42.195km in 3 hours 52 minutes

Where running is concerned, I started year 2009 with the goal to better my marathon timing from the 4:26 that I achieved @ the Singapore StanChart Marathon last year: I wanted to do a sub-4 marathon.

After what I would say, much hurdles, illnesses, obstacles and a sprained ankle, I achieved my goal on 1 November 2009 at the JoongAng Marathon in Seoul, South Korea. When I passed the finishing line, I had tears at the brim of my eyes - all those early 5am morning training runs, the long weekend runs, the restrictions on diet, restrictions on wardrobe (I stopped wearing high heels :P) - it was for that priceless awesome feeling of crossing the finishing line under 4 hours. I won't trade that feeling for anything in the world :)

@ the race-pack collection centre My trusty Asics GT2140 This pair of legs are gonna bring me over 42.195km today... This was at the baggage area before the start of the race - it was freezing cold!! Me along the route Me inside the JoongAng Olympics Stadium about 50m from the finishing line!
Me stretching & drinking my recovery energy drink @the rest/baggage area after the run Me on the way to subway after the race. Background are the supporters looking out for runners running into the JoongAng Olympics Stadium where the finishing point is. The distance recorded by Garmin actually shows 42.43km - I may not have been running the tangents! 5:29 mins/km with average heart rate of 166 bpm. The Finisher's Medal :)

Phoenix, Arizona 2009

Took a trip to Phoenix, Arizona for work recently. It's my first time there and it's a great place for the outdoors and hiking stuff. But it was too cold for me to do anything during the trip!

That's me @ the LA airport after a 18 hours flight The Phoenix sunset I always love looking at these @ the Rocky Mountain Chocolate shop Dinner @ Maggiano's - don't be jealous, Holliday! :) The mixed platter. The pictures do not do justice to the food coz of the poor lighting. The pasta I had

Quote of the....

"Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things."

~ Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch was the professor from Carnegie Mellon University who achieved worldwide fame a few months before his death to pancreatic cancer, for his heart-felt and inspiring "The Last Lecture" delivered live to more than 400 people. That recorded lecture has since been viewed more than 10million times on youtube and the book by the same title was on the #1 Best Selling List for a long while.

I read the book and there were a few things that definitely touched and/or inspired me; and if you had not read the book yet, I would strongly recommend it to you. So when I was typing out the title for this blog entry, I felt that this quote deserves more than being the quote of the week. I was playing around with the words "year", "lifetime".....

The quote is especially applicable to me when I was training for the marathon. I started 2009 with the aim to improve my 4:26 timing for the full marathon. I had my fitness base from the marathon in Dec/2008 and I wanted to build from there. So I started training and was hoping to run the Gold Coast Marathon in July/2009 - it was the same one I ran 10 years ago which landed me on crutches and I thought it'll be fitting if settle this "old score" 10 years later.

But I came down with serious bouts of illness in March/2009 and then again in April/2009 which kinda threw my fitness off whack. So I ended up running the Half Marathon in Gold Coast.

I refused to give up and went in search for the next marathon that I can run. I found one and started training for it. Then I sprained my ankle and was down for two whole weeks. I felt depressed but with friends' and loved ones' encouragement, I pressed on.

During the marathon training campaign, when I was tired from doing my long runs and felt like stopping, or when I was doing my fast workouts on the track and my heart was bursting and asking me to stop, when I was at the 36km mark of the marathon and there was a steep up-slope in front of me - I kept repeating this mantra to myself. This was one of the thoughts that I had whenever I felt like giving up.

And I am going to remember this quote for a long long time....Go watch the youtube video if you have not :)

Coffee for a lazy afternoon...

Spent a lazy afternoon with Coffee @ East Coast Park before the monsoon pours down on us. I had to carry Coffee to shelter because he was not running fast enough!

As usual, the lazy boy refused to walk much....

Black and White

Had this almond paste and black sesame paste dessert recently and was intrigued by how it was served in distinct black and white sections in the same bowl. Does it mean that the person had to use both hands to pour both pastes into the bowl at the same time?.....

A New Year, A New Fur Cut

Coffee turned 5 years of age recently! And to commensurate his birthday, I decided to bring him to the groomer's to give him a new fur-cut to usher into the new year. :)

I had to bring an old bandana along so that the groomer can tie it to his neck after the grooming session with the hope that he will not sulk after that.

When I went to pick Coffee up, the groomer commented "Eh, the bandana a bit tight leh, Coffee has put on weight!" Ha!

10km in 49:22 minutes

My personal best for a 10km run was 49:55 minutes as written about here in March this year. As part of my training plan for the marathon, I was supposed to do a all flat-out 10km run (preferably in a race) to predict the timing I would get for the marathon. But since there was no 10km race during the specific time period I was looking at, I did a 10km run on my own at East Coast Park.


Went to East Coast Park after work. Took a banana and an energy gel before doing some striding and stretching. Then I was good to go!


I started out quite fast and I was tired by the 4th km. By the 7th km, I had to tell myself that its 3km left and that is 8 rounds of the track - something that I had done before so I must not give up.


When my Garmin beeped for the 10th time, my lungs were bursting and I felt like vomitting! But I achieved a personal best of 49:22 minutes; average pace was 4:56 minutes per km and average heart rate was 178 beats per minute. I am happie! :)

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2009

Was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for work recently. Then I stayed on over the weekend to spend some time with Weiling.

The Asia Pacific Division and Regional Finance Team

View of the Malaysia Twin Towers from my hotel room

Attention to details in personalising the dessert!

I love the macarons!

Daily treats in the hotel room It's strips of melon made into a rose I spent the weekend with Weiling. Her neighbour has two adorable puppies and they are so deprived of human interaction that any indication of attention on them will get 100% of their attention. Tidbits! Treats for Coffee!

Nike Free 5.0

Nike Free 5.0

I have never been a believer in Nike running shoes. I always felt that they only look good but when it comes to performance as running shoes, they fall behind Asics and adidas. So it's on an auspicious day that I parted with my money for a pair of Nike Free 5.0.

There has been a lot of literature recently on how humans were made to run barefoot and how modern running shoes (with their thick cushioning and soles) are actually bad for us and causing more injuries than good.

And because most of us cannot run barefoot for safety reasons (think germs, glass, stones, dog poo etc.), Nike came out with Nike Free 5.0 which is supposed to simulate barefoot running. The Nike Free series comes in three versions: Free 3.0, Free 5.0 and Free 7.0 with increasing thickness/cushioning (but still minimal compared to other running shoes). So I decided to go with the middle - 5.0.

When Nike first launched the Free series, it was not very popular and was written off by many runners. A lot of them started getting injuries from using the Free shoes (which is contrary to what it is supposed to do!). The reason was because after years of running in shoes with tons of cushioning and support, these people took the Free and ran 20km, 30km for the first run. When your legs are not used to this minimal cushioning, when you pushed your body to start using muscles that it has never used before for 20km - 30km, it is no wonder that your body will protest!

I decided to be cautious and did the first two runs in this pair of shoes on the treadmill; first for 3km and then 5km. The soft landing of the treadmill does help in lessening the impact. I did not feel anything during the run but I must say that my certain parts of my calf muscles were definitely aching that night (so I assuming that I am using those muscles that I have never used before).

It's too soon for the verdict to be out. I am planning to wear the Free 5.0 for my runs on tarmac around my housing estate. Let's see how it holds up on "normal" roads....stay tuned!

For now....

Just a quick update:

• Achieved a major milestone for my jogging;
• Travelling for work;
• Cutting down on my jogging for a while;
• New jogging shoes;
• Christmas came early - new ipod nano;
• Sporting a new hairstyle;
• Coffee putting on weight.

I promise to write a more detailed update once I get more time!! Stay tuned!

Misery Movie

Those of you who know me long and well enough will know that I am very chicken sh!t in that I do not watch horror/thriller/suspense movies. Not at all, because I know that I will be very affected by them and may end up replaying the horror scenes in my mind. Then I can kiss goodbye to walking home alone at night; travelling alone for work and sleeping in a hotel room alone etc etc.

This Misery movie was hyped as the best adaptation of a Stephen King novel ever (for the uninitiated, SK writes horror/thriller/suspense novels) and I was convinced to watch it on DVD with a group of 12 other people at a friend's house.

All I can say after the movie is that although I am still working very hard to eliminate certain images and scenes from my mind, I would highly recommend it to anyone who has yet to watch it.

It is that good....

Quote of the Week

" You can't break my confidence, because I know I train hard and work very hard for what I want"

~ Usain Bolt, July 2009

--> This is the mindset I must have when I step onto the starting line.

The Monster

Coffee has been in a "monster" mood recently. He has been tearing his toys up; both old and new toys. The record is a mere 5 minutes - a brand new toy was destroyed within 5 minutes! It was supposed to be a clown. That's all the cotton fluff left of the clown - the rest are probably in Coffee's stomach!
This was one of this favourite bears and he had it for a while. Then one day....

The bear saw its end too....
This pic is a bit blurred but I like how he looks at the cammy at an angle. It's as if he knows you are taking a pic of him but yet he does not want to be nice and look at the cammy directly.

How much would you pay?

For a view like this out of your living room balcony?

Towards the left...Right in front....

On the right...

Many happie returns!!

Celebrated my birthday recently :) Had a few good meals and some nice pressies! So I am a happie girl! :)

Dinner @ The Screening Room. This was the appetizer. Cod in Miso sauce Tandori Chicken Beef Cheese with pesto sauce I had the mushroom risotto. The serving size looked small in a huge plate but it was enough to fill me. Lunch @ Le Nicholas. This is the appetizer - scallops with pasta. Fish with mashed potatoChilled white chocolate soup with milk chocolate Royce chocolate pressie from Been - one was my favourite: potato chips coated in chocolate! More Royce chocolate pressie - is it that obvious that I looooove chocolate?? Garmin Forerunner 405cx - yay!! Pink Nike Sports bra from AQ - she is obviously trying to influence me to like pink like she does! A pair of "super-duper" socks and a rolling massage stick from my running best friend.