After my snake experience last week, I was on hyper-alert mode throughout my walk yesterday. I guess it didn't help that I had gone for lunch with my (so-called) friends who decided to tell me about flying snakes which freaked me out immensely. Then of course every other mammal, reptile and rodent in the wilderness decided to surface and all the sudden movements of these little creatures darting here and there made me uber jumpy. I've never seen a monitor lizard in all the time I've done my walks, but this time I saw two massive ones and heard another scuttling away. Then a monkey decided to drop something from the trees and another decided to zip across the path. And when my nerves were worn thin, I spotted a squirrel at the end of my walk...which did nothing, but by then I was so paranoid that I half expected it to jump on my head and attack me. It really felt as if the whole forest had come together and conspired to drive me nuts. Which incidentally is something squirrels like.
Needless to say I did the walk pretty quickly. I only managed to run for 2 minutes tops, but somehow still managed to complete the whole thing a good 5 minutes faster than last week when I ran for a longer stretch. I suppose it's partly the fact that I did this after a full meal in the afternoon (the full meal also gave me a stitch running, hence the lack of running).
Last week I did the trail in the morning, with nothing in my belly and just water to tide me through. Gina and I used to talk about this whole eating vs not eating before a run and she's of the 'cannot eat before running' category, whereas I need something inside me otherwise I get all grumpy and run out of steam really quickly. Which is why I prefer running in the evenings and walking in the afternoons. I generally get up in the morning feeling dehydrated (and mostly sleepy) and within 15 minutes I get hungry. I'm not the kind of person that can ride out hunger. Hell, I'm not the kind of person that can ride out anything. I can't ride out pain, I can't ride out hunger, I can't ride out fatigue....etc etc etc.
Bottom line is, I don't think my optimum performance is in the morning. I am trying to train myself to work well in the mornings though, since it gets so hot in Singapore by 9am that most races start stupidly early which means I either do a crappy race or I just stop doing any of them races here. Not entirely sure if there is any point in trying to condition my body - you know, the adage of trying to teach an old dog new tricks.
Showing posts with label trekking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trekking. Show all posts
Monday, July 29, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
Never a Dull Moment
Aside from last weekend when I went to Hong Kong, I've been trying to make it for a trail walk (and a run on the flat patches) at least once every weekend. It seems a shame not to when the whole central catchment area is essentially in my playground and you get such a good workout in under 2 hours.
My favourite part about hitting the trails though is that nothing is ever the same! I generally go out and back and this is what happened yesterday:
As I was heading back, I saw a twig move in the distance. On getting closer I realised that said twig was actually a snake. A nice, long, green, yellow and black snake. Now I'm of the 'if I don't bother it , it won't bother me' school of thought, so I didn't think the snake would actually start slithering over to me. If it did though, I figured I could maybe out run it. Then I thought, should I run and jump over it or wait for it to cross over to the other side? I went with the waiting. I didn't really fancy the snake turning back and snapping its fangs into my ankle as I jumped over and as unlikely as that scenario was I didn't really want to put it to the test. So I waited patiently for the snake to make its slow slither over to the other side of the path and continued trotting on before I realised that when I was scrambling down the Nature Reserve a tree had somehow fallen and was now blocking my path.
I didn't really want to wander back to snake land since my aim was to get as far from it as possible and the tree was way to big to even attempt to jump over. So the plan would have to involve stepping into the undergrowth and skirting round the tree. Now I'd have been a wee bit squeamish but fine had I not see the snake before. But now that I had seen the snake, I wasn't dying to put my unprotected ankle into a huge area of tall-ish grass. Laziness trumped in the end. I could smell the end of the trail and I had no intention of back-tracking (to where the real snake was) and then taking the long route by road back. So I removed my ear phones and strained my ears to hear for any hint of a hiss, and ran (with high steps) through the undergrowth whilst yelping 'no snake, no snake, no snake'. I'm sure I looked like a complete fool, but there wasn't anyone else around to judge.
You'll all be pleased to know I made it back in one piece and even had the chance to regale you with my adventures yesterday. Will I go back again next week, snake and all? Hell yeah!
Monday, July 1, 2013
The Slow Long Claw Back to Fitness
It's been tough trying to get back to a 'fighting fit' stage. Currently I'm anything but. Because all my 'runs' previously were transferred to the elliptical and because I found the elliptical dead boring, I had pretty much reduced mileage to under 5k (but really mostly only 2k) and that didn't even translate to running on the road. In the heat. And it's been so hot. I come back from a run nowadays - and by that I mean the only 2 runs I've done this year - dripping with sweat and terribly disappointed in how slow all this is taking.
Yesterday Rich and I did our first trail walk again in ages. It almost didn't happen because it was pissing down at 7am. The rain stopped eventually and we mucked around. Before long it was 10 and getting too late to do anything. We made alternative plans - maybe we could walk to breakfast and walk back - before we decided to just bite the bullet and do the damn trail walk we'd planned to do in the first place. So after a quick breakfast, we headed out at close to noon.
My ankle and foot ached after our 2 hour trot and I ended up having to cut the walk short because it hurt too much. I don't think I had a huge pain tolerance in the first place (my motto has always been NOT to run through the pain) but it seems what little I had has now been shot and I spend half the time now icing something or the other. That said, aches and pains aside, the walk was good.
We took the trail behind my house and walked to the nature reserve, did half of it and ended up back on Rifle Range where I threw in the towel and insisted we get a taxi back. It was nice to be among all the green again and in spite of my sore ankle, I really do love trail, even with the bugs, mozzies and all them creepy crawlies. Hopefully fingers crossed I can get down to attempting a run on trail again without killing myself by tripping over a root or something equally idiotic.
Incidentally, I've been using the Daily Mile to log my training. I started using it because the Masters Swimming Club had a swim challenge they issued to all of us and I had to sign up to join the challenge. It's pretty amazing though and it can never hurt to know how many donuts you've burnt off or how many tvs you've powered. If any of my friends are using it, add me as your friend! It'll be fun to train together virtually! There's never any harm having more training buddies!
Yesterday Rich and I did our first trail walk again in ages. It almost didn't happen because it was pissing down at 7am. The rain stopped eventually and we mucked around. Before long it was 10 and getting too late to do anything. We made alternative plans - maybe we could walk to breakfast and walk back - before we decided to just bite the bullet and do the damn trail walk we'd planned to do in the first place. So after a quick breakfast, we headed out at close to noon.
My ankle and foot ached after our 2 hour trot and I ended up having to cut the walk short because it hurt too much. I don't think I had a huge pain tolerance in the first place (my motto has always been NOT to run through the pain) but it seems what little I had has now been shot and I spend half the time now icing something or the other. That said, aches and pains aside, the walk was good.
We took the trail behind my house and walked to the nature reserve, did half of it and ended up back on Rifle Range where I threw in the towel and insisted we get a taxi back. It was nice to be among all the green again and in spite of my sore ankle, I really do love trail, even with the bugs, mozzies and all them creepy crawlies. Hopefully fingers crossed I can get down to attempting a run on trail again without killing myself by tripping over a root or something equally idiotic.
Incidentally, I've been using the Daily Mile to log my training. I started using it because the Masters Swimming Club had a swim challenge they issued to all of us and I had to sign up to join the challenge. It's pretty amazing though and it can never hurt to know how many donuts you've burnt off or how many tvs you've powered. If any of my friends are using it, add me as your friend! It'll be fun to train together virtually! There's never any harm having more training buddies!
Monday, October 15, 2012
Questions Answered
First off, a big WOW and congratulations are due to my friends who
completed the Melbourne Marathon - Chris and Gina. I knew they were both
going to do a Full and a Half respectively, but it only occurred to me
the day before the actual race that they might actually be doing the
same race albeit different distances. Doh! All the same, Chris ran sub-4
(better than Paul Ryan!) and Gina ran sub-3 which is pretty awesome
considering the only time I did a halfie, I took ages and ages. So well
done, you awesome running people!
Other than that, the weekend was pretty much a blow-out. Hardly did anything because I was so dang tired. I managed to make it down for pilates on Saturday and then did a quick walk up the Nature Reserve with Rich on Sunday. Did a short run on Friday which turned out fine minus the return of my all-too-familiar stitch...Didn't go too far because well...erm....I was just plain lazy. Because I knew I wasn't going to go too far, I tried to run a bit harder...which maybe explains the stitch. So that didn't last very long either.
Whilst mid-run, I thought about my podiatrist and I realised that I'm kind of glad I went to see him. Rich says I walk like a cowboy sometimes and I never really understood what he meant, but it's the whole flicking outwards that my foot makes when it leaves the ground. I know it's to compensate for something, but I forget now. Then there's been that annoying pain on my little toe that never really quite went away and the foot aches that cause a whole bunch of hobbling around. In all, it's nice to know that there's a reason for all of this. Makes me feel that I'm not actually that much of a freak and that maybe I can run (not that I'd choose it as my first sport of choice) a little more pain-free once I get all that fixed up.
I've finally got myself a new pair of runners. I decided to go cheap and headed to Queensway (sports gear mecca!) over the weekend and got me a sweet new pair of Asics Gel-Nimbus 13s for $70 less than the usual specialist running store I go to! I did miss having someone there who said 'yes, you should wear this shoe and in this size' though because I'm terrible at making a decision. Even something as simple as 'do I want this in a size 6 or a size 6.5?' I spent a good half hour deciding that. This despite the fact that I brought my old shoes along and it clearly showed 6.5. I ended up buying a size 6 and then going home rummaging through all my old shoes (all size 6.5 as expected) and heading back the next day to change it. Maybe that's what the $70 gives me - extra time and peace of mind. Plus Queensway is like a zoo in the weekends, way too many people! Meanwhile I just hope I got the right pair of shoes.
What I've done:
Friday - Ran 20 minutes
Saturday - 45 mins Pilates
Sunday - Walked Bkt Timah Nature Reserve
Other than that, the weekend was pretty much a blow-out. Hardly did anything because I was so dang tired. I managed to make it down for pilates on Saturday and then did a quick walk up the Nature Reserve with Rich on Sunday. Did a short run on Friday which turned out fine minus the return of my all-too-familiar stitch...Didn't go too far because well...erm....I was just plain lazy. Because I knew I wasn't going to go too far, I tried to run a bit harder...which maybe explains the stitch. So that didn't last very long either.
Whilst mid-run, I thought about my podiatrist and I realised that I'm kind of glad I went to see him. Rich says I walk like a cowboy sometimes and I never really understood what he meant, but it's the whole flicking outwards that my foot makes when it leaves the ground. I know it's to compensate for something, but I forget now. Then there's been that annoying pain on my little toe that never really quite went away and the foot aches that cause a whole bunch of hobbling around. In all, it's nice to know that there's a reason for all of this. Makes me feel that I'm not actually that much of a freak and that maybe I can run (not that I'd choose it as my first sport of choice) a little more pain-free once I get all that fixed up.
I've finally got myself a new pair of runners. I decided to go cheap and headed to Queensway (sports gear mecca!) over the weekend and got me a sweet new pair of Asics Gel-Nimbus 13s for $70 less than the usual specialist running store I go to! I did miss having someone there who said 'yes, you should wear this shoe and in this size' though because I'm terrible at making a decision. Even something as simple as 'do I want this in a size 6 or a size 6.5?' I spent a good half hour deciding that. This despite the fact that I brought my old shoes along and it clearly showed 6.5. I ended up buying a size 6 and then going home rummaging through all my old shoes (all size 6.5 as expected) and heading back the next day to change it. Maybe that's what the $70 gives me - extra time and peace of mind. Plus Queensway is like a zoo in the weekends, way too many people! Meanwhile I just hope I got the right pair of shoes.
What I've done:
Friday - Ran 20 minutes
Saturday - 45 mins Pilates
Sunday - Walked Bkt Timah Nature Reserve
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
To Run or Not to Run
Last week I did a 40 minute run and for 3 days my legs ached and my left foot started acting up in protest at the work I put it through. It got so bad I actually had to hobble out of bed the past few mornings because it just hurt so much. 40 minutes - that's it. Not like I ran 40km. In fact I doubt I even did 7k. It is all very demoralising. So a part of me is seriously considering the fact that I may never do a marathon because my poor feet just can't take all that pounding. I may actually just have to admit that running may not be quite my thang!
I'm not going to give it up just yet though, drama-queen rant aside. I'm going to try a run again tomorrow and see how that goes. Then I've made an appointment to see a podiatrist on Thursday because the internet is spitting out way too much possible feet problems I might have and much as I love this chinese dood I go to to 'fix' my foot, I'm starting to feel that he seems to be treating the symptom rather than solving the actual underlying problem. Damn left foot!
The annoying part about all this is that my run on Friday was actually pretty awesome. I ran stitch-less and nothing ached too much. I saw some pretty odd people (one woman was carrying a sort of handbag while running...why???) and I ran a bit further than I usually do! So it really is a real bummer that it all fell apart over the weekend.
On a random aside, I went to the Nature Reserve on the weekend to do a quick walk and as I was coming down from the top, I saw a family and their maid. And then I realised the maid was carrying all the snacks and water for them. It didn't look like all that was very heavy, but it was ridiculous! What took the cake was the fact that the father was wearing a '42k finisher' T-shirt. Woohoo, he can finish a marathon but can't carry a few bottles of water? Seriously? I was not impressed with that.
Also, if you ever decide to go to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, go early. The early morning crowd up there are a lot nicer than the folks who rock up at 9am. No one said 'hello' and when I greeted people sometimes I barely got a reply. They just didn't seem happy which is a real shame.
What I did:
Friday: 40 min run
Saturday: 45 min pilates
Sunday: 40 min walk up and down Bukit Timah Hill
I'm not going to give it up just yet though, drama-queen rant aside. I'm going to try a run again tomorrow and see how that goes. Then I've made an appointment to see a podiatrist on Thursday because the internet is spitting out way too much possible feet problems I might have and much as I love this chinese dood I go to to 'fix' my foot, I'm starting to feel that he seems to be treating the symptom rather than solving the actual underlying problem. Damn left foot!
The annoying part about all this is that my run on Friday was actually pretty awesome. I ran stitch-less and nothing ached too much. I saw some pretty odd people (one woman was carrying a sort of handbag while running...why???) and I ran a bit further than I usually do! So it really is a real bummer that it all fell apart over the weekend.
On a random aside, I went to the Nature Reserve on the weekend to do a quick walk and as I was coming down from the top, I saw a family and their maid. And then I realised the maid was carrying all the snacks and water for them. It didn't look like all that was very heavy, but it was ridiculous! What took the cake was the fact that the father was wearing a '42k finisher' T-shirt. Woohoo, he can finish a marathon but can't carry a few bottles of water? Seriously? I was not impressed with that.
Also, if you ever decide to go to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, go early. The early morning crowd up there are a lot nicer than the folks who rock up at 9am. No one said 'hello' and when I greeted people sometimes I barely got a reply. They just didn't seem happy which is a real shame.
What I did:
Friday: 40 min run
Saturday: 45 min pilates
Sunday: 40 min walk up and down Bukit Timah Hill
Monday, July 16, 2012
Here's What's Dumb
What's dumb? Having a 2hr rock climbing class right after swim training. It basically made the session kind of pointless since my arms starting trembling pretty much 1/3 way into the session. Which made for a rather short climb session. Ah well, you learn from your stupidity eh?
I overdid Saturday. I wanted to swim, climb, get some of my assignment (I'm taking some graduate diploma in compliance) done, head to church and do all that before my grandmother's 80th birthday dinner. When I got to dinner I was exhausted. But it was good fun meeting with the extended family and catching up.
What I did:
Saturday
- 1hr swim training (Total: 2.3k)
- 1.5hr rock climbing
Sunday
- 40 min trek @ Bkt Timah Nature Reserve
I overdid Saturday. I wanted to swim, climb, get some of my assignment (I'm taking some graduate diploma in compliance) done, head to church and do all that before my grandmother's 80th birthday dinner. When I got to dinner I was exhausted. But it was good fun meeting with the extended family and catching up.
What I did:
Saturday
- 1hr swim training (Total: 2.3k)
- 1.5hr rock climbing
Sunday
- 40 min trek @ Bkt Timah Nature Reserve
Monday, November 21, 2011
Training Updates
Last Monday: 1hr Personal Training
Last Thursday: 14K run
It was long and painful. I was pretty much over it by about 10k but I pushed through (woohoo!) and made it all the way without stopping to trot...well at least not till the last 1k. Point to note, overhead bridges are the enemy 13k into a run!
Saturday: Woodcutter's Trail/Butterfly Trail in 3.5hrs
It took that long not because the walk was particularly long but there was just so much stopping and waiting around for people. We did this with the local Y and there were a lot of people. While I think there are overseas treks that I might do with the Y, the local ones just have a lot of slow people. I'm not particularly fast, but these guys are sloooow.
And while I think it's great that the Y organises walks like these because it gets people (who might ordinarily be inert) out and moving as well as raising awareness on the presence of this ("natural") side of Singapore, but short of there being another local trail I need directions through, I'd probably be a bit reluctant to join them. Sorry Gracie!
Sunday: Salomon X-Trail Race - See below.
On a side note, since Jo asked - I wasn't actually doing real yoga yet. It was a beginner class to prep your body for yoga (or something like that) and it involved doing a lot of squats. I think when I progress further I'd be learning Ashtanga yoga?
Last Thursday: 14K run
It was long and painful. I was pretty much over it by about 10k but I pushed through (woohoo!) and made it all the way without stopping to trot...well at least not till the last 1k. Point to note, overhead bridges are the enemy 13k into a run!
Saturday: Woodcutter's Trail/Butterfly Trail in 3.5hrs
It took that long not because the walk was particularly long but there was just so much stopping and waiting around for people. We did this with the local Y and there were a lot of people. While I think there are overseas treks that I might do with the Y, the local ones just have a lot of slow people. I'm not particularly fast, but these guys are sloooow.
And while I think it's great that the Y organises walks like these because it gets people (who might ordinarily be inert) out and moving as well as raising awareness on the presence of this ("natural") side of Singapore, but short of there being another local trail I need directions through, I'd probably be a bit reluctant to join them. Sorry Gracie!
Sunday: Salomon X-Trail Race - See below.
On a side note, since Jo asked - I wasn't actually doing real yoga yet. It was a beginner class to prep your body for yoga (or something like that) and it involved doing a lot of squats. I think when I progress further I'd be learning Ashtanga yoga?
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Unlucky 13 and an Eventful Weekend
13 isn't my lucky number it would seem. I've got to 13k on my training schedule but it's been a hard to actually run it. The first time I managed only 10k (and this involved a lot of stopping, wheezing and walking), the second only 4k-5k (?) because my watch/foot-pod bailed on me and I had a bad stomachache (which resulted in more stopping, wheezing and walking) and the third I have no idea how far I ran because (11k-12k maybe?) the same watch/foot-pod was still spoilt despite sending it to get fixed. So no idea if I've done 13k yet but I did feel completely wrecked after my 1hr 41 min run on Friday and there was a lot of walking, hobbling and near-crawling at the end of it. I also felt like throwing up after which I'm not sure was really a great achievement.
Anyway, I just got back from Hong Kong last week and wound up with a massive stomachache for a week. I supposedly had an acidic stomach (whatever that means) so was put on meds for a week, which is my justification for being a bit lazy last week. All I did were the two runs (the 4k-5k and the 11-12k one)!
I felt a bit better over the weekend and went for a 2.5hr trek on Saturday(I always feel a bit stupid using 'trek' in the Singapore context since trails here are hardly challenging!) and then yoga and rock-climbing on Sunday. I was supposed to meet Karrie for a drink somewhere in the weekend but my stomach was still a bit iffy and I didn't want to risk aggravating it.
Incidentally I tried yoga again (see above) and went to a proper yoga studio this time. It was so difficult! And we're talking just the beginner lesson, not even a real yoga class. At first I wanted to laugh because he made us sway to and fro and for some reason seeing everyone do that seemed hilarious to me. But as he made us do squats combined with some complex arms above head moving at your waist thing, I wasn't laughing and was just desperately hoping the class would end. So I sweated it out like a pig and today I ache so bad. But a good ache. They did all the 'close your eyes, cleanse your mind' thing at the end, but that gave me time to just lie down and die a little, so I was cool with it. Bottom line, I'm glad I gave yoga another shot and the yoga at True Fitness is kind of crap.
What I've done (at least what I remember I've done)
3rd Nov: 10k run
Wednesday: Ran 4k-5k
Friday: Ran 11k-12k
Saturday: 2.5hr trek from Rifle Range to Mandai
Sunday: 1hr yoga and 1hr rock-climbing
In Hong Kong-
5th Nov: 4k run and 20 minutes weights
6th Nov: 2hr hike @ Dragon's Back
Anyway, I just got back from Hong Kong last week and wound up with a massive stomachache for a week. I supposedly had an acidic stomach (whatever that means) so was put on meds for a week, which is my justification for being a bit lazy last week. All I did were the two runs (the 4k-5k and the 11-12k one)!
I felt a bit better over the weekend and went for a 2.5hr trek on Saturday(I always feel a bit stupid using 'trek' in the Singapore context since trails here are hardly challenging!) and then yoga and rock-climbing on Sunday. I was supposed to meet Karrie for a drink somewhere in the weekend but my stomach was still a bit iffy and I didn't want to risk aggravating it.
Incidentally I tried yoga again (see above) and went to a proper yoga studio this time. It was so difficult! And we're talking just the beginner lesson, not even a real yoga class. At first I wanted to laugh because he made us sway to and fro and for some reason seeing everyone do that seemed hilarious to me. But as he made us do squats combined with some complex arms above head moving at your waist thing, I wasn't laughing and was just desperately hoping the class would end. So I sweated it out like a pig and today I ache so bad. But a good ache. They did all the 'close your eyes, cleanse your mind' thing at the end, but that gave me time to just lie down and die a little, so I was cool with it. Bottom line, I'm glad I gave yoga another shot and the yoga at True Fitness is kind of crap.
What I've done (at least what I remember I've done)
3rd Nov: 10k run
Wednesday: Ran 4k-5k
Friday: Ran 11k-12k
Saturday: 2.5hr trek from Rifle Range to Mandai
Sunday: 1hr yoga and 1hr rock-climbing
In Hong Kong-
5th Nov: 4k run and 20 minutes weights
6th Nov: 2hr hike @ Dragon's Back
Thursday, October 27, 2011
So Far So Good
Not sick so far and keeping my fingers firmly crossed.
In the meantime I've managed to fit in a walk/trek at Bukit Timah Hill with friends twice and I've done a bunch of runs. Bukit Timah Hill is really challenging. I keep forgetting that somehow and every time I go back it hits me really quickly how much the uphill stair climb is just sheer torture. I do like though that, in my head, it somehow translates to a great ass workout!
Oh on a side note, R and I went to Macritchie to do a trail run (although half of that run was on a boardwalk, so not really trail) yesterday and I have to say, the people at the Nature Reserve just seem a lot friendlier than the Macritchie crowd. I mean it's nice when people say a cheery 'good morning' every now and then. I think I said 'Good Morning!' to only one person yesterday...or rather I greeted a few people but got ignored. People need to be nicer in our world!
What I've done since my last update a gazillion years ago:
14th Oct: Ran 5k in 35:09 mins
15th Oct: 1hr walk with B at Bkt Timah Hill
16th Oct: 600m swim
17th Oct: 1hr personal training
20th Oct: Ran 8k in 58:16 mins
22nd Oct: Cross-trainer 10 mins and some number of crunches
23rd Oct: 2hr walk with D at Kampong Trail/Bkt Timah Hill
24th Oct: Ran 5k in 34:24 mins
26th Oct: Ran 4k at Macritchie in 29:29 mins
In the meantime I've managed to fit in a walk/trek at Bukit Timah Hill with friends twice and I've done a bunch of runs. Bukit Timah Hill is really challenging. I keep forgetting that somehow and every time I go back it hits me really quickly how much the uphill stair climb is just sheer torture. I do like though that, in my head, it somehow translates to a great ass workout!
Oh on a side note, R and I went to Macritchie to do a trail run (although half of that run was on a boardwalk, so not really trail) yesterday and I have to say, the people at the Nature Reserve just seem a lot friendlier than the Macritchie crowd. I mean it's nice when people say a cheery 'good morning' every now and then. I think I said 'Good Morning!' to only one person yesterday...or rather I greeted a few people but got ignored. People need to be nicer in our world!
What I've done since my last update a gazillion years ago:
14th Oct: Ran 5k in 35:09 mins
15th Oct: 1hr walk with B at Bkt Timah Hill
16th Oct: 600m swim
17th Oct: 1hr personal training
20th Oct: Ran 8k in 58:16 mins
22nd Oct: Cross-trainer 10 mins and some number of crunches
23rd Oct: 2hr walk with D at Kampong Trail/Bkt Timah Hill
24th Oct: Ran 5k in 34:24 mins
26th Oct: Ran 4k at Macritchie in 29:29 mins
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Back in the Pool
Here's what's happened since my last post:
1. I did a walk with a friend, B. Same route Rich and I took the last time, but it was nice introducing it to someone else.
2. Went to Hua Hin for the Jazz Festival and it was pretty good fun. Not as many international acts as I had expected, but my favourite bit of the Festival was this awesome ‘face-off’ improv bit between the bassist and the drummer. Very good. Also somehow for a free concert, I thought it was better run than many of Singapore’s outdoor concerts. A lot less contrived somehow. But mainly Hua Hin is my new favourite place and I got to meet up with my good friend, T, in Bangkok as well!
3. Singapore has a new President (not so new now, since this is 5 days after the event)!
4. I went to Universal Studios in Singapore finally! I think the one in LA is better, but this is much, much better than Hong Kong Disney! And I might have rediscovered my love for roller-coasters. Well, maybe not ‘love’, but somewhere in that region. I stuffed my face with all sorts of junk food, which really what going to an amusement park is all about. Not too smart before you take a roller-coaster that constantly spins you around though!
5. I finally got into the pool again. I swam 600m on Tuesday and 1k 20m (sorry 30m pool so distances are weird). I ache now. Swim training tonight. I’ll probably ache more tomorrow. See what happens when you leave everything to the last minute?
1. I did a walk with a friend, B. Same route Rich and I took the last time, but it was nice introducing it to someone else.
2. Went to Hua Hin for the Jazz Festival and it was pretty good fun. Not as many international acts as I had expected, but my favourite bit of the Festival was this awesome ‘face-off’ improv bit between the bassist and the drummer. Very good. Also somehow for a free concert, I thought it was better run than many of Singapore’s outdoor concerts. A lot less contrived somehow. But mainly Hua Hin is my new favourite place and I got to meet up with my good friend, T, in Bangkok as well!
3. Singapore has a new President (not so new now, since this is 5 days after the event)!
4. I went to Universal Studios in Singapore finally! I think the one in LA is better, but this is much, much better than Hong Kong Disney! And I might have rediscovered my love for roller-coasters. Well, maybe not ‘love’, but somewhere in that region. I stuffed my face with all sorts of junk food, which really what going to an amusement park is all about. Not too smart before you take a roller-coaster that constantly spins you around though!
5. I finally got into the pool again. I swam 600m on Tuesday and 1k 20m (sorry 30m pool so distances are weird). I ache now. Swim training tonight. I’ll probably ache more tomorrow. See what happens when you leave everything to the last minute?
Thursday, June 23, 2011
A Whole Bunch of Walks
I haven't done much since the last post except walk a whole bunch.
I finally got to do the 7K Choo Choo trek with the local Y (and the company of Gracie, Ris and Adrian) and it was muddy. Fun, but muddy. I don't think they planned for 60 over people to rock up for the walk, but yup, that many people did and despite that the walk went pretty smoothly. So I'm glad I finally did this, although I don't think my helper was quite so pleased when I wandered home with muddy shoes! I did offer to clean them on my own, but I think she was worried I'd make a bigger mess of things!
I've also wanted to check out the trail from Bukit Timah Nature Reserve to Mandai for ages and so I harassed R to join me for that walk on my birthday. (You can get away with anything on your birthday!) We forgot to make a turn somewhere in the middle of the route and ended up stuck on the wrong side of two highways. After wandering around in the desperate hope that we could somehow find a way to cross the highways (which didn't involve jumping into a taxi), we decided to call it a day. We continued on that walk (from the turning we should have taken) at Dairy Farm two days later and headed all the way to Mandai zoo.
In hindsight it was good that we had split the walk in two because the total distance covered was about 21K and I know at the end of either 'trek' I was pretty exhausted and over all the walking. The trails were pretty interesting and even though there was a bit where you're actually just walking parallel to the highway, you still kind of felt you were on a trail. Will post pictures soon!
Last week, Gina, Rachel and I finally got down to doing a walk from the North of Singpaore to the South of Singapore. I plotted this out on mapmyrun (and then I realised I could have just gone to googlemaps and got them to map that route out! Doh!) and sent it to Gina and Rach, who obviously trusted me so much they didn't look at the map. They were not too pleased when they realised we had to cut through the centre of town, sweaty and totally unglamorous! Whoops. The North to South walk started at Senoko Industrial Park (it cost all of us a bunch of money in cab fares to get there!) and ended off at Sentosa's Pallawan Beach where there was a little island connected to the beach with a sign on it saying 'The Southernmost Point of Continental Asia', that was good enough for us. Gina and I then met W at Vivo City (yes, I FINALLY stepped into Vivo City) for dinner and drinks. All in we completed 35K and my feet were sore. Strangely all of us ached in different places the next day - strange because when we did 40 over KM the last time we walked, we were fine and dandy the day after!
So in the last two weeks I've walked a marathon and more! Woohoo! Of course this pretty much means I've been neglecting everything to do with training. Not been running much, swimming much and I don't think I've been on my bike since Bintan. Ooopsies.
That being said, Gina and I did meet for a short 6K run yesterday and minus the crazy bag lady who spat on Gina, I enjoyed the run a lot. When I run by myself I tend to get bored and the only thing pushing me on really is my music, but the KMs just dropped away easily when running with Gina and although we weren't going very fast or very far, I count last night's run as a big fat success! I guess it's the good company!
What I've done since ages ago that I remember:
4th June:
Choo Choo Trek 7K
10th June:
1st part of Bkt Timah - Mandai trek (Bkt Timah Nature Reserve - Woodlands Road) 10k
Bukit Timah - Mandai (Almost) by rich.ayres at Garmin Connect - Details
12th June:
2nd part of Bkt Timah - Mandai trek (Dairy Farm - Mandai Zoo) 10.96K
Dairy Farm to Mandai by rich.ayres at Garmin Connect - Details
1.5hr Rockclimbing
14th June:
300m swim
18th June:
North-South of Singapore walk 35k
21st June:
600m swim
22nd June:
6.6K run
I finally got to do the 7K Choo Choo trek with the local Y (and the company of Gracie, Ris and Adrian) and it was muddy. Fun, but muddy. I don't think they planned for 60 over people to rock up for the walk, but yup, that many people did and despite that the walk went pretty smoothly. So I'm glad I finally did this, although I don't think my helper was quite so pleased when I wandered home with muddy shoes! I did offer to clean them on my own, but I think she was worried I'd make a bigger mess of things!
I've also wanted to check out the trail from Bukit Timah Nature Reserve to Mandai for ages and so I harassed R to join me for that walk on my birthday. (You can get away with anything on your birthday!) We forgot to make a turn somewhere in the middle of the route and ended up stuck on the wrong side of two highways. After wandering around in the desperate hope that we could somehow find a way to cross the highways (which didn't involve jumping into a taxi), we decided to call it a day. We continued on that walk (from the turning we should have taken) at Dairy Farm two days later and headed all the way to Mandai zoo.
In hindsight it was good that we had split the walk in two because the total distance covered was about 21K and I know at the end of either 'trek' I was pretty exhausted and over all the walking. The trails were pretty interesting and even though there was a bit where you're actually just walking parallel to the highway, you still kind of felt you were on a trail. Will post pictures soon!
Last week, Gina, Rachel and I finally got down to doing a walk from the North of Singpaore to the South of Singapore. I plotted this out on mapmyrun (and then I realised I could have just gone to googlemaps and got them to map that route out! Doh!) and sent it to Gina and Rach, who obviously trusted me so much they didn't look at the map. They were not too pleased when they realised we had to cut through the centre of town, sweaty and totally unglamorous! Whoops. The North to South walk started at Senoko Industrial Park (it cost all of us a bunch of money in cab fares to get there!) and ended off at Sentosa's Pallawan Beach where there was a little island connected to the beach with a sign on it saying 'The Southernmost Point of Continental Asia', that was good enough for us. Gina and I then met W at Vivo City (yes, I FINALLY stepped into Vivo City) for dinner and drinks. All in we completed 35K and my feet were sore. Strangely all of us ached in different places the next day - strange because when we did 40 over KM the last time we walked, we were fine and dandy the day after!
So in the last two weeks I've walked a marathon and more! Woohoo! Of course this pretty much means I've been neglecting everything to do with training. Not been running much, swimming much and I don't think I've been on my bike since Bintan. Ooopsies.
That being said, Gina and I did meet for a short 6K run yesterday and minus the crazy bag lady who spat on Gina, I enjoyed the run a lot. When I run by myself I tend to get bored and the only thing pushing me on really is my music, but the KMs just dropped away easily when running with Gina and although we weren't going very fast or very far, I count last night's run as a big fat success! I guess it's the good company!
What I've done since ages ago that I remember:
4th June:
Choo Choo Trek 7K
10th June:
1st part of Bkt Timah - Mandai trek (Bkt Timah Nature Reserve - Woodlands Road) 10k
Bukit Timah - Mandai (Almost) by rich.ayres at Garmin Connect - Details
12th June:
2nd part of Bkt Timah - Mandai trek (Dairy Farm - Mandai Zoo) 10.96K
Dairy Farm to Mandai by rich.ayres at Garmin Connect - Details
1.5hr Rockclimbing
14th June:
300m swim
18th June:
North-South of Singapore walk 35k
21st June:
600m swim
22nd June:
6.6K run
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Sleepy but Happy
Because I'm still not fully well, my solution has been to hang out with friends till late lately. It's been really good fun in a whole chill-out, no-fuss way. Minus the complete lack of sleep because we're yabbering till early morn, I actually love the camaraderie, the vino and the mad conversations. To all my friends out there I love, here's sending good thoughts your ways! I'm really glad I've got you all!
Yes and all these emotional flighty updates are purely because I haven't done much training....hang on...I actually do have something more meaty to put in here...
So I met Sharon at a bar. As one does when they want to make new friends - they go to a bar and pick up random strangers (kidding!). Anyway, Sharon and I realised we were super alike and somehow became really good friends...at least I take her as my really good friend, she may not....Last week Sharon and I decided to be good and do some sport so I had my first game of tennis in ages! And we went for a walk over the weekend. It was a load of laughs...and chatter. This weekend, I join the British Club for their Choo Choo Trek. I shall see if I can get some pictures of that trek!
What I did last week:
Wednesday - Tennis (1 hour)
Saturday
- Walked (Jln Kampong Chantek - Bkt Timah Nature Reserve - Rifle Range Road: 2 hours)
Yes and all these emotional flighty updates are purely because I haven't done much training....hang on...I actually do have something more meaty to put in here...
So I met Sharon at a bar. As one does when they want to make new friends - they go to a bar and pick up random strangers (kidding!). Anyway, Sharon and I realised we were super alike and somehow became really good friends...at least I take her as my really good friend, she may not....Last week Sharon and I decided to be good and do some sport so I had my first game of tennis in ages! And we went for a walk over the weekend. It was a load of laughs...and chatter. This weekend, I join the British Club for their Choo Choo Trek. I shall see if I can get some pictures of that trek!
What I did last week:
Wednesday - Tennis (1 hour)
Saturday
- Walked (Jln Kampong Chantek - Bkt Timah Nature Reserve - Rifle Range Road: 2 hours)
Friday, December 18, 2009
Let's Take a Walk
Pray for us! Gina, Rachel and I are going to walk the big 5-0 tomorrow. I'll let you know if we're all still friends if we haven't killed each other after more than 12 hours together!
http://www.letstakeawalk.sg/
http://www.letstakeawalk.sg/
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Hongkie Konks
My trip to Hong Kong went pretty well. The conference was rather interesting and I learnt a bit more about the regulations relating to capital markets (yawn....yes I know). I also rediscovered the Shangri-La. Hah!
I managed to squeeze a run in with Jimbo and Steph on Wednesday evening and it was fun to catch up over exercise. We weren't speedy (considering some old dood lapped us 3 times!) and we didn't run that far, but I enjoyed the run immensely...well, except for our 'warm-up' which consisted of climbing up a gazillion flights of stairs! The weather in Hong Kong's been pretty chilly, which made running oh so comfortable. I think I've been pretty spoilt by good running weather in that I just feel sad and miserable when it's warm out...which is pretty much every other day in Singapore!
Because of the nice cool weather in Hong Kong, I managed to convince the family to go trekking on Dragon's Back. We took so darn long getting to the top that we ended up doing only the short route. But the view was as good as it always has been and I'm so proud of my folks for doing the trek up!
What I've done:
Wednesday: Ran 5.77K in 48:08 minutes
Friday: Trekked 4.94K in 2 hr 08 minutes
I managed to squeeze a run in with Jimbo and Steph on Wednesday evening and it was fun to catch up over exercise. We weren't speedy (considering some old dood lapped us 3 times!) and we didn't run that far, but I enjoyed the run immensely...well, except for our 'warm-up' which consisted of climbing up a gazillion flights of stairs! The weather in Hong Kong's been pretty chilly, which made running oh so comfortable. I think I've been pretty spoilt by good running weather in that I just feel sad and miserable when it's warm out...which is pretty much every other day in Singapore!
Because of the nice cool weather in Hong Kong, I managed to convince the family to go trekking on Dragon's Back. We took so darn long getting to the top that we ended up doing only the short route. But the view was as good as it always has been and I'm so proud of my folks for doing the trek up!
What I've done:
Wednesday: Ran 5.77K in 48:08 minutes
Friday: Trekked 4.94K in 2 hr 08 minutes
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
I'm Back!
So my return back to sport has been slow and gentle so far and other than my shins aching, I'm actually feeling pretty good despite being laid up for 2 weeks!
Over the weekend, I did a short swim. My neck was still hurting from my inflamed lymph nodes and the 2 weeks of non-activity had turned any muscle I had to mush. Other than my arms feeling the strain, I thought the 600m I did at the pool went pretty well.
On Sunday, R and I went for a long long walk. We started off at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and hiked it down to MacRitchie Reservoir. All in it took us a good 3 hours to do a 10k trek. Because it was insanely warm (although we did get rained on for a good 1/2 hour before it got really hot again) and we didn't bring any munchies, I was pretty miserable at the end of the walk. In spite of that, I thought the walk did me good. My legs got a good work out in preparation for training this week.
Yesterday I stepped things up a bit more. I went for pilates classes and followed that off with a run to R's house (4k). Although there were moments where I was worried I'd be too tired to go further, I made it all the way through!
I'm back!
What I've been doing
Saturday: 600m swim
Sunday: 10k trek
Yesterday:
Pilates for 45 minutes
Ran 4k in 31:53mins
Over the weekend, I did a short swim. My neck was still hurting from my inflamed lymph nodes and the 2 weeks of non-activity had turned any muscle I had to mush. Other than my arms feeling the strain, I thought the 600m I did at the pool went pretty well.
On Sunday, R and I went for a long long walk. We started off at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and hiked it down to MacRitchie Reservoir. All in it took us a good 3 hours to do a 10k trek. Because it was insanely warm (although we did get rained on for a good 1/2 hour before it got really hot again) and we didn't bring any munchies, I was pretty miserable at the end of the walk. In spite of that, I thought the walk did me good. My legs got a good work out in preparation for training this week.
Yesterday I stepped things up a bit more. I went for pilates classes and followed that off with a run to R's house (4k). Although there were moments where I was worried I'd be too tired to go further, I made it all the way through!
I'm back!
What I've been doing
Saturday: 600m swim
Sunday: 10k trek
Yesterday:
Pilates for 45 minutes
Ran 4k in 31:53mins
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Hong Kong Sevens 2009
My second year at the Sevens and I enjoyed it as much as I did last year. I ramble on constantly about how I really don't like rugby, but the Sevens is great for someone like me with a short attention span. If the game's dull, it'd be over in 15 minutes and something new'll be on in no time!
But of course the Sevens is never just about the rugby, it's also about the booze, which surprisingly I didn't really do a lot of this time around. I also got to meet up with all my really good friends from Hong Kong over delicious meals and cheeky glasses of vino. Timmy made it up from Malaysia as well, so it was really a big reunion the bunch of us.
The day before flying back to Singapore, R and I went for the Dragon's Back hike. I had been there previously with Jimbo, Stepho and my sis, and the walk was very enjoyable. Very pleasant and easy with fantastic scenery all around. Unfortunately, because R and I got there pretty late on, we ended up rushing through the entire trek partly because I was freaked about being stuck up in the middle of nowhere when it got dark. Soooo, because of my paranoia, I now have a new PB (2hrs 15 mins) for Dragon's Back. Hah! I might throw in some shots we took during the trek, hopefully sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, my calves and shins still ache a little 2 days after the walk which is just a little on the tragic side.
But of course the Sevens is never just about the rugby, it's also about the booze, which surprisingly I didn't really do a lot of this time around. I also got to meet up with all my really good friends from Hong Kong over delicious meals and cheeky glasses of vino. Timmy made it up from Malaysia as well, so it was really a big reunion the bunch of us.
The day before flying back to Singapore, R and I went for the Dragon's Back hike. I had been there previously with Jimbo, Stepho and my sis, and the walk was very enjoyable. Very pleasant and easy with fantastic scenery all around. Unfortunately, because R and I got there pretty late on, we ended up rushing through the entire trek partly because I was freaked about being stuck up in the middle of nowhere when it got dark. Soooo, because of my paranoia, I now have a new PB (2hrs 15 mins) for Dragon's Back. Hah! I might throw in some shots we took during the trek, hopefully sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, my calves and shins still ache a little 2 days after the walk which is just a little on the tragic side.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
I'm Back!
After half-heartedly attempting to exercise the past few days, I finally got a semi-decent run in yesterday. Granted it was slow, and I did walk a few times and stop a lot of times (the dreaded stitch is back!), but it was nice round 7k and I finished all of it. I'm not going to beat myself up over the lousy run, because frankly, I've been sitting on my ass a lot the past 2 weeks. Plus, my dad had his birthday last week and I bought him the Wii, which of course ended up being my toy - hey, you get to wield a fake 'gun', pretend you're in WW2 and kill bad guys, it's kick-ass!
So in all of 2 weeks, I've done one sad little run (last Thursday) and one run yesterday. I did go for a nice short trail walk with R over the weekend and it was pretty fun. The thing is, it's pretty hard to find a nice untouched area in Singapore. Everything is buildings and roads. Every time I do a run back, it's always by a busy road, although I do run past the Botanical Gardens sometimes, which is a nice break from the pollution.
All the same, I've always wanted to do this trail which starts about a 5 minute walk away from my place and ends up at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (Singapore's tallest hill...which isn't really all that tall). It's a short trail (slightly more than 2k), but really pleasant and green and brown. I really enjoyed it. Plus I really enjoy these little moments with R because it's always fun 'discovering' a new place with a really good friend. I'll attach some photos to this post once I get them up.
I got some windsurfing in this weekend as well! Finally! The monsoon is gone and the wind's my kind of crappy wind. Of course all the big-time windsurfers are grumbling, but hey, they had their fun the past two months, it's time for me to get some windsurfing it! A good 1/2 hour of it to be exact. And boy did I ache for the next 2 days. It's amazing how quickly my muscles got used to slacking off.
What I did since the race:
Last Thursday: Ran 3.5k
Yesterday: Ran 7k in 53 mins
So in all of 2 weeks, I've done one sad little run (last Thursday) and one run yesterday. I did go for a nice short trail walk with R over the weekend and it was pretty fun. The thing is, it's pretty hard to find a nice untouched area in Singapore. Everything is buildings and roads. Every time I do a run back, it's always by a busy road, although I do run past the Botanical Gardens sometimes, which is a nice break from the pollution.
All the same, I've always wanted to do this trail which starts about a 5 minute walk away from my place and ends up at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (Singapore's tallest hill...which isn't really all that tall). It's a short trail (slightly more than 2k), but really pleasant and green and brown. I really enjoyed it. Plus I really enjoy these little moments with R because it's always fun 'discovering' a new place with a really good friend. I'll attach some photos to this post once I get them up.
I got some windsurfing in this weekend as well! Finally! The monsoon is gone and the wind's my kind of crappy wind. Of course all the big-time windsurfers are grumbling, but hey, they had their fun the past two months, it's time for me to get some windsurfing it! A good 1/2 hour of it to be exact. And boy did I ache for the next 2 days. It's amazing how quickly my muscles got used to slacking off.
What I did since the race:
Last Thursday: Ran 3.5k
Yesterday: Ran 7k in 53 mins
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Southern Ridges
Early Saturday morning, R and I decided to do a short trek. My sister and my folks had been telling me about the Southern Ridges walk in Singapore and we decided to go check it out. It was actually pretty fun getting out and walking for slightly over 2 hours amidst a whole different bunch of routes. Given that this is Singapore and there's a dearth of rugged nature walks in this part of South East Asia, the routes were mostly on man made paths, but I have to say, they did a fantastic job in the planning of the Southern Ridges route.
R and I started off at Kent Ridge Park and cut through a canopy walk down to Hort Park which I found fascinating (and I'm not even that big a plant person). We did the floral walk (okay, this was very disappointing because there really wasn't anything much to see), followed by the Alexandra Arches (a fancy name for a bridge) and then the highlight of the walk, the Forest Walk. Seriously, a bunch of raised steel walkways raised really high up was just sooooo cool. Next time around though, we're thinking of taking the Earth trail through the forest for variety. The hilltop walk and the Henderson Waves (another name for a crazily high pedestrian bridge) came after the Forest Walk and the entire thing was wrapped up with the Faber and Marang trail.
I forgot to bring my camera and R's camera wasn't charged, so we didn't take any photos, which is a shame because it really was very pretty. Nonetheless, I'm definitely going to do the walk again (R is more ambitious and wants to run it) and will be sure to remember to bring the camera then.
What I did all weekend:
Sleep a lot, walked 6.5k in 2 hours 15 minutes
R and I started off at Kent Ridge Park and cut through a canopy walk down to Hort Park which I found fascinating (and I'm not even that big a plant person). We did the floral walk (okay, this was very disappointing because there really wasn't anything much to see), followed by the Alexandra Arches (a fancy name for a bridge) and then the highlight of the walk, the Forest Walk. Seriously, a bunch of raised steel walkways raised really high up was just sooooo cool. Next time around though, we're thinking of taking the Earth trail through the forest for variety. The hilltop walk and the Henderson Waves (another name for a crazily high pedestrian bridge) came after the Forest Walk and the entire thing was wrapped up with the Faber and Marang trail.
I forgot to bring my camera and R's camera wasn't charged, so we didn't take any photos, which is a shame because it really was very pretty. Nonetheless, I'm definitely going to do the walk again (R is more ambitious and wants to run it) and will be sure to remember to bring the camera then.
What I did all weekend:
Sleep a lot, walked 6.5k in 2 hours 15 minutes
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Hong Kong Trip
I got back from Hong Kong on Tuesday and since I've been back I've finally hauled my lazy ass out of the taxi on to the roads once again. Before I ramble on about the first run I've done in weeks, first Hong Kong.
There's nothing much to say about Hong Kong since I've pretty much made my friends there tired of meeting up with me because it stops being special when the 'guest from out of town' appears about 3 times a year forcing drinks down peoples' throats. Nonetheless because of their selflessness (and I suspect they secretly hope if they turn up this time, they never would have to again!) I met up with a bunch of them for drinks (what else?) and a good ole catch-up session. T'was great. I love all my friends in HK and they take the edge off the mandatory relative visiting.
The one thing I did this time round in Hong Kong that I've never done before though was go trekking with Jimbo, Steph and my sister. The view from the top of Dragon's Back was fantastic and it was the first real exercise I had done since my last run. After the 8.5k hike, many M&Ms and a bag of crisps later, all of us were ready to just collapse...but of course, one must have the mandatory celebratory drink! And all four of us tumbled dusty and all into some sports bar where we proceeded to order a whole bunch of food and of course a bunch of drink! It always feels great knocking back a couple after a good 3 hours of exercise. I'm hoping the next time I get down to Hong Kong, I get to squeeze some trekking in again. Note to self to wear proper trekking shoes next time, because I slipped on my old pair of trainers and my feet were sore the next day! I'll put the piccies we took up just as soon as I manage to figure out how to transfer them from the camera.
Now to the run. Yesterday, I finally had enough of my sloth. I packed all my running stuff and took a bus down to the track and ran home from there. I ran really slowly, and I still felt quite tired at the end, but I did enjoy my first run in weeks. Muggy and hot conditions aside, the music was good, the legs felt good and in all it just felt like I found my old friend again.
What I did last night:
Ran 4k in 29 minutes (I did say it was a slooooow run!)
There's nothing much to say about Hong Kong since I've pretty much made my friends there tired of meeting up with me because it stops being special when the 'guest from out of town' appears about 3 times a year forcing drinks down peoples' throats. Nonetheless because of their selflessness (and I suspect they secretly hope if they turn up this time, they never would have to again!) I met up with a bunch of them for drinks (what else?) and a good ole catch-up session. T'was great. I love all my friends in HK and they take the edge off the mandatory relative visiting.
The one thing I did this time round in Hong Kong that I've never done before though was go trekking with Jimbo, Steph and my sister. The view from the top of Dragon's Back was fantastic and it was the first real exercise I had done since my last run. After the 8.5k hike, many M&Ms and a bag of crisps later, all of us were ready to just collapse...but of course, one must have the mandatory celebratory drink! And all four of us tumbled dusty and all into some sports bar where we proceeded to order a whole bunch of food and of course a bunch of drink! It always feels great knocking back a couple after a good 3 hours of exercise. I'm hoping the next time I get down to Hong Kong, I get to squeeze some trekking in again. Note to self to wear proper trekking shoes next time, because I slipped on my old pair of trainers and my feet were sore the next day! I'll put the piccies we took up just as soon as I manage to figure out how to transfer them from the camera.
Now to the run. Yesterday, I finally had enough of my sloth. I packed all my running stuff and took a bus down to the track and ran home from there. I ran really slowly, and I still felt quite tired at the end, but I did enjoy my first run in weeks. Muggy and hot conditions aside, the music was good, the legs felt good and in all it just felt like I found my old friend again.
What I did last night:
Ran 4k in 29 minutes (I did say it was a slooooow run!)
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