A new focus

It seems like it has been a while since my last blog –  probably because there has been a lot going on since I arrived back from Auckland in early January.

Soph was here visiting for two weeks prior to returning to Uni for the start of her third year.  We managed to fit in a lot of exciting things whilst she was here including a day trip to by ferry to Batam, Indonesia for some amazing spa treatments – including an hours head massage where we lay outside under the trees (photo below) whilst having a lovely concoction massaged into our heads - very relaxing – ideally we should have stayed 24 hours at the spa/resort as the surroundings were gorgeous (if you have time google 'Tempat Senang Resort and Spa').  

We also managed to get to the movies to see ‘The Book Thief’ which we both really enjoyed; ate in some lovely restaurants – one of Soph’s favourite was Hard Rock Café - and we managed to fit in some running at MacRitchie which is an 11km trail run and Mt Faber as well as some gym sessions together.  Soph also had to do some study in readiness to sit two exams on her return to Uni having not been able to sit them in November due to her chickenpox incident during exam week (the good news is she just sat one of the exams and got 80%, so she must have managed to fit in more study that she thought).  At the end of the two weeks it was tough waving her off but was made slightly easier knowing we will be at home together at Easter.

I also took some time to reflect on what I wanted to achieve for 2014.  I have always wanted to become a counsellor so I finally signed up to complete a Diploma in Counselling which I will do part time whilst working full time.  I can complete six months of the qualification whilst living overseas but will need to finish it on my return to NZ (not sure yet when this might be).

I signed up to the gym in January and have been getting there 5 mornings a week from 7am - 8.30am and doing a mixture of workouts either with a personal trainer which is exhausting and after the first session it took me four days until I could lift my arms up to wash my hair….and I also run on the treadmill for up to an hour (mostly doing interval training to speed my legs up a bit).   Today I joined a friend from work, Caz, who is training for the Prague Marathon in May, for a 90 minute run and was surprised that I could run that far having not done a lot of outdoor running since I have been back - the heat here can be a real challenge.  This morning though it was a fairly cool 26 degrees with a nice breeze - very nice running conditions.  Its also really nice to run alongside someone who is training for a marathon rather than it being me who is training for one.

After getting so confused with the diet issue – dukan/ primal  /paleo / low carb - high fat, I decided to return to 'normal' eating habits only to find I didn’t know what 'normal' meant anymore.  Scary….for the first time in months I had a sandwich for lunch (smoked salmon and avocado) and really enjoyed it.  Lets hope it doesn’t take me long to find my way back to normal eating (whatever that may be)!  I think 'normal' for me just means eat healthy at least 80% of the time.

So for the next few months my plan is to study ; work out in the gym 3-5 times a week, run a few days a week and eat healthily.  Sounds like a good plan to me – oh and fit in some great movie viewing – I just saw ‘Rush’ a true story about James Hunt and Nikki Lauda who were competitors in Formula 1 motor racing – really enjoyed it!

Until next time!

Celebrations Begin….

One of the biggest celebrations for the year is about to begin here in Singapore with Chinese New Year.  The city is looking really colourful and yesterday at the office I was excited to take part in a 'Lo Hei' - the tossing of a prosperity salad - the higher you toss the salad, the more prosperous you become.

Given we had more than 600 employees tossing salad you can imagine the fun that was had and surprisingly the tossed salad was really tasty. We were also given gifts as we left the lunch - 2 mandarin oranges which is another symbol to help usher in prosperity - this was followed with traditional music being played by an orchestra in the afternoon which was enjoyed by all - a fun day.

I wanted to try and capture some of the excitement in the city so on my walk home from the gym this morning (3kms) I stopped to take photos - the colours of the mandarin trees and the decorations are really gorgeous.  The temples are full and the traditional restaurants have queues around the block.

As most of the celebrations centre on family and food its not surprising to see the price of food has sky rocketed (hard to believe given the already astronomical cost of food) and you don't want to to see a hairdresser or a manicurist as they all hike up their prices with the long weekend starting on Friday and everyone wanting to look their best.   Taxis are really hard to come by (as most of the taxi drivers are enjoying their celebrations) and advice to those needing a taxi is to 'jump the queue' when using the taxi app's to book a taxi, which adds an extra $5.00 to the $3.20 booking fee.  So the cost is $8.20 before you have left your destination.  Given the majority of people living here don't have cars - taxis are the next best mode of transport - no wonder you need all the symbols and wishes for increased prosperity - just to make it through the New Year!

Anyway, I am particularly looking forward to the long weekend as my gorgeous girl Soph is coming to stay.  That in itself is reason to celebrate - we will both enjoy the firework displays that will be on show as the Chinese begin to celebrate the most important event of the year on the Chinese calendar.

Back to work!

Well its been a busy week - and hard to believe I was in NZ only last weekend albeit briefly as I flew out from Auckland at 7am on Saturday. The flight through Sydney was made even longer as none of the entertainment systems worked - can you imagine 8 hours on a flight and no entertainment.  I was gutted as I had a list of movies I was planning on watching - I don't even think the Qantas flight attendants remembered a time when the entertainment system crashed and didn't re-start!  Thank goodness for my kindle which had another of Karen Rose's great reads waiting for me so that kept me busy instead.

It was a bit of a shock getting back into work mode after an amazing 14 days in sunny Takapuna with my gorgeous girl Soph and other family and friends.  I woke up at 4.45am on Monday morning still on NZ time so what was I to do other than lace up my running shoes and head out the door.  It was raining and a fairly cool 24 degrees perfect for a run - it's still the rainy season which is due to go on for most of January - I did some run drills and some sprint work to try and speed up my run pace after all the long slow distance work I did getting ready for the marathon last month.  It was a great way to start the day before heading back to the reality of work!

Last week I outlined all my goals for 2014 so now that I am back in Singapore I thought I better get myself along to the gym and sign up - I headed over to PURE which is a 32,000 square ft gym offering an amazing place to work out. They also offer Yoga, Pilates and spin classes - awesome.  I decided to take advantage of the free personal training session and turned up on Thursday morning at 7am.  I knew it would be a hard session but I had no idea the pain I was going to suffer for the next few days - in fact as of tonight (Saturday) I still can't lift my arms high enough to wash my hair.   My core strength is negligible so all the planks/push ups left my arms screaming!   I keep thinking that I am pretty fit and I keep being reminded I am nowhere near as fit as I could be.  So I will aim to get into the gym every week morning at 7am and see how much things improve.

I am also another week in to the paleo low carb high fat and maintaining less than 50 carbs a day.  Given a few days ago I was weighed at they gym and had body fat etc measured I can watch closely to see if this is going to work for me.  I suspect I may be eating too much fat - if you are reading this Helen K or Mikki can you let me know if I need to watch the calorie intake as well or just keep below the 50 carbs??  I just want to make sure I do it right.  I headed off to the supermarket this morning and loaded up the trolley with organic low carb high fat foods - the better stocked I am the less likely I will fall of the wagon.  Looks pretty good doesn't it!

So things are off to a good start for 2014 - I am back at work, have joined the gym, and seem to have the food under control so lets see what happens!

The start of another year - January 2014

Happy New Year and a toast to all the opportunities that 2014 will bring.

The start of a new year is such an exciting time and full of so many possibilities - a new beginning and a clean slate.

As we start this new year, I am making a list of things that I want to accomplish during 2014 such as beginning yoga classes to increase muscle flexibility, joining the gym for strength training, looking for some exciting events to see if the yoga classes and strength training make a difference and I will also be thinking about next steps career wise as my current contract is due to conclude in June.

There is also nothing like the shock I got a few days ago to help get things back on track after I found out that what I thought I was eating on my Paleo low carb / high fat diet was in fact a high carb / high fat diet.  High carbs and high fat do not go well together when the aim is weight loss - in fact weight gain is a guaranteed outcome (I am sure we have had this conversation before - but I am a slow learner).  It wasn't until I sat down with my good friend Clara who started punching the 'carb' numbers that reality set in - an apple has HOW many carbs?' oh dear, no wonder the weight loss isn't happening!

I then spent the rest of the afternoon making a list of what I can actually eat so that I am all ready to stock my pantry with low carb / high fat foods for the new year.  It was a surprise to see the number of carbs in things like dates and grapes which I thought would be fairly low in carbs.  I also found out that the number of carbs I need to aim for is approx 50 grams each day (for weight loss purposes).  Its always advisable to know what the goal is (how else can you achieve it)!  The good news is that as a result of this 'understanding carbs' exercise, there will be a lot of cream, avocado and full fat cheese filling my shelves in 2014 - all these yummy items have no carbs at all (or less than 1 gram) - I can't complain about that.  

Anyway, enough about carbs.... I have had an awesome 2 weeks spent in my beautiful little home in sunny Takapuna over the holiday season enjoying being able to spend time with family and friends and enjoy the beautiful beach and clear blue skies - it may sound strange but hanging the washing out in the garden with the sun shining on it has been quite a highlight - its so humid in Singapore that the washing can take a week to dry.  But like all other great holidays, this one is now coming to an end.  As always its been an amazing time and a real bonus was getting to meet Clara's triplets who were born a little earlier than expected on New Years Eve.  They are absolutely gorgeous.

I have tried hard to catch up with as many of my nearest and dearest as I possibly can - but for those of you that I missed this time, I will be back in early April for Soph's 21st birthday, so will look forward to seeing you then.

I fly back to Singapore at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning so will be making the most of my last few days in Paradise (on this trip anyway).

Here is to an awesome 2014 - may all your dreams come true.  Until next time -

Lessons Learnt

Well what a weird weekend - after three months of working towards a goal it seemed a little strange not to have to head out for three plus hours pounding the pavements. Instead I downloaded four great movies and barely moved off the couch.  Bliss.  Time for some R&R before I decide what is next on the race agenda.

However, whilst lounging on the couch, I have been reflecting on the lessons I learnt during the marathon build up that I will take forward for future events and thought I would jot them down for reference - I hope one of them (or all of them) might be helpful to you to!

The first lesson was the most significant for me psychologically - for this build up I didn't have a set routine that I stuck to the night before a long run, or a set meal that I ate the night before a long run, or a breakfast that I ate on the morning of a long run, or a particular electrolyte drink that I drank along the way.  For me this was hugely beneficial as if one of those routines didn't eventuate leading up to race day then I would second guess every ache or pain during the event and put it down to my routine being broken.  The longer the race the more important it is that I don't panic if things go wrong.  So I continuously changed things along the way and built confidence knowing that whatever I ate or drank it would work for me.  I told myself that I had a cast iron stomach - and thats exactly how I felt on the day.

The second lesson was that when I found myself injured I still exercised for the same amount of time that I was scheduled to run for.  So if I had a 3 hour run scheduled then I walked for 3 hours instead or for the shorter run times I would aqua jog.  This really didn't impact on my race day at all - I still ran the best pace that I had planned given the heat and humidity experienced here in Singapore (although to be fair I did do the shorter event).   Thinking about this lesson led me to the next lesson...

Lesson Number Three -  I felt very comfortable turning up to the half marathon event given I had covered 23-24 km distances on three previous occasions in the weeks leading up to the event.  I knew without doubt that I would have no trouble completing the 21 km distance.  If I decide to take part in future marathons then I will consider 50km training events so that psychologically I feel as comfortable as I did turning up to the half marathon.  It is very liberating to feel so confident to the point that I was really excited about the day and enjoyed every minute of the run.  It was over before I knew it.

The last lesson comes from having for the first time (after many many years of completing running or more recently triathlon races) had an absolute blast in a half marathon.  Usually I am so stressed out thinking of the time that I want to run the race in - hoping I will run faster than the last race, wondering if I will be able to do it - and from all this anxiety/stress I burn up so much energy that there is nothing left for the run.  I want to change that and train well, be confident, relax and savour each moment.

So those are the lessons I learnt.

I am now looking forward to heading home to Auckland for Christmas - its been a long year living so far from home - but I am very lucky to have an opportunity to live here in Singapore and experience living and working in another country.  However,  trust me when I say, there is absolutely no place like home.  11 sleeps to go and then I get to see my gorgeous girl who I haven't seen for 15 weeks (I will never leave it that long again) and my extended family and friends - these are the most important gifts  in life and for which I am truly grateful.

Race Day

Well before I start my blog today, I need to make a confession.  Yesterday one of my colleagues who recently had dengue fever, tracked me down to say he wasn't feeling well enough start the half marathon and wondered if I might like his entry.  Would I???  YES I really would - thank you so much Nick.  It was such a relief as I really wasn't prepared to run the full marathon and one should really respect the marathon distance.

So it was with rather light feet this morning that I jumped out of bed at 4.30 am and sat down in front of the telly to watch the 5am marathon start whilst I enjoyed my banana and large mug of peppermint tea.

The taxi arrived at 5.30am which took myself and another one of my work colleagues, Jeremy, who lives in the same condo, to the start line at Sentosa.  Given the early start there wasn't much traffic on the road and we arrived at the start-line at 5.37am for a 6.30 am start.  Oh dear.  However, there are benefits in arriving at the start line early, especially when there are 22,000 other half marathon runners also lining up - a great starting position.

But before we knew it the starting gun went and we were off.  I held my breath for a while wondering if the ITB and the archillies tendonitis might play up but things were feeling pretty good.  I had my last run on Tuesday followed by a really good hard massage to stretch out the ITB so the legs were feeling well rested.  It was also a fairly cool morning for Singapore - so great running conditions:

I had decided the absolute best I could hope for would be to keep to the same pace going for the whole distance and keep to what I had been doing in training - run for 8 minutes and walk for 2 minutes - I had my garmin set to buzz every 8 mins and again 2 mins later so that I didn't need to keep checking the time.  This worked really well and I was excited to go through the 8km mark in 1 hour (the exact pace that I managed on really good training days given the heat and humidity).  The route was very scenic and even wound its way through Universal Studios where I managed to get a few snaps:

To be honest the kilometres flew by and I went through the 16km mark in exactly 2 hours so was still on pace - I had downloaded some awesome Christmas music to listen to on the way - and was having so much fun that I realised I was singing along out loud and was not in the least bit worried that no-one else could hear what I was listening to.

At the 18 km mark the marathon runners merged with the half marathon runners and it did get very congested (given there were 16,000 in the marathon race and 22,000 in the half marathon) but nothing could dampen my enjoyment and realisation that I was almost finished.

Just before the finish line 'the kids dash' was starting and Morag's kids, Sam and Isla, were taking part along with over 4000 other kids so I was keeping my eye out for them - that race started 750 metres from the finishing line.  In total more than 54,000 took part in one of the race day events so you can imagine the craziness at the end.

I crossed the finish line in 2.35 minutes so had picked up the pace a bit in the second half (what a well paced run).  I really had an absolute blast - enjoying every minute.  I don't even feel the slightest bit guilty that I didn't do what I had set out to do which was run the marathon.  Sometimes plans need to change as things don't always go the way we intended.   Sam and Isla were very proud of their efforts as well:

I am inspired now to build on the training I have done to date and will get ready for the Triathlon season which starts here in February - I have to see if I can improve on my third placing in my age group - lots to look forward to. 

Before signing off today I want to say a special thanks to Sue Dorman for her wonderful coaching - she always goes with the flow for which I am very grateful.  See you in Auckland soon Sue!    Also I hope that Nick (whose race number I borrowed) likes the finishing photos - I definitely beamed at every photo opportunity!

7 Sleeps to go

With only 7 sleeps to go to the Singapore marathon, I have been reflecting back to the first marathon I ever took part in almost 30 years ago - it was the Rotorua marathon and I was scared to death!  

I had joined the Auckland YMCA marathon club a few months prior and turned up bright and early every Sunday morning to join their build up to the Rotorua event. I remember one of their 20 mile runs which went out to the airport and back from the central city and I was so exhausted afterwards I despaired at the thought of having to run a further 10kms on marathon day.  Then the night before the marathon there was a dreadful storm with hail and high winds and I sat crying in the bathroom wondering what had possessed me to sign up to such an event and what was I thinking having told people about it - now I had to start!  It really was a monumental moment as I had been a couch potato for most of my life prior to entering the marathon.  Unfortunately by morning the weather hadn't  changed and I lined up at the start of the marathon with a rubbish bag over me to protect me from the hail stones and high winds.  And then we were off. It felt quite surreal.  I plodded along in the dreadful weather conditions and did ok until the 32km mark (3 hours 30 minutes) and then hit the wall as we all hear about.  It took me an hour and 41 minutes to wade the last 10km to the finish - but you couldn't wipe the beaming smile off my face for days to come despite the awful stiffness that plagued me the following week.  It was a huge milestone for me.   A few months later I ran a 4 hour 12 marathon in Hamilton and went on to do a number of other marathons including London and New York - what a great way to see a city and one day I will break that 4 hour mark (but not next week).

So nearly 30 years on I still don't know what possessed me to enter this event as the marathon distance really takes its toll - I haven't had a great build up but there are many years of miles in the bank and many lessons learned along the way.  I have also had the great pleasure to run in many cities in the world, London, New York, Denver, Chicago, Washington, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Wellington and Auckland, so I guess it makes sense at some strange level to line up and take part in one of the biggest events in Singapore along with nearly 25,000 others.  

The Singapore marathon starts at 5am next Sunday 1 December (that's 10am NZ time).  I guess there are only a few things left to do - both these little gems seem appropriate today...

and......

Until next week.....