Powerpuff Power! The X-Bionic Venus Run 2014, Singapore

The X-Bionic Venus Run 2014 was my second all-women run. The first being Great Eastern Women's Run 2013 (in November 2013) - my first ever race! 

An all-women run is very unlike any normal races. Competitive runners aside, you'll see more leisure runners and walkers. While some hardcore runners may shy away, many of us still love the fun and glee in such events!  

Why not? Let me list down just few perks of such all-women events :

• rewarding race packs (most of the time)
• exciting (you should compare the different number of activity booths between a normal race event and an all-women event!)
• run for good cause (for fellow women)
• fun (most people ran with a great smile, happiness is contagious!)
• run with friends; make new friends (you hardly see any loner)
• less stressful (what PB?)
• a good start (many women start running from all-women events and progress to other races)

For me, the biggest perk in this X-Bionic Venus Run has to be my husband being there for me! He had to re-schedule his own weekend training to be there. He had to be my driver. He had to be my porter during the race. He had to be my event photographer. He was my human vending machine when I was feeling thirsty. He's my unofficial 'coach'. He's the man!

On this International Women's Day, it was meaningful to have him to be there to celebrate with me, really.

The man behind Power Rachel!

Although there were few mis-communications during the registration and race-pack collection process, I must say that the organiser Singapore Athletic Association (SAA) did a fantastic job! The best being able to secure X-Bionic as the event title sponsor, benefitting all women participants with the best ever race pack (including compression top, pants and socks)! 

To add on to the already "most generous race pack", X-Bionics was giving runners a pair of socks of their choice by turing up in race attire!  

This event was definitely a bonding time for sisters in the family! 4 of us signed up together. From registration to race day, we'd done it together! This day was especially meaningful for Magdalene as it was her maiden run. We were happy to be there for her and looking forward to see her join us in more running events.

The Sisters-in-Law Happy in Pink!

The flag off time for the run was supposedly 5 p.m. Many turned up as early as 2.30 p.m. to enjoy the fringe activities at the race site. There were free health screening, photo booth, sporting sales and even mobile photo-session with hunks! The most patronised had to be the X-Rewards redemption booth whereby participants could get their pair of free socks. Many ladies changed into the new X-Bionic socks immediately. How cool looking!

Battling the Scorching Heat with thousands of Powerpuff Girls!

The scorching heat on Saturday afternoon was our only complaint to the event. We were already perspiring way before the run. Perhaps, there's the reason to start at this hour? To let us sweat and then "turn sweat into energy"? A slight adjustment on the event run time would definitely be appreciated. 

Otherwise, everything else was fantastic! The music was good, the emcee was entertaining, the ladies were responsive and happy moods afloat. Being a one year breast cancer survivor myself, I was really happy to see fellow survivors leading the mass Zumba during the warm-up session. These ladies simply looked great! I wish I could join them some day!

Zumba-ing with our Breast Cancer Survivors! You'll only see such mass warm-up in an all-women race!

Arrival of Guest-of-Honour : Mdm. Halimah Yacob. Women's Pride!

The flag-off took place as soon as the Guest-of-Honor, Mdm. Halimah Yacob (Speaker of Parliament) arrived. No time wasted. Everything swift and orderly. Beaming faces took off from the start line. There was no turning back! The ladies were moving forward in powerpuff power! 

Not forgetting to thank the men behind us!  Thanks for being there for us!

The Generous Title-Sponsor : X-Bionic "Turn Sweat into Energy". Good Job! We Remember You! Simon asked if the guys can have them too? Photo taken by him when the ladies were running.

The Finisher Medal 

Medals waiting to be claimed at the Finish Line.

Enjoying my run despite the heat and haze. Thanks to my loving husband for patiently waiting and identifying me amongst the sea of pink ladies!

Simon was there again! Waiting for me to cross the Finish Line!

The happy sisters re-united after the race. Doris (Simon's sister) a seasoned runner, and I happy to be there for Magdalene (wife of Simon's Brother) at her maiden run. Running is contagious! 

Running is Contagious! Happy to be Contagious! Wonderful to have a photo-booth on site.  The ladies loved it!

As this was a short 5 km run, there's not much I could mention about the en route scenery.   I finished my run in a slow 44 minutes as I did not want to push myself in the heat, haze and my bruised purple toe nails. Thanks to the sponsor for being so generous with drinks at the finish point! We thank the lovely volunteers too! 

My observation was that - every woman looked happy. Be it the super fast athlete, the slow-walking grandma, the young student, the pretty lady, the tired auntie, the excited kid or the sick girl that was being wheel-chaired, the energy was positive! And that made us beautiful!  

A Personal Account on Her First Half-Marathon : 2XU Compression Run 2014, Singapore

I was in dilemma! To run or not to run? See what I had in addition to the pulled thigh muscle last week?

Photo of blisters taken
before we set off from home.

Yes! I had blood blisters on both my feet before the run! Simon advised me to give up as he did not want me to jeopardise my other runs with further injuries. 

I listened. I deliberated. I decided. 

I wanted to run this first half-marathon of my life. Whilst I had thousand-and-one doubts in my brain, my heart didn't want to give up. Not without giving it a try! Somehow, this run meant a great deal to me - consciously or sub-consciously - it signified an important yardstick on my road to recovery from my cancer. 

We had to wake up at 2.00 a.m. due to the early gun time (4.45 a.m.). I always like early gun time. This would allow most runners to cover a substantial part of their race routes before sunrise. 

Simon boiled some potatoes to load his carb. Never a fan of potatoes, I seek comfort in sandwiches and chocolate milk for fuel. By 3.00 a.m., we were ready to leave home. God knew the butterflies in my stomach!

A couple shot before we left home. All geared up!

We arrived at 3.45 a.m. The organisers had chosen a good starting/finishing venue. Accessible by buses, taxis and situated just next to a MRT station. For us drivers, there were ample parking lots in the nearby commercial buildings. We thought we were early, but realised many runners were already there! Had they ever slept at all? 

The brilliant Billboard!

Simon would agree with me that the lighted billboards instructing check-in times for respective categories were brilliant!  Straight forward. No confusion. At exactly 4 a.m., the first wave were allowed into the start pen by the security guards. Dark as it might be, kudos to these guys for scrutinising the bib of every participant before granting access into the pen. 

As it would be another 45 minutes before gun-time, many early birds chose to sit around. Few hardworking ones were already starting to warm-up. Needless to say, Simon forced me to do some exercises too. I was reluctant and chose to take shots with my iPhone after doing some simple stretching to appease him.  

By 4.30 a.m., the starting pen was looking full for the first wave. The emcee started to cheer the crowd on with his humour and encouragements. It would be better if his voice was more powerful. It would wake us up in the early morning! The atmosphere was a tad too serious due to the lack of music.

Runners waiting for gun-time

Simon posing

The crowd's in!

I can assure you that time passes really fast when you hope for it to stop/drag. Before I knew, the race had started and the crowd was fast moving forward. I reckoned it was 4.45 a.m. sharp. 

My oh my! These people ran fast! Within few seconds, I lost sight of Simon too. He disappeared into the sea of yellows and blacks. I was the lonely fighter again. Fortunately, the weather was good and there was wind chill at this hour. I managed to run 1 full km before starting to brisk walk. My first km took about 7 min. Never had I done this speed. That's a stretch for my fitness level! I knew I could not sustain if I were to continue at this pace. Simon's reminder kept creeping back to the back of my mind "Complete. NOT Compete! My dear!". Yeah! I was not there to compete! My objective was to reach the finish line in one piece, and before the 4-hour cut-off time! With this realisation, I re-adjusted my pace and averaged 8 min 30 sec for the subsequent few km. 

All went well until after the loop, on our way back to the new sports hub (probably 4 km mark for half-marathoners?) when I heard a loud siren and saw a rushing ambulance. Runners had to give way to the ambulance. My heart sank as it would only mean mishap. True enough, we heard about the bad news soon. Fellow runner, Mr. Martynn Koh, 45, died in race day tragedy. Being a one-year cancer survivor, I had delayed death in a way. I really feel for the family. My deepest condolences...

Without knowing the real situation, I continued with my run/walk. On the way, I religiously chanted in my heart "Complete. Not Compete"..."Complete. Not Compete". Before the race, Simon shared with me the importance to have 'my own song' during my run to keep my momentum and maintain my pace. So, ~~I want to break free~~ accompanied me silently all the way! It was amazing that I sustained and performed better than my normal training days with this song.

I checked my watch again at 6.50 a.m. and knew that Simon would have finished his race already. The sun had not risen. I was not in a hurry. Let him wait. He couldn't go home without me! 

Few people at the end point when Simon finished his race.

I enjoyed the route for the half-marathon. Spacious and minimum chokage. There were sufficient water points and supplies to keep us well hydrated. The volunteers were cheerful and helpful. What more could I ask for? 

Before long, I was already into the 19 km mark at the Helix Bridge. It would be ideal if we could avoid climbing the stairs. Many had to slow down to make their way up. By then, most runners along my pace were already walking. Me too! 

Walking...Shagged

Beautiful sunrise (after Helix Bridge)

Did I mention that my blisters were triumphing their way during my run/walk? The pain had become almost unbearable. My toe nail turned purple too! Ouch! I had no choice but to slow down significantly after 10 km. Never settle for wrong sized shoes like I did! Mine was half a size too small and I had to pay with endless blisters and pain.

How elated was I when I finally saw the finishing point! By then, my feet couldn't carry me through the finishing line in a run anymore. I walked through my first 21.1 km line. What an un-glam finishing! 

It was really congested at the end point. Many runners were back from all 3 categories (full/half-marathon, 10 km). Whoever thought of giving us an ice-cold towel after the race has to be a genius! That's really a treat! I didn't mind the long queue for the drink/banana/medal/finishing-tee collection because of this treat. 

Long queue at the end point.

Feisty mood after the race.

Simon changed into his Finisher-Tee

My hard-earned medal

Our possessions. Finisher-Tees + Medals

We love the jerseys as well as the medals. All nicely designed. We stayed for a while to soak in the happy ambience before leaving for home.  

I finished my race! I did my embarrassing personal best at 5 km (41 min), 10 km (1 hr 27 min), 21.1 km (3 hr 21 min 05 sec). Ahead of Simon's prediction of 4 hr. He thought that I would barely make it just before the cut-off time. I hope he's happy for me. I abide to his "Complete. Not Compete" motto! 

I have nothing to shout about my finishing time. It is nowhere near a decent timing. But hey! Not too bad considering I was still having my chemo treatments in my bald head this time last year. And that I had never run in my life until 4 months ago! 

The race left me feeling freaking painful on both feet. But, I am happy! Overall, this was a well organised race that had boost my confidence for more runs in future. A fruitful morning. Time well spent!

Crazy Race Pack Collection Week (Episode 2/2) : X-Bionic Venus Run 2014, Singapore / Passion North East Run 2014, Singapore

Despite the mad rush to collect race packs for both races on Saturday, I was generally happy with both organisers.  With so many runs in Singapore nowadays, many event organisers have set profiteering as main objectives. For example, the number of collection counters could be reduced to allow more space for products/services retailing purposes, resulting in long queues during race pack collections.  In this respect, I was impressed that both organisers did a good job! We were entertained with sufficient sporting products whilst organisers maintained ample space for queuing.

Coincidentally, organisers for both races chose the "Opt for Your Own Collection Time" method upon registration. Good and bad. The good for such staggered collection schedule largely minimise long queues and angry participants. The bad? I opted same time for both races, oblivious that both race pack collections fell on same weekend! Now, you understand the reason for my mad rush! Unfortunately, the system has been rather inflexible, thus far, rejecting collections once we miss our pre-selected time slots.

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X-Bionic Venus Run 2014

As City Square Mall (collection venue for X-Bionic Venus Run) was further away from home, we thought this should be our first stop. I like the gigantic rotating fan above us! The heat was almost non-existent despite the race pack collection point being an outdoor courtyard. 

Nice and bright collection point. Very well controlled traffic due to staggered collection schedules.

Super liked the gigantic fan above us. It dispersed the heat somehow.

Collection counters could be improved. Preferably with proper booths and clear signages displayed on top instead of small standees on the tables. Participants had to rely on themselves to check out which were the available counters when their turn came. Quite often, the volunteers manning the counters had to shout afar when they were freed.  

Respect to the volunteers, always.

Thumbs Up! See the X-Bionic Compression Top and Pants? They were provided in the race pack! The socks (long version @ S$104.90 or short version @ S$36.90) will be given to us free on race day if we wear the X-Bionic race attire. Woo-hoo! I'll put on full gear!

A closer shot of the race attire. Cool!

This has to be the best race pack ever! Look at all the goodies we have! The major perk of participating in an all-women race has always been a very rewarding race pack. Sponsors being more generous to all-women races?

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Passion North East Run 2014

As I had unknowingly pre-selected a similar time slot to collect the race pack for Passion North East Run, we had to rush to Sengkang Community Club (about 30 mins travel distance from the first location) before they deny me for collection. To our surprise, the venue was quiet when we arrived. We thought we went to a wrong location!

There was no queue ahead of me and it was a breeze to have all my items collected in less than 3 minutes! How efficient! So, this staggered race pack collection schedule system worked! Really, really?

Happy to collect my Bib. Ahem....more volunteers than participants despite the race being fully subscribed.

Ample space and time to check that I was given the correct t-shirt size. 

Low registration fees. Simple race pack. No frills. I like it this way too!

After the race pack collections, we are now all ready for the runs! Bring it on!