2015 is over?

It is the last day of 2015! Crazy how time flies, in a glance 2015 is over. Have you accomplished whatever you set out in the beginning of 2015? It has been a good year for me I would say. Managed to do and accomplish quite a few things. So now I shall list them as I sit down and reflect my 2015:

1. Era's Wedding - One of my best friends got married and it was such a wonderful wedding, both here and in Labuan. Most chilled wedding I have ever been to. A wedding with the closest of friends and family and definitely a milestone for my darling friend.

2. Chinese New Year  - Melbourne! First time celebrating CNY out of Malaysia and it was definitely different. We didn't have houses to visit but we had family. Since we didn't have anyone to visit, we did a road trip on the Great Ocean Road. My best friend from home, Hsei Di came along to and we had so much fun - BBQ, Beach and Koalas!

3. Russell Peters 'Almost Famous' Live - A couple of friends and I managed to catch Russell Peters live in KL and it was AWESOME! Seeing one of you favourite comedians live is definitely one thing to remember. He is funny and cracks you up

4. Backstreet Boys Concert - Thanks to my brother who managed to get tickets for us for our childhood dreams to come true! My girls and I sang to our hearts content and screamed like we never screamed before. 

5. Diving License - I quite my job of 3 and half years and took a 2 weeks break back to Labuan. While I was there, I managed to get my diving license which I have been wanting to do for a long long time. Initially, I thought I had a fear of the dark waters, but after being in the water, I loved it! I look forward to start diving next year!

6. Robi is Born! - Another bestie of mine gave birth to cute baby boy! So happy that I am an aunt again!

7. Races - I did 7 this year, one got cancelled due to the haze. I never thought I would be a race junkie, here I am already did 7 and have already signed up for 2 next year. I know that this is something I love doing although I still hate the washing up after.

       

8. I am a TEACHER -  Like I said, I quite my job! I am now a teacher in an international school teaching 5-6 year olds (Year 1). It is definitely a new challenge as I have not formally taught before. There are a lot to learn and thankfully I have colleagues that are nice and helpful, which makes working a lot less stressful. One of the perks of being a teacher is the school holidays! Who doesn't love holidays?

9. NEW CAR! - I bought a car! My most expensive purchase so far! A cute little Myvi which I can call my own. I have been driving it around for a month and so far so good! Feel more grown up now with so called the 'commitment'

10. The BIG 3-0! - I turned 30 this year and boy I feel old! Hahaha.. I usually don't think much into my birthday but this year, I felt a little down. Somehow I felt a little under-achieved when I compare my life with others. Sometimes it is hard not to compare and to feel like your life is nothing compared to others who have successful career, fantastic job, married or even a happy family! But fret not, it was a passing moment and I am definitely grateful with the life I have been blessed with and continue to strive for a better and happier one!

This are some of the highlights of 2015. Of course there are so many other highlights from 2015 that I treasure (like picking up painting, colouring) but I am getting tired of typing. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, I am sure that you have seen what I have gone through the past year. I believe 2016 is going to be greater! I already have a few plans in mind! So watch this space or Facebook to be posted!

To all of you reading this, Have a wonderful 2016, party safe and BE AWESOME! <3>

What do I pack for an Obstacle Race

You all know that I have been into obstacle running and tomorrow will be my last race for 2015 and this post is about what I pack for such races. What I pack for OCR (Obstacle Course Racing) is different from a run (10km run or marathons of that sort). I have a checklist that I have saved on my Evernote so it doesn't go missing and it is easy to reuse.

So what I will do before I start to pack is un-check all the items and start fresh.

Here is what it looks like:

From the top left (L-R): towel, sport pants, sports bra, sport shirt, gloves, glasses case, dry bag, wallet, car keys, house keys, head scarf, water bottle, snacks & isotonic sachets, wrist band, a change of clean clothes, knee guard and dirty laundry bag, phone, slippers, and socks & shoes.

I normally wear the same thing for all my obstacle races which is an old sports bra, an old sport bottom and an old sports shirt. All these I don't mind getting dirt on and even if they stain, I am not bothered. Obstacle runs are VERY DIRTY so don't be wearing your favourite white sports bra because you are going to cry when you are done with your race.

Other things that I wear when I run are a head scarf (which sometimes acts as a wash cloth when something gets into my eyes), a wrist band, gloves, a knee guard, and awesome all-terrain shoes.

I have a small dry bag that I put important things in such as my wallet, phone, glass case and keys. DO NOT FORGET YOUR TICKET AND ID too when you are packing. My ID is in my wallet and my tickets are usually on my phone electronically. This dry bag is perfect as it doesn't get wet or dirty when I clean and change myself after the race. I normally do not bring things like watches or accessories when I go for races like this.

I put my shoes into a shoe bag with my knee guard and my plastic bag. I normally wear my slippers to the event and only change into my shoes when the event is about to start as I do not like walking in the all-terrain shoes on concrete or cement floor and I don't like the stuffy feeling all day.

Depends on the facilities each race offer, I might bring a toiletry bag filled with the essentials. I normally do a full-on shower as it takes too much time and normally there is a LONG line for the water. so a thorough rinse off should suffice. But just to show you my toiletry bag and its contents: 

(L-R T-B) Sunscreen, Contact solution, deodorant, perfume, tea tree oil, face wash and moisturizer, feminine wash, shampoo, conditioner and body wash

 Everything above usually fits into my gym bag below:

and once it is filled, it will look like this. I put my dry bag outside before the race so I don't have to rummage through everything for my keys but I will put it in the gym bag before it goes into the baggage area.

Another thing that I usually prepare is also a big bottle of water in my car boot just in-case there is not water station to rinse myself and I need to clean my self before I enter the car.

So that is what I pack for my races. What do you pack? Am I missing out on anything? Or am I packing too much? 

Anyway, I should be getting ready for bed as I need to be waking up at about 4am to get my breakfast in and do the necessary prep (which the most important is doing a No.2 as toilets at the locations are not the most comfortable!)

So good night and to those running tomorrow! Have fun!