Asics Gel 3030 Shoes & Nike Running Top

Trying to get Barley into the momentum of running. Definitely good to enjoy those LSD with another partner than doing it alone. Bought for her a new pair of running shoes since the retired pair was like 5 years old. Way expired. Now is just trying to convince her to do the distance progressively. Any ideas?

I also purchased a Nike running top from the same store. Bright blue and plain, perfect for running at night. The lack of any finisher logo reduce attention from others as well.

And Back to Shift Soon

My course has finally ended with my last session completed just before lunch. It has been a long journey since
April till November. Unfortunately, the light at the end of the tunnel came a bit too late. Till next time.

Lots of stuff to settle for the flat which has been long overdue. Thereafter, time to plan for next year race schedule.

Garmin Forerunner 310XT Firmware Update 4.20

Garmin just released its latest firmware update for the Forerunner 310XT. As stated on the website, the main and only change from 3.90 to 4.20 is to resolve the GPS acquisition issue. I'm having this issue in fact, which I later on sort of "resolved" by resorting to always clearing the GPS cache.

I did so by pressing the ON button and the DOWN button simultaneously. While it takes a longer time to obtain a fix, but once locked on, the GPS accuracy is usually around the range of 8-9m. This is compared to 12-14m by just powering on the unit.

I'm still waiting for more feedbacks from our brave early adopters of the new firmware before attempting to update, but the initial results seem promising. Itchy fingers...

Hong Kong Holiday 2011 - The Cable Car, Wisdom Path, Shopping & Food Experience

It all starts from here, the Singapore Airlines A380

And where we ended up at

First time stepping into Hong Kong

And looks like the way I see on TVB dramas

So Barley and I went to Lei's Garden at Times Square, to try their Roasted Pork

And other dishes which names I do not recall, but so much hype for their 1-star Michelin rating

Another 1-star Michelin restaurant, Yung Kee - Roasted Goose, delicious but a bit too fatty to last through

But their Century Eggs are to die for, not to mention expensive too (~S$10 per box of 6)

Mak's Noodles for the experience since everyone is raving about it, and good I must say

Dessert was Egg Tarts from Tai Cheong Bakery

Crispy freshly baked on the outside, soft and melt in your mouth feeling on the inside

Breakfast at Tim Ho Wan - one of the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world. Just look at the queue!

There were many other nice ones, but these are my favourites - Siew Mai, Radish Cake & Char Siew Buns

Next stop, the Cable Car experience and it really trains one's patience and endurance

Nice view from the cabin, but a crystal cabin option is not a wise choice, more costly and the benefits are just marginal, except for the aerial view of the hiking path. Three things to look out for later...

Giant Buddha

Wisdom Path

View from the Top

Citygate Outlet was just beside the Cable Car station, and some of the items are real cheap. Like the 6 pairs of running socks bought from Nike. Also, I had to snap a photo from Polo Ralph Lauren.

Took a ferry from Central to Yau Ma Tei

And wander the streets of Hong Kong at one of their night markets

 

Finally, Hong Kong trip will not be completed without these 2 items - Bo Luo Bao & Yin Yang

Our stay at HK was a 5D4N. As usual, hectic holiday isn't our usual style. There are so many more things to do at HK. But we like the pace we were moving. It also gives us a chance to return to HK again, and something new to look forward to.

Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2009

I know it's super old news, but I managed to retrieve this data from my old blog and thought I should post it here to keep track of my previous pacing.

So here it goes:

HRav = 178
Speed = 7:08 min/km
Cadence = 80
0-10 km = 1hr 8 min 47 sec (6:53 min/km)
10.0-21.1 km = 1hr 14min 26 sec (6:42 min/km)
21.1-30.0 km = 59min 33 sec (6:41 min/km)
30.0-END = 1hr 38min 9 sec (8:03 min/km)

Seriously speaking, I wonder if I can ever hit such results again.

Injury - Shin Splints & Plantar Fasciitis

Normal injuries among runners, it has come back to haunt me again. Decided to blog down to serve as a reminder to what I have to do everyday. Hopefully it will heal better.

1. Heel walks
2. Writing alphabets with each foot
3. Basic stretches

Rainy Day...

where being home is the best. Off to work still.

SPIBelt Review

Finally purchased the SPIBelt from Athlete Circle yesterday morning, in preparation from today's run. First came to know about it from SGRunners forum. Someone was selling them.

Unfortunately, I realised too late the beauty of plain black straps and had to settle down for one which has the logo - SPIBelt.

 Looks are deceiving. A small section of the front pouch. Notice how small.

 I can even squeeze in my whole wallet!

 The clips looks durable and the feel is good.

Took it out for a run and like many other users on the Net say, it is impressive. Able to fit waist size 25'-40'. While running, I wasn't able to feel the belt or the pouch bouncing. Yet to try with my iPhone though

The question is after stuffing so many items into the pouch, will it still retain its form. Only time will tell.

Edamame for Supper

Frozen edamames boiled in a wok. Quick, easy and healthy. It would have tasted nicer with salt, but I skipped that seasoning. Too much sodium ain't good at night. Of course, this wasn't the only dish I ate for supper last night.

Summary for October & Body Aches

Cycled again after 4-5 months? Courses, wedding, decorations for the new flat - all sorts of reasons. I decided not to take the chance of getting myself killed while cycling from my place to ECP, and instead drove there. Carpark was bloody full as there was a Newton race at ECP yesterday. Had to do a illegal parking. Lucky I did not get a summon. I read that some got a ticket at the trailer carpark. A mere 20km distance was enough to cause me to have body aches all over. Even the sit bones are bruised! The result of being inactive on the bike for too long.

The month of October has come to an end and a glance at Garmin Connect calender shows that my progression has not been ideal.

 

 

Come on, 13.5 hours for whole month? Buck up IMDZ.

Mellow Meatballs & Rocky Road

Sashimi @ Sushi Tei

Testing Share Function via Garmin Connect

Testing out the share function on Garmin Connect. It did not work so well with Wordpress, but Blogger make it seem so easy. Anyway, this is today's workout, a tiring run with the blazing heat of the Sun attempting to make BBQ out of me.

Race Route for SCMS Half Marathon 2011 is Out

This year race route does not seem to have much difference from last year, which is a good thing. I'm delighted to know that the start point will be from Sentosa, a change from the usual compared to few years back. Yet, my fear of the slopes at Sentosa is growing by the day too. You see, I have not been training hillworks for quite a while and today's short ascent up the Changi Village bridge made me realized that I needed more bucking up.

So I guess the game plan for next week shall include 1 to 2 Sentosa runs at easy pace to familiarize with myself of the slopes at Sentosa. Will update more once I have a profile of the route for the Sentosa run.

Training for SCMS 2011

With just barely 5 weeks remaining to SCMS 2011, this means about 3 more weeks of quality training and tapering for the last two weeks.

Unlike other races which I joined on previous years, I did not really follow strictly to a training plan faithfully. Instead, I jumped around between two training plans and just go by the feel of how should I be training. May not be a good idea but let's see where will it take me to.

Components of my Road Bike with Cannondale CAAD10 Frame

 

Frame: Cannondale CAAD 10, Size 50, White
Groupset: Shimano Ultegra 6700
Stem & Handlebar: 3T Arx PRO & 3T Ergonova PRO
Wheels: Fulcrum Racing 7
Tyre: Vittoria Diamante Pro
Seatpost: Thomson Elite
Saddle: ISM Adamo Century

Total Weight: 8.4kg

Garmin 310XT QR Kit Setup

I made the purchase for the QR Kit on Amazon a few months back, but it was only recently that I took it out to fix it to my watch and my road bike. The installation itself was pretty straightforward, though I hope more illustrations were available on the manual itself.

Anyway, I took some photos of how I fixed it up and hopefully it will be of help to some.

Test Post 1

Managed to forward my domain name to link with Blogger. Initially thought to be tough, but it works out fine. :)