I've been preparing for my next half marathon, the Energizer Nite Run, for the past 3-4 weeks or so. I wanted to do more running before the event, my target is to have at least 150km in my legs before the actual race. While I've significantly improved on this compared to my preparations for Putrajaya, I might have made some mistakes in other aspects of my training. Last week, about 3 weeks before Energizer, I realized that I've done too much weight training. Or maybe the routine I've used for the past month have caused me too bulk up too much.
I now weigh between 84-86kg. Not that I've become fat or anything, but I've bulked up. & that has caused me to slow a little bit in training. & that's not what I want, at least not yet. I know it's almost impossible to lift weights & not bulking up, I'm still not THAT big. I've to change my routine. Instead of lifting heavy weights with less rep & having protein shakes before & after my weight workouts, I'll shift to lifting light weights with lotsa reps & having the protein shake post-workout only. I'll do this until I get back to around 82kg, hopefully before the 27th. & I'll go to the gym only once a week, even then it's for total-body workouts, like the Spartan.
Over the weekend I also thought about my upcoming races after the Energizer. Word has it that the Sukan Treasury will be in March. But with Dato' Bob gone for a month & it's already 8th, I highly doubt that. Nevertheless, I think my next 2 half marathons will be the Setia Alam & Standard Chartered. Last year the Setia Alam was in June. I like it a lot becoz of the virtually flat course. I did the 11K last year. & naturally I'd want to do the biggest half marathon in the country, the Standard Chartered KL Marathon. In between there's the Pacesetters 15K & also the race that started it all for me, the Larian Bomba. & for the Sukan Treasury this year, I'd like to try the mile (1,500m). I'd reckon I can have that as my warm-up for the 10,000m.
So, up until June, there are 2 half marathons & at least 3 other middle distance race for me. I'd like to do between 10-15 races this year, maybe half of those are half marathons. Also, I'd like to run in Singapore, maybe Sundown Marathon. I dun think I'm prepared to do full marathon yet, not in another 2 years maybe. Once I feel that half marathon is easy (somewhat), I'll move up to the full marathon.
Until then, Livestrong.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Success !!!
I've successfully completed my 1st ever half marathon during the Putrajaya Nite Marathon on Saturday. Here is the story....
Pre-race...
Despite my injuries early on, I decided to just give it a try & run the half. I woke up early on Saturday, put on my running shoes & ran for 15 mins around my housing area & I felt okay. The pain on my calf has gone, but now there's some new problems. But then, I thought those were my normal problems.. so I told my wife, I'ma run tonite.
Just as a precaution, I kept on putting ice pack on both my legs, just to make sure. I took a nap just after lunch. I'd also agreed to run together with one of my LYNet pals, Elgato. He's also running his 1st half.
Then off to the start. The half marathon started at 8.30pm. The marathoners started 1/2 hour earlier than us. We planned to run easy for the 1st 10K, then see if we could up the pace a bit after that. Easier said than done.
The course...
The course was generally soft rolling. The hardest climb was proly at the PICC (very early on, around KM3), & just as we were about to re-enter Presint 1, near the traffic light at KM15. I was able to maintain a comfortable pace of around 6:50-7:10. My target pace was 6:40. At that pace I thought, we could hit the finish line in less than 2:30.
Feeding...
I brought my own water, using my Ultimate Directions Blaze pack. I also had with me 2 packs of PowerGel, chocolate flavor of course, the ones I've been using for training. so I could afford to pass on the 1st 2 water stations. I'd planned to take my feeding every hour. So that was exactly what I did. & it turned out to be okay, when I finish I didn't really feel that drained. I took some 100Plus at every water station after the 10K mark, plus a couple of stops at 2 sponging stations. Those gels really was helpful.
Gear...
My last 3 races last year I ran with tights, short tights. But for this half marathon, I decided to go with my normal training outfit, a Nike running tee with normal shorts. My underpants was great, it didn't give me any problems whatsoever, so I was grateful for that. I've heard stories about runners getting blisters "down there", which certainly can't be good. But I was okay throughout. Maybe for morning events, I'd use vests instead of tshirts.
My Adizero Ace was just superb. Pretty much thruout the run, I was just cruising & my shoes really helped a lot.
Injuries...
I was really grateful that I was able to run virtually pain-free. But I was really careful with my stride, tried not to open up too big a stride. After KM10, I felt like I was just hanging by a thread, just a slight overstriding would cause my calf to tighten up & I certainly dun wan that. That was why I took some 100Plus from the water station, to prevent cramps.
I was pretty much cruising thruout. Now I know what they meant by cruising along. After KM10 onwards, I pretty much just let my legs carry me thru. My stride didn't really have any knee lift at all. Mostly becoz I wanted to avoid getting cramps. It was especially true during the uphills.
The ending..
I was pretty confident that I managed to up the pace in the last 6K. I didn't really push that hard, but it was enuff. With the ending in sight, I was smiling. But then, it was pretty demoralizing to discover that we had to make a big circle around KPDNKK & POJ. Coming from MOF, I thought it was straight on to the finish in front of POJ. But we had to make a left turn at the traffic light at KPDNKK, before emerging on the other side to approach the end from KBS side. I was really in pain by then, mentally. I crossed the finish line at 3:01, minus 30 mins.
The way the organizers arranged the endzone was commendable, it made it less painful for us. Immediately after the finish was somebody handing over mineral water bottles, then the medals, then the snackpack, then the Milo tent. I took 2 cups, then somebody bumped into me & I was drenched in Milo. I took another 2, then only I realized there was 100Plus available. I walked in my Milo-soaked shoes & found my wife waving to me at the MeCD junction. Then she told me the good news, we had to walk another km becoz she couldn't park the car close enuff... grrr...
Overall I was really satisfied that I was able to compete the run with just 12 mins off my target time. To be honest my preparation wasn't the best, so I that makes it more worthwhile. I'll try to run a better race in the Energizer Nite run, I have approx. 6 weeks to prepare.
Livestrong.
Pre-race...
Despite my injuries early on, I decided to just give it a try & run the half. I woke up early on Saturday, put on my running shoes & ran for 15 mins around my housing area & I felt okay. The pain on my calf has gone, but now there's some new problems. But then, I thought those were my normal problems.. so I told my wife, I'ma run tonite.
Just as a precaution, I kept on putting ice pack on both my legs, just to make sure. I took a nap just after lunch. I'd also agreed to run together with one of my LYNet pals, Elgato. He's also running his 1st half.
Then off to the start. The half marathon started at 8.30pm. The marathoners started 1/2 hour earlier than us. We planned to run easy for the 1st 10K, then see if we could up the pace a bit after that. Easier said than done.
The course...
The course was generally soft rolling. The hardest climb was proly at the PICC (very early on, around KM3), & just as we were about to re-enter Presint 1, near the traffic light at KM15. I was able to maintain a comfortable pace of around 6:50-7:10. My target pace was 6:40. At that pace I thought, we could hit the finish line in less than 2:30.
Feeding...
I brought my own water, using my Ultimate Directions Blaze pack. I also had with me 2 packs of PowerGel, chocolate flavor of course, the ones I've been using for training. so I could afford to pass on the 1st 2 water stations. I'd planned to take my feeding every hour. So that was exactly what I did. & it turned out to be okay, when I finish I didn't really feel that drained. I took some 100Plus at every water station after the 10K mark, plus a couple of stops at 2 sponging stations. Those gels really was helpful.
Gear...
My last 3 races last year I ran with tights, short tights. But for this half marathon, I decided to go with my normal training outfit, a Nike running tee with normal shorts. My underpants was great, it didn't give me any problems whatsoever, so I was grateful for that. I've heard stories about runners getting blisters "down there", which certainly can't be good. But I was okay throughout. Maybe for morning events, I'd use vests instead of tshirts.
My Adizero Ace was just superb. Pretty much thruout the run, I was just cruising & my shoes really helped a lot.
Injuries...
I was really grateful that I was able to run virtually pain-free. But I was really careful with my stride, tried not to open up too big a stride. After KM10, I felt like I was just hanging by a thread, just a slight overstriding would cause my calf to tighten up & I certainly dun wan that. That was why I took some 100Plus from the water station, to prevent cramps.
I was pretty much cruising thruout. Now I know what they meant by cruising along. After KM10 onwards, I pretty much just let my legs carry me thru. My stride didn't really have any knee lift at all. Mostly becoz I wanted to avoid getting cramps. It was especially true during the uphills.
The ending..
I was pretty confident that I managed to up the pace in the last 6K. I didn't really push that hard, but it was enuff. With the ending in sight, I was smiling. But then, it was pretty demoralizing to discover that we had to make a big circle around KPDNKK & POJ. Coming from MOF, I thought it was straight on to the finish in front of POJ. But we had to make a left turn at the traffic light at KPDNKK, before emerging on the other side to approach the end from KBS side. I was really in pain by then, mentally. I crossed the finish line at 3:01, minus 30 mins.
The way the organizers arranged the endzone was commendable, it made it less painful for us. Immediately after the finish was somebody handing over mineral water bottles, then the medals, then the snackpack, then the Milo tent. I took 2 cups, then somebody bumped into me & I was drenched in Milo. I took another 2, then only I realized there was 100Plus available. I walked in my Milo-soaked shoes & found my wife waving to me at the MeCD junction. Then she told me the good news, we had to walk another km becoz she couldn't park the car close enuff... grrr...
Overall I was really satisfied that I was able to compete the run with just 12 mins off my target time. To be honest my preparation wasn't the best, so I that makes it more worthwhile. I'll try to run a better race in the Energizer Nite run, I have approx. 6 weeks to prepare.
Livestrong.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Big trouble in little Putrajaya...
It was 6.40 am.. my new Philips MP3 player haven't even finished playing the 2nd song in my playlist.. I haven't even get into my first kilometer.. just before Masjid Putra... disaster struck... the thing all athletes preparing for something fear most... injury with less than a week to the big day.. arrghhhhh !!!!
The problem started on Tuesday.. I was doing my intervals, 5 x 800m .. I decided to do it without my 2XU calf compression sleeve.. just as I was finishing my last rep.. I felt a slight pull in my left calf, just a very slight one. I wasn't going really fast, about 5:00-5:25 pace.. & the slight pull stayed there throughout my warmdown run. When I was doing my stretching it was gone.. so I thought.. okay..
Maybe the biggest mistake happened on Wednesday. I went to the gym. I haven't lifted weights for about 3 weeks, & I decided to do the full body Spartacus workout, currently my favorite full body routine. I only managed to do 2 sets instead of the usual 3. The next day my body was sore all over. It was my rest day anyway, so I thought.. okay...
Then on Friday I was supposed to do about 8km tempo run. There was where I felt all the problems.. the slight pull on my left calf didn't go away.. the injury on my shin bone made a rerun, & I had a back pain. A back pain !!! I've never had those.. never, ever. I mean, during my runs la... So I cut short my program to just 4K of tempo. Then I went to play badminton.
& now. Sunday. Today I was supposed to do my long run, at least 16K. It was to be my last long run before the Putrajaya Nite Marathon. All the injury, sans the back injury, came back to haunt me. I couldn't even walk right. The walk back to the office from Masjid Putra took me half an hour. Slow by any standards.
Injury is not new to me. I've got injured before. I've had worse than this. But not with less than a week to my first half marathon, ever. Injury frustrates me. Even worse when U dunno what caused it. Was it the gym ? Was it becoz I decided not to wear my calf sleeves ? I tried not to rely too much on the sleeves. But it seemed now that I couldn't run without it. The last time I got injured bad.. was when I tried to break my 5K PR with my new Adizeros, without the calf sleeves. How's that ?
How do I fix this ? RICE ? With 6 days to go ? I wish I could just go to the hardware store, buy a new pair of legs, take this one off & bolt on the new one. I wish it was that easy. What I'm worried about is not getting enuff mileage before I do the race of my life. I mean, it's gonna be my 1st ever half marathon, of course it's a big thing to me. I know I can complete the run, but I dun wanna just complete it. I've got goals to achieve, targets to meet. & how would I know that this injury won't return during the race. It would've been worse.
All I want is to run pain-free. & I've been able to do just that for the past month or so. Why this injury choose this very moment to come back is really beyond my understanding.
Haih.... as strong as I am, there's only so much I can do. Right now even walking is painful, let alone running.
I hope I can fix this ASAP. Steroids anybody ?
Livestrong.
The problem started on Tuesday.. I was doing my intervals, 5 x 800m .. I decided to do it without my 2XU calf compression sleeve.. just as I was finishing my last rep.. I felt a slight pull in my left calf, just a very slight one. I wasn't going really fast, about 5:00-5:25 pace.. & the slight pull stayed there throughout my warmdown run. When I was doing my stretching it was gone.. so I thought.. okay..
Maybe the biggest mistake happened on Wednesday. I went to the gym. I haven't lifted weights for about 3 weeks, & I decided to do the full body Spartacus workout, currently my favorite full body routine. I only managed to do 2 sets instead of the usual 3. The next day my body was sore all over. It was my rest day anyway, so I thought.. okay...
Then on Friday I was supposed to do about 8km tempo run. There was where I felt all the problems.. the slight pull on my left calf didn't go away.. the injury on my shin bone made a rerun, & I had a back pain. A back pain !!! I've never had those.. never, ever. I mean, during my runs la... So I cut short my program to just 4K of tempo. Then I went to play badminton.
& now. Sunday. Today I was supposed to do my long run, at least 16K. It was to be my last long run before the Putrajaya Nite Marathon. All the injury, sans the back injury, came back to haunt me. I couldn't even walk right. The walk back to the office from Masjid Putra took me half an hour. Slow by any standards.
Injury is not new to me. I've got injured before. I've had worse than this. But not with less than a week to my first half marathon, ever. Injury frustrates me. Even worse when U dunno what caused it. Was it the gym ? Was it becoz I decided not to wear my calf sleeves ? I tried not to rely too much on the sleeves. But it seemed now that I couldn't run without it. The last time I got injured bad.. was when I tried to break my 5K PR with my new Adizeros, without the calf sleeves. How's that ?
How do I fix this ? RICE ? With 6 days to go ? I wish I could just go to the hardware store, buy a new pair of legs, take this one off & bolt on the new one. I wish it was that easy. What I'm worried about is not getting enuff mileage before I do the race of my life. I mean, it's gonna be my 1st ever half marathon, of course it's a big thing to me. I know I can complete the run, but I dun wanna just complete it. I've got goals to achieve, targets to meet. & how would I know that this injury won't return during the race. It would've been worse.
All I want is to run pain-free. & I've been able to do just that for the past month or so. Why this injury choose this very moment to come back is really beyond my understanding.
Haih.... as strong as I am, there's only so much I can do. Right now even walking is painful, let alone running.
I hope I can fix this ASAP. Steroids anybody ?
Livestrong.
Monday, January 11, 2010
6 days to go...
6 days to go to what ? Well, I've finally managed to get a new rented house in Bandar Saujana Putra, about 20km from my office. Now I'm waiting for the agent to prepare the agreement, sign it, pay, & we're ready to move in. I'm gonna be on leave from 14/1 to 20/1, proly the longest I've taken a leave since I started work in 2006. We plan to move in by Sunday, 17/1. That is, completely move in. We're gonna start moving the smaller stuffs by 15/1. I've decided not to run in the Pacesetters NB30K race on the 17th. So, my first race of the year is also gonna be my 1st half marathon ever, the Putrajaya Nite Marathon on 6/2.
I hope the owner will have completed some of the fixes I've asked for before I sign the agreement. There are quite a number of things to be done, as the previous tenant left the house in quite a hurry. Most of the bathroom showerheads were missing, some plug points need fixing & I've requested for a proper door for the kitchen extension.
This week will also be the final week of my daily 160km commute to work. Well, my final trip will be on the 13th (Wednesday). From 21/1 onwards, I'll travel just 20km to work. That means I can get home sooner after my evening workouts, I dun have to do my Maghrib prayers at the office no more & I can eat early dinners. That is especially important. After doing weights, I shud eat within an hour of finishing my workout. Since my trip home alone will take me an hour, normally I'll end up having dinner at 8.30 or 9pm, which is not good. Now I can have dinner before 8pm, provided that my wife can be home by then. Hmm... maybe it won't be possible after all, I doubt that my wife can find jobs within 15 mins travel like before. Well, we'll take care of it later. I'm just glad that I can be home within 20 mins... or less..
I've travelled 160km daily to & from work for the past 3 years.. & this shortened commute will certainly have an impact to my schedule, in a positive way of course. The 75-minute journey (55 mins in recent weeks) have given me some valuable experience. I've only had 2 flat tires in the whole 3 years plus. I've used 3 different bikes. My 1st bike was Yamaha Ego, which was more suitable for short trips to the market than 160km trips on the freeway. I broke the Ego's belt once, forcing me to push the bike for more than 5km, on the 1st day of Ramadhan in 2007. The highlight of it all was of course my crash in 13/7/2008. I've crashed 3 times in that 3 years (including that fateful crash). Rain or shine, I've almost always made it to work on time. I've travelled alone on that spooky Guthrie freeway at 11.30pm countless times. I'me just proud to say that I've never, ever used that as an excuse for coming late to work, or not staying back at the office. So I guess all that is gonna be history from next week onwards. It's been quite an experience.
Sunday's long run
On Sunday I did a long run, almost 1 1/2 hrs. I could've gone further, but I just wanted to see how I feel after running longer than an hour, & also to test my new Ultimate Direction Blaze running waist pack, plus to test my feeding arrangements for the half marathon. I'ma go further this week, I expect to hit 2 hrs, maybe 17-18km. I still have 3 weeks to prepare for the Putrajaya Nite Marathon, but the final week is supposed to be tapering week. I must make sure that I run at least one 18-20km run before the event, proly on the final week before tapering. I've told my wife I'm gonna bring my running shoes to Cameron Highlands, where we're gonna spend 2 nights on holiday next week. I proly couldn't do much there, just wanna keep running to keep the momentum going. Proly do some short tempo runs. Definitely no intervals.
Yesterday I managed to average 6:52/km throughout. Better than my target training pace of 7:10. & I'm pretty sure I can maintain the pace for the next hour. My half marathon goal pace would be 6:40, in order to hit 2:20 in the half. But a more realistic goal would be to finish in less than 2:30, I shud be able to do that. I'd be disappointed not to.
I've acquired the Ultimate Direction Blaze running waist pack, a waist pack specifically designed for runners or triathletes or other endurance sports. It comes with 2 10-oz bottles & a small zippered pocket for storing energy gels or MP3 players or ID. How much ? I took my wife along when I went to PJ on Saturday to collect it from Frank. & she saw me paying RM122 for that stuff. As usual, I've got a very good reason to buy it. Once I move to Saujana Putra, I plan to do my long runs in Putrajaya. Once I started running in Putrajaya, I won't have any support for my training runs. So I've gotta have this pack to bring my water & feeding along. Currently I just put my water bottle on my front gate & run past my house each lap. So, I was quite happy with the pack. It bounces around the 1st time I used it, with both bottles full & a couple of PowerGels in the pocket. Then I tighten the strap & it bounced no more.
6 days to go...
Livestrong.
I hope the owner will have completed some of the fixes I've asked for before I sign the agreement. There are quite a number of things to be done, as the previous tenant left the house in quite a hurry. Most of the bathroom showerheads were missing, some plug points need fixing & I've requested for a proper door for the kitchen extension.
This week will also be the final week of my daily 160km commute to work. Well, my final trip will be on the 13th (Wednesday). From 21/1 onwards, I'll travel just 20km to work. That means I can get home sooner after my evening workouts, I dun have to do my Maghrib prayers at the office no more & I can eat early dinners. That is especially important. After doing weights, I shud eat within an hour of finishing my workout. Since my trip home alone will take me an hour, normally I'll end up having dinner at 8.30 or 9pm, which is not good. Now I can have dinner before 8pm, provided that my wife can be home by then. Hmm... maybe it won't be possible after all, I doubt that my wife can find jobs within 15 mins travel like before. Well, we'll take care of it later. I'm just glad that I can be home within 20 mins... or less..
I've travelled 160km daily to & from work for the past 3 years.. & this shortened commute will certainly have an impact to my schedule, in a positive way of course. The 75-minute journey (55 mins in recent weeks) have given me some valuable experience. I've only had 2 flat tires in the whole 3 years plus. I've used 3 different bikes. My 1st bike was Yamaha Ego, which was more suitable for short trips to the market than 160km trips on the freeway. I broke the Ego's belt once, forcing me to push the bike for more than 5km, on the 1st day of Ramadhan in 2007. The highlight of it all was of course my crash in 13/7/2008. I've crashed 3 times in that 3 years (including that fateful crash). Rain or shine, I've almost always made it to work on time. I've travelled alone on that spooky Guthrie freeway at 11.30pm countless times. I'me just proud to say that I've never, ever used that as an excuse for coming late to work, or not staying back at the office. So I guess all that is gonna be history from next week onwards. It's been quite an experience.
Sunday's long run
On Sunday I did a long run, almost 1 1/2 hrs. I could've gone further, but I just wanted to see how I feel after running longer than an hour, & also to test my new Ultimate Direction Blaze running waist pack, plus to test my feeding arrangements for the half marathon. I'ma go further this week, I expect to hit 2 hrs, maybe 17-18km. I still have 3 weeks to prepare for the Putrajaya Nite Marathon, but the final week is supposed to be tapering week. I must make sure that I run at least one 18-20km run before the event, proly on the final week before tapering. I've told my wife I'm gonna bring my running shoes to Cameron Highlands, where we're gonna spend 2 nights on holiday next week. I proly couldn't do much there, just wanna keep running to keep the momentum going. Proly do some short tempo runs. Definitely no intervals.
Yesterday I managed to average 6:52/km throughout. Better than my target training pace of 7:10. & I'm pretty sure I can maintain the pace for the next hour. My half marathon goal pace would be 6:40, in order to hit 2:20 in the half. But a more realistic goal would be to finish in less than 2:30, I shud be able to do that. I'd be disappointed not to.
I've acquired the Ultimate Direction Blaze running waist pack, a waist pack specifically designed for runners or triathletes or other endurance sports. It comes with 2 10-oz bottles & a small zippered pocket for storing energy gels or MP3 players or ID. How much ? I took my wife along when I went to PJ on Saturday to collect it from Frank. & she saw me paying RM122 for that stuff. As usual, I've got a very good reason to buy it. Once I move to Saujana Putra, I plan to do my long runs in Putrajaya. Once I started running in Putrajaya, I won't have any support for my training runs. So I've gotta have this pack to bring my water & feeding along. Currently I just put my water bottle on my front gate & run past my house each lap. So, I was quite happy with the pack. It bounces around the 1st time I used it, with both bottles full & a couple of PowerGels in the pocket. Then I tighten the strap & it bounced no more.
6 days to go...
Livestrong.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
The last day of 2009...
What 2 days of inactivity can do to U...
I've been pretty busy for the past 3 days. On Monday I had to prepare for the final MPTP meeting of the year, which was on Tuesday, at 6 pm. I had to wait until 6.30pm (Monday) to finish the details of the talking points for the chairperson. Actually, I wanted to run that day, before I was supposed to go out & meet my friend Najwa at 6pm. But I didn't do anything, becoz of that meeting. So.. ok la.
Then the next day, Tuesday, was the meeting itself, so obviously I couldn't do anything. But I wanted to run during lunch hour, so off I went to the gym, only to find out that there was already somebody inside. Tuesday was supposed to be women's day at the gym, but most of the time they won't let guys in. So I had to cancel my plans, & did nothing that day. After the meeting, I went home & got home about 10pm, weighed myself & found that I've reached the alert level. I was already hitting 85kg. Now, my normal weight is around 82-84, so proly for most ppl, 1kg overweight isn't that big of an issue. But it is to me. These days I can pretty much lose weight at will, but still...
So yesterday (Wednesday) I went to the gym & did circuits again, & my bodyweight is back down to 83.7kg this morning. Phew...
2010 goals for physical activity...
For 2010, my goals will be :
1. Get down to 75kg, less than 15% bodyfat.
2. Get a lean, muscular body, but not bulk up too much.
3. Run 5:30/km pace in 10K, that shud bring me to around low 50 mins in 10K
4. Run a sub-3 hr half marathon. The way I'm running 10K now, I could proly hit 2hrs for half marathon, assuming I can run the half at my current 10K pace.
5. Avoid going above my bodyweight alert level during puasa & Hari Raya.
6. Get my wife involved in my activities, especially running.
7. Run more events than I have in 2009.
8. Join a running club, most proly Cap Ayam Runners or Der Pacemakers.
Livestrong.
I've been pretty busy for the past 3 days. On Monday I had to prepare for the final MPTP meeting of the year, which was on Tuesday, at 6 pm. I had to wait until 6.30pm (Monday) to finish the details of the talking points for the chairperson. Actually, I wanted to run that day, before I was supposed to go out & meet my friend Najwa at 6pm. But I didn't do anything, becoz of that meeting. So.. ok la.
Then the next day, Tuesday, was the meeting itself, so obviously I couldn't do anything. But I wanted to run during lunch hour, so off I went to the gym, only to find out that there was already somebody inside. Tuesday was supposed to be women's day at the gym, but most of the time they won't let guys in. So I had to cancel my plans, & did nothing that day. After the meeting, I went home & got home about 10pm, weighed myself & found that I've reached the alert level. I was already hitting 85kg. Now, my normal weight is around 82-84, so proly for most ppl, 1kg overweight isn't that big of an issue. But it is to me. These days I can pretty much lose weight at will, but still...
So yesterday (Wednesday) I went to the gym & did circuits again, & my bodyweight is back down to 83.7kg this morning. Phew...
2010 goals for physical activity...
For 2010, my goals will be :
1. Get down to 75kg, less than 15% bodyfat.
2. Get a lean, muscular body, but not bulk up too much.
3. Run 5:30/km pace in 10K, that shud bring me to around low 50 mins in 10K
4. Run a sub-3 hr half marathon. The way I'm running 10K now, I could proly hit 2hrs for half marathon, assuming I can run the half at my current 10K pace.
5. Avoid going above my bodyweight alert level during puasa & Hari Raya.
6. Get my wife involved in my activities, especially running.
7. Run more events than I have in 2009.
8. Join a running club, most proly Cap Ayam Runners or Der Pacemakers.
Livestrong.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
2009, the year in review...
Crash !!!
This is proly the biggest thing that happened to me this year. I mean, it's not like I've never crashed or whatever, I've had some bad ones during my cycling days. In 1995 I crashed head-first during the SportExcel Grand Finals in the final of the 200m match sprint event. It's cost me the 200m sprint title, the closest I've ever been to winning a sprint title, in the last race of my junior year. I lost consciousness for a few minutes, taken to Klang Hospital for x-rays, was released shortly after. I went straight to join the Selangor team in the 1st ever SUKSES (Sukan Selangor), where I rode the 16K scratch race, just 2 days after my crash.
Well, the July 13th crash was entirely different. I experienced proly the most painful moments of my life after my surgery. I spent 10 days in the hospital (I've never been warded before). Spent 2 months at home, the longest ever I've spent doing nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. But the crash has certainly give me another perspective in life. But I wanted to forget the crash as soon as possible, & now that I've got myself a new, bigger, faster bike, I've pretty much overcame that terrible experience of crashing...
I'm just glad to be alive.. Alhamdulillah, segala puji tertentu bagi Allah, yang telah memanjangkan umurku, memberiku peluang untuk terus hidup & memperbaiki kelemahan diriku...
Running...
This year I entered my first race in May, Larian Bomba, a 10K race. Since then I've run in 8 other races, including 2 in my ministry's sports carnival. It would've been 10 races, if not for my crash. My running has been affected somewhat by my crash in July, although I got back to training pretty quickly. If I hadn't lost that 2 months, I'd proly be running a low 50's for 10K by now. But then, that crash has given me the opportunity to restart my training & now I'm running with a better technique & 10K is a normal distance for me nowadays. I can run 10K even after work.
So, next year I will start to run in Half Marathon (21K) events. I've never really tried to run 21K, but rest assured I'll prepare myself to run in my 1st half marathon in February, the Putrajaya Night Marathon. I've got about a little over a month to go. Wonder what it's like to run for 2 hrs straight. Normally in my 10K runs, I'd burn around 1500 calories each run, for the 21K it must be double that amount. I'd reckon I'ma lose around 2-3 kg after the half marathon, mostly water of course.
Some ppl wonder why would I put myself, or any other runners for that matter, through all that pain & agony of running for 1-2 hrs ? What do we get out of it ? Now, to answer that, Ur gonna have to do it Urself. I can't tell U how it feels. Maybe there's a lot of ppl who can complete a 10K run, not that many can do 21K, & even fewer can complete a 42K, full marathon. But once U've done it, U will always remember it as something U've achieved in Ur life. Not everybody can say I've run a marathon. For me it's the sheer joy of having completed an objective. That feeling, I can't get it from anywhere.
I wanna keep running for as long as I can. It's the simplest of activity & is one of the most beneficial to Ur health. Just put on Ur shoes, head out the door (or elevator, or fence, or whatever) & run. Of course, in my case, there's the heart rate monitor, the footpod, the calf guard, the MP3 player, the sunglasses to put on... hahah.. Might be difficult at first, but after a few minutes, U'll see what I mean.
Work..
A lot of ppl asked me why haven't I taken any vacation this time of the year. Maybe they've forgotten that I just came back from a 2-month long vacation. So I dun really see the point of taking a vacation.
Before my crash, there was a couple of PSUs in my unit, myself & Ameerah, a new PSU. I had a KPSU who was itching to get out of my unit after just a couple of weeks. So, I had to do almost everything pretty much by myself, assisted by my long-serving EO, Dea. & for almost everything, I reported straight to my KS. Once I returned to active duty, I found myself with a new KPSU & Ameerah had enuff experience already to cover my duties. So for the 1st month after I came back, I had pretty much nothing to do. But I'm grateful that I finally got a KPSU I can work with.
That's all for now. Livestrong.
This is proly the biggest thing that happened to me this year. I mean, it's not like I've never crashed or whatever, I've had some bad ones during my cycling days. In 1995 I crashed head-first during the SportExcel Grand Finals in the final of the 200m match sprint event. It's cost me the 200m sprint title, the closest I've ever been to winning a sprint title, in the last race of my junior year. I lost consciousness for a few minutes, taken to Klang Hospital for x-rays, was released shortly after. I went straight to join the Selangor team in the 1st ever SUKSES (Sukan Selangor), where I rode the 16K scratch race, just 2 days after my crash.
Well, the July 13th crash was entirely different. I experienced proly the most painful moments of my life after my surgery. I spent 10 days in the hospital (I've never been warded before). Spent 2 months at home, the longest ever I've spent doing nothing. Well, not exactly nothing. But the crash has certainly give me another perspective in life. But I wanted to forget the crash as soon as possible, & now that I've got myself a new, bigger, faster bike, I've pretty much overcame that terrible experience of crashing...
I'm just glad to be alive.. Alhamdulillah, segala puji tertentu bagi Allah, yang telah memanjangkan umurku, memberiku peluang untuk terus hidup & memperbaiki kelemahan diriku...
Running...
This year I entered my first race in May, Larian Bomba, a 10K race. Since then I've run in 8 other races, including 2 in my ministry's sports carnival. It would've been 10 races, if not for my crash. My running has been affected somewhat by my crash in July, although I got back to training pretty quickly. If I hadn't lost that 2 months, I'd proly be running a low 50's for 10K by now. But then, that crash has given me the opportunity to restart my training & now I'm running with a better technique & 10K is a normal distance for me nowadays. I can run 10K even after work.
So, next year I will start to run in Half Marathon (21K) events. I've never really tried to run 21K, but rest assured I'll prepare myself to run in my 1st half marathon in February, the Putrajaya Night Marathon. I've got about a little over a month to go. Wonder what it's like to run for 2 hrs straight. Normally in my 10K runs, I'd burn around 1500 calories each run, for the 21K it must be double that amount. I'd reckon I'ma lose around 2-3 kg after the half marathon, mostly water of course.
Some ppl wonder why would I put myself, or any other runners for that matter, through all that pain & agony of running for 1-2 hrs ? What do we get out of it ? Now, to answer that, Ur gonna have to do it Urself. I can't tell U how it feels. Maybe there's a lot of ppl who can complete a 10K run, not that many can do 21K, & even fewer can complete a 42K, full marathon. But once U've done it, U will always remember it as something U've achieved in Ur life. Not everybody can say I've run a marathon. For me it's the sheer joy of having completed an objective. That feeling, I can't get it from anywhere.
I wanna keep running for as long as I can. It's the simplest of activity & is one of the most beneficial to Ur health. Just put on Ur shoes, head out the door (or elevator, or fence, or whatever) & run. Of course, in my case, there's the heart rate monitor, the footpod, the calf guard, the MP3 player, the sunglasses to put on... hahah.. Might be difficult at first, but after a few minutes, U'll see what I mean.
Work..
A lot of ppl asked me why haven't I taken any vacation this time of the year. Maybe they've forgotten that I just came back from a 2-month long vacation. So I dun really see the point of taking a vacation.
Before my crash, there was a couple of PSUs in my unit, myself & Ameerah, a new PSU. I had a KPSU who was itching to get out of my unit after just a couple of weeks. So, I had to do almost everything pretty much by myself, assisted by my long-serving EO, Dea. & for almost everything, I reported straight to my KS. Once I returned to active duty, I found myself with a new KPSU & Ameerah had enuff experience already to cover my duties. So for the 1st month after I came back, I had pretty much nothing to do. But I'm grateful that I finally got a KPSU I can work with.
That's all for now. Livestrong.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Staying motivated...
This morning I did a pretty lousy run. Yesterday was even worse. I didn't even complete my run yesterday. I was barely a kilo into my run when my stomach started giving me problem. The desperate kind. So I had to turn around, make a 500m dash towards my house & barely made it. Once I was done, the mood to continue was gone. So I did some weights. But I was pretty much puzzled, I didn't ate anything irregular that morning. In fact, I didn't eat anything at all, as usual. I only had my normal, chocolate HL milk, that's all. Hmm...
This morning I got up early, 6.10 am, but went out at 7.00 anyway. I planned to do around 12-15K, but ended up with just 9K. I felt like my fitness, more specifically, endurance, wasn't up to the mark. Well, this morning was actually my 1st run since Malakoff last week. I didn't actually felt tired or anything, my pace was okay, pretty much maintained 6:00/km thruout.
Maybe it was my schedule. U see, ever since I started running again after my crash, I've pretty much followed this pattern :
Monday : Rest
Tuesday : Intervals
Wednesday : Weights
Thursday : Tempo
Friday : Rest/Steady run
Saturday : Weights
Sunday : Race/Long run
But then, about a month ago I changed my protein supplement from ON 100% Whey to Muscletech Nitrotech Hardcore. & the result was awesome. I mean, I took ON for almost half a year, but the result was minimal. This Nitrotech, after a month I can see the result already, my body sculpting like never before. I guess I started taking it at just the right moment, during the overload phase of my weight training. So the result was much faster. & I guess I began to do more weights & less running. Plus, after I learned that I wasn't gonna run Malakoff, I've pretty much scaled down my running. My routine became this :
Monday : Weights
Tuesday : Rest
Wednesday : Weights
Thursday : Rest
Friday : Tempo run
Saturday : Weights
Sunday : Long run
I guess, I've gotta make a choice. It's either running or weights. It can't be both. I mean, by running, I lose more weight than if I just lift weights. I've pretty much stayed at 83-84kg, but with less body fat. & I've put on more lean muscle. That's good. But tht's not gonna help much with my running. I can only lift twice a week. & I can lift on Saturday now, that I've sufficient equipment in my home.
Next year, insya Allah, I'ma start running half marathons. I hope I can do my 1st half mara during the Putrajaya Night Marathon in February. I've got about a month to train. We'll see what happens.
Livestrong.
This morning I got up early, 6.10 am, but went out at 7.00 anyway. I planned to do around 12-15K, but ended up with just 9K. I felt like my fitness, more specifically, endurance, wasn't up to the mark. Well, this morning was actually my 1st run since Malakoff last week. I didn't actually felt tired or anything, my pace was okay, pretty much maintained 6:00/km thruout.
Maybe it was my schedule. U see, ever since I started running again after my crash, I've pretty much followed this pattern :
Monday : Rest
Tuesday : Intervals
Wednesday : Weights
Thursday : Tempo
Friday : Rest/Steady run
Saturday : Weights
Sunday : Race/Long run
But then, about a month ago I changed my protein supplement from ON 100% Whey to Muscletech Nitrotech Hardcore. & the result was awesome. I mean, I took ON for almost half a year, but the result was minimal. This Nitrotech, after a month I can see the result already, my body sculpting like never before. I guess I started taking it at just the right moment, during the overload phase of my weight training. So the result was much faster. & I guess I began to do more weights & less running. Plus, after I learned that I wasn't gonna run Malakoff, I've pretty much scaled down my running. My routine became this :
Monday : Weights
Tuesday : Rest
Wednesday : Weights
Thursday : Rest
Friday : Tempo run
Saturday : Weights
Sunday : Long run
I guess, I've gotta make a choice. It's either running or weights. It can't be both. I mean, by running, I lose more weight than if I just lift weights. I've pretty much stayed at 83-84kg, but with less body fat. & I've put on more lean muscle. That's good. But tht's not gonna help much with my running. I can only lift twice a week. & I can lift on Saturday now, that I've sufficient equipment in my home.
Next year, insya Allah, I'ma start running half marathons. I hope I can do my 1st half mara during the Putrajaya Night Marathon in February. I've got about a month to train. We'll see what happens.
Livestrong.
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