So happy to finish.....I look a bit delirious....

Half Marathon
Yes I did it. Still can't believe it. But I did run 16km...walked 4km....then ran the last 1km. My average speed was 6.9km/hr. That's kind of slow compared to others. But I wasn't last. Took me 3 hrs 5 mins. Have to figure out how to shave off 30-35 minutes to have a more respectable time.
So here's the thing about perspective. I can still remember clearly when I did my first 5km run. It seemed so long. I could not imagine doing a 10km. But I took incremental steps. There was the 8km, 10km....triathlons...15km...then 21.1km. I can't imagine doing the 42.2km but perhaps I will one day.
It was not funny Sunday afternoon. I had a blister on my left sole and my right second toe looked dark. Yesterday I realized I had a huge liquidy blister on my left foot. Walking....and going up and down stairs on Sunday put me in agony. I felt like an old lady.
But here I am. Two days later. Pretty much back to normal. Amazing.

Wakeboarding @ Punggol

This was super fun. We all got up (as you can see) and that was excellent. It's so different from waterskiing. The boat goes half the speed and the bodyweight has to be even on both legs. That was tricky for some of us to do as we had to unlearn the waterskiing stuff from years ago. It was also trickier to cut across the wake as the manuevering of the board depends on the front foot (I think). Anyway, we had a great time and we had yummy food after that as well. Frog porridge and Ngoh Hiang @ Ang Mo Kio Ave 10 Blk 530. Hmmm....

Osim Corporate Tri Pics
Swim. Bike. Run. No energy to smile....but I did enjoy myself. Sort of...in a masochistic way. Haha.

Juno @ Raffles Marina on Deepavali

It was a beautiful day for sailing. Steady breeze, sun hidden behind clouds and the sea to ourselves. That's my cousin John visiting from England. Elliott's missing because he claimed he wanted to stay home and rest. Yeah right.

This pic is from NB Realrun. Using my orange Shape Run tee, orange UVEX cycling shades and my orange imitation Nike cap. Rather unflattering pic of me. Shows my fat ass.

OSIM Corporate Tri

Yes! The weather held and I completed my first Sprint triathlon. Feels good to have achieved a goal I set out for myself this July. A goal that has completely revamped how I spend my time and what I do to my body. A goal that was nearly thwarted by bad weather in the Triladies triathlon back on 23 Sept. For the 12 week training plan, that was "d-day" for me. That was a week after my birthday and my way of ushering in 42 yrs. Just 3-4 days after Triladies, I decided to sign up for this. If at first one doesn't succeed, have to try and 'tri' again. But although the goal was set and is now achieved, it's really the journey that is so wonderful. I learnt so many new things. I learnt so much about myself.

What are the highlights?

Discovering the joy of swim training.

I never learnt to swim front crawl properly as a child. So 4 private lessons, 12 weeks of Yellowfish tri swim training and 8 weeks of Masters' swim classes later.....I can comfortably swim front crawl now. I still have a long way to go but this is a great start. The sacrifices don't seem like much now as I look back. Getting to the pool for a 7am private lesson. Getting into the pool a few times when the sky was threateningly pitch black.....and watching the clouds blow away with nary a drop in sight. Doing swim drills & endless laps for 90 minutes on Saturday evenings. Squeezing into my tight schedule the weekday Masters swim classes. 9am sea swims at East Coast with the Triladies. It all makes me smile.

Re-discovering the delights of cycling.

This really time-warped me back to time when I was 14-17 yrs old. The wind in your hair feeling. The efficiency of riding compared to two poundings legs. Learning the art of riding in a pack. Seeing Singapore differently simply by removing the windscreen, two wheels and a polluting engine. Amazed at the distances covered on cycling trips. Never even conceived cycling to Kranji and back....not once, but numerous times. Striving to optmize my cadence. Shopping for spandex. Ha! Who would have thought it'd be so addictive?

Running.

OK the truth is I run like a tortoise. I suspected it all along but it really hit home this weekend. People I overtook on the swim and bike.....overtook me on the run. My legs & my heart just couldn't keep up. There's something dreadfully wrong with my stride pace and width. Think I need to do start doing splits to widen my stride. It's so pathetic.

But....wait. Two years ago when I did my first 5km.....it seeemed like eternity. Now 5km runs are comfortable, 10km runs are very doable and even though I took a long time, I completed a 15km race. In a month, I know I will be able to complete the Half Marathon although I may not like my timing.

In conclusion, this 'mind over matter' thing is very good for me. Best part - I am thoroughly enjoying the process. Success is not a destination....success is a journey.

NB All Terrain Realrun @ Changi Expo
Well, today I completed my first 15km run. It was very long. The monotony of the road was broken up by running on different 'terrain'. It was supposed to be 12km road, 1 km trail, 1 km sand and 1 km runway. But all of us couldn't figure out where the runway was. The best part was along Changi Coast Road and the 1km on the trail. It was shady and breezy. The worst part was the last 2km heading back to Changi Expo building. Not a tree in sight. Almost 10am by then because I was so slow.
Must say I was impressed that all the waterpoints had 100plus. The Guest of Honour was S.R. Nathan. Maybe that's why. After the 6km mark, I developed a pain in my left foot. So started walking. Anyway, really needed to rehydrate. I pleaded with God to make the foot pain go away....and couple of minutes later, it did! That was good or I wouldn't have been have been able to complete.
Anyway, it's not easy walking with a cup of 100plus and trying to drink it. I managed to get it all over my hand and when it dried up, my hand became all sticky. Spent the next few waterpoints trying to wash it off with water. But it was still slightly sticky.
I'm so grateful for the MP3 player. It was just great to be plugged into music the whole 15km. I ate one of those energy gel packs. It tasted all right but I don't know if it helped give me any more energy. I suppose so.

Running with 8000 other women...

We were a sea of red. It took me just about 3 times longer to complete the distance than the elite runners from Kenya. It was quite inspiring watching them sprint by. We were trudging along at 3km and they had already turned around and were heading back at 6km. This is just after 20 minutes. Think the record was 32 minutes for 10k. I don't know where they get all that power from. What good 'engines' they have. Well, my 42 yr old 'engine' rebelled. For me, I have to maintain my core value of 'fun'. I do these things because most parts of me find it fun. When I find myself starting to think competitively and wanting to get a better time....then it gets less and less fun...and I get annoyed at myself, think negative thoughts about how I should have trained more, blah, blah, blah.....which is not why I joined it in the first place.

So, today was fun. We ran up Nicholl Highway up to Crawford St and back. Most of the run was shaded by buildings and the road was closed for just us. So I soaked it all in. Most of the time we're enclosed in a car whizzing by and never get a chance to look things in detail.

I have to confess though. Think it would've been nicer if I had the help of a bicycle. It's just so much more efficient with two wheels!

New Toy
This is a Dahon Speed D7 Folding Bike. Mine's second hand but in mint condition. Got it on Togoparts. It was taking up closet space so I got lucky. Now it's taking up my closet space. But...so exciting. New toy. Already I know I'll be using it tomorrow. Cycle down (instead of drive) to my appointment in the restaurant nearby, fold it up and put it behind my chair.

Anyway, I learnt today that Dahon is the #1 Folding bike company in the world. The founder is a Dr David Hon, a physicist who was a solid state laser technology expert with Hughes Aircraft. Back in the 1970s & 80s he was inspired to develop environmental transport alternatives aka. the bicycle, set up shop in Taiwan and now Dahon is the brand to get for foldable bikes.

What Will Matter
by Michael Josephson

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else.

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.

It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.
It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter?
How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought but what you built,
not what you got but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity,compassion, courage, or sacrifice
that enriched, empowered or encouraged othersto emulate your example.

What will matter is not your competencebut your character.
What will matter is not how many people you knew,
but how many will feel a lasting loss when your gone.
What will matter is not your memoriesbut the memories that live in those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered,by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident.
It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.
Choose to live a life that matters.

$50 Brewerkz Gift Cert
Last Friday I went to Millenia Walk to pick up my race pack for next Sunday's Great Eastern Womens 10K. To encourage participants to visit the Sponsor booths, we were given a paper and told to go round to each booth for a stamp. Of course, in order to get the stamp, one had to endure some sort of sales pitch or write down stuff like mobile number, email etc. so they can try and sell you stuff. Well, I didn't mind.
After collecting all the stamps, I got to play Spin-the-Wheel.
Guess what I won? Yay! I won the best prize on the wheel. Hmmm....am rather lucky.

Shopping for 1 Bike....ended up with 2!

Way back in August, I promised to get my Number One Son a bicycle for his birthday. Since then, I've spent quite a bit of time looking through the Togoparts classifieds every few days for a good second hand deal. I also visited all the local bike shops within 5 km radius of home. This was all thoroughly enjoyable of course. The thing is - need to spend $500 for a brand new entry-level hardtail mountain bike. But this means the frame is kind of heavy and the components 'so-so'. So the value deals are used bikes - especially the ones where the owners are bike enthusiasts that upgraded their components and place a premium on maintenance.

Well, it's been 2 months and now that his exams are over, I had to make a decision. Yesterday I took him to
Treknology3 Bikes at Holland Grove....and we ended up getting 2 bikes instead of 1! Sigh. I couldn't resist. Impulse buying is the worst. But it was such a good deal....

We test rode a few bikes and chose the Marin Pioneer Trail for him. Got it fixed up with bottle cage, lights, stand, helmet etc. That was $535 plus plus plus for the accessories. The components are basic Shimano Altus parts but at least the maroon red looks nice.

The good deal is the bike above - a Trek 3700. The great second hand deal I couldn't resist. The previous owner had to return it to Trek just after two weeks because she had to leave suddenly. So we got $110 knocked off the new retail price.

Yay!

Page 313. Thoughts and a Prayer.

By Laurie Beth Jones.

I learned yesterday that everyone loses twenty-one grams when they die. Whether the body is young or old, heavy or thin, something ineffable leaves it that weighs only as much as a hummingbird.

Perhaps this is what the human soul weighs,or the breath that circulates through our lungs day in, day out - from our first great gulp of air to our last soft sigh.

This is the part of you that Jesus seeks - not the weight of your accomplishments or the heft of your bank account - not even (dare I say it?) the list of your good deeds.

Jesus is looking for the essence of you - the twenty-one grams granted at birth - the twenty-one grams that may ascend into heaven when you die.

Turn you breath to him now - whisper a first "yes", and then again and again a "yes" - and your life will turn imperceptibly, boldly, hugely toward the ultimate, greatest, happiest "You." Amen and amen.

Two baby watermelons and another cucumber on the way!

If at first you don't succeed, try and try again.

Looking forward to Sat 3 Nov & beautiful weather this time!

Luke's Vegetable Patch

This was a June school holiday project. Started off with seeds and now look at how overgrown it is. The chicken wire cover is not supposed to be there. It was put there to prevent the birds from picking the seeds when he first planted it.

But before we knew it, the vines had intertwined themselves and it was not possible to remove without killing the plant.

On the left with the stick for support is my basil. It's from Gourmet @ Guthrie. I needed basil for my chicken and bought the plant. Stuck it in the ground and amazingly it's still alive.

The big leaves belong to the cucumbers. We ate the big one today. Pretty good. Home grown organic cucumbers!

The funny shaped leaves belong to the watermelon. But none in sight so far......

Tuesday Bike Gang

These are my cycling "si-fu's". One day, I will have as much stamina & cycling technique as them. At the moment, I can just about keep up. It's the hills that I fall behind. And toward the end of a long ride, the take off from the traffic lights too. An easy ride for them is now a hard ride for me. But I'm working on it....

Triladies
Well, the event I've been training the last 12 weeks for was this morning. It started out nice and sunny. I took 17 minutes on the swim (breaststroke all the way - didn't care since I kept up with the freestylers), 40 minutes on the bike (kept to my 26-28km/hr) and was still feeling fresh.

But didn't get to run. It was an intense storm that was Category 1 with a teeny bit of lightning. So the race was cancelled. Erring on the side of caution.

One angmoh was really upset she didn't get to finish and started shouting at the officials.

Running is not my forte so I was quite happy to not have to run. Some 'seow on' people went for a fun run anyway. Tim & I went to eat 'chai tow kway' at the hawker centre. So....the whole process of preparing for this tri has been great. I'm hooked. And come next tri, I think I'm going to go for the Olympic Distance instead of the Sprint. Today was very 'doable' and I know I would have achieved my goal if not for the weather.

Don't you like the pic of me on my bike and my head cut off? At least I was smiling....