Yellow Ribbon Prison Run

This is the first Yellow Ribbon Prison Run. I have registered for the 10km competitve race.
It will be held on 6 Sep 09. Since this is a new race, so i thought maybe i should try this out. Sometime, it is good to run new race. Also, i have not been running many races this year as compared to 2008. But 2nd half of the year is going to be months of races. I counted that on average there will be more than 8 running events in the coming months.

For more details, check it out @ http://www.yellowribbonprisonrun.sg
Join me along for this run and give the ex-offenders another chance to start their new life ahead.

Updating

I have not been blogging much lately simply becuase there is nothing much to update. There is no races lately. The next race for me will be in late July which is the Ministry of National Development (MND) Cross Country @ Macritchie Reservoir. It is going to be a race competition between all the statutory boards under the umbrella of MND. It is going to be a quite competitive since i was told that the men open defending champion timing from URA was somewhat very close to my timing. Have to start training to short distance dash next week already.

Anyway, i have not been able to run as much as i want to for the past 2 weeks. Monday to Sunday are so packed up with work, running training and course training. One after another, back to back. I am quite tired and some body parts especially my arms are painful. But was a good pain that make me tougher. Instructor told me the more my arms got hit, the more pain it will get and the more layer of flesh will develop and the tougher and fitter i will get. But really, no pain no gain. Instructor is right, treat ecery training very seriously as the world outside now is very different and it is not as simple as what we thought. I am learning to be more aggressive. I think i am not that agressive yet.

I missed swimmming so much. I could not swim during my lunch time already as the pool near my workplace is closed for renovation for next year's YOG. So on wednesday, i went to do my swimming at bedok pool. It was a good swim followed by a run. It was a cold night with some drops of rain coming down from the sky which i thought it as quite clear. I did my short biathalon. I didnt bring my towel. After getting out from the pool, i just wore my socks, shoe and my running shorts and ran to bedok reservoir. It was very cooling indeed. I really enjoyed myself becuase i brings back the beautiful memories in the past when i ran alone at the park. I was running at a quite a fast pace, but not race pace. I really hope i can have this kind of time. I could only afford to do this once or twice a week due to the packed schedule. How i wish i have more time for myself.

It was Friday today and i something quite meaningful just now. I actually did a voluntary work ti distribute groceries to the needy residents at one of the HDB rental flats at Indus Rd. It was a programme conducted by HDB Care Team. My colleagues at work are in the organising team. I thought i should show some support and also experice the life of those rental flats residents. It seems to me that the residents are really so poor. The flats they staying are 1 room flat wiith long dark corridors alley. Most of the residents are senior citizens. I had a good time distributing the food to them with Tze Liang and Li Ping. I will come again for the next voluntary charity event next month.

Long term course

It is getting more intensive, fast pace week by week but yet getting more interesting and fun at the same time. It has been almost 1 month since my course started mid last month. So far, i have not missed any lesson. I cannot afford to miss any lesson as every lesson is a new topic. It will be so difficult to catch up if i missed a lesson. I remembered the chief instructor told us that when we came in dry, he would make sure that we leave the venue wet. True enough, i was wet at the end of each lesson. Tired, shag and with some sore and pain on my wrist and arms since i have to make use of my wrist and arm power to learn the tactic taught. Practice and practice.

It has been fun and something i will never get to learn outside. I know very sure for myself why i attended the course. I could have rested at home and enjoyed watching TV at home, but yet i chose to spend 4 hours learning new skills and techniques which is very essential in the near future. A total of 12 of us were selected to attend the course. It is the 70th intake. A team of 12 people with a strong interest and passion for the course we are attending now. I do not want to announce to the whole world of what i am currently doing. Only a handful of my friends are aware and they are supportive of my decision. Some admire of what i do. When i post my 'graduation' pics 8 months later here. You will know.

8 more months to graduation.

One moment in, one moment out and finally in.

It was a mistake. A mistake that disappointed me at the recent Saucony Passion Run 2009. One moment in, one moment out and finally in. What's this?

I was disappointed with the way the organiser derive the position of the top 10 competitive runners. At the race, i was told that i am the 1oth finisher for the 15km. I was happy at that time as it was first time being able to squeeze in into a large scale mid distance local competitive race. 5 mins later, i was informed that they had some miscommunication and realised that they missed out someone in the list. Hence, i became the 11th finisher. Meaning? It means i have no chance to go up the stage to receive my prize from SM Goh. Not only i felt a moment of disappointment, some of my friends felt the same too.

Few days later, the official results was released on the web and i saw my name in 1the 10th position. I was puzzled and i wrote to the organiser. A few days later, the organiser replied with this:

Thank you for your email and sorry for the late reply.

We are pleased to inform you that you have came in 10th position. Kindly provide your mailing address for the organizer to send the prize to you.

What a stupid mistake they made. Actually, i am not eyeing for the prize. I do not know what's going on. Anyway, i just hope they can look into the procedure and ensure such things doesnt happen again in future.

Sundown Marathon 09

It was Sundown Marathon 2009. This is the first marathon for year 2009. I participated in the ultra marathon 84km category last year. This year, i decided to do the marathon of 42km. Once is enough for the 84km or at least i do not want to get injured again.

I have been training quite well since March this year. All thanks to the Team FatBird 12 weeks training programme which i did not missed any of of the sessions. Prior to the race day, a group of us actually met up for a carbo loading session at one of the restaurants in town. As the restaurant does not serve vegetarian food, i 'dao bao' my food (vege pizza and pasta) to the restaurant to eat. I must said that i loaded quite a bit.

On the race day, a few of us met up as early as 1pm at Changi Village to have our lunch before we checked in to the Changi Village Hotel. Yes, we booked a room to rest and also for showering and rest after the race. Hence, we had our afternoon nap and woke up at 6pm to have our dinner. We were quite tired that none of us actually woke up on time. But thanks to the sms that one of our friends sms us that caused all our phone to sound off at the same time, creating a form of 'alarm clock' that woke us up from our nap.


We planned and arrange to wear our new 'I LOVE RUNNING WITH TEAM FATBIRD' white top prior to the race. It was like our first attire for the night. In fact, the support crew and photograph crew also wear the same. This simply shows the unity of TFB. The emcee even saw our tee ans read out what he saw on our tee over the mic.


We proceeded to Subway for our dinner and then to the race start point. Although our 42km flag off time was 12am, we actually went down to support and bid our final wishes to some of our 84km ultra marathon friends and TFB NightHawk participants. Their race was scheduled to flag off at 7pm sharp. Max and Jane were there to be the official TFB photograph crew. They had with them the cool professional camera and the TFB poster board. The sky seems to be very cloudy and i thought that it was going to rain but luckily it didnt and for the rest of the night, it remained relatively humid and warm considering it was a night race.



Then, we went back to the hotel room to rest for a while and watched TV show before we changed to our final race gear. As TFB has set up support crew around the route, we recived LIVE updates from some of the crew on the performance of the 84km runners. It was kinda of exciting and interesting. I had my usual race gear which was the 2XU black compression top and tights with my Kayano14 shoe as well as the New Balance visor and race belt and race tag. Of course, i did not include my sunshade with me since it was a night race. The rest were equipped with additional stuff like MP3, power gel/bar, fuel belt and water, polar watch, etc. We had a mini fashion parade to show some of our second attire for the night. We joke about the 'latest season' thingy. It was fun.

We reached the start point as early as 10.45pm, getting ready to pass the power gel to Henry who was on his way to complete his first round of ultra marathon with a respectable timing of less than 4 hours. It was already quite crowded and it seems the marshallers had to direct and stop the crowd to give way to the ultra marathoners to use the bridge which is very narrow. I was glad to see my fellow HDB runners and friends (Bee Leng, Bee Leng's Hubby, Annabell and Ivy). As they were not sure on how to use the new timing tag, i showed them the way to attach it to the shoe. Afterwhich, it was photo taking. Then, final toilet break followed by warm up of running short distance around to get our heartbeat up and warm our body. As early as about 1130pm, we stationed ourselves near to the start line. It was a strategy that i always adopt to start the race at the front which i believe is essential as i wont ended up being blocked by the crowd and of course it give an initial competitve atmosphere.

At 1159pm sharp, the race kicked off. I was running at a fast paceAt 11.59pm sharp, the race kicked off with a fast pace. I was running almost side by side with Dr Ben Tan for the first 5km. I was constantly maintaing in the top 5 position for the first 10km until some of the runners overook me. The first 10km was the most crucial part for me as i felt my stomach bloated at certain point. I even developed stitches in the first 10km although i didnt drink any water at this range. I felt quite weak. However, by the time i reached ECP, my body seems to resume the normal form and ready to take off again. Haha. Yup, the stitches and bloated sensation was slowly gone. Soon, i reached Bedok Town Park which i have been looking forward because i know that TFB support crew was there ready to support me and the rest. I really felt a sense of 'warmth' from i saw them. Really appreciate their support. You guys rocks and i knew it was not an easy task, having to be there during late night hours when they could actually sleep in their air con room at home. But they chose to be there. This shows how supportive and motivating they are. Apart from TFB support crew, my HDB support team were there as well. I was still within the top 10 position when i reached the 27km point. Had my drink and left the support point in less than 30 seconds. I didnt stop long. It was like a split of a few seconds. I was so concentrated on my race that i could only see David, Edwin, Anthony, Samantha, Max & Jane although there were like many more there. The rest were like just figures. I knew you guys were out there. Thank you !

Ran and ran and soon i reached 32km where another TFB support crew was stationed. Jancy, Beng, Suan, Kai Juin, Mattew Ho and the rest were there to give the support just like those at Bedok Town Park. Again, the warmth was felt here. Thank you very much. I had my drink here and i remembered i asked Suan for the time. She told me it was 2:45am. This means that i only have like 35 mins left to complete the remaining 9km plus if i want to achieve a new PB. But i knew it was quite tough. I was maintaining at a constant pace if no more runners over taking me. I confidently knew that i am still able to finish the race in the top 10 placing. The Pasir Ris, Loyang area was not as tough as what i thought. I was still able to increase my pace at this range of route.


Soon, i reached Changi area. At the last 2km, i stopped to take my final drink and suddenly my leg alsmost got cramp. Almost. I felt the slight cramp but luckily it was gone within a few seconds. I asked the marshaller for the time and was told that it was 3:30am. Felt a little disappointed as i could not run within the timing i target to. As i approached the bridge, i was told to turn tight a make a loop to reach the end point. It was a surprise instruction given as i didnt know that was the route. It was different from last year's route. Anyway, the marshallers cheered me and told me i was still in top 10. I picked my my final pace and dashed thtought the finishing line. I didnt know my position but confidently, top 10 was for sure. I knew only the top 3 would be awarded. But that doesnt matter. I am happy to be in the top 10. Anyway, when the result was officially released a few days later, i managed to secured a 7th position out of 3000 over runners for the Men Open Competitive category for 42km. YN managed to secured the 5th position for Women Open competitive category. Many complained that the route was more than 42km. Yes, it was more than 42km for sure, but not sure by how much. I believe it was out by at least 1km. For me, i personally feel that the race was quite tough. But glad i completed it well, although no PB.

The rest of my running kaki came back soon. YN, Spencer and Terry got their PB. Congratulation to them. You guys have really improved. Well done. We then took pictures, both individually and as a group before we headed back to the hotel room to have a nice warm shower and had our well deserved sleep. Terry, Spencer, YN, Charmane only had less than 2 hours of sleep before they proceeded to ECP Big Splash for the first Shape Run training. They were on duty. Darren and i wanted to tag along but we only have one vehicle and it was impossible to squeeze all into the car. So Darren and i continued our rest till 9 plus before they returned back again. Washed up, breakfast and checked out. Went home, rested a while and went for a recovery swim of 10 laps in the evening. Surprisingly, i didnt feel much pain and sore on my lower limb as what i usually have after completing a marathon race. I could walk normally. Perhaps, i have reached the 'seasoned' stage.

Sundown Marathon. It was more than just a race. It was a race that bring all TFB members and friends together to work together as a team to contibute to the local running community. It was a well planned and execution for the support. We received many compliments and thanks from the participants. Job Well Done, Team FatBird.

Sundown Marathon completed. What's next?

Saucony Passion Run 09

It was the Saucony Passion Run 2009. I remmeber that in 2008, this run was held one week after Sundown Marathon which i did my 84km. This year, i am glad it was held one week before Sundown. At least i do not have to run with injuries and pain like what i did last year.

I registered for the 15km competitive men open category. I prefer longer distance and competition. The competitive atmosphere makes me perform better as there is a drive and motivation. That's my personal opinion. I came with the objective to break my personal record timing. Yup, i was hoping to achieve a new Personal Best. I arrived at about 6am sharp. Bose, Darren and Kai Juin were already at the carpark when i reached. The sky was still dark but the crowd had already started to come in despite it was still one hour before the race flagged off.

Went over to the SGRunners booth and took some pics. Soon, Darren and i proceeded to do our warm up by doing some short run to get our engine started. YN, Samantha, Spencer and Terry arrived shorty. Of course, saw other running friends like Beng, Suan, Andy and Serena. Max and Dave were there to take pics with their professional SLR camera. And i must say that their photography skill is great. We gathered very near to the start line to get ourselves ready. Already at the start point, i could feel the competitive atmosphere when i saw several elite runners.

At about 7.10am, the race flagged off and there i dashed. I started off doing quite well. I was running constantly in the 3rd position for the first 6km. Mok Ying Ren was obviously leading all the way. I could only catch his dust for the first 6km. Afterwhich, i could hardly feel the dust. haha..Anyway, i came in at least in the top 11th position. I was glad to recceive the 'potential winner' tag. It was my first time receiving this tag. Of course, it is only potential winner and not guaranteed winner as the timing still need to be finalised. Only the top 10 position will get to the podium. I knew i was not here nor there as i counted that i was around in the 9-11 position. Getting a new PB is my main objective, getting into the top 10 position is a bonus for me. I didint expect myself to get into the podium as it was always a competitive race. I ran this event since 2007 and i was never in the top 10. I was only in the top 40 (if i can still remember) for the past years Saucony Passion Run.

Soon, YN came back and she also received her potential winner tag. I was so happy for her since she really put in alot of effort. Ok the timing has been finalised. At back stage, the official announced me as the 1oth runner which mean i was in the top 10. I was happy of course as i never expect myself to squeeze into the top 10. But shortly after 2 mins, i was then called back again. The official actually missed out one of the runners who actually should be in the top 10 position. Hence, with the addition of this runner, i became the 11th runner and it means i have no chance to be in top 10 already and i missed the podium again. So close yet so far.

I was quite disappointed. I believe the timing between the positions were very closed, perhaps a few seconds of differences. But never mind about the position as long as i have break my personal best record timing. I have improved my timing by 5 mins. I am satisfied with my performance. YN secured the 8th placing for the ladies 15km competitive open category. Congratulation, well done YN. All the trainings paid off. We were all very happy for her and we cheered very loud for her when she moved up the stage to received her award from SM Goh.

Overall, it was a nice run and perhaps my best performance so far this year. 2009 seems to be a good year for me after the recovery of the injuries in 2008. I have achieved 3 PB this year for 4.3km, 1okm and 15km. Hopefully, i can achieve another new PB for the coming Sundown Marathon this weekend.

We (Myself, YN, Spencer, Terry, Darren, Charmane, Bose, Kai Juin) then went to Suntec City gym to washup and proceeded to collect our racepack for the Sundown Marathon. There was hardly any queue and i managed to collect my racepack in less than 3 mins. Had a nice lunch at the foodcourt and then to movie at Orchard. Tired long day but an enjoyable run and outing Sunday.

HDB Cross Country

It was the HDB Cross Country. It was held on Saturday at Maritchie Reservoir Park. I have waited for this race for one year. I reemembered that i could not join this race last year as i was have not joined the organisation then in 2008. Personally, it was a highly aniticpated race. A race which i hope i can achieve something for myself and for my department.

I registered for the 4.2km Mens open category and team event as well. The weather was not very good. It was like going to rain as i could see from the dark clouds and the lightnings. I came as early as 2.30pm staright after collecting my race pack for the passion run at Novena Square. The race flagged off at about 3.55pm sharp. Personally, i feel a little bit stressed as my Big Boss was there to flag off the race. Also, there was some pressure on me to secure the first position for the men's open. There were several fast runners competing as well. And there were 'black horse' as well. My target was to run below 17 mins as last year champion timing was less than 17 mins. I did a time trial earlier last week and could not run below 17mins at the time trial.

As soon as the race flagged off, i tried to maintain a constant pace of 4mins/km pace. The initial part was quite competitive as we were quite closed together. But as we entered the trail, the gaps gets wider apart as the running footsteps that i heard get softer and softer. To fast forward, i dashed through the trail, exited to the pavement beside Lornie Rd and reached the end point with a timing for 16mins and 45s, coming in in 1st position for the men open category. I felt very happy. I performed up to expectation and didnt disppoint those who predicted my position. I was also happy to see my team mate came in first position for the ladies. Looks like my department performed pretty well this year.

Glad to see YN and Spencer who came down to support me. Really thank them and helping to take pictures. You guys rocks. Also Not forgetting my Finance dept runners who came to support and run for this event. My dept ladies team came in champion as a team while the my mens team came in 4th position (the best so far in history). Overall, my dept came in as 1st runner up which was just few points behind the champion department. Nevertheless, i am still satisfied with the results. I was lucky enought to get a 2nd prize for the lucky draw which was a voucher worth $160. Here are some pics to share.

A long awaited news arrived

Ok. I have finally received the call from them. It was a voice mail as i believe my phone was off when they called. But anyway, i am glad to be confirmed to attend the course. I waited for months since i made my application 8 months ago in Aug last year. After going through a series of test, interview, screening, checks, it is finally confirmed. I dont know why i choose to attend this course. But i believe is my passion and interest. Is going to be a long course of up to 9 months. I am attending the 70th batch course which commence in mid May 09.

Dusty Run II

It was Dusty Run II. This was the second time i have organised the run. Dusty Run I was first organised and completed on 11 April 2008. This year, it was on the 10 April 2009, which falls on Good Friday as well as the 15th day of the month in the Lunar Calandar. Hence, it was a run under the full moon on a holy day. What a good combination. This date was decided exactly one year ago, which was a day after the completion of Dusty Run I.



Extracted from TODAY newspaper - 13 April 09


Prepration of Dusty Run started as early as Jan 2009 with the initial planning of the route. It took me quite a while to decide on the location of the run. Last year was in the West. So this time round, i was decideing where to run. It was deciding between East and Central area. With the advice of Team Fatbird, i decided to have thr un at Easten Singapore. The prepration was followed by recee nad picture taking of the route. I had Spencer, Terry and YN to join me to recee through the route to ensure the route was safe and feasible one. Really appreciate their effort, especially when some of us got sunburnt and bruises/cut after the recee. Followed by the making of Dusty Run video trailer as well as the publicity Poster. A very big thank you to Terry
who actually helped me to design the official Poster for Dusty Run II. I am sure the poster caught a lot of attention which explains why the response was overwhelming. With the launch of the mass publicity to the local running community via forums, running clubs, blogs, facebook and even at Raffles Place i-run, we managed to attract over 100 participants. The next was the preparation of the props like the luminous light stick, conffetti and sng baos. Thanks to Samantha, Spencer and YN for the making of the Sng Bao. They were delicious and rewarding after a long night run. Also to thanks Esther for taking the trouble to loan the cable from her friends. Feel sorry that eventually, we didnt make use of the cable. But really appreicate her effort. The prepration continues even a few hours before the run where the map was senting for printing and purchasing of the poster stand, laser pointer, stationery. etc. I thought the map would be good to enhance my route briefing. It was very rush and it was a raining very heavily on that day and this made my travelling even more toublesome. But luckily all props and prepartion was well prepared on time before the show goes 'LIVE' at 8.30pm at ECP Carpark



It was a long day for me after the last min prepration. Was at the start point as early as 8.15pm with Spencer, YN, Terry and Charmane. We started off with the setting up of the poster, map and the loud speaker. Soon, we saw a few runners reporting. Without realising, soon, it was already 9pm, and the turnout was already as big as 100 particiapants. We saw participants from SAFRA running club, SGRunners, I-runners and others who joined in who just joined in for the training. There were also many first timers. I was happy to see the great response. Sunddenly, the start point at ECP become so packed that it is almost for the night cyclist at ECP to cycle past the track cos it was fully packed. We had Wee from TODAY newspaper to join us for the run and he took several pics. So perhaps, this run will be covered in the paper in the next few days. We took several group pic with the poster. As it was almost 9.15pm, we began our briefing with Anthony kicking off with the welcome speech, David's safety breifing and followed by my route briefing. And then is the big group pic before the run kicked off. After 5 mins toilet break, we gathered and the NightHawk Central 8 gathered infront of the crowd with Anthony and myself flagging off with the grand opening of the Dusty Run II with the Conffetti. POP! The run began.


If you were at ECP, you will see a long stretch of runners running through the park. Some of the night campers and cyclist were surprised to see such a big group in action. I believe we seldom get to see this except for Sundown Marathon. As planned, we ran thorugh the route. Some runners were running very fast at their own pace. While most of us adopt a moderate pace. I was running wit the mid pack for the first 15km. After that, i have to slow down and wait for some runners at the back of the mid pack to ensure they do not get lost. To fast forward, i reached the end point. The 10km and 20km runners were back and some have left. Some of the 30km runners were also back while the rest of the 30kmers were making their way back to the end point. The drinks were already set up by Beng, Suan and Jancy. The 5okm runners were making their way to the Changi Coastal Rd before they complete the remaining 20km.




It was a cooling night. The sky was clear with the moon in full shape watching us. It was rainning heavily in the day and i was very worried that the weather would be bad at night. But glad everything was fine. It was not that humid too. I must also thanks all the photographers who brought that camera to snap the pic for this run. And really appreciate Max and Jane who travlled to various location of the route to take pic of us with the poster. It was not easy for them to travel from point to point in the shorest time to catch us in action. Thank you. This really make Dusty Run II a very memerable one with the pic taken. By 4am, we have cleared up and proceeded to the nearby Mac for a nice breakfast. I was so sleepy that i dozing off in the car. And thanks to Bryon who gave Terry and I a lift.

With the completion of Dusty Run II, we are now half way through the TFB NightHawk Training programme. Thank you everyone who came to support Dusty Run II. The route was tough and physically and mentally challenging. This is the feature of Dusty Run. I hope everyone had fun and enjoyed the night with Dusty Run II. Thank you TFB for integrating the run into the NightHawk Training Programme. Some of us signed at the back of the poster. This is a good opporttunity for us to look back into this poster one year later we orgainse Dusty Run III.



Dusty Run III will return on 10 April 2010 with more features.

NightHawk Training #5

It was the first saturday of April. With 2 months left to Sundown Marathon, the TeamFatBird Ops NightHawk training continues to train us and prepare us for the event. In this session 5 of the NightHawk Training, we continued with our training at ECP. The run route and distances range were the same as last week. Everyweek, we get to see newcomer joining us for training. We also saw several fast and furious runners from SAFRA mount Faber who joined us for a saturday morning run. The usual things went on as usual - route briefing, attendance taking, introduction of pacers, etc.

The run kicked off at 7.15am with runners like Bug, Teck How, Darren and Michael dashing off with their high speed power. Frankly speaking, it was kinda tempting to dash with them. But i believe i should not. I chose to do a slower pace just like last week, to run with runners and pace them and guide them along the way. Although the sun was up in the far east, it was not that hot. The tides was on their way to rise up as we ran past the canal. Along the way to Coastal Rd, i managed to run for s certain distance with runners for like Thomas, Anthony Quek, Nien Xiang, Han and Max. Han and Nien Xiang who are the regular fast pace I-runners did a shorter distance of about 20km.

Had a short chat with Anthony Quek who asked me if i am the teamfatbird camel. Haha.. i replied with a light laughter. Anthony Quek commented that my running style was so light and effortless, as if i was running 'qing gong' on the surface of a calm river. Actually, i do not know exactly how my style look like when i run. My mind was playing trick with me as i ran past several shethers. I was having the urge to u-turn earlier. But somehow i managed to overcome it and continued to run till 14km mark and u-turn. As usual, Darren did a further 2km up.

On the return route, i saw our Henry (who did his own training) looking quite tired, doing a slow walk at the coastal rd. This man has just did a 42km one round of Sundown route. Great effort, Henry! The weather was not as warm as last week. Along the way towards the ECP Mac, i saw a huge furry dog which really caught mya attention. I think it is the biggest dog i ever seen so far. It is rare to see such big dog at ECP. Anyway, soon, I reached the end point feeling good. Rewarded myself with 100 plus and had a short chat again with Anthony Quek who is already 62 years old and still running fast and looking strong. We shared with each other on things like running style, hydration during run and our weekly running mileage. There was no Sng Bao today as most of us were quite busy lately and had not time to prepare for it. But we did told ourselevs that shall be Sng Bao for the next run on 10 April night.

We had a new runner to choose a tree for us to take a group pic. Perhaps, a group pic at the tree symbolise that the fatbird and freinds has returned to the nest for resting after a long morning run. Afterwhich, i changed over to my white TFB top and took some pics both individually and as a group with the rest of the organising team members for Ops NightHawk Training. For the first time, 8 of us were in full 2XU tights taking a group pic where all of us were present.

As we ended this session of the training. We are all on our way for a final countdown to the next night run on friday which is the Dusty Run (Episode II). It is a run which we have been promoting around. From what we have gathered on the response, it is gonna be a big crowd at ECP, car park F2 on 10 April - 9pm.

Final Countdown 6 days to Dusty Run II.
Where will you be on 10 April night?

Join us along as we are about to begin another chapter for Dusty Run.

Poster - Dusty Run (Episode II)

Speical thanks to Terry for further add on and design the pic which i took few weeks back.

NightHawk Training #4

Field Report by Keonz Quek

Photos by Jancy Yap

It was the 4th week since the TeamFatbird Ops NightHawk training session began in early March. Very soon, we will be cossing over to April where the training will become more intensive as the distance goes beyond 30km. In week 4 of the training, we had our training at ECP (Playground @ Big Splash) which is similar to last saturday's training. I reached the meet-up point at about 7.00am sharp where most of the runners has arrived, all looking great and enthusiatic for the morning run. The weather was fine and the sky was very clear, without much breeze. The ECP was already LIVE up with some runners doing their early morning jog. The sun has already risen. And i told myself that it was gonna be a hot run. I was in my full 2XU attire in black, my sunglass and cap, ready for a good sat morning training ahead.

As usual, Anthony and DO commenced their briefing on the route when all the runners has arrived and gathered at about 7.05am. Apart from the regular active runners, we saw several new commers today who chose to run shorter distance. We also have runners like Julie and Lai Chee from SAFRA MF joining us as well. Altogether, it was a good turnout. Glad to see many runners waking up early to joined in the training on a sat morning. Meanwhile, jancy and Ah Beng were busy taking attendance and taking down the particulars of the new runners. The distance that we are covering are 10, 15, 20, 22 , 24, 26 and 28km. Team A pacers comprises of myself, Anthony, Daivd and YN with each of us running at different paces for distances covering all the way from 20to 28km. Team B comprises of Jancy, Ah Beng and Terry who will be covering shorter distance from 10-20km.

At about 7.15am sharp, the run kicked off. As the front pack pacer, i led the group with a steady pace all the way till NSRCC where the pace began to go slighty faster when we have warmed up with our body and reached the canal. By then, it was getting a little hot. Along the way, we saw several SGRunners like Andy, Tekko, IMD, Yee Hua running for another event held at the other corner of ECP. We waved to them as we ran past them. They were all having some fun :). As usual, the bikers along Changi were out in force dashing through the flat long famous Changi Coastal Rd.

I was running together with Ray (who had joined us for the second time in training and first time running at ECP) and Sealboon till 11km when sealboon made a u-turn to complete his remaining 11km to the end point. Ray and i continued to run towards the 28km u-turn point. Along the way, i told Ray about the various shethers which mark as a u-turn point for various distances. Soon, i reached the 28km u-turn point which was the 7th shether from the NRSCC. I stopped for a while, ensuring that some runners made a u-turn before i contiuned to run. Behind us was Teelee and Lai Chee. Both looking strong. Darren Goh and Lai chee did an additional distance and ran beyond 28km for their personal training.

Runners who did shorter distances

Some of the new runners

On the return route, saw runners like YN, Bernard, Anthony, Daivd, Eugene, Costner and some others running at a good pace. I waved to them while i ran with a faster pace back. I endured through as the weather gets hotter and more humid. Soon, i reached the ending point. Runners doing shorter distances were already back and the drinks were already well prepared to reward us. Thanks to the refreshment team who prepared all these for us. It was really a good reward for me especially when it was so hot and humid and the fact that i was in total black compression top and tights and that i tried not to have any water throughout the run (I am just afraid of getting stitches). I had several cups of 100 plus as well as the heavenly barley prepared by our Jancy. It was shiok.

A group pic after the run

As more and more runners progressively returning back, Esther and Jancy took pics of the runners running back. While the rest of us chit chat with one another and enjoyed the sea breeze. As most of the runners were back, we then took several group pictures from different angles (basically, it was a 360 degree turn). Afterwhich, we had our usual wash-up and proceeded to Old Airport Rd for our lunch. It was a nice morning run with my usual running group. It was touger run as compared to last saturday but i am sure everyone had fun today. This marks the end of the Week 4 training. Soon, we will be moving to Week 5 training when we see an increase in the distance.

Keonz & Edwin (Left-Right) trying very hard not to smile

As we end week 4 training, we began our countdown to Dusty Run (Episode II).

12 days to go.

Aviva Ironman Race

A group of us went to support our freinds who participated in the Aviva Ironman race last Sunday. Some of our running friends who did the race include Edwin, Wei Ming and Han. It was my first time witnessing at this event. I took my camera with me and snapped some pics along thr race from 7am to anout 2pm. The weather was kind to all when it was windy and cloudy in the morning. But it became hotter towards the afternoon.

I was somehow inspired by the participants. I did try doing this 3 kind of sports (swim, cycle, run) one after another on my own a few years back. Of course, the distance were shorter. But it was kinda fun as it really test one's endurance both mentally and physically. Unfortunately, i am not a good swimmer at sea and i do not have a good bike to train. Many of my friends asked why i didnt join the Ironman. Well, i would want to give a try if and only if i am confident to swim at sea. I can swim in the pool continously for 50 laps. But of throw me into the sea, i dunno whether i can survive or not. My friends encouraged me to train up my swimming and cycling skills and to give biathlon or triathlon race a try in the near future. Worth considering..

Would like to congratulate all who completed the Ironman race on Sunday. Really salute to them. It was not easy. It was quite tough.

NightHawk Training #3

It was saturday morning. The NightHawk training has reached the 3rd session since it started 3 weeks ago. It was a morning run for this session and it was held at ECP with the starting/end point at The Playground, Big Splash. I woke up pretty early as usual. Earlier than my usual day. Stomach was not feeling good. Nevertheless, i made my way to ECP and reached quite early at about 6.35am. Waited for a while before Spencer and YN came. Had a short chit chat with SealBoon while waiting.

Soon, Spencer and YN arrived at about 7am. Quickly, i put my bag in the car and proceeded to the start point where most of the runners have arrived. It was quite a big group. In fact, the attendance seems to get bigger and bigger week by week, which is a good thing. More runners are joining us to train together. Some were training for the upcoming marathons, while some just joined us to keep fit. Great to see that more and more people are into running. :)

Anthony and David did some breifing before the training began. An introduction to the pacer and leaders for the various distances was made to the participants. I was assigned as the Team Leader of Team A which comprise of YN, David and Anthony. We take care of distances ranging from 22-26km. Team B comprise of Jancy (Team Leader), Ah Beng and Spencer and they take care of runners do distances ranging form 10-20km. The weather was nice, the sun was lazy and was not up then. The ECP was still as nice as usual, but the AVIVA setting were all set up and ready for the event to be held tomorrow.

Soon the run began. YN and I led a group of front runners all the way till NRSCC where we ran together as a group. I told the usual dasher like Choon and Darren not to follow my pace today as i am on official duty to take care of the runners. So i told them i wont be dashing today. And after i told them that, Darren really dash ahead and disappeared. Haha.. It was nice to run at a slower pace again, but quite tiring as i actually spent longer time on the road than my usual pace. But it was a good session to train my endurace and patience and also to burn some of my fats that has accumulated for the past one week for the lack of daily laps swim.

Soon, i reached the U-turn point. I thought that was the 26km u-turn point. But i found out later that i actually overshot to the 28km u-turn point. Some for the runners followed me and did the same u-turn point as i did. I stopped at the u-turn point to ensure most of the front runners made the u turn at the correct point before i continued with my run.

The sun was finally up for a while during the return route. Saw Anthony and David along the way. They were all doing strong and chatting, motivating some of the runners they were running with. By the time i reached ECP, i could see that the cloud started to turn abit dark, but not to the extent of thunderstorm approaching. I maintained a constant pace all the way through, without having any sip of water and fianlly reached the ending point where most of the runners were back. Had a few cups of 100-plus. Chatted awhile and finally with a big group pic and the HigntHawk committee pic. I realised that the 2-XU tights that i was wearing seems to be quite useful in preventing my ITB from hitting me. Usually, my ITB pain will come in after along run on the hard group like ECP. But today, it seems ok for me or is it becos i was not dashing today? I dunno but what i know is that the tights is useful afterall in compressing my leg muscle.

Washed up and had lunch at Old Airport Road. Feeling very tired. Went home and had a nap all the way till evening before i proceed to the pool to do my swimming. Did a slow 40 laps recovery swim. And back here blogging.

Sub-Urban Run

It was the Sub-Urban run. I did registered for this event. However, i did not run. I woke up early and realised that i have no mood to run. Seems that i am not in the ideal condition to run. Perhaps i was lazy or maybe becuase of the open wound on my right hand that is causing some pain.

Anyway, i did go down. But not with my running gear, but with my casusal berms, tee shirt, slippers and my canon camera. Yup, was there together with Terry and Spencer to snap some pic. Also to support some of our running freinds like YN, Andy, Serena Jane and Max. It was hot morning. Just some pic for sharing.

Dusty Run (Episode II) Video