I didn't have much sleep, around 5 hrs of sleep. Dear joined me to MF Safra for the long run this morning. It was a very hot morning and humid. I opened the running club room. We have more runners back and some of the familiar faces - Freddy, Kenny joined us back. Jimmy was the core trainer for today's training. He planned a different NUS route to give a better option to usual route. We were to go straight down from Clementi Rd after NUS, and returned by Pasir Panjang Rd passing by Har Par Villa.

 

We started off at 7.40 am. The sun wake up quite early and by 7.45 am, the sunlight was pouring at us along Pasir Panjang Rd. I was leading upfront with Teck Hou following behind. This time it was real hard to led upfront with the hot sun shining strongly, drained more of our energy. The Panjang Pasir part to South Buena Vista Rd was smooth but hot. I stayed around 4 min 30 sec pace, waiting for Teck Hou to close up as i had taken quite a distance of lead. As i entered NUS, the tiredness started to sit. I felt thirsty easily and the second voice asked me to stop at the NUS Cheer shop. But i carried on and did not want to have a bad habit of drinking. I passed by the NUS interchange and made a right-turn toward Fragance hotel. I took 46 min to reach there. Should be more than 10 km by then. I took my first break at Shell station before the IME junction. The cashier took quite long to give me the change. Teck Hou took over the lead from there. I have a 4 min break before i started running.

 

After the break, i had to play catch-up. The sun was not helping as it was getting stronger. I passed by Har Par Villa and went back to Pasir Panjang Rd again. This time it was really tough. I crossed the road and ran at the opposite direction so to avoid the strong sunlight. I finished the last drop of drink which i held on from the break. It was really chow tar run and the heat was so strong. As i turned into Laborador, i have a choice whether to enter the park through the hill or by the long road. The difference was between slope and sunlight. I chosen to go with the strong sunlight. My pace was slowing down bit by bit and it was more comfortable at the park with the trees providing the shades for us. I could see Teck Hou at the other side of the Laborador park loop. I finished loop and quickly got out of the sunny portion toward Laborador entrance. By then, Kenny, Freddy and some of the tough ones started to enter into the torturing Laborador.

 

The route back to the clubhouse was a torture. I could feel my right leg having blisters and it was going to cramp. I was forced to slow down and my mind kept telling me to walk. It was not even 25 km and i was feeling like a wall hiting me. The weather was acting as the weight behind the wall. I took a look at my watch and set a target to finish under 2 hrs. I struggled through Telok Blanagah Rise route and finished it in 1 hr 54 min.

 

From the google map, this route distance was around 22 km. But my finishing time did not justify the distance. And it was tougher than 22 km. Few of them skipped the Laborador Park as they knew the sun would test them. I was not prepared for this kind of weather. But it was a good start toward a tough marathon race just like 2005 marathon.

 

21th September 2008 (Sun). Distance: 22 km. Time: 1 hr 54 min.

 

 

After the Tues training, my legs feel a bit tired and heavy. I did a bit of stretching and could still feel the aching on my ankle. I talked about 'Goal Setting' before we start the run. Sub-5 is the main goal for most of them as i wanted every MF runner to be at least sub-5 standard. I can forsee at least 6 of them to hit under sub3-30 this year. Jimmy instructed them to run at marathon pace. For sub-5, marathon pace mean 6 min - 6:30 min pace.

 

We started off once Julie came in. I began the run slowly, chatting with Thomas on the recent market movement. We shared our different views on the market. As we went into Queensway railway, i moved upfront to join the front pack. I asked Henry who is leading the front at Portsdown junction. Tay LH was doing the leading. With the green light on, i surged upfront and gave chase to the leading man. It was a good catchup play but my legs were quite tired. I remained constant pace, 4:30 min/km pace to relax my leg muscles. The pace was good enough to catch up with Tay LH & Macus at Biopolis. The air was not that good on the road, busy people rushing home for dinner. While they were rushing home for dinner, we were still working hard on our body. We deserve to be champions at the year end marathon. In fact, most of us are among top 100 runners in 4 million populated Singapore. That was an achievement.

 

The speed was constant all the way to the clubhouse but it was an aching run. I reached the clubhouse at 8.07 pm. Not quite sure on the starting time but i think it took me 1 hr 10 min to finish the whole 14 km. Everyone came back within the time limit of 1 hr 30 min. Most of them said that they were running faster today. It was a good effort run.

 

18th September 2008 (Thurs). Distance: 14 km

 

 

I barely have any good rest this weekend. As usual, i woke up at 5 am. Washed up, took my honey drink and packed my bag for the Sunday's run. I tried to wake Dear up but she seemed to be more tired than me. I let her have more rest and left home at 6.05 am for the early train to Harbourfront. I reached the club around 6.55 am and it seemed that there was a huge party on Saturday as i passed by the lobby to pick the running club key. This morning, we would run 22 km from clubhouse to Nicol Highway through Keppel Rd and u-turn from Republic Ave.

 

As i warmed up for the run,  i could feel my tiredness and some aches from my left side of my legs. We have more runners today and most of them were starting to come for the marathon training. At 7.35 am, I started upfront with a sloppy pace, loss of concentration. Teck Hou ran up and stay behind me to give me a wake-up call. After 1 km off Henderson Rd, i started to raise the tempo as i saw a 5 min pace. The pace was raised to slightly more than 4 min pace. Teck Hou followed tightly behind. We broke out from the group and my body started to heat up. We passed by Tanjong Pagar railway station and Shenton Way. The road was pretty quiet. I took a glance at Lehman Brothers building and wondered what will happen to them next week. The pace was relatively fast by then and i would say it was much faster than the past marathon training. Teck Hou was closing up and i could sense he was increasing his speed.

 

Esplanade area was fully blocked by fencing for F1 race. Teck Hou caught up with me at Suntec. We ran side by side along Nicol Highway. I took a look at my watch and it was reading around 37 min. As we turned into Republic Ave toward Singapore Flyer, i started to break out from him again. I believed i did not increase my pace but Teck Hou slowed down. It was alright for me to lead in front as i was used to be a front-runner. As i passed by Singapore Flyer, i saw Henry, Yong, Jason doing the opposite direction. The TYP runners were in the city too. As i approached Esplanade, more runners started to pass by - Peter, Siew Lee, Ivy, Michael. I waved at them and moved on. I must say that Teck Hou and myself were running really hard. I proceeded to the M-Hotel 7-11 store to buy a drink but Teck Hou moved on. I took a 4 min walk drink before i proceeded on again. By then, Teck Hou was running much ahead. I resumed my pace, running past Keppel Rd and Harbourfront. I felt relatively strong at the back along Henderson Rd as i was looking to go under 1 hr 30 min.

 

I did clock 1 hr 30 min as i reached the clubhouse. But the distance was definitely not 22 km. I felt quite strong after the finish and the timing did not justify the distance. I asked Teck Hou about it and he too admitted that the distance was not 22 km. A 20 km distance was more appropriate. The rest did really well on this distance. Most of them ran under 2 hr 10 min and this was just the start of the marathon training. The main course have not started yet.

 

14th September 2008 (Sun). Distance: 20 km. Time: 1 hr 30 min 42 sec.

 

 

This morning's run mark the start of the SCSM08 training. The turnout was average with around 18 runners. Most of them have taken part in the Avian Ironman 70.3. It was a 21 km route from Clubhouse to Dover Rd, Clementi Rd and back from Ulu Pandan Canal. I had a warm-up chat with Eddy about his future path after Army. It was a cool morning that was just nice for a high tempo run.

 

We started off at 7.30 am sharp and i headed in front to lead. Teck Hou just tagged behind me, allowing me to control the pace. After a break from SBR, there was a lazy feeling which distract my concentration. Not feeling like running, hoping for more rest. This is a very negative thing to have after so many years of running experiences. Both of us led in front all the way upfront and was all the way on our own world. At Portsdown Rd, i started to break off from Teck Hou and i was surprised that he never followed up, not his usual self. I led in front along the stretch of Dover Rd behind Singapore Poly. The road was very quiet early in the moring. I maintained the pace, almost similar to the SBR feeling. Heading into the canal, i could see more runners running in the opposite direction. I was wondering what pace am i running. I took a glance at my watch during the 10 km mark. It was 40 min from the start, i was actually running at 4 min/km pace. I didn't feel like a 4 min pace. No wonder Teck Hou dropped off behind, knowing that i was going too fast.

 

I saw Benson at the canal and we greeted each other before i continued on. Probably the weather have helped me a bit and i was feeling great. I decided to stop at the Queenstown Petrol station for a drink. It was around 15 km by then. I bought the Pocari Sweat at the discount rate by getting 2 bottles for $2.6. I passed one of them to Teck Hou before he went on first. I walked for a while to enjoy my drink. As i was about to begin my second part of the run, the sun started to pour out. Teck Hou had already went off for a distance. I went passed Ikea toward Alexandra, was getting tired by then. I could feel i was slowing down. The 'hit the wall' feeling came out to test me. I was expecting it to come and the stretch from Telok Blanagah Way to Harbourfront was agonising but challenging.

 

I maintained a good air flow but dropped my pace. In the end, i reached the clubhouse with a time of 1 hr 48 min. There was a problem with my endurance which i didn't realise it in the past. But it give me a room for improvement. By the time i reached the clubhouse, the weather was hot and humid. The runners behind was struggling to finish this 21 km route. It was a tough route with this kind of weather.

 

7th September 2008 (Sun). Distance: 21.5 km. Time: 1 hr 48 min.

 

 

 

 

I tried to have a good rest throughout Friday and Saturday to prepare myself better. Dear prepared prawn spaggetti on Saturday and it was good for value meal. The 5000m and 800m final were to be shown today. Especially the 5000m, i would not miss it. I have no doubt this time that Bekele would win it this time after missing out at Athen. And true enough, he went out hard and won the race in fashion. I did not have a early sleep due to the olympic tracks. But i was used to it. Before i went to sleep, i make sure my number tag and chip were ready on my vest and shoe.

 

 

 

At 4.35 am, we met my mother-in-law at the groud floor and as usual she drove us to the start point. We reached City Hall around 5 am. It was not so crowded as the start time this year was later at 6.30 am. We proceed to the Esplanade toilet to meet the others there. Nobody was there yet. But soon Chairman, Liping & Michael arrived. I started to do my warm-up as Safra MF runners poured in. We were still talking about the recent Olympic track races. It was the best olympic games ever seen.

 

At 6.05 am, we started to move out to the starting point. The big crowd was already there assembling for the starting horn. I moved slowly up front to tell the official that i was seeded. They allowed me into the elite area and it was the first time that i was seeded. I felt really honoured to be there. I saw Melvin, Joshua, Ricci, Sumiko and some of familar faces there. Singapore had invited some of the best region army boys to join in this run. The starting line looked very aggressive and an explosive start was waiting for me. At 6.20 pm, the rest of the runners squeezed upfront and we were packed together. A Kenyan runner waited impatiently beside me, feeling like wanting to burst out once the horn is heard. At 6.35 pm, the race started off and everyone tried to push each other upfront. This was one of the fastest start i ever had. Immediately i tagged behind Vivien Tang as i knew her pace was about 4 min/km. Joshua joined in too and i asked him to tag behind Vivien, not to go too fast.

 

At Sheares Bridge, we started to split as i felt Vivien was going too fast. Joshua followed her tightly behind. I still kept a vision of them in front and adjust back to my usual pace. At 5 km mark, i checked my watch and it was 20 min 15 sec. It was a 4 min pace which i was satisfied with. Teck Hou ran past as i was approaching Fort Rd. There are more stronger runners than before as i looked around. As i turned into East Coast path, the Indian army boys are storming back on the return route. Wow!!... What kind of pace are they running ??? I waited patiently, not go out too fast till the return route. The u-turn point was at near MacDonald and i believed it was the 10 km mark. My watch read 40 min 17 sec and it was the best 10 km ever ran in this Army Half marathon. With the boosted confident, i took my Powergel and got ready for the burst. I could see Joshua and Teck Hou in front about 300m away. The main contingent of runners was pouring into East Coast as i was approaching the Marina Barrage. The soft ground made it difficult for me and i was not used to the muddy route. I felt that my pace was slowing down. I reached the 15 km mark with a time of 1 hr 04 min. It was way above my target but in line with a new PB. This new route have a lot of twists and turns which really drained out my strength. Joshua was really closed in front at Marina South but Teck Hou was already gone ahead. I could not find any more energy to push upfront so i just tried to maintain my pace. As i turned out to Shenton Way (20 km mark), my watch showed me that i could still made it under 1 hr 30 min. It was reading 1 hr 26 min and i have to do less than 4 min in 1 km. I pushed on my pace as Wen Long suddenly appeared behind me asking to push hard. I followed up with him till Fullerton when i saw 1 hr 30 min was not possible. I slowed down and to be ready to have a good photo take. I knew a new PB was on my bag. It was 1 hr 31 min 27 sec, a new PB.

 

 

 

 

 

24th Aug 2008 (Sun). Distance: 21.1 km. Time: 1 hr 31 min 27 sec (PR)