The Running Robot

In my earlier post on running as transportation. The guys at evo forum has started comparing the difference between running and driving. The route from Geylang East to Chuan Place that I ran earlier was also one of favourite driving roads. A mere 6km length of road. How fun could that be? Let me correct, it is 6km of winding, semi-country road with hills and slopes. That's where the fun is. My only gripe? It can get a little congested at peak hours. When one is driving, he feels the bumps of the roads through the conversation from the steering wheel. You feel the inclines of the roads by hearing the increasing whine of the engine and feel the thumps of the gearbox as it downshifts. If your windows are up. You do not hear the rustling of the wind, smell the country air or feel the heat of the day. You are at one with your car, flowing across the road. Feeling the curve of the road as the steering wheel gently pull to one side as you drive along the curving road. The balance of the ...

Its being busy days for me as a newly wed couple going through their first Chinese New Year together. Despite being on holidays for the past four days, my running schedule have fallen behind. Today, after ending my new year visits early. I sent wifey home to rest while I prepared to sneak off for a run. I was preparing for a coastal run as usual till her cousin CT called and asked if we wanted dinner. Wifey turned down the offer as she wasn't keen to travel out. I offered to make the trip down by foot. I was at Geylang East Central. Her aunt's place was at Chuan Place. Usually it would take a 20 minutes drive down to the place. Wifey told CT that I am running down. CT replied in disbelief, not expecting that I will actually do that. I changed into my running gear. Did my warm up and check Google Maps for the distance to destination. 6.1km. Should be an easy run. I started my GPS tracker,Endomondo and the heart rate monitor. One foot in front of the other, I commenced my run. Ru...

Courtesy of Runnersworld

stam·i·na [stam-uh-nuh] - noun 1. endurance 2. staying power Source: Dictionary.com Unabridged In other context, having stamina would mean having the endurance to see things through. In the context of running, it mean the same. To be able to complete a certain distance say a 4km run. The body must have certain physical abilities to be able to do that. It is these physical abilities that often confused the beginner runner. I hope this post will help to shed some light on the matter. Stamina is not equal to the amount of air you have in your lungs. If we could remember how it felt when we first started running. You will remember how breathless you were. Your lungs are burning and your body is screaming out for air. Another runner ran pass you with no deep breathing. He could be happily talking to his running partner as he jogged past. At this point, it is easy to assume that in order to run properly, you must have large lungs to contain enough air to last the entire run. Hence, ...

Came across this on RW daily again. Found it hilarious to be analyzing smarty pants Mission Impossible lead's running form. Strange that it reminded me of The Running Robot's original running form. Ex classmates and friends, any comments? Have fun watching. :)

Runnersworld daily have encouraged me to share this. So here it is.:) You can click at the link here too... rwdaily.runnersworld.com/2011/12/motivational-poster-1.html Merry Christmas!

The heart rate monitor is a piece of expensive running gear, period. It is a serious piece of kit. Once you are committed to buy a heart rate monitor (HRM), it means you want to get serious with your sport. Nope, I am afraid there are no shoestring budget here. Even the most basic heart rate monitor, for example Polar FT1 in Singapore will set you back by about SGD$100 (USD$77.48). Of course, everything is relative. if you have deep pockets, this will be small change. However, if you have deep pockets, you probably won't be reading the Running Gear on a Shoestring guide. What to Choose Forget about those strapless HRM etc. Those without straps will require you to put your finger on the watch and measure the pulse from there. Nope, you don't want to run with your finger on the watch. Hence, take the one with a chest strap. At present, the most effective HRM are still the ones with the chest straps. Yes, they are uncomfortable. And some are less uncomfortable than other...

Lately, I being reading up book from written by a Irish infantry captain who served in Afghanistan. With this, my interest in the conflict grew, I began searching for ways to connect with those troops who were deployed on the ground in Afghanistan. I found well written blogs maintained by both the British Army and by a British RAF airman. They can be found here at: rafairman.wordpress.com/ britisharmy.wordpress.com/afghanistan/ Why am I so supportive of the army? Most Singaporean boys see National Service as a chore and probably want to hear no more of it once it is done. Unlike many of my contempories who have served the army, I do not bear any grudge towards the forces. Do remember that I was one of those who had a hard time adjusting to military life during basic military training (BMT). I should have ended up as an army hater since I suffer greatly during the beginning. There were times during boot camp that I wish I could break a bone or sometime so that I could be dis...

When I first started running, I wore cotton T-shirts and cotton shorts (supplied by the army). It was functional and that was what I wore during army physical training. It was adequate for the beginning. When I started hitting 6km per run, its shortcomings became evident. While sweat soaked cotton tee was acceptable at 5km and below. It started becoming heavy and chilly as I approached 6km. And that is at a warm air temperature of probably 29 degrees Celsius. Aware that will be a receipe for catching a chill. I immediately cut the run short. It was also getting uncomfortable to continue running. When I reach my end point and got back to my car. I took off the cotton tee. I could wring pespiration out of it like a wet rag. Note that average temperatures in Singapore stay at a constant high of 28-32 degree Celsius daily year round. Humidity is also at a loft 90 percent daily year round. So what happened to me may not happen in a cooler or drier location. I began sourcing for runni...

I gave up running after I left the track and field team during my final year of my Junior College years. Running was rare and almost nil unless there was a need to participate in a physical fitness test. As every Singaporean boy would have to be conscripted for 2 years (2.5 years in my case) service when they reach 18 years of age, I was drafted into the army in 1997. Initially, I found it hard to adjust to the regimental life. My boot camp (Basic Military Training) at Nee Soon Camp passed by miserably as I failed almost every test that they threw at me. I couldn’t run, shoot, conduct drills or even a do a jumping jack. I know I was having a hard time adjusting and there were several crises in my family and life at that time. It was tough and I really didn’t know how I managed to get through it. In fact, I ended my boot camp with an injured ankle and watched the Passing Out (Graduation) Parade by the sidelines. Life does work in very strange ways. After one week of leave after gradu...

512 km of running, and still going on... Its being a while since I ran in the 383, couldnt get used to during the run today. It is harder than the Asics and the sole is more slippery. When I ran with this pair of shoes, it made a tsk tsk tsk sound as the uneven sole grind across the ground. Compared to the Asics which is near silent. Probably its time is almost up. 512km is as good as me running up from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. The running robot has transformed from sedentary robot to running robot wearing this pair of shoes. I ran my 10k and first half marathon in it too. Hmm...ok. Maybe I give it another 100km, before decommissioning it.

I would not consider myself an expert in reviewing running gear. Given that I embarked on a journey from a zero runner to a half marathoner with very limited means. I guess I would be in a position to advise runners, especially Singaporean runners on what gear to use and where to get them. First and foremost, do not allow anyone to convince you that running is a low cost sport. It is not. It takes more than a pair of running shoes and you have to run in running shoes, not court shoes, cross trainers, nothing. You need a pair of running shoes. Period. The equipment level goes up as the distance you run increases. For example, you may be able to run 1km in a pair of slippers. If the distance were to ramp up to say 3km, what was once uncomfortable will become downright dangerous. You will risk a stress fracture on your foot if you run in slippers. This is especially so for beginners as your body is not conditioned for running yet. Let alone running in slippers. Before you select y...

The running during my formative years, affected my physical development. I was lean and dark. I have strong legs but very tight hamstrings. Hence, I continued to flop my physical fitness tests in school. I failed my sit and reach station as I was not flexible. The standing broad jump station was also an obstacle at times as my leg muscles were meant for endurance running and not for jumping! I continued running throughout my secondary school days. Moving on to junior college, I thought I'll join the track and field team since I was interested in running. How wrong, I would be. The track team at that time placed great value for sprinters and other short distance runners. The farthest distance they had were 1200m. Being too light and equipped with slow twitch muscle, I wasn't sprinter material. Not to mention that all I had as running shoes were my asics with slippery soles which also served as my school shoes. I could not afford the spike shoes or other running shoes which t...

I was never a runner all my life, it began about 10 months ago that I began my first baby steps towards being a runner. However, there was a legacy. I remember that I was fifteen years old when I first fell in love with running. I was not adept at ball games or other sports as I was awkward with my motor skills. Socially, I was also left out because of this. Most of my classmates including asingaporeanson were soccer players. They could play from dawn to dusk in canvas shoes and a tatty ball. I couldn't play for nuts. In the rare occasion when I joined them in the soccer games, I will be assigned as a defender. The objective is simple, if the ball comes over to my side of the field or rather volleyball court. I just have to kicked it back to the other end. Accuracy zero, skill set zero. I can't remember what triggered me to put on my running shoes, but I did. I was fifteen, and I bought a pair of Nikes from Queensway Shopping Centre. A cheap pair at $36 from a budget bi...

Did a run by the beach at East Coast just now. My usual running place. A planned 7km run. Upon reaching my water point at the 4km mark, I bought a sports drink from the vending machine and started walking while drinking. I started feeling dizzy and weak. I checked my heart rate monitor, a healthy 69percent. It wasn't spiking. Usually if I am going to fall ill or an infection coming, the heart rate will spike to 80percent and beyond. I begin to fear if it is my blood pressure or is it because of the lack of food. After all, it is already 8.30pm and I have not had dinner. Walked for a while more and tried restarting the run. 100m and stopped. Felt faint, walk somemore. I am 3km from the car and I do not relish walking the whole way. Tried running again and it held. For the rest of the run, I felt like a zombie. The scenery just flash by me and I keep feeling weak. I almost doze off at one point. Reached my end point and did my warm down in a half hearted session. The total run...

After the heavy storm yesterday, that left me stranded in an old colonial house for more than an hour. I realised my car is a casualty of the storm. The air-conditioning decided to throw in the towel and permanently stuck itself in defogger mode. Off it goes to my mechanic fren Ah Lam. Pray that the repairs do not cost me a bomb....pray hard.

Trapped in the rain today in the middle of a run. Waited for more than an hour before walking 1.5 km back to the car. This is probably one of the running experiences that makes the old adage true.

A great field to run in! Somewhere in Slovakia, on my way to Banská Bystrica