Training for the Boilermaker

Running the 5k

Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Boilermaker Sunday are my three favorite days of the year, as all three are family reunion days, of sorts.  At Christmas, we drive in from Connecticut (or fly in from Singapore) to celebrate in Utica, eat, exchange gifts, and wonder how all the kids grew so fast from the year before.  I don't think I've ever missed a Christmas in Utica, though if I did, it was rare.   At Thanksgiving, we drive in and celebrate in Syracuse, play touch football, eat, then watch football.  Each year, the kids get more athletic and have started taking over much of the scoring.  I know I've missed a couple of Thanksgivings along the way, including this past one, and while I've always celebrated Thanksgiving somewhere, it's not the same if I'm not in Syracuse with my family.

Many of the Kids Ran That Year

Which brings me to Boilermaker Sunday.  We always enjoy that weekend.  To the best of my recollection, it's never rained.  The race finishes at the brewery, where free draft beer awaits at a party for about 20,000 people.  It's just a great party in the sun.  Afterwards, we always head back to Dave's house for a pool party, food, and family time.  We get varying degrees of participation from the kids, but it's just another opportunity to get everyone together, only this time during the summer.

About 20,000 People at the Finish Line Party

When I was younger, I always wanted to run my best time in the 15k event.  My best time was just under 65 minutes, when I was much younger than I am now.  And there were several times that I ran the Boilermaker without training.  My times definitely were not good, but I could do that when I was younger, as I never thought of myself as someone who would ever be out of shape.  Looking back now, I can't remember the last time I was in shape!

Approximate Time? 8:10 a.m.

The last time I ran the 15k was in 2006, three years after we moved back from our first stint in Singapore.  I settled on running the 5k from then on.  My best time in the 15k since moving back was in 2005, with a time of 1:22:21, or almost two minutes per mile slower than my best time.  In 2004, my time was 1:28.31.  I'll be 52 on race day.  My goal is to try to beat 1:22:21.

With Rachel at the After Party

I'm now in week seven of training.  Now, keep in mind that I'm living in Singapore, where the temperature hovers at around 90 degrees every day, and the humidity makes my glasses fog over whenever I walk outside from an air-conditioned building (or vehicle).  Thus far, in seven weeks, I've run outside three times, but only after dark.  Most of my training will take place in the air-conditioned comfort of a small weight room at our condo on a treadmill.  Thus far, I have not added any uphill grade to the treadmill, which I'll have to introduce at some point given the hilly nature of the Boilermaker.  I've already suffered a couple of hiccups along the way, missing 10 days due to flu-like symptoms and a couple of days due to a sore heel.

We Always Meet at the Same Spot

So how does one train for a 15k when he's over 50 and hasn't run more than 5k in eight years?  I started out the first day trying to run for 20 minutes at 12 km/hr (12 km/hr x .62 mi/km = 7.44 mi/hr).  That would have me finish the 15k in about 75 minutes.  My heart rate was in the 160s that first day of training.  That didn't seem right.  So I did some research, and found that the rule of thumb is to subtract your age from 220 and then train at 50-85% of that number.  85% if you are an athlete, and closer to 50% if you're out of shape.  A quick calculation told me I had to adjust my training downward!  However, I couldn't possibly train at a heart rate of 84.5!  I get there when I walk to the refrigerator!  So I figured, I USED TO BE an athlete (my son smirks when I say that), so I could adjust that up a bit My routine is that I run five days a week, resting on Wednesday or Thursday (depending on my schedule and/or how I feel) and always rest on Sunday.

At the Finish Line

I have been training at 10 km/hr, which would have me finish the race in 90 minutes.  Slower than my goal, so I'll increase the speed once I feel I've sufficiently built up my endurance.  Each week, I try to increase my running time by 10%:

Week 1: 20 minutes

Week 2: 22 minutes

Week 3: 24 minutes

Week 4: 26 minutes

Week 5: 28 minutes

Week 6: 30 minutes

Week 7: 33 minutes

John Must Not Have Finished Yet

I plan to to continue to adjust up by 10% per week until mid-June, then taper a bit until race day.  During week 6, I wanted to do something a little bit differently, so I ran a 20 minute interval session on Wednesday, varying the speed from 8 km/hr up to a maximum of 16 km/hr, or about 9.92 mi/hr.  I'm hoping that breaks up the monotony a little bit.  I'll continue to do one day of intervals, and run outside once per week from here on out.  I'm happy to say I no longer get the warning messages from the treadmill telling me my heart rate is at a dangerously high level for my age!

All Six Murad Siblings at the Finish

I'd like to say I get that "runners high" while I'm training, but I don't.  I'm not complaining though.  I'm getting in shape and listening to a lot of old music, trying not to look at the clock while I run, because I HATE when I think I've been running for 25 minutes and look down to see it's only been 20!

Another Year When Many of the Kids Ran

Looking forward to seeing you at the finish!

Signs of Singapore

There are many signs of Singapore.  Some actual man-made signs to direct you, and others that you look at as something somewhat unique to Singapore.

For instance, when you're walking around  underground near Orchard Road, unless you know your way around, one could easily get lost without the signs telling you which way to go.  Here are two such signs in the Orchard Road tunnels.

Then there are places that are unique to Singapore, like the Merlion at Sentosa Island or the Shaw Outdoor Stage at the Singapore Botanical Gardens.

This is the relatively new, exclusive hotel - Marina Bay Sands.  Singapore is also known for its very unique architecture.  This building below is very narrow!

The buses have this sign - I especially get a kick out of the last item, "No assault on bus captain".  I guess that takes away the "But, I didn't know" defense!

Whenever there is an accident, theft or break-in, and the police have no credible leads, I'll see signs like this:

And for all of you UCONN Men's Basketball fans out there - this sign near downtown Singapore shows that (Shabazz) Napier Road is the way to the NCAA FINAL FOUR!  Go Huskies!

Ringing in 2014

We traveled back to the USA for the holidays.  Pattie left Singapore the day after Thanksgiving and enjoyed spending time with Rachel at home in Connecticut.  I took some time to check out the decorations on Orchard Road in Singapore.

Bryce and I arrived in New York on December 23rd.  Pattie, Rachel and Murphy (plus Connor) met us in New York and we spent the afternoon walking around in the city.  Rockefeller Center was a highlight, as it was for about 50,000 others that night.

Murphy and Connor

Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center

  

We spent Christmas morning with the Sciglianos then drove to Utica and spent three days with the Murads at the judge's house.  We were back in Connecticut for New Year's Eve, where we celebrated the New Year at the Crouse's.

Pattie had to return to work in Singapore on January 3rd, while Bryce and I remained in the USA until January 10th.  I visited Windham Tech on a couple of occasions, but never when the kids were in session.  It was great to see everyone, but the one thing we experienced, that we don't miss, is the COLD weather!  While we were back, the temperatures were the lowest they had been in 20 years.

I attended the RHAM at E.O. Smith girls' basketball game, and even though E.O. lost, it was good to see the girls in action.  (E.O. won the rematch last week).

Bryce transferred from Overseas Family School (OFS) to the Australian International School (AIS).  He simply didn't like going to OFS.  AIS starts their new year in January, so Bryce started 11th grade over again.  He seems to like it so far.

Here are some pictures taken in Chinatown prior to the Lunar New Year - The Year of the Horse:

  

Pattie has a business trip coming up later this month to China, and I am coaching basketball and still substitute teaching at the Singapore American School.  The league schedule starts next weekend.  I have a 6'2" 7th grade female on my team.  If she stays with it, she's a scholarship kid, especially since her doctor tells her she's still growing!

Thanksgiving in Singapore

Thanksgiving is one of our favorite days of the year.  We usually spend it with my family in Upstate New York.  John (my brother) and Renee (his wife) usually host, and we start the day with a game of touch football.  (Renee would argue that HER day starts much earlier than that, and she's right - thanks Renee).  Most of the time, there are no trips to the emergency room.  Most of the time.  I missed out on this year's game, along with watching American football on television.

Since Thanksgiving is not a recognized holiday in Singapore, Bryce had to attend school for the second time in his life on Thanksgiving Day.  Yep, he attended school on Thanksgiving Day in kindergarten when we lived here the last time.

We decided to host our own Thanksgiving Dinner with friends.  While it wasn't the same as having the whole family together, we had a nice dinner at our place.  Friends from USA, Australia, Singapore, India, Brunei, Norway and Philippines joined us for a traditional (well, at least our traditional) Thanksgiving Dinner with all the fixings.

Heading back to the USA tonight for Christmas!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

Basketball in Singapore

Basketball in Singapore is played under FIBA rules, for the most part.  I say "for the most part" as not all courts have a shot clock.  Basketball is basketball, except the rules here are meant to speed up the game.  For instance, there is a 24-second shot clock, and you have eight seconds to cross mid court (instead of 10).  I love both of these rules.  If you are fouled, and it's a non-shooting foul, the shot clock will reset to 14 seconds, assuming there are less than 14 seconds remaining on the clock.  Oh, and there is no such thing as "one-and-one".

There are a couple of things I had to get used to.  First, during a close game the other day, we were down three with under two minutes to go when we scored on a put back.  I called timeout.  However, timeout wasn't granted.  It seems you're not allowed to call timeout after your team scores.  The other team came down and scored, putting us back down by three, so I called timeout.  We get the ball at half court after the timeout.  I like that, but I don't like the fact that I can't call timeout after we score.

After that game ended, I discovered that you cannot call a timeout at all when the ball is live and you have possession!  What?  Now THAT is different!  I don't know the rationale for that rule, but it will take some getting used to.

Oh, and if the ball is knocked out of bounds on the sideline, on your basket side of half court, you must inbound the ball in the front court.  This takes some getting used to on my part, both offensively and defensively.  I think that's an advantage for the defense, and will coach it that way.

My introduction to basketball in Singapore was via email prior to my move.  The girls' coach, Dale, from United World College (UWC), receives a newsfeed on anything with "basketball" and "Singapore".  The Hartford Courant ran a quick blurb about my resignation at E.O. Smith, and Dale reached out, inviting me to look him up when I arrived in Singapore.  I did just that!  I helped him at a couple of practices, and he introduced me to John, the boys'  coach at UWC.  John runs an organization called Asia Pacific Sports Management.  John has had me help at a few clinics, and introduced me to Domenic, who has two sons that I help train.  While watching a UWC girls' game, I met a local woman who was looking for a private coach for her son.  He became my first client!  She introduced me to a local coach with ties to the Basketball Association of Singapore, Coach Chan.  Chan invited me to one of his U19 Club practices.  He handed me a whistle and told me to run the training session.  18 guys on an outdoor court with two hoops.  After that, he invited me to help with a couple of other teams, so I guess I passed the test!

So far, I've been involved with one-on-one coaching and running practices (they call it training) for Orchid Park Secondary School and Teck Ghee Elementary School. I've also helped with the Titans U13 boys club team and helped with a clinic for all entrants in a local 3-on-3 tournament.  Additionally, I helped out for several Sundays at a clinic at the Canadian International School.  I have also helped coach the U13 and U14 boys at Orchid Park in a U16 tournament with predictable results.

Right before Thanksgiving, I worked the Slam Jam camp at the Basketball Association.  It was a great week with morning, afternoon and evening sessions.  We had beginners and National Team members, boys and girls, and some very good coaches.  The camp was run by Avi Meyerson from Impact Basketball, Australia.

Alyssa's Visit

We had our first visitor from October 30th to November 5th. My niece, Alyssa, came to visit on her way to a two-month backpacking trip through Thailand. Yes, she's got moxy, for sure! The first order of business was getting over her jet lag. She managed it pretty well during the short amount of time she spent with us.  Our third bedroom will forever be referred to as "Alyssa's room".  We hope she is just the first of many visitors from the USA.

Her first night in town we took her to the Banana Leaf restaurant in Little India.  She had her first Tiger Beer and ate with her fingers.  The streets were all decorated for the Deepavali, or "rows of lights" holiday.

Deepavali Decorations in Little India

Dinner at the Banana Leaf in Little India

I took Alyssa to the Singapore Zoo.  She took quite a few pictures and realized just how hot and humid it is here.  She was happy to stop at Ben and Jerry's inside the zoo to take a break.

White Tigers

     

Alyssa near the zoo entrance

Since we knew Alyssa wouldn't be here very long, we tried to hit some of the highlights.  I took her to lunch at Marina Bay Sands' Sky 57 Restaurant.  It's located at, surprise, the 57th floor of Tower 1 at one of the nicest hotels in the world.

Lunch Menu at Sky 57

Alyssa's First Course

Here are are a couple of pictures from the outside plaza at the hotel.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Floating Stadium Across From MBS

No trip to Singapore would be complete without a day trip to Sentosa.  The locals say it is an acronym for "So Expensive Nothing TO See Anyway."  Yes, it is, basically, a tourist trap, but it is also where many of the most expensive homes in Singapore are located, and there are many "touristy" activities, along with a casino, Hard Rock Hotel, and Universal Studios.

Here are a few pictures from Sentosa.  The luge was fun, and the sky ride has some nice views.

Alyssa Framed in the Palms

Bryce and Alyssa at the Luge

The Merlion

Sky Ride

The food in Singapore is very good, and if you want to eat for a reasonable price you have to go to one of the many hawker centers around the island.

Dinner at the Hawker

On to Thailand