Briathrail // Albert 2MNG

It was pretty much a busy weekend. A run and an anime/Japan convention.

It was (slightly) to my benefit that work-related precautionary stuff happened that required most of us at the developers’ office room to work from home starting from last Wednesday to Friday. That gave me a very convenient excuse to do some extra stuff before the Singapore Marathon last Saturday. Namely, getting my haircut and getting my race kit.

Whenever I did any of these runs, whether 5k, 10k or 16k (the longest I ever did), I always made sure I had my hair cut short. Before my hair fixed itself from curly to more like straight, I often went to the barbers and asked for a medium buzz cut, with the sides and top made a lot shorter. But as of 2016 when my hair became more manageable, I started to ask instead for a gentleman’s haircut or an adult’s cut with a normal fade.

This is because of one incident I had when I did my very last 3k fun run in 2013 where I nearly overheated and I got a pounding headache at the finish line. I did not cut my hair short, I was rocking a near-afro curly top and it was like past 8AM. Fortunately, the finish line had a water stand where the hydration sponsors were and I quickly took two cold water bottles and dumped it onto my head to help me rapidly cool down. One of my running mates at the time suggested I get a buzz cut before my first 5k, so I did that, and I had a better time running with the cool breeze over my head. So after that, I religiously got myself a fresh haircut a few days before a run. No different this time. My hair had gotten long and I needed the cut regardless. So by Thursday evening at 6PM, I checked out of work early and went to Tiong Bahru to get a quick cut from my preferred barbershop.

By Friday morning though, I woke up much earlier – 7AM – to get sufficiently dressed up and fetch my race kit at Marina Bay Sands’ Expo and Convention Centre at Hall F by 9AM (and be back at home to clock in for WFH work before 11AM). I could’ve gone with a cheap casual attire I usually don on weekend jaunts, but the place was at Marina Bay Sands. Had to be a bit more dignified. So I instead got myself into an Adidas sports shirt paired with a Nike 3/4 pants. Basically the “sporty gym bro” style. Good enough for MBS. I got there at 9.15AM, and fortunately too, the actual collection period started the day before, so no more of the first-day rush crowd.

Once I got my race kit – a flimsy race bag, the surprisingly quality-material Puma-branded race singlet, my numbered bib, the deposit service’s clear plastic bag (I availed of the extra pay for it) – I headed towards the marked path for the exits. I did go past the walls marked with the runners’ names for each of the races, took a commemorative photo of the specific section with my name on it, and off I went to the area for the sponsors before the exit. Most of them were nice freebies. Morinaga’s gave me a small pack of sippable energy drink – called “Wieder in Jelly” – and I gratefully took what was offered. This will do for my pre-run breakfast. But I did also buy four discounted pocket-sized energy-loaded gels inside the sponsors area in case I needed it. Near the exit was another sponsor giving away perfectly beautiful bananas. Free! I got two – I didn’t intentionally take two, they handed me two bananas – and that pair of fruits ended up as my breakfast for that Friday – I left home earlier with no breakfast.

I immediately noted on the way out of the hall thag the race kit bag was awfully flimsy and thin. Disposable. Might rip apart with the slightest provocative pull. I mean, Decathlon had better cheap bags than this shit, truthfully speaking. So I gingerly carried it like a delicate package on the way home.

Then Saturday came.

I slept pretty early way before 12AM, and woke up pretty early as well – 5.30AM to be precise – so at least I got in a minimum 6 hours of sleep. I got up of bed promptly, got a warm bath (and scrubbed myself a lot – I don’t want to have the sweaty stinks), got dressed and prepped for the 5K run. But I had to spend a bit of time for my feet. I wrapped my feet’s sole areas with the kinesio tape I bought from BGC last June – the ones from Decathlon were a tad thin for my liking – and wore the padded UA socks I favored for long walks.

For the running shoes, I wore the Asics Gel Pulse-13 pair of shoes I had. I looked at it as a fitting retirement event for this specific pair of shoes in my active rotation. It’s starting to get holes in some areas, the fabric was getting fuzzies in some areas, and the colors were getting a bit uneven. Served me well since late 2021, I figured it’s time I move it from my “active work and special occassions” rotation to my “weekend gym run” rotation. I already have a new pair to replace it, and it is… an Asics Gel Pulse-14 pair of shoes.

I wore my orthotics in them as well. This will be my first time to run with these stuff in my shoes, and I wanted to see if in the future I can run 10K with these. I also wore the big elastic waistband pockets I bought for the Thailand trip months ago. Figured it will come in handy better than just shoving my phone in my pocket for a run. I put in it my phone and my wallet. Everything else was to go inside the bag for the deposit service. I shoved a towel, spare singlet and 2 energy gels inside the flimsy race bag, and out I went.

On the way to the MRT, I popped open the Morinaga jelly pack for breakfast. Mmmm, clinically tasty. I always made it a point for runs to “eat as light as possible” but make sure it’s loaded with carbs. Carbs are fuel. In past runs, my breakfast varied from a bar of Snickers, a big banana, or a pack of energy gel. This jelly’s light.

The starting point for the 5K was at 8.30AM, inside the Singapore F1 Pit Building, marked Gate G. There were two gates for the 5K participants, at F and G, but F was explicitly for the “runners”. That’s implicitly implying that Gate F was for the let-me-finish-quick people and Gate G was for the casuals wanting a morning fun run. I chose Gate G during registration as I just wanted a fun test run anyway. Let the runners get the first sprints. I spent my time waiting for our group to be released by doing my usual pre-treadmill warmup with leg stretches. No one should do a long run without warmups. I also downed one of the energy gels I kept in my pocket.

Once the countdown ended and our group was allowed to go, I immediately went to a full-blown 7kph run to get some distance from the guys behind me (I was about four man-lines in front of the starting point) as I knew from experience, I don’t want to be bunched with the walkers. I finished my first kilometer before the 10-minute mark (my watch logged it). 4 more to go.

I noticed from the get-go that opting for the bag deposit service was a stroke of genius. I saw those runners who wore the race kit bag on their back struggled as it bounced up and down their backs, and quite a few of them snapped at the upper strap portion, rendering it unwearable for the rest of their run so they had to “carry” it by hand. That sucked to see. Me, I have zero bags and only a small towel for sweat in my pocket. Just my elastic waistband pocket under my singlet, phone and wallet tucked snug inside. I found it not to be a hindrance at all. It also helped with my unfortunate pot belly problem, as the wide elastic band stabilized my belly and prevented it from jiggling while I ran. It helped my running posture to be stable and uniform as well.

By the 2km mark, I noticed a few difficulties. First, somehow my orthotics became much more noticeable when I tried to run up back from Republic Avenue. The route over there had two inclined parts near the Merdeka Bridge. So when I tried running up to the first U-turn, my foot felt the discomforting bump of the orthotics. Then as I was halfway from that to the second U-turn at Nicoll Highway, the feeling went from discomforting to “OK, this shit ain’t going away”. I had to slow down a bit for a “rest run” to help my foot get used to it again before jogging again.

Also, tip: you can do a “rest run” instead of actually stopping to rest. I learned this in my first 3k run in 2012 where my running mate (also my office co-worker) taught me how to “rest” during a run – simply do brisk speedwalking with light steps and measured in-out breathing, and when you feel good again, resume running. Advantage of this is still covering distance while resting instead of stopping by the side and letting exhaustion take over. Stop only for hydration points, nature calls, and actual leg pain.

By the 3km mark, I was getting a bit tired. My feet got wearied of the orthotics pounding the sides. I was slowing more on the course with rest runs. I blame the time. It was past 9AM and the Singaporean warm weather was starting to get annoying. I remember in past runs a while back that my 10km runs started around 6-7AM. Cold morning shit that passes the running vibe check. I’m back at 5k and it started at 8.30AM, so daytime temp was not on my side. I would’ve preferred it if it was a very cloudy or a light drizzly day. Meh, just have to power through.

I finished the 5K at 44:18, which kind of stung a bit. I got gassed by the 4km point so I powerwalked it the rest of the way (except for the last 0.2), but I was highly encouraged when I saw I passed big bunches of guys who were in Gate F earlier, and I saw my time and I got confident that I won’t reach 50 minutes. Basically, I did a regular weekend treadmill 5k run, as I usually finished a bit past 45 minutes. I got my bronze medal, and then swiftly made my way to the finishers’ area. I have to complete grabbing the usual after-run freebies before the big groups of walkers get to the finish line. Along the way, there were tents with sponsors handing out various items. I got a small bag of potato chips, a bottle of water, two cans of 100 Plus, two bananas, and a wet-and-chilled white sports towel.

The finishers’ area was nice, although it was on the grassy area at The Padang, so some parts were muddy from the rainy weather of the previous day. The organizers saw fit to put padded walkways for people to avoid the more muddier areas, and it was clear to me that they positioned the sponsors’ tents away from those muddier areas as well. They were bunched closer to the area facing the big museum while the Standard Chartered lounge and the Tiger Balm massage area remained where they were as they were proper big-ass tents anyway.

After I fetched my bag from the deposit service area, I walked from tent to tent, looking for the ones with easy freebies with no sign-ups (pro tip: avoid the ones with sign-ups unless the freebie is at least a thousand dollars, and even then, fake your data). Free cups of health drinks, energy ice pops, Oatside boxed drinks, bananas (again, I got two), stickers and a keychain, and a can of energy drink. Once I knew there was no more freebie to get, I left the area at 9.50AM. On the way, I tried to look up the nearest McDonalds’ store, as I was famished and was wanting to try their new bagel sandwich anyway. I located one in Funan Mall, but unfortunately it was marked as “sold out”. I instead bought a Sausage-and-egg McMuffin and a Scrambled Egg Sausage Burger, with two hash browns (one of them was a points freebie) and a bottle of Dasani, for takeout. I took the bus home, as the train might be shorter but it needed me to walk a long while to change lines, and the run with all the walking after that left my feet sore AF. There was a bus that went the long way, 10 minutes longer than the trains, but at least it was an end-to-end with a stop directly in front of my block, ensuring very minimal walking, so that I took.

When I arrived at home, I put all the drinks and perishables in the fridge, ate the McD breakfast items for lunch, took a shower, then spent the rest of the day lounging in my room. I had no appetite to do anything else. Oh yeah, I had one in mind.

Last Thursday before I took my haircut, I was looking at the Anime Festival Asia website, because the Reminders app on my phone pinged me that AFA 2024 was coming, from Nov 29 to Dec 1. I hoped that I could go to it after the SCSM run, as the finish area was very close to Suntec. But after the race, I deferred my plan to do so, and instead went the next day, on Sunday. I was sweaty, hangry (hungry and a bit antsy), and tired. I was in no mood to do anything after the race. So, on Saturday afternoon while I was browsing the nets and resting my legs, I registered for a Day 3 ticket to AFA.

---

On Sunday, I woke up early too – around 8AM. I was still undecided on what time to attend, so I sat down on the bed thinking about it while I shook off the sleepiness.

If I took a shower soon and left the unit at 9AM, I can get there by train at 10AM, right in time for opening. But I remembered Doujima 2024 a few months back where I did that, and that day I spent a whole lot of time grinding the gacha games because the lines were so long and there were a lot of people antsy to go in quick. I did not like that particular part.

Then I remembered four other anime conventions I attended where I left by 2PM and there were still new people coming in, and no lines to be seen. That gave me the impression that going early to beat the opening was completely worthless to me. I don’t like lining up. It doesn’t matter the time, as I registered for just the exhibition areas only – I skipped the stage and extra areas for Sunday. I would’ve not skipped them if I went Saturday, because I would not mind paying up to see Takanori Nishikawa. But well, I was only going to buy t-shirts and trinkets anyway on Sunday.

So with that, I grabbed my morning oats, dumped a scoop of protein, and sat down in front of my laptop to eat and watch WWE Survivor Series. I was just in time to watch LA Knight and Shinsuke Nakamura. After the event (Roman won but what is Punk’s hard-won favor from Heyman is anyone’s guess), I took a shower and left my unit for Suntec.

Sure enough, when I arrived at 11.15AM, there were ZERO lines. I did not need to wait. I made a beeline towards the ticket area to get my armband admission, and within 3 minutes, I was in the convention, ready to splurge.

I started with the small creators’ hub to the right (below the stage), and went up and down the area looking for shit to buy. Unfortunately… not much. I did spot one creator that sold a very cool Kafka shirt, named Nesvirgo, but necessitated me to use PayPal as he had no PayNow for easy use. Turns out, he was also a Filipino. So to help a kabayan, I downloaded the PayPal app, attached my Wise card to it, and made the transaction. But it ended up my only purchase in the creators’ hub. Not much were to my interest, and I was saving some of my money for one particular place – NewNew.

NewNew always had the goods when it came to Chinese gacha games. Last I saw them at Doujima, I bought a lot of shit there. So when I learned they will have a section in AFA, I allotted maybe 60SGD to splurge in. But unfortunately, they had a mixed bag of an inventory that day. I was glad they had a LOT of new and existing Honkai Star Rail merchandise that I liked. And they had Kafka merch. So I bought two Kafka pins, one Kafka trinket, three Pom-Pom mini-pins, two Lordly Trashcan mini-figurines… and a Kafka emote sticker set. Came out to 49SGD, which wasn’t too bad.

There was a stall that I nearly bought an item from but I mentally held myself back as I ultimately viewed it as a luxury piece. The stall was by Lead Inc, and they sold… stuffed cats.

There were longcats, sitting cats, chonky cats, and mini versions of those cats. They had various cat types too. It was a very cute display of cats. Everyone who passed their booth paused for a bit to gawk, look, take photos, see if there was one that looked like their cat. It was an eye catcher.

But the prices were (understandably) a bit high. I was close to buying a mini figure of a sitting Siamese cat, but I paused for a bit and thought, this is too pricey to be just a specific desk display. But I admit… if they were fluffier and more velvety to the touch, I might’ve bought one without hesitation.

I also bought an AFA shirt. For most conventions I go to, I always make an effort to look at their event-exclusive merch and see if it’s cool enough to wear casually. This time, AFA actually had THREE cool shirts. Most conventions have just one cool shirt and the rest were limp fries. There was this Japan Music Festival shirt, one with a cool ribs-and-heart design, and one shirt designed by LAM (I remember it had both a white and black variant). I only had money for one as a shirt costed 45-ish, so I bought the JMF shirt that had Takanori Nishikawa’s name on the back. I wish I bought all 3 shirts I liked, but I held back. I can, but I did not know if I should. Especially as I spotted another section with nice shirts too.

That section was by Muse Asia, and they had some shirts that I earlier pegged to take a closer look. I ended up buying a Hunter X Hunter black shirt and an 86 army green shirt. Slightly expensive (it was around same price as the AFA shirts) but they were unique and looked simple to wear casually. The others were either too specialized, screams “NEEEERD”, or too delicate to maintain and wear. I bought two practical and nice shirts, that’s enough.

By 2PM I was already tired. I walked the ENTIRETY of the exhibition areas. I saw every stall, booth, exhibit and performance. I even hung out at the Granblue Fantasy area to see their fighting game and try it out myself. But I enjoyed also the cutesy performances near the creators’ hub.

I did see the food booths, but I had my lunch pegged in my mind already, and I didn’t have much cash with me. So I bailed out after I had my fill.

I made my way to the Don Quijote at Suntec, and bought myself a Hamburg steak, a plate of fried chicken pops, and a bottle of Hojicha cold tea. Cheap, easy, with a table, and no lines. Lunch done, I went to the Esplanade MRT and rode until I got to a cross point with the Downtown Line, and eventually got back to Holland Village.

And that was my weekend. Busy, fun, and lots of exercise. No need for gym this weekend, so I might do tomorrow…

Nope. Feature deployment to servers scheduled tomorrow by the PM. I have to stay a bit longer.