Year 2011 - reflections

2011 - It was a year filled with events that led my thoughts and emotion like a roller coaster.

I like this quote - Variety is the spice of life definition

It was a year which I had frequent travel started from March -
Mar - Sabah, Malaysia
Apr & May - Perth, Australia
Jun - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Aug & Sep - Hong Kong (biz trip) & Hungary
Nov - Bangkok, Thailand

It was a year which I had been very active-
Mar - Mt Kota Kinabalu
Apr - 2XU Compression run 12km
May - Passion run 25km
Jun - Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Marathon 21km
Jul - Marina run 21km
Oct - Nike run 10km, NorthFace Trail run 25km & Newton run 18km
Nov - Salomon X-trail 10km
Dec - Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 42km

It was a year which I had watched many K-dramas -
49 days - teary and meaningful story's moral value and unexpected ending
City Hunter - handsome actor and sweet actress
Heartstrings - plain vanilla and expected ending
My princess - plain vanilla, no chemistry between the actor and actress
Protect the boss - funny story but could made my BFF fell asleep
Scent of a woman - teary and meaningful story's moral value
Secret Garden - beautiful scenery, fantasy plot and handsome actor

It was a year which I had worked stressfully -
A-traditional Legacy Convergence
C-ILP Legacy Convergence

It was a year which I had my first experience -
Up and down a mountain within 36 hours ... tough as if running 6 full marathons
Tendered my resignation by email ... advance technology
Drove in Perth ... since my last drive in NZ after >10 years
Caught two colleagues rendezvous in a hotel ... Tsk, Tsk, Tsk
Ran trail - NorthFace and Salomon ... running cum trekking
Painted ceilings ... ached neck and arms

Year 2012 - another new chapter of my life journey and I will continue to fill the blank pages with words that describe my thoughts, emotions and opinions.

"Facing Arctic" 50km Duo 15.10.11

Registered as a team with bro; each of us run / hike for 25km.

Days before the race, the sky was dropping dogs and cats.

So worried the route would be muddy, splashy and dirty.

On the actual day, the sun was smiling happily.

And these were my sightings -

• No baggage deposit - use the lockers available outside the restroom
• Weigh-in the water bag - at least 1litre; lucky I hold a 500ml bottle + 400ml water belt
• No road marker especially at the fork; dunno which direction to head to
• its a hiking cum running as i posted in FB - its a combi of kk trekking and 42km run
• the refreshments were good - "metro" half sub, cookies, jelly-o, fruits like strawberry, apples, bananas

Frens asked would i join next year. I flatly replied it was my first and last.

Swoosh SG 10K - 09.10.11

Ran my first Swoosh 10k today with bro, wifey and chicken.
The weather was a bit gloomy and breezy... its nice for running.
Good start-off for me as I clocked under 7 mins for first 1 km.
The remaining distance was a disaster ... stomach upset and right calf cramped.
Finally completed after 78 mins .... LOUSY!!!

KUDOs to the race organizer -

• Cute race MCs - Mr Incredible Tale & Miss VJ-dunno-her-name

• All runners must wear the given running tee. The sight of runners on the road was so AWE-some!!!

• The finisher's gift was a Swoosh shoe - 2 GB flash drive ... Cute hor ; >
  

My race milestone

2010 was an active year for me as I had clocked total 136km and 17h 44m.

Look at my 2010 race calendar, I realised that I had run in different -
timing i.e. Sundown flagged off at 9pm, SCMS at 5am
route i.e. Sentosa, ECP, Marina Barrage, Orchard road
event type i.e. triathlon-relay event, looping, cycling

In year 2011 I will be more selective in joining the races. I want to run in other country with different route or climate. And of course to achieve a better PR for my full marathon. For SCMS, I was way way off from my target timing due to sprained ankle and lack of training. I will attempt full marathon once more to meet my target 5h 30m.

Anyway, I have signed-up a 12km race for April 2011 because the entitlement is very attractive - dryfit singlet, e-lace, hand held water bottle, compression calf guard

My first half marathron - Mind over body

Running at night was no joke - it was so humid and hardly any breeze.
Started together with Uncle B, Jess and Cynthia (ex-H colleagues).
And targetted to complete by 2hrs 30mins.
Slowly I lost them after 3km as our pace were different.
My form was good all the way till the 2nd U-turn i.e. after the 11km.
Whenever there was no street light, my mind was blank and body ready to go to sleep mode.
Regretted not listening to my mp3 as to keep myself awake.
I ran and brisk walked (thanks to sis-in-law A's tip) on the long stretch of Changi Coast Road (next to the Changi Airport runway).
Along the way, saw some puke at roadside (bet due to heavy dinner), some applied the muscle relief ointment, some walked at a dragging pace, some doing stretching (???), some resting at the street lamp (waiting for tur-toise).
The killing factor was the humidity - hardly any breeze and it was as good as running in the afternoon!!!
I lost my watch along the way probably due to my sweaty wrist. Anyway, I have an excuse to buy a new watch.
At the last 6km (damn tired and sleepy), readjusted my target time to be 2hrs 45mins.
At the last 3km (totally worn out), confirmed to be 3 hrs.
At the last 100km, put in my utmost to sprint to the finishing line and the clock stated 2hrs 40mins.
To my surprise, after checking my official result from the website, its 2hrs 36mins 15 secs.
Well Done, Good Job!!!
Its a boost for me to look forward to my full marathon in Dec and target timing 5hrs 30mins.

Encounters with SHD part 2

Remember my GEM kid - SHD (read Encounters with SHD part 1 )

More anecdotes:

1. She said: Teacher, I want to play now.

I refused: After you have finished your work, then I let you play. Quickly tell me, what is this?

She folded her chubby arms and stared at me angrily.

I insisted: What is this?

She stared at me and smiled superb sweetly: I like to look at you, Teacher

Very nearly fell into her trap, I persisted: WHAT IS THIS?

Encounters with SHD part 1

SHD is my GEM kid who is giggly, roundish and cute. I always enjoy the 1-1 session with her. Shared some of the funny anecdotes :

1> She observed teacher R and told me : Teacher I friend you ah, I no friend that Teacher ok.
I flattered by her remark (^_~)


2> I showed her a picture card of astronaut: What is this?

She smiled and said: Teacher, I dont know.

I told her: Astronaut.

She "instructed" me: Teacher, teacher ask me "What is this"

I played along with her: What is this?

She proudly told me loudly: Astronaut!!!

Then I praised her and she smiled broadly till her eyes formed a single line ...☜(⌒▽⌒)☞


3> Showed her a picture of ant and asked her : What is this?

She said proudly: Spider!!!

Showed her a picture of bee and asked her : What is this?

She said loudly: Spider!!!

OMG! all the bugs look like spider to her .... O_O