...train for the marathon (week 6)?

I was mad this week. Jogged more than my usual and faster than my usual. Maybe making up for the fact that I will lose 4 days of running next week when we are in Bali. But have to give those legs a break, my calves are aching!

ST's training schedule:

Mon - 35 mins (optional)
Tues - 20 mins
Wed - 45 mins (optional)
Thurs - 20 mins
Fri - Day off
Sat - 20 mins
Sun - 60 mins

My training schedule:

Mon - 35 mins
Tues - 40 mins
Wed - Day off
Thurs - 30 mins
Fri - 35 mins
Sat - Day off
Sun - 60 mins

...train for the marathon (week 5)?

Forgot to update on the training schedule last week, but it was a bad week, in terms of training. I was recovering from the half marathon on Mon and Tue, sick the remaining days, went to Malacca for the weekend... but still managed to squeeze in a run on Sunday. Pray that the sick bug stays away!

ST's training schedule:

Mon - 35 mins (optional)
Tues - 30 mins
Wed - 75 mins (optional)
Thur - 30 mins
Fri - Day off
Sat - 30 mins
Sun - 90 mins

My training schedule:
Mon - Day off
Tue - Day off
Wed - Day off
Thu - Day off
Fri - Day off
Sat - Day off
Sun - 31 mins

...train for the marathon (week 4) / complete a half marathon?

I jogged, walked and limped my way to another half marathon today. Have completed 4 half-marathons to-date, but my timings have been deteriorated. Not sure if it is because of inadequate training, lack of a running partner (it's quite lonely running alone) or the injury on my ankle and my flat feet which made it rather painful.

Anyway, just glad that I finished it and completed it. At least now I know I can definitely run 18.5 km, now I just need to make up the next 20 km for the marathon in Dec!

ST's training schedule:

Mon - 35 mins (optional)
Tues - 25 mins
Wed - 60 mins (optional)
Thur - 25 mins
Fri - Day off
Sat - 20 mins
Sun - 75 mins

My training schedule (this being my birthday week, training was severely hampered, haha):

Mon - 35 mins
Tues - Day off
Wed - Day off
Thur - Day off
Fri - 30 mins
Sat - Day off
Sun - completed half marathon

...train for the marathon (week 3)?

Am sharing my weekly running schedule, partly as a way to record my training journey towards completing a full marathon for future reference, and partly to share with others who might be interested one day to attempt a full marathon.

This week's training was seriously hampered by my weekend activities, haha. It's Sept, I'm turning 30 and it's time for some serious celebrations. :)

ST's training schedule:

Mon - 30 mins (optional)
Tues - 20 mins
Wed - 30 mins (optional)
Thur - 20 mins
Fri - Day off
Sat - 20 mins
Sun - 30 mins

My training schedule:

Mon - Day off
Tues - Day off
Wed - 22 mins
Thurs - 30 mins
Fri - Day off
Sat - Day off
Sun - Day off

...train for the marathon (week 2)?

Week 2 of my training:

ST's training schedule:

Mon - 30 mins (optional)
Tues - 20 mins
Wed - 60 mins (optional)
Thurs - 20 mins
Fri - Day off
Sat - 20 mins
Sun - 60 mins

My training schedule:

Mon - Day off
Tues - 30 mins
Wed - Day off
Thurs - 35 mins
Fri - Day off
Sat - 22 mins
Sun - 70 mins

...start training for the marathon in Dec (week 1)?

After a short hiatus of 2 weeks, where I was under doctor's (I mean, sinseh's) orders to stay off running for two weeks (to cut a long story short, my knee was swollen after one whole night of walking around on heels), I am back to training for the marathon in Dec.

At the same time, the Straits Times published a training schedule for those who are training for their first marathon, so I'm using that as a guide.

Straits Times' Training Schedule (Week 1):

Mon - 30 mins (optional)
Tues - 20 mins
Wed - 45 mins (optional)
Thurs - 20 mins
Fri - Day off
Sat - 20 mins
Sun - 45 mins

My training schedule (Week 1):

Mon - Day off
Tues - Day off
Wed - 20 mins
Thurs - 20 mins
Fri - Day off
Sat - 24 mins
Sun - 48 mins

...have one of the best ramen at Mutekiya?

I asked KS for a list of food places in Tokyo before K and I went on our trip last month. He gave me a list, and said that the restaurants were listed in order of priority.

Top of his list of recommendations was Mutekiya. He said that the ramen was so good that that he would usually visit the restaurant more than once on his travels to Tokyo; and that locals would queue 30 minutes in the cold during winter for the ramen.

So K and I decided to head to Mutekiya on the second day of our trip, and found ourselves in a short queue. We waited for about 20 minutes (there are only 17 seats in the ramen bar) before being ushered in.



K and I both ordered the ramen that came with one slice of char siew and one egg (I can't remember what it is called, maybe K will remember?). It must have been the best ramen I have ever tasted in my entire life.



The soup was boiled with pork bones and was really tasty. Best of all, you could tell there was no MSG because even though K and I drank up all the soup, we did not feel thirsty at all! The ramen was cooked al-dente, the egg was perfect, runny and soft inside but firm outside, and the one slice of char siew was very delicious. All this for only 780 yen (that's about S$12)!

The ramen was really very good that K and I decided that we absolutely have to go back again before we left Tokyo. So we found time on the second last day of our trip and went back to Mutekiya for lunch. This time, I had a bigger bowl! With 3 slices of char siew and 2 eggs! And only 980 yen (less than S$15.60)!



Mutekiya is a must-visit when you go to Tokyo. I can't wait to have it again!


Mutekiya
1-17-1 Minami-Ikebukuro
Take the East exit of Ikebukuro JR station
Walk about 10 minutes along Meiji-Dori

...fall in love with him?

He is 31 this year.

He was trained in classical music and plays many different instruments, but I think he plays the piano the best.

He plays basketball as well, as far as I know and handles a pair of nunchuks rather well.

He is apparently very filial to his mother and grandmother who brought him up.

He is also apparently a non-smoker and a non-drinker.

Contrary to what people may say, I think he can sing. I have heard him sing live and it's real and good.

He is arrogant, but, he has every right to be. In fact, I think it makes him cuter.

His name is Jay Chou. 谁叫他是周杰伦!

I just attended his concert, and I'm still smiling to myself at the memory of it and singing his songs in my head. Gawd, I feel like a teenager all over again. :)

...walk and eat your way through Tokyo?

K and I are back from Tokyo!

It was a great trip - with lots of walking and lots of great food! Best of all, we kept to our budget, think we probably spent only around S$2,200 for a week in Tokyo, including airfare and accomodation!

Will start blogging about the food and the sights when I have tidied up the photos!

...decide to take a trip to Tokyo during lunch?

K and I are headed to Tokyo for a week (one glorious week!) this coming Saturday night! This was a trip that was decided only earlier this month - K and I met for lunch, and were talking about taking holidays and viola! our trip was born.

Looking forward to it - it's going to be my first time ever in Japan. Woohoo!

Watch out for our blog posts in the coming weeks!

...run a full marathon?

Ok, further to my previous post, I have decided to sign up for the full marathon in December!

K has also signed up, so hopefully we can both complete the marathon. :)

There are 6 months to train, I am going to start running more frequently from now onwards and have decided to stay away from fries and fried food for the next 6 months as much as possible.

Training starts tomorrow morning! Am finally resuming my weekly East Coast runs with JM. Hopefully, I can stay healthy from now till the marathon. Otherwise, illness really interferes with the training.

Have a good weekend!

... run a night race?

As far as I know, the Adidas Sundown Marathon is the only night race in Singapore. It started out with an 84km run through the night. Yes, you did not read wrongly, it started with an ultra-marathon of 84km through the night. They included other race categories, such as the 10km run for women, 21km and 42km, last year and this year.

Last Saturday on 29 May, I participated in my second Sundown Marathon, completing my third 10km run. This year’s 10km run started earlier than last year, at 7pm. As I took off from the starting point at Changi Exhibition Centre, I could actually see the setting sun in the distance. Running at night is definitely cooler, temperature-wise, than running in the day, but it was just as humid. I was sweating buckets barely a few minutes after I started.

Although it was quite cool (no pun intended) running at night, the race route left much to be desired. It's kinda boring, with no real scenery. You run along the Changi Coast Road, next to the airport, so you see planes landing and preparing to take off, but other than that, really, the scenery can put you to sleep.

About my own race results - well, I thought I was running very fast already, given that I have not been training consistently, but I still ran a slower time than last year. Oh well, just another sign that I should probably train harder. :) Running gives me a high (yes, there is really something called "runner's high") - I can't wait for the next race even though I was huffing and puffing by the time I finished that 10km. My next race is a half-marathon in September!

With that, I have 3 10km runs, 3 half-marathons and a full marathon under my belt. As I write this, I'm probably going to sign up for either the half or the full marathon in December, I still can't decide! The heart is willing but the body may not.

...consider boycotting the SingTel / Starhub World Cup telecast in Singapore?

In economics, we learnt that monopolies are not desirable and having more competition will be good for consumers because of more variety and lower prices.

Not so for the pay-TV industry in Singapore. Perhaps the market is too small to have another competitor. Ever since the government opened up the pay-TV industry (well, not really since there is only one other competitor - it's still like a duopoly), I think Singaporean consumers, especially soccer fans, have suffered.

Most people in Singapore sign up for pay-TV because of soccer. Because of the Barclays Premier League. So both SingTel and Starhub tried to outbid each other, resulting in higher prices paid for the rights to broadcast the matches. And the price that I have to pay as a consumer to get my weekly soccer fix rose from the original $12 to the $25 that I pay today. And because SingTel won the bid to broadcast the matches for the next 3 years, I have to sign up for a SingTel account and get another set-top box, since my family watches other programmes on Starhub, at my inconvenience. Hopefully the situation will improve when the new law kicks in, that there will be no more exclusive content for either company.

And because SingTel can pay so much for the broadcast rights to the Premier League, I feel that FIFA purposely held out for more money for the World Cup, leading to a deal that was done only 35 days before the first ball is kicked. Guess what? I now have to pay $70 for the World Cup when all I paid was $10 for the previous World Cup. If you haven't done the sums, that's a seven-fold increase!

RIDICULOUS! I have decided I'm not going to pay for this, especially since the free-to-air channel is going to show the semi-finals and final. I will just follow the exploits of Spain, Netherlands and England on the internet!

...catch the Taiwanese movie, Monga (艋舺)?

Monga is a historical district in Taiwan, which is known as Wanhua district today. Wanhua district is Taipei city's oldest district - it houses the Longshan temple, Taipei's oldest temple; the Huaxi Street tourist night market; and it also used to be Taipei's former "red light district". There were also gangs galore, with each of them taking their own "corners".

Monga, the movie, was set in 1980s Monga. At first, I thought it was a Taiwanese version of the old Young and Dangerous (古惑仔) series. I must confess I only watched a couple of the 古惑仔 movies, so my interpretation might be wrong, but I thought Monga was rather different.

The movie starts with a new kid (Wenzi) who has just transferred to a school in the district. He is always alone, has no friends, and is often bullied. However, he catches the eye of the most powerful gangster in school and soon becomes the fifth member of this gang.

The five boys soon become sworn brothers, get into fights with rival gangs, attend boot camp to be trained in all kinds of weapons (but no guns please, cos that's for weaklings, according to their lao da), start getting involved in the disputes of the older generation and fights over the turf in Monga, and eventually go into a downward spiral of betrayal. All in the name of BROTHERHOOD.

Sounds very run-of-the-mill stuff? But I thought the movie was very well shot and as it explored why each of the boys joined the gang, you could kinda identify with the characters and see why they eventually took the path they did. It doesn't glamourise the triad life, as HK triad movies tend to do so.

There was a fighting scene that the director wanted to shoot in one take and required hundreds of extras. His "friends" from the gangs sent down busloads of real gangsters (700 of them!!!) to help him film this scene at no cost. Apparently, after he shouted "cut", these people from rival gangs were still fighting and the director and the actors had to step in to break up the fights!

The fact that the movie was based on the director's own experiences when he was younger shone through as you watched the movie. Because you could feel that whatever you were watching was not staged, and that things really happened that way. I liked this authenticity about the movie. I think about 50% of the dialogue was in Hokkien as well - so you need to know your Hokkien. Reading the subtitles just doesn't cut it!

...attend a Mayday (五月天) concert?

Lest you think that pop concerts are a thing of the past or only meant for the younger ones, let me remind you that Mayday released their first album in 1999, and so they are kinda from our generation too. :)



Yesterday, I attended my second Mayday concert in less than a year. I first went for their concert last August. I had heard a lot about their concerts, that the atmosphere was fantastic and that everyone would be standing throughout. The scene where everyone is standing throughout the concert is hardly seen in Chinese concerts, except for the Beyond concert I went for in 1997. So I thought, I had to experience a Mayday concert at least once.

I had a lot of fun at their concert last year, and yes, I stood throughout the concert. They write all their own songs and the atmosphere in the indoor stadium was just fantastic. I think part of it also has to do with their charismatic lead singer, Ah-Xin (there's always a guy involved, isn't it?). But Ah-Xin is not only boyish-cute, he's very talented. He writes almost all the songs in their albums and he's very good with the pen. I thought he wouldn't be able to sing live very well, but he did and he did so for close to 3.5 hours! At the end of their concert last year, I told myself I had to go for every Mayday concert!

Yesterday's concert was an open-air one at National Stadium. It was their first outdoor concert in Singapore, even though they have held many of such outdoor concerts in Taiwan. It was a little humid last night, but the concert was again fantastic! And because it was an outdoor concert, there was even fireworks! Very very pretty fireworks!

They even set up a 3-tonne transformer (Bumblebee) at the venue!

I had heard that the sound system might not be as good at outdoor concerts and you might not be able to hear the singer very well. But last night, Ah-Xin again showed his mettle! haha. If only they did not have any curfew to adhere to (I think the authorities would fine them if they over-stayed), I believe they would have gone on singing way past midnight. There were so many fans still at the stadium even though the lights at the stadium had come on and Ah-Xin had spoken from backstage to ask everyone to go home.

I felt a bit amiss cos they did not sing their hit Hokkien song, Zhiming and Chunjiao - oh well, till the next Mayday concert then! Maybe this time in Taiwan. :)

...travel to Hong Kong for the Rugby Sevens weekend?

Every year during the last weekend of March, Hong Kong plays host to the Rugby Sevens tournament. Supporters fly in from all over the world during this weekend.

In the spirit of doing something different this year, I made the trip to Hong Kong over the last weekend to take part in my first ever Sevens tournament and it was a really fun experience!

The party starts even before the first rugby ball is played. Local expats and tourists alike packed the bars in Lan Kwai Fong and Wan Chai every night even before the first match started. I was there with KC and we really enjoyed the joyous atmosphere - there was just a party buzz in the air that you seldom enjoy in Singapore.

Of course, there are also plainclothes policemen everywhere, but as I was exclaiming to KC, "they are nothing like the cool ones we see in HK dramas!"

The rugby games started on Friday afternoon all the way to Sunday evening. We skipped the Friday games, but went to watch the games on Saturday and Sunday. I had heard so much about the famous South Stand at the Hong Kong stadium, where all the spectators would be dressed up in costumes of various shapes and sizes and how everyone would be drunk and throwing jugs of beer and even piss, if you believe the horror stories. :)

KC and I went as cowgirls, which was a relatively easy outfit to put together. Thankfully or not, the queue to the South Stand was very long, and so we did not make it in and hence, did not get drenched in beer. As for the games, the Saturday games were kinda boring, as some teams were not evenly matched. But Sunday games were super exciting, and so much more fun to watch! I really salute these Sevens players, they have got to be super duper fit - there are only 7 of them running on the same field that a normal rugby team would play on with 15 players!

Rugby aside, we also had time to go for a private dining experience at Xi Yan. It was my first private dining experience in HK, the food was a bit of a hit-and-miss. Overall, I enjoyed the meal, but there was just too much food for the experience to be enjoyable after a while. There were 4 appetitisers, 7 main courses and 1 dessert! It was not a taster portion, every course came with a super huge bowl for our table, and we could even have 2-3 helpings of everything if we wanted to. Our dinner lasted from 8.30pm to nearly midnight, so really, by the 5-6th course, we were just wondering how much more to go to really enjoy the food. :)

Other than eating and partying, we managed to squeeze in some shopping, though I did not buy as much as I expected to, haha. Did the usual trip to H&M and Espirit outlets, but did not really buy much. I got introduced to a new place to shop during this trip - HK Industrial Centre at Lai Chi Kok. They sell these cut-label dresses for about $80 bucks, which is really cheap, considering that shops in Singapore sell them for about $150! Alas, they did not have the larger sizes of the dresses I picked out, so did not end up buying anything - though I think I will go back there again when I next go to HK. Apparently, we missed out an entire floor! haha.

Lest you think it was all play and no work, we went for a hike on Friday morning! Yes, you did not read wrongly, we went for a hike in HK! The hiking trail is known as Dragon's Back, and it starts at the Shek O Country Park. The guide said it would take us about 2.5 hours for the whole trail, but it only took us about 1.5 hours. :) It was the only clear day the whole time I was there in HK, so I was quite glad we managed to do it. The view from the top was amazing, you never would have thought you were in HK. I thought it looked a bit like Australia! :)

I really enjoyed this trip, can't wait to go back to HK again!

...go for a swim at the public pool?

I have been trying to get my fitness routine back on track after the CNY holidays. After a couple of bodycombat sessions, a couple of jogs, I finally made it down to the pool. I can't even remember the last time I went for a swim at the public pool in Singapore. It was probably in Sec 4, when I had to take part in the House Captains' Race during the annual swimming meet.

I must say things have changed quite a bit since my last trip to a public pool. Public swimming pools are now more equipped and even have water rides for the children. A trip to the pool used to cost only $0.50 for 2 hours (I think), now its $2 per entry! What used to be paper tickets are now replaced by plastic cards. Ticket attendants are now replaced by automated machines that dispense your tickets and automated gates which open after you insert your ticket.

It was quite a good experience - I was very proud of myself that I managed to complete 16 laps. The original plan was just to TRY and do 10 laps. Stamina in the water is very different from having stamina on land. Even when I was at my fittest, swimming 1 lap left me slightly breathless. Ok, so I stopped for short rests in between, but I thought 16 laps was quite good, considering the shape I was in.

After last Saturday's swim, I'm looking forward to heading to my neighbourhood public pool more often, and will try and make this a weekly affair! Oh wait, maybe not tomorrow, there's a party tonight. :)

... celebrate your 30th birthday at an "old" place?

Nostalgia is in the air.

Perhaps it's because we have reached a milestone in our lives, or just a plain feeling of wanting to revisit some memories, nostalgia seemed to be a theme in the two 30th birthday parties I have attended thus far.

During the Fridays preceding her birthday, KC dragged us to some of the bars and clubs that we (or rather, she and the rest, I was not there all the time) used to frequent, for "old times' sake", as she put it.

So, off we went - the first weekend, we went to St. James - at Movida and then to the Boiler Room. It was quite interesting, to say the least. I have never been to Movida in the many times I went to St. James, so it was an eye-opener. The crowd was, well, mmm, much older than 30, haha. The Boiler Room was, as usual, rather crowded and the band was energetically belting out contemporary rock and R&B hits, but their crude jokes left much to be desired, and marred a good night out. Or perhaps I was not drunk enough to ignore those crude jokes. :)

The second weekend, we went to New Asia Bar. I felt the club has lost some of its former glory and it was scarily empty the last time I was there last February on a Friday night. It was more crowded this time round, but we left and headed to ChinaOne instead. Enough said.

In the end, KC had her birthday party at Cuscaden@Chijmes. Not really an old haunt but another branch of an old haunt. It was a cosy party, with a small live band and lively banter amongst old friends.

YL celebrated her birthday next, at the Night Safari! I must say I thought it was a rather unusual place to have a birthday party. There was even a party bus which ferried everyone from Bishan MRT to the Night Safari. The whole group caught the "Creatures of the Night" show and went on the tram ride.

We stopped to walk along the "Leopard Trail", but got split up into 2 groups when one group gamely walked through an enclosure of flying squirrels, while the other group went another way. The flying squirrel group was rewarded for their bravery and they managed to see the leopards, while the other group saw none and had to contend with photos that the other group took! It was a novel way to celebrate a birthday and it felt very much like a school excursion. We even took a group shot at the Night Safari sign to commemorate the event!

...celebrate Valentine's Day in a different way?

When I was 15, we celebrated V-Day (the abbreviated version of Valentine's Day that we used) on 13 Feb, so that those who had boyfriends then could celebrate with their boyfriends on the actual day itself. So it was called a pre-V-Day celebration and the venue was always Chili's until it closed. By that time, we also stopped having pre-V-Day celebrations.

The recent re-opening of Chili's in Singapore has brought back some memories, so perhaps it is time to gather the girls and head down for some stupid, noisy fun.

When I was 18, I broke up with my then-boyfriend on Valentine's Day. Needless to say, that wasn't a very good V-Day.

When I was... well, I can't really remember much about the subsequent V-Days. V-Days had a different meaning after I found out it falls on the same day as the birthday of somebody whom I don't really like. Just kidding!

Even as a hopeless romantic, the older I got, the less important V-Days became. When you become more discerning to the ways of the world, you realise that it's all a commercial gimmick and seriously, if two people are in love, everyday should be Valentine's Day (awwwwwww) and you really don't need a special day to celebrate it.

Inspired by the movie, "Valentine's Day", I feel like organising a "I hate Valentine's Day" celebration next year. Check back with me or remind me about it next year. I loved that scene where Jennifer Garner beat up the stupid heart. Now THAT would be a different way to celebrate Valentine's Day. :)

...rediscover the benefits of Bodycombat?

There was a period of time, when I would call myself a fitness freak. I was not at my fittest but I was spending at least two days a week at the gym (mainly for Bodycombat), and doing all sorts of activities, like jogging, rock climbing and badminton during the weekends. There was a time I went for a 2-hour jog and then went to rock-climb for another 2 hours!

Somehow, I lost steam along the way, due to a variety of reasons. But I have since rediscovered the joys of Bodycombat. The gym is now located a convenient 10 mins walk from the office, so there will be lots more of before-work, lunch-time and after-work Bodycombat sessions for me.

Bodycombat is a combination of aerobics, dance, and martial arts (like muay thai and capoeira). With the punches, upper cuts, hooks, front kicks, side kicks, jump-kicks, you really get a full body workout! After the cardio workout, there is still 10 minutes left at the end of the session for toning your body (with the push-ups and sit-ups). What's more, you even get to punch and kick an imaginary opponent, perfect for letting off steam on those days when your boss gets really irritating (and you can't do anything about it). :)