Thursday, June 16, 2016

Ramadhan 2016

Ramadhan Kareem !!!

Alhamdulillah, aku masih diberikan peluang untuk menyambut bulan yang mulia ini pada tahun ni. Disebabkan bulan posa, aku nk tulis entry kali ni dalam bahasa Melayu lah. Seperti yang aku penah mention sebelum2 ni, ramadhan kali ini mmg akan berbeza sikit daripada ramadhan2 yang sebelum ni, dari segi aktiviti fizikal aku & training lah khususnya. Sebabnya, semua race besar2 dan race2 yang aku target hampir semuanya lepas raya. Raya kali ni jugak akan agak mencabar lh, sebab kalu aku tak kontrol betul2, habis lh segala training teruk2 yang aku buat masa bulan posa ni. 

Training di bulan posa

Training dalam bulan posa bkn lh sesuatu yg baru bg aku. Sejak aku kayuh dulu, mmg setiap kali bulan posa pon aku akan teruskan dgn training. Cumanya, biasanya aku akan scale-down intensity training masa bulan posa ni. Mana lh larat nk buat training cam hari biasa kan. Bulan posa biasanya adalah bulan aku rest, buat light, easy runs. Kalu pegi gym pon akan buat light, full body workouts untuk maintain jer. & ada pendapat mengatakan yang buat weight training dalam bulan posa sebenarnya adalah counter-productive, maknanya lebih mendatangkan keburukan daripada kebaikan. Sebabnya, bila muscle kita dikerah tanpa ada protein tambahan untuk support, muscle kita akan kehilangan saiz & jisimnya..maknanya akan jadi kecik lh.

So untuk mengelakkan menda ni berlaku, aku training malam, lepas settle terawikh. Begitu jugak dgn interval training yg teruk & LSDs, aku buat malam. Tp training malam ni, cabarannya ialah pada mental lh. Lps pukul 10 tu mata ni mmg ssh nak bukak. Mental kna kuat. & aku dh try buat interval masa sebelum buka..mmg seksa. So, utk compensate, kena kurgkn sikit jumlah reps & pjgkn masa recovery tu. Kalu biasa 1km x 6 reps, rest 90 saat, bulan posa ni buat 1km x 4, rest 2 minit stengah. Intensity interval tu maintain. & sbb bulan posa ni aku hanya bole g gym 2 kali je, aku kena buat 3 body part per session. Aku br buat 1st workout kelmarin...pengsan wooo...

Makanan buka

Bulan posa ni biasanya mmg wife aku x masak makanan untuk buka. Hari biasa pon dia jarang masak sebenarnya, tp aku yang x bagi, bukan dia tak nak masak. So untuk juadah berbuka, bazar ramadhan lh tempatnya. Bazar ramadhan (atau baram) Putrajaya thn ni adalah di tempat parking Palace of Justice. Makanan wajib untuk kami sekeluarga masa buka ye lh martabak. Martabak pilihan thn ni ye lh martabak Keramat. Sedap, RM3 je sekeping. 2 keping je dh cukup utk aku dgn wife. Pastu biasa ade kuih manis sejenis & kuih pedas sejenis. Thn ni kuih akok nampaknya naik harga dasat gak. Thn lepas 40 sen je satu..thn ni 70 sen. Saiz sama je. Sedap belum tentu.

Minggu pertama biasanya aku akan beli dari tempat2 berbeza untuk test yg mana sedap. Masuk minggu kedua da xde test2 da, aku boleh straight tuju ke gerai yang berkenaan lh. Sejak 2 tahun lepas aku da start bawak bekas sendrik untuk isi makanan yang aku beli, go green katanya. Menda simple je, tp kalu suma org boleh buat, bape banyak plastik, bekas polisterin & kertas yang kita da bole jimatkan. & ade gerai yang bg aku diskaun lg sbb aku bwk bekas sendrik. 

Biasa aku mmg pegi baram da lewat, sbb aku training dulu seblom tu. So biasanya xyah nak beratur2 lh. Tp martabak Keramat ni, pegi kol 6:30 pon still kena beratur. Rezeki diorg lh. 

Race lepas raya

Race yang pertama lepas raya ni ye lh TM Fan Run, dlm 10 hari je lps raya. Bagusnye timing diorg. Aku lari HM lh. Tp bgs gak, sbb Standard Chartered KL Marathon, race target aku ye lh pada 7/8 (birthday Imran), exactly sebulan lps raya. So aku akan ade 2 race utk prepare utk SCKLM, satu lg Reach out run (15km). Lepas raya ni sampai hujung thn aku ade 12 race, menjadikan total race utk thn ni 21, paling byk sejak aku start masuk2 race ni. Daripada 12 tu, 6 HM, 1 FM. Yg lain2 tu 15km atau kurang lh. Kalu seblom posa aritu suma race short distances, lps raya ni kita balik ke asal lh. & aku akan buat FM aku yg 1st kat Penang, insha Allah. 


Isu aku skg kasut. Aku start 2016 dgn 3 pasang kasut yg masih bole dipakai, skg 2 da hampir tahap lunyai. Kasut race aku skg da jadi kasut training. Newton Tri Racer yg aku beli aritu mmg xleh lh untuk race2 lebih dari 12km. Seblom SCKLM nnt aku rasa cam kena beli kasut lagi, most likely Mizuno gak. Utk FM nnt pon aku nk kena beli sepasang lagi, sbb Mizuno Wave Hitogami aku ni xleh nk bwk ke FM, x cukup cushioning. Utk HM mmg oke lh. Aku cadang nk try Hoka One One Tracer atau NB Fresh Foam Zante. Tgk lh nnt caner...tgk keadaan kewangan..

Selamat berpuasa. 
Livestrong, run stronger. 
  

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Race review : Larian Bersama Bomba



The pic above was from my 1st ever Larian Bomba back in 2009. That race was the 1st event I did when I decided to go competitive. & for that reason, Larian Bomba was always in my list of must-do races every year. I only missed this race twice in 7 years, once becoz it clashed with Pesta Sukan Treasury, & last year when I completely missed the registration date.

Unfortunately, this year's event was my worst ever experience since I took up running. My calf got injured again & I only managed to run half the distance. I walked the rest of the way, with a swollen right calf & as a result I crossed the finish line after the cut off time, the first time I failed to finish a race within the cut off time. & of coz with that, no medal for me this year. I was so embarrassed that it took me 12 days to write this entry.

Racepack collection


Larian Bomba is unique becoz of a few things. The fee is the cheapest for a 10K (well, 10.8 actually) event : RM30. U can register at any firestation or U can register directly at Bomba's KL HQ in Jln Hang Tuah. I dunno of any other races in recent memory which offers on-site registration. U can even select the tshirt color & size on the spot. Even though the tshirt is just a normal cotton shirt, basically U get what U pay for. 

At RM30 of coz we couldn't expect a goodie bag of any sort. & after registering U will get something U will never see at any other races : a reporting card. This is perhaps the only event where this card is still used. What's it for? Well, to report Ur presence at the start line of coz!  



Pre-race


I didn't get to do a pre-race run bcoz of the weather. I only managed to do a short 20 minute tempo on the treadmill the day before the race. I felt okay at that time, although my calf felt a bit tight afterwards. I tried to shake it off with stretching & foam rolling. & I decided to use my Newtons again for this race.  


Start line

The 10km flag off was at 7:30am, very, very late by today's standards. So I went to the start line after Subuh prayers. I got to the start pretty early & did my usual warm-up. As soon as I began my warm-up I learned that the tightness in my calf didn't go away. I began to worry & did a longer stretching than usual. I went inside the start area & met my LYNR friends, Jimmy & YK. I went out again & did more warm up, trying to shake the tightness off.  

The race

By the time I hit the 1st climb, which was about 2km from the start, I knew I was in trouble already. I felt really heavy. & right at that 1st climb my right calf twitched, it was almost as if the calf muscle shifted sideways. But I kept on running & when the road went downhill shortly after, I tried to stretch it off. Going downhill seemed to help a bit. But at 5km my calf twitched again & this time I couldn't run. I tried to get down to do the calf stretch, but I couldn't bend my knees becoz the calf was super-tight. I knew then that my race was over.  

I couldn't even do a light-jog becoz the calf was swollen to almost twice the size. So I just walked the rest of the way. 

It was an unreal experience, being at the back end of the field. A lot of runners who went pass me gave me words of encouragement, I thanked them for that. I saw that the mid-pack & tail-end runners offers more support to others than the front runners would. It was an eye-opening experience. 

Post race




I hit the finish line in 1:34:17. I didn't even make the cut-off time! A lot of firsts in this race, none of them good ones. I was off the road for 16 days due to this injury. Now I'm back on the road again, I hope I can avoid getting injured again, becoz there's gonna be a lot of good races after raya. 


Ratings
Route (Challenging, unique) : 4/5
Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 3/5 
Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 3/5 (only 2 water stations instead of the promised 3)
Goodie bag (Content) : None
Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 1/5
Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : Dunno. Didn't get any...
My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 0/5 

Livestrong, run stronger.