k r i s a n d r o

After a long rest, I finally started on my training again for the Adidas Sundown (half marathon event) in May and for my 1st full marathon at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2010.

For me, running is really quite enjoyable and all I need is to start in order to get the momentum going and I did it on 19th Jan. I have since ran 7 times and I am slowly building up my mileage like any proper training schedule.

I absolutely love to measure and record various numbers I can get out of everything and running is no exception. It serves as a great way to check my progress, adjust my schedule accordingly and of course to stroke the ego of mine whenever I see myself improving.

As you can see, comparing the 1st, 4th and the 7th run which I just completed hours ago, I have not only increased the distance I ran, I also ran faster and still managed to reduce the effort that my heart had to make for each run.

I do know that because I just started, it’s easy to have vast improvements but it’s still pretty interesting to have all the data recorded like that and compare it down the road.

Can’t wait to hit 10km and beyond in 3 weeks or so.

Boy am I such a running geek.

The running event of the year, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009, has been open for registration since the 16th July and early birds who register during this period till the 5th of August will get to enjoy discounts for the registration fees!

Wow~! 3 variations of the word ‘register’ in the sentence above and it doesn’t take a genius to guess the purpose of this post is to convince YOU to register!

Take the chance to register for a race so that you’ll find a valid excuse to put on your running shoes and get out there to sweat it out!

Well, if you are not as crazy as the few of us going for the full marathon, there are other categories to consider like the half-marathon, 10km, team races or even the 750m kids dash if you are 13 years of age and below.

Here is the breakdown of the fees involved.

And do consider registering yourself as a charity runner by joining their “Run for a Cause” (RFAC) program whereby you can help raise funds through a pledge card or an online donation portal to either of the 3 identified charities or all of them. The 3 charities are:

1. Bukit Ho Swee Family Service Centre

- a community-based focal point of family resources that promotes and strengthens the well-being of families in distress.

2. Lions Befrienders

- reaches out to lonely senior citizens with limited or no family support, to help dignifying and enhance the quality of their golden years.

3. Rainbow Centre Yishun Park School

- is a place where children with autism and multiple disabilities are respected and provided with specialised curriculum and services to develop their full potential.

Not that it is important if your motive is to help raise funds but the top 500 RFAC participants who raised more than $300 will be waived for their registration fees and be given a limited edition RFAC shirt.

I have yet to decide which charity to aid but I do hope that you guys will at least help to donate in the event that you do not wish to take part in the running.

See you on the 6th of December 2009!

It’s week 2 of my training and things are going smooth so far. I’ve clocked 30km so far with a good mix of interval training, quick and long runs. I also managed to keep quite strictly to the schedule without affecting my social life. Or maybe the schedule didn’t affect it because I wasn’t having a social life anyway. Haha!

I did face a little obstacle last Friday on the day for my 8km long run. I made a brisk 10min walk to the stadium beside Yio Chu Kang MRT from KuKuNehNeh’s place and to my horror, the stadium was closed for a rugby event. Not wanting to spend another 10-15 mins walking to Bishan Park for the run, I unwillingly spent $1 for a towel and $2.50 for entry to the nearby gym. And for those who knew that I nearly blacked out from a treadmill last year, it took a lot of desperation for me to decide to run on the ‘belt of doom’.

I had already planned to run a 6min/km pace and programmed it on the treadmill to only find it weird that I am exerting more effort than a 5min/km pace on the roads/tracks. Not sure whether to listen to my body or the treadmill, I decide to stick to the latter and continued jogging while I sped away. Another thing I hate about the treadmill is that while the display indicates that I am running pretty far away, I am still seeing the reflections of the same few guys admiring their muscles as they pump iron in the gym. So much for having good scenery during runs and clearing my mind.

As I approached the 3km mark according to the display, I really felt that the treadmill was vastly inaccurate as I am panting and losing energy faster than I should for a 6min/km pace. I eventually broke down mentally and ended the session after 26mins of running with no correct indication of how far I actually ran. Only fact is that I definitely did not meet my 8km goal and it was both frustrating and tiring at the same time.

Treadmills are seriously not my thing. It is troublesome to change the pace constantly. It is uncomfortable to run in an air-conditioned environment. The stationary view screws the brain up as I jog. The inaccuracy of the treadmill. The vast difference of feel on the belt and on the track/road.

[Image by zebra.paperclip]

I am swearing off treadmills for good.