Making It Worth The While

In the last two weeks, it's been really heartening to hear and receive sms-es and emails from both parents and adults from my running programme. I've been told by parents that they feel very blessed and grateful to have me work with their children. They have also shared with me the positive impact I have made in their children's lives. With the adult runners, they shared that they are enjoying their run sessions more and are thankful that I am working with them to have them run faster and pain-free. It is always these simple words that fuel my passion and drives me on to work harder each day to bring the best programmes I can for both children and adults.

I am very blessed and grateful to everyone who has given me the opportunity to work with them. It is my privilege to be given the opportunity to 'step' into your lives and make a positive difference. THANK YOU!

Running Clinic for the Active Lifestyle Ambassadors

We had another successful running clinics for the ambassadors and their friends. It was great to see a few more ladies bringing their friends along for the clinic. The ladies exercised hard but they had fun and enjoyed themselves. I did warn them that they would be aching a little tomorrow =o) It is very encouraging to see people making the effort to lead healthy lives and motivating others along the way. Keep it up ladies!

On Air with 91.3FM The Married Men

Today was our first running and fitness segment on 91.3FM. We have a regular mini segment every Monday for about 3-4mins between 7-8am. Yes! It's that mini =o) It is very exciting for me and I am looking forward to share my views and knowledge with everyone. I will share on topics about running and fitness. It includes evaluating events or races, training methods, nutrition & diet, apparels, gadgets, etc. So if you do have an something for us to review do drop me a line at info@fifthray.com. Do tune in and join me every Monday morning.

My heartfelt Thanks to Rod Monteiro and The Married Men crew for giving me the opportunity. They make me sound good too.

You are NOT ALONE & You are NOT THE ONLY ONE...

Being a coach and trainer has allowed me to meet many people with different personalities. It is interesting to observe how HUGE one's ego can be. We tend to always think that we suffer more than other people or we are busier than other people. It's amazing how people can come up with the most ingenious excuses to miss/skip training. To be fair, some are genuine but these individuals will usually ask what they have missed and what they can do to make up for the missed session. See the difference?

I have learnt over the years that no matter how sorry the state we are in, there is always someone else who somewhere in the world who is worse off that we have never met. I must say that most of us are very fortunate. I always have clients that tell me that they are busy and my reply is "me too". I have a busy schedule too... I have a business to run and I pretty much do everything from A to Z to get the business going. On top of that, I still find time to run and stay fit. Many would always use family as a reason, yes... warrant that you need to spend time with your family or friends but there are times when they are still asleep and you can make the sacrifice. Hence, I started my 530am classes so that people can spend time with families in the evenings. Do all of you spend 24/7 with your family? There is always some down time. It's how much effort you are willing to put in to make that time to take care of ourselves.

Like when training, yes... it can be uncomfortable and challenging but everyone is going through the same emotions and sensations. You are not alone!! Exercising can be difficult at the moment but you will get stronger from it. Understand that the discomfort or pain is only temporary but you get to enjoy the long term benefits of being healthier, stronger, fitter, faster, more endurance, etc (the list goes on). It is really about putting in the effort and challenging self. If you can only do 5 crunches this time round, aim to do 6 the next time. If you give up, then all is lost. It is about always fighting and facing up to your challenges no matter how daunting.

Honestly, it is not just about training or running... It is about how you face life. No matter what challenges you face and how tough it may be, you just pick yourself up and move on. If you allow yourself to be consumed then you are lost. Only you can choose to want to help yourself. If you need support or help from others, ask! Like a saying I once read, "It is about how your treat life, not how life is treating you." Get it? Don't be a victim but a MASTER of life! YOUR LIFE!

Children's Running Clinic

Today was the launch of the Cold Storage Kids Run and I conducted the running clinic for the children. From the smiles on their faces and excited voices, I would say they had fun. Contrary to what most would think, physical activity is very important for children. Not only does it improve their movement skills, when a well designed movement and play curriculum, it will also help to develop children's executive brain function and cognitive processing skills. In addition, an active child tends to grow up to be more active adults which is important for healthy living in the long term. So parents, kids' play is more than just meets the eye.

Take away with you how much you put in...

Although I run my own business, I still enjoy lecturing and teaching to impart what I know as best as I can to others. Hence, I am currently an adjunct lecturer where I teach once a week at the university. It is very interesting for me to see how students 'short change' themselves. They are distracted with their phones (yes... in class... How rude.) and are half-hearted when they participate in class activities. It's as if nothing you do is good enough to engage them in the class. The attitude given is as if they are participating in the class activities as a favor to the lecturer. I find it really funny. Whatever their reasons may be for enrolling themselves in the class, it is a choice they made. Hence, having made that choice would mean that they need to abide by the conditions and rules set by the lecturer-in-charge. If they are not happy with the conditions and rules, then they can withdraw themselves from the class. Simple isn't it? Why torture yourself and the lecturer for an entire semester?

Times have certainly changed. Students tend to forgot that lecturers were once students too. I remember when I was in university, I would participate as best as I can in all the activities assigned. I may not be good at all the activities or I may be tired and can't give my 100% but I always tried to do what I can. It's all about putting in the effort. It's not about scoring distinctions. If I could, I would give distinctions to those who always try their best and put the effort to do their best. Those who have the talent or are capable tend to be more complacent or provide loads of excuses. It is always the students who may not be the most talented or gifted in the class but always puts in his/her best effort that I admire most. They make up for their lack in effort and I think that takes courage and determination. These are values that build admirable characters.

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person's determination" ~ Tommy Lasorda ~

Completed and Relieved!

Congratulations to Meng Ee! He completed his Biathlon and in good time. He also managed to attain a PB for his 10km run =o) He was a trooper and raced his best. Well Done!

To be really honest, I started the day a little nervous. I had a responsibility and a task assigned so I had to keep my focus. If you ask me, the morning was quite a blur as I was focusing on getting Meng Ee to the start and finishing the race.

Everything went well as we registered, had our body marked, set up our transition box and went for our short warm up swim. Then the hiccups began... As the saying goes... It's all about race day! Things that don't usually happen tends to only happen on race day. Beats me too! hahaha...

When we started the race, my goggles kept flooding in sea water (Didn't happen during any of our swim sessions). We had to stop a few times for me to adjust my goggles as the sea water was stinging my eye. There was a moment where I thought how am I suppose to continue guiding Meng Ee. I thought to myself that the race has to go on. I took a deep breath and re-adjusted my goggles and press it into my eye socket. And it worked this time. I was very glad to say the least. We carried on swimming fairly smoothly until the second wave of participants caught up with us. We were trying to avoid those swimming breast stroke from the first wave and get out of the way of the fast swimmers from the second wave. Of course, we got shouted at by the fast swimmers (It amazed me how people can still shout while swimming! hahah). Anyway, there was an instance where a fast swimmer from the second wave who swam over Meng Ee. My heart sank for a moment then Meng Ee's head surfaced and he said that he was fine.

I was so glad to reach the shore. For me the worst was over! We changed into our running shoes and friends were there to cheer us on. Which is always nice! We had a few "boo boos" on the run too. There were quite a number of turns and bends. For sighted individuals the turns were fine. But it was a little challenging for us. It was difficult for Meng Ee to gauge the angles of the bends and turns, even though I try to describe them to him before we turn. Initially, we held the towel at the ends. We were each pulling the towel and I ended up catapulting Meng Ee round the bends. Fortunately, we didn't have any accidents or injuries but that was certainly dangerous. We were wiser during our second 5km loop. We held closer to the middle of the towel or I held onto Meng Ee's arm. Meng Ee kept up a good pace throughout the run. Well Done!

I am relieved that we have completed the race safe and well. I have learnt and gained so much from the training sessions and racing with Meng Ee. Today's race with Meng Ee has certainly humbled me. Things I've never thought twice about (like running round a bend) in all my races can actually pose a huge challenge for the visually challenged. It does make me wonder if I would be as strong and determined to be swimming and running if given the same circumstance. Meng Ee's resilient is commendable and an inspiration to all. It was my privilege to be given the opportunity to race with him.

So the next time we are out there splashing in the waves and pounding the grounds, know that we are actually having it ease. Congratulations to all who completed the biathlon this morning! A BIG BIG Thank You to Wai Fung who swam with Meng Ee and I to help me out (last minute) in navigating Meng Ee during the swim. For all who cheered us on, A BIG Thank You too. And of course, our heartfelt thank you to the Navy Biathlon organising committee that made arrangements for Meng Ee and I to have a designated person in a kayak to ensure our safety during the swim segment. Truly appreciate it.

BIG Day OUT Tomorrow...

Now it's my turn to be anxious and excited. Meng Ee will be doing his first individual biathlon tomorrow and I am his guide. No pressure?!? *Glup* I've done a few biathlons before and my last was in 2008.

This time the feeling is different. Being a guide is different from competing or racing for yourself. When you are a guide, you are technically responsible for the person you are guiding and not so much yourself. Like my focus is not on myself but Meng Ee instead. I am not saying that I can then put myself in harms way but my focus has changed. It is no longer about what my race plan is or how I am going race. But it is about how I can best guide the Meng Ee for him to race his best. A whole different perspective in itself. With Meng Ee, I am literally 'lending' him my eyes to navigate him in the sea and through the run. So in some sense, how he performs, does depend on what I do and how best I guide him.

Of the swim and run segments, I am more anxious about the swim segment as it is more unpredictable. You don't know how the currents and tides will be until tomorrow. Plus, we don't know which swimmer will change from front crawl strokes to breast strokes. So in some sense, we just need to take things in our stride. We have done our best to prepare for the race and that's all we can do.

If you are also participating in the biathlon tomorrow, all the BEST and race safe. And if you see Meng Ee along the course, do cheer him on. See you all tomorrow and rest well.

Two Bronze and A Gold

The 8 year old that I have been having sessions with won two bronze medals (200m & 300m individual) and a gold medal (4 x 100m relay) today at his school's sports day. I went to support him at his individual events this morning. He was very nervous and excited. When the gun went off for his 200m finals, he was very focused and did all that he was told. You could see him panting hard and running his heart out. And he finished 3rd!!! He was smiling from ear to ear after the race. You could see the big smile on his face a mile away. He was very happy! And I was proud and happy for him. Next was his 300m finals. He was still a little nervous but a little more settled. 300m is a long way for a 8 year old. In any case, he ran with all his might and finished 3rd as well. He was tired but delighted. I am sure the smile and joy will be permanently etched on his face for the rest of the day or week. And mine too =o)

To be honest, I was a little nervous for him this morning too. I really wanted him to do well and for him to be proud of his own achievements. Yesterday he asked me if it was alright if he does not win or get a medal. I told him that winning or getting a medal is not important. The important thing is that I want to see him do his best and the medals are a bonus. Then he said that he really wanted to win a medal. But I told him to just focus on running his best. And he did!!

I could not stay to watch him run in his relay finals. His mother sms-ed me to tell me that his team won the race. So from wanting a medal, he got THREE! I am very proud of him and am sure he will fill me on his relay event when I see him next week.

It is moments like these that keeps my passion burning to keep going with my programmes and make a difference in the lives of others.