Gotta love those unsightly mornings when the alarm goes off at 5.45am, which is a good 3 hours before our typical mornings even start. Each time we race we wake up with the same question on our lips “why oh why are we doing this”. Then we remember, it’s the experience, the location, the camaraderie and a great way to participate in local events and hang around with the locals.

As an expat it’s easy to disappear into my bubble with all my condo expat friends but I love this country and participating in local events is one small way of integrating a little further into the local culture.

Moving onto the race itself, I’m a big fan of Jurong Lake Park. The first time we visited was in 2014 when we participated in the 2.5km Jurong Lake running race with our then 5 years old daughter. Being an afternoon race we enjoyed the post-race activities, the setting sun the beautiful landscapes, pagodas and bridges.

Located in the western part of Singapore, the Park was originally a freshwater swamp forest which was eventually cleared in the 1950s for agriculture. It was then turned into an industrial site followed by high-density estates until 1975 when the park was developed. Earlier this year the park commenced closure for renovations leaving only the nearby Chinese and Japanese Gardens open to visitors. This race was timely to have one more visit in such delightful surroundings. The park is anticipated to reopen in 2018.

Participating in the 10km category with my hubby, John and friend, Remek (my partners in pain for this series), we looped the lake twice as part of the running route.

Heading west the route sidled the 7 storey tall pagoda known as Ru Yun T’a and proceeded its circular direction around the lake past several areas that were already boarded-up indicating tat renovations are already underway.

The glaring rising sun was somewhat uncomfortable and the heat more unbearable than usual. Perhaps a sign that my fitness was lagging. That’s what happens when life gets in the way and training takes a step back.

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Whilst there were portions of roadside running, there were several ideal photographic opportunities. I particularly liked the view of the Pagoda Twins and Bain Hong Qiao Bridge (the White Rainbow) with the lake in the foreground and framed by greenery.

Not having been able to train for 10km distance all my 5km training sessions were evident in the race as I managed to cover that distance comfortably and then struggled through the rest of it. However, whilst not particularly fast I still managed to do better by 9 minutes when compared to the first Performance Series race in Punggol.

Finishing the race came as a relief, although the bottle neck at the timing mat was unfortunate due to muddy strips between the end and the finisher medal collection area. The organisers did their best under the circumstances to provide cardboard planks to walk on. I happily saved my new runners.

With our category finished we now turned our attention to Michelle (Remek’s daughter) who ran on her own in the 5km category.

In overall the race was well done but perhaps one contention I had was the lack of water at all the hydration points. Lucozade may be a major sponsor but when I’m thirsty and sweating profusely in a 10km run I am looking for water to hydrate not sugar loaded drinks. This was the same issue at the Punggol Waterway race back in May. It seems that I may need to carry my own water at the next one although I would prefer not to carry the extra weight.

With two out of 5 races completed, I look forward to the Gardens by the Bay race in August. It’s on familiar ground and much closer to home. I may get to sleep in an extra 15 minutes. Here’s hoping.

Cheers

It’s been a while since I’ve run on familiar territory. It was almost like homecoming when John and I exited the cab at 6am at the Nicoll Hwy MRT to join our fellow competitors for a 10km race.

In the three years that we’ve been racing, this is the first time we started a race so early in the morning. It was a pleasant change to know that most of the race will be complete before the sun has even started rising.

With a 6.30am flag-off that was so punctual we didn’t even realize the gun has gone off. Perhaps a result of the early hour and caffeine deficiency. Luckily we were in the second wave giving us enough time to shake off any leftover grogginess and wind our bodies and minds up for the forthcoming race.

We started east on Nicoll Hwy, turned right towards the Stadium, across the Tanjong Rhu Bridge and just as we reached behind the Tanjong Rhu condo was the first water station. Since I carried my own water this time, I chose not to stop and kept going. John was well ahead already. His lightweight frame and long legs certainly give him an advantage.

From here we ran beneath Benjamin Sheares Bridge, through Gardens by the Bay East, across the Marina Barrage and alongside the Marina Bay at which point I had my first stop to walk. I made it through to 5.6km. Not surprising that my body was not able to go beyond that since most of this year has been a rollercoaster ride with my training.

I certainly was not prepared for 10km but unfortunately when I choose to register for races during the early bird period, I can never foresee what will come to pass in the upcoming months and the havoc it might wreak on my training sessions. So when any event comes around, my attitude is just simply do whatever it takes to get to the end, regardless of time or distance. One day things might turn around.

For now I accepted that I’d be jogging/walking the remainder of this race. As a prolific photographer though I was easily distracted by the rising sun behind the Singapore Flyer and whilst I have taken hundreds of photos of the ArtScience Museum, Helix Bridge, City skyline and Marina Bay Sands it just never seems to be enough. So whilst I was walking and resting my weary legs, I took one more photo. Ok maybe, a few more. How can you not. This is such a spectacular and modern city.

As I rounded the flyer and F1 Pit, I knew it was a home run. With a couple of kilometers left and sufficient walk and rest, I picked myself up and committed to finishing with a slow steady jog and no more walking. Very happy to see the finish line and John waiting at the end, I collected my finisher medal, guzzled a 100Plus and sat down satisfied with the morning’s event.

The bus was conveniently located opposite the race village and made our way home for a hearty breakfast and couple of coffees.

Cheers

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This was a race of significance. To my wife, it was going to be her first 10km run. To me, this was the place I got my very first race medal. Just looking this place brings back memories of grit, endurance and how far my fitness journey has brought me. This also happens to be the earliest run we have ever taken part at 6.30am in the morning. So many firsts.

Whenever you have races that early, logistics is always an issue. With the exception of those staying near the city centre with direct mrt access, the rest of us would either have to drive or take a taxi down. In terms of carbon footprint, there’s a paradox. I drove because I needed to go to a place to run. Would it be possible for LTA to coordinate MRT timings when it comes to race events like these? Or maybe the organisers can decide on a slightly later timing like 6.45am? But if the start time was delayed, what’s going to happen with the road closures? I don’t have all the answers but I do know we will be driving down to park at The Concourse. Why? We found this on the internet from a popular website.

The Concourse

SAT
$2.14 for 1st hr, $1.07 for next subsequent 30min from 7am to 12pm, $1.07/entry from 12pm to 7am the following day

SUN / PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
$1.07/entry from 7am to 7am the following day

Unfortunately, what greeted us at the entrance of The Concourse was a huge disappointment. There was no way to go inside the carpark. Thankfully, we didn’t go down the sloping entrance to where the gantry was. I really pitied the poor chap who was right up front, he had to reverse all the way back upslope and watch for cars behind him. Moral of the story? Don’t believe everything on the internet. It might be correct yesterday but not today.

When the organisers said that the event is going to take place at Nicoll highway, I didn’t expect the run to be on the actual Nicoll highway itself. That’s another first for us. We managed to reach the start point at exactly 6.30am despite the parking hiccup.

Since we were right at the rear, I couldn’t exactly hear what the MC was talking about. But we were definitely the last batch to go. I always love running in the city. Everywhere you turned the scenery was just beautiful. Yet again, this presents another paradox. I mean I am supposed to be running my fastest in a race right? But yet at the same time, I would also like to appreciate the scenery. So do you go fast or take it slow? For me it was a series of stop, appreciate, take photo and run fast. Something like shuttle run but on a longer distance.

This has got to be one of the most scenic race routes I have ever taken. Everywhere you go, you are always beside a waterway. I’m beginning to understand why nobody really runs around the National Stadium despite the nice track they have.

Somewhere along the 2km route, I left my wife behind. Yes, as a Spartan, I am not supposed to leave any man behind. But she’s not exactly a man right? Otherwise, how did I manage to take the nice photos below?

It was somewhere towards Marina Barrage that I spotted Spiderman. I also managed to take a photo of him! I wonder how much The Daily Bugle will pay for this photo?

Although this Spiderman wasn’t able to leap from building to building, he was really fast. I wondered why he came from the rear. Problems with parking the car? Or problems with Mary Jane again?

After the Marina Barrage, it was a right turn back into the heart of the city. This time going past Gardens by the bay(South). The last time I went past this Garden by the bay(East) to Gardens by the bay(South) route was during the Osim Sundown. I must say the scenery looks so much nicer during the day.

After going through a couple of races, I realised that the runners for this particular 10km are of a different breed. Most of these runners were really fast or at a similar pace as myself. I rarely saw anyone walking. In fact, quite a number of them had all that fancy smancy running gear as well. This is a group that takes running very seriously. In fact, I met one of them while waiting for my wife at a hut about 500 meters near the end point. Of course, I had to wait for her. Leave no man, er… nobody behind remember? Mostly importantly, I intend to sleep on the bed tonight, not the couch.

Similarly as me, this slightly older gentleman was waiting for someone. In his case, it was his daughter. Since we had plenty of time, he shared with me that he runs almost everyday. Even at the age of 62 years old, he was able to maintain an overall pace of 5 minutes per km. Marathons are no big deal. Looking at him reminded me of my sergeant during my army days. When my sergeant shouted “My Grandfather(mostly Grandmother) can run faster than you!”, he could be right. I had nothing but respect for this senior citizen. #respect #whatareyoudoingat62? #mygrandfatherrunsfasterthanu

Since I had waited for my wife, we finished the race about 8am. Not a bad timing for her first 10km. As for me, my cool running app was able to do a pause and resume. But at a pace of 7 minutes per km, it tells me that there is a huge room for improvement. Will I be able to reach 5 minutes per km in my lifetime? We’ll see. Otherwise, this was a very enjoyable race. Nice cooling weather, very little congestion, beautiful scenery and very good race pack entitlements. The only mood dampener was the shocking $12 parking fee at Park Royal Hotel. No wonder there were empty lots….

This blog post and other adventures can also be found at http://iamspartan6318.blogspot.com

Yesterday was the inaugural run organised by Compressport – its main aim being to bring Singapore’s running community together.  I was excited to be part of this run, which started at Nicoll Highway, one of my favourite race routes.

I decided to sign up for the 10km category, while my husband opted for the 5km run. Participants in the 10km category received Compressport compression calf sleeves, which I was eager to try out.

Race pack collection was at City Square Mall and there were no queues when I went on the Saturday afternoon.  As well as the Compressport calf sleeves, the pack contained the race event singlet and some vouchers from the sponsors.  I must admit, I’ve had better swag in a race pack, but the calf sleeves won me over.

The 10km event flagged off on time at 6.30am.  This is my favourite time to race as it’s generally cooler and you get to see the sun rise as you run.  My husband and I got to the race village a little after 6am.  I headed straight to the pen to warm up and be part of the first wave of runners.  The route took us down Nicoll Highway, past the Singapore Sports Hub, Gardens by the Bay, Marina Barrage and the Olympic Youth Park.

I thoroughly enjoyed the run as it’s a scenic route and some of it is familiar to me from previous races.  The route was generally flat but there were a few sharp bends and slopes along the way.  When the gun went off at start time, I made a conscious effort to hold back and not get swept along with the super-speedy runners, and in my case, be fit to collapse after 3km.  I tried to maintain a steady pace throughout, only starting to speed up when I hit 7km. There were 3 hydration points along the route, which I feel was ample for the run.

Delighted to see the finish line coming into view, I staggered over it just under 57 minutes (unofficial time) and although not a PB for me on this occasion, I was pleased with how I paced myself during the race.  After I’d caught my breath and collected my medal (yay!) and an ice-cold can of 100 Plus, I headed over to the start line where the 5km was about to be flagged off, to cheer on my husband.  While I waited for him, I had a wander around the race village chatting with some of the runners and chilled out at the stage area.

Overall, it was an enjoyable and well-organised race and I’d definitely sign up for next year’s event!

I signed up for the 10 Km race category with Compressport Run 2016 at the early stage. This is Compressport’s inaugural road run in Singapore.  Of course, Compressport is not new to most runners, I would think, and they organized the Compressport Rail Corridor Run (corridor run medal inset in featured photo) back in February which I also participated in.

I am fairly impressed by them and thought it is a more practical race pack that they did this round, though some may still complained of it being minimalist, compared to others. But in reality, you get much more value as you get a pair of calf sleeves which cost more than the early bird entry fees.

I was also early for the race pack collection and so I did get to choose the calf sleeves from at least 4 colors.  I took my favorite color blue.  I heard some friends who were there later didn’t get as many colors to choose, but to be fair, this limitation was stated clearly.  But since I had gotten a red pair of socks before, I was fine with different colors these days.  I could gift them to my sons or my brothers.  The red singlet was strikingly bright and vibrant in my opinion.

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The course was not unique to me though it was still a scenic route.  As my friend put it, if you start running more than 20 races per year, you may have come across most routes available in the city state of Singapore.  Though I was early, I ended up in wave 2 and was flagged off about 5 minutes after wave 1.  Completed the course in 1:09:53, not my best timing.  I guessed I might be suffering from some fatigue somehow.  Had been having a sore throat mid week.   I went right back after collection of the medal and the isotonic drinks and was able to join my family for breakfast even, near my home.  Still have not completely recovered from Plantar Fasciitis as the pain got worse the following day.  I had been following some stretching exercises recommended on youtube.

I’ll leave you with a final thought about running.  I find running or running found me two years ago.  Since then, I’ve run regularly, and signed up for races.  Like life, you can choose to run different races, be it just running races, halfs or marathons, obstacles courses, vertical marathons, aquathons and cycling as what I had done within two years.  But what’s more important is to enjoy the whole process – decision to sign up, train, prepare and race, recover, learn and repeat.  Sometimes you get your PB, sometimes you don’t.  Rare talents get their podium places but we all know that only it’s a handful or at most 10-30 persons who may be vying for podium finishes.   (In this specific race, 10 participants each in open and veteran categories could win prizes.)

But only if you enjoy the process, then you will enjoy running, you will learn to live well, and not merely survive.  On to the next race : The OCC Blueseventy Urban Aquathlon !

(Note : for those who are keen to catch their photos in the race, you could look at https://www.facebook.com/runningshots.sg/ where they have nice photos of races.  At time of release, I saw they have the 5 km race at their website.  More will probably be available over time by other photographers as well.  I’ve decided to skip the race photos for this round.)

Today, the 10th July 2016 is the first ever Compressport Run in Singapore. One of the main aims of the Compressport Run is for the running community to gather and run together and at the same time promote their brand as one of the world’s most popular compression wear. The starting point of the run is at Nicoll Highway. I joined the 10 KM category.

REASON FOR SIGNING UP

What attracted me to sign up for this run event was that the 10KM Run participants were entitled to one of Comperessport latest products, the Compressport Compression Calf Sleeves R2V2 which was worth S$79.00 and comes inbuilt with the latest Knee Support Technology. I thought it was a real steal and without hesitation, I decided to fill up and complete my registration!!

RACE PACK COLLECTION

Race pack collection was held at City Square Mall, Fountain Square from the 1st to 3rd July 2016. I went on a Sunday to collect around 16:30hrs. There wasn’t a queue at all and the collection process was really smooth and quick.

Though the collection was efficient, I was really disappointed when I went to collect my Compressport Compression Calf Sleeves R2V2. I only had 2 colours to choose from which was Black or White for my selected sizing. I chose the White colour.

[Top Pic: Some shots taken at the REPC]

What I thought could have been done better was to give participants an option to choose during registration what colour they would have preferred regardless their race category. This would give us a stronger reason to sign up because we know we would be getting something we want and at the same time, there won’t be any let down when race pack collection comes. It would be much easier for the organiser so that they can cater to everyone needs.

The race pack was a standard Compressport Tote bag, with some sponsors vouchers, Compressport Compression Calf Sleeves R2V2 (10KM) and the race event tee. I would have loved to see some samples or drinks inside but there weren’t any.

RACE DAY & ROUTE

The flag-off for the 10km was 06:30 hrs. Starting a run event earlier is a good idea as it’s much cooler running at that timing but there wasn’t any public transport available so my friend and I decided to take a cab down to the race site. We would have preferred for the organiser to have planned for shuttle buses so we didn’t need to spend an exorbitant taxi fax to the race site. A lot of the other runners were also requesting for shuttle services but there wasn’t that option given.

We arrived at the race site around 05:40 hrs and headed straight for the bag deposit area. Bag deposit service was smooth but a little slow and took up a bit of time. We then headed across the dark field towards the toilets which were near the stage. Thankfully the field was not muddy!! If not I think I would be squealing and trying so hard not to get my shoe dirty! More lighting around that area would have been a welcome because it was so dark. Queues at the toilets were long and we had to wait an estimate of 10 mins before it was our turn. After all the queuing and waiting, we made it to the START pen but not early enough to be in the first wave.

[Top Pic: A pre-race shot before heading to the START pen. Check out our tired faces. Imagine we had to wake up at 04:30 hrs in order to reach there on time.]

[Top Pic: My view of the START Line from where I was standing in the START pen]

The 2nd wave which as flagged off 5 mins after the 1st wave had gone. The route was a really scenic one!! One of my favourites so far among all the races I’ve participated in this year. The race took us from Nicoll Highway –> Singapore Sports Hub –> Tanjong Rhu –> Gardens By The Bay (East) –> Marina Barrage –>Gardens By The Bay (South) –> Over the bridge beside the Double Helix Bridge –> Olympic Youth Park –> F1 Pit Building –> Nicoll Highway (End). Never a dull moment!

[Route Map from Compressport Website]

Though the route was generally flat, there were small slopes that required quite a bit of effort. I felt the strain after the 6km mark and decided to slow down a bit and take some photos of the awesome sunrise that was happening in the distance.

[Top Pic: Me at the 6km mark just slowing down for a short break before continuing on.
Bottom Pic: The gorgeous sunrise along the route. ]

There were altogether 3 water points which were placed at various parts of the routes, mainly the 2, 5 & 7km marks. Though sufficient hydration points were planned but not all of them had isotonic drinks. Only the last one had 100 plus. Maybe the organisers could plan to supply isotonic drinks at all hydration points as this would really benefit the participants.

[Top Pic: Finally completed my workout!]

I completed my run with an unofficial time of 1 hr 13 mins. It was a good run and I’m glad that I got my weekend workout in! Overall the Compressport Run is a good run event but there’s definitely room for improvement which I’ve highlighted in this write-up! Till my next write-up, let’s all stay #LeanStrongAgeDefiant!

[Top & Bottom Pics: Post race wefies with friends]

— All photos by me unless specified —

The good deal about this run is that the race pack comes along with calves sleeves for the runners that signed up for the 10km category, that’s great because usually if you are to buy the calves sleeves it cost as much as the race fee already so signing up and get the calves sleeves free is one of the reason that I signed up for the run. I see it as a free run for buying the calve sleeves ? Thank you July for collecting the race pack for me! ?

Congratulations to many of my friends getting their PB and I finally got my PB too! Woohoo! ? Although I took 1 Hour 10 mins which is considered slow to fast runners but it is fast to slow runners ? I’m happy with my timing, it’s what that matters most right ?

This is my 3rd 10km race and my first two 10kms race I did really super terrible timing ? My first 10km race was Compressport run in green corridor during January, how I run 10km in 1 hr 40 mins is over here https://www.justrunlah.com/2016/01/31/race-review-compressport-rail-corridor-run-2016-10km-by-lingderella/ and I used 1 hr 20 mins in Home TeamNS Real Run over here https://www.justrunlah.com/2016/05/16/race-review-hometeamns-real-run-2016-10km-by-lingderella/ ?

So my friends and I reached the race village around 5.30am although the flag off time is 6.30am. It is actually not that early to consider that we want to go around chit chatting and taking photos and wefies ?

When July and I proceed to the start pen we were like OMG, it’s quite sad we can’t get into the first wave because we went queuing for the toilet. Something should be improvised for the toilet queueing especially every toilet cubicle have their own queue. And if you queue at the wrong queue because you are not that lucky, imagine how long you have to wait if the people on your queue is taking longer time inside ? Best is to make sure you have enough toilets so that the runners no need to queue ?

Actually, for those runners who wish to run in the first wave, is aiming of getting PB or getting podium should really be early. Or the organiser can let the runners know before hand that there will be a couple of waves to be flag off. I really pity those securities or if they are volunteers, their job is really not easy. July and I were in the second wave being separated from the first wave. Some runners are not very happy about it and argued with the securities/volunteer wanting to cut into the first wave. It’s really not very nice. No matter what, minutes later, we were also let into the first wave zone ?

I didn’t stop at any of the water points to take water because I don’t really drink much water usually when I run and I would only stop for water at longer distance runs. My friends are not really happy that the water at the water points are not cold at all but I’m satisfied with the cold can of 100 Plus given to us at the end of the run ?

Although the baggage deposit didn’t have queue when I went to deposit my bag as maybe I was still early, but the queue to collect my bag is very long ? To queue to collect our bags after a 10km run and under the sun is not shiok at all ?

The run is good. Enjoyed the route and scenery. Though the flag off time is 6.30am which is really not a good time and many runners have to take a taxi to the venue if they want to be flag off in the first wave and some of the public transport couldn’t get us there on time and shuttle bus services is not being provided.

Overall, I am happy to get a new medal to my collection of blings ?