Yes, we did get a face lift! Thanks to Lenney Leong for adding in the soothing music by Yiruma to our blog. Also our banner is shot by Adi Sufian, the awesome photographer/teacher we met at the Metta Charity Run. Oh, and did I mention he is a marathon runner and used to be a PTI, together with super agent Moon too before?
Yes, the complete package.
This is my personal favourite photo.
Team SBR (Crazy Poses)
I just received the certificate for the Metta Charity Run this afternoon as I was on my way back home.
After an awesome 4 day retreat in KL with my mates, I came back today. Had lots of fun, and my waistline might have gained a couple of inches too I guess. But its ok, there's nothing a good dose of pavement pounding can't solve.
The hotel we stayed in had a state-of-the-art gymnasium, on the first day I ran for about 15 minutes at a 12km/h pace and 5 minutes at a 13km/h pace. The second morning, I ran for 10 minutes at a 13.5km/h pace, followed by some static core strengthening exercises, and finished off with 5 minutes at 14km/h. It was a killer pace, the music played over the stereos kept me going, and the stunning views too. You could look at the same landscape for a 100 times and still be amused. We spent a lot of time in the pool, doing what we like to call 'play water.'(I don't know how to swim) Unless, you accept an unsynchronised series of motions, with the occasional dramatic gasp for air which I like to call the doggy-style. ;-)
The best children's movie I ever watched, great morals!
I had a great time during the trip and I can't wait to visit KL again on the 23rd for the SCKLM Half Marathon, but before that Lenney and I will be Going Bananas this Sunday, we will be volunteering for Ben's ultra fun filled no frills relay run. And then next week we'll have a 5 Day Outward Bound Singapore Course in Pulau Ubin too.
So after a fun-filled trip, it's now back to reality!
I couldn't find a song more apt for this.. Also, check out the background story to this song, pretty inspiring stuff from Sean!
The weekend is just one day away, hang in there world!
This is a very urgent and important post, please pay close attention. It will only take a few minutes of your valuable time.
Yestrday morning, at 10.30am, Shariff Abdullah (Singapore Blade Runner) accompanied by his team, visited a very special girl by the name of Adlea Ry'Kyla Muhammad Ghazali at KK Women's and Children's Hospital. Nur, as she is affectionately known as, is a four year old girl who has myocarditis - a rare heart condition. As a result, her kidneys have deteriorated and she has a bloated abdomen, which presses against other organs, causing breathlessness, severe pain and fever. News about Nur has been spreading through the internet like wildfire, but the donations don't seem to reflect the number of likes or shares. When Shariff Abduallah first came to know about this, he felt a deep connection to Nur's condition as his daughter suffers from a similar condition. He wants to do something more, as he understands the amount of pain that Nur and her mother, Norleen, are going through. He contacted his team, in hope to translate all of the support for Nur into action.
Shariff and his team approached Norleen, Nur's mother, to seek permission to hold a fund and awareness rasing run for Nur. We were only allowed to look at the beautiful young girl from behind a glass window as visitors might cause her to panic. As her mother walked towards the door to speak to us, she started screaming and reaching out her hand, crying out for her mother as she sensed that she was leaving her side. The mother, spoke to us, altough she managed to still muster up a smile on her face, the pain she was going through was clearly evdient.
Arafat Aziz, Shariff's Manager, explained to Norleen the purpose of the run and the fact that within the running community in Singapore, they have a big heart for Norleen, so it would be a good idea to do something more for little Nur, as a stong and united Singapore Running Community. Norleen was very grateful, she wished us all the best and thanked us profusely. In fact, she's the real hero, as a mother to stay by Nur's side and going through the painful journey with her. So, the team thanked Norleen, the team walked out of KKH with a purpose.
Is there still light at the end of the tunnel, yes there is. But this light, it is in our hands. The only hope for Nur, is a new heart. But there is no heart transplant programme for children as young as Nur in Singapore. So she has to go overseas for a heart transplant, and that comes with a hefty pricetag. According to Mdm Norleen, the doctors at KKH said that there is almost "no-hope" for Little Nur to survive. They said she has less than a month to live. Time is running out fast, it's time to act right now. Her life, is in our hands.
What Team SBR Plans to do:
We want to unite runners from all over the little red dot, we may be different in pace, style, appareal, but one thing that unites all runners alike is their heart of gold. Let us all run for a cause.
This Sunday (03/06/2012) at Angsana Green, East Coast Park, we will run for a reason, we will run for a new heart. We will be covering a distance of 10km, as a group. We want to show Norleen and Nur, that they are not alone, they will never be alone. Everyone of us are with them, through this journey. We just have to believe, and take action, and god willing Nur will get back up again.
At East Coast Park as the group is running, we need a team of youths, to give out flyers to spread the word about Nur. Please do step forward and contribute a few hours of your time, you might be the reason that Nur lives to see another day. Interested Volunteers please contact Ariffin Sha at 90908905
This is the link to the Facebook Event Page of the run: http://www.facebook.com/events/127731540697208/
TO MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTION:
If you would like to use online payment system (debit/credit cards -- visa/mastercard/amex/discover) please go here >http://littlenurheartfund.chipin.com/
If you prefer to use bank to bank transfer (ibanking) or cash deposits, please deposit your donation to >
POSB SAVINGS: 247-587-853(This is a joint account of Nur's parents for the purpose of collecting public's monies for Little Nur's Heart Fund. The same account is being used to collect monies from other charity bodies/organizations/individual donors).
For cheque can be mailed to :NORLEEN BINTE OSMAN. Blk 406, Ang Mo kio Ave 10. #10-727 Spore (560406).
For donation by hand : KKH WOMENS AND CHILDRENS HOSPITAL. WARD 65 BED 2.
Here is the latest update on the status of the online donation drive..
Allow me to explain some of the reasons behind this run.
1) Why this Sunday? Isn't it too much of a rush? Time is not on our side, it is running out very fast. It's now or never. Altough the run is this Sunday, the online donations will be open till 8 June. The other methods of donations will still be open after that date. The $200,000 stated in the online donation website is just a small fraction of the total amount needed for the Heart Transplant.
2) Why 10km? Originally we planned to do a special 4-hour endurance challenge, but then we decided not to. The reason was simple, this is not about one man's struggle, altough we might not be able to ever understand what Nur was going through, we have got to let Nur and Norleen know that they are not alone, they will never be alone in this fight. It's about all of us coming together to let Nur have a new heart.
Let me paint a picture for you, the more people run (donate), the shorter the distance become. One lonely person's stuggle will be changed into millions doing a small part to help this beautiful young lady.
Come on guys, we both know clicking the like button and then ignoring this post isn't going to change anything. Please, let's put our negligance aside and act now. What if it happens to one of our own family members? We might never know. Whether Nur survives or not, we will do our absolute best, the rest is in God's hands. I do not know if we will succeed or not, but we will do our best. It's the least we can do as a runner and a fellow member of the muslim community.
Share this to every single soul you know, tag everyone, spread the word fast, the clock is ticking.
You can donate, or run with us this Sunday too, if you are a non-runner help out in giving out the flyers.
Thank you so much for reading this, miracles are just a translation of hardwork. Let's all make a miracle happen.
It's isn't over just yet. Ezan, Shariff's swimming coach fetched me after I had collected the Medal and then I went to change into my slippers. My journey was done, but many of the people out there were still going through their journeys. Arafat, Ezan, Leeza and I went to Nicoll Highway, sat on top of the railings and started cheering all the runners on! The cheering was very memorable and certainly every time I run past that place again, it will bring back great memories.
Ezan, Leeza, Arafat, Me, My Dad (Ali), Khadeeja and Shariff! :-)
Leeza, was banging on the railings loudly, bringing up the mood. Arafat, Ezan and I were screaming out hearts out, motivating every single runner that runs past, offered high-fives too! :-)
We shouted phrases like "You can do it, and you will do it!" "You're a CHAMPION!" "100m more to go" and some 'personalized' messages too. It was all great fun, losing our voices was certainly a good trade for all the smiling faces and the new-found energy the runners felt.
I was joking with Arafat telling him that she should give out name cards instead of high-fives,
Haha, after about 20 minutes of trio screamo. The skies opened up it's mouth too, but I guess it was drooling a little too much. Sundown marathon officially became the Raindown Marathon, I feared the safety of the runners as there was lighting present, but I was very sure it was going to take much more than lighting to stop these zombified pavement pounders! At about 3.50, my father arrived, he suffered from some cramps and was forced to walk most of the way. I know he can do much better, but I guess everyone of us has a bad day once in a while, something that can't be helped at times. But I'm sure he'll bounce back! I'm proud of him!
We saw the top 3 men and women finishing the marathon too, there was one Sub 3 from the Masters Division too, highly impressive! Then as we reached the saturation point, it was time for us to zoom back into the tent age too as it was filling up quickly with many runners seeking shelter after their race. Shariff was tired and already sleeping soundly, he did an excellent job. :-)
There was plenty of laughter, fun and joy despite the downpour, we met many new friends too. When the skies were tamed, we quickly made our move home. It was an amazing night in all aspects, and I believe all of us had great fun lighting up the city, so much fun that it got light up, literally. (CAT 1)
The Freaks and IMD had many PBs broken during the race, but in terms of running for a reason and experience, they had a great run too. Special shout out to our one and only KING, who ran in a road-erupting time of 3:40!
14km
Up till now, I haven't been paying much attention to the route as there was nothing new, same old roads I've seen for U RUN, 2XU Compression Run and recently, RUN 350. Then as we emerged out an underpass, the most retarded thing happened. Two road marshals, who were about 500m ahead of us, suddenly stretched a rope made of reflective vests tied up together to block the road, to let some vehicles past. It was all so sudden and we had to stop for one minute.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me! Singapore's the only country who does this shit in races." An angry Caucasian exclaimed, many agreed with him, but after that one minute, we took off again. 14km - for my fellow team members of the EXCO. And just as I realized who this 2km was for, we entered Marina Barrage, it wasn't well lit, but the perimeters were clearly marked out. It was a first time for me, as I usually run on the opposite side, the new route was a plus! I whispered each EXCO's name once and dedicated about 2 minutes to keep them in my mind and relive some memories, just then I heard a some human voices over a speaker.
Shanmugan, the head coach of Team RunFanatics
21km runners go straight ahead, 42km runners turn right! This message was repeatedly played over three speakers, and it was time. I think there was 6km more to go at this point, I don't know how or why, I started to pull away from the 2:00 HM Pacers and went ahead, I was telling myself to go all the way till the end and not regret this decision later on. So slightly ahead was the gel station, I took it and drank it on the go, as Maxifuel Gels are highly water based.
16km
Yes, I was feeling tired. Then I did something I always did when I was tired, motivate others, when you motivate others you just get the extra push to keep going. I can swear that every single volunteer I saw in the last 6km, I shouted and motivated them, and thanked them. It's just like a boomerang, these volunteers have great spirit, if you shout at them, you get a shout back instantly, it's very encouraging, and even if you wanted to, you won't be able to stop. I drafted this Caucasian couple for a couple of KM then overtook them, was gunning for a strong finish! I kept the concourse in sight, the 20km distance marker flashed past, this was it!
I gave it all I got, and powered up the last incline up Nicoll Highway and sprinted downhill for a last burst. While running down, I high-fived every single supporter I saw, it felt ust like the Boston Marathon in SBR's video. Simply overwhelming. As I crossed the finish line, I jumped and punched the air in delight. :-)
I crossed the finishing line at 1:53:34
The HM 2:00 Pacers arrived at about 1:56, I owe a big thanks to all of them for helping me achieve my target. I was elated, and now it was time for me and the rest of Team SBR to cheer the rest of the runners on!
As the air horn sounded off, we took off at almost a 4 minute pace for the first 500 meters, as we were sucked in by the elites near the start line, then me and the 2:00HM Pacer and new friend, Ganesh, slowed down and re-grouped with the rest of the group's pacers.
Looking at the HM 2:00 Pacers at the start of the race, I was doubting if I could keep up with them till the end.
The HM 2:00 Pacers
Front Row: Eddy Teo, Benjamin Chan, Roy Foo
Back Row: Patrick Koh, Ganesh Sivaraj
2km
So we settled in at a 5.30 pace, I looked at my left hand, my first 2km was dedicated to my Father, who was a very fast runner himself. He got back to pavement pounding when I started running too, and he has come a long way, one of the biggest support since I started running, and it was apt as it was the start of the Half Marathon too. Saw many familiar faces whiz pass me, including Mr Poon and his Wife, wished him all the very best for his run. It was very motivating to see Mr Poon as it was because of his advice to 'run off'my asthma that I took up running in the first place. My legs were in sync with Ganesh, matching his every stride. I focused on my breathing to not dehydrate myself this early in the race, breathing in and out through the nose.
4km
The pacers were constantly checking their watches and shouting out the current pace, we were doing slightly below 5.30, still cruising along comfortably. Ganesh constantly checked on me to see if I was fine. The pacers were doing a very fine job on their part, alerting runners about upcoming water points and turns so that they could prepare early, in terms of position or fueling. This 4km was for my family, particularly to my grandmother who has been in and out of hospital very often recently, although most of them don't know much about my running, I hope to one day make them proud.
All smiles at the start, with Ganesh to my left!
6km
For the great one, Allah. I first started running in May 2011, I started praying at that time too. And my whole life has come such a long way from then, many things have changed for the better and countless new doors have opened. And it was all due to him. Around this time, I started feeling great pain in my shoulders, maybe it was due to stiffness, wrong body posture or not warming up. I tried to troubleshoot the problem by swinging my arms but it seem to worsen the problem, maybe I was swinging my arms too much, so I focused on minimizing my shoulder movement during running and it seemed to do the trick!
8km
The Freedom Freaks, since my first run with them during Chinese New Year (From Woodlands to East Coast Park), I met many great running friends, they are a great bunch to be with, always learning from one another and sharing great moments together. It has been a great honor to know them, they are a bunch of fun-loving speedy demons, and I'm sure you'll see the freaks on podiums really soon. (Some of them already are!) So this 8km, I ran with them in mind, 5 months of great fun with them. I love their motto which they adhere to sincerely, Leave No One Behind, the Sundown Pacers seemed to be following that motto too.
The Freedom Freaks @ Sundown Marathon 2012
10km
My goal was to break the 50 minute barrier for my 10km, I hope to achieve the goal soon, perhaps at the upcoming Punggol Waterway Run? I have a good feeling about it. Well a quick check on my watch, we passed the 11km mark at exactly 1 hour, going strong and I was more than halfway there. I ate my Shotz Wild Berry Gel there too, it was pretty cool to be ripping off the gel with my teeth, first timer. 10km for the ever expanding Team SBR. We started off with only 4 members, now we have expanded to more than 10 members with a huge fan base, and under the leadership of Sir Arafat, have been learning many new things, making great progress and insipiring the world too. I hope Shariff and Hafsah were doing well after their run too. Viva La Team SBR!
12km
For my fellow brother who was probably sleeping comfortably in a farm in Taiwan as I was runninng. He has been with me since May 2011 and has been running with me too, he has came a long way. We used to be the worst enemies, but I guess it help us understand one another better. He has lost a shitload of weight too, but that's not the only thing, it was a bonus in addition to his new found positiveness and joy too. More than halfway through now, I was going to give my best. I am sure Lenney would want me to do my best too.
Lenney and I signed up for the Sundown Marathon in the first few days of the new year, catching the early bird before it flew off. It was going to be our virgin half-marathon, and it was going to mark my first year of running too. But in February, Lenney's parents had made plans to go on a family vacation to Taiwan, and the date of the vacation unfortunately clashes with Sundown, so he handed his bib over to my Dad, who will be running his first half marathon too.
The Race Pack Entry Collection was held at the RunBikeSwim Expo from 11 - 13 May, there were many great deals there too. After collecting our race bibs, and stocking up on race fuel, we were ready to go!
The Sundown Running Singlet and my Race Bib
Following their 21km fueling strategy, I got this from Shanmugam!
26 MAY 2012 - Race Day!
For the first time in any race, I was pretty nervous. It was going to be my first time at a big scale running event, and I wasn't sure what to expect. In terms of training, I have not been doing too well either as I didn't watch my diet and train regularly. The last time I ran was during MR25's Tuesday Track Session. I told myself that as soon as I am over with this race, I would start doing proper training, with things like long runs at race pace. But first, I had to clear my virgin half-marathon.
I made my way to the race village 4 hours before flag off, in the bus and along the route, I focused myself and tried to visualize my experience. Confusion got the better off me, in the end I decided that I would follow the 2:00 HM Pacers all the way and maintain an easy pace, this decision was probably due to my lack of confidence in maintaining a faster pace as I didn't train at a targeted race pace. And anyway, since it was going to mark my plus/minus one year of running, I wanted to dedicate this run, or rather parts of the run to some very special people. This was also a form of motivation for myself to keep me motivated through the race. I wrote the dedications on my hand.
2km - Dad
4km - Family
6km - Allah
8km - The Freedom Freaks
10km - Team SBR (Shariff Blade Runner)
12km - Lenney Leong
14km - Student Council EXCO
16km - Eagle
20km - Sundown Crew (Anyone who made Sundown possible)
I was quite nervous so I might have left out some people who played a great role in my running journey, I didn't mean to do that.
Well, at about 9pm, the extended Team SBR (Now known as Shariff Blade Runner) arrived at the Race Village, we got ourselves a table near the photo booth, enjoyed the movie Tower Heist together for about 30 minutes, then Shariff and Hafsah who were doing the 10km which begun at 2230 headed out to do their warm-ups and secure a good starting position. We snapped a picture of Team SBR before heading out!
Shariff will be running with his new Ossur Flex Run with Nike sole and the Nike Lunarglide+3 on the good leg. He is capable of running at a sub 1:05 pace as he had done in his training run, but due to poor race management by HiVelocity, he was denied a PB, but nontheless his spirit spurred many runners on!
Soon it was time for me and my Dad to go for our race, I met up with the 2:00 HM Pacers and we made our way to the starting line, the Freedom Freaks and I we were just in front of the start line, as we had about one hour to go, we sat down and shared tips and also took some photos! I forgot the fueling strategy provided by Maxifuel, so I made out what I did remember, 60 minutes before the start I ate the ViperBoost Bar and 30 minutes from the start I ate the ViperBoost Gel. Checking against the strategy now, it was actually wrong. I also had a last minute change as I noticed that the ViperActive Gels were too big to fit into the back pocket of my shorts, so I used my shots gel instead, will get a fuel belt before the SCKLM!
T-minus 10 minutes to flag off, the star-studded front line was filled with elite runners. I got up and did some loosening up, not much space for warming up. I had a chat with Ganesh Sivaraj, one of the HM 2:00 pacers, will be seeing him again soon at the Punggol Waterway Run in about 14 days time. With a couple of minutes to go, I took my place beside the pacers and wished the Freaks and other familiar faces the best of luck!
Took a quick check on my hand, first two 2km was going to be for my Dad. He was probably with the second or third wave, after snapping pictures of the 10km runners and cheering them on together with Arafat. Well, as the MC counted down the last 10 seconds, and the air horns sounded off, all of our engines took off at full speed, it was time to light up the city!
