too good to throw away

remember my last entry about the old shoes i've washed and put into them insoles? i've brought all 3 out for short runs and it was torturous running in them!

insoles are horrendous invention of the century. they are really uncomfortable to run in when you are on tarmac or road. imagine running barefooted on a marble tiled floor. that's how they feel in my view.

i'll be wearing my old shoes to the trails instead. tempo is more than 85% gone. ds trainers 95% gone. gt2120s, probably another 15% to go as well. i'll use them for mr runs because in the trails..because i can afford the shoes to feel stiffer so that i don't have pebbles poking in my soles. on the tarmac, stiff insoles just make my feet scream out loud!

i'll stick to my mizunos for now..and once i clear out 1-2pairs of my old shoes, i'll launch my cumulus! =)

zzz monster

The whole process of mugging for exams has taken much toil on me. Having plagued with headaches and migraines, it’s been a tough term for me. I broke a personal record of getting medical leave 2 days in a work week..thanks to a series of headaches that has broken me down physically.

I’m just glad I got around all the online tests for ofrm module; albeit not doing too well for the final one. The paper on Saturday was a killer - a fatal headshot.

Training has been affected due to the lack of sleep and medication. I hope to move out of this phase soon.

Keeping my fingers crossed, should I pass last sat’s module, I’ll be officially half way through my course. 5 modules down out of 10.

Next sat is the last exam for the term. FIS. It can only spell trouble because the professor who taught us is not the one setting nor marking our papers. The progress of the assignment to date is nil. Bad.

Went shopping with mum yesterday and I always enjoy spending time with her. Will aim to do more of that after exams..and I’ve also committed to helping her move her accounting work onto myob and take charge of tax matters.

I need more sleep..as I’ve lost a lot of it for the last 2 weeks. Without sleep, the mind and body are at the verge of breaking down.

After this round of exams, dearie and I are going to Malaysia for a short break over good Friday holidays. And we’ll probably travel to see pa’s new place at south of perak! Woohoo! We can do some housewarming maybe? =)

tricia cries out

the intensive over the weekend left me intensively tired. The Sunday run was given a miss and it left me feeling something was missing from the weekly routine.

Exams are fast approaching and the pressure has moved up by another notch. The migraines are acting up again.. and I took a day of medical leave today. I treasure this time out of the office as I got to do quite a bit of house work and also got around organizing some things at home which I have been putting off for a while.

2 modules this term is a huge burden I’ve chosen to take up. It’ll be another 2 next term and I’ll be putting myself to the test again. The first half of this year has been expected to be extremely hectic..and it’s proving itself to be so.

I just hope to clear all the modules by this year and complete my studies as quickly as I can. Like dearie would put it “quickly get it over and done with”.

I like getting the house cleaned up. Changed the bed sheets.. vacuumed and mopped the floor..washed the toilet.. put naphthalene balls in the waredrobes.. the whole place smells fresh and clean. =)

The fis module is worrying. I walked out of class not understanding what prof dogan was rambling about. It’s all up to me to read and attempt all the questions now.

Don’t give up. I’m already almost ½ way there. Don’t give up now, tricia.

i'm a scrooge with races

Something I can’t fathom is the rising prices of races – they just get more expensive year after year. there are races which coach has indicated he wants the team to participate in but I am just scrooge-y about the kind of value I am getting from what I pay.

Tricia is such a cheapo you may mumble under your breath. And yes I am! I boldly admit to that.

In many ways, races in Malaysia draw my attention more than those here. Unfamiliar terrain may be daunting but at least I am not paying to run at east coast park, which I can do it on any day of the week.

The only reason why I would pay for local races is because it can be jointly participated with the rest of the team. Not everyone in the team can and will want to travel out of Singapore for a race as it takes time and incur extra expenses.

The best races I’ve done in the past few years were those that took place in Malaysia. Some of the best to mention: eco-xtreme with dearie. eco-xcapade with dearie and Isabel. Pacesetters’ 15 and 30km runs. Malakoff and powerman duathlons (where I met dearie at) and of course, the most unforgettable Sabah Adventure Challenge. These are races Singapore can never nor dream of emulating..because we do not have the natural landscape nor are there sponsors who will support races in scales seen in Malaysia.

wow weee new shoes

dearie just bought me new shoes.. these exact same ones u see in the photo on the left.

asics cumulus 10. he paid $151 for it and expects me to run a 1:51 half marathon in the coming ahm. i'm pretty apprehensive on how i am going to achieve that but i'll try my best nonetheless.

the target is to hit sub 2 hours at least and i have another 5 months to build up. that's my target in the next 5 months - to make sure i will go to ahm and be fully confident of bagging a sub 2 half marathon =)

thank you once again dearie. i have only bought u a cheapo mizuno aero but u've generously gave me a pair so much better.

the weather was really good and i took the chance to scrub up all my old shoes; 3 pairs in total.


gt-2120 .. it didn't last me very long; i wonder why often. perhaps i have not fully expended it. will try to use it again these days, perhaps for short track runs.


ds trainers 12: i love this pair and used it well for about 9 months or so. got them at nearly half of it's usually price during a promotion at rl. these are pricey shoes to own.. which i sometimes find the life of the shoes does not justify its price. these will be retired for monday core exercise sessions.

adizero tempo: these are undoubtly my favourite pair of adidas i ever owned. mine are in pink..but i can't find those on the net. got them during end of 07 i think and really love them. it's the best adidas pair i've ever worn..and i think these will be the last adidas i'll ever wear. they've discontinued the tempo and replaced it with the tempaya for fore-foot runners. i've tried the tempaya..feels somewhat like the tempo, yet not exactly the same. these will be retired to use for track workouts as well.

i somehow find these shoes are such waste to be discarded and i will try to slip insoles into them and continue to use them on track. =) make sure nothing goes to waste. hee. money hard to earn so we learn not to take things for granted.

oh ya..and u know what..shortly after i washed the shoes and laid them to sun dry..it started to rain. oh drats =(

holding things together

The week that has just past had been relatively hectic. I didn’t achieve a tremendous lot but it did take out quite a bit from me.

Friday we presented the proposal – something that has been suspended in the air for a while, finally got that settled with the credit going to dearie. he was the one who put up the a huge part of the proposal and presented it. His spirit kept me going; telling me to take it as a learning process and at least we tried, no matter what the outcome.

Leading a group is an uphill task because it’s not just running in the front and expecting the rest to follow behind. I’ve come to realize it’s turning around and telling each one why we do the things we do and running side by side together.

Last Sunday was the Newton run at macrit and I am really thankful for those who responded to the call for turn up. Although dave, brian and ee chuan could not come in the end, I would like to thank them for responding to the call. I understand races take a lot out of us =) Vincent, Eric and Isabel came for the run..and if I could I would have given them all a hug. Thank you guys for the support. That was the first time I have made a call out to the team for support to a run..and thank you all for responding to it. Though I am not sure how much it will go to impact our proposal, but believe me, every bit counts. In fact, sometimes, it’s the little things that count.

It’s knowing I have passionate team mates that make the hard work worth it. Putting up the proposal was challenging…and we stayed up 2 nights to do it..but now as I thought about the friends in the team we’re doing this for, it’s worth it =) I’m not sure how many of the 13 will continue to hold through..but as I penned down the names, I have 9 persons on my mind I felt strongly will hold on till the end.

My mummy and I had an outlandish experience on Sunday. I felt it was foolish in simple terms, because putting a bet to earn $10 at the expense of $600 was not worth at all. Moreover, she didn’t think we’ll walk off like that. C’mon, it’s recession, of course we want to get the best deal. For now, I’m pretty put off by her dishonesty and poor foresight of the consequence. I’ll rather bring my money elsewhere and avoid this shop for a period of time.

Oh yes, look on the footer dearie created for the proposal on the left. it's nice isn't it? and he did it all with PAINT! =D

My Newton Run HERO!

My baby did an amazing sub-40mins for the Newton 10km Run held on Sunday.

Wooooohooo...my hero! because he way outperformed the 43mins mark I have set for him. to think he was grumbling on how crazy 43mins is a goal to set... he has done way better than that =)

I did within expectations too - sub 53mins, as dearie has targetted for me.

Most of the runners from Runfanatics did exceeding well too. Really proud of them and we thank our Coach for guiding us through since 2007. Certainly hope he is glad with what we have came back with.

21km,..that's the next mark to reach.