Who's the boss?

I finally ran my first half-marathon for the year and I'm embarrassed to say this. I mean, after all, I have an upcoming marathon and am way behind my own training schedule. Of course, I could give excuses such as the move to Boston, the settling and blah blah. But, well, I'm not so kind to myself; I'm just plain lazy.

So, knowing that AHM is round the corner back home, I thought it would serve as a motivation for me to run a half-marathon as well. Anyway, I really OUGHT TO. So, the hubs accompanied me to run the first 6km and then I was on my own.

I chose a new route which provided me lots of shops to look at as I ran past them. This made running the long distance A LOT better since you could admire the displays and along the way, stopped for a while to look for some particular stuff. Oh, the joy of window shopping!

It was a smooth run until the 13km which I turned into the oh-so-familiar slopes. I have a love-hate relationship with slopes/hills. While I know it is extremely tiring to run or even cycle on slopes, they do our legs good. It was during the run on the slopes that I finally panted. Otherwise, it was all right.

Of course, into the 17km, the legs were tired and your mind as well. But it is during this time that you need to press on and tell your legs who's the boss here. They will listen IF you do not listen to their complaints. And listen they did and I managed to sustain the last few kilometres.

I run without ipod. I used to. But as I run more, I realised I need to listen to the rhythm of my own breathing and the kind of sounds my strides make. They give you indication of how you are performing there and then and you have to inform your mind of the necessary actions to take.

It is ALWAYS interesting to listen to what fellow runners are talking when they are in a race. Some of them are inspirational while others just darn funny. Instead of listening to some dance music that could motivate you to run (no doubt), try listening to your body, your fellow runners and get the motivation to run faster when others encourage you to go on or even better, if you surpass some of them.

I'm anticipating this moment again in November when thousands run through the 5 boroughs of New York and I'm waiting to hear the cheers the supporters give and of course, the ever-encouraging remark from fellow sufferers in their breathless, weary tone: Press on! Don't give up! You are almost there.

New York Marathon. I'll see you on 7 November. =)

Blessed Sunday!

Blessed is the one who picked up furniture during a run and had a cupcake after that.

I was due for my 12-15km run today (which is running late for my marathon training but what the heck) and it was a fruitful run indeed!

beautiful scenery along the way

Into my 11km, I ran into the nearby neighbourhood and guess what I saw? A trash bin and a coffee table which I knew the hubs would need. We have been scouting for a table from the thriftstore but could not find anything suitable and there before my eyes was the table. So I ran back to our apartment and got him to go back to the exact location again, half crossing my fingers that no one would be there before us.

And so, we had our bin and table and they saved us a bit. Sorry that I sound very auntie-ish but we are very much conscious of the fact that we would not be staying here forever and thus we shouldn't buy unnecessarily. A colleague who had been here before us had told us that she had done so and such incidents had saved her heaps.

So you see, running is good for health and for your pockets, if you do not mind second-hand stuff!

We are blessed by such provision. Indeed the Lord is good!

Minced meat congee for lunch

Park Street Church

Proverbs 3:5-6

The weather changed without warning and since Sunday, it has been raining with frequent strong wind. I was in lament and Ken reminded me, "It's just rain. We have rain in Singapore and the temperature drops too!" Erm, yes but still, it's cold! Honestly, I don't know what to expect in winter. I dread it.

It has since been almost a week in Boston and I must say we have quite an adventure. We missed the conveniences in Singapore mostly and where most terms are so evident and clear to us. Over here, things are less explicit and because we are aliens here, it makes things more frustrating for us. Honestly, if I were to come here alone and study, I would have broken down. Thankfully we have each other and we can only say that we need to take things one step at a time and not be too vexed over those issues. It is indeed a learning process.

My greatest worry as of now is perhaps New York Marathon. Not too much about the distance really but more the weather. You see, the cut-off time is 6.30pm (start time is 10.30am) and I reckon I won't use up 8 hours no matter how much pain I would encounter during the race. Having experienced marathon before helps a lot but the situation is different now. I have NEVER run in cold conditions until very recently. By November, temperature in NY would drop to below 10 C. How on earth would I be able to withstand that??? As of now, I don't even know how I should be clad in. I thought of cancelling the race which would give me direct entry into next year's race. However, the fee is non-refundable and to fork out another $300 for the race is too much. I have to press on.

Yesterday, we visited Park Street Church and I was reminded that I should not be focusing on my weakness and circumstances but to allow God to work in and through me. Was thankful really. I need that sort of encouragement. It is truly in my weakness that His glory is magnified. Ken and I decided that we continue to worship in this church since we are okay with the doctrine and that it is a very Word-based and evangelical church. Hopefully, we would be able to find a CG soon.

And today, the wind was even stronger. I decided to test out my wind-breaker to see how well it could protect me from the cold. Our stock was also running low and decided to go for The Upper Crust Pizzeria for lunch and also to stop by the Goodwill store nearby. Basically this store stocks up donated goods and the proceeds help fund Goodwill's education, training and job placement programmes for people with disabilities and other barriers. We really found good buys there and really, we should have visited this store right from the beginning; we could have saved a lot! This time round, we spent mainly on bakeware. They amounted to US$9 for a set of baking trays which otherwise I would have to fork out US$49.99 for the same things. Among them was a Wilton square tin and it cost US$2.99! Whoah!They are not new definitely and with some dirt but with cleaning, they are okay to be used again! I helped save a fair bit; I'm elated! And I got a pair of leather loafers for US$6.49. How's that? It's quite ironical that in Singapore I donated a lot of my stuff to people and now I have to buy donated items. Hah! I learnt to appreciate what I have now. Definitely a good thing for me!

We are going off to New York tomorrow to recee the marathon route and to familiarise ourselves with the transport for race day. No rain pls!

And you know, at the end of the day, after all these experiences, we have to always bear in mind Proverbs 3:5-6.

Running

Since we got here, we have stepped up on our running. Back home, we were either settling some stuff for the move or too tired to run.

We've got a nice reservoir near our apartment and of course the irritating sandflies which like to bump into you, causing you to lose sight momentarily. Sometimes they like to hide inside your nostril for some comfort..(ok, I'm not sure why I go into such details).

So today, reminded by the hubs about my coming marathon, we decided to do a 10km run. My goodness, it was tiring. We started on the opp direction from the reservoir and slopes met us. They whipped us and humiliated us. Our legs became jelly after that.

But I must say, the weather here allows for better running in terms of my breathing. I could run faster without panting and what's better was that there were fewer cars around the area (or was it because we started real early in the morn?).

There are many who run in this part of the country. And why not? It was home to the most famed marathon in the world, the only one which requires participants to meet their qualifying time. I definitely can't make it and thus New York would be a great option.

And of course, it was good to come home and be able to prepare brekky. Good morning, people!

his & hers