Back To Work !!!

The ride

Today's my first day riding to work after more than 2 months. I was quite nervous, but then again, I've been thru this situation before, but this one was more serious. I've already decided to take the motorbike lane becoz riding in the lane is the perfect way to regain my riding skills & confidence. The long, sweeping, fast corners are the perfect setup for my.. err.. training ride.

It all went well, but just before I reached my crash site, just before the toll plaza, a dog suddenly jumped into the bike lane. I was going at proly 100 km/h & of course I was surprised to see a dog in my way. The dog itself looked confused & looked like it didn't want to move over. But then, I kept on going, honked a bit & the dog jumped outta the way. To get into that kinda situation, just a couple hundred meters from the site of my worse crash to date, on my 1st day back to work.... hahah... Of course, I dun believe in those kinda things.

I reached the USJ bridge at 7:30, pretty early. So I decided to just cruise in at about 100 km/h & I got to the office at about 7:50 am. Syukur alhamdulillah.


1st day at work

When I first got into my room, I didn't know what to do. I mean, I had my routine, of course, but it's been 2 months & everybody was pretty much still in Raya mood. So I had to take some time to quietly settle back into my routine. After that I went around the office, just to meet everybody. & I also went to meet Pn Hazanah of course. It's like my 1st day reporting in.


Resuming training

I'd started running about 3 weeks ago, during the fasting month. I didn't have much problem. But when I ran the 1st time after puasa, in Kampung Amir (wifey's hometown), my old injury return, the pain in the area just above the ankle. I had this injury wayyyy back when I 1st started running. But then it disappeared. It was not that painful, but it did affect my running. So much that I had to cut short my long training run yesterday. I practically had to tip-toe pretty much the whole 6 km. I wanted to run again in the afternoon, to make up for the short run in the morning, but then I thought rest would be a better choice. Nevertheless, I'ma go back to the gym today, to do whatever I can to fix that leg. My next race will be on the 25/10, Mizuno Wave Run.

Why I run...

This morning...

This morning I went for a light jog. I'd planned to do 6-8 laps, but ended up going home after 4 laps. Why ? I had to chase the garbage truck. I'd missed the truck on Saturday, & yesterday my in-laws came over for buka puasa, so we had a whole bunch of trash. The garbage truck will only come again on Thursday. So I had to go home & take out the trash.


Why I run ?
I watched my first Olympics in 1984. I was in Standard 2 tht year & it was Los Angeles' turn to host the Olympics. Can U imagine that ? I was eight years old & I watched the Olympics. I wonder how many kids that age nowadays who would stay up to watch the Olympics. It was the year Carl Lewis attempted to win 4 gold medals in athletics, to honor the great Jesse Owens. He succeeded & won gold in the 100m, 200m, 4 x 100m & long jump. I became his biggest fan instantly.

In 1986 I took part in my first ever Pesta Sukan Sekolah. I was in Standard 4, & I was in a new school, Sekolah Rendah Methodist ACS Klang. Even after 2 years, the memories of the 1984 Olympics was still fresh in my mind. So I was out to mimic my idol's performance. But tht was easier said than done of course. I made it to the 100m finals, where I finished last, didn't make the 200m finals, finished out of the medals in long jump. My only consolation was in the 4 x 100m, I was the 1st runner & we won the bronze.

Come to think of it, despite all my involvement in other sports, football, cycling, basketball, etc.. athletics is the one tht really challenges me, physically. U see, I dun have any real talent in athletics, so I really had to fight for it. But I've never failed to land at least a consolation prize in any long distance event (jogathon, etc) at school.

I guess it's just tht. The drive is there, but the talent, the physique, ain't. Running has been the fastest way for me to get rid those extra bulk. After going to 4 races this year, I'm hooked. There's no other sport that can attract thousands of ppl, young & old, to slug it out in a 10km run. When I was in Standard Chartered KL Marathon this year, 5100 ppl ran in the 10K category, the biggest in any event. The atmosphere was just superb. & U can see all this veterans, 40-50 year-olds, still going strong, even beating us the younger ones. During the Setia Alam half marathon, the winner was a 42 year-old, & his time was faster that the open category (below 35) winner by a couple of minutes. I dun think U can get that in any other endurance sport. It's a real eye-opener & the ultimate motivator.

I wanna run the half-marathon next year, & at least once in my lifetime, I wanna do the marathon. My wife asked me the other day, if we had a child, what sport do I want our child to take up ? I said, easy: running. Relatively easy, cheap sport, & if U can do really well, there's money in it too. I guess I'm here to stay. This is the sport I'ma get involved the longest.

Back on the road again !!!

Removal of K-wire & SterilStrips
I had my K-wire & Steril Strips removed on the 25th of August. Well, actually my appointment with the hospital was supposed to be on the 10/9. But a few of the doctors who treated me said tht the k-wire will be removed 3 weeks after the surgery, so I was a bit surprised when the set the appointment for 10/9, 6 weeks after the surgery. So I called up the ward & they told me to go to the clinic myself.

So I went on the 25/8 without setting any appointment. The nurses earlier was a bit reluctant to let me see the docs, becoz I didn't have any appointment. "Sapa suruh datang ?" was the response I got from the staff nurse. So, I just politely explained & they let me see the doc. The doc was satisfied with my x-ray, so he asked me to go to see the MA to have the k-wire removed.

I'd searched the web & YouTube for videos on the removal of the k-wire. So I was pretty much relaxed. I wanted to take a video but the MA didn't allow it. He was the same MA who attended to me when I was first brought in after my accident, he was also the one who I yelled at when he tried to put a cast just after my op. So he put this clamping tool U'd normally find at construction site or auto shops. He just yanked & out came the wire, I didn't feel a thing. There was blood coming out & the pain won't start until a couple hours later.

Taking the k-wire off meant tht I no longer have to wear the cast & I can take showers normally now. I was back to normal, well, pretty much. I still can't move my wrist much. So I guess this year's Merdeka Day was a bit special for me.

Back on the road again
Training during fasting month is nothing strange to me. I used to do it during my cycling days. Back then, those who stay in the training camp will have to go training at nite. But for me, I've always treated fasting month as my off-season. I continue to ride of course, so I'd do easy rides of an hour-90 minutes, & I go off right after sahur.

I've done 4 races this year, 3 road races & 1 track. I've missed 2 races becoz of my accident. & I've got another 2 races before the year ends: Mizuno Wave Run (October) & the Malakoff 12K (December). It's been 54 days today since I crashed & a lot of things have happened since then, one of it was pretty much life-altering. I've been thinking, I need to be a little bit more competitive in the races I go, I need to go faster. I wanna be up there with the sub-50 minute runners & finish among the top 50 each time. & next year I'ma do the half-marathon. Tht's gonna be my training goal after raya.

First of all, I need to lose some weight & trim down a bit more. Fasting month is the perfect platform for those goals. My target weight would be 75kg, less than 15% body fat. Right now I'm at 82kg & about 20% body fat. Long way to go.

I've been running 4 days this fasting month, I started on the 29/8, 4 days after I removed the k-wire & the steril strips from my wound. I've lost much of the muscles on my left arm, my shoulder & elbow hurts & I haven't regained full range of movement on my wrist. My 1st physiotherapy session at the hospital is scheduled on 10/9, but I'm not gonna wait tht long. So I searched the web for workouts that can help me fix my left arm. I've been doing it for more than a week now, & it's working great. Now I can lift my dumbbell bar & collar (hahahah, about 1.5 kg), I can do front plank on swiss ball, etc. But there's a lot more to be done.

The 1st 2 runs was easy jogs, I just wanted to see where I was, in terms of fitness. I was careful not to push above 150 bpm. I found out tht in terms of fitness & stamina, I haven't lost tht much. So in the 3rd day, I started to push it a bit, again to see how I felt. I was okay & stayed pretty much fresh thruout the day. I started my runs around 6.30 am, so it'd be 14 hrs before I can have a drink. But I was okay with it, burning around 700-900 calories each session, pretty much what I consumed for sahur.

I also focused on my stride, I want to improve my forefoot stride, so I was focusing on getting it right. Also, during my last race in Pesta Sukan Treasury, my wife said tht my upper body looked very rigid & stiff. So I was working on correct running posture as well, trying to make my upper body more relaxed.

I hope I can hit the ground running after Raya. I'ma bring my running gear back to Besut for Raya as well. I'ma run on the beach there. Until then, livestrong. Selamat berpuasa.