And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

Monday, 16 July
AM: OFF
PM: 26mins w/up, 1km intervals, 10mins c/down
Chilly day today. Air was cold but the body was working well. The intervals were hard but still manageable. The guys ran hard and ran well, amazing timings! Will be a tough week, trying to restrict myself from running too much and not knowing what to do with the excess energy. Haha.

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” – Matthew 4:19

Tuesday, 17 July
AM: OFF
PM: 45mins, Core ~ TP Track
Tough run today especially in the second half. Felt like almost couldn’t breathe and legs were tight all over. Still great to have gotten this quick session in.

Today the Lord challenged me if I was running to gain approval from men or from Him. When I come to think about it, it’s really tough. To just head out there to run alone and be in His presence, or to run at a more crowded place so people can “see” you run. Hmm, it’s a very gray area in my opinion and requires constant checking of the heart. You don’t have to make the popular choice, or a choice that makes you feel good.

Sometimes you just need to be obedient to God, and know that even though what you’re doing now doesn’t make sense, God has the best plan for you in mind.

Wednesday, 18 July
AM: OFF
PM: 20mins (treadmill), 22mins w/up, 400m intervals, 15mins c/down ~ TP Track
Still feeling uncomfortable when breathing hard, especially when on the treadmill in the gym (altitude simulation..?). Some kind of pain in the lower part of the ribs, though it’s not the first time, I know it’ll take awhile to go away. Main intervals were, painful. But I really believed that those treadmill sessions (on incline) has helped strengthen the mind tremendously. Last workout done before raceday on Sunday. Not expecting much out of it. But will be giving my best for Jesus. 🙂

Thursday, 19 July
AM: OFF
PM: 45mins, Core ~ TP Track
Don’t know why but the recovery runs always feel quite tough especially when they’re done in circles on the field. But today’s run felt just like Tuesday’s. Ah, not many runs left. 🙂

Friday, 20 July
AM: OFF
PM: OFF
Decided for a break today just to allow the body more rest. Legs are good, all is well.

Saturday, 21 July
AM: 31mins ~ Bedok
PM: OFF
Took a short half an hour of running to get the legs rolling for tomorrow’s race. Bedok is quite “hilly” if you know where to run. Hahaha. By hilly I meant running up 10m slopes or stairs. Raceday tomorrow, let’s go!

Sunday, 22 July
AM: 20mins w/up, 10km (RACE) ~ ECP
PM: OFF
Race day! Will reserve another post for the race report. But in short, the race was a really enjoyable one. It was pretty flat and I liked it. Really enjoyed this one! Church and St. Games afterwards. Crazy day of playing games. Haha.

. . . . .

Cut down on running this week for the race. The schedule works quite well and I felt quite fresh during the race actually.

Really thankful to God for this gift of running. It has taught me so much, and it’s also through this sport that I got to meet so many friends! Training can be tough at times, but at the end of the day, it builds you up as a person. I know that For the past week I’ve not really enjoyed my runs. Especially during the recovery runs. Still seeking the peace and joy of running without and expectations of performance. But I know God is working. 🙂

Monday, 02 July
AM: Core
PM: 23mins w/up, 300m intervals, 30mins c/down
Tough big workout today. Didn’t really ‘complete’ it because timings were not met. Don’t know what I’m doing sometimes, running so much during cooldown. I’m distracted from running shorter distances competitively, and I’m beginning to gear up for the longer distances, beyond the marathons. It’s a journey into the unknown, but I’m willing to take the risk.

Is this what the Lord has called me to do? I don’t know. But I hope through running, lives can be impacted and changed.

Tuesday, 03 July
AM: 60mins ~ ECP
PM: OFF
Ran into one of the strongest headwind I ever encountered. The weather was scary and chilly. Legs got looser as the run progressed, and it was a good run overall!

Wednesday, 04 July
AM: Core
PM: 30mins (treadmill), 22mins w/up, PLYO, 30mins c/down
Did a varying run on the treadmill today. Consisted of some slopes and flats. Yes it left me tired, but I enjoyed the challenge. Training was okay, working on strength and power once more.

Thursday, 05 July
AM: OFF
PM: 2hr 45mins ~ ECP > Changi > Tampines > HOME
Tough first 1.5 hours. Calves were so sore and legs just didn’t feel right. Only after the half-way water break then things started to pick up. The first half was relatively flat but it was tough. Especially when there was a long stretch of park connector that stretched out to 8km along Changi. Really challenged my mind. Exiting Changi, there were some climbs, which I really enjoyed. Tested the legs especially when it started to get fatigued. Final break at Tampines (TP) and I think I over-hydrated that caused some stomach problems. Thankful to have completed the run without any injuries though I did feel some pain during the run.

Taking my small little toddler steps into the ‘Ultra’ world. Being slow and cautious, hoping it won’t risk getting hurt. The journey can be long, and painful, but I know it won’t be lonely. Looking back, it’s such a miracle that I’m able to do such long runs now. By my own strength, surely I didn’t see this coming. I didn’t even desire to run more than a lap around the track, and now..

How God moves through my life, leaves me speechless. Since I’m here already, on this journey with Him, may it be fruitful, and not just involve me alone!

Friday, 06 July
AM: OFF
PM: 32mins ~ Bedok > Tanah Merah
“Yogging” around the estate today to loosen the legs. Really needed this. But I figured out that the body is beginning to adapt to the longer runs, and I don’t feel as sore as I did previously (two weeks ago). Recovery time is getting shorter, but the legs still feel trashed.

Evening Bible study left us with much to reflect upon. Hmm.

Saturday, 07 July
AM: 91mins ~ TP > ECP
PM: OFF
Long run this AM. Never felt so bad in a long while. Bad in terms of pace, but to be honest, I was happy that I ran so much! Thankful to God for the ability to run through the pain.

Sunday, 08 July
AM: OFF
PM: 70mins Prayer Run ~ Redhill
Prayer run this afternoon was good. Many turned up to pray for this community that extended to near city area. Met some new people too during the run, and it was really nice for them to pray for me before enlistment. Meeting people like this really encourages me. To know that, there are people out there who still love God so much! God is good!

. . . . .

One week flew by, so quickly. Can’t remember any significant things that I did, so have I been wasting too much time?

“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” – Matthew 24:22

Ran much this week, and got a revelation from God. What is the purpose of running? People run after personal bests, championships, prize money, fame, for charity, for fun. But as followers of Christ, what is our ultimate (and only) purpose of running?

Monday, 18 June
AM: Core
PM: 22mins w/up, 300m intervals, 26mins c/down ~ TP Track
Felt a little tired during training today. Probably due to the lack of sleep this morning. Still, I’d consider it a good workout done! 2.4km TT on Wednesday.

Feel that God is challenging me to surrender some things that I hold so dearly to my heart. Of course, He wants me to surrender everything to Him, but for the things that I hold more dearly, it is really a challenge. Afterall, He is the God of all, what makes me think I know better than He does?

Got a chance to share about God’s message with Milton today. I’m really glad that he asks questions and seems more receptive than before. I pray that his heart will continue to soften towards God, and for all the little seeds that Christians have planted in his heart, I know God will water them. To you who are reading this, take some time, pray for my friend, please. Thank you.

Tuesday, 19 June
AM: 60mins ~ ECP
PM: OFF
Early morning runs are such a pain. But you just got to do it.

RunNat recce in the afternoon and spending some time with coach is always something I look forward to! She always has so much wise words. Blessed to have a great coach.

Wednesday, 20 June
AM: OFF
PM: 15mins w/up, 2.4km TT, 15mins c/down
Was so excited for today’s time trial, especially when I get to ‘race’ with the guys (Alvin, Milton and Lui Hua). We’ve only trained together, but never really raced together before. Prior to our ‘race’, I was really encouraged to see the juniors run, and cheering one another on.

Thursday, 21 June
AM: Core
PM: 2hr 51mins ~ Bedok > ECP > Marina Barrage > Lau Par Sat > Esplanade > Singapore Flyer > Mountbatten > East Coast > HOME
Indeed a crazy run this evening, don’t even ask me why. But I enjoyed the run though it was mentally more challenging. Tried to hydrate as often as I can during the earlier parts of the run, but towards the end I could feel the lack of energy more than being thirsty. Surprisingly, legs were feeling pretty fine. Visualization of the UTMB video during the run was really helpful and kept me going. I really want to attempt some ultras in the future, and talking about it already makes me feel excited! 😀

Very thankful to God for this gift of running. Being a sinner, I initially wanted to run for selfish desires. To run for my own glory, to win prizes, to be recognized. And even til today, I’m still learning to use it for His glory. To run, so His love and message can be made known to everyone. Help us Lord!

Friday, 22 June
AM: OFF
PM: 30mins ~ Bedok
Easy jog today to loosen the legs a little. Not much highlights.

Saturday, 23 June
AM: 91mins ~ TP to ECP
PM: OFF
An easy long run today, with the first half covered in coversational pace. Thanks LuiHua, for hearing me out! Runs are much easier, with company. Though it was the same old route, time passed faster this time. And for the second half of the run, things started to hurt bad. Long run done, proper.

Happy Saturday! 🙂

Sunday, 24 June
AM: OFF
PM: OFF
Kind of feeling ‘off’ today. St. Hilda’s outreach, which gave the kids to gather again. Good to see them, and also it’s the last day of their term break. School’s up tomorrow.

. . . . .

July is arriving soon. To be honest, I’m actually feeling a little upset.  5 more Sundays, and I consider myself ‘detached’ from the world. Into NS, and a whole new adaptation to take place. Adaptation to people, to the environment, and whatever challenges that throw itself at me. Great, why am I getting all, emotional.

Whatever time is left, cherish it, and make full use of it. Do what I have to do. Get it done, run the race with no regrets.

Colin, Milton, Yong Wang, Me, Shuyuan, Lui Hua

My first individual road race in a year and a half. Looking back, it’s amazing what God has done through my life, and through running especially. How far He has taken me, surely I did not see this coming two years ago.

Tucked myself nicely in bed at 11pm the previous night, but only fell asleep at around 1am. Pre-race nervousness you call it? 4 hours of sleep and that’s all I got. I love race day mornings, for the surprise of what’s going to come later on in the day. You never know what’s going to come before or during the race, or how you’re going to perform. But you still try to do everything perfectly, hoping that these tiny little things will give you a confidence boost.

After picking Milton up from the cab, we met Shuyuan where her dad has kindly offered to send us to Punggol! I initially expected the race to be a really low-key one, and I placed my hope in that, until 15minutes before the race commenced, and I saw the many who assembled at the start line. You can say majority of Singapore’s elite runners were there, but it actually got me even more excited. To see how these guys (and girls) run, and to even just meet them in person.

I’d say I was really warmed up for the race, and knew I was going to set a new personal best. When the gun sounded, I just tucked myself nicely behind the elite men, but soon I knew I was going too fast so I slowed things down a little and try to keep the pace manageable. Not too far ahead, I could see Milton, running with the leading men, but he was too far away for me to call out to him to slow down. Moments later, Anne Date came from behind and I decided I was going to follow closely to her because her personal best is also the personal best I was aiming for. So for the early part of the race, I was running beside her, and Milton was within sight but I wasn’t going to waste precious energy to chase him.

Throughout the race, there were some gentle, and some not so gentle ups and downs. The steeper ones made me hurt, while the gentle ones made me lose my momentum. There was plenty of overtaking done until the halfway mark of the race, where I realised I expended too much energy during the early stages. The legs were starting to hurt quite badly, and the pace slowed consistently. A few runners were catching up and overtaking me. The gap between Milton and I was closing quite quickly in the second half of the race, and at about the 6km mark, I caught up with him and we paced each other.

He didn’t hang on with me for long before he picked up the pace. I could not keep up, so I let him go. One final big climb toward the end of the race, before we were back on the road toward the finishing line. Anne Date dropped off before the halfway mark into the race, and this time she caught up with me towards the end. She kicked, and I followed. I saw the clock, and I knew I was going to do a sub-39mins, so I just kept it going beside her, and cheered her on towards the finishing line.

She placed 1st, and I placed 18th, with a timing of 38mins and 34secs. 🙂

The adrenaline of running a race is addictive, and it can be compared closely to our spiritual walk with God. You just accepted Christ, and you’re on fire for Him. You serve and serve, and you suffer burnout, and the Church does not see you again. God wants us to be consistent in our walk with Him. We need to pace ourselves. To spend time with Him daily on a consistent basis, so we do not suffer from burnout too easily.

And when the going gets tough, we press on, not give up. Though I admit, halfway into the race I already felt like giving up because of the pain, but I knew I must persevere, for Jesus did not give up on His way to calvary. When trials and persecution come, we don’t give up on Jesus. We focus on Him, and He will see us through.

This race has been a good experience for me. Some moments are not penned down here, but of course I remember them vividly. One final race coming up, before enlistment.

Not forgetting, we’re always participating in this race, the race towards the eternal prize.

Are you prepared for it?

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28

Monday, 28 May
AM: OFF
PM: 22mins w/up, 1km intervals, 15mins c/down
Pretty tough stuff today. And I think I over-exerted myself during warmup, which jeopardized my workout. Really thankful to have the guys with me today during workout, and coach even told them to pace me, which I felt bad for. But anyways, the team will always be there for each other, and with the guys’ races over, and mine coming up in 2 weeks’ time, they are working hard to help me. Thank you!

So many times during a tough set, there’ll be these two annoying voices in your head. One yelling at you to give up (or slow down) and the other whispering to you to press on. I know no matter how tired I am or how painful the body feels, I must not allow that whisper to be drowned by all that screaming. Because when we hang on to even the littlest of hopes, the outcome will surprise us.

Which voice will you listen to?

Tuesday, 29 May
AM: OFF
PM: 60mins ~ ECP
An hour run done late in the evening  because I was impatiently waiting for the parcel of shoes to arrive. Well since it didn’t, I’m sure it’ll arrive tomorrow. I was quite hesitant about today’s run, because I experienced some pain in the bottom of my left foot yesterday during training. Thank God both my feet felt quite okay during the run, and it was a good run actually, so I made it a harder effort run. My spiritual life and running are sometimes comparable, I run well when I feel good, just like how I perceive that I am closer to God when I feel good.

But the fact is that we do not have to allow our spiritual life (or sometimes, our emotions) to be determined by how we feel. The more we allow external factors to determine the way we behave, the more ‘unstable’ we become. No matter if I feel good, or bad, God is always there and He will always love me because of who He is, not who I am or what I’ve done. Thank You Father! 🙂

Wednesday, 30 May
AM: Core
PM: 10mins w/up, 5km, Drills & plyo ~ TP Track
Light running today, more focus on drills and other strengthening exercises. Though there was not much running, my legs really hurt bad from the exercises.

Sometimes, running can be more than just running. It is so dynamic. You need to experience it yourself. It is more than just running, you need to work on your core, your stability, sprinting shorter distances, and recovery. It’s definitely more than just reading digits off the gadgets when you run, you need to feel the run, and stay connected. Don’t understand? Experience it yourself!

Thursday, 31 May
AM: OFF
PM: 79mins ~ TP Track/Field
Easy recovery run evolved into a beast. Hahaha. Legs were hurting very bad from yesterday’s exercises and it took more than 40mins into the run before things got less taxing.

Seriously, why did I even think of running so long today? I honestly always feel that if I wanted to take running to the next level, I had to run more, quality runs of course. I guess this is the area about running which I always struggle with. Rest is a part of training, yes, but I do not feel secure enough to do that. Well I guess the output is dependent on the input, only to a certain extent before the relationship becomes inversely related. I just hope that I won’t have to learn things the hard way.

Friday, 01 June
AM: Core
PM: 52mins ~ ECP
Can’t describe how my legs felt when I woke up this morning. Like as if a truck ran over it, again, and again, and again.. Haha. Terrible feeling. Still, I got out of the door for a slow run, unwillingly. Indeed, legs felt better after that recovery run!

Have been running with people more frequently nowadays, and I’m beginning to appreciate it. But still, there’s always something attractive about going out there, just you and the road. Don’t ask me how, go do it, and you’ll know. 😉

Saturday, 02 June
AM: 90mins ~ TP to ECP
PM: OFF
Really really painful run this morning. Legs have accumulated soreness from Wednesday and Thursday’s runs. Long and painful 90mins but I knew it was important to not give up, though at many points during the run, I felt like doing so. Again, it was the struggle of listening to the positive whispers, and not the negative yells! Got to appreciate tomorrow’s rest day. Race in a weeks’ time!

Sunday, 03 June
AM: OFF
PM: OFF
Finally got the much needed rest day. Had a deep sleep last night that recharged the body! Time spent in church, and playing games over dessert today. Full-time athlete lifestyle, haha.

“You do not need to get good to get God. You get God and become good.”

. . . . .

High volume week, and a week left til raceday. Excited, and maybe feeling a tiny bit stressed because of expectations I’ve set for myself. Though I know timings don’t matter very much, it’ll be nice to break a personal best, and finish in a good spot. Next week will be a tough one, trying not to run too much, and just keep myself busy with other stuffs!