Venus Run 2015 - a public service announcement

A public service announcement for my female Singapore readers (like...both of you).

This landed in my inbox recently: registration is now open for the Venus Run on March 8 2015.

There aren't a lot of dedicated, competitive 5Ks - at least not for grown-ups - in this neck of the woods. If you want a good hard time trial and the chance to pit yourself against some of Singapore's speediest women, the Venus Run is for you.

And if you're just getting into running and want to stretch your limits or test your progress with a 5K, the Venus Run is for you too. (Seriously. I have seen women of all ages, all sizes and all speeds happily complete this run.)

Early bird rate is S$38 till January 25, after which it's $45 till February 15, and the swag is usually fairly decent. So is the food and beverage spread before and after the race! The event tee is still blindingly pink though. You've been warned.

Venue: It's at Gardens by the Bay again, which suggests the route will be similar - watch out for those short sharp hills up Marina Barrage! Alas, no route map yet. That's par for the course for SG races, but this is an SAA certified race so you generally know the distance is correct. Again, it starts promptly at 5pm in the middle of March, which is usually hot and dry with 30C temps. Not for the heat-averse or faint of heart!

I don't get paid or compensated, to say this. I'm not sure I'll even be in Singapore to do the race next year! But I enjoyed this year's Venus Run (ok fine...was tempted by the ice cream, entertained by the Coach Holly Cheer Squad, chased a Singapore national rower, and set a PR) and they do take participant feedback into account. Go have fun. 

A very productive weekend

Race report: Venus Run 

There aren't a lot of races in Singapore that are just a 5K. Normally, a 5K is the neglected smaller sibling of some big event like a 10K or a half marathon. Or if you're a sprint triathlete, 5K is your cooldown. So I always leap at the chance to take part in an event that's SOLELY a 5K, because when it's well-organised, a 5K race really has a chance to shine.

The all-women's Venus Run is held to mark International Women's Day. It was held on Saturday for the third time (see last year's race report when I did it for the first time), and at Marina Barrage again. The route was changed up slightly - last year's race ended with a very painful climb to the Barrage rooftop, while this year's painful climb was in the middle!

route goes up that wide arm of the spiral, and down the other side

It's organised by the Singapore Athletic Association, and sponsored by compression-gear company X-Bionic, which gave us a really spiffy-looking and probably highly-engineered...but potentially somewhat hot...shirt.  I'm glad the shirt now says 'Diamonds aren't my best friends...Running is'.  I quite like the shirt, even with all the logos, and it will probably stand me in good stead the next time I go cross-country skiing...

So, only 5k? Let me tell you, there is nothing 'only' about racing a 5K. I'm not a speedster at all, and I've painfully clawed my way to every PR minute by minute. I'll take 800s over sprints at track any time. And I'm still a chicken; I don't push myself till I totally blow up. So...why did I sign up for this? I had a good time last year. And I wanted to find out if those track workouts have had any effect.

I walked to the event site from Bayfront MRT. It's about 1.5-2km, and I know all the shortcuts because I've run this dozens of times, but a small investment in shuttle buses from Marina Bay MRT would be really nice. One photographer stationed near the Flower Dome gave me a thumbs-up and I gave him a grin.

I didn't take advantage of this, but I noticed folks with cold drinks and ice cream? fro-yo? before the start. Extra bonus points! I once had a delayed tri wave start at 9am and almost died of dehydration because there was no access to fluids beforehand.

After bag drop (2 minutes), I excuse-me'd my way to a few rows behind the start line, shoulder to sweaty shoulder with loads of other runners. Apparently some 4,400 runners took part. And here I thought it was a smallish race. Normally I'm a prerace Oscar the Grouch, but I was in a good mood, and all the enthusiasm was infectious, even if I was too tightly packed in to do the Zumba warmup. Clearly the organisers were sprinkling pixie dust on the whole thing.

The gun went off and we flooded out; I immediately got stuck behind a couple of people, passed them, traded places with a few others, and then suddenly I'd run the first km in 4:26 (there's that starting-too-fast problem again). The next km flew by, as did a turnaround. Past the first (only) drink station of the race, and then we were heading up to the rooftop of Marina Barrage.

Afterwards, I did hear a couple of complaints that the only water point was at 3++ km on a very hot day. I don't even think to drink during a 5K, but for new runners this could be a bit of an issue. (Something for race organisers in general: Keep in mind that a race experience can be very, very different for the podium finishers and the 1 per cent, vs the 99 per cent; organisers should try their best to ensure that everyone, right down to the last person, has a good experience. Also keep in mind that the 99 per cent pay 99 per cent or more of your race entry fees.)

Going up the Marina Barrage Spiral of Doom.  

I saw Holly and her cheer squad here -

Holly & Zun. Best sign ever, so many people took photos with it! 

 - and before I could yell anything at them (heard someone yelling 'Go Grace', Tekko or Holly was that you?) we were heading down the other 'arm' of the spiral and across the dam itself. I'm pretty sure I began to slow down here, and was passed by a couple of women. Then another turnaround, back across the dam, and back towards the end point.

Thanks to a wonky distance marker that I now realise was *definitely* not at 4km, I thought I wasn't going to make it under 25 minutes. But as I rounded the corner I realised the time on the clock read 24:42, and charged into the finish for a total time of 24:50somethingorother...

A couple of friends with GPS watches confirmed that the race wasn't short, and so I am now the owner of a shiny new 5K PR - a PR that is almost two minutes faster than my last one (26:40 some time in the distant past). And between the heat (30 degrees C at 5pm), the headwind and the spiral of doom this was a tough, tough run. So that PR is legit, hooray! Update: chip time was 24:50 with no puking involved, I'll take that as a success. 

At the bag drop I ran into national rower Saiyidah Aisyah, and chatted with her while we waited to get our bags.
'You run as well as row?' I asked. It turns out she runs for cross-training, typically about an hour at a go. The 5K was painful, she said - 'It's like sprinting all the way!'. Now, she's in training for the Asian Games in August. (And then the Commonwealth Games, and then the Olympics, I hope. Super cool.)

Generally, the race site was well laid-out, with no inconvenient crisscrossings or snarls. The route might have involved a giant Barrage spiral climb of doom, but I'm glad it was at 3.5k this year instead of the finish line like last year (which is nice mentally, because you know that you're done as soon as you finish the climb, but not so great for race atmosphere because more people can fit on the ground than on the roof). So yeah, I'd do this again next year. Just put the distance markers in the right place.

Extra bonus points for:
- Plenty of COLD water and sports drink BEFORE and after the run
- Taking feedback about last year's shirt!
Minus points for:
- Bag drop folks being totally unable to find my bag for something like ten minutes while a queue built up behind me and I began to freak out; finally I went round behind the counter and told them 'please just help the people behind me, I'll look for it myself'. Time taken to find bag: 30 seconds.
- Not sure why, but it took the organisers a full week to put up official results and timings, and not even the full downloadable list at that.

Mega thanks to: 

- Holly for cheering

- The Running Shots team for the pix  

Let's get some shoes: the Mizuno Wave Hitogami 

On Saturday afternoon, before the Venus Run, I also popped in to TRG to get the shoes that are going to see me most of the way through this year's marathon cycle. The New Balance 1400v2 was out of stock in my size, so Wille suggested the Mizuno Wave Hitogami, because they're very similar. Both have a 9mm heel drop, a soft non-plasticky upper, and a wide toe box. The Hitogami looks like it won't have the problem I had with the NB1400 (peeling overlays) though, which is nice.  

source: http://wemakerunningcool.com/2014/03/05/new-arrival-mizuno-wave-hitogami/

Aren't they blindingly gorgeous? This morning I ran an easy 12k in them. Very comfortable - my feet felt at home straight away. Must save them for last few long runs and marathon. 

These guys were also in the shop while I was trying on shoes. They're doing a very, very long run through a very hot, dusty desert to raise money for animal rescue charities. That's dedication. Folks are amazing! 

Miscellany 

My life isn't all about running though; this afternoon I made... 

Chilled cucumber-celery soup

1 large cucumber

3 stalks celery 

1 tablespoon lemon juice

A good pinch each of coriander seed powder and cumin powder, to taste 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 clove garlic

1.5 cups Greek yoghurt 

1 tbsp mayonnaise 

1 tbsp olive oil 

Put everything in a bowl and blend with hand blender or food processor. Allow soup to chill out in fridge before serving. Makes 2 large servings or 4 small ones.

I just made sugar cookies (am still wavering on whether or not to top them with caramel sauce - maybe they're sweet enough), and I'm going to make fried tofu and tuna onigiri for dinner tonight. Lucky husband. (He does the dishes. Lucky me.)  

Next up: Marathon training for Gold Coast begins this week. Also, if you're doing the Twilight Ultra challenge, I'll be volunteering, come and say hi! 

Race report: Venus Run

Yikes, I've been away far too long - sorry!
Somewhere in between, I was in Qatar on a work trip - had a morning to myself and so I visited the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. Here it is - isn't it spectacular?

I also brought home a box of dried, sweet dates and made sticky date pudding with caramel sauce (but reduce the sugar sliiiightly) - that was my Saturday morning.

I also brought home a cold. !@&)(*!$ I felt just fine when I got back and even went to training on Thursday night. But on Friday morning I woke up with a sore throat and a sniffle. Friday and Saturday involved a tug of war with my stubborn cold, lots of fluids, and rest.

Today I woke up feeling just fine and ran (not raced) the Venus Run, a 5km road race put on by the Singapore Athletic Association. Because I was just getting over the cold I was very cautious and fighting my competitive catch-up-and-pass-the-person-in-front-of-me instincts the whole way.

Aside from all the sparkly pink*, it was actually very well-organised.
(*It's just a colour. Why do colours have to be gendered? They don't, actually. Slate tells it like it is.)

Funny aside: I sold my cerise Venus Run shirt to a coworker, who asked, aren't you going to wear it on race day?
I never wear (eat/ drink/ you name it) anything new on race day, I told her. What if something I haven't tried before itches? Or is uncomfortable? I'd have a pretty miserable race day. I don't know why most runners here don't realise that.
I think they assume you have to wear it, she said.

Running columnist Rachel Toor has a pretty funny account of running the Singapore Marathon.

"On race day the streets of Singapore looked like the Dean Dome during a UNC-Duke game, with nearly everyone wearing a brand new sky blue singlet. When I expressed surprise about this to an expat friend she told me that Singaporeans are accustomed to wearing uniforms. If you give them a shirt, they think they are supposed to wear it. Singaporeans try to do what they think is expected."

(Oh.)

The race started and ended at Marina Barrage. Yep, on the vast green roof, which people normally use for picnics and kite-flying. Meaning: you had to run down the slope at the start, and then UP THE SAME EVIL SLOPE on the other side at the end. When I got to the upslope I started laughing: on Thursday my coach Trudy had us do high-speed zigzags up the grassy slope at the Botanic Gardens. Eight times. I was not expecting to have trained for PRECISELY THIS SITUATION...!!!

The route was a pretty straightforward out-and-back, across the dam, through Marina Bay East, a lollipop u-turn and back again. According to Holly it was at least 0.2 miles/ 321.9m too long, tacking on a good minute and a half for me, and I finished in 29:21.

My coach is right - I DO cross my arms way too far across my body. Photo courtesy of RacePix.com.

At my weird in-between pace I often find myself running alone, which usually means more space for me...until there isn't. On the way back, the mid-pack came thundering along towards me in the opposite direction and spilled over wayyyy across the invisible centre line. I'll just squidge over to the left now...

Late in the game I did a flying split in front of a race photographer, and he cracked up.

Because of my cold I didn't get a chance to push myself till I (almost) blow up, till it really hurts. As Amby Burfoot writes about marathoning, "I don’t hit the Wall, because I don’t tempt it. I’m the Cowardly Lion of marathoners, and that’s okay with me." I am also completely chicken. No offense to chickens.

Right at the end I spotted Holly cheering everyone on, all by her lonesome, with a steady stream of 'You can do it little steps little steps you're right around the corner you can't see it but I can just one more minute you can do anything for one minute'. So I joined her. A little while later she was ambushed by a fellow American tracking down a familiar accent!

This afternoon I had some very good coffee with friends, ate too much, and ate too much again. In all, pretty good for a lazy Sunday... and how was your weekend? 

In which I am a curmudgeon

Also known as, the one in which some marketers ought to be taken out back and shot. (In a manner of speaking.)

I made the mistake of signing up for the Venus Run. (I wanted a timed 5K and other people to chase. Don't judge.) Now, there are all-women's runs and there are all-women's runs. The Great Eastern Women's 10K is a stellar example of an excellent one.

I have, depending on how you look at it, very high or very low standards for a race.
- Is the distance correct?
- Was the course smooth?
- Did the race start on time?

But a race organised specifically for women? That's a nice thought. In Singapore, and in Asia in general, you don't find a lot of serious women runners. That's due to all kinds of things: historically, general poverty and agricultural societies meant nobody ran for leisure (what a concept! to be running while you could be working); it's very hot; it's not culturally acceptable (dainty? ladylike?) for a woman to be wearing very little in public and sweating copiously, etc. That's shifting these days, but we don't have the same level of enthusiasm about women in sports that the post-Title IX US does. So yes, I appreciate the effort to get women moving.

The Great Eastern Run does this very well, and its message is very clear: women, you need to be fit for the health of your heart. (Great Eastern is a very large insurance company, and they have a big financial incentive to do this!)

But then there's the Venus Run. And I present to you THIS GODAWFUL SHIRT:

It's going to have THAT PROBLEM isn't it. The one in which it's too short for my hilariously long torso. 

Aesthetics aside, there's so much wrong with the things on this shirt.
I am not sparkly. I am not bioluminescent. I AM NOT A SQUID.

Squid, btw, are amazing.

 I do not want to be exhorted to sparkle. If I want to sparkle, I will wear nail polish, gosh-darn it. (I enjoy sparkly nail polish.)

The bigger problem is this: Don't define me in relation to all these other people. Sure, I'm a daughter, (ex)girlfriend, sister, wife, granddaughter and proud of it. Sure, I love my family - but I'm me first, capisce? I'm also a runner, a writer, a journalist, a...so many other things that you can't stick a convenient label on.

That and, let's see you put all these things on a men's version of this shirt. (What? Unimaginable? EXACTLY.)

I am not trying to discourage women's participation in sports and outdoor activities. In fact I will be your biggest cheerleader and better yet, run with you. And I very much respect the people who run marathons dedicating each mile to a person they love. I just don't think we need to be defined by all of these other people in order to find our motivation to run.

Suffice it to say I will not be wearing this shirt.

It gets worse. There was one last year, the Shape Run, that featured male pacers. (Unless you are trying to break a world record, there is no need for male pacers. In fact, these days, the records people don't accept women's record times from mixed-gender races. Which is a whole nother kettle of fish.)

What do you think of all-women's runs and the Venus Run marketing? Is there a good way to sell these things to women without being demeaning or reducing us to a series of limiting labels?