keep pedalling

The fat girl bypassed Saturday's long run in favour of mountain biking on a trail.

Always wanted to take a mountain bike and throw it on a trail. Coz that's what a mountain bike is for? Going off road.

I took a bus to Pasir Ris, lost my way among the carparks. Ended up walking for about 30 minutes in the park with 2 other damsels in distress. Tried to look on the bright side - my heart rate was elevated so this would count as exercise.

Just when I was about to give up, someone galloped up on a fire engine red mountain bike to show us the way to the rest of the group. He wore a pink helmet. Spoke in a slow and calming sort of way - something about the way he moved which made him appear one with the bike.

What was most remarkable was that he cared to help out the newbies. He rode behind the pack as we wobbled on the pavement and made our way to the Tampines bike park. He adjusted my helmet so that it would fit my head properly. Offered to carry my bag pack if it was too heavy.

Gallantry is well and truly alive.

The trails were just as I imagined. Gravel, dirt, potholes and twigs. I tried to charge up a slope which had lots of rocks and skid, falling sideways and bruising my legs. I dusted off the dirt, checked for blood (none) then hopped onto the saddle again. When the trails got too challenging or steep, I jumped off the bike and pushed it along. Never mind if it wasn't really trail biking. This pushing the bike along counts as exercise too?

The 1 tip that will stay with me, which was repeated several times when we were tackling the slopes and bumpy portions was this:

Keep pedalling. Keep pedalling!

10 km kallang track

Only 1 proper run this week. 10 km at the Kallang track on a Tuesday evening. Ages since I've run on a track. Thought it would be deathly boring, but it was ok coz a bunch of people were playing frisbee in the field in the middle of the track. And there were a bunch of guys doing sprint training. They were all exerting so much energy I felt quite laid back running at my slow pace in comparison.

But this is what I found out:

1. Have to take a break every 3.2 km, to take gulps of water as well as walk for one round of the track. My foot will start to ache and the form will suffer if I don't hydrate and take a walking break.

2. Water consumed for 10km is 1 litre.

3. Time for 10 km with these walking breaks is 1 hr 25 mins. If I can keep up this routine over 42km, I should be able to keep it within 6 hrs.

And that's my self declared time goal for running the marathon this year - to finish it within 6 hours.

Pasir Ris

Long run on Saturday was interrupted by kayaking at the pasir ris beach. I like to think of it as cross training.

Pasir Ris was ridiculously beautiful for Pasir Ris. You wouldn't think that somewhere as picturesque as that existed in Singapore on a Saturday morning without being overcrowded. I reached the beach early and hungry. There were no cooked food stalls so I found a little convenience store near the chalets which sold me a pack of potato chips. With a little bottle of ice water and pack of chips, I sat on a tree shaded stone bench overlooking the sea.

The sea breeze melted all cares away and it felt like a beach holiday.

Must come running here.

Was torn between staying in bed on a public holiday and making full advantage of it by waking up and going for a run.

By the time I got to East Coast Park carpark C (the free parking one), turned out that I wasn't the only one with the same idea. The sun was out, the carpark was full and it was a choice between turning out of the car park or staying put and finding a lot.

Left the car by the side of the road and trotted out for the run. Determination!

Couldn't keep the thought of getting a car park summons out of my mind - so that became the motivation for this morning's run. To finish running the usual 8.7 km route in as short of time to reduce the chances of getting a fine.

Gary was with me and he said that my slow pace of running caused his knees to ache, the upright way his feet were landing. I ran ahead while he walked but I tried to be a more conscious of the way I was running. Maybe it could with more lift and roll. So that was what I tried to do, lean forward. Roll with it.

An hour 15 mins passed and it was back to the car.

No fine! What a relief.

Not much running this week. Felt a little ache in the knees so rested.

Saturday. Carpark C to E this morning. Walking to Bedok Jetty and running back.

jiggle

G seems to think that running at my pace - which is really really slow is beneficial coz it jiggles the fats. So that makes 2 of us jiggling our fats along the Nicol Highway. It's hot, we're sweaty and it's 2 of us running at the same pace as rush hour morning traffic.

Only difference is that we look a lot happier than the people in the cars.

Run

Today, I ran past a 3 car pile up on the Nicoll Highway. The tension was palpable, the cars were honking and there was a big jam behind it. The drivers were surveying the damage, looking worried and making calls on their handphone.

Why bother with driving?

Travel light

I took off the sternum strap on my running bag pack so that I could get a drink of water. When I put my bag back on, I didn't secure the sternum strap and it just didn't feel right running with a bag which kept jumping on your back.

Running requires very little - shoes, water, hair band and God bless the sternum strap. Just a little strap which goes across your chest which makes all the difference.

With those 4 items, I can run anywhere.

Paint on a blank canvas

I also thought about life. What to make of it if you had a completely blank canvas. I'd like to do massage more seriously, train, learn maybe even teach.

It would involve erasing the old painting.

Dream big, train hard

And I couldn't stop thinking about the OSIM triathletes that I saw being flagged off at East Coast Park on Sunday. I was running - the usual 8.7 km from carpark C to carpark E. There were barricades and I was directed towards the beach. The women swimmers were going to be flagged off in 15 minutes so I found a spot near them. Some of them were in the sea doing their warm up swims. Most of them were just standing around, stretching, taking photos. Beaming with pride. This was their moment.

When the horn blared for them to start their swim, I cheered even though I didn't know anyone in there. Cheerful orange swim caps bobbing in the sea.

Then it was time for the guy veterans to start. This was the 50-59 age group. You could tell that their bodies had aged past their youthful prime, but there they were - tanned, fit and strong. Like fishermen who had spent a life outdoors, casting nets and lifting heavy wooden boats.

When they ran towards the sea in their green caps, I felt great emotion welling up. That's the spirit of the triathlon. You throw yourself at a goal much bigger than yourself.

Dream and just train really hard.