My first Standard Chartered Half Marathon, 21.1km

The day is finally here!  Last year i have signed up for the Standard Chartered Half Marathon, and had been diligently training for it.  In fact, the training was on target as I was running comfortably 13km in mid August.  However, I had an unexpected injury in early Sep, and the Yellow Ribbon Run was the last run that I did in 2009.  I had for no reason pulled a tendon at my right arch, only then I realised that I had high arch.  It was so painful that it hurts when I walked.  Since then, I had become friends with the Sports Dr in Changi Hospital (Read- Regular visit)

I signed up this year run, hoping that I could recover on time.  Training had not been good.  I felt the pain at the arch when i ran past 7km.  My monthly visit to the sports Dr and physio were not too helpful.  A typical Dr visit would be:

Dr:  "How's your leg?"

Me:  "Still painful"

Dr:  "Hmm..One important thing is to rest....!"  Come, take off your shoe and let me see your leg..Hmm ok, you would need to rest, plenty of rest...

Me:  But i have registered to run...

Dr:  Better to rest...............

Oh well, I just did all the stretch that I could, and hope to push beyond 7km.  The maximum during training was about 12km, and it was in Novemeber.  So the idea of running 21km on 5 Dec left me cold.  I have even devised a plan that I would hide in Universal Studio, and wait for the park to open should the pain act up again.  Universal Studio happened to be aroudn the 7km marker.  Nonethless, I thought I would give it a shot, and see how far my leg could bring me.  Of course, I prayed, that there would be no pain at the arch.

On the morning of race, I woke up at 0400Hr to get ready for the bus pickup at 0500Hr (I need about 10 minutes walking time).  I forced myself with 2 slices of wholemeal bread with peanut butter, 2 hardboiled eggs and a coffee.  I brought a banana to eat on the bus.

There were shuttle bus services provided by the organiser, at $8 per ride.  Not too bad a deal compared to taking taxi.  I reached Vivo City at 0535Hr, and made my way to the start point, looking for toilets.  There were a row of 10 mobile toilets, but there was also a very very long queue, at least 50 people!  Thank God that the queue moved rather quickly. 

Michelle, who was late, decided to skip the toilet and went straight to the start point.  The flag off was at 0630, and at the sound of the buzzer, 15,000 people started the race.  It took me quite a while to cross the start point after the buzzer went off.  We started with a slow jog, and Michelle was anxiously looking for toilets.

It was cooling but quite difficult to run as it was so crowded, and the last thing you wanted to see was a stampede.  We reached the 2km mark at 16mins, much slower than my usual time.  Nonetheless, I just hope to maintain pace and hope to pick up at the later stage of the race.

Mich & I splitted at the 3km mark because she wanted to go to the washroom, and she told me to go ahead and she would catch up later.  I went ahead as I thought it was too early to stop.

We ran round Sentosa beach, and the highlight was to run into Universal Studio Singapore.  (USS).  We ran into Never Never Land, and I was so delighted to see Pussy Cat.  I wanted to take photo with Pussy Cat, but there was a long queue!!  Seems like everyone was as excited as me!  Salute the staff of RWS for being such a good supporter.

Cool guy from Madagascar!!!!! I stopped to take its photo and hesistated a while if i should queue up for photo because the queue was not as long, there were about 6 people.  In my hesistation, i heard my name ..I thought it was Michelle, but it was Bernie.  Feeling a bit embarassed that I was fooling around with the characters than running, i decided to move on.

Running out of USS was tough, as it was through the underground carpark.  It was stuffy, and when I was finally near the end of the carpark, you could feel the air.  Now I have finally know what it meant to see light at the end of tunnel.  Not only I saw light, I felt the light too.

7km:  This was the start of the pain.  I could feel the old pain creeping up at the arch area, on top of that, I felt it at the calves too.  I prayed fervously, pls stop the pain Lord.  I saw soem first aid guys giving out muscle rub, so i quickly got some to ease the pain. 

12km:  This was the toughest of the entire race.  I grabbed my gel near the 10km mark, and slowly jog.  When i reached the AYE, i was greeted by a slope!  I simply had to drag myself up the slow.  I told myself not to stop, but it did not help when you were in pain, and hungry!   I looked around me, people were walking, and when I looked up, I saw a big billboard of McDonald advertisement, of its Fillet O Fish meal!  Urghhhhhhhh.  I could see the faces of the drivers who were stucked in a jam because 2 of the lanes were closed.  Their faces seem to say "These are the idiots that caused the jam!"

I walked, jogged, stretched, jogged, walked...finally struggled through...I started running again at the 14 km mark.  Somewhere near East Coast, a guy overtook me, and guessed what, he was Aw.  We chatted a while, complaining about the weather.  It was really hot...I lost him after a while as it was really difficult to run, some people were walking, some were strolling, only a few were running.  And to run fast, you need to overtake them smartly so as not to bump into them.  I had no more energy to do that, so i just followed behind to jog. 

17km:  I saw the water again.  I grabbed water and decided that this would be my last stop.  Only 4km to go, not that difficult.  When i reached the Flyer, i saw the sign that I was 2km away from the finishing line.  I looked at my watch, 2hrs 45 mins..i have missed my 2h30mins target, no where close, not even 2hr45mins.  So i told myself that I have to do it below 3hrs.

I mustered the remaining energy left in every part of my body, some to fight the pain at the arch, and now, more at the calves, who seems to be putting up a fight. 

When i was near the padang, I saw the banner to split the runners, and I saw the big FINISH within 100m.  This was the longest 100m in my life.  I crossed the line just barely below 3hrs, but according to my watch, it was 2h56mins, so i figured that it should be the chip time, since i have started the watched only after i crossed the line.

My mind went blank after crossing the line..I have done it! 

Was I happy?  Somewhat

I was happy to complete, but not happy with the time.  It was not even close to my normal run.  On my normal day, I could finish 10km in 70 mins or slow day, 1H20mins.  If I would to maintain the slow pace of 1hr20mins, i could have finish the half marathon in 2H45mins.  Having said that, I was happy that the arch pain only kicked in at the 12km mark, and I have managed to push through.  On hindsight, I had no idea how i coped with 9km with pain.

My medal for the pain.

My next target will be the Adidas Sundown, I will challenge 21km again! 

Lastly and most importantly, Thank God for the good weather and seeing me through.

That's all for now, I had a painful arch and sore calves to nurse.  I wonder how much time I would need to recover

My first encounter with the White Truffle at Oso

Truffle.  All I have heard about it was how expensive it was, how precious and yummy it was.  One story from a colleague about Truffle was funny.  He brought a client for dinner, and the waiter recommended them to try truffle.  He did not want to say No in front of the client, so he agreed even though it cost $10 a shave.  So his heart sunk as he counted $10, $20, $30...

When I went to Otto for dinner, the manager also brought out a giant fungus, he said it was a good quality black truffle from Italy.  It smelt really strong. 

A truffle, as defined by Wiki, is a fungi fruiting body that develops underground and relies on mycophagy for spore dispersal. Almost all truffles are ectomycorrhizal and are therefore usually found in close association with trees.  The 18th-century French gastronome Brillat-Savarin called these truffles "the diamond of the kitchen". Edible truffles are held in high esteem in French, Spanish, northern Italian and Greek cooking, as well as in international haute cuisine.


Truffle is expensive because you need to use hogs or dogs that are trained to look for them, as they are buried underground near trees.

Finally, I had a chance to try them at Oso, an Italian restaurant down at Bukit Pasoh Road.  They had a special white truffle menu which they have used white truffle as an ingredient, you could also add extra shaving, at $6.50+++ for 1 gram!

I had a pasta with the white truffle to share with my friend, T.
The taste of the truffle was very unique.  I could not find the exact description for it.  It had a very strong smell, somewhat pungent, somewhat frangant.  When you put it in your mouth, it just melted, and it taste earthly, yet releasing a fine cheesey taste.  Simply special and heavenly.

There were not plenty to try, so you just longed for more.  I think that's the special part of White Truffle, white magic.  Hope that there will be another chance to meet the magical white truffle.

Christmas Lightings 2010- Orchard road Singapore

Santa Claus is coming to town.....Taken at Orchard Road..Not as beautiful as i wanted to them to be, will be back for more.  There were some parts with red lightings, and I thought it looked more like Chinese New Year than Christmas.  My favourite was still 2007 lightings, White & Blue.

 

Movies Summary for 2010

4 days into the last month of the year, December.  December is always the month to recap your year, whether it is a good or bad one, and get ready for the new year.  To some, it is also the month of eating, festive and hopefully, giving back to the society.

I will start the recap by looking at the movies that I have watched in 2010.  (Movies not in any particular order)

1. Inception
2. Eat Pray Love
3. Ip Man 2
4. Iron Man 2
5. Clash of the Titans
6. Unstoppable
7. Girl with the Dragon Tatoo
8. Girl who kicked the Hornet's Nest
9. Sex & the City 2
10. Despeciable Me
11. Salt
12. Expendables

Total of 12 movies, meaning i watched 1 movie each month!

If I would to rank, my top 3 favourite movies of the year are:

1. Inception
2. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
3. Salt

Inception was the most orginal plot of all.  Though someone had use similar plot in the book, the movie brought it to the next level.  Leonado DeCarpio did a great job, i started to like him after his Blood Diamond in 2007.  I thought that he has improved a lot since his Titanic days, and he looked better as he aged.  The open ending left me frustrated, and had quite a discussion with my friends whether he was in a dream or reality. 

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a movie adapted from a book written by Stieg Larsson, a swede.  It was a trilogy, and there were two more books, that were also made into movie.

It was not your typical hollywood movie, and it had all the exciting and a bit dark theme, yet not too disgusting.  It talked about incest, homosexuality, rape & SM, murder, hacker, social morality etc...The movie opened with intriguing mystery, and you were totally absorbed into the movie as you followed the charcter to track down the murderer.  The only complaint that I had was it ws in Swedish, so I had to follow the subtitles, and in some scenes, it was white background with white subtitles.

Hollywood is making it, and the lead is Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara as my heroine Lisbeth. 
I hope they would not destroy it!

Salt- a typical Hollywood flick by Angelina Jolie.  Why I like it?  Simply because i like Angelina Jolie!  She was Salt in the movie, so cool, so heroic.  And her russian accent was just so sexy.  Salt is a James Bond, spy movie, with a female spy.

The most disappointing of the 12 was the Clash of the Titans.  It boasted 3D effect, and the only 3D thing was the subtitles.  Looked like one of those who just wanted to jump into the 3D bandwagon.

Look forward to more good movie in 2011..

Bedrock Bar and Grill- Best Steak in Singapore?

Bedrock Bar and Grill, the first time i heard of this was early this year, recommended by Jac.  She said that it was very good, and said wanted to bring me there for lunch.  That had not happened, so I thought that I could check out the place first.  If Jac said is good, it could not go too wrong.

Bedrock Bar and Grill was located at the Pan Pacific Service Suite Singapore, just adjacent to Sommerset 313.  I was a bit lost, and went to the wrong exit, and took a longer turn.  If you are going, take the exit that goes to 313. 

We were warmly greeted by the waiters upon entering.  The first thing that caught my eyes were a huge rack of meat, (I assume it was beef since this was a steak house).  The decor was mainly made of wood, and the places was quite small, with a few soft seats on the right. 

A warm and friendly waitress came to our table, showing us the menu, and telling us the wine list. I thought she was new as she seemed rather nervous and speaking very fast.

We settled for this Spanish Red Wine.  Like in other restaurant, she let us tried the wine.  I knew nothing about wine, but it sure taste good!  I always wondered what would happened if i said that i do not like the wine..will they refund it?

 She has kindly brought out another new bottle for me to take photo of it.  Very sweet of her, bringing service to the next notch.

The pita bread as appertiser.  It came with a whole garlic.  I am not a big fan of pita bread with garlic, I thought it should go with curry.  It was quie unusual that they served Pita Bread.

The big 400g giant.  Look at the fats and the thickness...

My 200g beef tenderloin, medium.  She has recommended medium rare, but i was afraid that it would be too bloody.  She assured that it would not be, because they aired their steak.  Indeed, it was not bloody.  Some parts of the meat was a bit red, but it was tender and juicy, simply melt in your mouth.  And i thought that 200g was just nice, too much of it will result in dimishing marginal return.

Dark Chocolate cake with some french cream.  I did not like the french cream, tasted a bit sour.   Chocolate cake was a bit too sweet for me.  I am always contradicting myself.  I like desserts, but it cannot be too sweet! And desserts are sweet, aren't they?  We had french fries as side.  Normal, nothing to complain.

It was a satisfying dinner, heavenly steak with great wine.  Between Bedrock and Morton's, Morton's still scored slightly higher due to their wonderful desserts.   Is it the best steak in Singapore?  I do not know.  Maybe we should do a blind test.  However, with the price difference, Bedrock is definitely a gem to satisfy your craving for steak, without too much damages to your wallet.  The only complaint that I had was that they had a two seating policy, 630pm-830pm or 830pm - 1030pm.  I do not have enough time to finish and savour my steak!  Will be back.

Bedrock Bar & Grill
96 Somerset Road #01-05 Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Singapore

Tel: +65 6238 0054


Company Trip to Kota Kinabalu - Day 3 (Nov 2010)

Day 3
Last day in KK.  We protested for having to leave the hotel at 9am as the flight was at 1205pm.  Protest failed, so we decided to use delay tactics, took our time for breakfast! Haha

I had my breakfast, and when I reached the airport and checked in, I still made my way to the Old Town White Coffee.  The group have concluded that I had python in my stomach, that was why I was always eating

Group Photo in Airport:

An incident happened before we board the plane.  Dino and I wanted to go to the washroom, so I happily followed her.  The moment I stepped into the washroom, I saw all men!!! And we realized that we went to the Gents!!!!!!!!!! Urghhhhhhhh

Dino and her sense of direction!

Some photos courtesy of Andrw and Raymond

Changi Beach Singapore

Had not cycle for a while, decided to try out the Park Connector in East Coast.  GT & I rented our bike in East Coast Park PCN stop, and cycled to Changi Beach.  I had wanted to check out the sunset along the Changi Boardwalk, so I brought all my gears with me, but it rained!!!  No sunset, grey sky instead.

This was after the rain

Before the rain, I saw a King Fisher.  Look at the beautiful blue beak.

Ended the day with famous nasi lemak in Changi Hawker Center.  Some said that the Nasi Lemak in Changi Hawker was over rated, and the long queue was self created (Read: They were slow).  However, I just loved their chicken wings.  They were crunchy and juicy.  GT's verdict:  They were great! 

Company Trip to Kota Kinabalu - Day 2 (Nov 2010)

Day 2 started really early!  The automatic alarm aka. the phone rang at 0545Hr.  I picked up the phone, half in dream land, said "Hello"  And i heard from the other end "This is your automated alarm..."  I went urghhh and went back to sleep, thinking that I have my alarm at 0615Hr.  15 minutes later, the phone rang agin!!  Urghh..Ok, we needed to get up, Rachel. 

Rachel was like a zombie beside me, she mumbered, Headache, stood up and went to take a painkiller.  I told her to get more rest while I went to wash up.  This was really not what I have signed up for.  Anyway, I dragged myself to the bathroom.  Rachel woke up much later, and I went down to have breakfast.

I was surprised to see Tim at the breakfast area.  "How did he manage to wake up so early after drinking so much?!"  I only knew when I was back in Singapore that Tim had terrible hangover.   Andrew, my MD was much annoyed that I wore my Man Utd jersey again (Blue one this time).  So he said he wanted to support Aston Villa tonight..haha.. Breakfast was fine til N sat down at the same table..oh well, I have to learn to be loving, so i decided to carry on my breakfast.

We departed for our 3 hours bus ride to the Canopy Tree Top walk.  During the journey, we made a couple of rest stop. One of them was the same stop that I made when I was there in August 2010, hmm..deja vu.

Mountain View.  Ah, i was there before :-)

 Natural Toilet.

 These were taken at one of the stops that we made, some fruits market.  We were supposed to go to the Canopy Walk, however due to some change in plans, we had an early lunch instead.  On our way to lunch, the bus stopped at a fruit market.  I think it was a plot by the guide to buy time.

 3 women deciding what fruits to buy

 These had nothing to do with lunch.  Just some flowers outside the lunch place, which was at some restaurant in a resort, near the foot of the mountain.  You could smell the fresh air.

This was the place where we had lunch

Start of the canopy walk

The hot springs were disappointing.  If you thought you were going to get the Onsen in Japan, then you would be very disappointed.  They looked more like swimming pool and hot water in tubs.  So we decided to pass it, and went for the water fall that was 400m away.

You couldn't see the fishes from the photo, but Adrian was doing his fish spa.

Photo courtesy of Dino, who was using my camera.  The smoke was to chase away flies and mosquitoes.

World largest flower- Rafflesia.

We had to pay RM25 to see Rafflesia, and it was disappointing as I was expecting it to be bigger.  But then again, I missed it the last time, so made up for it this time.  Andrew and the managers skipped the flower and stayed on the bus as they said they wanted to discuss something important.  When we were back to the bus, they were playing black jack!!  Very important indeed.

We travelled another daunting 3 hours bus journey back to the dinner place.  My plan to have Ba Gu Teh after dinner was spoilt by the heavy rain.  According to Dino, I have never been to KK because i did not get to eat their Ba Gu Teh.  We ended the day with foot massage and indian poker with the boys and Andrew!