How bad do I want it?

As I am posting this, I am still wide awake at 1am in the morning as I had a late nap from 6pm to 11pm just now. Hope I don't screw up my body clock.

Lately, after school has reopened, I find myself procrastinating a lot, I have been exercising a lot lesser too. The tummy is reappearing. My laziness always gets the better of me, and I am losing the very essence of running. I don't know what's the reason for my lack of motivation. I keep saying that I want to change my lifestyle, but it never happens. And that doesn't mean I'm fairing well for my academics or any other aspect of my life either, it's still bad. I really wanna change this so badly. It makes me very sad what I have become now. I know action speaks louder than words, but I just had to write this out somewhere.. I have let down many important people who are close to me recently too, and I do not want to disappoint them any further. 

Running and Life aren't two different things, they are the same. If I have discipline to train, I'll have discipline to work hard for my studies too. I want to succeed as bad as I want to breathe..

I need discipline, I need to be compassionate, I need to prioritize, I need to separate my needs from my wants. I need to focus on what I have, keep working at it, and produce some results. A lot of stuff is happening around me, but instead of pointing fingers, I understand that the reason of these stuff happening lies within me. 

These is what Arafat told me after I briefly shared with him my problems.. "

"Believe in yourself, do your best in anything that you do and submit yourself to the higher world, miracles will happen."

I am very grateful for his advice, and I'll heed it. 

I really hope this isn't a one off thing, and that I will slowly make changes and turn my life around, and to make the people around me happy.

Tomorrow, I'll be attending a Tea Party organized by the HeartGivers and I'll be doing a blog post of the event too. You can find out more about the event from their press release.

Have a fruitful weekend ahead!

Macritchie Fun Run

Hello everyone! It's been a long time since I have posted.
Just woke up and had dinner after my long sleep.. about 3 hours?

Started my Sunday with an awesome run with my fellow brothers.       
   Ariffin                                                      Arafat                                                   Me

Me and Ariffin ran a total of 10km while Arafat, Ezan and Ariffin's father went for 8.2km. We are all winners, and I am really glad that Arafat completed his first long run in trails!

And here's a video of us in middle of Macritchie.. the Ranger's station resting..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjA-bL8Ar_c&feature=youtu.be

A great sunday.. Hope to get to run with Team Maverickz again!

Belly of the Beast

My 3 days stay at KL, was a short but memorable one. A good race, with great company! :-)
Many who went there achieved their PBs, despite the many steep climbs in the race.

"Don't try anything new on race day that you haven't tried in training before." I defied that saying on race day.  As I had just lost by Bikilas the week before, Ezan lent me his Nike Air Shoes before the race. It was quite flexible too, I just feared that I will not experience cramping again, like what happened when I wore my Asics during the 15km Progressive Series Run. His shoe was quite flexible and had minimal cushioning too.
The full marathon was flagged off at 4.30am, my 21km started at 6.00am sharp. I figured that if I stuck to a 5.30 pace, I will be able to get a timing of 1:50 or lower.

At the start line, I met a couple of familiar faces like Qi Hui and Ivan, along with many other F1 Runners. Even at the start line, my tummy was already making lots of noise which only I could here despite the loud head-banging dub-step music being played. The stomach pains, was most probably due to the 100PLUS I drank earlier, they both don't exactly get along well.

At the start line in Dataran Merdeka

I ran the first 5km of the race in about 23:40, way too fast, guess the pre-race excitement got the better of me once again, I slowed down to avoid a poor finish, and to go back on pace. Reached the 10k mark at about 51 minutes. The pace seemed relatively comfortable, and a sub 1:50 finish looked achievable. That was when the belly of the beast awakened.

For the next 10km, I slowed down my pace a lot, but I did not stop. I didn't consume any gels or bananas as I was afraid it will worsen my stomachache. I even thought of sitting on the portable thrones, but I told myself that I could hold it off till the end.I didn't drink any isotonic drinks along the route either. Where are non-carbonated drinks when you needed them? It was a truly tough mental battle, but nothing was going to stop me. 


Arafat was tracking me using a mobile app, and according to the app, I passed the 15.5km mark at 1:20:18 with a pace of 05:11min/km. 


I did experience some signs of cramping, so at around the 16km, I alllowed the volunteers to spray some Salonpas at my legs. I didn't experience any cramps for the run, and my post-race recovery was much quicker compared to the Sundown Marathon. 




So, after a hard fought battle with the belly of the beast, I manage to cross the finishing line with a PB of 01:52:25, knowing that my next target would be a sub 1:50. Despite the hills and the boring views, it was a good run and a great learning experience for me. Many fellow Singaporeans were present at the race too, most of them nailing their PBs due to the good weather conditions.There were many familiar faces from IMD and of course the Freaks too. 

My Dad ran the 10.6km run in 01:14, despite a injury. 

At the end of the race, while we were waiting for Shariff to finish, one of the runners slipped near the finish line and suffered a injury above his right eye, it swelled up immediately and most of us runners rushed to his aid. He was an elderly Japanese Man, thankfully there was a lady who could speak Japanese nearby. We elevated his legs, and formed a human wall to shade him. Once again, we see the unity that sports brings about. Although there was an ambulance nearby, it took more than 10 minutes for it to arrive. The Policeman there was very unprofessional and asked runners to carry the man to the side of the road, when clearly the man was shaking violently, carrying him would only further aggravate his possible injuries. We took instructions from a lady who had some medical knowledge. She advised us to elevate his legs and another man was constantly keeping track of his pulse. While the Japanese Lady constantly encouraged him and was speaking to him. A couple of runners started to fan him too. The ambulance arrived soon after, I hope he had a speedy recovery. 

Shariff arrived at about 06:08, his fastest in 2012 thus far. We all finished together.

















Well, my next overseas run will be the PBIM in November where I will be running the 10km Junior Category. This time, all of Team Maverickz will be participating, so we will surely have great fun. 

Clouds

I'm blogging from Changi Airport Terminal 1 right now using the Blogger App. I can't exactly say that I am ready for this run, I'm quite exhausted after returning from the 5 days @ OBS just yesterday.

The 5 days at OBS wasn't exactly fun, but I had a very satisfying time helping my team mates through mental and physical challenges and putting a smile on their faces.

I learnt that 'It's the small actions in life that matter,' and also I learnt what is truly necessary for us. Bathing in Quarries and playing classic card games like Old Maid, or simply watching the stars in the night in sticky sweaty tents, it was all an eye-opening experience on how we were losing our connection with nature.

Even simple things like listening to Payphone in the middle of a 11 Hour Sea Expedition was a luxury. It was simple, priceless fun with the peeps, despite the rain, mud, and their allies. At the end of the 5 days, new bonds were made, and unforgettable memories have been created. It has made me a better outdoor leader too, with new skills of prioritising and providing feedback. I can apply these skills in my everyday life too. I would love to return to OBS in the future.

This is my watch, Tenzing from Camp 2 Alpha. We are a bunch of vibrant colours, and when we come together, our strength is amplified and our weaknesses are minimised.

Tenzing is like any cloud in the sky, with 4 stages.
1. Forming Stage
- Where we as single clouds start to merge to form a larger cloud, we are all very polite and formal.
2. Norming Stage
- We get used to one another, getting to know personalities, strengths and weaknesses, the cloud is large and heavy now.
3. Storming Stage
- We let it loose, we are out of our comfort zone, we are all tensed, sticky and sweaty, pushed both physically and mentally, it brings out both the best and the worst among us. Rain pours out from the cloud. Flashes of brilliance, lightning, also appear.
4. Rainbow
- The different colors come together to form a spectacular sight for all to see. We are united and share a common vision, the end is in sight, we truly understand one another and have seen the products of our unity.

This was shared to us by our instructor, Kerrie. I admire the high level of professionalism and discipline displayed by all the instructors at OBS.

                      The stars wouldn't shine if it wasn't for the dark, guess what, all they needed was a spark.

Tenzing, our paths in life may not lead to crossroads, but we will always have the spirit of Tenzing in us.

Showing the people around me that if they wanted to do it, they could do it was very satisfying. Out shared hunger and desire for success made us unstoppable.








Right now, I'm going to board the plane. Haven't been in one for almost two years now, I will give my absolute best and enjoy myself in KL. Soon after, I have to focus more on my studies, to bring up my grades.







For all those racing, have a superb run.

Lost Bikilas

Today after a fun-filled Banana Relay, I was heading back home with Lenney, and when I got home, an unpleasant surprise awaited me. Usually I will velcro my Bikilas to the strings on my haversack, but today when I reached home, I noticed that my Bikilas were not there anymore.

I boarded bus service 856 from Admiralty Road (BEF R.M.N. Barracks) at abt 1130am to Yishun Bus Interchange. Then we took 853 for just one stop as we took the wrong bus, headed back to Yishun MRT and took the train to Toa Payoh MRT.

I think the shoes would most probably dropped inside bus 856. This is a picture of my shoes.

Please contact me at 90908905 if you have seen it, thanks.

Back 2 Life

What's Up!

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!

Macritchie Trail Run 10km

Finally back to the blog, have not been posting lately.. Yesterday went for a 10km trail run and had enjoyed running.

I was actually planning to run with SBR at the following morning but was not feeling well. I then felt guilty for not running as I planned to do so the day before. Thus, I decided to go for a run in the evening around 4pm.

Most runners always have a problem - Laziness

And I'm one of them. At 3pm, I was thinking whether I should head for a short run instead because it was getting late and was afraid Macritchie will be dark. I always have this problem and I need to overcome it.

I then told myself, no matter how dark is it as long as I have that determination and endurance, I believe God will always be around helping me.

Thus, I went to take bus 157 and head towards Macritchie trails.

I started running the moment I reached there, and begin really slow. (Pace: 8min/km)

I did not speed up and maintained a really slow pace as I know that my pace will get slower and slower later. So I began slow and steady.

Although the journey was painful (leg cramps/pain) and tiring, I did not give up and made it to the ending point. I also met few people such as Yao Ming and several other runners from Raffles Secondary (fast runners) and trekkers.

I will be running another 10km today, as I aim to run at least 50-60km in a week.