The Running Rooster

Genting Trailblazer 2010

2010-10-31T20:50:00.003+08:00

Place : Awana Genting Resort
Time : 0830
Course : Running/Walking/Climbing/Crawling!!
Weather : Cool and lovely

With somebody to sign up with in August, I was happy to take on this event as it had a trail running through the hill forests.

I'm more to walking forest trails than running them when I was younger, but I remember how tough the terrain could be. Hooking up with the Zarinator was probably a great idea as he had done the KK climbathon the week before.

It was definitely a testing experience. We arrived there pretty early at 7am, but hit our first hiccup with our registration numbers going missing. After some whining with the organizers, they gave us a replacement number written in ball pen!! Arrggh! Pay RM168, yet have to deal with this....??? Anyway, they finally located our numbers after the person who was issued our numbers turned up and swapped the correct numbers back to them. Organizer error.

We hardly had time to warm up when the horn went off. The trail started with a 3km run down the road to the Awana golf course. The Zarinator took off like it was a sprint event and we finished the first 3km in less than 15min... Once we hit the jungle trail, things started to slow down pretty quick.

After the 6km mark, things started getting really tough, with sharp ascents and descent marking the next 2km, with 2 river crossings. Even for the front runners, you could hear them blowing their lungs from meters away. Rough, tough and downright dirty....you have to love it!!

My legs was close to Jell-O by the time I was hitting 7km, and had to take many stops in between for my legs to recover and catch my breath. Luckily, with the Zarinator, he towed me for some parts of it and it really helped as there seemed to be less effort in tackling the steep slopes.

On the last sharp ascent, I slipped down the hill a few times, before finally making it up there. With the final 2 km, the trail started to ease, but not without finishing the staircase to heaven and down the final descent to the obstacle course.

This part...you have to love!! Jumping over several ditches, tackling the wooden barriers and crawling under the netting was a nice touch. Took me back to my school days....

We finished the race with a sprint at about 1:55, which was quite credible. We placed 30th and was pretty hyped at the end.

Looking back at the event, lots of time of the stairclimber, upper body work by wall climbing and some trail running, would definitely help in preparing better for this event.

It was all great fun, and we had a blast of a time.

With only 3 weeks to PBIM, I'll probably need to do 1 more long run, hopefully about 33km for the final prep for this event. Until then...

6 weeks to PBIM and beyond....

2010-10-17T17:38:00.002+08:00

After running 3 marathons, the sub 4 hour goal still seems to loom far away. With my last attempt at KL marathon weighing in about the same time with last year, both motivation and time seems to be wanting.

Looking through my blogs for the 3 races, the one thing that always got me was the taper and the endurance. The best so far was the 2009 SCSM, where I went pretty strong until the 31st km. I could have easily gone sub 4, even if I had to slow down to 10kph. Unfortunately, that was not to be...

Another 6 weeks to go, I hope to go into higher gear for 4 weeks, and not taper to less than 40k for the 2nd last week.

Hopefully, I'll be able to have a PB at least.

Perusing through all the articles, most pointers for those on the wrong side of 40 focus on the need to balance intensity with recovery. Hence, trying to make up for both speed and endurance at one go may not be desirable.

For next year, it would be great to work on my speed. Trudging at full effort doesn't seem to get me there faster, so I'm thinking of limiting my targets for 2011 for half marathons max and try to achieve the following goals by end 2011;

5 half marathons
5 > 10k
10 10k races

5k - 22min (PB 24+)
10k - 45 min (PB 48+)
21k - 1hr 45min (PB 1hr 50+)

With these kind of times, I'd think the base speed doesn't become an issue. The question will be more on endurance for 2012. I'll probably be working on at least 2 marathons and 1 ultra, depending if I can keep the body working in 1 piece...

Newton 25k

2010-09-26T23:02:00.001+08:00

Place : Bandar Kinrara
Date : 26 Sept 2010
Time : 0630am
Finish time : 2:37:40

Verdict - tough terrain, tough weather!

My 3rd Marathon : SC KL Marathon 2010

2010-06-27T16:10:00.004+08:00

Date : 27 June 2010
Time : 5.00am
Place : Dataran Merdeka
Course : Around KL
Terrain : Hilly, tougher than last year's
Finish time : 4:29:13

The build up to this year's home marathon could be called mild with very minimal conditioning. Over the course of the 2 months, I only did only 3 runs, which could be considered LSDs, with the longest at 30km.

Comparing the mileage logged when I prepared for my 1st marathon exactly 1 year ago, I was definitely cutting corners, with only half the mileage compared to last year.

With a botched long run 2 weeks ago, it did not help my confidence either.

However, with the experience of 2 marathons under my belt, I believed pacing for the intial 30k was key, before the tackling the 'Wall' and cramps.

I went through my gear the night before but couldn't get any shut eye. Seemed this was a condition endemic to pre marathon nights. Haven't learn't any new ways to get around that...

Up by 3.15am, pre marathon meal remained light with 1 cup of coffee, more for 'discharge' purposes, rather than anything else.

I arrived at the starting line 15 minutes before the start time, with a sense of deja vu. As with last year, we started the race in the rain, and all of us were soaked even before the race started.

The first 5km was started taken at a steady pace, with the rain keeping the temperatures pretty cool. It kept falling for the first hour or so. I guess everybody benefited from that. I personally felt reasonably fresh after finishing the first 10k.

The 2nd thing was the abundance of water and sponging stations, which were available at every 2km. Obviously, the organizer took extra measures to avoid the disastrous situation like last year.

As we looped back to town after passing the Sungai Besi airport, traffic began to become heavier.

Moving from Cheras to Pudu, the tingling toe situation had already begun to surface. Normally it was a precursor of calf cramps coming on. Due to the lack of mileage, I took 5 Gu Gel packs and popped the first one at 15k. The tingling came and went throughout the following 10k, before the cramps started to kick in.

KM 25-30 was the 'transition' stage where the tiredness begun to sink in. By KM32, the cramps were spreading from the left calf to the right, then creeping to the inner quads and hamstring.

From then on, it was a matter of intelligent manaagement, lest I falter and had to stop at periods. It was walk run strategy from then on.

I wasn't hell bent to meet any target time, but I had been going at a reasonable pace. I did the first 30k in less than 3 hours. Worst case, I may need to take about 5 hours to finish. At best, a 4:20 was still possible.

As I ran down Jalan Kuching, the cramps were getting worse, and not letting up much. My time fell to a 8min+/km pace.

Finally I reached Longgak Tunku and I braced myself for the climb up Bukit Tunku. Surprisingly, the lack of traffic, lots of shade and green surrounding was really a good boost. The cramps situation surprisingly improved. As we reached the peak, I was actually picking up my pace and managed a few 6min/km. As we turned into TAR road, I was definitely sensing completion in a reasonable time in hand. My wife accompanied me on the last km and this really gave me a boost for a last sprint to the finish line, if you could call it that.

I thorughly enjoyed this race as it was much better managed than last year's, with more show of supporters throughout the course. Hopefully I'll be able to find a good race for the end of this year and prepare for a sub 4.

Shah Alam Buddhist Society Fun Jog

2010-05-01T10:51:00.003+08:00

Date : 1 May 2010
Place : Bukit Rimau/Kota Kemuning
Time : 8.00am
Weather: Towards the warmer side
Course : Pretty flat

Running a race in the home ground is great fun!
1. You don't need to spend an hour to and fro to get the venue.
2. You can do your warm up by running to the starting point from your house.
3. You'll have time to go back, take a shower and pop back in to collect your prize!

This is a charity event, which generally caters to the general public and for a good cause.

The entrance fee (or donation) was steep at RM50, but like I said, it was for a good cause.

The race started off in a timely fashion and I went ahead in doing a rookie mistake by going out tooooo fast. I did the first km in 4:32.

Going towards the middle part, my pace dropped off dramatically to 5:45 and it was a very strong reflection of my fitness level now. As the number of participants were quite few, relatively speaking, I was in 3rd place (or so I thot) for my category out of 25, and kept thinking about the time that I would most probably finish in.

By the time I reached the 8km, my pace was about 5:50, but my heart rate was on the very high side. With the last km to go, I picked up the pace a bit, but didn't do an all out as the guy in front of me was about 300m away.

I finished in a time of about 54min, which was pretty slack, but ok given the extremely low mileage that I've been doing for the last few weeks or so.

As I collected my 'winners flag', I actually finished in 4th position. Seemed that Ong Chin was way up in front, and probably finished in less than 40min. No fight lah!

The organization of the race was actually quite good, with clear signs of who supposed to go where, and a staggered release according to category.

Too bad my wife didn't take part, else she would also probably have a top 5 placing for her category.

Anyway, it was a nice, cosy and well organized event and hopefully, they'll have 1 again next year.

Next race..Chicken Roosters run...maybe. Haven't registered yet. But I can't resist I think, as it's;
1. In Sunway! Very close
2. My kids are looking forward to it, as the ticket include entrance into Sunway Lagoon.
3. The event is named Chicken Roosters!

Till next time.

Regards,
Edmund

The Energizer Half (Sufferding!)

2010-03-28T00:19:00.003+08:00

Event : Inaugural Energizer Marathon (Half)
Date : 26 March 2010
Time : 8.00pm
Climate : Very warm!
Course : Quite hilly.
Time : 2:00:40 (PW)

It seems these night runs in Putrajaya have some things in common. Warm roads due to the wide exposed roads and a lot of irate motorists!

The race for me was okay, and I didn't set any particular targets. I hadn't been doing distances beyond 10k for the last 2 months, so I was half expecting the going to be pretty hard in the 2nd half.

Although the achilles issue has elevated quite a bit with the orthotic that I bought from a pharmacy in Subang (RM89- cheap and good?), I doubted that the heel had recovered sufficiently to last the 21k distance.

I was a pretty good pace up to km5. But after I went for a short toilet break, everything seem to go downhill pretty fast. Mainting a 11.5kph pace was a struggle, and when I reach the 13k, I was really demotivated and had walked a good part of that and the next 3k.

After a nice cool sponging at km15, I felt the inspiration coming back and when I joined the 10k group, it became easier to continue running. I even quite a bit left in the tank to do the last 3k in a sub 6 minute pace, so I guess it might be something to do with my head, rather than my body.

With a time of 2:00:40 at a distance of 20.99km, this is my worst time for the 4 marathons. It was 8 minutes off my Putrajaya half. I guess the lack of mileage also shows. Hmmm, no wonder my water belt felt tight. Less mileage = more waist!

On the organization, following are my thoughts.

The good parts;
1. The route had pretty wide roads, and most of the part pretty quiet.
2. The goodie bag for half marathoners was definitely interesting;
a. 1 medal
b. 1 shaver
c. 1 tube of salon spray.
d. 1 button badge from the 'fish oil' sponsor
e. 1 sachet of men facial wash
f. 1 small strip of salon pas
g. 5 tablets of multivitamins
h. And not to forget - a nice looking headlight which has a pretty bright white
and red lights.

As the venue seems pretty new to the Pacesetters, there were several big hiccups;

1. Ample parking space within the campus, but everybody who wasn't a student was made to park a distance away and use the shuttle bus.
2. The start line and the end was not at the same spot. As there were no clear indications or signs where the start line was, even on the arches themselves, I would guess there were quite a few who missed the starting time. Yes, it is noted in their mail and yes, there were quite a few reminders online to those internet savvy participants.
3. The route, although indicating the direction, did not clearly note which distance nor direction for whom, so further confusion for some people.
4. The long queue for the 10k would have been a big issue with those participants in that category. I guess it would take a good 30 minutes just to pick up their goodie bag.

Hopefully, the Pacesetters will use this lesson to improve their next event.

If my heel condition improves, I guess this will be the start of my marathon training for the KL marathon come June 27.

KL Towerthon (or 'tower toons')

2010-03-21T14:17:00.003+08:00

Date : 21 March 2010
Time : 0800-0945 (staggered release)
Place : KL Tower
Course : 2000+ steps, I guess short and very intense aptly describes it!
Time : Less than 25 minutes, forgot to stop my watch until I was on the observation tower.

This was my first time doing the towerthon and I thought it would be nice if the family wanted to go up the observation tower to have a view as well.

Rookie mistake #1 : Get the time table. We were there at 7am, but my group's start time was at 0900. Hmmmm.
Rookie mistake #2 : With 2000+ steps to go, after a steep 1km run up from the base, some training on the step master or staircase at a condo would help.
Rookie mistake #3 : Didn't know what to expect. Seems like the markings on the walls do not indicate the exact level. The marking starts from T1 to T22, followed by H01 to H03. This actually indicates different levels which do not correlate with the actual number of stories you go up.
Rookie mistake #4 : With 4 lifts and 2400 participants, it is a tight squeeze or a long time before you get down. Don't plan for a flight after the race, haha!
Rookie mistake #5 : Better to enter the Open category. Less bodies to deal with!!
Rookie mistake #6 : If you want your family to be up there, don't! My wife and daughter almost fainted when the flood of runners came in before they could get out. On the way down, I have to give thanks to Kevin (PM2 from Der Pacemakers), for lending his voice to give way for my kid. I guess it was a pretty shocking experience, with the all the hot and sweaty bodies squeezing tightly together (sounds a bit funny when I put in writing).

There were about 4 waterstops on the way up, but it was narrow. Even if I could, I doubt I could improve my time more than a few minutes, as there were many people stalled halfway but not much space to squeeze past.

It was definitely a unique experience and I was surprised that I didn't keel over. In fact, if I knew the end was near, I probably could shave off a minute.

Would I do it again? A big YES! I guess it will be pretty easy to beat my PR for this course, haha!

Next....Energizer Half Marathon this Saturday night.

Bootcamp in PJ

2010-03-20T13:22:00.002+08:00

Event : Bootcamp!
Venue : PJ Astaka
Date : 20 Mar 2010
Time : 7.00am-8.00am

This is as it sounds. Literally taken out from standard military training, this is targeted in improving your overall physical strenght.

I was 'poisoned' by one of my friends who is doing his second stint. With running being pretty much a one dimensional activity, I felt like giving it a try as it may help work the other 'less utilized' muscles and may reduce the problems that I have with the legs.

As this was a free try out for members to invite friends to join, the session was less intense than what they normally do. After doing some light running and exercises for 10 minutes, we proceeded to have a 30 minutes session which included a short sprint, crawling with your butt up, crawling on your knees, short sprint and pick up either a tyre, tubes or sandbags to bring back to you starting point.

I think I did about 15-20 rounds by the end of the session, and it was a pretty good workout. They finished off the whole session with stretches and a big HOOYAH!

Overall, if you are a beginner and wish to get a more physically active lifestyle, this would be a great place to start. For seasoned athletes, it's good to get an overall workout, and working within a group serves up some good motivation. The deal is for 3 times a week, at before or after office hours times and the sign up is for the whole month. The only drawback is the fees for a month.

City Day Run (2) 2010

2010-02-21T10:36:00.003+08:00

Date : 21st February 2010
Time : 0730 7km 0740 5k 0745 3k
Venue : Dataran Merdeka
Course : Pretty OK, 7km nia!
Distance : 7.57km
Time : 37 min 14 seconds.
Pace : 12.2kph
Quality : Average

This is one of the few events that I registered my whole family to run, based on 2 reasons. First, the distance is quite manageable for the kids, and second, it's CHEAP!!! Only RM10 for 7k and RM5 for the kids.

The upside : Although there was no T-Shirt nor goodie bag to speak off, I prefer these type of events for family outings where everybody can take part for a song, and you get stuff that you don't really need. I've still got quite a few T-shirts from last year and I've already passed most of my freebie shirts to family and in laws.

The downside : One less admirable aspect of this race is that it was not that well publicised. Not sure whether this was intentional, as there were less participants than last year. Maybe there were some who were still in the festive mood of the CNY.

The races started very punctually with the usual lady MC for FTAA sprucing up the atmosphere with her anecdotes and announcement.

I managed to persuade my friend to join me by enticing him with a free KFC meal if he catches me by the end of the race. He asked me what pace I planned to run, and I told him a 'conservative' number (hehe!). I was hoping to achieve a sub 5min/km pace without aggravating my heels.

My starting pace was pretty quick, actually too quick for my liking. However, I felt good, even going into the 3rd km. From 4km, the effort was becoming tougher to maintain a sub 5min pace. Moving into the 7th km, I picked up the pace, but it might have been too early. By the time I turned towards the SAS building, I had a side stitch and decided to play it safe. 3 usual kaki 'sayured' me from the back with ease as my last 200m sprint was non existent. I was happy that I managed to finish with a sub 5min pace. To hit the 4:45 pace consistently, I will need to think of a new approach to improve my speed.

My family finished within the next 15 minutes and we were off by 9am as we couldn't wait for the lucky draw. My daughter was pretty happy that she got her certificate, although she didn't managed to get a medal.

I've registered for the towerthon which is next month, but I'm having 2nd thoughts as climbing 100 floors of staircase is no small feat. Wonder if my knees will hold out? Hmm....

Putrajaya Night Marathon - The Half

2010-02-07T00:47:00.004+08:00

Date : 6 February 2010
Time : 8:30pm
Place : Precinct 3, Putrajaya
Weather : Warm and Humid
Terrain : Some undulation, but not extreme.
Course : A bit of loop the loop, but fine for most of the way.
Organizing : Five star! Value for money! Thumbs up!
Distance (GPS) : 21.28km
Time : 1:52:15 (1min 25sec off PB)

This event was very thinly veiled as the substitute for the "KL marathon" which was normally held in February before 2009.

With new sponsors and organizers, with the race being supported by FTAA, it seems that they have hit off on the right note, with all the right priorities in mind and addressed.

The race started on time and minimum fuss. This time they did a count down, lol!

As we headed off towards PICC the crowd thinned pretty quickly after the first 500m. It was great to see Putrajaya at night. There were many 'jewels' of the night, with beautiful lighting in some of the key buildings in Putrajaya. PICC looked like a space ship which just landed, lol!

By the time we finished the loop around PICC, we started to catch up with the tail end of the full marathon runners at the 4km mark. We ran the next 12km together, and it really helped as there were many 'rabbits' to chase.

2 unusual things about this race; One was the pace of the normal running kaki. It seemed slower than normal. Secondly, because this wasn't the main event, competition was much thinner at the top 10%, hence it was a good ego booster for me, haha.

The first 11k went on a pretty even pace. It was on the 2nd 10k, where I started to feel the strain. With the lack of some quality mileage, I could feel my pace drop off and the strain on my right heel bursitis acting up.

Moving into the last 3km, I felt like I was doing a 5:10 pace but it was more of a 5:25 pace. It really shows that there is a difference when you run alone and when you're chasing down somebody in front of you.

I did multiple 'drink walks' at km8, 14 and 18. I gulped down a powergel at km14. Did it help? I think so, but I can't say for sure.

In short, was I happy with race? At RM35 for a nice vest, medal, bun, multiple drink and sponge stops, chip timing, free powerbar snack, good traffic control and "FREE PARKING", what more can you ask?

Was I happy with my time. I have to say yes, with the mileage that I've been doing.

The only not so good thing I'm taking away from this race is the recurring bursitis in my heel. The muscle may have shortened to the point that there has been additonal strain on the tendons. Guess I have to make it a point to ice and stretch more often after runs.

With the Energizer run coming up in Cyberjaya next month, I hope that the experience will just be as enjoyable.

Lessons in long distance running

2010-01-24T19:12:00.002+08:00

Date : 24 January 2010
Time : 5:07pm

After lazing around for the whole week, with minimal mileage, I decided to head out for a 22k, with the Putrajaya Half Marathon in mind.

I did the NB 30k a week ago, and in a way, was still recovering. The last time I did that distance was at the SG marathon, and that was about 6 weeks ago. The 2nd thing was the decison to lay off coffee except for the morning Nescafe.

My right achilles tendon was tight and there were lingering effects from the cramps I had in my left calf. Now I know the tingling toe and foot was a precursor to cramps.

I headed out for a run 3 times this week; 6k on Wed, 6k on Thur and a measly 3k on Sat. Too lazy to wake up :> Too lazy to wake early this morning as well :)

After finishing up some work for next week's team meeting at work, I felt like a run. The sky was cloudy, and it looked pretty cool outside, and it was only 4.30pm.

With such nice weather and lots of time, I was thinking of doing either 2 hour run or 22k, whichever was more (Ha! Ha! 22k in 2 hours, I must be dreaming!).

Had my usual dose of Accelerade prepared and headed out. The first few km was done at a steady pace, without any push. It felt good, although there were a few kinks that needed working out.

Moving towards the 12k mark, I was getting in the groove, and finishing the distance didn't seem to be much of a problem....well, I spoke too soon.

Come 13k, I could feel my left foot tingling, and my right tendon tighten up. Things started going downhill pretty quickly. The legs started to fell heavy pretty fast, as if I was already running out of glycogen to burn.

As this was more of a joy run, I decided to cut it short and take it easy, taking lots of walk breaks. Getting injured during a non training period is very little fun.

By the time I finished the run, I clocked 18km at an average speed of 10.1kph, the lowest since.... I don't know when.

Well, let's count the lessons we learnt;

1. Never underestimate the distance, even it's something you've done numerous times in the past. Make sure of plan B in mind.
2. Be aware of your body condition. What's on the mend and what's at risk.
3. Hydration - with Malaysia's weather, it's always a good idea to carry some liquid if you're doing anything more than 12k if you're running between 8am to 6pm.
4. If something doesn't feel right, ABORT! No point risking injuries on any run.

Well, next week is a travel week, and most of my running may be on a treadmill. Hopefully, I'll feel better by next week.

NB 30k Double HIlls x 2

2010-01-17T15:39:00.006+08:00

Event : New Balance 30K
Date : 17 Jan 2009
Time : 0530
Place : Padang Merbok, going to Hartamas through double hills
Distance : 29.49k
Terrain : +/- 242.1m. Tough!
Climate : About 20C before 7am, cloudy to 8.30am
Finish Time : 2:45:59
Pace : 10.7kph?

I was on a plane back from Singapore on Friday when I was seriously contemplating whether to go ahead with this run. The last time a distance close to that was at the Singapore Marathon. In between, my longest run was only 16k.

I knew it would not be a walk in the park, as my conditioning has probably deteriorated significantly with less than 40k logged for every week between SG and this race. However, if taking into consideration the elevation change between the 2 courses (This race had almost double the elevation compared to SG), I would say I did pretty OK. I wasn't putting too much hope on achieving a PB so my 3 priorities were to 1. Finish the race 2. Finish by 3:00 or, no 3. if possible, 2:45.

The race was punctual, with no rain and very cool weather. My wife even complained that it was pretty chilly, even when there was no wind.
I did the first km at crawling pace as I decided to start from the back. The narrow road leading out of Padang Merbok didn't help either. By the 2nd km, I was able to reach close to my target pace.

True to form, I had the speed but not the endurance to beat my PB for the equivalent distance. To cut a long story short, the undulation was a big heart stopper for most of the runners, including yours truly.

At KM21, my left calf was beginning to twitch, normally the first signs that lactate build up was beginning. Toward KM 25, My toes on the left foot was spontaneously contracting. Let's say this is the first time I experienced this. It was like my toes was trying to go into a claw form every time I lifted my foot. This abated after a few minutes.

However, after passing Padang Merbuk to do last assault at KM27, it finally caught up to me, causing me to walk run KM27-29. As the last leg of the race approached, I managed to put all these problems aside to do a last 'kopek' sprint.

Post medal collection, I was struck by the cramps on the left calf while walking to the car. Ouch! My wife helped to push my foot and it took a good 2-3 minutes before I could stand.

Guess not warming down didn't help, coupled with the lack of mileage prior to this race.

All in all, it was good fun, full of challenges and organized quite well.

Next race...Putrajaya Half!

Smober - 2 years and counting

2010-01-17T11:44:00.002+08:00

6.30pm, January 12 2008. The memory of the last draw from my last cigarette still lingers vaguely in my mind.

For those who have been following this blog, it may be strange that the subject of my old habit turns up. Actually, I started running because I stopped smoking. I was controlling my weight, filling the 'blanks' in my routine and keep my mind off smoking.

Between the last 48 months, I've been smober (except for one ciggie, and some 2nd hand smoke) and this year, I plan to remain smober.

It's not easy to explain this to people who have never experienced addictions in their lives. But for those who do (or did), they know how difficult it is.

Even to this day, I do still consciously refrain from this addiction every single time I see or smell the act of smoking.

Hence my top resolution for this year - to remain smober for 2010.

Running Resolutions for 2010

2010-01-03T20:36:00.003+08:00

Kicking off the new year with a friendly race was great! Although I missed out on a 7th place trophy by only 23 seconds, it was a huge improvement compared to my standing a year ago.

Looking at 2009, I think I did pretty okay in sticking with it, with 2 marathons and a few halfs thrown in. My stats based on my GPS for 2009 looks like this;

Running mileage : 2,060km
Total time : 199.50 hours
No. of times : 186
Races : 20
Average distance/run : 11.1km
Average pace : 10.3kph
List of injuries : 1. Achilles bursitis in right heel (still there)
2. Shin Splints (April, December)
3. Hip Adductor/hamstring pull (October - November)
4. Cramps - only in both marathons and LSDs above 30km.

My PRs for 2009;

Marathon : 4 hr 22 min 22 sec
30k : 2 hr 48 min
Half marathon : 1 hr 49 min
10k : 48 min
5k : 24 min 3 sec

With all the mileage, racing experiences and injuries, I'm quite sure that I will be much stronger going into 2010 and look forward to setting new PRs. Based on the "experts", runners tend to improve from year to year, as long as they mix speed and distance as well as staying relatively injury free.

My goals for 2010 include;

Running mileage : 2,400km, including 500km of cycling
Total time : 230 hours
No. of times : 180
Races : 18
Average pace : 10.5kph
List of injuries : Hopefully none
Marathon : Sub 4 hours
30k : 2 hour 45 minutes
Half marathon : 1 hour 45 minutes
10k : 46 minutes
5k : 23 minutes

Hopefully, when I look back at this at the end of 2010, most of these goals will be achieved.

Pacemakers New Year Run (pseudo 'Tanggathon')

2010-01-01T13:10:00.003+08:00

Date : 1 January 2010
Time : 0730
Place : Tapak A Lake Gardens
Terrain : Hilly with 170 stairs per round (Elevation 365m total)
Course : Tough and challenging
Distance : 12.69km

This year's event was quite challenging as the circuit included a stairway climb. The total participation registered was at 200 but I suspect that quite a number didn't turn up, perhaps due to overdoing the new year celebration the previous day.

The race started off pretty much on the dot and we were away. Didn't look like anything new....

I did the usual loop around the lake and finally reached the staircase. Man, it looked really far and high. I had already been fore warned on their site that they had incorporated a stairway in this race. Given the number of steps, my strategy was to take on 2 steps at a time at walking pace.

By the time I reached the top on the 1st loop, it was already quite a toll. Just imagine that there were 3 more climbs to do. From the top, it was downhill all the way. I manage to make up a fraction of the lost time, doing the 1km with the stairs in 5:35.

After completing in the first loop, I was still feeling ok, and looking at the pace, I seem to be doing much better than most of the other runners. Even in the 2nd loop, there was already a runner experiencing a bit of a cramp. This was expected with sharp hill climbs at high speeds, so it was best to pace within your expected limits.

The 2nd climb was slower with that km ending at 5:52, with some lethargy building up in the muscles, as well as a strain on the heart.

With 3rd and 4th climb in mind, I hoped to reserve sufficient enough energy for the last dash downhill and decided to pace below my limit. A side stitch on my right was also starting to develop as I was going downhill, hence better be wiser than sorry.

The 3rd climb was done in 5:51, about the same with the previous lap.

The 4th climb was a push, as there was only 1km + to go. I did it in 5:36, similar to the first lap, and managed to start running almost immediately after exiting the staircase.

Pouring on the juice a bit towards the end, I managed to finish the 'tanggathon' in 1:06:10, in 8th place. Pleased as a peach, I milled around, taking in the drinks, banana and nasi lemak.

Another good race done by the Pacemakers and a great start to the year.

Looking forward to a year of more road races, and hopefully more PRs!

Malakoff Run 12k - the new KOTH course!

2009-12-20T09:51:00.004+08:00

Date : 20 December 2009
Time : 0700 (on the dot!)
Place : Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club (Bukit Damansara)
Terrain : Hilllllly...(437m of elevation)
Weather : Great!
Course : Challenging
Gun time: 1:00:35

The preparation for this race event by the Pacesetters was well organized, with smooth traffic movement, crowd control and distribution. The few snags was more on the collection of the race kit, as they did not allow collection from the Pacesetters office in Lorong Jugra anymore.

We were there at 6.15am, just in case there were no parking spots. We ended up parking by the slip road. There were alternative parking areas in Desa Seri Hartamas, from which the organizers arranged shuttle services. However, the trips back would only start at 10.00am. I didn't fancy hanging around for an hour (Actually, I was already back home by 9am, after having b/fast).

The gun went off at 7am sharp, with an accompanying countdown (first time since I've joined road races!). The initial part of the course was narrow and it took a bit of time to clear the timing mats.

On the onset, the course was uphill for the first 700m. Once we turned in Jalan Beringin, it was up and down, up and down. I was quite fazed by the time we finished the first loop and ended up walking about 100m on the last hill before starting the 2nd loop.

By the time we started the 2nd loop, we joined in with the back end of the 7km runners. With the wide roads, overtaking was no problem. Mentally, I kept reminding myself to keep up the pace, as most of the 7k runners were walking.

Although I was feeling much better in the 2nd loop, I knew I was running at a slower pace. I was thinking of the last hill that we need to overcome before turning back to Bukit Kiara.

With 3 quarters of the hill done, my HRT had jumped to 186. I decided to walk about 50m before continuing running to ensure I had enough to push to the end, which was downhill all the way.

I ended up sprinting the last 500m of the course with a bit more left in the tank.

Compared to the previous year's race, this year's run was definitely much more enjoyable due to the course, better organizing and good crowd and traffic control.

My wife finished a couple of minutes behind and seemed to have enjoyed the run as well.

Although I finished 1 second/km off last year's pace, the elevation was much more compared to last year's course (437m vs 330m). They should name this as the new "King of the Hill" road race.

If they organize the race again at this location next year, they can definitely count me in...

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon

2009-12-06T21:37:00.003+08:00

Date : 6 December 2009
Time : 5.30am
Place : Esplanade Drive, ends at the Padang.
Terrain : As promised, pretty flat.
Weather : Good
Crowd : Huge
Organization : 3.5/5.0
Time : 4:23:40 (gun time)

Singapore Marathon was recommended strongly on 2 points. It has a course which is pretty flat and has potential to go for PRs. The 2nd thing is that it has been pretty well organized in the past.

The collection process was definitely as smooth as it can go. It took only 3 minutes to get in line and get the stuff out. The exhibition held in conjunction was also a gadget nut's dreamland, with the compression clothes, HRT watches, sports nutrition and other running peripheral involved with the exhibition.

The only problem was the location. It was located near Changi, which is good for those coming in by flight but not so much for locals staying in other parts of Sg.

After the collection, we had a look around Sg, going to the race site as well as Bugis Street, which was a pretty long walk. Whether this had any bearing on the marathon's outcome is anybody's guess.

Having very minimal sleep the night before didn't help either.

I got at 4am and quickly made my way out to Esplanade drive. Although I arrived there at 4.45am, it took me a good half an hour to locate the bag drop point, leaving me very little time for anything else.

The lesson here : You should be getting into the corral at least 20 minutes before, else be prepared to start far away from the start line.

Given the big crowd, the 1st km was pretty slow. However, I managed to make up for lost time within the first 3km.

The first 20k was quite smooth, keeping a minute or two ahead of the 4:00 pacers. Hydration was quite straight forward with regular stations every 1.5k and bananas at 12k.

The supporters were also there, also quite sparse.

The going got tough going into the 32k mark and it was downhill all the way. I finally lost the pacers at km35, which was real blow. With my target goal down the drain and cramps developing in the calves and hamstring, my pace literally fell off to a walk, or even less. At certain points, I had to stop to stretch my calves to avoid going into more serious cramps.

By km 40, it was becoming a possibility that I would not be able to get a PB. I decided to slowly jog to ensure getting at least at a PB. Surprisingly, the cramps didn't bite as much for the last km or so. In a way, I did manage to finish strongly, albeit a much slower time than I expected.

Luckily, my wife was supporting me in the race and she helped to get my luggage from the bag drop point.

Good points;
1. Good kit collection process.
2. Very orderly in the race.
3. Lotsa of drink stations
4. Supporters (almost non existent except at the end for the KL marathon)
5. Pacers.

To improve ;
1. Bag drop point - should be more easily accessible, signs should be clearer.
2. Goodie bag - what goodie bag?
3. The crowd, which was huge towards the last 3k.

3 points to learn from this run;
1. No sightseeing the day before.
2. Get enough quality sleep.
3. Don't bring any baggage, saves a hell of a lot of time.

Hopefully, being better prepared in the next run, a sub 4 may be a possibility.

Next race, 12k Malakoff. Until then.....

SCSM - 7 days to go

2009-11-29T23:50:00.003+08:00

After going through my blog on the 14 weeks schedule of trainings, which by the way was side tracked a couple of weeks by a pulled hamstring and hip adductor, I seem to have done pretty well on some points but not others;
Good points;
1. LSDs were completed as planned.
2. Most week day runs and LSDs were on target pace.
3. After implementing key points of 'chi' running, running form and speed has improved significantly, as well as issues with the ankle and hamstring.
4. Mileage was pretty good.

Not so good points;
1. Total mileage was much lower than planned. I was hoping to hit 825km in the last 12 weeks, but it looks like I'll be hitting slightly more than 600k by end of next week's race.
2. 2 weeks considered gone, due to the hamstring/hip adductor problem. Has gone away for the last month or so, and didn't act up during the last 3 LSDs, though.
3. Not enough speed training, no hill training, and a tad too much tempo.
4. 10k pace will not be hitting close to 13kph by end of the year, more likely 12.5kph. Anyway there is always next year.
5. Got the flu the last few days, maybe due to running in the rain for most of my runs for the last 3 weeks, and also going into the taper period. I ran only 31k this week compared to 66k. Suppossedly, I was supposed to cut last week's to something like 45k (just had to squeeze in that last LSD!), so the drop off may have triggered the 'lower immunity syndrome' due to tapering.

Hopefully, I will be able to recover by mid week, and I will be running very minimal mileage this week, mostly due to travel. By Saturday, I should have done only 20k max, with 5k on Monday, 30min Tuesday and Wed, none on Thur, maybe 20min on Sat morning. Hopefully, all this will be done on a interval of 12-13kph for at least half the time.

Keeping my fingers crossed, I hope I will at least get a 4:15 for this run. Until then....

How did your Yasso go?

2009-11-28T13:50:00.003+08:00

For those not familiar with Yasso 800s, this is another approach to gauge whether your target marathon time is attainable.

Basically, it is a type of workout attributed to Bart Yasso, one of the editors of the "Runners World". It comprises of a set of intervals and can be adapted to fit your fitness level and also where you are in your preparation for your target marathon.

The target time in hours and minutes, say 4 hours and 12 minutes, is then converted to minutes and seconds, which would mean 4 min and 12 sec for a distance of 800mtrs. This will then be followed by an interval measured in the same amount of time, in this case 4 min and 12 sec.

Depending on which stage of your training that you are at, the sets are increased from 4 sets, maybe 8 weeks out from the target race, to 10 sets about 3 weeks from the target race.

The typical location for this workout would be a 400m track, or at least a trail/route which the distance is known.

Having a GPS watch for these workouts will help if you are running on unfamiliar territory. My Garmin 405 has settings for lap distance and lap time, so it's ideal if you would want to do some Yasso workouts.

A tip from the net - pick a route that is similar to the terrain of the course you will be running for the marathon. It will be a better gauge.

Point by point, the steps taken would be;

1. Warm up of about 10 minutes
2. 800m at the target pace.
3. Intervals for the target duration. The pace should be "easy".
Repeat 2&3 x 4 times.
4. Warm down for about 10 minutes.
5. Stretch and wind down.

The goal here is to maintain the target pace for at least 10 sets. In my case, I was hoping to do 10 sets of 4 minutes over 800m.

If you can't complete the 10 sets within the target time, it is very unlikely that you will be able to meet your target marathon time.

If you can complete the 10 sets within the time, then there is a chance to meet your target time, although that is no a guarantee. It has to be accompanied with the proper base training. Another tip - if your HRT remains stable throughout the 10 sets, then the chance of achieving your goal time is higher.

For more info, www.runnersworld.com/.../0,7120,s6-238-244-255-624-0,00.html is a great to start some fact finding.

So how did I do?

I was actually supposed to do this on the track at UPM stadium, but unfortunately;
1. It was locked today (Saturday), maybe because there was a public holiday the day before.
2. It started raining.
3. My running partner didn't turn up.

Not a good start...

So, I decided to do it over the UPM route, and my Garmin 405 was instrumental in getting this done.

The results of my first Yasso as below;
1. Warm up - 880mtrs, 5:08min
2. 1st Yasso - 3:37
3. Interval - 490mtrs, 2:49
4. 2nd Yasso - 3:44
5. Interval - 530mtrs, 3:04
6. 3rd Yasso - 3:55
7. Interval - 570mtrs, 3:17
8. 4th Yasso - 3:57
9. Interval - 530mtrs, 2:59
10. 5th Yasso - 3:55
11. Interval - 470mtrs, 2:49
12. 6th Yasso - 4:01
13. Warm down - 198mtrs, 1:07

With a downpour and a tough terrain (UPM Mizuno route), I decided to cut short the workout, and not blow a fuse. The last Yasso included the killer hill, so the time was pretty slow.

Although I wasn't wearing my HRT monitor, I could feel the exertion level climbing steadily throughout the sets. The killer hill packed quite a punch and gave a good climax to the whole workout.

I didn't manage to follow the prescribed pace and intervals, mainly due to inexperience, but all in all, it was a pretty good workout.

Will I manage to do my goal of a sub 4 after 12 weeks of training? Guess I'll find out in 8 days.

Until then....chow.

P/S - Trying new approach - loading up on chicken feet at dim sum stall!

Taper and Run Strong

2009-11-25T23:36:00.003+08:00

To borrow a line from the Phedippidations podcaster, Steve Runner, this is my plan for the upcoming Singapore marathon.

Reflecting on the training over the last 8 weeks, I've put in faster paces but less mileage on average, when compared to the 14 week training schedule I've put in for the KL marathon.

For the KL marathon, I must have made a couple of boo boos, such as cross training the day before, lack of sleep, too many races in the training period, focusing on too much carbs and not enough protein and actually doing the actual distance in training, 4 weeks from the race.

Coming into this 12 weeks program, I was feeling much stronger, with a better base of 'musculoskeletal' structure.

The aches, pains and tendonitis seemed to have also migrated, after I incorporated some elements of 'Chi' running (read the book by Danny Dreyer).

So, instead of going overboard, I only did 4 LSDs 30k and above, with the highest at 36km. For shorter runs, I pushed for at marathon pace minus 5-10 seconds, and this instilled some confidence.

Overall pace was much better, and I managed to finish the last 3 LSDs without any muscle cramps. A big improvement compared to the previous try.

Going into the taper (actually I only scheduled 14 days), I plan to do only 40-45k, with the last long run on Sat at about 15-20k, depending how I feel.

Given that this Friday is a holiday, I was also thinking about heading down to either the Klang stadium or UPM stadium to do the Yasso 800s to see where I am. 4min for 800m x 10 reps with intervals of 400m (MP-1 min).

Next week, I'll be traveling, so it would be a great time to taper :p

By the time I'm lining at the starting line in Esplanade drive next Sunday, I'm hoping to feel refreshed, energized and ready to go for a sub 4, God willing!!

Come 7th December, hopefully I'll be posting the race updates. Until then....Run Strong, and taper!

Mizuno 10k 2009

2009-10-25T13:59:00.007+08:00

Date : 25 Oct 2009
Time : 0730 am
Place : Stadium UPM, Serdang, Lebuh Silikon
Weather : Wonderful!
Slope : Challenging!
Course : Scenic and almost no traffic.
Memorable points : Killer Hill before you can reach the stadium...Made walkers out of runners!
Pros : 1 water stop at mid way point
Good starting point.
Good crowd!
Cons : Narrow route, especially at the starting point
Parking arrangements quite haphazard
For those who depend on public transport, this location is not very accessible.

The day started early at 5am as we were planning to meet the KK pacers at McD. Hung around McDonalds and left 6am, with a big group of cars in tow.

Hooked up with another friend in Shell near the Serdang toll. However, I proceeded first as another fellow runner was there to guide the rest to the stadium.

We arrived there at about 6.30am and the parking area was filling up quickly.

With ample time to do the warm up and and stretching, we could see the masses of people starting to arrive.

By 7.30am, as the horn went off, there were still quite a lot of people making their way to the starting point. I started off about 20 meters from the front row, but it took a good 400meters before the road was clear to actually move into the pace that I wanted to run at.

With a 5 min/km pace in mind and to see whether the 'chi running' approach, the 1st km was understandably slower at 5:12. As we reached the golf course, the crowd began to thin enough to run at my pace.

After running through the undulating terrain, I was still on mark at 7km. At that point, I knew I just needed to focus and push through the last 4k or so. Things was made much more interesting as the last hill had silently sneaked up on most of the runners as most of us didn't notice the severity of the slope when we headed up....

I managed to maintain a good pace up the hill and was able to pass about 30 others on the hill alone.

After that, it was downhill all the way, literally speaking!

I managed to maintain a pretty good sprint for the last 300m to 400m, even hitting 21kph at 1 point. I finished in 54:13 for the total distance of 10.93km and a pace of 12.1kph, about 12 seconds in the black. It was a vast improvement compared my Mizuno run in 2008 at 11.5kph at the reverse double hills loop.So far, only the Siemen's run was better in terms of run time, but of course, the slope challenge was a different story.

In short, nice run, good organizers, great running course.

"Chi"cken Running

2009-10-22T22:34:00.003+08:00

My old friend borrowed me this book on Chi Running by Danny Dreyer. It's a book on a running technique which borrows principle from 'Chi Kung' and learnt it from a practitioner called George Xu.

My fundamental understanding from this is that the core should drive the motion and the rest of the body is along for the ride.

I started the first steps in establishing the column and increasing my cadence. The first time was a bit tougher on the calves and the abdomen, but all in all, pretty good especially towards the end.

Looking forward to putting in more 'chi' runs as I go along and hopefully, it will turn out well. Better posture (no more hunchback from Notre Dame), better speed and injury free.....keeping my fingers crossed.

It has some teachings for both newbies and old hands at running, and there may be some benefits for those who have recurring injuries due to running.

Strictly recommended for those who love running.

Centro Run

2009-10-11T10:52:00.003+08:00

Place : Centro Building, Klang (land of Bak Kut Teh)
When : 0745, 11 Oct 2009
Distance: 5.75km
Weather : Cloudy, but still slightly warm
Terrain : Pretty flat...
Participation : About 1000?
Organizer : KPAC
Overall Rating : 3.5/5

For somebody who is just starting to pick up running as a sport, and for those who want to do some speed work, this is an ideal event. With 6km on the books, the distance is a challenge for beginners and ideal for those who would like to get some serious speed work in.

The race had a staggered start, with Men's Open first, followed by the Women's and Veterans, and then Juniors.

If I was not mistaken, the starting time was earlier than scheduled, by at least 5 minutes. I can imagine that the serious contenders who came in a bit late would not be happy campers.

As the road was pretty narrow, the first km was pretty congested. I started about 40m behind the starting line, hence had to carve my way through. My first km time was 5:04, which was the slowest of the whole race. I may have had about 30 seconds to gain if I started up in the first 5 rows.

Going into the 2nd km, I pick up the pace for 4:35. I decided to throttle back a bit for the rest of the race, as I did not want to aggravate the existing issues with my hamstring.

The fun part of starting behind and also the staggered start was that you get to 'sayur' a lot of runners. When I mean a lot, I was talking 3 digit a lot. Even towards the final 2km of the race, I was overtaking about 10 runners per minute.

Coming to the finish, I was pushing about 14-15kph pace. I wrapped up the race in 27:39, a 12.5kph pace, which was within my targeted pace.

I finished no. 54 for the Men's veteran category.

A pretty satisfying race, all in all, with a good makan place close by, at Teluk Pulai Restaurant at Taman Rashna, with the KK pacers.

Next race....the premium 10k in Malaysia...Mizuno Wave Run on 25th Oct 2009.

Malathion training Wk5/14 - 25km LSD cum Half Marathon for WWFOR

2009-10-10T13:52:00.004+08:00

Place : Putrajaya Precinct 2-3...thereabouts
Time : 6.50am
Weather : Nice and cloudy...
Slope : Moderate

I started off the run with a couple of friends. Why Putrajaya? With very low traffic and nice buildings, infrastructure and convenient access to toilets, this place is pretty ideal to do not only running and cycling.

With most of my runs done in my neighbourhood, doing a LSD in Putrajaya, and it was more for a change of the scenery.

I was targeting to do 25km within 2:25, about a 10.5km/hr pace. Also, I wanted to fulfill my commitment to do the WWFOR Half marathon which I was one of the first to register (http://worldwidefestivalofraces.com).

The route was to run from the big mosque in Precinct 2 to PICC and then to Pullman hotel, get across the bridge, and loop back to the mosque. I was expecting that a 2nd loop to PICC was required, and it would be easy to adjust the distance accordingly.

So, there were 2 runs in one. 25km in 2:25 and 21km within 2 hours.

I started the pace at about 10k/hr and by the 2nd km, it was going up to 10.7k/hr. By the 10km, I was averaging 10.7k/hr.

Took my first sip of the double dose of Accelerade, and was feeling pretty good. Most of the kinks were worked out by the 3rd km. No problems with the hamstring and hip adductor.

At 17km mark, the energy levels were still pretty good. I started the 2nd loop and tried maintain a nice steady pace of 5:35 to 5:40 per km.

I finished strong for the first run of the half marathon and completed 21.1km in 1hour 58min 46 seconds, my PB for a half marathon distance non race run.

After finishing this first part, I took a "evacuation" break and continued the run. However, things were going downhill from that point.

I was running at a much slower pace for the last 4 km. Based on my target pace, I had quite a lot of time to spare to cover the last leg.

I did a couple of walk breaks. I was imbibing quite a bit too much water too quickly, and ended up having with a side stitch.

I guess I made finishing the last leg a bit more difficult by thinking too much about it, rather than zoning out and control the water intake.

I finished the 25.24km in 2:24:42, which I was pretty happy with.

Post Race :
I was feeling better than I've felt after other 25k runs or more, so it was a pretty wise choice not to run yesterday. Also the recovery from the muscle injuries almost completed, it was a sweet run all in all.

I will be taking part in the 6km Centro Run in Klang tomorrow. Depending how I crawl out of bed, I'm hoping to be looking at a sub 30min run.

"OR KAI TAN- Lay Chicken Egg" Ekiden Relay

2009-10-05T22:01:00.000+08:00

Date : 4 Oct 2009
Time : 0800
Place : Putrajaya
Distance : 3km x 5
Weather : Pleasant

I hooked up with the KK pacers at the Kota Kemuning McD at 5.30am. As there were some logistics required to drop off the runners, they had to start moving people about 1 hour earlier.

We arrived there at about 6.30am and there was time to spare. I was there on the previous Sunday and it was a big contrast, crowd wise. With 400 teams expected to participate, the atmosphere was a bit of a carnival, compared with the previous Sunday, when you could here a fly land...

I was taking up the first leg as I was hoping to run the whole course. Cheuo was on 2nd, Nicholas third, Kang fourth and Fan on the last leg.

Putrajaya being what it is, was pretty flat, except for a few hills and bridges. As the start was staggered, with 10minutes between each category, we expected the race to end pretty late, and it was a smart to park further away from the event area, so that you can make a quick getaway.

I decided to start off easy, with no particular target time in mind. This time, I started right at the back of the pack.

Although the plan was to run a progressive race, I finished the first km in 4:13 (14.2km/hr pace). I was much slower on the 2nd km, completing it in 4:40 (12.8km/hr). I could feel my right heel stretching quite a bit at this pace.

It was quite fun as I slowly passed the others one by one. By the time I reached the 3rd km, I was more or less "in equilibrium", with as many runners overtaking as I was overtaking others.

Coming down the last 500m, I put on some speed for a strong finish. I finished the last km in 4:36 (13.0km/hr). I finished the leg in 13:53 for 3.08km. I guessed I was in the 20s out of the 93 teams that participated.

After collecting my drink and food, I stuck around to catch my breath and chit chat. I decided to try continue with the run, although my hamstring and groin muscles were starting to ache a bit.

I only managed to get another 3k in and decided to hang around until all 3 KK pacer teams were back.

The KK Pacers V finished the race in 44th position out of 93 teams. Quite a good result, given the circumstances.

Looking forward the the Centro 6k next week. Hopefully, I won't be in too bad a shape as I am planning to do a 25k the day before.

With only 8 weeks to go, I need to put in a few 30k runs and at least 1 35k 2 weeks before the big day in Singapore.

On the Mend, with not much time left

2009-10-03T11:13:00.001+08:00

Week 5/14 held a bit more promise in my recovery, but I eased off quite significantly. I ran 6k on Monday at a reasonable 11k/hr pace, but took Tuesday and Wednesday off. On Thursday morning, I averaged about 10.7k/hr for 6k as well.

Today, I only mustered 7.5k at about 10k/hr with 2 walk breaks. Running in the later morning didn't help with temperatures climbing.

The hip adductor and hamstring twinges had reduced over the week, but I could feel it at the beginning of the runs and there would be "gentle" reminders that the 2 areas were still under some stress.

With the 3k Ekiden relay tomorrow, I didn't want to push myself too much today. If all things went well, I should be shadowing my friend in his ironman race later tomorrow for the 21k running leg.

It should be interesting, since I've never run a 21k after 11am...

Injury setback......

2009-09-22T23:17:00.004+08:00

I've been really trying to push up my weekly mileage since early Sept in order to get on schedule.

I managed to get to 51km for the week 1 and 55km for week 2 of my 14 week marathon program.

However, I managed to ignore the tingling in my hamstring and inner thigh.

Week 3 started off a bit rough, after that things started to go downhill. The pain in the hamstring and inner thigh got to the point where I was practically limping when I started my run on Friday.

After the first km, I wised up and did an about turn.

For the last 4 days, I tried to cycle and swim and limit my runs to very short distances.

The situation has improved some what, but I will need to monitor the pain levels closely as further deterioration may setback the whole schedule by a month and not 2 weeks.

Oh well....

PAR 5 Relay Run

2009-08-31T16:40:00.002+08:00

Place : Lake Gardens
Date : 30 August 2009
Time : 0730
Weather : Cloudy to raining
Terrain : So so but steep at the beginning.
Distance : 2.6km x 4

This race was very much in the spirit of communal fun. The KK pacers sent a pretty large contingent of 5 teams, of which my wife and I were in one of them, the KK Pacers Racers.

We weren't expecting to break any speed records..... except maybe for our lead team, KK pacers Uno. No pressure, guys!

As usual, the participation from the better runners were quite good, with strong teams coming from KPAC and der Pacemakers.

As it was a relay race, there were quite a lot of time to mill around and mingle while each runner took turns to do their runs.

Running a "shorter" distance race was definitely a different cup of tea, the mindset was to get in a fast pace from the beginning without burning out towards the end. We did a trial a week before. For that, I tried pushing from the beginning and managed to set a hot 4'07" pace for the first km, but gradually slowed down to a dismal 4'37" for the 2nd km. I finished the trial 2.1km loop at a 13.7km/hr pace.

Hence, the strategy here was to keep in mind the distance and pace accordingly, without leaving out too much in the end....Sounded good, right?

I did a couple of mistakes for this run, which may have cost the team a few seconds (or more);

1. I forgot to bring my watch...first time since I started taking part in races that I forgot it. Without it, I couldn't even know what pace I was at. Hence, it was all by feel.
2. I forgot to take care of the big business....Oops!

When the baton was passed to me, I set out on a pretty fast pace uphill, and overtook 3 or 4 runners by the time we hit the peak.

Coming downhill, it was a bit out of control as the slope was pretty steep. Luckily, it wasn't raining, else we might have a tumble down hill, like Jack and Jill.

I was feeling pretty much in control until.....literally speaking, the s*** hits the fan. The urge to run towards the toilet was suddenly overwhelming. Knowing that this is part of the symptoms for over exertion, I slowed down and managed to keep the urge in check.

Heading towards the last loop, I didn't have a strong finish and one of the runners managed to sayur me back towards the end.

As I passed off the baton to my team mate, I felt like I still had about 10% left in the tank. Looking at the time, I managed to finish the 2.6km lap in 11' 20". Good but not great. The pace was only slightly faster than the trial at 13.76km/hr.

The team did okay, finishing 18th out of 33 teams. The rain did dampen the whole event quite a bit towards the end, but overall, everybody had a fun time.

For a bit of family fun and community spirit, I'm looking forward to next year!

Kudos to the organizers!! They had most of the bases covered.

To borrow the slogan from a petroleum company to apply to the der Pacemakers "How do we know what you want? Coz we are runners too!"

LS(S)D Run (Long Slow (Short?) Distance Run)

2009-08-16T14:44:00.003+08:00

Event : Long Slow Distance Run
Place : Around Bukit Rimau and KK
Distance : 16km
Time : 7:00 to 8:30am, there abouts.
Weather : Good

Had a wonderful Saturday, with weather pretty mild, with scattered showers in the evening.

The family did have a good time at the KK pacers potluck bash near KK Lake, with good food, good company and something for the kids to do. The weather was holding up, although there were intermittent drizzle.

Tried to come up with a good number for this morning's run, and more or less settled on 20 km, depending how I felt. No particular pace in mind. I was more concerned on both my achilles heels and left hamstring.

The last thing I needed was starting off my marathon training for SG with injuries...

As usual, I took some time before I could get out the front door. With a cup of coffee down the chute and some Red Bull diluted with water 1:3, I was off for my run at exactly 7:01am.

The first 5km went smooth, and at a fairly easy pace. The joints were doing ok. After completing the 1st round at KK Lake, the hamstring and knees acted up a bit.

With the sun coming up and temperatures rising, I decided there and then to cut it short to 15k.

Heading towards the 2nd roundabout, I almost got run over by a lady driver, who seemed to either have dysfunctional right signal indicator, or have adopted the high driving standards of Malaysia :-

"RUNNERS BEWARE! MOTORISED VEHICLES HAVE ULTIMATE RIGHT OF WAY, ESPECIALLY MINE!"

What can you do? Anyway, I deftly swerved to dodge the 4 wheel drive and continued on my merry way, and none the worse for the experience. Little does one know what was going through my mind...

Getting back to the neighbourhood, I decided to do a mini loop before finishing at a round 10 miler, good to be considered an LSD but not really long by most standards. Bumped into 1 of our KK pacers. Didn't know she was staying there and vice versa. Strange, huh... Maybe timing issue lah.

Wrapped up the run in good running form and feeling good. No major aches and pains, and at this time of writing, 7 hours after the run, I'm only having some tightness in my right achilles tendon and a wee bit tired. Great, compared to the condition I was in after the Adidas KOTR.

The next race is at end of this month, and a short one at that; the PAR relay event with the KK Pacers sending 5 teams.

I'm thinking about my training program for the SG marathon, hoping to kick it off latest 1 September.

For the KL marathon, I did 900km in 16 weeks, with 700km in the last 12 weeks for a 4:29 finish, and the wall hitting at 35km.

I hope to log at least a total of 1000km within the 16 weeks, with 850km in the last 12 weeks. My target for this round - 4:15 and push out the wall a few more km. However, breaking a leg to go sub 4:00 is something I will have on my mind.

Shah Alam KOTR..should be King of the Hills!

2009-08-02T13:24:00.004+08:00

Place : Stadium Shah Alam
Distance : 21.7km
Weather : Cloudy with some haze
Terrain : Hilly! (470m)
Route : Busy, with a lot of traffic as route along main roads.
Goodie Bag : 1 T-Shirt...that's all.
Cost : RM35 Early Bird for 22km, RM25km for 8km.
Prizes : Certificate, and medal for top 100 finisher for Men Jr Veteran and Women
Pros : Many many water stops and sponge stations.
Cons : Goodie bag? What goodie Bag? & no mileage markers.

This was the first half marathon I would take part after the SCKLM and was really looking forward to running around Shah Alam for a change.

However, the last 2 weeks had been pretty slow, as far as my running was concerned. Last Sunday's planned long run was washed out, and my weekly mileage was at a record low 20k.

As I was outstation the whole week, running was limited to the treadmill (BOOORINGG!) because of bad road and traffic conditions outside.

After all the excuses above, you can pretty much guess that I expected not to get another PR for this run. As the saying goes "If you think you can't, you definitely can, not!".

The race participation number was announced at about 9k plus, a pretty good level of participation. With prize money offered, the Kenyans were there again, with a good number of participants from Singapore and some from Thailand. Our regular PR runners were also there.

The race started off without delay, WHICH WAS GREAT! My fellow runner, Lee, made a passing comment on the punctuality by our opposition leader against the race in Ipoh. "Leadership by example! That's the way!" How true, and I couldn't agree more.

From the first km, the hills were rolling up and down, up and down. I was relatively familiar with Shah Alam, but it never occurred to me that it was that hilly when I was driving around...

This is definitely not a race for "Hill Phobics", as it was the main challenge factor.

Moving through the heart of Shah Alam got "difficult", as the volume of traffic was building up quickly. The wonderful vehicle emissions was the 2nd challenge factor, especially for those doing the 22k.

Through out the race, I was doubting myself, more because of the lack of miles in the weeks after the marathon. My body was actually doing quite ok, it was more on my Heart Rate, which was hitting 180-188. This was quite similar to the Siemens Run, but I did slow down, to ensure I didn't keel over going into the 2nd half (LOL!).

This race probably represents the biggest positive split I have ran in a race (as you can see above), percentage wise, excluding the marathon.

As we closed in the final 2k, the route joined up with the other categories and I had to zig zag through.

The final 300m was quite enjoyable, running to the stadium through the underground tunnel, and finally exiting at the finishing line.

I was relieved to collect my medal, as I though I would not have finished within the top 100 for the Men's veteran category.

There were Milo and 100 plus, but we didn't see any food...how sad!!

As there was no other reason to hang about, we made a quick exit and left by 9.10am.

It was a pretty OK race all in all, but I really hope the route would be towards the more scenic parts of Shah Alam for years to come.

Sunday Running.....

2009-07-26T09:30:00.002+08:00

I love my Sunday runs, which normally lasts at least one and a half hours over 15k, at a comfortable pace.

Running out of the normal housing suburb, it helps reacquaint myself with my favorite places and familiar spots around my place. Circling around my childrens' school, and heading towards the lake, I would anticipate a beautiful sunrise which I could take in with the 2 rounds I did around the lake before heading towards the edge of our housing suburb.

Towards the end of my run, I would head down a less traveled road with some traditional kampung houses.

Running pass the golf course makes me reflect on my own golf game in the previous day.

By the time I head towards home, and having accomplished my task for the day, I would feel good for the rest of Sunday.

Anyway, today's run was washed out due to the constant drizzle and my running nose. I may head out on the bike if the weather improves.

For next week's Adidas KOTR, I plan to have an enjoyable run with no specific time in mind.

After registering for the Penang half and Singapore marathon in November and December respectively, I will be going into marathon training mode in early September.

Until then, I would look at more casual goals in my running for next 30 days...

Siemen's 10K - First race after the Marathon

2009-07-19T17:58:00.004+08:00

Place : Dataran Merdeka
Date : 19 July 2009
Time : 7.28am
Terrain : Much less undulation then Mizuno 10k route, good to go for PR
Weather : Cloudy, and quite pleasant. Didn't really feel the haze....
Traffic : Well under control, at least for the front.

With this race being my first after the marathon, I was feeling confident that I would able to do well and get a my first sub 50 for 10k+ race.

The number of participants was quite high, with a mix of 10k, 7k and 3.5k races for different levels.

My better half was in the 7k under women vet and my kids were in the dream run. With a staggered start and expected running paces, I was expecting that we would most probably finish within 20 minutes of each other.

I was feeling pretty good, other from my right ankle, which I've been applying ice and massage on the calf. Saw it on you tube. It seemed that massage helps to address the scarred cartilage which infused over time in the achilles and sort out the node that was slowly forming on the back of my heel.

Not sure it is helping, but there was the dull pain after icing and massage.

But....I digress.

My game plan for this race was simple. Build up as much buffer by running below the 5 minute pace for my PR and then push the last 3k. To hope that I could maintain a better than 5 min pace throughout may be a bit difficult due to the undulation.

I went into the corral with ample time to spare and met with my neighbour, who was taking part in his 2nd 10k race. Also met with Cheou, Steven and Ray later. We were joking that we will follow Steven closely, as he was definitely the fastest in our group.

We were busy chit chatting when suddenly the clock tower chimed and the gun went off.

Off we go!

I saw Steven get off to a quick start and thought to catch up with him later... I didn't notice where Cheou and Ray was. I was hoping to get under the 5min/km pace for the first 5k, to have a good buffer for the latter part of the race.

The way forward was pretty tight until about the turn past Bank Negara, where the crowd was beginning to thin. I pick up my pace as we headed uphill.

About 1km into the race, I saw Steven in front of me. Looking at the pace, I was hoping to maintain having him in my sights for as long as possible.

It was going to be difficult to keep up my pace for the first 4 k as it was more or less uphill all the way.

Through out the first half, I resisted looking at my watch too much but every time the chime came on for every km, it showed 4 min + pace, and I was on target. By the end of the 4k, I had about 54 seconds buffer.

However, my pace started to waiver and floated to 5:04. Not sure whether I eased off too much or it was just common sense. I was started to feel the dull pain in my left calf, which actually was from a bee sting I picked up during golf the day before.

My ankle felt ok and no problems from my knee. I could feel a bit of strain on my left hamstring, but it was still within it's "operating limits"...roughly translated..."not much pain".

After the 5k mark, I was really feeling the pace taking a toll on my aerobic side and not so much muscle stress. Although I didn't really look at it, but I could guess that I was averaging above 175 bpm so far.

I kept focusing on my running form to stay loose, although I was getting more fatigued by the minute.

As we came back toward Dataran Merdeka with 3km to go, I knew that I had the PR in the bag. It was now a question of a strong finish.

I tried to pick up the pace but it was only on the final km where I could get a move on. It was a good finish although I was not really pushing for killer finish, literally speaking. I had one of the regulars, Loke, pass me on the last km. That's when I poured it on. With the cheerleaders, band and some guys in red indian costumes, it did provide a lot of encouragement to finish strong.

I finished in about 49 min ++, and was coughing and struggled to catch my breath back for the first minute. My position - 47th out of ?

The only thing I could think of at that time..... PR! Another great time set.

Went off the pick up the medal, drinks and meet up with the kids. Compared to the KL marathon, the organization here was wonderful. My wife had some cramps and it took about a half hour to locate her at the meeting spot.

With 100 medals for the men's open and 75 medals for the men's jr vet, this is a medal that had some prestige.

From what I've read, 100th position in the men's open was 49' 40" and 75th position for men's jr vet, about 54'.

In a way, I would have been a borderline case if I was still in the men's open. What can I say... tough crowd!

We left the event by 9.15am. All in all, this was a pretty well organized race and I'm looking forward to next year. By that time, my son will qualify to do the 7.5k....that will be interesting!

Next race - Adidas King of The Road 21.7km. I'm still guessing that the 21k is my strongest distance, based on my positions in the past 3 races on similar distances. Not sure why... Anyway, I'm looking forward to this. Until next time.

**Note - To further improve my time, I will need to focus on increasing my aerobic threshold....meaning more SPEED WORK. Oooh, more pain....

Achilles and my ankle

2009-07-12T17:22:00.002+08:00

Since I started running last year, my right achilles have been giving me pain off and on.

There were good days and there were bad days. On bad days, I had to hobble down the stairs until about 20-30 minutes before it improved.

Understanding that this situation probably resulted from an old injury, coupled with the shortening of the ligaments after running, I went to see a sports doc, tried using a splint.

The situation has improved, but it comes and bite me in the ....heel (what did you think?) occasionally.

Recently, I've been reading about mid foot strikes to reduce knee stress and to gain better speed. I've been feeling that the heel wants to have a say in this and it keeps saying NO!

Today, I went for my first long run after the marathon. A few hours after the 18k run and a short nap, the hurt set in...

I'll have to revert to icing it and applying NSAIDs. It may take a couple of weeks before I will see it reverting it to the old state.

Why do I say it's something to do with the change in running technique/form? Because the left heel is starting to have a slight tingle as well...

It may also be the sudden reduction in my mileage over the last 2 weeks, which may have resulted in the muscles being slightly atrophied.

There's some deformation due to bursitis, I guess, and I may need to see a specialist. But, let's see how it goes...

Post Marathon - My tingling toe

2009-07-08T21:34:00.004+08:00

I took a short short run come post marathon day. My whole exoskeleton seemed to be coming loose at certain points - my right heel, my left knee, tingling on my left hamstring and calf and....my left sole. I only had my left foot experience some tingling after running at a higher pace after 20k or running more than 30k.

Hoping it wasn't something permanent, I took it easy for the whole week. I logged in a grand total of.....6 km for the whole week, the least since I started logging my runs in Oct 2008!

After a whole week of laying back and itching to get back into the run, I went for a short 7k run on Monday evening. A few hours later the tingling feeling migrated from the sole to my 2nd toe on my left foot. It felt very....strange, as if a nerve was pinched or I fractured my toe.

Anyway, come morning and a good night's rest, presto, and the feeling was gone.

I did another run today, about 10k with some breaks in between. The tingly feeling can still be felt, but at a very much lower magnitude.

I read somewhere that 1 of the possible root causes were tight hamstrings or calves. Seems to me like that's the case.

Post marathon running seems to be quite enjoyable, as I feel stronger and refreshed.

Looking forward to next Sunday's run, the Siemen's run, which my whole family will be taking part.

My target....hmmmm Sub 50 min for 10k distance. Too ambitious? Depends on how I can tackle Bukit Tunku.

SC KL Marathon

2009-06-28T13:21:00.004+08:00

Place : Dataran Merdeka
Date : 28 June 2009
Time : Before the cock crows 4.58am
Terrain : Easy if you're running 21k, not so for 42k.
Weather : Raining at the start, then cloudy all the way.
Traffic : Heavy, should have contra flow lah. Not well planned.
Times :

10km - 0:59:40
15km - 1:30:46
20km - 2:01:10
25km - 2:31:15
30km - 3:01:40
35km - 3:33:44 (Slowing Down!)
40km - 4:11:04 (Slower still)
42.78km - 4:29:21 (Final dash, if you can call it that)

My slowest 1km split was 8:21 at KM38.

The BIG day has finally arrived.

I hardly got any sleep although I was lying in bed at 9.30pm. I think I only slept at 1.00am.

Before you know it, the alarm went off at 3am. 2 hours better than nothing kua...

Manage to stuff 2 cups of water, a cupful of oats + milo + soya milk, with a cup of 3 in 1 nescafe. Didn't manage to unload all "unnecessary weight", hence was worried of offloading half way into the race.

We were out by 3.45am and at Padang Merbok 30 minutes later. I left the wife and kids to catch some zz while I strapped up and headed out to Dataran Merdeka.

The good thing was that I didn't need to register again and just did some stretches and look around while the rain came down in a drizzle.

I line up about 30 meters from the starting line, anticipating the pacers' balloons to go up accordingly. Strangely enough, it was a no show although it was clearly indicated in their runner's guide.

There was a countdown done by the announcer who went "6 minutes to go!", then blah blah, blah, "5 minutes to go" blah, blah, blah...you get the idea. The start was a bit funny though. He announced 'the race is going to start shortly!'. The next thing you know, BANG! off went the starter gun. No 3,2,1 or anything of that sort. Everybody was startled for a few seconds before moving.

The race started quite well, even with the rain until KM6. I started feel twinges in my left hamstring. That got me worried and thinking if I had to walk the remainder 36km, it would take another....hmmmm 10min/km x 36, 6 hours! *%$#

Anyway, I kinda shoved it at the back of my head as everything else was ok. The twinges were there until KM33, when everything else started hurting.

For first 33km, other from the twinges, everything was quite smooth. I ran pretty conservatively because of that, though.

I took my "special power juice" (2 red bull + soya milk in 750ml bottle) when thirsty or from the water stands when there weren't too many people. The banana servings at KM15 was heaven sent, as I did manage to pick up my pace after that.

On power gels, I took 1 at KM22, half at KM28, another 1 at KM32 (provided by POWER GEL), the other half is KM35 and the last one at KM38; 4 of them. Never really thought I would need all of them.

As we hit the Istana flyover KM33, which was quite steep, quite a number of runners started to suffer cramps. At that point, I was feeling good, but I was thinking of the wall coming up soon.

As I slowly made my way up the highway to Jalan Duta, the slight slope increase ever so slightly until it becomes noticeable. At KM37, the wall was slowly taking shape. I had to walk a bit every 500m.

By KM38, it deteriorated to a half run/half walk as the cramp twinges became more frequent. That's when I pulled my mental strength together, asking help from God, to give strength. Although I'm not a particularly religious person, I do believe that the Almighty one is always there and every time I ask for strength, I felt a tingling sensation in my body for a short boost of energy. Hmmm... I have never thought of running a marathon as a path of spiritual learning too :)

I spent about a minute trying to call my wife but just sent an sms instead. It was then I realized I was really cutting it close for my goal time of 4:30.

So near yet so far, I willed myself to push harder and strangely enough, the cramps didn't come in the last 2 km. As I accelerated down the stretch, the realization of finishing the marathon within the goal time became apparent.

I caught a glimpse of my son taking my picture as I approached the finished line. I looked at the clock 4:29:21 with 10 meters to go and the feeling of relief and a sense of personal accomplishment washed over me.

I had done it! A goal set when I was 21, trained 6 months and ran more than 1000km, through pain and injury of my achilles tendon in my right heel, was finally achieved.

The feelings that I have now as I type this posting is similar to the time I climbed to Gunung Tahan over 8 days.

In a way, it gives me insight that each man or woman does have control over their lives to a certain extent. It also instills a belief that everybody who has ran a marathon, he or she believes that they have a say in the direction of their lives.

With this, I'll close this posting with a saying I heard somewhere from a popular email - the environment influences only 10% of our lives, the rest of it depends on how we react.

Pre Marathon Blues

2009-06-26T22:04:00.003+08:00

Had a real experience of enjoying the outdoors while collecting the bibs for the run. All in all, I really agree with a lot of other runners that this ranks high among the worst bib collection organized by a "oku-nizer".

Standard Chartered really needs to be careful on who they pick to organize the event as the ground staff seems to be lost on what they are supposed to do.

Sure, the rain didn't help but any event organizer worth his salt prepares contingencies for most, if not all situations. What more if it's raining, in Malaysia!!!

Fingers crossed, hopefully they improve it tomorrow and have a smooth event on Sunday....

KPAC Half Marathon Run (Murphy's law?)

2009-06-07T13:14:00.005+08:00

Place : Setia Alam, Klang?
Time : 0630
Date : 7 June 2009
Race distance : 21.41km
Target time : sub 1hr 50min for 21km.
Weather : Pleasant due to early start.
Terrain : Not too undulating, less than Bidor half marathon route.
Attendance :1,500? So so lah...Due to many distances and categories, I don't think my cat (Veteran Men) had more than 200 participants.
Organization : Good

Pros : Plenty of water stations (5), 1 power gel station.
Plenty of portable toilets! A must have for such events.
Punctual!
Wide open roads and less participants, allowing a quick getaway!
Timing - Earlier better, with weather being cool.
Many categories, prizes and lucky draw...better chances for everyone to take home something else other from a medal.
Cons : Couldn't find registration counter (too dark and no signage, or I didn't see one at least)
No mileage markers...(if you don't have a GPS watch, you would be cursing)
No goodie bag after the run, so sad.
No makan, like hot dog or sandwiches, or nasi lemak...only tauhu.
Lights for the portable toilets. Didn't know whether you were hitting the target, except by listening to the sound. Also, I wasn't sure how to flush as I couldn't find the lever. I only found out that you can step on a pump which releases the water into the bowl, after the event...

You know, sometimes your mind plays tricks on you, especially when you've had a few hours sleep and you're awake at 4.30am.

You know what they say, "what can go wrong, will go wrong". I was packing up everything into the car and mentally going through the must take items. Somehow, taping up, applying vaseline and "CHECKING WHETHER I WAS BRINGING THE RIGHT SHOES" didn't occur to me this morning.

We reached the Welcome center at 6.05am with 25minutes to spare. As I opened the boot, to my surprise, I brought the right shoe of my Asics and the left shoe of my son's New Balance. I couldn't help but laugh at the situation. A friend later remarked to me when I told him this "better to half 1 left and 1 right, rather than both left or right". How true!

Anyway, knowing that the shoe will fit, it was just a matter of any discomfort, or blisters forming towards the end of the race.

They were giving away half cut Power bars and some other stuff. Most of the runners were milling around, looking for free makan, minum and anything else free...hmmm maybe it was just me.

Anyway, my wife wandered off to look at the stalls as her event started 45 minutes later (at 7.15am). I did my 1km warm up run, some stretches and lined up at the starting line with 5 minutes to spare. No pushing or shoving as the starting area was wide and the participants were not that many.

3,2,1 Bang! Off we went. I managed to work through the crowd with minimum fuss and completed the first 2km at 11.8km/hr.

I knew I was going too fast but I was somehow sucked into the "racing with others" mode, with guys passing me left and right...

By 5km, I was more settled down. I still felt pretty strong with my pace settling down at 11.6km/hr. I wanted to get to the half way mark at about 55min to at least have a negative split.

By 11km, I was bang on target and was starting to pass quite a number of runners. I checked my times and it definitely wasn't me speeding up.

By 15km, I knew I was where I need to be to meet my target time. The pack was thinning out, until we joined the 4.5k and 11k runners on the route. At that time, I was using the runners in front to keep pace and held on pretty strong until 19km.

For some reason or another, my pace for 20 and 21km dropped off by 7 seconds. Maybe, at the back of my mind, I knew I had the time in the bag and there was no close competitors to chase.

I was also aware that the total race distance would be more than 21km as we had to loop back across the flyover. Coming down the last 800meters, I caught with another guy who was slowing down to a jog and told him "Just a bit more! Time to push for it!" He smiled at me and said "OK, let's go!" He definitely had a lot of acceleration in him as he shot off at had gained about 10m in a 100m distance. He, however, slowed down again towards the last 200m and again, I caught up to him.

"Last 100meters! Come On!". He happily picked up the pace and I gave chase. I think I need to do more speed work if I want to catch up with this guy. He finished about 5m in front of me but both of us were happy that we finished the race in style. We patted each other on the back and went our separate ways.

Looking at the time, 1:50:48, I was a bit deflated, but checking the distance, I knew I managed to do what I set out to accomplish. I was 1min 54sec better than my previous run in Bidor for the same distance of 21km.

My wife was waiting at the finish line with tau foo fah in hand, and surprise surprise! She was 2nd in the fun run.

I do all the training and she wins all the prizes!!

Anyway, we ended hanging around until the prize giving ceremony and the 2nd prize in the the fun run was..... a bicycle!

Well, looks like the investment paid off. With my daughter's birthday being tomorrow, looks like there's an extra present for her.

All in all, it was good run and it's a taper period from here on out until the Biggie! on 28 June 2009.

SCKLM - The Loooong Run

2009-05-30T11:57:00.002+08:00

Place - Bukit Rimau, KK and Kemuning Utama
Distance - 42.2 km
Time taken - 4:40:25 (At least I have an easier target time to beat for PR in KLIM)
Time - 6.00 am
Date - 30 May 2009
Weather - Beautiful with a refreshing breeze and cloudy....until 9.45am.
The plan - to try completing the full distance, regardless of time.

I had this run on the books for this week and was originally planning to do it on Sunday. However, with a special trip planned for the kids, I decided to give my Saturday golf a skip to this round.

Not a good idea. I came back from Singapore at 9.30pm and didn't really get a good night's sleep, probably only about 4 hours.

I was up by 5am to go through rituals of preparation with the food, drink, plasters and what have you not. I prepared 2 750ml bottles of 1 can Red bull + 1 can of 100 Plus each and filled them up to the brim. I'm not a big fan of 100 plus due to the gas but that was what we had at home.

I was feeling pretty sluggish but I was more or less running on auto to just try and do the run. Priority was not too get injured and not to suffer cramps. The one I suffered last Sunday, coupled with the slight sprain took almost the whole week to recover. Even now, there was a slight soreness.

With procrastination taking precedence, I only managed to step out and start my run by 6am.

By the first 2km, I got all the kinks worked out, especially on my right achilles tendon. I added the loop around the Kota Permai golf clubhouse to get the mileage up by the time I got back to the house.

By 10km, I completed the 2 loops around the lake, with an eye out for those "missing" tiles (once bitten, twice shy).

As it was a Saturday, traffic was much heavier compared to Sundays. I had to keep in mind not to get mowed down by maniacal motorists.

I completed the first 20km in good time (within the 2 hours target). I finished the gel pack by 21km mark and felt pretty good at that point.

After passing Chung Hwa primary school, some fatigue was beginning to settle in. Some doubt on whether I could complete the 42km crept up as some pain was developing in my ankles, especially the right.

By the time I reached back home to get my refill, the fatigue level was rising quicly. I finished the 2nd gel by 32km and was falling back to the power bar just in case I needed it.

After 35km, it went all wrong. Pain was developing everywhere and twinges of cramping were coming on more frequently. By 37km, I was already walking more than running and it was more of a mental battle by then.

The suffering went down a notch when I walked and jumped up 2 notches when I started running again. The last 5 km was probably the slowest I've ran since a year back. Come to think of it, they were probably the slowest 5km I did EVER!!

With the last 500m closing in, I hobble, shuffled and finally jogged to complete the distance. I was satisfied that I did it, although the time was way below expectations.

The real suffering began after reaching home. I tried very carefully not to maneuver, bend over or make any sudden move that may result in a cramp (that's what happened last week). With 2 ice cold 100 plus in the fridge and my wife having prepared ice in the freezer, I spent a good 20 minutes soaking my feet and gulping down the cans of 100 plus. For good measure, I took rehydration salts with 2 cups of water.

I made a point to weigh myself and I lost about 3kg in water and what have you not for that run.

Guess all of that worked as I didn't suffer any headache or light headedness, and at this point, after 2 hours of completing this run, still feel pretty good.

I'll probably be a sotong for the rest of the day. I can only thank my wife for supporting me with this "habit" and take care of things for today.

From now until the BIG day, I've only have 1 more long run which I plan to do with der Pacemakers on 13th June.

Looking forward to next week's KPAC half marathon. Not sure whether I should take it as a race for PR or just part of marathon's training...hmmmm

From this day onward, I'm a self certified masochist...er (unofficial) marathon runner

SCKLM training - 5 weeks to go

2009-05-24T14:23:00.006+08:00

May mileage has already hit 244km and will probably reach a PR of 324km, about 30% more than March.

With 5 weeks to go, I will have at least one more LSD, between 40 and 42.2km.

Mon - rest [3k to see any problem with ankle or right thigh muscles; seems ok]
Tue - 12km [000 kosong, zero, nada, ilek]
Wed - 10km [12km]
Thur - 8km in JB? [Evening 12km on the treadmill zzzz]
Fri - 10km in JB?
Sat - 40 or 42.2km trial M...(maybe, otherwise just 21km) [42.2km I can do it!]
Sunday - Rest.

NO PAIN, NO PLEASURE! :)

Following week, KPAC Half M, so no chance for trial M

New Balance 15km race

2009-05-17T11:09:00.004+08:00

Place : Lake Gardens
Time : 7.01am
Weather : 24-27 C
Course : Quite Hilly, as usual.
Slope Total : 137m
Time : 1hr 19min 19 sec

I reached the starting point with 2 minutes to spare, so it wasn't the best, timing wise. I didn't have the chance to work out my routine before the start.

The overall organization was well done, in line with the standards of the Pacesetters. There were mileage signs every km, 2 water stops, good traffic control and lots of volunteers.

I planned to complete it within 1hr 20min.

The start was quite slow as I tried to squeeze in at the start line. However, I was still pretty slow to get off the mark, finishing the first km in a turtle pace of 6:08. As we made our way up the hill, I pushed harder to make up for lost time and did pretty well in completing the 2nd km in 4:56. From there on out, I took a back seat and cruised at about a 11.3km/hr pace.

I took 2 drink stops at 7km and 10km with my own "special juice" - actually just some apple juice with some honey. There was a lot of foam after all the shaking and it did cause me to burp excessively....not good.

Coming down the last 5km stretch, instead of pushing up a gear or two, I still felt like cruising along, as I didn't want to over do it, with the upcoming 75k goal for next week to be done.

Only in the last 2km did I go into a higher gear. I finished in a good time, but I could have shave about a minute if I went into full press.

*Note* The first placed lady runner finished right behind me, roughly about in 1:08 I think...

All the usual foreign participants seemed to have given this run a miss, not sure why.

Looking forward to the peak week of 75k, which I hope I will get done in the following fashion;
Mon - Recovery 10km [10.5km done]
Tue - Fast 6km [zero]
Wed - Rest [18km]
Thurs - Easy 15km [zero again]
Fri - Tempo - 8km [11k]
Sat - Golf/Rest
Sun - LSD 36km [37km]
Total 75km...I hope.

SCKLIM 7 wks to go 69km for the week

2009-05-10T19:33:00.002+08:00

Runs for the week

Mon - Off day (fogging in the area)
Tue - Morning around the house 12km
Wed - Day off again (meetings and dinner)
Thur - Morning Sofitel 11km
Fri - Morning Copthorne Sg 12km
Sun - Morning KK 33km in 3:24:21

Legs were still sore on Monday from 1 May run, followed by the 19k on Sunday.

I had to live with early morning runs this week to get around the busy work and traveling schedule. I had to be up by about 5am for almost all of the runs, especially with the distances getting longer.

Anyway, it was all still manageable and it was spaced out well enough at least for me to get the miles in.

By missing Wed's run, I was short 3km for the week, but I'll live with it.

Coming to Sunday's long run, I was a bit apprehensive on my form and had a little trouble getting to sleep on the night before.

I was up by 5.05am, had 2 spoons of oats and 1 spoon of nestum and a cup of coffee, vaseline and plaster up and did the long call before heading out. Took me a good 50 minutes to get out of the door to start the run.

I will have to make a note to prepare whatever that was possible the night before. Hopefully, I can get all this done within 30 minutes the next time.

For the selection of route, I chose to do the loop round the SK Bukit Rimau school before heading out to the lake. The weather was pretty warm as it did not rain the day or night before. Running around the lake, I felt a nice breeze swirling around, so I decided to do 2 loops before pushing to Kemuning Utama housing estate.

I ran down the Kemuning Utama stretch and noticed that the road headed towards some water towers near to the highway. I turned around halfway but I took note that I could stretch that by another km if I headed all the way to the water towers.

Turning back towards the apartments, I felt pretty steady at km 16. At this point, I decided to save the power gel until km 21. The weather was getting a bit warmer by then, with the temp hitting 30deg C by then. I gulped down half the gel at km 21 and got that small boost.

At km 22, I was deciding whether to turn left and try and loop around the Bukit Kemuning golf course or turning right and head back and reload on the drink.

Feeling reasonably good and with about 300ml in my bottle, I decided to go for the longer route back. I thought it would be about km 26 or 27 by the time I reach back home.

With some fatigue coming on, I finished off the gel and had just enough to stave off the fatigue for a bit more.

Turning towards BR from the golf course (I decided not to go down the housing estate the other side, otherwise I would be about km30 before having a chance to replenish), I polished the rest of my drink as it was only about a km before I reached home.

Point to note, I rehydrated at km 5, km 8, km 12, km 15 and km18. After that, I had to increase the frequency to km 21, km 23.3, km 24, km25.2, km 27 and km 28. After that I had 2 walk breaks. Sign of fatigue?

Coming to the last 5km, the fatigue was building up. With the sun in all of it's blazing glory, the going got tougher. With 4km to go, I needed to push a bit but I was very confident at that point that I would be able to finish not only the balance 4km, but also the marathon. In fact, I felt better for this run than the previous 2 (1 May 27km [tough course] and 19 April 30km).

All in all, a good run and looking forward to completing the last 3 long runs. Hopefull, I will be able to complete 36, 39 and 42k, scheduled to be completed by 14 June, then the taper period of 2 weeks.

Feeling some of the fatigue by km 24

8 wks to go SCKLIM Easy 19km

2009-05-03T12:16:00.004+08:00

Where : Kota Kemuning
Time : 0619
Weather : Great, even when the sun came out, it was pretty cloudy.
Hydration: 500ml mineral water only.

I wasn't very confident if I could do 19k today, what with the calf cramp I suffered after trying to drive without properly warming down on Friday.

I started off cautiously, thinking it would be better to be safe than sorry. After the first km, I felt no pain at all in the left calf, which was great. Still, I opted to keep it steady at about 6:15 min/km pace until the 10k mark.

The weather was wonderful, as it rained until up to about 4.30am in the morning. It was a cool 26 deg (I think!) and did not get past 28 deg when I finished the run.

After the 10k mark, I picked up the pace to about a 5:50 pace, and with no problems cropping up, I maintained a 5:40 pace until the last km, where I finished it off with a 4:48 pace.

I felt great after the run, and it was really out of my expectations. The hours of training on the longer distance seemed to be really paying off. A massage on the calves by my better half was icing on the cake!

My thoughts fell back to 9 months ago, when I was literally crawling back after a 15km training run....

All in all, I logged in almost 66k for this week, 3k more than the highest logged 2 weeks ago.

However, I'm still a long way from finishing a 42km strongly, but I might be able to eke out a sub 5 hour marathon under the current circumstances.

With another 4 long runs in the pipeline, I hope to steadily increase my endurance over the next 6 weeks.

Food for thought

- Longer distance running does help in the shorter distance events - as what I've seen in the 10k Orange run (5 min pace) and the Bidor half marathon (11.4km/hr pace). I will hope to maintain 30k runs after the SCKLIM.
- I haven't done much sprints or tempos - I need to incorporate these workouts if I would really like to speed up to a 13km/hr for the 10k by end of year. Don't think I need it for the marathon though.

Anyway, I've scheduled 72k over 4 runs next week, with the LSD at 32km. As I will be traveling to JB and Sg over the week, I will need to get up pretty early on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday to get the mileage in.

God willing, I'll get this done....

Der Pacemakers SCKLM CR1

2009-05-01T19:47:00.004+08:00

Where : Lake Gardens
When : 0720
Weather : 0720-0800 28deg 0800-0900 30deg 0900-10000 - 33deg (by feel, not measured)
Terrain : First time training with staircase included. Definitely challenging!
Elevation : 33m per round, 1 of the toughest so far.

As with most events with Der Pacemakers, the number was kept small, it was quite easy, logistically speaking it was very easy to park close to the starting point.

Not having run this particular course before, I had no idea what I was in for. The incline was pretty sharp in the beginning, with about 25 steps of stairs as part of the course. The course was pretty well shaded and I didn't feel the heat until a bit later.

Started pretty well, despite some lethargy from previous week's race in Bidor. However, when the sun was up and shining by 0900, the going got tough. I took half a gel at 18 km and it seemed to help. By the time I was on 22km, the battery was running dry and polished off the remainder.

I felt worse towards the end and I couldn't running so I took up a walk run strategy to finish off the last few km.

At the end, I was very much spent and it probably was more punishing than the 2 30km training LSDs I did earlier.

I'm planning to finish off the week with a 19km run...hopefully as my body is still aching from the exertion.

Bidor Half Marathon

2009-04-26T17:06:00.006+08:00

Place : WHERE ELSE?
Time : 0700
Distance : 21.17km (maybe less)
Terrain : Generally flat, with undulation for about 30% of the course, but the slope was not too adverse
Elevation : 60m change for total course
Weather : Cool weather at the beginning, a bit warmer towards the end but still comfortable.

We arrived at Bidor the day before at about 4pm, collecting the bibs and had the famous duck noodles. I also got some Power Gel to try out (RM6/pack, Buy 6 free 1). I grabbed the strawberry banana, double latte and green apple packs. Made a mistake of not checking the USE BY date and later realised they would be expiring in June and July.

My kids liked it and my wife and I loved it as it came with a herbal soup base. You can either have it with noodles or rice.

At RM6.60 a bowl, it's a bit on the pricey side, but it is something you would love to have once in a while.

By the time we finished, it was about 5pm so we made our way to MY Gopeng resort. The whole journey took about 45 minutes as the signs were not very clear. In addition to that, you would have to take a 'kampung' road for about 5km. The last km would be better described on "borderline off road" at best. I guess they could have done a better job in advising the road conditions.

The whole place looked like it has seen better days, and not surprisingly, we were the only guests there for the day. The accomodation was sparse at best (something out of the P Ramlee movie "Bujang lapuk".

At RM50/pax, or RM200 for 4 of us for 1 night's stay and a simple dinner, it's not something I would say worth the dough. My kids got to do something new though. The operator was kind enough to provide some fishing rods for them to fish with.

The amount of sleep I managed to get was about 4 hours at most, due to the "additional residents" in the kampung house.

We left the place at 5:50am and arrived in Bidor at about 6:40am. I had made the rookie mistake of thinking the start off time was 7:30am when actually it was 7:00am...nuff said.

Managed to get a short jog in with some stretching before lining up for the starting line.

As the starting area was narrow, the starting was slow but things opened up about 500m after when we hit the open road. I settled down into a comfortable rhythm and took in the sights and sounds of the quiet country side. I felt really relaxed with the run, even though the terrain was undulating at certain areas.

It was only then I realized that I had not consciously thought about my race strategy. Going at about 5:25/km for the first 2km, I was thinking about maintaining this pace for the first half, and pushing harder for the 2nd half and try and do 1:52:00.

I managed to complete the first 11km in 59:16, so the target pace was on track. Pushing a little bit harder, I still felt comfortable although my right heel was indicating some stress (meaning there would be hell to pay after the race!).

I opened the first Power Gel pack (double latte flavoured) and gulped it down with some water. It didn't taste as bad as what some people said but some of it does need some washing down with water. I did get a kick from that and felt some energy boost for the next 10 minutes or so. I did the green apple later at 15km mark and it also did good for me. No stomach upset or problems which you would normally here about.

Heading towards the last 4km, I caught with Mr. YS Lee, one of the pacemakers, and we were chatting for a short way. Surprisingly, I did not feel the stress of talking and running that I had imagined. In fact, it actually made me more relaxed. Hmmm...food for thought.

After the 18km mark, he made his move and I think finished about 45 seconds ahead of me, although I was maintaining a 5 minute/km pace. Heading towards the last bend, somebody overtook me with some pace. As the finish line appeared 200m ahead, I poured all my efforts in overtaking the gentleman and managed to finish a nose in front of him! My top speed registered was 23.4km/h, higher than what I've managed to attain in previous sprints.

My time of 1:51:38 was something that I did not expect, but you can't say I'm not pleased.

All in all, it was a good experience and hopefully, I will be back here again next year!

Post Race note : I did end up a bit washed out after the race, like I did 30km and a bit of a headache when we reached home. Not sure whether it was due to the lack of sleep or the power gel.

Bidor Half Marathon Prologue

2009-04-25T12:10:00.004+08:00

Leaving this afternoon, we plan to take a walkabout in Bidor, maybe go to Kellie's castle for another walkabout, or head on directly to MY Gopeng Resort and check in and enjoy the natural surroundings.

For somebody who spent so much time in the jungle during my younger days, I have not really taken the time to spend some time these days. Maybe golfing has become the interim antidote for my passion for nature.

Hopefully get some nice photos by end of the day and hit the sack by 1030pm latest. We plan to leave the resort at 6am as it will take approximately half an hour to get to Bidor from here.

I have in mind a time of sub 2 hours as my primary goal, 1:55 as great! and 1:50 as my "going for broke" target...

Lost my elastic strap for my HRT in the hotel room in Sg -BUMMER! Probably will cost about RM50 for a replacement.

After the run, we need to go hunting for the duck leg noodles at Pun Chun and local favourite snacks for our friends, neighbours and colleagues.

We should be back in the evening to unwind by then.

SCKLM 10 weeks to go 30km LSD

2009-04-19T11:45:00.003+08:00

Place : Home
Time : 6.23am
Distance : 30km

Woke up quite early 5.20am but was on the verge of dropping off back to sleep, when my better half pinched me with her toes to remind me that I was a man on a mission and a task at hand this morning.

I prepared two bottles (750ml) mixed with Red Bull and 100 plus. The plan was to do the lake side, Kota Kemuning circuit, come back and switch bottles and head out towards the Bukit Kemuning, Econsave side. Target time was about 10km/h on average, 3 hours in all.

It took quite a lot of time to get ready, getting some oats and coffee in me, settling the morning business, plastering up my toe and lubricate areas that would likely chafe.

It took me a good 40 minutes before I was out the door.

The temperature was perfect, no aches or pains, and everything was good to go.

I did the first 10km slightly below an hour, feeling good. The scenery at the Kota Kemuning lake was beautiful as the sun came up. Noticed that there were quite a number of regular participants in the races turning up at the lake for training.

As I was returning times slightly below the target pace, I decided to slow it down a bit as my HRT was above 160.

My 2nd 10km was also below the target pace, but I took shorter and less walk breaks that I had in the previous LSD, as I felt pretty good.

Coming towards the 20km mark, I was slowing down. The temperature was slowly rising as the sun was blazing with nary a cloud in the sky.

By the end of the 20km, I decided to stick as close to home as possible and dumped my belt at home and returning every time I finished a round to take a drink off my 2nd bottle. Also changed to my sports glasses as the sun was really, really bright.

After the 25km mark, things started to go downhill quickly. With the proverbial wall looming, I was struggling to maintain my pace but pushed on only 1 outcome in mind. Finishing the 30km run at whatever time.

I decided to finish the final 5km without stopping for hydration. Feeling the pins and needles in the legs, I was guessing I was hitting the "WALL".

Pushing through the the final kilometers, it was apparent that the "mind over matter" thing was not all BS.

I packed on the ice on my right heel just in case the Achilles flared up again. Rested the sore muscles and took a nap later to recuperate as I had to leave for Singapore in a few hours.

All in all, a fine run and looking for to the Bidor run. Hopefully, I can get in a couple of runs in Singapore and taper to about 30km before the trip up north.

Finally, I clocked in 3:01:31 and the sense of relief washed

BHP Run (10.7km)

2009-04-12T14:03:00.005+08:00

Place : The Curve
Time : 0730am
Weather : A bit on the sunny side, about 30 deg C
Course : Some gradient, but not excessive

The run came with good support from BHP's suppliers' and the Pacesetters' did a good job in managing the race.

Thumbs up as far as the running of the event. A lot of participants turned up, about 1,500 based on my best "guesstimate".

The whole family went for this run as I was expecting a lot of free food and drinks, which the kids would enjoy, and we could do little bit of shopping after that.

The men's open and veteran (ha! ha! I qualified as a veteran) started off first at 7.31am and the ladies 5 minutes later.

My pace was pretty good as I was focusing on hard but sustainable for as long as possible. I was not too concerned about negative splits, as it didn't seem to work for me for any distance below 20km. I had 12km/h as my target race pace for the race.

The going was smooth up to the 5th km, and I started to feel some fatigue creeping in. I had about a minute in the pocket to meet the target pace, so I backed off, as my HRT was getting up to 184 bpm, and there were hills coming up. For the next 5km, the pace was below 12kmh, with the worst at 11.3km/h thereabouts.

Coming to the last km (or so I thot!), I turned on the remaining juice to kick up the speed and it was quite nice to race somebody in front of me up to the finish!

I almost crashed into him at the end because there was quite a crowd right after the finish line.

I was elated to do a PR on the 5k and 10k mark for this race! I managed to shave off about 20 seconds off my best 5k and 1 min 57 sec sec of my best 10k, albeit 3 seconds off the target pace.

I finished 53:21 for a 12km/h pace finish.

Right On! The additional miles and LSD seemed to really pay off!

It was a great race and hope that there'll be another next year.

I'll be doing a 30k LSD next week and then a trip up north to Bidor for the last weekend of April.

30k LSD run (SCKLM 11 wks to go)

2009-04-05T10:34:00.004+08:00

Time : 6.30am
Place : Kota Kemuning
Duration : 3hr 9min
Weather : Sunny after 8.15am

I was feeling quite ok in the morning with a minor ache in my right heel. Probably due to golf yesterday.

Didn't have breakfast, only a coffee. Packed a 500ml bottle of mineral water and my usual mix of Red Bull (250ml) and 500ml of fruit juice. I was guessing it would be sufficient to carry me through. On top of that I had another bottle outside the house just in case I need it for the final loop.

Mechanically, everything was in their proper working order, so I decided to stick to the plan and go for 30km, with no particular pace as a goal and focus on finishing the run.

Things went well until 23km at a 9.8km/hr pace, when the fatigue started to set in. I held on until the 25km, then the energy levels started to wane. Guess I was hitting the famous WALL. Still managed to run/walk to complete the 30km, but the pace really fell off quickly.

I finished my water supply by 24km and headed back home to have a drink before heading out again to complete the last 2km.

All in all, it's good experience and looking forward to the next LSD run 2 weeks from now. The plan was to cap it at 30km at this point.

The increased mileage to 55km did really pay off as I could maintain a 10km/hr without too much trouble.

Next week will the Orange Run (11km), so I would need to complete a couple of longer runs during the week, probably 10k for Monday evening, 15km for Wednesday morning, 10k for Thurs evening and an easy 8k for Saturday evening.

Melawati 10k run

2009-03-29T10:47:00.007+08:00

Date : 29 March 2009
Time : 7.30 am
Place : Taman Melawati
Distance: 9.97km
Weather : Overcast, about 28deg C (Perfect!)
Terrain : Hills in the middle, flat at the beginning and end

As we arrived at the location, which was near the zoo, there were not many signboards on where the start point was. However, when we were close, I managed to spot a couple of runners with their bibs and they pointed me to the right direction.

The great thing about the location was that there were ample parking space close the the starting point. The low point was that there was only 1 miserable toilet near the location. Perhaps the organizers should make a point in getting a few portable toilets for the runners.

The event was pretty low key and participation level was about 400+. As usual, the usual groups of regulars were participating. Seems like there was a fraternity out there, which I was not aware of...

Apparently, this surpassed the organizers expectations as they ran out of T-shirts.

The event started more or less on time, which was great.

The route was interesting after the first 2km as we approached the hills. The first 5km was not that punishing with the gradient building up slowly. But as we started the route back to the starting point, it was apparent that it was tougher coming back in.

It started off slow but I gradually picked up the pace to 12.4km/h in the 2nd km. Moving into the "black zone" (seems that the 4-6km part of the race become more of an effort for me for some reason or another), I backed off and walked a minute to take a drink and bring down my heart rate down a bit. I was also developing some minor discomfort in my stomach in the 5th km. Maybe it was the gas in my drink.

I felt good throughout the run and finished with a 11.8km/h average, 0.2km/h better than my previous 10k's. However, it was short of the 5min/km pace that I was aiming for but I was satisfied with the result as the improvement was significant and I felt great after the run. Looks like all the miles training were paying off.

All in all, the organizers did a good job and things moved along smoothly, with all the basic stuff covered (except the toilet and lack of T-shirts).

Next run - BHP Orange Run.

Wild Wild Run (Der Pacemakers)

2009-03-09T13:45:00.005+08:00

Date : 8 March 2009
Place : Da Zoo
Time : 0730

Arrived quite early at 6.40am but there was already quite a bit of a crowd there. The first remark that came out from my daughter when I opened the car door was "What's that smell?"....Welcome to the zoo.

We had some problem getting the kids in as apparently I was supposed to book the tickets for non participants earlier (in this case, my 2 kids). Luckily, they managed to get in on time, and we were at the starting line by 7.10am.

A short jog, a few stretches and I was all set to go. Kelvin, who was the MC again, was announcing something about going around for 4 laps at 1.85km/lap. I was thinking...ok 1.85km x 4, that comes up to....7.4km or thereabouts. Did a quick recalculation based on 11.6km/hr and came up with 38 mins or thereabouts.

My wife was joining me for this round as with the previous 2 runs. Her ITBs were giving her problems and she didn't have time to get the mileage in. So I told her go slow, go slow. At our present paces, I would finish the race and keep pace with her on her final lap.

Next thing we know, 54321, off we go!

I started off at the slowest possible pace ever 10.5kmh for the first lap, which wasn't bad for the overall race. What I've been listening to some podcasts recently (The Running Shoe and Phedippidations), the advise was always to start slow and finish strongly.

I felt pretty good in the 2nd lap and pickep up the pace to 11.5km/h. Going into the last lap, I poured it in a bit more, hitting about 12km/h. Going down the final stretch, I put on the turbo and finished strongly with my hands in the air and a smile on my face....except that the head of Der Pacemakers, Ronnie was shouting, 209! 1 more lap! 1 more lap! Huh?

It kinda knocked the wind out of my wings for a moment, before I realized that I probably didn't catch the other part of the announcement on men requiring to finish 5 laps.

Suddenly I was kelam kabut on my pace and regaining my breath before I steadied back to a reasonable pace. By then, I realized I stopped my watch earlier and restarted it again.

I felt pretty good with still quite a bit left to put more pace in. Nobody passed me in the final round, so it was pretty obvious I was somewhere in between. Hitting the last stretch....again, I did a repeat of what I did before and was pretty surprised I still had so much left. Finished in 46'58", which was great. I guess these podcasters do know what they're talking about.

I paced back up the route to meet my wife and paced with her (more for encouragement than anything else). She managed to do it in 52'10", although the ITBs were still bothering her.

There was a father and son team who was also participating. I could feel the way the son felt as the father was running with him and paced with him. Ah, maybe I can get my son to do it as well...one day.

I did managed to get a prize too, lucky draw lah. All in all, it was another great event by Der Pacemakers. Maybe the young race director can make a career out of it when he finishes his studies. Hmmm...

Looking forward to the next one 10k Melawati...

City Day Run 10.95km

2009-02-22T11:29:00.003+08:00

Where : Dataran Merdeka
When : 7.30am (10k) 7.40am (7k) 8.00am (3k)
Distance: 10.95km
Route : Undulating for most part, certain parts of it had killer gradients!

The staging of this event was pretty good, based on the old hands on deck for FTAAA. With the starting area in front of the clock tower of the SAS building, it felt more like the starting point for the KL marathon than a mini event.

Nevertheless, participation was quite ok, with turnout about 1,700 participants (from the look of it anyway) and the organization was pretty much in order.

This was the first time I enrolled my kids to take part as well (for the 3km). So far I had to make doubly sure that we know where to meet after the race was over.

I read somewhere about the female announcer who handles the KLIM events in the past and guess what...she was the announcer for this event as well. And also, the serious faces of the officials/marshals along the route was a real turn off.

Due to the staggered start, I finished before the rest of the gang. It was not more than 15 minutes before everybody was back. Well, can't say the organizers didn't know how to run the show.

With the open space at Dataran Merdeka, it was pretty easy to spot them coming back despite the number of people around.

Only gripe was on the makan and drinks after the race, or rather, the lack of them. It seemed sad that sponsorship was not forthcoming although this event seemed to be pretty popular. Perhaps they should be creative in the next one to attract sponsorship, perhaps by making it into a charity event for orphanages, elderly etc.

All in all, pretty good event, and pretty much focused on the actual running than a fun fair event (like the ADUN and IOI Community run).

Next on the list.....Wild Wild Run by the der Pacemakers. Loved the New Year Run, looking forward to this one.

Larian ADUN Chempaka

2009-02-08T11:58:00.003+08:00

Date : 8 February 2009
Where : Community Hall, Jalan Pandan 4, Pandan Jaya
Time : 8.00am
Route : Quite flat except for the bridge

Of all the races I've participated since I started running, this is the equivalent of what golfers call "a Mickey Mouse course".

Started late (40 minutes late), no checkpoints, low participation, and dangerous at certain places.

The redeeming factors
- there were quite a number of police, MPAJ and volunteers for traffic control.
- I managed to get a finisher's medal (18th in the Open category) - but very pai seh, as there could have only be 45 in that category max!
- My wife finished tops in the Women's Veteran - she also feel pai seh, only 6 in that category! Hopefully it serves as some encouragement to her for future participation...

Nuf' said. Can't say it wasn't fun but it could have been organized better.

Great Eastern 30km run

2009-01-19T18:19:00.003+08:00

Date : 18 January 2009
Distance : 20km (Too chicken to take on 30km)
Time : 1:48:++ (Forgot to start my watch at start)

I'm beginning to realize that the satisfaction of running is dependent on how tough it is.

This is probably the longest and toughest so far, not to mention the most enjoyable.

There were a lot of people up to the 30km challenge and it definitely serves up some motivation to do it next year.

Towards the end of the race, I put on the turbo and did the last 2km in about 10min as I was feeling strong and though I could do more.

Boy, was I wrong! After finishing, I took my stuff and and picked up the tau foo fah. After a minute on my butt, I started feeling cramps coming on my calves.

Somehow, it does give me 2nd thoughts whether I should focus more on the endurance a little more to be in good shape for the KLIM in June.

Overall, great run, good time and it's always lovely having your wife around. Maybe next time, she'll be racing too.

Malakoff 12km Race (Actually more like 11.25km)

2008-12-21T10:15:00.005+08:00

Weather : Very pleasant
Parking : Easy
Starting time : 7.15am? (at least off by 10 minutes, I think)
Route rating : Not the best due to last minute "safety" issues of running through the Sprint tunnel. The gradient was challenging though and it really disrupted my pacing..badly.
Finish time : 59min 40sec at 11.3km/h pace. About the same with KRI 12.8km run.
How to prepare better :
1. Not a good idea to do a practise run of more than 10km within 2 days of race day. What to do! Have to admit I'm getting old. Probably need a day more than recommended to recover.
2. Attending a wedding dinner the night before doesn't help either....
3. Starting from middle with the narrow starting gate didn't help. Took about 30 seconds just to reach the gate and another 3 minutes to finally get into sufficient moving space to pick up pace. First km of 10.1km/h really sucked!
Final analysis : Silver - acceptable with no major aches and pains after the race.
Next race : Der pacemakers New Year Run. Looking forward to meeting up with this group of hardcore runners...

Upcoming 12km Malakoff TTDI

2008-12-20T07:25:00.005+08:00

Tomorrow is the 5th race so far and probably the last for the year.

After the first 3, it seems the kids are also enjoying tagging along. Guess it's due to the funfair like environment and buzz.

Target for tomorrow;
Bronze - 1hr 10min (If actual distance less than 12.5km, no problem)
Silver - 1hr 06min (Within reach, done it once already, Klang 12km run, KRI12.8km)
Gold - 1hr 03min (Bridge too far? Let's see...)

KRI 12.8km Run

2008-12-12T15:47:00.003+08:00

Managed to do it in 1hr 8min and 40 secs. Not up to expectations, though and finishing well above the the targeted time of 1:05:00.

Had a miserable 1st km pace of 10.9km/hr as I was stuck somewhere behind and it took about a km before picking up the pace became easier and it never did improve after that.

Oh well, live and learn I guess.

Hopefully for the upcoming Malakoff run, I'll be able to do 1 better by doing a sub 1hr.

IOI Community Run

2008-11-09T20:01:00.004+08:00

Did the "7.3km" run today at Puchong near Bandar Puteri.

Arriving there at 6.30am was a great idea as I managed to find a parking spot a few hundred meters from the starting line.

After some pic taking and looking around, I started the warm up session on a adjacent road for 15 minutes.

However, there were some delay in starting the race due to whatever reason :( and the race was off at about 7.45am.

The pace was fast and furious for the first 3km. Unfazed by the hills, I pushed at above 12km/hr pace but not really going all out yet.

I was tagging behind a lady in a purple vest for most of the way.

After the drinks stop at the 4km mark, I passed the lady and caught with another girl in red. Her pace was pretty steady (and quick!) so I just decided to keep pace.

At about the 5km mark, my forerunner 405 was screwing up as the sweat was triggering the bezel and the screen was jumping around....WTH. Made a mental note to lock the bezel BEFORE starting the race....

Coming down the stretch, I pushed for the last 2.3km and was approaching a 13km/hr pace until I discovered there was another 500m to go! Luckily, I still had steam in me.

Managed to do it in 38 min 24 secs (+/- 5 seconds), something about 50th placing. Got the cert (easily) but no finishers medal (NOT GOOD!)

Anyway, I was plenty happy with my time and average pace of 12.18km/hr.

Looking forward to the next one, 12.8km KRI in Ipoh. Bringing the family along as well. Not sure how long the kids will live with this ha! ha!

Mizuno 10k week training schedule

2008-10-16T22:15:00.005+08:00

After doing not too bad last week with a relaxed schedule, I planned this week's schedule per below;

(13 Oct)Monday evening - 7.0km (39'39")
(14 Oct)Tuesday - Rest
(15 Oct)Wednesday morning - 10.0km (59'26")
(16 Oct)Thursday - Rest
(17 Oct)Friday morning - 10.0km (56'36")
(18 Oct)Saturday - Golf day... :)
(19 Oct)Sunday - Race day 10.33km Mizuno wave run (53'40") Woo hoo!

9 months on...Still smober and just did the 12km Klang run

2008-10-12T22:06:00.003+08:00

It's been 9 months since giving up smoking....with an exception where the situation warranted 1 cig. Didn't seem as much fun as it used to be, and luckily there was no kick. Wondered why, though.

Just finish my first official run today, the New Balance 12km Klang run. Manage a personal best of 1hr 3min and 58seconds, significantly faster than my trial run the previous Sunday of 1:08:30. May be something to do with racing with people. I found it extremely enjoyable and could push myself quite a bit.

I'm on to the 2nd race next week, the Mizuno Wave run, 10km. Heard that it is quite hilly and may be quite tough. Hopefully, I'll be able to do it within 55 min, but I should be happy if it's below 58 min, given the expected terrain.

5 months smoke free and counting

2008-06-12T22:03:00.003+08:00

Through the emotional ups and downs, trials and tribulations, temptation and blah blah blah........, its been 5 months since the last cigarette.

Just went for the blood sample, lung cap, X ray and ECG today. Based on what we understand, there should be some improvement in the related areas but I can't expect miracles after being 5 months smober, eating oats, regulating the diet (no chow kuay teow but an occassional curry mee) and exercising regularly compared to 20 years of a pack a day.

Come 2 weeks from now, hopefully there's some improvement. But physically, after these few months;
1. The energy levels higher than it's ever been in 20 years
2. The eyesight's has even gotten better
3. Heart rate is about 65-70 from 75-85 when resting
4. Stamina is much better
5. The hacking cough is gone (Surprise! Surprise!)
6. And I've rarely had a cold since.
7. The pain in the neck (literally speaking) which appeared before I stopped has gradually disappeared.
8. The swallowing issue is much less apparent now.
9. I seem to have more time now for other things, surprisingly. 5 mins/cig x 20 = 100 minutes out of 1,080 minutes of time awake is about 10% more. I'm using the free time at home to jog (3x/wk), do night walks whenever I can with my wife.
10. My family is much happier. A plus bonus is that I can always use the threat of picking the dreaded habit up again on my children when they misbehave...ho! ho! ho!

Only thing is off and on, some of the funny things before I stopped smoking comes back intermittently. IE my heart rate is down but it's seems to be beating stronger than normal. Anyway, it used to be fast and hard.

Anyway, to anybody who WANTS to stop... my advise is;

1. MAKE UP YOUR MIND! It can't be done unless YOU (not anybody else) wants to do it.
2. SET YOUR GOALS...ie don't want to die younger than necessary, stop being treated like a pariah, want to improve your self image.
3. BE CREATIVE, do what appeals to you best (self hypnosis, scare the hell out of yourself by surfing all the stop smoking sites, nicotine replacement, chewing gum, make a pledge to God, your family, yourself....use your imagination)
4. ANNOUNCE YOUR INTENTION TO THE WORLD. You will be surprised by how many people around you will be happy to hear that you plan to give up smoking. Share with them as you go through the "process". You will get the moral support from almost everybody, even strangers!
5. BAND TOGETHER! Surprisingly, there's this statistic which shows that the likelihood of actually stop smoking permanently is much higher when you do it with your smoker friends.
6. WHEN THE TIME COMES, EXECUTE! Average plans with average execution is much better than great plans with bad execution.
7. TAKE 1 MINUTE AT A TIME, THEN AN HOUR, THAN A DAY...progressively, it does get easier, especially if you put all the extra time you've gained into exercise and eating right.
8. YOU ONLY FAIL WHEN YOU GIVE UP TRYING. Its been shown in some smoking cessation websites that it may take several or more tries before some succeed.

Anyway, that my 2 cents on this so far. Let's see how it goes after this.

Regards,
Edmund

Giving up smoking is a pain!!

2008-04-19T22:27:00.002+08:00

It was on 12 January 2008, 6.30pm that I snubbed the last cigarette (hopefully!) and have been 'smober' since.

Prior to that, I had been smoking for about 20 years, starting from form Six, first a 7 stick pack a week, then it was 2 days in college, then gradually built up to a pack of twenty a day after I started working.

I must admit I feel much better (lung wise!) but the craving is still there and hitting me when I'm most vulnerable (cold weather, down with the flue etc).

Anyway, I'm still clean after 3 months and taking 1 day at a time...

A week in China

2008-04-09T23:19:00.002+08:00

Here in Suzhou for training.

What surprises me is the weather. It's cooooold, anywhere between 10 to 15 deg C. Brrrr!

Place is nice. Weather is nice. Probably a good place to come in spring and autumn.

Sat golf game at Staffield

2008-04-05T20:15:00.002+08:00

Started shakily with a 9 on 1st hole Southern. Hooked my tee shot left, then punched it left to the trees, had to take a penalty drop, hit it to 100m, left my gap wedge 30m short (^^), duffed it, chipped it and 2 putted. That really sucked!

Then it steadied a bit, but the wedges were all short and the pitching/chipping still continued to suck...

Oh well.....

Started off Northern nicely with a par but ended up double par on the 2nd. put my 2nd shot in the water when I tried to be cute with a 4 iron to the back pin position behind the bunkers. Serves me right for going for too much with too little.....skill.

Anyway, finished 47/46, not good not bad but I should work on my tempo and wedges a bit more. Seems like those are the ones getting me most into trouble.

It's no golf week next Sat as I will only be back from China over the week end but I will need to tune up for the Cross Creek tourney on 20 April if I want to do well.

36 holes in a day in Melaka on 3 April 2008

2008-04-05T19:54:00.000+08:00

Had a great day out doing 18 holes in Tiara Melaka (89) and another 18 holes in Orna Melaka (93), which is 5 minutes further down the road.

Started off from my place at 5.30am with my bro and SIL. Reached home 9.30pm after dinner at Orna. 16 hours of hard work/play. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Weather was on the sunny side when we teed off at Orna at 7.45am in 2 flights. Done by 12.30pm (blame it on Mr. Loh ;)).

My assessment........Orna has a better layout, better facilities, makan and overall, just more fun to play at than Tiara, not that Tiara is all that bad.

All in all RM100 for Tiara and RM107 for Orna (RM6 off if you show your insurance card).

FYI, morning tee off b4 10 am is only RM58..what a deal!!!

First day Blogging

2008-04-02T22:52:00.000+08:00

This is my first day blogging and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be blogging about. Well, I'm assuming that this is going to be a public diary to note my daily thoughts.

I'll be away on leave tomorrow to mow some grass in Melaka......

Cheers!