just want to wish everyone a happy new year & post a brief update on my lack of progress. Ive been sick twice the past two weeks, and on vacation in Manila now. Im not doing any running here so I will be going on a crash course to get ready for the race over the remaining 50 days. Actually, i wont do much training the last 10 days before the race so that should leave me about 40 days of training.
Firstly, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. Secondly, having received lots of chocolate I need to know if eating everything in one sitting or eating one piece a day is best to minimise the calorie intake. (I know that absences would be best, but…). At this stage I think binging probably is better.
Ohh, and then to the running. Christmas Eve, it has been pouring down in Singapore and there was flooding on Thompson Rd near the Mac Ritchie Reserve that I run at so I thought I would swing past. Unfortunately the flooding had dissipated and all I knocked up was a long winded 24km run.
On Christmas day, having received (and eaten) most of my chocolate I had to go and pick up my parents (whom are here for about 3 weeks) from the airport. On the way I stopped at the gym and clicked up 5km (1% slope) and pumped weights.
Boxing day, my gym trainer didn’t turn up to our 6:30am session at the gym. Which is a blessing as he is a bit of a Nazi. So I did another run on the treadmill of 12km (1% slope).
Today my gym trainer did turn up (shame) so we (that is me) pumped weights for an hour.
Help?
Stephen Owen pointed out that it is cold in Tokyo and that I should consider getting some cold weather gear… Anyone have any suggestions on what you need, in particular:
Hmm, I wonder where you can get them in Singapore anyway (maybe mail order from the US)!
I have a printout of the Hal Higdons marathon training schedule affixed to the side of my desk. It stands prominent and pride of place approximately half a metre from my eyes. The schedule is made up of boxes which represent a day. Inside the box is written the number of miles I should run. For everyday I run, I paint the box red. For every day I rest I paint the box blue.
At the moment the schedule is very very blue. In fact it is totally blue for the last 6 bloody weeks. Absolutely bugger all running done. i should be at the stage of running 16 miles (27 km) on Saturday. I dont have excuses just memories of chest infection, exams and plain ordinarily idleness.
What can I do ? Any advise would be greatfully received.
Hi Gang,
Sorry for being absent for such a long time … Won’t get into it!
Anyway, on my end, training has been pathetically pathetic 
Didn’t run much towards the end of November, and so I now feel embarassment is almost as guaranteed as death & taxes.
I recently started a 4 week global trip (Tokyo>New York>Miami>New York>Geneva>London>Singapore>Manila>Osaka>Tokyo … which will be getting me back into Tokyo on Jan. 14. This all means that I should be doing a LOT of training during this trip. Well, it has started off really bad … Not only did I not run in the first NY leg (due to catching up with so many friends), I actually ate three meals a day like a pig (surprisingly, again due to catching up with so many friends!!) So, I am really giving a whacking to my training.
However, I think I am going to have two quiet weeks in Geneva … so I am hoping to do quite a bit of running. There is one very beautiful lake, but also a miserable hill which leads to my apartment
Well, I hope I get my act together, otherwise, I will be the joke of the group … but I will blame it all on Paul anyway 
I will post some run times once I get a couple of long ones done in Geneva … I expect the times to be a great source of laughter … too bad there is no “Jokes” section in this site!
Ciao for now …
R-
Not sure how to fit everything into 24 hours these days. You would think with Christmas coming things would get quieter but that does not appear to be the case.
A few weeks ago, on 4th December to be precise I was up at 4am to get to the starting line of the Singapore Half Marathon. I ran a disgusting 2 hours 40 minutes and had a bad calf cramp which meant that I walked the last 4 kilometer. Since then I have been hitting the gym fairly hard to try and loose some of the excess weight I carry. This involves getting up at 5:30am each morning and going to the gym.
I received a note from Brian Keane (now of Meryl Lynch, formerly of Deutsche Bank) who completed the full New York Marathon in a respectable 3 hours 53 minute – shit what a goal to live up too.
I did a tour of the Indian Institutes of Technology in Delhi and Kolkata last week. Actually if anyone ever tells you to go to the IIT in Kolkata tell them to go jump as there isn’t one. The IIT is in Kharapur which is a horrible 3 hour drive from Kolkata. Anyway was able to do three 10 kilometer training runs whilst in India and not get the Mumbai belly bug. BTW – refectory food has definitely not improved since I was last at a University.
