In Search of a Goal

So I'm breaking my rule of three years - to never do another half marathon!  I've done three half marathons now, and after each one I've been put off running for about six months.  After the third one I vowed and declared that I would never do another one again.  Period.

In hindsight I think I started training for each of them way too late, and so training was intense and concentrated, which meant that I was thoroughly sick of running and the time commitment about one month before the actual race!

This time I've decided to approach it differently.  As my running base is approximately zero right now, I'm going to aim to complete a 10km race by the middle of the year, and then sign up for the Angkor Wat International Half Marathon on 4th December in Cambodia.  I have a couple of friends who ran it last year and apparently it's a pretty magic place to run through (the scenery distracts from the pain...?), plus I have always wanted to go there.  Definitely a two birds with one stone goal!

Apparently this is the start/finish bridge

So today I started looking at training programs.  The challenge for me will be easing into it.  Usually I go hell for leather for a couple of weeks and then crash through exhaustion/over commitment/boredom.  This time I'll be balancing boot camp (Saturday mornings) and netball games (Wednesday nights) so need to make sure I have rest days around that.

Anyway, having something to get me outside, moving will be a much more positive experience than aiming for digital numbers on my scales.


Over the past two weeks my exercise has been based around walking (with a tennis game thrown in for good measure).  The temperature in Singapore has been a lovely 25 degrees in the mornings, so I've walked to and from work a couple of times.  These obviously aren't strenuous periods of exercise, but my aim is to introduce as much incremental exercise into my day as possible as the rest of the time I sit at a desk.  It won't be long until the temperature and humidity starts to climb back up to the usual 32 degrees, so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts!

On Sunday we went for a two hour walk around MacRitchie Reservoir.  My shoes got a little bit muddy... it's about as 'off trail' as it gets in Singapore.  I'll need to do a few more of these longer walks before trying to tackle Mount Kinabalu in Borneo!  The reservoir has heaps of monkeys which hang around hoping you'll feed them - quite often you walk passed them right up close!

This photo isn't even zoomed in!

 One of the best things about this new journey is experimenting with fabulous new recipes.  This week I cooked rosemary and orange marinated tuna kebabs on Monday night - delicious!  Although tuna steaks are prohibitively expensive, so sadly I don't think I'll be repeating this recipe weekly.

On Tuesday nights I have a Dutch lesson with two friends, one of which is vegetarian.  What an opportunity to flex my creative culinary muscles!  So I cooked a 'risotto' of quinoa with mushrooms and thyme, and served it with a big green salad and a simple tomato salad.  Feedback was very positive... but they could have just been polite :-)

I was in a big grump when I got home from work today - I just HAD to have a G&T.  Did you know... that a can of tonic water has the same amount of sugar as a can of coke?  Apparently you can get naturally low calorie tonic (rather than hideous diet tonic - yuck!).  I must try to find it in Singapore.


Over the last two days:

I'm proud of myself for... resisting an ENORMOUS sweet treat craving yesterday straight after lunch.  I held out until 3pm then went to the supermarket and bought some blueberries instead.  Whew!

I need to be better at... going to bed early so I can have eight hours of sleep.