yippee... I did it!! Finally committed to it... and bought it today.
Procrastinated so long but well.... it's finally done. Bought 2 some more!! haha
Thank God for His leading and direction. Glory to Him.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Gold Coast Marathon 2 July 2010 to 7 July 2010
Thursday and Friday 1st, 2nd July 2010
Off to airport to catch the 9 pm flight to Brisbane. Excited!!! I'm going for the Gold Coast Airport Marathon on Sunday. I hear the route is great, flat and easy.... plus the scenery is the best! We'll run by the coast - beach, sand, surf....
Hiccup!! No time to go to the lounge as when I cleared customs, they were already calling for passengers to board. AND the gate was at the extreme end of terminal 3!!!! Sigh.... next time must check in earlier so can rest in the lounge before boarding haha.
Caught a couple movies on the plane - Clash of the Titans and some Chinese fighting movies - 14 Blades and The Legend. (Mistake, should have tried to sleep a bit)
Touched down at 6.30 am (aussie time) the next day Friday 2 July 2010.
Cleared immigration and customs without any hassle.
When I got out, first thing I did was to get a local SIM card. Great! Vodafone had a prepaid card promo going for A$28.95 with a value of S$150 airtime. (SIM card cost another A$10)
Next got the train tix (A$28) into Surfers Paradise. The gal told me to stop at Neerang Station and catch a bus into Surfers Paradise. Sounded simple.... AND IT WAS!!! Took 1 hr 30 mins to Neerang Station. It was real convenient, the buses were waiting just outside the station. Told the friendly driver that I wanted to get to Holiday Inn Surfers Paradise and he said that his bus would take me there - it was the last stop .... another 30 mins. Then had to walk a couple blocks to the hotel. Good thing my samsonite was empty haha.
Checked in but check-in time is officially 2 pm sigh.... So decided to go to the Expo at the Gold Coast Convention Centre to pick up my run kit. The hotel staff tells me its a 10 min bus ride away. So I grabbed a bite at Subway before heading to the expo.
The Gold Coast Convention and Expo Center
Cool man!! Picked me up the new Skins long compression tights for A$149.95 (savings of A$20!!) Also bought the power gels for the run. (Note to self: next year, better to bring from Singapore as its cheaper heheh.)
Had a McDonalds lunch then headed back to hotel and unpacked. Went 33 hrs without sleep..... need to catch some shut eye.
Sigh... couldn't get to sleep so watched TV. Dinner.... hmmmm..... where? Walked to the McDonalds (again) near the expo - 1 hr walk!!! (saved S$3.40 bus fare haha). Popped back into the expo. There were so many compression tights brands - Skins, 2XU, Bsc..... and they were on promo. The Bsc Shorts were only S$50!!! So cheap!! So I got one too!!
Walked back to hotel to hit the sack! Can't believe it, 6 pm and its already so dark!!
Saturday 3rd July 2010
Next morning, met Steven at lobby to accompany him to the expo. Met Ronnie at the expo.
Walked back to hotel after that as they stayed for the carbo lunch while I had to meet Peng (KK's cousin). She's driving down from Brisbane to pick me to go to Lululemon to get some stuff for sis. The walk back was gonna be another hour so I figured might as well take the scenic route - via the beach. Really nice walk!!
The beautiful sand and surf....
Well the drive to Brisbane is about an hour. We stopped at Habour Town for some shopping. Stopped by another town for a quick lunch break - pies!!! Then rushed back to Brisbane to meet Peng's friend and together we went to Lululemon. Picked up some stuff for Sis and myself - I got a nice running top and cap. Will use them for the marathon tomorrow.
Had tea break then Peng lent me her car to drive back to Surfers Paradise - another hour's drive. With clear directions from Peng, it was a nice and pleasant drive back:)
Grabbed a spaghetti box for dinner in preparation for tomorrow's run. Slept at 10 as have to meet Steven at 6 in the lobby to go to the start point.
Sunday 4 July 2010
6 am and met Steven and Thomas in the hotel lobby. Walked to the bus stop - it's FREEZING!!!! It's unbelievably cold... my teeth are chattering!!!
The free bus shuttle takes about 10 mins to get us to the run location. We take about another 5-10 mins to walk to the start point. Met some more Singapore runners. My gosh.... so many people and they are all so scantily dressed compared to me. Me dressed in L/S Compression shirt, Lulu tee and my new Skins long tights and I was still freezing and every other person around are just in shorts and singlet!!! Unbelievable haha.
This event is so well organised!! The race starts on time and the race goes well... I catch up with the 4 hr pace group. I keep up with them easily for about 25 km.... cruise pace man. All's going well....BUT..... at around the 28-30 km mark, both legs start cramping up ARGH!!!!
Why???
What happened??
I drudge on for another 5 km then the pain really gets unbearable... only 7 km to go... must plod on.... sis sms me that she's online to catch the live web broadcast of the race. haha. Since I'm walking, I sms back and finally call her to distract myself from the "pain". I finally cross the line in 4 hrs 24 mins. Sigh.... if not for the cramps, I'm sure I'd done it in 4 hrs or under.
Next year I'll be back. Learnings.... warm up more and more salt intake.
After the painful run, I call Nigel a sports Therapist I found on the web and made an appointment for a good rub down. I'm sore all over and every move brings on a cramp haha. I slowly get back to the hotel, take a cold dip in the bathtub before a hot shower. After my rub down, I rest a bit then go down to get dinner - noodles. Then back to bed to rest my aching body.
Monday 5th July 2010
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! My body still aching. I had previously made an appointment for a sport massage a couple days back so I have a small bite and head out for my massage. After a slow scenic one hour walk, I get to Oasis Shopping Mall where the therapist outlet is sited. I'm feeling much better after the massage and decide to walk back to the hotel ... via the beach. Bought a roast chicken from the supermarket for my meal! Yum :)
Tuesday 6th July 2010
All packed and ready to check out of hotel. Took a couple pictures of Surfers Paradise skyline from the balcony of my room.
I load the Samsonite into the car. Its really heavy!!! I check out and start my drive up to Brisbane. I pray I remember the route back - its easy:)
I make a stop for lunch at Charis Seafood. Got me the combo pack... yum and so filling. Peng said its a good place and it is! That's her car in the foreground, the red Ford Fiesta.
After lunch, onto Brisbane.
Peng leaves me very good directions to walk into the city. Weather is nice - warm and a bit cloudy so I head out.
An hour or so, I'm nearing the city but I miss one of the streets but Pra
ise God, He makes it suddenly shower. I turn around and miraculously, the rain stops just as fast as it started!!! I then notice the street I had actually missed. Thank God he made me turn back or I would have walked further past the turn into the city!!
I head on down to the park and catch the ferry cat at the pier to cross the river into the city.
Ahh… the view from the ferry. I couple mins and we’re on the other side of the shore!! A short walk and I’m at the mall. Some quick last minute shopping and time to head back to Peng’s apartment.
After dinner, we head back to Peng's apartment to pick up my luggage and she sends me to the airport.
Praise God!! At the check in, my Samsonite weighs 26 kg and the gal at the counter lets it pass. Then she asks me about my hand carry and tells me that the immigration chaps are very fussy about the weight of the hand carry. As it was also overweight, she invites me to unload some of the stuff into my already overweight Samsonite haha. God is Great!!
I then clear through immigration and customs smoothly.
Return flight to Singpore was smooth. Caught some sleep on flight as I was way too sleepy to stay up to watch movies. haha.
5.30 am and I'm back on Singapore soil.
Ahh... a wonderful marathon holiday. Next year, I'll be back.
Off to airport to catch the 9 pm flight to Brisbane. Excited!!! I'm going for the Gold Coast Airport Marathon on Sunday. I hear the route is great, flat and easy.... plus the scenery is the best! We'll run by the coast - beach, sand, surf....
Hiccup!! No time to go to the lounge as when I cleared customs, they were already calling for passengers to board. AND the gate was at the extreme end of terminal 3!!!! Sigh.... next time must check in earlier so can rest in the lounge before boarding haha.
Caught a couple movies on the plane - Clash of the Titans and some Chinese fighting movies - 14 Blades and The Legend. (Mistake, should have tried to sleep a bit)
Touched down at 6.30 am (aussie time) the next day Friday 2 July 2010.
Cleared immigration and customs without any hassle.
When I got out, first thing I did was to get a local SIM card. Great! Vodafone had a prepaid card promo going for A$28.95 with a value of S$150 airtime. (SIM card cost another A$10)
Next got the train tix (A$28) into Surfers Paradise. The gal told me to stop at Neerang Station and catch a bus into Surfers Paradise. Sounded simple.... AND IT WAS!!! Took 1 hr 30 mins to Neerang Station. It was real convenient, the buses were waiting just outside the station. Told the friendly driver that I wanted to get to Holiday Inn Surfers Paradise and he said that his bus would take me there - it was the last stop .... another 30 mins. Then had to walk a couple blocks to the hotel. Good thing my samsonite was empty haha.
Checked in but check-in time is officially 2 pm sigh.... So decided to go to the Expo at the Gold Coast Convention Centre to pick up my run kit. The hotel staff tells me its a 10 min bus ride away. So I grabbed a bite at Subway before heading to the expo.
The Gold Coast Convention and Expo Center
Cool man!! Picked me up the new Skins long compression tights for A$149.95 (savings of A$20!!) Also bought the power gels for the run. (Note to self: next year, better to bring from Singapore as its cheaper heheh.)
Had a McDonalds lunch then headed back to hotel and unpacked. Went 33 hrs without sleep..... need to catch some shut eye.
Sigh... couldn't get to sleep so watched TV. Dinner.... hmmmm..... where? Walked to the McDonalds (again) near the expo - 1 hr walk!!! (saved S$3.40 bus fare haha). Popped back into the expo. There were so many compression tights brands - Skins, 2XU, Bsc..... and they were on promo. The Bsc Shorts were only S$50!!! So cheap!! So I got one too!!
Walked back to hotel to hit the sack! Can't believe it, 6 pm and its already so dark!!
Saturday 3rd July 2010
Next morning, met Steven at lobby to accompany him to the expo. Met Ronnie at the expo.
Walked back to hotel after that as they stayed for the carbo lunch while I had to meet Peng (KK's cousin). She's driving down from Brisbane to pick me to go to Lululemon to get some stuff for sis. The walk back was gonna be another hour so I figured might as well take the scenic route - via the beach. Really nice walk!!
The beautiful sand and surf....
Well the drive to Brisbane is about an hour. We stopped at Habour Town for some shopping. Stopped by another town for a quick lunch break - pies!!! Then rushed back to Brisbane to meet Peng's friend and together we went to Lululemon. Picked up some stuff for Sis and myself - I got a nice running top and cap. Will use them for the marathon tomorrow.
Had tea break then Peng lent me her car to drive back to Surfers Paradise - another hour's drive. With clear directions from Peng, it was a nice and pleasant drive back:)
Grabbed a spaghetti box for dinner in preparation for tomorrow's run. Slept at 10 as have to meet Steven at 6 in the lobby to go to the start point.
Sunday 4 July 2010
6 am and met Steven and Thomas in the hotel lobby. Walked to the bus stop - it's FREEZING!!!! It's unbelievably cold... my teeth are chattering!!!
The free bus shuttle takes about 10 mins to get us to the run location. We take about another 5-10 mins to walk to the start point. Met some more Singapore runners. My gosh.... so many people and they are all so scantily dressed compared to me. Me dressed in L/S Compression shirt, Lulu tee and my new Skins long tights and I was still freezing and every other person around are just in shorts and singlet!!! Unbelievable haha.
This event is so well organised!! The race starts on time and the race goes well... I catch up with the 4 hr pace group. I keep up with them easily for about 25 km.... cruise pace man. All's going well....BUT..... at around the 28-30 km mark, both legs start cramping up ARGH!!!!
Why???
What happened??
I drudge on for another 5 km then the pain really gets unbearable... only 7 km to go... must plod on.... sis sms me that she's online to catch the live web broadcast of the race. haha. Since I'm walking, I sms back and finally call her to distract myself from the "pain". I finally cross the line in 4 hrs 24 mins. Sigh.... if not for the cramps, I'm sure I'd done it in 4 hrs or under.
Next year I'll be back. Learnings.... warm up more and more salt intake.
After the painful run, I call Nigel a sports Therapist I found on the web and made an appointment for a good rub down. I'm sore all over and every move brings on a cramp haha. I slowly get back to the hotel, take a cold dip in the bathtub before a hot shower. After my rub down, I rest a bit then go down to get dinner - noodles. Then back to bed to rest my aching body.
Monday 5th July 2010
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! My body still aching. I had previously made an appointment for a sport massage a couple days back so I have a small bite and head out for my massage. After a slow scenic one hour walk, I get to Oasis Shopping Mall where the therapist outlet is sited. I'm feeling much better after the massage and decide to walk back to the hotel ... via the beach. Bought a roast chicken from the supermarket for my meal! Yum :)
Tuesday 6th July 2010
All packed and ready to check out of hotel. Took a couple pictures of Surfers Paradise skyline from the balcony of my room.
I load the Samsonite into the car. Its really heavy!!! I check out and start my drive up to Brisbane. I pray I remember the route back - its easy:)
I make a stop for lunch at Charis Seafood. Got me the combo pack... yum and so filling. Peng said its a good place and it is! That's her car in the foreground, the red Ford Fiesta.
After lunch, onto Brisbane.
Peng leaves me very good directions to walk into the city. Weather is nice - warm and a bit cloudy so I head out.
An hour or so, I'm nearing the city but I miss one of the streets but Pra
ise God, He makes it suddenly shower. I turn around and miraculously, the rain stops just as fast as it started!!! I then notice the street I had actually missed. Thank God he made me turn back or I would have walked further past the turn into the city!!
I head on down to the park and catch the ferry cat at the pier to cross the river into the city.
Ahh… the view from the ferry. I couple mins and we’re on the other side of the shore!! A short walk and I’m at the mall. Some quick last minute shopping and time to head back to Peng’s apartment.
Peng helps me repack and weigh my luggage… oh oh… overweight!! Oh well, off to dinner – Greek!
After dinner, we head back to Peng's apartment to pick up my luggage and she sends me to the airport.
Praise God!! At the check in, my Samsonite weighs 26 kg and the gal at the counter lets it pass. Then she asks me about my hand carry and tells me that the immigration chaps are very fussy about the weight of the hand carry. As it was also overweight, she invites me to unload some of the stuff into my already overweight Samsonite haha. God is Great!!
I then clear through immigration and customs smoothly.
Return flight to Singpore was smooth. Caught some sleep on flight as I was way too sleepy to stay up to watch movies. haha.
5.30 am and I'm back on Singapore soil.
Ahh... a wonderful marathon holiday. Next year, I'll be back.
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