Musings after a good run on the first day of 2018

Goodbye my lovely E230 ; reliable and powerful (200 BHP)

Beautiful to look at too

I am writing this post after a good 5km run in pristine cool weather (we have been having rainy weather these past 2 - 3 days) of about 25 deg C. Starting from my house, I normally finish the circuit in about 31 - 34 minutes. So today's 31:42 (5km) was satisfying for me.

I have just recovered from a bad bought of cold, chest cold,'flu and then stomach 'flu ever since we came back from our holidays mid December. What I can reflect upon is that I am so glad to be living in the tropics for the simplest outdoor hobbies such as running, cycling, swimming and even karate training can be conducted practically every day of the year. We have only hot and dry and mildly hot and very wet 'seasons'. So this means we do not experience the very cold winters which last all the way from earl december to mid March of even early April most years. 

However, we have very high humidity for at least 50% of the time, so certain days the humidity can get to the 70s and even 90s , for example prior to and after a big thunderstorm, leading to sweat sticking to the skin and making life quite unbearable !

Many European friends whom I know love having the hot weather year round, so I was curious to find out what made then shun the winter cold. Well, first when it is winter, it can get pretty cold and dry to about 0 deg C or below (some places experience -10 deg C). With the sun out in Italy 2 weeks ago, I felt I could venture outdoors with perhaps 3 layers of clothing (2 inner thin clothes, a  vests and a polo T shirt followed by a leather jacket). I was sadly mistaken, and fortunately for me, my wife bought me a woollen trenchcoat ; add that to the additional 2 to 3 layers underneath - for me to be genuinely warm. On top of that, I had to put on a scarf to keep my neck warm, and a beanie or cap to top off the look. 

For the bottom, I had thermal underwear, and jeans or chino long casual pants to complete the look. I brought my running shoes and a pair of moccasins to alternate. Ski socks were a must as every part of the body needed to be bundled up.  A good pair of leather gloves, a beanie or smart cap was also used to complete the look. 

Watching my breath condense in the air in Burano

So all in all, my experience in Italy this trip was feeling clumsy, feeling cold and having to use the moisturiser every single day. The nose was runny and I was dehydrated mainly from all the walking, and sightseeing. 

So winter, in Europe is dreary - it gets light quite late in the day and dark quite early around 4pm, cold  (2 - 5 deg C for a number of days, and rainy) and one's mood can be affected by the festivities like Christmas and New Year if one is feeling sick, or having a tough time without a job, or struggling to make ends meet.

I am glad to live in the tropical Singapore. Mild weather all year round. I can just put on a running vest, shorts, socks and shoes and I am out the door practically any time of day or night, not worrying I would get frostbite, mugged in bad neighbourhoods or slip over some icy pavement.

Time to plan for a new overseas marathon (or 2) in 2018 !