I have been avoiding running outside for the last 6 months. Mainly because it is way too hot in Singapore to run outside and we live also in the CBD. So I did my running on the treadmill in the gym in our apartment building. Oh man, I got so bored with it. Not only made it me feel like a hamster, I also noticed that it does not get my heart rate up high enough to burn any calories and fat. What's the point of running on the treadmill then?
I switched to interval training instead. For example, 5 minutes warm up, then 2 moderate speed, then 1 to 2 minutes sprinting, then pull back to moderate, then increase incline and so. I do this for about 30 - 45 minutes. Depending how I fit I feel and how motivated I am because I still feel like a hamster when I run treadmill.
Besides my other gym workouts,the hubby and I enjoy doing something active on the weekends. Usually we would explore one of the many reservoirs in Singapore. (Did you know that Singapore is actually very green and it is more like a city surrounded by rain forest?) Our favourite reservoir is Macrichtie which has many different trials, from 3 km to 14 km. Usually we are also to see some monkeys along the way. A few Saturday mornings ago, I suggested to the hubby that we should run instead of power walk the track - just to challenge ourselves. Suddenly there we were, running the cross country track for about an hour. Boy, that was hard work but it also gave me this awesome "running high" which I did not get from the treadmill training. The "running high" makes the hard work worth it. The realisation that I can run outside in Singapore (yes, it is bloody hot and you sweat like a pig - not a nice picture, I know) motivated me and also anger me to do it more often.
It became our little routine that we would go for a run instead of walks on our Saturdays. And now I have started to run by myself during the week too. I run along the river here, from Marina Bay where our apartment is, passed Boat Quay, Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay. It is a nice and peaceful 45 minute run because it is not packed with the tourists yet and hardly any of the cafes/ restaurants are open yet.
So this morning I bounced out of the bed when the alarm went off, despite being super tired, had my cold green tea and a banana to get some energy and I hit the pavement. Man, this morning it was so hard to run my usual track. My legs are so sore heavy and slow from kick boxing yesterday and the little man in my head was screaming at me to stop. But I made it. I ignored the little man and the feeling I made it felt even better than normally.
The best part after a morning run: a yummy breakfast. This morning I had porridge with natural yoghurt (for protein), cinnamon (good fat burner) and strawberries and some great Oolong tea.
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I love to have a late and long breakfast in a nice and comfy cafe - that's the perfect start of a new day (after a quick morning run). We have tried a number of cafes here in Singapore, but so far none were able to meet "our standards" which aren't really high, I think. Either we got served brioche with a savoury dish such as poached eggs (sweet and savoury - I don't like it) or it had re-heated frozen spinach from the supermarket or you can't actually get an eggs dish unless you like eggs benedict.
The search is over - we finally found a cafe which serves a good Western breakfast, exactly how we like it. Poached eggs with spinach (no frozen, re-heated spinach), mushrooms and roasted tomatoes plus the best coffee I had in a while, since I moved to Singapore, to be exact.
The cafe is called "Boomarang" (no there is no typo in that word) and, surprise, its an Aussie cafe, where even most of the waiters are Aussies. It is located at Robertson Quay which is about a 30 minute walk from our apartment, or $7 cab fare. Most of the tables are outside but undercover. They also have an impressive wine fridge but not that we had wine for brekkie.
We walked to and from the restaurant yesterday which was a nice walk along the river and a good way to get the steps up.
I definitely want to go back there again. Maybe even this weekend, try the pancakes or the omelette and have another of those great coffees.
It is Sunday and Sunday is one of my favorite days of the week because it means time to go out for breakfast. Many of you would know that I love going out for breakfast. (I seriously miss the cafes in Collingwood and Fitzroy!)
TD and I went to this Australian restaurant Double Bay today. It is a 15 minute walk from our place which is a long time when the sun burning on your head. Double Bay has a big banner advertising their brunch menu which looked very nice. Poached eggs, bacon (not for me but for TD), sautéed mushrooms etc.
We are used to terrible service in restaurant & cafes in Singapore by now but the service at Double Bay today was seriously terrible.
Firstly no one seemed to be interested in taking our orders and then the food came out before our drinks (15 minutes after we ordered which is good time for good). I mean seriously we walked for 15 minutes in the boiling sun and they didn't give even us a glass of water, even though we asked twice for it. And I don't care if there are so many coffee orders - it doesn't take 15 minutes to make a bloody cappuccino.
I was so annoyed about that and I sent our food back and asked (actually "demanded" is the probably the best word) for our drinks to be served before any food. I have never done that, ever. Usually TD is the rude one when it comes to bad service in a restaurant. I guess I can contribute this to my low blood-sugar at that time - I haven't eaten anything at this stage.
And then, surprise, surprise within 2 minutes we got our coffees (very good cap) and food. Breakfast wasn't as good as I hoped.
So the search for good Western breakfast is still on. Any recommendations are more than welcome.
