SPRING LIVE ACTIVE RUN!!

Recently (ie 2 days ago) we had the 2nd Annual Spring Live Active Run, which features a half marathon, a 10km run, 5km fun run and kid's 1km dash.  Since I took part in the 5km fun run last year, I decided to go ahead with the 10km run this year and boy was I glad that I did.  Firstly, I did it for the medal!  Hahaha.. only 10km and upwards gets you a medal.. secondly, I was the 'watcher' for my bro who couldn't run this year.. so it was up to me to gather information on the race and how it can be improved for next year!

Naturally, I HAD to go shopping to prepare for my run... first thing I bought.. a pair of running shorts from Nike!  I prefer it to the long running tights that I had previously worn (only thing I didn't think about, and luckily it didn't affect me.. was chaffing! hahaha)  Second thing I bought was a handphone armband to put my Blackberry Q10, some cards, cash and my car keys in.. beats carrying a fanny pack any day!  Thirdly I bought this awesome wireless Sony Walkman MP3 player!!  In hot pink!  It's so awesome.. just the headphone and nothing else.. no wires getting in the way.

I didn't get to use it on the run unfortunately.. I couldn't put music in it as it doesn't work in Itunes, and you can't rip out of Itunes, which bugs the hell out of me because I paid for the music, therefore I should be able to do what I want with it right?!?!  So that's my purchases ready for the run.

It was really fun.. me and Riv had butterflies in our stomach before the race.. thinking 'oh no.. what have I gotten myself into?!?!'  It was still dark when our race began (6.15am) and we started out really strong!  about 400m down the line, klutzy me tripped over those small speed bumps.. and almost fell flat on my face.. hope nobody saw that.. but we jogged and overtook people.. and I for one wasn't feeling all that huffy and tired and 'lungs will explode if I don't stop now!'  I was feeling pretty damn good I must say.. until the stitch came around 1.5km later.. arghhhh.. I had to stop cos it was killing me!  So as dramatic as I could.. I told Riv to go on without me (think Titanic moment!) and I walked to the water station at 2km mark and guzzled water which made the stitch go away.. I started jogging again but couldn't find Riv anywhere.. so I started my walking and jogging combo.. and running through all the traffic lights, only because motorists were so impatient these days and policemen were getting frazzled by all the honking.. that.. and I didn't want to die crossing the roads.

I came in at an awesome time of 1 hour and 32 minutes! Yeah baby!  That's like a whole 10 minutes off my previous best at the Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon!  It was truly an enjoyable race/run because it took the scenic route through Kuching city.. and it started early enough so that non of us were scorched by the sun.. 

Funny thing was that I came in at the same time as my B-I-L.. I caught up with him at the last 500m (he took part in the fun run) and I was all but happy to walk next to him.. when he decided 'no.. we have to run!' so he pushed me and started running.. so I had no choice but to run together with him.. and it was awesome.. I was so tired.. my legs were burning.. but B-I-L encouraged me and made me go on til we crossed the finished line together.. what an awesome feeling when you finished!

Yes.. I made it.. I got my medal!  (looks like I woke up and forgot to put on pants as well!)  but yes.. that achievement you feel when you receive a medal for it in the end.. it's just beyond your wildest dreams.  And look.. my bib has my lucky number 137 on it :)  I believe that brought me luck throughout my run.
 

These are my colleagues who took part in the run with me.. (except for the Hard Rock lady) and this year, we all did the 10km together.  It was awesome.. real funny when the two colleagues on my either side called me halfway during the run and asked me if I wanted McDonalds (the race goes past the store) and I claimed that I had passed it ages ago.. only then did they realise that I wasn't behind them.. I was in front of them!  Tsk tsk tsk.. guys and their male ego :P

So next year.. attempt the half marathon? :)

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By the way, to the guy who left the comment on my blog about how 10km is NOT a marathon .. dude.. who got your knickers tied in a knot?  Who died and made you the dictionary?  A marathon is 'any long distance race' and frankly.. it's MY opinion that 10km is LONG distance.. but that's just it.. MY opinion.  You can call it whatever you want, and I decide to call it my marathon.  OKAY?  If you don't like it.. don't read my blog!

So exciting!!!

It's been so exciting, counting down to Europe.. which by the way.. is 5 days and counting!  But many things have been exciting leading up to the big trip as well..

Firstly, I bought my first Anya Hindmarch Murano clutch in Silver Glitter for myself (I've bought Anya Hindmarch as gifts, but never for myself!).. I saw it on theoutnet.com and without a moment's hesitation.. purchased it.. it was a pretty good deal too I must say..

Sorry I couldn't find a better picture of this online.. but that's essentially what her Murano clutch looks like.  It's super bling as well, which PrincessBling absolutely adores.  I've used it once and it's the perfect match with any colour outfit you decide to wear (if you're wondering, I matched mine with purple!)

So what's this theoutnet.com?  Well, it's a branch of net-a-porter.com which sells branded goods (mostly clothes and bags) and theoutnet.com sells what net-a-porter.com cannot sell after a year of listing.  Isn't that awesome?  Well, I better trawl through for more bargains.. and look at what I found...

A freaking awesome pair of Tory Burch off-white ballet flats!  How absolutely cute is that?  Well, the insignia on my shoes are white as well as the inside of the shoes.. but that's how the outside looks like.  It's so adorable.. I'm wearing them now to break them in for Europe trip!  It's so adorable that PrincessBling bought the exact same pair as me.. and we were so excited about the purchase that we didn't even think to buy two pairs at once and save on shipping.. instead opting to have it shipped separately to each of our names.. sigh..  but it was such a huge bargain anyway.. 

And the best thing is that it arrived on our doorstep in 4 days (Working days).. how AWESOME is that?  I'm going to shop on this site more often!  But you have to be in quick though, because things sell out really really fast.. but I took it as a sign cos they had exactly TWO size 7 pairs left!

So that's been my shopping splurge for the last few weeks.. 

Coming up in 3 days time is the Spring Live Active Run 2013 (second year running) and I can't wait for it.. I'll be doing the 10km run this year and it's mighty daunting knowing that I haven't really practiced for it.. things always get in the way of training.. such as Happy Hour :P  but I'm confident in finishing it before 2 hours to get my finisher medal!  Let's hope it's as successful as last years.. in fact, the registration doubled from last year's registration, which is an awesome sign.

And in 5 days.. I board a plane to London, UK.. we arrived early in the morning, but luckily we're staying with a friend so we don't have to worry about checkin times.. Highlight of the trip?

• Phantom of the Opera on the 20th June 2013
• Hawksmoor steak dinner on 20th June 2013
• Outlet shopping on 21st June 2013
• Eiffel Tower!!!
• Cabaret show in Paris!!

That's only some of the things that we planned to do in Europe.  I'm so excited!!!!  I feel like jumping up and breaking into a little song and dance.. that's how excited I am.

I'll definitely bring along my camera to document each fantastic moment in Europe and I'll be sure to blog about it upon my return (no way am I bringing a laptop on the journey!)  Let's hope I don't do something dodgy like leave my camera in a cab again! (remember Greece?)

5 days and counting....

Gym has been going great by the way.. am lifting more weights now than before and not feeling half as winded as I used to!  Am definitely on track to get stronger and leaner..lets hope I don't blow it all on indulging in croissants and stuff in Paris!

 

June already??

My oh my, where has the time gone?  Can you believe that half a year has already passed by?  Where did it go?  What have I done?  Did I achieve all that I wanted to so far this year?  What's looking up for the rest of the year?

1. Gym, Paleo and weightloss
   I started the gym in January 2013 with a weightloss goal of 10kgs by June 18th 2013.  I started personal training 3x a week and switched to a Paleo diet just before Chinese New Year.  So have I reached my goal?  Well, I haven't loss 10kgs but I'm so much more leaner, toner and stronger now.. I've lost inches.. but hey.. muscle weighs more than fat right? :)
   A part of me have let go of the rigidness of weighing myself.. letting myself believe my trainer when he says that the number does not matter.  What matters the most is the body that you're comfortable in.. in any event, he's promised me a bikini body by the end of the year.  And I've been working so hard for it.. only to be thwarted by several factors...
   
   BEER.... BEER.... BEER....
   
   If only not for the constant craving of alcohol, would the weightloss be faster.. I don't know what to do about my drinking anymore.. it's getting worst and worst I reckon, with me yearning to go out for a drink almost daily!  I don't know what it is.. but what I need to iron down is why I really drink.. and why I find the need to drink so often.. I think I need to take a break from drinking for awhile.. especially beer.. if I want that flat stomach.. even my personal trainer has said that beer is bad for the gut.. so what's more important to me right now?  Drinking.. or getting that bikini body?
   
   Unfortunately for me, my personal trainer will be in the country for another 16 weeks.. minus holidays and stuff.. that leaves about 31 hours of lessons left for me to get that body.. I must push it harder ... get stronger.. get leaner... But don't worry, I'll probably continue with another personal trainer when he goes.. I'm not going to stop just because he's no more here.. although it is much to my dismay.
   
2. Europe Trip 2013
   Now this I'm really excited for!  I went to Europe before in 2009 with PrincessBling, AlanHarperIsMyIdol and CryptKeeper and that was fun.. but I was still in a haze, not really myself yet.. having just come back from rehab and getting use to life back in Kuching etc.. not to mention clonazepam has a drowsy effect on you.. so anyway.. I'm so excited to be visiting London and Paris again.
   
   I'm excited because we'll be watching Phantom of the Opera in London, a Cabaret in Paris, the Eiffel Tower and plenty more.. not to mention this time, I've saved up enough of my own money to go on shopping spree in Europe!  Think of all the things I want to get!  Shoes, bags, clothes oh my!
   
   I'm also excited to be traveling with family who are a great bunch of people to hang out with.. and I know we'll have fun eating, drinking and shopping our way through Europe.
   
3. Bintulu Trips
   I'm pleased to announce here that I'm no longer required to go to Bintulu again for payroll purposes.  I think I'm going to miss it though.. all the traveling..hopefully I'll get to go back one day again.. but not anytime soon!
   
4. Studying
   Yes, I've started studying again for admission into Harvard MBA course.  But first, I have to take the General Management Admissions Test (GMAT) before I send in my application form.  I plan to take my GMAT in October and do my application form right after that.. I've set myself a target of 700/800 points so I'm studying pretty hard to achieve that.  It's so nice to find something so inspiring again after a long time and I'm getting excited about studying for it.  Just the thought of getting accepted is daunting and scary but imagine the pride I'll feel if I get accepted!

Well, come to think of it, I haven't achieved much in this half year.. but if you think about it, I've achieved so much in terms of health (mentally and physically) and that's the best I can probably spend most of my energy on.  So what's the rest of the year looking like?  

Well, there'll still be studying for the GMAT, then focusing on producing the best application form I can to Harvard, Stanford, London Business School and University of Bath.  

There's still ongoing training to keep the body that I shall have, a change in lifestyle I hope.. 

Then there's marathons (10km runs to be exact) that I'm participating in this year, starting with the first one being Spring Live Active Run on the 16th June 2013 (just before Europe!), followed by Borneo Marathon in KK in August, then the Penang Bridge Run in November, and possibly the Standard Chartered Run in Singapore in December.

Lastly.. there's the wish to travel.. I definitely want to go back to San Francisco for at least 3 weeks and head down to Lake Tahoe and bunk with my besties there :), I want to make a trip to Melbourne, Sydney and Christchurch at the end of the year (or next year), I want to make a trip to Vietnam in the near future to visit Phong's family again and I would probably make a few more trips to Singapore before the end of the year.

Overall, I think life is good.  I've definitely been blessed to have all these experiences in my life.