Posts Tagged with: "Sentosa"

The hubby, kids, and I spent four days at Sentosa the past weekend. We had a fantastic time riding the rides at Universal Studios, hopping on the Skyride and Luge, viewing the sea creatures and watching the pink dolphin show at Underwater Adventure, dining at Festival Walk, and shopping at Orchard Road.  Aaah, I almost wish I could go on vacation again!

– Little bulls at the hotel –

– On the shuttle along Sentosa beachfront –

– Walking by waterfront at Sentosa right in front of Universal Studios –

– All set for our nth luge ride –

My only homework during this trip was a 15k fast-paced run. Saturday, I got up at 5:30AM for a 6:00AM run. I was all dressed and laced up only to discover that it was dark outside. Why didn’t anyone tell me that the sun rises at 7:00AM in Singapore?!

After a brief nap (in my run clothes), I left the hotel room at 7:00AM and took a 10 minute leisurely walk to the beachfront, which as advised by the friendly Pinoy staff at the Festive Hotel’s Front Desk, would be a great place to run.

– From hotel lobby to Festive Walk –

– Window shopping before the run! –

– Inspiration for the run. Mwah mwah! –

– Walked from here up to the Merlion then down to Siloso Beach. Fine, if you wanna be all hardcore about this, then you could run up the steps of the escalator too ala Rocky –

By the beach front, I decided to start my run at the Luge ticket office. Nearby were McDonalds, restrooms, and entrance to the beach.

– Luge and Skyride entrance. My starting point. And the kids’ favorite ride –


– That’s the ifly building –

– With the open water, flat roads for biking and swimming, this is a triathlete’s paradise.  I saw a triathlete training here under the intense 12nn heat!  Actually, I saw more than what I had hoped for. He was wearing way too tight speedos during the run heehee –

– Look! They have a jogging path which I only saw at the end of the trip. Check this out if or when you get there! –

I ran around 1km towards the right passing Siloso Beach. The roads were flat and faaaast. Would’ve loved to go faster if I wasn’t suffering in the heat too much.

– Loved the roads…but I was suffering in the heat and humidity. Who’s dumb enough to run at 7AM?!  Okay. No comment –

– Bikes for rent! I was tempted to rent one, but the Shiv at home might have gotten jealous –

I made a u-turn at the rotunda at the end. You’ll find a 7-11 there so bring extra money for hydration if you wish.

If you go farther down, you’ll see Shangri La resort and you even have the option of running the other roads in that area.  I opted not to explore that area because, um, it looked like a long, steep climb.

– Here’s where I made u turn. If you go past this area, you’ll see Shangri La and more roads to run –

– Entrance to Shangri la right in front of Underwater Adventure –

After the u turn, I headed back towards the Luge and went farther down passing other beaches such as Palawan beach. This left side of the road offers a longer route, but the same fast and flat roads. I enjoyed running here.  There were squirrels and peacocks for some entertainment, too!

After 7k, I felt that I couldn’t take the humidity anymore and decided to cut my run short. Out of guilt (and perhaps way too much eating the day before), I ran again a couple of days after covering 10k worth of intervals on the hotel treadmill. (Warning: there’s no TV in front of the treadmill so make sure you bring an iPod.)

I’m now back at Manila exhausted from the trip (that’s what happens when you have two little bull kids) and I must admit I’m not quite back into full training mode. As if that matters, because, in an hour, I should hop on my bike trainer and, by this afternoon, I should jump into the pool for a swim. Back to reality for this bull!

The hubby, kids, and I are in Singapore right now for a much needed, and may I say, well-deserved vacation. I’m looking forward to 4 full days of rest, relaxation, and shopping. (Honestly, the only item on my list are bike jerseys!) We arrived this morning and headed straight for Universal Studios.

– Soaked after Jurassic Park ride. Will this count for my swim today? –

– We’re having a great time. First time of the kids here. Last time the hubby and I were here was when we ran Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon in 2009. I had not so fond memories of the marathon passing by East Coast Park earlier this morning! –

There’s a place for me here in Sentosa…

We’re having a great time, but training doesn’t stop while I’m here. I plan to run and swim tomorrow.

Coach Andy had me do extra workouts before leaving Manila. For example, he had me bike for three consecutive days: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Oooh, wait, gotta tell you about Thursday. Coach Andy called it the “CBW”. I innocently asked what the three initials meant thinking it was some technical term in biking. Ya know, like Yasso 800 or Tempo run. My knees buckled when I later learned that CBW stands for: “Character Building Workout.” YIKES.  After two hours on the bike trainer grunting and groveling staring down at a pool of sweat by my feet as if I had dunked myself with a bucket of water, I sure felt like, um, a woman of character.

Andy also had me swim twice and, not surprisingly, I ended both sessions feeling like I had walked a marathon using my arms and hands!  I only ran once the past week and that was after a bike ride. Andy must know me well because he saved the best (and my favorite workout) for last…and for this trip!

Like I always say, I love traveling. And, I love running even more. To combine both of my passions always makes me insanely happy. So, for tomorrow, my program requires me to run 15k around Sentosa. The pace? As commanded by the Coach, he says: “Run like you stole something.” He’s hilarious isn’t he?  He makes me want to laugh and cry every time he sends me his program for the week!

Anyway, robber pace or not, humid or cool, tired or well-rested, I’m looking forward to running around Sentosa tomorrow, then jumping into the pool for a swim.  Hey, a vacation just isn’t complete with some sort of training, right?

Enjoy the weekend guys. I surely will!