Legs and Paddle 2007

NUS organised an event with combined running with kayak aka Legs and Paddles 2007 on 27 May 07.

Date : 27th May 2007
Venue : Marina Bay

Men's and Women's Challenge
Canoe Distance : 6km Run Distance : 10km

Singles and Doubles and Mixed Team and Team Relay
Canoe Distance : 3km Run Distance : 5km

Men's and Women's Double
M1 Run , M1 & M2 Canoe, M2 Run. Same for the ladies

Mixed Team (2persons)
F1 Run , F1 & M1 Canoe, M1 Run

Team Relay (4 persons)
F1 Run , F2 & M1 Canoe, M2 Run.

Separate Category Brooks Life
Run : 10km

This seems like a fun event to me. At times a change of events can make a workout more interesting! This is a side dish for me as the main dish(Penang Marathon) is the focus for the moment. I am interested in doing team relay instead of individual as my focus will be on Penang Marathon.

This event has ignited my interest in Kayaking. As of date, i have gained my 2 STAR for kayak. Something i couldn't even consider even 3 months back! Spin off from the event?

I arrived around noon time at One Fullerton, even though my mixed team event(wave 3) was scheduled to start at 2:45pm.I'm meeting my buddy(tag team) for lunch. She did the individual event(6km kayak, 10km run) earlier

Due to delay, her event started at 10:30am. Aiyoh...poor gal, have to suffer in the heat. Aiyoh....i can feel the heat and it must be tough running at this time!Furthermore still have the relay with me!

The organisation for the event is something that ought to improve. The official instructions were delivered by email only 2 days before the event! It is disappointing.

I have to skip my lunch today, as my partner came back late and a proper meal so near to the start time isn't a good idea. She has to consume crackers from the goodies bags to address her hunger. Speaking of goodies bag, T-shirt left only L size(as the smallest)! How can the estimation be so 'off' !!! Of course, it was partly due to the T-shirt sizing being different from the usual sizes. (the sizes are HUGE!)

We had a briefing 20 mins before the start. The race start promptly at 2:45pm. That is one of the plus point.

I waited at the transition area for my buddy to return from her 4.7km run. It was an interesting wait. First i get to gather the PFD and paddles. The quality of PFD need to be improved. I had to spend 10 mins testing it out so that i can get a decent one for myself and buddy. 2nd the conversation from the super fast veteran runners(from MR25) was so hilarious. It will a sin if i have to write what they have mentioned! 3rd, a welcome sight of my buddy striding back in a pretty good timing. I was very happy for her, as she didn't come back last as she claimed she'd gonna do!

It was a wait as the queue to Kayak have formed at the base. We took the time to catch our breath...hehe

Kayaking is a bit challenging. Kayak foot rests have been taken out(i understand the rationale), i find it abit difficult to handle. Maybe it is a double Kayak, both must work in unison, or else difficult to find out the problem as the combination is more. Along the way we communicated and i managed to fine tune our body position/movement, the minor correction of the stroke, develop strategy of stroke correction and direction correction.

Throughout the Kayak leg, my buddy did extremely well.She did very well under instructions and is very hardworking. Although she was tired, she kept on paddling nevertheless.

It took us 30mins to complete 3km. It is a very slow pace, but nevertheless we enjoy the ride.

After Kayak it is my time to run 4.3km. Wow, can feel the stomach muscle have taken a beating during kayak!I didnt realise it have used so much of the muscle!Alright, refocus and adjust to the new experience. I ran conservatively over the entire course of it. Didn't push it too hard as weather is hot and didn't feeling that strong too. Maybe because lack of food,or yesterday workout have taken alot out of myself

I/We finished the run/event in 1:37 hr. Not after missing the turning point near the end(since the Marshall went sleeping!) It is frustrating to say the least.

The end point have no water point! (the nearest one was a few hundred metres away) The run portion is pretty disorganised. Runners do not know where to run.Direction on the ground isn't clear. Certain critical junction do not have road Marshall! Some marshals were busy sms-ing and didn't notice runners taking the wrong route! (One of our runners follow a mei mei and went Sheares Bridge!).

It is fun though and the various organisation limits make it a bit more challenging! For a fun event, it does make it more interesting!