tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81614485705710059172024-03-06T15:08:04.721+08:00I am TennoAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-13289120178043295442016-09-13T10:46:00.001+08:002016-09-13T10:46:42.289+08:00Race review: NBOS Run & Ride 11K<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">SCKLM on the 7th of August was the start of 4 races that I'ma do in 3 weeks, the 1st time I'm doing this kinda thing. Not that it was planned or I did it on purpose though. This week's NBOS Run & Ride 11K was sponsored by Persatuan Pegawai Tadbir dan Diplomatik (PPTD) for our group of runners. They paid for our fees & tshirts. I didn't plan to go, but since it was free & it was only 11K, what the heck!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was still recovering from SCKLM, so on Monday after SCKLM I took a day's leave & went for a recovery run in the morning. Then the day after I did 30 mins tempo. I've decided to use my Newton Tri racer for all short distance races, so I trained in that shoes. On Thursday I was supposed to do short intervals, but I guess I was just too tired & decided to take the day off. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Becoz of the separate arrangements that PPTD had with the organizers, we were able to collect the racekit in Putrajaya instead of having to go to Cheras the week before. I went to Menara KBS at about noon to collect my racekit. There was about 100 people that was registered under the PPTD flag for this race. I collected the racekit for one of my friends as well. Becoz the event was free for us, we didn't get anything else besides the bib, tshirt & the obligatory Brooks discount voucher. That is to be expected. I decided to wear the Adidas vest that I got from SCKLM last week, the color matches the event tshirt nicely. There was electronic timing, which was nice for an event like this. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After collecting the racekit I went to PICC to have a look at the race venue. Quite a number of us was quite worried becoz if the race start is at the PICC, then there's gonna be quite a hill to climb! Well, when I got to PICC I saw some setting up work was being done just before the guard house leading up to the climb up PICC. Well then, we still had to climb to get to the finish (the start will be downhill), but it wasn't really that bad. I updated the PPTD Runners group & everybody was relieved. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Start line</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The flag off was at 7:10, so I decided to leave home after my Subuh prayers. There was still not many people when I got there. I did my usual warm up & headed to the start line. As this event mixes run & ride, the runners will be flagged off first. There was only 2 categories, the 11K & the 5K fun run. There wasn't that many participants as it turned out to be, there was less than 1000 runners. They even had to rope in the PTD cadets from Intan to make up the numbers. Maybe becoz this event clashed with quite a number of other events as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The race</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I made my way to the start line & managed to squeeze in quite close to the start line. The sun was already shining when we were flagged off. It was a downhill start so everybody started fast, obviously. I made my way to the front group. My target for this race was to get a sub-hour timing. I've raced through this course quite a number of times already this year, so I knew the spots where I can push & where to hold pace. We had to make a turn-around at about KM6 & stitches hit me hard again just before the turn-around. Again I had to stop awhile to make it go away. As this is a short event, I didn't bring any water with me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After turning around I felt okay & began to push the pace up again. As we got to the final kilometers I saw my friend Jeff on the other side of the road, I was about 20 secs behind him. He was quite a fast runner so I thought I had a shot at top 10. The finish was of course up the hill we went down at the start earlier. A lot of people was walking up the hill & it was pretty crowded with the fun runners. I stopped the clock at 1:00:09, a PB for 11K actually. & later I learned that I got the 12th spot for the veteran category, missed the prize money by about 2 minutes and 22 secs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">After changing to dry clothes I went around looking for my friends. As this is a government-organized event, a lot of my friends took part, some were running for the 1st time. It was good atmosphere. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Lessons learned</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Again I was hit with stitches. I don't really know how it happened, but I was running pretty fast. Stopping becoz of the stitches had probably caused my a few seconds. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Route (Challenging, unique) : 3.5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 4/5 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 3.5/5 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Goodie bag (Content) : 3.5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5 (really, really big medal)</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 4/5 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Livestrong, run stronger.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-17403457212276034052016-08-22T14:59:00.000+08:002016-08-22T15:17:14.783+08:00Race review : Standard Chartered KL Marathon HM<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every year, I focus on 2 races : the SCKLM & Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM). Why? Becoz these 2 races are the only AIMS-certified race course in Malaysia. Plus these are the biggest races in the country, with a minimum of 35000 participants in all category. Since this year I'm gonna do full marathon in Penang, SCKLM becomes my main focus for half marathon distance. I've been training for this race since Ramadhan & I've had 2 prep races before the SCKLM, the TM 21km & Reachout run 15km. My performances in those races suggested that I was on the right track to break my PB during the SCKLM. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reachout run was on the 24th of July. After that race I began tapering for SCKLM. The timing of both prep races means that I was able to do a full 2 weeks of tapering, something that I wasn't able to do in the past. I was quite worried becoz my recovery period after TM & Reachout was longer than usual & I had to do recovery runs the day after those races. But I guess it was for the better, as I was feeling fresh after that. The recovery runs really helped. I was also clocking pretty good times at both races (2:05 for TM & 1:28 for Reachout). I ran both races at about 30-60 secs off my target race pace. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was also quite happy with my running technique. I've taken into account my previous injuries & decided to run with shorter strides, with more backlift, something like the POSE method. & I've been running injury-free since I recovered from my last injury at Larian Bomba. With the new technique, I was more relaxed but I was able to run at the same speed or slightly faster than with my previous style. With this new technique there was less stress on my calf, but my hamstring got worked a bit more than usual, becoz of the backlift. & I was able to keep my cadence high, around 90 spm. <b> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the week before SCKLM, I scaled down my training even further & made sure I went to bed early every night to ensure that I've got enuff rest. I also keep myself hydrated & eat enuff carbo. I think this is the best race build-up I've ever had for any race that I've prepared for. </span></div>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Racepack collection</b></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The nicest vest I've ever received from an REPC so far</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Left: 2016 battery. Right : 2015 battery</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If there was one thing I dun like about SCKLM this year it's the REPC location. For years the REPC was at the Dataran Merdeka, along with the Run Expo. But this year, for whatever reason, they moved it to Kenanga Wholesale City, one of the last places I would go in KL. At first I was positive about the location, & since Imran's birthday is on Sunday as well, I decided to go there with my family. Bad decision. It seemed like everybody was collecting their racekits on Saturday & the traffic was unbelievable. It took me 90 mins to get there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Once we got there, there was congestion at the elevators as well. The REPC was at their exhibition hall, accessible only through elevators or stairs. But since there was so many people, it was so slow getting there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The racekit itself was standard SCKLM. A drawstring bag, the bib, vouchers & Salonpas sampler kit. There was also batteries from GP, they've been giving out these batteries since 2013 I think. & then the Adidas vest. This year's vest was simply the best event vest I've ever got. Almost like a race vest. I wouldn't hesitate to race in them. & the sizing was spot on, at least for me. Kudos to Adidas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Run Expo was the usual feast of running equipment & also sponsor goodies. The biggest booths of course are main sponsors' booth : Standard Chartered & Adidas. Standard Chartered gave away free running pouch for those who applied for their credit card & savings account. Adidas also had special offer on the official SCKLM merchandise. I bought the running tee + cap for RM99, quite a bargain. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I spend quite sometime going through the booths, but I didn't buy anything else other than the Adidas products. Wasn't really looking for anything anyway. There was Hoka shoes on sale, but the offer wasn't attractive enough for me. Plus, after trying out Hoka Tracer, I think I'd go for the NB Fresh Foam Boracay for my marathon shoes. </span><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Prepped my stuff early</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My standard race uniform</span></td></tr>
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<b style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Start line</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I registered for a start in the front pen, pen 2 to be exact. Pen 2 is for runners who's targeted finish time is 2 hours & below. The start is at 5:30am. So I prepped my stuff early the day before & went to bed by 10pm. I wanted to be at the start by 4:45am at the latest, so I left home at around 4am. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I got to Dataran the roads were already closed, but I managed to sneak to my usual parking spots for races that starts at Dataran Merdeka. I managed to do a full warm up, along with a couple of other runners. So after I was done with my warm ups, I changed into my race uniform & headed for the start with about 5 mins to spare. Pen 2 is pretty close to the start line, so that gives me the opportunity to start with the fast runners. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The race</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is the 1st time I run the new route, which they started using since 2014. I didn't take part that year due to injury & last year the race was cancelled due to the haze. As I ran the 1st couple of kms I glanced at my Polar & I was surprised to see the pace at around 4:30. Surprised becoz I was feeling good. That's the advantage of starting with a fast group I guess. My race plan was to race an even 55mins for both 10Ks. For half marathons, I usually split my race into 3 parts, the 1st & 2nd 10K & the last 1.2 km. 2 55-min 10Ks will give me a 20K time of 1 hour 50 mins, & I have another 10 mins to run the last 1.2K, which shud be no problem for me. Of course, to break my PB of 1:58 I'd have to run faster than that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I managed to maintain a high tempo for the 1st part & at 10km my time was 55 mins; right on target. Just before the water station at 12km I had to pause to tie my shoelace. My shoelace wud give me more problems later as my shoes became wet. I took my gel at 12km continued to press on. My shoelaces kept coming undone another 3 times & I began to get annoyed by that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We had to run about 5km on AKLEH & that was when I had the most problems. The course went up & down & I had some problems dealing with that. I tried to up the pace on the descent & limit my losses during the ascent. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At KM15 I started to suffer from stitches. I managed to shake it off at first but it came back with a vengeance at KM18. To make matters worse, I can't seem to get hold of isotonic drinks at the water stations. I had hoped that isotonic drinks could help with the stitches. Finally I had to stop at KM18 as the stitches got so bad I couldn't breathe. After taking deep breaths & drinking some water, it went away & immediately upped as I knew there was still time to achieve a sub-2hr time. The last 500m felt so long, probably the longest 500m in any race I've been to. At about 200m out I saw the official clock already showing 2:00:00, but I sprinted anyway. I crossed the line at 2:01:00. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Post race</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My official net finishing time was 2:00:36.54. I missed getting sub-2hr time by 37 secs. If I add up the time I had to stop to tie my shoelaces & recovering from the stitches, I could've clocked 1:55-1:56 thus breaking my PB. I'd thought that the course was slightly longer & my Polar registered a distance of 21.46km. For a race that is AIMS-certified, I certainly didn't expect that to happen. Not that I'm blaming the over-distanced course. 2 hour flat was still a pretty good performance. The only other time I managed a 2-hour flat was in Penang in 2013. That year I clocked 2:00:33, with an average pace of 5:41. So I guess this is my 3rd fastest time ever for a HM. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Lessons learned</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Starting with a fast group can be advantageous.</i> I was really grateful I started with Pen 2. Becoz everybody in the group started equally fast, I was able to settle into a rhythm from very early on. That helped me with the pacing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Stitches are real.</i> I really can't think how I got those. Becoz I've never really had to worry about stitches before. But it can happen to even the most trained athletes. I guess the best way is to learn how to deal with it. & dun panic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>I can only get better. </i>I went into this race without knowing what to expect, really. There's been a lots of firsts this year. I had to change my training, my stride, running style. & to top it all off, I turned 40 this year. I'm not quite sure how age affected my performance, but so far, I feel the effects only on shorter distance races, like 10K. It's true that distance runners get better with age. </span><br />
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<b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ratings</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Route (Challenging, unique) : 4.5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 4.5/5 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 4.5/5 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Goodie bag (Content) : 4/5 (same old contents)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 5/5 (one of the best, if not THE best)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 4/5 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Livestrong, run stronger.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-46676050217130858822016-08-10T16:15:00.002+08:002016-08-10T16:15:52.805+08:00Race review : TM Fan Run 2016 21km & Reach Out run 15km<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, maaf zahir & batin!!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Alhamdulillah, looks like I managed to make it through the 1st 2 weeks of the festive season without much impact on my physique & performance. In fact, my body weight has been lower than during the fasting month! I've started training during the 3rd raya, & managed to do 3 training sessions in my wife's hometown of Kg Amer. So all is well. Bcoz of the lateness of these race reviews, I'll put reviews for both TM Fan Run & Reach Out run in this posting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>TM FAN RUN 21K</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My first race, 10 days after raya is 21km. Usually I will stay away from this kinda distance, this early after raya. Why? Bcoz normally fasting month is my rest period. Well, as I've stated in my previous post, this year's Ramadhan was different. But alhamdulillah, although I continued training at normal intensity, I didn't miss my terawikh & managed to khatam my recital of Al-Quran. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I had to collect the racekit at TM's office in Bangsar. The racekit itself was very plain, with just the tshirt & the bib. The tshirt design itself was pretty much the same as previous years, I've ran this race since 2012. Well, it's not like I'm gonna wear it in the race anyway...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>My performance</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I've always planned to treat this race as training. I was pretty late to the line as me & a bunch of other runners did our solat Subuh which was just 15 mins from the designated start time of 6:00 am. I took it real easy in the 1st 12 km or so & my plan was to do tempo in the last 9km. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">So after I got to the water station at KM12, had my gel, I began to press a bit harder. Shortly after that the course became crowded with the slower 10K runners, so I had to run in the outside lane. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I couldn't really push the speed up & by the time we hit the bridge before Galeria I was already in trouble. So much trouble in fact that I had to stop to catch my breath. This is not normal for me, to stop in a race. After a short breather I continued running & hit the line in 2:06, good enuff for no 66 in my category. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This race showed that I've yet to hit my form period. I still have problems holding pace faster than 5:40 for longer than 5km. The course was also a bit under distance at 20..8km. Nevertheless, 2:06 was a pretty good time, given the way I ran. There's another race in a week's time, the 15km Reach Out Run & after that I'll begin my tapering period. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Route (Challenging, unique) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 3.5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Goodie bag (Content) : 3/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 3/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 4/5 </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>REACH OUT RUN 15K</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The reason I went for this event was that I missed the registration for Newton's 30K. But come to think of it, it was probably a good thing bcoz I dun think I can recover on time for SCKLM had I ran 30K just 2 weeks prior. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The racekit collection was at IM4U Sentral in Puchong. It used to be known as 3R complex & way before that there was a football field & a hindu temple at the site. I was quite impressed with the facilities at this place, there was even a hostel & quite a number of indoor courts. But the place was very quiet. Quite a waste really. With the new LRT station just next to it, this could really be a focal point for youth activities it was meant to be. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I was quite disappointed with the quality of the race tshirt. Well, first of all, I dun think the tshirt was even a genuine New Balance tshirt. I know how a genuine NB tshirt looks like & this is not it. I know that with a fee of RM50, I can't really expect much, but I've been to cheaper races that gave out better quality tshirts. Better still, just take out the NB stamp from it & it would be just fine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Since this is just a 15K race (which will be my last prep race before SCKLM), I decided to wear my other Mizuno vest, bcoz it matches my shoes. For shorter races, I can go with just about any vests. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>My performance</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">It rained before the race. & it was still raining when I got to the start. I did my warm ups on the corridors for Perbadanan Putrajaya building. & I decided to put my arm sleeves on, a decision that I will regret later. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">There wasn't that many people at the race, probably bcoz there was 3-4 other races on the same date. But there was a problem before I even started running: my Polar wasn't working. I had some problems syncing it the day before, it got mixed up with my friend's Polar which I was helping to setup. My sports profile didn't show up. Even the default running profile was missing! That cost me some time. I just settled for elapsed time recording & it couldn't even do that! The GPS didn't work either. So I had to rely on the official timing. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I started off the back & settled into a pretty fast rhythm. The wet road was quite slippery & my Hitogami 2 was struggling to find some traction. Bcoz of the problems with my Polar, I didn't know exactly how fast I was running. But I knew I couldn't get near 1:25. The course was similar to TM's run, only shorter. The rain had stopped, but it was still quite cold. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">At the end, my time was 1:28:55, good enuff for no 26. None of my splits was registered, I was really running blindly. & to make it worse, I suffered quite a bad burn on my ribs bcoz of my arm warmers. On a positive note, I was able to hold a faster pace for longer & I was focusing on my backlift. I was really grateful that my decision to revert to shorter strides has yield excellent results & I was able to run injury-free.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Route (Challenging, unique) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Goodie bag (Content) : 3/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 2/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 4/5</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Livestrong, run stronger.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-29483843566837433822016-06-16T11:18:00.001+08:002016-06-16T11:18:01.841+08:00Ramadhan 2016<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ramadhan Kareem !!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Training di bulan posa</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bulan posa biasanya adalah bulan aku rest, buat light, easy runs. Kalu pegi gym pon akan buat light, full body workouts untuk maintain jer. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">& 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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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...</span></div>
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<a href="https://scontent-kul1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13450303_10210094284136972_799671350337601309_n.jpg?oh=1bad40a1c1d3f632d3427c3e85de9ab3&oe=57D5E735" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://scontent-kul1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13450303_10210094284136972_799671350337601309_n.jpg?oh=1bad40a1c1d3f632d3427c3e85de9ab3&oe=57D5E735" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Makanan buka</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Race lepas raya</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span></div>
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<a href="https://scontent-kul1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13179117_10209768616035473_6240001219015726220_n.jpg?oh=1fa31b41a04c20a88e67fc37cdee9c66&oe=57DF3813" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://scontent-kul1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13179117_10209768616035473_6240001219015726220_n.jpg?oh=1fa31b41a04c20a88e67fc37cdee9c66&oe=57DF3813" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">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..</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Selamat berpuasa. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Livestrong, run stronger. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-54949587446420298602016-06-07T11:07:00.000+08:002016-06-07T11:07:18.108+08:00Race review : Larian Bersama Bomba<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">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.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Racepack collection</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">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. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">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! </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pre-race</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">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. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Start line</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">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. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The race</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">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. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">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. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">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. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">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. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Route (Challenging, unique) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 3/5 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 3/5 </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">(only 2 water stations instead of the promised 3)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Goodie bag (Content) : None</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 1/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : Dunno. Didn't get any...</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 0/5 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Livestrong, run stronger.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-25843341495475195832016-04-24T18:27:00.002+08:002016-04-24T18:27:54.580+08:00Race review : Compressport Road 12km<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was not keen to join this run at first. Why? Becoz of the very high fees (RM89 for 12km). I know that the high fees comes with a free sock (worth RM89), but then again, I think there should be an option for runners who don't want the free socks. I've got tons of socks & I guess I just don't need another one, no matter what brand. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But Rudy was selling his bib (again) & I told him I just want the bib & I'll pass the rest of the racekit to him. We agreed on a price, so I guess I'm running this race after all. Compressport is another of those compression wear brands, from Switzerland. Perhaps that was why their products are very, very expensive. They focus on the triathlon market. Their running shirt was often used by Mynic in their runs like Sehati Sejiwa & MyBuddies run. This year Mynic's gonna use Compressport again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The racepack collection was at DPulze Cyberjaya. After receiving the confirmation email from Rudy, I went to collect the kit on Friday. 1st of all I was quite surprised to see there was no timing chip on the bib. For a race this expensive, the absence of a timing chip is quite puzzling. If it was just some run by a charity organization then maybe we can accept. But this is a running event organized by runners & sponsored by a running product! I'm quite sure a lot of runners would agree with me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were given a Compressport string bag, the running vest & the socks. After seeing the goodies, I've to say that it was quite impressive. & I was already telling Rudy that I wanted to keep the whole kit! It turned out that the vest fits me although it was a size S! Not for running though, maybe for weight training. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The socks is pretty similar to Nike's run socks, but it was thicker. I tried it on during my tempo run on Friday & I liked it!. It matches my Newton Triracer, the shoes I was gonna use for this race. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This week I was already starting the heavy phase of my weight training. This phase, while the exercise is the same as my endurance phase, takes more time becoz of the heavy weights used & I don't do it in supersets. Each session takes about 90 mins including warm up. So this week I was pretty tired. & I had to do a session on Saturday, the day before the race. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I decided to use Newton Triracer for this race, the 1st time I'ma use this shoes for racing. I'd intended to use the shoes as my short distance race shoes (12km or less). I'd wanted to use it during the 100 Plus last week, but I guess 15km is a bit too much for this shoes. & to compliment the color of the shoes, I decided to use my green Mizuno vest. Mean, green machine... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Start line</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The 12km flag off was at 7:10am, quite late. So I went to the start line after Subuh prayers. I got to the start at 6:35 & I did my usual warm-up. I felt pretty heavy during the warm-up, I guess I was still pretty tired from yesterday's weight training. My right leg also was pretty sore. My target for this race was to clock sub-hour. But I guess with the way I felt, matching my PB of 1:05 would be good enough. I've studied the course & there's a long climb just 2km from the finish, right in front of MCMC's office. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The race</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Flag off was right on time. The first 3km was downhill & I settled into a pretty fast tempo of 5:05. The 1st 5K was done in 26 mins, I was quite disappointed. I had targeted 25 mins. That means I had to push it up a bit in the 2nd 5K, if I were to achieve my target. But after the 2nd water station (6K) it was rolling up & down with 1 pretty difficult climb. I did the 2nd 5K in 27 mins. </span><br />
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<a href="https://scontent-kul1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/13055514_10209691213660462_3572485466263014293_n.jpg?oh=91bc8e5726c59cd5d6a7e9a123480042&oe=57A5937B" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://scontent-kul1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/13055514_10209691213660462_3572485466263014293_n.jpg?oh=91bc8e5726c59cd5d6a7e9a123480042&oe=57A5937B" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">By now I knew I can't get a sub-hour finish. So I just pushed as hard as I can, even on the long climb behind Shaftsbury Square. I did the last 2.2km in 5:13 average. Faster than my 1st 5K pace, but it wasn't enuff. I finished in 1:05:33 with an average pace of 5:22. Faster than my Natura Run. But this time I was prepared for a 12km race. I had this thought of not pushing hard enuff during the race. I guess I was just too careful in the 2nd 5km. My tempo was okay, but I was afraid to push. I've got to address this in training. I can't be afraid in racing. Being afraid shows that I didn't know my limits. My the kind of experience I had, this can't be the case. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">I was too occupied in finding a rhythm, forgetting to push harder in later stages of the race. For 3-4 races already, I can't seem to break 25 mins for 5K. I dunno why. Maybe my speedwork needs to be faster. The way I was holding the pace, it was as if I was running 21K, instead of whatever distance I was racing. 10,12 or 15K should be faster than this. Although I was doing PB in those distances, I'm not happy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was so much goodies handed to runners at the finish line, my hands were full!. We were given a bottle of water, a bottle of Lucozade, coconut water, choice of nasi lemak or bun (I took the nasi lemak) & best of all: ice-cream cones! It was like shopping at a mini market!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I met my friends from RTM, who finished earlier than I did. Then I went to change my clothes & went back to the start & found Cikgu Syed Syco. I sat down & chat with him for quite a while. He was running after a long lay off due to a back injury. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">My next race is gonna be the Larian Bomba. This is a compulsory event for me, annually. & this year I'ma run as veteran. I'ma take it easy next week & hope to be fresh for Larian Bomba. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Route (Challenging, unique) : 5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Goodie bag (Content) : 5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 4.5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 3.5/5 (new 12K PB)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Livestrong, run stronger.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-48689084246094439752016-04-22T00:37:00.003+08:002016-04-24T18:30:12.190+08:00Race review : 100 Plus Outrunner 15km<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's been 2 weeks since my last race, the RCBB 15K. I've recovered fully from my calf injury, but in the 2-week void in between races I discovered that since I was doing a lot of short speedwork & tempo training, I was lacking the endurance needed for races longer than 12 km. Why? Becoz I wasn't doing any LSD. So I tried to fix it by doing a couple of long runs. I got it fixed somehow. 100Plus was going to be the longest race for me before fasting month & there ain't gonna be any HMs for me before that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Racepack collection was at the location I hate most : OCM building. I really think organizers should move away from this location & always have racepack collection at the race venue itself. We were given a can of 100 Plus with the racepack & it was there that I found out that the start has been moved again. Originally it was at the Palace of Justice. Then they moved it to the Presint 5 airfield. & now it was at the Monumen Alaf Baru. This has become quite a ...let's say habit, of the organizers to keep relocating the race start area. This shouldn't happen, especially for a race that has been announced months ahead. One of the races that suffered from the same fate was the Superheroes Run. The event was supposed to be in the Sunday morning after the 100 Plus, but the organizers kept changing the start until at the very last moment, it was postponed. There was an uproar of course. Organizers should be more accountable. Thousands of people have planned their run with friends, arranged for accomodations & to simply postpone an event like this, totally unacceptable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Becoz this race was on a Saturday night (16/4), I couldn't do a pre-race run in the morning. I did weight training on Friday, so I decided to just take a rest on Saturday morning. A night race presents it own challenges, the most important thing is timing your meals. This is my 1st night race after quite sometime..I can't remember when was the last time I even train at night! It was that long ago. I delayed my lunch quite a bit & about 3 hours before that start I took a nap. I decided not to take my fuel belt, so I stuffed my gel into a very small Adidas arm wallet I got a long while ago, along with my car keys. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I decided to go to the start a bit early, since I had to drive becoz my bike had some problems. I parked about 700-800m from the start village, in front of the old pasar tani location. There was some concern of rain, but my friend told me that the rain had stopped. Once I park my car I went searching for a place to take my wudhu'. In doing this, I realized that there was no public toilet along the Persiaran Perdana, apart from the one right in front of Palace of Justice. & to make things worse, none of the government offices along that stretch allow public to use their facilities. This is something that Perbadanan Putrajaya need to look at. No point complaining now. After I performed my Maghrib prayers, I did my warm up & off to the start. I got to the start soaking wet.. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The race</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The 15km flag off was at 8pm. The flag off was accompanied by a fireworks show, which was something new. Of course, races in Putrajaya almost always uses the same course. Although I've studies the course map quite a number of times, I still got some locations wrong. This is something I need to work on. </span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/cgpm42PnjvbhMCk6RYEpiMJF_Q08BcUIQAa7PUfYKfYWZkvmvXyd0-iCfpwi9oKqHYTXpw=s400" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/cgpm42PnjvbhMCk6RYEpiMJF_Q08BcUIQAa7PUfYKfYWZkvmvXyd0-iCfpwi9oKqHYTXpw=s400" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I did the 1st 5K in 26 mins, not the fastest but a solid base. I skipped the 1st water station as usual, as I didn't wanna disrupt my rhythm. I settled into a comfortable tempo & pushed myself so that I can keep up with the main group. Oh, this is my 1st race in the veterans category, so I hoped to achieve something, at least a PB. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The 2nd 5K was mostly downhill. As usual when I got so focused on the run, I felt like was running in a tunnel. I maintained my tempo & tried to avoid the 10K runners when our route merged somewhere after PICC. The 3rd 5K was the hardest as there was a few uphills & a gradual uphill about 3 km before the finish. I knew this & I also knew the last kilometer was downhill & I did the last kilo in 4:30 pace. I hit the line in a new PB of 1:25. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The race was over-distanced by 400m, not something I wanna complain about. Right at the finish the volunteers handed out water & then there was quite a long walk to the food pack, where they gave us fried meehoon & banana. I was actually looking for a toilet!. I went back straight to my car to change, then I headed back to the start village bcoz I wanted to buy the Brooks long tights which was going at 50% off. After I made the purchase I went around looking for a toilet again, but couldn't find any, so I went back to my car. I heard the announcer calling out the winners & the winner for the veterans category actually ran faster than the open category! I realized that I have a long way to go. But I'm getting there, slowly but surely. I finished in 58th in my category.</span><br />
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<b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ratings</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Route (Challenging, unique) : 5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Goodie bag (Content) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 4.5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4.5/5</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 4.5/5 (new 15K PB)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Livestrong, run stronger.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-87698972773546065192016-03-28T11:33:00.001+08:002016-04-24T18:30:25.610+08:00Race review : RCBB 15km - running on one leg<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is another race in which I bought the bib from Rudy. He recently moved up to the ultra distance, so he was selling all his short-distance races registrations. I've got a couple more bibs from him, for upcoming races in April.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Racepack collection</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://scontent-kul1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlt1/v/t1.0-9/12809706_10209415954539156_2181760248962035796_n.jpg?oh=7c04aa22ac60b213d99cd489529139e6&oe=578D81CC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://scontent-kul1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xlt1/v/t1.0-9/12809706_10209415954539156_2181760248962035796_n.jpg?oh=7c04aa22ac60b213d99cd489529139e6&oe=578D81CC" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Racepack collection was at Key Power's Kiara Plaza branch. I went there right after the Makswip track selection & it was our first time there. The racepack was quite generous, providing participants with both vest & finishers-T (for 15km participants). I tried to have the size changed to M from S, but the organizers were having none of it. I tried the vest (Newton) & of course it was too small. So I had to pass it to Rudy then. There was no electronic timing for this race. Other than that there was nothing else in the pack. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pre-race</span></b><br />
<a href="https://scontent-kul1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/946189_10209414537383728_7448159285352728476_n.jpg?oh=3c84c465815f44aee7e6ee31648b9acb&oe=5777FA61" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://scontent-kul1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/946189_10209414537383728_7448159285352728476_n.jpg?oh=3c84c465815f44aee7e6ee31648b9acb&oe=5777FA61" width="240" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Tuesday, 5 days before the race I did kilo repeats, I always do intervals on Tuesday. I did 6 reps & on the 5th rep began to experience tightness on the right calf, my vulnerable spot. But I still finished the workout without it becoming worse & I was able to continue with my basketball game afterwards. On Thursday I had to take an emergency leave becoz Imran Haris was having a slight fever. So I went for a run at home, the plan was for an-8km tempo, to prepare for this race. As soon as I start running the right calf started to tighten, but I carried on with my warm up & stretching, hoping for it to go away. But as soon I started the tempo, it became more painful. I stopped running after 4km. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've had this injury on my right gastrocnemueus, right at the point where it becomes Achilles tendon. It was a recurring injury & no matter what I do, it just won't go away. This year I've warmed up more diligently, stretching before & after, making sure I stretch that part. Still, it comes back. </span><br />
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<a href="https://scontent-kul1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xal1/v/t1.0-9/12524111_10209414964674410_4095823815501687892_n.jpg?oh=c16a6eb37cd8cb238bd7c0d92f711c3d&oe=578FB2F9" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://scontent-kul1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xal1/v/t1.0-9/12524111_10209414964674410_4095823815501687892_n.jpg?oh=c16a6eb37cd8cb238bd7c0d92f711c3d&oe=578FB2F9" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I took a rest on Friday, no running I mean, but I still went to the gym. After the Thursday session I immediately put ice on the calf & continued right until Saturday. On Saturday evening I tried to run, just to see how it feel & if it's possible for me to even start the race. It still felt painful. After considering other options, I decided to tape the calf & still start the race. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Start line</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As soon as I got up at about 5:15 am on Sunday, I stood up & it was still painful, but tolerable. I went off before the Subuh azan as I wanted to perform my Subuh prayers at the Damansara Petronas, my usual pitstop for a race starting at Padang Merbok. To my surprise, the Petronas have closed down. That's put me in a fix, becoz AFAIK there was no other place from there until Padang Merbok. As soon as I got to the start there was still not that many people around, it was about 6:15 am. Then I saw several pargolas across the road, near the fountain. So I performed my subuh there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Right after that I started my warm up. Surprisingly my legs felt runable. Still painful & tight, but tolerable. I took another Hammer Espresso gel right before the start & off I went. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The race</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This course is another new course for me. The thing is, in this part of KL, the Lake Gardens, there was so many course to chose from. This course (for the 15km) runs up to the KL Courts Complex in Jln Duta. I was okay on the flats, but when the road goes up, I had to run with a limp. I can't really put pressure on the right leg as I don't wanna risk aggravating the already fragile leg. I was basically running on one leg. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Right after the old government office opposite Masjid Wilayah I saw a familiar face running: abg Fuad. He asked my why was I running so slow. I just smiled & said that I was injured. He said no wonder he saw me running with a limp. It was good to see him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was taking the race one water stop at a time. I've told myself if the calf becomes to painful, I would stop at the next water station. At the last water station with less than 4km to go, I was able to put some pressure on the leg. The taping really helped I guess. I hit the line at 1:32, a respectable time, considering I was running on one leg. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The race was under-distanced, but not by a lot. & the time I posted was quite surprising. I wonder what kinda time I could've pulled off if I was 100% fit. The organizer did a good job, but traffic management could've been better. There was some confusing route directions, especially after the KL Court Complex coz the racers went back the same way we came in. Other than that, there were both Lucozade & 100 Plus at the water stations, I guess both came from the same distributor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I received the 2XU finishers-T, & surprisingly the size S tshirt fits me just fine! Sorry Rudy..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They gave us a bottle of Lucozade & Herbal tea at the end, another good thing. One thing that was missing was the Milo van. I limped back to my bike & after a short breather & changed to dry clothes, I went home. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ratings</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Route (Challenging, unique) : 5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Goodie bag (Content) : 5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 4.5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4.5/5</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 4.5/5 (considering my injury)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Livestrong, run stronger.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-41732545620798320382016-03-14T12:19:00.000+08:002016-04-24T18:30:38.273+08:00Race review : Road2Marathon 14km<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was a strange race. I almost didn't get to run this race bcoz I had to go for a working trip to Kuching. But in the end my boss decided that I could stay, so that settles it. A couple of weeks before the race the organizer announced that the venue needs to be changed bcoz of the annual Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon Fest. What the heck?! The balloon fest is an annual affair, which means it was planned months before..don't tell me the Perbadanan Putrajaya didn't warn the organizers about the possible clash of events. So the venue was changed to a Rumah PPTD start, the 1st time a race would start there, as far as I can remember. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Racepack collection</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Due to the venue switch, the racepack collection was at Rumah PPTD. Nothing much in the pack, a neon yellow race T & a can of Gorilla vitaminized energy drink. This energy drink tastes like Livita, but carbonated. There wasn't that many people at the venue, despite my coming there at noon. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pre-race</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2 days before the race I had a very good track session. I did 3x2000m at target race pace, in preparation for the 10,000m event this week. I managed to hold my pace & recovered sufficiently (7 mins), but somehow my Polar screw up the readings & I couldn't analyze the session. I felt good after the training, however, the next day (Friday) I was beginning to feel drowsy. Even when I went to bed the night before the race I wasn't feeling okay. I told myself, I've felt this kinda situation before & decided to go ahead & run. I didn't have a good sleep, waking up almost every 2 hrs, heck, maybe every hour! & my waking heart rate wasn't good, it was in the low 60s, which was high for me. Still, I was determined to go ahead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I got to the start pretty early & went through my normal warm up routine. I knew there was something not right, I didn't feel comfortable. I took a new gel before the start, Hammer's Espresso gel with 50mg of caffeine. I guess that helped somewhat. I decided to take my fuel belt with a single bottle, bcoz I dun trust the organizers. Also a spare gel, just in case. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The start line</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I got to the start line, I thought I was in the wrong venue. Bcoz there wasn't that many people there. I didn't feel like a race start..felt more like a family day of a small division. The race atmosphere just wasn't there & the mood of the announcer certainly didn't help at all. In Malay we'd call him "bidan terjun". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The race</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We had to do 2 laps of 7km each. The 1st part was pretty easy bcoz it was all downhill. As expected, race routes in this area would be hilly, no matter which course the organizer takes. There WILL be some climbing involved. So it's the same case here. I've gone through Rumah PPTD area in most races before, but usually towards the end. This is the 1st time I've started the race here. Immediately I was in the front group of about 10-15 runners. & tht's where I'll finish the race. As soon as we hit the 5K mark I was really in trouble. I couldn't get any sort of rhythm going, I didn't have the energy to push. The downhill section after the U-turn for the 2nd lap was a welcomed relief, but still, no rhythm was established. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nevertheless I hit the 5K mark at 26mins, faster than Natura Run. The 2nd 5K was 30mins. Still, with all my problems, my 10K was still at under an hour. This was the advantage of running this kinda course, U get to make up for lost time during the downhill sections. This was one of the reasons my 10K PB of 48:30 was clocked in Melawati, a course with similar uphill sections as this. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There was only 2 water stations in the course. & I didn't have to take my spare gel. I guess the Hammer Espresso gel is my new secret weapon. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Post race</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was one of the early finishers for 14K I guess, judging from the reception I received. At least the organizer got the distance right, it was 14.08km. They gave me the medal, another can of the Gorilla drink & a banana at the finish. I went straight to my ride, changed to dry clothing, gobbled down the banana & the Gorilla & went straight home. I was feeling really sick. As soon as I got home, I was shivering & breathing heavily. Despite all this, I still managed to clock 1:23:14, a personal best for a 14K race. I was really grateful that nothing bad happened to me during the race. Just to finish in that condition was a miracle I guess. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ratings</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Route (Challenging, unique) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 2/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 2/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Goodie bag (Content) : 3.5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 3/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 3/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 3.5/5</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Livestrong, run stronger.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-77843925053233813042016-03-04T16:28:00.000+08:002016-04-24T18:30:52.572+08:00Race review : Shamrock Run 2016<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is no prizes being offered for the running event as it is a leisurely running event with friends and family</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However there are generous prizes for best-dressed runners which embodies the spirit of the Shamrock and the Irish Malaysian culture</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I really can't remember how I missed the statement above in the race's website. I only realized it after I paid & viewed the racepack collection page. Oh well, whatever, nevermind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Racepack collection</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The race was held at Taman Botani Putrajaya. I can't think of other events that used this route or started in there. The racepack was quite okay, with a neon green shirt by 2ndSkins. There was a few supplements sampler from Appeton & the bib. There was no electronic timing, as expected for a non-competitive race. I went to collect my racepack after the Friday prayers & I was the only one there. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pre-race</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I decided to drive to the start as I'ma have to play in a <a href="http://iamtenno.blogspot.my/2016/02/a-saturday-to-remember.html" target="_blank">basketball tournament</a> straightaway after the race. I left home right after the subuh prayers & I got to the start quite early. Early enuff that I can park quite close to the starting point. I didn't think anybody would double park bcoz it was a main road. I was wrong.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I started my warm up & stretching, but I didn't quite feel as light as before. Proly the effects of the previous day's weight session. But I was pretty tired. & I didn't want to push too much to save myself for the basketball games afterwards. I had a couple of Choki2 as breakfast.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Start line</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There wasn't that many people at the start & the atmosphere was relaxed. The starting point was at a slight downhill & there was no barrier on the sides. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The race</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As the entire course was ran inside the Taman Botani, the surface was concrete with pebbles sticking out of the surface. That gave us a nice accupuncture treatment...hahah. I decided to use my Wave Hitogami race shoes although I was starting to move back to Newton MV2. & I was glad I made that choice. I would've been in trouble if I'd worn the Newtons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We hit our 1st climb at KM4 & what a climb it was! I didn't know there was such climb inside Taman Botani. It was long & gradual. At KM6 there was another long climb & I was really struggling at that time. We would go through another couple of climbs before we get to the finish. I was running off the front as I wanted to finish early so that I could leave early. But the climbs was hard, even for me. There wasn't that much flats as the route was rolling up & down. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By the time we hit the last climb I knew this race would be under-distance. It was only 8.56km & I hit the line at 49 mins. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Post race</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There was the obligatory Milo van but I decided to skip it bcoz the line was too long. They were handing out Guinness Malta at the end but I didn't take it. I went back to my car only to find out it was blocked. So I had time to change & do my warm down. I tried to relax as much as I can, munching down on the apple they gave right after the finish. </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ratings</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Route (Challenging, unique) : 5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Goodie bag (Content) : 3.5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : No rating</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Livestrong, run stronger.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-53158525249423630912016-02-29T18:19:00.003+08:002016-02-29T18:19:52.854+08:00A Saturday to remember<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was in form 4, I went to a boarding school, considered one of the premier boarding school at the time, Maktab Rendah Sains MARA or MRSM in short. There were 11 MRSMs in Malaysia at that time, I went to the one in Jasin, Melaka. Going to a boarding school was some sort of a break from my family for me, as I was somewhat free to play whatever sport I wanted & even play football for my school, something that won't be possible if I'd stayed home. So I played football, ping-pong, sepaktakraw & tennis. I didn't play basketball at that time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The alumni of these MRSMs is called Ansara. Ansara is quite an active movement, with regular activities for it's members. This will culminate in an annual dinner. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last Saturday there was this sports carnival organized by Ansara. I was asked by one of my friends from Ansara Terendak (also in Melaka), to play basketball for them. As I didn't play basketball when I was in Jasin & it's been quite sometime since I last played tournament basketball, I happily obliged. It was held in German-Malaysian Institute Bangi campus. The only issue was that I had a race that morning, albeit a non-competitive race. My car was blocked by another car & it was a good 20 minutes before the owner came. But luckily I made it before our 1st game. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a really, really hot day. & the game was on an outdoor court! We had 4 games to play. My teammates were a lot younger than I was. The atmosphere was festive, right next to the basketball court was the volleyball tournament & a little bit further was the rugby game. Football was played on a different location. For the basketball tourney, only Kuantan had players as old as I was, or maybe much older. I contributed quite a number of points & we won all 4 prelim games & made it to the semis. </span></div>
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<a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xft1/v/t1.0-9/12795572_10209134828191173_5532615047762976311_n.jpg?oh=ee20ff6e153493cc2548bffbe69b1399&oe=57605719&__gda__=1466658539_3095113206dd8ebeb41298df9682babb" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xft1/v/t1.0-9/12795572_10209134828191173_5532615047762976311_n.jpg?oh=ee20ff6e153493cc2548bffbe69b1399&oe=57605719&__gda__=1466658539_3095113206dd8ebeb41298df9682babb" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the semis the team was much younger than us & we were all over the place. In the end we lost by quite a narrow margin. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall it wasn't really that tiring for me, but the heat made it harder. & I was satisfied with the way I played, although there was always room for improvement. I get to taste one of the best burgers from one of the food truck. & I get to meet some old friends, who knew me from my days playing in Sri Hartamas & UKM. I had a great time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Livestrong, run stronger.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-2523527206331987672016-02-21T20:10:00.001+08:002016-04-24T18:31:06.157+08:00Race review : Natura Run for Hope 2016 10K (?)<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<a href="https://scontent-kul1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpl1/v/t1.0-9/12729132_10209089832186301_1085752447632164051_n.jpg?oh=510454cd6393bb4cef177f0765a47d4f&oe=57231438" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://scontent-kul1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpl1/v/t1.0-9/12729132_10209089832186301_1085752447632164051_n.jpg?oh=510454cd6393bb4cef177f0765a47d4f&oe=57231438" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's only February & we've already have the candidate for the worst event of the year!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Actually I wasn't supposed to run this event. I didn't even know there was an event in Putrajaya this week, I did register for the Shamrock 10K next week (27/2). But a friend of mine couldn't run it so she gave me her 10K bib. I agreed to take it as I've no event this week. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The FB page was filled with negative comments right after the race pack collection started. Apparently there wasn't enuff tshirt & the ones that got theirs found that the size was too small. I went to pick up my friend's bib at the Pusat Akuatik Putrajaya on Friday. I was pretty shocked looking at the race pack. For RM65, there wasn't any electronic timing & the shirt was what runners would call tshirt "cap ayam". They did gave a 50g tube of Voltex cream, some sort of analgesic cream.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pre-race</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I really didn't know this event was a non-competitive event (that explains the lack of timing chip) until when I get to the line this morning. My start was supposed to be at 0645. As subuh is a bit late these days, I decided to go to the start earlier & perform my subuh prayers there. I got to the Pusat Akuatik at about 0620 & I immediately went & performed my subuh prayers. After I finished I was quite puzzled that nobody was at the 15K start which was supposed to be at 0630. Then I heard the announcer called for runners to get to the start for the warm up session. I put my shoes on (Mizuno Wave Hitogami 2nd pair) & proceeded with my warm up. The 15K didn't start until about 0650! I finished my warm up & stretching & changed into my race vest. After the 15K crowd went off I went to the start.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Start line</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As this was a 10K event, I didn't take anything before the start. I did have some chocolate cake at home before I went off. I couldn't find anybody I know at the start, proly they did the 15K. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The race</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We were flagged off at about 0710. As there was no electronic timing, I went off running on the kerb, so I started off pretty close to the front. My race plan was to do tempo 5:15-5:45 for the first 5K. I managed to hold a pretty high tempo & with a high cadence of 88-90, I was cruising. Right at the 2nd junction came my 1st confusion of the day. I'd studied the course map & we were supposed to turn left at the PICC, but we were directed to the right side. Well I thought I'd read the map in reverse!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We hit the 2nd 5K at the bridge just before MOT. I was running with a couple of guys. One of them was wearing this "Anonymous Runner" tshirt & he kept on taking selfies very frequently. He was also wearing sandals. I was struggling a bit to up the speed in the 2nd 5K as I'd targeted for a negative split. So I just tried to maintain my rhythm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As we went down Jambatan Seri Gemilang, we were directed to go into Taman Empangan. I thought we will turn right after the bridge. & with this, I hit 10K just under the bridge. & the distance marker indicated there was still 2km to go! By that time I'd known that the race will be OD (over distance). The sandal guy's GPS went off right after mine & I told him we're gonna be OD. He nodded in agreement & began talking to a Kenyan woman right next to us. Well, I think she's Kenyan... She said she only prepared to run 10K & her body had shut down after that. I couldn't agree more. My legs were really hurting by this time & I was really struggling. Mentally I came for 10K, prepped for a 10K. I was about to bonk. But I managed to hang on & hit the finish in 1:05:17, a new 12K PB. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Post race</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The sandal guy earlier told me that the organier sent emails telling runners about the changes in distance & course. Well, as I was running someone else's bib obviously I didn't get the email. There was nothing on the FB either. I was pretty much spent by the time I finished. They gave the medals, which was quite nice. The Lucozade wasn't a cold one & they only gave out 1 cup, so much for sponsorship. I made a few Milo rounds though. The course was good, really, but I really wished I'd prepped better for the new distance. The 12K PB was just a high point among a lots of lows. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Route (Challenging, unique) : 5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 2/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 3/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Goodie bag (Content) : None</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 2/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 5/5</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 3.5/5 (10K) 4.5/5 (12K)</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-86320834625782341132016-02-20T15:34:00.000+08:002016-04-24T18:31:21.721+08:00Race review : Melawati 10K<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A bit late this race review is, but not too late (sounds like Yoda isn't it?). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I first did the Melawati 10K back in 2014. At that time the race was only RM45 I think & it was the challenging route that attracted me to it. The race route was hilly, there was a long section of uphill, followed by a long, gradual downhill. & there's a couple of sharp rises, one of them was near the house of Malaysia's most renowned film maker, Dato' Yusof Haslam. Nevertheless, with this kinda route, surprisingly I clocked my 10K PB (road) of 48:32.85 (9.27km on GPS). </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I chose not to go in 2015 bcoz the fees had suddenly shot up to RM70. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Well this year I've decided to make a comeback. The route was just too good to miss & the fact that I did my PB there made it a natural choice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Pre race</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I chose to go to the start from Serendah. It was closer anyway. I got to the start pretty early, performed my Subuh prayers at the Taman Melawati mosque, along with some other runners. Then I went to the start & found a parking space pretty close to the start. I had my breakfast, a 2-finger Kit Kat. Normally for 10K races I dun really have any bfast, just some chocolate will do. For 12-15K races I'd take one energy gel right before the start. I went through my pre-race warm up, a short jog, drills & lower body stretches. For HM I'd include upper body stretches as well. Then I put on my race vest, have a sip of water & off to the starting line. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Start line</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The announcer decided to delay the start a bit to allow some of the late comers to get to the start. While I dun really like this, but it wasn't my call. The race was supposed to start at 7.00 am but we went off at 7:10. Serious runners would be at the start before the designated flag off time, but it's the casual runners who usually fail to respect this. But I guess they're the majority, so... I saw one of my friends, Rudy at the start. He'd run a 21km just a few hours before at Shah Alam. This guy is a crazy mileage-gobbler.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The race</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The start was into a downhill, so naturally it was very fast. I tried to stay with the front runners & take advantage of the downhill. After less than 1km I passed Rudy who told me he was still very tired from the 21km. Understandably. After about 2km the road gradually went up & the 1st selection was made there. My target had been to go tempo for the 1st 5km & up the pace in the 2nd 5km. After about 3.5km we reached the gradual uphill I was talking about earlier. I've been doing hill tempos at PICC to prepare for my 1st two races of 2016, the MPI which was in Lake Gardens & this. So I didn't really have much problem going uphill.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was okay until the last sharp ascent about 2km from the finish. The organizers decided to put the last water station in the middle of the ascent, bad idea. The ideal position would be just before the uphill section or at the top of the hill, not in the middle of it. Stopping for water would disrupt my rhythm, so I decided to skip the last water station. After all I was okay. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The last kilometer is gradual downhill, but we had to make a U-turn to get to the finish line. I really hammered the last kilometer & when I get to the end there was only a few ppl there. I clocked a time of 52:28, good enuff for 30th place in the open category. Bcoz I'd got to the finish early, I had the Milo van for myself. Hanged around with Rudy & his friends, before going home. Job well done. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ratings</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Route (Challenging, unique) : 5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Goodie bag (Content) : None</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 5/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 4/5</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Livestrong, run stronger. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-17063982809356639972016-02-18T16:57:00.000+08:002016-02-18T16:57:55.337+08:00Training while on the road<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I just came back from a south-north tour that took me to 4 states in 4 days. I went to Johor on Saturday, Melaka on Sunday, back to KL on Monday & off to Penang on Tuesday. Bcoz I was on a working trip & bcoz I had to pay for the hotels myself, I had no choice but to stay in budget hotels. & in that 4 days, I only managed to workout once, an easy run in Melaka. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back in 2013-2014 when I was constantly on the road, I made sure the hotels I'm staying have either a swimming pool or a gym. If the hotels have none of those facilities, using Google Maps I'd search for running routes close to the hotel. If I was just there for an overnighter, I'd proly just do simple bodyweight exercises in my hotel room, with my TRX Suspension Trainer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In short, I've never really give any excuse for skipping training. People often say they can't find the time to workout. Me, I make time. Sometimes I make adjustments to my usual routine to accomodate the amount of time I have. I can squeeze in a treadmill run in as little as 30 mins. I can do weight training circuits in 45 mins. I've come to a stage where I can adjust my workouts accordingly & still get the most out of it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Throughout my service in the government I've had the opportunity to stay in great hotels that provides great exercise facilities. Here are some of my favorites.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Westin Langkawi</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was here when I served as Liaison Officer during the 2015 Asean Summit. The hotel provides running gear at a reasonable price. For RM50 you can get a New Balance technical tee & shorts, NB shoes & socks. Or you can get just the shoes & socks for RM15. Turned out to be they provide the same shoe model I was using at the time, NB890, albeit the older version, V2. </span></div>
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Fresh shoes & socks!</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The gym was new & complete with the latest equipment from Technogym. The house headset was Beats! Although I didn't really like Beats bcoz it's heavy, but what the heck!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Horizon Spa Kota Kinabalu</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The hotel's gym was one of the most complete I've seen & the infinity pool was just right next to the gym. They have a high/low pulley station, something very rare to find in a hotel gym.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Honorable mentions:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Mandarin Oriental KL</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The gym was at a temporary location the last time I stayed there. But with KLCC park just nearby, running inside was out of the question. Unfortunately part of the park was closed due to some construction work, so you'd have to do more laps than usual. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The gym was well-equipped, they have a fitness floor with the spa, gym & swimming pool facilities. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With facilities like these, it's hard to find any excuse not to workout, even on a road trip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Livestrong, run stronger. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-17156831602683226092016-02-15T23:57:00.002+08:002016-02-15T23:57:41.626+08:002016 Race Preview<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's February & I've only ran a couple of races : The MPI Generali 12k & Melawati 10k. Of course there are more races to come. The unique thing about 2016 is that all the major races like KL Marathon, Penang Bridge & Putrajaya will be after raya (July). Even Seremban is after raya I think. So tht will make it interesting, in planning & preparing for those races. Normally there will be at least 1 major race before the fasting month, KL Marathon is usually in June. Looks like I'ma be running all the majors as a veteran. Here are some of the races I hope to do well this year:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Larian Bomba (May)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This race has a sentimental value to me. This was the 1st race I ran when I decided to get competitive back in 2009. Although it's only 10km, it was made more competitive becoz it doesn't give finishers medal to all finishers. Instead, only the top 100, or more recently, top 150 racers will get a medal. I only get my 1st medal back in 2014, when they started giving out 150 medals. I've ran 54 mins in the past & still failed to get a medal. & I missed this race last year. This year I'ma get top 100. U read it here first.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Standard Chartered KL Marathon (7 August)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year the race is gonna be on 7th of August. Tht's just a month after raya. I did my PB of 1:58 in HM in this race back in 2012. & last year the race was cancelled due to the haze. Lucky for me as I was injured at the time. This race is only 1 of 2 races in Malaysia with an AIMS-certified course. The other is Penang Bridge Marathon. Considering that my usual prep for any HM is gonna take 10 weeks, I'ma hv to continue serious training in the fasting months, something I've never done before. Well, there's always a first for everything. </span></div>
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Tht's me in red...</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Seremban Half Marathon</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No date yet for this race. I've been doing Seremban since 2011. The race has been run on the same exact course every year (& it's always under-distance). Heck, they even gave out the same exact medal for 3 straight years!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've never really performed well in this race. I was always injured, coming back from an injury or it was just after raya. I think in 2013 this race was just a week after raya! Well, I hope this year I'ma do a sub-2hr here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Penang Bridge Marathon (20 November)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been doing Penang since 2011. HMs of course. I clocked my 2nd best time in HM here in 2013, 2:00 flat. This year however, I'ma do my 1st full marathon here in Penang, insha Allah. The reason I choose Penang for my virgin FM is that the race starts early, at 3am, so in my target time of 4:30, it shud be still pretty early when I finish. Other races starts pretty late & I've to run proly under the hot sun. Not that it troubles me though, I just thought my virgin FM shud be a wonderful experience. I dun think I'ma switch to FM, it's just sumthing tht I wanna do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Putrajaya Night Marathon</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've never really liked night races. But I ran my 1st ever HM during Putrajaya Night Marathon 2010, finishing in 2:35. Come to think of it, I run my LSD in 2:35 these days, hahah. I had a good race here in 2013, clocking 2:02. The course is not certified, but the distance is pretty accurate. I hope they can get certified this year. The race was cancelled last year due to the haze & I didn't run it in 2014. If the conditions are right, proly sumthing interesting will happen here too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10K races</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really hope to better my PB in 10K, which stands at 48:30 right now. Depending on the course, I'll be looking for some 10K races early in the season to build up speed. & I'll proly go for the Makswip track & field selection in early April. My PB on the track was 51:20, back in 2012 where I finished 2nd in Pesta Sukan Treasury. I think I can do better this year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Livestrong. Run stronger. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-52562619519813599552016-02-14T16:05:00.002+08:002016-02-14T16:05:45.987+08:00Training at 40...<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesss...I'ma be 40 this year..or more accurately, in about 4 months' time. In some races they put 40 in Junior Veteran category, in some races they simply group it all with Veteran. For the ladies the cut off age is 35. However I'm not too comfortable with the term "veteran". Overseas they call it <b>Masters</b>. Well, Masters certainly sounds better, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, wht's changed in my training? Nothing much. In fact, I started 2016 with a run mileage of 123km, which is pretty high. The 2nd half of last year was pretty bad for me, with race cancellations, misses & injuries. So I began this year pretty hungry. & injury-free, alhamdulillah. So for a guy my age, I guess my training is pretty intense.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Running</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Basically I run 3 times a week, covering anywhere between 30-40km a week. If I have a race on the weekend then it's gonna be 4 sessions a week. I do what all endurance atheletes do, or should do: I begin the week with intervals. My intervals range from 800m to 1200m, with between 5 to 7 repetitions (reps). Of course I start with 800m, then gradually work my way up to 1200m. On some days I'll do long intervals, 1x 3.2km, 2x 1.6km, 2x 800m, at different paces, to allow my body to adjust to changes in pace. I'm trying to run at a faster pace this year, around 4:30 for the kilo repeats. Intervals will train your anaerobic system, to train your body to operate in oxygen-debt. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next come the tempo. Tempo workouts are basically done at just below anaerobic threshold (AT), just before your body starts to produce lactic acid to combat the lack of oxygen in your body. The pace shud be hard but not race pace. For my pet event, the half marathon, I do tempos between 30 minutes to 10km. For tempos longer than 30 mins, I try to vary the pace, with the goal of getting a negative split. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then of course, the long, slow, distance (LSD). These are done on weekends, preferably on Saturday. for HM, I'd do LSD for about 2:30 hrs, or around 20km. This year I'ma try for full marathon in Penang, so I might do a longer LSD later in the year, around 30km. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Weights</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Late last year I bulked up so much that I got scared. The thing was that I was looking for a new routine to follow & I decided to follow Arnold Schwarzenegger's program, insipred by his talk during the GTP forum last year. But instead of making my body cut, it bulked up. I don't really know what went wrong. So in December I reverted to my usual routine & managed to cut my body back to where it was, proly even better than before. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year I'ma include some power workouts in my routine, Why? Bcoz I wanted to do the javelin again. I hope my shoulders won't give me any problems. For MAKSWIP track & field meet in April, I want to do both javelin & 10,000m, both requires very, very different training. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I do switch between heavy & light weights every 5 weeks, with 1 or 2 weeks of rest in between. I don't really rest during the rest week, I do full body circuits with light weights, to allow my body to adjust to the previous session.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Weekly routine</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My typical week will look like this:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Monday : Weights </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tuesday : Intervals (after work), followed by basketball at 9pm</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wednesday : Weights</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thursday : Tempo</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Friday : Weights</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Saturday : LSD/easy run (if there's a race on Sunday)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday : Rest/Race</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On heavy weight training weeks, I might find myself too tired after the Friday session, so I'll do LSD on Sundays. The key here is to have at least one day's rest every week & to listen to my body. If I'm too tired then there's no point to continue training. I also do proper warm ups & stretching before every session, as we get older our body will lose it's resilience & become more prone to injury. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing I'm seriously considering now at the age of 40 is coaching. I want to share my experience & knowledge & help those who want to get serious in sports. I've began by coaching some of my friends on the road & track & I really hope to pick up from there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Life really begins at 40...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Livestrong, run stronger.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-78738190030667116172016-02-09T12:29:00.002+08:002016-02-09T12:35:10.870+08:00WHY I RUN? <div style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Some ppl run 4 fun. Some ppl run 2 socialize. There r ppl who run bcoz their friends run. Some ppl wants 2 challenge themselves, 2 see how far they can go.</div>
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I run bcoz of the undying competitive spirit in myself. Since I was 10, I've always been involved in competition of sorts :<br />
10 y.o - Athletics <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />11 y.o - cross country, handball<br />12 y.o - athletics, handball<br />13 y.o - football, cycling<br />17 y.o - represented Selangor cycling<br />18 y.o - Sukom 98 core squad trainee, Sukma Ipoh 94<br />20 y.o - Sukma Kuantan 96<br />21 y.o - basketball<br />22 y.o - UKM football team<br />23 y.o - Sea Games 2001 project team<br />30 y.o - KL league football<br />31 y.o - took up running<br />33 y.o - entered 1st road racing</span></div>
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Quite a resume. I've experienced competitive sport at a very high level, a level most of us could only dream of. & bcoz of tht, I really can't find a reason 2 stop. Since the age of 10, I proly had maybe 2-3 yrs of inactivity in my life.</div>
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I wanna get on the podium. The feeling of winning, getting medals, being cheered on, thts wht drives me. & I train seriously. I dun smile when I run. I dun stop & take selfies. I always try to find the extra edge 2 take me closer to the podium. Always willing 2 try new training methods, programs, equipment. & perhaps with my new race category, I'll be closer to realizing tht dream.</div>
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This msg is perhaps 4 mths premature. But who knows wht'll happen in 4 mths. Insha Allah. Livestrong.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-31806874862545453722016-02-09T12:27:00.001+08:002016-02-09T12:33:01.040+08:00RISING COST OF RUNNING<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="line-height: 19.32px;">This photo was frm my 1st race in 2009, Larian Bomba, which was my 1st race when I decided 2 take up running as a sport. The entry fee was RM20, the race number was printed on a piece of white cloth, there was no timing chip & the medal was 4 the 1st 100 finishers only. It'd be another 5 yrs be4 I managed 2 get the finisher's medal. It remained one of the most competitive events in Msia & the fee remained at RM20 to this day.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.32px;">During the early yrs of my</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; line-height: 19.32px;"> running, there wasn't tht many events, U can find running events 4 as low as RM40 for 21km (HM) category. Most participants were there 4 the racing & most importantly, U won't find tht many ppl stopping 4 selfies in the middle of the race!</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.32px;">Fast fwd 2 2015. Most races will hv electronic timing. There's a lot of events 2 choose frm, sometimes there were 2-3 events on the same date. & to attract participants, organizers started 2 hv events with themes (superhero run, Hello Kitty run, etc). Running hv become social events, so much so tht those who came 2 race sometimes were frustrated by runners stopping to take selfies, groupies, etc. & events started 2 become expensive. Some charge RM70 for 10k events. Goodie bags hv become thinner & smaller, some dun even give goodie bags. Some even charge up 2 RM90 for FM.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.32px;">One of my frens who runs casually said tht nobody forces anybody 2 enter these races. Very true. It's up to the runner. But back in 2010-2013, I can afford 2 enter races just 2 prepare 4 my target races. But now I really hv 2 pick & choose which event 2 enter. I've nvr really entered all events under the sun. But now I've become a bit picky. 10k races below RM60 & I really pick races tht I know or hv run be4. I use 10k races early in the season 2 build up speed. Same with some HMs.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.32px;">The quality of the organizers hv also become suspect. They seem 2 be more interested in riding on the popularity of running events than taking care of runner's welfare. Some dun provide enuff water at water stations. My advice is to study the route well & know how many water stations r provided. Better still, bring Ur own water.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.32px;">The surge of running events shud be a blessing 4 runners in the country. I just hope tht organizers are not just interested in raking in profits & neglecting the core aspect of running events: to provide great platform for runners. Let's hope we won't see a repeat of Energizer Night Run 2010.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.32px;">Livestrong. Run stronger.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-64372714277812406822016-02-09T12:24:00.000+08:002016-02-09T15:35:37.905+08:00TALENT<a href="http://womensrunning.competitor.com/2016/02/training-tips/what-is-vo2-max-and-how-can-it-help-your-training_53805">http://womensrunning.competitor.com/2016/02/training-tips/what-is-vo2-max-and-how-can-it-help-your-training_53805</a><br />
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This article reminds me of proly one of the biggest moment in my sporting career. The year was 1999, I was in my 2nd year in UKM when I received a letter from NSC stating that I was selected to be in their Gemilang 2001 project. Gemilang 2001 was a project that was supposed to prepare athletes for 2001 SEA Games, which KL was gonna be hosting. After Sukom 98, this was my 2nd stint in a national sports project team & of course I was honored. I had tried to get a place in the 1999 Jakarta SEA Games team but failed. After my illness in 1998, just before the World "B" Championships in Ipoh, I couldn't seem to get back to where I was.</div>
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The 1st requirement was for me to stay in Bkt Jalil. The NSC was even prepared to ask me to switch from UKM to UPM, where all the NSC athletes was furthering their studies. After much thought, I declined the move. So I was allowed to stay in UKM, but was given a monthly allowance of only RM100, compared to the RM700 I can get if I stay in Bkt Jalil. Definitely a setback, but I soldiered on. But after almost 10 years in cycling, it was beginning to take its toll on my finances. After all, I was only a student.</div>
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Then came the qualifications test. I was in the track cycling team. My pet events was the sprints & the kilometer. So they had to test me on two aspects: my power output & lung capacity (VO2 Max). So I went to the NSI for the tests. My coach was there. The doctors was there. I felt like a lab rat. I some ways, I was. I had to do the power test 1st. My power output was as expected from a sprinter, in high 800W-900W range, although my coach told me Rosman Alwi produced 1000W+. So all was good. Then the VO2 Max test. They put all those apparatus on me, I had to wear a mask, they clipped my nose so that I breathe thru the mouth only. I found it really difficult to breathe. After what felt like an eternity, I stopped. The 1st thing I heard from one of the docs was,"Aik? Abis dah?". That was an indication that my test was shorter than expected. I told him I felt like throwing up. My coach told me to take the test some other time.</div>
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After a few days, the coach came to me with the results. The conclusion was I was not talented enuff to be a sprinter. NOT TALENTED ENUFF. After 9 years, rising from a complete nobody in sprinting to a 4th place finish in the Sportexcel Nationals in just 6 months, beating some of the biggest names in sprinting (Edwin Ng, Haris Fadzillah), finishing 2nd in the National series to Rosman Alwi, 2 bronze medals in sprints & the kilo in the 1997 National Championships..in turned out to be I wasn't talented enuff... Wow! A few weeks after that, I quit the Sea Games project & in 2000, I decided to quit cycling for good.</div>
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A few years back, the NSI embarked on a talent scouting program. Similar to what was done in the US & Australia, coaches went to schools conducting tests on schoolchildren to identify talented athletes at a very early age. They conducted the vertical jump test, which was a basis to discover schoolchildren with fast twitch muscles. Some of the athletes from other sports was also given the opportunity to try other sports. This was how one of the athletes in track & field ended up being a cyclist instead. If this was done during my time, I wonder in which sport I could've ended.</div>
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Talent is just an indicator. Hard work is another. Those without talent would proly have to work harder than those talented athletes. But those talented athletes who chose not to work hard just becoz they're talented, would've ended nowhere too. The best way is to have both, talent & hard work. Becoz there's definitely no shortcut to success in sports.</div>
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Livestrong. Run stronger.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-55768781287930290072013-12-23T01:24:00.000+08:002013-12-23T01:24:08.433+08:00Friends of old...<b><i>Badminton revisited</i></b><br />
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I got word last week that our division's long postponed badminton tournament will be continued next week. When I was in MOF, I played badminton regularly with my colleagues & the Treasury complex had excellent facilities..with rubber courts & adequate lighting. We also had regular tournaments & also friendly matches between sections & divisions. I'd even went for selection trials for the Treasury team, in which of course I wasn't selected. There was just too many good players around. I played in the doubles & I had a couple of very good regular partners. </div>
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So I decided to call up my old friends from MOF, asking if I could join them for some warm up games. Although it's just a very low-key tournament, as usual I take my sports very seriously & becoz the last game of badminton I played was in March I think, I need to at least play some pick up games. They didn't have any problems with my joining them, so I went to buy some shuttlecocks. I had 3 racquets, but only a couple was in good shape, including my favorite, the Wilson K-power, strung with Yonex BG66 (what else?) at 26 lbs tension. I had some good games, so I guess I'm prepared for the 24th. Not just that, I met my old friends & although it took me a couple of games to reboot my skills, it was all good. Good game. </div>
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<b><i>Alternative fuel</i></b></div>
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Since I started running half marathons, I've been using energy gels as my main source of energy during training runs & of course racing. My favorite brand is GU gels, their chocolate-flavored gels tastes like real chocolates. In contrast, Powerbars' chocolate gels tastes like medicine. In choosing flavors & brands of fuel for your workout, it's absolutely important that you choose flavors that's palatable, so that you'll eat it. After 2 hours of running, you'll need something tasty at least. When I was cycling, I had no money to buy those gels, & my main fuel was a chocolate bar called Cloud 9. At 50 sen for the large bar, it was good enuff for me on long rides. Although I'd prefer bananas, chocolate bars are cheaper & lasts longer. </div>
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This morning on my last LSD before Newton 25K next Sunday, I decided to fuel my run with another of my favorite chocolate, Choki-choki. Actually, I had 3 GU gels in my fridge, but I wanna use it for the race. So the only other alternative was Choki-choki. It's in gel form, but a lot smaller than those energy gels & I wasn't really sure about its nutrition content. But I had used Choki-choki to fuel my trekking expedition years back, where we trekked for almost 8 hours & I survived on those Choki-choki. </div>
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So off I went, & those Choki-choki worked, at least to some extend. If I had to take one energy gel every hour, with Choki-choki I had to take one every 45 mins. & I had to use a lot of water to chase it down, becoz it was thicker than the normal gels. But the cost, RM2.00 for 5 sticks of Choki-choki which can fuel me for 2 hours, compared to RM8 for one GU gel. I guess I'll be using Choki-choki mostly for my training runs...not races la. </div>
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<b><i>Old friend</i></b></div>
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During my LSD run this morning, there was a cycling event going on, the Putrajaya Fun ride which happens monthly. During my 2nd lap, as I approached Palace of Justice, I saw a familiar face sitting on the kerb, in full cycling gear. & that familiar face was Suhaimi Keton, one of the country's top road cyclists from the 90s. He was really happy to see me, & me likewise. The last time I saw him was during last year's Asian Cycling Championships (ACC) which was held in Putrajaya...or was it in 2011? Of course I had to stop & talk to him, a lot of catching up to do. He now has a bike shop in Langat & he's coaching the local guys there. I told him how much I missed cycling, but becoz I had no bike, I just had to keep it to myself. He told me he'd met some of my old teammates from Selangor in a race last week.. I haven't met them for quite a while. He gave me his number, so that we can meet up later, maybe I can visit his shop one time. </div>
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Meeting old friends like him, talking about our common interests brings back old memories about cycling. How different it was then. I had a less than RM5000 bike & that bike brought me all over the country with the Selangor team, getting me into 2 SUKMAs & the SUKOM 98 & the Gemilang 2001 projects. These days RM5000 will only get you an entry level bike with aluminium frame & 105 groupset. My bike had a carbon main triangle with aluminium stays, aluminium forks & a mixed Shimano componentry from almost all groups. It's becoz it took me 4-5 years to built that bike, which started with a replica Colnago steel frame. Ask the kids from the current crop of cyclists about toeclips & straps pedals & they will probably scratch their heads, becoz these days the pedals are all clipless. Which makes me wanna laugh when my friends told me they had to practice using clipless pedals... these days pedals with toeclips & straps belong in the velodrome only. How things have changed. </div>
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Livestrong. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-27800964352089389822013-12-16T01:10:00.003+08:002013-12-16T01:10:56.058+08:002013 - the year in reviewIt's been more than a couple of years since my last post. Part of it has been due to laziness.. part of it was due to busyness.. A lot of things has happened since then...a lot..<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Imran Haris</b></i><br />
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My son is now 30 months old & how time has passed... he's grown into a very curious, active & somewhat stubborn child..but I guess that is to be expected. Sometimes it's easy to forget he's still a very young child bcoz his actions, words, his behavior belies the fact that he's not even 3 yet. He's very tall & stocky for a kid his age..almost as tall as one of his niece who is 6 months older. He can't seem to stop moving..although my wife & I have tried as much as we can to child-proof our home, nothing can seem to stop the all-conquering Imran Haris from getting & doing whatever he wants. Indeed he's been the light of my family..our life would've been awfully bored if there were just the 2 of us.. His behavior sometimes made us treat him like he's a much older kid & there's been too many occasions where I've lost my patience. I really regret my actions... I forgot that I haven't spent that much time with him & teach him the proper ways of life... I'm working very hard to become a better father.. & I've never stopped thanking Allah SWT for his very presence in my life. Syukur alhamdulillah for this blessing...<br />
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<i><b>2013 - my year as KPSU in review</b></i><br />
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This is the biggest news of 2012 it seems..at least for me. Alhamdulillah, I've been promoted along with 170+ of my friends after the JPA saw us fit to fill the higher posts in the government. But with this blessing came the sad news. I had to leave my office of 6 years, my friends, colleagues, the place where I had spent 6 years of my life. I was transferred to Kementerian Penerangan, Komunikasi dan Kebudayaan which was later known as Kementerian Komunikasi & Multimedia. Although it was still in Putrajaya, it was a pretty sad moment for me. It's never easy to move away from Ur comfort zone...although I've been waiting for the last couple of years for it to happen..when the time came I was really sad ... Actually PSM have tried to keep me in MOF, but when the response came from JPA, I wasn't even considered. It came as a shock to me. My earlier plan was to spend another year in MOF, proly try to do my masters degree in MOF, then after the masters I can leave in peace. But it wasn't meant to be. So I had to take it positively & accepted the decision.
Fitting in a new place is never easy. What's more to fit in a place where someone there have had complete control over proceedings in the past 6 years. But again I take it as a challenge & I was grateful that I have such a strong team in place. All I've gotta do now is to coordinate things & dun let things go beyond my control. I was lucky that someone familiar is in my team. My EO was from MOF & I knew her, although not that well. Also, I knew quite a number of ppl here, so it was all good. Apparently the SUB wanted me in BPSM to have a male officer in the lineup, the others was all lady bosses.
But this was easier said than done. I've always been independent.. in each & every aspect of my life in fact. In my personal life.. in my training..in my job.. when I was in MOF my bosses would outline my tasks & leave me to do it & they very rarely interfere in whatever I was doing..as long as it's within my responsibility. But it turned out to be, I can't have my own ways in my new office. The structure doesn't allow me to... the environment doesn't allow me to & the culture definitely is not on my side. For that I've been in trouble a couple of times..more often that I'd like to mention here. The biggest problem is that nobody seemed to be able to tell me what's wrong to my face..I mean straight to me. Especially from my superiors. In meetings & whenever I meet some of them personally everything was fine & dandy & whenever I'm not in the office that's when everything is wrong.
I'm trying to hang on for as long as I can. I'm considering my options & my way outs. There are a few reasons why I'd like to stay. Let's just hope those reasons or the people, would be strong enough a reason for me to stay. I've always been able to adapt..but this is just not my turf.<br />
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<i><b>Very moderate year in racing</b></i><br />
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I started the year with a PB in 10K road race in Klang where I clocked 49:33. I'd later repeat that performance in TM Fan Run in Putrajaya in December with a 49:55. But overall it's been a very moderate year. I only did 4 HMs (Seremban, Putrajaya, KL & Penang). & I had to run in someone else's bib a couple of times. I almost did another sub-2hr HM in Penang & I was able to go below 2:10 in all but in Seremban. I've had to train in touch & go mode throughout the year due to my travelling. So I had to pick my races. Alhamdulillah I was able to stay pretty much injury free except for in Seremban. I hope I'd do better next year. & I've also decided to step it up a notch next year...I've been doing this for 5 years now, it's time to go for podium places in my races. I'd stand a better chance once I compete in Junior Veteran in 2 years time.. but I'd like to get some top placings in the open category. My best result this year was in TM Fan run where I placed 40th overall. I've got one more race, the Newton 25K in the final week of this year.<br />
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It's been a pretty much mixed year for me in 2013. I've never gone on a holiday for the 1st 6 years of my service, but I felt like I had to take a couple of days off before the year ends.. just to clear my head in preparation for next year. Although there are more reasons for me to stay in the office now but I need some rest. I hope I can write another entry before the year's out. Until then, livestrong.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-78091529333046629002011-07-27T15:20:00.003+08:002011-08-02T11:22:56.995+08:00Seremban Half Marathon 2011This was my 1st time racing in Seremban. I wanted to do it last year, but I forgot why I didn't come. Seremban has always been close to my heart, having spent a couple of years there to finish my diploma back in 1997. A lot have changed since then, it's a booming town with highways, etc. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Preparation</span></span><br /><br />As I was still carrying an injury, my preparation was less than ideal to say the least. Nevertheless, I managed to complete one LSD the week before, a crucial element in my preparation. Since I can't really run everyday due to my injury, I had to make every session count. So I upped the intensity of every training. I didn't do any intervals, but focused on tempo training. After my last training on Tuesday (10K), my left foot hurt so bad that I didn't run at all until the event day.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Raceday</span></span><br /><br />I just bought a new cellphone & I dunno why but the alarm didn't ring. I'd earlier set it up to ring at 4am. When I got up it was already 5am. I knew I had to leave by 5.30 or I'll never make it. I got to Seremban at 5 mins to 6am, practicaly flooring the pedal all the way, driving at 180km/h, hitting 200 at times. If there was any speedtrap camera along the way I was sure I got caught in at least a couple of them.<br /><br />I was lucky I found a parking spot very close to the start. I performed my Subuh prayer next to my car. The start was right in front of the Majlis Perbandaran Seremban building. As I made my way to the start I found Choi. He said that the course is a fast one, he did 1:45 the last time he did it. Well, I wished I could do it too. My primary goal was to do better than SCKLM & to break the 2-hr mark as a secondary target. <br /><br />The race started at 6:45am, very late by Malaysian standard. As a comparison, SCKLM started at 6. Nevertheless I decided not to wear any headgear, although the weather forecast stated a clear & sunny day. <br /><br />There was less than a thousand participants for the half marathon category by my count. It's not unusual for a local race. U have to be extra careful with local races like this, traffic control normally is less than adequate. Ipoh International last month was one bad example when runners need to manoeuvre heavy traffic with buses, etc. <br /><br />About 3km into the race we encountered the 1st major climb of the race. Although it was nothing like the one in Malakoff Penang route, it was pretty long. After that it was pretty much flat throughout. I had set a benchmark of 6:00min/km for the race. My left foot didn't give me much problem thankfully. I hit the 1st 10K at 58mins, the 1st time I did sub-hour for a 10K in a half marathon. It kinda spurred me to go faster. <br /><br />At KM12 I had side stitches bad enuff to hamper my breathing. Maybe I was going too fast. I tried to shake it off but it stayed there for a good couple of kms. My feeding & hydration plan was on track. So I was quite puzzled by the emergence of the stitches. The water stations was adequate, I guess the low number of races made it easier for us at the water stations. Plus I was among the front pack, so all is well.<br /><br />The route took me through some familiar places, like Taman Koperasi Guru, where my aunt used to stay. Paroi was of course a familiar place, but once we got into the residential areas and the villages, I was kinda lost there. I never knew some of the places during my time there, but then again, I didn't really explore all of the places in Seremban. <br /><br />I was kinda stuck in no man's land alone for quite sometime. There was a group in front of me & there was another a few minutes back. But I was alone. Once we hit the road towards Lake Garden there was heavy traffic with all the fun runners. Most of them are schoolkids & they were walking instead of running & they occupied one whole lane sometimes. It was so packed I had to shove a couple of kids outta my way. Unfortunately I hit the 2hr mark at the MPS building, with some 500m to go. Nevertheless I pressed on & hit the line at 2:01, a new PB. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lotsa firsts</span></span><br /><br />I had broken the 6:00/km average in this race by going 5:59. I also did the 1st 10K in 58 mins, another first. The medal we got was quite nice. Although I didn't break the 2-hour mark in this race, I was pretty darn close & to achieve it running with an injury, breaking the 2-hour is not impossible. I plan to go for the Penang Bridge International Marathon again this year & I hope that's where I'ma do it. I'ma give myself time to recover from this injury during the fasting month & I hope it won't be a long-term injury. Until then.<br /><br />LivestrongAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-25577218929289277382011-07-18T09:34:00.002+08:002011-07-18T10:22:12.252+08:00End of the roadThe past 2 weeks I went to watch sequels to two of my favorite movies : Transformers & Harry Potter. Those sequels were the last in a very long movie sequence, especially Harry Potter. They've been in the movie since they were kids & now they've all grown up.. must've been difficult ending such a long journey. <br /><br />We watched both movies in 3D, the 1st time we watched any movie in 3D. But I'd have to say that the Transformers was a better 3D movie, maybe becoz it was shot in 3D. I felt that HP was just a normal movie then converted into 3D, hence the 3D effects wasn't that revealing. <br /><br />Transformers : Dark of The Moon was a very long movie, 2 hrs 40 mins, & maybe becoz there was so much to tell. There was action from start to finish, typical for a Transformer movie & even with a new babe, well, the babe was in the action as well. & I dunno whether there will be any spin off movies after this, like the X-men movie, there was no rumor about it. The movie was great, story was great albeit very illogical. & the ending was .. well.. the end. That was what I always look for in a movie of this nature. How the director ends the end of the movie. The LOTR trilogy's end was good. This one was good as well.<br /><br />But the HP's ending was like... well, in the end I was like,"That's it ? That's all ?" After 7 movies altogether, I was expecting a more dramatic ending. But of course, it ended well enuff, all the characters in the movie ended up with their respective love interests & their kids went to Hogwarts, exactly just like them. But really, that's it ?<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Visitors from abroad.</span></span><br /><br />The Malaysian football team is having the time of their lives this couple of weeks. 3 EPL teams, Arsenal, Liverpool & Chelsea are making a visit to the country & play friendly games with the national team. Like what K.Rajagopal said earlier, even Brazil dun get to play 3 EPL teams in 2 weeks like we do. Yeah, but maybe there's a reason for that. Anyway, those players must be living a dream.<br /><br />I went to watch my favorite team of course, Arsenal. The last time they came it was in 1999 & I didn't have any money to buy the very expensive ticket back then, I was still in university. So when the news got out that they're coming this year, I couldn't let this opportunity pass by. Armed with my new 125th anniversary jersey, I went to the Bukit Jalil stadium for 2 straight nights, to watch them train & play. Sure enuff, the national team was no match for the Arsenal & got thumped 0-4. Nevertheless, we were behind the national team the whole time & I thought we were cheering more for the national team than the Arsenal. <br /><br />Against Liverpool we managed to score 3 goals, unprecedented for a team of our ranking. Safiq Rahim confirmed himself as Malaysia's dead-ball specialist by scoring from a freekick. Safee Sali scored twice.. the stadium erupted. Good morale-booster for our team ahead of the Singapore tie.<br /><br />Watching Arsenal in their training session.. they still do a lot of drills.. passing, stopping the ball.. drilled set plays.. Our team dun really do that. Which is why they're so good the Arsenal. Even at that level, they still practice drills religiously.. practiced set plays until it's embedded in their brains & they can do it by memory. Try telling our youngsters, even at state level to do that & U'll be met with a somewhat confused stare from them. <br /><br />Our athletes, they dun like to do basic, fundamental things. Why ? Becoz they tend to believe they're good enuff already & to progress they need to learn more advanced, difficult moves. But when they fail to do the more difficult moves, they get frustrated & upset & eventually stop playing whatever game they're playing. Seeing Arsenal players, who get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars weekly, try to work on their passing, dribbling countless times, to make them perfect... was just an eye-opening experience. I hope those youngsters watching, or even parents of aspiring youngsters will take note of this & keep this in mind. Practice makes perfect & dun get satisfied easily. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Baby coming</span></span><br /><br />My wife's into her 35th week of pregnancy & we're getting pretty much restless waiting for our baby to come into our family. Next week we're gonna have the last check up with our doctor & then it's just a matter of time. I'm on a flexible dateline here at work, I need to get everything settled before I go on leave, so that I can go with a piece of mind. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Seremban Half Marathon</span></span><br /><br />I didn't manage to register for the last race before Ramadhan, the Men's Health Shape Run. My fault really. So to make up for that & for my very poor SCKLM, I decided to go for the Seremban Half Marathon on the 24th. That's gonna be my last race before Ramadhan. I'm not really interested to run phantom at Men's Health. I'm still carrying my plantar fasciitis, but the shin splints seems to be okay for now. I keep telling myself to go all-out for this Seremban, even with my injury, & then I can have a month's rest. I dunno if I can improve on my PB, I dun really know the course. Hopefully I can run a better race than SCKLM. That's all I want.<br /><br />Livestrong.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-62543038318423711782011-07-07T09:11:00.002+08:002011-07-07T09:27:57.356+08:00Week in, week out<span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">SCKLM 2011</span></span><br /><br />2 weeks ago I ran my 2nd half mara of 2011, despite a less than ideal build up & very minimal training. Reason being, I was still hampered by injury. Plantar fasciitis & also shin splints. The shin splints was showing some signs of recovering though. Despite all that, I chose to go ahead & run SCKLM. I didn't run the race last year & this year I've actually made it my target event.<br /><br />The day before the race, I went for a picnic with my colleagues to Sg Tekala. It was my 1st time there. Maybe it was a mistake. I took a dip in the very cold river (not ice-cold, but very the cold nonetheless). I felt fine after that, & even slept for almost 2 hours there ! I just tried to rest as much as I can. When I went to bed that nite everything was fine. <br /><br />But when I woke up at about 4:30 Sunday morning, I felt stiff. I had a slight temperature to add to my list of injury. It didn't feel all that bad before the race, but it got worse as the race progresses. <br /><br />Overall I felt really bad. I couldn't push the pace. I was scrambling for isotonic drink at every water station, with the hope of getting some sort of relief. But it wasn't to be & I felt really bad. About 30 mins into the race there was drips of rain, but it stopped after that. With my condition that day, rain would've been disastrous. <br /><br />The route was great. Great for breaking records or doing PBs. It was flat, especially the stretch in Cheras. As with any event of this magnitude, it was well-supported. Water stations was good. There was even a small tunnel with cold drips of water to cool the runners. But I was feeling really, really bad. Just another bad day at the office I guess. <br /><br />I finished the race in 2:18, my 3rd worse time in half mara. I thought I could emulate Penang, but I just couldn't. As soon as I got home I crashed & slept.. I haven't felt this way for a long time. Hopefully things will get better, soon.<br /><br />Livestrong.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8161448570571005917.post-71847215152418992942011-06-23T11:05:00.002+08:002011-06-23T11:32:46.804+08:00SCKLM build upYesterday I broke the monotony of my training by going for a volleyball game with my officemates in Pancarona. I decided to see how my legs are doing, so I ran to Pancarona. If I'd taken the direct route, it'd took me about 10 mins maybe, it was less than 2km away from my office. So I took a longer route, the route used during PACM NB 15K earlier this month. The problem is, it was my 1st time to Pancarona & I didn't really know where it was. I just thought I went by that place during the race. So I had to gamble a bit & got there after about 17 mins. My legs felt okay, I'd use my Newtons & calf sleeve, just in case. & it was okay. So I guess Sunday is a go. <br /><br />The volleyball game was great. The only thing bad was that while diving to retrieve a ball I'd scratched my Newtons a bit. My bad. I shud've known better than to use my race shoes for a volleyball game. I ran back to the office after the game. Good workout overall.<br /><br />At home I was feeling some pain again. My plantar fasciitis. This really puzzles me. I just dunno what else to do. Maybe some ibuprofen would help. But I dunno where to get it.<br /><br />Well, as a build up to the race, which is this Sunday, I'm drinking lotsa water. This is important to stay hydrated. Just wanna keep myself hydrated & well-oiled for Sunday. I've some pace options in mind. & I'll see how I feel in the 1st half of the race. My target is to break 2 hours of course. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Death of a marathon runner.</span></span><br /><br />Earlier this month Sammy Wanjiru, 2008 Beijing Olympics marathon gold medalist was killed in an apparent suicide. But that's got nothing to do with cardiovascular weakness or anything, he jumped off a corridor in his house. The death I wanna talk about is one that was brought up in LYNet forum this morning. <br /><br />A friend of a forumer died of heart attack. He said that the deceased was a marathon runner. So he urged everybody to do medical check up & dun assume that becoz U run marathons, Ur in perfect health. <br /><br />What he said makes perfect sense to me. Sometime ago I read a study that found marathoners who run too much, they have weaker blood vessel. The reason was that those marathoners run every race there is & they dun allow sufficient recovery time. I know of some runners who runs one race in KL at nite & then drive all the way to JB for a marathon in the morning. & she's a senior vet. I thought that was just too much. Sometimes U feel fit, but nobody knows what's underneath, especially if U haven't done any medical check ups. <br /><br />I've signed up with a healthcare provider for annual medical checkups for the next 5 years. My wifey & I did our first one last year. So with that I hope I can detect if there's anything wrong with me at an early stage. Maybe all marathoners, or athletes shud do the same. When I was cycling with the Selangor team, we had medical checkups every year before we start the season. <br /><br />The thing is very active ppl, they sometimes believe becoz they lead a healthy lifestyle, nothing can happen to them. That they're immune to cardiovascular diseases like heart disease & all. They shud really take a deeper look at that matter. Athletes consume a great deal of isotonic drinks & those drinks contain lotsa sugar. We run like there's no tomorrow & we dun allow our body to recover from that effort. As the saying goes, too much of anything, even good things can be bad for you. We live in denial just becoz we think we're healthy & nothing can happen to us. <br /><br />I've been more selective in my choice of races since last year. Last year I ran 12 races (or was it 14 ?) & I think that's too much. But some ppl ran like 20-25 events, half of them are 21km or more. I ran 4 half maras last year. & this year, even in June, I'm only running my 2nd half mara, although I did run the Malakoff 26km in March. I think 4-5 half maras is my max. 10-15km races is different becoz they dun exactly exert that much effort from our body. I've been more selective in terms of events that I use as training, events that I really wanna do well in. <br /><br />Sometimes things that we thought is doing us good, is actually doing more harm to our body & health than we thought it would. So, it's actually a virtue to live in moderation.<br /><br />Livestrong.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01168645791473235766noreply@blogger.com0