.... the jackal rides and run....

Short weekend as planned to head out for a short holiday with the family on Sunday. Did a long ride for Saturday. As usual, set the time 6.30am so that everyone could make it while I did an extra 30km prior by heading out earlier. Only Ryo turned up and rather disappointingly since the time was quite late and the traffic was getting horrendous, especially for a small group of 2! Decent ride with some fast pace in between. Ryo experienced 2 punctures which forced him out of the ride. The first was along Mandai and the other right after LCK, due to a slow leak in the 2nd tube. In the end, he had to stop and take the cab  back at Boon Lay rd as I headed back home alone. Just a short 10km run at ECP but with a slight twist. Ran at the grass and sandy areas instead of the normal path. Helped with my butt pain I think but by no means easy especially on beach sand. A good workout.

I inadvertently left my spanking new H-Street purchased from Al-Ikhsan at Mahkota Parade, outside an optical shop and thought it was gone. I only realized after leaving the shop but running back there they were already closed. I called them up the next morning but they claim to not find anything INSIDE the shop. Hours later they called back and said that from the CCTV, they saw me going out of the shop with the bag coming back to with the kids without the bag. I thanked them for the information and just gave up on it. Guess what, the lady (Esther) and the owner (Mr.Lee) of Tai Fah Optical at Mahkota Parade didn't stop there. Hours later they called again to inform us that they have found my shoes! Well, their CCTV also revealed that a cleaner picked up the bag. Esther went on to locate the cleaner and managed to get the bag back. Apparently, he was already trying to sell it back to Al-Ikhsan! I was really really touched and impressed by this level of 'service'. It was g...

I reserved Saturday for my long distance run. Initially the plan was the run at night but my forays the previous night on the bike just proved to be exhausting and I needed the sleep. Fortunately, no disturbances from the kids and managed to catch 6+ hours of sleep. Started the run at about 5.50am from ECP. The route is the same as my first 30km loop...basically to run towards SAFRA, coastal straight until Changi beach park and u-turn back after refilling water. As usual, the stomach was not friendly to me...had to take a quick dump. Location confidential, had to go primal on this one. Yet again, the body goes straight into long distance mode....at about 6+min/km (did not check the speed until Coastal straight). The sky was getting brighter so Coastal was not scary at all....but its still a challenging path to take mentally as one cannot see the end of that straight road until the final 1km or so. Refilled at the u-turn point vending machine (15km)...they had no decent drinks so I we...

Check out this minimal shoe....my wife just ordered it for herself. Upon inspecting it, I am curious. It looks to be like a neoprene sock with a well made sticky rubber sole which seems to be attached well to the neoprene sock. Not sure about reliability but its very minimal; ultra flexible and light. I'm gonna order one just for fun! I thought I only managed to get her to start running but I never expected my foray into barefoot-dom also caught on with her! Must be my incessant small talk about minimal shoes and running during my sleep....... Puma's on wash......these shoes are easy to wash and dries up pretty fast as well. Love em! I will used on or the other for the Marathon. Never got used to the feel of the Kinvara's and the Merrell felt floppy at the front end for some reason (but ok for trail).

The MTP required me to completed a 21km this week "time trial". I'm done with pushing speed as I tend to get bad down times after those kind exercises! Initially wanted to put in a day's rest before doing this one but decided the night prior, what the hell! Just do it! Started off at about 5.20am and did the usual ECP routes available to me. Started off quite strongly with a good 5:35 pace but that soon deteriorated to a 6:00 pace. Things just went downhill from there and there was no 'second wind' although I did hope for one! From 10km onwards, it was getting even tougher as I struggled to even keep the 6:00 pace. Did a push for the final 3km and just managed to keep JUST below my last PB pace of 5:58 did last month. I used the H-Streets for this one (no cushy Kinvara for me!). I do think that I could have done better, but it is likely that the lack of good sleep and running the past 3 days has taken its toll on this effort. Still I cannot complain, its s...

Legs are feeling better these past 2 runs.  Tuesday was a 12km non-stop run with Ryo. It was 'chat pace' I guess and my legs still feel a bit stiff but no pain or anything which is good. Managed to pick up speed a bit towards the end of the run before retiring for a drink at big splash. There's a 24hr snack shop there but drinks are quite pricey. Ran back a full 3km after that. Legs felt ok...much better than last week Wednesday (today)...I was torn whether to ride or run. The lazy side of me opted for running for the pure sake of it being more convenient! Started off slowly and as I got a bit more warmed up I was able to sustain 5:30+pace quite comfortably (in fact I may be able to sustain for 21km given all the 'right conditions' which would mean a sub-2hr half marathon). Increased pace for below 5min/km for the last km. It was a satisfying workout. Today also marked the >700km covered for my Puma H-Streets. This is plenty of life for suc...

The Soles Looks like my arsenal is increasing rapidly, especially for running! The strangest thing about running is that I sort of went extreme by going Barefoot directly, moved into minimalist shoes like the Puma, and now I'm back to padded shoes! I think for me, a heavy guy, I will need some padding especially for those long runs, hence the Kinvara 2. It still promotes midfoot strike with its low profile sole/padding design. For maintaining running form and technique or just for kicks, barefoot and/or the Pumas are the way to go, no question. It looks like I got it all figured out :) So my short 6 month journey in to serious running taught me a couple of things - barefooting is good for form and technique sharpening (midfoot strike, balance, feel) - minimalist shoes like the Pumas gives some measure of protection and is almost as good as barefooting (and they look good too!) - shoes are absolutely needed for trail running, plus a stiffer and less padded sole is ideal to a...

I just had to know. How does 42km feel like? So I set out at 5am, on my "Marathon Feeler Route" (I have 3, by the way), with the intention of finishing at 10am, with a pace of 7:00min/km. 'Modest' I thought. Oh how wrong I was! The route basically covers the Park Connectors. It was pretty interesting on paper but in reality, one can get confused, like I did as at times the PC do not really 'connect' that well. I entered the Siglap PC near my place. This brought me through Teluk Kurau, Kembangan over the PIE and into Bedok North. Made a wrong turn over here but luckily I stopped to check my GPS and u-turned back towards the correct route. At Bedok Reservoir......the usual dump-attack came....so had to stop at a coffee shop to do my business. I was running on the pathway here until Tampines ave 1 junction where I connected in the Tampines PC. This brought me towards Tampines Mall, Sun Plaza park etc and finally into Pasir Ris PC at Downtown East. At this poi...

Wow, the 188km distance covered during Bike Rally day was really draining. I was still quite tired on Monday and body started to exhibit for muscle sores albeit not serious at all. Took Monday off the exercise map. Tuesday I was not sure if I could wake up for a run so decided not to commit to Ryo's running invitation. I set the alarm anyways to schedule a run for the usual 5.30am. Morning came and I woke up to the alarm, quite reluctant to get up but forced myself up anyway. Still had second thoughts though but hey what the hell. Decided to go barefoot and guess what.....did 12km on my barefeet and in decent time too (under 6:00 min/km pace). I saw Ryo at the 4km point coming from the other direction....he promptly turned back to join me and took off this spanking new NB MT10's (nice and light BTW). He ran with me at my snail pace for another 3-4km and turned off to head back home at Big Splash area. I continued on and made the u-turn back to Macs starting point. I mus...

Ryo cycled to my place and we ran at ECP doing the 10km loop. As he is definitely a much faster runner than me, I asked him to help me to try to achieve 5:15 pace (just want to get it under 53mins). He did just that at shot off at a bullet pace of 4:30.....I nearly fainted but thank goodness he noticed my state and slowed down to 5:10 pace.....by then I was dying already. Think the initial fast pace destroyed me. Upon reaching the 5km point (a PR), I could feel that I was getting tired fast so I knew at that point that it would be quite difficult to hit the under 53mins target but to achieve a PR over my best time was definitely possible. I gave it all I had for the last km or so and managed to do just that. Ryo hardly pulled a sweat! 10km in 53m 22s....improvement of 20s from previous PR achieved last week. Wow, every seconds equate to pain and suffering but I am loving every moment of it. Strange.

Its 11.50pm and I'm in FuZhou, China. Just checked in, freaking tired. Did not get any sleep during the flight (quite a good flight with Xiamen Airlines though). So here I am in the hotel, just think I'll post something and finish updating my business cards (!!). Interesting stuff at work but that's another story. Anyway, great weekend otherwise. I just had to do one long ride to acclimatize my butt to the long 160km Bike Rally next Sunday. To be real honest I don't think I can fare as well as last year (where I actually came into the finish with the front pack!) as since taking up a lot of running, been neglecting my top of the line electronic shifting carbon bike! Saturday : 100km Singapore Loop Clockwise Managed to rope KL into this ride (he's in the Bike Rally as well) and met him at Nicoll at 5.45am. I did not intend to push, just to last the distance with a decent speed was the target. However, upon going up the Viaduct, KL was leading at 35km/h. There ...

Monday : A rest day....was hit with sore-throat right after the trail-run beer session. I've instructed Ryo to remind me next time out. I'm such a sucker to peer pressure. Not blaming beer directly but the past few times that I got sick.....it was beer after heavy exercising, everytime!! Tuesday : Got up and ran barefoot 10km......did the first 5km alone was suprised I could hold a decent 5:50ish pace for the first 5km. Ran slightly slower with Ryo as my feet were feeling a bit raw by then but it felt great and we managed to complete the next 5km slightly under the 6:00 pace. It was nice to run an chat a bit as well just to catch up and talk about stuff. Wednesday : I owe my bike a ride so I headed out for a 'base' 30km. Basically try to keep HR at 130bpm average for the entire ride. Boring ride as usual but I did not feel the greatest either as I have a dry cough after the sore throat subsided. Thursday : Headed out for a run......I felt ok and thin...

SATURDAY So comes the trail run Saturday. The PTR (Pre-Dawn Trail Runners) group formed in FB by JM have now offcially 6 members. All of which turned up. HG, new to the group and fellow barefooter turned up. Picked up Ryo at 5.35am and got to the meeting point a bit late. Did not manage to take my ritual pee before the run haha so rushed off in pursuit of the group. Upon reaching Venus drive and before getting to the trails, I stopped to take a leak but seeing the guys already going in I rushed and was fumbling with my lights....inevitably, fell down at the start of the trail and got hit on my left knee (which is still painful today....got a bit of a limp while walking) and some rashes on the right shin. Nothing major cosmetically but it did hurt a bit running and I still have about 17km to go! Luckily HG waited for me and we ran together until we caught the tail-end of the group. As usual I slowed down the group a fair bit as they have to stop to wait. I don't feel good about ...

Its been about 10 years since I last ran the MR loop. Used to take a bus from Toa Payoh those days and start running over here at around 7am. The loop took me about 1hr 10mins during that time, typically. It wasn't fast. So when Ryo asked to do some trails (actually, was a little adamant as was still pulling a slightish fever and still on antibiotics) I said 'why not?' but not the brutal 20km of course given my state. 645am. My car reaches MR. I was shocked to so many people over there. I thought there was an event going on but NO....its normal for that as I found out later after the run. The carpark was almost full I think. More asphalt and building at MR park area now compared to then. A much upgraded visitor centre (which did not exist 10yrs ago) and canoe storage area but the path to the trail remains fresh in memory. The trail itself seemed a little wider, but maybe this is just because I've been going to Woodcutters too much! So no problems in getting lost thi...

A satisfying weekend of workouts albeit announcement from a dear friend that he won't be cycling with me for a while! Saturday Met up with KL and JM for an extended Eastern Loop. A good 78km or so. Started off pretty slow we pumped up the pace eventually. We managed to hit 30+km/h average speed around Pasir Ris prior to dropping JM off. KL was not at his usual pace that day after having missed a weekend of cycling. This ride also marks the return of my HED Stinger 6. All trued and mounted with Evo CX 25C tubulars. This time, I got it glued at TEF. Boy, that tubular loving feeling that I missed is back. I chose 25C in the hope that this will be more puncture resistant than its smaller counterpart. No tape this time, GLUE is the best. The Evos are some of the best tires I ever rode on.....sure the tape and conti gatorskins were bulletproof and convenient but I was missing that great ride when I first got the wheels : glued with evos 23C. The roll was excellent. Weight increase ...

I have been planning this for the past couple of days. The early plan was to complete 34km which is a loop covering ECP - Coastal - Changi - Loyang - Bedok Reservoir and back via the park connector. The thought of going up Loyang on foot at the 24km point was pretty much unbearable since I felt that I have not fully recovered from the previous day ride yet! Even so, the show must go on; I had to feel a true long distance run. So finally on Sunday morning, I decided to go for my usual ECP - Coastal - ECP 30km bike route -- on foot. Started with a slow pace.....my initial target was to complete the 30km NOT WALKING at any point but later changed my mind and set a target pace of 7min/km (which I failed, of course). Upon reaching the East Coast Sailing club I was already doing 7+min/km pace......and my bowels were moving. There was a toilet there but I decided that I was ok to go and could control it. It was a mistake as it came in on and off for the next 8km! Fortunately for me, at the ...

Saturday's 20km Trail Run All geared up on Saturday morning...picked Ryo up and drove to Venus drive. Prior to that I was still deciding whether to try out the new shoes I bought last week which looked suitable for trail running, boy should have stuck to my puma's! So, we were the first there, in the pitch dark carpark. The guys arrived right before 6am and we started promptly. JM took the lead and was going pretty fast.....I was struggling and panting to keep up and at that point I KNEW the shoes were a big mistake. The sole being rigid plus the fact that it did not have a single piece of padding whatsoever, made it felt like walking with a wood plank stuck to the bottom of my foot. It hurt and I just prayed that'll survive the run! Kuan took over the lead and he continued the fast pace! For me it was just a struggle to keep up....my heart was beating fast, feet were hurting from the hard shoes. Before long we reached Rifle Range road.....the guys ran off at medium pac...

Had a nauseous new year weekend. I did not feel great from Thursday onward....a bit of a stomach discomfort coupled with headaches and nausea (flatulence problem too! and no, that did not help in general propulsion on any of the sporting activities I undertook)....did not push it for runs on Friday and Monday as well as the ride on Saturday. Of course, having lots of "great" food over the festive weekend as a treat for the family did not help the stomach situation, as exhibited yesterday on the 10km run. I literally stopped at 4km point with splitting headaches. Careful not to tempt a probable onset of stroke or heart attack, I walked a bit and it got better......decided to go into "limp home" mode just to get my ass back home but of course no cheating, so I went the full 10km as intended from the beginning. I basically spent the whole of Monday resting (sleeping, eating) and this morning....it started with a bit of worry that I'll get those headaches again ...

Did my last ride of the year this morning with KL and Ben. Just a friendly 65km of Eastern Loop followed by a sell deserved milo-ping at Siglap kopitiam. It was good also to see Mark and Stefan there (with the PC group). 2011 career-wise was an up and down for me. Very numbing experience from the start till end and it continues! Well, I have plans for 2012, just you wait and see. Let's get on with the interesting stuff : Cycling AND Running. This of course is the year where I completed quite a lot of cycling events....starting off with the NTU Bike Rally, JMFR2011, Cameron's + Ipoh Century and finally TdB2011. I did a lot of solo rides kicking off at 5am and doing many of these in excess of 110km per ride. Its also the year where I managed to keep an average speed of 30km/h+ for distances above 100km....solo! It was tough but it was all worth it, just for the experience and the torture :) Completing the century ride under 5hrs was also quite a feat for me. TdB 2011 was pure...