2010-Looking Back

never thought I would write about something so newspapery = the year in review.

these days very lethargic no energy little motivation to do many things..it is true that feeling a bit jaded (kind of been there done that)..or maybe a "PO" angle to look at it is being "more focused"..well that is a 1/2 full or 1/2 empty thingy.

what about 2010?

I did two 1/2marathons 21.1km Sundown May29,2010 (2hrs 33mins) & Standchart Marathon Singapore Dec5, 2010 (2hrs 50 mins). I am doing weekly runs with a good friend and doing 3x10km/week runs with reasonable comfort and feeling good after runs (did 10km this morning & on wednesday and 8km on Monday since I came back on Dec25 night)...

I spend lots of time with old RI classmates/schoolmates, rediscovering old friendship, hearing expose' from ancient times gone by (I was sleeping mostly through RI days), played mahjong first time in my life, couple of tennis games (should do more tennis) and a bit too much dining (should do more coffee 功夫茶 red wine like what Chai Seng suggested) but managing my weight ok with 30km/week runs & 1 meal a day...

and not forgetting watch world cup together at Temasek Club and semi & final @ MBS (Marina Bay Sands)..watched F1 at Pit Straight suite courtesy of Chong Lee..got invited to tapas and fine dining by by home chef friend Wang Junwei who is discovering new things everyday from sous vide 70degC vaccum cooking to 36hrs ice filtration consomme to black garlic..Kum Fei coming back to visit his son mum & nephew wedding and we having sungei road laksa & turtle soup at jln berseh hawker centre.

A few of us got together to work on some social project which may begin to take shape and hopefully can see some result in 2011. quite a good team really, a few of us RI friends and a few 13-15yrs our junior and they in turn work up a partnership with a younger team of 26 year olds with Stanford degree..

and I got to visit my eldest brother 永俊 in Shantou Chenghai 汕头澄海. though I invited him, his wife and daughter to stay with me for 1 month in 1995, I don't think much about them after that other than the usual occasional letters etc..this time over 22-25dec I got to know them a bit more in depth, the 2 nephews, their wives, son (1st year communications technology in Guangzhou No2 Agricultural unviersity) & daughters, my niece, her hubby (a graduate from Qing Hua University) and their daughter my other grandniece..and a bit more understanding of the ordinary folks life in a utterly corrupt system to the base level - counterpoint to the macroscopic successes that make China the economic powerhouse of the 21st century which no doubt pragmaticly improve the lots/lifes of 100millions people than any empty ideological calls of "democracy" - intellectual snobs' ideology more important than real improvement, real freedom/rights to property, employment etc for 100milions people?

also got to sort out some of W3's investments and to rebalance some personal ones...

2010 is over tonight, looking forward to welcome 2011!

still having internal battle whether to do the next 1/2marathon, probably standchart at year end 2011..

did 8km run this morning 9.1kmh, rain started at 7km and became a downpour at 7.5km totally drenched. last week did 10km 9.1kmh with son and 6.5km at a slow 8.4kmh with Su Lin around the estate with terrain.

still having internal battle whether to do the next 1/2marathon, probably standchart at year end 2011..

on one hand I tell myself at this age there is nothing to prove. The 29may2010 Sundown set a target and helped me to focus my training runs and I was doing 5x10km/week before Sundown. for 5dec2010 Standchart Singapore marathon I reduced to 3x10km/week - that being my REAL objective ie to do comfortably 3x10km/week w/o excessive assertions and injuring myself, NOT the 1/2 marathon per se.

since my objective of 3x10km/week is achieved and (1)I have no problem to continue that w/o any talisman 1/2marathon (2)I am unlikely to push myself risk my knees then running 21.1km is just running 10km at a slower pace to last 21.1km and past 15km breathing is not a problem and tiredness of legs kicked in and potential cramps, then 21.1km does not achieve anything that 10km doesn't achieve for me in pragmatic health terms..

I can say "been there done that" having completed 2 1/2marathons but actually there's not much to be said, my timing of 2hr33mins for Sundown was mediocre and 2hr50mins for Standchart a bit below expectation...

since there is nothing to prove to others or myself and i no longer need a 1/2marathon to make myself continue 3x10km/week runs the other purpose of doing another 1/2marathon is just to see if I can better the time..assuming my 2hr 50mins for Standchart is just due to cramp (which means inadequate preparations like strength training etc to avoid cramps), then target would be to do better than 2hr33mins in Sundown even with the terrain & route bottlenecks for Standchart (guess if I am to run another last 1/2marathon there is no point to do 20,000 runners Sundown might as well run the 60,000 runners event of the year Standchart marathon)...maybe I can do 2hr30mins or 2hrs25mins, and that is all I am interested to achieve and if i fail that will still be my last just that I have tried 1 more time...

stacked against that is the additional incidences for injury damaging the knees etc..problem is such injuries are silent and accumulative and there is no doubt the more "beyond the limits" attempts the more likely the injuries...that was why I don't "push" myself it is not worth the injury however through training it is possible to improve the stable running pace w/o sudden stretch beyond what the body is accustomed that can cause real damage...

Just 3 weeks to Race Day!

did 14km this morning...9.0kmh & average heartbeat 158/min...2 days ago also did 14km slightly better at 9.1kmh average heartbeat 157/min..

would have prefered to do only once 14km a week but not much time left..leaving with Lisa for Kyoto 19-24nov, so I have 1 run with Choon Hung this wed & probably 3runs after returning on 24nov until race day StandChart 1/2 marathon on 5dec...maybe will do 1 more or max 2 more 14km...

psychologically still feels less prepared than 29may sundown...also sundown was flat terrain whereas StandChart 1/2 marathon is running thru' Resort World Universal Studios & quite hilly terrain i think on sentosa after which lead up ECP then turn back to end at padang...others may like the view but I only focus on running when I run so not bothered about Universal Studios and all that..

seriously consider not to do any more 1/2 marathons no point to put pressure on myself can just sign up a few 10km runs thru' out the year & those will be like just a 3x weekly regular runs no need preparation...

did 14.1km run this morning

did 14.1km this morning - 1hr 35mins about 8.9kmh average heartrate 159/min (was 9.03kmh same heartrate at 12km)...very happy..means if I run remaining 7kmfor my Standchart 1/2 marathon and take another hour I can complete in 2hr 34mins or slightly more...
did 12km 2 days ago about 9kmh and higher heartrate...standchart 21.1km 1/2 marathon is on 5dec2010 <4weeks away...feel that I am less prepared than Sundown earlier on May30 but if I can do a 12km run & 14km run each week for the remaining time it should be ok..
anyway always say aim to complete not complete, and after this may not run anymore 1/2marathons...these days there's more than a run every week and can probably pick up 4 or 5 10km runs a year no need to run 1/2 marathons...very happy I can do 10km as a normal 3 times/week run w/o overworking my lungs and legs and happy to just keep it that way...

America has lost its bearings & leadership

America has lost its bearings & leadership…unfortunately no one ready to fill vacuum…”yes you can” rally is powerless has lost its voice gagged by cynicism apathy misinformation dogma & venom (coming from wall street+republican+media pseudo free capital market vested interest that distort/brought down capital market because it was not "free market" at all but manipulated and milked to near collapse, held captive and still by $power+dogma+ideology)…democrats are bickering faithless visionless and united with republicans only in narrow selfserving incumbent interests..our faith in America being always able to reinvent itself being the most competitive economy will always bounce back now being severely tested…and for how long?

Army 1/2 marathon Singapore Bay Run 2010

son went for the army 1/2marathon this morning with his army friends, the 21km Singapore Bay Run 2010, scenic Marina Bay route but steep gradient. 70,000 runners - the largest run event in Singapore but hey they got the army boys running compulsory with day off some more(Stanchart Singapore Marathon 2010 that is the largest full marathon in Singapore with >60,000 runners)..

wen yu did 2hr 15mins, but of course these chappies don't even train just go running like any other day outing, plus quite a bit of walking stopping etc...

Choon Hung ran today too he probably did about that time 2hr 15mins or lower also...I got to target 2hr 20mins for Stanchart run (9kmh)...anyway always good to start off with target...got to drop my weight to <68kg and get back to 14km runs at 9.2kmh which I was able to do training before the last Adidas Sundown 1/2marathon...

did 10km Yellow Ribbon Prison Run this morning...

did 10km yellow ribbon prison run this morning..almost wanted to leave because of continued heavy drizzle (oxymoron?) at 8am flag-off but changed my mind when organisers brought light transparent poncho sheets..1st time ran 10km in poncho throughout..Singapore may have set record for largest number of runners in ponchos (just kidding!)..

my 10km timing today was slow - 1hr 9mins 16secs (8.66kmh), slower than my Sundown 21km 1/2 marathon timing (8.8kmh) on 29.5.2010. only 3 months left before my Standchart 1/2 marathon on 5.12.2010 so will need to push my training a bit even though my aim is to complete NOT compete..

good thing is 10km runs at this speed (& guess up to 9kmh or 9.2kmh) is now becoming staple runs for me 3 times a week which is my long term target anyway for health/lifestyle runs..

for standchart prep my targets would be between 9.2kmh and 9.4kmh for 10km/14km training runs and between 8.8kmh and 9kmh for standchart 21km 1/2 marathon..

thought the prison run 2010 organisation was ok, the coach pick-up was at Singapore expo MRT which also have large carpark, so convenient for drivers & also those traveling by public transport..flag-off point was near changi village & there was marshalling tentage. flag-off was at 8am instead of 7.45am as stated in website and guide. Shanmugum would have lost a few votes if he was the reason for the delayed start but guessed it was simply the organisers telling runners 7.45am flag-off time while getting VIP to come at 8am. anyway flag-off was 8am sharp w/o incident....

didn't really pay much attention to the route and basically just concentrate on getting my cadence & breathing right..the minor gradients were quite manageable..

post run, got together with Choon Hung (he as usual did below 1 hr), Chee Hong & Wei Liang. among the first to catch coach back from Changi Prison to expo, and after a change of dry tees, got to food court and had rather good $4 Tai Wah bakchomee (大华肉挫面) with loads of ingredients (seemed much more than Crawford & Hong Lim), and $1 brewed coffee..

good fun morning!

I salute YOG!

I salute YOG! very proud that Singapore hosted the inaugural YOG, that like Greece was the birthplace of Olympics, Singapore leaders have the great vision to enshrine Singapore as the origin of the Youth Olympics Games for generations to come...

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Straits Times Aug 29, 2010
YOG deserve your salute
By Deepika Shetty

A friend who saw the opening ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) on television said she was teary-eyed by the end of it. Her biggest regret was not having tried hard enough to get the tickets.

On opening night, some 5,500 performers came together on one stage. Through their energetic performance, capped with a stunning firework display, they tracked Singapore's progress from a small island nation to what it is today.

Like me, my friend hails from India and I could see why she felt emotional.

With about a month to go before the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, the debate on Indian television news channels, websites and newspapers centres on shoddily built stadiums, corruption, claims that almost 4,000 rupees (S$116) were spent on a single toilet roll, and the deeper problem of inflated pricing.

Here in Singapore, things were pretty much seamless from start to finish.

That is why I just do not understand the cynicism and negativity surrounding the recently concluded YOG. There are some rather vicious and unwarranted online attacks on the Games and the criticism does not end there.

The previous Saturday, I shared a table with alumni from some of Singapore's top schools and here, too, the Games provided just the trigger for a debate. Arguments against the YOG were about being held up in traffic to allow the torch to pass through, the expense of the Games and, more disturbingly, whether the Games were needed at all.

I am convinced that people who have been lashing out against the Games have not actually spent time watching them.

Sure, there is the question of the budget, which I am confident will be explained in greater detail. Then there is the ticketing. It could have been better. I know that because my two children and I queued on three successive days trying to get tickets for the diving events. We were unsuccessful.

But we did make up for it by watching Cuba take on Argen-tina in a volleyball match. It was all thanks to the volunteers who assured us the match would be well worth it. They battled the elements and made us feel at home even in a queue. They made restless children happy by handing out YOG badges.

A middle-aged volunteer shook hands with all of us, thanking us for making time for the YOG and apologising for the queues and the wait. He did not need to do that. He told my seven-year-old son how he had not watched a single game but he was happy to have been a part of this historic event. It was a simple and telling story about the need to relish every moment.

We would not have made it to the athletics finals at Bishan Stadium had it not been for the thoughtfulness of a police officer. When I asked him about the closest place to park our car, he suggested I get my daughter to join the queue before trying to do that. It would take a long time, he told me. It did. In the 35 minutes it took me to find a parking space, my girl made it to the last lot of 50 in the queue.

Inside the stadium, we saw young volunteers walk in a straight line, carrying athletes' bags in plastic boxes.

In Toa Payoh, where we watched volleyball, six volunteers swept the floor in perfectly synchronised moves, making us wonder how hard they must have practised to pull it off.

The attention to detail extended to the fine sporting venues we visited, and the swiftness of the security checks.

After the athletics final at Bishan, traffic came to a halt for less than 30 seconds to let the official cars pass through. I know because I timed it.

We did not get to watch too many events live but, in those we did, it proved the Games were no child's play. Boys fought like men, girls dashed like grown-up Olympic champions. My son added new sporting heroes to his list every day. He learnt to cheer for the best sportsboy and sportsgirl. He heard many national anthems in one night and understood the world is beautiful because it is diverse.

As my friend and colleague Rohit Brijnath observed so rightly in one of his columns: 'A large games is a sporting quilt of a thousand threads.' The thousands of threads which went into the making of the YOG here were the finest of the lot.

I just wish more Singaporeans would stand up and salute their everyday heroes who made such a seamless and impressive show possible. From the helpful policemen to the smiling volunteers, they all blended together. Successfully presenting an untested form of the Games is a testament to their collective triumph.

deepikas@sph.com.sg

getting back to running routine

missed the weekly 9.2km runs with Choon Hung yesterday and wednesday last week trying to rid the flu from my system. manage to run this morning same distance on treadmill at the gym because of the rain. don't do gym much these days prefering outdoor runs but today just as I was getting out of the house rain started so no choice.

speed was 9.6kmh on my garmin pedometer & 9.5kmh on treadmill but i have given up on speed measures on gym treadmill as can never quite replicate outdoors..when much younger always thought i ran better outdoors probably because tend to pace with other runners but these days don't seem to be true.

checked my garmin record last run was 11.8.2010 so 16 days ago so another long break (last time was when I reward myself with trip to Seoul week after my 31.5.2010 Adidas Sundown 21km 1/2marathon). now 2 hrs after run, no muscle sore so my running posture should be ok and compression tights are working...

my calendar entry said my throat infection started 12.8.2010, so full 2 weeks which guess is my usual recovery time. this time though manage to go for lunches, dinners, meetings and do a bit of work (i think a bit better than previously) on a 70% (couple days) t0 90% capacity (most days)....really hate it health so important just small little flu and already find it most irritating though this time a bit less disruptive..what more if major illness..

anyway age catching on need to listen to body..lets see how it goes but would want to go for another 10km run tomorrow if feeling good...

cynicism, negativity & cyber propagation

the minority speak loudest and cynicism & negativity get recycled and regurgitated in cyberworld..partisan, whatever the other guy say or do is wrong, unable to share, rejoice & feel proud of their country & people who contributed real effort for betterment of the world & of the human spirit, sport excellence..Obama tried to refocus America & the world "yes you can" but he is being drown out by minority controlled senate & wall street pseudo capitalist vested interest & media..we live in a pluralistic world..democracy is the free market contest of ideas & will prevail...

when does a person deserve a crime?

A Singapore student on an exchange program was gang-raped by 3 Nepalese when she went to lan Kawi Fong and got drunk alone in a bar where the rapists worked, and all 3 comments on Asiaone were "she asked for it"..how sad in this day and age, the vocal prevalent belief can be the victim deserve the crime...this is a crime of violence, a woman cannot be safe drinking alone in a Hong Kong bar..however careless or ill-advised or naive, the one thing for sure is she didn't asked for it..if a man got drunk and got robbed or raped, probably nobody would say such horrible things as he asked for it...

Engelhert Humperdinck 2010 Legacy of Love World Tour

watched Engelhert Humperdinck 2010 Legacy of Love World Tour with Lisa 2 nights ago at Indoor Stadium (as usual) courtesy of Andrew Chee (good friend to have)...

really a relaxed wonderful evening down memory lane in the company of Release Me, The Last Waltz, Spanish Eyes, Quando Quando Quando (remix)..incredible vocals & a witty mind and very good refined classy entertainer, incredible energy at 74 years & great band too....love it..

1 night in geylang...

great time out with the boys (chai seng, chong lee, chee hong, boon teck) last evening...
what I read when I googled Sek Wai Sin at Geylang (between Lor 13 & Lor 15) turned out to be accurate enough - pay a lot for wok hei, no price, no menu, no aircon, no service (the last cannot determine as chai seng seems to have one with the owners so the service we got is par excellence, also aircon part no issue as our table is indoor place is decent & quite cool)...
food is good and I want to go back again...we had prawn with kai lan and tofu prawn (signature), and beef kailan=all with fantatic wok hei! the prawn is huge and very fresh. also had steam song fish head (signature)=very good, black chicken soup=good and sweet sour pork=below average. read that bitter gourd pork rib is good, didn't ask as (maybe should ask because) chai seng is paying. damage was $148 for 5, not exactly cheap for daipaidong but then most dishes are better than some restaurants..problem with such places is food variety looks limited and w/o our friend chai seng probably service maybe sucks...
after that we stroll to sims avenue side for durian...$50 for 1 mao shan wan durian (3.5kgx$14/kg=about $2 per seed) not quite my idea of value for money, but then fun night out can't count every cent, just eat & be happy.. durian was nice but really not that great..chee hong also ordered a 1x$16/kg (forgot name sounds something like XO 666..)...that one actually had many tiny seeds, not bitter enough and maybe not bad afterall...
sad to hear from CH that BT's brother Boon Siong passed away from cancer (though I expected that having heard from BT >1month back that he was nearing the end). we are all at the age where transient makes a deeper impression, we get more philosophical & start to hear more of such news from amongst friends but I was playing my 1st majong game with BS just before CNY=that was just 4-5 months back..

lifestyle runner

had my LSD run (long slow distance run, NOT of the euphoric out-of-body I am god kind) this morning. managed 10km@9.02kmh just below 1hr6mins. this after a week w/o exercise and piling on sinful (meaning heavenly) food in Seoul..heartbeat really a bit high at 160bpm average with last lap at 165bpm (still for my recent 1/2 marathon my heartbeat was higher at 161bpm average running for 2hr 33 mins over 21km at just 8kmh)..I know I can get it down as did 14km before at 154bpm average at 9.1kmh...

didn't use my compression apparel. put on the cheaper Adidas tights instead, recovery was good and now 5 hrs after running no DOMS (delayed onset muscle sore) so I must be doing things right!

the chirunning by Danny Dreyer is really good. every serious runner should just go borrow from library and read it (http://catalogue.nlb.gov.sg/cgi-bin/cw_cgi?resultsScreen+26285+1+5+0)

anyway it teaches you the key principles of effortless running-

(1)slight lean (not bent) forward head-body-feet aligned so that your footfall will NOT be ahead of the head position. this helps to avoid heelstriking which creates impact resistance at every step, thus promotes midstriking..

(2)relax knee, calf, ankles, let feet fall back on every step (your feet just skimming the road surface..) instead of lifting & heelstrike (which happens if your footfall is ahead of your head position). this lets core muscles hold up the body weight put less effort on leg muscles, hip swing like pendulum thighs propel run aided by gravity & momentum from slight leaning forward lower leg hang loose - ie as little effort and weight on lower leg as possible makes a more efficient pendulum (don't you know nigerian runners have really hugh thighs and thin calf)..

normal hardcore power running relies on training leg muscles and lapping up miles. with chirunning apparently you can soak up less miles in training. important thing is form focus ie posture and principles of using core muscles to hold body and thigh muscles to propel run, slight forward lean & midstriking to avoid impact resistance (and impact on knee) and as little effort and weight on lower leg as possible for efficient pendulum swing and you (sort of) can run forever...

think I am starting to get it a little bit...my target lifestyle running=2x10km, 1x14km per week..