i chose the bento, with salmon maki roll and buckwheat noodles, over subway sandwich for lunch. it was pure bliss!

thought the little carbo load can help in my evening run. the evening rain ruined my plans and switched to ntc. another 30 minutes clocked, and a new level unlocked.

the app can be linked to nike.com, but defeat the purpose of synchronizing data, since i can’t find my workout records online.

i have been practicing and getting used to landing on my mid-foot. it does require some concentration for me, especially when i get tired, and incautiously start to land on my heel.

the pain on my calf is building up slowly. as much as i wanted to add some speed, the recurrence of the pain on my calf will hinder my progress. at least my knees are fine, with the regular strengthening exercises. today’s rest day, and hopefully i can increase the mileage tomorrow with little effort.

a unique bbq and catchup session with my ex-colleagues.

the pork belly, marinated in filipino style, was the main highlight, and we had some special items on the menu – minced meat in tomato, mushrooms, squid and meat balls. each piece of pork belly was grilled to a slight burnt on the sides, and the skin was super crispy.

the pork dip was made up of tomatoes, onions, vinegar and chilli padi. the tangy and spicy concoction complemented the greasiness of the pork, and we couldn’t resist having more of it, without feeling guilty. the satay for the night was prepared indonesian style. while we are used to the local peanut sauce, the indonesia peanut sauce is smooth in texture, without the bits of peanut.

we ended the night with a sweet fruit salad (filipino style) and a bottle of red wine. a truly different bbq experience, and a chance to witness the culinary skills of our 2 chefs, both male by the way.

the latest series 10 of the minifigures was available for bid and sale through ebay, way before it was available in the local retail stores. some of the rare items (only 2 figures per box) were priced ridiculously high. there is an exclusive mr gold minifigure, randomly inserted into the full boxes, and only 5,000 of them are available worldwide.

majority of the local retail shops do not allow customers to feel the packaging. even if they do allow, the rare items would have been taken out and sold separately, at a hefty price. the hubby bought a box that will not only guarantee 2 full sets, but also an army of revolutionary soldiers, roman commanders, tomahawk warriors and warrior women.

the elusive mr gold is not in our loot. a typical box set will contain the following:

2 x librarians
2 x medusa
6 x roman commanders
4 x warrior women
4 x tomahawk warriors
6 x skydivers
2 x bumblebee girls
2 x grandpas
4 x paintball players
2 x sea captains
4 x sad clowns
4 x revolutionary soldiers
6 x baseball fielders
2 x treadsetter
4 x decorators
6 x motorcycle mechanics

there are little similarities in the accessories for each minifigure. it took me less than 2 hours to determine and tag the 60 packs in the box. one full set in our display cabinet, and hopefully we will be able to get rid of the extras.

i was glad to have attempted the LSD on Sunday, and managed to convince myself to take a short and slow jog in the light drizzle on Friday evening.

by looking at the photos from the nike she run event, i found evidence of weight gain! :( nevertheless, lesser aches after the run. the more obvious aches are on my right ankle and foot, partly due to the heel foot strike.

photo credit: Dino Ow

we caught the complimentary bus 5 minutes pass 5 pm, deposited our baggage, which by the way was a breeze, with thanks to the VIP tag. the flag off was late, and it wasn’t till the 2nd wave of flag off did i manage to have a glimpse of the starting point.

by the time we started our run in the 3rd wave, it was nearly impossible to overtake or to increase my pace. we had to share the running path with runners who were heading back towards the finishing line, and the members of the public. i had a claustrophobic attack along gardens by the bay, and was thankful to find the u-turn point way before the bridge, only to encounter the same feeling running through the satay club.

my initial strategy was to adopt the run-walk-run intervals after the hydration points. i skipped the first hydration point, slowed down to a walk at the second hydration point. to be trapped in the human traffic was a no-no in the return leg, and pushed myself to complete the remaining 2km.

the weather was cool else the event might see casualties suffering from heat stroke in the jam packed human traffic. if i ever would to take part in the nike women’s run next year, the VIP pass is a must – access to the VIP lounge, priority line-up before the start point.

it was a breezy morning with very little sunlight, a perfect weather for a casual run.

the 20km LSD was reduced to less than 10km, which was a blessing to me, considering that i have not ran (farther than 2km) for at least 2 months or longer. nevertheless, it was still a slow pace, and gave me a good opportunity to put into practice what i’d learn from the newton running clinic.

i had been procrastinating over the training, while i see myself putting on weight. at least the run helped to also kick start it for the upcoming nike she run this weekend. despite the long hiatus and the distance, i’m glad to sustain aches on my calves and feet. no excuse for at least another run this week!

i had the whole thursday evening to myself, and exited at my transit point in search of comfort food. that was my 2nd visit to star vista mall, the first was a stopover for a yogurt ice-cream from sogurt.

spoilt for choice over the variety of food outlets, i settled for porn’s.sexy.thai.food after the recommendation from my ex-colleague. it was a pity i was alone, and only an stomach good for a bowl of tom yum prawn (red version) with rice.

each bowl/pot of tom yum soup had been cooked individually, and similar to the version i had in thailand, the spiciness only gets to you slowly, after a few mouthfuls. the prawns were fresh and succulent. it was nice to cool down the riot in my stomach with the refreshing lemongrass drink.

i was contemplating a dessert from blackball, and it would have to wait till my next transit at star vista.

a nerve-wreaking conversation with the waiter, at a bar that features bacon-centric bites and light meal.

friend: *points to food items on the menu* any of these served with chips?

waiter: no, none of them are served with chips.

friend: what about fish and chips?

waiter: no, it doesn’t come with chips, only fries.

friend: *duh* then it should be called fish and fries instead of fish and chips.

the bacon bites are pretty normal, and would have tasted better had it not turned out to be dry and hard. the normal meals are served till 6.30 pm, not unless you are willing to settle for the fish and fries chips.

the 5 bottles in a bucket is pretty decent with a choice of either sapporo or corona. a good companion to drain down the fried finger food.

besides the food and the service level, it was a nice chillax place. peaceful, quiet and away from the main traffic.

logged my 100th activity on runkeeper, after completing a less than 2km run, under the hot sun. did a 30 minute workout from the nike training club app to compensate for the short run.

my heart goes out to everyone who are affected by the bombings in Boston Marathon.