Some pictures that i took at Padang with my family.
21 February 2008
Standard Chartered HK Marathon - i did it!
Here is an extract that i wrote to NTUC Sport & Wellness and Mt KK team
HK was cold on the first day i stepped there on last fri. Weather was looming 11-15 deg whole day. The temp itself was bearable but not the chilling and gusty wind that blew upon you. Realised that i was not going to "survive" the 42km wearing only my T-shirt, i had to scurry and find a hiking shop and bought myself a base layer. Gloves was next on the list and luckily for "Lady Street" (Pasar Malam), i got myself a cheap pair of wool gloves.
Expo
It was held at the Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. They converted the football hardcourts into a big expo and finishing area. As like other race expo, there were diffrerent sports brands marketing their products. What was interesting was the flexibility and gait test conducted by the HK Polytechnic University. Since it was free, i did a trial with them and was pleased with the results.
Race Day
Race started at 7:45. Lucky for me, my hotel is almost right in front of the start line. When i went there, there were already many runners doing their warm up. Boy, it was cold and i thought i do a short warm-up to get the body going. After a short speech, race started. At the beginning, the street roads were slightly narrow and so most of the average runners (like me) had to go through a slow pace for about 10 mins. Once we hit the highways, the field is spread evenly and there were more space to move around. That was where i started to increase my tempo and was doing a 4:30-4:40min pace. At 12km mark, saw the race leader and also our Singaporean elite, Ramseon heading back. Sceneries were only confined to highways and tunnels. To make it slightly worse, the air was quite foggy and couldnt see anything nice landscape.
I kept to my fueling regime and was surprised that i was able to stay a consistent pace. At 30km mark in the last tunnel, my watch read 2:28hrs and my body was still managing the pace well. I was thinking that i might have a chance of doing a PB in this course. However, i knew that the true test would appeared only at the 34km mark. True enough, i saw the incline slope at the end of the tunnel but what i did not know that the incline slope would also lead to a steeper one. I reduced my pace and slowly ran up the "hills". Felt a tight hamstrings at 38km and had to ask the Med Officer to apply some deep heat. Took a look at my watch and it read 3:11hrs. I was gambling whether should i go under 3:30hrs for the last 4km. In doing so, there is a chance that i might pull my tight hamstrings and risked the remaining distance walking. Or should i reduce my pace and finish the race conmfortably? Since i knew this course will be PB, i opted for the latter. Hence i went on at 5:30min pace for the next 2km. The crowds got larger and were cheering for all the runners, i felt a "renewal" in my legs at the point in time.
. I increased the tempo again and cruised into the finishing line, overjoyed and elated coz it is all over.
Post Race
Went to Korean BBQ buffet and "whacked" all the meat (protein carbo load).
In summary, i think that for some of us, this race could be a PB due to its cooling weather. Others may find it slightly tough due to terrain. For me, i am glad that i have done it and in the process i have also ran a PB.
Expo
It was held at the Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. They converted the football hardcourts into a big expo and finishing area. As like other race expo, there were diffrerent sports brands marketing their products. What was interesting was the flexibility and gait test conducted by the HK Polytechnic University. Since it was free, i did a trial with them and was pleased with the results.
Race Day
Race started at 7:45. Lucky for me, my hotel is almost right in front of the start line. When i went there, there were already many runners doing their warm up. Boy, it was cold and i thought i do a short warm-up to get the body going. After a short speech, race started. At the beginning, the street roads were slightly narrow and so most of the average runners (like me) had to go through a slow pace for about 10 mins. Once we hit the highways, the field is spread evenly and there were more space to move around. That was where i started to increase my tempo and was doing a 4:30-4:40min pace. At 12km mark, saw the race leader and also our Singaporean elite, Ramseon heading back. Sceneries were only confined to highways and tunnels. To make it slightly worse, the air was quite foggy and couldnt see anything nice landscape.
I kept to my fueling regime and was surprised that i was able to stay a consistent pace. At 30km mark in the last tunnel, my watch read 2:28hrs and my body was still managing the pace well. I was thinking that i might have a chance of doing a PB in this course. However, i knew that the true test would appeared only at the 34km mark. True enough, i saw the incline slope at the end of the tunnel but what i did not know that the incline slope would also lead to a steeper one. I reduced my pace and slowly ran up the "hills". Felt a tight hamstrings at 38km and had to ask the Med Officer to apply some deep heat. Took a look at my watch and it read 3:11hrs. I was gambling whether should i go under 3:30hrs for the last 4km. In doing so, there is a chance that i might pull my tight hamstrings and risked the remaining distance walking. Or should i reduce my pace and finish the race conmfortably? Since i knew this course will be PB, i opted for the latter. Hence i went on at 5:30min pace for the next 2km. The crowds got larger and were cheering for all the runners, i felt a "renewal" in my legs at the point in time.
. I increased the tempo again and cruised into the finishing line, overjoyed and elated coz it is all over. Post Race
Went to Korean BBQ buffet and "whacked" all the meat (protein carbo load).
In summary, i think that for some of us, this race could be a PB due to its cooling weather. Others may find it slightly tough due to terrain. For me, i am glad that i have done it and in the process i have also ran a PB.
| Over-all Pos-ition | Gen-der Pos-ition | Cate-gory Pos-ition | Cate-gory* | Race no. | English Name | Chinese Name | Country | Official Time | Net Time | 10km Time | Half Way Time | 30km Time |
| 434 | 384 | 73 | MMS | 20516 | LEW BUANG | Singapore | 3:33:21 | 3:32:37 | 0:52:02 | 1:42:13 | 2:28:18 |
Our hotel
My "dream" finishing time
Me doing the free running test
Post Race Dinner - SK and Candy
Lam - Enjoying the Dim Sum Lunch
Another Event Smoked Out
Just two weeks ago, i was hoping that i can try my hands on the new multi-sport : Adventure Racing. I am hit by another bad news. I am now officially unable to do any AR event in Nov as i have to work. There goes the anticipation and hopes.
See how it goes in 2009.
11 February 2008
The Adventure Itch is Back
My wife is right. She said that i would never give up racing. She made that statement after i almost freaked her out by wanting to participate in Ironman China and Silverman. Lucky for her (and me), Ironman is definitely out this year. What's left is now Gobi March and KK Climbathon.
So why and where is the itch coming from??
Adventure is the word. Gobi and KK are purely running events. To me, adventure should encompasses different elements just like the Ironman( you swim, bike n run). To fill my "adventure" morphine, i look around and was surprised to receive an sms from Enrico :" Yo, wana to do the Anaconda Adventure Race"? So happened that our Trifam friend, Wilson (a student based in Australia) did the race last Dec and he put up his entire race report. http://www.triathlonfamily.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=4333
After reading, i was like...Hmm, worth considering and to top it off, they had a race in Geographe Bay (same place i did my first Ironman). Also, our friend (Mythos) who migrated to Perth, offers to bring us there and back over the weekend. Somehow, logistic is almost settled in a sense.
I am definitely considering but now i have to work out the budget first.
So why and where is the itch coming from??
Adventure is the word. Gobi and KK are purely running events. To me, adventure should encompasses different elements just like the Ironman( you swim, bike n run). To fill my "adventure" morphine, i look around and was surprised to receive an sms from Enrico :" Yo, wana to do the Anaconda Adventure Race"? So happened that our Trifam friend, Wilson (a student based in Australia) did the race last Dec and he put up his entire race report. http://www.triathlonfamily.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=4333
After reading, i was like...Hmm, worth considering and to top it off, they had a race in Geographe Bay (same place i did my first Ironman). Also, our friend (Mythos) who migrated to Perth, offers to bring us there and back over the weekend. Somehow, logistic is almost settled in a sense.
I am definitely considering but now i have to work out the budget first.
3 February 2008
Darling Maygane, You're 1!
I love January. Two of my darlings are born in the month of January. We celebrated my wife's birthday earlier and now it is Maygane's turn. We had the birthday bash at our condo's function room (which is awfully big and good). Our close friends, relatives and CG members were there to celebrate with us.
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