Saturday, July 18, 2015

OSIM Sundown Marathon 2015 [5km]



Some of you may have read my Sundown pre-race review, where I mentioned finally returning to some form of running post injury. It was meant to be my first night race and I looked forward it. No early wake up, plenty of caffeinating opportunities and no sun blaring down on us.

The event finally came and with the exception of a 20 minutes delayed flag-off for parents with children it was a fun race. My daughter was in good form, hubby relaxed as usual and I was happy just to have my runners on and be amongst all the other participants.

 

Singapore is a beautiful city anytime but it is spectacular at night. Any race that circles the Marina Bay area is a bonus. I very much enjoyed running down The Shoppe boardwalk spiritually engaging with the diners who are watching the racing spectacle.

My running style was a cross between power walking to midfoot running to flatfoot hobbling to somewhere in between all of those. My ligaments are stubborn and taking ages to heal but I’m still finding ways to race even if I’m anything but classy or stylish in my approach.

 

My daughter thoroughly enjoyed the experience, at times flying like a jet fighter (perhaps all the NDP practice fly-bys past our condo may have influenced her) and other times zig-zagging between runners like a F1 driver. Her joy and happiness was infectious, providing John and I with an overall marvellous experience at this event.

  

 

Besides the overall fun we had, our highlight was at the end of the race, being able to sit down anywhere to rehydrate, listen to the live music and rest without the sun or the heat overwhelming us.

As night creatures, this event certainly hit all our buttons and I would be back again. Hopefully in better form next time.




Cheers

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Tri-Factor Series: Bike Race 2015



It was 6am and John and I were wondering yet again why we kept signing up for morning races as we trudged our way through the underpass to cycle our way down to the Tri-Factor Bike race. The upside to such an early morning ride is the sea breeze and the quietness of East Coast Park. An hour and 12km later we arrived at the main event site.

 

Along the way we got a shout out from Michelle as she was completing another loop in her 35km category. Cool as a cucumber she drafted behind the leading cyclists throughout the race with a determined effort to take one of the top three positions.

Michelle’s been cycling seriously for less than a year. With a bi-weekly 50km ride to Mt Faber return has provided her with a good dose of training for this race. Setting an average pace of 31km/h, Michelle finished her race in 1:06 hours taking 3rd place out of 43 in the Women’s Open Category. A fantastic effort for her first cycling race.

 

Both John and I registered for the 21km category. Neither one of us are cycling enthusiasts. We prefer cycling for leisure to the nearest coffee shop, rarely covering more than 10km. Often we are accompanied by our 6 yo daughter, making the 10km distance sufficient for one day’s ride.

However, we wanted to experience the Tri-Factor Series with cycling as one of the sporting events. Choosing the 21km category was sufficient distance for us, especially since we haven’t trained for it and the last time we covered that kind of distance was 5 months ago. Pretty much before I fractured my ankle.

Although John flagged-off 15 minutes earlier than myself, it was evident that our experience was quite similar. We both enjoyed the bends and slopes, had fun seeing each other across the barriers and John especially enjoyed drafting Michelle for about 300m until he couldn’t keep up with her anymore. The straight was possibly the most tedious and we just looked forward to the next u-turn or slope.

 

Assessing my competition when I was in the holding area, it was very clear that the two women in front of me would lead and finish off ahead of the rest of us and the women behind me were reasonable competition for my abilities. Throughout the race, I aimed to maintain a steady pace, having no expectations other than getting to the end and surviving the upward slopes.

On average I kept a speed of 24km/h. When I saw John on the opposite side, cycling his last lap, I considered slowing down so he could catch up and complete the loop together but I was having a very good race, keeping a steady pace and decided against it.

Throughout my entire race I was largely on my own in my own category. The fast riders were obviously way ahead but other than overtaking one rider in my category, I didn’t see anyone else nearby or in the distance. A brief calculation indicated that I could very possibly have an opportunity to win a place. With that in mind, I pushed on even when my injured foot was going numb and I was super happy when I crossed the finish line. Dismounting the bike was a bit humorous with my jelly legs but it was great to catch up with hubby and Michelle to toast our successful rides with a couple of 100 Plus’s.

The race results were released fairly quickly and it was extremely exciting when it was confirmed that Michelle took 3rd place and I placed 1st in the Veteran Female category. That was just an awesome way to finish our races.

 
 

After accepting our prizes, we headed back home. Knocking up 40km in one day was twice as much as John and I have ever ridden making the homebound ride eternal. Michelle on the other hand just cruised on as if she’d only just started riding.

We celebrated our successes with poolside big breakfast, strong coffee and beamed for the next couple of days.


With two out of four Tri-Factor sporting events completed, we are waiting for the Tri-Factor Run at the end of July but not before the OSIM Sundown night race.

Cheers

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Discovering our Child’s Racing Preferences



When I registered my daughter and husband for the Mileage Father’s Day race, I had all best intentions. It would be an event the two of them can share and the finisher medal will be a tangible item for my daughter to remember this year’s Father’s Day as a special event she shared with her daddy.

The morning started off well enough; excited and ready, glad we didn’t need to travel far we showed up at Pasir Ris Park with sufficient time to relax and enjoy the quiet atmosphere.

When their category started I waved them off for their 3km route around the beautifully manicured park and waited at the finish line, looking forward to their story and some pics.

Not the best race but they can still
enjoy their finisher medals.

What we didn’t anticipate was Trinity’s lack of enthusiasm during the race, indicating she was bored and basically giving up from even trying to run the race. It surprised and disappointed both John and I and it took the Jurrasic World movie to get us all out of the funk we were in.

It took us a couple of weeks before the right opportunity came up to quiz Trini who is only 6 with the right kind of questions as to what happened. Interestingly we had some revealing answers which helped us first realise we made a mistake entering her in a 3km race that had little to stimulate her and was small as an event.

First surprise was that she liked the larger races such as the Standard Chartered Kids Dash not only because of the energy such a large crowd draws but also the 800m snaky route. So what we learned here is sprints and stimulating routes are a criteria.

SCMS 2014
The second surprise is that she’s not opposed to long distances but the constant opportunities to stop and engage with animals makes the 6km Safari Zoo race a thumbs up and “not boring because there’s lots to see”.

Safari Zoo 2015

Third surprise is that night runs are super fun because they are at night and instead of sleeping she gets to run. This was her explanation of the forthcoming Sundown Fun Run that starts at 8pm. Thankfully she’s a night child and we won’t have to worry too much about her getting too tired.

The final criteria is any race that includes obstacles such as the Energizer Obstacle Race because as Trini explains it they are “totally fun because you get to climb stuff and have lots of challenges as part of the run”.

Energizer Obstacle Race 2015

So the Father’s Day run may have been a disappointment on that day but it was a blessing in disguise as it brought forth our daughter’s interests in certain types of races not just any race that is listed. I guess that’s not that much more different than her own parents. As we participate in more races, it has become more apparent to the types of races we also enjoy. Our criteria is much the same as Trini’s; night races, obstacle races and interesting routes.

The lesson here is not to assume that just because a race or event is available for a child that they will like it, but to ensure that it is the right type of race that stimulates and excites the child to want to keep participating and engaging in these sporting activities.