My brand new Garmin Heart Rate, Speed & Distance Monitoring Watch arrived !!

Morning 9am. Received my Garmin heart rate, speed & distance monitoring watch from SH who help me hand-carried back to Singapore. Thanks!.
Very excited. It looks much better than I have expected. The data will be automatically uploaded from the watch wirelessly to the computer when you are within the transmission range of the computer.
Afternoon 5pm. Went to jog around the 5km Neram Crescent route (used MapMyRun free sw tool). Was targeting to do 5km. But with the new Garmen monitoring watch, I was able to complete 8km today and still feeling fairly comfortable. Was monitoring and trying to keep the running speed between 9km/h to 10km/h and to keep heart rate between 80% to 85% of maximum heart rate. Completed the 8km run in 44m & 52s. Including the cooling down run of 1.6km, covered a total of 9.6km in about 1 hour.

First time using this gadget and loves it. The watch automatically transfered the data wirelessly to the PC when within range. The software display the table and graph immediately. So easy to use. So excited by it. The table displayed Total Distance, Total Time, Average Pace (min/km), Average Speed (km/h), Max Speed, Total Calories, Average Heart Rate, Maximum Heart Rate and Average Cadence (rpm).



The graph function can display 4 sets of parameter at the same time. In the chart shown here, it showed Heart Rate on the right axis. On the left axis it showed the % of Max Heart Rate and Speed. You can select any of the data sets to display. Really cool...for a newbie like me. Love it. Strongly recommended. Cost US$138 through internet order as compare to S$400 if purchase locally in Singapore. Strongly recommended for serious runners.

Strapless Heart Rate Monitor Watch

Strapless heart rate monitor watch. One of my office colleagues YS was looking a strapless heart rate monitor watch for his wife. Sounds like a nice hubby. By the way, he has signed up for the 7-Dec full 42km StandardChartered marathon race. Manage to find several such devices from the internet and posted in on our office running blog site. Ladies will definitely like this gadget as it is more convenient as compare to the typical strap type.
<--- Ladies Reebok Strapless Heart Rate Monitor Watch. 56% discounted price of US$43.50 only. Limited offer at web site. ---> More choice of other strapless heart rate monitor watches for both men and ladies. --->

Running with office colleagues The Hot Runners

Morning went for full medical health check-up together with wife at Mt.Alvernia hospital. Massive traffic jam and reach the hospital 1.5 hours late ! Did a treadmill test, piece of cake as I have been training to run for a half marathon. 8 years ago when I did the treadmill health check for the first time, it was so tiring at that time and felt nausea. Well, that's the benefit for running regularly and makes you fit and healthy.
Went running today with HT, Cecilia and YowSeng (1st time joining us) near office area. Did close to 5km run. My right knee pain again... still have not been running correctly. Will continue to fine tune running method. It was great to meet YowSeng one of our colleagues and running enthusiasts that we have never met before.
He has a Nike branded heart rate, distant and speed monitoring device, bought from eBay. Looks better than the Garmin one that I have orderd and will arrive Singapore this Saturday morning. Wish I have seen his Nike device earlier.
YowSeng , a serious runner and have run in half marathon before and is ready to do a full marathon next. He has map out a 10km running route near office area. Will plot it out and share on the website. He has also consulted running doctor on how to run better and how to fix the heel pain that he used to have. He has tried "Chi" running method before and have a DVD and Book on "Chi" running.
HT and myself have a book and DVD on "Pose method of running" on loan from Pete L, a colleague in BJ. He has been very generous and unselfishly sharing with us his Pose method of running.

Completed a Trial on Mini-Triathlon !!

Did a mini-triathlon in the SCC gym today after work.
Swim 05:30:31 (200m in swimming pool)
Bike 18:00:18 (gym cycling for 10km)
Run 11:42:74 (treadmill 2km. Constant speed 10km per hr for 1.5km & 10.5kmph for 0.5km)
Total swim+bike+run only = 35:13:23

Interval#1 05:31:45 (dry-up, wear shoe and walk to gym)
Interval#2 01:29:36 (switch over to treadmill)
Total lapsed time = 42:14:04

HT taking over his friend slot for the OSIM Triathlon for 1-Nov-08. I was offered a free registration as well. Send in my name for a mini-triathlon but all the 6 free slots have been taken up. No problem. Completed my own mini-triathlon today but in control environment in the gym.

Did a Run and a Swim each for 30 minutes.

Still having pain on the right knee. Was deciding whether to skip running today and to swim for 60 minutes instead. Finally gone ahead and ran for 5km within 30 minutes in the SCC gym and swam for 30 minutes. The right knee pain got much more severe today. Will do a shorter run tomorrow with office colleagues and trying to meet up with more running enthusiasts.
48 days to Dec marathon race. Must not injury the legs during this period or else gonna lose 2 to 3 weeks training time.

Let legs rest and recover. Did Cycling and Swimming instead.

Decided to postpone 10km run to Sat to let the legs and knees recover a bit longer. Went to SCC gym and did cycling and swimming instead. Did 10km cycling in 15.5 minutes and swam for 30 minutes. The cycling speed was fairly fast between 38 to 40km per hour. The knees felt some pain tonight. Hope it will recover fast and I can go do the 10km run either this Sat or Sun.
Setup a new running blog for office colleagues at http://hot-runners.blogspot.com.

Running with Office Colleagues - The Hot Runners.

Brought my jogging gear to give HT support to start up a small running group. Was planning to rest today and do a 10km run tomorrow.
Met YS Yip for the first time. He joined HT and myself to run today. HT recommended a 1.2km running route near the office area. We completed 3 rounds i.e. 3.6km. That's a good start. While we were cooling down and chatted, Kim was about to leave the office and he stop to chat for quite a while. Today HT and myself get to know two total strangers from the office who are running enthusiasts. Cool. By the way, both YS Yip and Kim signed up for the Dec Standard Chartered 42km full marathon ! It will be their first 42km full marathon run. Kim is training to complete the full marathon in under 4 hours, wow.... quite an impressive goal.
Next group run is scheduled for 6pm on next Monday and at this same running route so as to meet up with more running enthusiasts from the office.
YS Yip is looking for a heart rate monitoring device without having to wear it across the chest. I did came across such device in one of the shopping mall but just cannot recall for now.
Kim uses a Polar heart rate monitoring device.
I have ordered a Garmin heart rate monitoring, speed and distant foot pod device from a US web site. Getting someone to help hand-carry to Singapore. Will be receiving it next Sat 25-Oct. It cost about S$199 ordered from US website as compared to S$400 in Singapore, 50% cost saving! I have search through the web and look at Garmin, Suunto, Timex and Polar to compare price and function. Find the Garmin model to be more attractive overall. Looking forward to get my unit to try it out ! The various models are listed on the left hand side of this web... just scroll down to see them. You may click on the links to go to the web site to place order or get your US friends or colleages to help order for you. Cheers...
Confirmed participants for the 7-Dec-08 Standard Chartered Marathon Race in Singapore are :-

Tay BH (M) 42km

Chan CS (M) 42km
Kim (M) 42km
Yip YS (M) 42km

Gan HC (M) 21km
Kuan ST 21km

Cecilia Yeoh (M) 21km

Ng HT (M) 10km (to run together with son)
Ng HT Junior 10km
Hong SC 10km
Alena Hong 10km
Lim LJ 10km
3 weeks to US Presidential election on 4-Nov.
51 days to Marathon race on 7-Dec.

Ran 50 minutes and Swam 10 minutes today

Went to SCC gym and ran on treadmill for 50 minutes and clocked 8.33km and swam for 10 minutes. An increase of 25% runtime vs previous run. Will gradually increase runtime until about 120 to 150 minutes. Will try to do a 21.1km at least once four weeks before the December half marathon race. 53 days to actual race on 7-Dec.
All the world key Central Banks pumped in a lot of liquidity into the banking companies. Stock markets around the world rebounded strongly yesterday.

Standard Chartered Marathon 07-Dec-2008 : HERE WE COME !

This blog section started on 28-08-2008 for the StandardChartered Marathon Race 07-Dec-08.
Just completed the 10km SAFRA Marina Bay run on 24-Aug-08. Trained for 1.5-month after more than 10 years of no jogging/running non-active life. Felt really GOOD and Healthy. So I have gone ahead and signed up for a 21km Half Marathon competitive run scheduled for 07-Dec-2008. Will blog for 10 minutes after each training run.
Click here for ===> Inspiring poem written by HT's son when he was 14-year old.
w.rgds,
HC Gan
http://hcgan.blogspot.com
http://hcgan.webs.com
Run for Health, Run for Fun, Run for Life.

Sun 12-Oct-2008 :
Have not been running since Wed. Have to run but it was slightly drizilling. So went to SCC gym and ran for 40 minutes and clocked 6.6km. Then swam for 30 minutes. Need to continue to increase my run time and distant to prepare for the Dec half-marathon race.
Looking forward to receive my Garmin heart rate monitor, speed and distance foot pod on Sat 25-Oct. Cost around US$137.24 compare to S$400 in Singapore.






Sat 11-Oct-2008 :
Slept through the morning until 2pm. Several missed calls and SMS. Cheang and Hong were trying to contact me to meet up for a bowling session.
All of us (Hong, Cheang, Kuan and Gan) and family went to SCC for bowling for more than two hours. My wife was travelling and my kid having tuition so they did not join. All of us had a good time bowling. Some of them went for swimming for a short while.
Went to Mornington Crescent area for dinner. Quite an interesting and secluded place in Seletar Camp area. Food was good and price reasonable. Thanks to Mrs.Kuan who recommended this place.

Fri 10-Oct-2008 :
Wanted to run today but was too busy with work and skipped.
Yesterday was the end of the ban on short-selling in US and as expected the stock market dropped significantly. Decided to stay through Friday night to see how the stocks and options prices behave during this unprecented day when the US ban on short-selling ended yesterday and today being the Friday before weekend close and G7 "rescue" meeting.
Witness the most volatile and wildest trading day in the entire history as the Dow hit a low of 7882 and a high of 8901, more than 1,081 points swing in a single day and I was with it through the full session. Likely due to short-selling in the early part of the day and in the final hour the traders rushing to close out their short positions before the weekend starts, which are the normal behaviour of the traders.

Wed 8-Oct-2008 :
Went to SCC gym to run on treadmill instead of running-track after work because of drizzling rain. Did 4km within 25 minutes on treadmill. Seems tougher than running on treadmill compare to running-track. Did 5 minutes warm-up and 5 minutes cool down run. Had late dinner around 9:15pm.
Requested one of my colleaguea in US to help order a Garmin heart rate monitor, speed and distance foot pod. Cost around US$137.24 compare to S$400 in Singapore.
All stock market crashed yesterday and today... has been on the downtrend for several days. Several central banks cut interest rate together. Looks like a Global Financial Amagaddon. Global recession coming soon or already into one.

Mon 6-Oct-2008 :
Finally back on Nanyang Polytechnic running track today! Was with William. HT preparing his son for PSLE exam and not able to join, a good father. Was planning to do 10 rounds (4km) which in 33% more than the 3km I did on last Sat on the treadmill. William was planning to do 13 rounds, so I decided to run 13 rounds if my cardio can take it. At the end I did 12 rounds.
Was consciously trying to land on my mid-feet instead of on the heels, and trying pose method along the way for some of the distant. No pain on the knees !! No nausea feeling!! The rhythm is back, I am back in running again !!! The feeling was really good today, feeling healthy all over again.
LAPS Lap-Time Cumm-Time
Lap 1 = 2:20:84 02:20:84
Lap 2 = 2:14:48 04:35:32
Lap 3 = 2:25:87 07:01:19
Lap 4 = 2:24:91 09:26:10
Lap 5 = 2:24:86 11:50:96 (2km mark. Pace is 59:15minute per 10km)
Lap 6 = 2:38:21 14:29:17 (did a reverse direction clockwise turn)
Lap 7 = 2:32:61 17:01:78
Lap 8 = missed
Lap 9 = 5:25:47 22:03:25
Lap10 = 2:59:14 25:02:39
Lap11 = 2:06:22 27:08:61 (4.4km mark. Pace is 61:40minute per 10km)
Lap12 = 3:32:77 30:41:38 (at 4.8km, cooling down lap)
Will try to do 6km (15 rounds) and 8km (20 rounds) for 2 more runs this week. To build up stamina gradually. I am back !!
If can average 2:24 minutes or less per round (400m), one can complete 10km run within 60 minutes or less. Definitely do-able.
61 days left to Dec Half Marathon race ! (for my first 21km run, target for 2hr 30min or less).

Sat 4-Oct-2008 :
Went to SCC to continue training for the Dec race. Did the following today :-
i) 5 minutes on Hamstring gym equipment.
ii) 25 minutes on track-mill running for about 3km, of which 5-minute for slow warm-up and 5-minute for cool down. The actual 15-minute run was at 10km per hour pace. This is the worst run I have recently, feeling a bit nausea after the run. Cardio has weaken and need to continue to build up. Have to run at least 3 times per week to continue to build up the cardio.
iii) 5-minute cycling on the gym bike for 2.1km.
iv) 20-minute leisurely swim. Felt really tired from the run. Can feel the tireness on the legs and cardio area. Was able to hold the breath and swim underneath the water through the whole length of the pool... which I think is between 35m to 40m.
Quite sad that my daugther did not want to join me to swim today. Gotto find some ways to motivate her to swim again.
Yesterday the US House of Reprensentatives (Congress) passed the $700B bailout plan for financial institutions. The US situation is pretty bad with most credit frozen up where banks are not wanting to lend to each other. The ban on short-selling in US was extended till this coming Thursday 9-Oct-08. Will have some impacts on hedge fund for the mean time being. This financial fisco will take some time to settle down.

Thu 2-Oct-2008 :
Went to SCC gym after work to prepare for the Dec half marathon run. Did the following today :-
10 minutes on Hamstring gym equipment.
10 minutes cycling on the gym bike for 6.2km.
15 minutes on treadmill running for about 2km. Another 3 minute cool down run.
20 minutes swimming.
Wanted to run for 30 minutes but around 10 minute into running, felt a slight pain at the left heel again. So cut down the run to 15 minutes only. Did a combination of pose method and my normal way of running (but consciously trying to land on the mid-foot instead of on the heel).
Reach home and ate dinner late at 9pm but felt really good and healthy.
65 days more to Dec Half Marathon race !

Wed 1-Oct-2008 :
Today is Hari Raya public holiday. Met up with Hong, Cheang and Kuan at SCC. Did two sets of bowling games. My first game score 135 and second game 140 and were top scores among us. Not bad since I have not been bowling regularly. Brought along a 2003 bottle of red wine "Irony" Napa Valley cabernet savignon. Did not taste as good as expected. Cheang's wife joined us for dinner.
29-Sept was labelled as BLACK MONDAY as the Dow Jones dropped 777 points (8%) in a single day after congress vote against the bail-out plan for financial companies. It was more than the drop on the 9/11 day.

Mon 29-Sep-2008 :
Arrived Taipei yesteday at 1:30pm. Few hours later the airport was shutdown due to typhoon JangMi (Category 4) landed on Taiwan. Got a very bad flu yesterday and slept through dinner time till 4am next day. The government declared Monday as off day for all offices. But proceeded with the meeting with the supplier in their office in the afternoon as planned.
Still have not started running to prepare for the Dec half marathon. The heel seems to be recovering well. Need to start running soon.

Sat 27-Sep-2008 :
Went for a afternoon movie (Mamamia) and dinner with Hong and Kuan with spouses at Vivo city. The movie was really good, they managed to put together a movie around the songs from Abba group. After dinner went to St.James bar hopping. Left the crowd for about 20 minutes to join a Quarter closing conf call. Had been a very busy quarter ending month.
Have not been running for the past 2 days. Need to start training plan for the Dec half Marathon run. Time is running out. Will try to resume training mid of next week if the heel pain is gone instead of waiting for a full 2 weeks.

Thu 25-Sep-2008 :
HT & William went running today. I went to SCC's gym to exercise and swim to avoid stressing the heel to let it recover first. Today's routine :- 10 minutes on gym equipment to exercise the hamstring, 20 minutes on the cycling machine (covered 6km) and 20 minutes swim (relax pace).
71 days to race day... need to build up the cardio endurance and legs. Since cannot run for 2 weeks, cardio training to continue first. Not sure whether able to complete the 21km half-marathon actual race or not.

Tue 23-Sep-2008 :
Heel pain have been there for nearly 2 weeks. Was worried whether it is due to a minor bone fracture. So went to see an Orthopedic (Dr.Leslie Leong) today, quite a nice chap. He confirmed that the bones are ok. Most likely due to stress (or tear) of the tendon at the side of the heel area. Was given pain killer, anti-inflamation cream and Glucosamine. Total cost S$218 of which $100 was for consultation fee. Fortunately this is covered by my medical insurance.
The doctor adviced to stop running for 2 to 3 weeks. And if need to exercise to do some swimming and cycling instead. Sigh.... will have stop running for a while.
The Orthopedic said within the first 2 or 3 days after run, ok to use ice around the pain area.
After 3 days or more, ok to use hot-water or warm towers around the pain area (which is what my mom has suggested earlier and I found that it works).
Analysed the situation with HT. Concluded maybe I was trying a bit too aggressively and too hard on the new Pose running method. My first attempt on the running track was more than 3km, fairly fast and with socks only. Should have practise it on a more gradual basis. But that run was fantastic as there was no knee pain at all.
Definitely not giving it up..... will resume run (with pose method) in 2 weeks time. For the half marathon (21km) race, probably have to use a mixture of pose running and my normal running method to complete.
Extremely busy month in Sept with work related issues.
73 DAYS more to Race day.... wow sounds pretty short time left to train.
Had a wonderful swim with daughter at SCC swimming pool yesterday, after more than 9-month break. She was so shy with swim suit on. But I believe she will overcome that shyness pretty soon.

Sat 20-Sep-2008 :
Have not been running as regularly for some time. Mainly due to the pain at the side of the heel on left foot. In Orchard Rd Takashimaya's sport shoe retail area, Adidas has set up a small area to check your feet running pattern e.g. whether pronate or not, landing pattern, etc. The test showed that my left foot is normal but the right leg seems to pronate. Also found out that the Adidas shop at Cathay has the system to test the full running pattern of a person and can recommend the correct shoes or tailor make shoe for you!
My daugther and me used to swim together every weekend since she picked up swimming at a young age. But since we shifted to our new home from Dec-07, she has stopped swimming till now, more than 9 months. Have been trying to encourage her to pick up swimming again but not successful. Manage to get her to agree to go swimming this weekend. So we brought her to buy a swim suit. The one she selected was quite expensive, more than S$80. But still gone ahead and bought for her as I really want her to start swimming again. In the process I found out the real reason why she has been so reluctant to swim again because she thinks she is too fat and was shy about it! Honestly I will not consider her fat at all. She is tall and slightly large-build for her age, yes but definitely not fat. And she is beautiful. By the way she is only 11+ years old. Looking forward to the swim tomorrow.

Fri 19-Sep-2008 :
Went for a dinner function tonight. Met and get to know James Soh and his family from Hougang area and some other families. Wife Teresa is a Canadian and their 2 daughters are 12 and 9 years old. Both husband and wife are regular Marathon runners !! So naturally we spent quite a fair bit of time talking about runnings. He is from the Navy and work in Changi area.
Left the evening function early to attend a work related conference call from 10 to 11pm with US. So many work related conference calls lately.
Yesterday the US government jumped in to save AIG from collapsing. Today US implemented curbs on "short selling" on all financial company stocks, all 799 of them. That will have some impact on my hedge fund. At 11:44am CST Dow Jones shot up 424 points to 11,444. Gold tumbled 7.6% as stocks recover.

Thu 18-Sep-2008 :
Sorry to HT and William. Missed the chance to run with them today as too many issues to resolve in the office due to typical rush for Quarter ending. Missed the opportunity to get HT to coach and correct my pose running errors. Very busy week and month. At 11:30pm, practise static exercise on Pose position balancing and pulling of legs with wall support. This evening practise made provided me a better feel of pose method.
Stock market crashed since Monday due to Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy protection and AIG crisis. Many good stocks begin to look attractive with share price well below net asset and good dividend yield. For the next 3 to 6 months, good opportunity for those long term investors with some spare cash looking to buy-and-hold for next 3 to 5 years for some under-valued good company stocks. But be prepared to ride through short term major Volatility.
Closed out all the naked PUT Options on the financial companies late last night. Enough to pull ahead retirement age by 3 years. Have been anticipating and planning for this event for about 2 years.

Sat 13-Sep-2008 :
In the evening went to jog around Neram Crescent Playround. Not trying to go for long distant but to practise the Pose running method. Try pose run and walking (to reflect on the run) for about 40 minute. Still not getting it right.
No pain on knees! No major pain on bottom of heel. Did feel sharp pain at the two sides of the heel below the ankle. Notice that when I landed on the ball area of the forefeet, the heel is a bit too high (fairly big angle) and did put quite a lot of stress on the heel.

Thu 11-Sep-2008 :
Did not run today trying to give the legs an extra day to rest. Also very busy with work and my mom is visiting us this week. Mom suggested to soak both legs in a pail of hot water for 10 to 15 minutes. Did that and found that the pains on the heels and ankles really went away! Hmmm... the old folks do know some useful experience that they can share with us.

Tue 9-Sep-2008 :
Had my BEST run today trying out the POSE running method. Went to run at Nanyang Polytechnic running track today with HT and William. My main objective was to seriously try out the POSE running method. Have been reading up and watching some of the videos over the last weekend on the Pose method free website.
Decided to run with a pair of thick socks only and WITHOUT shoes. This will make the legs more sensitive to the touches on the ground and run more naturally for the Pose method. It worked great for me. One of the key objective was to run and land on the "ball area" at the front of the feet near the toes and avoid landing on the heel. When landing on the heel the impact will hurt the heel and transmit the impact up to the knees. Without shoes it naturally encourage me to land on the ball area because if I land on the heels it will be so painful without the shoes.
Since I start running about 2 months ago, this is the FIRST time that I do not feel any pain at my knees !! A major achievement for me as I am quite worry that my knees may worn out and not able to run for a full life time. I believe I found the right method that will enable me to enjoy running for a long long time without getting leg injuries.
HT is fairly advance in this method already and have been giving me a lot of coaching and support. Thanks!
Do have pains at the back of the heels and the muscles behind the lower legs. This should be normal as the muscles in these areas have not be fully utilized in the past. Felt really GREAT today.
When I tried to run faster today, I tend to keep my body straight upright and increase the cadance of the legs exchanges. HT highlighted that I should tilt the body slightly to the front to increase the running speed and not just increasing the cadance on the legs. Will test out during my next run.
The basic theory of Pose running method is to use Gravity to propel you ahead using 3 simple steps i.e. Pose, Fall and Pull. Stand in a POSE position, let yourself FALL forward and PULL the support leg when it touches the ground and repeat the Pose-Fall-Pull cycle..... continue to fall forward using gravity.

Sun 7-Sep-2008 :
Very busy week. Did not run since Monday. In the evening went for a short run of 3.58km near Seletar area for about 30 minutes. Still feeling pain on the heels. After the run, felt pain on knees and heels. Was trying to use Pose running method. Read up a lot during the night to better understand this running method and watch some of the videos. My error I believe is at the cadence or rate of change of supporting leg which the recommended rate is 180 per second or higher. Seems very fast. Will continue to try and get advice from HT who has been actively practising Pose running method too. Felt very healthy...other than the legs.

Sat 6-Sep-2008 :
Went for Penang food fair in York Hotel with Hong, Cheang and Kuan families this evening... sort of to celebrate the completion of the Marina Bay run 2 weeks ago. Adult $28 and kid $21. The food fair drew quite a crowd with queue on the entrance to the restaurent. Had a good time last year for this same event. For tonight, the food were ok and do not feel that it is as great as last year's. But all of us do enjoy the get together and eat more than we normally do!
Dr.Kuan shared a very useful website www.mapmyrun.com that can trace the map and let you know the actual distance covered. Wow.... found this to be very useful to plan my running routes near my home.

Mon 1-Sep-2008 :
Did not plan to run today. Since HT & William both are running at the polytechnic I decided to join them and to get some running tips from them. Ran leisurely for about 6 rounds today. HT was kind enough to share his experience and learning on the "pose" running method. Sounds easy but to do it actually is quite difficult. Some practise tips from him.
Stand in pose position. Then tilt the body forward slight as if it is going to fall. Then move one of the leg to land on the ball (near the toes) of the foot. Once the foot touches the ground try to lift it as soon as possible. The objective is to let the gravity of the body to move you along.
Practise recommended.
1. Stand on one leg and move the other leg up and down. Let the leg "drop" downwards and once it touches the ground, try to lift it up as soon as possible.
2. Same as above except hop along using one leg moving up and down but hop the other "fixed" leg.
3. Inter-change both legs. Typical legs swtch rate is about 180 per minute or 3 per second.
4. Hands hold onto some support structure and slant the body forward by about 10 to 15 degree. And try to simulate run on the spot using pose method and interchange the landing leg at rate of about 3 per second.
For all the above, remember to land on the ball of the feet near the toes. And to lift up the leg as soon at it touches the ground.
Tried to run round the track using this method but was not able to control the legs well. The ball of the feet hit fairly hard on the ground and can feel the ball of the feet rubbing against the socks and the shoe and can feel the rubbing heat. Was suppose to just let the leg drop downward and lift it up as soon as possible when it touches the ground. But my feet hit too hard onto the ground. Need to practise more.

Sun 31-Aug-2008 :
All the other folks have already started running in the past few days after the Marina Bay event was completed. Was very busy this week and have not started running yet. Knees are feeling ok but surprised to still feel some pain on the heels.
Decided to resume running and went to run this morning at 7:30am for about 38 minutes. Felt very easy to do the run today. The cardio (heart and lungs) were feeling ok. Except the heel pains can be felt throughout the run. Need to figure out how to run correctly and effectively so as to avoid injuries due to running. Need this to continue to enjoy running for the rest of my life.
Today is the Nike+ Human Race 10km held worldwide. Singapore is only Asean country that held this event. Should have sign up for this meaningful events, seems fun. HT suggested to "gate crash" and run along with the participants. Non of us joined this run. Will try to join next year if Nike hold this event again in Singapore.

Thu 28-Aug-2008 :
My very FIRST attempt for 21.1km Half-Marathon Run.....
Chosen this auspicious day 28-08-2008 to start off this new Blog Posting to track the training and fun activities leading to the final Marathon event on 07-Dec-08. As of today several of us have signed up for the run.
CS - FULL MARATHON 42km
Kuan - 21km Half Marathon
HC - 21km Half Marathon
HT - 10km Qtr Marathon (to accompanyhis son)
HT's son - 10km Qtr Marathon
LJ Lim - 10km Qtr Marathon (this is my nephew who have read my Blog on Marina Bay Run and decided on his own to pick up serious fun running! Wow.... that's cool. The Blog web site on Marina Bay Run does inspire people to come forward and choose to run and stay Healthy.
I am sure more will sign up soon. Heard Cecilia is going for next level challenge and will likely sign up for the 21km half marathon. Hong and wife Alena will most likely be signing up as well. MORE to COME for sure..... as the enthusiam spreads like fire.
Run for Health, Run for Fun, Run for Life.

Thu 28-Aug-2008 :
Standard Chartered Marathon 07-Dec-2008 : HERE WE COME !
Just completed the 10km SAFRA Marina Bay on 24-Aug-08. Trained for 1.5-month after more than 10 years of no jogging/running non-active life. Felt really GOOD and Healthy. So I have gone ahead and signed up for a 21km Half Marathon competitive run scheduled for 07-Dec-2008.
For those of you who are interested to join, the Registration site is right below. The early registration discount ends on 31-Aug-08.








Register for the STANDARD CHARTERED MARATHON RACE 7-DEC-08 here.

After registration, if you sign up for their Visa card (free for 3 years), you will get a $50 rebate back into your account. So it costs me only $8 for this event.
Apply for the free Visa Card here.

w.rgds,
HC Gan
http://hcgan.blogspot.com
http://hcgan.webs.com
Run for Health, Run for Fun, Run for Life.
- START of my Blog on StandardChartered Marathon for 07-Dec-2008 -
hc gan hcgan hc gan hcgan hc gan hcgan hc gan hcgan hc gan hcgan hc gan hcgan hc gan hcgan

Singapore Up Coming Marathon, Triathlon and Quadthlon Events

This Blog started on 20-08-2008.
To share with fellow sport enthusiasts on the up and coming running events in Singapore!

12-Oct-2008 Sunday
Keppel Offshore & Marine Quadthlon
Swim (500m) + Blade 912km) + Cycle (20km) + Run (6km)
Closing date is 12-Sep-08
For more info : email tmclub@safra.sg or 67888433/420

19-Oct-2008 Sunday
New Balance Real Run 2008 (The Ultimate X-Terrain Challenge)
10km (4km Trail + 0.6km Sand + 5.4km Road)
10km (4km Trail +0.6km Sand + 10.4km Road)
Closing date is 26-Sep-08
For more info : www.realrun.sg or 66654600

7-Dec-2008 Sunday
Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon
For the Individual Division, there are six (6) categories:
(i) Full Marathon (42.195km)
(ii) Half Marathon (21.1km)
(iii) 10km – Men
(iv) 10km – Women
(v) 10km - Wheelchair Race
(vi) Kids Dash (750m). This is a non-competitive event.
Closing date is 15-Oct-08 or 48,000 slots taken up whichever comes first.
For more info : www.singaporemarathon.com/en/regs/

MARINA BAY RUN Event : 24-Aug-08

For those who enjoy jogging, this is a good opportunity to join the Marina Bay Run organize by SAFRA for 24-Aug-08.
There is 6Km, 10Km and 21Km jogging routes along the Marina area. Have competitive and non-competitive options.
Discounted registration ended on 15-July-08. Last day to register is 31-July-08. So hurry.
To join click here :- Marina Bay Run Registration
I have not been jogging for more than 10 years. Was very motivated by some of my friends and colleagues who signed-up. Since I used to enjoy jogging during my college days, I am trying to pick up jogging again..... a re-born runner (old age veteran now) !
w.rgds,
HC Gan
Started on 5-Jul-08 for this blog on Marina Bay Run.
http://hcgan.blogspot.com
http://hcgan.webs.com

Sat 30-Aug-08 : Safra Marina Bay Run RESULTS are out now!
SUCCESS ! We did it !!

Rank Bib Name-Nationality CheckPt NetFinish GunFinish Remark

1175 V9063 NG HeiTong Singapore 1:09:09 02:43:39.39 02:47:35.35 21km Men’s Veteran

607 V9548 TAY BengHwee Singapore 1:05:54 02:13:05.05 02:19:15.15 21km Men’s Veteran

1709 N0362 CHAN ChengSoon Singapore 1:02:20 02:14:48.48 02:17:49.49 21km Men’s Open

104 MV3131 GAN HockChai Malaysia 0:38:01 01:01:07.07 01:01:26.26 10km Men’s Veteran

369 MV3501 YEOH William Malaysia 0:55:11 01:23:50.50 01:26:51.51 10km Men’s Veteran

259 MV3514 KUAN SuiToh Singapore 0:45:03 01:12:40.40 01:13:02.02 10km Men’s Veteran

416 MN0823 Kenneth KUAN Singapore 0:41:43 01:01:02.02 01:01:23.23 10km Men’s Open

Sun 24-Aug-08 : The Actual Marina Bay Run 10km and 21km
SUCCESS ! We did it !!
Finally the day we (the veterans) have been training and waiting for has arrived! 21km event started at 6:30am, HT and CS participated in this. The rest of us flagged off at 7:30am for 10km event.
RESULTS - Everyone completed the Race we set out to do !! Estimated timing listed below.

21km
HT - 2 hours and 43 minutes
CS - 2 hours and 10 minutes
BH Tay - 2 hours and 30 minutes

10km
Me (HC) - 61.5 minutes (1st time participant)
Kenneth (Kuan's 15-yr old son) - 61.0 minutes
Kuan - 73.0 minutes (1st time participant)
Hong - 66.0 minutes (1st time participant)
Alena - 64.5 minutes (1st time participant)
William - 83 minutes (1st time participant)
Cecilia - 69.9 minutes (2nd time participant)

On Wednesday, HT & Kuan recommended to take complex-high-carbohydrate food (especially spaghetti) three days prior to actual run. These are energy foods. So, I have been taking spaghettis for the past few days for lunch and dinner.
They also recommended to eat 2 bananas early in the morning prior to the actual run for extra energy needed for the race. I did that today plus a cup of coffee.
Quite happy with the run result today. Will likely sign up for the Standard Chartered 21km run in early Dec-08 together with Kuan. CS has signed up for the full marathon 42km.
Someone said should go buy 4-D lottery for my tag number (3131), may strike first price. Good luck, guys.














My approximate timing (of course captured on my wonderful new Casio watch) during actual competitive run today :-
LAPS Lap-Time Cumm-Time
1km 05:44:26 05:44:26
2km 05:44:45 11:28:71
4km 11:11:82 22:40:53
5km 06:33:74 29:14:27
6km 06:03:93 35:18:20
7km 07:16:31 42:34:51
8km 05:23:39 47:57:90
9km 05:36:67 53:34:57
10km 07:42:59 61:17:16


Quotes :
HT's son BenHo : "I am so happy. Like an eagle, I felt like I could fly."
CS : "Finishing any Marathon Run is a Glory."
HC : "Go run like mad dogs. Be the Best that you can be."
Cecilia : "lets go have a good makan at Lau Pa Sat."
William : "now we deserve the best massage."
Kuan : "lets sign up for the StandardChartered December 21km marathon run."
Kuan's son : "will do 2.4km below 9 minutes." --- super Gold class ?
Hong : "the Benjamin Sheares bridge is not Cat 4, more like Cat 2 or Cat 3." --- Huh, what cats ?
Alena : "piece of cake, no problem lah."
HT : "not enough practise. Still recovering from May's full 42km marathon."
Me : "heels pain, knees pain, buttocks also pain."









































Wed 20-Aug-08 :
Ran with William today in the polytechnic stadium. HT adviced to do 2 to 3km only for today as it is too close to Sunday actual run.
Did 4km (i.e. 10 rounds) at 24:13:82 minutes.

LAPS Lap-Time Cumm-Time
Lap 1 = 2:04:68 02:04:68
Lap 2 = 2:17:84 04:22:52
Lap 3 = 2:17:16 06:39:68
Lap 4 = 2:19:28 08:48:96
Lap 5 = 2:24:38 11:23:34 (2km mark. Pace is 57minute per 10km)
Lap 6 = 2:25:47 13:48:81
Lap 7 = 2:45:55 16:34:36
Lap 8 = 2:27:39 19:01:75
Lap 9 = 2:36:35 21:38:10
Lap10 = 2:35:72 24:13:82 (4km mark. Pace is 61minute per 10km)
extra lap
Lap11 = 2:41:25 26:55:07 (at 4.4km)
This will be the last final training run prior to this Sunday Marina Bay run.
HT did 10km yesterday at 60:00:06 minutes. Wow. The best time among all of us. This Sunday, HT and his son both going for 21km half-marathon competitive run. While the rest of us all going for 10km run. See you folks there at the Esplanade Bridge !!

Mon 18-Aug-08 :
Ran with William today in the Polytechnic stadium.
Did 5km at 32:03 minutes and 5.2km (i.e. 13 rounds) at 33:14 minutes.
The electronic lap watch really helps a lot as I can see the time taken for each lap. As such it helped me to pace each lap. My goal is to do 10km in 75 minutes or less i.e. 3 minute per 400m (1 lap round the track). Seems achievable. Main uncertainties are the slopes up and down the actual running route.

LAPS Lap-Time Cumm-Time
Lap 1 = 2:25:50 02:25:50
Lap 2 = 2:26:09 04:51:59
Lap 3 = 2:29:30 07:20:89
Lap 4 = 2:28:50 09:49:39
Lap 5 = 2:32:64 12:22:03
Lap 6 = 2:35:72 14:57:75
Lap 7 = 2:34:01 17:31:76
Lap 8 = 2:38:50 20:10:26
Lap 9 = 2:36:70 22:46:96
Lap10 = 2:43:43 25:30:39
Lap11 = 2:31:30 28:01:69
Lap12 = 2:43:32 30:45:01
Lap12.5 = 1:18:27 32:03:28 (5.0km)
Lap13.0 = 1:11:32 33:14:60 (5.2km)

Sun 17-Aug-08 :
Did not plan to run today. Thanks Joyce who hand-carried the new watch (Casio Sports Triathlon SRT600-7V) from US all the way to my house today.
Was so excited that I decided to put it on and went to run for 40 minutes around Seletar Rd area.
The watch works great! It is solar powered, can track 50 laps, auto-backlit when tilted towards your face to read the time, can track laps for Triathlon (i.e. swim, cycle and run) and water resist 200M (can use for scuba diving).
Only US$49 (S$70). Was not able to find this watch in Singapore, it will have cost close to S$200 in Singapore for a similar watch.
Will stop running by this Thursday to let the body rest and recover to prepare for actual run on Sunday 24-Aug-08.

Sat 16-Aug-08 :
Hong invited Kuan & me to join him to run near his house. There is steep slope on the entrance into Bukit Batok Park along Jalan Sesuai. Kuan travelling to KL and not able to join.
Woke up at 6am. Drank a glass of coffee and drove to Hong's house arriving at 7am. Did a slow jog from his house (Burgundy Cresecent) to Bukit Batok Park.
Wow... the slope into the Park is quite steep (guess between 30 to 40 degree) and fairly long (guess between 200 to 300m). The run up the slope was really tough. My knees and the joints near the buttocks felt the tireness and pain even on the first run up the slope. Cardio was ok.
During the 2nd to 4th runs up the slope, I tried going slower in the first 100 to 150m and tried to keep constant speed at the end of the slope (which is even more steep)... the knee and same joints area felt tired and cardio was stressed and felt very thirsty.
For all the four times down-slope run, it was really easy for me as I enjoy "free fall" running using gravity-pull down the slope. Hong did pretty well to but can see he is totally exhausted. Mrs.Hong joined us during the 4th cycle and she is probably the fittest of us all !
The actual Marina Bay run on 24th-Aug will have a fairly steep slope up the Benjamin Sheares Bridge in the early part of the run. Am so glad that Hong recommended to practise here to simulate the run up the bridge. If not, on the actual day I think I will run into trouble getting burnt-out too early in the run.
My knees do not hurt as bad as before... thanks to HT's recommendation of using the "Pose Running" method, it significantly reduced the impact pressure on the knees.

Thu 14-Aug-08 :
HT preparing kid for PSLE exam and not joining us today. Only William and myself went to the Polytechnic running track. Did 15 rounds (6km) in 50 minutes. Was trying out the "Pose Running" method recommended by HT and his ang moh friend. It recommends landing on the forefeet, suppose to be able to minimize knee pains. This method sort of make you run faster too as you feel like falling forward. So was running quite fast in the first 5 rounds. At 7th round, felt pain at lower right chest. The diaphragm working hard again.
The Casio Triathlon watch my US friend helped to order has arrived in his house. One of my colleagues will be hand-carrying it back this Sunday for me. Was not able to find this model in Singapore and it was so cheap in US (only us$49 with free delivery in US) thru Amazon.com. Looking forward to try it out this Sunday.
My college BH Tay recommended to take some GLUCOSAMINE for the knee joints pain. Tried it and it helped my knees recovered faster. Thanks !

Mon 11-Aug-08 :
Wow.... did not reliase that the last time I ran was almost a week ago. Went to run around Seletar area for 65 minutes today. Not sure how far was the distance covered. My rough guess is between 6 to 7km. Have several up and down slopes. On down-slope, increase the running speed like "free fall" down the slope to catch up speed. While on up-slope, tried keep the speed constant which means exerting more power. Chest & heart felt perfectly ok. Legs felt a bit tired. For the final 20 minutes, should be able to run even faster. After settling down at home, felt the sides of the ankle very painful. When climbing stairs, need to climb sideway like a crab to minimise pain. This is the last week to train for the Marina Bay run. Next week is meant for resting.

Tue 5-Aug-08 :
Still out of Singapore. This evening, ran on trackmill in hotel gym (Grand InterContinental Hotel) for 30 minutes from 10:30pm to 11:00pm (closing hour) with speed between 6 to 8km per hour. This gym is great. They provide free T-shirt, short, socks and running shoe !! I used my own ones since I brought it along during this business trip. Total distant covered is only 3.8km with random slopes.
Get a US colleague's help to order the Casio Sports Triathlon SRT600-7V for me. The Amazon.com discounted price is us$49 and free shipping within US. If you have a Amazon Visa card, there is another further discount of us$30 for this product... so the cost will be only us$19 (what a steal !).

Sun 3-Aug-08 :
Travelling on business trip. Ran on the trackmill in the hotel gym (Traders Hotel) for 25 minutes at random slopes and speed around 5 to 6 km per hour. 25 minutes only because the gym closed at 10pm and I reach the gym only at 9:35pm. Just trying to keep the momentum going. Running on trackmill not as fun because I cannot adjust my running speed at will.

Sat 2-Aug-08 :
Nothing to do with running but on DURIAN DURIAN DURIAN !!
Went for durian eating with Hong's family in Four Season Durain Cafe at the junction of Choo Jiat and Still Rd. Total 3 adults and 3 children and we ate up 3 big durians. Cost us a bom!
1st durian TOP grade Mao Shan Wang which costs S$40! (i.e. $20 per kg). Taste was excellent.
2nd one is a grade level D24 Sultan, cost S$30 (i.e. $15 per kg). Not that great.
3rd one is a normal D24, cost S$10. Taste pretty good, better than the 2nd durian.
For the first two durians, they brought it to our table. The last one we have to carry it ourselves to our table.....

Thu 31-Jul-08 :
Did not jog yesterday due to other priorities. Went to jog today alone. Tried out Cheang and Norman's suggestions.
Training plan for today :- to sprint for 1 round at high speed and then rest. Then sprint 1 round and rest again. Repeat the process for a total of 5 rounds of sprint and rest, to build up speed and strength.
Result :-
Did slow jog 3 rounds (1.2km) to warm up.
1st round (400m) completed in slightly more than 2 minutes.
2nd round in 1:50 minutes (followed behind the Poly Dragon Boat team). Rest 1:30 minutes.
3rd round in 1:30 minutes (followed the Poly Dragon Boat team). Rest 1:30 minutes.
4th round did not time. Probably around 2:30 minutes. Very very thirsty.
5th round did not time. Probably around 2:45 minutes. Very very thirsty.
Walked 3 rounds to cool down. Good progress I think without over-stressed the old-man body.
Will cut down on 10km runs next 2 weeks. Will following the training plan as described on Tue 29-Jul-08 blog below.
3 more weeks to actual Marina Bay Run event !! Only 2 more week left to train.

Planning to get a jogging (cum swimming) watch... likely will go with either Casio or Timex.
Casio Sports Triathlon SRT600-7V (1st choice)
Timex Ironman Triathlon T5J261 (2nd choice)
Suunto Training set t3c (3rd choice)
Nike+iPod Sport kit (looks cool, not a watch)

Tue 29-Jul-08 :
Cheang said : "Good plan but bad strategy. That's why implementation screw up. You are supposed to go slower at the beginning, slowly building up the speed, then slow down again before the final burst. Else your tyres burst too early!". I am a beginner lah. Wow... what an advice. Thanks!

Norman said : "For a 10km run, during your practise sessions you should not go for 10km. Practise sessions should be 4, 5 or 6km. Some of the days should just do short sprints e.g. run 400m at high speed then rest. Then repeat that for 5 times". Great advice and seems to make sense. Thanks!

Did a Google search for "training for 10km run". Found some good training sites. The best one listed below. My dear running partners and friends, you may want to seriously take a look and re-plan the training strategy.
Norman is right. We do not need to cover 10km during the practise sessions! That will save me a lot of pain (near the knees)! The training method posted by the experts seems quite do-able and enjoyable too! Will adopt one.

Training Plans :-
5km training plan
8km training plan
10km training plan
Running Training Website

Cheers and happy running, my friends !!!

Mon 28-Jul-08 :
Have not been jogging since last Wed due to other commitments.
HT travelling this week, so only William and myself jogged together today. Target to do 60 minutes for the actual 24-Aug Marina Bay 10km run.

Set target for today to do the following :-
5 min per km for first 2 km then
6 min per km for next 2km,
7 min per km for next 2km,
8 min per km for next 2km and
7 min per km for next 2km.
Total should be 66 minutes.
Manage to do 5min/km for the first 2km. But the subsequent 2km slots not able to meet target. Tried best to catch up in the final 2km. Ended the 10km in 72 minutes, an average of 7.2 minutes per km. Not too bad. An improvement of 6 minutes from my previous 10km run.
Body felt perfectly ok but the legs near the knees aching pretty badly. Have to climb stairs side-way like a crab!
William did 16 rounds, an increament of 1 rounds for each of his run. Very consistant and at a pace of about 3 minutes per round of 400m i.e. about 7.5 min/km pace.
Latest status :-
Hong did 5km in less than 35 minutes today!
Mrs.Hong did 7km in 55 minutes on 19-Jul (a dark horse that will put all of us in shame!)
Kuan did 12km in 85 minutes on 23-July!
Kenneath did 10km in 68 minutes on 20-July.
Gan did 10km in 72 minutes today.
William did 6.4km in 48 minutes today.

Wed 23-Jul-08 :
Did 10km (25 rounds on the track) in 78 minutes! My FIRST10km run since I started running again. Was monitoring the time and ran at a faster pace during the final 5 rounds wanting to beat Dr.Kuan's 10km 80-minutes timing. Beat his time by 2 minutes. No chest pain today. Only very thirsty. Body adjusting well.
HT did 17 rounds, still recovering from his May Marathon run.
William did 14 rounds (increament of 1 round per run, very consistant process). After which, he did double-legged "hop" up the seating area 6 layers. Two of the young lady students there were so impressed by him. Keep it up William !
Late night, got an email from Dr.Kuan. He just did a 12km run at 85 minutes along ECP! He raised the bar again!

Mon 21-Jul-08 :
Went to run with HT and William today at running track. Did 8km (20 rounds) today ! Completed in 55 minutes. Quite please with the progress. At 15th round felt pain at lower right chest (stitch?) but pushed on and the pain goes away after 2 additional rounds. Will try to keep at 8km & above this week. William did pretty well too and progressing slowly and steadily in both time and distance, very good progress.
Latest status :-
Mrs.Hong did 7km in 55 minutes last Saturday.
Dr.Kuan did 10km in 80 minutes yesterday.
His son Kenneath did 10km in 68 minutes yesterday.
Mr.Hong did 5km in 38 minutes today.
HCGan did 8km in 55 minutes today.

Fri 18-Jul-08 :
Took leave and went to see my dentist at 2pm in Clementi HDB area. Filled up 3 cavities on the big teeth at the back of upper row and did a clean up. Cost $100. Seem like price has gone up.
5:45pm went to Nanyang Polytechnic running track and jog with HT and William. First 6 rounds (of 400m track) pace with HT were quite fast. Felt tire already after 2 rounds. At the 7th round felt pain near the right lower chest. Almost wanted to stop at 8th round. But since it is not near the heart area, continue to push through. The pain gone away when going into the 9th round. Did a 100m sprint at the end of 10th round. Continue one more round of cool down jog. Improved the 4km to around 29 minutes. Jogged a total of 4.4km and walked 0.4km. Will increase to 5km next week and then 6km week after that. Will attempt a full 10km run 2 weeks before the actual Marina Bay run.

Wed 16-Jul-08 :
Went to jog at a nearby Polytechnics running track with William Yeoh and HT Ng. Third time running after more than 10 years break. Pacing the run after HT (a regular maraton runner). Ran 4km in slightly less than 30 minutes! 25% shorter time than on Monday. Did a sprint run for the last 100m followed by 800m cool-down walk. Felt very thirsty today. Thanks to HT for setting the good pace.

Tue 15-Jul-08 :
Early morning felt a minor pain on the left chest close to the heart area. Slightly tight feeling in that area. May have over-stressed the heart during yesterday's 4km run. Was thinking of seeing a doctor for advice but did not make it. Will try tomorrow or Thursday.
Went for graduation certificate presentation and review session tonight at Holiday Inn Atrium. Was glad to meet the Internet Marketing Bootcamp classmates again. Got my graduation certificate.

Mon 14-Jul-08 :
Bought a new pair of Adidas running shoes at SportsLink at AMK Centre. Both brand and shop recommended by HT. Paid $92 for it and found out that members can get 18% discount. Unfortunately I am not a member.Ran about 4km in 40 minutes around Seletar Hills Estate area. Was able to do a final 100m sprint. Did not feel nausea today! Looks like the body is toning up well. Decided to run 3 times a week (M, W, F) to quickly train up the body for the 24-Aug 10km Marina Bay run.

Sun 13-Jul-08 :
Went for tracking today with Hong and Kuan's family along Treetop Walk along the tropical rainforest. Parked the car at Venus Drive. We started from the carpark at 8:30am and by the time we get back to the carpark it was 11:00am. Total distance covered was at least more than 8km. It was quite a leisure walk and the kids and adults both enjoyed it. Most of the time the children were ahead of the adults. Went to Casurina Indian restaurant along upper Thomson road for lunch (roti prata). Cost $87 for 11 people... seem expensive.
My sport shoe bottom layer dropped off while doing the forest tracking..... can imagine how old the shoe is.

Fri 11-Jul-08 :
Felt perfectly ok 1 day after the run. Second day after the run, started to feel the muscle aches.
Gone for dinner tonight with Hong, Cheang, Kuan and spouses. It was Hong and Sok Cheng's birthday. Went to a modern Japanese fusion restaurant Dozo at Valley Point. Supposed to be fine dining with 7 courses (small portion). Cost us about S$58++ per person. Brought along and contributed 2 bottles of my favourite Carbenet Sauvignon red wine from Napa Valley.

Wed 9-Jul-08 :
My FIRST jogging after more than 10 years!
Time is running out to have a good and proper training preparation as it is less than two months away to the actual run on 24-Aug. Put on my dirty old sport shoes. Went to run around my neighbourhood today for about 30 minutes. My FIRST jogging after more than 10 years. You can imagine how exhausted and tired I was! Feel like vomiting after the jog.
After dinner and a good shower, feel really good to have started jogging again !! HCGan

Tue 8-Jul-08 :
My colleague HT Ng told me he has signed up for the Marina run too. He has just completed a Maraton run in May-08. Both his toe nails are BLACK in color ! Motivated, I signed up as well. Send email to my 3 other close friends Hong, Cheang and Chan on this event.
Mrs.Hong signed up right away for herself and her husband too ! Cool... have more running partners now.

Sat 5-Jul-08 :
My friend Dr.Kuan told me that he and his son have registered for the run. I have not been jogging for more than 10 years. Very tempted to join as I do enjoy jogging.

- Start of Blog -
hcgan hcgan hcgan hcgan hcgan hc gan hc gan hc gan hcgan hcgan hcgan hcgan hcgan

"MAD DOGS"

A very nicely written poem by HT's son when he was 14-year old.

"MAD DOGS"

The starting horn blares,

As loud as a tiger roars.

I bolted down the lane

In a flash, like lightning.

My legs pumped like pistons,

My heart pounded like a drum.

My competitors ran like MAD DOGS

Relentlessly, hot on my heels.

Up the hill and down the road,

I started gasping like a fish out of water.

The finishing line didn’t seem any nearer,

As the mad dogs drew closer.

My legs turned wobbly like jelly.

Painful stitches sharp as daggers

Stabbed me above my belly,

As a few competitors overtook me.

Instinctively I responded,

Like an angry bull being poked and prodded.

Sprinting as fast as a hare,

My aches and pains I no longer cared.

The last few metres seemed infinite.

I surged forward furiously.

Everyone did the same,

Like piranhas on a feeding frenzy.

The crowd roared like thunder,

As my chest hit the finishing tape.

My spirits soared high.

I was so happy. Like an eagle, I felt like I could fly.