After completing the YOLO run the morning before, I woke up again early the next day for The Performance Series (TPS) Race 4.  I had signed up for this race with a generous discount from JustRunLah! as a past blogger.  But this has not affected my review in any way.  TPS started since 2016 and this is the third series and finale race for the year.  TPS is also done in Malaysia.  The theme is around promoting healthy lifestyle through the appreciation of iconic landmarks in Singapore and Malaysia within the local and foreign/expatriate community.

This series was first of its kind to encourage individuals of all levels, from non-active to leisure to competitive, to have a schedule of races to work towards and progress along with the series.  Hence Transcending Yourself !

Garmin has incorporated its name to the series this year as the main sponsor.  The race pack collection also took less than 5 minutes (same as YOLO) and I was a bit surprised too at seeing nobody queuing that weekend afternoon.  I was wondering if the lustre has worn off or just that there were too many races these days.

I was again early at the venue, East Coast this time.  And it was the good cooling weather with rain coming down till the last minute.  Still, there was a good crowd – and I saw some runners who had participated in YOLO Run the day before too.   The race this time was postponed by 15 minutes.  At 7.45 am, the race was flagged off punctually as announced.

Nice cool weather and a simple loop back route for the 10 km distance.  I felt good and ran as per planned.  No muddy shoes this time despite the downpour earlier.  To be fair, the East Coast Park surface is more similar to the hard unyielding surface I found myself pounding at the Pangsua Network Connector most mornings.

I’ve participated in TPS since its inaugural session and liked the theme of improving yourself, transforming yourself through these races, through running.  Folks who had read my accounts knew that I had started with running only early 2015 more seriously, after age 51 then.  Since then, I’ve done biathlons (run and swim), spartan races, swim for hope challenges, vertical marathons and even cycling challenges.  Running became a preoccupation and maybe obsession even as I went on to an ultra 50 km and the Relay For Life event (overnight running, jogging, walking in the stadium) last 1 year.  Yes, even as I was nursing my fractured lumbar (spine) back to health, which I incurred during one of the virtual cycling challenges.

Reflecting back, it was probably foolhardy to still run with an unstable spine and this might explain why the back stiffness and tailbone pain has repeatedly visited me till today.  Pain became my teacher as I struggled through the distances in the past 1.5 years or more after sustaining the injury.  My body adapted, whether it is deeper puffing to get rid of the pain, or an imperfect gait.  I recently found out that my left leg was longer than my right leg.  So it wasn’t just a bigger left foot which was one size bigger.

In the past couple of years too, my black toe nails and plantar fasciitis had plagued me constantly but luckily in the past few months, I’ve gotten back to almost normal.  That may explain why I’m able to keep a relatively faster pace vs before – still below the average runner.  One easier change I did was to reduce my footwear choice to just two brands these days – first letter starting with A and N.  The shoes helped too because I’ve now tried to be nicer to myself by changing the shoes when they wore out.  I used to patch the bottom left heel with rubber that was shed by other runners on the trail.  While it worked to some extent, I seemed to have much less issues these days if I just stuck to the worn out shoes but rotate them regularly.  The patched surface might have caused some misguided adaptation of the foot as I ran.

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After the run, we had a relatively trouble free collection of the finisher medal, finisher Tee and drinks.  East Coast area would probably be one of the better race grounds for its terrain and ‘convenience’ for running – free from traffic.  It was nice too to run close to the sea and take in the morning sun and wind.  I had probably the best if not one of the better timings for my 10 km run in recent times.  I didn’t take the hydration but saw a few hydration points so it was probably more than adequate for most runners.

Enjoyed myself and happy with the results.  So on to the HomeTeam NS Real Run half marathon one week away from this race.  This would be my first half marathon after a fairly long break.  I had been making good progress despite the stiff back last few weeks but have not attempted any longer distance than 12 km leading up to it.   Would be interesting to see how I do for myself.

Meantime run safe and run happy.

(Author’s Note: I started writing this about the same time as YOLO run but got delayed by works of my own – hence the reference to YOLO run that took place one day before this race.  The nice photos on the race are with credits to JustRunLah! photographer too – thank you.)

Registration fee was just a cheap cheap $10 and best of all, the registration fees goes into the welfare communities in Jalan Besar GRC and Potong Pasir GRC. Thanks to the sponsors, event pack collected before the event day includes event tee, umbrella, draw string bag,
National Geographic magazine and a wall hanger that you can hook whatever you think you want to hook you can hook ?

It’s my 5th running event of the month. Last week, after Real Run I was already exhausted and I asked Willis could we give this a miss instead? But Willis had only participated in a few runs this year due to busy work schedule and 3 runs he registered isn’t happening. He didn’t heard anything about Run Free, Halloween by the Bay was cancelled due to low registration rate and Gold Coast Marathon for us didn’t happen because of blah blah blah.

So, on event morning, I took about 5 minutes before Grab arrives to cut away the sleeves and length of the event tee after trying it on and feel it’s gonna be hot run since flag off gonna be at 8am. The tee length was also too long or either way, I’m also fine to say that I’m short instead of blaming the tee ? I’m glad I chopped off the sleeves as its indeed a HOT HOT morning! 但本宫针线活不精，得空时必需找绣娘把衣服缝制好，不要糟蹋了衣服 ?

We arrived minutes before 7.30am at event venue and was quite sian as queue for registration to get the coconut and the wrist tag (wrist tag for identification purpose to collect finisher entitlements such as medal and isotonic drinks after the run) was super long, but the volunteers did a great job as more of them come forward and expedite on the registration process and within minutes, the long queue was gone.

While waiting for the flag off, I’m pretty entertained by the emcee, he’s quite funny and he’s giving safety advice and also advising runners not to carry coconuts in the plastic bags and run as its not nice for photos ? At about 7.50am, after the Grassroots advisor of the GRC gives a short welcome speech, warm up was K-pop dance routine. The dance instructor and his assistant were so smiley and full or energy in a morning which I wish I could stay in bed but it sure was a fun work out as I could see everyone was enjoying. Just me and Willis stood there like a log but we really enjoyed just by eye power ?

I thought the coconut will only be given after the completion of the run because it’s like so irritating to carry it and run right? So, Willis and I instead or running, we do a pak tor 4km hold hand stroll, we finished with only a mother and her daughter behind us ? Though it’s hot and glaringly sunny but honestly I really enjoyed the stroll and pak tor-ing with Willis ❤

It’s not a big event with I think maybe about 400 participants at a glance. There’s 2 different distance categories of 2km and 4km. Both were different route and for the 4km categories, we thought that there’s many volunteers along the route and not exaggerating, we estimated 1 volunteer every 30 metres(after 2km it’s a loop back) ?

Though it’s at a inconvenient location at Lavender as I stay in Yishun but I love these type of runs and don’t mind to travel for the run as it’s not expensive, it’s run for a good cause, it’s fun themes of coconuts this year and last year it’s balloon theme. And it’s really well organised and most of all I enjoyed it. Wondering what’s next year theme might be?

This year’s Home TeamNS Real Run is held at The Meadow, Gardens By The Bay on 21st October. Compared to last year’s run at Punggol Waterway,  this year’s incorporates 2 new categories: 3 km fun walk and 21 km run. I am participating in the 21 km run, while my friends Angie and Kamal are participating in the 10 km category – all thanks to JustRunLah! for providing us with 3 complimentary slots (thank you, JRL!).

The 21 km route brings the runners to East Coast Park, u-turn and back to The Meadow via Gardens By The Bay East. It is different from the 10 km route, which covers mainly Gardens By The Bay East. This must be one of the few morning races where the 21 km flags off late at 5.30 am and the 10 km flags off early at 5.50 am, a mere 20 mins apart. I believe the organizers made this arrangement to facilitate a single shuttle service pick up time for all runners and at the same time, minimal ‘idle time’ for the 10 km runners awaiting for their flag off.

Race pack collection at Novena Square was relatively fast and done within 5 mins. There were quite a few useful items in the race pack, such as the Superbowl vouchers.

My 2 Goals for this Run

I never enjoy long distance running. But I do like to challenge that distance once in a while. So I set a rule that I will not run more than 2 half marathons within in a year and they should preferably be at least 4 months apart.

Having said that, my last half marathon was The Income Eco Run at end April. I completed that race at a time of 3 hr 07 mins and with knee pain. For this Real Run, I decided to try a different approach, with a primary goal to eliminate the knee pain. I think it just doesn’t make sense to complete a race resulting in pain or injury. Finish the race within 3 hrs is my secondary goal. This was my plan:

1. After the 12 km mark, slow to a walk for a min or two before covering the next 1 km. I used my Runkeeper app to monitor and repeat this cycle.
2. Perform quadricep stretches during each walk/stop.
3. Apply pain relief (‘Star Balm’) if necessary. So yes, I actually brought it along with me for the run.

Race Day

It was warm and humid on race day morning. I took the shuttle service at 4 am at Bedok and reached the race site at 4.30 am. Volunteers were setting up the various booths and the bouncy castle. I was pleasantly surprised that drinks were already available at the hydration point. I think this is good as runners could hydrate themselves before their run. I deposited my bag and explored the site with my friend, Angie, who was taking part in the 10 km run. We had a good catch-up before we proceed to the Start Point.

There were 2 waves to the 21 km flag off at 5.30 am. I joined the 2nd wave. This was my first time running at Gardens By the Bay, Marina Barrage and East Coast Park (ECP) at this early hour. The surroundings were quiet and peaceful, though there were already pockets of other runners enjoying their morning jog. By the time I hit the 9 km u-turn mark at ECP, it was already 7 am and the sun was up. The weather was hot. Apart from hydrating myself with pocari sweat at the hydration stations, I wet my face and neck with water to cool down. I have been to ECP many times, hence did not specifically take time to enjoy the scenery and sea views. I guess my focus was on the run itself.

Once I reached the 12 km mark, I slowed and acted according to my plan, performing quadricep stretching and taking it easy. So much so that a volunteer thought I was in ‘trouble’ ! I repeat this cycle until I reached the Marina Barrage, where I felt exhausted. There was still 2 km to clear and I did it with a mixture of running and walking.

I managed to complete the race at a net time of 2 hr 45 mins and most importantly, without any knee pain. I had achieved my goals, feeling great and not overly exhausted.

Post Race

There wasn’t much activities at the race site, apart from the free massage for the runners and the awards presentation to the top runners. I believe many runners (and their families) had left after collecting their entitlements, as the day was getting very hot and there was no shelter to offer respite from the sweltering heat.

I took some photos at the photo booth and lingered a while before making my way home.

Did My Plan Work?

Frankly, I am not sure. What I know is that patellofemoral pain can occur when the muscles around the hip and knee don’t keep the kneecap properly aligned due to repetitive stress on the knee joint. Hence, what I did was to prevent it from even happening by inducing lesser stress and periodically ‘align’ the kneecap. I have been doing vertical runs too. Perhaps the strengthening of core muscles help in some ways also.

Comments

1) The carrier bag for the race pack appears to be an ‘over-kill’. I think a drawstring bag is more suitable and practical.

2) I didn’t notice any sign directing to the Start Point. There was a white arch at the venue which I mistakenly thought was the Start Point. It was only after the race I realized that was the start for the 3 km walk.

3) There were sufficient hydration stations throughout the run. And they provided good choice of pocari sweat and water. But I feel the water was too chilled for consumption when you were exhausted. Having it just ‘cold’ may have been better.

4) There were sufficient volunteers and road marshalls. Many of them were enthusiatic and gave words of encouragement to runners to persist to the end.

5) I didn’t notice medical support along the run. I thought an ambulance on standby at an ‘out-lying’ area such as ECP for a long distance run would have been re-assuring. Perhaps I didn’t notice there was.

6) Personally, I prefer last year’s edition at Punggol Waterway. There was a good theme (fire-fighters vs law enforcers) and the route took us to Coney island. City areas and ECP are just too common places to provide a refreshing experience. Perhaps for next year’s edition, if it is feasible, could be held in conjunction with the SCDF Exhibition at the Singapore Expo? I believe such an experience would be more unique as participants can explore additional activities at the Expo after their run.

Like a zombie because I only had a little more than just an hour of sleep as I reached home late due to participating in Asics Relay full marathon category, that was held in Sentosa which ended just a mere few hours before Home TeamNS Real Run flagged off.

[Home TeamNS Real Run]

I think this is the only run in Singapore that is opened for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents only. There’s 3 distance category, 21.1km category, 10km category and the 3km fun walk. And this is the first time they’re organizing the 3km fun walk and half marathon category.

Initially, I wanted to participate in the 10km category as recently I have too many long distance races, I can hear my legs crying already and I still have another 3 half marathons before I end the year of 2018. I jio-ed Eleanor and Sabrina to run with me thanks to Just Run Lah! for the 3 slots for me and my two friends (start sharing your running experiences or write race reviews for the perks of having free race entries! ? Though I must say, blogging is sort of my hobby and I quite enjoyed it), I thought Sabrina will participate in the 10km category because she got pacing duty for the half marathon distance the previous day at CSC Run by the Bay. And I thought Eleanor would like to participate in 10km category as well because she was my team mate for the Asic’s Relay but who am I kidding? I have hardcore friends ? They both wanted to run the half marathon category so might as well I’ll do it too ?

Flag off was at 5.30am at The Meadow of Gardens by The Bay. Eleanor and I stayed near by and we took Grab Hitch to the race venue and coincidently sharing the Hitch ride with Cindy, one of the podium runners for the 10km distance category! Congratulations! ?

We reached at about 5am and deposited our bags with no queues at all and chop chop went to the start line for the flag off. The start line and finish line is at the same place and so the only nay side of feedback we’ve got for this run was that we thought the start/finish point was pretty far from the race village.

It’s a scenic route that most runners will enjoy but I’m bored of it already as most of the runs I participated in very recently such as Great Eastern Women’s Run and the Straits Times Run were also having similar routes, running by some of the same places ? The route starts from The Meadow at GBTB – Marina East Drive – East Coast Park – Gardens by the Bay East – Meadow at GBTB. Flag off was punctual with pacers fastest finishing at 1 hours 50 minutes and even the slowest pacing group finishes the half marathon in 2 hours and 20 minutes.

Honestly, my aim is at the minimum and that’s to complete the race and I did. It’s not easy running the crazy upslopes in Sentosa just 8 hours before this half marathon and I was exhausted with the lack of sleep.

I liked what the emcee said, we’re halfway finishing the race as we had turned up at the start line. I was happy to see Kelvin at the start pen and I wanted to follow him for some companionship and motivation throughout the run. It’s a super humid morning and worst thing happened. I felt giddy at the start pen. I thought hoseh liao and squatted down while waiting for flag off ? Felt better when I started running.

Thank you, volunteers, along the way and at hydration points! This is one of the many runs I’ve noticed with enthusiastic and cheerful volunteers as well as enough volunteers and road marshals along the route. There’s plenty of hydration points and most of them have super chilled water and Pocari Sweat. Shiok to the max! ? Each hydration points have plenty of volunteers mending the hydration points, cheering and motivating runners and handing out the water to runners. Distance marker is well placed and accurate thoughout the route with motivational quotes.

It was super humid till we enter East Coast Park when I started to feel some breeze. The only thing I look forward at ECP was the u-turn point ? After 10km, I was sweating like I could make a swimming pool out of my sweat so I drank at almost every hydration point as well to keep myself hydrated. I felt super exhausted and complete the rest of the distance with many walking. At the last four km, I started to get annoyed by my left ear as it seems blocked, I could hear my own breathing as though someone is breathing into my ear. Then, even Kelvin’s walking speed is too fast for me to catch up with, I was on my own for the last 2km.

(Photo credits: Ang Chi Song)

The feeling of nauseous kicks in. Maybe it’s because I drank to much isotonic drink along the way, maybe because of the lack of sleep, maybe because of the back to back runs, maybe because of the blazing sun. I’m nor made of steel and not everyone have a body thats as fit like Iron Man. I must’ve looked horrible as one of the volunteers saw me and asked if I was OK, I said I was fine and carry on for a while before I felt giddy and a little bit unbalance. I know I need to rest and I sat down on the floor for a while like a weird out of no where. I was just like 100m away from the finish line. The volunteers cheered for the runners to run the last stretch, but I just can’t. I saw a wheelchair at the finish line and I was so close to sit down on it and beg to be push back to the race village but I thought I can still tahan. I start cursing when I need to walk back to that race village which was like at least 400m away.

I started to gag and wish I could vomit out because I knew I would feel better. It’s just that few hundred metres to the race village but it seems so far away. Decided to sit down on a curb and rest. I almost want to cry, till I saw Chiuping zehzeh. I was super happy to see someone familiar and she immediately knew I wasn’t alright and accompanied me back to the race village offered me her drink and fanning me all the way back to the race village though she was already on her way home ❤

Though its the first time they’re having the half marathon category but it’s very well organised. The medal and finisher tee looks gorgeous this year ? I pretty like the brand sponsor, The North Face of the race singlet and finisher Tee. And the bottled water and Pocari Sweat collected at the finisher entitlement was super cold as well ? I was too unwell to check out the race village but saw there’s policemen and firefighters uniform for the kids and runners to try on! Left after resting a while and some photos with friends ❤

This was my third run with Home TeamNS Real Run and all these runs so far offered different experiences at different places. It was well organised and nothing to complain about, just that the weather can’t be helped. Looking forward to what next year’s run gotta offer already!