DVD Assault

Watched 1 crappy movie - The Marksman - and 1 really mediocre one - Patient Zero - over the weekend. If you've not watched either, then spare yourselves the pain and stay away from them.

I've the following movies to "clear" over the next few days:
- Polar Express
- Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
- Playboy Video: Romp At The Mansion
- Seinfeld Season 3: Disc 4
- Final Fantasy VII
- Castle of Cagliostro

Yes, I've got plenty of catch up to do in the movies department! My brother left his X-Box at my place and I'm also having a go at it. Played some thrilling games such as Rainbow Six and Rogue Spear. I'd say that the X-Box controls are excellent and better than that of PS2, at least for first person shooters. Needless to say, my untrained skills at gaming resulted in countless untimely deaths at the hands of terrorists and other forms of subversives. But my needs to exterminate virtual human scums and blow up digitized helicopters are still unsatiated and I'll keep at it until my brother decides to take the console back.

Tough Run

I started off at a steady pace with Tey at about 5:40am. I would've liked to start later but I wanted to be home earlier to do some chores. However I was surprised that we reached the 10K mark slightly faster than my usual time. I think running without the water belt helped, even though I was hand carrying a small squirt bottle. I felt even more relieved after dropping off the bottle just before the Hartamas hills so that I can pick it up again on my return trip. I decided to keep my momentum by continuing ahead of Tey and his gang and found that I was actually picking up the pace even more. I trailed Li Sar (not that far behind here) on my way to the 15K mark and reached the 20K mark between 1:42 to 1:50. Hot dang! That was way too fast for a planned 35K!! So it was. I eventually fizzled out somewhere near the 25K mark and struggled back to the car park in 2:40 - which meant a 10 minute or so PR over my previous 30K timing. That was a 4:06 marathon pace!

 

I usually don't time by 30Ks opting instead to lock in to a decent pace. But evidently my exuberance cost me an extra 5K. It wasn't the sunny weather that nailed me but the early pace. I had a choice whether to gripe about the lost 5K or to focus on it as a reinforcement lesson that I have to run within my comfort pace, especially for the marathon. Bloody hell, this is not a 10K and I'm no Meb. A lesson learnt here is better than a lesson learnt on race day. I look forward to collecting my new Pegasus from Justin this evening or tomorrow. Final 2 weeks before tapering kicks in.

Mizuno Wave Run 2005

Just look at the running shoes on the wall. Yummy, but the pricing virtually puts Mizunos out of most people's reach, which is really a shame because they're fantastic shoes. To register for the run, hit this link. Hurry as entries are limited to first 1,500.

 

Selamat DeepaRaya To All My Running Friends!

Many will be making the journey home starting tonight while some runners from the club will be running in the breathtaking and spectacular Taroko Gorge Marathon. One day I'll run this marathon with a camera in hand!

Even more will be taking advantage of the slack traffic to run longer and run everyday. I hope to be one of them. Kicking off will be a 35K on Sunday, followed by 10K on Tuesday, 17K on Wednesday, 10Ks on Thursday and Friday. I really really look forward to leaving the office at 6pm today. I feel a bit tired today but probably just need to drink more or partake in Justin's favourite beverage. On second thoughts, I'll settle on a mug of Lemon Lime tea.

More on Taroko Gorge Marathon: Link # 1 | Link # 2 | Link # 3

On the gorge: Link # 1

Midweek Long Run

Deep inside I was hoping for a light drizzle and I thought my wish would come true. But the skies dried up after 2 laps, just about the time Li Sar joined me. We ran relaxed but the lap times gradually came down. The 7th lap was way quicker as we wanted to overtake this lady regular who purposely sped up as we approached her. The last 3 laps were run with Justin who made a welcome return to his KLCC haunt. Didn't see the BoneMan though his wife said he was running.

8:10 > 8:06 > 7:56 > 7:50 > 7:53 > 7:42 > 7:16 > 7:34 > 7:26 > 7:08 > 6:58 > 7:22

Total: 1:38
Distance: 16.9K

When Wednesday's Wet

Heheheh, a little exercise in alliteration. It certainly looks as if it's going to pour again. On my 5pm day. Is the weather going to spoil my midweek long run? That's like asking runners whether they will miss an asics or Mizuno warehouse sale. But let's see - I've got rags in the car boot to towel dry with, got my ClimaFITs, spare shoes and plenty of old newspapers to layer my car seat post-run. Looks like I'm going to be at KLCC then. See you!

Courtesy Should Be Displayed On The Part Of The Giver As Well As The Receiver

Why is it that I've got grouses each time I take the LRT to work? I think it's because in the rail we're totally exposed for a duration of time. For an excrutiating period in the train - yes, it moves slower than the rail transit of our southern neighbour - we're just standing there glancing around uncomfortably or for some toying with their mobiles. Some take the easy (or denial?) approach by keeping their eyes shut. So for that period, we're being observed and scrutinized. See that? That person just yawned. Or yucks! Did the fella just dig his nose? This lady certainly has too much time SMSing away on her mobile. You get the drift?

For me, I don't like taking the train primarily because I get nauseated by the sideway movement within the constrained space. Anyway in the context of this posting, I got up just after 1 stop to give my seat to a pregnant lady. I quickly threw the Dean Karnazes book I was reading back into my tote bag and said "Here you go", pointing to my seat. Without a nod or acknowledgment, she plunked herself down and behaved as if nothing happened. Let me state that I'm not hard up for a "thank you" but I think the courtesy campaign should also be directed to recipients of such good acts as well. It's always polite to say "Thank you" or at least a smile or a nod. Regardless of your physical or mental ability, it's not your God-given right to have everything handed to you on a silver platter. If indeed you're extended a good deed or favour, at least show some gratitude. I'm not sure if it's a hormonal thing or she was simply having a bad day but I've been taught to be polite and gracious regardless of your condition. It's an upbringing thing. Besides it doesn't cost one 100 calories to smile or mutter the words.

It's the same thing for holding the lift for someone but get no "Thank you" in return but I'd be accused of being an uptight person. I need to run this evening! Thanks for reading.

Kam Siah & A Fine Example Of Der Pia Spirit

Thanks for all the wishes that came in via SMS and blog! PM17 aka CM was the first to SMS me (last night!) - he just refuses to "sapu lantai" anymore. And of all the senders, one was from SenHeng, yup the electrical/electronics chain store! How the heck...? Oh wait, it must be from the expired VIP card which I've destroyed long ago!

In my posting of yesterday I didn't mention that I saw Albert from the Bukit Bintang NB store again during the morning run. If you've ever bought a pair of NBs from Bukit Bintang, you'd know how large a build Albert has. A smoker (I'm not sure he quit already), he started running not long ago and made his road debut at the SJ 10K. His 10K PR is 70mins if I recall him telling me. Back to the story: when I got to the Duta junction at about 5:30am, he was already on the way back! I wasn't sure whether he was returning from Hartamas or just made the U-turn at the junction. Either way, with his shuffling pace, he must've started very very early! And was I startled to encounter him! I think Albert has taken over Jason aka PM23's mantle of personifying the "pia spirit"!

35 Years Young, 35K, 3.5 Hours

Well, another year has come and gone, at least as far as my DOB is concerned. I wanted to do something significant and what better way than to capitalise on my plan for a 35K. Incidentally my usual 35K timing is around 3.5 hours, so I thought, "Bring it on!"

With my Mom is around, Carbokid has got a backup minder. It was once again drizzling lightly at the start at 5:50am and as I stepped out of my car, I felt the cold wind penetrate my bones. The initial miles were tough. The body just couldn't respond. Only after the IRS building did it (and the mind) come to live - incidentally when I ran into the returning Lawrence. See how familiar faces can lift the flagging spirit? Besides Lawrence a few others were doing their 30Ks. Singapore is just slightly more than a month away. With the tapering period, only 4 weeks remain for long runs (this run inclusive).

The drizzle turned heavier between the 20 and 25K mark. The sun contemplated on shining in all its glory but it turned out just to be a peep show. The cool weather prevailed. I clocked 2:53 for my 30K and before embarking on 2 laps around the lake, I had a banana with some Gatorade. Ah Toh, Ah Wah and Seah who were in the base building phase for KLIM '06 ran past me. I was surprised that nearing the end of my run, I was still able to put in a few surges. Once I got back to the car, I quickly towelled dry and left for home, feeling very happy about the morning's effort.

Back home, I had a cup noodle, 3 slices of bread washed down with plenty of fluids for breakfast. My brother called offering to buy birthday lunch for me and before breakfast was digested, we found ourselves in 1-Utama's Vietnam Kitchen for a hearty lunch. In fact we ate A LOT. So much for replacement carbs. A few more long runs remain before tapering. Next Sunday will hopefully be another 35K, the following one a 30K and finally a 35K during the PACM practice run.

Deena Kastor Wins Chicago

She didn't run the first sub 2:20 by an American woman but she displayed the kind of grit that will take her to that goal in the near future. In the recent Runner's World issue, she said that she prefers running an undulating course rather than flat one like Chicago as the same muscles are taxed throughout a flat course. So it was that her hamstrings and back were whacked good in the late miles. She still crossed the line in 2:21.25 with last year's winner Constantina Tomescu-Dita just 5 seconds behind. Picture below shows Tomescu-Dita comforting Kastor (both asics athletes) just after the finish line. Amazingly Colleen De Reuck previously of South Africa, now an American finished in fourth in 2:28+ setting a US Masters Record. It was supposed to be cold but check out the sexy running attires these elites wore. To get to know the Chicago Marathon better, check out this site which features streaming video. I believe 40,000 runners participated in this event. Singapore's 22,000 entries this year is already huge and yet is only half of Chicago's! 

Next Book Please!

I finally finished The Greatest over breakfast this morning. All I can say is that it's a fantastic book of one of modern time's most celebrated runner. The gripping race narratives are worthy of re-reading. Now I can proceed to yesterday's new acquisition. Click on the image to get to the Amazon page.

 

Press Release by Pacesetters

Kuala Lumpur 20th October 2005 – Pacesetters Athletic Club, Malaysia announce today that the club shall be organizing a 30km practice run on 13^th November 2005 at Bukit Aman Car-park, Tasik Perdana. All running enthusiats are invited to join us for the run.

The main objective of this facilitated 30km practice run (with a 20km option) is to prepare runners for the coming Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon on 4^th December 2005. The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon is the largest marathon in South East Asia with an expected participation of 18,000 runners. The club is sending more than 250 runners for this event. To support our members, our club has also booked 120 hotel rooms and has arranged 3 coaches for our members traveling to Singapore.

This 30km practice run is organized as a service to our members and running enthusiasts; we shall be providing refreshment stations every 5km with water and Powerbar Endurance drinks. At the 20km mark for the 30km runners, there will be a Power Zone with Power Gel given to the runners. A Powerbar is given to the runners from 5.00am (limited to 200 runners). This event is sponsored by Powerbar and Milo. The program is as follows;

 

5.00am – reporting and RM3 donation to the club to cover costs

5.20am – briefing on the route and safety measures

5.25am – stretching and warming up.

5.30am – flag off

8.00am – breakfast is served at the volleyball court

8.00am to 10.00am – registration for the Mizuno Wave Run 2005 / the Great Eastern Pacesetters 30km 2006 and sale of club’s merchandize.

There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather, Only Weak Minds

That's what the famously hard core, the late Emil Zatopek professed by during his competitive days. During this wet month, the mantra had been my call to action. Evenings have been generally cool and occassionally wet, which makes running such a pleasurable and effortless activity. Not many people like running in the rain for fear of blisters or discomfort of squishy shoes. I'm not concerned about those 2 things but am cautious about catching a cold afterwards. But we can't just let a run go right? So I found myself at KLCC with Li Sar making laps in the increasingly heavy rain yesterday. We were supposed to do 8 minute laps but in the end I averaged 7:31 laps for 7 laps (had to leave early to pick up Carbokid). Li Sar continued on for another 3 I think. But I was surprised she kept on running despite the rain which got into our eyes, nose and mouth. We were not the only "crazy" ones getting soaked. There were 2 other guys there as well.

Monday: 56:15 for 7 laps (easy with a fast final lap). Avg lap: 8:02
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 52:37 for 7 laps (cruise mode). Avg lap: 7:31
Thursday: Target 8 to 9 laps (steady)
Friday: Target 8 to 9 laps (easy). Avg lap: 8:15
Saturday: Rest or max 5K
Sunday: 35K

Event Vest/T-Shirt

I don't usually favour the mid-range adidas vests as they're typically bulky and heavy. Of course the company makes very good ones as well but at RM160+ the ClimaCool vests are not what you'd call cheap. As I was scouring the Singapore Marathon site for their 2005 Runner's Event Handbook, I came across this picture of a girl wearing an adidas vest. It looks simple, nice (and I mean the vest!!!) and light. Hopefully the event tee will be likewise.

Amazing Race

I think it's pretty amazing. The organizers of this December's Singapore Marathon targetted 18,000 participants (not all for the full distance) for this year's race and as of mid October, they're just 1,000 entries away from realizing this! The other improvements to this year's event could be the expanded expo at the Level 6 of the Suntec Convention Centre, which now includes a Marathon Village (that sounds more like it!) which hopefully will resemble the ones of the other major marathons in the world and other themed areas. Number collections will open from Thurs Dec 1st to Sat Dec 3rd 11am to 7pm. More info of the bib collection are available here.

The organizers have also published a list of goodies the runners will be receiving. The picture below shows last year's items but I also expect this year's to be slightly better.

So shake off your lethargy and continue to train hard for this race. You can always rest and recover during the tapering period. By being prepared, we'll all enjoy the morning of Dec 4th rather than suffer! The atmosphere is something we don't wanna miss. If you've not registered, be among the last 1,000 to do so at the official website. See you on the roads!

The Day The Big Guns Came Out To Play

Have dragged myself out of bed, I quickly refreshed, grabbed my gear already laid out the night before and dashed out of the house. Only to find a lump of dog shit right in front of my door step! The strays were making a nuisance of themselves and this was the 2nd time they're making their unwanted presence felt. Cleaning up delayed me by 10 minutes but I was soon on the way to Bukit Aman. The heavens opened up not 5 minutes later but it slowed to a very light drizzle when I got to the car park. You can always tell if it's marathon season when at 6am there are more than 15 people waiting to take off for their runs. As Jason had decided to join Coach Chan's entourage at 8am (intending to run under the Singapore conditions no doubt), I plodded on into the darkness alone. The Penguins had already taken off at 5:30 for their own 30K.

Pretty soon I passed a number of runners and then found myself making my favourite 30K circuit. I carried some cash with me to top off my fluids at Petronas. Surprisingly I didn't find running alone this long that difficult to handle. I had been expecting a boring time. Perhaps it had to do with the number of familiar faces I encountered on the road. From Kelvin, Adam, The Penguins, Don Khor and his band of triathletes, Li Sar in her Skins tights, KLCC Yong, Abot, PK, Ang, Chuckles, Shine among others. The tough sections of the runs were the 18K and 25K marks. Luckily I was joined by Penguin 2 (who may be running the Phuket Marathon next Sunday) and his company and the weather played a big part in me finishing my run strong. The weather was unbelievable throughout. The coolness reminded me of Awana Genting and when the heavens opened up towards the end, it proved to be a refreshing end to a tough run. I did encounter Coach Chan's gang near the BNM section and spotted Ah Toh, Ah Wah, Ronnie, CM and Jason among others.

 

The crowd was missing at the car park due to the weather and only some PACM EXCO members were there to handle some race registrations and merchandize sale. After changing into a dry shirt I gobbled up a banana and a cereal bar and made my way home. I had home cooked pasta with spicy tuna and drank plenty of water.

 

Oh yes, I watched Cinderella Man on Saturday night and I thought it was a fantastic movie. Touching and inspiring at the same time. Some scenes of the movie provided me with some much needed push in the difficult parts of this morning's run. If you've not watched it, go get the DVD.  

Pretty

Pretty babies, these Pegasus!

My Cup Runneth Over

I've caught the cough from my wife. I'm sleepy. There are 2 deadlines at work. To hell with multi-tasking. TM will finally be fixing the phone line tomorrow. Need to take Carbowoman and Carbokid to the Immigration Office tomorrow to have their passports made. There are no broadband links to my housing area, yet. I need a solid uninterrupted 9 hours sleep. Carbokid is learning phonics. Carbowoman's arms are really smooth to the touch. I've to complete my claims submission at work. I need to collect my Dockers from Isetan and Carbowoman's photos during lunch time. There are some long runs to make. I want to go on leave.

 

My life is really full.

Lazy Sunday

It turned out that I was still sleepy at 10am on Sunday morning. It didn't help that everyone in the household felt the same. So there was a feeling of general malaise and everyone was basically lazing around. Before we knew it, it was already 2pm! Nobody wanted to go out for lunch, I couldn't find anyone to run 30K and in the end I only ran at 9:30pm at night. Did a 10K out of 20K, by which time it was already 10:30pm and I had yet to have dinner. I noticed a couple of slow moving bikers around the outer perimeter of the housing area which heightened my alertness. I don't know if it was paranoia but I decided to cut my run short at 10K. A disappointing end to an otherwise fantastic training week. I may potentially miss my runs this Sat and Sun as my wife will be back in Penang leaving me with Carbokid for the weekend. But the week has just begun and I'm confident of putting together another good stretch of run in before then. What's more distressing is the lack of really long ones which will make me an even stronger runner than this year's KLIM. I just need 4 35Ks to get to the next level. But where's the time? Think think....

PM19's Grand Day

After seeing all the runners in nothing more than vests, shorts and shoes it was interesting to see the complete transformation of these same runners in Justin's wedding dinner last Saturday. Completely accessorized with ties and jackets, the invited PMs came in full force to support another PM who was getting hitched. Even with the makeover, it was pleasing to note that we runners were the most relaxed lot amongst the other uppity folks - some of whom evidently were putting on quite a show. Nevertheless, there were plenty of eye candy that night - mostly high maintenance types, if you know what I mean. That didn't stop a certain someone who couldn't keep his eyes on his chinese tea. Naturally he prompted got cautioned by Kenneth.

 

I came with my wife who was dressed in an Indian dress (for a change). The venue and food turned out to be very nice. The PMs for once hydrated (or rather dehydrated) themselves on malted carbs (beer) and fermented red grapes (red wine), while some downed cupfuls of chinese tea.

Cheers went up around our 3 tables when the presentation slides showed some of Justin's running photos, including his famous "terberak" look from the SJ 10K. Besides being the most shutter-happy folks, the PMs were also one of the noisiest in the ballroom. We certainly had fun - it was a fantastic wedding dinner, great photography, good food and good company, a nice change from hammering the miles. My wife and I left just before dessert as we needed to pick up my mom and kid. My hopes or an early night in preps of next morning's 30K were dashed as when we arrived home I found out that an opposite neighbour had his house broken into, so I went over to chat with the residents' association members who had gathered. Some ideas were thrown about and all of us had the same suspects in mind - the victim's raucous and uncouthed neighbour. Everyone's more vigilant and have requested the security to monitor these rascals.

I knocked off only at 1am.

Medium-Long Run

Amazing! Reviewing my training log, I realized that I'd been running everyday since last Thursday - that's 7 days in a row! That makes it the most productive training streak ever. My program was nearly derailed by work yesterday - something which was getting increasingly stressful for me. While Q3 and Q4 have typically been heavy at the office, this year has been exceptionally bad.

 

Luckily there's running to keep me sane. Instead of 5:30, I found myself at the park only at 6. That meant 3 laps lost. The rain had just stopped so conditions were ideal. On my 2nd lap, Draco joined in and on my 3rd Kenneth linked up. A while later Amby Newton also joined in. Doraemon Der Tulangman was skipping along the opposite direction.

 

We managed to log some consistent laps and bouyed by the cool weather, the lap times became progressively faster. I capped off the last 2 laps by running sub 7 times alone.

 

Tempted as I am to rest tomorrow, conditions have presented itself such that I'll be able to put in another medium-long run. However I'll curtail that urge to just do a 10K. Friday will be 5 or 8K, Saturday a well deserved rest and some evening feeding cum socialising, and Sunday the first of a few 30Ks to come.

 

Yummy!

 

Lap times: 8:29 > 8:30 > 8:04 > 8:01 > 7:52 > 7:52 > 7:28 > 7:18 > 6:51 > 6:37
Total: 1:17 (10 minute improvement from previous week's)
Average lap: 7:42

Medium-Long Run

Amazing! Reviewing my training log, I realized that I'd been running everyday since last Thursday - that's 7 days in a row! That makes it the most productive training streak ever. My program was nearly derailed by work yesterday - something which was getting increasingly stressful for me. While Q3 and Q4 have typically been heavy at the office, this year has been exceptionally bad.

 

Luckily there's running to keep me sane. Instead of 5:30, I found myself at the park only at 6. That meant 3 laps lost. The rain had just stopped so conditions were ideal. On my 2nd lap, Draco joined in and on my 3rd Kenneth linked up. A while later Amby Newton also joined in. Doraemon Der Tulangman was skipping along the opposite direction.

 

We managed to log some consistent laps and bouyed by the cool weather, the lap times became progressively faster. I capped off the last 2 laps by running sub 7 times alone.

 

Tempted as I am to rest tomorrow, conditions have presented itself such that I'll be able to put in another medium-long run. However I'll curtail that urge to just do a 10K. Friday will be 5 or 8K, Saturday a well deserved rest and some evening feeding cum socialising, and Sunday the first of a few 30Ks to come.

 

Yummy!

 

Lap times: 8:29 > 8:30 > 8:04 > 8:01 > 7:52 > 7:52 > 7:28 > 7:18 > 6:51 > 6:37
Total: 1:17 (10 minute improvement from previous week's)
Average lap: 7:42

No Rest For The Weary

The local running scene at end of the year is always quiet. Physical exertions are put on hold for these couple of months as the Muslims go into their fasting month, although some adrenaline/endorphin addicts will still be at it. Many racers are tired from their back to back races for the greater part of the year and are winding down their training, catching up on rest or simply nursing their injuries. However other parts of the world continue to see plenty of action. The Chicago Marathon is happening this Saturday the 8th, while the Phuket and Hatyai Marathons follow suit. In December, there's the Singapore Marathon and the Singapore Ultra. Naturally those who will be travelling to these overseas races are entering their most critical phase of training.

The KLCC Park, my usual haunt will see less people from today onwards, today being the 1st day of fasting for the Muslims. This will make it easier to run around the circuit. Travelling to and back from work should be breezier as well and this will also allow me to run longer at night should I skip KLCC right after work. It's been great so far but it's been challenging. More than ever, I've had to exercise extreme flexibility in my workout programs due to work and family commitments. Because of that I've  found myself training alone most of the times, unlike pre-KLIM '05 days when I had The Lonerunner for company on weekends and Live2RockZouk on weekdays. I have to dig deep for motivation and that comes from my running books, mags as well as my training log. Believe me, entering your daily workouts into the log will give you that extra 50% motivation as you see your mileage climbs.

 

Ending this posting, I urge you to check out the updated Food Pyramid the USDA has released. The new structure is aimed at keeping up with the times as well as clear some misconception on dietary intakes. Finally a guide that takes into account a person's level of physical activity rather than making sweeping generalization regardless of a person's needs. By the way, I got this heads-up from last monh's RW mag.

Looking forward to Saturday

Another runner friend is getting himself hitched. Well, he'd done the deed but this Saturday's the dinner. I thought it'll be nice to advice him via this posting on what to expect being also a runner myself. I'm sure he has been getting loads of advice from his parents and well-meaning relatives and friends going into his marriage but still I thought I'd share my bit.

To him:

1. Keep your peace
Sometimes or many times even when we're in the right, it's better to keep quiet, hoping that Truth will surface one day. Adding to a volatile situation will not help things. Be the first to make up - we're afterall Men.

2. Give and take
OK, be prepared to give a lot and expect little. Many a times, something that we're passionate about eg running will take a back seat. Be prepared to miss workouts and races and be prepared to face questions by non-married friends who can't seem to understand your situation. If you want her to be interested in your interests, you'll need to do the same for hers as well. If she's not interested, at least there's a likely chance that she'll appreciate your sweetness for seeing her way. Now there's more responsibility such as house chores, budgeting and more - no problem since you've been independent all these while.

3. Be flexible
Now that there's more than 1 person in your life your personal time will shrink. Therefore find time to catch up or do things that are important to maintaining your equillibrium. Read a book in the toilet, run at odd hours if you have to (some sacrifice involved here), cut back on non-essentials like TV... While we're not fugitives, having limited time to do what we like will increase our enjoyment of the activities. 

4. Think long term
Some things may seem very important, but in effect not. Especially when a certain thought is conceived in moments of anger or lust. Staying calm, rational and communicating will go a long way towards.

5. Enjoy your couplehood
This phase is perhaps the easiest for a married couple to spend time together. Something you might not get to experience at this degree of enjoyment. Make it count, before the kids pop out. But they can be very rewarding and enjoyable, them kids.

6. Don't look back
More often that not, looking back is a sign of regret or a feeling of what might have been. Don't dig back past histories or past misunderstandings. "I told you so...", "Remember last time I've already adviced you...". It's all water under the bridge. Learn and move forward.

 

To her:

1. Your hubby's a runner
There are somethings that non-runner don't understand. Like the need to run everyday. For a distance runner, each run should take at least 1 hour, else it's simply not fulfilling enough. If he's shown interest in your pastimes, it's OK to allow him some time to run. Afterall, a serious runner leads a healthier lifestyle than many people out there. Better still, try out running. You may discover the very joy he's found. Oh yes, we do accumulate loads of shoes.

2. Your hubby may be right
Whilst Point 1 in the To Him section states that he should take a lead and hold his peace, he may still be right sometimes. So in a disagreement, make your point and let it be. I shall not delve into the Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus issue (or is it the other way round?). Being the first to make up shows that he is man enough (regardless whether he's right or wrong) to take the responsibility.

3. Points 3 to 6
Yup, it applies to the wives too.

They all appear to be heavy stuff and non-exhaustive but they're all that I can think of for now. Being mindful of events and situations will pre-empt any untowards from happening and keep the marriage a mutually happy, respectful and satifying one. Here's wishing the newly weds the best of everything!

Kicking & Screaming

I'd completely forgotten about this movie. I first caught its trailer on TV some months back and I thought Will Ferrell was darn funny but Rotten Tomatoes didn't give it a good rating. Anyways I bought a copy today from Jinjang Jane after lunch just now and am eager to pop it into the DVD player. We could all use some laughs at the end of a Monday and coupled with my evening run later, this comedy may just be the perfect capping to a dreaded day.