehow.  (It was only later days when I reflected and wondered why all coincidental incidents were so ‘coincidental’…)

After taking a short nap, I went about my usual stuff on weekend.  So I gave my mum a call just to check if she had taken her dinner at around 5.30 pm.  She didn’t answer her call.  I thought she might have gone out with my other brothers.  A few minutes later, a stranger called me and said that my mum had had a fall and she was bleeding profusely.  Any thought it would be a scam was broken when I heard my mum’s voice.  The kind stranger had called an ambulance.  I said I would go down immediately, but it was still a distance, basically, from North to near Central.  Anyway, to cut that long story short, my mum was admitted to SGH for observation after being in the emergency ward for close to 7 hours.  I stood mostly for the 7 hours at the emergency ward waiting for her examination to complete.

With God’s blessings, there were no internal bleeding but she had fractured her facial bones near the eyes in a few places so she had very swollen eye and possible long term effect of sunken left eye.  It was about 2 am before I reached home.  The next morning, I drove to fetch her back home and made some arrangements, staying with her most of the day and the following day.   I went for a 3.5 km run on Tuesday evening but found I was very low in energy somehow.  That night, the fever started and the coughing got worse.    I ignored both, thinking it was just the usual flu.  I took some of my son’s medicine, after observing that his and my mum’s coughing mixture just issued were the same.  Anyway, by Friday, I found that my fever was not subsiding – usually it went away when I finished a day of panadol.  Temperature reached a peak of 38.8, but was usually at 38.5 degrees celcius.  I decided to see the doctor on Friday.

Earlier that week, my running friend Chia had suggested I DNS for Pocari Sweat Run.  I had said I didn’t know how to DNS.  At the back of my mind, I was thinking that if I consumed the medicine by the doctor, I would be fine.  The doc agreed that I must have picked up a virus while at the hospital.  At the same time I did mention to the doc that I was planning to run a 10 km race.  She was a young doc and she was wearing a mask when she replied that ‘don’t play play, the virus can attack the heart, and you can die, so don’t run’.  I knew she was smiling behind her mask as she said this.  I smiled back, but I was thinking if my fever is gone, I would still try.  How can I DNS ?  She also said if my fever didn’t subside by Monday then she would have to test my blood for dengue.  Nighttime, I took temperature and it was 37.1, so I was very optimistic.  (Incidentally, the cough mixture was also the same – Singapore clinics had the same supplier.)

Unfortunately or fortunately I don’t really know.  I woke up on Saturday morning feeling in the worst state possible, still feeling feverish and weak.  Temperature above 38 degrees.   I didn’t want to let my bib go to waste.  My friend Chia already proposed  Francis to run on my behalf on FB.  He was willing.  I called him and asked if he felt ready to run because I knew he didn’t train recently for any race other than last week’s.  He said he would come down and take over the bib.  If there was a proper process for him to take over, I would have followed but this was last minute.  I was a universal blood donor type so anyone taking mine would still be quite safe.  Just as precaution, I told him to change the NOK information on the bib.  My last words to him that day was ‘enjoy the race’.   And so the following is Francis’ review of the race itself.

Pre-race – When Chia suggested over facebook that I take over the slot from CL aka KenJoe as he was having a nasty fever, I was pretty ready despite the fact that I’ve only been running only 5km for last few weeks. – So when CL text me on Sat morning that he is not able to run, I am more than happy to run on his behalf. Since he wasn’t feeling very well, I decided to pick it up from him at his place so that he can have ample rest. – I went for a swim on Sat morning and did some body workout in the gym that morning in anticipation of the 10km run.

1 of 3

Actual Race – 5.30pm: I arrived at the floating platform at 5.30pm and noticed that the 5km participants only just started to gather at the starting point. So I decided to walk around the vicinity and waited along the starting route for the 5km race to start. Took my energy gel half an hour before the race as a routine (advice by CL in fact and I think it did help). 6.00pm: As I know that Chia will be running the 5km, I was also hoping to get a snap of him starting off the block, which I did and sent it to him right after that! 6.05pm: I started to walk towards the starting area and there was a bottleneck at the entrance area where the checks are happening to ensure that only runners with tags are allowed to enter. It took me 10mins just to get into the starting lane (refer to photo on FB). 6.15pm: Fitness First Instructors lead a warm up session, however it was so squeezy that no one hardly participated other than those in front I guess. The MC also introduced the pacers and I was hoping to follow at least the 60mins pacers (orange balloons) and stay in front of the 65min pacers (Pink balloons).

6:30pm onwards: Finally the race started and as expected, the path is pretty narrow at the beginning, so the start was a bit slow but I did my best to try to run my usual pace by overtaking on the right side and sometimes running on the grass. As a side note: I didn’t run well during my Sundown 10km in May as I stopped and walked for about 1km. This is partly due to the lack of training (due to an injury) and I wasn’t feeling well that evening too! Furthermore, I did not take any energy gel for that race, thinking that the energy patch that I’ve bought will do the trick, but unfortunately it doesn’t work for me. 2km Mark: So this time, I am determined not to stop and to run my usual pace. I started well because I started about 100m from the starting block, I was really motivated when I saw the pink ballons (65mins pacer) and I managed to run past them around the 2km mark! 5km Mark: The next target was to catch the 60mins pacers and at around the 5km mark, I managed to catch a glimpse of them. However, I wasn’t able to catch with them as they were too fast for me no matter how hard I tried! So my next thought will be in trying to avoid the pink balloons(65mins pacer) and oh boy, that really motivated me to open up my legs to run harder (may not be faster though!).

It was also interesting to see a gentleman running in full business suit and he was much faster than me by miles ahead at the opposite end of the returning route! Along the way, I was really happy to enjoy the Pocari energy drink at least 4 times just along the 10km distance. In fact from all my 10km races so far, this race had the best drink frequency and I think it really helps! 7km: By the time I hit the 7km mark, I took another energy gel (as my usual routine) and that provided the boost for me to complete the rest of the distance I believe. I also saw a pair of runners (both male) running together with their hands looping together with a sting. They called themselves the bonding runners so as their shirt said, and are running for a good cause. My immediate reflection is “You will never run alone!” 9km: I was pretty tired at this time but somehow I pressed on since I’ve come this far. Furthermore, I kept telling myself that I have to be ahead of the 65mins pacers, so I should’t stop. The last lap was a tough one, esp running up the bridge before making the U turn back into the floating platform. Finish Line: I made it and yes, the pink balloons are still behind me! I made it in 1 hour and 1 min. Not my personal best, but considered the lack of training, I am pretty happy with the result. My thoughts at that time went to CL, So I decided to dedicate this run to him and posted the timing on the Facebook. I hope his will be back to his usual best and start running again! – end of review by Francis.

And I’ll end this with a final thought for this week.  Running is a journey.  In this journey, running can also bring you connection, to friends and to people whom you will get to know better.  Francis had earned the nice medal and thank him for stepping in to help  when needed.  I get to know both Francis and Chia better through running.  I also got re-connected to another ex-colleague when she participated in another running event that weekend.  Running is also about living.  Today I may need to rest…  But I live to run another day, will you join the journey too ?