• The Cheery Runner

    Sunday, February 28, 2010

    HK SCM 2010

    Pre-race
    Morning: Reported back to school n conducted lesson as per normal.
    Afternoon: Lesson ended at 1pm n went back home to get myself ready to e airport. Bused 27 to T1 n checked in upon arrival. Had a nice bowl of Mee Rebus at e T1 staff canteen n waited patiently for my flight. Kumaran n Tram joined me much later @ e boarding room. Flight was slightly delayed again. Finally got on e plane @ 6.10pm n departed Sg @ 6.20pm. Texted dear beforehand tt I will call once I reach. Missed out so much fun n food on Friday, luckily get to eat e superb Soya Beancurd n food @ Dynasty on Sat. hehe Touch down at HK at 930pm. E custom was slow w super long queue but we were lucky to get into an express lane just in time when e officer opened up a new counter. Trained to Tsim Tsa Tsui by Airport Express n called dear. Finally checked into e hotel n zzz. Wat a day.

    Sat was great! Shopping n eating throughout haha. Had Tim sum @ 9am followed by a quick shopping spree. Bought 2 tops, 2 dresses n 3 pairs of shoes within 2 hr. Deposit e stuff back to hostel n proceed for part 2 at Mongkok haha. Had lunch at e roasted meat eatery n went to sinho for watches. Dear saw a Suunto GPS X10 very tempted to buy but cost HKD 3800.. manage to resist his temptation n off we went to Fa Yuen st where I got a bag n sports bra muahahaha.. Trained back to Hostel for a short rest b4 mtg e rest @ 6pm for dinner @ Red Ants.. Had a big portion of Baked Cod fish with salted fish n garlic.. Woah very nice but almost killed me w e amt of food guess I had some indigestion as e lunch was at 3. Past another fashion shop as we walked to e bakery.. Ermm bought another 4 tops from there! woah this is e 1st time ever I had bought so many clothes within a day!! PB in my shopping record.. :">

    Race
    Got up @ 5am to prepare for e race.. Took my raisin bread n a bottle of gatorade b4 heading down to start pt. Dear wished me luck n reminded me abt e target time for each chkpt. I walked to my timezone section (1:50-2hr) n waited patiently. Everyone were excited n cheered on.

    I crossed the line abt 1min later.. Everyone were speeding.. Being conservativeat e start, I focused to get my pace n breathing right. Chked my 1st 5km mark - 28:33. Off by 33 secs. Was feeling quite comfortable n my pace gradually increased without much effort.. Took e sports drink at e 7km mark.. It was mint flavour.. Abit like listerine.. I rinsed n spit it out haha.. @ 10km mark, time chk - 26:36 (56:03). Wow I was surprised tt I caught back e lost time n hit my 10km target.. But worrying tt I might be gg to fast, adjusted my pace slightly n tagged along a fellow runner.. Realised tt when I overtake him, he will try very hard to run beside me n overtake... Took e same sports drink at e next 2 WP n took a mouthful each time.. @15km mark (end of tunnel) - 26:05 (1:22) tt's much faster than wat I expected! The last 6km at HK was very challenging with multiple slopes.. I tackled them one after another. It was during this period where I get to overtake many runners n it boost my confidence. Time check @ 19km - 1:43 wow my sub 2 is cfmed! Took 27:31 (1:49) for the last 5km chkpt.. Last km to go.. Crowds cheered for e runners along e way n it was very motivating :D finally e last 200m n e clk was ticking to 1:55.. Crossed e finishing at 1:55... E feeling was great!

    No sight of Trevor n gang.. Decided to return to hostel n shower before heading back w dear's stuff. Lucille did her PB too! 2:41, 15mins shredded off! Well done for her as it was a hilly run. She was glad tt she did MF hill training which helped her to tackle all e slopes :D

    Dear did his PB too! Completed his full in 3:21 - it was a great race despite e tough route n weather (26deg) for e full marathoners.

    Time Split at Chkpt
    5km - 28:33:05 (29:26)
    10km - 26:36:37 (56:03)
    15km - 26:05:41 (1:22:08)
    20km - 27:31:24 (1:49:39)
    21.195km - 5:29:79 (1:55:11)

    Thursday, February 11, 2010

    Ridley Park - Magaret Drive

    Not much of a turnout today.. haha guess most must be busy preparing for the lunar new year this coming weekend. Enjoyed my run today :D Had Lee's company till Holland road. Was thinking of catching up with Henry but he was no way in sight... later did i realise he was actually behind as he went for a short break @ Esso Farrer Rd. Waved to Sok Hwa n Snr Chua @ MD Hawker n ran on.. Was very much alone along Magaret drive stretch, can';t wait to get out of this long curvy route.. As i exit from MD, saw Peter n Diana ran towards the upslope to Ridley Park.. woah they started really late. Saw Alex @ GESS, our company got bigger as we hit the BM junction, Wee Haur, Alber, Laichee. Hurray managed to burn off some calories before loading more over the weekend!! Hahaha Huat arh!!!

    Distance: Approx. 14km __ Timing: 1:20:38