The Rain
Looking up the sky at dawn in front of my house before going out for a 10km running race, I would think that the sky had not been raining for more than six months on Sunday mornings. That was in 2004. This time, it is of different scenario. It has been raining so frequent on Sunday mornings that I had lost count of it.
On the first day of Hari Raya, Thursday morning (3 November), we planned to do a 20km training run starting at 6am from Bukit Aman. When the alarm clock was set off at 4am, it was raining again. That was really anti-climax. Since we still have off days on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings to run, it was only logical that I called off the run. Imagine sending SMSs messages frantically to the other runner friends at that hour!
Not all the runners would agree with me to abort the training run and continue with the sweet dream – if only one could sleep again and not thinking about the run. Chee Wee and Eric responded positively since it was also raining at their areas. Weng and Steven, however, did not quite agree with canceling the run. They told me later that despite the rain, they were the first car at the Bukit Aman at 5.30am. It was raining heavily at that time. They sat in the car and waited until 6am for the rain to stop. They ran 20km.
On the other hand, Miss Chantelle and a few other girls started their 20km run at 6.30am. After learning that, I really felt guilty and really put me to shame. Even the girls are hardworking than me. Chantelle is committed to cross the finishing line at Singapore full marathon on 4 December.
The Training
Waking up at 4am again this Sunday morning (6 November), the first thing I did is to look out the window of my double-storey house. The air was still and mild – symptom of calm weather. Well, after many rounds of experiences, I picked up the skill of understanding weather whether it will rain or not – with only 50% accuracy.
This morning, Marvin Lau, Meng, Weng and I were running. Chee Wee and Eric could not come; joining us in the pack were Tey ET and PK Chan. After surveying the surrounding for familiar runners, the pack went off at 6am sharp. Runners are concern with timing. It is amazing that we can be so punctual despite having to wake up on a Sunday morning at 4am which is excellence for extended sleeping.
With Tey ET around, he was setting the pace and ran in front of the pack. Since he is from the Pacemakers group (a sub-group of Pacesetters Club or PACM); obviously, he was most glad to live up to his name. With a pacer, the pack was running slightly faster than usual as it was evident that when we spoke, the messages were unclear but the heavy breathing was clearly audible.
After passing by Bank Negara LRT area, I heard rapid pounding footsteps from behind. When I turned to my left, I saw Ms Agnes speeding by. She was running alone. Within minutes, she disappeared from our views.
“Wah, she is very brave running alone.” Meng said.
“Yeah, she is training hard and representing Pacesetters Club in the relay event in the coming Singapore International Marathon.” PK Chan explained.
“I think it should be okay since everyone (including the bad guys) is in festive mood.” I added on.
Coin-Operated Water Station
I ran with a PACM pouch bag, and in it, an empty 500 cc plastic bottle. The idea is to run with an empty bottle and buy water when reaching the Petronas petrol station at Hartamas. This method is lighter as compared to running with a full bottle.
When reaching there, I inserted a 20 cents coin into the machine. Pressed a green button and the RO (so called reversed osmosis) water started flowing. Pressing the red button would temporary stop the flow. A 20-cent coin can purchase one litre of drinking water. If one were to buy the bottled water from the Petronas station, a 500 cc would cost RM 1-20. You may want to give it a try the next time when running there.
On the way back from Hartamas, we first met Mr. Boey (SH’s husband; SH is the co-editor of the PACM Footloose magazine) and later SH running with her friends.
”Boey (sounded like ‘boy’) is in front,” shouted Meng across the road when seeing SH.
Without looking, I was puzzling why Meng said boy was in front. It should be girl in front – lady first concept.
My stomach was not very comfortable while running. It must be last night’s gastronomic feast at one of the Chinese restaurants. Knowing that I would be running 20km this morning to burn away the extras, I ate like no tomorrow. Imagine with the PACM pouch bag carrying a half-filled bottle of water, I could not stand the pulling effect by the strap around my stomach. I actually ran with my hand holding the pouch bag and the water.
At the downward hill slope 1km from Petronas station, we met Marvin Lau who was running alone quite slowly. He is training very hard preparing for the Singapore full marathon too.
The weather this morning was fine but with overcast sky. With more clouds forming, it would lead to raining again.
Bukit Aman Car Park
Runners are happy lots. I quite like to be there on Sunday morning meeting other runners after a long run. The mood was always jovial. Probably, everyone must be in “runner’s high” after running for either 10km to 20km.
I heard Francis Toh, who is in-charged of sales of PACM merchandises, said that there was not much business this morning. That sounded similar. At one Chinese coffee shop a few days ago, one shopkeeper was commenting the same thing. Possibly caused by most people went outstations during the Raya holidays.
Responding to Francis’s remarks, one runner commented that try selling “Buy One Free One” method. And that remarks had everyone in stitches.
I saw Adam Loh was sitting comfortably on a different chair next to Francis Toh. Gerald Pareira, Area Team Leader for Gasing Hill, was seen giving him a good massage.
“Wah, we have massage service here also,” I commented.
“Yeah, it would be good if PACM would engage a masseur.” said Adam Loh.
It struck me at that instant that maybe it is good to have nutritionist to teach us what food to eat or avoid for peak performance in running.
Marvin Lau eventually arrived back at the car park. He commented that his physical was not at top form. Nevertheless, he pressed on. Yes, he too was committed for the Singapore full marathon race.
30km Long Run
Don’t forget to participate at the much awaited 30km long run organized by PACM. The date is this Sunday, 13 November. Registration starts at 5am; the run would be flagged off at 5.30am. I heard that it is restricted to 200 runners only.
Last year, for a nominal fee, each runner was instantly given a Power Bar upon registration. Beyond the 20km marker, another Power Gel was dished out.
This run is necessary for those who are taking up the Singapore full marathon challenge. For normal runners, this would be the last 30km long run before the actual race on 4 December.
By KC
Looking up the sky at dawn in front of my house before going out for a 10km running race, I would think that the sky had not been raining for more than six months on Sunday mornings. That was in 2004. This time, it is of different scenario. It has been raining so frequent on Sunday mornings that I had lost count of it.
On the first day of Hari Raya, Thursday morning (3 November), we planned to do a 20km training run starting at 6am from Bukit Aman. When the alarm clock was set off at 4am, it was raining again. That was really anti-climax. Since we still have off days on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings to run, it was only logical that I called off the run. Imagine sending SMSs messages frantically to the other runner friends at that hour!
Not all the runners would agree with me to abort the training run and continue with the sweet dream – if only one could sleep again and not thinking about the run. Chee Wee and Eric responded positively since it was also raining at their areas. Weng and Steven, however, did not quite agree with canceling the run. They told me later that despite the rain, they were the first car at the Bukit Aman at 5.30am. It was raining heavily at that time. They sat in the car and waited until 6am for the rain to stop. They ran 20km.
On the other hand, Miss Chantelle and a few other girls started their 20km run at 6.30am. After learning that, I really felt guilty and really put me to shame. Even the girls are hardworking than me. Chantelle is committed to cross the finishing line at Singapore full marathon on 4 December.
The Training
Waking up at 4am again this Sunday morning (6 November), the first thing I did is to look out the window of my double-storey house. The air was still and mild – symptom of calm weather. Well, after many rounds of experiences, I picked up the skill of understanding weather whether it will rain or not – with only 50% accuracy.
This morning, Marvin Lau, Meng, Weng and I were running. Chee Wee and Eric could not come; joining us in the pack were Tey ET and PK Chan. After surveying the surrounding for familiar runners, the pack went off at 6am sharp. Runners are concern with timing. It is amazing that we can be so punctual despite having to wake up on a Sunday morning at 4am which is excellence for extended sleeping.
With Tey ET around, he was setting the pace and ran in front of the pack. Since he is from the Pacemakers group (a sub-group of Pacesetters Club or PACM); obviously, he was most glad to live up to his name. With a pacer, the pack was running slightly faster than usual as it was evident that when we spoke, the messages were unclear but the heavy breathing was clearly audible.
After passing by Bank Negara LRT area, I heard rapid pounding footsteps from behind. When I turned to my left, I saw Ms Agnes speeding by. She was running alone. Within minutes, she disappeared from our views.
“Wah, she is very brave running alone.” Meng said.
“Yeah, she is training hard and representing Pacesetters Club in the relay event in the coming Singapore International Marathon.” PK Chan explained.
“I think it should be okay since everyone (including the bad guys) is in festive mood.” I added on.
Coin-Operated Water Station
I ran with a PACM pouch bag, and in it, an empty 500 cc plastic bottle. The idea is to run with an empty bottle and buy water when reaching the Petronas petrol station at Hartamas. This method is lighter as compared to running with a full bottle.
When reaching there, I inserted a 20 cents coin into the machine. Pressed a green button and the RO (so called reversed osmosis) water started flowing. Pressing the red button would temporary stop the flow. A 20-cent coin can purchase one litre of drinking water. If one were to buy the bottled water from the Petronas station, a 500 cc would cost RM 1-20. You may want to give it a try the next time when running there.
On the way back from Hartamas, we first met Mr. Boey (SH’s husband; SH is the co-editor of the PACM Footloose magazine) and later SH running with her friends.
”Boey (sounded like ‘boy’) is in front,” shouted Meng across the road when seeing SH.
Without looking, I was puzzling why Meng said boy was in front. It should be girl in front – lady first concept.
My stomach was not very comfortable while running. It must be last night’s gastronomic feast at one of the Chinese restaurants. Knowing that I would be running 20km this morning to burn away the extras, I ate like no tomorrow. Imagine with the PACM pouch bag carrying a half-filled bottle of water, I could not stand the pulling effect by the strap around my stomach. I actually ran with my hand holding the pouch bag and the water.
At the downward hill slope 1km from Petronas station, we met Marvin Lau who was running alone quite slowly. He is training very hard preparing for the Singapore full marathon too.
The weather this morning was fine but with overcast sky. With more clouds forming, it would lead to raining again.
Bukit Aman Car Park
Runners are happy lots. I quite like to be there on Sunday morning meeting other runners after a long run. The mood was always jovial. Probably, everyone must be in “runner’s high” after running for either 10km to 20km.
I heard Francis Toh, who is in-charged of sales of PACM merchandises, said that there was not much business this morning. That sounded similar. At one Chinese coffee shop a few days ago, one shopkeeper was commenting the same thing. Possibly caused by most people went outstations during the Raya holidays.
Responding to Francis’s remarks, one runner commented that try selling “Buy One Free One” method. And that remarks had everyone in stitches.
I saw Adam Loh was sitting comfortably on a different chair next to Francis Toh. Gerald Pareira, Area Team Leader for Gasing Hill, was seen giving him a good massage.
“Wah, we have massage service here also,” I commented.
“Yeah, it would be good if PACM would engage a masseur.” said Adam Loh.
It struck me at that instant that maybe it is good to have nutritionist to teach us what food to eat or avoid for peak performance in running.
Marvin Lau eventually arrived back at the car park. He commented that his physical was not at top form. Nevertheless, he pressed on. Yes, he too was committed for the Singapore full marathon race.
30km Long Run
Don’t forget to participate at the much awaited 30km long run organized by PACM. The date is this Sunday, 13 November. Registration starts at 5am; the run would be flagged off at 5.30am. I heard that it is restricted to 200 runners only.
Last year, for a nominal fee, each runner was instantly given a Power Bar upon registration. Beyond the 20km marker, another Power Gel was dished out.
This run is necessary for those who are taking up the Singapore full marathon challenge. For normal runners, this would be the last 30km long run before the actual race on 4 December.
By KC
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