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And here it is, another year gone by in a blink of the eye and I’m wondering what I’ve done with those 12 months! Every year I find myself saying that, and every year I’m amazed at how time flew by. I like to scroll through my Instagram feed and do a quick recap of my best moments of 2017. And here they are:

 1) Completing an Ironman 70.3 ‘season’

I never thought that I would get this committed to the sport of triathlons. I did my first Ironman 70.3 last November and then I found myself getting more into it. I don’t intend to become a full-time / professional athlete, so I guess this is more like a serious hobby. This year is special because it goes down as the first “full season” I’ve done – 4 local races, 4 overseas races, 4 podium finishes. Whew.

2018 is gonna be a lot more interesting (and painful!) but hey, you just gotta get out there and do what you gotta do. Every race you learn something about yourself, every race you realise more and more how crazy you really are. I still can’t believe I’m doing such a lonely and painful sport, but it’s the tough that makes the sweet sweeter hey! Thank you for all the encouragement you’ve given me 🙂

2) Achieving my first Ironman 70.3 podium

I cried after the race at Ironman 70.3 Bintan because I was happy (first IM 70.3 podium leh wtf), in disbelief (huh is this a dream?) and guilty (’cause I stopped to walk during the run oops). And also, because I screwed up the Danang race, there was a little fear (of failure) too so there’s relief in the mix too.

At that point, it has been a year since I took the step to embark on my Ironman journey, getting a coach in early August last year and committing to the Ironman 70.3 Phuket. So much has happened since then – as you would know if you have been stalking me LOL j/k – and I guess these tears were also part of relieving all the pent-up emotions. What a journey right? And it’s still early days!

I know my timing in other categories/races wouldn’t have made the podium, hence I said I got lucky. Nonetheless, any reason to celebrate is worth celebrating and a PB is still an achievement to me!

3) Initiating the SCSM Women Squad

One of the, or should I say, THE proudest moment for ROCKrunners this year has to be the creation of the SCSM Women Squad. It’s the first ever women-only training programme for the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon and ROCKrunners is so proud to be spearheading it!!

Over the course of four months, we held monthly training runs, talks and workouts for 200 female SCSM runners. The purpose is to provide a friendly and non-intimidating environment for women, where they don’t have to be afraid of their run pace or experience levels.

We had celebrity yoga instructor Denise Keller teaching us, we had national half-marathon record holder Mok Ying Rong educate us, and we also had our air time on Channel NewsAsia as well as on Okto (for the live broadcast of the race). Look out for a more exciting 2018 Squad!!

4) Moving out to my own place

So, after living with my parents for 30 years (I never worked or lived abroad long-term), I finally decided to move out and stay on my own. I mean, I’ve travelled a lot for work and I’ve stayed in hall during my NTU days, but it’s not the same as fully living on your own.

In July, I moved out and I’ve been loving it. Yes, it means I have to do my own household chores and face more bills every month, but there’s something about independent living that I really, really like. You have your own space and you set your own rules. I realised however, that I’ve become more ‘auntie’ though. For example, I keep asking my friends to keep plastic bags from NTUC/Giant/Cold Storage for me so I can use them to line my dustbins, heehee! I also ask my friends who travel often to bring back the bedroom slippers, because my floor is glossy and I have this no-barefeet policy so I need more slippers for guests. LOL.

Erm, I’m just a 10-minute drive from my parents’ house so I still meet them regularly for meals, but no I don’t feel lonely and I really am enjoying this very much (not the additional bills though).

5) Making the effort to cook (finally!)

For the longest time, I’ve been too lazy to cook. I know how to fry an egg and that’s pretty much the full extent of my list of culinary skills. I’ve often been telling my friends that I will learn how to cook when there’s a necessity, such as when I have kids and I want them to eat healthy. But recently I realised that I could be saving money and also eating healthier just by cooking!

Also, I’m living on my own and there’s NO excuse why I shouldn’t be cooking! My mum used to nag at me for messing up her kitchen, but now there’s no one to scream at me. You know, I didn’t touch the stove at all for five entire months since I’ve moved in?!

Then a friend came over and showed me some basics – how to fry chicken and salmon, how to cook pasta right and heck, it’s actually really easy. I only have a microwave at home, but I got a steamer and that does wonders too. So now I’m cleaning my diet (somewhat) and saving money!

I also realised how therapeutic cooking can be. When I feel moody sometimes, cooking up something I like to eat cheers me up! I hate the washing up lah, but there’s this sense of satisfaction of feeding yourself (and friends sometimes, when they come over). I actually cooked for my friends on Christmas eve when they came over to lepak! Who knew this day would ever come?!

I’m no master chef, but I am still learning, so share simple recipes with me if you have any! Also, after cooking for yourself, you realise how expensive it is to eat out. I found myself refusing to pay $17.90 for a grilled salmon fillet the other day, because I can do the exact same thing (not as presentable but who cares since I’m the only one eating) for one-fifth of the price!!

There you go, these are my five best moments of 2017 and as we enter the New Year, I feel very excited for what lies ahead. I hope you had a wonderful year and may 2018 bring you more happiness and love!! xx