Saturday

What do we do on Saturdays ? What do I do on Saturdays ?

For most working ppl, weekends are sleeping time. Time to catch up on lost sleep due to work commitments & Champions League matches. During the midweek there was the Champions League finals. My wife was asking why would I wanna watch it, becoz Arsenal's not playing. I explained to her that this is the Champions League finals, & as a football fan, I would watch almost all major competitions' finals even if it doesn't involve my team. I was rooting for Barcelona to win, since they have two of Arsenal's ex-players in King Henry & the not-so-royal Silvinho. Of course, the whole world know that Man U didn't turn up in the finals, it was Barca all the way. The next day I wore my Barca jersey to the office. In my wardrobe there are jerseys from 4 teams : Arsenal, Inter Milan, Barcelona & England. 

My wife work on Saturdays. So in the morning I'd be alone in the house. I'd use my Saturdays to do house chores, like mowing the lawn. Well, not exactly mowing, I'd use the ghostbusters machine to cut off the knee-high grass in my lawn. I'd come a long way in this grasscutting business. A couple of years ago, my hands would still be shaking half a day after I finish cutting the grass, nowadays I could do 4 sets of pull-ups straightaway. 

If I'm not cutting the lawn, then I'd just watch TV. Saturday morning is when my favorite TV programs will be on, How Do They Do It, Everything U Need To Know & How It's Made, on Discovery Channel. These programs are very interesting. It's presented in a very easy to understand format. Our very own Proton City in Tanjung Malim have appeared in one of these programs.

Currently the NBA Conference Finals in underway, so I'm watching it too. My favorite team, LA Lakers is currently leading the Western Conference series 3-2 over Denver. I used to watch Chicago Bulls games a lot when Michael Jordan was playing, but nowadays I like to watch Kobe. 

I wanted to run this morning, to make up for the miss yesterday. But then, I went to bed pretty late last nite, & I woke up at only 7.30, so I missed the morning's run as well. I dun usually run on Saturday mornings, becoz I'd usually go for a long run on Sundays. I guess I'ma go for an easy jog this afternoon, maybe with my wife. We're gonna go out tomorrow, to watch Angels & Demons. Maybe in 1 Utama, coz I wanted to go to the New Balance outlet. 

C U tomorrow...

Livestrong.

The wait is almost over...

It's been quite a while since my last post. Quite a lot has happened since then. I didn't run in the PACM NB 15K, I was down with a high fever for 3 days. It was a bummer, considering the things I had to do to get myself in that race. I registered after the closing date, with some help from a friend (thanks Choi). I had to pay slightly more than the normal race fees. In the end I couldn't even collect my race pack. Well, I guess I had to look on the bright side.

I was looking for a race to run before June's Standard Chartered KL Marathon. & I found one race: the Klang Pacers Setia Alam Half Marathon. After some checking, I found out that there's an 11K race. But still, I was quite reluctant to go. Why ? I had some emotional attachment to Setia Alam & Klang. But then, after some consideration, I called up the organizers (after the closing date) & was lucku enuff that they still can reserve a place for me. So, finally I'ma have a race to do in a week's time (it's on 7/6). Looking at the route & my current form, I'ma try to go under an hour.

Look at this. I'm behaving like a seasoned runner. 10th May's Larian Bomba was my first race after sooooo many years. I dunno, it seemed natural to me. & after doing all these runs, I found out that I'm losing weight faster than ever. I'm now at 84-85, I was at 90 just before Larian Bomba 20 days ago. I'ma keep on running, besides keeping my current workout regiment of weights & badminton. 

I'm looking forward to having a good race on the 7th. 

2009 Running Season :

1. 10/5 - Larian Bomba (1:04)
2. 17/5 - PACM NB 15K (DNS)
3. 7/6 - Klang Pacers Setia Alam 10K 
4. 28/6 - Standard Chartered KLM 10K 
5. 12/7 - Seremban 10K 
6. 19/7 - Siemens Run 
7. 2/8 - Adidas King Of The Road

Livestrong. 

My first 10K

Today, May 10th, 2009, I've completed my first ever 10K race, right in the middle of KL. I've never thought I'd be able to do this just a couple of months ago.. I've completed the Larian Bomba 2009 in 1:04.37. Not a bad time for a first timer, good enuff for a certificate. Good for a start la.

I'm not gonna get competitive in this sport. Not now. I'm just running for fitness, for fun & I enter these races just to measure myself against others. Even if I dun enter the races, I'd still be running on weekends anyway. So why not join the races, get some goodies, get to know new friends, meet some old ones, & have fun along the way ?

First of all, I was late. I got to the start at 7.00 am, the race was to be flagged off at 7:30. Although Dataran Merdeka was just about 40km from my house, I guess my inexperience play a big part. I got to Dataran, was lucky to find a parking space, & I saw there was already a lot of ppl there. This wasn't my first experience in sport, I've been a state & national-level cyclist before. But the atmosphere was different. & there was definitely more ppl than U would see in any cycling event. There was about 4000+ runners registered. In cycling U would be lucky if U could find 100 ppl. 

So, I put on my shoes, racing gear & rushed to report in. In my haste, I forgot to bring any water to the start, something I need to address in the next race. My wife acted as my support crew today. But as this was my first event, she didn't know what to do. Well, I'ma have at least another 3 events in the next 2 months. We'll get the experience.

I maintained a steady pace thruout. I've never run the route before, but to my relief it wasn't that hard, or hilly. There was of course steady climbs along the way. But, thinking back, I might have been a little bit conservative in my run. I was scared that I couldn't maintain the pace. But I was glad to finally have made it, & got a certificate to signify that I finished within the time limits. 

It has been a great learning experience. Looking forward to my next race on the 17th, the New Balance Pacesetters 15K. 

Livestrong.