Speed is relative

Just got back from a short road trip to M'sia. We went as far as Penang before turning back to Singapore. I did about half of the driving ;p Needless to say, driving on the NS highway was definitely something blog-worthy ;)

As some of you may know, I don't own a car and hence I don't drive often. Majority of my driving experience is limited to weekend driving ;p (esp for those of you who were lucky/ unlucky enough to be my passengers ;p) Furthest for these drives would be to the eastern and western ends of our little island ;p I don't break 90km/h on expresways in general. Don't worry, I do not roadhog. I don't even take the 1st lane on the expressways hehz. Meek as this may sound, but I've long decided that there's no point in causing myself undue grief for being caught for speeding, particular since I don't even drive that often ;p

As such, driving on the NS highway has always been pretty much an adventure to me. Speed limit on the highway is 110km/h. Frankly, driving on the NS highway at 110km/h feels rather normal even though I'm very used to only 90km/h i.e. when I'm stuck behind vehicles that are going at 90km/h, well, I'll just overtake ;p When I get overtaken by other vehicles, I'll try not to be competitive and catch up and overtake them in return ;p Sometimes, I do feel that I'm roadhogging even at 110km/h. Frankly, when the road is all clear in front of me, the temptation is always there to erm go beyond 110km/h. hehz. Over the course of the roadtrip, I got to play around with stuff like the overdrive (which I never use in Singapore). Longed for cruise control for the vehicle (something which I got to fiddle around with in the US and Australia ;p) and of cos, for a roadster. When driving at such high speeds, the importance of the vehicle's pick-up is greatly amplified ;p

Oh I should add that a lot of my friends were very concerned when they heard that I would be driving on the NS highway ;p Friends in my office were advising me to go easy on the speed and to be extremely careful while driving :) 2 friends that I met for dinner a week before my trip were advising me on the speeds (as well), the bernoulli effect of large vehicles passing me by and erm on how to recognise tsunami alerts :) Was really touched by all these concerns ;)

Back in Singapore. Was driving around in the West today. Did my normal 90km/h on the highway. Oddly enough, it didn't feel as slow as it did on the M'sian highways. ;p I guess speed is largely relative to some extent ;p

Finally satisfied :)

Hehz. This is definitely very long overdue :) My blog posting for my marathon ;p Will attempt to write it in a different way ;) But I guess only the runners among you would be able to empathise with this more ;p


Preamble: This is my 2nd attempt at the 42.195km run :)


First attempt in 2005 was miserable and grueling as my knee gave way at the 12km mark. So it was horrible for the next 30km. Mostly walking. Though I completed the run, but I really didn't feel proud of the attempt at all. Declared that I won't be doing the marathon anymore.


Took a one year break. Did only 10km runs and half marathons.


Come 2007. I definitely signed up for the marathon again on an impulse. A moment of madness perhaps. Trained much lesser than before. It didn't help much that it kept raining on the days when I scheduled my long runs. It really didn't help much either that I had to burn 2 weekends in Europe in the middle of winter, 2 weeks prior to the run. So much for training hard for the run ;p


By the week of the marathon, my maximum distance covered was only 22.5km ;p which as most seasoned marathon runners should know..is pittance...a well trained runner ought to have ran up to a maximum of 30+km in preparation for the marathon. Oh well....





Day before the run


To bolster my confidence, on the day before the run, I judiciously followed every single tip that I could find for the actual run:


a) realised that the power gel brochure in the race pack contained instructions on the number of packets of power gel that I should be consuming at specific points in time.


b) Worked out my game plan for the run based purely on my usual running speeds and giving allowances for myself to slow down every 5 km into the run after 21km ;p





Decided on the eve of the marathon that I will be happy if I can complete it in 5hr 30min. Feeding (power gel) time at all the stated distances. Yes. I ran carrying 5 packets of power gel. 3 packets strapped to my left arm. 2 packets in my back pocket. heh heh ;p Here's the game plan:


10km - 1hr 5min


15km - 1hr 40min


21km - 2hr 25min


26km* - 3hr 5 min


30km - 3hr40min


35km - 4hr 25min


42.195km-5hr30min


*spared myself the weight of one more packet of powergel. cos there's a complimentary packet given out at the 26km mark ;p





Day of the run


Start - Clear skies. Felt rather relaxed. Quite happy to see that my biggest boss was doing the flag-off ;p Was unabashedly in the sub 5hr pen with my other friends who were faster runners. Didn't want to be honest and be all alone without friends in the sub 6 hr pen hehz ;p started off at a really leisurely pace. It's gonna be a really long run anyway. no hurry.


10km mark - did a time check. Shocked to see that I was 2 mins behind my scheduled timing. Realised that I've been taking it too easy. Decided to speed up. Feeding time. 1st packet of powergel. Lighter load on the arm ;p


15km mark - Probably overdid the speeding up by too much. Was 20 mins ahead of schedule. Eeks. wonder how long I can last at such erratic speeds. Time to slow down a little again. Need to sustain for another 20+km..Passed the 5hr 30min, 5hr and 4hr 45min pacers along the way. Decided that there was no need to be too happy. Knowing myself, I'm very sure that I will lose steam in time to come..and they will pass me eventually ;p Feeding time again. different flavoured power gel. hehz. Backpocket starting to feel heavy. Strapped the 2 packets to my left arm ;p


21km mark - was still 15 mins of my schedule. Realised that I just did a personal best in terms of a half marathon ;p Morale boosted! Felt v happy all over again ;p Posed for a picture for my friends who came to support. heh heh ;p Ok. another "reward". Powergel again. More cups of water to swig and to toss aside ;p Yes. I'm rather unladylike during runs, jostle for drinks, crush cups or toss half-empty cups to the side of the road. Having some fun at trying to aim and make sure that my cups land in the designated areas hehz ;p


26km - Still 15 min ahead of scheduled time. fatigue starting to set in. but still holding on. Kept running. Told myself that I shouldn't be stopping to walk! Perservere. powergel up in front! I can only stop to walk when I'm having the powergel....you can imagine how happy I was to finally reach the powergel station....was quite contented that I managed to get a power gel flavour that I've never tasted before ;p (not that powergel is appetising to begin with ;p)



30km - Still 15 min ahead of scheduled time...couldn't quite take it anymore...starting to walk and run....walk in the shadier parts. run in the sunnier parts...bottomline is to keep moving....drinking and of cos...eating the powergel at appropriate times to regain my energy level. Spotted my supporter friends at the 33km mark ;) My morale was boosted all over again! Posed for pics again ;p hehz. Happy once more!



35km - 15 min margin remains...the sun did not matter anymore. Primarily walking. Ran when the road was downward sloping..just to gain on the time a little. 4hr 45 min, 5hr, 5hr 15min pacers passed me. Quite satisfied that my earlier prediction came true. 5hr 30min pacers catching on....starting to wonder if I should push myself a little more to finish the run before 5hr 30min......consumed last packet of powergel. No load left. Walking/ running free and light.



40km - 15 min ahead of scheduled time still. But still walking...couldn't quite push myself to run to aim for better timing....weather was hot...told myself that I'll let myself walk all the way till the 41++km mark..before running till the end....



41++km - Reached the esplanade. Told myself that this is it! I gotta run.....cos I've got friends who are cheering me on at the esplanade bridge ;p I need to be seen running in ;p (That was where I was last year...cheering my full marathon friends on, after my own half marathon) Felt motivated all over again...and was actually able to start running :) V happy to see OL waiting for me there. She ran for a short stretch with me (she did the half-marathon ;p) and we had quite a good chitchat that cheered me up considerably ;p Onwards till the v end..!



42.195km - Managed to sprint to the finish line, per my usual fashion ;p Yes yes. I tend to get very sluggish in the 2nd half of most of my runs..but I'm usually able to muster up enough energy..the rush of adrenaline.. to do my sprint to the finish line...regardless of the total distance I ran ;p Perhaps it's a matter of pride ;) I've always felt that it's so much better to be seen running to the finish line than to stroll all the way there ;p Finished the run in 5hr 13min ;) Completely satisfied. Told myself that this is it. No more marathons. I'm going back to doing only the half marathon ;p I hope I can keep my word this time round ;)

Back

Yes. This must certainly be very long overdue. I've been back in town for 2 weeks. Been busy, tired and procrastinating to blog ;p But I'm back :)


Was in Zagreb Croatia for a week. Beautiful place. Felt very comfortable and safe there.

Thought I'll just share some of my Croatian musings with you guys. In point form :)

First thing that I learnt about Croatia - Colours of Croatia's flag. One of my friend (superman/batman/TLM - whichever is the flavour of the month;p)'s first reaction was to offer his knowledge of the Croatian national football team ;p


First TV program that I watched in Croatia - CNN program on SIA's inaugural flight to Sydney on the A380. Purely coincidental Heh hehz ;p Felt inordinately proud to be watching about our airline's achievement even though I was far away on the other side of the world in Eastern Europe ;p


First glimpse of Zagreb's touristy sites - Picture of the steeples of the cathedrals ;)First impression of Croats - Artistic easy-going people. As can be seen from the numerous statues that dot the streets and the architecture of the many refurbished old buildings, plus the numerous art galleries that you can find everywhere.

First unforgettable expriences in Zagreb - Snowflakes! My first time seeing snow :) Apparently, the temperature dipped below ice-point after midnight. In the day, it was generally a cool 5 to 7 degrees. There was only once, after dinner, when we were still strolling the streets at 1 degree celsius. Have attached a picture of the layers of clothes that I don before stepping out of the hotel ;p turtle neck, woollen vest, woollen sweater, winter coat, scarf. I started wearing gloves towards the last 2 days!

Funniest question that was posed to us in Zagreb by an artist who created jewellery from metal - "what are you doing here in Zagreb in the middle of winter?" ;p

Best view that I've ever had from an aircraft - this has gotta be the view of the alps and of London as we flew in from Zagreb :) Ok. I need to agree that flying in smaller aircrafts do have its merits :) Even though, I need to declare that the B777-ER is still my favourite aircraft to-date! Till I get to try the A380........;p