The Infinite World

Started my run at 7.20am Singapore time at the Stadium, no particular target in mind but maybe to better my previous 53min20sec. Completed the 1st lap in 2min7.775sec, 2nd lap in 2min9.124sec and reached the 1st km in 5min20sec. I was trying to run as easy as possible but not too slow. I continue to run the next km in 5min16sec, completed the 2nd to 5th lap in 2min5sec lap. Completed the 3rd km in 5min12sec. Could not maintain the pace, slow to 5min22sec for the 4th km. I managed to speed up a little to 5min15sec for the 5th km, reaching 5km in 26min 25sec. Slow a little to 5min22sec for the 6th km, 5min20 sec for the 7th km, still feeling ok. Completed the 8th km in 5min17sec, reached 9km in 47min45sec. Finally, the final km, speed up more and eventually completed the 10km in 4min49sec, total time 52min34.121sec. Felt good most of the way, need to learn to push myself harder to achieve a faster timing. Aim to run at least 30sec faster in my next run at the stadium, and hopefully ac...

Completed a short 2.4km run in 11min12.935sec at the stadium. I was hoping to do a sub 25min 5km, but  changed my mind and decided to just run 6 laps. Felt good but the track was wet due to rain earlier on. Could have done a sub 11min, there was not much traction, no grip on the track. 

Did not run much after Standard Chartered Marathon on 1 Dec 2013. The 1st run was a 10km at the gym due to wet whether, equaled my pb 49min47sec. The 2nd run was a 10km at the track, completed in 55min36sec and the 3rd run was a 10km at the track as well on 14 Dec, 53min20sec. The most recent was on Sunday 15 Dec 2013, a 6km run at the gym in 30min13sec. I felt that after a marathon, you have the confident of completing shorter run easily. I feel I need to go out and run a maybe quick 5km or shorter distance to gauge whether I have improve on my running during the last 1 year. I find that I am always controlling my run a lot nowadays, I guess it comes from the habit of ensuring I competed my long run, so always put aside some reserve energy to finish comfortably.

This is the run that I have been waiting for in fear and anticipation. It's always difficult when you do not train enough in a proper way, but you still want to challenge it. Woke up at 3 am on 1 Dec 2013, Sunday. Bought breakfast the night before, just bread with some sugar topping. There was even train services provided by SMRT, I took the train at about 4.15 am, run to the station from where I live. Reached Orchard Station at 4:28 am, had to walked all the way to Wheelock to get into the holding bay. After that just walked to as near the start line as possible, it was a good turnout. about 16,000 runners. The atmosphere was full of excitement, everyone was anxious to start the run. I had a start delay of about 6 minutes, it was very crowded at the start and you can only slow jog. The pace for the first 1.5km was never much faster than than 7min per km. I can only pick up speed after exiting from the Ford Canning tunnel, but GPS tracking was abit off while in tunnel with no si...

Recounting my run on 24 Nov 2013, Sunday, I fondly recall how I felt at each stage of the run! Started the at just below 6 min per km pace, early stage of the race normally will be ok. Picked up speed along the way, 2nd km was in the 5:50 range, 3km was like 5:45. Still feeling fine although my training had been erratic all year round. So still feeling ok even at the 5km mark, which was around 5:40 range. Now cruising along the 5-6km long straight stretch, still feeling good. Once pass the 7km mark, sign of fatigue start to set in. Completed the 8km in 5:16, which is fast by my level of fitness, start to slow to around 5:50, eventually timed at 6:02 at 9km. Covered 10km in slightly under 1 hr, the km split was 6:27. My plan was to stick with my buddy until about half way mark and then run at my own pace. I was thinking to himself that I would slow down after the 10 km mark, which I did but luckily I did not slow down too much. On that day, I was feeling pretty apprehensive as my train...

This is the last long run before SCB Sg marathon on 1 Dec 2013, I completed 22km in 2hr11min43sec. This timing is better than I thought possible as my training has been erratic. Ran faster in the 1st 11km, 1hr 3min and 1 hr 9min for the 2nd half. Just hoping to relax and enjoy the run on 1 Dec 2013 !

Wake up late, started the run just before 8 am. It was raining lightly, cool weather, good for running. Just relax and run easy with no target in mind. Run around the estate, just took the roads that I am familiar with and try not to look at my watch too much. I managed to run the last 6 km without looking at the watch, which surprising felt good and relaxing. I guess this is a new found knowledge for me, heard of it before briefly but never thought of trying. Average 6:23 per km today, feel good and not tire for once. Should be doing our usual 20km at East Coast tomorrow morning.

I finished the 2012 SCB marathon in 4hr57min52sec, the 1st time I ever completed a marathon in under 5 hours. It was my 6th marathon and one of my most prepared ever. I did more than twenty 20km run and at least three 30km run, but it was still insufficient preparation. It was still a break through year for my running, never thought I can actually run more than 30km non stop, though at a very slow pace, average 7min3.55sec for each km. I also completed 5 half marathon in 2012 and achieved pb of 1hr57min46sec. This year I completed 3 half marathon and a 32km but no pb, except my usual Ford road/water point pb of 1hr50min52sec for this 19.6  route. I did not exercise enough self descipline during training, no core muscle training as well. I am aiming for a 4hr40min this year, will be difficult to achieve but I will run my best race as much as possible.

Been thinking a lot on how to prepare for a race mentally. Can a strong mental conditioning overcome a less than ideal physical condition? Well, I will get to find out in 12 days time at the SCB Marathon on 1 Dec 2013 ! I will just relax and run a good race, I will try to pace myself at a sustainable pace and hopefully, everything else will fall into place nicely. I will try for a new pb although my preparation is far from ideal. A time of less than 4hr 50min would be achievable!

Simple answer - Someone superior and who has power to  create ! There are so many different version of the same idea, but no one has the answer. There is the possibility that we will never know the real answer, the problem is that we always think that we are superior and has the capability to go beyond. We cannot solve our daily problems and yet we think we can find the "beginning" ! Why do we not use our resources to help ourselves instead of fighting one aother ! We need to change the mindset of human to evolve to become a better race. 

Covered about 11 km at the gym today in 1 hr 1 min. A little too late to really train much for the SCB Singapore marathon on 1 Dec 2013. I can only try my best to manage the run, have to be really mindful not to walk too much when fatigue set in during the real run. 

I am in Hong Kong right now, wanted to go out for a run around Kowloon area but the sky was already quite dark around 5:50pm. Went to the gym at W Hotel which is on the 73 Floor, covered about 9km in 50min1sec. Seems like my weight has shot up recently, weight in at 67.1 kg before run, after run 66.2 kg. Looks like I am going to have a tough time at SCB Marathon Singapore on the 1 Dec 2013. 

Did a 14 km run on 9 Nov 2013, completed in 1hr 22min plus. A ok run, ran smoothly, averaging about 5:50 plus min per km. I was trying to conserve some energy for this morning long run, but weather was not good. Instead, had to run in the gym, did a 10.2km in 51min22sec. In the evening, did a 5.38km in 29min57.4sec. Have to put in a long run of 30km, missing this weekend long run of 30km plus would affect my preparation for the Standard Chartered Marathon on 1 Dec 2013. Have to be mentally strong this year to achieve a pb. 

Since the onset of Industrialisation in early 17th century, Earth has been slowly devoured initially but the pace accelerate each we advance technologically. We would really need to control our population growth, the amount of energy we consume and change our way of life to ensure Earth can take the pounding that we inflict on it each day. Ever wonder why we crave for more and more ? It's the mental state that we brought up in our so called advanced and industrialised society ! And as everyone know, not all are born equal. The capable will always use their ability to get ahead at the expense of the majority of the population. It's  a problem that will stay us for the foreseeable future, unless people start to educate their young to think differently. There might not be such a day, as it more difficult than we think it is. The basic human behaviour has got to change, and most are not ready to accept such a change. People are just too unpredictable, and a few black sheeps are ...

Not been training much due to work commitment, but still hope to improve on my pb in the upcoming SCB marathon. It's possible to improve marginally but not by a big margin. No matter how strong you mentally prepared, the body got to be prepared as well. Mind and body has got to be somwwhat in synch. Did a short run on 2 Nov 2013, Sat, 8km at the gym in 40min31sec. Today, 3 Nov, 2013, covered 19km in 1hr55min46sec. 27 days to the SCB Singapore marathon, just hope that I can improve on last year 4hr57min52sec. 

I wonder how many people out there believe in this theory ? Things really start from nothing, weird theory! In the first place, there has to be space before something can be put there. How can a reaction take place from nothing! Anyway, human are just too ambitious, you do not even know what the person next to you is thinking and yet you think you know what happened billions of years ago. 

Why is the SGX promoting high frequency trading ?  They distort the market, entering and leaving the market at high speed and great volume, taking advantage of the small/big movement in stock prices.  These traders trade with no fundamental, they are just out to make a quick profit. This is not good for genuine small investor and the public and should not be allow to prevail. Why would a market regulator promote such form of trading ? Do not make sense at all to most people. 

Had to run in the gym again today, 27 Oct, 2013, Sunday, due to the rain. Managed to complete 11.4km in 1hour. Can feel the extra weight due to fats around the abdominal area, have to work hard to get rid of it. 

Run at the gym today due to rain, covered 8.4 km in 45min30sec. Had too much to eat at the buffet lunch at 4pm, felt so heavy during the run. Hope to cover at least 20 km tomorrow morning, otherwise my preparation for the Standard Chartered marathon will be wasted. Must keep up the long run, so that I am at least physically prepared for the 42.195 km on the 1 Dec 2013.

At the speed that earthlings are going, it will not be soon as in the next decade or so ! So much energy is expended everytime a rocket is launched to get a maximum of 7 people into space. We need to be able to fly to at least to near earth orbit at ease or anytime we want to. The amount of time needed to get ready to launch is incredible and yet we have such ambitious goal. (like going to mars) Our launch technology is too primitive and  money is not spent getting there. Till the day we are able to launch at will or every other day, it will be a dream for the rest !

This year has been good for Singapore athletics, more national records broken than the last few years. Though we are not as good as the rest of the ASEAN Powerhouse, hopefully our athletes continue to work hard, achieve good results and close the gap. Long Distance Running has been extremely popular these last few years, hopefully our timing continue to catchup with the Sea countries. Hope to see Dr Mok and Ashley do well at the Sea Games and next year as well. Mok potentially can crack the 2hr26min anytime I believe and Ashley can break the 2hr30min next year as well. Mok Yin Rong is running well, we should be seeing more good timing from her in the near future.

I have been thinking of a device that can work like a GPS but without the need for any satellite signal. We will need the landmark, roads and the distance between places. I think it can be done, but need a program to load data and the logic for it to work. 

I think the Space power should start practising flying around the various space stations. The Iss is so near to Earth, should put it out to maybe a couple of thousand km away. Put a few up there and fly around the different stations and the moon. This will probably speed up the space travel technology, no need to set big goal big budget and eventually going nowhere. The money spent on defence by all the big countries should be able to pay for a few stations. But too bad, human kind are so afraid that if they let their guards down, fellow human will take the opportunity to conquer them. 

Although I did not achieve any PB for this run, I learn a important lesson. Going into this run, I had minimum training, working long hours during weekdays. In the previous 2 weeks, I eat only chicken sandwiches for lunch and avoided most oily fried stuff. But during my 13 of Oct run, both my legs suffered from cramp after 20 km. I attributed this to eating too clean, low in salt content in my diet. So for the Newton run, I just eat normally without being too conscious about food. I did not have any problem with my legs all the way during the run. One other thing I did right was to pace myself well, sticking to a 6:30 per km or 3.5 hrs pace. Due to my low mileage, my body is not able to substain pace of say 6:15 per km or faster for long run of more than 20km. Will try to complete another 32 km run this weekend. I managed a even split of about 1hr 5min for 30km during the Newton run, which I am quite surprise as well. I guess just have to be persistent and try to run on even at slow p...

Took park in the Newton 32km run at East Coast park this morning. I was in the 2nd wave of runners, started at about 5.40am. I tried very hard to pace myself properly, stick to a 6min28sec pace.Luckily ,  for me, there was no cramp today, managed to finish with a time of 3hr29min49sec.

There are definitely room for reducing spending, especially in the reallocation of human resources to more productive area. One good example would be the support services around important people, do they really need to be served by so many? They are no different from Royal Family if you think about it ! The government is paying for all these even though they do not have a single cents in their pocket.   If they continue to do it their way and keep borrowing, how to repay 17 trillion dollar? Think about it, if they have a solution, the debt would have would have came down a couple of years back? Anyway, this will repeat itself again, till a workable solution is found, but it's going to get more difficult as the numbers climb.

The plan was to run 25 km at 6min pace, but my lack of mileage spoiled the plan. Felt ok for the 1st 13km but I could feel the toll that my body was taking. Asked my running mate to carry on at his pace, I started to slow quite a bit. By the time I passed the food centre at ECP, I slow to a walk. Completed 20.5 km. After passing the washroom after Mac, started to run slowly but then after only about 200m, both my tigh cramped up. I have no choice but to walk and stretched. Walked till the last 3 km, started running, this time it was worst, developed cramp in both tight again and worst then the last one. This was it, I could not run anymore, I was not perspiring anymore, so have to be careful, too dehydrated. It was a demoralising run, but then my mileage is just too low. Wonder how I would fair for this Sunday Newton Run, 32km......I guess just run easy and not to over stretch my legs !

Have not run for about 2 weeks, just completed a 16km run in 1hr35min12sec. Started at about 4.52pm, the sky was kind of cloudy, no glaring sun, allowing for a early evening run. Was feeling ok at about 6min pace, it was kind of very even pace throughout, never deviating away too far from 6 min pace. Easy run today, nothing fast in between the Km either. Was workout after a long break. 

I am currently trying ways to improve my running time with really minimum training. Due to long working hours, I try to squeeze in 3-4 runs during weekend. Although this is not a solution at all, I still wish to achieve at least a pb for the coming run this Sunday and the 32km Newton Run on 20 Oct 2013. I have to try strengthen my core muscle group a little to have a chance to get my PB.

Started at 6.14 am from Ford Road carpark, started slow 6m18s 1st km, 6m12s 2nd km, try to run easy as this the 1st ECP run in 7 weeks. Covered the 3rd km in 6m5s, going under 6m by 4km, 5m57s. Seems to being going fine, clocking 5m49.9sec for the 5th km. The 6km was even faster at 5m45.2s, slowing down a little 5m50.1s for the 7th km. The 8th km was covered in 5m42s, 5m36.3s for the 9th km and 10 km in 6m6.3s including a 20s water break. 11km was covered in 5m33.8s, 5m31.8 for the 12th km. The 13th km was clocked in at 5m24.7s, followed by 5m22.5s and 5m14.3s for the 14th and 15th  respectively. I could not maintain the pace and slow to 5m41s for the 16km. The heat was unbearable and I had to take a water break and cooled myself down by wetting my head with water and the pace slowed to 7m3.8s. I slowly tried increasing my pace and managed 6m10.6s for the 18th km and 5m46.9s for the 19th km. Finally finished the 19.65km run in 1hr54m23s, it was a good run given my lack of mileage...

Completed a short run of 6km at the gym today in 30min6sec, average 5min per km. Started at 6min/km, increased my pace slowly to 5:40, then to 5:10 and eventually to 4:30 for the last 0.5km. Will have to do a long run tomorrow morning.

Whenever I received  credit cards bill, sometimes I received brochures promoting discounted goods, meals and others. They are printed really beautifully, on good quality papers, coloured and all, but 95% of the time it would end up in the waste basket. I believe it happens everyday in Singapore and elsewhere, but why these company keep doing it? In these age and time, why waste so much papers ? 

I think the state of the mind is important for achieving optimum result from training run. I guess whenever I try to rush through a run, I feel kind of distracted and would result in a mess up run. Need to train myself to be more patient and really knockout some long slow run of more than 25 km. 

Finally managed to complete a good distance of 18.5km according to my Polar RC3GPS watch, in a time of 1hr51min51sec. Did not feel very good but at least quite a smooth run from near the middle of the run till the end. Can feel my steps falling into place nicely and the body holding up well despite not drinking or eating any gel. Hope to put in a at least 21 km this weekend.

Manage to complete a 2nd run on 10 Sep 2013, Tuesday, about 10km in 1hr1min1sec. Although its a slow run, it was a good training, to get my body to accustom to running slow and far. Today, 11 Sep, 2013, managed to run 8km in 48min54sec. My body still trying to get use to running more, good training run.

Completed a short of 6.2 km at the  gym in 34min22sec. Felt heavy and out of breath, have start to put some miles into my legs. The SCB marathon is only 11 weeks away, have to take it seriously from now.

I was in Ipoh, Malaysia on 31 Aug 2013 Saturday and did a 8.11km at Polo Ground in a time 43min17sec. The park was quite crowded and I had to keep running right and left to avoid people having their morning walk. Not a pleasant run and a lot of energy wasted. Anyway I am really out of shape and it just felt so heavy when I run. This evening, 3 Sep 2013, Tuesday, run around Yio Chu Kang, covered about 10.2 km in 58min19sec. Still felt the same, heavy when I run. Today slightly better, at least no need to run through a  crowd. 

Where are we at the world standard of running ? Take a look at the medal table of the recent World Athletics Championship, where do you see Japan, Korea and China ? I think only Japan won a bronze in the women marathon. So how do we fare against these 3 Asian Giant ? You got the answer !

Europe seems to be recovering according to reports, but they have deal with structural problems in the long term. US seems to be happy just printing more money, China is slowing down. Further more, there seems to issue everywhere, Syria, Egypt, especially. Just do not understand the rational behind people fighting each other, but that's just the way human been behaving all along. 

Completed a short run at the stadium this evening, 10laps or 4km in 19min42sec. Not been running much these 2 weeks, have to really up my mileage in preparation for the Newton 32km run on 20 Oct 2013. Have to put in a few slow long run to gain back some confident. 

Most people would think that Singapore is a very clean country, but in fact it is clean because there are cleaners to clean the places. I think the easier way to maintain cleanliness is to educate people to behave like what they do at home. Not many people would little in their own house, so why do it outside your house ? Sad to say even educated people behave in such manner! Parent and teacher should teach such value to the young people.

Completed 3 run this week, 8.57km in the gym in 46min, 10.4km at the stadium and a 6.72km run today 11 Aug 2013 Sunday. The better run is the 10.4km run on Thursday in 56min41.357sec, not fast but I felt good about as I can felt I did put in a good effort. Still the same problem, not enough mileage and need to improve my core muscle.

Completed today 12km run in 1hr 5 min 16 sec. I am happy with this run as I am not in the best physical condition but I did put in a good effort to try to give it my best. I did hit a low 4 min plus per km, I can feel that I am kind of like floating. I try to imagine how the elite can maintain a 3min to 3:10 per km for the entire 42.195km ! Now I know how big is the gap between the average runner and the elite runner.

There is no short cut that will help to achieve new PB, the only way is to run more. Other ways will help but marginally only. There are a thousand and one way to improve but it's how you tailor it to suit yourself. Some like to run in the morning, others like to run evening. Some people like to listen to music when they run, some have to dress like a pro, etc. One very important thing is to know yourself, do not overdo any one thing and get hurt or injure you body. And of course having a positive attitude will definitely help as well.

Started late at 7.45am, completed 17km in 1hr 46min8sec. Started slow, reached the 1km in 6:57. Nothing special about until about 6km, start to get into the rhythm. Reached 10km in 1hr5min41sec. Saw a lady running with a dog in front of me, to avoid running behind her, I started to run faster. Completed the 12km in 5:57, follow by 5:40.4, 5:40.8, 5:41, 5:38.2 and the last km in 5:21.2. I did not take any water break or consume any gel today, trying to see how far I can go without any water or gel intake. Overall a good run but pace too slow.

Completed a 10km run at the stadium, 25 rounds of standard 400m. I could really feel how heavy I am when I run, felt I was really using much more energy due to my weight. I completed the run in 53min 52 sec. Although my running was smooth but somehow I felt my mind and body seems not connected properly. I tried to push harder but my body did not seems to response much at all. Maybe it's due to my slight sore throat that kind of made everything put of place. I could feel like I was not getting enough oxygen that I need to push harder. I need to put in more mileage if I want to improve my running time.

I have difficulty keeping a pace because I  normally drained after about 21km. One of the main reason is due to lack of mileage and the other is how I keep the energy level up by consuming gel and water along the run. But the real elite runner do not seems to do that at all much?

Started early today at 5am, initially suppose to run a 36km but we decided to shorten the run to about 20km when reached the 10km mark. We did a 1hr 7min 46sec 1st half. Once we decided to shorten the run, I pick up speed almost immediately. I kept a constant 5:35-5:40 till about 18km, was still feeling good at this point. I tried my best to keep going a little faster, but did not seem to be able to go much faster. Still running quite comfortably and managed to increase my pace to 4:25 -4：40 for the last 500 m or so. Completed the run in 2hr3m21sec, not a fast run but at least a good workout from my perspective. 

Finished a slow long run at ECP on Sunday morning, it was a difficult run due to lack of mileage. The distance was 31.5 km in 4hr 1min30sec, but after 26.2 km, had to really dragged myself to the end point. Have to learn to push myself to really to slow run rather than the walk run when I am tired. My body always tell me to walk when I know that I can still carry on with slow run, need to overcome this weakness.

Run 15.26km in 1hr38min33sec, a slow mid distance run ahead of tomorrow longer run. Started late today at 8.20am, luckily the weather was good, overcast with little sunlight, allowing a cool comfortable run. Just trying to tune up the body, although running twice a week on weekends does. It help much. Ran the 1st few km really slow like 6.30-6.50 per km pace, reaching 7km in 46.40, only covered 8.87km in 1 hr. Finally reached 10km in 1hr7min8sec, and from there increased my pace to 6:10, 5:58, 5:38,5:50 and finished with a 6:15 last km. Really need to find time to put in a weekday run to up my mileage. 1hr38min33sec, a slow mid distance run. Afraid to burn myself out before tomorrow longer run.

Completed 6 laps of lane 8 at the stadium, 2.64km in a time of 13min44.816sec. Just a short run to keep my momentum going. Need to really put in more mileage to get back into shape. 

Completed a 3 hr 22min run today, 6 Jul 2013 Saturday,  distance 27.8 km. Tried a new route today, started at 5.15 am from Seng Kang, from the PCN to Punggol and back to Seng Kang. It was a slow run today, about 7min plus per km. The 1st 20km or so was quite alright, but from 2hr45min, my body start to feel fatigue and the heat was starting to wear me down. But overall it was a good run, to test out the how the body feel during such long run.

Just finished a 4km run at the stadium, 19min50.048sec. My weight did not decrease from last week, so still felt heavy when I run. Ran using a new pair of shoe, "Karhu" Flow Trainer. It's a shoe brand from Finland, it's seems to be able to correct my running style. I can feel my step landing in a neutral spot, kind of like landing in the middle of the feet. Feel good, hopefully I get the same kind of feeling on my next run.

Went for a short run, 10 laps at the stadium(4km). Felt heavy during the run, must have put on quite a bit of weight recently. Finished the run in 20min18.4sec. Wanted to run at least a 8km but was quite doubtful of the air quality. Have to watch my weight, otherwise my running will not improve. 

Did a early morning run at the stadium, 21 laps 8.4km, took m 45min26.96sec to complete. Been relying too much on the digital watch to gauge my running speed, this morning I did not look at my watch as its was too dark and too troublesome to keep pressing the backlite button. I had this kind of weird feeling, not knowing how fast was running. But I think it's good for training, it takes away the urge to running faster if you feel you are slow looking at your pace. It also helps to determine a pace which your body is comfortable without giving in to your brain telling you it's too fast or slow based on the stop watch. By looking at your watch, your  brain interprets the time and put a limit on your body subconsciously. 

Completed 14 laps at the stadium this evening, 5.6 km in 29min13.94sec.  Felt heavy when I run, only managed to get into a good rhythm around the 9 lap. Always want to run fast when I run at the stadium. Fastest lap was 1min34.85sec, don't think I can run fast if I do not start loosing some weight and strengthen my core muscle. 

Did a short run today of 4km at the stadium today, completed in 20min6.32sec. I initially thought of doing a 10km but the heat was just too much and just do not have the feel that I can do it. But I do get  a feel that I am at least getting stronger, as I did not have to put in much effort to complete this run. Have to really have the descipline to do some core muscle training to get faster.

This year the organiser Split the half an full maratthon into 2 different night, I did the half marathon early this morning. The race started promptly at 11.30 pm and I manage to get into the start pen for the under 2 hours runners. I had mixed feelings as I did not put in the effort to train properly. Started really smoothly, there was not much of any bottleneck as I was in the faster  batch. I was feeling really apprehensive, keep wanting to go faster but hold myself back to run at my own pace. I would consider this as a good race as there were many better runners than me who serve as pacer for me. They kind of provided me the benchmark and motivation for me to keep pace and not to slow down too much. I think I made a good decision to not run too fast at the early part of the race and I retain some energy for the last few km till the end. There was nothing new about the route as it was similar to most of the half marathon races but at least there was no one section that was very...

The only run of the week, at the gym due to rain. Completed the 11.1 km run in exactly 1 hour. It was    a needed run as Sundown Marathon is a on 31 May 2013, Friday. It was a quite a difficult run as I was away on a short trip, and all the eating made my body heavier.

Started this run quite late on Sunday, 6.08 am at the East Coast Park. Started really slow, covered the 1st km in 6min42sec. The 2nd km was ran a little faster at 6min34sec. This is the 1st time we are running this slow, as the aim was to clock distance rather than doing a good time. It is definitely less demanding on the body running at this slow pace, but the problem is sticking closely to the pace. At the beginning you will find that it is indeed very slow (6.30. - 6.50) throughout almost the entire run. Initially, it's difficult to keep a constant slow pace but after maybe 15km or more, it's fine as your body starts to get tired. By about 20-21 km, I started to doubt if I still  can continue or will start walking. But, luckily, I could still find some strenght to run a little faster from the 22km onwards. Clocked 6:18, 6:08, 6:00 respectively for the last 3 km till 25km, and fiinished the last 0.62 km in about 3min. A good slow run, a good gauge for my  current overall fi...

Completed a14 km run this morning in a time of 1hr21min8sec. Not fast but a better run than the last run on Sunday. The first 4 or 5 km was feeling a tightness around the top of the ankle area but it disappeared from around 5plus km and manage to get into a comfortable pace of around 5:50min. Reached a peak of 5:28 at the 10km mark, with the fastest km at 5:15 for the last 1km. The heat was a factor as I started late at 8am, running any faster would shorten my run. 

Started run at about 6.15 am from Lentor/YCK road towards Yishun. Slow start, completed 1st km in 6min 29sec, feeling ok. Just run at a easy pace, never really get any faster. Reached 10km around Seletar airport, it was really hot by then. Did picked up a little speed from there, and eventually finished the 16.5km run in 1hr48min plus. Drink some water at the public toilet and walk for a few hundred metres and ran another 2.4km back to the start point. Just a lousy run today.

Achieved a PB for the 10km in the gym, it is always easier in the gym. 49min48.01sec. I need to work to achieve the same kind of timing outdoor.  It is always difficult to push your body to that kind of limit, you got to take it a step at a time. Sometime, you know you can kind of achieve it but you tell yourself to go through the process of feeling the pain barrier, the process of doubting your body, can the body substain such a speed, etc ! And somtime, you achieve what you want in the next run, it's kind of Deja vu, you been there you know how it all feel like and you confidently bring yourself to the next level! There is no shortcut !

Recorded a new PB for 10km at the gym this evening, the time is 50min22sec. I must try to break my outdoor pb of 51min38sec at YCK stadium achieved probably 20 years ago. Have to work on strengthening my core muscle group and reducing my body weight.

Woke up late today about 9.23am, was planning to do a evening run but went out for a run anyway. Started at about 10.13am, from yck/Lentor junction to via Lentor/Yishun ave 1 to entrance of Seletar country club and back. Felt good at the start, running easy and relax, covered the 1st km in 5:53. The next km was faster at 5:44, still feeling quite good. The 1st 5km was clocked at 28:49still felling good, covered the next km in 5:40. The next km was abit faster at 5:37, but I knew from 7km plus onward it's going to be hot and directly under the sun most of the way along Lentor. Covered 7-8km in 5:38, 8-9km in 5:32 and the last km in 5:15. The total time was 56:33.7, a normal timing, could have done better. My body still  defeated my mind, try harder in the next run and have to work on my core muscle group. 

Start point was at the junction between YCK road and Lentor to Yishun via ave 1 to the causeway between Yishun and Seletar airport and back to YCK road. It was a slow run average pace 6min1.6sec, total time 1hr42min28sec. Started the run at 7.11am along Lentor avenue, try to run easy but my legs did not feel too good. Felt better after 5km, my stride got smoother, the tigh and calf seems to get into the rhythm and coordinate well. But it was still slow, reached 10 km in 1hr1min plus. Tried my best to maintain a pace of less then 6 min per km. Reached 15km in 1hr31min plus and I was able to run around 5min40plus for the next km and eventually covered the last km in 5min26sec. It was a slow run but good workout overall.

Ran a 10km in the gym on 24 Apr 2013, Wednesday, clocked 52min55sec. A ok run but can be faster, got to improve on my core muscle. 

The London Marathon winning time was 2hr6min3sec, speed was 20.08km per hour. Just how fast is this suppose to be, I guess for the majority of us who are really into running, you would find it difficult to comprehend. This would translate into 17.58 times of our our regular Army 2.4km run at 7min 9sec each without taking a break! Almost 99 percent of us would not be able to do it even for just once in our life time! Incredibly fast time ! Although I would never be able to achieve such timing, the joy in running is the feeling of accomplishment when you hit a certain milestone or target, and you continue to set new benchmark for ourselves. Keep running !

Completed 25.66 km in 2hr52min43sec at ECP, it was a lousy run. I was totally depleted of energy at 20km, felt so dehydrated and body temperature was getting too high. Left tigh start to cramp up at 23km, really have to slow down to walk a few times. The 1st 16-17 km was fine but the last few km was really torturing, need to be really be more descipline to avoid such lousy run again.

Participated in the JP Morgan Run today, started at the tail end of the 3rd wave, crossed the start line at 5.53pm. There are just so many participants(16,300), it was really difficult to run as I have to try my best to snake around the walkers and slow runners. I completed the run in 33min20sec, the slowest of my JP Morgan Run.

Last year I managed a time of 28min13sec for the 5.6km run. Hopefully, I can run a better time this year, any time below 27min would be satisfying, as I am not in the best shape. My plan is to slowly warm up along the way, maybe starting at 5:45 pace and accelerating to 5:15 pace by the 1st km. I want to finishing strong at the end, so hopefully I can maintain about 5:10 or less till the 2nd km. From the 2km onwards, try to maintain about 5:05 or slightly faster till 3.5 km. If I have sufficient strenght, I would slowly increase my pace to 4:45 by 4.6 km. For the last km, try to accelerate to 4:30 till 5.25km then sprint the last 0.25 km reaching perhaps 4:10 pace or faster. Based on this estimation, I should finish in about 27 to 27min15sec.

Completed another short run, 14 laps at YCK Stadium , time 29min18.81sec. (5.6km) Felt really unfit, I think carry too much weight, causing me to really feel so heavy. I really need to reduce my weight so that I can run faster. 

Wanted to try to run as fast as could for 14 laps but just not fit enough to do it. Finished 6laps 2.4km only, in 11min33.01sec. Judging from my current fitness level, 28 min 5.6 km could be my best possible.

Just feel like need to run, so went out 9.39 pm Sg Time 12 Apr 2013 and covered 3.63 km. I do not really like to run at night as I am shortsighted and cannot see well in the dark. Did a quick run during the brighter stretch on the route, just try to go as fast as I could, fastest was just 4min25sec per km pace. But feel good after the run, very relax and feel fitter as well. Thinking if I should go to the nearby stadium to do a 5.6km tomorrow morning, want to see what of timing I can achieve. 

I tried to analyse each race and figure out what I have learnt from a particular race. For instance, the Run 350 I did on 7 Apr 2013, Sunday, overall it is a pleasant race ran at a comfortable pace. The first 3-4 km was as usual, bottleneck here and there, getting the body warn up and getting into a rhythm. Then there was the additional tightness around my right foot which was unusual and I had to stop twice, to try to loosen the shoe lace a little. Then as my pace steady, I was apprehensive about increasing my speed marginally, as I was not confident that I can substain it. I was thinking too much about wearing myself out early in the race and subsequently running at a reduce pace for the major part of the race which will definitely slow my finishing time. I am still thinking why my body temperature was raising so fast and not maintain at a manageable level like in my training run, did the humidity increased so substantially recently in Singapore ? By the way, my official timing for ...

I think one big different between a serious runner and a casual runner is descipline in training! 

Time to up my mileage and improve my overall fitness for the next race, the Sundown Marathon on the 31 May, 2013. Its a night race, last year I did 2hr14min plus, this year hopefully I can achieve a 2hr. Got to try to add a 3rd weekly run of at least 8km and start doing some push up an sit up to strengthen my core muscle group. 53 days to go, will be running the JP Morgan 5.6km on 18 Apr 2013. 

Woke late today 4.28 am, I set my alarm for 3.30am. Quickly drink a cup of warm water and quickly go to the washroom to wash up. Leave house at 5am and reached City Hall at 5.20am, took a slow jog to the start point at the floating platform. Deposited my bag and jog to the start point at the F1 pit. Just managed to join the rear end of the start as the start signal went off. Took about 3 min to reach the start line. Start slow, covered 1st km in 6:10, keep getting the feeling that my right feet was too tight, stopped twice in the 1st 2km to loosen it slightly, slowing to a 6:50 2nd km. Tried to run easy and hope the tight feeling in the right foot goes away, covered 3rd km in 6:03. The tight feeling in the right foot was gone by 4km, 5:44 4th km. Reached 5km in 30min:22, split time of 5:33 per km. Feeling ok at this point, covered 6th km in 5:38. Luckilythe organiser managed to avoid the dark stretch that 2xu went through. Covered 7km in 5:33, 8km in 5:38, slowing to 5:43 9km, reached...

My plan is to fuel my body better and keep it fully hydrated before the race and also bring an additional gel as well. (2 normal and double shot) I will also try to have more sleep before the race, hopefully can put in at least 5 full hours and also have a light breakfast. Mentally, I have been visualising how to run the race and also the race pace, at it at below 6min per km from the start, provided I can get further ahead and nearer the start point. Anyway, hope to run easy and dip below the 2 hour mark.

I find that keeping my goal in perspective is quite difficult and challenging during a race. Usually it's the body that tend to derail your plan, when you are struggling during a run due to fatigue, your mind cannot focus on the task at hand. Your body will keep telling you that your temperature level is too high, this is what happen to me during the recent 2xu run. I kept being afraid that I will end up slowing down too much later if I maintain a faster pace early or midway through the race. So I ran with so much apprehension that I keep holding myself back. I must try to overcome this problem this Sunday at the 350 half marathon. 

Reached the F1 Pit area around 5.10am together with my running buddy, deposited our stuff and i went to the toilet. Quickly went to the start point but we were almost right at the back. The 1st wave started at 5.30am but we had to wait for 12 more min and start with the second wave due to the huge crowd. The 1st 2-3 km was really slow and you just had to try to overtake some of the slower runners by squeezing through whenever there is a chance. The weather was really humid and I start to perspire a lot. Reached 5km in 29min 26sec, took a cup of sports drink at 6km, so slowing down to 6min 21sec. There was a stretch from 5plus to 6.3 km which was extremely dark, so had to be really careful. Eventually reached 10km in 59min13sec, feeling ok but I know I am not in the best condition to push my speed. I was just hoping to maintain 5min30us pace till 15km. Did not achieve my goal, only managed a 5min30 for the 14-15km and 15-16km. Start to fall back a little for 16-17, managing a 5:42. It ...

I think casual "runners" like me are always wondering why we are not improving even though we have been training religiously ? Well I think one of the problem is discipline, are you at your optimal weight , or are you eating too much ? Did you rest well the night before the run ? Did you do exercise to improve your core muscle ? I must admit I did not always do enough of the above to ensure I am in a optimal physical condition to break any pb, need to really start to be more disciplined to set some pb!

Start the run at 6.11 am, started very slowly, 1st km covered in 6min11sec. First 20km run since 3 Feb 2013, feeling rather apprehensive about how the run will progress. Reached 2 km in 12min25sec, time for the km in 6min7sec. Covered the 3rd km in about the same time, 6min8sec . It was a very casual 1st 10 km,  time was about 1 hr 1min 12sec. Start to speed up a little and covers the next lm in 5min40sec, followed by the next km in 5min39sec. At this 12 km mark, I was feeling just fine, but just did not run fast enough. The 12-13km was covered in 5min34sec, followed by the next km in 5min30sec, which will be my fastest km so far. Did try to push a little bit more but the lack of training start to be evidence, just could get any faster. Covered the 14-15 km in 5min43sec, just tried to not ow down by too much, covering the next km in 5min 48sec. By the 17km, body temperature was getting a little too high, so had to take water break to lower the body temperature. As a result of the...

Ever wonder is there anything outside our known Universe ? Do you believe the Big Bang Theory ? Always curious how people can convince themselves to believe that they are able to predict what's out there or detect other stars when they cannot even be sure what's out there on our very own moon ?

Achieved another new PB on 10 March 2013(Sunday) for the 10km run in the gym, the time is 50min26.76sec. I must try to achieve similar time outdoor. I always wonder how those elite runners can run at those incredible speed, almost seems unreal. I guess one can only know how it feels like when you get to that level. 

I managed to run a new PB for the 10km, this time clocking in at 50min 32sec, did it again at the gym on 3 Mar 2013. My 2nd PB in 2 days, quite an achievement personally. My best for the 10km outdoor was a achieved more than 20 years ago. Seriously , never thought that I can still run faster than when I was much you younger. So never undermine yourself, you can achieve       much more than you ever imagine possible. 

Finally break through the 51 min barrier for 10km today at the gym, clocked 50min 56sec. I am wondering if I can do it on a road run or at the stadium. I covered a total of 11 km in 55min 48 sec.  My pace was an average of 5:06 per km for 10 km and just slightly over 5:04 for the 11km. If I had ecorded this time at the stadium , I would definitely be quite happy as its much more difficult to run this pace outdoor. I am eager to see how I fair in the next 20km run at ECP, is it possible to record a 1hr 49min? I reckon I am capable of achieving such a time, also looking forward to the 7 April Run 350, I am looking forward to running a 1hr 50min 21.1 km ! Somehow I am feeling strong after today's run, I am quite sure I can break the 50 min for 10km pretty soon. I am physically and mentally stronger now, I guess visualising what you want achieve do really helps towards actual performance. Seems like I am finally breaking down the barrier I believe to be there previously. Now I finally...

Completed a short run today at Yio Chu Kang stadium, 10 laps of 400m in a time of 20min1.3sec. Not in a correct state of mind to do a good run, going on a business trip with a lot of stuff in mind. Initially thought of going out there to maintain as many laps of close to 2 min each as possible. Need to run 25 laps of 2 min each to go below sub 50min for a 10km, which is 1 of my target this year.

I have been running for many years but have never been very serious in my training. I do keep quite detailed running log for years, it's fun to read it when I am free. I started training with my running mate last June and I have made some progress since. I have definitely increased the maximum distance I can run without having to really stop, about 33 km from my previous best of maybe 15 km. timing wise, I improved my half marathon time from 2 hr 11 min to 1 hr 57min. In the past  it has. Ever cross my mind that I can actually run 18 km and still able to achieve a 10 min 2.4 km. I think mentally and physically I have improved quite abit, I can control my pace and speed better. I think the next step for me will be to maintain a lower body weight and core strenght to improve my running efficiency. Hopefully  I can achieved a sub 1 hr 50 min for my next half marathon in April 2013.

Today's run at ECP was actually very ordinary. Reached 10 km mark in exactly 1 hour, Reached 17km in 1 hour 42min 50sec. The highlight of this run starts here, covered the next km in 5min 2 sec and the following km in 4min 26sec, eventually finished the 20 km in 1hr 55min19sec. Nothing special from the finishing time, but I did covered the last 2.5 km in less than 10min. The last 4 ECP run, I have managed to finish strong, finally managed to overcome the mental barrier, no longer fearing that I cannot substain a fast pace to the end.

Completed 4 20km this Jan, 3 at East Coast park and 1 in the north AMK-Yishun. 1 Pb this year for the east cost run in 1 hr 50min 53sec. Did the nex 20km ECP on 20 Jan in a time of 1hr53min plus, did a 20km in the north in 1 hr58min1sec and another ECP 20 km in 1 hr51 In32sec on 27 Jan.

Want to find a new dream job !

Completed my 1st 20km run of 2013 at the ECP this morning with my running buddy. We started the run at 5.55am from our usual  start point at the toilet at Ford Road carpark. Today is the first time I am using my new polar watch the RC3GPS. Seems to have some problem detecting the satellite signal and was only able to detect it near the 8-9  mark. Started slow around 10 km/hr, as my watch was not getting the signal, I just had to depend on my buddy to do the pacing. Felt like we were going quite fast but it was only 10.4 to 10.7 km/hr. reached the turning point at about 56 min. After turning around, I felt better but try to control pace. My buddy told me that I always tend to run fast after turning around and ask me to try to maintain a even pace, to con serve energy for later. This seems to work well for me, I was able to pickup speed for the last 3 to 4 km comfortably. I just try to maintain 11 plus km/hr for the last 2 km and push it up further to 12plus km/hr for last 200m ...

Continue from my last post. Turning into Ford Road at the 13 km mark, feeling fine but dare not run any faster than 10 km/h. Still uneventful as it was still dark, just try to run easy. At about 6.40 am, the sky began to slowly let some lights through, at about the 18 plus km. Eventually reached the halfway point at about 7.05am. Began to feel a little tired, but still OK, try to relax and just run. But my lack of training began to be obvious, getting more and more tired. When I reached the 26km mark, can start to feel a little bit of cramp in my thigh area even after consuming salt tablet. I can see the white streak of sweat flowing down my thigh, meaning my body was not absorbing the salt. This stretch of East Coast Parkway seems like its never ending, but finally reach the banana station which is about 29 km. Eat the banana and began to run slowly again after walking for a while. I know that to go below 5 hours, I cannot afford to walk too much. Leaving behind ECP, its the long a...