It’s been almost 3 months since my last triathlon race at 70.3 Ironman Danang. and more than 1 year in an OD distance race. I remembered Singapore Triathlon used to be called OSIM Triathlon and the 2009 edition was my first triathlon event where I competed in the mini category with a rental mountain bike. After many years, it’s called Singapore Triathlon now. This year, the event was held over a single day instead of the usual 2-day affair with Mini & Sprint categories on Saturday and OD on Sunday. My initial thought was that the race would be very crowded, messy and disorganised, but it turned out pretty well with a few hiccups here and there.

My husband, Alan and I collected our race pack on Tuesday evening after work. We were given only one day to collect the race pack, and we had to skip our F1 runners’ training to do so. Upon reaching City Square, I was a little disappointed as I was expecting more merchandise booths so some shopping could be done. The official hydration was by Pure Sports Nutrition and we tried their drinks to make sure we are OK with the electrolyte given on the race day. I thought it tastes pretty good; light, not too sweet and it tastes like Ribena. So it’s a thumbs up!

Race Day!!

In the early morning of the race day, Alan and I woke up at about 5.30m, showered and have our breakfast (cereals) before riding over ECP which was about 7km from home. Upon arrival, we racked up our bikes and set up our transition area. Subsequently, we got ourselves familarised with the Swim in, Bike Out/In, Run Out points and using unique identifiers to identify our bikes quickly from the Swim in and Bike In. We headed over to the swim start to get our body marking done. We met our friend, Louisa who completed the Ironman Melbourne recently and had a chat with her prior to the swim start. She gave us many pointers for the Ironman race such as nailing our nutrition, wetsuits and etc.

The OD distance consisted of a a 2-loop swim course, 6-loop bike course and 2-loop run course. The swim was pretty alright except during the second loop where the tide started to change and I could feel myself being drifted away and had to do more sighting to stay on course. Into T1,  I took my bike and began my 36km ride with one bottle of electrolyte as I left my other bottle at T1, as one bottle would be sufficient. Never did I know that within 5 minutes on the bike course, my bottle in the back cage flew out like a rocket. Luckily, it didn’t hit anyone or cause any bike crash as the bottle rolled towards the side of the road. So with that, there goes my hydration but thankfully I had a packet of GU Chomps and I took two chomps, on my third and fifth loop of the bike course. Back into T2, I was so thirsty that I took huge mouthfuls of water (that was now warm due to the heat).

Less than 500m into the run, I could feel stitches in my tummy and I was like “oh god, why is this happening to me!” I guess I must have drank the water too quickly and too much that my tummy was not able to handle it. For my first loop of the run, I had to take subsequent pauses to walk or even jog very slowly to reduce the pain. By the end of the first loop, I was feeling better and decided to increase my pace a little.  With that, I completed the race with a timing of 3 hours 3 minutes. I wasn’t very pleased with my performance as I knew I could have performed better in my bike and run courses and wanted to do a sub-3 or even a sub-2:50.

Overall, I would give Singapore Triathlon a 7.5/10. There will sufficient volunteers on both the bike and run course. The marshals will regulate the ‘bike traffic’ and inform riders to slow down if there is any accident infront. What I thought could be better was to have sufficient water. It was a hot day and there was a water station which ran out of water. Maybe having some water sprinklers along the less-shaded area would help. Given a chance, I would participate in Singapore Triathlon again next year to see if my timing had improved.

It’s with trepidation I start every single running race nowadays.  An ongoing problem with my ankle post injury in March, means that I never really know how I will manage on the day of the race.  Having been committed to the Trifactor Series since I registered last year, regardless of how I feel, I continue to show up and participate the best way I can.

With hubby by my side, a pillar of strength every time I need him, we take off at a respectable 7.45am (if you’ve read my OSIM Pre-Race Review you’ll know we are not morning people) from Gardens by the Bay East headed towards Marina Barrage to the Cloud Dome return.  Along the way we bumped into friends who were completing their 24km and 12km categories.

As the route stretches out before me and only a mere 5km at that, I concentrate on 100m completions at a time. Maintaining a pace of 6.57 for the first kilometre, it was short lived.  The stretch in my ligaments causes havoc forcing me to power walk and reduced my pace to approximately 8.2km/h for the next two kilometers.  Frustrated, I know there’s nothing much I can do but that doesn’t help when the mind is willing and the body is not.

Throughout the race, John sticks by my side, letting me lead the way in whatever way it suits me best.  Often I will jog flat footed on my left foot and mid-footed on my right (this is the injured foot) which creates all sorts of issues with changing my gait and adding too much pressure on my left calf muscle.  By the time I crossed the barrage on the return trip, I could see John struggling to maintain my dodgy pace and I suggested he go ahead and finish the last two kilometers at his own pace.  It also ensured one of us was there for our daughter’s 1km flag-off.

As I crossed the barrage, I picked up the pace a bit with a mix of running and power-walking. I finally crossed the finish line at 41min with an average pace of 7.48.  Not out of this world for any regular runner but certainly a satisfying end given the circumstances and just in time for Trini’s race.

Once again Trini is racing with her buddy Justin.  Another race they are both completing on their own without any parents by their side.  We took position near the end to watch them come through the finish line.  Justin typically is flying past, whilst Trini is keeping it steady so she can last without having to walk.  She was extremely happy with herself declaring how she ran the whole way without stopping.  This would have been her first time.

With the 3rd sporting event completed, we are now waiting for the Triathlon which is the final leg in late August to wrap up the Trifactor Series.

It has certainly been a very interesting year for me filled with mental and physical challenges.  For now I will be happy to complete the Series and look forward to a time when my injured ankle doesn’t dominate each racing event or my writing for that matter.

Cheers for now.

A little disclaimer: I didn’t sign up for this race. Instead, the race bib (albeit one of the opposite gender) was given to me the day before the race. To minimise inconvenience in the case of an emergency, I had ensured that the details on the race bib (such as my blood group) were accurate. Having decided to treat this as a fun run instead of a race (if you wish, there’s a little more information on my personal blog here), I thereby knew I wouldn’t end up threatening a female podium finish (which has happened before when males wear female bibs) and causing unnecessary trouble.

Having mentioned the above, let me dive into the review in which I’ll try my best to provide an objective appraisal of my experience. As always, look out for the font in italics as I’ll try to highlight some of the aspects that I believe participants would agree are important.

Pre-race matters
Well, you’d probably have figured that as I was given this bib, I didn’t actually attend the Race Entry Pack Collection hence I cannot provide any first-hand comments on the above. Having said that, I know that this race was postponed from the original date in March 2015. The organisers catered for runners who were not participating on the postponed date (2 August 2015), either by choice or by circumstance, to collect their finisher’s entitlements at other occasions.

Race category
Honestly, I was a little hesitant about completing a half-marathon. After all, I had the privilege of only knowing about and receiving this free bib barely 12 hours before the flag-off. I did have plans to run near Gardens By The Bay, though I certainly wasn’t intending to cover such a distance. Nonetheless, knowing that I was treating this as a fun run (which probably wasn’t as fun when I ended up spending lots of time on my feet), I was prepared to enjoy the local running atmosphere.

The race precinct

It was awfully time-consuming travelling to the race precinct by the free shuttle service from The Float @ Marina Bay. Despite arriving at 3.40am, it was only around 4.15am that we managed to board the buses after negotiating the snaking queue. Honestly, it didn’t look very organised, with a significant potential for individuals to jump the queue if they wished. Furthermore, it wasn’t easy to estimate how long queuing would take (for those that may have considered jogging to the precinct instead of waiting). Perhaps an illustration (pretty accurate at the point when I was queuing) would provide a better explanation.

It was about 4.25am when we arrived near Marina Barrage by shuttle. Participants were then required to negotiate another few hundred metres before reaching the race precinct. The ground felt pretty clumpy (the way newly planted grass feels) hence in the darkness, that could be hazardous. I hurried to the baggage deposit, which was fuss-free. By that time, the first wave had already been flagged off. Due to my rather unique race plan (details available here), I skipped the restroom (someone put it this way “the only thing longer than the queue for the shuttle bus was the queue for the female restroom” – although I suppose as a guy, my visit would have been considerably shorter:D) and headed straight towards the start pen.

The race
I managed to sneak (legally) into Wave 3, which was flagged off around 4.50am. Admittedly, since I had started at a steady pace and this wasn’t Wave 1, it wasn’t long till I found some clear space to run. That was until, I met the runners of the earlier wave(s). From then on, the crowd was quite consistent until the U-turn point (9+km). I suspect for runners running around 5min/km or slower, the race route would have been acceptable to run along even if one did not start in the first wave. However, any faster than that and the risk of collision with other participants would be pretty significant due to the considerably narrow width accommodating the sheer number of participants (about 9000 half-marathon runners). Other than the congestion, the route was pretty flat and it had minimal turns. It’s notable that there were however, a few steps to be negotiated on the return journey, when the route merged into East Coast Park Service Road.

I have no complains about the hydration points, with all 10 except one (according to my observations) serving both water and Pocari Sweat. The volunteers (particularly as I got to the later hydration stations and the crowd had increased) were working tirelessly, many kudos to them! It would have been nice if there was some form of nutrition provided, such as energy gels.

Distance markers were also present throughout the race. Well, except at, ironically, the 20km mark. Imagine the sheer agony of runners at that point of time 😯 Anyway, the markers corresponded pretty accurately to my Garmin Forerunner 15’s auto-lap every kilometre until I decided to venture off course after 12km~. My Strava data is accessible, though you may realise I didn’t exactly stick to the route. As a vast amount of the route took participants along East Coast Park, restrooms were plentiful and were frequented (from my observation) by a sizeable number of participants. On a random note, there was a rooster crowing as I was heading out towards the U-turn point…and presumably the same rooster was still crowing while I was returning to the finish.

Post race 
It was a joy (and a little embarrassing, if you can figure why) collecting our finisher’s entitlements. There was a unique and aggressive looking Finisher’s Medal (I’m too lazy to upload a picture of it, which you’ll easily find in the numerous other reviews of this race on JustRunLah!), along with a Finisher’s Tee. There weren’t any queues (I made my collection around 7.45am) as I received my entitlements and quite certainly received an inquisitive look from the volunteer that passed my my finisher tee 😈

There were various forms of post-race activities available. Though I didn’t quite get involved in most, some of them included a booth with free ERDINGER Alkoholfrei beer, 2XU towel give-aways, Finisher-tee size exchanges, an Instagram photo booth and an inflatable rock wall, amongst other things.

Thereafter, it would have been a long journey away from the race venue, if not for a little lift that was graciously offered 🙂

With that, I conclude this review and hope it was an informative and perhaps, an enjoyable read. Feel free to check out my personal blog here.

Finally 2xu Compression Run 2015 is here. This is the first time that I participated in this race. And also this is the first time that I have to wake up at 2 am for a run. However it was super worth it!

The race is a dreaded route of running to East Coast Park and back to Marina Barrage. I usually do not do good in runs that are very monotonous but it is a very easy terrain with no slopes.

I started at about 50m away from tbe pacers. After the start of the race, I rushed off to try to catch up to the 2.10 pacers as I was aiming to finish the race at 2.15. I have no problems running at about the first 10km of the race but my feet started cramping. I decided to let the 2.10 pacers pass me and I try to reduce my speed and drink more at the water stations which are plenty and motivating. However once out of East Coast Park, the motivation came back and finished the race at about 2 hr 11min which is a PB for me!

This is also the first time I finished a race just before the sun came up which is rather cool. Also, thanks to starting the race so early that it so cooling so that many people did they PBs too.

-runforfun.justrunlah-

This race was supposed to be held in March. However, due to national mourning week, Pink Apple (organiser of 2XU Compression Run) decided to postpone it to 2 August. The organisers could have just cancelled the event as all races would state in their terms and conditions: “The organiser reserves the right to cancel the event due to unforeseen circumstances”, however, they didn’t. They decided to postpone the race instead for the benefit of the runners. Many arrangements were made to accommodate the changes, such as collection of finisher tees for runners that are unable to make it on 2 Aug, the refund of bus tickets, finding a new venue and planning a new route within such a short period etc.

The venue of the race village yesterday wasn’t that convenient too, as it was a short walking distance from Marina Barrage. However, that was not much grumble from most runners as most understand how difficult to re-organise the race.

Flagged-off punctually at 4.30am for the 21km category. I would say that the route was rather narrow for the first 3km of the run, and that kind of slow down the traffic at the start. Turned into East Coast Park after Fort Road, which is the usual route for Sundown or Standard Chartered Marathon 42km. Plenty of water points throughout the whole ECP area.

The perk of starting the race early- if you managed to cross the finishing line before 7am, you will get to witness the beautiful sunrise near the barrage area. 🙂 Sitting by the coastal area with the finisher medal in your hand, enjoying the sunrise and sea breeze- most wonderful experience ever.

This year’s 2XU Compression Run basically sums up the struggles and experiences of a runner- there could be times that you miss trainings due to unforeseen circumstances (sick, bad body conditions, weather etc), but as long as you preserve, continue to work hard, you will get to experience the final victory. Cos every running experience is bitter sweet.

Initially the thought of waking up at 2am and starting the race at 4.30am was daunting. However, on hind sight, it was actually great as the weather remained cooling throughout the race.

Getting to the event venue was quite challenging for drivers as there were limited parking lots at Marina Barrage and near Marina Mall. Despite the organiser’s advice to park at near The Float with shuttle service provided to transport runners to the start point, there was quite a bad traffic jam along Marina Gardens Drive towards Marina Barrage. Luckily, runners were flagged off in waves and hence did not pose much problem for those who could not reach the start point at 4.30am

The holding area was very spacious but the uneven ground was not conducive for a warm-up jog. After some stretching exercises, runners were ushered towards the start point in an orderly manner. I was fortunate to be in time to start in the first wave.

I sprinted off at the start but held back to my target pace soon after. The route was generally flat, mainly within the East Coast Park. Distance markers were clearly and accurately placed. Hydration points were also adequately provided along the route.

Having completed the Gold Coast Marathon earlier last month with a 3hr flat timing, I was conservative and kept to a slightly faster pace this time, factoring in the humidity in Singapore. Eventually I managed to keep to a consistent pace and finished the race in personal best time of 1hr 27min. Many runners also achieved their personal bests at this race. I credit this to the cooling weather and the flat course.

Runners were then greeted with a magnificent view of sunrise at the end point. It added a very beautiful backdrop to the runners’ photographs.