Sunday, September 12, 2010

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...

Sunday, September 5, 2010

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!