A couple of days ago, a 6-year old kid became the 1st casualty this year due to firecrackers. But the thing is, he didn't get killed becoz he was playing with them, he got killed becoz he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He got killed just becoz he happen to be at an illegal firecracker storing facility, which happened to be owned by.. get this.. his parents.. His parents duly went on hiding as soon as the incident happened... the icing on the cake was that the boys' parents went to the police station that day to bail his uncle, who was arrested due to.. possession of firecrackers... I guess what goes around come around..
During my day as a kid, I never really was into firecrackers. My friends was playing with those meriam buluh, with a contraption devised from spark plugs.. but I didn't really find those things interesting.. which was funny really, considering my interest in everything military. But I did play with firecrackers. I liked those mercun burung (or whatever they called it). It was a small paper tube, about an inch long, it had a very short fuse. The thing was that, it didn't explode or anything like it, rather it flew with a buzzing sound.. on the box was printed drawings of birds, hence the name : mercun burung. It was pretty harmless.. until one day, when one of friends bury a big one (there was another bigger one, about 1 1/2 inch long), into the sand & lit it. Of course it blew the sand up &... into his eyes.. he spent 2 weeks in the hospital & one of his eyes was damaged. Pretty high price to pay.
These days there are those mercun bola & ketupat. The mercun bola especially, was very dangerous. I consider it high-explosive, it was very loud. & it can cause injury if mishandled, just by itself, U didn't even have to modify it into something else.
While I understand tht it's extremely difficult to catch all this firecracker smugglers (they got their supply from Thailand). But what puzzles me is the willingness of people young & old to risk their lives & play with it. Even with all sorts of news about hands, fingers & other body parts getting blown away by that mercun, people keep buying them & gave them to their kids to play. Granted, they want their kids to experience what they felt when playing those things, those at my age wouldn't know.. we didn't have those mercun bola back then.
There are other better things that you can do with your money & your lives, life is short. Use it wisely.
History Channel
Beginning from middle of August until 16th September, the History Channel on Astro will be showing documentaries about our nation. From the Malayan Emergency to the Al-Maunah arms heist, building of KLCC, the SMART Tunnel & also most recently, the inauguration of Yang diPertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan, it provided Malaysians a chance to learn about things we wouldn't have been able to learn in schools. I've always loved history. To me, we have to know our history. Some ppl said that to embrace history is like taking a step back & we would never progress if we are tied up by history. But I think that in order to move forward, we have to look back. & I've always think that the smartest ppl are those who learn from their mistakes & never repeat them. How are we gonna learn from mistakes if we don't know our history ?
The inauguration of the Yang diPertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan was especially interesting, simply becoz that the Negeri Sembilan monarchs, & also their people, are very high in tradition. Hence the inauguration ceremony was very unique & rich in tradition. The ruler of N. Sembilan was the only monarch in Malaysia in which the ruler was selected via democracy of some sort. 4 of the highest ranked rulers of 4 of the biggest districts in N.Sembilan will convene to select the ruler. In short, I think it was the oldest practice of democracy in Malaysia, if not the world.
The Al-Maunah arms heist was a dark chapter in the nation's history. It created many firsts.. the first conviction due to waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, or in simpler terms : Treason. Those who thought that the government staged the heist oughta think again...
Livestrong.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
What's wrong with the world these days ?
For the 1st time in weeks, if not months, I managed to watch the news, more precisely Buletin Utama last nite, just after buka puasa. The primary news was that of a murder of a 13-year old student, who was slit on the throat by his friend, a 16-year old. I'd read about the murder in the Star Online in the morning, but at that time they haven't catch the alleged killer. In the news there he was. Just imagine. For what reason could a 16-year old have to kill somebody ? & he even went on the continue with his class in school after killing his friend. I could only imagine... If it were up to me, I'd have killed a considerable number of ppl in my life.. I would have loved to kill my thesis supervisor who gave me a C+ instead of the B+ I required to get 2nd class lower degree... hahah... These days ppl are getting killed for much, much less.
Then there's the news about a 70-year old who was hacked to death by his neighbour over a house renovation dispute. The offender was 64 years old. A house renovation dispute. Haih... some ppl got killed over a parking space.. some ppl got killed becoz his handphone's ringtone was too loud... some ppl would get killed just becoz of the way he was looking at somebody.. (remember,"Apa pandang2 ? Nak mampos ?). The devil must be having a field day yesterday... Wait.. the devil are being tied up now.. it's the fasting month... Some ppl might not even need the devil to kill ppl...
Capital punishment for baby dumpers
The Cabinet has approved the act to punish baby dumpers with capital punishment if found guilty. With that, baby dumpers will be charged with murder (punishable by death) or attempted murder (punishable by 30 years in prison). Hopefully with this, it will deter would-be baby dumpers to think twice.
But is that really the solution to the problem ? Capital punishment is exactly that, to punish. But they dun address the root cause of baby dumping. The powers that be shud be looking at ways to prevent those teenagers from ever engaging in sexual activities. For me, the main source is the internet. U can find all sorts of sexual contents online. Even with the most sophisticated firewalls or content filtering software, it doesn't do any good. Ppl thought they can censor the Internet. Now they found out that there's no censoring the Internet.
I read Tun Mahathir's blog posting about this matter. He said that there must be a concerted effort among all the countries in the world to denounce pornography. If everybody in the world act together, then we can stop porn contents from circulating freely in the Net. I think he's right. But another thing to remember is that porn industry is a multi billion dollar industry, just like drugs. That's why it's very difficult the get rid of them.
Well, the least we can do is try. If we dun try then we won't know.
Bazaar Ramadhan
Hari Rabu lepas umat Islam seluruh Malaysia mula berpuasa Ramadhan. Macam biasa la, bagi org2 yang bekerja, especially dua2 husband & wife keja, mmg tak sempat nak masak ape2 time buka. Mungkin kalu nak buat tu mmg buleh, tp beli lagi senang la. Kat depan ofis aku ni mmg port bazaar Ramadhan terbesar kat Putrajaya. Tp aku belum lagi menjejakkan kaki ke bazaar tu, sbb malas org ramai sgt. Dan dah gerenti menda2 kesukaan aku mmg ramai org beratur punye.
So hari Rabu tu aku & wife (tak keja, MC) pegi la ke bazaar kat area rumah kitorg tu je. Kecik je, dalam 100m je panjangnye. Aku dapatla ape yg aku ndak, nasi lemak ayam goreng rempah. Tp kesian kat wife aku, nasi kerabu yg dia beli, mmg tak sedap langsung. Mcm tanak bagi org makan je. Pastu semlm dia beli pulak murtabak, mmg ade sorg je yg jual murtabak kat situ. Bila aku makan aku nak tergelak... langsung xde rasa. Masin pun tidak.. manis pun tidak.. pedas jauh skali... Dahla kecik... ade la besar tapak tangan aku.. dua hengget.. langsung tak berasa.
Kengkadang aku tertanye2... org2 yg jual makanan ni.. dia makan tak makanan yg dia jual tu ? Kalu makan takkan dia tak rasa... sedap ke, idak ke.. Aku penah berjual kat bazaar Ramadhan skali.. dulu la.. tahun 1998, tolong mak aku. Bukan nak cakap besar, tp mak aku masak mmg sedap. Dan yg seronoknye, bila dia berjual pun, dia akan masak macam dia masak kat rumah jugak.. so mmg sedap. & alhamdulillah, menda2 yg kitorg jual (nasi beriyani, pecal, lauk2), mmg habis almost hari2. Tu satu contoh yang baik.. org yg mmg tahu memasak & mmg sedap, bukak gerai, jual kat org, suma org pun dapat merasa kesedapan masakannye.
Tp yg jual murtabak tawar, nasi kerabu takde rasa, kuih keria keras... diorg ni agaknye semata2 nak menjual je la. Kita yg membeli ni kadang2 rasa tertipu, & tak berbaloi nak menyabung tekak membeli masakan2 yg mmg tak layak utk dijual ni. Ape agaknye rasa org2 yg menjual ni ? "Lantak ko la situ, peduli ape aku sedap ke tak, janji org beli." Camtu ke agaknye diorg fikir ? Kalu camtu, mmg tak ikhlas la. Tak berkat. Dan aku rasa, paling lama pun seminggu la org beli dari diorg ni. Kalu tahan lama pun, sbb dah takde pilihan. Bagi aku, walaupun murtabak tu mmg favorite aku, baik aku makan capati la.. dh tentu mmg tawar.
Thn ni kami suami isteri ade strategi baru dalam berbuka. Thn2 lepas kitorg tak makan berat2 masa buka, biasanye mkn murtabak, pastu ade la kuih2 skit. Kengkadang makan mihun ke, kueytiaw ke. Pastu malam pas terawikh baru makan berat. Salah strategi rupanye... So thn ni, time buka je kitorg dah belasah nasik.. pastu tak makan ape sampai la sahur. Kalu makan pun mungkin buah2, atau yg ringan2 je. So kitorg takle tidur dgn perut kenyang. & dgn strategi ni, mungkin berat aku akan dapat turun lebih skit la... Wallahu'alam.
Livestrong.
Then there's the news about a 70-year old who was hacked to death by his neighbour over a house renovation dispute. The offender was 64 years old. A house renovation dispute. Haih... some ppl got killed over a parking space.. some ppl got killed becoz his handphone's ringtone was too loud... some ppl would get killed just becoz of the way he was looking at somebody.. (remember,"Apa pandang2 ? Nak mampos ?). The devil must be having a field day yesterday... Wait.. the devil are being tied up now.. it's the fasting month... Some ppl might not even need the devil to kill ppl...
Capital punishment for baby dumpers
The Cabinet has approved the act to punish baby dumpers with capital punishment if found guilty. With that, baby dumpers will be charged with murder (punishable by death) or attempted murder (punishable by 30 years in prison). Hopefully with this, it will deter would-be baby dumpers to think twice.
But is that really the solution to the problem ? Capital punishment is exactly that, to punish. But they dun address the root cause of baby dumping. The powers that be shud be looking at ways to prevent those teenagers from ever engaging in sexual activities. For me, the main source is the internet. U can find all sorts of sexual contents online. Even with the most sophisticated firewalls or content filtering software, it doesn't do any good. Ppl thought they can censor the Internet. Now they found out that there's no censoring the Internet.
I read Tun Mahathir's blog posting about this matter. He said that there must be a concerted effort among all the countries in the world to denounce pornography. If everybody in the world act together, then we can stop porn contents from circulating freely in the Net. I think he's right. But another thing to remember is that porn industry is a multi billion dollar industry, just like drugs. That's why it's very difficult the get rid of them.
Well, the least we can do is try. If we dun try then we won't know.
Bazaar Ramadhan
Hari Rabu lepas umat Islam seluruh Malaysia mula berpuasa Ramadhan. Macam biasa la, bagi org2 yang bekerja, especially dua2 husband & wife keja, mmg tak sempat nak masak ape2 time buka. Mungkin kalu nak buat tu mmg buleh, tp beli lagi senang la. Kat depan ofis aku ni mmg port bazaar Ramadhan terbesar kat Putrajaya. Tp aku belum lagi menjejakkan kaki ke bazaar tu, sbb malas org ramai sgt. Dan dah gerenti menda2 kesukaan aku mmg ramai org beratur punye.
So hari Rabu tu aku & wife (tak keja, MC) pegi la ke bazaar kat area rumah kitorg tu je. Kecik je, dalam 100m je panjangnye. Aku dapatla ape yg aku ndak, nasi lemak ayam goreng rempah. Tp kesian kat wife aku, nasi kerabu yg dia beli, mmg tak sedap langsung. Mcm tanak bagi org makan je. Pastu semlm dia beli pulak murtabak, mmg ade sorg je yg jual murtabak kat situ. Bila aku makan aku nak tergelak... langsung xde rasa. Masin pun tidak.. manis pun tidak.. pedas jauh skali... Dahla kecik... ade la besar tapak tangan aku.. dua hengget.. langsung tak berasa.
Kengkadang aku tertanye2... org2 yg jual makanan ni.. dia makan tak makanan yg dia jual tu ? Kalu makan takkan dia tak rasa... sedap ke, idak ke.. Aku penah berjual kat bazaar Ramadhan skali.. dulu la.. tahun 1998, tolong mak aku. Bukan nak cakap besar, tp mak aku masak mmg sedap. Dan yg seronoknye, bila dia berjual pun, dia akan masak macam dia masak kat rumah jugak.. so mmg sedap. & alhamdulillah, menda2 yg kitorg jual (nasi beriyani, pecal, lauk2), mmg habis almost hari2. Tu satu contoh yang baik.. org yg mmg tahu memasak & mmg sedap, bukak gerai, jual kat org, suma org pun dapat merasa kesedapan masakannye.
Tp yg jual murtabak tawar, nasi kerabu takde rasa, kuih keria keras... diorg ni agaknye semata2 nak menjual je la. Kita yg membeli ni kadang2 rasa tertipu, & tak berbaloi nak menyabung tekak membeli masakan2 yg mmg tak layak utk dijual ni. Ape agaknye rasa org2 yg menjual ni ? "Lantak ko la situ, peduli ape aku sedap ke tak, janji org beli." Camtu ke agaknye diorg fikir ? Kalu camtu, mmg tak ikhlas la. Tak berkat. Dan aku rasa, paling lama pun seminggu la org beli dari diorg ni. Kalu tahan lama pun, sbb dah takde pilihan. Bagi aku, walaupun murtabak tu mmg favorite aku, baik aku makan capati la.. dh tentu mmg tawar.
Thn ni kami suami isteri ade strategi baru dalam berbuka. Thn2 lepas kitorg tak makan berat2 masa buka, biasanye mkn murtabak, pastu ade la kuih2 skit. Kengkadang makan mihun ke, kueytiaw ke. Pastu malam pas terawikh baru makan berat. Salah strategi rupanye... So thn ni, time buka je kitorg dah belasah nasik.. pastu tak makan ape sampai la sahur. Kalu makan pun mungkin buah2, atau yg ringan2 je. So kitorg takle tidur dgn perut kenyang. & dgn strategi ni, mungkin berat aku akan dapat turun lebih skit la... Wallahu'alam.
Livestrong.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Look what I found...
I was browsing through the web tonite.. I took a day off almost everything today, my training, eating.. watching TV.. I wanted to look for photos of some of the races I entered this year. U see, during every race, there would be many ppl lining up the road sides, taking photos. Sometimes I could find those photos, usually posted in some online album like Picasa or Flicker. But lately I found that it's getting increasingly difficult to find those photos. Well, here are some of the photos I found...
Tongue slip
What does the phrase "tongue slip" means ? Is it a situation when U accidentally said something that might heard somebody U were talking to ? Or is it something U said that should've been left unsaid ? In Malay I believe it means "tersasul". Well, I guess my tongue slipped when I was talking with one of my close friends this afternoon. The thing was that I didn't really know whether what I said was deemed offensive by her or not.. Well, I tried to apologize later by texting her, but she seemed ok with it. So I guess all is well. I hope it doesn't happen again.
The thing was that, we were talking about bikes. I told her that I think bikes .. superbikes I mean, nowadays it's considered a luxury item, much like a luxury car or a million dollar house. Superbikes nowadays are so expensive, U could buy a house or start a small business with the money U use to buy it. That is why I feel that somebody who buys a superbike just for show, is exactly that.. a showoff. But for those who really love bikes, of course it's like a dream come true. Even I dream of owning a superbike one day. An ST12, that's all I want. Nowadays it would cost me like RM60k to get my hands on one. Or I can go the easy way & buy a Singapore-registered used ST11 or ST12 for under RM20k. But buying is the easy part.
I used to be one of those who got crazy just by seeing a superbike... way back when I was in primary school. My uncle Cik Lan was a biker. His first bike was Yamaha FZR600. I got to ride on that bike a couple of times, but I was too small to ride it myself. I only get to ride his 2nd bike, a Kawasaki ZZR600 or ZX6. & then about 5-6 years ago, when he bought his final bike, a Vulcan 500, I was allowed to take the bike out for a date !! Too bad I was always sick as a kid. I'd get a fever right after riding with him. But of course I got to know some of his friends, bikers of course. Cik Lan would go on bike trips with his friends, the biggest one being TMBA2 or Trans Malaysia Biking Adventure, at that time the biggest biker convoy in the country with more than 2000 bikes, organized by Roda-roda. I'd reckon if they have one of those again, I'd be the 1st to join.
I've seen superbikes ridden at snail pace becoz the rider didn't really have the guts to push the bike. That usually means he bought that bike becoz his friend or uncle has one & just to go with the flow as the saying goes. I pity this kind of ppl. But it's their money to spend, not mine. So, who am I to say they dun deserve to buy that bike ? So leave it be...
Decathlon
Decathlon is an athletics discipline that consists of 10 events, contested over 2 days. A decathlete is often called a Man of Steel, for their toughness. Believe me, competing in 10 events which are so different from each other is no easy feat. Even Wall Street Journal, in an article about the best athlete in the world just before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, selected decathlon world record holder Roman Sebrle as the best athlete in the world, ahead of LeBron James, Roger Federer & others. Decathletes compete in 100m, 400m, 110m hurdle, 1500m, long jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, javelin. Ask a high jumper to run the 100m, no go. High jumpers are usually very lanky. Ask a pole vaulter to throw the discus... again, no go. Ask shot putters to run 110m hurdles... U must be joking right ? Not for a decathlete.. these ironmen can do it all... well, almost all.
My fascination about decathlon & decathlete is not just on their abilities.. but also their shoes !!! Just imagine.. almost every event require a different spike. U can't use a 100m spike to contest the 1,500m. & U can't use the shot put shoes for pole vault. They must've with them like at least 8 pairs of spikes for the entire 2 days of competition. After the pole vaulters, decathlete must be the ones travelling with the biggest luggage to competitions. That's why they have sponsors...
U can use a spike for 100m & 400m.. one for 1500m, which can also be used for 110m hurdles. Thts 2 pairs. Javelin requires a special spike. Three. Shot put & discus U can use one spike.. four. High jump.. special spike. Five. Pole vault, special one. Six. Oh.. & U can use the same spikes in the 100 & 400m for the long jump as well. Tht's it, Six pairs of different spikes. If U carry spares with U ? At least one extra pair ? 12 pairs of spikes !!! Man, U need a separate baggage handler just for the spikes.. Hahah..
Livestrong.
Tongue slip
What does the phrase "tongue slip" means ? Is it a situation when U accidentally said something that might heard somebody U were talking to ? Or is it something U said that should've been left unsaid ? In Malay I believe it means "tersasul". Well, I guess my tongue slipped when I was talking with one of my close friends this afternoon. The thing was that I didn't really know whether what I said was deemed offensive by her or not.. Well, I tried to apologize later by texting her, but she seemed ok with it. So I guess all is well. I hope it doesn't happen again.
The thing was that, we were talking about bikes. I told her that I think bikes .. superbikes I mean, nowadays it's considered a luxury item, much like a luxury car or a million dollar house. Superbikes nowadays are so expensive, U could buy a house or start a small business with the money U use to buy it. That is why I feel that somebody who buys a superbike just for show, is exactly that.. a showoff. But for those who really love bikes, of course it's like a dream come true. Even I dream of owning a superbike one day. An ST12, that's all I want. Nowadays it would cost me like RM60k to get my hands on one. Or I can go the easy way & buy a Singapore-registered used ST11 or ST12 for under RM20k. But buying is the easy part.
I used to be one of those who got crazy just by seeing a superbike... way back when I was in primary school. My uncle Cik Lan was a biker. His first bike was Yamaha FZR600. I got to ride on that bike a couple of times, but I was too small to ride it myself. I only get to ride his 2nd bike, a Kawasaki ZZR600 or ZX6. & then about 5-6 years ago, when he bought his final bike, a Vulcan 500, I was allowed to take the bike out for a date !! Too bad I was always sick as a kid. I'd get a fever right after riding with him. But of course I got to know some of his friends, bikers of course. Cik Lan would go on bike trips with his friends, the biggest one being TMBA2 or Trans Malaysia Biking Adventure, at that time the biggest biker convoy in the country with more than 2000 bikes, organized by Roda-roda. I'd reckon if they have one of those again, I'd be the 1st to join.
I've seen superbikes ridden at snail pace becoz the rider didn't really have the guts to push the bike. That usually means he bought that bike becoz his friend or uncle has one & just to go with the flow as the saying goes. I pity this kind of ppl. But it's their money to spend, not mine. So, who am I to say they dun deserve to buy that bike ? So leave it be...
Decathlon
Decathlon is an athletics discipline that consists of 10 events, contested over 2 days. A decathlete is often called a Man of Steel, for their toughness. Believe me, competing in 10 events which are so different from each other is no easy feat. Even Wall Street Journal, in an article about the best athlete in the world just before the Beijing Olympics in 2008, selected decathlon world record holder Roman Sebrle as the best athlete in the world, ahead of LeBron James, Roger Federer & others. Decathletes compete in 100m, 400m, 110m hurdle, 1500m, long jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, javelin. Ask a high jumper to run the 100m, no go. High jumpers are usually very lanky. Ask a pole vaulter to throw the discus... again, no go. Ask shot putters to run 110m hurdles... U must be joking right ? Not for a decathlete.. these ironmen can do it all... well, almost all.
My fascination about decathlon & decathlete is not just on their abilities.. but also their shoes !!! Just imagine.. almost every event require a different spike. U can't use a 100m spike to contest the 1,500m. & U can't use the shot put shoes for pole vault. They must've with them like at least 8 pairs of spikes for the entire 2 days of competition. After the pole vaulters, decathlete must be the ones travelling with the biggest luggage to competitions. That's why they have sponsors...
U can use a spike for 100m & 400m.. one for 1500m, which can also be used for 110m hurdles. Thts 2 pairs. Javelin requires a special spike. Three. Shot put & discus U can use one spike.. four. High jump.. special spike. Five. Pole vault, special one. Six. Oh.. & U can use the same spikes in the 100 & 400m for the long jump as well. Tht's it, Six pairs of different spikes. If U carry spares with U ? At least one extra pair ? 12 pairs of spikes !!! Man, U need a separate baggage handler just for the spikes.. Hahah..
Livestrong.
Men's Health Shape Run 2010 @ Putrajaya
Finally I was able to go for this race. In 2008 I missed it becoz I only got to know about the race AFTER it was over.. then last year I was in Sabah (or Sarawak) for a meeting, so I couldn't enter. Anyway, there was nothing much about this race, just that it was organized by a magazine I read & the goodie bag was better than most other races. Actually the goodie bag was enuff motivation for most ppl to enter. This year it was held in Putrajaya again, at nite & the distance was 12.3km. Well, under normal circumstances tht wouldn't really trouble me. The distance I mean.
I wasn't in a really good form before the race. I haven't had any long distance training since the end of PSP & PSKK, I was focusing much on weights & short sprints. So I was carrying a bigger than normal bulk in my body, result of all those weight work at the gym. The only real distance training was about 3 days before the race, where I ran a 10.3km midtempo. I even had to skip my normal pre-race tune up (testing the shoes & all) becoz I didn't have time. So running it was just a gamble & I'd planned to take it easy, it was to be my last race before puasa anyway.
I'd planned to meet up with Azam before the race. I went there quite early with my wife & we parked next to BPP as I wanted to be as close as possible to the start, becoz I'ma have to perform the Maghrib prayers just 30 mins before the start. I did my prayers near the lobby of KPDNKK, & by doing that I had plenty of time to get to the start. I couldn't find Azam, so I just walked to the start while doing some warm-ups. Suddenly he appeared out of nowhere. I told him since I wasn't really prepared to race, he could just drop me if I was going too slow or whatever. He had a new shoes on, the Kswiss, & he wasn't feeling comfy with the shoes.
So, how did the race went for me ? Better than expected. I was able to run at my target pace (5:30-6:30) thruout, & even faster in some sections. I was feeling surprisingly good. I even managed to run a faster second 5K, & at the end I finished the race with an average pace of 5:57. This year I ran faster only at the Larian Bomba. I was able to accelerate after the 1st 5K, so I was happy with that. & I didn't really feel heavy at all.
I lost Azam after the 1st water station, near PICC. Afterwards he told me he was having probs with his shoes. Well, I told him at the start he shudn't race with new shoes. He finished 3 mins down, a 1:16. I placed 329 out of some 1300 runners, so I managed to stay within the top 30% in every race so far, which is good. The medals was only for the top 75 runners, the only minus point of this race actually. There was also lotsa complaints from the road users due to inefficient road closure. U could hear ppl arguing with traffic police at almost every junction. Funny, since it wasn't the 1st time Putrajaya was having a nite race. Well, U can't really pls everybody.
European Athletics Championship
Last week I was going to bed late to catch the European Athletics Championships. I didn't really watch every event, since the live shows was like from midnite to 4.00 am. I was focusing much on the field event of course, javelin, other throwing & jumping events. On the last day, on Monday morning I stayed up to catch Blanka Vlasic in action. Unfortunately, since it was the last day of the championships, they didn't really focus on the women's high jump. Rather they showed it in segments. But the much anticipated duel between Blanka & Arianne Friedrich, her German rival didn't materialize. Arianne was only able to put pressure on Blanka until the 2.01 mark. Even she had to take 3 attempts to clear that height. Blanka only took 2 attempts & she cleared 2.03m in 2 as well, which turned out to be the winning height. I thought she was going to attempt to break the world record, 2.09m. But she wasn't feeling good, so I guess it was good to stop while Ur leading. Nevertheless I went to bed at 4.00am & was late for work.
The javelin event was a couple of days earlier. Andreas Thorkildsen was the favorite, but he had problems clearing the qualification minimum of 70m. So everybody thought he would have some problems.
In the final the German World Junior Champion De Zordo was bettering Thor's mark at every throw until the 3rd attempt. Even Tero Pitkamaki only came to life after the 4th attempt. But Thor was just amazing. The way he threw the spear.. I mean javelin... was so relaxed U'd wonder where he got the power to throw that thing over 80m. The effort wasn't visible at all... not in the run-in, not in the shuffle.. I guess it was the powerful arm, core & shoulder.
Pitkamaki's style was a stark contrast to Thor's. He would fell off just before the foul line after the release.. in the 3rd attempt he fouled. U could really see the effort. Well, it was only good enuff for the bronze. I guess he's got some ways off now that De Zordo has emerged as the new force in pro javelin.
Other events, well, Lemaitre won both sprints plus the 4x100, although he wasn't the reason France won it. The Italians almost won it as they were leading in the final leg, but Mbanjock's fighting spirit was just incredible. He didn't give up at all.
All said, in the track events, I'd say the Europeans have beginning to show signs of catching up to their African (long & middle distance) & American (sprints) counterparts. But they still got some ways to go... Lemaitre for example, was way behind in most Diamond League meetings. No question about their authority in field events though...
Now.. to the weekend's Diamond League Final in London...
Livestrong.
I wasn't in a really good form before the race. I haven't had any long distance training since the end of PSP & PSKK, I was focusing much on weights & short sprints. So I was carrying a bigger than normal bulk in my body, result of all those weight work at the gym. The only real distance training was about 3 days before the race, where I ran a 10.3km midtempo. I even had to skip my normal pre-race tune up (testing the shoes & all) becoz I didn't have time. So running it was just a gamble & I'd planned to take it easy, it was to be my last race before puasa anyway.
I'd planned to meet up with Azam before the race. I went there quite early with my wife & we parked next to BPP as I wanted to be as close as possible to the start, becoz I'ma have to perform the Maghrib prayers just 30 mins before the start. I did my prayers near the lobby of KPDNKK, & by doing that I had plenty of time to get to the start. I couldn't find Azam, so I just walked to the start while doing some warm-ups. Suddenly he appeared out of nowhere. I told him since I wasn't really prepared to race, he could just drop me if I was going too slow or whatever. He had a new shoes on, the Kswiss, & he wasn't feeling comfy with the shoes.
So, how did the race went for me ? Better than expected. I was able to run at my target pace (5:30-6:30) thruout, & even faster in some sections. I was feeling surprisingly good. I even managed to run a faster second 5K, & at the end I finished the race with an average pace of 5:57. This year I ran faster only at the Larian Bomba. I was able to accelerate after the 1st 5K, so I was happy with that. & I didn't really feel heavy at all.
I lost Azam after the 1st water station, near PICC. Afterwards he told me he was having probs with his shoes. Well, I told him at the start he shudn't race with new shoes. He finished 3 mins down, a 1:16. I placed 329 out of some 1300 runners, so I managed to stay within the top 30% in every race so far, which is good. The medals was only for the top 75 runners, the only minus point of this race actually. There was also lotsa complaints from the road users due to inefficient road closure. U could hear ppl arguing with traffic police at almost every junction. Funny, since it wasn't the 1st time Putrajaya was having a nite race. Well, U can't really pls everybody.
European Athletics Championship
Last week I was going to bed late to catch the European Athletics Championships. I didn't really watch every event, since the live shows was like from midnite to 4.00 am. I was focusing much on the field event of course, javelin, other throwing & jumping events. On the last day, on Monday morning I stayed up to catch Blanka Vlasic in action. Unfortunately, since it was the last day of the championships, they didn't really focus on the women's high jump. Rather they showed it in segments. But the much anticipated duel between Blanka & Arianne Friedrich, her German rival didn't materialize. Arianne was only able to put pressure on Blanka until the 2.01 mark. Even she had to take 3 attempts to clear that height. Blanka only took 2 attempts & she cleared 2.03m in 2 as well, which turned out to be the winning height. I thought she was going to attempt to break the world record, 2.09m. But she wasn't feeling good, so I guess it was good to stop while Ur leading. Nevertheless I went to bed at 4.00am & was late for work.
The javelin event was a couple of days earlier. Andreas Thorkildsen was the favorite, but he had problems clearing the qualification minimum of 70m. So everybody thought he would have some problems.
In the final the German World Junior Champion De Zordo was bettering Thor's mark at every throw until the 3rd attempt. Even Tero Pitkamaki only came to life after the 4th attempt. But Thor was just amazing. The way he threw the spear.. I mean javelin... was so relaxed U'd wonder where he got the power to throw that thing over 80m. The effort wasn't visible at all... not in the run-in, not in the shuffle.. I guess it was the powerful arm, core & shoulder.
Pitkamaki's style was a stark contrast to Thor's. He would fell off just before the foul line after the release.. in the 3rd attempt he fouled. U could really see the effort. Well, it was only good enuff for the bronze. I guess he's got some ways off now that De Zordo has emerged as the new force in pro javelin.
Other events, well, Lemaitre won both sprints plus the 4x100, although he wasn't the reason France won it. The Italians almost won it as they were leading in the final leg, but Mbanjock's fighting spirit was just incredible. He didn't give up at all.
All said, in the track events, I'd say the Europeans have beginning to show signs of catching up to their African (long & middle distance) & American (sprints) counterparts. But they still got some ways to go... Lemaitre for example, was way behind in most Diamond League meetings. No question about their authority in field events though...
Now.. to the weekend's Diamond League Final in London...
Livestrong.
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