let down...

Woke up at 2.45am this morning to watch the live match between the Dutch and the Russians, only to be disappointed. The Dutch lost to the Russian 3-1. So much about the hype. Oh well...

Now, I feel a bit restless. It is the first weekend that I don't have any major activities scheduled. I should get things that I have been meaning to do in the last few weeks but it is just so difficult to get going. Well, I better do something productive or this weekend will be a waste.

mesmerised...

The Euro 2008 is now into its third quarter finals and so far, the matches played have been entertaining. One of the many teams that has made an impression one me is the Dutch team. They were in Group C in the early rounds where they played against Romania and the two 2006 World Cup finalist, France and Italy – aptly called 'The Group of Death”. Now, who would think that that the Dutch would come out tops from that group? And their performances were outstanding and had left me mesmerised.

Their manager is one of my favourite players, Marco Van Basten and he has done a good job so far – tactics, team work, which speaks for itself with the results. They beat Italy 3-0 and thrashed France 4-1. I missed the match they played against Italy but the one against France was truly astonishing. Even the commentator has nothing but praises for the Dutch team during that match. He described how the Dutch were playing as a team and that they were playing football from a different planet, let alone a different level. At the end of the match, he said that the Dutch has put a sword through two previous World Cup winners. I have to agree with him. All the four goals were spectacular – two from counter attacks, scored by Robin Van Persie and Arjen Robben. The last one was from long range by Wesley Schneider, where he had the ball with his back against the goal post, turned his body and kicked the ball from outside the penalty box straight into the left corner of the goal post, beyond the reach of the French goalkeeper, Gregory Coupet.

I must say, not only is the Dutch team talented but they are quite the looker as well. That is the bonus about enjoying football as a woman. Not only you love the game, enjoying the good looking footballers and their well-defined bodies. Ooo la la la. When Arjen Robben was about to come on as a substitute during that match against the French, all I noticed was his nice chest and his ribbed abs through the tight t-shirt he was wearing. That motivated me to work on my abs as well. Not that I want to have ribbed abs like him but you know, you see a picture of health, you want to work just as hard as well.

Tonight, the Dutch will meet the Russians in the third quarter final of the tournament. The Russians are led by a Dutchman, Guss Hidink. The Russians have been entertaining too – that match against the Swedes was thrilling with loads of goal-mouth action. However, I am rooting for a Dutch win i.e. with Marco Van Basten. He won the European Championship back in 1988, where he scored the winning goal – I remember that one.... a goal from a very tight angle. And he deserves to win one as a manager as well. So, come on you Dutch!!! Go out there and beat the Russians! Go Holland!!! We have to see you in the Final!

running knackered...

I was feeling blah yesterday. Completely knackered from the weekend. This is what happened when you made full use of your weekend, be productive. The result is you feeling blue on a Monday.... waiting for the clock to strike six, so that you can rush home and lie on your bed.

Anyway, on Sunday, I took part in the Passion Run for the second year running. Last year, I signed up for the 10km Women's Open but this year, I signed up for 15km Women's Open. After the disastrous marathon the weekend before, this run was not so much about improving my personal best. It was just another leisure run, what with the route was along the beach at East Coast.

I checked my results today, off course. I was not all out to win it but I am interested in my timing. I completed the route in 1 hour and 48 minutes. My previous 15km race, I completed it in 1 hour and 59 minutes. An improvement of 11 minutes. I finished 307 out of 661 female runners who completed the run. It has been almost two years since I started running but I still believe that there are plenty of room for improvement.

No, I was not knackered from this run. In fact, I was full of energy after that. I spent the afternoon at the pool with a couple of my friends and their kids. I think starting your Sunday as early as 5am and your activities did not end until 9pm, could leave you shattered. Hence, the blah feeling yesterday.

I am looking forward to the weekend already now.

misread...

What? Aaron Ramsey has not signed by Manchester United yet? Geez, I thought Man U has signed him. I guess I had misread the news. Let's hope he is not going to make the same mistake like Paul Gasgoine. Signed for the wrong club and become a total mess!

i want to say a few things about football...

I am tired of this coverage in the sports news and speculations about Ronaldo and Real Madrid. I think Man U should just sell him and we all can move on. Let’s see what Aaron Ramsey can do for Man U next season.

So, Mark Hughes is going to Manchester City. I think he is a good candidate to take over Sir Alex at Old Trafford or maybe after Carlos Quieroz.

Mister D’s dad predicted that the special one i.e. Jose Mourinho would go to Barcelona and current Barcelona manager, Frank Rijkaard would go to Chelsea in the summer. Well, the special one has now been appointed the manager for Inter Milan. Mister D’s dad will not be able to make it 2 for 2 but we’ll see if Rijkaard would make his way to Stamford Bridge.

Speaking of Stamford Bridge, poor Average Avram. He was fired for almost making it. And Ericson was fired at Manchester City after only one season. Look at Sam Allardyce – a few bad runs and was fired even before midway into the season. I find that clubs are firing managers too easily. Sir Alex took several years to turn things around at Old Trafford and I think the other clubs’ management should do the same. It takes time to build a good team and turn it into a great one. Ok, maybe not in the case of Chelsea back in 2005 – they practically bought the championship trophy that season. It’s called cheating.

One more day to Euro 2008. Not rooting for any nation but good to have some football matches on the tele for the next month.

walking with the night...

I completed my second half marathon at the end of April with a personal best. I managed to shave 12 minutes off from my first half marathon I participated in August 2007. I cannot say that I have done the same for my second full marathon over the weekend. It was an embarrassment – I completed my second full marathon 1 hour 40 minutes more than I did for my first one i.e. 8 hours and 11 minutes. I have no one else to blame but myself.

I was not prepared for this. I have done much training like I was supposed to, leading up to the day. Then, this particular marathon was not like other marathon – this one was a night marathon. The race started at 12midnight on Saturday. So, not only was I not physically prepared but I was also not mentally prepared.

About 3 hours before the race started, I almost decided not to go but I went anyway. I managed to run 14 kilometeres before my brain and body started to shut down. By then, it was almost 2 in the morning on Sunday and I have been awake for over 16 hours (I took a 2-hour nap that Saturday afternoon but I guess that didn’t help much). Despite the cool weather and minimal heat, with your mind and body shutting down, it was challenging to continue the remaining 28 kilometres. I ended up brisk walking back to the finishing line. I was hallucinating on the most parts – it was like sleep walking. But once the day broke, I was brisk walking as quickly as I could to the finishing line, so that I could get home, lift up my legs and sleep. Even the last 1.4 kilometres to the finish line seemed like it was still miles away.

By the time I crossed the finish line, I could not feel my feet. I expected to have sore legs and feet by lunch time and that the sore will not go away till Monday. However, I must have done something right, because by Monday morning, my legs were not sore at all and managed to get to work without much struggle.

I didn’t have much of a weekend really. I spent all of Sunday sleeping, waking up three times for meals, before hitting back to slumberland. Despite the disappointing end to my second marathon, I am in good spirits at the moment. I'll take part in another marathon but not another night marathon. Night marathon is a nightmare!