Sunday, December 16, 2012

Catching my breath...

I was hoping to get into the routine of updating this blog at least weekly, and here it's been almost a month since my last entry. Apologies to the two or three people who read it!

Nothing much has changed: I'm still very busy with work, and I'm still running. But I'm now in Melbourne after spending 10 days in Kuching and a couple of days in Singapore.

Kuching is a home base. I love my Kuching family. Min rode his bike while I ran on a couple of mornings, which is the next best thing to running with him. I also lucked out with runs with fellow Aussie guests at Batik on a couple of mornings, especially with Jan who is often in Kuching from her base in Kuala Lumpur.

The ever wise Emily always manages to shine a clear light on anything that is troubling me. She's a treasure.

Kuching is always a busy place for me socially now, and it's always great to see the special people there who have been so nice to me. I wish I wasn't so pooped in the evenings, though; not everyone likes to conduct their social life around dawn, which seems to be my preferred time for catch-ups!

Min, Sam, and the kids Sean and Sara, and I flew to Singapore on Friday, 30th November for the Singapore half marathon.

After my very mediocre performance in races in Asia this year, I was chuffed to run a fairly decent time given the muggy conditions. It was good enough to get me first place in my age group based on net time. (I started in the second wave of runners.) The race organisers produced the most comprehensive statistics I've seen: I was 842nd out of 7,462 runners overall; 142nd out of 2,249 women; and 1st in my AG (out of 7). I finished ahead of 86% of all runners, including 79% of all the men. I passed 1,133 runners and 4 runners passed me. It was a pleasing finish to a year in which I ran 12 half marathons in 12 months in 9 countries.

We caught the show "The Jersey Boys", based on the Four Seasons, after the race. Love the music!! And I caught up with my friend Lorraine.

I really must spend more time in Singapore one day...

In Melbourne I'm staying on the river, right in town, with easy access to lots of running paths. I've joined in with a running meetup group for a couple of 10K Sunday morning runs and an evening run around the Tan (the path that circles the Royal Botanic Gardens). I've also run on a couple of mornings with people I've met through that group, as well as on my own. It's so pretty along the river, and I couldn't be closer, so it's not too hard to talk myself into going out for a solo run. In the mornings there are lots of crews from the various boat clubs that keep boat houses nearby out training, their trainers cycling along the riverbank keeping tabs on their technique.


This time in Melbourne is also a great opportunity to catch up with some special friends—Martyn, Bill and Sal, JB. I've seen a few films (the best was "Seven Psychopaths") and a couple of exhibitions, but my main focus is work.

My mum arrives this week for a few days before she and I head up to Albury for Christmas.






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