~*angie's lil reverie*~

2013

Today is already 28 December 2013. We are just 3 days away from 2014. Before I set my New Year's resolutions (which seem to repeat every year), I shall summarize the Ups & Downs in 2013.

In terms of my personal life, I would say 2013 had been a great year for me. My family has been in good health and we went for a family trip together to Hong Kong. This is something which we have not been able to do for years as we need to take care of ah nei.

One year into marriage and I must say I'm loving it. As I was telling Jianhui, sometimes when you had such a bad day at work, it feels good to know that your family would be there for you after work. Jianhui has been really a supportive husband who has helped me to do household chores, cook and even spent hours waiting for me to knock off in town. And most importantly, he irons his own clothes who is a good news for me as I hate ironing clothes. Hehe. This one year, we have learnt to live together and accommodate to each other weird living habits. Haha. Looking forward to many many many years as husband and wife with Jianhui.

In the beginning of 2013, Jianhui and I went for our honeymoon. It was totally a wonderful adventure in which we travelled to many countries in a trip and it's free & easy. We also did our first overseas run at Lausanne together as our honeymoon run. Oh yes, we went to Old Trafford together which was totally a dream come true for us as a Man Utd fan. We even witnessed Man Utd winning Aston Villa 3-0 right at Old Trafford and this symbolizes our 20th EPL win!

In fact, I have been travelling a lot in 2013. I went to Europe, Phuket, Hong Kong, Penang and Perth! It was definitely a fun year for me but not so fun for my pocket. All these travelling trips had definitely burnt a big hole in my pocket! Haha. Nevertheless, it was a great year of travelling with my loved ones and friends. =p

In terms of running, I am happy that 2013 had been a year of Personal Best for me. I did my 10km in 1hr1min and my full marathon in 5h45min. Very satisfied with the timing. Hoping to achieve more PB in future for sure! Yeah! In total, I completed a total of 9 races in 2013 which is almost like a race every month. *Thumbs up*

As for work, it had not been very smooth sailing for me. In February, I made a stupid mistake which results in an ops loss. First time in my career in which I had actually caused an ops loss. Sigh. Other than that, I made a few mistakes a work too. It was quite a roller coaster year for me at work, but at least, I'm glad that I had taken over a challenging portfolio this year and so far, I would say it was a good experience for me.

Lastly, Jianhui and I are happy that we had fully repaid our renovation loan! Yeah! We are debt free, except for the housing loan which will take much more time to clear.

All in all, 2013 had passed by quickly, so fast that I find it unbelievable that we are approaching 2014. Let's hope that 2014 will be a much better year for my family and friend!

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Angeline winks
at |2:26 PM| 0 comments

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

It's a 7D6N Trip to Perth!

We seldom travel in December as we want to avoid the holiday crowd and the hike in air tickets. But, the time round, we travelled to Perth in December for Western Australia Ironman 2013!

After 9 months of committed and disciplined training, this is it. He's going to do an Ironman at Busselton - 3.8km swim, 180km cycle & 42km run. It sounds scary, isn't it? This is definitely an endurance sports and if you go without training, you will definitely be a dead meat. And like what they always say, it's already a big challenge to bring your bike all the way from Singapore to Australia if you witness how Jianhui spent hours dismantling and packing his bike and equipment for the race. He gets so fed up packing that he would always tell me that he prefers to run a marathon. And to me, running a marathon itself is already a torture. I can't imagine doing a 3.8km swim and 180km cycle before the marathon. It sounds so impossible. On top of all these, he has been busy servicing his bike and buying equipment for the bike before this race.

4 December 2013 (Wednesday)
We took an early flight at 7.50am so that we can reach our guesthouse by evening. My dad was really nice to get his friend to send us to the airport. It was raining heavily in the morning, such a nice weather to sleep that I nearly couldn't wake up.

Once we reached the airport, we could see a few bike cases. I guess they are probably taking the same flight as us. We were surprised that our total check in luggage is only 30kg including the bike. After checking in, we went to Burger King for breakfast. It was a quick breakfast then we went to the gate to board our plane. Luckily, we ate breakfast at Burger King as the breakfast they served on plane wasn't my cup of tea.

It's a relatively short flight to Perth and we touched down around 1pm. There was a long queue at the custom which caused us to be held up for quite a long time. Security was tight and we had to go through rounds and rounds of security check. When we were finally "out", we went to collect our rented car. It's a flashy red car. I have not heard of the name (Cruze) until this trip but I guess it's quite a popular car in Australia as I see quite a number of this brand of car.

Che Che in his cosy home!

Our backpack!

Our flashy red car!

It was quite a long drive to Busselton - about 3 hours drive. We had a GPS but the GPS keeps asking us to turn in to remote roads instead of the highway. So, we drove according to Jianhui's Google map which is more reliable and easier. We had a quick stopover after about 2 hours drive before we continued our way to Busselton. It was hot the whole journey about 29 degrees celsius.

And we finally reached Jacaranda Guesthouse without getting lost! It's quite easy to find our way. We are so happy to reach the destination as we can't wait to take a rest.

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Ann showed us to our room which is hidden in a corner. It's relatively a very small room but equipped with ensuite, TV and fridge.

Our room

We rested for a while in the room before we went out for a walk at the jetty. By now, they are already starting to put up Ironman signboards and setting up tentage, etc. By evening, it is getting windy and not so hot. Oh ya, there are many flies, irritating us! Ah!

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The Goose!

We were happy to see Woolsworth which is like our NTUC. We bought drinks, Nutrigrain, bread and some snacks. Then we went for dinner at KFC. The staff probably not used to our Singapore style of English, we wanted to order 3 pieces chicken set + zinger but in the end they gave us 10 pieces of chicken ! We struggled to finish the 10 pieces of chicken plus the not-so-nice zinger. After dinner, it's time to go back to our cosy room to rest!

We slept early as it had been a really long long day for us. =p

5 December 2013
We had nutrigrain with milk as breakfast in our room before we went to the sea for swim trial! He brought his wetsuit along and went for a short swim. He told me the water was cold, much colder than New Zealand.

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Looking happy after the swim trial!

Then we went back to room. I relaxed in the room while he fixed Che Che. =p When he was done with fixing Che Che, he went for a ride.

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Che Che is all ready now!

Since we were done with swim and cycle trial, it's time for lunch! We ate fish & chips for lunch. The chip were normal and we had to pay AUD2 for ketchup while we get "free flow" of sauces in Singapore. We are quite pampered in Singapore ya?

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Not-so-nice Fish & Chips!

After filling up our stomach, we went to collect the race pack. The sun is really hot and glaring and so I waited for him under the Sunsmart big umbrella. It's the only place where the flies don't come and irritate me that much. By the way, the flies seem to prefer Jianhui to me! Haha.

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This is basically a relaxing trip (at least for me) where we do not have much activities... We will just relax, eat and sleep a lot. Haha. We had a short nap before we went to the jetty for a walk. As what was suggested by David, we walked 3.8km along the jetty. It was windy and relatively cold.

After such a romantic walk, we went to buy our favourite Domino's Pizza! It was yummy as usual! Domino Pizza will never go wrong in Australia or New Zealand! It was a satisfying dinner!

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Favourite pizza!

6 December 2013
After having our breakfast, we went to recee the bike route. It's amazing that we saw a lot of participants cycling! They are really damn on man. The route looks scary to me! So long and barren. Plus the hot and glaring sun.

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We walked around the town before we went to McD for lunch! I ate the cheeseburger and it's sad that there is only one beef patty! =( I miss my double cheeseburger! Haha.

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Checked in McD's at Busselton!

Then we went to have a ride for the run route. It seem pretty straight forward as it's just along the sea. After that, we went to Woolworth! It's simply our favourite place for shopping since there isn't anything in town. Haha.

As usual, we went back to room to rest while Jianhui started his packing for the race. There's so much packing to do for an Ironman.

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His cute race bags!

We were waiting to go for the race briefing. We went around 6+ and was contemplating if we should get a ticket for me too. It costs AUD50! In the end, we decided to pay for the ticket. Luckily, the food was much better than what we saw at New Zealand. It was quite a satisfying dinner.

The race briefing was very draggy. After listening to the essential briefing, we decided to leave early to avoid the jam. By this time, it was really cold. We were so happy to go back to our cosy small room. Haha.

7 December 2013
It's the day just before race day. It also means that it's going to be a R&R day. We went to McD for happy breakfast. McD breakfast will never go wrong. =p

Then we went to Super IGA to shop for grocery. It's like Giant, but personally I prefer Woolworth to Super IGA as the stuff at Woolworth look much happier! Haha.

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Jianhui went to check in Che Che while I stayed in the room waiting for him.

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As for lunch, we went to Pastacup! The portion is huge but the taste okay only. Haha. Then we went to Samovar for coffee. It's a nice place to relax just before the race.

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My pasta!

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Enjoying Flat White & Cappucino

In the evening, we had a short walk at the jetty again before we went to buy Domino Pizza. We were relatively full but knowing that he has a race the next day, we had no choice but to eat. Haha.

We slept early to prepare for the big race tomorrow.

8 December 2013 - The Big Race
As early as 3am, Jianhui woke up to eat breakfast while I was still sleeping. I should be helping him to prepare the breakfast but I was just too lazy. Ops. I'm such a lazy Ironmate.

It's relatively quite cold early in the morning. I was wearing a long sleeve top, nike dri-fit tee, cardigan & Adidas jacket couple with 2XU pants inside jeans. Haha. I am quite well-equipped ya? When we reached the transition area, many participants were getting ready. Jianhui also went to the transition area to leave some of the essential items for the race.

At 5am, they were chasing the athletes to proceed to the starting point. Jianhui started to wear his wetsuit and passed me all the items and bag.

I climbed the breakwater to have a good view of the starting point of the swim. At 5.45am, the race started on time.

Once the race started, I went to the ending point of the swim to get a good view. I was feeling hungry and thirsty but I refused to leave my good viewing point. Haha. Besides, after the swim, I have plenty of time to eat breakfast.

Soon, the elites came out from the water. They were really fast. Even normal ang mohs also very fast in swimming! I look at the clock, most of them took about an hour for the swim. This is amazing!

And then Jianhui came out from the water! I was really happy to see him. Whenever he did a triathlon, I would always be looking forward to see him completing each leg. Swim done! He survived the swim! Haha.

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I ran to the transition area to watch him getting the bike... For now, he needed to endure the long 180km bike ride!

As for me, I went back to the room to have a shower and breakfast. Meanwhile, I was also tracking him online. I didn't really get to rest as I was too excited. Soon, I went to the roundabout to wait for Jianhui to come back from his first lap. It was nice cheering other athletes. It's always an enjoyment to see all athletes doing their best for Ironman. Even if they had a fall or what, they would continue the race. This is truly very commendable and it just illustrates their commitment and determination to complete the race.

When I saw Jianhui cycling past me, I was happy to see that he was moving one step close to complete his 2nd Ironman. I went back to the room again since it was so near and he would only come back 2hours plus later. I constantly checked the Live Tracking to see how was his progress. It's almost lunch time and so I walked to McD's to buy lunch. I also bought an extra cheeseburger in case he wanted to eat.

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And then, I got to see him for the second round! By now, the weather is getting hot. The supporters were all very on. I stayed a bit longer to cheer for other athletes before going back room.

For the last round, I packed all the essential items as I would not be coming back until at night with Jianhui. =p I waiting for him at the dismount area. I also saw a few Singaporeans and I cheered them too! And Jianhui is back! He complained to me that he had a bike crash and his back was injured. I was worried that this would affect his run. Run had always been his favourite leg, so I was hoping that at least it will not affect his run too much!

And so he started his 42km run! I would get to see him a total of 8 times which was good for me as I would be able to know that he's doing okay. Most of the ang mohs including the women were really fast as they could complete Ironman in 12 hours+. Amazing man.

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As we were approaching evening, it was getting colder and colder for me. My hands and ears were freezing cold that I wished I had brought a jacket with a hood. Kelvin, an Australian guy was waiting for his friend and he approached me for a chat. He was an Ironman and he was really fast (if he didn't lie about his timing) as he took about 10 hours. His training plan was kinda insane though. At least he kept me entertained for a while.

I continued to brave the wind and coldness to support Jianhui and athletes. Finally, Jianhui came running back after the 4th lap!

He had completed his 2nd Ironman! I'm so proud of him!

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We met at the meeting point then we went back to the room. Know what's the best food to eat after a race on a cold night? It's maggie mee!

We had our maggie mee before we went to sleep! We can finally sleep well!

9 December 2013
Now that he had completed the Ironman, we could really relax with no stress. It's time for good breakfast at McD's and shopping for souvenir!

After breakfast, we went to the race expo to collect Che Che and his items. We can see that many of the athletes are still very high as some of them were signing up for next year Ironman! Haha.

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We had lunch at our favourite restuarant, Samovar. However, my spaghetti got no taste at all. I had a hard time finishing it. :( Jianhui had his coffee before we went to Woolworth to buy ice cream!

We went back home to rest before we went back to race expo to buy merchandise. But, know what? A lot of items were sold out! We couldn't buy our mugs!

As for our celebration dinner, we went to The Goose!

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BBQ pork ribs which tasted like Char Siew Pork Ribs + Fish & Chips!

And of course, we must take a couple shot at this Busselton Jetty on our last night!

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After dinner, we went back room... It's time for packing!

10 December 2013
It's time to go home! After packing our stuff, we went for breakfast at Jacaranda Guesthouse! After missing their breakfast for the past few days, we decided to have simple breakfast here before driving back to Perth. Haha. We had bread with butter and tea. Simple breakfast. =p

Then, we embarked our journey back to Perth! We reached the airport very early and so we had plenty of free time. We returned our red, flashy car and then we checked in our luggage.

By now, we were so sick of fries that we had no idea what to eat for lunch. In the end, we had fried chicken with fries again before boarding the plane.

On the plane, time seemed to pass faster as I watche 2 chinese movies - Andy Lau's movie and Ilo Ilo. Both movies were not bad, good enough to entertain me on my flight back home.

Finally, home sweet home. I feel so loved that my sis and family came to welcome me home and my dad even sent us home!

This is home! =p

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Angeline winks
at |1:47 PM| 0 comments

Thursday, December 05, 2013

Running my 4th marathon

To be frank, I was really nervous on the eve of SCSM 2013. With inadequate (or no training) for the full marathon, I was worried. The longest mileage that I had clocked in will be 21km at AHM in September. The most that I had ran will be 10km race at Shape Run and Penang Bridge Run.

Thankfully, Jianhui helped me to plan a realistic timing for each 10km and it really helps me to stay focused. I realize I am a person who needs to have clear goals to do well. If not, I would be at a loss. And so I went to sleep with the timing all clocked in my head.

The goal:
10.5km: 1hr 15 min
10.5km: 1hr 25 min
10.5km: 1hr 35 min
10.5km: 1hr 45 min

I started the race with the participants aiming for sub 5 hour. It was a good move as I would be running with highly motivated participants instead of those "walkers".

And so the race started. I told myself it's going to be an easy 10km run since I have been running 10km. I started with a pacing of 7 minute per km. I would always be at about 200m away from the sub 5 pacers. Around 5km, I overtook them and ran at my own pacing. While I still have the energy, I should go at my own pace. True enough, the first 10km was a breeze and I completed within my targeted time (1hr 13min). This is definitely a morale booster for me.

For the next 10km, I told myself I could go slower a bit. I can run at the pacing of 8.5 minute per km. So far, I was doing well that I had been able to run less than 8.5 minute per km. At around 12km, we were in ECP - my nightmare. I would have to run 18km in ECP. When I just entered ECP, I saw those top runners had already completed 27km and were on their way out of ECP. They were just so fast! And this is also the time in which the sub 5 paces started to over take me.

By now, I was feeling very hungry. I guess I should have eaten 2 hard boiled eggs instead of 1. Around 15km, I saw Jianhui! I was so happy to see him. He bought coke for me to drink. With that energy, I continued on with my pacing till 20km (2hr 29 min). I was able to complete it within 1hr 25 min. It seems like I am on target and quite fast. Feeling highly motivated, I told myself I must not stop.

For the next 10km, I decided to use another strategy. I will run for 6 minutes and walk 2 minutes. Of course, if I don't feel tired, I will run for the full 8 minutes for each km. At this point of time, I don't experience cramps yet so this is good. I ate half the energy gel at around 25km.

At around 27km, I saw Jianhui again! I drank the hydration salt water which he had prepared. With that, I continued running. I was feeling strong until I started to experience cramps for each step I were to take. I had no choice but to stop and do stretching. I didn't want to waste any time and so I decided that I will walk 2 minutes and run for 4 minutes. However, after walking for 2 minutes, I still can't get rid of the cramp and so I had to walk for 3 minutes. With this strategy of walking and running, I managed to hit 30km in 3 hours 57 minutes. This is still within my target. I was feeling very positive that I can definitely finish my full marathon in less than 6 hours. I went to toilet 2 times in ECP. As of now, weather is still cooling and not hot.

For the last 12km, it seems to be a very long 12km. I kept on telling myself that I must take it like I had just started a 12km run which should be an easy task for me. It wasn't easy especially I keep experiencing cramps and I was starting to feel tired. I also went to the toilet at Gardens by the Bay. Think the weather is so cold until I drank too much water and kept on going to toilet. It took me 45 minutes to run from 30km to 35km which means that my pacing is 9 minutes per km. And looking at the timing, I got a feeling that I can definitely complete the full marathon in less than 6 hours. I continued with the same pacing till 40km. I was starting to walk more instead of running.

At 41km, I saw Jianhui again. I asked him for the hydration salt water for the one last time before I made the last 1km dash to the finishing line. My legs felt tired but I just kept on running to the finishing line.

And finally, I completed my 4th marathon in 5hrs 45mins! =p Very satisfied with this timing though I feel that I have not given my 100%. The good weather is definitely one of the reasons why I could run faster for the full marathon. And of course, my DS trainer shoes are really good!

All in all, I'm so thankful for a good race!

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Angeline winks
at |10:39 AM| 0 comments

Sunday, December 01, 2013

My 4th Full Marathon!

Yeah! I had completed my 4th full marathon today at SCSM 2013. And the best thing is, I had managed to complete it under 5hrs 45minutes - my personal best so far! Though the timing is not impressive compared to many runners, I'm happy with the results. Thanks to Jianhui for giving me some tips and advise on the eve of the race which had definitely helped me to complete the race with a better timing!

It's definitely a good race to end the year 2013 of races! =p

One last thing, I hope my legs won't ache so much tomorrow! I am so not looking forward to go work tomorrow with aching legs and backache!

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Special thanks to Jianhui for supporting me at ECP and the final 1km! You are the best supporter!

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Angeline winks
at |3:33 PM| 0 comments