Running Gadget Review

Have you been irritated by sweats getting into your eyes while running and wish that this problem is not there and you can just concentrate on your run?

This may be the answer to your problem. I have tried using an Adidas "Tennis" headband (about S$11). It's quite tight but does not prevent the sweat from getting into my eyes while runnings.

Then I found this "Running" headband at The Running Labs. The brand is Halo. It sort of "sucks" out the sweats from your skin and let the sweats flow on the out-side of the band and towards the rear of your head behind the ears. In the front of the headband near the forehead, there a a yellow color band (felt like rubber kind of material) that prevent the sweat from dripping into your eyes.

I have used this during my training runs and have ran a full marathon with it. It works great. So I can concentrate on my run instead of having to keep sweeping my forehead and eyes with my hands to clear up the sweats like I did in the past.

Highly recommended. But it is quite expensive though. Sorry, forgotten the price... it's either S$19 or S$26. Very expensive for just a piece of "cloth" but it works great to prevent sweats from getting into your eyes.

Standard Chartered Half Marathon: Ladies

From : Catherine

Hi Edmund,

This is an achievement already ... many people have not even done more than 10 km .... the last 3 weeks before the run was bad for you because of your hectic work and business travel .... so ... 1 pat on your back for completing it !

As for me .... i was also very very nervous ... went to the toilet twice after leaving the carpark with Edwin. Left 1 packet of my Gu Energy Gel in the MRT toilet ... only realised it after we were quite a distance away from it ... and I didn't want to turn back to get it as was worried we would be late (but actually we were still quite early ....). I was thinking to myself ... hmmm bad sign .... planned to take 2 packs during the run but only left with 1 in my shorts' pocket.

Had butterflies in my stomach .... i was so worried that i wouldn't be able to complete.

Told Edwin to go ahead first when he seemed to be done with his stretching ... i wanted to stretch some more .... just didn't feel that i was ready to go .... then Edmund left to go to the toilet ... i decided to join the crowd ... weaved my way through .... continued to stretch when i had some space ... the mc announced ... 3 mins .. i continued stretching .... 1 min ... i continued to stretch ..... and the horn went off .... CS Chan's advice came to my mind .. start slow ... so i jogged very very slowly ... my left shoe's lace was tied too tight ... had to stop to loosen the lace .... then i carried on running ... less than 500m, still too tight ... stopped again to loosen it ... then i told myself .. since i only have 1 pack of the Gu Gel left, I have to stretch it. So I decided that I will eat half at the 10 km mark, and the rest after 15/16 km.

I stopped at every drinks station to grab a cup/2 cups ... 8 km had passed ... i was tempted to eat the gel ... (had originally planned to eat at the 7 km and 14 km mark - 1 pack each) .. i pressed on ... and took the first half pack after i passed the 10 km mark.

Somewhere near the Kallang Stadium MacDonalds, I saw Edwin on the other side ... i thought to myself .. hmm .. i hope the U-Turn is not that far from here ... but it turned out to be another 2+ km before I hit the U-Turn ! Finished the other half of the gel after i passed the 16 km mark.

As I didn't wear my watch, I had no idea how long I had run. At the 18 km mark, I was so tired .. decided to walk ( i stopped a few times before that too ... at most of the drinks station) ... was wondering if I should walk 1 km or just a few hundred metres ... after walking less than 50m, I started running again .. i told myself that since I've come so far already, I should push on .. so I started running again. And then I saw the 2 km to go sign ... the same distance that I usually run back home, 1 way (from the round about at Hillview back home). So I envisioned the route that I usually take and picked up speed. I probably clocked in around 10 mins for the last 2 km as I ran all the way to the finishing line ! The time was 2:28 ..... or was it 2:29 or 2:39? Can't see clearly .... never mind .. will check the results when it's out ....

I want to thank all of you for the encouragement, advice and the "count down" from HT ... 30 days to go .... XX days to go .... Edwin for running with me to clock my first 14 km 2 weeks ago (or was it 3 weeks ago?) .... Bok Hui for telling me about the gel and where to buy them. i only managed to buy the chocolate flavoured ones as the tangerine ones were out of stock island wide .... HC for always so encouraging and the last east coast run was great ! .... and Edmund for sharing your Real Run experience with me to get me mentally prepared ....

For now, my butt really hurts, and my thighs too ... walking down the stairs is such a pain ... but I'm so happy for myself .. for my first 21 km !

I wouldn't have been able to do this without all of you .... THANK YOU !

Warm regards,
Cat ....

Standard Chartered half Marathon: Edmund's 21km story

From : Edmund
I was nervous at the start. Has not run for 3 weeks and 21km seems a long distance to go. I met Edwin and Cat New earlier but they have gone ahead as I went to relieve myself before the run (don't want to stop halfway again, like the last 10km run). When I came back to the 'runway', the run already started and I am so far behind. Tell myself to take it slow. Well, far behind is not so good an idea, everybody seem to be walking even when crossing the start point, have to weave in and out of all the bodies. After 3 km, I realised that I was very tense in my run, not my normal jog....must be my fear....told myself to relax, if not I will be burnt out in no time. Slowly, I relax and begin to enjoy my jog.....5km....42mins....hmmm.

....a pretty slow jog....never mind lah, still a long way to go.......reach the 10km mark......1h 20mins.....ok, never mind the slow time.......15km.....2h 02mins..(haha...inspite of the slow time, still faster than my new balance run timing)....but body and legs are tiring fast...seems to be dragging myself....can feel the cramps coming...feeling tired and dehydrated....need water......oh, drink too much.....pace slowing down...legs are heavy......where am I now?...how far more to go?......oh no, muscle pulling......approach the guy at the roadside for cream...and prod on.......18km or is that 19km? no it's only 18km....ouch....somebody help me, cramps cramps.......one nice guy gave me some more cream.......rub and rub and try to jog.....no no no...too painful.....no choice....walk/jog (more like fast walk...hahaha)....last km to go...tell myself..jog jog....ouch, muscle pull again....stretch and jog again...cannot walk the home stretch.....must jog......finally......pass the finish point (stop my stop-watch at 3:08:49).....so so so tired........can't walk......2 nice medics, 1 guy and a girl after asking me whether I am ok, put me on a wheel chair and race to the first aid tent....huh? do I look like I am in real emergency? hahaha...never mind lah...free ride and a free massage.

Lesson learned....If you are not prepared, don't run the long distance. Yesterday afternoon, when i was watching the run on TV, there was pacers who run with the front runners. One commentator was asking why they become pacer when they could run the marathon and may win it. The other guy then said sometimes these so-called pacers feel that they have not train enough and do not want to overstrain themselves, so they become pacer whereby they can fall out anytime. True enough, one of the pacers drop out at the 35km mark and wave the pack on. So there you have it, be prepared or don't run and struggle...jogging should be fun. For me, I have accomplish my mission of running the 21km but a terrible terrible run. Cat New told me I can try for better time next year but I must admit age is catching up with me, my body can't take this strain anymore. I can already collect part of my CPF next year and I must take it slow and relax...maybe short distance is still ok. Anyway, I will still join you guys for the weekly jog when work permits. cheerio...

More Standchart Marathon 2009

hi all, read all the emails and thot its appropriate to leave a note here instead...

its a great run for all...considering all the "should have" & "should not" that's happening around us....that pretty much sums up what life has to offer isn't it...

our own less-than-perfect personal episodes, the laid-off that's been happening every quarter, old friends that dwindled with every staff reduction...yet the one thing that was not robbed from us was running!!!

we still meet for our runs, albeit less than perfect attendance,

the commaradie that we shared was enough to see familiar faces joining us even after they left the company...more often than not,

travelling long distances just to be in the company of "HOT RUNNERS" for just 90mins...

you people will always be a welcome sight...

running also connects us to new colleagues, and forge new relationships...

the one thing that struck me was the easy persona that each runner exudes...

when we run, we are all runners, transcend beyond ranks and files within office walls..

"leave your work behind"..we often heard pple saying...myself included...

but how many of us really did..even when we go for vacation...

but during our runs, it happened...we drink (runners beer: isotonic), and talkshop everything outside work..and after all is said and done...

we marvelled at the beautiful sunsets at upper pierce that always bid us farewell before we headed home..

OFFICIAL TIME (more will be added after updates from hot runners):

FULL MARATHON 42.195KM

NAME: GAN HOCK CHAI (1st time full marathon)
TIME: 5h:22m:32s (gun) / 5h:19m:51s (net)

NAME: TAY KHENG HUA
TIME: 6h:41m:57s (gun) / 6h:36m:33s (net)

NAME: ONG BOK HUI
TIME: 5h:14m:43s (gun) / 5h:06m:29s (net)

NAME: MARGARET LIM (our wonder-girl ! she is good !)
TIME: 5h:56m:13s (gun) / 5h:44m:39s (net)

NAME: CHAN CHENG SOON
TIME: 4h:59m:0s (gun) / 4h:56m:55s (net)

NAME: Tim Teo Lu Ling (our Hero !)
TIME: 3h:37m:00s (net)

NAME:Yuan Zi Jing
TIME: 5h:32m:38s (gun) / 5h:21m:02s (net)

NAME: YK Loke (very good timing)
TIME: 4h:31m:0s (net)

NAME: Kuan Sui Toh (1st time marathon)
TIME: 7h:09m:11s (net)

NAME: Tay Beng Hwee
TIME: 5h:39m:0s (net)

HALF MARATHON 21KM

NAME: EDWIN GOH (wow, personal new record)
TIME: 2h:0m:8s (gun) / 1h:59m:43s (net)

NAME: NEW CATHERINE
TIME: 2h:28m:39s (gun) / 2h:26m:41s (net)

NAME: EDMUND LOW
TIME: 3h:15m:0s (gun) / 3h:8m:37s (net)

NAME: Eric Tee
TIME: 2h:27m:0s (net)

QUARTER MARATHON 10KM

NAME: ONG BOCK POH
TIME: 1h:26m:1s (gun) / 1h:21m:40s (net)

NAME: Janto Tjandra (personal new record)
TIME: 0h:58m:18s (net)

NAME: Jasmine Goh
TIME: 1h:07m:27s (net)

NAME: Betty Qiu
TIME: 1h:08m:00s (net)

NAME: Denise Low
TIME: 1h:13m:41s (net)

NAME: Per Soke Han
TIME: 1h:19m:00s (net)

NAME: Phang Kok Wai (personal new record)
TIME: 0h:59m:03s (net)

Standard Chartered Marathon 6-Dec-2009

A record of 50,000 people turned up for this year Standard Chartered Marathon event in Singapore!

The full marathon event started at 5:30am.






STANDARD CHARTERED MARATHON 6-DEC-09

Preliminary Results

42.195km Full Marathon

CS Chan x:xxhr

BokHui 5:10hr

HC Gan 5:22hr

Joe Tan 5:40hr

ST Kuan 6:59hr

Yuan ZhiJing 5:21hr (improved by 38min vs last year !)

Margaret x:xxhr

Tay BengHwee

KhengHua Tay 6:42hr
Jeff Zhu 6:38hr

21km Half Marathon

Edwin Wong 1:59hr (wow!)

EJ Yap 2:30hr

KwongYong ?:??hr

Edmund

Catherine

10km Quarter Marathon

KokWai Phang 0:59hr (wow!)

SokeHan 1:19hr

Betty Qiu 1:08hr (wow !)

Gabriel Wu x:xxhr

Randy 1:15hr

Francis

Vincent

Jasmine

Bobby x:xxhr

HC was very glad that his family members came to cheer him at the finishing line.

1st Anniversary Run at ECP

20 hot-bods turned up for our Hot Runners 1st anniversary run at ECP on 17 Nov..including Cecilia and Yanto..we also had a new member, Bobby Ma from finance..
Cecilia even brought along her 2 boys to run with us...


HT was not able to join us but he was at the moto carpark to see us set off for ECP.
We headed to carpark F1 (cos parking is freeeee!!) and reached there at about 6pm.
Sadly the carpark was full, only Jimmy and Edmund managed to get a place to park.


I was waiting for a Proton Gen2 to buzz-off (cos he was sitting inside the car talking on the phonel!!)..i BOLDLY went up and asked if he's leaving...he coldly said SOON...must be damn pissed-off that I even got the guts to approach him...I too coldly repled..."then you TAKE YOUR TIME...NO RUSH!!!"
I parked along the road...without any "mishap", Yanto followed suit :)...
luckily no summons on our windscreens :)


After the customary photoshoot, we headed off towards Ford Rd, return journey will be abt 10km. After progressing for about 5 mins, we saw thunderstorm in the far off marina area and decided to head towards SunsetBay Bar instead. Yanto, HC, Margaret, Cat, Bobby, Cecilia's elder boy(i dunno his name...sori..) & myself broke off from the But you can never outrun the rain...it caught up with us at about 3km mark...and drenched us thoroughly...
wanting to make this run as "memorable" as possible, we pressed on hoping the rain will have mercy on the wanting...but it continued...but it was fun running in the rain :)


After turning back to the start point and gathered the remaining runners, we head for the food centre for a well-deserved meal. Rojak, fish balls noodles, wanton noodles, prawn mee...it was a feast....we even had desserts...we probably load in more calories than we burnt..by WTH...seize the moment...enjoy!!

Edwin-HT Thursday Run report

It was a fantastic day for me to be running with Edwin again. I wasn't sure about running as I was feeling tired and the flood was wet. Edwin was already eagerly waiting for me when I met him. His infectious smile perked me up to run with him. It was going to be a "chiong" day for me all over again. Edwin was noticeably running fast at about 11km constantly. The weird thing is that he is really looking at ease. His cadence is much higher than mine but he seemed so relaxed while running. By the time we got back together for a 100plus drink, he was smiling with look of satisfaction from the run. Indeed, he told me it was a fantastic day for him too. He was improving on his pose method. He has made it looked so easy to adopt the technique. He was feeling comfortable and his Garmin chart which he shared testified it. For me, I ran 5km at 10.2km/hr (a record for me). I used higher cadence after watching Edwin for his first 1km before he went out of sight. It was a fruitful and enjoyable run.

UPR 7km run on Tue 10-Nov

10 hot-runners turned up today for the run together. The Standard Chartered marathon event is only 3 weeks away on 6-Dec.

HC Poh our lady full marathoner joined us again after a long break.
After running with us for 7km she continue to run all the way back to
office (or home?) probably for another 5 to 10km more.

Glad to see CS again who has just recently completed the Chicago full marathon.

HC Gan joined us again after a short break. He just did a training run last Sunday for 32.5km. Cramps on the legs kicked in after crossing 25km. After 28km his arms cramped too and was a surprise to him. He has not been training enough.

Bok and CS giving HC a lot of advice and suggestions.

A lot of sharing of running tips and catching up with each other today. Not sure who sponsor the drinks today but several people offered.

HT forgot to bring running gears. So he went to buy a pair of running shorts and joined us.

BokHui still runs the fatest and was showing us his new Android phone.

Glad to see the other regulars too Reais, PH, Seah and KH too. A new runner CN Ng joined us today.

The group decided to do a run together at East Coast Park next Wednesday 18-Nov follow by a makan session at the hawker centre there. More details will be published later.

Had a great run together today. Cheers......

New Balance Run - my 1st 15km run

Article written by Edmund Low

Met CS Chan at the starting point but so far behind, never mind we are not competing. We run together for the 1st 500m, chit chatting on the way. He said we should complete in about one and a half hour but without much running lately and insufficient preparation, I think I should have done well if I can do within 2 hours (hahaha). He also tell me his 3 phases during the run, 1st 35% of the distance, go slow, next 35%...maintain or a bit faster so as not hit the wall at the 70%, the last 30% to pick up speed.We started on the tarmac road for about 400metres before hitting the dirt road...undulating terrain, a lot of pot holes, certain parts are still muddy, difficult to jog, let alone run. Past the dirt road at about the 3km mark onto the road. Still running at my comfortable pace...CS no where to be seen...it's ok, his pace is definitely faster than mine. At about the 5km mark, signboard said '10km turn right...15km turn left'.......saw the 6 km mark...42 mins..ok good, keeping to my 7mins per km pace. Straight stretch of road in the shade...not bad....8km mark...57mins......9km....64mins.....10km.....71mins....not too bad, keeping my pace, 11km...80mins...oops...slow down abit but never mind lah, then i saw the 12 km mark (89mins) and a sign "--> Beach"....what? beach after 12km? I forgotten about the beach part...oh well. Reach the beach.....what? run on the beach? jog on the beach? or walk on the beach? why are there so many people walking? I soon realised.......the minute the legs hit the sand, it sink in, need great efforts to jog....after 12km, the legs don't do what we want them to do anymore. Worse...it is sloping towards the sea and my right knee and ankle is having too much pressure and strain....oh no, too much, i better conserve my energy.. reduce to walk jog.....oh my my...even walk jog is so difficult.....how far is this beach run...too much efforts...legs so tired.......at long last, we started to climb the slope towards level ground again.....then i saw the 13km mark...what? only 1km...that must be the longest 1km run....108mins. Past the 13km but legs are so tired...oh no...right toes are having cramps..ouch.....my right calf...starting to cramp too...oh no...need to slow down...ouch.....Slowly I prod on, past the 14km (lost track of time...legs too painful)....ouch...left legs cramping too...reduce to walk jog.....why are my thumbs cramping too...oh no.....this must be those cramps that HT, HC and BokHui talked about but hey they said it is at the 17km mark, not 13km or 14km.....well, last km to go...ouch...ouch....must not stop...walk jog back....at long last, up the ramp for the home stretch, try to speed up...ouch..ouch...no way, my legs said no no. At last, I saw the clock "2:14:34".....I am so tired......

My official timing......2:05:29
Rank CheckPt1 RkC1 CheckPt2 CheckPt3 NetTime Total_Finish
499 00:30:49 458 0 1:00:41 01:30:53 02:02:04 02:05:29

Today's run..canceled

To : All Hot-Runners

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: HT Ng
Date: Thu, Nov 5, 2009 at 7:18 AM
Subject: Today's run..canceled

As Edwin, I and Bokz will not be around to host the meeting, the run
is officially canceled. Feel freee to run and meet on your own.

For those who have stopped for a while, hey look at the bright side,
.. you have some work to do with those muscles of yours.
Standard Chartered Run is round the corner. Your last chance to run a
bit more before tapering off.

Some bit of happenings:
CS Chan completed in Marathon in Chicago. He have a note for those who
will take part in something similar... Keep yourself warm while
waiting for the event flag off. It was cold for him waiting. His
advise is to buy a disposable tracksuit to keep warm...ditch the suit
before you start to run.
CS Chan also did the infamous North face 100 km cross country run.
Edmund Low will be going for his REAL Run this weekend. Wish his Fun
for his first 15km attempt.

Regards

27 Oct...UPR

4 runners..including myself were present..we had Reghie from Bluetooth Automotive team joining us as well...

Run on 6 Oct

this update has been sooooo backdated...apologies...
well..here's the story...
6 of us, Reis, HT, HC, Tay, Joseph & myself turned up for the run..


good to see HC coming back...
as usual, Reis was the only lady but we did not make her felt out of place...
a navy friend, Andrew, also joined us...

we ran off without the usual photo taking as the sky was getting gloomy..
catching up on the week's events over a cup of iced cold H20 always set away the fatigue..
here's the shots we got...sky was getting really dark early that day...

Reaching the limit in Beijing

October 19, 2009

Reaching the limit in Beijing

Posted: 921 GMT

BEIJING, China - I hauled myself out of bed at 6 a.m. Sunday to set out for something I'd never done before–run a race in the Beijing marathon.

Jaime FlorCruz, far right, joins Zhang Lianqi, center, and another runner at the finish line.

I've been prepping for this day, on and off, for three months since I signed up to run 9.6K as part of the 2009 Beijing International Marathon, the full length of which is a little more than 42 kilometers.

My 58-year-old body seemed fit enough to run the distance, but I woke up with pinching pain on my left knee. For one brief moment, I thought that was a good reason to back out.

I decided to go and run. I had my muesli and banana, took a painkiller and proceeded to Tiananmen Square. Nearly 30,000 people, professionals and amateurs, had gathered there for the 29-year-old annual event. Foreigners paid $100 to register; Chinese paid 150 yuan ($22). Everyone gets a packet, including a runner's bag and bib, an official T-shirt and a certificate of participation.

At the starting line, some came in groups — high school and college students, factory workers, corporate employees, and members of runners' club from various parts of China. Others came alone or with running buddies. Many joined to challenge themselves. Others, like the nine Chinese nuns from Henan province, run to support charity. Several runners wore distinctive T-shirts emblazoned with company logos ("Bimbo" Bread stands out) and uplifting message (the Obama slogan "Yes We Can" was eye-catching, if a bit tired).

I can too, I thought, as I jogged past Chairman Mao's portrait soon after the start. Forty minutes and four kilometers later, however, my energy and enthusiasm started to flag. I puffed and winced, as I watched rabbit-like runners overtake me and deflated stragglers fall off behind me. Can I go on for five more Ks?

Just as I was losing confidence, I noticed an elderly man in red shirt, red shorts and blue sneakers, running just ahead of me. I sidled up and politely asked his age. "I'm 76," he says, smiling.

Zhang Lianqi, it turns out, is a running aficionado. "I've been joining long-distance runs in Beijing since 1956," he recalls, keeping a slow but steady pace. "Once, I finished 37th." He retired from his transistor-factory job 16 years ago but still jogs two to three kilometers three times a week.

That explains Zhang's good form. "I've gained a bit of weight but I can still run," he quips. Along the way, he served as my mentor and inspiration. "Let's not run in the middle of the street," he suggests, so we avoid runners who are too fast or too slow. He took out two squares of chocolate from a yellow plastic bag and handed me one. "Don't swallow, just let it melt in your mouth." Soon, we passed 6K!

Impetuously, I picked up speed, inspired by periodic cheers ("Persistence means victory!") from onlookers and volunteers who'd lined the streets. "Pace yourself," Zhang warned me. "Don't run too fast." Badly dehydrated, I fetched a bottle of water from a volunteer. "Don't drink too much," he says. "Just sip." His most telling unsolicited advice involved attire. "Next time wear running shorts," he admonished me. "Sweatpants drag you down." Like a tour guide, he narrated a bit of history of Diaoyutai, as we ran past China's state guest house. He probably just wished to distract me. By the time he finished his spiel, we were only 600 meters away from our goal.

Literally shoulder to shoulder, we crossed the 9.6K finish line. As we posed for souvenir pictures and exchanged phone numbers, I felt especially exhilarated to have found in Mr. Zhang a running companion, a mentor and another Beijing friend. I am glad he pushed me to the finish line.

Posted by: CNN Beijing Bureau Chief, Jaime FlorCruz
Filed under: China • General • Sports

http://inthefield.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/19/reaching-the-limit-in-beijing/