I did the Sundown (Half) Marathon 2019 over the weekend, so as to clock a half-marathon this year, in place of my annual AHM which is cancelled this year due to the elections SG Bicentennial celebrations.
I wouldn't have signed up for Sundown Marathon if not because of the cancellation of the AHM, and I still feel this way. One of my biggest gripes is the high entry cost. There had been countless complaints over this year's event, and I was already considered lucky to be the least affected, and the reason is because I was in the first wave of runners.
Why is it important to be in the first wave of runners?
- You start together with the pacers.
One of the contributing factors in my new PB achievement at this run, was because I could start with the 2-hour pacers. I decided to deploy a negative splits strategy for this race, and it paid off. So in the first 11km, I was following the 5:40 pace of the pacers, and then overtook them and ran faster splits in the next 10km.
- When there is a delay in flag-off, you do not wait for too long.
The flag-off was supposed to be 11:30pm, but we got a late flag-off past 11:45pm. That was a 15-min wait for even the runners in the first starting pen! And because we flagged-off in waves, there were people in the later pens who started past 12:20am. Imagine, that would be a punishing 50-min wait inside the start pens! You can't blame the runners for being very unhappy about it!
- You are less affected by bottlenecks.
Yup, that's a no-brainer. Starting in the first wave meant there were fewer people along the race course. But I must say that this year's course was poor -- there were parts where the route narrowed to a single lane on the roads. We had to slow our paces while negotiating the congestion.
- There is a lower possibility of you reaching a hydration station with no water.
Wait, hydration stations with no water?! Yup, that was what happened to the marathoners at some consecutive stations. Honestly, I can't imagine how this could happen at all for a well-established race in its 12th year, but well, I guess starting earlier meant that the possibility of that happening to you is lower.
- No queues at the baggage collection and massage area.
By the time I had ended, the race village was relatively empty, which was a huge contrast to almost all the other races that i had taken part in. Not having to queue for my muscle rub and to collect my bag -> that's such a rare luxury!
Apart from the 15-minute delay that i encountered, the other aspects were pretty enjoyable. The cheerleaders and some ushers were in high spirits and cheered us on, and I did try to thank some of them as I passed.
Personally, I felt that I was in a good condition during the run, and was able to carry out my negative splits strategy successfully. At 11km, and having followed the pacers' 5:40 pace throughout that first hour, I felt like I still had much energy in me, and I knew I could try pulling off a negative splits strategy for the first time. It also helped that the night wasn't excessively humid, and that the race course wasn't congested at all after I had passed the 2-hour pacers group.
With each successive kilometre clocking well under 5:30, I knew that a PB is very achievable -- just how many minutes I can shave.
I picked up speed in my final 3 kilometres (around Marina Bay), and eventually shaving about 4 and a half minutes off my previous best. Now with a 1:52:34 timing, perhaps a sub-1:50 can be a reality soon!
Past Races at a glance:
My past 20 Full Marathons at a glance:
1. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007 : 5:06:14
2. adidas Sundown Marathon 2008 : 5:07:58
3. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009 : 5:01:04
4. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2010 : 5:13:35
5. Volkswagen Prague International Marathon 2012 : 4:53:22
6. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2012 : 4:59:49
7. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2013 : 5:17:47
8. Maybank Bali Marathon 2014 : 4:48:08
9. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2014 : 5:14:22
10. Maybank Bali Marathon 2015: 4:52:39
11. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2015: 4:43:41
12. 2016阿猴國興盃公益路跑：4:41:13
13. Maybank Bali Marathon 2016: 5:04:35
14. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2016: 4:30:15
15. Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon 2017: 4:26:56
16. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2017: 4:44:06
17. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2018: 4:27:36
18. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2019: 4:42:21
19. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2022: 5:06:27
20. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2023: 4:37:22
21. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2024: 4:00:38
22. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2025: 3:39:28 (PB!)
My past 13 Half Marathons at a glance:
1. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2007 -- 2:14:29
2. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2008 -- 2:21:02
3. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2009 -- 2:17:38
4. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2010 -- 2:04:18
5. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2011 -- 2:07:33
6. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2012 -- 2:15:18
7. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2013 -- 2:24:41 (Huge bottleneck)
8. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2014 -- 2:14:44
9. OSIM Sundown Half Marathon 2016 -- 3:24:05 (With WL)
10. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2017 -- 1:59:00
11. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2018 -- 1:57:01
12. OSIM Sundown Half Marathon 2019 -- 1:52:34 (Best!)
13. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2023 -- 1:55:45
人生是黑白的.
4:36 PM <3
>>>
Wednesday, January 09, 2019
My 2018 Resolutions
1. Gain mass! Target 67kg! Maintain a regular gym routine.
Result: Not bad. I began the year at the lower end of the 64kg range, and ended the year at the upper end of the 64kg range. Ok, that's really quite an embarrassing improvement, but I still managed to keep on with a weekly gym routine.
2. 1,000 km running mileage for the year (A huge increase from last year)! Achieve a 4:00 timing for Full Marathon, with a good training and preparatory plan.
Result: I only clocked 727.9 km in running mileage! I didn't manage to reach a 4:00 timing for a marathon as I had hoped, but I am satisfied with the training and preparatory plan in 2018. Way to go in 2019!
3. Sleep before midnight for most days.
Result: Not as much as I had hoped, but there were some limited success on some days. I would expect 2019 to be even harder, with more commitments expected ahead.
4. Clear backlogs in photos and videos editing. Level up in videos production.
Result: The backlogs were not cleared, as I had a lot more things to do and commitments to attend to this year. From the looks of it, it's definitely going to be taking a long while more.
5. Have a smooth wedding day; Secure and move into a home for ourselves.
Result: Wedding day was definitely great and memorable! We also managed to secure a home, but we can only move in after 2021.
6. 开源节流。
Result: Not much successes in the 开源 portion, unless you consider some deals on Carousell? One good thing about marriage, is probably the ability to pool resources together and increase financial efficiency. As a couple, I think we are able to move better in this sense, compared to when we were 2 separate people. :)
--------------------------------------------
Here's a go at setting 2019 Resolutions:
My 2019 Resolutions
1. Maintain a regular gym routine, at least once a week.
2. 800 km running mileage for the year. Achieve a 4:15 timing for Full Marathon, with a good training and preparatory plan.
3. Sleep before midnight as much as possible.
4. Clear backlogs in photos and videos editing.
5. Re-look into my commitments and make changes to my lifestyle, while maintaining good connections with family and friends.
As you can see, my resolutions hardly change from year to year, as I lead a pretty predictable life. :)
人生是黑白的.
4:35 PM <3
>>>
Tuesday, January 01, 2019
THE Annual Review -- A Summarised 2018
January 2018
After ushering in the new year, 2018 got off to an exciting start with
busy preparations for our wedding. It was a month of shopping
& coordinating; meeting our solemnizer for his useful life tips;
meeting the people-in-charge for our wedding venue and bridal studio etc. Those
were seriously fun times!
February 2018
More wedding preparations were underway. We took a little breather at
the food tasting session with our immediate families. We had the customary 过大礼 about 2 weeks before CNY. On the same
evening, we caught 学友.经典世界巡回演唱会 again, which remained as the best
concert I've ever watched in my life. This year’s Chinese New Year was
also one of the busiest I’ve had – busy with serious spring cleaning (for CNY
and Wedding); busy with preparing invitation cards to be given out during CNY
house visiting; busy with more coordination work. My room also
took on a transformational change – my single bed was ditched, and replaced by
a Queen-sized double bed. Before the month ended, we also filed for marriage
at ROM.
March 2018
After months of preparation, the month finally came. The eve of the big
day was so unnerving, as we travelled around the country to tie up all the
loose ends, collect bridal car, collect the gowns, and then went to TMBS for a
major setup, which lasted till 10-plus pm. I slept quite late that night,
making last minute briefings, and writing my vows. 3rd March
2018 came, and it was a surreal day that passed quickly. We hosted 400
people at the morning session at TMBS and another 400 people at the evening
banquet at Joyden Hall. It was a day we would remember for the rest of our
lives. This month, I caught a concert by 动力火车 and enjoyed all the classic songs. With the wedding done, I was able to
commit fully to trainings (at Bukit Timah and Dawson flats)
for my upcoming Mount Kilimanjaro trek, with my fellow trekking mates.
April 2018
The immediate month after wedding felt like I was suddenly relieved of
many things. I could finally return to my usual commitments, which included
attending meetings for the upcoming T.H.I.S Buddhist Film Festival; attending
meetings at TMBS; and having a celebratory meal with our
Wedding groomsmen and bridesmaids.
May 2018
On Mayday, we went for a nice Kayaking session near
Sembawang, something refreshing that we rarely do. My family had a studio
portrait shot with us in our graduation gowns. Training for
#KiliTeamSG continued religiously as this was our final month of preparation.
We had a staycation this month, as we had yet to finalise with
our honeymoon plans. The month went on with many meetups with
family and friends.
June 2018
The month started with last minute shopping for essentials for my trip
to Tanzania. We also caught a concert by 五月天 at the
National Stadium. Then I flew to Tanzania, setting foot on the
African continent for the first time in my life. I had been apprehensive about
scaling Mount Kilimanjaro, and a huge reason was because I had
experienced some symptoms of Altitude Sickness when I was at Mount Agung in
Bali. Thankfully, we took a 8-day trek via the Lemosho route, which allowed us
ample time for acclimatization. All 4 of us in the #KiliTeamSG group
reached the Summit! To me, this was a high point in my life too, as reaching
the Uhuru Peak was a huge item on my bucket list and I had been dreaming of
this day since 20 years ago! I had a very brief emotional moment while walking
on the ridge to the highest point. After the trek, we went for a Safari tour,
where I found myself on a hot air balloon for the first time, as well as
witnessing the famous Great Migration of animals. This
Tanzania trip was a truly memorable one. The month of June ended with WL’s
Dharma class graduation ceremony at TMBS.
July 2018
We had another staycation this month, to celebrate our
birthdays. One realization was that, as you progressed to the age of 30s, and
after a change in the marital status, birthday celebrations started to dwindle.
The excitement this month, was my daily monitoring of the selection status
at Ubi Grove BTO project. We were happy to have
successfully balloted for a queue number in the first 38% of the available
supply, and managed to select a unit that was still relatively alright, in our
opinion.
August 2018
August was a month when the T.H.I.S BFF team became busy with roadshows
and publicity, ahead of our event the next month. There were some additional
media reporting this year, which seemed to focus on areas where we didn’t
intend to. I took part in this year’s Army Half Marathon and
managed to score a new personal best result of 1:57:01. New PBs are always
worth celebrating! This gave me quite a good morale booster for the year-end
marathon that I was about to start training for.
September 2018
There was a family day event with WL’s company, and it brought
me for rides at Universal Studios Singapore for the first time! The significant
event for this month was the 5th edition of Thus Have I
Seen (T.H.I.S) Buddhist Film Festival. I reported to Shaw Lido every day in
the 8-day festival week, and had a great time there. It didn’t feel tiring at
all (to be there every day after work), and I know it’s because it’s something
that I believe in, and so I don’t feel tired at all. In fact, we (the
committee) felt a little sad when it ended.
October 2018
We celebrated our dating anniversary at the start of
the month. We had one more staycation in mid-October, before
doing our final packing at home for a 25-day long honeymoon! This
honeymoon was an epic one for me, as it involved another item on my bucket list
– taking the Trans-Siberian railway! Ok, more accurately, it’s
Trans-Mongolian, as the trip started from Beijing, passed through Mongolia, and
ended at Moscow. We experienced so much (culturally, historically,
geographically etc) in those 25 days, and I can’t wait to finish writing my
trip review and post it up here soon!
November 2018
Back at work after honeymoon, this month felt like the most uneventful month
of the year. Having had a great trip, from sleeping in a Mongolian Ger to
touching the waters of the Arctic Ocean; from watching the Northern lights to
eating reindeers, you have to pardon me for suffering from withdrawal symptoms!
December 2018
The festive month was quickly filled up with many fun gatherings as
usual, which would end the year on a high. I was also trying to get my house
tidied up and declutterred, as CNY would also be here in a jiffy. At the Standard
Chartered Singapore Marathon, I missed my personal best by a little, but
was satisfied that it was still the best timing clocked in Singapore. I guess
the trainings with Running Department were useful, and I will try my next
attempt at the 4:15 target next year.
2018 had been a particularly great year for me, of personal achievements,
self-discoveries and checking off bucket list items. It would be hard to outdo
a great year like 2018 again, with different challenges that would be thrown at
us as we grow older and assume more responsibilities, so I am going to be
missing 2018 for a while.
人生是黑白的.
3:43 PM <3
>>>
Friday, December 14, 2018
Some statistics for my Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2018:
1. 9,389 people finished the race, of which 7,597 were men, 1,792 were women.
2. I was ranked 1,084th overall, top 12%. 8,305 finishers were behind.
3. I was ranked 931st among men, top 12%. 6,666 finishers were behind.
4. I was ranked 466th among 18-39 year old men, top 12%. 3,462 finishers were behind.
5. I was ahead of 91% of women runners.
6. My average pace was 6 min 20 sec per km.
9. My average speed was 9.5 km/h.
10. I finished in 4:27:36.
-----------
Past Races at a glance:
My past 17 Full Marathons at a glance:
1. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007 : 5:06:14
2. adidas Sundown Marathon 2008 : 5:07:58
3. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009 : 5:01:04
4. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2010 : 5:13:35
5. Volkswagen Prague International Marathon 2012 : 4:53:22
6. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2012 : 4:59:49
7. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2013 : 5:17:47
8. Maybank Bali Marathon 2014 : 4:48:08
9. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2014 : 5:14:22
10. Maybank Bali Marathon 2015: 4:52:39
11. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2015: 4:43:41
12. 2016阿猴國興盃公益路跑：4:41:13
13. Maybank Bali Marathon 2016: 5:04:35
14. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2016: 4:30:15
15. Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon 2017: 4:26:56 (Best!)
16. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2017: 4:44:06
17. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2018: 4:27:36
My past 11 Half Marathons at a glance:
1. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2007 timing -- 2:14:29
2. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2008 timing -- 2:21:02
3. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2009 timing -- 2:17:38
4. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2010 timing -- 2:04:18
5. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2011 timing -- 2:07:33
6. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2012 timing -- 2:15:18
7. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2013 timing -- 2:24:41 (Huge bottleneck)
8. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2014 timing -- 2:14:44
9. OSIM Sundown Half Marathon 2016 -- 3:24:05 (With WL)
10. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2017 timing -- 1:59:00
11. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2018 timing -- 1:57:01 (Best!)
人生是黑白的.
11:13 AM <3
>>>
Thursday, December 13, 2018
17th Marathon done!
SCSM has been an annual, habitual routine that I will try my best not to miss. In fact, I'm loving it so much that I can even say that I look forward to it. I'm not sure how it sounds to you. Crazy? I myself can't explain it too, probably it's that Runners' High that I chase after and savour, or perhaps it's always that huge sense of achievement after the race, or probably that possibility that I can once again try to erase my PBs.
This year, I joined Running Department's weekly training programme since around August. As far as possible, I attended the Wednesday evening runs and the Saturday morning runs. They were great, and I can't tell you how much better it is to train in a running group than to do solo runs. I've realised that in group runs, I could run faster and at a more consistent pace, and at the end of the runs, feel less exhausted than my solo runs. The sessions were just amazing! Throughout this year's SCSM training, I've almost ditched my solo runs! (But on hindsight, it is still important to add in solo runs outside the training programme, so as to achieve sufficient weekly mileage)
So yes, thank you Running Department for the weekly training and the positive energies that I took in every week. You guys really made me more hyped up for the actual day, and were definitely a great source of inspiration and motivation.
I chose to train with the 4:00-hour marathon pace group, which to me was a little stretch. I can do a 2-hour half-marathon comfortably, but to do it for another 2 hours is still a challenge to me. Nevertheless, I was hoping a little stretched training would do some good to me. But this wasn't going to be my target pace for the actual day, as I really wasn't confident in a 4-hour marathon.
Alright, so leading up to the marathon, I felt really prepared to knock down a 4:15 timing.
Race Expo
The race pack collection expo was pretty well-organised, with plenty of counters available and just a 15-minute queue wait time. One change that I have to compliment, was that the race bibs were not pre-printed with the runners' names. Instead, whoever comes next would collect the next number, and all they had to do, was to do a digital match to the runner. This was SO EFFICIENT! I hope all other races follow such a practice.
Race Day Pre-Run
I bought a seat on the 3am bus shuttle from Eunos. This year's buses were provided by ShareTransport. Unfortunately, this was one little hiccup. I reached punctually at 2:55am and the bus was already there for runners to board. I waited patiently in line and went up the bus, only to find that all the seats were taken. Together with about 10 others, I was asked to leave the bus and wait for the next bus, which were to come at 3:30am!
I checked the websites, the app, the Facebook accounts, and didn't see any bus scheduled at 3:30am. I started to get a little uneasy. (I remembered last year's race when I had a terrible morning at the baggage deposit and missed the flag off by 1 hr 40 mins. I don't want to be late for flag off again!) Thankfully, I've learnt my lesson to not bring any bags -- so once I'd reached the venue I could get to the start line immediately.
Phew -- at 3:30am sharp, another bus came. I was so relieved. I had already planned to get a taxi if there wasn't a bus at 3:30am. Luckily, the journey to the F1 Pit building took just 15 minutes or so. I was already queuing for the portaloo by 3:50am!
I took a peek at the baggage deposit areas. Wow. The organisers had really listened. All runners have a designated Pen entrance based on their estimated timings, and each Pen entrance has their own designated baggage deposit area. And to make things even more efficient, they had already given all runners a sticker (with bib number) prior to the race at the Race Expo, so people who had to deposit stuff, just had to drop their bags at the counter and go. SO EFFICIENT! All other race organisers, please refer to this GOLD standard of bag depositing!
Race Day Run
I was already in my Pen D by about 4am. Nice atmosphere there, really! The spotlights, the music, the adrenaline, it all made the pre-race so hyped up. And there was also our National Anthem being played, which I believe was the first time I've heard it at a local race.
Pen by pen, the runners were flagged off. The 4:15 and 4:30 pacers were also in the same Pen D, but they were 1 wave ahead (approximately 2 minutes apart). So when my wave was finally flagged off, I knew I had that 2 minutes to catch up to be with the pacers.
But by this time, I wanted to pee again. So I spent some 3-4 minutes of precious race time to queue at a public toilet, before coming back to the race course and continued chasing the pacers.
It didn't take too long before I caught up with the 4:30 pacers, and then a short while later, I joined the 4:15 pacers. Yay, all's good.
Fast forward everything, I was with the 4:15 pacers probably from about 3km to about 20+km. I gradually lose them as I made more and more stops at the Aid Stations, to refuel myself with the energy gels and to drink up. I could still see them at a distance, and I kept wanting to close the gap, but that would mean increasing my pace, but I soon realised that I had little left in me to still increase my speed after 25km.
The 4:15 pacers seemed further and further, and the weather got hotter and hotter. I paused at many Aid Stations and had begun to resign to the fact that 4:15 is less and less possible now. In fact, after 31km or so, I had reduced to a run-walk strategy which totally threw all strategies out. Now, it's really back to the age-old saying that "A marathon only starts after 30km". Yes, always true. And I've never conquered this wall yet.
So the part from 31km to 42km seemed eternal. It was made worse by the relentless 8-plus morning sun overhead. I jogged and walked alternately, and at the same time, fighting all negative thoughts and silencing the internal profanities. It wan't easy. This is usually the most challenging part of my races, and is something that I knew very well that I had to endure and conquer. Kilometre by kilometre, I counted down the remaining distance and brought my legs across. And at the same time, hoping that the 4:30 pacers don't catch up so quickly.
40km. This was where the 4:30 pacers overtook me. My little comfort was that they had a 2-minute head-start over me, and that the pacers usually run with a little time buffer on hand. I continued with my jog-walk poor strategy, and pushed myself to the finishing line.
4:27:36.
Still within 4:30! It was 40 seconds slower than my PB (set in Ottawa), but this was still the best timing I'd clocked in Singapore. Still a little cause for celebration!
The Good aspects of this race:
1. Hydration stations were long in length, and at some stations, they were present on both sides of the course! Last year, they had a sign to indicate the distance to the next hydration station. This seemed to be absent this year. Please bring it back as I found it useful!
2. Road closures. This year's route was covered extensively on closed roads. The organisers listened to the public outcry last year and changed the route, and it was still nicely designed. Bottlenecks were almost non-existent, probably due to the rolling wave starts, and wide roads.
3. Less of ECP. Ths year's route continued to have relatively shorter ECP portions, as runners were also brought to the West Coast Highway. It's a refreshing route, but honestly, West Coast Highway was boring to the max.
4. Route-side entertainment was nice. There wasn't the elaborate orchestras like last year, but I enjoyed some really nice musicians' performances along the way.
5. The cold towel at the Finish line was great! The muscle rub was OH-SO-NICE.
6. Very international field. The emcees were saying that 127 countries and territories were represented in this year's race, and I could tell. There were international supporters along the course, and it was heartening to see how far SCSM had come since many years ago. Perhaps one day, SCSM can be one of the World's Marathon Majors?
6. The start/end at F1 pit building was a good choice. Ample space, good signage, and no worries of the muddy Padang field!
Race day analytics in the next post.
人生是黑白的.
5:41 PM <3
>>>
THUS HAVE I SEEN
Buddhist Film Festival 2018 had come and gone. It was my 3rd edition
in the festival’s history of 5, and I enjoyed it as much as ever. Preparation
for an edition of a THISBFF usually takes 18 months from start to end, and it
begins with the earliest stage of films sourcing. My involvement in this 2018
edition probably began about a year ago, when the film programming team
convened to begin screening films and giving our opinions.
On my part, I probably
watched and reviewed about 30 films (out of a bigger pool), amidst my wedding
preparations that coincided in the same period. The official selection of films
had to be finalized in around March this year, which was when my wedding took
place. I remember the first quarter of 2018 was an exceptionally busy period,
but all things went smooth and well nevertheless.
With the finalization of
our 16 films, preparations went full steam ahead with the other necessities
like marketing, publicity, merchandise etc. I loved how everyone seemed to be in
their own roles optimally, contributing effectively to the cause. To me, I witnessed a high-performing team at work, probably because most of us had been in the
committee for a few editions to know exactly what we should do.
It was heartening to
see how the team stayed strong and close when some buzz came out following
reports in the print media. An air of controversy seemed to linger around the
selection of an R21 film, which eventually was a sold-out screening. The
committee remained united in the decision, because we stood by the very fundamentals
of why we organize a THIS Buddhist Film Festival in the first place. I couldn’t
be any prouder being in this committee than ever, and I am firmly certain that
this little saga had made us more resilient and more resolved to continue in
our Dharma propagation (through films) cause in future.
The 8-day film
festival week was a very busy one for me – reporting to Shaw Lido every day without fail. But
it was tremendously fulfilling and energizing! In fact, every weekday, I was
only looking forward to reporting to Shaw Lido after work, and it kept me
motivated throughout the day. My role during the week was to help at the
merchandise booth, and somehow the daily hustle and bustle at the booth energized
me much -- I don't think I felt exhausted at all. It is almost akin to the saying about “If you do what you love, you'll
never work a day in your life.” (Ok not that my passion lies in merchandise
sales or retail or what, but that I’m passionate about the cause of the film
fest). I guess one other thing that I will relish in, would be the strong
camaraderie of the fellow committee members. Though we would only meet each
other while working on this project, it would always feel like a happy
gathering once every 2 years at Shaw Lido.
Anyway, working on
this film festival edition after edition is a personal opportunity for me to
grow. I also do hope that our fans and supporters enjoyed our specially-curated
line-up of films that were thought-provoking and usually-not-screened in a
commercial setting. I am always touched by the great support that some of the
supporters rendered, and in this year’s edition too, I’d seen many patrons
that came screening after screening.
Thank you fans,
supporters and the other 5,600 audience who bought tickets and made it yet
another successful biennial event. Thank you volunteers and sponsors, for the
help that you had rendered us prior to and during the 8-day festival.
Like what Cell said in
the closing speech, “We shall now take a 6-month break and watch other lame
movies, before we begin yet another 18-month preparation once again”.
See you in 2020!
人生是黑白的.
4:17 PM <3
>>>
Despite sleeping for
less than 3 hours, I woke up to the morning of AHM 2018 feeling quite fresh.
There wasn’t the lethargy that I sometimes might feel on some race days, and
yet there wasn’t the excessive pumping of adrenaline on marathon days. In other
words, it felt like a good day for a new PB.
The fact is, I was
also quietly confident of matching last year’s timing. Though I had not put in
enough training runs in the lead-up to this race, I had been able to meet a
5:40-pace during training runs consistently. Throw in the race-day adrenaline
and I would be able to match the PB achieved last year.
Let me first talk about the AHM shuttle bus service. The good thing about
the bus service, is that it left the meeting point on time, and
reached the drop off point before 3:30am. This allowed me ample time to visit
the loo twice to clear my bowels, which I felt was a contributing factor to a
good race. (In contrast, the SCSM 2016 & 2017 shuttle bus service never
left on time, and departed Eunos MRT to loop at Bedok MRT before making its way
to the start point, which would be near 4:00am.)
I always feel that the AHM
organisers are the gold standard in race organization in Singapore. They never
disappoint! There were ample portable loos around the venue, and there was no
lack of baggage counters and staff to handle bag deposits – making it a
hassle-free and fast process. I was all prepared and ready by 3:50am!
This year, the person
to flag us off was punctual, and so the race could start promptly. I was in the
first wave to start, and wasn’t too caught up in the bottlenecks (though at
some narrow points in the CBD and at Gardens by the Bay, my pace had to be
slowed down). The weather was fine and not excessively humid, which made the
21km quite bearable.
Fixated at trying to
complete the race in under 2 hours, I was looking out for the pacers. I passed
the 2:45, 2:30 and 2:15 pacers in the first half of my race. I thought I would
be fast enough to meet the 2:00 pacers before I reached the finish line, but I
wasn’t. But personally I felt it was quite something, to be able to sustain my
5:30 pace for most parts of the race.
I reached the 11km
mark at the 60th minute. At that point, I felt generally well and I
knew I could still sustain the 2nd half at the same pace. I even
toyed with the thought of trying a negative split for the 2nd half,
but thankfully I did not, as I wasn’t used to this strategy before.
By the time I reached
15km, it was just about 6km more to go. I looked at my watch and knew that a PB
was within reach, even if I did a 6:00 pace for the remaining 6km. I maintained
the 5:30-pace target and eventually finished with a 2-min improvement from last
year’s PB.
The new PB of 1:57:01
may not seem like a huge improvement from 1:59:00 in 2017, but I could feel
that the shaving of mere seconds from the race timing would take a lot more
effort and training. I was satisfied, of course.
While I was queueing
for the muscle rub after the race, a middle-aged uncle behind me was chatting
with another fellow runner. He lamented that his run was ‘jialat’ because he
took ‘almost 2 hours’. And here I was, already celebrating a PB that took
almost 2 hours. The uncle’s lament could well be an unsettling comment to my
ears, but on the contrary, I felt motivated and encouraged – that there’s still
so much room that I can improve. I’m now dreaming about a 1:45 race result in
the longer term and I now know that I’m a step closer to it than ever before.
-----------------------------------
Some race analytics:
- There were 13,070 finishers, of which 11,994 were male (92%) and 1,076 were female (8%).
- Median time for all finishers was 2:38:23.
- My net time was 1:57:01.
- Out of 13,070 finishers, I was ranked 1,105th (8% ahead).
- Out of 11,994 male finishers, I was ranked 1,043th (9% ahead).
- Out of 2,688 male finishers in my age group, I was ranked 313rd (12% ahead).
- I was ahead of about 94% of women runners.
- Average pace (per km): 5 min 33 sec
My past 16 Full Marathons at a
glance:
1. Standard Chartered Singapore
Marathon 2007: 5:06:14
2. adidas Sundown Marathon 2008:
5:07:58
3. Standard Chartered Singapore
Marathon 2009: 5:01:04
4. Standard Chartered Marathon
Singapore 2010: 5:13:35
5. Volkswagen Prague International
Marathon 2012: 4:53:22
6. Standard Chartered Marathon
Singapore 2012: 4:59:49
7. Standard Chartered Marathon
Singapore 2013: 5:17:47
8. Maybank Bali Marathon 2014:
4:48:08
9. Standard Chartered Marathon
Singapore 2014: 5:14:22
10. Maybank Bali Marathon 2015:
4:52:39
11. Standard Chartered Marathon
Singapore 2015: 4:43:41
12. 2016阿猴國興盃公益路跑：4:41:13
13. Maybank Bali Marathon 2016:
5:04:35
14. Standard Chartered Marathon
Singapore 2016: 4:30:15
15. Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon
2017: 4:26:56 (Best!)
16. Standard Chartered
Singapore Marathon 2017: 4:44:06
My past 11 Half Marathons at a
glance:
1. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2007
timing -- 2:14:29
2. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2008 timing -- 2:21:02
3. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2009 timing -- 2:17:38
4. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2010 timing -- 2:04:18
5. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2011 timing -- 2:07:33
6. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2012 timing -- 2:15:18
7. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2013
timing -- 2:24:41 (Huge bottleneck)
8. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2014
timing -- 2:14:44
9. OSIM Sundown Half Marathon 2016
-- 3:24:05 (With WL)
10. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2017
timing -- 1:59:00
11. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2018
timing -- 1:57:01 (Best!)
人生是黑白的.
4:18 PM <3
>>>
I'm married! It had been a surreal day on 3rd March 2018, which seemed to just fly past very quickly.
For a start, here are the full transcripts of the 3 speeches that I delivered on that day: one speech at the morning Buddhist Ceremony, one wedding vow during the Solemnization Ceremony, and one speech at the evening Dinner Banquet.
Speech delivered at Buddhist Ceremony
各位嘉宾早安，欢迎来到我和伟灵的佛化婚礼。今天到场的估计有450人，其中有不少是第一次来到慧严佛学会这个场地的。欢迎你们前来！ A very warm welcome to all guests. Thank you for attending our Buddhist Wedding Ceremony and sharing our joy with us. Please allow me to give the main bulk of my speech in Mandarin.
在这里办佛化婚礼，对我们来说非常有意义。我们常听到上人解释关于＂因缘＂，慧严佛学会正是我们相遇、相识的那个＂缘＂。三年前，我从一个朋友口中知道她有个朋友（也就是伟灵）想上佛学班，因此就把她介绍给我，我也就把慧严佛学会这么一个殊胜的道场介绍给她。就这样开始了我们的交流。今天能在上人和那么多朋友的见证下，完成我们的终生大事，真是我们俩的好福报。
筹办一场婚礼实在不简单！不过，我们都还很享受这整个过程的。再说，从我们放消息说要办佛化婚礼后，就有源源不断的义工朋友说要帮忙，让我们倍受感动。当然，这也有赖于我父母亲多年来在会所护持，广结善缘，广交善知识。
在这里，我们，还有我们的家属，想真诚地感谢慧严佛学会和厚宗上人，让我们能够在这么殊胜庄严的道场办婚礼。也感谢主委会的支持，康乐助理委员会的协助，还有法器组、合唱团与石老师、广播组、摄影与录影组的配合，还有插花义工们的付出。也特别感恩所有义不容辞的义工们，帮忙布置一楼和六楼，让会所焕然一新，也帮我们确保今天的节目 顺利进行。
简单的三言两语是说不尽我们的感恩。今天，我们俩接收到的祝福是满满的，就让我们和大家一同分享喜悦，祝贺大家也一样，幸福喜乐，福寿安康，福慧双修，法喜充满。谢谢。
-----------------------------------------------------
Wedding Vow delivered at Solemnization Ceremony
x
伟灵，在认识你的这接近三年里，我天天都过得很开心，因为你照亮了我的世界。我从来都没想过自己会找到一个那么相同的知己。从我们第一次约会开始，我就认定你就是那个特别的另一半，因为你就是有那么特别的吸引力。
你的察觉力很强，似乎都能知道我在想什么，在我情绪低落的时候，你的体贴是深入我心里的。你的开朗，也时常能够把我的负面情绪给溶化。我们的兴趣也很相投，喜欢的东西也很相似，我感觉我好像跟自己结婚一样。
虽然我们都是不完美的，但是有了彼此的互补、还有在必要的时候，给彼此温馨的提点，我们都能学着做更好的人，更好的儿女，以后再做更好的父母。
今天在这里，在亲戚朋友们的见证下，我们给彼此一份终生的承诺。
我要成为爱你、对你忠心的丈夫，照顾你、帮助你。我承诺，以最深的爱爱你，以最完全的心意关心你，以最溫柔的态度照顾你。无论在前面的是平安顺遂或是威吓险阻，让我们一起白头偕老。
-----------------------------------------------------
Speech delivered at Dinner Banquet
Good evening to all our relatives, friends and colleagues, thank you for joining us tonight in our wedding celebration. Please allow me to continue with the bulk of the speech in Mandarin. You may refer to the translated subtitles onscreen.
各位嘉宾，晚上好。感谢大家今晚抽空出席我和伟灵的婚宴。除了有我们从邻国马来西亚到来的亲戚，也有来自其他东南亚国家以及远自加拿大的朋友。欢迎你们来到新加坡。
筹备一场婚礼，原来是那么忙碌的。不过我们俩都非常享受整个过程。8个月的准备，熬了无数个夜晚，就为了匆匆忙忙而过的今天，好庆幸一切还算顺利！回想起今天早上办的佛化婚礼，我们招待了450位嘉宾；今晚的晚宴又招待了400位嘉宾，我们得到的祝福是爆表的，非常感恩。背后所付出的义工以及朋友众多，在此献上我们最真诚的感谢。
今天到场的嘉宾们都是我们，或着我们父母亲重要的朋友。让我简单感谢几组人：
首先，我想感谢我们的父母亲， 对我们的3大恩：
一，生育之恩。没有你们30年前的怀胎生育，就不会有我们站在这里。
二，教育之恩。没有你们提供我们良好的教育环境，就不会有成才的我们站在这里。
三，养育之恩。没有你们无私的爱护和奉献，就不会有健康成长的我们站在这里。
今天我们步入人生的另一个阶段，我也想感谢岳母mummy一直以来对伟灵的照顾。我们一家都很喜欢也很欢迎伟灵成为家里的一份子，肯定会把她养胖的，就像我一样。我也很期待往后有更多机会参与你们家的聚会，陪你喝kopi，照顾你。
接下来，我要感谢亲戚们，尤其是长辈们。你们看着我从可爱的孩子，变成比较不可爱的大人，但还是都给我很多的爱。我总是觉得，身边有好多的爸爸妈妈帮忙照顾我。今天我结婚，你们都当成是自己的孩子娶媳妇那样的支持我，让我非常感动。我也挂念着已经没办法出席的亲戚们。还记得外婆在往生前的几个月，在她还能说话的时候，她反复不停的在床上对我说："清旭，你长这么大了，几时结婚？外婆想去喝喜酒，你会不会请我？" 她问了好多次。 可是，和遗憾的，她在364天前离开了我们，也就是去年的3月4日。
接着，我要感谢所有陪我长大的朋友，包括德明政府中学的同学、学警团的朋友；淡马锡初级学院的同学、OCIP的朋友；海军的兄弟；国大的同学、EnginCampComm的朋友；还有Anergy旧同事、把我灌醉的《中国冲》group、和陪我看过无数个演唱会的Concert Group。你们全部都是我在踏入社会前的玩伴和学习的对象，也是我成长岁月里，永远都不会想忘记的美好回忆。谢谢你们。
还有感谢我踏入社会后结交的朋友、同事和旧同事。It’s been more than 5 years since I’ve joined FXS. During this period, a few of you would have seen me grown from a fresh grad, to a not-so-fresh grad now. I’ve never expected that I would have made good friendships with you. Thank you for all your guidance, advices and support along the way, and for making me realise that there’s also a home outside home. By the way, I’ll still be on leave on Monday, just in case I didn’t set my out-of-office reply.
最后，我要特别感谢身边的老婆。我很庆幸自己找到了一个互补的知心人。我们都是不完美的个体，但是我们都能互补彼此的不足。谢谢你的体贴与细心，对我与我家人的关怀和爱护。自从你走入我的世界后，时间都似乎过得很快，大概是因为天天都充满欢乐。
认识你之前，跑步是我的最爱，如今它成了number2。
我想借用跑马拉松给我的启示来结束我的致辞：
* 人生就像是跑马拉松，大家都在同一个起跑点开始，但都在不同时间结束赛程。
* 有些人选择半途而废，结束自己；有些人选择有毅力地完成它，光彩自己的一生。
* 在路上，你可能超越一些人，也有可能被别人追上、被超越，但是，又何必与别人争呢？
* 在人生的马拉松里，有可能在半路上遇到另外一名志愿相投的选手。这就像是我们的今天。或许有天谁比谁先离开，先结束了他的马拉松赛。但在那之前，我们都得一同携手跑过美丽的风景。
谢谢大家。
-----------------------------------------------------
人生是黑白的.
3:22 PM <3
>>>
Thursday, December 28, 2017
THE Annual Review -- A Summarised 2017
January 2017
The new year was ushered at WL's place, away from all the noises and rah-rah at countdown parties. We celebrated our parents' 30 years of marriage this month at Joie, which is really an occasion that doesn't come by easily. WL and I had a fun-filled staycation at Quincy hotel, which had a worthwhile weekend package. We also teamed up with some TMBS friends to take part in a voluntary spring cleaning event at a rental flat, which was a new experience for me. Chinese New Year came towards the end of the month, with numerous reunions and gatherings with family, friends and colleagues. On Day 2 of CNY, I was tasked to be the emcee for TMBS 新春团拜, in which I received nice feedback from attendees, even though it was really just mere reading of the script.
February 2017
For most of the CNY this year (Day 6 to 14), I returned to my ICT unit for training. It might sound like a bad time to have ICT, but honestly, having it after the main CNY period (those first 3 days), actually meant that my absence from work was a little longer than others! I can't share things from it, just that it was a pretty enjoyable week for me. As it was still CNY, there were still a number of gatherings with friends and colleagues this month.There was also 学友.经典世界巡回演唱会（第57场） that ended the month for me memorably -- I've watched countless concerts before, but this was the best concert I've ever watched in my life, and I might not watch a better one ever again. (And I'm glad he's coming back for an encore performance in Feb 2018 again!)
March 2017
I lost my 外婆 early this month, after seeing how rapidly she weakened since last August and then after a fall last October. She had led a tough life, and I will definitely miss her unconditional love and concerns for all of us. Apart from a few meetups and a cousin's 21st birthday celebration, this month was relatively uneventful.
April 2017
The month started with a exclusive visit to out-of-bounds Raffles Lighthouse, having successfully balloted for an annual learning experience tour conducted by MPA. We also celebrated mum's birthday this month. There was also my company's kickoff event, during which I humbly received an award with a prize of a Korea trip hosted by our CEO. WL and I were also busy planning for our upcoming Canada trip in May. I flew off for Korea at the end of the month.
May 2017
The Korea trip for company award winners was a relatively luxurious one, where we had quality food and underwent experiential activities like wine tasting, strawberries plucking, paper fan painting and hanbok wearing etc. The only thing was that almost everyone else could bring a spouse along, but I didn't have one. To prepare for our self-driving in Canada, WL and I rented a car for a day to practise. The eventful month was also filled up with gatherings, a wedding, a Vesak day, karaoke, and packing for the trip. We finally flew on mid-May to Canada. This was THE trip of a lifetime -- we did tandem skydiving coupled with a wedding proposal; island kayaking; driving on the left driver's seat; whale-watching; attending an overseas wedding; encountering a bear while hiking; appreciating awesome views of the Canadian Rockies; breaking my personal marathon record at Ottawa; and the list just goes on. I will never forget such an adventure-packed trip.
June 2017
The moment we came back from the awesome Canada trip, our wedding preparations started immediately, with shortlisting of wedding venues and even coming up with a target guest list. House-hunting began too, with visits to some potential units nearby my current place. By the end of the month, we had visited no less than 4 wedding banquet venues and WL had also began visiting bridal shops. I was personally amazed by our speed of preparations, amidst the numerous gatherings with friends that also happened during the month.
July 2017
The month began being a videographer at KS+MQ's wedding. WL and I continued with wedding venues hunting, and we finally settled on one during a wedding show, alongside with the confirmation of a package with a bridal studio. I officially celebrated my #chyork30 birthday, and WL initially planned for her performance surprise at Shuffle, which sadly did not happen. She was pretty disappointed. Her birthday came towards the later half of the month too and we had a simple celebration. This month was also the start of my gym routine, in which I had continued on faithfully since. To prepare for the Army Half Marathon in August, I also took part in running clinics with the official pacers, which I realised were good training sessions! The month ended with a spa session, after which WL and I signed for a few more.
August 2017
Amidst wedding planning and meetups, one highlight for the month was the Army Half Marathon which I had tried to prepare for, by joining some pacer training runs. The race turned out well, and I managed to break my own Half Marathon timing, and did a sub-2 hour run for the first time. I continued with the running momentum, by joining a 16-week running programme by Coached, which would prepare us for the SCSM at the end of the year.
September 2017
The month was passed with the finalisation of a few other necessaries of the wedding - the list for 过大礼, choosing the videography partner, as well as fitting of the gowns and suits. We had to rush a little this month, because WL would be embarking on her 2-month ship programme in October, and would thus be away. We also decided to celebrate our 2-year anniversary earlier, at the end of the month.
October 2017
I signed up as a pacer for the YoloRun, and began training with the other pacers on a weekly basis at the undulating terrain at Fort Canning. It was quite a nice experience, being the first time introducing an added responsibility into my favourite sport. WL and I had our pre-wedding shoot too, and it was quite a tiring but fun day. Honestly speaking, I had expected the day to be a hassle and dreadful day of rushing, but I was surprised that it was pretty smooth (except that it rained and we had to change location) and enjoyable! We also viewed a potential resale flat unit much to our liking, and had placed high hopes on it, only to be disappointed eventually. WL finally flew off for the 52-day ship programme.
November 2017
As WL was away, the month was relatively less eventful. The YoloRun took place and the experience didn't turn out very well, even as a pacer myself. But I did try to enjoy the process, and we did our job well for that first 19km before the major bottleneck. Singles day 11/11 became my first Taobao experience, where I subsequently became addicted and did much of the shopping there since. Training for my SCSM continued to the hard phase, as the countdown to the race drew nearer.
December 2017
I initially expected myself to break my own record at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon this year, but it didn't happen due to a nightmarish baggage deposit saga that caused me to start 1 hr 20 minutes behind everyone else. Otherwise, the marathon experience was relatively nice, with great road closures, weather and hydration points. This spurred me to set a tougher challenge for myself in 2018. WL returned from her ship programme in mid Dec, and our wedding preparations continued in full swing. December was a month of gatherings, giving, drinks and celebrations, and the mood would continue until the very end of 2017.
人生是黑白的.
2:51 PM <3
>>>
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
But for now, it's a reality check for my 2017 Resolutions:
My 2017 Resolutions
1. Gain mass! Target remains 65kg!
Result: I'm finally coming quite close to it, at 64.3kg taken this month. Not bad result, and I'm crediting this 2kg gain to the gym sessions that I started in late July.
2. 600km running mileage for the year! Achieve a 4:20 timing for Full Marathon.
Result: I clocked 832.1km in running mileage! I didn't manage to reach 4:20 as I had hoped, but I did a 4:26:56 and a 4:44:06, in Ottawa and Singapore respectively. Way to go in 2018!
3. Sleep before midnight for most days, and wake up in time for free MRT travel.
Result: Not as I had hoped. I guess it takes a lot of discipline to achieve this.
4. Clear backlogs in photos and videos editing. Level up in videos production.
Result: The backlogs were not cleared, as I had a lot more things to do and commitments to attend to this year.
5. Have a memorable #Chyork30 year, that includes new travels, new experiences and new accomplishments.
Result: I must say it had been a great #Chyork30 year, which did include new travels (Canada), new experiences (e.g. Tandem skydiving) and new accomplishments.
--------------------------------------------
Here's a go at setting 2018 Resolutions:
My 2018 Resolutions
1. Gain mass! Target 67kg! Maintain a regular gym routine.
2. 1,000 km running mileage for the year (A huge increase from last year)! Achieve a 4:00 timing for Full Marathon, with a good training and preparatory plan.
3. Sleep before midnight for most days.
4. Clear backlogs in photos and videos editing. Level up in videos production.
5. Have a smooth wedding day; Secure and move into a home for ourselves.
6. 开源节流。
加油加油。
人生是黑白的.
4:06 PM <3
>>>
