My 1st JP Morgan Run

Many many 1st for this.
1st time taking part in massive run event,
1st longest competivite distance to-date @ 5.6km route.

Group Photo of our SMRT team outside HQ.

missing from the Photo: Reza & Maimunah. they missed out meeting time as both thought the run is next day.

To celebrate this 1st BIG Run, Let's do A SHORT INTERVIEW ON MYSELF to celebrate it!

1. HOW I TRAINED FOR THE EVENT?
Stopped regular runs after MySMRT run last Oct.
To let my body get use to the distance, started off with 2km slow jogs for 3-4times a week for a 3 weeks period before increasing to 3km.
Thereafter, alternate between 3km, 4.5km, 5km and 6km 1 month before the run at 2 different locations. Neighborhood for flatter, smooth running surface but with an incline and decline slope. Lower seletar reservoir for rougher running surface and strong wind (at times).

2. WHAT WERE MY IMPRESSION & THOUGHTS OF MY FELLOW TDR TEAM MATES?
1st time meeting most of our TDR teammates. We all come from different depts but our TDR team is a group whom would makes one feels at ease & comfortable with almost instantly for we all have something in common - SMRT and running.

A self taken photo while waiting for flag-off.

In this photo, top left is Desmond Loh from HR, top right is me. Bottom Right is XinLi from Engrg & Aishah from Buses.
We tried to make our way as near as possible to the starting point but in the end this was the best we could get.

The starting point and ... the super many people (13,000 runners!)


3. WHAT WENT THRU MY THOUGHTS DURING THE RACE ITSELF?
Super many people! It was difficult even to want to run at a faster pace.
“Not-too-fast, not-too-fast…go with my comfortable pacing”, I told myself. But I can’t help pondering how was it possible for some ladies to be running faster when they don’t seem that athletic to me (Pardon me for my frankness). It did get me down a little before I accepted the fact they may be gifted runners or put in lots of hardwork.

Run past the 2km mark, and found myself constantly on the outlook of our runners on the opposite return route. So thrilled when I spotted Meng chai, Rahim, Izhar…Lester and Aishah that I felt like shouting out loud “SMRT ~”

It was some 500m from the finishing point when I spotted Ming Yue in front, and I thought “So good to see someone from our team !” She was sure my energy boost for the last dash towards the finishing point.

4. WHAT WERE MY FEELINGS AFTER THE RACE?
Haha! Finally reached the finishing point but Where’s everyone?
MingYue and I were lost. It was rather embarrassing to have everyone waited for us.
And the walk back to HQ was a long one. So tiring. But Im so relieved I have Mingyue’s company. and i kept thinking "oh dear... it's getting late. Can i have my dinner @ 8pm ?"

My results? 35min 12sec
Team results?
SMRT Team 1 (Men) - 13th place (1:37:59)
SMRT Team 2 (Men) - 98th place (2:06:07)
SMRT Team 1 (Mix) - 61th place (2:24:47)
SMRT Team(Ladies) - 24th place (2:21:33)

We are on SMRT FORWARD magazine !

The editors used our PHOTO in the write-up of MySMRT Run !
So proud of ourselves and Obviously I can't hide the excitement.
I even seek permission from Marlina to print out a copy in COLOURED to keep as souvenir. Of COURSE I AM PROUD, tell me... how often does one get to be featured in prints? Not my 1st time but I really like this one. Looking at picture, one can tell it was so much fun and happy.

So what's next after mySMRTrun?

My next goal --> JP Morgan Run 2011.
Run Date: 21 Apr 11, Thu
Distance: 5.6km
Location: Start - Esplanade Bridge
Finish - F1 Pit Building
Target Timing: 28 min

My SMRT Run 2010 - 29 Oct

Oh Yess. the run is over and it had my body aching for a week !
And the results? the overall champion goes... to RED Team ! (music) We are the champion ~
Before the run we were only confident of getting the team honors for Ladies Open and Ladies Veteran Category.

The timing guideline that Stephen gave me was 30-35min for average runner. below 25min is good. And how do I fare individually on the actual day? Much faster than I expected !

I was in the 7th position in Ladies Open Category but it's the timing that got me real excited ! the timing was... 28 min 20 sec !

WohOOoo.... this was a whole 7 min faster than my normal training!
and the 4th position's timing was just 20 sec earlier than me !

Take a look @ my 2 medal: individual and Ladies Open Team. Im not the only one who was thrilled. The boys were too. YuXiang: MaMA, thank YOu (for the medal).


Many pics taken by our Pro photographers in SMRT.

Overall event ...



Prize Presentation...


and then a few pics of ourselves having a FUN Time @ the Run.

Candy helping me with the number tag (it's electronic, so high tech)

My 1st attempt @ 5km

Last learnted that SMRT Run would be 5km instead of 3.2km last Fri.

I have never taken part any run longer than 3.2km, so this will be my 1st.
After resting for 3 days or rather struggle with myself internally whether to go on for the run, I finally set out to try my 1st 5km run last night.

And here's the summary of the workout:
Workout: Regular Run
Date: 11-Oct-2010
Distance: 4.96 km
Duration: 37:57

To view 'iMapMyRun: 11-Oct-2010 10:10 PM', follow the link below:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/view_workout?w=753128680622732685

The timing guideline I was given by Stephen Neo was 30-35min for an average runner.
And so, i thought I have done well for my 1st attempt. Surprisingly it doesnt seem that long (distance), just my own pace and continous running. Not even panting @ the end of the run.

So, I would be aiming for 35min next time.

I have been jogging for almost 2 weeks by now.
And during this period, I experimented with different type of running attire and introduced music into my running.

When I showed Alice & Candy the photos, they couldn't stop laughing at my before attire. Well... I just thought it would be funny to see the BEFORE & AFTER effect. hee hee.

Does attire have effect on personal performance?
The asnwer is ... YES.

New running goal

I chanced upon Stephen Neo last Thu. He's the current sports conveyor in SMRT and he shared with me there would be an inter competition for various sports coming up.

Our company's Sports Meet or Mini Olympics i would call.
It has been ages since I did a proper exercise. But part of me still wants to try.
Maybe it's because I missed the days when I'm actively doing sports.
Maybe I wanted to test if Im still capable of doing this kind of stuff...

I want to try again. But I have no confidence.
So I tested Zhiyi's reaction. To my surprise, he's very encouraging and even helped me download an application - iMapMyRun from my iphone.

Running and volleyball are probably the sports Im most familiar with.
and since there's wont be vball, so Im going to try my hand at running.

Cross Country is the word for it.
Venue is at MacRitchie and date is on 29 Oct 10.
It's a Friday afternoon and I still have exactly one month to train.

1st comparable workout details:
Workout: Run
Date: 03-Oct-2010
Distance: 3.20 km
Duration: 27:35

To view 'iMapMyRun: 03-Oct-2010 9:39 PM', follow the link below:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/view_workout?w=971128611319072556

Very xiong,but this actually get me motivated to start exercising again.
And my goal? 3.2km in 20 min.
加油，陈瑾瑜！