4^th time lucky

When you sign up for a race 3 times and don’t get to run it – you probably don’t have much luck with it. In 2012 and 2013, it was due to being overseas because of work while in 2014 it was due to the inclement weather. Hence for a ‘change of luck’, I decided to go for the 10km run instead of the half marathon. And I guess you can say it worked.

Race Pack Collection

Collection was at Orchard Central and it was relatively smooth. Although there was a queue, I waited for about 5 minutes before it was my turn. When I was shown my bib, I tried my best not to laugh as I saw the name on the bib – ‘El Nino’. What was I thinking?! But as I recall it might have to do with the fact that this run was a run to raise awareness of the climate and so I guess I was ‘playing’ my part as well. It took another couple of minutes or so and I was done. With some time to spare, I decided to take a look at some of the products on offer and bought a couple of of ‘rare’ Gu-Gel flavors – Expresso as well as Salted Caramel.

Race Day

Woke up at 0430hrs to slowly prepare and as I opted for the 10km, I made my own way to the F1 Pit Building. Slowly made my way to start point at about 0615hrs but still managed to make it for the first wave. 10km run flagged off at 0630hrs and ran off along Republic Boulevard towards Crawford Street. The first water point was at around the 1.3km, just before going under Nicholl Highway, which was rather early and probably the reason why most runners gave it a miss. After a u-turn, runners headed back along Republic Avenue before turning out on Nicholl Highway at the ERP gantry opposite the Concourse. Up to the 2^nd u-turn point, along Nicholl Highway near to Suntec City, I managed to keep up with the 1h 10mins pacers – as in I could still see their balloons! 😛  But due to my poor discipline in not sleeping early and getting enough sleep, I started to lose sight of them at around the 5km mark. As I always comfort myself with ‘Run Your Own Race’, I pushed on along Nicholl Highway towards the Sports Hub.

I stopped to fill up my bottle at the next hydration point and true to their call to runners to bring their own bottles, there were big bottles of water for refilling and even funnels to aid the refilling. This is commendable as not many races do that and sometimes runners have to stop volunteers who are trying to restock the drinks to top up their bottles which tends to lead to more confusion.

From here it was a left turn to Sims Way before making another left turn to Kallang Airport Way and then a right onto Old Terminal Lane. This was probably a smart route to craft out as it also caused minimal disruption to traffic as both Kallang Airport Way and Old Terminal Lane are not frequently used. Apart from a short stretch which went back on Republic Avenue, the rest of the route was mainly along the jogging path along Kallang River before heading back to the F1 Pit Building.

After crossing the finishing line, was directed into the pit building where medals,bananas as well as 100+ were given out to all runners. So on the fourth try I finally got a Run350 medal!

Overall this was a pleasant run with a manageable run. The cause behind the run should be supported as well and organizers might consider what some other runners have proposed – no medal/no t-shirt option to not only support the cause but to continue to keep the race fee manageable.  🙂

Click here for over 400 photos of NTUC Income Run 350 2015.

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It’s sunday, it’s early and the alarm has gone off. It must be race day!

Here we go again, after a few weeks off to recover from my Translantau 50k Trail Ultra experience, I am back pounding the pavement over the shorter distances. No 2XU last weekend, so this is the first race for me in a few weeks.

I was away the week before with the family in Cameron Highlands, which was very cool and a great place to run, BUT, because it’s such a great place to run, my preparation for this 10k race wasnt exactly ideal. Wednesday, no run, Thursday 10k in the morning in Malacca and 9k in the evening in Cameron Highlands, Friday 14k trail run to the peak of Gunung Brinchang and back (2000m peak) and then Saturday driving back from Cameron to Singapore – 7 hours in the car, bed at approximately midnight, alarm set for 0500. hmmmm, not ideal at all.

Anyway, I’ve raced after worse, so I’m just going to get on with it.

I drive in to town and park at Suntec – a short stroll over to the Pit Lane and I’m there in good time, the start pen for the 10k hasn’t opened yet and most people are just milling around waiting. I see Stu and we have a quick catch up. Not many of my usual buddies and opponents here today, maybe the long weekend has made this a less attractive option.

The start pen opens and we head down the chute. I have a good position practically on the start line, Stu and I wait there chatting until the visiting dignitaries have done their bit and we’re off.

One of the major plus points for me on this race is that the 21km has gone off in the opposite direction so there is no merging of distances which happens often in other races. Heading out with the leaders I have huge amounts of clear space around me almost from the first 500m and it makes for a relaxing run. In fact it’s almost too relaxing, the gaps between the person in front of me and the runner behind have opened up to about 500m after 3km of Nichol Highway and I dont overtake and am not overtaken for the rest of the race. In these situations you have to force your own pace, which is hard to do. It’s a sticky morning, which makes this task even harder. We loop back round the Old Kallang Airport and back over the Kallang river and onto the Riverside Path that takes us the final 3km to the finish.

Here I encounter my only complaint about the whole event -marshalls not marshalling. I understand that mostly these are students, collecting extra credits, but it would be helpful if they did at least attempt to show you which way you are supposed to be running, particularly when there is no other runner in sight and you are hurtling towards a junction with three possible exits! So I have to ask a few times which way and eventually I get a response. It’s not a massive issue, but equally it’s not hard to anticipate that a runner might want to know which way they need to go and to just point in the right direction when someone is coming.

Through all of this I have kept a decent pace, but the humidity is making this a slower than normal race for everyone. I pick up the pace for the last 2-3km’s trying to catch Zhi Yong who is in the distance ahead of me, the gap has been consistent since about halfway, so we are running around the same pace now, despite my efforts I dont close the gap and he’s already finished when I turn into the pit lane. I pick up a final sprint and I notice that the ribbon is across the finish line. I’ve never run through a ribbon before, so it’s nice to do so with a load of photographers snapping as I finish. I catch up with Vanja (3rd Lady) and Zhi Yong (he’s in 8th place, I’m 9th) and we all head into the pit building for a 100plus and a banana. Unlike the marshalls, the Aunties manning the 100plus stand are wonderful, they applaud the three of us as we enter the building as if we have just won the race and it makes for a really great moment and a nice way to finish the event.

After a brief cool down I wander back to the car and head home. 41:19, 9th place overall. Considering the dodgy preparation and it being my first race since the 50k, I’m ok with the result – but there’s still work to do in the quest for the perfect 10k performance!

Overall, this was the best large scale Marina Bay race I’ve done in a long time. Well organised, no bottlenecks, no merging different distances and a memorable finish experience. 9/10

Next races for me: JP Morgan Corporate Challenge for the company team and then Energiser Night Trail.

Happy Trails!

Click here for the photo gallery of NTUC Income Run 350 2015.

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Race Day

The flag off was at 5am.  I had to wake up at an unearthly hour of 3am, grabbed my breakfast and was on my way out of the house by 3.30am.  I reached the venue (F1 Pit Building) at about 4.10am.  The first thing was to pay a visit to the mobile toilets, where long queues were seen.  Did what I had to do and made my way to the start pen.  I was glad to be in the first wave.  By then, it was already 4.45am, and together with the crowd, I was anxiously waiting for the horn to signal the start of the race.  Even though it was almost 5am in the morning, it was strangely warm and humid.  I was already perspiring profusely just by standing in the start pen.

5am… The horn went off…. Everybody started to surge forward, clapping and waving their hands in the air happily.  There we go..! By the time I crossed the timing mat, about 1 min had elapsed already.  So you could imagine how huge the 1st wave was.

As I starting running at my supposedly comfortable pace, I was surprised at how lethargic I was.  The air was thick with humidity and difficult to breathe.  As the others zoomed past me, I could see that their bodies were already drenched in sweat.  I continued on, and interestingly, a runner in full Spiderman suit zoomed past me.  Soon I neared the 8km mark, and my worst fear started to manifest itself in the form of a rumbling stomach.  I silently cursed my luck and knew that I had to quickly find a toilet.  Luckily, I was swinging by Sports Hub, and managed to break from the running crowd and got a cubicle for myself. No queue! Lucky me!  Wasted almost 5 minutes to conclude my business, during which sweat was pouring non-stop from my head and getting into my irritated eyes.

I emerged from the toilet and started to run but the momentum was gone and I could not find it back throughout the race.  My legs felt like jelly and the humidity really got to me.  Started drinking from my bottles and grabbing cups of cold water from the hydration points from 10km onwards and thereafter at every hydration points I passed by.  At about the 10km mark, there was a hydration point and gel station.  As I stopped to take a cup of water, I was shocked to see another runner in front of me grabbing as many gel packs with his two hands and trying to stuff them into his pockets!  My goodness!  I was like “huh?” As I passed the 14km mark, there were bananas given out, and I was tempted to take one.  But anyway, I didn’t, as I was afraid of upsetting my stomach again.

The killer slope at the Marina Barrage, where you run up the slope, do a circle and run down again, really robbed me of my strength and stamina.  This was near the 16km mark.  After this horrible stretch, I started to alternate between jogging and walking.  It was when I passed by 20km, that I started to use every ounce of my remaining energy and sprint to the finishing mark… 2:45hrs.  A far cry from my PB of 2:23 hr obtained 2 weeks ago.

But nevertheless, it was a good experience for me as I had experienced the slopes along Nicoll Highway and especially the one at the Marina Barrage, as well as the killer weather.  Well, no excuses….I had made up my mind to re-start my training on slopes and intensify them, so that the next run would be even better!

End of Race

For this run, it comes with a finisher tee and a medal that were given out after the finishing line,  and a can of cold refreshing 100 Plus as well which I gulped it down in double quick time 🙂  I did some cooling down exercises before heading off for home.  My next half marathon is likely to be the re-scheduled 2XU Run, which new race date has yet to be announced.

Click here to for the photo gallery of NTUC Income Run 350 2015.

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Runninghour2015: Run So Others Can is Singapore’s first and only race where runners run with over 200 visually, intellectually and physically-challenged runners. It aims to increase awareness and allow runners to experience life with a visual impairment.

Woke up around 4am that morning! After the necessary preparations, I took the first bus down to The Promontory @ Marina Bay. Managed to reach the place at around 6.30am, considered quite early as the 10km competitive run only starts at 7am. Starting the race at this time is pretty good as there is no need to cab down. There were not much queue at the baggage deposit area, hence the process proceeded quite quickly. At the same time, runners that signed up for the blind-run are required to collect their masks from the booth.

After warming up, many runners began to make their way to the starting line. It is heartening to see quite a number of visually-challenged runners, as well as on wheelchairs participating in the run. Despite their disabilities, they are able to challenge themselves and do something of their comfort zone. Some of these special runners were part the pacing team too, which includes 50, 60 and 70 minutes.

Excitement filled the air when the 10km Competitive Run was flagged off at 7am sharp. The run started off with runners passing the Marina Bay Sands area, followed by the domes of Gardens by the Bay. Upon reaching the Barrage, we were directed to run along the pathway leading to the rooftop before heading down again. The run proceeded on to Bay East before reaching the 5km mark and returning on the same route back to the starting line.

On the whole, the terrain was rather flat, with the exception of the stretch at Marina Barrage. I would say it is actually a good route to clock one’s PB. At the same time, runners were seen cheering on the special runners, encouraging them to push on and stay strong.

After crossing the finishing line, water and the medal were given to the runners. I would say that the medal is rather unique, as it is Singapore’s first medal crafted with Braille.

On the whole, I would say the event is very well organised- from the registration process to race pack collection, pre-race, actual race and post-race activities. Volunteers were friendly and took initiative in handing out drinks to the runners at the water points. Route was smooth and I managed to clock my PB of 48 minutes. 🙂   Last but not least, kudos to all runners that took part in the event, especially the special runners. Your “never say die” spirit is encouraged, and it is what makes us runners unique.

I misunderstood the race information when I signed up.  I wasn’t sure if I could have signed up for the blind run, as I was registering alone.  So I signed up for the 10k competitive.  When I received the e-booklet the week before the race, I realised that I could have signed up for the Blind Run and find a partner on the morning of the race.  I would have done the blind race instead, just to experience and more to the theme of the event.

I attended one of the workshops before the race to learn about the blind/physically challenged and how they’d run with their conditions. (previous post)

Race pack collection was nice and smooth; I collected on the Saturday around lunch time, there were only a few other people there and we were in and out in no time.  On the way out, I checked the timing chip and it worked properly.  I thought I read on the reminder email sent a few day before that there was going to be some activities, but I didn’t notice anything else was going on so I left for lunch.

The t-shirt turned out to be very small in size so it was an opportunity for me to wear the JustRunLah! t-shirt for the first time.  I like to always try to wear the race t-shirt or at least wear one in a similar colour 🙂

Come race day, 5.30am wake up, second Sunday in a row.  Drive down was smooth, easily parked at the Wilson car park round the corner and a nice couple of minutes walk to the starting pen as my warm up.  But it was a hazy day.

Off I went to the starting line of 10k competitive.  They flagged us off first at around 7am.  The 10k blind run were also ready on the lane next to us.  They were flagged off a little bit later, as they had to run with a blindfold for the first 500m each.

I wasn’t too far from the front of the starting line and noticed for the first 500m that there were lots of faster runners going past me, which kind of put me off and distracted from my original pace. Without noticing, it pushed me to run faster but also burned out sooner.

I loved the route.  I think it’s prettier than on a highway.  It started at the Marina Promontory opposite The Sail (condominium), from there we ran along the rear side of The Shoppes at MBS, crossed below the flyovers to Gardens by the Bay, up and down the Marina Barrage ramps (at least it was only on our 3km), crossed the Marina Bridge to Gardens by the Bay East (edge of Marina Bay golf course) where we u-turned.

I didn’t bump into many of the blind / physically challenged runners, one was in the 1-hr Pacer group, passed me at around 4 km, another was on a wheelchair with a great determination.  Very impressive.

The race was well organised.  Volunteers were great.  I like to carry my own bottle so I’m not too sure about the water stations but seemed enough to me.  There were a lot of photographers along the way.  The only bad thing was I didn’t see a clock above the finish line so I was busy trying to stop my app as I crossed, not noticing the clock was actually on the right hand side 🙁   I clocked a little over 1 hour, 1 minute faster than my time the previous weekend.  Another PB.  I was happy.  I would love to make it below 1 hour.

I grabbed my cold bottle of water and walked around a little.  There was a Holiday Inn booth which my husband missed as he could have gotten his coffee.  They were also selling hot dogs which looked yummy but not sure we’d eat that after the run  🙂

Some people joined the zumba session for a cool down, I thought my legs had done enough for the day so I headed back  😉

I think it was a good race for runners to clock in their PBs.  I certainly enjoyed it.  It doesn’t take much for a race to please me, just block off some pretty route, provide some water, security/medics, a timer, and I’m a happy runner <3<3

Blind Man’s Buff?

Not Really. When registration started for RunningHour, I was in 2 minds as to whether to sign up. Honestly while it seemed a unique experience, I was not too sure running blindfolded. Hence when I was offer a slot, my question was whether I had to do the blind run. When it was confirmed that I didn’t have to, I sheepishly signed up for the 10km run.

Workshop and Race Pack Collection

I was also asked to attend the RunningHour workshop which I had blogged on previously. In short, it was great workshop which gave information on this great initiative as well as a hands-on session on guiding the disabled runners.

Race pack collection was at City Square Mall which was once again great for me. The contents of the race pack were simple but sufficient for the run. In addition, the t-shirt somehow beckon to me and perhaps with an intention to integrate with the other runners, I made the rare decision to put on the event t-shirt during the run (as per encouraged in the guidebook as well :p)

Race Day

Arrived at the start point about 10 minutes before the race started and was happy to note a rather good turnout for the event. As the participants for the blind run waited, the competitive runners went off at 0700hrs. All three groups of pacers(50 mins,1hr and 1hr+10mins)which included the visually challenged runners, went off at a rather fast pace. I chose to go at a slow pace as I ran along a familiar path along MBS. At the helix bridge I finally caught up with the 1hr 10mins pacers and even went past them as we proceeded to Gardens by the Bay and the Marina Barrage.

Failing to note the route prior to the run, I was abit surprised to have to go up to the top of the Marina Barrage. As always, I slowed down to a walk to catch my breath during the climb up 😛

As we went across the Marina Barrage, I resumed my jog till the u-turn point at the base of Benjamin Sheares Bridge where I took another break before resuming. On the way back, I noticed the blind run runners making their way to the u-turn point as well. I also noticed the RunningShots photographer with the squid hat – Sotong, who had previously allowed me use of his photos. As I saw how he encouraged runners as they ran past him, it made me appreciate these enthusiastic photographers even more.

The way back was basically the reverse of the first half of the run and as I neared the Helix Bridge, the same group of pacers caught up me. Along the short stretch along MBS, I could sense the camaraderie between the guides and the runners as they motivated each other and joked as they hit the final stretch. ‘Stealing energy’ from them, I managed to keep pace with them and crossed the finish line with them and was rewarded with a unique medal.

Later on while waiting for my friends to finish their 5km run, I realized that the Runninghour group which did the 10km actually did the 5km as well – someone should have told us we could do that! But seriously, it again shows the boundless energy this group of runners has.

It was a good workout along a comfortable route on a Sunday morning. I must say that it is also unique to be running alongside the special needs runners and you really could draw inspiration and energy from them – I had not done a 1hr 10min for 10km for awhile and not expecting one on a day where I only had 5hrs of sleep – but somehow I did it that morning. Should this run return next year, I promise – if am not a running guide by then –  I will do the blindfold run.

Thank You, Mr Lee Kuan Yew

Befitting as I write this review of a run that promotes integration amongst runners with special needs, I like to do a simple thank you to a great man whose vision was an all-inclusive nation for all Singaporeans regardless of race, language or religion. Honestly, this was never my plan when I started this review but as I wrote about the landmarks along the route – Benjamin Sheares Bridge, Gardens by the Bay and Marina Barrage to name a few, I was reminded of our founding father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

It was heartening to know that like many of us, he was a runner too. But we all know he was more than that, for he was a leader that built a nation that we runners can safely go running late in the night or early in the morning without fearing for our safety, it is in this nation that we can find so many places to indulge in our activity. The next time I put on a bib with SIN or the Singapore flag while running overseas, I will be reminded of not just the fact that I am Singaporean but also to be grateful for this man who had made it all possible.

Thank you Sir, you will be missed.