North East Run 2010

The past weekend was fun! Let’s run through some of the stuff that had me grinning from ear to ear

a) Free flow of the mini bar and Wi-Fi at the hotel
The bummer was paying for the hotel since I couldn’t put up with Vinz or Andy. Oh yeah the hotel was Royal Plaza on Scotts – right smack in Orchard – my favourite hangout.

b) Mini Club 21 for Armani warehouse sale in Isetan at Shaw House
Isetan is just next door to the hotel which meant I could pop by a couple of times – I did! Three times! At 80% off, the items on offer were definitely worth it. I got two pairs of jeans for $100 and five tops for $110 – all these before redeeming $12 for GST. SW and I will try to sort out the items this weekend. Taka (Takashimaya) also organized a mini Ferragamo sale at discounts of 60% but most of the shoes on offer were closed-toed ones and the bags did not look too appealing. Nothing much at Tangs’ as well.

c) Not-sold-in-Malaysia book
I also managed to get the book on Mahathir by Barry Wain for SW. SW’s quote: “Apparently it’s not and will not be sold in Malaysia – you get what I mean.”

d) North East Run
Looks the title heading for this blog has been relegated to item (d) when in fact it should be nummer eins. The run was good and on hindsight, I am glad to have signed up for the 5km rather than the 16km. The latter featured at least 4-5 overhead bridges but most of the feedback I have been reading has been positive except for the congestions going up. This is perhaps a 2-in-1 offer: vertical marathon/towerthon combined with a run.

Back to the 5km run – it was billed as the “Go for Red” event, especially dedicated to empowering and arming women on caring for their heart. The entire route was in the Pasir Ris Park – it is an extremely flat course similar to the East Coast Park (and the total opposite of the Lake Gardens in KL!). H*** even the KDU-MAKNA Run last year had us traipsing up the slope at the Shell station. Anyway it shouldn’t be a surprised to see me completing the run in under 25 minutes (got to wait for the results since my FR405 kaput-ed last week). The goodie bag distributed at the finish point wasn’t much to shout about – finisher’s medal, Alive yoghurt fruit bar and an apple (the RFID bib and Saucony vest were distributed a week earlier).

Official results are out! I finished 10th in a timing of 24:41 minutes. This is probably my best 5km timing to date!

e) Deep tissue massage by Diane
A deep tissue or sports massage after a tough race or workout is always cherished and makes going through the obstacles so much more worth it. Diane is probably the best in the business – have not met anyone who matches up to her standards and it’s a bonus that she specializes in sports massage for trialathletes and runners.

Even though it was a short run (I even went to the gym after that for an hour long cardio session), I had shin splints right after the race. I must have upped the pace quite a fair bit since these “irritants” usually make their appearance a day or two later. Diane did a fair bit of work on my calves and hamstrings; in fact, it felt like forever but my muscles were so glad for the relief. My lower back muscles were a little tight too – and that was caused by sitting on the hard chairs in the train all the way to the west from town! I now know better than to do that the next time!!! This was a first for me because all the other times, the train was packed and I stood all the way from the east to the west.

f) Subway galore
As usual, I had my fill of Subway’s veggie patty wrap with Chipotle Southwest and Honey Mustard sauces.