Backpack for my VFF?

Look Familiar: Elastic Pouch with Belt

I got this at Daiso(So you know how much this cost). And this look very very familiar to one of the popular products for running.....

Let the Trumpets blow to Celebrate Christmas

Angels celebrating Christmas

Christmas Tree using Recycled PET bottles

Christmas Tree by Runners, for Runners

Vibram FiveFingers Repair using Shoe Goo - Further Enhancement

I was poking around my shoe cabinet when I came across my 4 yr old Nike Air Zoom Elite+ 4.
I did not run much with this shoes because this is a stability shoes whereas I was supposed to need a cushioned shoes. So this became my anything but running shoes.

This is when it is good....I forgot to take a photo of the terrible state before i dump it:

The shoes looks ok from the top but the outsole is terrible, the outsole rubber was "peeled off" from the midsole....common problem of the Nike Shoes whether the glue will dry up if you do not use it for a long time. I seriously never have this issue with other brands before.

So I happily teared off all the outsole rubber before I discard the shoes to the rubbish bin. Then an idea struck me! My last enhancement to my Vibram FiveFingers Classic Brown/Walnut does not seems to be able to last as Shoe Goo is just Rubber and can wear off easily and I will have to keep spreading new layers to keep the thickness intact.......

So......I took the 2 pieces of outsole from the Nikes:

An decided to do something about it......

Curing in process:

An I got "Nike" on my 2 pinky toes!

Let see if this pair can last till 1500km......

All FEET fall in!

Desperate Buy! Now or Never

It was when I am evaluating the scars on my VFF Classic Black that I decided I should get my next VFF Classic as standby. I really doubt that my VFF Classic Black can last another 6 months. The sole is already so thin that I believe is about half the original thickness because it felt at least 50% lighter than my repaired VFF Classic Walnut..maybe i should find a electronic kitchen scale to checkout the actual weight.

I started to scan through all the US online retailer that was listed in birthdayshoes.com and found that NONE of the retailers carries my size...and it seems that some of them are having clearance sale. So I decided to email Vibram USA and confirmed that VFF Classic has been DIS-CONTINUED!!! It was a shocked news for me and I guess I was slow to know since I did not track the birthdayshoes.com closely enough to know this.

So I started to search online even on other countries websites. Now that Vibram FiveFingers are popular worldwide, their website actually span across few regions including on for China and Europe. I searched the Europe website and found no stocks for VFF CLassic. Found in Australia but no way I can get it since the retailer do not ship outside Australia..

I found stocks in China website which leads to Tmall in Taobao. The price of RMB680 is not cheap after adding all the shipping and admin fee. Plus the Taobao site is very slow to load so decided that this will be the last option.

So locally, I decided to search thru all the available retailers that carries VFF and I visited Running Labs funan, novena and outdoor life in novena. Isetan Scotts and takashimaya. Only Outdoor Life at Novena carries VFF Classic but left only size 46 and 47...I am a 43.

So I remembered I got this voucher from the goodie bag for the RUN Singapore Magazine subscription and took it out to have a look:

And there I found Feder Sports at Peninsula Plaza. I went down the next day to try my luck. Stacked with layers of shoes and VFFs. I found Classics of different colours and found one blue white for size 44. The boss came and I checked with him for 43..Voila! He got it! He came back with a pair of 43 and it fits well. I decided to try my luck and ask for another pair and he said YES! One last pair of different colour and I decide to grab both and shown him the voucher. He said voucher is only for one pair but he decide to give me 15% for both!
$135 for a pair so I grab both for $270...OK...this price is expensive compared to my last 2 pairs but is cheaper for most of the "normal" running shoes in the market and these are the possibly LAST 2 PAIRS in Singapore for size 43!

Got home in the Feder Plastic bag:

Took them out from the bag:

beautiful colours! I like the grey/orange/black colours:

Close Up of the grey/orange/black:

Close up of the brown/walnut which is the same as the old pair i repaired:

These 2 pairs should last me for another 3-4 years. So what's next after that. I do not know. I might have to switch to another model or  even going bare totally,

For now....I can continue to VFFing in my Classic!!

Scars on Vibram FiveFingers Black

Mileage

929km

This has been a great pair that has survived 80km of Twilight UltraMarathon at East Coast Park this year, My longest on hard ground in VFF. Scars are showing up:

Surprisingly, no holes yet unlike my other pair:

The rubber sole has started to detach from the fabric:

At the heel counter:

Rubber sole tearing at the side:

Maybe due to the more abrasive surface I have been running this on and more frequently with shorter distance, my VFF Classic Black with about 100km less got thinner soles compared to my other Classic brown/walnut pair. The weight differences is significant when put together.

Hope it can still survive till and after 1000km.

Vibram FiveFingers Mileage

From left to Right:

VFF Classic Black

929km

VFF KSO TrekSports Black/Green

436km 

VFF Sprint Red/Black

593km 

VFF Brown/Walnut

1048km

Total VFF Mileage: 

3006km

New Rubber: New Balance MT00 Minimus Trail

I subscribed to the RUN SINGAPORE MAGAZINE last month and part of the goodies bag i received is a $50 Running Labs Running Shoes Voucher....I have been eyeing this pair right after it is out on the shelf. Previously, I did brought the first version of the New Balance Minimus that I tried on the first day it arrived in Running Labs. However, it did caused pain in my Achilles tendon which you will see below why........

In the Running Lab bag:

The box:

It runs big so got to got to get one size smaller than my usual:

Un-Boxing:

Important Instruction:

The actual Shoes itself. The outsole has Vibram rubber on stragetically location instead of the whole piece to reduce weight:

Front View. The upper mesh is very thin and light fabric..so thin that the darken part can see thru your toes:

Side View:

The heels...low heels..Not for user who really going to use this for trail as there is very minimal ankle support unless you have been running barefoot with strong ankles:

The bottom, The outsole Vibram Rubber is often the heavier part of the shoes because it need to be more dense for durability so you can see it that the weight is reduced by almost half:

Comparing to the first version of NB Minimus which is much heavier:

The front view:

Comparing the side profile. The New MT00 has a lower profile and the heel counter is shorter. Not obvious here is that the first version of the Minimus curled in too much on the heel collar putting pressure on the Achilles Tendon:

The heel collar for the first version Minimus. You can see that is not flat and there is double layer on the edges which is quite hard as well and added presssure to the Achilles  Tendon.

The seams cut the skin as well.

The new MT00 featuring seamless heel collar. Eliminated the major issue of the first version:

I also got this special New Balance Shoe Laces from the Run Singapore Magazine goodies bag:

So I decided to replace the original laces:

Now it looks more Funky!!

Waiting for Running Labs Project Love Sneakers to donate my first version of the NB Minimus away. Or anyone interested in taken over? Lower mileage..never run with it..only walking and climb HuangShan...hahaha..going for $20

New stored value card for SSC Swimming pool

When I got to the pool, I was surprised to see that the gate has changed and I was told to change my old magnetic stripped stored value card to enter the pool.
Now the gate can accept Ezlink card or passion card as well but using the stored value card will have a 10% discount. So I decided to get a replacement to the new card.

Dirt Cheap pickup: Adidas Tennis Visor

Dirt cheap deal...yes...I was hanging around at Novena and went into the Adidas outlet to see if there is any interesting stuff when I saw this....look at the price below in the photo...the original price is $29 and now is only $5 so i grab it without thinking...the label I saw stated that this is for Tennis.....i wonder why is so cheap..maybe is because of the colour?

I got home and took out the previous red Adidas visor which is for Running and put side by side below:

So can you spot the difference? The Tennis visor is broader and wide and it is also higher compared to the Running Visor.

So there is really a difference between a Tennis and Running visor......

Samsung Galaxy S2: Video Maker

There is an app called "video maker" in Samsung galaxy S2. I was quite impressed with this small and simple app to edit video. I took 2 short videos and added a background music to it and below is the result:

Gangnam Style at Bedok Reservoir floating platform:

Tarafuku Japanese Buffet Restaurant: Decent Quality, worth the $$$

Found this Jap buffet from the web...Not a very big place but is comfortable..I guess the interesting deco here are the umbrellas hanging down the ceiling

Shabu Shabu, Sushi, Sashimi, Tempura, Tepayaki, almost any basic japanese food that you can find in Singapore are here.

For the quality of food, this is certainly worth a visit another time.

Most reviews and photos here:

http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/tarafuku_japanese_buffet_restaurant_313_somerset/

http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2011/09/tarafuku-japanese-buffet-313-somerset.html

http://meifenmay.blogspot.sg/2012/07/tarafuku-313-somerset.html

Must make reservation.

Tarafuku Japanese Buffet
313 Orchard Road
#B3-31/34, 313 @ Somerset
Tel: 6634 0889
Opening Hours: Daily 11.30am – 10pm
Website: http://www.cfc.com.sg/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/TARAFUKU/268831277561?sk=info 

Run Singapore Magazine

 I went down to Kallang Leisure Park Singapore Bay Run 2012 Race Expo.....Not to collect Race Pack, but to see if there is any thing interesting from the expo booths.

I managed to signed up for 8 years Safra membership for 8 years....paying 40% discount under the current running membership drive promotion....original fee is $231 for 8 years of Ordinary A membership but I am only paying $138 now....

After roaming around, I also found another interesting booth...A Running Magazine for Singapore!! Is called "RUN Singapore"...maybe a lot of runners has known about this new magazine in town...and they have already released 3 issues since April this year.
I have signed up for 1 year of the bi-monthly magazine for $24 + $2 for a backdated issue and below are all the free stuff I got from the sign up (Except for that RUN Singapore magazine for $2)

The content is quite rich and interesting...I hope they can survive long since running is booming in Singapore and outlive the Asia Runner Magazine which I used to subscribe