Christmas Parkrun!

Yes, I was crazy. But I wasn't alone.
Couldn't sleep beyond 7 ish on Christmas morning. I got the whole household out of bed...took a towel, set of dry clothes, spare shoes, plastic bags..

For a traffic free drive to Richmond park, dodging numerous puddles along the way..

Thanks to all of the volunteers that made it possible and pre-warned us of the treacherous course! It was one of the rainiest and boggiest run ever ..and a few months since I did a proper 5k.

Many puddles to dodge and after a while, the wet shoes didn't matter anymore. As with everything else..you were wet anyway. Quite a few had Santa hats, and garlands for a bit of festive spirit. A group of (rain)deers were sitting in the distance, observing all of us..Ho(e) Ho Ho...No Sleigh..Only our two feet.

The rain picked up as we went along, and the wind too. Very few stopped...getting to the finish ASAP was a better approach. Wasn't easy battling the elements at all..very exhausting.

Glad to have made it..to a slightly altered finishing line. A bit disappointed to have got a barcode with 105 on it...would've thought it to be a rare chance to get within the top 100 again (like a few years ago when I first started going to Richmond)..but at least done the workout before a full Christmas dinner ahead.




A repeat of the Special edition of Parkrun on New Year's Day?
Hubby (now glad he had been forced out of bed and did a parkrun this morning, finishing 72th) says its 'up for negotiation'.

Our trainers will need a few days to dry out. :)

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Merry Christmas

Inspired by Runner's World, my 2012 medals on my little tree...maybe, I need a bigger tree?

2 days of holidays, and the itch to go again, except the rain and short days have been spoiling the fun.

It will need to start again after the big feast.

Merry Christmas.



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Perth riverside in wind and drizzle

Hi from Perth Australia! The lovely blue skies of early summer has turned into a windy storm over the last few days - causing havoc all around. Lucky I managed to squeeze in a run on Wednesday along the Swan before it all turned bad...
21 degrees celsius, rain and wind outside- is that going to deter me from going out?
To a Londoner, this is warm.
To a person with no upcoming races registered - is there a reason?
This is a rare chance for me to be staying in Perth CBD.
This is dry country, rain is apparently rare, so it can only stop soon.
I waited, for my moment when the rain stopped - and managed a 5ish mile jog-exploration along one of the loveliest riverside cycling/running tracks that this capital city of Western Australia can boast.


Some pictures to share.
From the Perth Convention (near narrow bridge) to Crawley - the official signpost at Mounts Bay



The all-familiar smell of eucalypts (gum trees) - which truly brings me home to Australia, to my childhood. on this windy day, there were a number of branches with gum nuts being blown onto the tarmac...

a boat shed along mounts bay



- it was windy, and I was blown about a little. It was good to get out! This city is just perfect for cyclists (I miss my brompton)



Perth CBD on my way back.




One of the many exercise machines - although not quite customisable - it was a good distraction from the running....until, the rain started again, and it was a non-stop jog back to the hotel, and for a bit of exploration in the CBD for some post-jog tucker.




Time is running out for my weeklong visit in the Lucky Country. The wind is still blowing and the sun is out , but it is surprisingly not warm (although the Eastern States is experiencing a heat wave!) - perfect weather to go again when I have the chance...but not living near the river makes it a bigger deterrent...need to find a bit of motivation to get going again - as I will very soon be back in the land of running tights and running gloves, where glasses are worn to shield against the wind, and not the sun. :(
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Linking the Shopping and Marina Bay jogging routes

..by avoiding stopping for shops. It's impossible! One can't cross Paterson road on orchard without going thru the underpass that takes you via the shops.



As a result my GPS on Runkeeper got distorted. It didn't feel like 5.56 miles at all although the heat and humidity didn't help.

It was refreshing jogging along a less crowded orchard road but I had to avoid hitting pedestrians with eyes fixated on the smartphones.

Potential breakfast foodstalls on killiney road weren't open, so after a small hill, I got to Singapore River.

Clarke and boat quays came and went. Crossed the bridge at Fullerton Hotel (not stopping for a Singapore Sling!) and squeezed through the early tourists to say hello to the Merlion




The final lap was across Marina Bay to call it quits at the entrance of the casino shoppes (no credit card, no passport - intentional!!)

Headed back to orchard via the MRT against long-sleeved , woollen vest-wearing office workers(!) just in time for the last few minutes of the hotel's executive lounge 'continental breakfast' - with an oriental twist for the one who would've otherwise wanted a kaya toast and kopi c at a hawker centre ;)





More eating and shopping before heading South.

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Scouting Singapore's Sentosa Island

It's been a while- not easy to pick up again!

Hi from Singapore - finally on holiday from the cold weather..it's Day 2 of our escape into Sentosa Island, south of Singapore in a resort with ocean views away from the city, in an attempt to catch a real chance to rest before moving into town for the rest of our stay in the Lion City.

Wind and rain dashed our early hopes for a pre-gigantic breakfast buffet run, and after lying by the pool and a dip in the pool AND the beach. I had to get going.

So we did the beachfront jogging route along the south of the island and then went across to the north, via some hills.





Wasn't easy at all at 27 degree heat and humidity. Everything was sticking. My left foot/heel pain has been playing up so I can only go at a slow even pace.

Made it to sentosa cove - a new residential development with gigantic homes.

(View from the homes - busy port of Singapore and the city in the distance)



A lovely jogging route around the peninsula, and admiring the amazing architecture of these huge modern homes!


An example of one:




We could run back, having done almost 5 miles, but a supermarket and free bus back to the resort beckons. :)

Getting lazier! Isn't it ok whilst on holiday? I wonder how runners here keep up with training in the heat and humidity...

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Palace to Palace 2012 - 45 miles+ cycled - a Victory lap of 2012 training

2 medals in 2 weeks!

What a fortnight! Today's Palace to Palace marks the completion of my longest organised cycle ride to date, and although it is not a timed race, but an opportunity to raise funds for the Prince's Trust as well as for networking - I cannot help but apply the mindset of a marathon runner to the Bike ride - and have a few noticeable differences to a running race. In an organised bike ride:

1. there's no time to linger at the start (and almost missed my team start at 802am!), your hands are not free once you are summoned to the start line - no time to retrieve unworn sunglasses, unstarted GPSes (if it is in your bag), the only way to do anything is to stop


2. it's a lot easier to pass the 'talk test' although one has to multitask well, and watch the traffic when roads are not blocked


3. the more gears available the better for killing those hills!

With multiple starts/stops with my companions - I managed to make the 45 mile distance from Buckingham Palace to Windsor castle in just over 4 hours - if only this was a marathon time! The level of exertion isn't as bad as I thought (as you can stop!!) and I skipped 2/3 of the drinks stations!
Also received a lot of nice comments from those overtaking me on a Brompton - as if I am already in fancy dress (in cycling terms today: hiring a Boris bike to tackle the distance, Tigger suit, Tandems)
"I dont know how you do it in a Brompton!"
"I take my hat off to you!"
"If you had used a road bike you wouldve been a lot faster!!"...
The truth is, it wasn't that difficult - the Brompton foldable is actually a powerful machine- despite its small wheels, I was able to tackle all of the hills during the course without once getting off the bike :)
The other advantage of it is being able to get on London Public Transport at the crack of dawn (first bus 615- at 4 degrees celsius and when it was still pitch dark outside! and then on the Piccadilly Line - eastbound to Hyde Park corner!)

 Getting out from Hyde Park corner meant I got to go down past Buckingham Palace and the Mall to see how the start works - the area is lovely at 745am on a sunday morning!

 

Didn' t have too many photos to share along the route - but many memories (too tired to note for now but will sure capture it for later!) - many of these are from running/cycling earlier on this year/previous years.

This is Richmond Park - Misty - (and too much in love...!) a welcomed retreat after going through Millbank , Chelsea and Putney.

Richmond Park usually means hills to me, and glad to report, what I saw today wasn't the worst i have seen, as we were going downhill into Ham! skipped first drinks station (as it was too early after the first rest break ) and headed onto kingston - back along the river - bushy park - a308 along kempton park - only too familiar!
into Lower sunbury - and shepparton....yeap, walton on thames - past the road of the chicken run....and near 'yes- the meadow with lots of cows!' and across Chertsey bridge...a glimpse to the right, my usual 10k training route back home...
and into Chertsey - past a particularly hilly run through Lyne and into 'single file cycling only' territory - a stone's throw from my new-home-and playground-to be...new parks and heathlands to explore...and then more hills, up and down...but after some adjustment to the height of my seat....I stayed on the saddle through all of these..
at times it feels like a downhill ski, when I duck my head to let the wind pass on top of my helmets...whooaa..what a feeling.
and into Virginia Water, Englefield Green - yep, very familiar territory, and the big downhill into Old Windsor (it was only in late spring that we did a group run through runnymede on this) - all in all..very recent.
Into windsor, when fellow cyclists 'oohhed and ahhed' to stop and take pictures of the Home Park , and the first glimpse of Windsor Castle. I didnt need to. All done so many times before...and then, to the final miles, to Windsor Racecourse..
It was closer to noon, and traffic was building up in the area to what turned out to be a day of cool but clear blue skies. We were asked to use the footpath, which wasn't easy to navigate. Almost there, but no final dash allowed...felt a bit like the cobblestones last week into Grand Place of Brussels! Seeing riders coming out from the finish riding with their medals round their neck only kept me going...

Finally...Windsor Racecourse came into sight. and the finish line was there! Yes! Another medal to add to the collection!

some food and drink and to catch up with my colleagues and friends who have arrived before me - it was lovely to have made it!

Slightly refueled and decided to dodge the 1 hour wait for the next train home - I rode the extra mileage home, in 35 minutes. Knowing that the moment I stop and wait , I will get colder and my legs would seize up, I didn't regret this decision.
It has been a long day - and a long 2 weekends. What next? all i can think of now, is a good night's sleep and any tensions and pains to go away.  :)

Brussels Marathon - Oct 7th - a quick review....

Conquered those crazy hills with a Personal Best...only just!


A hilly course through the capital of belgium, a small marathon and considered a non-PB course, but with the right mindset, our group of 3 did it!

of course this was mapped by my faithful Runkeeper iPhone App who declared I have done an Ultra Marathon (43km+ Thanks to lack of GPS inside tunnels) - it nevertheless illustrates that we parted from the Half marathon crowd (whom I never saw, at around 20kms, to go into the woods) and back up into town again...my iPhone battery drained at the finish line, to deliver this result, and a last text message of where my hubby has been waiting for me.

Thanks to a conversation with a 3:57 veteran, we were prewarned - Some long uphills around 30km mark to save your energy for, once onto 40kms (which is near the start),

one can let loose  - (the first time in my racing 'career' that my toes have felt like they were burning in the last 6kms. )

running down these slopes through the arches, with photographers lining the grass...do I let my toes burn, or regret forever? I chose the former ;)

to hit the Grand Place finish (minding the cobblestones on the last 1km or so and entering via meandering the corner where the new Superdry store is, Tintin, Godiva...and in the centre of the Grand Place....the big clock....saying something less than what my fridge magnet at home says, so I knew...the PB is in the bag. :)

LHS: Seng's medal that came with free waffle, and foil body wrap and AA sports drink. Right: Mine, No frills, approx 3/4 hour later..after all, I am an 'ultra endurance athlete' per Lucozade re time out on the road, and therefore need no other encouragement. ;p

 Good atmosphere with crowds, marshalls and drink station volunteers cheering your name printed on your bib. "Allez Bonnie"...

A chance also to feel like an elite with 'personal drink' service available (although I didn't trust the service and came with no stickers/flags to label..hence I was my own personal drink carrier as I learnt from Amsterdam Half that AA (pronounced Ah-Ah - the Dutch 'After Activity' Isotonic drink, does nothing to me).






Then, an evening of enjoying the Best of Brussels culinary treats with my fellow runners and fellow travellers from Texas..

Another Blue technical shirt to keep...here's my collection of marathon finishing tshirts (all sub-5's!) over the years (missing Paris - which was another boring white tee good enough only for sleeping) - very, very relieved to report that it has been a consistent improvement in times over the 4.5 years since I started 'doing marathons'.


There's lots to juggle at the moment, so I should stop now and save more for the emotional, technical entry which I will post soon to do this event justice. A few days now to recuperate, eating and sleeping well, ensuring my legs can still move, for the Palace to Palace bike ride this sunday (Thanks All who are reading this, and have contributed to my fundraising efforts so far!).