New Balance Real Run 2007...

Got myself to Changi Exhibition center for the New Balance Real Run.

I must say this must be one of the most challenging run ever in my life. Ran 12km on the road, 1km on trail, 1km on sand and 1km on the runway. My word! This run really fits its slogan "The Ultimate X-Terrain Challenge".

My 15km race got flagged of at 0745H by the president himself. The morning sun just rose and thus the weather was still relatively cool.

The trail was rather shady, having the trees to block out the sunlight. But once we hit the road, the sun's rage almost killed me. The day started to become humid and hot. Turning into Changi Beach was my greatest relief due to the trees until I reached the sand. How hard can 1km of sand run be? For the amount of energy you put in for a running step on the road, you gotta put in twice the energy for the sand. Its was that tough. Every step you take, you either slip or get your foot stucked into the sand. Finally the official shouted "last 2km". Almost there eh? Can't be that hard to complete another 2km since you got the kick and you are nearly there right? How wrong! 2km of pure straight road. Coupled with 32 degrees celsius of sunrays blasting straight at you and your shoes filled with sand from the sand run. That was just HELL. The heat was bad I gotta admit. It almost forced me to walk the last 2km. My head was swelling from the sun's heat. But I ran and ran and ran till last 400m thinking " Yes just straight ahead". Wrong again! The end point was not where we started but at the other side of Changi Exhibition Hall! We had to run around the building. By the time I finished, I was burning hot from head to toe. I downed 2 100 plus and just poured the whole 500ml of water on my head. You can simply imagine how blistering the heat was. It was as good as running at 12noon boy!

But nontheless, compeleting a race definitely has its satisfaction. Moreover it was such a tough race.

081007...

Driving test.

Heavy rain.

Soaking wet feet.

Lousy examiner.

Quarrel with examiner.

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.
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What the heck.
14 points.

I've got me DRIVING LICENCE!

Japan...

The trip to Japan was satisfactory.

Japan's not much of a shopping area. Fashion there is really up to date, needless to say their prices there too. Clothes there are meant to be worn ONLY in Japan. If you ever wear their clothes in Singapore, you'll probably get mocked at by every little kid that stares at you and maybe get branded as an Ah Beng or Lian.

Nothing fantastic from the food served though. Besides the usual bento sets, it sushi, sashimi, shushi, sashimi... By the 3rd day of the trip, everyone's pretty much craving for some authentic chinese food. Can you imagine eating the same standard 3 types of meal for 20years of your life?! I really respect the japanese. After 20years of consuming the same types of dishes, the words "OiShii" still manages to be said. Snacks there are so common. Every little snack there is so nicely packaged that it would rip your heart into pieces if you would even tear the wrapping to consume the snack. With 1001 colorful food wrapping designs, majority of the snacks come with only one taste - red bean flavour. And every state you go you see the same type of snack being sold.

Hotels were pretty crammy. No, no. Its not just the hotels I stayed in. EVERY HOTEL in Japan has crammy rooms as told to us by the tour guide. Even their houses are small and squeezy with low ceilings. Its no wonder why Japanese are rather short people. But I must comment on Japanese toilets though. Their toilet seats' got heater, to warm your butts before you take a plonk. They even have sprinkles to clean your butts before you leave the toilet! Mind you thats not just hotel toilets, almost everywhere be it shopping malls or small cafeteria, you'll see the same type of toilet seats.

Cleaniness there is fantastic. Look at Singapore's LongKang water, its murkey and filled with used bottles or trash bags. Japan's LongKang water is crystal clear with ZERO trash. There are living organisms in the water and guess what they are, there are ducks on the surface and carps in the water. Beat that!

Well that more or less sums up my trip from Osaka to Tokyo. For now, its pretty unlikely I'll be travelling back to Japan to tour the other states. All in all, its a nice place to really relax.

For now, its back to train up for my marathon and the upcoming 15km New Balance Real Run. And last but not least prepare to ORD. Hopefully that CSM of mine doesn't create that much of a problem for the ORD personnel.