I was pretty looking forward to this weekend, like all others, but it was especially because there was Run for Cover on Saturday and National Vertical Marathon. Never did I think that it was one of the weekends that I will not forget.
As per normal, I rode down to the race site at ECP early Saturday morning for Run For Cover but I never thought that would be my first major accident.It was pretty scary because I really was unsure of what to do, and who's fault it was, and lastly what happened to the cyclist :( Because of this, I had to buy a new wheel too.. I'm really thankful though, for friends like CP and Justin, who offered to send me home and his wheels. I did enjoy how our team were down together, running and helping coach in the event, at least that took my mind off the accident.
Early Sunday morning, we received news from the nursing home that Grandma (we call her Mama), has passed away :( Although we haven't been as close as before because of her dementia, I was really sad. Life has to go on, so I still continued with the National Vertical Marathon with CP. Had fun though at times, I felt perhaps I shouldn't enjoy on the day of her death.
We were third and I was pretty happy because that was my only joy for the day and at least CP's efforts were not wasted.
Thereafter, I rushed home to help with all the funeral matters and the rest of the two days felt like a whirl to me. Honestly, time had passed too fast and on Tuesday, it was time to send Mama off to the columbarium. While I was glad she was in Heaven with God and without any more suffering, the memories I had with her really made me sad :( The times she taught me sewing, spoke to me in Cantonese, cooked yummy stuff for us, sewed pretty patchwork blankets for us...These memories are simple, but meaningful to me..
Death and dying are a part of life, a time where one transits to Heaven, a sleep that when one wakes up, it would not be in the world but a new life with God in Heaven.
Mama..I will really miss you. You will forever be in my memories and hope you will remember me in Heaven..
Tuesday, 10 June 2014
Saturday, 19 April 2014
Marching on MARCH - A pretty memorable month for me
March 2014 has been quite an interesting month for me, full of ups and downs - physically and emotionally. And it has been a special month for me too, considering it began with my birthday.
March 1 - Coach David organised a 10km time trial for the aquathlon team - didn't do that well because I haven't been training but at least it didn't get worse from last year. After that we headed over to SPRUCE for a birthday brunch with JJ, Sher, Debs, Chunnie, David and Baris. I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a team thing though :/ Maybe a team time trial on my birthday wasn't that much of a blessing. Nevertheless, it was great spending a special day with people who really mean a lot to me. For dinner, we had it at PITAPAN, where I finally managed to convince the family to try some vegetarian dining options. We had the Mediterranean Platter ($25.90) and Red Shashuka ($11.90).
March 8 - Venus Run (refer to my previous post)
March 16 - Metasprint Duathlon 2014 and Coach David's first birthday celebration
My first ever duathlon done! It was really an experience as I couldn't feel my legs after the 10km bike! Gotta improve on my run by doing more brick sessions I guess.. Was really thankful for the first place under Discovery 16-39 as my bike wasn't exactly the strongest component. I was also pretty happy that Jon was first for his category, Dex was second but sad for John that he was 4th :(
After the race, we went to Botanic Gardens Food For Thought for lunch and celebrate Coach's real birthday. As it was raining, as some of them drove, they managed to bring our bikes there without us having to brave the rain :)
March 22 & 23 - SIA Road Race 2014 and Coach David's second birthday celebration
Kebun Baru Road Race
This weekend saw me racing a 4.3km at Bedok Reservoir and a 5km at Kebun Baru, tiring but pretty satisfying weekend. I managed to get a first for the SIA Road Race and a 2nd behind Sumiko for Kebun Baru, which was expected, though my timings were not as good. Well, do a give and take but I have to jot myself out of the comfort zone soon and break my barriers because being stagnant is really bad :/
Coach's birthday celebration on Saturday was pretty cosy because quite a large group came :) Although it was quite a rushed affair because I think everyone had to rush back to study, I hope Coach did enjoy himself at Pita Pan :)
March 30 - NUS Biathlon 2014
Back to not racing under Team NUS :( It helped that my race wasn't as early but still it was uncomfortably hot when my wave started at 945am. I wanted to reach earlier to watch the rest race but somehow that didn't happen and by the time I had arrived, the girls were in the midst of running and the guys were done. Somehow I feel that this year, the team was not as close, also because the Jons & Justin had WUT training after their race. Anyways, i was pretty stressed, having to race Shuwie and this Japanese triathlete in the Open Category, plus one Caucasian girl. Although my swim had improved to a 15:22, it wasn't enough to get me a podium :(. I was pretty disappointed but oh wells, time to buck up. John and Debs weren't here, or else the experience might have been more interesting. Anne did well in her novice category though, I was regretting not joining that..hahas.
March 1 - Coach David organised a 10km time trial for the aquathlon team - didn't do that well because I haven't been training but at least it didn't get worse from last year. After that we headed over to SPRUCE for a birthday brunch with JJ, Sher, Debs, Chunnie, David and Baris. I was a little disappointed that it wasn't a team thing though :/ Maybe a team time trial on my birthday wasn't that much of a blessing. Nevertheless, it was great spending a special day with people who really mean a lot to me. For dinner, we had it at PITAPAN, where I finally managed to convince the family to try some vegetarian dining options. We had the Mediterranean Platter ($25.90) and Red Shashuka ($11.90).
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| Team TT on my birthday |
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| Brunch at SPRUCE!! |
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| Blueberry Pancakes - $16.90 but worth the $! |
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| Meet up with the Wuhan group and prebirthday celebration:) |
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| Pretty cosy brunch at SPRUCE |
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| Pitapan Feast! :) |
March 8 - Venus Run (refer to my previous post)
March 16 - Metasprint Duathlon 2014 and Coach David's first birthday celebration
My first ever duathlon done! It was really an experience as I couldn't feel my legs after the 10km bike! Gotta improve on my run by doing more brick sessions I guess.. Was really thankful for the first place under Discovery 16-39 as my bike wasn't exactly the strongest component. I was also pretty happy that Jon was first for his category, Dex was second but sad for John that he was 4th :(
After the race, we went to Botanic Gardens Food For Thought for lunch and celebrate Coach's real birthday. As it was raining, as some of them drove, they managed to bring our bikes there without us having to brave the rain :)
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| Food For Thought lunch :) |
March 22 & 23 - SIA Road Race 2014 and Coach David's second birthday celebration
Kebun Baru Road Race
This weekend saw me racing a 4.3km at Bedok Reservoir and a 5km at Kebun Baru, tiring but pretty satisfying weekend. I managed to get a first for the SIA Road Race and a 2nd behind Sumiko for Kebun Baru, which was expected, though my timings were not as good. Well, do a give and take but I have to jot myself out of the comfort zone soon and break my barriers because being stagnant is really bad :/
Coach's birthday celebration on Saturday was pretty cosy because quite a large group came :) Although it was quite a rushed affair because I think everyone had to rush back to study, I hope Coach did enjoy himself at Pita Pan :)
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| Prize presentation at Kebun Baru |
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| With Ghana, Mr Tan Pee Teck & Mr Goh Choon Phong |
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| RWG group |
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| Happy Birthday Coach David :)) |
March 30 - NUS Biathlon 2014
Back to not racing under Team NUS :( It helped that my race wasn't as early but still it was uncomfortably hot when my wave started at 945am. I wanted to reach earlier to watch the rest race but somehow that didn't happen and by the time I had arrived, the girls were in the midst of running and the guys were done. Somehow I feel that this year, the team was not as close, also because the Jons & Justin had WUT training after their race. Anyways, i was pretty stressed, having to race Shuwie and this Japanese triathlete in the Open Category, plus one Caucasian girl. Although my swim had improved to a 15:22, it wasn't enough to get me a podium :(. I was pretty disappointed but oh wells, time to buck up. John and Debs weren't here, or else the experience might have been more interesting. Anne did well in her novice category though, I was regretting not joining that..hahas.
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| Current girls' team (minus Charis) |
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| The usual team photo! (sadly minus the planking Jon Ma) |
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| Right, I spotted the camera, must pose a bit ;) |
Sunday, 23 March 2014
The third article - Race Review on VENUS RUN 2014 (out on RUNSOCIETY)
Hi guys!
My third posting is out on RUNSOCIETY :)
http://www.runsociety.com/2014/03/10/x-bionic-venus-run-2014-what-diamonds-running-is-my-best-friend/
In all, it wasn't a very good race for me because it reflects one of my worst season race timings. Despite that, I thought I had a pretty fulfilling day, having trained with the WUT guys and Coach David in the morning :) It was the first time it struck me that Coach was really really so dedicated to his team and the sport of triathlon. I do hope his actions will be remembered by TAS and that it will be fruitful to promote his passion in Singapore.
Glad that Coach also came down for the VENUS RUN to support us (me and Shuwie), as well as to take some photos.
My third posting is out on RUNSOCIETY :)
http://www.runsociety.com/2014/03/10/x-bionic-venus-run-2014-what-diamonds-running-is-my-best-friend/
In all, it wasn't a very good race for me because it reflects one of my worst season race timings. Despite that, I thought I had a pretty fulfilling day, having trained with the WUT guys and Coach David in the morning :) It was the first time it struck me that Coach was really really so dedicated to his team and the sport of triathlon. I do hope his actions will be remembered by TAS and that it will be fruitful to promote his passion in Singapore.
Glad that Coach also came down for the VENUS RUN to support us (me and Shuwie), as well as to take some photos.
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| Awesome goodies from the run |
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| Rewards post-race |
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| Post-race mandatory photo with Coach! |
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| With JZ & Shuwie |
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| With Vanja, one of the fastest girls around |
Saturday, 8 March 2014
My Second Article on RUNSOCIETY! Saucony Guide 7 Keeps You Going On
Happy that my second article's published on Run Society :)
I did a review on the shoes and was tasked to write an article. Hopefully it would help with my writing profile because I do enjoy this!
Website link:
http://www.runsociety.com/2014/03/04/saucony-guide-7-keeps-you-going-on/
I did a review on the shoes and was tasked to write an article. Hopefully it would help with my writing profile because I do enjoy this!
Website link:
http://www.runsociety.com/2014/03/04/saucony-guide-7-keeps-you-going-on/
Saturday, 22 February 2014
Post-Race Review 2014 #1 - METASPRINT Aquathlon & SurfNSweat
16 February 2014 was indeed a memorable day for me as I managed a double gold for the 2 events I participated in today - Metasprint Aquathlon (Discovery) & Surf & Sweat Women's Doubles :)
I have taken part in both events before and honestly, I was gunning for a double podium on this occasion and I am really glad that God did bless me with the right conditions to be able to earn it. I had raced Metasprint (Sprint) category in 2013 under NUS and that was my first publicly-organised multi-sport race, which comprised of a 750m swim+5km run along Sentosa (technically the same route as this year) and was happy with a 4th positioning. I had raced Surf & Sweat on several occasions as well, once with Justin Sim (4th) and last year with Johanna (which she paddled), which we won 1st.
Well, I don't mean to say I'm very experienced this year but having done the races before makes pre-race jitters a lot lesser. Just that I didn't know my competitors initially at all, which does scares me, but I was determined to put that aside and race to the best of my ability. This year was a little different too - I picked the Discovery Series for Metasprint & Women's Doubles SurfNSweat (with me paddling instead of running) as it was 1) Cheaper (now that I'm self-funded) 2) Higher chances of podium given the limited training time I have 3) Later start time which translates to longer time to sleep in. hahahas..It was pretty exciting because both events were held on the same day as well.
One important note: I realised pro-athletes (not me) like to race multiple events on a single day - Vanja raced Metasprint Elite, SurfNSweat Women Individual & later, Lovers Challenge; while Nuoshi & Sweehong did SurfNSweat Women Individual & Doubles :x
I travelled up to Sentosa with John and was really thankful for his advice/pre-race plan, which we did stick to quite well. It did wonders to calm the jitters! Basically (also going out to race-noobs like me), we went to get body marking first, then set up transition, put our bags down, last minute toilet break & warm up before the event. Please do a last minute check on the race route too! Thank goodness time flew and soon it was time for our races. John was flagged off first before myself and soon, I found myself in a ready position on the start line.
I must say the race went pretty smoothly, I was trying my hardest to keep up with the front girl on the swim, which was my race plan since the swim leg was so short, so that I can catch her on the run. It was a pretty furious swim though, because I wanted to stick to the lane ropes and draft to reduce my timing, which I managed to (proud of myself) and I was 3rd from my swim. Transition area was a whizz (I took about 1:15min) and I didn't realised I was first out of transition - which did create problems as I was unsure if I took the correct route because it felt so short. Thankfully I did and managed at 9:47 for the 2.5km run (although I think the distance was shorter).
However, when I got back, I was disappointed to learn that John (& couple of others) took the wrong race route, which cost them their podium :( I felt soooo terrible as I was the one who told him the route :(( I had really hoped to get a podium positioning with him. Moral of the story: Mind your own business. Yet another painful lesson learnt. And it's not the first..It was partially the route marshal's fault too, being small kids, I wasnt surprised that they confused the participants from Metasprint & SurfNSweat.
Oh well..I tried to eat a matcha-jelly ice cream to cheer myself up but :(
Thank goodness that issue was off my mind when I had to worry about Anne getting to Sentosa on time for registration for SurfNSweat. And the next thing was to worry about our competitors - Nuoshi & Sweehong..hahahs..I knew my paddling would be better than 2 years ago with Justin but probably not as good as Nuoshi.
I really gave it my best shot. Although I went offcourse & was overtaken by the girls, I tried to paddle to catch up and I really did :) Then in order to pace Anne, I rushed to grab my running shoes to look for Anne. It was a good race and we managed a 1st, ahead of the 2 NTU girls :D
Overall, I thought that both races were pretty well organised, with Metasprint having very good time management but SurfNSweat, despite some delays, did manage the whole event in good timing.
I have taken part in both events before and honestly, I was gunning for a double podium on this occasion and I am really glad that God did bless me with the right conditions to be able to earn it. I had raced Metasprint (Sprint) category in 2013 under NUS and that was my first publicly-organised multi-sport race, which comprised of a 750m swim+5km run along Sentosa (technically the same route as this year) and was happy with a 4th positioning. I had raced Surf & Sweat on several occasions as well, once with Justin Sim (4th) and last year with Johanna (which she paddled), which we won 1st.
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| Post-race 2013 - Metasprint |
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| Inexperienced me |
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| Girls team Metasprint 2013 - So much larger than 2014 |
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| Metasprint 2013 team photo! :) |
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| SurfNSweat with the aqua girls |
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| 1st for women's doubles 2013 - SurfNSweat |
Well, I don't mean to say I'm very experienced this year but having done the races before makes pre-race jitters a lot lesser. Just that I didn't know my competitors initially at all, which does scares me, but I was determined to put that aside and race to the best of my ability. This year was a little different too - I picked the Discovery Series for Metasprint & Women's Doubles SurfNSweat (with me paddling instead of running) as it was 1) Cheaper (now that I'm self-funded) 2) Higher chances of podium given the limited training time I have 3) Later start time which translates to longer time to sleep in. hahahas..It was pretty exciting because both events were held on the same day as well.
One important note: I realised pro-athletes (not me) like to race multiple events on a single day - Vanja raced Metasprint Elite, SurfNSweat Women Individual & later, Lovers Challenge; while Nuoshi & Sweehong did SurfNSweat Women Individual & Doubles :x
I travelled up to Sentosa with John and was really thankful for his advice/pre-race plan, which we did stick to quite well. It did wonders to calm the jitters! Basically (also going out to race-noobs like me), we went to get body marking first, then set up transition, put our bags down, last minute toilet break & warm up before the event. Please do a last minute check on the race route too! Thank goodness time flew and soon it was time for our races. John was flagged off first before myself and soon, I found myself in a ready position on the start line.
I must say the race went pretty smoothly, I was trying my hardest to keep up with the front girl on the swim, which was my race plan since the swim leg was so short, so that I can catch her on the run. It was a pretty furious swim though, because I wanted to stick to the lane ropes and draft to reduce my timing, which I managed to (proud of myself) and I was 3rd from my swim. Transition area was a whizz (I took about 1:15min) and I didn't realised I was first out of transition - which did create problems as I was unsure if I took the correct route because it felt so short. Thankfully I did and managed at 9:47 for the 2.5km run (although I think the distance was shorter).
However, when I got back, I was disappointed to learn that John (& couple of others) took the wrong race route, which cost them their podium :( I felt soooo terrible as I was the one who told him the route :(( I had really hoped to get a podium positioning with him. Moral of the story: Mind your own business. Yet another painful lesson learnt. And it's not the first..It was partially the route marshal's fault too, being small kids, I wasnt surprised that they confused the participants from Metasprint & SurfNSweat.
Oh well..I tried to eat a matcha-jelly ice cream to cheer myself up but :(
Thank goodness that issue was off my mind when I had to worry about Anne getting to Sentosa on time for registration for SurfNSweat. And the next thing was to worry about our competitors - Nuoshi & Sweehong..hahahs..I knew my paddling would be better than 2 years ago with Justin but probably not as good as Nuoshi.
I really gave it my best shot. Although I went offcourse & was overtaken by the girls, I tried to paddle to catch up and I really did :) Then in order to pace Anne, I rushed to grab my running shoes to look for Anne. It was a good race and we managed a 1st, ahead of the 2 NTU girls :D
Overall, I thought that both races were pretty well organised, with Metasprint having very good time management but SurfNSweat, despite some delays, did manage the whole event in good timing.
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| 1st for SurfNSweat - Heavy Hamper! |
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| Team at Metasprint! |
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| First for Discovery |
Saturday, 1 February 2014
CNY 2014 - Year of the Horse
Time flies..once again, it's CNY period again..
Pretty different from the last year but I guess I don't feel that crappy and I do actually enjoy it :) Work has been rather hectic and that's why I do treasure any time I have out of the office and especially at training sessions..
It has been quite an ordinary CNY gathering (honestly speaking, my outfit wasn't new at all - my skirt one that I wear really often, heels which I have worn before and my cheongsam top was one that I had worn last year for CNY Day2 with Leon). We arrived quite late at noon at Grandpa's house and did the same stuff, lo-hei, receiving hongbaos and exchanging greetings, eating and watching TV shows but I guess it didn't bother me as much, doing nothing..hahas..too tired to actually think! We spent about 5 hours there socializing and then headed home to rest. Yet, I guess I'm blessed to have such a peaceful and loving family.
Well, to me, the highlight of the CNY holidays is more of the workouts :)
CNY Eve: Anne and I headed to Sentosa after my work to chill, swim at Tanjong Beach and we even managed a 10.6km easy run around Sentosa Cove! :)
CNY Day 1: I made myself get up at 5:15am to ride up to Longhouse to join JJ, Josh, Dwayne and Justin Kwan for a ride to Mt Faber. Honestly I felt a little fearful because I was the only girl but I braved through the ride and was pretty proud of myself! Glad I managed to clock about 60km :D hahahs
CNY Day 2: Went for a Macritchie run once again with the team. This time, it was me, Chloe, Lala and for the guys, Josh, Aaron, Justin Kwan and Kenley. Did a loop with a bleeding blister (that soiled my shoe :/)
CNY Day 3: hahas will update this soon! ^^
Pretty different from the last year but I guess I don't feel that crappy and I do actually enjoy it :) Work has been rather hectic and that's why I do treasure any time I have out of the office and especially at training sessions..
It has been quite an ordinary CNY gathering (honestly speaking, my outfit wasn't new at all - my skirt one that I wear really often, heels which I have worn before and my cheongsam top was one that I had worn last year for CNY Day2 with Leon). We arrived quite late at noon at Grandpa's house and did the same stuff, lo-hei, receiving hongbaos and exchanging greetings, eating and watching TV shows but I guess it didn't bother me as much, doing nothing..hahas..too tired to actually think! We spent about 5 hours there socializing and then headed home to rest. Yet, I guess I'm blessed to have such a peaceful and loving family.
Well, to me, the highlight of the CNY holidays is more of the workouts :)
CNY Eve: Anne and I headed to Sentosa after my work to chill, swim at Tanjong Beach and we even managed a 10.6km easy run around Sentosa Cove! :)
CNY Day 1: I made myself get up at 5:15am to ride up to Longhouse to join JJ, Josh, Dwayne and Justin Kwan for a ride to Mt Faber. Honestly I felt a little fearful because I was the only girl but I braved through the ride and was pretty proud of myself! Glad I managed to clock about 60km :D hahahs
CNY Day 2: Went for a Macritchie run once again with the team. This time, it was me, Chloe, Lala and for the guys, Josh, Aaron, Justin Kwan and Kenley. Did a loop with a bleeding blister (that soiled my shoe :/)
CNY Day 3: hahas will update this soon! ^^
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Hello 2014!!!
This is my first post of 2014, I must admit I'm EXTREMELY busy with work, training and socializing that I hardly have time to think and write a reflective piece. Maybe I'll save it for another occasion then but for now, here's a short update on how my life has been, before I forget it all...
First day of the New Year had been truly an impactful one for me...
Broke up with Leon (and yes now I'm single AND available) after a morning 11.14km run at Sentosa with Running Department and my maiden trip to the RWS Oceanarium. Much as I feel super sad and guilty, I don't think I could live with it much longer lying to him and myself. I've learnt a lot from my first relationship and perhaps, it's time to move on. I thought it won't hurt, but until now, it does, very much :((( And I'm feeling pretty insecure (once again). I like him, more than a friend but somehow there's something missing which I don't see in him which indicates the maturity and suitability of a lifelong partner. Sighs.. something to reflect deeply on.
Stressful weeks at work - I can't believe how demanding people can get over small matters and after a while, I really don't give a damn any more because I feel that they are taking up the time which I can use to help others who are truly in need. Was looking forward to trainings and also, the aquathlon training camp.
And yes, the aquathlon training camp was AWESOME and I never did once regret paying the $398 for 4 days to attend the camp because it was soooooo fun :) We did goal settings and direction for the team which I thought was really useful. I felt super grateful to Coach David for bearing with the slower ones during all his trainings.
First day of the New Year had been truly an impactful one for me...
Broke up with Leon (and yes now I'm single AND available) after a morning 11.14km run at Sentosa with Running Department and my maiden trip to the RWS Oceanarium. Much as I feel super sad and guilty, I don't think I could live with it much longer lying to him and myself. I've learnt a lot from my first relationship and perhaps, it's time to move on. I thought it won't hurt, but until now, it does, very much :((( And I'm feeling pretty insecure (once again). I like him, more than a friend but somehow there's something missing which I don't see in him which indicates the maturity and suitability of a lifelong partner. Sighs.. something to reflect deeply on.
Stressful weeks at work - I can't believe how demanding people can get over small matters and after a while, I really don't give a damn any more because I feel that they are taking up the time which I can use to help others who are truly in need. Was looking forward to trainings and also, the aquathlon training camp.
And yes, the aquathlon training camp was AWESOME and I never did once regret paying the $398 for 4 days to attend the camp because it was soooooo fun :) We did goal settings and direction for the team which I thought was really useful. I felt super grateful to Coach David for bearing with the slower ones during all his trainings.
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