2013 10Oct13 - Pre-Melbourne Marathon Trip

Melbourne Marathon trip was the next even after my pole competition.

Only 3 weeks to properly trained for it.

I had a hard time finding a place to stay near the starting line (Batman Ave) & finishing area at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Mantra on Jolimont was too expensive.

And reviews on the East Melbourne accommodation wasn't tat great either such Magnolia Court.

So, I took the risk & booked us the EconoLodge City Square in the city.

Still walking distance to the venue, plus the review seemed better than Magnolia.

Everyone kept saying they had difficulty finding the location.

But the signage is so big along the main Swanston street. 

I had requested for a double bedroom that is on the higher floors & facing the back.

The front faces the busy street of Swanston where trams would run. 

Bedroom has a queen size been with and foldout sofa bed.

Bathroom was alright. Many had complained that it was old & chipping. Well, it is a lodge/motel.

However, the shower hot/cold faucets was tricky.

U have to twist the cold on first until water comes out, then only twist the hot to balance the temperature.

Towards the toilet is the closet & coffee/tea area with toaster, microwave & fridge. 

Oh, found bread in the fridge for our usage. As it... 

Met up with my bro residing in Melbourne.

He's not sleepy. That's his smug look =p 

I was craving for taiwanese delicacy that I can't find in Adelaide.

Starchy meesuah, fried chicken (u can find in Adelaide) & oyster omelette.

Then we took a stroll to MCG for the Melbourne Marathon expo.

err..kinda sad.

But due to my weakness to expo, I spend $120 for a pair of Compressport compression shorts =( 

In view, i could see the Rod Laver Arena where Australia Open is held annually. 

To those like me  confused about about where this Carpark A to dropoff your warm clothing on race day, its actually near the flyover near the participant shirt collection tent. 

Weekend gathering at the Federation Square.

Hot sun with chilly wind.

Can't tell to wear the jacket or skip it, 

Actually, we were considering on cycling to the starting line however we didn't know how long it would take.

So i took it out for a test run (in the end, we walked to the starting line instead).

Went to Pelliegrini's for Fri night dinner.

Supposed to meet Chin Chin but she ran into trouble with her train.

Food was the basic italian menu which was pretty good.

Kindly expensive. Front part of the shop were bar seats while the back in the kitchen was table (so i read).

We ate like 30mins, then left. Went for a last foot reflexology massage at Vigorous Thai Massage.

KS wasn't happy with it coz the masseur didn't have strength (no men masseur there) 

We had frequent party ppl walking past and making gestures at us when they walk past.

Amazed though on the sound proofing inside the shop.

 

It was the Zombie walk weekend.

We went to the one in Adelaide last year.

It was sooo stupid. You think that zombie's were taking over the city but its the human's with their handphones & cameras stopping the traffic instead.

The scary ppl couldn't even move! 

Saturday morning, KS & I went for a short chilly jog.

He was informed that we should try pancakes for breakfast to fuel our body up.

Went to Pancake Parlour (1st time) for some expensive pancakes.

I ordered the Cheese & Potato Pancake while KS ordered the IT (banana & walnuts)

Then, he ordered another 3pancake.

When we left, he said he overate. Duhh!!!

- Next review on Melbourne Marathon 2013

2013 09Sept15 - City to Bay 2013

Annual Adelaide's City to Bay run.

One event that I don't have to pay registration fees for =p

Sponsored by my company, I ran my first event last year.

Upgraded to a dri-fit shirt compared to last year's cotton.

But a little too long & thick material

*complain complain complain =p*

Team photo

Bigger group compared to last year.

Mixture of groups participating the 3km, 5km & 12km category

Same route as last year

No camera with me this time.

Just focusing on the run.

Pushed too hard in the first 5km trying to maintain at at 5min pace.

Once I reached the 6km mark, I slowed down to 5.30min pace.

The finished line was packed.

The stupid thing was, everyone thought that once you cross the banner, the time stops.

But actually, u have to keep walking straight until this guy with a lazer gun zaps your bib (where your timing chip is), that's when the timer stops *WTH!!!*

Last year, I ran with the camera, I timed 1hr 2mins 30secs

This time, when I'm focused, I ran 1hr 2mins 11secs

I might as well had just carried the camera instead *ggrrrr*

Wanted a sub 1hr =(

Oh, unfortunately, the timing chip had a glitch and everyone's starting time wasn't recorded but the finish time was. Weird...

So they just took the gun current time for your category and difference it with your finish time.

I have no idea how i got the time in the cert.

Oh well....

2013 06June25 - Adelaide Half Marathon

My 2nd year running the Adelaide half marathon 21km

Still no temptation in running the full 42km (2 loops).

1st year blog click here

The route is somewhat the same and different at the same time.

Finishing is at the Elder Park instead of the stadium.

About 50% of the route is at the torrens which is my usual Nike run route.

Still dislike running through Botanical Garden. Narrow zigzagging pathway.

North Adelaide (top left cover of the map above) was the steepest route (2-3km worth).

My goal?

Well, last year i timed exactly 2hrs.

Of course I want to get better.

The weather was still pretty chilly.
Had my compression arm sleeves on, Rotterdam's bright orange shirt
My loyal Orca long compression tights.
I had this tights for nearly 3years and only wear them for marathon races.

Sprinting to the finish line with my signature V pose

Freaking happy!!

Shaved off nearly 8mins from my previous time!!!

Woohoo!!

Like usual, there's no catching KS...yet. muahahahah

Surprisingly, we received a Finisher Shirt & a medal for half marathon.

I remembered that last year, I wasn't shy to ask to a medal & was told that only full Marathon gets it.

That night, 2 pairs of feet were against the wall for recovery.

2013 06June14 - AIB Casino

Company 2nd Quarter gathering at The Loft (casino)

The dress code for the social event was ‘Formal Attire (Tuxedo & Evening Dress)'

Finger Foods only provided during the function meaning "find your own dinner"

I had a difficult time finding a formal dress.

Also, how to style my hair.

Found my dress at TEMT, Rundle Mall for ~$30 and my hair in Chinatown for $50!!!

Damn! Updo styles are expensive. Plus, the stylist made it looked like a beehive.

Arrival of Guest on the red carpet

Pretty ladies

From left : myself with Olga (my mgr) and Michael. 

Right : Heidi

The tall girls : Laurence & Taylor

Korean Mijoo

Explanation of the night

We are provided $1,500 ($500 x 6) to exchange for chips to "gamble"

First up, the Roulette table

All i know is place your chips at whatever number you want.

Oh, i didn't know that 1 prs has 1 chip type/pattern

That's alot of chips if >50ppl is playing at the same time.

Since it's just a fun night, there were situation when eventhough the ball has landed on the number in the wheel, the dealer would sllllooowwwlllyy ring the bell. 

So this still gives us an opportunity to place chips on the designated number.

The other game was Blackjack

Too bad only limited spaces. I didn't really got a chance to play it.

I play the app on my phone nearly everyday.

However, it wasn't so fun when the dealer would skip some cards (to our advantage).

Taking the opportunity to spin the Roulette wheel

Being a dealer for the evening

As the night ends, the calculation of the highest chips owner

Interesting enough, I came in 3rd place.

Sonita came in 1st (Heidi passed her her chips =p)

Pretty good effort

Actually, I kinda like all these activities coz living here in Adelaide for about 1.5yrs, I would never thought of going about doing it on my own either.