July 28, 2012

MacRitchie Reservoir - Hardcore Runners Recommended

We thought we were ready for MacRitchie after so many weeks of running around different parts of Singapore. We were wrong.

Our Startpoint. The Jetty
MacRitchie Reservoir is probably one of the oldest and favorite running spot for Singapore runners and I probably do not need to even blog about it as most runners would have, at one point of time, done a run at MacRitchie Reservoir. The last time we did a run at MacRitchie Reservoir was during our High School days, when we were forced by the school to go for a cross country run. 

July 21, 2012

Garden By the Bay East, Kallang, Nicoll Highway - A Big Mistake! 10 KMRun

One week after the Pocari Sweat run, we finally decided to sign up for the Stanchart Half Marathon 10km run and set or minds to training for it.

BBG,"Stanchart 10km no more liao"

PES E,"WTF!?? Let's do the 750m kids dash...."

BBG, "Ya. I just checked. Only marathon n kids dash left.."

Fang Tai, "Think GE Women run still have. Who wanna bring my kids for the run?"

PES E," Noooooooo. My Stanchart!! I never did a Stanchart run before!! I need to do a Stanchart run before I die!!!?

Marathon Girl, " OMG. This is really fast. Really gained a lot of popularity thru the years. Actually got a lot of other runs... Standard chartered too crowded...  越来越不好跑

BBG, "Any good ones u recommend for end of year?"

Marathon Girl, "100 plus passion run in Nov. Got 9km distance."

PES E," We going for all the Isotonic drinks run?? Got a H2O run???"

The discussion to replace the Stanchart Half Marathon is still on going....
The Ugly Brother of Helix Bridge

July 15, 2012

Gardens By the Bay - Pocari Sweat Run 5km Run

Here it is, the event that we all have been training for: Pocari Sweat Run 5km! Initially, we signed up for the run because we wanted to set an objective a few months down the road. Training to run 5km from totally unfit is quite a challenge to us at that point in time. The whole experience is best summed up by the quote from Big Bone Guy:

"I never could imagine that I could run 5km! Until today!"

So 5 of us signed up for the Pocari Sweat and is determined to work out at least once a week to be fit enough not to disgrace ourselves during this public event. Alas, a week before the run, I was off to Manado and Gold Coast for holidays and did not get to run much. BBG went on a working trip in Berlin and flew back only the day before the run. Alcoholic and Fang Tai were overseas too. Lazy girl was just... too lazy to run. We were by no means in the best of condition to challenge the run and were moaning and groaning the day before

Gardens At the Bay. Location for the Pocari Sweat Run

July 6, 2012

Australia Gold Coast - Surfers' Paradise

Australia is probably one of the most popular holiday destination for Singaporeans. Well, I am one of those who has not been there in his entire life. I guess I am more of a North Asia traveler than a down under fan, as good food, especially noodle dishes, are some of my favorite food. My sis have resort to emotional blackmail to get my sorry ass to the down under and to take advantage of the low promotional rates offered by the newly minted long haul budget airline, Scoot. So off I went on a 6 days gold coast trip with my sis and my two years old niece.

The brightly yellow wacky design of Scoot
The first few days were spend in a farm near sunshine coast. I have every intention try to make an attempt a run around the farm but the uneven, rocky ground plus the winter cold is sufficient to persuade me to stay indoors, away from the freezing outdoors.

Later in the trip, we drove back to gold coast surfer paradise where the weather is much Warmer. Our apartment fronts the famous surfer paradise beach and a nice long running track parallel to the beach makes it a irresistible temptation for any runner.

By 630am, I am suited up for the cold in surfer shorts, a long sleeve rash guard and a windbreaker. This is the first time I am running in the dead of winter anyway so, despite seeing other joggers in t-shirt and short. I rather not take the risk.

Looks like a mugger...
The sunrise is glorious and the beach is beautiful. The running track is smooth and well paved and it stretches all along the entire beach of gold coast. Running in the cold is fantastic too as you do not even perspire much, just feeling comfortably warm even with my pretty warm running gear. My apartment is near the Eileen Peters Park along Esplanade road and with the sea on my right, I head north.
The start point of my run
Glorious Sunrise


Vietnam War Memorial
Its a nice long flat track!!
Life guard Kiosk. See the security camera?
There are no hordes of tourists in the early morning, just the early cleaning crew and a steady stream of joggers. The beach is dotted with numerous unisex toilets and life guard kiosks. As compared to a single high chair in the middle of the beach under the burning sun, the life guard kiosks are a luxury as compared to what I see in Singapore and around Asia. I suspect that they may even have air-con in the kiosks, to help the life guards keep cool, so that they can focus on their jobs spotting distressed swimmers among the swells of the sea.
This Warning sign is everywhere!

 They also have designated swimming area marked out by multi color flags. The beach looks pretty uniform to me, so why do they need to mark out a no swimming area? Is it because that area is out of sight of the life guard kiosk or there is a Great White Shark lurking just below the surface on that stretch of the beach. On my left, are block and blocks of residential apartments and I see a lot of signs at the entrance of these apartments signalling that they have rooms to let. It seems like the whole of surfer paradise is one big weekend vacation spot, as most of the buildings have apartments out for short and long term rental. These are also prime beachfront apartments where you can actually enjoy the sun rising over the coast. In Singapore, residents will queue to get an apartment like that, just for the good Feng Shui.
Prime beachfront properties or just weekend rental apartments?

A rough guide to Surfers Paradise
  I hit the end of surfer paradise and turned back on hitting another stretch of the beach called "main beach".After 5 km, I don't even feel tired, thanks to the cold weather. I could have done another km or two but I need to bring my niece for her McDonald breakfast.

Turning back on reaching the Main Beach
I saw a couple of joggers doing beach jogging and I thought that they look pretty cool, so I did a short distance by the beach just beside the surf. The sand is just hard enough for running and not too soft that it becomes too tiring. If I have another morning at gold coast, I would have done beach running! Yes, I have only one morning at surfer paradise before flying back to Singapore the following morning.

Running on the beach! Beautiful!
The morning sun is fully risen and the weather getting warm
Anyway, I headed back to the apartment I change and get ready for breakfast, knowing that running in the cold, is a fantastic experience! At least I know how much clothes I need to wear to run in the dead of winter! What's left is to try to run, when it is snowing. I wonder what the experience will be like!??

Accolades

Powered by Blogger.