Tuesday, January 29, 2008

another training day

yesterday had training... at turf city... at 6:30pm.. actually i was late.. felt quite bad ...
but anyway went all the way up to a slope to meet coach and the others.. found Illyas in the mids of walking then walked together to training ground.. along the journey,the road was filled with horse **** ...
Joe and Marcus has started off with their warm up by the time i reached.. and i was looking for a toilet.. but we were out in the woods... there was no toilet! so coach hinted *wink wink* to go into the bushes to ... my gosh... and i was having a stomach ache... it was bad! but i went and felt so paiseh after that! haha...

we did our usual 3 sets of 3x300m slope workout... luckily for me, i din have to wear any weights on my hands... but the distance i ran was longer as compared to the first time we ran here... felt great because all of us were encouraging each other... it was really a great feeling to be able to train with people who are encouraging... they never once said i was running slowly... coach never once said i was running badly. he always encourages and boost our morale.... it was really great ..!

anyway after that i went out with Illyas to west mall .. he went to burger king for his dinner and i went groceries shopping... after that an urgent call from JD came and we went to meet Alvin and Eddie and JD... i finally had my dinner at 9 plus at Bukit Timah Hawker centre... had a healthy noodles with some soup and sugar cane water with lemon! we talked and talked and Alvin mentioned" so when are we going to have an outing with only 3 guys ?" i got the hint... haah it was ironical... I introduced Alvin and Eddie to JD and now the 3 guys become very good friends and I was like erm... ok la.. understandable.. sometimes guys just wanna have some guys talk.. ok then next time wun go out with them...

anyway when Alvin drove me home we started talking about relationship... i told him that age is not an issue if both parties can work things work ... and then suddenly talked about marriage.. a haha i told him that if my bf were to propose to me.. i would love to have it at a swimming pool proposal or at the end of my major running race or at the end of a ironman of half ironman race! ahah... memorable mah... then stupid Alvin laughed and laughed.. u know girls.. always like to have a moment to remember...for their lives..

for me.. since young, i already had something to remember.. because i was born in a car.. and my birthcert actually recorded place of birth: In a car on the way to Kadang Kerbau hospital... till now when my friends ask me where was i Born.. i would answer: in a car... shocked all of them! yeah but i am really proud of my mother! she can actually give birth to me on her own in a car all alone!!!!!!!!!

Thursday, January 24, 2008

family...

I found these photos at home! haha... and then reminded me of the times i had with my family... from young when we stayed in the terrace house till now....me and my cousin were always the flower girls... i am the one called Da Jie on the right... flower girl
and then the pictures of me and my 3 siblings... haha i am the one on the right.. I have been baby sitting my youngest sister from young.. thats why till now she is still like my baby... and you see my secon sister on the left.. looks really pretty right.. yeah she is.. till now she is still pretty... and me during primary school water sports day.. with my medals... at clementi swimming pool..a place where i first met JD. haha... see my younger sister with her wins also.. my whole family started swimming since young,, me since 3 years old... and then during Junko's bdae party... cutting her cake.. she is till now my fav and lovable younger sister... someone i always dote on.. although i always scold her... this photo was taken outside the house...my old house...terrace house....
i think as we grew older, our face became more stern... not so lovable... look at our specs!!!
and this is our family!!!!! ahha...

Monday, January 21, 2008

23rd birthday!

thanks to all that wished me happy birthday! sometimes i really wonder whether I have any friends.. closed ones.. then realised that this morning i woke up, went to school, after end classes, i realised I had like more than 10 messages .. birthday messages...

Serene, ex-roomie: Hey girl.. Happy birthday! May u have a great day ahead! Take care always.:)

Karmun: happiest 23rd b'day to u! may u be filled w happiness n great health, n not forgettin i'll be waiting for wedding bells o both o u! ( haha... think wedding bells not so soon... both busy earning money now...

Peishan: Happy birthday Girl!

Xiaopang: Happy birthday Girl!

Yueyin (cousin): Happy birthday!!! wish u all the best!!!

Junhong(JC track mate): Happy birthday to u miko!

Xiaochun (first training teammate cum godsister): Happy borthday dear. I really miss you and will love u always.:)

Thong Seng: Hi HI Sumiko! Happy happy birthday! wish you a great year in sporting achievements... from Aviva Ironman sponsor thong tseng

Cynthia (KAP gang): Happy birthday cher...

Marc ( running teammate): good morning happy 22th birthday hope your dreams will come true... ( i am turning 23 not 22!)

Siva (adventure racing fren cum ex-HOD): Happy birthday!

Kiat Hau (real brother): Happy 23rd bdae miko! hope u're aging happily haha. I can't be home this whole week ...... i'll make it up for you next week!

Mummy: Hi girl, wishing u a happy 23rd birthday! yesterday never come home never inform... ahah ( i told my mum i was too tired after training so just slept thru the night outside...)

Edvin: Hey girl, i called using this number .... just now from sweden.. but ut voicemail said u are in thailand.. Happy birthday...( I really miss Edvin... now that he is gone for 6 months, gonna miss him even more)

Junko ( real sister): Yoyo! its ur birthday man.. enjoy like madness! I know sch sucks. ahah Happy birthday yeah! ( haha sch dun sucks girl, sch is great!)

Brian : Happy birthday auntie.. may ur wishes and sporting dreams come true...! keke...

Samuel ( JC gang): Happy birthday Miko san! haha.

Adrian: Happy b day! all the best in your new year!

Fabius ( PJC track mate cum bro): Happy birthday Mei!

Yingshi ( cousin): hay hay HapPy 23RD bDaY!! ahh we so old liao *sadz*... anyway all the best & i c u soon on CNY! ( thanks girl! haha... anyway she is born 6 days after me only!)

Satiish: Happy birthday gal!!!

Michelle Verma: Happy belated birthday ! ( its today la my dear)

Daniel (NDU): happy belated birthday.. hope u had a great one!

Shu: hey miko! happy belated birthday!

Serene: Happy birthday!

Xiaofei (hall 7 friend): Happy birthday!!!

Alvin: Happy birthday! May u run faster and look prettier.

Wilfred: Babe. Happy birthday. Let me know when u free. I'll take you out for dinner.

Samson ( Jd nephew): Happy birthday Jie Jie

Victor: Happy birthday girl. Hope this isnt too late.

Faizal: Happy 23rd Sumiko!! Hope u enjoyed ur special day wif ur friends n loved ones. N i also hope everything's ok at Keming Pri. Take Care k.

Wenquan: I may not be e earliest but surely i m e latest! ya ha Happy BDAY! Remind me that i owe u a treat:) Hope u enjoyed ur day and see ya soon!

Paul: Shit almost finish liso.. Happy bdae!! Heng heng still got 10 mins lol.. unless server jam you receive after 12 haha.. happy bdae to u..

Xian: Happy belated birthday sumiko! Sry hp didnt have ur number and mao didnt give me either. i just remembered the number.. sry too.. thinking it was 29th again..

Xueyuan: Happy 23rd bdat ah neh! Haha.. cant be the first so i'll be the last lol. May u run faster, swim faster bike faster! but dun torture us...

JiaHUi: Halo! happy belated birthday! hope u had a great time yesterday!

and Victoria Campbell was so sweet... she called me on my phone to wish me happy birthday... it was a big surprise really... real big one..

though i did not celebrate my birthday yesterday... i merely went to have dinner with JD at Billy Bombers... and then head back home ... he was too tired after his training and I was too tired after my run too... guess its been a hard and tiring day...

but still.. spending time with him and receiving a peck on my cheek at midnight from him is a great pleasant surprise and joy...

thanks everyone and every friend who cared... thanks friends for the wishes! thanks colleagues too... who symphatise with me for having to go for a meeting at CCAB later at 4 pm.. cant celebrate my birthday.. but when u start work its always like this... ahah...

now i am aiming for my new present to myself... a grey-blackish bag with pink stripes.. NIKE handbag... its very nice...! haha i will buy for myself with the march performance bonus!


My wishes for my bdae:
1) to be able to perform my job to a greater level
2) to be able to be sent for the greatest 4 race at the end of the year (marathon)
3) to be able to lose another 6 kg before september 2008
4) to rebond my hair
5) to get a NIKE handbag! the one i have been eyeing for so long

Thursday, January 17, 2008

yest training was quite fun.. had floorball training with my students.. played with them.. first time playing floorball... it was a 2 minutes interval game... every 2 minutes, 2 teams would come in to play... we played for about 40 minutes... wah it is really usage of lots of energy.. after that i rushed back home to change and went to NTU to coach the Biathlon team.. din really whack them very hard...

Swim:
1) Warm up 300m
2) 3 x 600m at 70% race pace with 2 minutes rest time in between each set
3) 6 x 50m kicking continuous
4) 6 x 25m pulling with bouy and 6x25m pulling with bouy with heads above the water

i think they were fine after that.. I think..

after that we went onto the track... gave them
1) 400m warm up
2) 2 x 100m striding with increasing speeds
3) 3 x 1500m at 80% race pace with 2 minutes rest in between
4) warm down
5) stretching with static exercises: bridge, side bridges, sit ups and push ups

they had a great session i hope!

anyway next training for them is already planned out... will be very different...

Oh today is a happy but yet surprising day for me.. my principal came to talk to me.. he asked me if i am interested to take up the PE coordinator role in school. currently, there is no PE HOD, so therefore the PE HOD role is separated into 2 parts: the PE coordinator and the CCA coordinator.. i was taken aback..

I told him that I am only a beginning teacher and still under probation.. all beginnning teachers who grad from NIE have to be under a one year probation. But he did mention that why he ask me is because thru recommendation... Mr Cheng, a nice ex-retired HOD who is here to help us in our PE work actually recommended me after working with me for these few weeks. seems that he feels that I have the potential to become a HOD in PE. and so he is willing to guide me for these few years till I am prepared to take up the role.

actually, this is really surprising. Because at such a young age, and with only a Diploma, I thought that I would be only a follower. but it is also lucky... really lucky that I have gotten this opportunity to build up my profile. the current PE coordinator is piled with lots of work and she was once a HOD and she stepped down.. family commitments.. now this space is open.. but the PE department is very small thats the unlucky part.. but the good thing is that there is someone to guide me...

so after talking to JD, decided that prob this is a good opportunity for me to go up.. who knows, i may end up being a teacher for life...but first, i need to get my degree... its quite difficult for them to justify why they need a Diploma holder to be a HOD.. though it can be justified, but i feel that a degree is more justifiable... now i am thinking whether to study a sports degree instead if I am really going to go on the leadership track towards a PE HOD.. but then the money... the MOE grant i dun think I will be able to get it..

i actually like the way things are going now in school... busy but yet fulfilling... so now, i guess I have to really get things moving...maybe one day u see me, I will be like a stick insect again.. no time to east due to work haha...! no prob!

but the bad thing is... i will have meetings after meetings... and the first meeting is at CCAB next Monday... what a day to go... I keep telling Mr CHeng... "it's my birthday!!! wah what luck man!" ahah but work is work, and i dun think i am celebrating it also...

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

yesterday was a normal training day... only that I did feel a sense of accomplishment after training... in the afternoon, i ended school and then went down to NTU to sign for the Surf and Sweat event.. met Bala... we are teaming up for the open category and I am also going for the individual and lovers challenge category... with who else but ... never mind about that... anyway during signing up, i think the organisers were shocked that I had to sign up for so many people... but never mind.. I am like the helper to my friends for signing up of events everytime.. helping is a great thing when you know you love helping...

after that, Bala and me went to take the bus out of NTU to JP... on the way we chatted a lot... about running, and his training, his coach and my coach... anyway our coaches Elangovan and Guy Ogden are good friends and they do discuss strategies often... yup and after that he headed to Pandan reservoir for training with Elango and I headed to Turf City for training with Mr Guy... met Joe and coach at turf...

training was like this...
20min warm up, not at a real slow jogging pace.. quite fast for warm up actually haha...
workout: 4 mins fast, 1 min slow.. for about 10 sets with coach, Joe and Ilyas who joined us after that... then after 10 sets, i suddenly have the urge to run more.. i requested for coach to allow me to run another 2 sets... wow he said yes and he said "Sumiko, dun run too far, run around here.. or we will miss you!" ahah what a humour coach... i laughed as i ran off for my 2 sets... and the sky was getting real dark. I had 2 times of nearly sprained leg incidents.. Joe had one and Ilyas had one.. the ground was not too hard and some what holey... but nevertheless, I finished my 2 sets.. did some stretching with the guys.. and went off the bath...

on the way back, i practically feel asleep in the bus.. it was a hard but fulfilling day...
total workout= 20min + 48 mins hard + 11 mins slow = 80mins approximately...

legs are tired now.. but not my arms.. so coach said its good... anyway the sense of achievement is really very great...

this morning brought my students for their first swimming PE lesson.. was a little chaotic... their first lesson.. p3 and they were like aiyoh! haah.. but they enjoyed the lessson... but i had a student who lost her PE shirt after the lesson.. and could not be found.. she ended up crying in the toilet.. luckily I think fast... i went to buy a Pyjamas for her... but she still cried all the way back to school.. but once she put on the school shirt which replaced her old one, she felt better...
my gosh.. i dunno how many of such incidents will happen again...

today will be going down to train the NTU biathlon team... doing my usual long run... i think 16km on the track.. while they do their workout, i do my 16km... see how it goes..

recently very tired, i really hope to regain my smile again.. its been a hard time.. training and working and planning... really hope that my weekends would be a real good rest day for me.. sad because Edvin is going to Sweden for 1/2 year and we din have a chance to meet this week even though next week is my big dae... sad because Xiaochun is not able to meet me too she had too much work... sad because Jackie Lao Da is overseas... and cannot meet the foursome gang... its been a long time.. sometimes the memories of the times all my good friends had with me still prevail.. but training seems to take up a bulk of my time now.. Gold COast on July 6th... aiming for it...

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

u;tra marathon photos...

the ultra marathon photos are out! haha first time in my life.. i look NOT so fat... at least only some fat but still not satisfied with my body... fat fat fat... got to lose weight!
this was the start of the race... 7 am in the morning.. still fresh..

running along the golf course... was so tired... beginning to feel the heat coming.. so ran in sports bra instead...

and then i ran through the forest... looking super duper tired...

but then i had my 3/4 running partner Brian with me! woohoo! haha i think this picture looks kinda funny...
and then i found out that i can find some pictures of the powerman gang... post it for them...
look at Alber's face... the 2 jokers running together...
Peishan.. strong...
and Alber and Eddie again...
wah and this is a super ugly photo...! I was running my last round.... was so tired... was taking a walk when Uncle Teck Heng went "snap" and i went "Eh! dun take la... walking leh... not pro!" ahha... and the guy beside me was the most perfect running partner... he accompanied me for 3 rounds! 3 x 10.8 km! Andrew Da Ge! he's the man!






Monday, January 14, 2008

a boring sat and sunday

another school day ... now trapped in school due to a heavy downpour.. was supposed to cycle home then prepare to go training with Marcus at Turf City... as I was about the go home, I packed my stuff and came out of the toilet, walked to the office, then realised that the rain was not just small rain... it's rainig cats and dogs...! really bad... msged Marc to tell him that I will be late for training.. left my running gear at home.. and i doubt we would be able to train so early today if the rain doesn's stop.. its irritating! get off my back rain...! we are going to do 4 mins interval today! hurry up! rain rain go away... as i sit back on my office desk, i started to think about what had happened the last weekend... it was a stressful and really "running" one...


On saturday, I went down to NTU in the morning to support Hall 3 trackies... wow so wonderful .. their performance on the track was splendid... even though it was the heats... it was really great.. the girls top both the 4x100m and 4x400m and the guys top the 4x100m and qualfied for the finals for 4x400m.. what was interesting was during the guys race for 4x100m... UK Sham, national athlete of Singapore, was running the last leg... he got the baton and was chasing one hall 6 guy in front.. he was about to catch up, got beside him and suddenly, the hall 6 guy swung his arm and nearly hit Sham... luckily Sham has lots of experience racing and he just avoided him in that split moment, but Sham slowed down after that because he was taken by surprise.. Its not the fault of the hall6 guy .. he had a strain in the thigh i guess... poor guy.. was sprinting too hard and sudden strain.. but admire him for his courage to run to the finishing end line and gotten second position for his team... sprinters tend to have this thing of strains... thats why i chose to become long distance runner! haha can lose weight and at the same time less fear of injuries...

After that, I gave a lift to Feroz to Gombak Stadium. I started on my weights workout.. the 4 guys had already started long ago... ahaha and this big sister me was late.. but nevertheless, they gave me a big helping hand.. always great to have them around...I all the exercises to strengthen the thighs, calves and chest muscles... and after that ended up having muscle aches... ahah but it was a great workout, esp when coach is ard...

after that we had a marathon meeting with the marathon coaches... Mr Guy chaired the meeting... it was mentioned that If Singapore were to send a team for the greatest 4 event at the end of the year, we would have to qualify for several timetrials.. currently, the names of the marathoners are quite set... and for me it will be a great challenge... its almost giving up my triathlon life for one or 2 years... in order to qualify for Sea games 2009 marathon, i have to hit 2:50... i am only doing a 3:44hour without much training... so this year, coach's target for me at the July Gold coast marathon is 3:25-3:33hours... its a gradual improvement.. but details of the selection is not quite set. The only thing set is that we would have to go for gold coast marathon in July ... 6th July...and during this period, we would have to go for the 5 and 10km races... and would have a 10km time trial on the track... and guess what... we would have to run below 40 minutes for the 10km... its difficult but i think with adequate training, even if i dun reach there, i would be near there... Now i decided that 2008-2009 will be my marathon period.. not much of triathlons and biathlons... its gonna be a big change.

Coach is going to change and plan my diet too... he said that i would have to drop a few more kgs and reach the optimum fat percentage level... carrying too much weight.. even a few more kgs would mean slowing down for me... for me its not prob... losing weight is perfect... I always wanted to lose weight... just 8 months ago i was 54 kg.. now 47-48kg... its been a huge loss to some of my friends who recently saw me.. but its not my best yet.. i dun wanna be skinny, i want to be lean and fit enough to race the marathon...

after the marathon meeting, I practically went home to sleep.. was too tired of all the ordeals that are happening in my life... slept from 6pm to 12midnight, woke up to eat a bowl of instant noodles.. oppss... very unhealthy.. and then went back to sleep till 6am...

then woke up and prepared to go to Macritchie... had plan to meet Marc and Joe there for run... and realised what? Marc had been played out by JOe! Joe fell sick and din msg Marc he was not coming for training until Marc msg him when we were abt to run... my gosh... JOE!!! eat more pizza la! never drink water right then fell sick! haah...

anyway Marc was really nice.. though his spped is a lot faster than mine, but he accompanied me throughout the whole of the run... we ran at a comfortable pace as coach had wanted us to.. talking pace...and because Marc was supposed to run 10mins more than me... we parted at the 45th min... then he went on to run another 5 mins out and 5mins back to catch up with me... haha he was mad la... think he is very fast.. oh no no not i think... i am very sure... and we ran all the way back.. clocked 1hour 20mins and he clocked 1hour 30mins... It was an enjoyahble run.. met Atiqi and his gf in the middle of the forest and also a 14 year old small and skinny boy who is asked to run 15km by his coach.. felt so bad for the boy.. he was suffering throughout the run due to a stitch.. we accompanied him throughout the last part of the run...

after that, i went to have lunch with Marc, Atiqi and his gf... realised that Atiqi's family has 3 cars of the same type.. small and cute cars.. 3 diff colours... oh i met David of yelloe Fish swim school at Adam road... met Stephen too... and met quite a few more triathletes...

and after that went to Da ge's house for his baby first month birthday...his baby is soooo cute... but his house is not! i had to take the bus from Bukit Panjang to Little India, then take the NEL to Sengkang and then take the LRT to Fernvale... it was very far... very far... but it was worth it... meeting friends.. most of the MR 25 members were there.. talking to them seems so nice... though it was a boring day without someone important, but still meeting up with friends made me have a sense of warmth...

after that, i went st home to rest and do my lesson plan and mark some books.. and guess what i did next, i brought my mother to a salon to cut her hair... and made her very happy! i intro her to the salon that JD and me always go...she went in and was commended by the stylist that she looked very young and hip! woohoo... and she had a hairstyle which she always wanted to cut... she was so happy that she bought a bottle of hair cream... which she paid for herself! but obviously, I paid for her haircut.. not cheap leh..$33... but worth it, its been very long since i brought her out to have a haircut....

i have some photos in my phone.. will post them up soon...! oh no! coach just informed us that training will be OTOT today... because the rain is too heavy at Turf city area... so i think i wil have to wait for the rain to stop then do the workout myself... bad bad... never mind.. just do myself...
okok got to go... looking forward to training... and also training with Brian next Tuesday at NTU... 15km long run...

Thursday, January 10, 2008

training with the NTU Bi team

yesterday was a good training session with the NTU bi team.. though I have graduated from there... but then going back as a coach meant more than normal..

met them at 730pm.. saw the IVP swim team... the memories began to flow... and hahah they asked me to go support their IVP swimming meet this SAT..erm see how.. probably going to support my hall at the IH track meet instead.. and still got coaching at Sentosa with the NTU bi people...

the program i planned for the team yest was quite alright.. did with them the workout though... Michelle came down.. had been quite a while since I saw her.. was worried about Jingwei and her after the dragonboat incident... luckily they are doing well... glad...

the workout went like this..
Swim:
- Warm up 200m with gliding
- Stretching
- Sprint 50m all out
- Cool back 50m
- 10 x 100m ( intervals at 50m timing x 2 +1 minute, time includes rest time)
- Cool down 200m

Run:
-10 mins warm up
First 2000m set:
- 1000m at 70%
- Jog 200m
- 600m at 70%
- Jog 200m
- 400m at 800%
- Rest 7 mins

Second 2000m set:
- 800m at 70%
- Jog 100m
- 600m at 70%
- Jog 100m
- 400m at 80%
- Jog 100m
- 200m at 90%
- Rest 4 mins

Third 1000m set:
- 5 x 200m at 20 seconds rest after every set

Warm down and stretching...

not very tough, the guys looked fine after the whole workout.. after this training, I realised I need to change the training plan for them... realising their strengths and weaknesses... have to shorten their rest time and push their heart work to a higher level...

I felt good after the training... din really push much too... then luckily Michelle drove me home.. thanks Babe! we had a great talk! lets find a day and ask Vicky our to have a girls talk!

Now just ended school... going home to sleep.. later Have 5000m time trial at Bukit Gombak with coach and 5 guys at 5 pm! need to rest!

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

just another day...

yest was like a not so busy day.. ended my day at work at the usual 1 pm, then started with my work.. so many things to settle. consent forms, swimming programme for my p3 kids, briefing for the teachers and students, books to mark and also lots and lots of stuff... ended work at 530! walked home from school.. took about 20minutes.. actually I walk to work and back home everyday... takes about 20minutes per trip...gotten quite used to it.. though i can take a bus... but then taking public transport would mean changing 2 buses... there is no st bus from my house to Keming Pri.. therefore.. would rather walk.. save money too! yupyup

currently got some good deals for swimming courses.. my students' parents have asked me to coach their children for swimming.. but the bad thing is that I will be charging lower... cant bear to charge them higher because they all come from a humble background.. i am charging my swim student $40 an hour as i am teaching her in a condo.. as for my school students..perhaps cheaper... but still its the sense of fulfillment that counts!

went to meet Benjamin Chia yesterday... my bro in hall 7. he was the one who persuaded me to join hall 7. appreciated him for that.. really great to have him as a good friend at that time.. we chatted a lot.. more with regards to work... and life now.. but happy for him because he is planning to get married next year.. and he is earning like much much more money than his first job now.. just a fresh grad, he can earn so much...after meeting him, i went home to have my usual long run.. was exhausted .. these few days have been meeting a lot of people.. when do i have time for myself! i took a picture of me after the run!...
now having floorball training.. i am the teacher-in-charge... after training will be heading down to NTU to coach the Biathlon team... i have planned out the training program for today.. hope they survive!

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

training at Turf City.. and a tired day...

yesterday was a busy day...I had a hard and busy day at work.. having to solve all the queries of the teachers and giving them a helping hand. sometimes I get so busy at work, I realise I slowly get used to liking my work.. though its a little of a hassle, but because I am doing sports related stuff.. organisation.. I am starting to like it a little.. started work at 7 am in the morning and ended class at 1pm... sat down to mark some maths books for my 3 Jade.. then started to do my lesson plan.. after that I had to do some admin.. by the time i completed everything, it was already 445pm... i packed my stuff and rushed down to turf city for training... out first hill work out.. or probably my first slope work with coach and the rest...

reached there at 550pm.. waited for some time without any sight of any of the 5 guys.. then msged Hilbert, Joe and Marc... in the end JOe came and he said that prob none of the others will be coming.. Marc has gone to the slope to meet us... so we headed straight to the slope to meet coach.. its such a long way and deep journey into the woods! so ulu!! on the way there we met Marc who was doing his early warm up... reached the slope , saw coach and then did our usual 10mins warm up...

the slope in front was not very steep but long.. coach marked out the slope with cones and there, Joe and me did our 9 sets of workout with Marc starting off before us and doing a longer and harder workout than us... he had to run with hand weights!

3sets of gradual speed at 80-90%
3 sets of gradual then high knees and then finally sprint ... this was the most tiring
3 sets of gradual speed then sprint...

after the work out, Joe and me felt the lactic acid coming.. woohoo... though it was a tiring day, but nevertheless, it was fun and fulfilling workout.

we left turf city together and Marc and me accompanied Joe to buy his h20.. but i think he was fated not to be able to get. the first 7-11 he went was closed... he person locked the dooe though it was wide with lights... and dunno what he said to Joe.. then we went to the second one.. he went in, then the system is not working, cant pay for the drink so cant buy... Marc and me were like??? haha... i think fated... this teaches us a lesson, remember to bring water! luckily Marc gave us a sweet... made Joe feel better with some sugar dosage...

after that i went to NTU to meet the NTU biathletes.. they had just finished their workout... and all sweating like mad... i spoke to them and then told them that I will coach them on Wed and possibly Sat... yup... since I only coach my swimming student in March... they seem to be very scared to know that I am coaching haha... I am not so scary la.. a bit crazy only... but they were appreciative ... its good to know that my juniors batch is becoming more committed and stronger after we left.. at least we can still continue the legacy...

then i went back to hall 3 with Xueyuan .. met up with the hall road relay runners.. wow so many freshies.. shocked.. saw Serene, my previous roommate.. haven seen her for almost a year... yup... but happy though... and they asked me to come for training when i can.. can motivate them.. yup will do so! if u all start early... I still need to travel home after training..

left and went to hall 13 cheerleading.. its so nice seeing spectrum again.. and obviously the most important person is Isaac.. my great bro... its very nice seeing him and getting his hug... best bro man.. as handsome as usual! the team is doing very well , has produced 5 cheerleading coaches.. i helped them to take some videos of their stunts... and went home after that..

slept all the way home in the bus.. too tired to even have my dinner...

Friday, January 04, 2008

Achievements for 2006 and 2007- the past

these are the achievements for 2006 and 2007... and it is the past... now i look forward to the new 2007...

confirm races for 2008 at the moment:
- Surf and Sweat
- X-Physique
- KL marathon
- Ironman 70.3
- Singapore Biathlon
- NUS biathlon
- Gold Coast Marathon

ACHIEVEMENTS FOR 2006

-IVP Swim - 3rd indi,2nd overall women's n 1st for overall combined team!
-IVP track 3000m-4th – 13.05min
-IVP RR-Team relay - 4nd
-Surf and sweat- 1st for indi and 1st for mixed team
-KL marathon- top 20.. – 3 hr 55min
-Vert marathon - 1st for indi and 1st for couple challenge
- Sing biathlon - 3rd for women's open (swim-30:13min, run 45:10min)
- SAAA Xtry (3km)- 11th Indi and 2nd Women's team open
- Interschool aquathlon- tertiary Woman's Indi-1st
- 28th May- kabung Baru Run 4.3km-Women's Open-2nd
- 1st June- Golden Mile (1.6km)
6:09min, 6th
- 4nd June-MR25 time trial: 4.8km at macritchie: 21:10min
-17th July - shape run (10km)- 15th
-27th July - Army Half Marathon (21km) :Women's closed 5th – 1 hr 47min
- 2nd Sept- New Balance Aquathlon - 1st for women's open
- 6th Sept - NTU X-Campus Run- 2nd for indi and 1st for team!
- 9th Sept - Public Service Run - 5th for women's open...
- 23rd Sept - IVP 3km indi-2nd and 4 x400m relay 3rd
- 30th Sept - NIE Biathlon- Indi and Women's open cat- 1st, 2nd for mixed doubles
-corporate Triathlon - 3rd for women's non profitable category
- 3rd Dec- Standard Chartered Marathon ( 21km ) – 1 hr 45 min
- 31st Dec- MR25 Ultra marathon
(completed 60 km- top 10)

ACHIEVEMENTS FOR 2007:
-IH Swimming- 1st mixed medley
-IH track and Field-1st for 4x 800m
-IH road relay- Team 3rd
-IVP swimming - 4nd for 800m freestyle
-Surf and sweat-1st for lovers challenge(with dear), Mixed open(with Sunny) and Individual:)
-Vertical Marathon-3rd for indi and 1st for lovers challenge
-NUS biathlon- 1st for tertiary challenge; 2nd for womens team
-X physiques - Team 3rd
-Sing Bi- Indi 4th
-KL marathon- top 20 – 3 hr 53 min
-Inter-School Aquathlon-1st
-The Terrain Race- 4th
-Legs and Paddles-Mixed team-1st
-Ipoh half marathon-11th in Women's Open cat
-ECO Challenge team-6th
-OSIM Tri (not a complete OD due to the rain and stoppage of the race)
-The Frog Race (800m swim, 5km run)-2nd
-Ace adventure-2nd for womens' team
-Army Half marathon-8th - 1 hr 46 min
-Safra Adventure Race- 2nd for mixed team
-NIE bi-2nd for indi, 1st for mixed team
-Corporate Triathlon- 3rd for individual non-profitable organization
-Powerman Malaysia- 3rd for individual long distance category
-Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon- 3:44hr- 8th Postion
-Ultra Marathon 75.6km - 3rd

Ultra Marathon-30th Dec


finished Ultra marathon on Sunday. Met many old friends and new friends. It was really an enjoyable day.I had the luck of having Eddie to come to my house to fetch me in the morning at 6:15 am.. then we headed for Macritchie.After reaching, I went for my light warm up. Halfway I met my ex-coach, Alex. He came down to give me his support and to pass me my 2 new pairs of NIKE shoes. They were gorgeous. Airzoomskylon.. Its linked to the IPOD and could track the distance you run etc... I was so happy upon seeing him because had not met him for ages.

Eddie went to meet up with Pei Shan and Alber... the Botak! haah... and Eddie was mad that JD did not come.! ahha...

the race started off at 7 am .. with lots of participants. the number of participants were much more than last year. it was surprising. the weather was fine and good when we started off... and i took the number tag number 1045... as it went off, I took a light jog off... started to talk to friends and competitors haha...


actually the reason why i went was because- I love ultra marathons as they can make you lose weight... ahah!, I am a MR25 member to show the support, I went because of friends and also because it is a good way to pave for the new year! haah...


the first round was easy .. however, due to the slope training that i had previously. the thumping and pounding has inflicted a pain in my knee. the first round was still fine. after the second round, I was started to feel painful. Especially towards the downslopes or upslopes as well as steps... it was real pain...


for those who do not know, the ultra marathon starts from 7 am and will last till 7pm.. a 12 hour run.. participants are supposed to run round a 10.8km route and complete a minimum of 5 rounds to get a NIKE shirt with ultra marathon logo on it. It was really a nice rice.. for the endurance runners, it meant a real long run. for the beginners, it meant a test of their endurance. You need to have a lot of patience and mental power to go through the run.


After the second round, i continued. called JD on my third round to inform him that I was in pain. He suggested tat i should stop. but knowing me, I will never stop unless it was really untolerable. I tahan the pain and cruzzz through the 3rd and 4th round. I was lucky to have the support of Andrew- Da Ge as we all called him , to join me on my 5th round. He specially came down to run with me, after putting his new born baby to sleep! he ran with me in 2007 too.. and i was really grateful he came down. He made me pace my speed and had me to monitor my pace and see whether I was on time. WE had to walk several distances because my knee could not bend... I was limping when i was walking down steps and i could hardly bend when running up steps... can u imagine it... till now i dunno how i managed to pull through...


initially, Da Ge only wanted to run 1 round with me. in the end, he ran with me my 6th round too.. and we had sufficient time to run the 7th round. the 7th round seemed to be so fast... maybe because we already know the area well enough... after we exit the forest we reach the golf course then to a water point then up a slope then to ranger station then up another slope and then down the muddy ground to the board walk... steps and steps... up steps and then down steps and then up again... run straight and then reach the big golf course.. complete the golf course and then reach the upslopes again...cant really run there because of the numerous roots... and then up slope and then down a long slope to reach the fitness station and then up another 200m slope to the exit of the forest. this leads us to the highway and the second water point... a 2 km highway run back to the starting point and also the 3rd water point and we finish our 10.8km... aahaha i can still vividly remember the route...
Da Ge and I met Alber and Eddie on the 5th round we were running.They were running their 4th round because they took a rest after the 3rd round. Can you imagine 2 jokers running and talking nonsense throughout their run!!! when i met them, they were joking and smiling... were they doing warm up or were they running the Ultra!!! these 2 jokers... ahah Alber said "eh Sumiko, let me pull your 2 pig tails and then you drag me along la..."i said "you dare you try! I ask Jun De to drive his new car and knock you down!" wa hahaha... we were going crazy...


after finishing my 7th round, Da Ge stopped for the day . I did that in 10.5hours..not a very good time...if my knee was not hurting, i would definitely have done more. i wanted to do the 8th round.. i ran into the forest... and then after running for about 2 km, i decided that that was it.. too painful... to boring to run alone in the dark forest... the time was already 5 plus and thunder sounds were heard... i decided to make my way out of the forest... and before i made my way out... i took a photo of myself.. tired looking...

after completion, i realised I got 3rd... yup.. a good achievement afterall... compared to the pain i have gotten... really bad!

I had JD to be there at the end of my 7th round... was so shocked to see him there so early... But was real glad.. felt a sense of relieve....lucky he was there to help me hold my things and obviously and most importantly.. hold me la.. cause i can hardly walk properly!

the prizes were great!!! won 2 pairs of shoes... a pair of socks, a cap, a waist pouch, a water bottle... all from NIKE.... love it!!! woohoo!!

after that, i could not walk for 2 days .... had to hold onto JD's hand and needed his help everytime i sat down and stood up. knees were hurting and muscles were sore... went for swimming and laid off running for almost a week... lucky legs are recovering well now... good to go soon...

coach Guy gave me a leg massage yest at his Physio room and he mentioned that my leg muscles were so hard. He used lots of strength to loosen it and he ensured me that my knees were pain due to the hamstring muscle pain... lucky it was not meniscus prob... and he required me to go for another session of massage this Sunday afternoon after morning training... thanks coach... ! really thankful that you are back... my legs are grateful to you! so am i!