Goodbye 2004, Hello 2005

Below are a few of the things that I was reflecting on during my run today.

Work in 2004
It had been a difficult year for me, having been assigned new tougher customers to handle. A lot of shit got out of hand and I was very pressurized especially the company was trying to cut cost. There wasn't enough manpower, so we had to shoulder most of the burden. Anyway, I talked a lot to my father and having many years of industrial experience, he presented me with one word, PATIENCE. Well, this is something that I would look forward to in year 2005.

Studies in 2004
This is also another shit year. Damn tough as I am in the final level of CIMA and had to juggle with work and running as well. But I believe that I will finish it, just put more effort!!

Running in 2004
This is something that I had improved a lot on. After months and months of systematic training, my time plummeted and I was doing things which I couldn't believe I could do. My aim is to run a full marathon in 2005 and I know it can happen. Not to mention, I had joined the PM family and it is a great honour to do so. I have met other running friends as well and believe me, this is one chapter in my life that I will always remember.

Reflections in 2004
Overall, it had been quite a tough year for me especially in my work. It affected me the most. At times, the morale was so low that it totally cut my running off from me. I was like a dead wood and couldn't move.
There had been many events that happened in 2004 but none as disastrous as the Tsunami victims. I was reading The Star today and I was very much moved by the story of a mother saving her daughters from the flood. She had bravely jump into the moving water to save her daughters. While she managed to place her daughters in a safe place, she was still clinging to them while the water poured onto the her. Realising that her daughters could not hold onto safety much longer, she decided to sacrifice herself by letting go of her grip on her daughters. She was washed away by the strong current and drowned while her daughters were safe. May Buddha have mercy on her soul...

Anyway, I had ended year 2004 by doing a relaxing 5km run at 8.45pm with a timing of 25mins 54sec. What a good way to end the year. Onwards to 2005!! and how am I going to welcome it? By joing pm5 and gang for a new year run of course!!

Happy new year everybody!!!

Kau kau training

Well, I tried to do some sort of Fartlek training today. It was tough and I was out of breath (seriously) by the end of training. I did a 5K fartlek and with an interval of 4min run /1 min jog. Tried to push to 90% effort but fell much shorter than that, there is too much pain. I only managed at around 80% effort. Well managed to cut short the running time to 20min 33sec for the 5K. Pain Pain!! it's all about pain. No pain no gain!!

LSD kickstart!!

Well, I kick started my LSD by doing my run at Port Dickson today. It was a bloody tough run. Not because of the distance but the heat and humidity. It is terrible. My day started at 6.45am and I started the journey from home to PD. I reached there about 8.30am and parked my car at an empty parking lot next to Bayu Beach Resort. I put on my shoes, my sunglasses and started running. The first 5K was OK as the temperature is still manageable but moving into the next 3K it was terrible. My watch is showing 9.00am and the sun is blazing down. 'Nevermind' I thought. Just go on. I ran into PD town and it was around 9.15am and the initial distance covered was 8km. Suddenly I felt my lips were very dry. F*#k, I am out of water on my body. It was strange. I don't normally feel that in 10k runs but not this time. I checked out my arms and my T-Shirt and I was sweating profusely. Shit, the sun must have further evaporated the sweat and my body can't keep cool. I went to a shop and bought a bottle of mineral water to rehydrate. I felt better. I took a breather and decided to jog around the PD town for 15mins. There are few shopping centre's there and the main tenant is Ocean Supermart and Billion. Well I thought it is still not bad for a small town. At the same time there was a 'stadium', if you can call that in PD. However, the track is not made of rubber but was made of bricks!! I dunno how to do speedwork there leh.

After that, I decided to head back and now my watch was showing 9.45am. It is bloody hot now. The breeze had turned hot as well and I suffered for the next 8k back. It took me 1hour to run my 8K and there are tons of cars there to make the situation worse. This is the toughest training I had ever had. My timing was out and I just want to finish it and get some breakfast. I reached back to my car at 10.30am to 10.45am and I am as dark as charcoal right now. Burnt to the core. My body temperature was high as well and my body could not stop sweating even after I had stopped running for 30mins!! My total distance covered was 18K and this was done under blazing sun!! Trust me, it is bloody tough.

After getting myself sorted out, I head towards Seremban town to get some hakka mee there. Trust me. This is the only place you can get really good hakka mee. I proceed towards the Pasar Besar at the edge of the town and went on to the first floor. Sat down and ordered a bowl of yummy hakka mee and a glass of cold KOPI PENG! Man life can be good to me at times...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Well guys, it's that year again. I would like to wish all PM's and friends a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May the new year bring bundles of joy and happiness!!



Keep in touch!

By: petalingrunner@PM25

Inactivity

Aiya...too busy at the office and I did not get a chance to run since last tuesday. Feeling so guilty and itching for a run. Everyday worked until 9.30pm. Kenot tahan liao...going to go bonkers!!! Why am I not born with 1million USD in my bank account?

Hard Training

Well, my injuries seemed to be getting better. So for the whole of this week, I just push kau lat. The menu is as below:

Tuesday (14/12/04):
I tried to do a fast 5 KM at Matsushita Sports Centre. Did not post a very good time but nevertheless, still pushed myself until my white bubble also come out.

1000m x 2
*4mins 27sec
*4mins 30sec

400m x 3
*1mins 41sec (Dunno why so slow)
*1mins 32sec
*1mins 38sec

1000m x 2
*4mins 46sec
*4mins 37sec

Wednesday (15/12/04)
Decided to do a 5K. Instead when I ran to a junction for the 5K route, I decided to do a 6.5K route because itchy bum. But I was surprised with the timing, 26mins 45sec. I have never timed below 30mins for this distance. Quite a happy day.

Thursday (16/12/04)
Went to Klang and train there. My training was utterly nonsense. No specific distance and no speed. A total let down today.

1600m warm up.

400m x 4
*1min 27sec
*1min 43sec (what the hell!)
*1min 48sec (pure crap!)
*1min 51sec (No mood to run liao)

200m x 1
*0min 40sec

Well, I need to get my training back on track. Firstly, must pia kau kau for my 5K tomorrow. If not there had not been any effective training at all. Pain! Pain! Pain!

SINGAPORE MARATHON 2004 - by LIM FANG HAU

This is my third half marathon. My aim for this race is to set a new PR. I actually do not have a PR for my half marathon. I could not even finish my first half marathon in Ipoh this year. I collapsed at the 19 km due to muscles cramp on my calf. The second half marathon in PJ this year, I managed to finish 40 seconds after the qualifying time of 2 hour 15 minutes but the actual distance was only 19.5 km, 1.5 km short of the actual half marathon distance.

I managed to complete it with a new PR. The half marathon started at 6.30am. with more than 2,000 runners at the Esplanade Bridge. The running route was quite new to me as this was my first time running the half marathon route. There were markers for every kilometre. There were isotonic drinks after the 4 km marker and for every 6 km isotonic drinks were available to runners. Mineral water was available after the first 4 km at 2 km interval.

Along the way during the first 10 km I met some of the full marathoners like Penguin 2 and Penguin 6. Most of the full marathoners were running back to the Esplanade Bridge via the opposite direction. Something special about this race was that cheer teams were there to motivate you to run. This is something absent in the local runs that I have participated. My 10 km split timing was 61 minutes. I was using a 6 minutes per km strategy as this was not a 10 km race. I managed to maintain this pace until 15 km marker. After that, my pacing and timing was distracted by the incident at some refreshment station. The mineral water bottle was sealed. I found it difficult to open the seal as my hands were sweating. I lost a few minutes at the refreshment station. The organiser should have provided the runners with unsealed water bottle or provide the drinks in a cup. This would be a better option.

After 15 km marker, I felt quite difficult to run under the blazing sun. My felt dehydrated faster. As I was approaching Anderson Bridge, I felt some soreness in my knees. At that time my pace started to slow down towards the finishing line. With 100 metres more to go I was motivated to run as fast as I could towards the finishing line as I was motivated by the music and huge crowd. Finally, I completed my third half marathon in 2 hours 16 minutes 20 seconds (clock time) and 2 hours 16 minutes 11 seconds (chip time). On average my pacing was 6 minutes 27 seconds per km.

This is my new PR based on the actual distance of half marathon. I would come back to Singapore next year for the full marathon if I have the time.

Injury

Well, my hard training seemed to be taking a slight toll on me. I had very tight calves for the past 2 to 3 days. It was so difficult for me to run on the track yesterday my calves acted up and felt very sore. After 4 rounds of 400 meters, I decided to give it a rest as it is agonising to continue running. At night, I encountered another pain. It was located in my inner shin bone. I looked up in the internet to see what had actually happened to my legs and the next thing I knew, I am having a slight 'shin splint' injury. Well, there is no worth in taking the risk in pushing farther and faster. Friday night, I gave it a heat massage followed by RICE. It felt better considerably. I did not run today and further applied ice and heat massage. Tomorrow I am going for a 25k and it will be a very very slow run. Hope that everything would be ok.

Improved timing

Wah lau! This is the second time I managed to clock a sub 25min for a 5k. The first time was last Thursday when I clocked 23min 18sec but today, I managed to clock 22min 43sec! I know my track training is getting me the results. No matter how hard I ran, I can never ran a sub 25min for 5K (until white bubble coming out from mouth)before this. However, after I had begun training at the track, I am getting faster and stronger. Of course, to get the results we must pia kau kau lat at the track. No pain, no gain!

New Look!

Hi everybody, I have changed a new look for my site. Actually it is more of me losing my blog template (all data erased) than anything else. After losing my blog template, I have wondered why not do something which is a little different. Well I did it! Did some template searching on the internet and came up with a sample. I decided to do some modification to it so that it is something which I want. Well, it is still unfinished yet as I need to further refine my site. Therefore hope that you guys can bear with me until I finished it. Please drop me a message in the shoutbox if you see there is a need for improvement!

Siemens 10k Run

It was a fun run and I had set a new personal achievement in this race. This is the first time that I had managed to land a medal in a tough race with limited medals. My few previous 10k runs (limited medals) had not yielded any returns as I always finish beyond the placing. So there wasn't much confidence in me to finish this race and get a medal too. Anyway, the day started at 5.30am. !@$%^!!! I did not set the alarm clock and I was glad that I could wake up automatically, if not I would have missed the race. Proceeded to clean myself up and get some 'sugars' into my body. I left my house at 6.00am and proceed to pick Jason up. We reached Dataran Merdeka at 6.45am to 7.00am and met Jamie. Soon, we saw Lonerunner too. After some chit chat, we warm ourselves up.

Next, we proceed to the 'kandang' and try to get a spot. 10 Mins after that the race is off!! I ran as fast as I could and after 500m, I settled down to my rhythm. Just right after the Bank Negara, I saw PM1 running past me and I decided against to chase his buntut b'cos he always run very fast. My strategy is to push hard at the hills and after the 5km mark (Duta roundabout), I decide to maintain pace only.

What a wrong decision I have made. As I had never run the specified route in the Siemens Race before, I thought the whole of that stretch is going to be downhill. As I approached the tennis stadium and turn left, I was happily running downhill until there was a stretch with an uphill run. What the !$%#^!!! Where did that hill came from! My semangat also wane already! That hill proved to be my undoing as I was suffering so much, I actually stopped running!! I stopped for 15 Sec!! 3 people went past me and I said to hell with suffering!! I started running again and rest of the distance, it was a difficult one.

After the parliment building, I was determined I am going to finish and get a medal no matter what. So I pushed my pace and managed to potong back the 3 sayur which went past me. I pushed so hard until during the finishing line, my saliva was dripping from my mouth without me realising it. Bloody disgusting man...When I approached to the race marshall, he handed me a pink slip and I was so disoriented that I actually did not read the slip. My heart was thinking can I get a medal? As I walked further, the guy in front of me picked up a certificate but no medal inside and I was utterly disappointed. Suddenly, he reached into another basket and reached for the medal! Wahlau, I got a medal in this tough run lah! Wohoo!! I then checked what was my position and it was recorded 78 (Ronnie, you kena betulkan my position in your blog lah..). My time was 52min 51sec and I knew I could do better if not for my misjudgment at the hills.

Anyway, while I was walking towards the drinks station, I was contemplating...Can I run below 50mins? I realised I need to train harder. After that, we proceed with a mega picture session at the clock tower (password:TNS!) and I went home with a renewed hope of running faster. What a happy day!

Final run before Siemens Race

Well, did some training before the run for this Sunday's Siemens Run. Did this on Wednesday at Klang Municipal stadium. I decided to do only 1000m this time. So manage to complete 6x1000m and my stiches came back liao. Anyway, below is my time:

1st lap = 4min 39.44sec
2nd lap = 4min 46.68sec
3rd lap = 4min 53.81sec
4th lap = 5min 05.01sec
5th lap = 5min 09.91sec
6th lap = 4min 36.80sec (wa give kau kau lat)

I couldn't run the 7th lap liao. The stiches came back and bloody sakit! I hate it!Must train more lah. Not enuf to match PM1 and their turbo buddies. But there had been slight improvement for me. If I am not mistaken, I had ran a total of 15 laps! Wa! It's an improvement of 5 laps from previous day leh! Ha ha!...quite happy today.

Wa! I manage to run 10 Laps!

Wa! this is the first time I run 10 laps on the track la! I always pancit at lap 9 and I dunno why so this is a very minor achievement for me. Anyway, I ran barefooted today also. Now my calves feel like wan to koyak oredi. Well, the times are below:

400 meters
Lap 1: 1min 33.37sec
Lap 2: 1min 36.51sec
Lap 3: 1min 36.01sec

1600 meters
Lap 4: 2min 06.45sec
Lap 5: 2min 07.29sec
Lap 6: 1min 57.16sec (woho! wa buka turbo liao!)
Lap 7: 1min 56.92sec (wa! my turbo still working!)
Total: 8min 07.82sec

400 meters
Lap 8: 1min 28.88sec (wa give kau kau lat!)
Lap 9: 1min 33.64sec (starting to fade off)
Lap 10:2min 06.60sec (my stiches coming liao)

One more good thing is that, I did not have much blisters now. Maybe the skin is getting thicker but I taped my second toe for both of my feet to prevent blisters there. Ha ha! quite happy today.

New Training

Well, I have started on a new method of training for strength and that is running barefooted!

It was difficult at first where I had numerous blood blisters on my footbed but I persisted. I was convinced that by running barefoot, it will improve my running form because it will force me to land my foot properly ie. in the mid section of the foot rather than on the heels. It all started at the Klang Municipal Stadium.

First session (11 November 2004)
This is the worst. I had blood blister on virtually 3 of my toes on each foot. It was damn painful but what the heck, I just run it anyway. On my first session alone, the time dropped dramatically whereby I was running on average a 1min 30 per lap without any difficulties. One thing's for sure, barefoot running does force the runner to run 'properly'. I could not land on my heels anymore as the shock resulting from this is too much for me to withstand, so I have to run on my mid section of the foot concentrating to run lightly. This in turn will force the body to readjust to a proper position to compensate for the change in running style. I ran 8 laps at the pace of 1min 30sec. My blisters burst at this moment and it is getting 'gooey' all the while so I stopped. For the next 3 days, my calves were so painful I was walking like a Zombie. This is to prove that I am not using my calves when I am running with shoes.

Second session (18 November 2004)
This time I felt much better. My legs felt somewhat stronger as I had been doing hills the previous session. Today I decided to run barefoot again. The first lap was at a blistering pace of 1min 26sec. I was surprised...I don't know why it was effortless. It seemed so natural to run in barefoot that whenever I run, all things fell properly into place. My strides, my arms, my feet and my legs all felt in one place. It is a strange feeling but I couldn't help noticing it. I did again another 10 laps at 1min 36sec. It was effortless on the body and I don't know why. However, I got another 3 blisters this time, one on my right toe while there is another two on my left toe and ball of the foot. It again turned gooey and I stopped after the 8th lap. My calves somewhat felt less painful this time. Maybe there had been certain changes in my physique in which I am not aware about.

Well, I think there are advantages in running barefoot. My mom said that I am crazy but I am trying my very best to convince her that it is good. I told her about the Indian runners whom ran without shoes. They are always running fast and now I know that they are the ones whom had the correct running technique. This is what I will pursue in my running. Correct form of running. Wish me luck.

Lau Sai!

Aiya, after the Sunday run with Loneruner, CM and Chen, me pun setengah mati liao...In the afternoon decided to go Mid Valley for jalan-jalan. Saw fruit juice stall and ordered a pineapple juice. Mana tau the juice is rosak wan...I also dunno how to judge whether rosak or not, so just sapu everythinglah...now...sakit perut loh....
Lousy stomach

My Pulau Ketam Trip!

Well guys, it was fun last week as my bunch of work mates and I had went to Pulau Ketam for a day trip. Below are the pictures that best describes the fun we had!

On the boat to Pulau Ketam


When we got down from the boat, I was feeling the effects of the sea where I felt dizzy and while trying to board off the boat, I nearly fell into the sea! Malulah!

Arriving at the jetty.


Not long after walking from the jetty, my friends decided to stop at a shop and started to 'sapu' the things there. Look at them...as if they had never shopped foodstuffs before!

Halfway sapu barang. The shop owner must be smiling.


Not long after our 'shopping', we walked around and came upon the 'Balai Bomba' and Police Station.

Me at the Police Station in Pulau Ketam

A volunteered 'Balai Bomba' in Pulau Ketam


So we proceed to walk to the main street or 'town centre' and took a breather there.

Main street of Pulau Ketam.


We were getting hungry and therefore we decided to have an 'opener' at one of the shops before we proceed to our friend's house for the big meal!

Eating fried Oysters, yum..yum..it is reflected on our looks.


After our sumptuous meal, we walked around the island and below are the scenery..

Me at the temple. Praying to strike 4D lah!.

A view to behold. Not many people in town can see this.


Upon reaching to our friend's house, we began our festival of eating...

Enjoying our steamboat...


The day was filled with eating and laughter. Well, we really enjoyed ourselves very much. Before we depart back to Port Klang, we stopped by a 'Floating Fish Pond'

Me at the 'Pond'.

Back at the jetty and homeward bound.


For more pictures, please go to my photo album.

Blog Update!

I have begun my track training at Matsushita Sports Complex and thanks to Lonerunner, this is the place in which I will train.

15 October 2004:
I have not timed the laps but my timing was average of 1min 45sec for a total of 9 laps. No more fuel liao. I dunno how pm1 do their laps but it is sure difficult leh.


19 October 2004:
This time, I did my lap counts and as before, I got no more fuel on lap 9. I don't understand why so easy pancit leh. My aim was to finish at 1min 36sec. At lap 9 I 'pia kau kau lat' and then cannot go anymore. My legs also sore already. Below are my times:

Lap 1- 1min 29sec
Lap 2- 1min 34sec
Lap 3- 1min 36sec
Lap 4- 1min 35sec
Lap 5- 1min 37sec
Lap 6- 1min 38sec
Lap 7- 1min 35sec
Lap 8- 1min 40sec
Lap 9- 1min 29sec

This Friday, I will be there to continue training, hope to achieve a more consistent timing...

SINGAPORE – JOHOR SECOND LINK BRIDGE RUN 2004 - By Lim Fang Hau

Recently on 10/10/2004 I participated in the Second Link Bridge Run. This was I first overseas run after taking part in 7 local runs this year. I participated in the 10km competitive category but I ended running 15km instead of 10km. Want to know why, here is the story.

I took a midnight bus from KL and arrived at JB at around 4.20am. Then I took a cab to CIQ complex in Tanjung Kupang, near the Second Link. I arrived there at about 4.50 am. It was still early so I decided to walk across the Second Link rather than waiting for a bus to arrive at 6 am. I took a leisure walk across the Second Link. The distance was about 5.4km and I arrived at Tuas checkpoint at about 5.45am. When I arrived, I tried to check in at the arrival hall but I was barred from checking in. I was told by the officer from the Immigration and Checkpoint Authority (ICA) that they cannot allow any visitors to arrived at the checkpoint without a vehicle (a strict procedure they had to observe). I arrived there by walking. So I was ordered to walk back to the CIQ in Johor. It was around 6.10am and with very limited time left I was forced to run 5.4km back to the CIQ in Johor with my bag. I arrived at the Johor CIQ at around 6.50am and I waited for a bus there. According to the schedule, there should be a free shuttle service to the starting point in Tuas West Road from 6 to 7am. Unfortunately there was not any bus service until 7.20am. I was considered lucky as this was the last shuttle service before 7.30am (race starting time). I took the bus and arrived at the starting point at 7.44 am.

Oh! Shit!! The race had already started for the 10km competitive category. Without much delay I sprint to the starting point and I was allowed to start the run. At the same time the 10km fun run category was about to start. I started at 7.46am (16 minutes late). I had to push myself very hard to catch up with the rest of the competitive runners. I ran at a faster pace for the first 5km. I managed to overtake some of the slow pacers in the competitive category (10km , Men’s Open, Ladies Open, Men’s Veteran, Ladies Veteran, Boys and Girls ) which started at 7.30 am. The view on the Second Link bridge was magnificent and this was the first time for me running on the bridge run event. It took me 27 minutes to reach the 5km split off point. There was a refreshment station serving 100 Plus and plain water at the 5km split off point but there was not any sponging station. Something different from our local race like the Johor Marathon 10km and Addidas King of The Road 10km. After taking some refreshment at the station, my pace started to slow down. I found myself difficult to push harder. This could be due to the earlier incident at the Tuas checkpoint I encountered. At the same time some of the fun run category fast pacers started to overtake me. I kept on running at a slower pace as I found it difficult to push myself harder.

The turnout for the event was around 7,000 participants for all the categories. Overall, the route was 90% flat with some uphill slope on the bridge. I finished my race in 56 minutes 7.64 seconds (my own timing). The official timing was 1 hour 12 minutes. I was almost 16 minutes late from the starting point. I managed to get a certificate and finished within the cut off time of 90 minutes (no medal, only for top 50s and no printed certificate with timing, only for top 50s). One thing I noticed from this race was the absent of distance marker. So I used the turning point at half way of the bridge as 5km distance marker. There was also some goodies to be collected after the race and I got a free 100 Plus, kitchen utensils and picnic mat.

After the race I heard some of the experience runners complaining that the actual distance was shorter than 10km, actually 9.5km. Most of them had a superb timing. I knew one of the open category Men’s 10km placing for 11th position timing was around 31 minutes. I was wondering why there was no distance marker during the race. I also felt that the distance was actually shorter than 10km as I ran at a much slower pace after the split off point but I still managed to clock 56 minutes (I was expecting to clock around 65 minutes due to my slower pace after the split off point).

I was glad that I managed to complete my run in the Second Link Bridge Run although I encountered some difficulties when trying to check in at Tuas checkpoint. On average my pacing per km was 5 minutes 54.48 seconds (based on the actual 9.5km distance). An improvement from my usual 6 minutes plus pacing per km. Next year, it is Malaysia turn to host the event and there will be half marathon category. I’ll be running for next year event.

KLCC RUN ON 9/10/2004 - by Lim Fang Hau

I did not go to Singapore on Saturday as I decided to go at midnight. I tried out the KLCC Park for a 4-lap run in the morning. Well, the track was softer as it is a rubberised track. I find it a little bit hard to run at a faster pace due to the soft condition of the track. My timing was 29 minutes and 37 seconds for the 5.2 km distance. On average this is 5 minutes 41 seconds per km. This is slightly faster than my usual 6 minutes per km pace or 7 minutes 24 seconds per lap (1.3km).

Overall, I have nothing much to comment about the run in KLCC as I am still trying to find a suitable time and place for me to train to increase my running pace and mileage.

Training

Well, these few days had been quite hard for me. I did 3 days of strength work. Starting from:

Thursday: I did speedwork and my total 5 K running time was 19 mins. Of course it is a start stop kind of running. 300 to 400 meters of hard run followed by 60 sec rest/jog.

Friday: Raining!! I couldn't go out so I just ate satay at home. Yum Yum..

Saturday: Trail Running. I did this at Bukit Gasing Nature Trail and god it is bloody hard to run. The starting 200m is impossible to run. There are too many steep steps and it is pretty unstable. So I just walked up. Once there are less steps, I proceed to run the trail and it is difficult to find pace and rhythm. It is just pure brute power training and by the 2km, my legs were jello already. You will come to a part where I have nick named the small hill climb as 'Great Wall of China'. Unless you are trained for this, you can only walk up for sure. Anyway, I finished the trail course in 15mins. Tired...

Sunday: Instead of running the 21km, I opt for the double hill 10k, of course with spice added in. I ran the first few KMs with ease. Upon reaching the Laman Tunku area, I just sprinted up hill. I gave it all I've got and make sure I take all the lactate acid into my legs. By the third climb, I pancit already. So just jog back to Lake Gardens. My time was 46mins.

I am hoping that these speed sessions will do me some good. I am trying to look for a track to work out and unfortunately, there are none in PJ. Sad Case....

KLCC Run

It is a good morning today albeit the weather where it is cold. Anyway, I wasn't fully prepared for the run and just went to KLCC to see how is the condition of the park. Well the park is very much well kept and of course, I like the rubberised track as it feels soft to run. But I wasn't getting very much comfortable as I don't get used to running on soft grounds. Maybe it is psychological...Anyway, like I said I wasn't fully prepared as I have not slept properly for the past 1 week and as a result, I felt tired before I even begin to run. However, I manage to clock 26.01min for a 4 lapper and I shall begin my full assault of the 8 lapper by next Saturday.

Terry Fox Run

Well, what I can say is that it is a fine running event. My day started at 6.15am and soon I was driving towards lake gardens. There were two running events held on the same day and they are the Terry Fox Run and World Tourism Day Run. The parking lots were filled up rather quickly and I had to park at the Hospital vicinity. I jogged towards the assembly area and I was shocked. There wasn't any sight of racers (except a few odd ones) around and there were many families gathered there!. One things for sure and that is 80% of the participants were 'gwailo's and gwaipo's'. Soon the event started and the air horn was sounded. Everybody started walking! It felt odd to me as whenever the 'race' starts, everybody will pecut like mad. But not this time. So I decided just to jog along. When the streets are cleared then I only increased my pace. The run brought the participants around the lake gardens and the distance was 5 kilometers. Soon I found myself finished rather early and I walked around looking for some water. The best thing about this event would definitely be the breakfast!! There were caterers standing around serving the participants with all sorts of pastry and food!! There is so much going around that I think it will be more than enough for most of us. The atmosphere was lively and different as you can see many families were running or cycling with their children. These family bonding kind of scene is actually very nice. It immediately brings you back to those days where our father brought us to the park and have fun. Anyway, I would definitely come back next year for this run. Before I end, there is one thing that I need to mention about this run. There are tons of 'leng lui's' around and make sure you bring enough tissues to wipe of your saliva before you start the run...

Change of address

I have changed the address from runninghigh.blogspot.com to petalingrunner.blogspot.com. I guess it gives a much more 'localised' feel to it.

PJ Half Marathon Post Race

Well, my day started at 4.30am and was about doing my usual business. However, there is something that I really mind doing everytime before the race is eating PowerBar. I do not know why athletes can munch such 'food', if you can even call it as food. It is sticky and sweet. But I guess the nutrient and glycogen that it supplies far outweigh the taste right?..Anyway, I picked my friend up at 5.30am and soon we proceed towards the Kelana Jaya Stadium. After we parked our car we proceed towards the reporting station and did a few laps to warm up. I then further moved to the starting line and off we go! The front group just sped off and I was stuck in the middle of those slower starters. At the exit into the highway, I decided to sprint to be close with those front runners. They are posting quite fast times as the course is relatively flat with the exception of a few highway ramps thrown in. Other than that nothing much is spectacular. What is surprising are those front runners are running as if they have attached twin turbos onto their system and spooling at full time. I decided against to chase them as they are too fast for me while there is still a long way to go. The water stations and the sponging stations are well managed though where there is enough for everyone. On the way back, I must have ran much faster as compared to my normal training where my timing is much below than what I have expected. The best moment had always been running into the stadium as there are many people cheering us to move on. When I proceed to collect my card, the number '94' was printed on it and I was totally overflowed with joy!. My long runs during the weekends had brought me results and I proceed to collect my medal. This is how it looks like..


Anyway, the atmosphere was wonderful with many people linger around and mixing with each other. Anyway, have I mentioned that I always loved the sight of 'Milo' van?

PJ Half Marathon pre-race

Well, I am quite anxious and I couldn't sleep. Went through the course and it looks quite flat so I guess tomorrow there will be a lot of people posting fast times. As for me...I just want to finish well and hopefully within the 100 position. PJ half had always been a tough race as there are many good competitors all the time.

I have pinned my number on my race singlet and now my mind is going through the course. Better get some sleep as I need to wake up at 4.30 AM. Good Nite...

Training

Well, today's 21k was ok although I have just started running since last week's throat infection. Met my friend Kevin during the run and he had done a pretty decent job at cutting down his weight. He actually look much thinner. Anyway, I tried my pair of Asics and they work very well. Cushioning was good and at the same time, the Speva material actually helped my toe off very much. I felt much efficient running in those shoes. Anyway, I am very tired right now. Guess I need to start sleeping. Goodnight everybody...ZzzZZZZzzzzz.

Still Sick

Well, I have been out of running action for more than 6 days. My sick throat infection had not gone off yet and it seemed getting worse. I need to sleep man. Have been working in the office for more than 14 hrs non-stop everyday since Monday. My throat is killing me. Coughing non-stop everyday.
Damn Tired Man...

Boring Man...

I am a little bored right now and I am supposed to be sleeping. But I can't sleep and I don't know why. Too much computer perhaps? Before I crash, here is a picture which reminded me when I was studying in London. These guys are sport! Good Nite...ZzzZzz

Long Time no update

It had been quite sometime that I had updated my weblog. Anyway, my workload is decreasing and I can spend an extra amount of time to do this. Well first update, I manage to get a pair of Asics Gel Cumulus 6 in S'pore! Yahoo! I know some of you will start asking the question 'You should be able to find this shoe in Malaysia right?' Wrong! I have spent countless Saturdays and Sundays going from Shopping Mall to the smallest shop while I couldn't even smell a speck of dust hinting this shoe is available in Malaysia. I had some difficulty finding this shoe in S'pore as well because rarely S'poreans will wear Asics and the major shopping malls do not carry them. Even if they do, the range is limited. It was at Sportslink in Shaw Centre that I found the running shoe.


So much for shoes, next on the agenda...KOTR! Damn it! I could not participate due to my high fever. It was a case of bad throat infection that I could not even swallow water! Of all the time, the fever decided to start on Saturday. Why not Monday! I can get MC mah! I was in a full throttle mode on Saturday morning when I collected my numbers but when I reached home, I felt somewhat tired. So I slept and at 3pm, I was on fire! My temperature rose to 102 f and I felt like my brains were completely cooked! The temperature never came down until this very morning. Well I felt perfect right now but missing out on the KOTR wasn't something that I can accept easily.

Happy and Sad

Well I participated in the Klang Quarter Marathon and it was a good day for me. However this was marred by the fact that my car got hit at the rear. Well I couldn't exactly blame that fellow as the parking lot was pitch dark and if you are not careful, it is likely that you will hit something. For that old fellow, it was my car. Well I said it's OK but advised him to drive carefully next time. I didn't want to settle this matter using cash or anything as I am preparing for a race and if my thoughts drifted towards this matter, I will not be able to do a good run. Well, the run did indeed turn out to be good. I ran a 42min 55 sec 10K and it was my best personal record I have set so far. The happiness of setting a new PR far outweighs the accident that I have just experienced.
Anyway, the event was managed ok overall. But the course is terribly tough. Three hills to conquer and they are bloody steep! As soon as the race had started, all the runners were into sprinting mode and I have to play catch up!. The routes are not that scenic as compared to Seremban Half Marathon but it was tough because the routes are undulating all the way from bridges to hills. Well I didn't care. I just continued and suffered all the way until the final hill where it was so steep as if they were walking. I just added my 'turbo's' uphill and overtook quite a number of runners and let my legs go when doing downhills. When I entered the stadium and looked at my time, I couldn't believe my eyes. My watch was flashing 42.55 and the joy was so intense that I almost forgot everything else. I got myself a cold milo and 100 Plus as my throat was so dry I have problems talking!

Muscle Pull

Man, just went for a 21k training and I got a pull on my buttock muscles! Of all the place my body decided to choose that area to rebel.  Terrible...had to half jog and half walk. Lousy bum...Anyway, I think it is because there is too much training going on for me. I trained for a full week except wednesday which I am having classes. I even did speedwork during the week. I should have listened to my body earlier because I felt tired whenever I wake up during the morning which is a sign that the body needs more rest. Well I will give my body a break a day or two and after that, continue to train for Klang Quarter Marathon on Sunday!

Success!!

Yahoo!!! Just came back from Seremban Half Marathon and felt very good albeit the legs were utterly useless right now. Feel very tired and my knees are aching. But it is worth it as I ran a 1hr 52min time. Anyway, this is my first 21k and managed to land a medal and at the same time 63rd placing. Have been waiting for this day to come.

Anyway, the experience was good. The atmosphere is very lively and there are many participants coming from other states. Well, here's the racing experience:

The flag off time was at 6.45am and by the time the gun is off, everybody just started to fly and I mean really fly. I was very much worried that my pace would be too slow but I perservered. I stayed at my pace at which I am comfortable with. Overall the course was flat and by the time I reached the 5km mark, I started to make my move. My target was to overtake 4 runners and I managed to do that exactly. After that, I settled back to my comfortable pace again. During the run, I managed to savour the beautiful sights of the hills and the cool air. There was also a small stream beside the road. Perfect. By the 8km mark, I did the same and overtook another 4 runners. When the 10 km mark came and there was a detour into a smaller route. This time, it is hell break lose. The roads are not flat anymore and they become hilly. It's difficult to find pace and I can only manage to stay at my current running position. I couldn't overtake anyone. Not only that, my running form is turning lose and I am swinging excessively on my upper body and I struggled to control it. Anyway, it was OK until I reached the final 3km. It was a disaster because the roads is still as hilly as ever and not to mention, there were a lot of cars. I have to concentrate on not getting hit by a car from the back while trying to find my pace. It was the final 3 km which tested my love for the sport. I was determined that no matter what happens, I must finish my run and get a placing as I know I am within the front peloton. It was the most memorable downhill that I have as I inch forward to the finishing line and then there was a right turn into the open field. I ran as fast as I could and went into the line of my category. I collected a token from the marshall and guess what, I saw a number 63 printed on top of it. It was the most satisfying thing that I ever had for all the hard work I have put forth and I proceed to collect my medal. Immediately I gulped down my Gatorade and just stared at my medal...Success!!

Training

Just manage to finish my 11k yesterday and I ran another 3k recovery today. Well my legs felt stiff so didn't want to risk anything and I ran an easy 3k. Anyway, night runs are nice. 90% of my training was done during the night as my work occupied a lot of my time. You see, I can only leave the prison after 6pm and after dropping of my colleague Lee Keng at her home, I usually reach back at 7.45pm. I would start running at 8pm and usually finish at 8.30 to 9pm depending on distance covered. Well, I shall be running a 15k this weekend hoping that I can peak in time for the Seremban Half Marathon on the 11th July.

Anyway, I love Seremban very much. The hakka mee was the best there and I am lucky that my friend wei yen introduced it to me. The coffee there was also good and I am looking forward to that enjoyable weekend.

Olympic Day Run

Well, Just got back from the run and i felt it was great. Never expected that there are such quiet roads in KL and generally the terrain is hilly. During the run, I was pacing against a 'Gwai Lo' apparently from the pacesetters running club as he was wearing that vest. Never knew his name though but for his size, he was strong at the downhills. I don't know why. Most probably is because of the weight and momentum thing. During the downhills I have to power away just to catch up with him. I know I am much smaller compared to his body size but I never knew weight could play such a role. Anyway, it was during the final turn into the stadium that I managed to overtake him as I know I've got the advantage of weighing lesser and just power away into the finishing. I never knew what my record is but I overheard that for runners clocking 31 mins had ended up 36th place. Well, take a guess of what my placing is with my time of 35 mins. Anyway, I've got a nice cert and my next target now is the Seremban Half Marathon where this is my first ever run in the 21km category. I have only less than 2 weeks to train for 21k and I am hoping that hell will not break lose within this 2 weeks.

Flu bug

Well, too much training and too little rest. The bug caught me and my nose feels like a loosen water tap right now. I have been logging on for more than 10k's everyday just to peak for the olympic day run. Well, i feeling drowsy now as the flu med kicks in. Hope that I can recover before sunday arrives....god help me...

Nature Run

Well, I have completed a 5k off-road run at gasing hill today. The weather is bloody hot but nevertheless, the tempreature is still right in the jungle lah. Nasib baik not that many people in the jungle itself unlike mornings, it is so crowded I think you need to build a highway inside there just to run lah...Went out to dinner afterwards with my parents to celebrate fathers day at SS2 'wai sek kai'...I ask my mom 'why there lah?'and she said 'I want to eat all sorts of hawker food loh..' Then I asked 'what is he going to think?!' My mom just said 'Don't bother about him, he wouldn't mind'. It's hard to be a good son nowadays...

The shoe in which I am going to buy but could not get..damn frustrated..

Hi There

You'll be hearing more from me soon on various matters and subjects..See ya!