A Runner's Blog

Mizuno Mount Faber Run 2010

2010-06-13T18:18:00.002+08:00

After skipping this run 2 years in a row, I have decided to take part this year. I have not been doing any serious running after Marathon Hamburg last April, I didn't set any target but just thinking of pushing myself all the way. I did 56 mins in year 2007. The route hasn't changed, so I think I should have a good shot of improving my time.

I reached the race site quite early and somehow I bumped into a guy that go to the same gym as I do. We chatted a little and then we were flagged off at 0730 sharp. To avoid the huge crowd, I push myself ahead at an incredible pace, in fact I think I cover 2.5km in 10 mins. I finally slowed down after I secure myself from the crowd and was trying to preserve some energy for the incoming hill since I knew it will be a continuous 2km climb to Mount Faber. Finally I reached the bottom of the hill, most of the runners in front of me were already slowing down but I maintain my pace all the way for 2km. It wasn't easy but I managed to do it, overtaking quite a number of runners. However, after the long ascent, there comes the long descent as well. That was also the time when I was overtaken by many runners as they started switching to free gear mode. Me, on the other hand, was trying not to do that as I afraid it may "crush" my knees later on.

The descent part was easy for most of us, but I started to feel tired already. There were still some small slopes after we came down from Mount Faber but I'm surprised I can still take it despite the fatigue. All is well until I was stopped by the traffic marshall at the junction. He has decided to let the vehicles go first as I as cursing and swearing in four letter word. It kinda break my momentum and half a minute gone for the waiting time. When we were finally allowed to cross the road, my legs felt heavy, my pace was a bit slow and again, I was overtaken by many runners who managed to catch up due to the traffic interruption. Well, I tried not to stop as there's only 2km to go. I looked at my watch and I can still make it. I tried my best to finish within 50 minutes and finally I crossed the finishing line in 49mins 4secs. It was way better than my first one. Despite some time wasted at the junction, I must admit that I'm very happy with my time and I just found out that I ranked 66th among all the runners in men's open.

Marathon Hamburg 2010

2010-04-29T21:36:00.003+08:00

Well, I'm lucky that I get to fly to Germany again this year for business. I was there same time last year and did Zurich Marathon in one of my weekends there. This time, I ran Marathon Hamburg. As usual, I've not been training much for all my marathons and this time around I did not run at all after SCSM last December, except for some short runs on the treadmills. And the best thing is I had a cold 2 days after I arrived Germany and after that I was coughing non stop (even now!) Therefore, I had doubts if I should do the marathon or just waste the money.

Friday, 23rd April 2010

Well, after my training on Friday afternoon, I quickly took a cab to the Mannheim Main Train Station and hopped on a train to Hamburg about 5.15pm. Well, it was rush hour and it was Friday, somehow the train was full of people returning to their hometown or something. I just couldn't get a seat as most of them were taken or reserved. So, I had no choice but to stand and sit near the train exit door for the first 2 hours. Well, the journey took almost 5 hours and when I reached Hamburg, it was already dark but the train station still so crowded! I took the subway to Reeperbahn, and I had a shock of my life. Reeperbahn is also known as the red light district in Germany.

Well, my hotel that I have booked is located in that town and not because I did it on purpose but it was because it is very near to the race venue. Well, back to the time I have reached Reeperbahn, even though it was past 10pm, the street was crowded with men and women..most of them are clubs and discos and porn stores. After about 20 mins of searching I finally found my hotel. Well it was a very normal hotel, more like a hotel for people to make out and I was kinda regret staying there especially for the amount of money I paid, I can easily settle in a better hotel near the train station. I didn't had a good sleep as my hotel was next to the main street, the noises of people talking and laughing were continuously heard until 6am in the morning, not to mention the noisy police car siren every 10 minutes or so.

Saturday, 24th April 2010

Well, I was up early, thanks to all the noises. I went down to the hotel to enquire for the late checkout but they refused to let me check out late for free. So I have to pay another half of the room rate if I wanna do a late checkout. The breakfast offered was very simple. I took a quick bite and headed off to the main station to catch the shuttle bus to the Marathon Expo. Well, the shuttle bus was easy to find, I got in and was transported to the Marathon Expo. Well, the Marathon Expo was located at a very old, deserted warehouse. I went in and got my racepack around 9am, walked around the huge expo and made my way back to the main station. Hang around the Hamburg city area for the whole day before call it a day and went back to hotel and rest. Had my earplug on this time and was sleeping well throughout the night.

Sunday, 25th April 2010

I was up early and I have decided to checkout early. I have worked out a plan to store my luggage at the paid storage area in the train station and took a subway to the marathon site.It was very cold and chilly that morning even though it was sunny. I had to walk around to warm up and everyone was looking at me one kind. Maybe I dressed funny for the run or they are not used to see a young Asian guy alone in Germany marathons. Well the race started sharp at 9am. It was a crowded and packed race. But what I like about racing in Europe are there are no stampede during the start. The runners there are well behaved and then they all run pretty fast, I have no hard time dodging super slow runners like what I had to do in every race in Asia. The route is nice, and the supporters were everywhere!

I was doing sub 4 hr pace for the first 25km and had to slow down when I started to feel my leg muscles cramping up. Well, I had no choice but to jog and walk slowly. It was kinda embarrassing when the crowd kept shouting your name not to walk but run. But that's the shame I had to swallow since I didn't train for the marathon at all. Finally I managed to complete the whole marathon journey in 4hrs 25mins. Again, it was a painful experience but I think overall this marathon is one of the best organized race I've run so far. However, due to some considerations, I have decided that Marathon Hamburg is my last and final marathon until further notice. I think it would be useless to run another marathon since I can never have enough time to prepare for the 42.195km run, ended up suffering in all my marathon races. Until then, I will concentrate more on shorter distances such as 10km and half marathons.

Another Year Has Passed....

2010-01-01T18:25:00.005+08:00

I have not been updating my blog for quite awhile now. Have not been running much and was too lazy to do lengthy writings. Hah!

As usual, another year has passed and it's time for me to review my 2009's resolution.

Hmmm...now let's see what I have targeted in year 2009:

1) Do more swimming stuff instead.
- Well I did hell lot of swims this year. Completed my 30 laps target quite a number of times already. I'm swimming more regularly now.

2) Obtain 10 more medals again in year 2009.
- Well I managed to collect 11 finisher medals and 1 volunteer medal. I could collect more, but had to skip quite a few of medal assurred races due to work and injury.

3) Build bigger arms and chest as well as stronger legs.
- Mission failed! Upper body size been getting smaller but my tummy's getting hell lot bigger. Sigh..

4) Run a marathon oversea.
- Well, it's a lucky year for me. Managed to steal time to run a marathon in Zurich while was on a business trip in Germany. Yay!

5) Try to reduce my weight to 65kg.
- Mission failed! Well, I weigh 70kg now!

6) Run a sub 4 hours marathon
- Mission failed! Zero training for both my marathons. So my mission went down to drain too!

7) Stay healthy and injury free!
- Had tonnes of injuries this year. Not a good year at all!

Here's more to conclude the year of 2009:
1) Have completed one 6k race, zero 10k (unbelievable), three 15k races, three half marathons and two marathons, one 25k trail run (team event) and one vertical marathon.
2) Obtained 12 medals, 11 in competitive races and 1 in friendship relay run as volunteer.
3) Travelled to 5 different countries in 2 months time (BKK-Thailand, Shanghai-China, Christchurch-New Zealand, Mannheim-Germany and Zurich-Switzerland), all travelled within March and April 2009.
4) Got activated to work in almost every weekends in 2009.
5) Bought myself a GPS watch (under utilized)
6) Queue for 7 HOURS for an iPhone!
7) Ran a marathon in Zurich and a half marathon in Perth.

And my resolutions for year 2010 are:

1) Obtain 10 more medals this year.
2) Will try to do one more overseas marathon
3) Will dedicate more time for running and swimming
4) Reduce my weight from current 70++ kg to 67kg!
5) Gym more to have a fitter body. (yeah, I'm vain)
6) Run a sub 4 hours marathon.
7) An injury free year!

Zurich Marathon 2009

2009-05-02T22:36:00.004+08:00

Ok. I have decided to run this race simply because my business trip to Germany is confirmed, and without even thinking whether I'm fit to run the marathon, I've signed up for this race 3.5 weeks before the exact date. After the credit card transaction is over, I noticed the time limit, 5hrs 30mins. Shoot me!

After SCSM 2008, my right ankle was injured, and I basically rest for 3 months without doing any runs. Then, since last March, I was travelling a lot that I didn't even have time to train for any race. I tried to join the Fatbird runs during the weekend, but I've only managed to join them for 2 weekends before I had to fly to Germany. So, my mileage clocked since SCSM 2008, less than 50miles!

So, I spent about 2 weeks in Germany for company training, and when it comes to the day before the race, I took a 3hours train to Zurich, Switzerland. Zbjernak is working in Switzerland now, so we met at the Zurich train station. Then we proceed to the Saalsporthalle to collect my running bib. The marathon expo is very small and not crowded at all. I went to collect my running bib, and then we proceed to check into the marathon hotel.

On the event day, I woke up around 6am and took a light cold breakfast provided by the hotel and then I went back to my room to dress. Haha. Yeah..this will be my first time running in the cold and I was so nervous. I bought a Skin long tights and an Adidas tight top. Yeah, I think I'll be overdressed but I didn't care. So, I went down to the lobby to board the shuttle bus to the venue and guess what, I met a Singaporean guy who stayed in the same hotel running the same marathon in that morning. Nice to meet you Victor!

We chatted along the way until we reached the marathon site. I lost him after depositing my baggage but bumped into him again at the starting cage. He's targeting for 3:30 timing, and I shyly inform him that I would be happy to hit sub 4, which is quite hard coz I was undertrained. Well, it was freezingly cold and we were flagged off at 0830 hours, towards the tunnel. The previous KPE Tunnel Run nightmare actually made me quite uncomfortable running in the tunnel again this time, especially in a 42km distance run. There were about 5800 runners and guess what, I'm among the last pack of the runners, even though I was doing a sub 1 hr pace for 10km. We had to make a u-turn after 4.5km and again back to the tunnel. Since there's only water station every 4km, I didn't skip the first one. I started to perspire a lot in the tunnel and after 9km, I was relieved we are headin out from the stupid tunnel. There's so many crowds and supporters all along the journey cheering for us which was pleasant. Thanks!

The weather was still cold and it kinda feels good after sweating that much in the tunnel. I ran towards the city and slowly to the lakeside. My first 10km guntime was 57mins 19secs. Not too bad after a almost 3 mins delay at the starting point. I continued running and the weather is getting hotter. The sun shined right at me and I can really feel the heat. Damn, I shouldn't have wore long tights to run. It's like running along the Singapore's East Coast Park, minus the humidity of course. I continued to run until 21km and looked at my watch, 1hr 57mins. Not bad at all, I was actually doing a sub 4 hours pace and I still feel good. The bad thing about this race is the isotonic drinks are served after 18km. And after 26km, I started to feel the heaviness on both my legs. Damn, the cramps are coming.

I dragged my feet towards the 27km u-turning point. Somehow I managed to avoid the cramps with slowing down my pace. I felt much better after the u-turn and continued my run until after 32km. I looked at my watched again and it was 5 minutes pass 3hrs. The chances of clocking sub 4 are still there. So I continued towards the 33rd kilometre. However, just 2 metres before 33km sign, the cramp just struck my right foot and I just lie there for more than 5 minutes motionless. There goes my sub 4 dream. I dunno why my cramps come everytime after 32km.

After 11mins spent to complete the 33km, I felt better and started walking slowly. I tried to run a bit but everytime after 1-2 minutes of running, the cramp comes back. I had to stop again to avoid the cramp from striking. This goes on and the cramps on my left leg follow suit after a couple of kms. I tried to make sure that I don't finish way beyond 4hrs 30mins. Tried to keep my slow walk and jog pace steady and after 1km, I saw everyone around me started running eagerly towards the finishing line. Damn, I wanted to run too, but my cramps were getting a lot worse. But all the supporters are cheering me not to stop, and I know it kinda look stupid to walk when there's 1km left. but well, when you had a series of cramps attacking you, 1km can be very long. But I still drag my feet to run. And finally, I completed the race in 4hrs 21mins 31secs official chip time. Right after I crossed the finishing line, I just stand motionless trying to adjust my cramps. One of the road marshalls actually thought I'm gonna collapse he eventually signal the medics to come to me. Haha..But I stopped him, telling him I'm ok.

Zbjernak met me at the visitors area and we proceed to the baggage collection. This marathon is actually the most painful marathon I've ever participated even though the weather is less humid compare to all my SCSM marathons. I would love to run a marathon during fall next year. Perhaps I will do better. After I got back to my hotel, I noticed 4 smses from the organiser. Everytime after I crossed the timing mat, a sms will be sent to my hp telling me my time. That was so cool! However, I wouldn't prefer to run the route again, it was like running along the KPE tunnel and then east coast park.

End of Year 2008

2008-12-31T16:31:00.002+08:00

One more day to Year 2009. Well, Year 2008 is not really that bad for me to endure. I changed my job (yes, again!) but it was a great change or should I say a great return to my current company. I bought a car in Singapore and also a few scary moments (I shall not elaborate those scary moments).

I've set some resolutions earlier this year and well, I did not achieve all of them:

1) Spend more time in swimming. Hopefully can improve my strokes and did many 30 laps swims
- Mission failed! I have only visited swimming pools not more than 3 times this year and my total laps swimmed are less than 10. Sigh....
2) Will still remain my 10 medal target this year. But will try to obtain 15 medals, if possible!
- Managed to obtain 10 race medals and 1 volunteer medal this year.
3) Get rid of my excessive body fats (my love handles) and hopefully a nice lean and toned body with nice abs..(yeah I know, I'm vain and greedy!LOL)
- Mission failed! No abs though, but managed to increase some body mass.
4) Will be doing my first ever 84km ultramarathon (registration confirmed). Hopefully can complete in 1 piece. (suicide...suicide...)
- Completed my first ever 84km ultramarathon run in 12 hours. :)
5) Run a race oversea
- Well, I did run a bit, but I climbed most of it in Bangkok's Banyan Tree Vertical Marathon.
6) Run a sub 4 hour marathon.
- Mission failed! Can only managed to do 4hrs 17mins..Blame it on my laziness.
7) Hope to reduce my weight to an ideal 60kg.
- Mission failed! In fact, I weigh 68kg now.
8) As usual, stay healthy and injury free!
- Did not have any serious injury so far this year.

Right, and now let's see what I have done/endured all year long:
1) Completed four 10k runs, two 15k run, three half marathons, one marathon, one ultramarathon and two vertical marathons.
2) Obtained 11 medals; 10 in competitive races and 1 in friendship relay race as a volunteer.
3) I finally return to my favourite employer.
4) Bought my dream car.
5) Bought a new DSLR camera but it is under utilized.

And my year 2009 resolutions are:

1) Hope to do more swimming stuff instead.
2) Will try to obtain 10 more medals again in year 2009.
3) Build bigger arms and chest as well as stronger legs.
4) Run a marathon oversea.
5) Try to reduce my weight to 65kg.
6) Run a sub 4 hours marathon
7) Stay healthy and injury free!

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2008

2008-12-07T19:24:00.000+08:00

My one and only full marathon race every year. Although I have not been training well for this event, I still dream of completing it in a record time of sub 4 hours. However, I finally set my humble target of sub 4:30 finishing time. Woke up at 3am and made my way to nerradhog's place around 3:50am. I planned to drive there early just to avoid traffic jam as there will be at least 15000 runners just for full marathon alone. Reached and parked at Marina Square carpark at 4:15am. Surprisingly, the area was so quiet and not many cars were seen on the road.

We walked to the Esplanade and waited there until 5.00am before we make our way to the starting cage. The crowd was massive but we still managed to stand pretty close to the starting point, squeezing ourselves in the sub 4 hours cage. Both nerradhog and I have the same fear; leg cramps at the later part of the runs and very much afraid that it will greatly slow us down. He brought a counter pain rub along with him and I wore half tights for the first time in my life. Tights is proven to reduce the chances of muscle cramps. However, I do agree with nerradhog that not clocking enough mileage during training may contribute to leg cramps.

We were flagged off at 5:30am sharp. I took only 30 secs to reach the starting mat and started off running in a decent pace. The front crowd wasn't that huge so I had pretty comfortable space to run. nerradhog and I kinda paced each other during the first 3km. We ran in a sub 4 hours pace. Later, I started to feel good and kinda increased my momentum. nerradhog chose not to follow my pace and soon I ran towards the Nicoll highway in a 4:30 min/km pace. My strategy was to run for at least 30km in a sub 4 hours pace coz I know my threshold will be anytime after 30km, regardless how slow or fast I run. Therefore I knew I need to run fast in the first 30km.

They changed the route this year, no more running along the Marina Bay/Park, instead we were heading straight to Nicoll Highway, Fort Road and towards the East Coast Park. They make us run longer at ECP this time. Instead of running just 10km at ECP like previous years, we had to endure 20km there this time, which is kinda boring maybe because I have been running there so often. I was still running comfortably and completed my first 10km in 56mins. I then ran straight towards ECP and reached the u-turn point of 21km in less than 2 hours. When I reached 22km, I suddenly felt so sleepy, maybe due to my lack of sleep for the past 2 nights. Dragged my sleepiness until 24km and took my second energy gel hoping that the caffeine in it helps.

Managed to complete my 30km in 2hours and 50mins. Saw the sgrunners support station. Fida, Sotong and the others were so kind and helpful, offering me food and drinks, but I chose not to stop yet at that time, afraid my cramp will kicked in. So I declined their generous offer and made my way out from the east coast park. Babumouse overtook me later and said he was very much in form and from his pace, he definitely can complete in an impressive sub 4 hours. Soon after that, I was in horror when I saw the marathon route slowly merging with the half marathon route. I was so pissed as this will eventually giving us (the marathoners) hard time running with slower half marathon crowds. Can see most of them are walking. I had to put extra effort to overtake them. My legs were getting heavy and I did a foolish decision to stop at the water station and 32.5km coz I was getting very tired trying to overtake those half marathoners. I drank 2 cups of water and walked for about 200m before continuing my run again.

True enough, after running pass the 33km sign, my left hamstring started pulling. Damn. I had no choice but to quickly stop and hoping it will go away. It kinda developed some minor cramps and I started to adopt the walk/jog strategy. But I couldn't run for long after that as the hamstring muscle keeps pulling. Soon after that, my right hamstring had the same problem, but wasn't as bad as the left one. I got some heat rub from the volunteers and rub some on my left hamstring. Actually it doesn't help much. Soon, we splited our ways from the half marathoners while I was turning to the Kallang Stadium. I was supposed to press the split time on my watch at 34km mark but I foolishly pressed the stop button and only realised it about approx 2 mins later. Damn...my clocked time is not accurate anymore.

I continued my walk jog strategy and they actually make us run towards Geylang area this year and when we were appraoching the Republic Avenue, again I was pissed when they merge us with the 10km runners. It was actually almost 4km left and that means I had to run with such a big crowd but limited space for me to overtake. Thumbs down to the organiser this time! They have a total of 50km runners but instead of making us enjoying our run, they just make our life harder. I'm sure all the experienced runners hate the route plan. I had no more strength to do the overtakings. I slowly walked and jogged until the last 700 meters which then I ran desperately to the finishing line. I finally crossed the line in a 4hours 17mins 22secs guntime. Chip time wise, I think I am about 4 minutes better than my last year's timing.

Still unable to break within 4 hours barrier, but for a guy who did not train hard, I'm satisfied. Marathon is pretty much doable for me now, it's just that I need to train hard to join the sub 4 hours family. Hopefully, I can do much better if I'm running an oversea race next year.

Swissotel Vertical Marathon 2008

2008-11-16T20:35:00.002+08:00

I'm excited to run this vertical marathon for the second time but I am also on my lowest form due to lack of training so I do not expect much from myself. In addition, I just did a 28km run at ECP with the fatbirds the day before (my longest run for my marathon training) and my legs are pretty sore.

Woke up at 5.45am and got ready to pick nerradhog and renoh up from their home at 6.40am. I parked my car at the Singapore National Library and met stardust there. After unloading all our bags in the car, we proceed to the event hotel and collected our bibs and chips. It was around 7.30am and our category will only starts at 10am. We met ripley and alphagirl there and had some phototakings before make ways into the hotel to sit and wait.

We were bored and waited until 10am to get our butt up the stairs. The event is packed with more than 1500 participants, compared to mere 600 plus last year. As usual, they flag us off in a group by 6 separated by 30 seconds each. I somehow separated from renoh and the gangs and was pretty much alone in my wave. So, the race has started for my group and I ran towards the stair cases. The first 10 floors were easy. Later, fatigues starts to kick in and I started taking my own sweet time walking upwards after 17 floors. Overtaking became quite a challenge this year and the stair cases were packed with the slower ones from the earlier waves. I try to walk as fast as I could and surprisingly, I completed the first half in 7mins, a minute faster than last year's. The first half will take the longest time to complete as the stairs are spiral-like and are pretty long, unlike those normal type. I took about 4 mins for the second half last year, but somehow this year I was way much slower. nerradhog and stardust began catching up fast although they were 2 waves behind. They so fast and energetic (damn! they are so young and energetic! I must admit I'm getting older)

Getting very tired, my pace were getting slower and slower but finally I pushed myself up to the final floor and quickly rushed to the finishing point. Couldn't rushed much though as the guy in front of me were a bit slow. Afraid he might blocked my photographer's view, I let him finished first and I followed suit. My time was 13mins 21secs, almost one and a half minute slower than my last year's, which is actually quite pathetic. I was so drained I finished the water bottle in seconds. But the experience this year is a lot better coz I was all alone last year and this year I have a bunch of friends with me. Thanks for the company, guys. babumouse came to support us and I was unable to join them for post race brunch as I had to rush home to get ready for work.

Run for Hope 2008

2008-10-05T21:46:00.000+08:00

This run is a full charity run so not many runners were interested. I went to this run with renoh. We reached ECP slightly earlier and we did an unsual 4km warm up runs while waiting for the race to start. After we did our warm up, we bumped into nerradhog and stardust.

The race started not long after that and I started off pretty strong. Later I managed to catch up nerradhog (a very fast young runner) but somehow he managed to widen the gap by increasing his running pace. I had to maintain my own pace as I do not want to hit the wall that soon. Nothing special about the ECP common running route. I tried to maintain my pace but I was getting slightly a bit tired after the 5km u-turn. I tried to endure and finally, I completed the run in 52mins 10secs, my worst 10km timing of the year.

I have been putting on weight and been slacking,not to mention the 4km warm up before race, so no surprise of the poor timing though. The race was well organised and I actually treated it as a normal weekend run.

Banyan Tree Vertical Marathon 2008

2008-09-28T21:25:00.001+08:00

This race is held in Bangkok, my first oversea race other than Malaysia and Singapore. I was on business trip in Bangkok so I went to Bangkok a day earlier to run this event. The pre race wasn't that well organised. Most of them haven't paid their race fees and I was directed here and there and surprisingly, I was among those few who paid online and it was quite a mess.

They gave out the t-shirt before the race and I wondered if I shall bring it to run along. I ended up leaving the t-shirt behind. The only thing I like about this race was we were all given the chips with the ankle strap each which is pretty cool as we don't have to tie it to our shoe lace. The race starts by flagging off the participants in groups of 10 every 2 minutes. I was impressed as most of the 500 plus participants were foreigners. After long wait, I was finally flagged off. I rushed to the stair cases and quickly make my way up to the 61st floor.

I was very shocked when I started to feel very tired after just 10th floor. This cannot be possible. It was obvious I wasn't in form on that day. I started dragging my feet up step by step and after 10mins 54secs, I finally stepped on the finishing mat. I was so disappointed with my timing considering 61 storey climbs should be much easier the Swissotel's 73 storeys. Well, to make things worse, no one collected the chip from me and I finally made my way down and gave it to one of the organisers who did not even know where is the chip return counter. I finally found out they were supposed to collect from me right after i complete my race at the top, but well...so I handed it to one of the ground staff and headed back to the hotel to join my colleague and his gang.

Swing KPE Tunnel Run 2008

2008-09-14T21:14:00.001+08:00

Singapore has built the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia (about 10km long) and the Land Transport Authority planned a Guiness World Record breaking event; a community run/walk along the tunnel with lanterns. The event is free and everyone is entitled a certificate and many goodies. Thank god to those who join the competitive event do not need to carry the lantern along.

Went to that event site with renoh in babumouse's car. babumouse and I pace each other for the first half of the run. We were running very fast inside the tunnel for the first 5km and completed that distance in less than 24mins. I was getting a bit tired after the u-turn point as the tunnel was super humid. I never sweat that much in my life and I was desperately gasping for air all the time. I tried to hold on but after 8km, I couldn't take it anymore. I stopped and apply the walk/jog pace. I completed the race in 51 mins 23 secs..not too bad considering my first time working in a 10km race..Shame on me. :p

Remaining Races in Year 2008

2008-09-06T16:34:00.002+08:00

Well, this year has been a slacking one for me. I did not do many races and been skipping a lot of major ones too. Well, what to do, I've to work to feed myself. Here are the remaining races and I hope I can do all of them, or else my 10 medal target will not be achievable.

14/09/2008 Singapore's Swing KPE Tunnel Run - 10km
28/09/2008 Bangkok's Banyan Tree Vertical Marathon (Medal)
05/10/2008 Singapore's Run For Hope - 10km
16/11/2008 Singapore's Swissotel Vertical Marathon (Medal)
07/12/2008 Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon - 42km (Medal)

Nike+ Human Race 2008

2008-08-31T16:16:00.000+08:00

This will be my first race which will be held in the afternoon, and also this is also my first race which I wore the event tee to run. Well, it's a charity event and Nike has made a huge effort to print 1 million different numbers on 1 million tees so I guess we shall support them.

Well, not everyone thinks the way I am. I could still notice at least 3 buggers who were not willing to wear the event tee and turn everyone off with their horrendous running vests. I know the tee is not comfortable to wear, but it's a worldwide charity event, why not try fulfill the organiser's request. Even the race winners wore the tees. Well, what I could say is they are hopeless!

We were flagged off around 1620hours. I had to sprint a little as I was not placed in the red cage which was supposed for sub 50min runners. But I think I sprinted too much. I took less than 9mins to complete 2km but I was already start to feel exhausted. Probably running in the late afternoon don't work for me. And also I blamed myself for the KFC I took during lunch. I felt horrible and had stomach muscle cramps. Well, I tried to hold on and start using the double breathing method. My pace were slower and got overtaken by many faster runners. I don't normally stop for water station in all my 10k races, but somehow I had to stop at all water stations coz the humid weather kinda burn me out.

I was very tempted to walk after 5km point but I forced myself to continue coz it will be too embarassing if I were to stop and walk. I struggled but still managed to drag my feet to Boat Quay, then to Clarke Quay and finally made a u-turn and slowly approaching the Padang. As I was too tired so I did not sprinted towards the finishing line. I clocked 49mins 28secs, not that bad actually. However, I later found out that I do not have official chip time. Well, thanks to my stupidness, in order to help Renoh return his chip since he couldn't make it, I foolishly attach both chips on the same ankle strap. I guess that caused conflicts. I should have attach 2 chips at different legs. Well, it doesn't matter that much though. The race was pretty well organised despite the fact that they screwed up at the racepack collection day. I would give them 2 thumbs up for them!

Singapore Bay Run 2008

2008-08-24T15:55:00.000+08:00

My race report has getting longer to be completed nowadays... This is my second Army Half Marathon in Singapore. My experience last year was great and I doubt I will have enjoy this run this as I did not train for half marathon run at all and I weigh 69kg now.

I went to the race venue with Renoh this time around. We did a slow jog warm up before gather ourselves at the starting point. Well, this time I was behind the line due to massive crowd. They flagged us off at 0630 hours and I took almost 3 minutes to step on the start mat. As usual, I put extra little effort to overtake all the slow runners and due to the massive crowd this year, I was still dodging the slow crowds after running for more than 5km. I ran real fast for the first 10km. After deducting the time to step on the first mat, it took less than 52 mins to complete the first 10km. However, running without strategy this time kinda cost me a lot. And the shoes I was wearing just make my run even worse.

My Asics racer shoes start giving me problem after 5km. I started to feel major abrasions on my left feet as well as some minor ones on my right. After 10km, I can feel blisters all over my feet. I bet the worst one has already started to bleed (which end up staining my shoe with a big red patch). I started to slow down a lot especially when we were directed to the super demoralized route after the east coast park run. We had to run on an under construction path with many potholes. The path quality wasn't that bad, but it was just very demoralizing and I was about to give when we finally reached the much boasted Marina Barrage. Well, the scene over there is nice but many of us just couldn't care much as I can see everybody is tired from the former challenging route.

We were soon directed back to the city. When I still have 3km to go, I can no longer take it so I started to stop and walk. The blisters were killing me and I walk and jog all the way to the finishing line. The race time is embarassing. One of my worst half marathon so far. I clocked 1hr 57min 24secs for gun time and 1hr 54min 27secs for chip time. A few of them had commented my "bigger" size and I felt so upset with myself. Looks like I need to really work harder to maintain my fitness level and shed a few more pounds of fat off my body.

Adidas King of The Road 2008

2008-08-10T20:44:00.001+08:00

I have not gone back to Klang for more than 2 months already. I took the opportunity to drive back to Klang over the weekend and run the Adidas KOTR 22.7km. However, I chickened out last minute and decided to run 10km instead using an unused bib.

The Adidas KOTR this time held at Shah Alam. The 10km route is similar with the Shah Alam 10km Race which I ran in year 2004. I clocked my personal best (46:41) in that run and I was still a beginner at that time. Although I was not well trained and exhausted from the long journey drive, I wanted to clock a better time in this race.

We were flagged off around 0710 hours. The crowd was quite massive, and I was pushed and blocked during the beginning. I had no choice, I stormed myself towards the left and ran along the uneven higher ground. I ran pretty fast in the beginning to cover up my lost time. I think my pace was very fast but I tried not to slow down as I have set my mind to break my own personal best.

I think I ran pretty well, however did not ran fast enough. The route was hilly, as expected and after the final roundabout, I sped towards the finishing line and completed the 10k race in 46mins 44secs, 3 seconds slower than my personal best. I was ranked 42nd. It wasn't a bad time but I was a bit disappointed I couldn't run better than my previous time I set 4 years ago.

Saucony Passion Run 2008

2008-06-17T22:35:00.002+08:00

I flew back from Bangkok the day before this run. I did not do any recovery run after Sundown so I'll treat this run as my recovery run. Last year this run was a huge success and this year they have additonal 15k distance category and finisher medals for everyone.

I went to fetch Renoh that morning around 5.30am and I drove to East Coast Park. We reached around 6am. Renoh was manning the SGrunners booth and I slowly make my way to the starting line with Alvo and sywog. They flagged us off sharp at 6.30am. Although it was supposed to be my recovery run, I was sprinting forward to find comfort zone. They splitted us in 3 waves and I was in the first one. I still wanted to run my best, however I knew I won't be able to do my personal best as I can still feel the soreness of my legs.

I ran comfortably in 5:30min/km pace, however suddenly my bladder was super full and I need to empty it. The toilet still pretty far away and I hold until when we were approaching the u-turn point, which was about 5km. While everyone was making a left u-turn, I turn right into the toilet.. Haha.. I took less than a minute to pee then I rushed out to the u-turn point.

The distance markers are not accurate. There are times I did 3mins for a km and almost 7mins for another one. I kept on running. My legs were getting weaker , thanks to the sundown and I really feellike giving up after the 10th km. Was cursing myself for joining 15km instead of 10km. The first 10km seems like 11km. However, the last 5km seems a lot shorter than that. I managed to drag myself until the final 100m before I completed the race in 1hr 17mins 36 secs.

We hang out for awhile and since Renoh had to man the booth until the end of the event, I waited for him and we had lunch with ripley and her god daughter after that. I have made my decision to stop running races and concentrate on my new job instead. I will be working in these coming weekendssssss.... But since my company's paying for my extra job, I guess it's quite ok. I probably could save some overtime income to go for an oversea trip soon. :)

15km time splits
00km - 00' 12" 83
01km - 04' 29" 57 >>> 0h 04' 42" 40
02km - 04' 33" 29 >>> 0h 09' 15" 69
03km - 06' 28" 43 >>> 0h 15' 44" 12
04km - 03' 07" 27 >>> 0h 18' 51" 39
05km - 07' 49" 87 >>> 0h 26' 41" 26
06km - 06' 55" 03 >>> 0h 33' 36" 29
07km - 05' 36" 30 >>> 0h 39' 12" 59
08km - 04' 30" 53 >>> 0h 43' 43" 12
09km - 05' 24" 37 >>> 0h 49' 07" 49
10km - 06' 06" 62 >>> 0h 55' 14" 11
11km - 04' 17" 13 >>> 0h 59' 31" 24
12km - 04' 22" 72 >>> 1h 03' 53" 96
13km - 05' 20" 52 >>> 1h 09' 14" 48
14km - 03' 42" 09 >>> 1h 12' 56" 57
15km - 04' 39" 95 >>> 1h 17' 36" 52

Sundown Marathon 2008

2008-06-01T21:50:00.000+08:00

This is the scariest race I've ever participated in my entire life. First, we are talking about 84km here. I've never run such long distance before. Second, my longest distance training to date is 57km. So, I have no idea how long I can last in this race.

Sundown Marathon is also the most anticipated race. Most of us are the first timer running 84km. We gathered and chatted before making our ways to the starting line. I walked together with cfred84 and ripley. We were with the relay runners and at 2030 hours sharp, we were flagged off. We gave way to the 10.5km runners to sprint their heart out while I was running slowly to begin my nightmare run.

My strategy was to run as long as I could during the first half until I hit the wall. This may not be the smartest strategy, but I couldn't use the standard one, which was to run 25mins and walk 5 mins. Knowing well my own capability, I wouldn't last long even with the standard strategy. So I might as well just do the best I could and suffer at the later part. The first 21km was easy, I did it in 2hr 15mins, and when I reached the tiwazz/charlotte support station, I took a short break. Tiwazz was commenting that I was too fast for the first half. I agreed with him. After rested for about 5 minutes, I continued my journey, and fatigue started to kick in.

Maybe I rested too long at the support station, I couldn't get my ryhthm back. And they make us climb countless of pedestrian bridges. For the rest of 15km I was dragging myself. Run and walk. I reached the second Sgrunners support station around 28km. I was so touched of the supports given by the sgrunners. Thanks guys! After the support station I was directed to Bedok Reservoir, running on rocky sand surface. I began to feel very tired and I seriously was thinking to give up after the first lap of 42km. After the Bedok Reservoir, we were running towards Tampines and then Pasir Ris. When I reach Pasir Ris' Downtown East junction, I knew I am near to the pit stop. I continue to run continuously for 6km (surprisingly I can do that) and finally I completed the first lap of 42km in 5hours 2mins 29secs. I was walking to the ultra marathoners' special handling tent, someone called my name. He introduced himself as Victor Loh, a runner from Malaysia.

We chatted for awhile and I changed my old kayano 12 to a brand new kayano 14 shoes. After 23 minutes of rest, I continued my second lap, only to be stopped by the republic poly guys to get my urine and saliva sample (I foolishly participated in their case study). After that, I started running again. I applied 5mins walk and 15 minutes run. I was quite comfortable until when I started to do it the 3rd time around. I had to stop because my heart was beating very fast. I managed to catch up with cfred84 and he looked exhausted too. I kinda followed him from behind walking until the 10th m sign (about 52km) and I started my strategy again. My heartbeat had gone to a normal pace and I did a 5-7minutes walk and 8-9minutes run in every 2km. I did pretty well until the 2oth km sign, at the u-turn point as I seriously feel the marker was too damn inaccurate.

I stopped and started to walk. My calves were aching and I slowly made my way to tiwazz/charlotte's support station again. They were giving me a lot of supportive cheers. I knew I did well for the last 21km, but I am officially hit the wall after 63km. I had no choice but to run and walk slowly. Brokie and her husband were doing great and slowly they ran past me. I try to follow their pace. I bumped into Stardust. He was limping and told me his legs were sore. I guess a bad injury must have hit him.

I managed to tag brokie and vincent all the until we ran past Bedok Reservoir. When there is about 14km to go, the huge blisters at both my feet were so bad I can't even walk properly. This is very much due to the new Kayano 14 I was wearing. Sigh, I should have sticked to my old seasoned kayano 12. I walked all the way for the rest of 12km and a lot of time were wasted. Shine caught up with me when there's about 2km left. He was having knee pain and we walked until the final km. Shine motivated me to run with him until the finishing line. I slowly forced myself to run along with him and finally I crossed the finishing line right behind him at 12 hours sharp.

I never knew I could complete the race without any injuries (aside from the blisters). I think I am very lucky my ITB never flare and I thank all the runners and supporters who had been cheering me all the way until the end. I will not join any race which is more than 42km anymore. LOL

I hang around for awhile and then I took a cab home. I rested for about 2 hours and then I took a cab to the airport for my Bangkok business trip. After the Bangkok trip, I have another 15km Saucony Passion Run.

New Balance Pacesetters 15k Run

2008-05-18T10:51:00.002+08:00

I had to skip this race last year due to work, so I actually pushed myself to go back KL for this year's. I drove alone to the event site around 6.30am. To my dismay, the bukit aman carpark was overparked with cars. Looks like there's a huge massive crowd this year. I ended up park my car at the lake garden. I walked to Padang Merbok, only to find out the starting point and the route has changed, again! I really cannot understand why they want to change the route every year. It will be difficult for us to estimate and plan our pace.

They flagged us off at 7.00am and since I was standing quite in front, I ran without any problem or delay. I was doing pretty fast in the beginning and later found out that my nose was partially blocked at that time, which explained my breathing difficulty. Only partial of the inhaled air went to my lung, the rest being rejected out due to blocked nose. That's definitely not good news. For the first 5k, I was desperately gasping for air, unlike previous races I run without any breathing problem. Early part of the race I was already taking lots of deep breaths as well as using my mouth to inhale as much oxygen as I could. However, I did not slow down. Surprisingly, I was consistently doing 5min/km pace.

The double hill part after 5km run was a bit exhausting for me. I managed to turbo up the hills, but my pace wasn't as impressive as my previous runs, thanks to my partially blocked nose. The route during the first 12km was pretty predictable. After the 12th kilometre, they made us run towards the Bank Negara and the commuter station again! That was very demoralizing as they made us run pass the FINISH line and we can only look at it but not able to go through it. There's some tiring slopes after the Bank Negara and I slowed down a little as I wasn't sure where I was heading to. Finally, they directed us to the back of Padang Merbok and I started to have some hopes. Considering my bad nose that morning, I still do a lot better in terms of timing. Normally I would sprint to the finishing line. However, there were at least 5 runners in front of me slowly taking their turns to enter the finishing line so I followed suit.

I completed the race in 1hr 14mins 19secs, my personal best for 15k so far. I'm very satisfied with the result, considering my nose as well as running with a pair of brand new shoes. The medal looks a bit weird and I certainly hope that the organiser stops changing the routes every year.

Time Splits
05km - 25' 12" 94
10km - 24' 31" 32 >> 49' 44" 26
12km - 10' 19" 42 >> 60' 03" 68
15km - 14' 15" 32 >> 74' 19" 00

New Balance Klang Pacers Run 2008

2008-04-28T10:21:00.002+08:00

I actually kinda regret registered myself in this 21km event. I should have run 10km instead. This is due to my painful experience in the 57km Dusty Run. My both ITB actually started to flare a little during the Dusty Run. I was very worried that I may get both my knees injured before the 84km Sundown Marathon.

The race was organised in a very professional way, although the aerobic dancers are a bit off. They blocked 2 big roads for flag off point. We were flagged off at 0615 hours, and off we sprinted to the front. I was very surprised to see so many strong Klang Pacers this time. Not many familiar faces there, but a lot of Klang Pacers.

The race route was horrible. We were running along the main road towards Bukit Tinggi and the air was so polluted with diesel dumps. The route was pretty flat except for some minor slopes. My both ITB were a bit tight throughout the race but still bearable. No pain yet. I was running comfortably below 5:30 pace and my pace was getting faster and faster during the second half of the race.

The only off thing is they have no isotonic water stations which is a disadvantage to the runners. Drinking only water while running 21km may not be a wise choice. We need to replenish the lost electrolytes and I am sure many runners suffer cramps in this 21km race. There were 3 of us approaching the finishing line. I was behind Khoo Yi Kiat and another unknown runner, but it was a dramatic finishing. I actually sprinted towards the finishing line, challenging that unknown runner to do the same thing. LOL..I finally overtook him. I completed the race in a satisfying 1hr 47min 56sec.

Kuala Lumpur International Marathon 2008

2008-03-30T09:57:00.000+08:00

This report is a bit late, coz I have been getting lazier to blog nowadays. A week after the challenging 48km Prata Run, I went back to KL to run the half marathon. I was in good form when running the Prata Run, and did not suffer any injuries after that. I went back to KL with a mindset; to avenge my poor run at the same event a year ago.

I drove to the race site alone coz rest of the gang were doing only 10km. I was a lot earlier this time and just wander around chatting with Raymond Hee and Kelvin pm2. The race flagged off at 0600 hours and as usual people were annoyingly pushing towards the narrow starting point. We did the extra first small repeating loop in the beginning and later we were running towards the highway. The first distance marker was so inaccurate coz there were using the exact last year's location without using their brains that earlier on we have done an extra 1.5km loop this year.

I managed to catch up with Raymond Hee during the 8th km. This Ironman has improved so much over the year and I hardly can catch up with him. After pacing each other for about 2km, he suddenly stopped and changed his pace to walk. I kinda surprised and later found out that he was dehydrated due to such a distant water station. Sorry bro, I should have offered my energy drink if I have realized that earlier.

I was doing quite well this time around. I did not feel tired at all and was running at my 10km race pace throughout the race. With my pace at that time, I reckon I will do sub 1:50. However, I managed to do only 1 hr 52 min 22 sec. The distance is probably slightly more than 21km. However, I am still happy coz I think I actually improved a lot. 2 weeks after this race, I actually did a 57km Dusty Run. The experience were horrible..

End of Year 2007

2007-12-25T21:41:00.000+08:00

Year 2007 has come to its end. One more week to go and 2008 will be a brand new year to endure. Earlier this year, I have mentioned my resolutions for year 2007 and let us see what I've achieved.

My Year 2007 resolutions:
1) Get rid of my never ending rashes (urticaria) once and for all
- Thank god I managed to end this miserable allergy earlier this year. Taking lots of vitamin Cs helped a lot!
2) Achieve my 10 medal target for this year
- Managed to achieve my humble 10 medals target. Obtain 11 medals; 10 in competitive races, 1 in friendship race
3) Bulk up my muscles especially my arms
- Progressing well in my muscles workout. My arms and body are better defined now! Keep it up BoSe!
4) Repeat my 30 laps swim which I did 2 years ago
- Mission failed! I have to really put more effort in this. Maybe a swimming coach?
5) Run Ultramarathon
- Mission failed! Not into ultramarathon this year due to no preparation. Stay tune in year 2008!
6) Buy a Polar RS200sd
- Ok, I spent too much and apparently this HRM watch is no longer in my shopping list this year. Maybe a Garmin GPS watch next year?
7) Go to Australia for vacation or run a marathon there.
- Right...needless to say, I've never made it to the Down Under this year, except for some repeating business trips to Philippines and Taiwan.........sigh...
8) Most important, injury free!
- Was again plagued by ITB injury earlier this year. My left knee had to suffer the pain this time, however, this injury may not be a bad news after all. It makes me come back strongly!

Right, and now let's see what I have done/endured all year long:
1) Completed four 10k runs, one 15k run, a record of six half marathons, one 30k run one marathon and a vertical marathon.
2) Obtained 11 medals; 10 in competitive races and 1 in friendship relay race.
3) Quit California Fitness and rejoined Fitness First.
4) Did 4 half marathons in 4 consecutive weekends during the whole month of August.
5) Suffered a left ITB injury after CNY this year but had a speedy recovery.
6) Get to know many nice Singapore runners.
7) Achieve my personal bests in all 10k, 15k, 21k and even 42k distance runs this year!

And let us see the my new year resolution for 2008:
1) Spend more time in swimming. Hopefully can improve my strokes and did many 30 laps swims
2) Will still remain my 10 medal target this year. But will try to obtain 15 medals, if possible!
3) Get rid of my excessive body fats (my love handles) and hopefully a nice lean and toned body with nice abs..(yeah I know, I'm vain and greedy!LOL)
4) Will be doing my first ever 84km ultramarathon (registration confirmed). Hopefully can complete in 1 piece. (suicide...suicide...)
5) Run a race oversea
6) Run a sub 4 hour marathon.
7) Hope to reduce my weight to an ideal 60kg. Was 68kg 2 months ago, current weight 65kg!
8) As usual, stay healthy and injury free!

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007

2007-12-02T19:11:00.000+08:00

This was my 3rd marathon attempt. I did not hope to do much better than last year due to minimal training. I was busy with my work project that I did not even have time to clock more mileage.

Slept around 10pm the previous night but woke up at 1.30am and couldn't sleep after that. I waited until 4am and Babumouse came and fetch me to the running venue. I felt very sleepy actually. Both of us were already so tired before the race because we were not prepared. LOL. However, did some light stretching and managed to bump into a few sgrunners before the race starts. We were flagged off at 5.30am and I already mess up with my watch timer during the first km. How blur! Babumouse and I were pacing each other for the first 6km and we were actually running a little fast. We were running an average 5:30min/km pace. That was a little fast.

After that I lost Babumouse as he was running quite in front of me and then disappeared in the dark. I was running at a sub 6min pace and I did a sub 2hour time for 21km. I was still feeling quite good. The weather was still ok, however, saw the sun starts shining brightly while heading to the East Coast Park. Slowed down a little as I know it will be worse after 30km mark. I planned to apply the same strategy like last year which was to finish 30km without stopping and then switch it to run/walk intervals after that.

Surprisingly enough, after 30km I still managed to push myself to continue running. By the time I reached 32km, my time was just a few minutes over 3 hours. That was remarkable. I tried to continue but somehow I felt my hamstring started pulling therefore I stopped to do some stretching. After that I walked for around 5mins and started running again. I went pass 33km without any problem and I was thinking maybe I can still push for sub 4hours time. But who knows, when there was still 300meters to reach 34km mark, BOTH my hamstrings cramps. They were so painful that I couldn't even stand properly. I stood static at the same position for a couple of minutes and they were getting better, but once I started walking, the pain came back again. I had no choice but to continue walking as time is very precious.

I have 8 more km to go. I tried to use back my walk/jog strategy so I walk past until the 34km mark and started running again. However, I can only run for only 600m and then the cramp came again. Damn! I had to walk again and let the pain go away. Unlike last year, I can plan how long I can run and walk, but this time around, it's harder. I still limit myself to walk for 5mins though, but I couldn't run too long. The longest I can hold running was about 1km, then I had to walk again. My time was a mess, coz I walked more this time. I tried to run again at 39km, but can only survive for slightly more than 1km. I had no choice but to walk until 41km mark. After I reached 41km mark, I just didn't give a damn anymore, I started to run and push myself towards the end. Probably because it's nearing the end, the legs seemed like listening to my push. If only they could listen to me during at 33km, damn! When there was around 200m to go, I ran fast towards the finishing line and end up with 4hours 22mins 39 secs gun time finish.

My gun time finish last year was 4:30:12. So I was about 7mins better. My chip time this year is 4:20:13 and last years was 4:27:52. I am quite satisfied with my time. I was quite surprised because I targeted only sub 5 hours due to not much training and I can still do 7 minutes better than my last year. My only regret was the cramps as I was doing so well up until 33km. Therefore, I know I must not be lazy and not only I need to train properly for the marathon next year, but i have to force myself to train much harder as I'm gonna run 84km ultramarathon at Sundown Marathon next year. Gosh.....I'm in deep trouble. LOL...

*This run is also dedicated to the fallen 5 Singapore national dragon boaters. Hope you guys rest in peace..*

Swissotel Vertical Marathon 2007

2007-11-11T11:18:00.000+08:00

This is my first Swissotel Vertical Marathon in Singapore. I've ran 2 towerthon before, but was never really good in climbing stairs. Woke up around 5.30am and took a bus down to the hotel at 6.30am. Registered at 7am, collect my championchip and bib, I waited until 9am before they flag us off. However, since I'm so kiasu, I was in the first wave in my category. Haha.

There were seven of us and the caucasian was leading ahead of us. I started off comfortably but then the first half of the stairs were too long and were draining most of my energy. I started panting after 20th floor and I have 53 more floors to go. I took about 8 minutes to finish the first half, which was pathetic. After 36th floors, the stair pattern changes to shorter ones which is a lot easier. I took less than 4 minutes to finish the remaining half. I completed the race in 11mins 58secs. Wanted to hit sub 11, but failed. Nevertheless, it was a fun race and I'm already planning to join the following year. 1 more medal in my collection. I have already hit my 10 medal target for this year. One more race to go and I can plan my running for the year 2008

New Balance Real Run 2007

2007-10-28T21:05:00.000+08:00

It has been awhile since my last post. Was super busy and tired with my new job. My training for the upcoming marathon is also gone haywire. Many marathon runners chose to skip this race to do their lsd but I cannot resist the race temptation. Haha.

I stayed at my friend's place at Pasir Ris last night coz they have free shuttle service to Changi Exhibition Centre from Pasir Ris Bus Interchange. I reached the venue around 7am and there was such a big crowd. There were 2 waves, 10km and 15km. Oddly, the 10km wave was flagged off first. Although I didn't like it, but I think they've made the right decision to avoid clashing between both waves' runners during the second half of the race if they flag 15km first.

I was with Sywog during waiting at the starting line. We were about 70metres from the mat. They flagged us off at 7.50am, and I took almost 2 minutes to reach the mat. After that, I started running and dodging slow runners. The first 3km proved to be a hard one as I used a lot of energy searching for my comfort zone. Dodged many runners and the turning to the narrow park connector was even worse. Many started walking after 2km and the narrow path was hard for me to overtake those slackers. I had to risk myself from spraining my ankles by running through the grass area with uneven surface filled with tree roots just to try overtaking the walkers. I even shook my head after overtaking a few and one guy got pissed off and yell something which I'm not mistaken, "Can run cannot walk ar?". I feel like saying, "yes, you are right, can run but cannot walk". haha.

The route was pretty straight and after about 13km, I was running along the beach, soft sand surface. Running on the sand was so tough and I wasted a lot of energy completing the 1km sand running. When there were about 2km left, I was running on the open road area, directly under the hot sun! I was so exhausted and I took longer time to complete, but I guess the distance marker may be not very accurate. It seems that some markers are shorter and the last few markers are longer. Most of the runners surrounding me already started gave up and started walking although the finishing line was just 1km ahead. I almost joined them, but thank god, my strong mental force me to push towards the end. I completed the race in 1 hr 17min 50secs gun time. I think my chip time may be 1 hr 16min 8sec, my best 15k time so far. I was aiming for sub 1 hr 15min, but I think I probably still not that good to run sub 5min for every km.

The race was fun and well organised. The convention centre proved to be a perfect place to hold such a big event. No long queue for baggage as well as goodie bag collection. I will definitely join next year. And to Mizuno Singapore, please slap yourself a few times and think why other races are so well organised and you actually screw up, not only this year, I heard the past years as well. Learn from this Real Run and Passion Run instead, coz I think they have done a great job!

Time Splits
00km: 0 hr 01' 41" 95
01km: 0 hr 06' 50" 10 >> 5' 08" 15
02km: 0 hr 12' 11" 63 >> 5' 21" 53
04km: 0 hr 22' 09" 28 >> 9' 57" 65
05km: 0 hr 27' 08" 04 >> 4' 58" 76
06km: 0 hr 31' 56" 25 >> 4' 48" 21
07km: 0 hr 36' 53" 90 >> 4' 57" 65
08km: 0 hr 42' 01" 73 >> 5' 07" 83
09km: 0 hr 46' 41" 51 >> 4' 39" 78
10km: 0 hr 51' 25" 72 >> 4' 44" 21
11km: 0 hr 56' 15" 30 >> 4' 49" 58
12km: 1 hr 01' 09" 45 >> 4' 54" 15
13km: 1 hr 07' 02" 91 >> 5' 53" 91
14km: 1 hr 12' 42" 65 >> 5' 39" 74
15km: 1 hr 17' 50" 55 >> 5' 07" 90

Chip time: 1hr 16' 08" 60

Mizuno Wave Run 2007

2007-09-11T22:01:00.000+08:00

This will be my first race without any report. Haha.. Too tired to write the report due to exhaustion from work. Lazy to think what to write. Anyhow, completed the race in a good time, 2 minutes better than the same race 2 years ago; 51min 15secs. Here's my running photo which I think is my best running shot ever. Haha..Thanks to Phylis.

Singapore Bay Run 2007 aka Army Half Marathon/Sheares Bridge Run

2007-08-27T21:36:00.000+08:00

Oops....I did it again...

This is my first Army Half Marathon. I really had a good time, although my stomach has not been behaving well..

I was planning to slack a bit as I had just completed 3 back to back half marathon. Moreover, I had only 3 hours sleep. Reached the Esplanade around 4.30am. Went to pee and waited at the starting area waited to be flagged off. There were about 70,000 participants that morning and I bet at least 20,000 people running 21km. They flagged us off at 5.30am.

I started running but then suddenly feel my bladder is full again. Damn...Not only that, I think my bowel was full too. Hahaha......After running about 2km, I stopped at one of the secluded area at Chinatown to empty my bladder. However, I chose not to empty my bowel though coz I didn't want to waste time. Wasted about 1 min, I quickly joined in the crowd and start running again. I ran pretty fast as I wanted to end the run as soon as possible. Yeah, say only wanna slack, but still wish to PR. LOL.

We ran towards the Sheares Bridge which was quite a kill. Thank god, the bridge climb was during the 5th kilometre. There were enough water stations and distance markers for every kilometre. However, the markers were not accurate. I knew I run consistently for about 5 to 5:30 min/km, but my watch shows big ranges from 3min to 7min at many marks. After the Sheares Bridge, we headed into the East Coast Park. The park run was about 8km. I ran patiently waiting for the u-turn. After the u-turn, I saw one of the sgrunners, Charmane (Sassyrunner). As a young lady, she was running at a stunning pace. She ran steady and consistent. I was trailing her from behind and was trying very hard to follow her pace. But I gave up in the end coz she was just too fast for me and I was having another plan in mind.

Saw another sgrunner brokie and this mother of 2 was running incredibly fast as well. But she was slowing down during the 15km and I overtook her. Then, I started to work my plan. I increased my pace a little much faster. I overtook a couple of runners including Sassyrunner as well. I ran unbelievably fast and finally, I was headin towards the 'finishing line'! But unfortunately, that finishing line was for non-competitive runners. Competitive runners has to make another left turn into the NDP stage area and run for another 100m. I sprinted towards the finish and completed in 1hr 49min 56 secs watch time. I did not achieve my personal best due to huge crowd. I spent 34secs to reach the magnetic mat during the start and about 1 min for a toilet break. And not to mention the dodging process during the start. So, I actually quite proud of myself as I was almost gonna give up coz I was too tired and my ankles hurt during the first 6km. So, 4 half marathons in 4 consecutive weeks and sub 1:50 in all the races, I guess that's pretty good enough for me. Will rest for a couple of weeks and hope I could make it to the Mizuno Wave Run Malaysia in the next fortnight.

Time Splits
00km: 0 hr 00' 34" 83
02km: 0 hr 10' 09" 07 >> 10' 09" 24
04km: 0 hr 21' 45" 08 >> 11' 01" 01 (at least 1min for toilet break)
05km: 0 hr 27' 19" 56 >> 5' 34" 48
06km: 0 hr 33' 50" 75 >> 6' 31" 19
07km: 0 hr 37' 14" 87 >> 3' 24" 12
08km: 0 hr 42' 33" 93 >> 5' 19" 06
10km: 0 hr 53' 11" 92 >> 10' 37" 99
11km: 0 hr 58' 22" 21 >> 5' 10" 29
13km: 1 hr 09' 04" 78 >> 10' 42" 57
14km: 1 hr 14' 17" 44 >> 5' 12" 66
15km: 1 hr 19' 37" 62 >> 5' 20" 18
16km: 1 hr 23' 15" 13 >> 3' 37" 51
17km: 1 hr 29' 16" 32 >> 6' 01" 19
18km: 1 hr 34' 44" 93 >> 5' 28" 61
19km: 1 hr 39' 23" 65 >> 4' 38" 65
20km: 1 hr 43' 48" 55 >> 4' 24" 90
21km: 1 hr 49' 56" 60 >> 6' 08" 05 (I sprinted like crazy and 6min for the last km????)

* My condolence to Captain Ho's family as their dearest member died right after he completed the half marathon. Sigh......

Desaru Pengerang International Triathlon 2007

2007-08-19T23:17:00.000+08:00

I served my last day in my company on Friday, and head straight to the Changi Ferry Terminal right after I did my clearance. I actually reached the jetty pretty early, around 5.30pm while the ferry schedule to Desaru was at 8.15pm! I was the only one there and the security policemen approached and interrogated me. LOL. Even checked my luggage.

Finally, Fennel and Babumouse showed up and went to Desaru together with them. I’ll be teaming up with Babumouse in the Men’s Team Relay category while Fennel in the mixed relay category. Since we cannot get a swimmer, Babumouse had to do both legs, swim and bike. I will be doing the running leg. We reached Desaru Beach Golden Resort around 9.30pm and saw IMD and SV there waiting for us. After checked in and taken our dinner, we headed back to rest. Babumouse is an excellent roommate, he’s a silent sleeper and I cannot even hear his breathing at all. But somehow I couldn’t sleep well, probably too nervous since this will be my first triathlon relay event. Knowing Babumouse is an avid triathlete himself, I do not want to disappoint him with my poor timing, even though we have agreed that this will be a relax race.

We woke up at 6.30am in the morning, went to have breakfast and got ready for the event. The event started at 10am with the 2.0km swim. The swim was very tough as the waves were very strong that morning and I can see the suffering in the swimmers. Gosh…Babumouse took about 67mins 27secs to complete the leg. I quickly followed him to the bike transition area where he cycled off a moment later. I quickly went back to the room to get ready with my running gears as well as hydrating myself as much as possible. Then I went back to the race scene to snap some pictures. It was pretty hot during the swim leg, but somehow, the weather has turned dark al of a sudden and rain started to pour heavily. We shelter ourselves under the first aid camp and I pity the bikers for the cold, wet and chilly condition.

Babumouse is at his strongest in the bike leg. He took just 2 hours 48mins to complete 90km of cycling. I took the band and race bib from him and rush towards the road. Raymond Hee was just finished parking his bicycle and was ready for his run leg when I approached. We were competing again and he sighed…LOL…I was of course on the advantage side as he has just completed both swim and bike. I started off pretty fast as I would like to complete the race quickly since I have been waiting since 10am. LOL..

The weather was superb. The rain has stopped and it was just perfect for runners. I actually had pretty bad ankle pain during the first km. I reduce my pace a little, trying to get rid of the pain. After 5km, the pain has gone and I started to increase my speed. The route was pretty easy to run and after 7km, I can actually gauge my pace better since it’s just a straight road with u-turn and another repeat loop after that. I was running very fast, and the good weather actually delaying my muscle fatigue. I continued to run, overtaking many exhausted triathletes. Water stations are more than enough; they served waters and sponge every 1-1.5km. When there was about 2 km to go, I ran much faster than usual and I no longer breathe with my nose, but my mouth. I finally crossed the line at 1hour 46min 10secs, which is another personal best for me!

After checking the official results the next day, we were ranked 10th out of 15 teams. Haha…But I think we both were satisfied with our time as we never prepare much for this race and those top teams were elites! We took a rest on Sunday. Babumouse actually wanted to do the Sprint Challenge, however we were both overslept. Haha… Supported the participants anyway and later headed our ways back to Singapore. I am very statisfied with my form lately as I PRed in all my 3 half marathons in 3 consecutive weekends. My next stop will be the Singapore's Army Half Marathon this weekend. I plan to slack a little bit since I'll be running along more than 20k runners!

Team BoBo and the Flying Elephants Time:
2km Swim by Babu = 1:07:27
90km Bike by Babu = 2:48:57
21km Run by BoSe = 1:46:10

Total time = 5:42:34
Team rank = 10th
Overall rank = 89th

PJ Half Marathon 2007

2007-08-13T22:44:00.000+08:00

PJ Half Marathon is always not easy to run. Not because of the route, but the number of medals offered. LOL. If you think running within sub 2 hours can assure you a medal, think again. I still remembered in just 5 minutes after I completed the race last year, all 200 medals were all given out. And since my ranking in PJ Half in these 3 years has been dropping, the race this year worries me. I wanted to improve my time in PJ Half, but I do not want to push too hard either as I still have 2 more half marathons this month.

Therefore, I actually took a risk. Instead of wearing the super cushioned Asics Kayano XII, I actually chose to wear my lightest Adidas Adizero Racer with minimum cushioning. So, I may end up PR in this race with my leg injured. By the way, I bought myself another running toy, a pair of shades! LOL, I guess I'm getting vain nowadays. Wanted to try how the shades suit me in this race before Desaru Triathlon next week.

Woke up at 0500 hours and waited for William to fetch me at 0530. Eaten an apple and brought a pack of power gel along. Reached PJ Stadium at 6am and warm up a little until we were flagged off at 6.30am. Surprisingly, I don’t see a big crowd in the 21km event. Weird! I took off pretty fast and I was feeling light due to the Adizero racer. I think I actually ran a lot faster this time around and since this will be the same route for the 3rd time, I can gauge my time and strategy better.

I was feeling good along the way. Of course, did feel some strain on my knees but the pains went off after awhile. My strides were lighter when I was running with these shoes. Really feel good. And since the weather was gloomy the whole time I was running, I practically rest my shades on my head all the time. LOL. I ran really fast that morning and although I was a really exhausted by the end, I still pushed myself towards the finishing line, of course with my shades this time. Haha.

I completed the race in 1hr 48mins 21secs, a new PR for correct 21km distance. Surprisingly, I ranked 55th, which was my best ranking in any half marathon race so far! Of course, I must admit the low number of participants made this rank possible. Anyway, my ankle hurt though after the race, probably due to poor cushioning. Let’s hope they heal before Desaru, which is 5 days away.

Adidas King of The Road 2007

2007-08-06T13:13:00.000+08:00

Went back to Klang on Friday afternoon with Renoh. Reached KL around 8.30pm and Zbjernak came to fetch both of us for dinner and back to my house. Show Renoh around my hometown as well as bringing him for some food and shopping at One Utama on Saturday.

We decided to go back to my house early to rest for the half marathon the following day. As I was too busy showing Renoh around, I didn't think much of the race or prepare my mental for it. LOL. Renoh was pretty nervous as he chose to run the half marathon over the 10km event due to more medals are offered in the 21km race. However, we feel that it is also a little risky as only 300 medals are offered. I tried to calm him down and treat the race as a leisure run.

We woke up at 0515 hours the next day and quickly prepare ourselves for the race. I've prepared some Endurox for myself and 100 Plus for Renoh. We reached the Sunway and after searching around for parking, we managed to settled down around 6.30am and quickly joined in the starting cage. Samy Vellu flagged us off around 6.45am and off we rushed towards the NPE tunnel. It felt good again to be able to run at Klang Valley after KLIM since March 2007. Glad to see so many familiar faces. However, I was a bit shocked with myself as I was running very fast, the pace that I used to run 10km. I completed 11km in 57min 52 secs, too fast for the first half. I was a little worried for my second half and true enough I started to pant heavily after 15km. I wanted to stop and walk but still forced myself a little. I predicted that the route may be shorter due to the inaccurate distance marker and when I reached the u-turn point for 10km runners. I knew I've only completed about 14km and upon reaching the u-turn point, I knew there's only 5km left, therefore the route is probably 2km shorter.

Although tired, I dragged my feet towards the tunnel and finally with my last batch of energy, I stormed towards the finishing line. I swear I did see stars after that. LOL. My time was absolutely superb for a 21km run, 1hr 42min 45sec. 116th placing. Later found out from pm1 that the correct distance covered is 19.6km. So, actually I did not achieve my personal best. Waited impatiently for Renoh, coz they were still giving out medal even after 10mins later. At last, saw him running towards finishing and yes...he finally got his hard earned medal (He was so happy he actually wore the medal on his body the whole day!) We treated him the Klang's imost famous Bah Kut Teh and being a healthy conscious guy, I bet Bah Kut Teh will never be his favourite. LOL.

Asked Zbjernak's help again to send us to Bangsar to board the coach back to Singapore around 3pm. We rested the whole journey back to Singapore and finally reached around 8.45pm. I only had 2 cups of yogurts for dinner and dozed off shortly after that!

My first half-marathon out of 4 back to back half this month is completed with success and without injury. Let's hope my next 3 will be the same! Next stop, PJ again! PJ Half Marathon

Remaining Races of Year 2007

2007-07-26T11:32:00.000+08:00

1) Adidas King of The Road, 5th August 2007 - 21km (Malaysia - Registered)
2) PJ Half Marathon, 12th August 2007 - 21km (Malaysia - Registered)
3) Desaru International Triathlon, 18th August 2007 - 20km Team Relay (Malaysia - Registered)
4) Army Half Marathon, 26th August 2007 - 21km (Singapore - Registered)
5) Subang Jaya Run, 26th August 2007 - 10km (Malaysia - Registered)
6) Run 4 it 12KM NB Klang Pacers, 2nd September 2007 - 12km (Malaysia)
7) Mizuno Wave Run, 9th September 2007 - 10km (Malaysia)
8) Pacemakers Anniversary Run, 27th September 2007 - Relay (Malaysia - Registered)
9) Real Balance Real Run, 28th October 2007 - 15km (Singapore - Registered)
10) Singapore Marathon, 2nd December 2007 - 42km (Singapore - Registered))

Mizuno Wave Run Singapore 2007 (Lousy Race)

2007-07-23T22:52:00.000+08:00

It was raining heavily early in the Sunday morning and I was a little phobia because whenever I'm having a race at Bedok Reservoir, it will always be a wet day. I DNF the last time running the Real Terrain Run at Bedok Reservoir. I did hope that I will do better in this race.

Took a cab to Temasek Poly and reached there around 7am. There was already a big crowd but the assembly area seems too small. I was directed by the emcee to register myself but couldn't find the baggage deposit counter. Apparently they have not decided where to deposit the baggage. Weird! They should have prepared all these long before the race.

Anyway, they have only announced the baggage deposit area 15 mins prior flag off time which happened to be a truck. We had to dump our bags in the truck and they will transport our bags near the finishing line at Bedok Reservoir. We were like...HUH??? Ending point not at the stadium??? Anyway, can't do anything bout it. The flag off time was a little delayed due to huge crowds trying to deposit their bags. It started around 7.40am. I was about 20m from the starting line and I took 51sec to reach the line due to mass congestion and slow traffic. After that, I rushed off to the side (grass area) trying to dodge the slow runners. I actually hopping here and there overtaking many runners but to my dismay, we suddenly reach a small gate and the crowd was too huge for the damn gate. Therefore we have to STOP running and slowly squeeze ourselves past the gate. Another 1 minute gone. After the gate, we ran along the canal before we turned into the Bedok Reservoir. As expected, the rocky routes were extremely wet. Many runners are zig zagging here and there to avoid the muddy puddles. I just didn't care coz I knew I wasted at least 2 to 3 minutes during the first 1 km. So, I stormed ahead and in 1 minute time, my shoes are completely wet!

I was running very fast. Thank god I was wearing my lightest Adidas Adizero Racer so I can actually fly a little faster. And suprisingly, this minimal cushioning shoes can still protect my feet pretty well. I did not have any ankle or calf pain due to the hard surface, which was a good sign. I wasn't sure if I was running faster than usual because most of the times I had to slow down due to many slow runners trying hard to avoid their shoes/feet from getting wet. I tried to sprint a little whenever I had the chance to do so. I no longer think about any strategy because if I am about to follow the others and take my own sweet time avoiding the water puddles, I probably will finish after 1 hour.

After completed almost a lap at the reservoir, we headed out to the roadside. Again, there are times where we had to squeeze ourselves along the small route which can only allow 2 runners running side by side. Again, more time wasted. That is why I kept on speeding whenever I can. I came across 2 water stations and I skipped all of them. The weather is very nice after the rain, so I actually didn't feel exhausted even after using so much effort and energy to run along the stupid route.

Finally, I was back into the reservoir again. I had to dodge the 5km fun runners just to make sure I can still finish within 55minutes. Ran all the way until I saw the big mizuno blue balloon gate. I looked at my watch and it was 49minutes ++. I sprinted all the way to the finishing and I completed the race in 50mins 07secs. It was not exactly a bad timing since I wasted so much time in the beginning. May have PRed if the crowd wasn't that huge. Walk slowly to the water station and grab a bottle of water. However, I was shocked after walking for about 20meters, the girl in front of me was yelling the finishing is at the front! I was like.....WHAT!!!! My timing had messed up and I ran again to the FINISH banner.

Later, I found out the FINISH banner wasn't meant for the race. Coincidently, there was another event Walk-a-Jog organised by the Aljunied neighbourhood and those banners were meant for their race. I really feel like slapping the stupid girl real hard for trying to mislead us. Worst still, there wasn't any road mashalls / officials attending the runners at the finishing line, which caused many runners to run another lap in the reservoir. I was very shocked. And worst still, I was considered among the earliest to reach and I couldn't find the goodie bag counter. I managed to locate the truck which kept my bag and they were actually just reached! The truck was full of bags and water bottles. And my bag was very much hidden inside the van coz I was the first few who deposited the bags. Fine! I went around to look for the goodie bag counter. I walked a long way but couldn't find it. About 10 mins later, when I was on my way back to the baggage truck, I saw a long queue line which I've not come across when I passed by there 15minutes ago. Must be the goodie bag queue line. I joined the line and when I was near to the counter, I found out that the line was for fun runners only. Competitive runners another line. GOSH!!! Have to join another queue line which did not move for 15 minutes! The reason, there were 2 other lines from other directions as well as many runners actually jumped queue. No officials from Mizuno to coordinate the queue line! After 1 hour of queue, I finally got the stupid goodie bag!

I quickly rushed to the baggage truck as I know, which such poor handling, there's a high possibility that my bag will be lost. When I reached there, all the bags were dumped onto wet, muddy ground. Look around for my bag and thank god I found it. Quickly grab the bag but was stopped by the Mizuno guy asking for my number tag. Haha...you guys should see my expression at that moment. I put on a very dark, furious face at him. The guy actually got shocked and apologized to me. Haha, sorry mate. I was a little pissed and I know it's not your fault. You are just a volunteer.

Finally go meet up with Renoh and the gang. Renoh was running 5km fun run and heard from him that the fun runners were actually directed to the 10km route. So, many of them actually ran 10km. I was so shocked to hear this. The road marshalls have to be blamed on this. How can you misled the fun runners to run a 10km route? That was just too much! Frankly speaking, although i did completed in a good time, but I hate this race! This is by far the WORST race I've ever run. Even some badly organised Malaysia races are still much better than this Mizuno run! I will think many many times about joining this race again next year. I think I rather go back to run a race in Malaysia!

Saucony Passion Run

2007-07-09T20:55:00.000+08:00

Saturday, July 7th

Went to the gym with Renoh for a quick workout before heading to Island Resort at East Coast Park for Sgrunners 2nd Anniversary Gathering. The gathering was fun, and was glad to meet so many runners. The gathering ended around 9.30pm. Hang out around before follow Babumouse and Renoh to the Cathay. I've decided not to watch movie with them as I need to rest early for the Saucony Passion Run.

Sunday, July 8th

Woke up at 5.30am and took a cab to East Coast Park at around 6.15am. Went back to the chalet and put my bag there. Met up with TLR and gf, Bee, Ronnie and Tiwazz. Renoh still sleeping very soundly and we actually dare not try to wake him up. We walked to the starting line which was about 1km from the chalet.

The men open category actually splited into 2 waves. I was in the first one. We were given championchip therefore the winners will be determined due to the chip time, not gun time. They flagged us off 5 minutes earlier, around 7.25am. Although the crowd is big, but i took only 17sec to step on the starting mat. Every one was very cooperative, running all the way and kind enough to give way to fast runner.

I was running at fast speed during my first 4km, around sub 5min/km pace. I actually felt good that morning but I've decided to slow down during the 5th and 6th kilometre, trying to avoid hit-der-wall later. LOL. I was kinda pissed when I had to stop during 6th km to tie my shoe lace. There was a water station every 2-3km mark. Even though I skipped all of them, I was very impressed and thankful to the organisers as they did all they could to keep the runners hydrated. Thumbs up to the organiser.

I was doing great that morning and I knew I can possibly hit sub-50min if I can maintain the form. After completing 6km, I pushed myself a little harder coz I was 48secs off from my sub 50mins target. I increased my pace back to sub 5min/km and surprising I ran quicker than usual. After the 9km mark, I actually used all my strength to speed to the finishing line. I did sub 4 pace which was a little unsual for me. Perhaps the final km may be shorter than it seems.

I crossed the finishing line at 49min 20secs gun time. I was very happy and this would be my first sub 50 min timing for a 10k race since Shah Alam Run 2004. I finally made it sub 50! I kinda enjoy the race and I would say the organiser did a great job organising the race for the first time. I would definitely join again next year (if I'm still in Singapore) and hopefully they can offer finisher medal next time.

Gun Time
03km: 14min 50sec 60
04km: 19min 42sec 01 >> 4:51:41
05km: 25min 06sec 62 >> 5:24:61
06km: 30min 48sec 17 >> 5:42:17
07km: 35min 46sec 53 >> 4:57:74
08km: 40min 45sec 55 >> 4:59:02
09km: 45min 24sec 73 >> 4:39:18
10km: 49min 20sec 03 >> 3:55:30

Time taken to step on mat : 17sec 19

Chip time: Approx. 49min 02sec 84

Race Registration (Updated)

2007-06-25T07:16:00.000+08:00

1) Saucony-100Plus Passion Run, 8th July 2007 - 10km (Singapore - Registered)
2) Siemens Run, 8th July 2007 - 10km (Malaysia - Registered)
3) Larian Kuala Lumpur, 22nd July 2007 - 10km (Malaysia - Registered)
4) Mizuno Wave Run, 22nd July 2007 - 10km (Singapore - Registered)
5) Adidas King of The Road, 5th August 2007 - 21km (Malaysia - Registered)
6) PJ Half Marathon, 12th August 2007 - 21km (Malaysia - Registered)
7) Army Half Marathon, 26th August 2007 - 21km (Singapore - Registered)
8) Subang Jaya Run, 26th August 2007 - 10km (Malaysia - Registered)
9) Mizuno Wave Run, 9th September 2007 - 10km (Malaysia)
10) Pacemakers Anniversary Run, 27th September 2007 - Relay (Malaysia - Registered)
11) Singapore Marathon, 2nd December 2007 - 42km (Singapore)

It seems like there are 3 dates which 2 runs clash. That means I would probably choose the runs in Singapore, although no medal.. 2 more medals gone.. Haha. It seems that my 10 medal target will not be achieveable this year. I skipped quite a few races due to injury and work commitment. Here're the races I've run and skipped for this year:

1) Great Eastern Pacesetters Run, 21st January 2007 - 30km (Malaysia - Completed with medal)
2) Kuala Lumpur International Marathon, 18th March 2007 - 21km (Malaysia - Completed with medal)
3) Mizuno Mount Faber Run, 22nd April 2007 - 10km (Singapore - Completed)
4) Real Run Club Terrain Race, 28th April 2007 - 8.4km (Singapore - DNF)
5) Penang Bridge International Run, 24th June 2007 - 22.3km (Malaysia - Completed with medal)

Skipped Race
1) FTAAA Annual Cross Country Run, 25th February 2007 - 8km (Malaysia)
2) Larian Mesra 200 Tahun Pasukan Polis, 4th April 2007 - 10km (Malaysia)
3) Larian Bersama Bomba, 6th May 2007 - 10km (Malaysia)
4) Pacesetters New Balance Run, 20th May 2007 - 15km (Malaysia)

Current Medal Tally for 2007 - 3
7 more to go!

Penang Bridge International Marathon 2007

2007-06-24T22:15:00.000+08:00

I was supposed to go Penang on friday, but somehow I had to postpone my trip to Saturday due to some plan changes. I went back to KL on Friday afternoon from Singapore and reached home around 9pm. Thanks to Macho for the kind lift back home from PJ. I took an early rest and woke up at 5am the next morning. Drove my dad's 7 seater Toyota Innova alone (LOL) and headed straight to Penang at 6am.

I was driving pretty fast (hopefully no speed cameras) and I reached Penang around 9.30am. I missed Penang so much and it was such a great feeling to be back there again. Checked into Northam Suites and went to Balik Pulau to visit my ex-colleague and her cute little son. She treated me the nicest durians in Penang (Yummy!) and later I went back to the hotel to get some rest. I drove alone again to the new Queensbay Mall and actually get myself 2 Powergels. The mall is quite huge but not all the shops are fully operating. But it was indeed a good shopping centre with lots of parking units. I also get myself the nice Signature Hot Chocolate from Starbucks as I actually did not have my lunch, and also to get rid of my strong durian smell. Haha.

After that, I went to Super Tanker food court at Bukit Jambul to meet up with Ronnie and the gang. Had a nice Mee Jawa over there and chatted a little. I followed them back to their lodging home and I later realized that the race for the half marathon actually gonna start as early as 4.30am! Everybody is planning to sleep early that night. After getting the running bib from Ronnie, I headed straight back to the hotel to rest. My Penang friend, Palapes Heng actually offered himself to fetch me to the USM site with his motorcycle as it would be impossible to drive a car there.

We arrived USM at 4.15am (after much walking from the place where we parked the motorcycle). I was furious to find out that there were hundreds of people queuing up to enter the check in gate. Worse still, the gate was only opened a little, allowing ONLY one person at a time, and we have hundreds of people waiting impatiently outside the gate. Even if we do managed to enter the gate, we still have a long way to the starting line! Sometimes I really cannot understand the reason behind all these. Don't they have brain? I know my remark is harsh but sometimes I do wish if they can actually use their brain a little. They were actually afraid that some people may cheat the race so they have to do these kind of stupid things. But frankly speaking, have you seen people who cheat win the top prizes? I DON'T think so. And the percentage of cheating is so small and they are willing to make all of us late for the race rather than to afford for some minorities to cheat.

Finally, they opened another small gate and I managed to squeeze through the gate. Then I quickly walked to the OTHER gate and thank god, unlike last year, the gate was opened wide this time around so that we could make our ways to the starting line smoothly. I looked at my watch and it was already 4.25am. I quickly jogged through the gate and rushed to the starting line. When I finally reached the area, the gun went off! Again, the crowd was massive and I was 100m behind the line. I took 1min 18secs to dodge the slow crowd before I finally off the starting line. And then the most of the people were walking instead of running. I had to run at the side of the road had to be very careful not to fall as there were so many tree roots and also the incredible number of runners.

I was sweating like a pig already for the first 3mins. I was holding 2 packets of Powergel as well as a small bottle of Endurox. My breathing was horrible and I was very worried that I cannot keep up until 22.3 km as my performance was a mess lately. After resting for about 2 months due to injury and work, I must admit I didn't prepare much for this race. My target is to try to complete the race in 2hrs 15mins. I was feeling tired already during the first 10minutes due to much wasted energy dodging heavy crowds as well as no proper stretching and warm ups. After about 15mintes of running, I finally found my comfort zone and started to slow down a little to rebuild my strength. I skipped the first water station, which I thought was a little too early. I think the first water station was set up at 2km point. I was targeting the 8km water station but to my frustration, there was a station there but there wasn't any water left. I was cursing deep down my heart coz how can a water station running out of water for a big race like this????? Thank god I have my Endurox with me. I took some but the Endurox cannot actually quench my thirst, so I still need some fresh water.

I tried running in a slow pace until I reached the u-turn point. After making the u-turn, I looked at my watch and it showed around 65mins. I was a little slow than usual. There's no distance marker so I had no idea how far I've covered. I guessed probably 11km. After the u-turn, I pushed myself a little harder. I increased my pace to about 5min/km and tried to make it until the bridge slope. Found a water station not very far after the u-turn and gulp the whole cup of water and continued my run. However, after about 20minutes later, I got really tired even before reaching the slope. I opened up a packet of powergel and sucked half of it. Saw Ryan (pm17) started to walk in exhaustion and ran passed him until the next water station. I actually drank 2 cups of water greedily and I actually walked for about 1 min to cool down a little. I almost gave up as I was so tired. Ryan ran past me and finally, I managed to push myself to continue. I was mentally trying to motivate myself to continue running and thank god it worked.

Saw Ryan again and he was running very slowly. It wasn't very breezy this morning. Instead, we had to bear with the terrible smokes from the cranes due to the bridge upgrading project, mixed together with some unpleasant mudwater smell. And the limited water stations actually leave a lot of runners in exhaustion and dehydrated. I finally saw the '2000m to Gelugor turning' sign and I knew I was close to the finishing line, probably around 3.5km more. But, I saw a lot of 10km kids making the u-turn, then that also means I have to push a little more for the crowd dodging process again. We actually ran past another empty water stations. Poor exhausted runners had no choice but to drink the ice water out from a big pail which was previously used to cool the water bottles. I was getting more and more anxious to get to the finishing line, storming ahead when there was only 1km left to go. Running in rather high speed I turned into the USM gate and quickly ran to the finishing line. I think I was probably in top 150 as they were still clocking my position. I didn't really see my exact position but I remembered I saw the number was around 1XX.

I completed the 22.3km race in 2hrs 3mins 42secs (gun time), the best time in Penang Bridge Run so far. I did not expect myself to do that well especially with no training. I guess I really push it all the way. My toe hurts and I probably will loose another nail again. Haha. I was very happy with my half marathon run, considering the overdistance and the amount of crowd. I'll take it as a PR timing.

Apart from the running bib, I was also wearing another bib with the message 'In Memory of Terence Leong Penguin 6'. Terence passed away a couple of weeks ago. I didn't really know him but he was a dear friend of der pacemakers. He was fighting cancer since 2 years ago and it was really sad to hear about his departure. Although I've never really talked to him before, I've heard great stories about him and his passion in running had inspired many runners. To the late Terence Leong Penguin 6, I hope you will find peace and this run is dedicated for you from der pacemakers group.

Real Run Club Terrain 8.5km Race

2007-04-29T20:31:00.000+08:00

I was suffering from many pains lately. My right calf muscles were so stiff for so many days already after the race last Sunday. Worse still, I suddenly got high cold fever on Friday. After meeting my ex-colleagues for dinner, I went back home and reached about 10pm. I took some medicines and hit the bed at 11pm. My breaths are burning hot and I really had a difficult time to sleep.

Saturday 28/04/2007
It was raining heavily at 5am that morning. I was a little nervous because I was feeling very weak and my fever was getting worse. Took more medicine and waited for the rain to stop. When the rain started to slow down, I took a cab to Bedok Reservoir. I reached Bedok Reservoir around 7am. The race was postponed from 7.30am to 7.45am due to the weather. I was really nervous as I knew I wasn't suppose to run the race due to high fever but I just dunno why I chose to run.

Met up with Sywog from Sgrunners and chatted a little. They flagged us off at 7.45am and we started to rush off the starting line to the wet terrain route. The running ground is unlike normal race. We had to run on sand plus rocky surface, which gives me a lot of problem. I normally land on my heel first, therefore the impact was really hurtful. By the time I completed the 1st km, my calves and ankles hurt so much and I was heavily gasping for air. I knew I wasn't fit to continue my race. I dragged myself until 2.4km and stop at the water station. My legs hurt terribly I wasn't able to stand properly at that moment. One of the officials actually approached me and I told him I shall be able to walk back to the starting line, which was 2km ahead. I took of my bib and slowly walked back to the starting line. We actually had to complete 2 laps and by the time I 'finished' the 1st lap, more than 20 guys had already completed the full distance. Sigh...

I walked to redeem the event tee right away and slowly proceed to the bus stop. Not familiar with the surrounding area, I alighted at Tampines MRT station and took the train to City Hall. While I was on my way to the City Hall, I received a call from a customer asking for immediate help! Damn! I went to Swissotel to meet up with Zbjernak. He was supposed to check out and stay a night at my house. The timing has never been this good. Fever, work, friend coming over.... Thank god I have very helpful colleagues who helped me to open the office workshop and arrange any necessary parts. By the time I reached home, I asked Zbjenak to go shopping while I took a bus back to the office. My colleague offered to fetch me to the customer site and by the time I reached there, the problem was already solved. Arghhh..... I still stayed on to make sure that everything is fine. 3 hours later, I took a cab back to my house.

I was supposed to meet zbjernak at the Orchard, but I was too weak to move therefore I asked him to shop alone and I took more medicines again, lying down half conciously in my bedroom. One hour later, I felt a little better and slowly took a bus to the AMK MRT station to meet up with Zbjernak. We had late lunch at the new AMK hub and bought some groceries. By the time we reached home, it was already 6pm. Zbjernak took a nap while I was resting at my couch. I was really tired. We slept early...

Sunday 29/04/2007
We woke up at 7am and I had to sent Zbjernak off to the airport at 7.30am. Helped him to hail a cab and finally, I could have my time to rest until noon. I turned on the washing machine to wash my clothes and half and hour later, I went back to my kitchen and was shocked that the whole area was flooded with water. It seems that that idiot Zbjernak has removed the washing waste hose from the bathroom while he was trying to 'lock' the bathroom just now. My temperature rose immediately coz I did not have any problem locking the door with the hose in all this while and that dumbo so irresponsibly using my bathroom without putting the hose back in. I kinda shouted at him through smses as I spent the whole morning trying to clear the water from my kitchen.

Thank god I was feeling a little better in the afternoon and I took a train to Novena to meet up with Renoh. We actually planned to go to the gym together and I was really looking forward to meet him since I've never seen him for so long already. We met at MRT station around 1.40pm. We went to California gym. Both of us just did legs workout today. For me, I'm still weak to lift weight due to my fever therefore I did not want to risk it. I did cycling first and 10 minutes later, I was gasping heavily for breath. I knew I cannot do cardio and opted to strenghten my leg muscles instead. I tried to keep my eyes on Renoh, just in case if he needs any spotter. After an hour later, we hit the shower and leave the gym.

Renoh treated me a cup of yogurt (thanks a lot, buddy!) and we walked around the square. We chatted a little and we parted our ways back home around 4pm. Before I enter the train, I managed to quickly pass him the der pacemakers' friends vest to him. Hope you like it, bro!

By the time I reached home, I was feeling a little dizzy. I guess my fever is back again. Lie down on my bed and slept until 7.30pm. I'm feeling bad now as I'm writing these. Guess I better sleep early tonight as I cannot afford to take medical leave tomorrow.

Mizuno Mount Faber 10k Run 2007

2007-04-22T19:19:00.000+08:00

This is my first 10k local race in Singapore, also my first 10k race since July 2006. I was plagued with ITB injuries since Feb this year, therefore my form is probably not too good. I've been resting my legs for 4 weeks now and I was half eager and half nervous for this race.

Took a cab to Henderson CC earlier this morning and noticed that they have changed the starting point to one of the HDB flat's carpark area. Walked there and register myself. Met Ronnie, Ripley, Bee and Cfred84. Approached them and had a chat with them since never met them for quite a long time. The crowd was just massive and I'm not sure how we are going to be flagged off from the tiny area.

The run started off at about 7.38am, and I had difficulty trying to avoid the big crowds. I had to run a little faster than usual trying to reach my comfort zone. Overtaking slow runners bit by bit and we already had to run a small slope in the beginning. Later, Cfred84 stormed past me with this incredible speed. I tried to follow his pace from 20 metres behind but I finally lost him after the second kilometre because he's just too fast for me.

I was doing great with good pace and finally we were slowly heading towards Mount Faber. Once I saw the beginning of the slope, I started speeding ahead because I just love hill runs. The slope is something like my hometowns MPK hill, steep but the difference is this hill never ends! I overtook many runners who had to slow down ascending that hill but I just stormed ahead. However, I started to regret my strategy because the hill is just too damn long and never ending. I later found that the hill slope is 2km (yeah, 2km ascending slope, mind you!) However, there's no turning point for me, I went up the hill with fast speed because if I slow down, my legs will feel very draggy. Thank god I can manage the hill pretty well, except for most of the time, we are forced to run along the walker's path which is just too small. The path could barely fit 2 guys and overtaking is almost impossible. We are not allowed to run along the road, sigh..

Good news for runners who do down hill, long up hill will also lead to long down hill, that's bad news for me. I took the opportunity to recover my strength during the down hill path but the rest just put their free gear and started storming down Mount Faber along that steep slopes. Not wanting to stress my knee, I just took it easy all the way for about 1.5km (I guess) and the downhill was just too long for me too. I lost a lot of precious time during the descending part and later we were forced to do a small ascending hill again. I managed that well and continued running towards the end. I was a little frustrated as I had to stop twice to give way to the road traffics. This is a little different whereby in Malaysia races, the runners will have the priority to cross the roads, but it seems the other way round here. In total, I have wasted 55 secs waiting for the traffic and it really slowed down my effort because I normally cannot get back to my running pace after stopping.

I actually thought that I can hit sub 50mins this time due to my extremely good pace, but I was wrong again. I actually completed the race in 56 mins 41 secs, one of my worse 10k times. However, I was very satisfied because this is also my toughest 10k race ever. If you think double hill at Jalan Bukit Tunku is challenging, think again! Wait until you try this extremely breathtaking Mount Faber hill.

Another turn off is there's no time and position for the finishers. Also there's no finisher medal..sigh.... But it was indeed a good run and I get to know many runners. I spotted Ben Swee (Ironmandreamer) wearing the der pacemaker's vest. He wore the yellow vest while mine is maroon. There were quite a few runners complimenting the quality as well as the vest itself. Yes, der pacemakers, you've made yourself known among Singapore runners! Ben Swee seemed to be proud wearing the vest and I'm glad. We actually waited until the race is officially over and then I actually rushed back home to get ready for my gym regime. Today was indeed a tiring day for me.

My next run will be on this Saturday, the Real Terrain Run at Bedok Reservoir. Ouch...my left ITB hurts again after the race....

Event Dry Tee: Front and back!

Race Registrations

2007-03-20T23:15:00.000+08:00

I plan to participate in a few major races in Malaysia and as many races in Singapore. I've registered quite a number of races in April, but not sure if my knee condition allows me to run. Here's the races I plan to join:

1) Larian Mesra 200 Tahun Pasukan Polis, 8th April 2007 - 10km (registered - Malaysia)
2) Mizuno Mount Faber Run, 22nd April 2007 - 10km (registered - Singapore)
3) Real Run Club Terrain Race, 28th April 2007 - 8.5km (registered - Singapore)
4) New Balance Pacesetters Run, 20th May 2007 - 15km (registered - Malaysia)
5) Penang Bridge Marathon, 24th June 2007 - 22.3km (registered - Malaysia)
6) Seremban Half Marathon, 15th July 2007 - 21km (Malaysia)
7) Adidas King of The Road, 5th August 2007 - 10km (Malaysia)
8) Singapore Marathon, 2nd December 2007 - 42km (Singapore)
9) PJ Half Marathon , TBD - 21km (Malaysia)
10) Army Half Marathon, TBD - 21km (Singapore)
11) Klang Royal Run, TBD - 10km (Malaysia)
12) Mizuno Wave Run, TBD - 10km (Malaysia)

Hopefully I'm not outstation during the running dates. If I am able to run all these races, my 10 medal target should easily achievable. ***keep fingers crossed*** Have 2 medals now, 8 more to go.

KLIM 2007 Images

2007-03-20T23:01:00.000+08:00

Kuala Lumpur International Marathon 2007

2007-03-18T21:42:00.000+08:00

I have only decided to run this race last Monday and I actually rested for quite awhile due to my left ITB. My confidence level is very low, but I was hoping I can still hit sub 2hrs despite no training.

I went to the race venue alone since all my Klang members are running 10km and I'm running 21km, which is 1 hour earlier. I've not run KLIM for 2 years in a row and I've never run 21km in this event therefore I've no idea how tough is the run. Worst still, the organiser closed the usual road to Bukit Aman car park, and I actually have to turn another big round to get to the car park. Thank god I'm still quite familiar with that area because there were many drivers actually stopped their car and argue with the traffic officer to allow them to use the road. Anyway, I don't understand the purpose of the road closure because it's not even used.

Nevermind, I managed to reach the car park and drank down a packet of Ribena. Met up with Ronnie and the gang. Chatted for awhile before proceed to the cage. Did some warm up and waited for the gun off. Finally, we were released from the cage sharp at 6am. I began to run slowly and I actually started to feel the strain at my left knee. Sigh.... Seems like I will have some difficulty later. And I had to pee so badly! I hold my urge for about 5km and seeing a few runners rushed to the bush, I can no longer stand and went to join them.

After that, I met Kenneth (pm20). I think my pace was obviously slow as Kenneth was like trying to motivate me. He was trying to pace me and I was trying very hard to follow his pace until the 10th kilometre. Later, I was slowly falling back as I could no longer run at his pace. Anyway, I really appeciate his motivation. Thanks buddy! My stamina was really poor this morning. I've gained weight due to my extreme work out in the gym. Somehow, I felt that I was a lot heavier. My foot strikes were heavy and my breathing was a mess. To add things worse, my left knee wasn't feeling too good.

After 10km, I was beginning to get very exhausted, but I still push myself forward. I just wanna finish the race...so badly! During half way, I actually bumped into Lai (pm38) and to my surprise he was slower than his usual form. I guess he must be having some injuries. It was quite a boring run to me because I ddidn't really have that running mood, but I was trying to withstand the strain all the time. Thank god, my knee did not hurt, or else I will probably pull out from the race.

The bukit bintang slope stretch was pretty long and tiring. I had a very hard time running that slope, which was not my style as I was normally pretty strong when it comes to slopes. Finally, when I was approaching Maju Junction, I stopped at the refreshment station for a drink. But nightmare started. My left knee joint suddenly just locked and I can feel a very traumatic pain. Arrrghhhh.. I still push myself to continue but when I was close to the turning, I had to give up running and walk. It was very demotivating when you see the finishing line 200 meters in front of you, but you were suddenly force to turn right to complete another small lap. I was very disappointed. 2 hours has passed. There was a sponging station and I took a sponge to rinse my left knee. The icy water actually help to reduce the pain a little. Bumped into Tey (pm22), also having some problem with his leg. He was taking it easy and try to avoid further injury.

After rested for awhile, I started running again. The pain was still there but thank god, it was getting lesser after awhile. Did not want to waste my time, I tried my best rushing to the finishing line and finally, I've made it! The time wasn't that good, 2hr 12mins 56secs, but not my worst timing in half marathon. It seems like I can never avoid ITB in my running life, especially with my overpronated feet. Is marathon this December still possible?

Urticaria, ITB, Work, High Cholesterol, Conflicts.......

2007-02-28T11:10:00.000+08:00

This is the worst CNY I've ever had. My fitness level was deteriorating, my urticaria was a little crazy, hurt my left ITB, high cholesterol and caught in friendship conflicts..blah blah blah.

I'm having this chronic urticaria since June 2006 and started taking steroids and anti-histamine for almost 3 months already. Since steroid is not good for my body, I started to do some research myself. Found out that taking vitamin C more than 2000mg a day could reduce the histamine level in my body. Therefore, I finished my remaining medicine and stopped asking more from my doctor. Instead, I took more Vitamin C than average people daily, around 2000mg to 3000mg a day. Surprisingly, the situation improved. My rashes has reduced, not totally gone though, but not so severe like last time. Went for a full blood test, every thing ok, no hepatitis B, HIV or any other immune deficiency diseases. So I didn't know what causes my urticaria up until an incident yesterday night.

Went for a CNY dinner with my managers and colleagues. We went for a chinese food. The restaurant served the chilli shrimp paste (sambal udang belacan) which was my favourite and i consumed them like eating peanuts. Then we were served Yee Sang, followed by shark-fin soup and a large shrimps-vege dish. Then, things started to go awry. I felt my upper lip getting numb. Oh no, the urticaria is back! I used to have my lip swollen before but this time was different. I was in the public! And worse still, it started to swell terribly. I was very quiet throughout the dinner and kept my head low all the time as well as covering my mouth. But the swollen lips was too obvious. Thank god, I have kind colleagues who did not laugh at me. They were pretending that they did not notice it. I appreciate their kindness. LOL. But it was the most embarassing moment of my life! Just imagine Stephen Chow's ugly lips in the Kungfu Hustle.

I think the shrimp paste or the shrimp dish are the culprit. But weird thing was I had no problem taking them before. Why now? So, from today onwards, I have to avoid seafood, alcohol and nuts. No spicy food also. Sob...Sob....

On the other hand, I just found out that my left ITB injury is pretty bad. I actually joined Ronnie and the pacemakers for CNY Lake Garden run last Thursday. They actually ran for 3 to 4 laps and I only managed 1.5 laps. I was very exhausted and my legs felt heavy. After taking some rests and shower, I started to feel my left knee hurt everytime I move or bend it. Damn! I had the same problem back in Singapore Marathon 2004 and I end up rested for 5 months. Now, I need to stop running for at least 2 months.

Work began piling up. I have to travel a lot. Going to Taiwan tomorrow until this Sunday and have to fly to Philippines again next Monday. A lot of pressure as I started to lose confident handling the machines. My cholesterol level is still the same since 6 months and 4 years ago. High! The maximum is 5.3, my level was 5.6. And my HDL is kinda low. But my LDL is higher. Sigh.. A lot of bad things have been happening. I was involved in a conflict between friendships back in my hometown which makes me kinda depressed, they were all my old and closest friends. I really hope things will get better soon but something bad has happened and things will be changed a little from now on. I just need to learn to accept it.

Great Eastern Pacesetters 2007 30km Run

2007-01-22T13:36:00.000+08:00

I joined the 20k event last year and I took the courage (gulp!) to run the 30k event this year. After much chaos at work, I was given a green light from my boss last Tuesday to go back to Malaysia.

Friday 19 Jan 2007
I took a half day leave and boarded my coach back to Malaysia at 2.30pm. The journey took 6 hours and by 8.30pm, I was on my way walking to Imbi Monorial Station from Pasarakyat terminal. I've not been taking public transport in Malaysia for quite awhile and I was really shocked as the monorail system is poorly maintained and the train was incredibly packed and smelly.Reached KL Sentral and took another Putra LRT train to Asia Jaya to meet up with Zbjernak. After that, we went to the curve tto have Italian food. I ordered a carbonara pasta. I have to say that I did not really enjoy eating that pasta. Later, we has another beer drinking (me drinking only ice tea) and I reached home only at 1.00am in the morning.

Saturday 20 Jan 2007
Hanged around at home in the morning and slept a little more to pay back my sleep debts. Bought some stuffs for my parents from Singapore and chat with them a little before heading for lunch with my friends. Later, Kent fetched me to the Lake Garden to collect my bib from Rachel (pm21) and Ronnie (pm1). We were there early and it was raining heavily. After that, we headed to Times Square. Kent and Peiyi shopped around before they headed straight to Mid Valley to meet up with Zbjernak. In the meantime, I went to Coronade Hotel to meet up with the SgRunners. Renoh was already there at the lobby and slowly I was introduced to quite a number of runners.

We planned to have our dinner at Petaling Street but the weather wasn't really kind to us. As we walked until Puduraya Station, the rain started to pour down heavily and we had to settle our dinner at an Indian Muslim Restaurant. After the dinner, the rain still refused to back down. Therefore, fourteen of us had to take cabs back to Sungai Wang. The cabby drivers, trying to make money out of us, charging one cab at RM15 for a distance of less than 2km. I really got embarrassed and pissed as they were supposed to use the meters. We reached Sungei Wang plaza in about 15 minutes time and the runners bought some food and drinks at Giant Supermarket. Later, they headed off to Dome for a drink and I had to leave to meet my friends at Mid Valley. Again, I was very upset with the cabby driver as he charged me RM45 for a trip which took less than 15 minutes without using meters. I told myself that will be my last time taking a cab in Klang Valley and I think I shall find time to write about these rip-off taxi drivers to the press. After that, my friends sent me home. After ding dong here and there, I managed to get my sleep at 12am.

Sunday 21 Jan 2007
Woke up at 4am in the morning. Was so tired due to not enough sleep. But I was quite excited as this will be my first official 30k run. Due to no training for this race, I set a lower target to complete in 3hrs 30mins. A sub 3:15 will be a bonus for me. I decided to wear my old Nike Pegasus 2005 coz I'm still not confident with my Asics Gel Kayano 12 yet. I left my house at 4.45am and drove my mum's car to the race site. Met Ronnie, Rachel and Lai at the car park before proceed to the flag off cage. I met up with the SgRunners again and warmed up a little. The race flagged off sharp at 6am. Everybody was running at a fast pace, meanwhile I was taking my own sweet time fixing my mp3 player. I normally start off at a slow pace and I got to becareful with my pace as this is a 30k run.

It was very dark at certain area and I wondered how Renoh can run with his shades in the dark. LOL. My pace was pretty good. My breathing too. But my left ankle hurts a little therefore I kept my pace slow and steady. After skipping the first water station, we headed towards the double hill. I increased my pace to a greater speed while ascending those killer hills. However, while everybody was running on free gear during the descending part, I was jogging slowly trying to recover my energy. I've been always stronger in hill runs but I knew I have more slopes to run later. My ankle was no longer in pain. We ran through the palace and ran another round at the Jalan Bukit Tunku area. However, instead of running towards the killer hills again, we were heading towards the Hartamas. There was a 15km distance marking and I looked at my watch showing 1hr 31min. Not bad for the first half and later I took less than 20 minutes to reach the u-turn point. Everybody was looking very tired due to the endless slopes but I was getting more and more energetic. I continue to run at a good pace and later I found myself running away from the Hartamas area and back to the Jalan Tunku area. Another 5km to go. I knew that I was getting tired but I still push myself ahead, not willing to give up. There were already a few runners doing their walk and run pace due to exhaustion. I was running patiently towards the lake garden and the long long final slope was really hard as I was totally drained. I took longer time to finish that slope this time due to fatigue and slowly I managed to drag my feet to the finishing line. Finally, I crossed the line at 2hrs 54mins. I accidentally deleted my watch memory therefore I dunno the exact time, could only remember the 2hrs and 54secs. My overall position was 192nd.

I was overjoyed as I never expect myself to hit sub 3hrs, especially without training. However,my legs are stronger this time around, thanks to my hard work in the gym. While I wanted to walk back to my car to change, I notice that my number was featured at the lucky draw point. Wow! But it's just a tin of Milo. Haha. Later, joined Ripley and Renoh to cheer and support the other runners who were approaching the finishing line. I went back home at about 11am, and started to get ready for the trip back to Singapore. My parents sent me to KL and I went to Coronade Hotel again to meet up with SgRunners planning to walk with them to the terminal. Reached Singapore around 8.30pm and dozed off to sleep at 11.30pm.

Sunday Life

2007-01-15T12:56:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was quite a day for me. I was actually planning wake up early to do a long run at Bishan park but I was too lazy to wake up. I slept as early as 11pm the night before and woke up only at 9am last morning. Guess that I was repaying all my sleep debts yesterday since I could only managed to sleep for only 5 hours on weekdays due to my sleep apnea problem. After had my breakfast and finish my house chores at 11am, I started to pack and get ready for my gym.

Then, my phone suddenly rang and it was Renoh calling saying that he was on his way to the Novena Square California Fitness gym which the place I'm heading to. We met up there and I get to know another SGRunner, Ripley and we worked out until 1.30pm. After three of us headed to The Cathay for a movie. We watch Pan's Labyrinth (a spanish movie). The movie seem a little weird to me as if it's like 2 stories happening at the same place. Actually, the director did not elaborate much about the labyrinth story, but more on the civil war. The ending actually left me a little puzzled. Too simple I would say.. I'm still guessing whether the labyrinth, fairies and the faun are real in the movie or the girl is actually suffering from schizophrenia.

Nevertheless, the movie was quite 'beautifully' done, with much violent and blood. You should watch it coz I think it was quite creative, except for the ending. LOL. Many thanks to Renoh and Ripley for the movie and popcorn treat. After the movie, we parted our ways back and I suddenly made a u-turn to Lavender MRT Station. I decided to take the risk, walking in drizzling rain to Golden Mile Complex and bought a coach ticket back to KL this Friday afternoon. I was pretty sure I'll be able to go back as my colleague should be around to support this weekend. But I'm afraid of any last minute changes, really praying hard my SD60 first class ticket will not be wasted.

Then, I took a bus to Queensway shopping centre to get my dad a pair of shoes. By the time I finished all these stuffs, it was already 7pm and reached back home at 8pm. I was damn tired and hungry but kinda satisfied achieving so many things today. The only regret was unable to do a long run yesterday so probably I will try to run a bit today, if the weather allows me to.

Pray for Me!!

2007-01-10T08:37:00.000+08:00

Gosh. I've been feeling down since yesterday evening. I was actually quite excited as my half day leave on next friday had been approved. While I was on my way to buy my bus ticket back to Malaysia for next Friday, my manager demanded that I have to standby in Singapore next weekend! I was very shocked and told him my intention of applying the half day leave so that I can go back to Malaysia for the weekend.

But I was told that all the engineers will be either outstation or busy therefore I have to stay put for these coming weeks. Arrrggghhhhhh!!!! Which means, I have to linger around Singapore doing nothing but to standby at home while thinking of the rest enjoying their run in Malaysia. Sigh.... The only option now is to wait until I can get a free local engineer to standby next weekend so I can get to go back. Therefore, whoever is reading this, please pray for me!!!!! Thank you!

*Maybe I might have to pull out from the Penang Round the Houses Relay because I really afraid that this kind of situation will happen again!*

Time Trial for Penang Round the Houses Relay

2007-01-09T08:35:00.000+08:00

I took the opportunity last Sunday morning to try my new shoes "Asics Gel Kayano XII" as well as clocking my 2.3km time trial for the Penang Round the Houses Relay. I have not done any serious running since Singapore Marathon 2006 therefore my form kinda slack off lately.

I did a warm up run for about 14mins 40secs. I think I wasn't very comfortable with the shoes as my shins started to hurt quite badly. Probably also due to no stretching before the run. Nevertheless, I still carried on with the time trial. I started off fast and still able to maintain my speed for the second kilometre. For the final 300m, I started to feel exhausted but I gave it a last push anyway. Finally, I completed the distance in 9mins 31secs. After that, I slowed down and planned to run for another lap, however, my shins hurt badly and felt a blister forming at my right foot. My shins really hurt until I could not even walk or stand so I had to sit down and tried to stretch my legs a little. After that, I was feeling much better and started limping back to my flat.

Looks like I have to start torture the Kayano so that I can wear them to run races in the future. I doubt I can use them for the upcoming GE Pacesetters 30km but I really have no more shoes to run. My old pair of Nike Pegasus 2005 are pretty worn out and not sure I can still wear them for the race. Any advice, anybody?

2.3km Time Trial
1st 1000m - 4' 08" 00
2nd 1000m - 4' 08" 11
Final 300m - 1' 14" 99

Total 2.3km = 9' 31" 10

Resolutions

2007-01-03T13:29:00.000+08:00

Yeah, this one should be posted end of last year but somehow I could only managed to post it this year due to limited internet access.

The year 2006 was quite a passive year for me coz my level of participation in races is low due to my transfer to Singapore. There were some moments in the year 2006which I would like to share:

1) Completed five 10k runs, one 15k run, three half marathons and one marathon.
2) Failed to achieve my 15 medal target; could only settle for 8 medals.
3) Quit Fitness First Malaysia and joined California Fitness Singapore
4) Receive PR status in Singapore
5) Zero leg injury but a lengthy wrist muscle tears.
6) Get to know a few nice Singapore runners.
7) Joined my first ever Indoor Triathlon in Singapore.
8) Celebrated my New Year eve at Siloso Beach Sentosa (not a good one!)

My New Year resolutions will be:

1) Get rid of my never ending rashes (urticaria) once and for all
2) Achieve my 10 medal target for this year
3) Bulk up my muscles especially my arms
4) Repeat my 30 laps swim which I did 2 years ago
5) Run Ultramarathon
6) Buy a Polar RS200sd
7) Go to Australia for vacation or run a marathon there.
8) Most important, injury free!

Congratulations! We See a Winner! 981st

2006-12-08T17:28:00.000+08:00

Official Result

Gun Time= 05:59:55
Chip Time=06:02:15

Gun Time Finish= 04:30:12
Position = 981st / 6316

Chip Times
7.6km = 00:46:38
21.0km = 02:07:23
27.38km = 02:47:00
42.195km = 04:27:52

Personal Watch Time:

Gun = 00:00:00
Chip = 00:02:17
03km = 00:18:06 >> 00:20:24
04km = 00:06:07 >> 00:26:31
07km = 00:17:27 >> 00:43:59
09km = 00:11:59 >> 00:55:58
11km = 00:11:40 >> 01:07:39
12km = 00:06:03 >> 01:13:42
13km = 00:05:57 >> 01:19:39
15km = 00:11:45 >> 01:31:25
16km = 00:06:00 >> 01:37:26
17km = 00:05:51 >> 01:43:17
18km = 00:06:01 >> 01:49:19
21km = 00:18:02 >> 02:07:22
22km = 00:06:03 >> 02:13:25
25km = 00:18:46 >> 02:32:11
26km = 00:06:11 >> 02:38:23
27km = 00:06:22 >> 02:44:45
28km = 00:05:51 >> 02:50:36
29km = 00:07:01 >> 02:57:37
30km = 00:07:20 >> 03:04:58
31km = 00:08:54 >> 03:13:53 (Walk / Jog Intervals)
32km = 00:06:17 >> 03:20:11
34km = 00:14:41 >> 03:34:52 (Walk / Jog Intervals during 33km)
35km = 00:08:37 >> 03:43:30 (Walk / Jog Intervals)
36km = 00:06:09 >> 03:49:40
37km = 00:08:13 >> 03:57:53 (Walk / Jog Intervals)
38km = 00:06:05 >> 04:03:59
39km = 00:08:11 >> 04:12:11 (Walk / Jog Intervals)
40km = 00:06:00 >> 04:18:12
41km = 00:06:02 >> 04:24:14
42.195km = 00:05:57 >> 04:30:11

WatchTime = 4hrs 30mins 11secs
Watch - Start Delay Time = 4hrs 27min 54secs

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon

2006-12-05T10:13:00.000+08:00

Pre Race Day (Saturday 2 Dec 2006)

Woke up at 7.30am in the morning to sweep and mop my house floor. Later, rushed out to Marina Mandarin Hotel to meet the pacemakers family. Bumped into Kevin Chow (pm32) and runwitme (pm1A) while I was coming out from City Hall MRT. We walked together to the hotel and also bumped into Ai Ling. the pms only arrived around 11am as they got lost. After that, we headed to the food court in Sun Tec City for a quick lunch. Met up with Renoh and we had lunch together while we had a little introduction sessions.

Later, we headed to Queensway by taking a bus (thanks to Renoh). Everyone was so tired as they did not get much sleep during the midnight journey to Singapore. After browsing around Queensway, we decided to take a break and have some rest. I did not managed to get the shoes Chen wanted. Saying goodbye to Renoh who stays nearby the area, I sent the pms back to the apartment in People's Park Centre, Chinatown. We were supposed to meet again in Orchard Road at 7pm, but I planned to skip it as I only reached my house around 5pm and I was too tired to go out again as it will take me 1 hour travelling time. Smsed Ronnie and Rachel to apologize and decided to rest early that night.

Actually went to bed about 10.00pm but somehow I couldn't sleep maybe because I was a bit nervous and was attacked by ants. Dunno why suddenly so many ants in my room after I came back from my Philippines trip. I think I finally drifted off around 12am midnight.

Race Day (Sunday 3 Dec 2006)

Woke up around 3am this morning. Was very tired because had slept only for less than 3 hours. Had a terrible sore neck as I did not sleep well and was very worried about my condition. Took a hot shower and freshen up a little bit. Prepared all my running materials and swallowed a pack of power gel. At 3.50am, I cycled to the Yio Chu Kang Sports Complex to take the shuttle from there to the race venue. The bus left at 4.30am and I headed straight the the nearby mobile toilet and then checked in my bag.

I had ample time to do my warmups but I normally don't do much warmups before race. However, I decided to warm up a little bit more than usual as I'll be running 42.195km that morning. The starting cages were open at 5.30am and I quickly squeezed myself into the below 5hours cage. The sub 4hours cage was very tempting as it was quite empty at that time and was nearer to the flag off point. But being a little superstitious that morning, I have decided to stay at the sub 5 cage as I was afraid I will face the same nightmare 2 years ago. I was at sub 4 cage at that time and ended up limping back to the finishing line (read my SCSM04 report here). I was equipped with my Sony Bean Walkman and my hydration belt with 2 bottles of Endurox.

10 minutes before the race, Draco (pm24) spotted me in the cage and quickly join himself next to me. Since I was very nervous at that time, I didn't really bother him.. LOL. Sorry Draco. Finally, the race started sharp at 6am and I slowly trying to move forward to the starting point as there were just too many runners (fyi, around 8,900 runners took part in full marathon alone). I took around 2 minutes to reach the starting point and the off I ran slowly and steady. Since I did not train much for this marathon, my strategy for the run is to finish 30km without stopping and then changed my pace to walk/jog intervals, hoping to complete the race in 5 hours. I missed the distance markers most of the times and I only managed to clock my first 11km at 67mins 39secs. The timing was quite satisfying and I continued my next 10km without any difficulty. I skipped all the water stations for the first 8km and only started to drink a little after that. I completed 21km in 2hrs 7mins and soon I found myself heading toward the east coast park. Fortunately, the weather was so forgiving that morning. It was so cloudy and windy all the time. According to Renoh, it will be raining on that day and not wanting to run in the middle of a heavy rain, I planned to run as long as possible just to finish the race early.

We were given power gels at about 23/24km point and I grabbed 2 gels just in case. I was feeling a little bit hungry during the first 10km because I did not eat much earlier in the morning. My plan was to stop for awhile after completing 30km to consume my power gel. I was started to feel tired after completing 25km and I wanted to stop at 26km. But my mind was forcing me to run, trying to persuade myself to run at least until the u-turn, which will be about 27.5km. So, I continue to run until I finally reached the u-turn point. I force myself to run for another few more kilometres until I reach 30km. Surprising, I really did drag my feet until 30km in a very impressive time. I managed to complete 30km in 3hrs 4mins.

I wanted to continue for another 2km more, however, I felt a little cramp on my left leg. I quickly stopped and did some light stretching as well as quickly swallowed a pack of power gel. I changed my strategy to walk / jog intervals. I walk for about 6 minutes then run again for another 8 to 9 minutes and walk again. I started to 'pia' when there were about 3.5km left. I ran all the way to the Padang and I sprinted like crazy for the last 100m trying to hit sub 4hrs 30mins. However, I was denied the chance and got to settled in 4hrs 30mins 12secs. Although I didn't managed to hit sub 4:30, I was very satisfied with my performance as I knew I tried my very best. I was very happy and I will consider to participate again next year.

Marathon Preparation

2006-12-01T08:43:00.000+08:00

Mileage in these 2 weeks = 0km!!!!!!
Longest run = 23km
Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2006 = Another Suicide!!!!

Sunday Run with Renoh and Joan

2006-11-13T08:45:00.000+08:00

I was supposed to meet Renoh for the Sunday run along Bukit Timah Road. I woke up as early as 5.30am in the morning to get ready for the run. I brought only my house key, ezlink card and 6 dollar along with me and by the time I reached Newton MRT station, it was already 6.30am. Kinda realized that I still have a long way to go before reaching SMU, I actually kinda walk and jog so that I could reach there before 7am.

Finally, reached SMU around 7am and saw Renoh with his blue shades. We greeted each other and I was introduced to another runner, Joao_Li. We started the run after some warm ups and soon we were running along Bukit Timah Road. Renoh led the way with me tailing their incredibly fast and energetic pace. I knew I'm going to run at least 20km so I tried not to run so fast. Later, noticed that Renoh stopped a few times to adjust his shoe and was later informed that he was having some problem with his right foot. But he continued to run with us anyway. The run was kinda fun anyway.

We managed to cover around 23km in 2 hours 25 minutes running past Ngee Ann Poly, Bouna Vista MRT, Holland Village, Gleneagles Hospital, Istana, Newton MRT Station and back to SMU. There was some stops for traffic lights and water and surprisingly, I could still managed to follow their pace until the end. I was running at a very slow pace throughout the end and we can still cover another 4km after reaching SMU but I was too tired to continue so I gave up. We later had breakfast at Adam Road Food Centre.

Wanna thank Renoh and Joao_Li for pacing with me yesterday and I really enjoy the run. Renoh was superb at completing the run with the pain at his foot. I would probably give up if I am him. Hope his foot will be ok soon.

Running Again

2006-11-09T08:34:00.000+08:00

I cycled back home straight after work yesterday. Started my run around 1910 hours and aimed to run about 10k. Started off from my flat to Bishan Park, then ran my first lap. I felt so tired and heavy, my legs were not running like usual, not so comfortable. However, I still push myself to the second lap and finished the run with third lap. During my third lap, I stretched myself to the limit, running the fastest I could and managed to break some records. Managed to overcome my mental weakness yesterday for a 10k run, but can I do the same for 42k? Sigh.....

Home to Bishan Park (~1.6km) = 9m 49s 39
Bishan Park Lap 1 (3.4km) = 18m 28s 28
Bishan Park Lap 2 (3.4km) = 17m 18s 32
Bishan Park Lap 3 (3.4km) = 15m 08s 29 (PR!)

Lap 3 breakdown:
First 1000m = 4m 41s 53
Second 1000m = 4m 30s 89
Third 1000m = 4m 20s 84 (PR!)
Final 400m = 1m 35s 03

Total mileage covered: 11.8km
Total clocked time: 60m 44s 28

BoSe's Bishan Park Best Records
1000m = 4m 20s 84
1 lap (3.4km) = 15m 08s 29
2 lap (6.8km) = 32m 26s 61
3 lap (10.2km) = 50m 54s 89
5 lap (17.0km) = 1h 38m 50s 88
6 lap (20.4km) = 2h 06m 25s 83

Long Sunday Run

2006-11-06T10:45:00.000+08:00

I wanted to buy another new pair of shoes for my upcoming marathon run. Wanted to buy the Saucony Fastswitch 2 Speed/endurance but I couldn't find them in Orchard and Queensway. There was only 2 shops in Queensway selling Saucony brand but they have only about 10 models and they're all quite old. Looks like Singapore runners do not fancy Saucony shoes. Sigh..
Proceed with my Sunday run with my Adidas Adizero RC 2 instead with some new gadgets...a Sony Bean walkman and a new Phiten necklace. LOL. My plan is to try completing 8 laps yesterday, but yeah...I failed again! And this time I've made a mistake...I ran without any water. So, I really got pretty much dehydrated during my 5th lap and only managed to dragged myself for another lap, then I guess I hit the wall pretty hard! Sigh....so much for my marathon run!

Home to Bishan Park (~1.5km) = 9m 53s 15
Bishan Park Lap 1 (3.4km) = (forgot to clock)
Bishan Park Lap 2 (3.4km) = 43m 24s 80 (Lap 1 + Lap 2)
Bishan Park Lap 3 (3.4km) = 21m 15s 36
Bishan Park Lap 4 (3.4km) = 21m 05s 36
Bishan Park Lap 5 (3.4km) = 20m 33s 91
Bishan Park Lap 6 (3.4km) = 20m 06s 40

Total mileage covered: 21.9km
Total clocked time: 2hr 16m 18s

Total weekly mileage: 13.2km (Wed) + 8.3km (Fri) + 21.9km (Sun) = 43.4km

Mission Failed!

Training Report: Friday 3/11/2006

2006-11-06T10:25:00.000+08:00

I went back home straight after work to prepare for my evening run. However, I did not run much on that day because I was feeling very tired from my work and I only managed to finish about 8km..Sigh...So, during the last lap I sprinted like there's no tomorrow. Hehe. Managed to clock the fastest lap in Bishan Park but poor mileage.

Home to Bishan Park (~1.5km)= 8m 57s 53
Bishan Park Lap 1 (3.4km) = 18m 27s 31
Bishan Park Lap 2 (3.4km) = 15m 52s 43 (PR!)

Total mileage covered: 8.3km
Total clocked time: 43m 17s 27

BoSe's Bishan Park Best Records
1000m = 4m 56s 77
1 lap (3.4km) = 15m 52s 43
2 lap (6.8km) = 34m 07s 50
3 lap (10.2km) = 52m 31s 06
5 lap (17.0km) = 1h 38m 50s 88

Bishan Park Run on Wednesday 01/11/2006

2006-11-02T08:28:00.000+08:00

Tested my new shoes (Adidas Adizero RC 2) yesterday by running 3 laps at Bishan Park yesterday evening. The shoes are damn light and I kinda not used to it. The base is very thin I could even feel my feet banging the road surface. Chen was right, I probably will have trouble wearing those shoes for Singapore Marathon. Here's the laps breakdown:

Home to Bishan Park (~1.5km)= 9m 30s 63
Bishan Park Lap 1 (3.4km) = 18m 43s 56
Bishan Park Lap 2 (3.4km) = 17m 44s 17
Bishan Park Lap 3 (3.4km) = 16m 23s 33 (PR!)
Bishan Park to Home (~1.5km) =8m 40s 97

Total mileage covered: 13.2km
Total clocked time: 1hr 11m 02s 66

BoSe's Bishan Park Best Records
1000m = 4m 56s 77
1 lap (3.4km) = 16m 23s 33
2 lap (6.8km) = 34m 07s 50
3 lap (10.2km) = 52m 31s 06
5 lap (17.0km) = 1h 38m 50s 88

Sunday LSD at Bishan Park

2006-10-30T11:06:00.000+08:00

My mission was to complete at least 25km to 30km yesterday, however i failed as my motivation to complete 30km is still not strong. I woke up at 6.30am and started running to Bishan Park from my home. I actually plan to complete 8 laps today but in the end I could only finished 5 laps. It was quite a good run however still not good enough for marathon training. Sigh.... But the good thing is, I just bought a new pair of Adidas Adizero RC 2. I shall try running 30k again this weekend with my new shoe.

Home to Bishan Park (~1.5km) = 9m 37s 65
Bishan Park Lap 1 (3.4km) = 20m 40s 51
Bishan Park Lap 2 (3.4km) = 20m 41s 43
Bishan Park Lap 3 (3.4km) = 19m 41s 57
Bishan Park Lap 4 (3.4km) = 19m 40s 03
Bishan Park Lap 5 (3.4km) = 19m 17s 34

Total mileage covered: 18.5km
Total clocked time: 1hr 49m 38s 53

Total weekly mileage: 3km (Thurs) + 13.7km (Fri) + 18.5km (Sun) = 35.2km

Mission Failed!

BoSe's Bishan Park Best Records
1000m = 4m 56s 77
1 lap (3.4km) = 16m 53s 95
2 lap (6.8km) = 34m 10s 09
3 lap (10.2km) = 58m 28s 94
5 lap (17.0km) = 1h 38m 50s 88

Bishan Park Running Times

2006-10-27T14:35:00.000+08:00

Virgin Run at Bishan Park (23/09/2006)

Home to Bishan Park + 1 lap (~1.5km+3.4km)= 23m 53s 76

Bishan Park Lap 2 (3.4km), breakdown:
First 1000m = 5m 08s 04
Second 1000m = 5m 07s 00
Third 1000m = 5m 09s 82
Final 400m = 2m 04s 65
Total 3400m = 17m 29s 51

Bishan Park to Home (~1km) = 4m 34s 58

Total mileage = 9.3 km
Total clocked time = 45m 57s 85

Second Run at Bishan Park (24/09/2006)

Home to Bishan Park (~1.5km)= 9m 13s 41

Bishan Park Lap 1 (3.4km), breakdown:
First 1000m = 4m 58s 99
Second 1000m = 4m 56s 77
Third 1000m = 4m 59s 74
Final 400m = 1m 58s 45
Total 3400m = 16m 53s 95

Bishan Park Lap 2 (3.4km), breakdown:
First 1000m = 5m 05s 94
Second 1000m = 5m 08s 38
Third 1000m = 4m 59s 19
Final 400m = 2m 02s 63
Total 3400m = 17m 16s 14

Bishan Park to Home (400m) = 2m 15s 19

Total mileage = 8.7 km
Total clocked time = 45m 38s 69

Latest Run at Bishan Park (26/10/2006)

Home to Bishan Park (~1.5km)= 9m 26s 75
Bishan Park Lap 1 (3.4km) = 20m 11s 42
Bishan Park Lap 2 (3.4km) = 20m 38s 13
Bishan Park Lap 3 (3.4km) = 20m 01s 06
Bishan Park to Home (~2km) =11m 18s 17

Total mileage = 13.7 km
Total clocked time = 1h 21m 35s 53

BoSe's Bishan Park Best Records
1000m = 4m 56s 77
1 lap (3.4km) = 16m 53s 95
2 lap (6.8km) = 24m 10s 09
3 lap (10.2km) = 60m 50s 61

Marathon Training

2006-10-27T08:49:00.000+08:00

Managed to force myself to do a decent run at Bishan Park yesterday evening. The run is satisfactory as I seldom run that long during weekdays. Forgot to bring my captured timing here..so will update the list later on. Here's are some distance breakdown:

Home to Bishan Park >< 1.5km
Bishan Park Lap 1 = 3.4km
Bishan Park Lap 2 = 3.4km
Bishan Park Lap 3 = 3.4km
Bishan Park to Home >< 2.0km

Total mileage = approximately 13.7km

First LSD at Hartamas

2006-10-23T01:24:00.000+08:00

It has been quite awhile since I blog. I was very busy spending my time working in Philippines. Singapore Marathon is just less than 2 months away and I do not clock any long mileage runs, just a few 10k runs at Singapore's Bishan Park. Came back to Malaysia during this festive holiday and took the opportunity to do LSD at Bukit Aman with the pacesetters gang yesterday.

Was supposed to meet Ronnie at 6.30am but didn't see himaround. I thought probably I was late. Therefore I started running, trying to follow anybody who was in front of me at that time. However, I wasted 10 minutes as I got to turn back after realizing that I didn't lock my car. Restarted the run again and this time I followed a guy who was wearing the famous Singapore Marathon 2005 vest, hoping that he's running 20k too as I wasn't very familiar with the route. However, I was wrong as he went towards the double hill instead of heading towards Hartamas after 5km later. *Followed the wrong guy, LOL*. I headed my way to Hartamas route and managed to complete my 20km run in 1hr 58mins.It's actually quite embarassing coz this was my first time completing 20km in my training. The feeling was great completing such a long distance, however I knew 20km is not enough for a guy that is preparing for his marathon. Will try to run more in Singapore if possible, as long as I'm not away for business trip. I was happy to meet all my running friends again like Ronnie, Tey, Chen, Adam, Sim, Fook and Loong. Also managed to meet some other good runners like Toh, Sean Quah, Richard and many more. I wish you guys all the best in Subang 10k Run as well as other races. Take care!

BoSe's Life in Singapore

2006-08-09T21:16:00.000+08:00

Hello everybody...BoSe is now no longer in Malaysia. I have shifted to Singapore for a new job. Yeah...no longer in healthcare industry. I'm now in semiconductor industry. After completed my run in the last Penang Bridge Run, I was running here (Malaysia) and there (Singapore) to settle all my stuffs. Last Saturday, I officially flew to Singapore for good.

Life has been pretty ok here in Singapore. Currently I'm staying with my friends until my new house is ready for me to move in. For now, I have to take a 45 minutes bus to my office. But the good thing is, the bus stops directly in front of my office. The transportation system in Singapore is superb. The MRT and bus transit systems are so convenient and properly planned. I don't even need to have a car to travel around.

I have to terminate my gym membership and I really miss gym a lot. I have to wait until I've realy settle down before I need to start thinking about joining a gym in Singapore. Moreover, my damn wrist is still hurt after 4 months suffering from ligament tear. Anybody who has any idea, please help. I've tried everything, from sports medicine to acupuncture. But so far there's not much of improvement. All my hardwork muscles have gone now due to no weight training for 3 months already. Sigh...

Just did a 50-minute run at Pasir Ris Community Park just now. The scenery there is so nice, along the shore..Really good for runners but there's too many routes so probably if you're doing time trial, you can just forget the park. But you can do a nice long run there. I'm currently trying to prepare myself for my Singapore Marathon. I'll be doing my second marathon and I hope I'll do better from my first time.

Penang International Bridge Run 2006

2006-08-02T17:44:00.000+08:00

Finally, after 2 years long waiting, Malaysia most popular running event is back! This was my second 22.3km Penang Bridge Run and I was so excited! However, a little worried though as I didn't train for half marathon lately.

29th July 2006 (Saturday)
Started my journey as early as 4am (yawned) as I need to fetch my friends from Klang and also Kajang. Slept for only 3 hours (a consistent sleeping period for 3 days in a row). After fetching Kevin from Kajang, I sped to the NKVE Damansara toll around 6am. Reached Penang around 9am. (PR!). LOL. Went straight to Batu Uban to collect bibs and t-shirts. The officials were there but they wouldn't want to entertain until 10am. Shit! Had breakfast (curry mee) near Lam Wah Ee and went again to Batu Uban. I really don't really wanna talk about the collection. Running between 2 halls like an idiot and just because those oganisers wanna reduce their workload/hassle, they make our life miserable. Luckily, I collect only for my ownself. I really cannot imagine if I'm collecting for many people. I think I would burst! Later we checked into Northam Suite. Gosh! The suite was awesome! I would probably stay there again in the future.

After checking in, needless to say, food marathon all day long! We even went to Balik Pulau to eat durians! Then ding dong until 10pm, stomach almost gonna burst and headed back to hotel. But, the worse thing was I couldn't sleep at all as my roomates were so noisy! I think I finally dozed off around 1am and had to wake up at 3.30am. Really felt miserable due to many sleepless nights and I was prepared to die in the battle.

30th July 2006 (Sunday)
William and Yumei send 3 of us to the event spot and we actually had to alk quite a bit from RECSAM to USM. Later, checked into USM field and waited in the cage. The half marathon race starts at 5.30am but it was 5.15am and the stupid gate was not opened. And mind you, we have to squeeze and walk for about 1km to the starting line among thousands of runners and the gate was still closed! At about 5.20am, the officials started crawling from the back towards the gate. Once the gate was opened, I quickly walk/run forward as quick as I can because I had a bad feeling about the delay. And I was right. There were around 80% of the runners had not even made it to the starting line and the gunshot was heard sharp at 5.30am. At that bloody time, I was still 200-300metres away from the starting point. I had to clock my time immediately and run as quick as I could as there were so many people in front of me taking their own sweet time chatting and walking. While I was hurying myself, I saw Justin(pm19) sprang from behind and running in an incredible speed! And that was just the beginning of the race and he was running like my turbo pace already!

After struggling with the crowd for about 5-10 minutes, I finally fround my comfort zone and running at a slow, comfortable pace. The environment was superb, although the strong winds made my whole body trembled at times. I took it easy during the first half and when I was approaching the u-turn, Ryan stormed out of a sudden and he was also very fast. After the u-turn, I still running at a slow pace. 5 minutes later, I found out that my legs were getting heavier. I knew I must change my pace or else I would get tired fast. I actually increased my pace from 6min/km to a decent 5min/km. And more surprising was, I actually can maintain that pace for about 7km. Until about 3km to go, I felt the tiredness of my legs. I started dragging myself towards the end. My pace did not changed much though, probably because I knew if I reduce my pace, I might feel even tired. Therefore, I pushed myself a little bit towards the finishing line. During the last flyover towards USM entrance, I was really out of breath, still, I pushed myself towards the end. I clocked 2hrs 5min 27secs. I didn't manage to do sub 2hrs, but I was very satisfied of my time because of the time wasted during the flag off, and also I actually put my target around sub 2:15. So, my mission accomplished. I did considerably well as I did not have enough sleeps and training for this. After that run, I think I almost collapsed because I was feeling very dizzy and my whole body was trembling. I never felt that way before. I guess maybe due to lack of sleep.

Later Zbjernak and Kevin were back from their virgin 22.3km run. They managed to finished within 4 hours. I wanna congratulate them here as for their standard, finishing 22.3km for the first time and without training is good enough. It's the experience that counts so I guess they were also pretty much satisfied to complete a half marathon. The event wasn't much different compared to year 2003. The event setups were pretty much the same. The area is big so there's no hassle. This will also probably my last race in Malaysia as I'm moving to Singapore soon. I actually registered myself running FULL MARATHON in this coming Singapore Marathon and I started to regret now! I was already suffering running half marathon and full marathon will not do me any good. Hoepfully, I have enough time to train myself to prepare for the marathon. Pray for me!

Larian Bandar Diraja 2006

2006-07-23T20:15:00.000+08:00

This run was organised in my hometown itself. It's not really a big run, just an annual activity of the MPK. My training for this run was basicly on the treadmill. This run always give an impression that we can all PR as the route is short, less than 10km. Boy, I was wrong this year.

I clocked 48 minutes in this run 2 years in a row. I wanted to break the 48-minute barrier, but I didn't make it as this year's route was much longer than the previous years. It started off at 7am from the stadium. All of us had to squeeze as the opening area was too small. I actually cursed 2 ladies as they were taking their own sweet time chatting, walking and blocking us from running past the tiny exit gate. Those idiots wanted to start at the front line and yet they're unable to run fast, therefore blocking all the hopeful runners, causing possible stampedes.

I successfully ran past the 2 idiot ladies and soon I found my comfort zone. Trying to adjust my pace, not too fast but not slow either. We ran past the state palace and soon heading towards the railway station. I was running alongside with Macho. I actually asked him to control his breathing because he sounded like he's suffering from lack of oxygen. Later he told me to go ahead and beat our target, Bok..Hahaha. I ran at an amazing pace and soon I was running past the bridge heading to the other bridge. I successfully overtook Bok as he was slowing down probably exhausted with his early fast pace.

After the bridge, I knew I had to readjust my pace as that was the additional route that I did not encounter last year, and that route was damn long. Pass by a water station, decided to skip it. I managed the flyover successfully and thank god, I was still feeling good at that time. I reduced my pace a little to prepare for the final killers, and I was feeling a little fatigue at my neck area but I ignored it anyway, as long as my legs don't feel it. Saw a veteran runner cursing the road mashalls as he was not directed to the 7km route and blaming them as he was running a 10km route. He reversed back and cursing loudly all the way and I was like, duh! He must be new to the run and probably think too much about winning the race until he missed the obvious route divider and there were road marshalls trying their best guiding us to run the correct route. I actually thought the marshalls were slightly better than last year.

Sooner after that, I finished the easy part and the hardest part begun. Reached the MPK killer hill and bumped into many 7km runners. They were taking easy while running/walking up that route. For me, it was my all time favourite hill as I can overtake countless of runners. I sped towards the hill easily, and try to regain my strength after that for the second killer. The second killer was still a bit far though. I had to go through a few curves and turns before reaching the final hill. I ran fast towards the long hill and finally I was on my way back to the stadium. I was feeling blur already after that hill but I wasn't willing to give up as I knew the end is near. Using up my last batch of my energy, I ran quickly towards the stadium entrance and I sprinted towards the finishing line just to end the race right behind Ryan (pm17). Clocked at 53mins 26secs, feeling dizzy already. I didn't break my record but I knew I am fast today as the route was much longer and I think it is slightly more than 10km. I ranked 70th and I knew that many were cheating as we were not given ribbons (no check point) and there weren't that many road marshalls around to stop cheaters. Saw people taking shortcuts and worse still, 10km runners running 7km route without any penalty given.

Regardless of all those cheatings, I'm happy with my time. I think I was running at my fastest this morning and I do not hope for anything better than that. If everything goes smoothly, I'll be heading my way to Penang Bridge Run this weekend, and also probably my final Malaysia race of the year.

PJ Half Marathon 2006

2006-06-20T21:37:00.000+08:00

PJ Half Marathon, one of the most popular running events in Malaysia. This was my third consecutive year of participation and I wanted to do my best, if possible, better than last year.

My last year’s performance in PJ Half was a nightmare, whereby I was weak and I actually walked for my final 1km. I vowed not to repeat the failure and try to run at my best time. The event was flagged off sharp at 6.30am, and actually the number of runners in 21km category did not increase much, and that at least reduce my pressure to squeeze into top 200 positions.

I started off rather slow, compare to my last year’s speed. I planned to use my slow first, fast later strategy, and hopefully I can produce much better result. I ran comfortably for the first 5km, and everything flyovers were approaching, I changed my pace from slow to fast, overtaking many runners. However, I slowed down tremendously during the descending time.

Running towards terminal did not give any difficulty to me as I was running comfortably for the first 13km-14km, although my time was not that impressive, just a normal 5:30/km pace. I started to feel the fatigue on my both legs while I was approaching the u-turn at terminal 3. Damn, that was even worse than my last year’s performance. I started to feel the darkness in my mentality. I was trying to figure out how to continue running as my legs really could not take it any longer.

I managed to drag myself running back to the roundabout, then still make it to the Petronas Station and then, I was totally spent. My breathings were heavy, my legs wouldn’t wanna listen to me, and I have the final flyover to climb. I had to tell myself in despair, one final bridge full speed and then you can walk! Gearing towards the final flyover, I found myself dragging my heavy feet for larger and faster steps, however, still managed to ascend at greater speed. During the descending part, I almost gonna stop and walk but I told myself to finish the flyover with slow run first. I wanted to walk later on, but my mind told me to try another trick. So, I tried it, using the double breathing method (double quick inhale, and then double quick exhale). Wow, it really made a difference. I was feeling much better and my pace actually increased to my normal level. The fatigue was slightly gone and with the new breathing method, I soon found myself approaching the stadium turning.

I remembered I stopped and started walking last year when I was only left 700 metres to the finishing line. I did not want to repeat the same failure again this year although I was feeling totally exhausted at that time. Finally, I entered the stadium but I did not speed along the final 300m track run. I was trying to catch my breath and finally I sprinted weakly towards to finishing line. My time, 1hr 54mins 15secs, 3 minutes quicker than last year. Not to say improved, but at least I’ve completed my run without stopping. My position, dropped from 103rd to 116th this year.

I was a little bit satisfied because I managed to overcome my mental weakness during the race, but a little disappointed with the timing because it wasn’t improved much compared to last year. I will train harder for my next 21km run.

2006-06-09T13:49:00.001+08:00

Trying to act cute here!

2006-06-09T13:49:00.000+08:00

Yeh!!! Jack is first!!!!

2006-06-09T13:48:00.000+08:00

Nice post! Look a bit fake though. PRESSURE!

2006-06-09T13:47:00.001+08:00

Wah...nice running style, but a bit fat though. Run, BoSe Run!

2006-06-09T13:47:00.000+08:00

Finish my race at last.

2006-06-09T13:46:00.000+08:00

Almost died! Trying to catch my breath

2006-06-09T13:45:00.000+08:00

Finally, got champion!

Running At KLCC

2006-06-08T08:39:00.000+08:00

Was at KLCC, but reached there late. Planned to do a 5 lap run but after my second lap, I had to pee so bad I gotta stop. LOL. Then, I did a Super 1 lapper, and the result was ok. I manage to run at my personal best, but still cannot break under 5 minute barrier.

1st Lap: 6’ 12” 98
2nd Lap: 6’ 39” 95

Super 1 lapper: 5’ 07” 10 (PR!)

Pacesetters New Balance 15k Run Results

2006-06-06T17:04:00.000+08:00

Ranking Name Time
203 Tan Boon Seng 1:19:21
238 Chee Yee Cheong 1:20:56
479 Bok Chee Seng 1:29:45
605 Teh Eng Lee 1:35:47
742 Tor Wee Seng 1:40:58
808 Diong Chee Wei 1:44:55
888 Yeo Chee Koon 1:52:44
906 Yap Win Seng 1:54:40
933 Teh Eng Teck 2:00:52
949 Boon Lok Bin 2:06:41
230 Lee Pei Yi 2:10:35
965 Chooi Tze Tim 2:11:56
967 Ng Tat Wei 2:12:02

Pacemakers Anniversary Run 2006

2006-06-05T10:42:00.000+08:00

This event is not a public event, just a fun-run event created for a group of friends/runners. It was a relay event..4x2.6km. My team, Young and Dangerous consists of Joviet Sim, Kevin Chow and Jack Toh.

Everybody was predicting that we would win the race as we have the fastest runner, Jack Toh (pm14).This actually put a lot of pressure to me as I am the last runner. I was sick for the past 2 weeks and I wasn't sure if I can run at my best. Moreover, most of the teams were putting their best/fastest runners as the last ones and this freaks me out. We started the race with Sim (pm25). I think the first runner is very important as he needs to push a little bit harder after the flag off as he has to squeeze himself with the others and will have to try to get rid of the others. I think Sim actually did a good job as the first lap was not easy. He has to put more effort and have to try to maintain the speed on the second lap. He was slower during the second lap due to the exhaustion from the impressive first lap. However he did good.

Kevin (pm32) took over from Sim and his task is to overtake as many runners as possible and he managed to overtake quite a few teams. He also managed to shorten his gap from the front 2 leaders so Jack would not be having hard time trying to overtake the leaders later. As predicted, Jack stormed forward after he received the baton from Kevin and he scored the fastest lap, 4:19 and our team was already leading after his first lap. I was delighted and at the same time, felt the pressure even greater as I would really need to maintain the position. Draco(pm24), Ronnie's team was following closely behind Jack and for sure I would have hard time trying to defend the leading position from Ronnie(pm1) later.

I was trembling a little, coughing non stop while waiting for Jack to approach the line. When he finally handed over the baton to me, I ran as fast as I could trying to build more gap while Draco was still yet to complete his final lap. My legs were a bit numb in the beginning, probably too panicked. LOL. I tried my best to maintain my position and I scored my personal best time of 5:13 for my first lap. Jack was waiting for me while I still have 300meters to complete my first lap. He was trying to motivate me and at the same time, warned me that Ronnie was closing up the gap. Pressure built to the maximum in me and I was relieved when I completed my first lap and Ronnie was still out of sight. The second lap will be crucial to me as Ronnie will score a much faster time than me.

I tried to maintain my pace, but I knew somehow I was a little bit slower, but not significant. I tried running as fast as I could, turning my head occasionally to search for Ronnie, but he was still out of sight. When it was only left 300meters to go, I quicken my pace and turboed towards the finishing line, while the others were cheering for me. I saw Ronnie was about 150 meters behind but it doesn't matter as I had crossed the line safely. Haha. It seems like Jack's strategy has worked and I was happy that I did not dissapoint my team. I think all of us enjoy the run. We will try to outdo each other but the final result was not important as there were no loser. It's just the nature of runner to try to run at their best and at the same time, enjoying the race. There were no complaints and we don't really care about the final results because everybody was happy with their own personal best that day. This is definitely my most enjoyable run and I really hope if I can still be able to make it for the second time next year.

Champion : der Young & Dangerous Team

11'19 (5'14 / 6'05) - Joviet Sim, Pm25
11'17 (5'30 / 5'47) - Kevin Chow, Pm32
09'12 (4'19 / 4'53) - Toh Wai Kuen, Pm14
10'55 (5'13 / 5'41) - Tan Boon Seng, Pm16

Total Timing : 42'47

For more info on the run, please visit pm1's web.

New Balance Pacesetters 15k Run 2006

2006-05-21T21:59:00.000+08:00

This was my second 15k run under Pacesetters organisation. I still remember my first 15k run last year whereby I was just recovering from my knee pain ans also just got off from the plane a night earlier. This year, I was more prepared for this race. A couple of trainings at KLCC park for the past fortnight gave me hope to perform the best in this race.

No pressure from this race as getting a medal is a certain as long as you finish the race. I just wanna improve my time. Saw many familiar faces, especially the pms. Most of them are back in action as this race is considered as pacesetters club's annual event. Do not expect this race to be easy as most of the participants are professional/regular runners. I saw my old rival (the guy in his signature red vest). Didn't see him around lately and this time I'm gonna to beat him. LOL.

I actually went to Padang Merbuk in quite a large group. There were 13 of us today and many of them were first timer in 15k run. By the time we gathered at the starting point, they were actually about to flag us off. I was a little stucked in the middle crowd at that time and I really had no choice but to push a little here and there as the runners were actually taking their own sweet time walking after the flag off. A little bit fast in the beginning but quickly backed off as this is a 15k race and I cannot use my 10k strategy. Running at a very comfortable pace, I was quite slow behind of a massive amount of runners ahead of me. Ryan (pm17) was gearing up overtaking many runners (me included) and his starting pace was awesome.

Still running at a controlable pace, Sim(pm25) and Tey(pm22) was soon running ahead of me with a steady pace. Yeah, I was overtaken by many runners in the first 5km, as I was actually saving my energy for those killer hills. Finally, the moment has arrived, the first killer hill was just a few metres ahead of me. Without wasting a single second, I increased my pace tremendously and I ran after the hill fast and overtook many runners. After the first one, I quickly slowed down, recover some energy, preparing for the second one. Finally, I was proud of myself. I managed to ran past those hills in ease. My speed trainings in KLCC finally paid off.

I saw the distance markers along the route were actually much shorter after the hills and I guessed those markers were supposed for the second time around. Oh shit, I had to be there again in a short while. Coming out to the Mahameru highway, we took a turn and then I was directed to the same route again. I think the repetition would kill off the motivation of those new runners as they might expecting the same killer hills to run for the second time. This might slow them down. In fact, I knew that we won't be back to the hills, but we will make a short detour. Instead of turning right heading towards the killer hill, we had to head straight to a long slanting hill (yeah, that's the 'shortcut' route). Biting my teeth for the final time, I sprinted forward again, overtaking those tired runners. Then, I had only 4km left to finish.

I slowed down a little, allowing runners from behing to overtake me. Finally, I started increase my pace when it was left 1km to finish. Saw Azwar (pm3) was actually slowing down quite a lot. Kevin Chow greeted me from the back, he was actually tailing me very closely for god knows how long. I actually told him to go ahead, not wanting him to follow my shameful pace(LOL) but he kinda hold back. Nevertheless, I used all my final energy to complete the last 500metres and finally, I've succeeded, completing the race in a fashionably good time; 1hr 18mins 30secs. And later, I saw the guy with the red vest approached the finishing line. Yahoooo...I had successfully achieved my target. (No offence, guy in red. I just need to take you as my target because you was my closest competitor in many races. LOL). One of my group, Kayx Chee was running pretty good for his first 15k. He finished off in 1hr 32secs. I congratulated him and we chatted for awhile before he left early for his Sunday church.

Overall, I was way too satisfied with my own performance. I think the pms' timing were all very good. On the other hand, my group's timing was just so-so. Some improved while many fall apart.

My time split:

5 km: 25' 28" 85
10 km: 27' 43" 99 >> 53' 12" 84
11 km: 4' 32" 95 >> 57' 45" 79
12 km: 5' 11" 80 >> 1h 2' 57" 59
13 km: 4' 57" 85 >> 1h 7' 55" 85
14 km: 5' 35" 02 >> 1h 13' 30" 46
15 km: 5' 00" 14 >> 1h 18' 30" 60

In short:
First 5k: 25' 28" 85
Second 5k: 27' 43" 99
Last 5k: 25' 17" 76

Total 15k: 1:18:30

3 Laps KLCC Run

2006-05-15T21:48:00.000+08:00

I did a 3-lap run at KLCC park today. The results was satisfying. I managed to break my record again! I was totally exhausted by the end of the run. I turbo like crazy for the first lap, then a bit slower during the 2nd lap and totally drained on the 3rd lap. However, I overshot at least 30-50 metres during my final lap thus my final lap timing was a bit inaccurate. Met Newton for the first time and we chatted a little bit. Salute him for running although he's ill. Here's the timing:

1st Lap: 5' 33" 26
2nd Lap: 5' 52" 28
3rd Lap: 6' 14" 18 (overshot 30-50m)

Total: 17' 39" 72

Swimming Again

2006-05-15T21:41:00.000+08:00

I returned to Shah Alam Swimming Complex after more than a year missing from the swimming scene. LOL. I'm actually just a beginner when it comes to swimming, totally not a pro swimmer. In fact, I took my beginner swimming lessons in year 2000.

Anyway, back to my swimming outing yesterday, I actually went to the pool by myself, expecting less crowd as it was Mother's Day. There were not many people in the indoor pool, however, I still have to share lane with a couple guys. Jumped off to the swimming pool, I did a breaststroke warm up lap. The feeling was good, but my breathing was not ok. After the first lap, I started front crawl lap (the most common swimming technique). Damn,

I almost drowned in the 10ft pool as I wasn't as good as I used to be. I rested for awhile and I continue my front crawl lap again and I started to clock the time. Surprisingly, I used to take 1min 25secs to finish a lap, however I did 1min 10secs yesterday. Not bad at all, except for the breathing part.

I was trying to test myself if I can still finish 30 laps non-stop. However, I found out that I wasn't fit for that so I did a lap swim. Finally, I kinda get used to the pool thus my breathing improved. I did a 2-lap swim later on without any difficulty in 2min 30secs but I had to retire earlier due to the congestion. There were 5 guys swimming in my lane at the same time. Argggghh. Sigh. Got out from the pool and head straight to the shower.

My timing
1st Lap: 1' 10" 21
2nd Lap: 1' 11" 25
3rd Lap: 1' 10" 30
4th / 5th Lap: 1' 11" 50 / 1' 19" 38 = 2' 30" 88

Bomba Run 2006

2006-05-11T07:26:00.000+08:00

The ridiculous 50 medals offer with RM15 registration fee did not actually motivate me to focus too much in this race. As the rest were having fun in Redang Island, only 2 of us from Klang joined the race. Eng Lee was the one who drove last Sunday and my only intention at that time was to finish with an improved time.

I think there were over a thousand registered in my category but I don't think that many actually turned up. As far as I know, there were 3 races held on that particular time; Asthma Run, Bomba Run and KRI Ipoh Run. In fact, there were really not many people at Dataran on that day, probably the northern runners were targeting Ipoh, and a large group of people were targeting the free and short Asthma Run.

The race was flagged off humbly at 0730 hours and I quickly ran to the corner road for more running space. I ran pretty fast at the beginning and my breathing was heavy and messy. I was trailing Ryan (pm17) for the first 2km and then I lost him. He was obviously too fast for me. The route was similar to Larian Mesra's, so it's actually easier for me to compare my timing at certain spots. I found myself pretty exhausted after the water station, and I actually pushed myself a little bit during the long hill run. After that, I was totally spent. My pace was reduced significantly. My time was not much different compare to the previous run and for the last 2km,

I began to quicken my pace. I think I was actually turboing. Normally right after the final bridge run, I will slow down a little. Instead of doing that, I actually pushed myself harder. I was running at my fastest pace going down the hill. I was actually taking a risk as I'm afraid I might lose out approaching the finishing. However, I was suprised that I still have enough energy to turbo.

I actually slowed down a little bit later to allow Tey to snap my image. He had some hard time trying to snap my photo. I thank him for that. During the final 400 meters, I was running so fast desperately wanting to finish with my best time. I saw Ryan and Ronnie cheering me to finish and show some weird signal, and I thought maybe I'm still qualified for medal. Crossing the finishing line at 54mins 41secs, I found myself delighted as they actually increased the medals to 100. Yahooooooo...my position is 88th.

Overall, I'm happy for my achievement. My time has improved, 1.5 mins better than my previous one. I was lucky too as not many runners join this race otherwise I might end up without one. The race was ok, and I have no complaints about t-shirt size this time as I was among the early birds to collect them. Hahaha.

Running at KLCC

2006-04-26T22:18:00.000+08:00

I was doing my second running in KLCC park today. Initially my plan was to run casually as I'm actually kinda sick. Surprisingly, my time today is better than the first time. So, I guess I'm considering this as my time trial as well.

My First KLCC 5-Lap Time Trial (21/04/2006)

Lap 1 : 6' 16" 27
Lap 2 : 6' 28" 08
Lap 3 : 6' 42" 69
Lap 4 : 6' 37" 95
Lap 5 : 6' 12" 12

Total time : 32' 17" 11
Best Lap : 6' 12" 12

My Second KLCC 5-Lap Time Trial (25/04/2006)

Lap 1 : 6' 38" 60
Lap 2 : 6' 22" 28
Lap 3 : 6' 27" 49
Lap 4 : 6' 27" 81
Lap 5 : 6' 05" 57

Total time : 32' 01" 75
Best Lap : 6' 05" 57

2006-04-26T22:16:00.000+08:00

The Klangites celebrating my birthday and also Angelina's.

2006-04-26T08:45:00.000+08:00

My 4 seasons birthday cake

2006-04-26T08:41:00.000+08:00

My Birthday Pic

Larian Mesra dan Pelancaran RakanCop 2006

2006-04-23T21:56:00.001+08:00

I'm very angry as this is the fourth time I'm writing the same post. The previous 2 times really got me mad. Finished typing everything, then my comp hang or the bloody blogspot server down. Anyway, back to the bloody run.

I was back to KL for good since last Thursday and still don't really get used to the lifestyle here. I think I'm missing Penang already. Didn't prepare much for this race. However, this race has become quite a hit this year and the number of the participants in my category is more than 1700 and there were only 100 medals up for grab. Sigh...bloody run. Thus, I did not put a lot of hope for this race. I was trying to change my strategy this time and I'll this run as a tryout.

Reached Dataran Merdeka at 7am, there were so many people filling up the starting cage. Sigh. My gang all tried to squeeze in the centre of the lineups and I was trying to place myself nearer to the corner just to avoid stampede and pushing during the flagoff. They flagged off sharp at 7.30am, and off we go! I quickly ran to the side and tried my best to get rid of the slow front runners. My strategy this time will a bit different. Unlike my usual style, I'll run slower this time during the first half of the race. Before this, I ran so fast until I couldn't turbo anymore during my second half of the race. So, I'll take it easy this time as I'm not trying to squeeze into the top 100. I actually was trying to follow a guy and take him as my challenger. He was the regular runner around and always see him in races. Also always faster than me. In the beginning I was 50m behind his tail. After 10 minutes, he was 150m ahead of me. Sigh...He was too damn fast.

Since I started off slow, I began to overtake quite many veges during the first half and even more at the water station, including the guy who I was trying to compete with. On the other hand, Draco Ng (pm24) was trying very hard to overtake me. I really salute his effort. He actually kept on changing pace just trying to challenge me. He actually overtook me a few times but I think I managed to overtake him for good during the long hill run. I started to put a little more speed after the first half and long hill run will be my major success. Haha. After the run, I tried to slow down a little just to regain my strength for the final hill. About 4km left to go, the guy who I was competing with suddenly storming from behind, overtook me mercilessly. LOL. Damn! I tried to catch his pace but he was too fast. Not wanting to ruin my strategy, I chose to run at my own pace.

Final hill was approaching and I took my final strength to run up the hill a little faster than the rest, and sped up a little until all the way to the finish line. No medal of course, don't even know my position. Clocked 56mins 12secs, 2 secs off from my Power Run time (similar route), however I was quite happy with my time because I feel that I'm not exhausted at all. I still can turbo a little during the second half. Maybe I'll run a little faster during the second half in the next run (Bomba Run). Nowadays, the medals are very hard to get. I think my 15 medals target for this year is just too high and hopeless. There were more and better runners this time around.

Overall, the race was ok. Just want comment a few things for the pre-race thing. The t-shirt collection; hmmmpp..as expected I'm gonna complaint about the t-shirt SIZE. The organiser, if you are reading this, please pay attention. We, the Asian are mostly small size people. But why the hell you like to print such a big amount of XL and XXL t-shirts. You know, I have plenty of them now, although I feel that I did not collect them last minute. I'm gonna give those to my mom so that she can use as toilet mats. This is horrendous. Is it very hard for you to print more M and L sizes, as those are the standard size of us Asian people, especially RUNNERS! Do you see a lot of big size runners out there? Oh, please do argue this to me only if you can prove that more than 50percent of the participants are XL and XXL. If not, knock knock, WAKE UP and act on it. I feel so bad and upset because everytime I was busying asking the size of my friends before collecting for them, I end up bringing them all XL size t-shirts. Next time, I think I'll quit asking because it just serves no purpose. Other than that, I feel the race was good. I'm sorry if I sound a bit harsh here, but that's what I'm feeling right now. I have small shoulders, so XL t-shirts just doesn't make me look like a runner.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2nd Post)

2006-03-21T22:24:00.000+08:00

I will elaborate the characters in the movie X-Men: The Last Stand. We start with the good characters, also called themselves the X-Men.

Cyclops (Scott Summers), actor: James Marsden

Leader of the X-Men. Cyclops possesses the power to project beams of pure concussive energy from his eyes. Due to an injury suffered in his early years, these beams are always "on" and can only be blocked by either closing his eyes or by a barrier of "ruby quartz", of which his sunglasses and visor are made. Cyclops also possesses a superhuman sense of spatial awareness, which enables him to pull off often quite absurd trick shots with his optic blasts, such as ricocheting a single shot to destroy half-a-dozen separate targets.

Storm (Ororo Munroe), actor: Halle Berry

Assistant leader of the X-Men. Ororo is a mutant with the psionic ability to manipulate the weather over the entire planet and flight. When controlling weather elements, her eyes illuminate a white color and aura. She can manifest any degree of wind, temperature, lightning, storm, and all manner of precipitation, tornadoes and hurricanes. Aside from the abilities granted by her mutation, Ororo is highly intelligent and an able strategist and field commander of the X-Men. Storm is a strong, confident, intelligent, caring, loyal, brave warrior, and most sophisticated and demure member of the X-Men.

Wolverine (Logan), actor: Hugh Jackman

Wolverine is a mutant with a number of both natural and artificial improvements to his physiology. His primary mutant power is an accelerated "healing factor" that allows him to regenerate damaged or destroyed areas of his body far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary human. This "healing factor" also grants immunity to most toxins and diseases, giving him enough stamina to exert himself at peak levels for days and retards aging to an unknown degree. He is well over 100 years old, yet his appearance and physique are unchanged since the peak years of his life. Wolverine's claws and skeleton have been molecularly laced with the nigh-indestructible metal adamantium. His body is able to withstand higher levels of physical pressure than a normal human.

Beast (Dr. Henry “Hank” McCoy), actor: Kelsey Grammer

Hank McCoy has superhuman strength and endurance, as well as superhuman speed, agility, and coordination; he can perform many tasks with his feet as easily as a human would do with his hands. Experimenting with his mutation, Hank inadvertently gave himself blue (originally grey) fur and a more simian posture. Following a critical injury, he mutated even further, changing to a more feline appearance. He is a world-renowned biochemist and also the most intelligent mutant in X-Men.

Phoenix / Marvel Girl (Jean Grey), actor: Famke Janssen

Jean Grey's dual psionic potential gives her the mutant gifts of telekinesis (the power to affect objects with one's mind) and telepathy (the power to read, project and manipulate thought). Her telekinetic ability can be manifested in many ways, some of which include levitating herself or other persons or projecting a telekinetic shield capable of withstanding missile blasts. By focusing her mental energy at a specific target, she can release devastating force blasts. Her telepathy allows her to read the thoughts of others, project her thoughts into the minds of others to influence decisions, manipulate or change memories, place one under her telepathic command, cast her mind into the astral plane or fire stunning "mental bolts" capable of knocking out or turning someone brain-dead.

Angel (Warren Kenneth Worthington III), actor: Ben Foster

Archangel's primary power is that of flight. His wings have superhuman strength and can create enough lift to enable him to carry at least twice his own weight. His bones are hollow, he processes food more efficiently than normal humans and does not store any fat, he possesses a greater proportionate muscle mass than normal and his superhumanly sharp eyes can withstand high-speed winds which would damage the average human eye. His lungs can extract oxygen from the air at high velocities or altitudes. As the result of a secondary mutation, Archangel also developed a "healing factor" and can heal others by mixing his blood with theirs, provided they have a matching bloodtype to Warren's.

Iceman (Robert Louis "Bobby" Drake), actor: Shawn Ashmore

Iceman is able to lower his body temperature without harm to himself, reaching -105F within a few seconds. He is able to freeze any moisture in the air around him into unusually hard ice to form ice-slides and various projectiles and shields. Iceman is immune to sub-zero temperatures. Iceman has thermal vision: the ability to detect objects visually by how much heat the objects generate.

Rogue (Marie), actor: Anna Paquin

Rogue is a mutant with the ability to temporarily absorb the memories, thoughts, and abilities (including superhuman abilities) of others via skin-to-skin contact. This transference usually causes the victim to fall unconscious and/or become weakened. The duration of this drain varies according to the length of time that the contact is maintained, but it can kill if it is prolonged.

Colossus (Piotr "Peter" Nikolaievitch Rasputin), actor: Daniel Cudmore

Colossus possesses the ability to transform his entire body into a form of organic steel, named by some sources as analogous to osmium. In this transformed state, Colossus gains around a foot in height; his mass is at least doubled. In his armored form, Colossus possesses superhuman strength. His steel form also possesses a high degree of invulnerability. Rasputin's armored form can withstand falls from great heights, extreme temperatures of both hot and cold, high caliber machine gun shells, and large amounts of explosives without sustaining injury.

Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde), actor: Ellen Page

Shadowcat possesses the ability to "phase" or literally pass through solid matter by passing her atoms through the spaces between the atoms of the object through which she is moving. Utilizing her phasing ability, she can also walk on air. While phasing, she is intangible and thus invulnerable to physical attacks and telepaths have a hard time reaching her mind in phased form.

Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier), actor: Patrick Stewart

Professor Xavier is one of the world's most powerful telepaths. As a young man, he was rendered a paraplegic in an accident that was later revealed to have been caused by an alien called Lucifer. In addition to his mutant gifts, Xavier is a world-class scientific intellect. Xavier founded a school for gifted children which had a secret purpose of providing a safe haven for mutants to master their abilities in order to function in the outside world safely. In addition, he sought to foster good mutant-human relations by providing a positive example of mutants with his superhero team, the X-Men. In addition, he used a special machine called Cerebro, which enhanced his ability to detect mutants and to allow the team to find new students in need of the school.

Coming soon....The Villains
Source: Wikipedia

Power Run Photos

2006-03-21T21:31:00.000+08:00

The running couple...PM1 and PM21

WHAT!!!!No More Medals??????

BoSe's running friends, thanks to Tey Eng Tiong who helped taking this wonderful pic.
From left, Andrew, PeiYi, Macho, Zbjernak, Kevin, WeiHung, CheeWay, GuanHui, EngLee, BoSe

Power Run 2006

2006-03-19T21:08:00.000+08:00

It has been 2 months since I stopped running regularly. My average mileage is about 30km per month! I was putting on weight and my leg muscles has turned to fat due to little training. This Power Run was not an easy run for me as I struggled through hell during the race and yeah, as feared, I failed achieve anything in this run.

I reached Dataran Merdeka at about 6.20am and I was shocked to find so many parking spaces even though I heard that there will be quite a massive number of runners. Meet up with the rest, pin up my running bibs and as usual go to the start-off cage. I was quite scared when I saw the number of people around. The race started at 7.30am and I had to run faster than my usual start to get rid of the huge crowds. My legs were weak, maybe due to panic and lack of training for the week (4km/week only).

I was breathing heavily during the first half as I think that I used more energy than usual to run at my pace. I dunno why, perhaps due to heavier body and weaker legs. My pace was alright, kinda fast but I knew I need to slow down or else I might not gonna make it in time. There were many runners ahead of me and frankly I did not overtake them. In fact, more runners were catching up from behind and slowly overtook me one by one. I managed to overtake a few during the water station time (as usual, I skipped the water station) and also during some final hill runs but seriously I was struggling to finish the race. I was suffering instead of enjoying the race. I have put on pressure on myself to at least squeeze into the 150 medal position and the losing feeling was even unbearable. I pushed myself through the end. I've seen some familiar faces getting so much improved. I was always ahead of them but this time, they were difficult to overtake!

I was praying that I still can make it sub 55mins so that I might stand a chance to clinch a medal. However, I crossed the finishing line at 56mins 10secs and I ranked 170th. Damn! There goes my medal! This year was definitely a tough one as there were many good runners this time and also my time was not good enough. I need to review my running programme as I have not improved since last year. I need to seriously plan my training programme instead of heading gym most of the time. This was another disappointing race for me and I think I'm still very far far away from my 15 medal target this year. Sigh!

X-Men: The Last Stand

2006-03-15T11:36:00.000+08:00

X-Men: The Last Stand is finally showing this May! Yahoooooo! I've waited so long for this. I heard that this might be the final x-men movie but hopefully they will change their mind on that. Watch the trailers and they were superb! Can't wait to watch this movie! I'll elaborate more on the characters in my next post.

Chillin......

2006-02-27T05:46:00.000+08:00

Guten Morgen, I'm currently in Switzerland. The time now is 2250, I overslept from 1400 until 2235. That means I had to skip my dinner coz the opposite kebab shop closed at 2130. Actually all the shops closes on Sonntag (ooopss Sunday). And the things here are so bloody expensive. I've taken my McD value meal lunch at CHF10.90 around RM30 in our currency. It has been snowing for the whole day today and I was so afraid to go outside because it's feaking cold. I've managed to snap only a few pictures out of the coldness but I couldn't post them yet because I'm using a public internet access in my hotel bar, enjoying my free beer. Hehe.

I'll be in Luzern for the whole week, that means I have to skip the KLIM again this year..sigh....... I skipped the event last year due to the same excuse and looks like I cannot escape again this year. What the heck, it's disappointing, but who does not want to skip this if you get to go oversea. Haha. Sigh...life has a been a bit boring here. I think I might have to be awake all night long coz I slept too much just now. Alright now...got to go back room and had my swiss choc as dinner. Haha.. For those who will be running this Sunday, good luck especially those Marathon runners, I salute you guys man....Don't injure yourself, just run smart and complete the race.. For the continjent of aout 16 runners from Klang (mostly fun run), you guys better back with a medal or else.....you all gotta get spanking from me! Haha...See you guys...Cheers!

TM Forest Towerthon

2006-02-21T21:34:00.000+08:00

This was my second KL towerthon. I joined the charity Towerthon in the year of 2003. I joined the race just for fun and also to add another medal to my collection.

We reached Bukit Nanas in about 7.20am. There were about 1000 participants and found out that my gang will be in group 2. My group started at 8.15am. The race consists of 1km hill run and 2000+ stairs climb. I did not force myself to run fast during the 1km hill run as I did not want to get exhausted so early. However, the hill was very taxing and by the time I reached the staircase, my legs were too heavy to be lifted up. The participants ahead of me were getting exhausted from the hill run and they were all started to walking up the stairs instead of running, which make the situation even worse. The area was small and there isn't much space available for me to overtake the others who were blocking me. After trying to overtake a few runners, I started to get very tired and reduced down my pace to walking pace. There were actually 2 water stations in between and I skipped both afraid that I might puke if I drink it. The stairs were getting slippery after those water stations and I had to be more careful.

I was thinking that it might have more than 36 levels but I was wrong. There were only 25 levels. Hence I put on wrong strategy because I was trying to save some energies for 36 levels. I did pretty ok although not as good as the others. My time was 24mins 50secs. After reaching the top finishing line, I went straight down and collected my goody bags. To my dismay, the medal was so damn light and it was made of plastic. So much of an international level event. The event was kinda disappointed, unlike the similar event in past years. I do hope that the organiser will improve the quality next year as this event has a lot of potentials to attract outsiders.

Great Eastern / Pacesetters 30K Run 2006

2006-01-23T21:13:00.000+08:00

I sorta came back purposely to join this run. My mom almost chopped me into pieces as I was coming back every week. I don't care much as I have no choice. This run is not to be missed.

Macho came fetch me at 5am yesterday morning. I was so damn tired as I was having insomnia / sleep apnea since a couple of months ago and the damn sleeping disorder really drained me out. Moreover, no training for the whole week just crushed my mental. Macho was running in 30k event while I was only brave enough to tackle 20k event.

The 30k event was flagged off at 6am and while waiting for my turn, I bumped into Rachel (pm21) and Kenneth (pm20). Chatted a little while with them and I don't even care about rushing to the cage for front positions. Just planned to run slowly as I want to finish the race without stopping and walking. I had bad experiences in all half marathon races last year so I don't wanna repeat the same nightmares again. So, I changed my strategy in running 20k.

Flagged off at 6.30am, I was crowded by 300+ runners and I was stucked in the middle. Kenneth was running together with Martin (Lonerunner) and I tried to run to the side of the route so that I do not need to squeeze in between the runners. Normally, the events organised by pacesetters are very hard and challenging, thus I was jogging very slowly in my first 5k. I was expecting the double hill route but I was wrong, we were heading to Hartamas route, a route that I've never taken before.

I skipped the first 2 water stations and I must say that the Hartamas route was horrible. A few lengthy hills to catch up and I had to u-turn to complete those hills again. Surprisingly, I was running comfortably and I actually had no idea how far did I complete at that moment and there was no distance marker. I guessed by the time I made the u-turn it was about 11 to 12k. I actually saw Stephanie running with Azwar(PM3). She was my ex-hostel mate and I wondered if she still can recognize me.

During my hills running, I actually felt my old pain coming back to my knee. I was trying very hard to reduce the chances of that bloody injury again. When I felt the strain, I had to changed my running style. I had to run in funny styles as I wanted to reduce my knee impact. After sometime, the strain gone away, but I felt it again during my next hill run. Damn! I told myself, no more long distance running in 2 months time and I cannot wear the Pegasus for running distance more than 15k.

After my u-turn, I saw plenty of runners opposite me. The 30k runners were getting more and more as I ran forward. I even saw the runner in red (my 10k competitor!LOL). He's running 30k so I can't compete with him. After about 1hr 25mins, I finally came out from the hartamas nightmare. I was still feeling pretty good, and actually I didn't see many runners ahead of me. And the traffic control in front of the National Archive Centre were quite ok except for my part. I was interrupted by the cars as the traffic policemen were expecting me to stop for awhile. Damn. Since I did not want to stop so I was running in a static position like an idiot for a couple of seconds. Sigh.

After crossing the damn road, a marshall was informing me that there was only 5km ahead. Yahoooo! I was expecting a 5km/min pace during the final 5km, but I was kinda exhausted after running for 2km. There were only 2 runners in front of me along my way back to the finishing point and also Stephanie and her gang doing their running/training. When I was running towards the train station, I overtook Stephanie and her gang. To my surprise, she noticed me and she knows who I am. Hahaha. Anyway, we greeted at each other and then I proceed my way to the bank rakyat's junction.

I was so damn demotivated when I saw that I need to complete the damn hill in order to reach the Perdana Lake Garden. Arrggghhhh. Struggling very hard to complete the last hill, I noticed that I've taken longer time to finish my final 5km and I was kinda disappointed. I knew I run well but I had to forget my sub 2hrs target. Finally, I crossed the finish line in 2hrs and 31 seconds. I do not know my position but I was hoping for top 50 as there were not that many 20k runners.

After the race, I was eating and drinking like a man who has starved for a week. I consumed so much of watermelon and it was the most watermelons I've ever eaten in my whole life. Haha. Overall, I was satisfied with my performance. Timing was average but at least I ran all the way to the finish line. Thumbs up to the organisers and hopefully I will have the courage to run 30k next year.

Siemens 10k Run

2006-01-17T21:08:00.000+08:00

This was my first run of the year and also a dissappointing start. Not only my timing sucks, the organiser too! It began when I was collecting running bibs and t-shirts. I was on leave last Friday and I went to FTAAA office to collect those stuffs for me and my friends. I was there around 10.30am. First of all, I was surprise as there's NO collection booth and later I found out that I have to go to the registration room to collect those stuffs. Luckily there wasn't that many people that morning or else, please imagine a bunch of people squeezing inside a 1.5m x 3m room.

I always have been very polite while going to collect anything because I wouldn't want to create chaos. So, the collection went smoothly until the guy told me that "there's only left XL t-shirts, so you wanna take XL?" My mood immediately changed, and I was like, "Duh! Have to take XL lar! Like I can choose". The best thing was I locked my sights on him and what I saw is he was looking at a pile of t-shirts and after examine that pile he put back the pile and he went to the other pile. So, guess it. The previous ones were all non XL size t-shirts! I really can no longer tolerate with this shit anymore. Why must they always have to print most of the t-shirts in XL??? If they can actually use their brain or shall I say "their experienced mind", they should know that most of the runners are not big size! And worse still, the smaller sizes were given all out in the first collection day! Anyway, I did not lash out my anger to that young man as I knew it wasn't his fault. I would never shout at them anyway because they are well known of their fierce faces and unfriendly welcomes at several past occasions.

Nevermind then, talk about the race day. I was actually not expecting a large crowd but I was wrong. There were so many people and we were actually kinda late (we reached dataran five minutes before flag off time). I did not get my front seats but I was among the first half of the group. I think there were around 800-900 runners in my category. They flagged off at 7.30am and I turboed towards the front trying to avoid stampede. I ran for about 500m and I had to stop to tie my shoe laces. I took quite a long time to tie them as they were too short (I was wearing Nike Pegasus 2005 for the first time in race). After that, I quickly ran and overtook a lot of runners as I knew I was falling way behind. As I know that this race will not offer any medal for me, I didn't bother to clock time in every distance markers that I crossed.

We were running along the KTM station route and I thought we'll gonna run along the double hill route again. But I was wrong again, we were heading towards the Hentian Duta route this time and it was a long time I've run on this route. After the 5km mark, I saw a familiar runner who always challenge my pace during a lot of races. He was wearing his usual red vest and shorts and he's catching up to my pace. He was a very persistent runner. There were times that I was better and there were also times that he's difficult to beat. I remember that he was damn fast in Mizuno Run (yeah, I lost) and this time will be my revenge. LOL. I actually make him my gauge/target in every race so that I can clock better time. However, he was not that fast compared to previous races and I managed to be ahead of him most of the time. We overtook each other a few times and finally I was ahead of him and finished my race in 55mins 21secs. Not fast but enough to beat that guy. Haha. I don't know him anyway but I think he was not in his form on that day coz he beat me far too much in Mizuno.

Saw pm21 (Rachel) taking picture of me during at the finishing line and met Ronnie, Draco, Richard and Sean. Thanks to Rachel counting the positions, I was told that I ranked 128th. Not a bad position but of course, a bit disappointed as they only offered 30 medals. Sigh...

Anyway, I seriously think that our local organisers need to improve their organising skills. If there's still no improvement, then I don't think that I would want to come back all the way from Penang to participate in lousy events. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the Great Eastern 30km run. I'll be running 20km and I hope I'll do better than my previous half marathon run.

Mizuno Run 2005

2005-12-25T21:12:00.000+08:00

Argghhh... finally I have time to write my Mizuno Run report after much chaos at work for one whole week. Last week's Mizuno Run was my final run for year 2005. I've not did a 10km competitive run for more than 2 months already and I wasn't sure if I can PR. Kinda pressure as I wanted to do good in my final run.

We went there in a group of seven and like the previous Pacesetters 15k run, the runners there looked professional. Zbjernak was worried he will finish last and tried to drag PeiYi and Kevin to accompany him. The race was flagged off sharp at 7.30am and I found myself running very fast. My usual start pace to avoid stampede. I saw a runner which I think is Guest206 in Ronnie's blog (if the info given by Tey is correct). He was running quite fast and I was trying to follow his pace. My breathing was horrible for the first 2 km as I was running faster than usual. Finally, I gave up following Guest206's pace and swtiched back to my recuperating pace.

When I reached the first water station, I looked and my watch and realized that I've completed that distance (dunno whether was 5km mark) in 21mins. A little bit too fast or maybe the water station was not located at 5km mark. It also means that the hills are near and I turbo up my first hill, overtook countless of runners. Others might think I'm stupid, but I actually need to speed up the first hill as it will actually prevent my motivation from falling. After the first hill, I slowed down to restore all my strength again and of course, I didn't speed up during the second hill as I was kinda exhausted and wouldn't want to destroy my strategy.

After the second hill, I gound myself finishing off the Bukit Tunku route and slowly headed out to the highway. I kept on trying motivate myself because it will about 2km left to finish. However, I was staring the runners ahead of me in horror as they were making a u-turn to the memorial instead of running the usual way. That means, I had a few more kilometres more. Argghhh... I couldn't really increase my pace as I didn't know how many more kilometres ahead.

I tried to drag myself to the finish line by not pushing myself too hard. Finally, I felt relieved when I saw Tugu Negara. Then, I increased my pace and running down the hill desperately trying to finish the race. When I started to turn left into the football field which was the ending point, I was running helplessly and slowly trying to dodge the wet mud. Damn! There goes my favourite shoes. I could have finish off the distance in about 10secs and the stupid field caused me about 1min to finish as I didn't want to wet my shoes.

Finally, I finished off in 53mins 13secs and my shoes were wet and dirty. Sigh... There wasn't any isotonic water station, just mineral water and milo. My position was 146th, and I was kinda satisfied although the timing was not as impressive as the others. I was told that the route distance was 11km. So I'm running in an average of less than 5mins/km, not that bad after all.

Chat a little bit the pacemakers and later headed off to my car with my friends. So, that's it, Mizuno Run closing my running schedule of the year. Hurray!

Singapore Marathon 2005

2005-12-08T14:17:00.000+08:00

Yeah, I was in Singapore last weekend for my participation in the greatest race Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2005 for the second time. I didn't join marathon this time, instead I degrade myself to half marathon.

Saturday, 03 December 2005

Zbjernak was driving us to Johor Bahru with his car. Then, we parked his car at his relative's house and we went into Singapore by public transport. Reached Singapore roughly around 10am. After checked into Metropole Hotel, the official hotel for BoSe and the gang, we got ourselves refreshed and then off we go to SunTec Convention Centre to collect our running packs.

The expo was much bigger compare to last year and this time, they gave out really good running vest. Before we leave the expo, we bumped into a lady around her forties asking us to help her redeem some goodies bags. The expo actually gave out 500 goody bags each day and we need to have a newspaper cut-out to redeem. Each one can only redeem once. That lady actually had 2 big bags containing all the goodies and yet she still wanted each of us to get her more (she has plenty of cut-outs). What the heck, we just too kind to help her and when I redeem 'my' goody bag, I peeked through the bag to see what's inside. There wasn't many things, but there's one commercial pack of pasta in each bags. That's what she actually wanted because she can actually make easy money selling them (mind you, it's 2 big bags full). My goodness, I didn't there still such people around here nowadays. It's horrible. Then, it was short one goody and she was asking us. I noticed that Zbjernak had disappeared. He was holding the goody bag and wanted to keep it for his own! Of course, he got lectured from me after that, but it was useless with his damn-you attitude. Maybe he wants the pasta for himself too. Hope you 'enjoy' your free pasta!

After that, we headed our own ways as I had a date with 2 of my ex-coursemates who are currently working in Singapore. Had lunch with them in Bugis and met the guys back in National Science Centre. We had our dinner in Bugis (again!) then we've decided to go back to rest. Macho was a little nervous as he was not well prepared for marathon.

Sunday, 04 December 2005

I woke up at 0430 hours and started to get ready for the run. I found out that the fever had struck me again because I felt hot all inside my body and freezing outside. I was suffering from the cold fever for a week and it has not been fully recovered since. A bit worry though and I actually thank god I was running half instead of full. Macho and I went out first at 5.30am while leaving the others to rest more. I ate a banana and drank few gulps of water. They flagged off the marathon runner at 6am and I only managed to see Shine. After that I started to follow the crowd to enter the cage and I was just few meters from the flag off point (how kiasu.LOL). We waited until 6.30am and then off we ran. I was feeling pretty comfortable and I ran with speed around 5:30/km. I was busy looking at the marathon runners opposite me so I actually ignored quite a lot of the distance markers. I only realized that I've completed the first 10km within 55mins, not a bad timing.

I still maintained my speed around that and soon I found myself completing 15km. I was feeling a little exhausted at that time. The weather was not helping either because it was way too hot! I'm not sure about the others but I found out the heat was trapped inside my body and I wasn't sweating as usual. Maybe my fever was causing it and before I reached the final u-turn, Kevin Chow was running past through me. He was still so energetic and I couldn't follow his pace as I was too tired. After the u-turn I saw Raymond at the opposite lane. He was walking at the time and looked totally drained. I was not looking good either and I actually stopped to stretch my legs and continue my run. However, the strectch actually just killed my motivation and I was walking after that. One by one overtook me and soon I heard Kenneth was trying to motivate me while he was overtaking me. I asked him to go ahead as I was really tired.

I tried to run again after a caucasian trying to motivate me by telling me there was only 3km left. I ran for awhile but stopped again at the water station to quench my thirst. To my horror, I drank the whole bottle and I knew I'll be in deep trouble. I started to run again and suddenly I found my left leg cramping during the final 2km. I had to stop to relieve the cramp and then had to jog slowly as the cramp wouldn't want to go away. Hence, for the final 2km, I was jogging and walking all the way to the end. I started to speed a little after I crossed the bridge which brought me to the finishing line. I was so relieved I finally finished the race. I met Kenneth and Kevin. We chatted a little before I went to return my timing chip and collect my medal. Failed to find the rest, I went back to the hotel alone to shower up. After awhile Zbjernak, Kevin (another friend of mine) and Pei Yi came back and we headed off again to the arena to cheer for Macho to finish his marathon. He finished the run in about 5hours 40minutes.

My timing was quite bad...2hrs 12mins but I didn't really care as I didn't put much hope in this race. I was there mainly to enjoy the race and I was quite happy to be there actually. I met Jamie while waiting for Macho and he finished his race in about 4hrs 30mins. Congrats man! He did very well and certainly deserve it especially running under the hot sun! He told me he could do better but he had to slow down a bit due to the heat and fatigue. Don't worry man, there's always next year. Haha.

This year's Singapore Marathon is a bit different from last year. The number of runners was a lot more this time, but I still prefer the last year's race environment. More cheering groups and more water stations with smaller water bottles. However, I certainly gonna go back again next year, hopefully can run again in marathon event. I've sent my last year's marathon finisher tee to laundry service and it was lost since then! Sigh... the tee actually meant a lot to me as I went through hell in that marathon last year (read my previous post and you'll know why). So I feel tempted to reclaim the tee again probably next year. I will try to start training harder from now.

Pictures from top-left:
BoSe, Kevin,
Macho, Zbjernak
PeiYi

Run, BoSe, Run

2005-11-22T09:16:00.000+08:00

Singapore Marathon is approaching, and I can't wait until that weekend. I'll be taking 6 days leave which I have about 10 days to enjoy my final month of the year off Penang! I'll be running in the 21km event this year, not 42km like last year. This event is the most anticipated event of the year and I believe all the runners will think the same too.

I've been taking a rest from running for almost 2 months already. I've not step my both feet on the road for ages already, which means no TRAINING! I've run on treadmills in the gym occasionally which lasted for 30 minutes. However yesterday was a bit special, I ran for 45 minutes on the mill, my longest run on the treadmill so far. I tried to run 1 hour however, I started to feel my old nightmare again on my right knee during the 40th minute, so I stopped at 45 minutes. I had a nice feeling coz I've never complete a run that long (apart from races). But, how prepared am I for the Singapore Half Marathon? I myself do not know. Had a little sms chat with Raymond yesterday. He will go there to enjoy the run, so he'll not push too hard. I have thought the same thing, but yet at the same time, I feel like seeing how fast I can finish the race. It's actually due to my disappointing performances in all the half marathon runs I've participated this year. But I don't think I'm well prepared for this race. Maybe I will wait until that day and if my form is good, then I'll run a bit harder.

Anyway, to all runners who will be representing Malaysia to the run organised by our neighbour, good luck and enjoy yourself. It will definitely be the most enjoyable run and I salute all the marathon runners. I ran marathon once and I know it's not easy to finish one. Strong mental and physical preparation are essential to accomplish the run. Hopefully everybody will PR! in this event. Cheers!

Horrible Wednesday

2005-10-12T21:05:00.000+08:00

This post is nothing to do with running, but just to share moments I've encountered today. I was on my way to Sungai Petani driving my 5 months old Wira Special Edition. When I reached the toll, my car engine died off. Damn! It has been like that since I've sent my car for service 3 weeks ago. What a 'good' job they have done tuning my car! Then, another deja vu happened. My car engine indicator light is on all the way after I've restarted my engine. Pulled off at the side of the highway, I turn off and restart the engine again and again but the damn light just wouldn't goes off. That's the same thing happened on the same road 3 weeks ago and now it got worse. Late for my appointment, I had to continued my journey with the damn light on and pulled off again at the rest area to cool my engine down. After about awhile, it was ok and that's it! I'm selling the damn car.

My journey back to Penang was smooth and then when I was on my way to the gym, it rained and guess what, I cruised my car to bump another car! I was about to turn right after the traffic light and since it is still green, I quickly added some speed just to see if I can make it. But I knew it was too late coz it changes to yellow and I actually thought the car in front of me would go for it. Then I would have ample space to stop. To the contrary, she just stopped and I was a little close to her. Suspected nothing, I just hit on the brake. But, the brake does not have enough strength to hold the wet and slippery tyres. So initially I was still moving/floating with my tyres rolling under the grip of the brakes. Bamm! Gosh.

I went down, apologized for million/zillion times and felt relieved as nothing serious happened to both cars. However, there was slightly a tiny, half visible wreck hole at the bumper of her car. She almost fainted when I knocked her car coz she just repaired the car a couple of weeks ago. Now, she saw the tiny hole and she wants to send to Perodua service centre to fix. Gosh! I just followed coz it was my fault, so I wouldn't want to argue. When we reached the service centre, the mechanic quoted RM240 for the knocking the small wreck hole out and spraying the paint. Here goes again my savings for the month, plus just finished servicing my car for RM200++ too.

I think I will never have the chance to save money coz everytime I saved some, I'll need to pay for stuff like accidents, repairs, etc.And I would never buy a Proton car again! I am so disappointed with Proton cars and I even gonna sell mine soon. I'll need to buy a car which has no engine problem and good braking system like ABS. But it will cost me a fortune, sigh!

PJ Half Photos

2005-09-18T20:42:00.000+08:00

From left behind: Joseph, Teoh Front: Grayson, BoSe, Marryanne, Angelina, Zbjernak, Macho

PoiHing and BoSe

PJ Half Marathon 2005 - Target 2005 Achieved!

2005-09-18T13:17:00.000+08:00

In the year 2004, I had achieved my best half marathon results which was way too good for a beginner like me. I clocked 1hr 39mins to finish the race at position 81st. That was my most memorable moment in PJ Half Marathon. This year, I would like to cherish the very same moment, however, from my past devastating experience in Seremban and Ipoh Half 2005, I doubt I can repeat the success unless my strong mental can overcome my weak physical ability.

Around 3am this morning, heard some drizzling sound and later found out that it started raining in Klang. Still half asleep, I was praying that it rains heavily as long as it stops right before the race. When I woke up at 0430, the rain stopped and I was relieved. Starting the pack my running gear and off we go for the most important and hardest event in Malaysia. Easy route but hard medals. We reached the stadium 10minutes before 6am. I was trying to get ready and control my nervous emotion as I will really need to clinch my 10th medal of the year today. I told myself, in order to achieve my target, I cannot repeat the performance in Ipoh and Seremban as there will be many pro-runners in PJ Half so I must be strong physically and mentally. I was wearing exactly the same running outfit as last year, which looks totally horrible. Red vest with green XL shorts. I couldn't wear my usual running shorts as it always create friction to my thigh and it's just not suitable running longer distance with that.

As usual, Macho and I tried to squeeze into the front line and it's a very straight forward event. No hanky panky performance and they flagged us off 3 minutes before 0630 (from my time). I sped and ran ahead with strong pace. I notice Macho did not follow my pace this time. He was slower than usual and I guess he must be very tired due to lack of sleep. So, he's taking this race easy this time. I saw Justin running 50 metres in front of me. I tried to follow his pace for the first 2km and then I changed back to my own pace as he was too fast for me. As usual, the distance markers were all wrong as I found myself running 2km in 6mins 49secs. I knew I was running around 4:30 to 5mins pace per kilometre. So 7mins for 2km is very inaccurate.

I was running very fast for the first 5 kilometres and surprisingly, I was quite comfortable with the pace and I sped up the first and second bridge easily without any problem. After that, I found myself running towards the airport and that route is really challenging our mental as it was just flat and straight. After the 8th kilometre (I guess), I notice some droplets. To my horror, it started raining heavily and this was my first time running in the rain. The rain has both advantage and disadvantage for me. The rain water was refreshing but it soak my whole body. I found out my pace was still good during the race but I was very busy wiping the water out from my face. I have nose sinus problem and I'll be in deep trouble if the water goes into my nose.

I also miscalculated another bridge as the bridge was newly built and it wasn't there last year. So, I had to speed up again during the 3rd bridge and headed all the way to the roundabout. I think I was running at a very good timing when I reached the roundabout. I still don't feel tired, maybe due to the refreshing rain. I caught up with Ryan during the third water station and he was actually not running as usual. He seemed to be tired. Maybe he's unwell. There was another marker stating 12km at the roundabout. That means I have another 9km to go. Not sure whether the marker is accurate so I just ignored the marker and run towards the airport. I found out that we have to run all the way to Terminal 3 then only we are allowed to make a u-turn. I got pretty shocked as that means it was longer than last year's route and it will be totally impossible to repeat the good time. And my strategy might be in vain. I was still feeling ok after I finally made the u-turn from Terminal 3. 500m after the u-turn I saw my ex-roomate (PoiHing) at the opposite side. He's running at fast pace and was about to make u-turn. Sooner or later he's gonna overtake me. I saw Kenneth too and I personally think that he was running fast and good. I also saw Macho but he was already walking at that time. I knew he was spent.

After I completed the roundabout, I started to feel exhausted. PoiHing already ran past me and I slowed down a bit just to rebuild my strength. I had to climb the same bridge again and I didn't speed up during that because I was very tired. Struggling to finish the race, I actually stopped at the last water as well as sponging station and I met Kelvin(pm2) there. I tried to follow his pace for awhile but I was too damn tired until we started to turn left for the final kilometre, he was already started walking and I actually followed his steps walking from 100m behind. LOL. My legs felt heavy and I couldn't help it. I ran a little after that but walk again. About 700m to go, I noticed there was a big bunch of runners storming past through me from behind and that was the time I got panicked. I already lost out to them and I will not let another bunch to do that again. I started to run back. Finally, I was running into the stadium and PoiHing was cheering for me with his girl. 300m to go, I tried to sprint but I couldn't, therefore I just dragged myself to the finishing line. I clocked 1hr 56mins. My position was 103rd. Way too far from my 81st last year.

Nevertheless, I was glad I finish the race. Looking desperately for 100plus water booth. Took a few cups while PeiYi helped me to get some Milo. After that, I had a chat with Ronnie, Justin and Kenneth. Kenneth was just 8 positions behind me and I congratulated him for his good and stable run this morning. From what I read from his blog, he certainly has improved and he has become a very good runner now. Soon, 200 medals were all given out for my category and Macho missed the medal. He was not in his top condition and I hope he better catch up as he has a full marathon to run this December.

I have achieved my 10 medal target for this year therefore I can take things easy now. I will stop joining any running events from now on. I have to rest my miserable legs and I certainly need these incoming 3 months to build more muscles on my legs. I need to start training now as I have 2 more races to complete during December which are Singapore Marathon and Round Penang Island Relay. I can finally rest easy now. No more stress for me as I have already completed my mission for this year and if I'm lucky, another 2 medals during December will be a bonus for me. To all the runners, wish you luck in your remaining races. Majulah Sukan Untuk Negara.

Putrajaya Half Marathon 2005

2005-09-12T13:43:00.000+08:00

Yeah, Putrajaya Half Marathon, first time event in Putrajaya. Everybody was wondering why I was running in 10km category instead of 21km category, especially, this event is quite crucial for runners preparing for PJ Half Marathon this Sunday. I have my reasons; first, left knee injury. If I joined 21km, the injury might get worse, thus I might not be able to run PJ Half. Second, no training, dare not risk myself running 21km in a hot place like Putrajaya. I might end up walking to the end.

This time not many of my friends running this race. Wrong time, I guess. And also some also giving last minute excuse like back pain. The girls are not running, so just left us the guys. When we reached there and got ready, they were actually about to flag 21km runners off. I was quite amazed by the amount of the 21km runners. They were so many! After the 21km runners started leaving the starting point, we, the 10km runners were slowly making our way into the starting spot. A lot of runners in 10km category also this time. Many were squezzing and pushing around. Waited for the aerobic session to finish, we were soon flagged off and I almost fell (pok kai) due to the pushings. I just don't understand why they wanna push. Maybe they thought they are too damn good until they can win the prize money.

I was planning to go for relax run as there are about 400 medals up for grab. However, looking at the number of participants (more than 1300 in my category) I had to press a little harder. In the beginning, I was feeling some strain feeling at my injured left knee, however, the strain was off after 1km and I was quite relieved at that time. The 10km running route was easy, flat all the way, until 1 long major hill during u-turn the flat again until the end. I thought I can actually do well, but I was wrong. The flat road did not give me chances to switch my pace. I was a little fast during the u-turn hill running time but I found out my form was not that good so after the hill, I got tired and did not really run that fast.

However, I got excited because I met someone that I kinda miss so much, he was my ex-roomate. He used to be very active in running but got slowed down after he graduated. But now, he's running again. He was 200m behind me during the u-turn time, however as anticipated, he was soon running in front of me. I couldn't catch up with him as I was so tired. I tried to clocked below 50min, but I failed. In the end, I clocked 52mins 41secs at position 136th. The 400medals with given out within 60minutes time which means 264 runners completed after me in less than 8 minutes time. Wow!

After I crossed the finish line, I found PoiHing (my roomate) was waiting for me and we had a chat while waiting for the others. He'll be running PJ Half this weekend I wish him all the best. Overall, I think this running event was a successful especially for the first timer. I actually think it was better than KLIM'04. Dunno how's KLIM'05 though because I wasn't around. They'll have my support next year.

Adidas KOTR Pic

2005-09-06T08:42:00.000+08:00

From Left: Dark Kai, Marryanne, Angelina, Dr. Antenna, BoSe, Zbjernak and Macho

Adidas KOTR 2005

2005-09-04T21:50:00.000+08:00

I was very determined to participate in this run, even though my twisted left knee is killing me and the objections from parents. I wanted to avenge my dissapointment in last year's race and Adidas KOTR is the event I can really compare myself to other runners as there will be plenty of good runners compete for limited medals (in my category, it's 150). I ranked 156th last year, and I would like to see how I fared this year.

Me and my gang started getting ready for race as early as 6am and we left Klang at 0615 and reached Dataran Merdeka at 0645. I found out the starting point was a bit weird as there was a floating curved balloon acting as the starting point but the curve was damn too small to cater more than 1000 runners at a go. And they have these expensive fans or speakers or some sort of gadget and finally they placed a dumbo to guard those gadgets during the flag off just to prevent them from being kicked by us. Stupid decorations!

Right before the flag off, there was this cheerleaders performance. Did they make this a rule for every running events nowadays? I'm getting to see them often nowadays and I HATE it! No offence but they can always do this during the warming up session, not the flagging off time. Flagging off at about 7.35am, I sprinted off to the front and to my horror, I found that the route has changed. That means I could no longer strategize my speed. Finally, I think I was running the similar route as New Balance Pacesetter Run's and I got very worried as there were plenty hills to tackle.

For the first 2.7km, I found out that I was running in 10 mins 24 secs. That was way too fast for me. No wonder I found my breathing was very heavy and difficult. But since I started of with this speed, I have no choice but to go on as I was approaching hills and I had to run at my best. Ryan caught up with me before the 5km sign and as usual he was consistently good. I managed to do well in my first 3 hills attempts, however, I couldn't take the final one, therefore I was struggling to finish off the hill. My timing was still very good but my pace slowed during the final 3 kilometres. I was totally exhausted in my last kilometre thus I could not turbo in the end. I've never done any turbo in any runs held at Dataran Merdeka as I normally finished off my energy before the final kilometre. Finally, I finished the race in 50mins 30secs. It was good timing for me but I was a little bit dissapointed as I could have done it sub 50mins. I ranked 123rd and thank god finally I've successfully had my first Adidas KOTR medal.

This year's event was a bit off compared to last year. I feel that not many sponsors especially drinks and food. Maybe there are too many running events this years as those drinks and beverages companies has finished most of their budgets, thus we are seeing less and less sponsors during the 3rd and final quarter of the year. Anyway, I'm quite satisfied although my left knees hurts like crazy now and I know this month will be a painful month for me. I had to torture my knees more than usual and my cash flow will be very tight since I need to travel down to KL every weekend. I might skipped the Shah Alam or Malay Mail Walk if I managed to achieve my 10th medal in PJ Half later.

Time Splits
2.7km>>>>>10:24
4.7km>>>>>08:45 >>>>Total-19:09
5.7km>>>>>04:17 >>>>Total-23:27
6.7km>>>>>05:46 >>>>Total-29:14
10.7km>>>>>21:16 >>>>Total-50:30

The Sabah Trip Group - My Friends

2005-08-17T11:23:00.000+08:00

The group which visited Sabah last March 2005

I went to Sabah for adventurous activities last March 2005 with a big group of friends. Most of them are Klangites except Kevin and Dominic. Here, I would like to dedicate this to my friends with some special descriptions.

WaiKit @ Kou Lou - The tallest guy in the group. Measuring at 6 ft 2 in and growing, he's working as a software engineer. He whines and complains a lot, thus always kena bullets from me. Hahahah. A loyal Man U fan.

BoonEe @ Ah Neh - The brother of a Selangor footballer. Not much of description about him but he's a frequent traveller to Jakarta. Hmmmmmm....

Kent @ The Joker - Stylish guy with a mouth of a joker. Kills lots of innocent girls with his charming baby face. Loves playing and watching football.

WinSeng @ Angelina - Blur guy with a mouth like Angelina Jolie. He eats quicker than the speed of a bullet train. He graduated in Accounting but have a very weak sense in calculation. ???????

TeckChun @ Tulang - A very skinny guy who likes to talk crap most of the time and sometimes you really wanna get rid of him because he's too crappy. Hahahhaa

Dominic @ The Petrol Splasher - A unique Sabahan who has the talent of splashing petrol at the petrol station. Extremely skinny and fun guy to fight with.

SiewYun @ Little Cloud - A close friend of EngTeck which has this cute little innocent face. Not very close to her so not much of comment. :)

Wei Hung @ Tou Hau - A cousin of mine. She's a nutritionist but end up selling condoms. Hahahahha.

Diong @ The 'S' girl - A girl that you would try very hard to stop yourself from hitting her into pieces. Very dumb and always have this weird style of posing during photo takes. Macho's sweetheart.

Hui Chin @ Antenna - Can also call as the twin sister of Diong. A future medical doctor but dumb as hell. Also feel like hitting her everytime chatting to her.

William @ Gorilla - Probably the most normal looking guy with moderate short legs in the group. Have his own little funny style and has this very hamsap little eyes.

EngTeck @ Curry Kid - A rude little kid. True Klangite/Jenjarum with vulgar words everytime he opens his mouth. A good runner.

WeeSeng @ Macho - An active runner since high school. Not so macho nowadays coz he's getting fatter and dumber with his sweetheart. Hahahaha.

BoonSeng @ BoSe - Yeah, that's me! Pestering and scolding people non stop are my main fields. Always acting like guardian angel and leader among the group. If given them a chance, I think they will hit and kick me non stop for revenge. Hahaha

YuMei @ Ah Bai - A girl who does not know the meaning of stop eating. Eats a lot and quite 'hiau' at times. William's sweetheart.

PeiYi @ Marryanne - A loyal maid in the group. Hahahhaa. Also sometimes acts as our mother. Mums and laughs a lot. Also a runner.

ChunChai @ Ah Kau - The genius among the group and also a good friend of mine. Just finished his Masters and Norway now is his second home.

LokBin @ Zbjernak - Fattest in the group who weighs XXX kgs and very 'sam pat' guy. Like to talk silly things also.

Kevin @ Dark Kai - The coolest member in the group. Very quiet and has his own style. Have a thing with cameras and guitars.

Hahahahahha. No offence guys. I am too bored so just published this for fun. Anyway, with all these people of unique characteristics form a funny and weird group. Hahahha. Cheers!

Remaining Runs Of Year 2005

2005-08-11T11:07:00.000+08:00

Haze has been strucking forcefully in Klang Valley this particular month. I'm enjoying the clear blue sky in Penang meanwhile my family and friends suffer the 'storm' back at home. The runners are complaining about it because they couldn't get their feet running on natural ground.

This year has been another remarkable year for me as again, I did good in almost all the runs I have participated, mostly in 10km runs however sucked in 21km runs. The lack of training costs me a lot in longer distance run. I have set my eyes in a few more runs this year and then I can close my running calendar for the year. The runs that I've planned to participate are as below:

1) Malay Mail Big Walk (Postponed) - Registered 10km
2) Adidas King of The Road (04/09/2005) - Registered 11.8km
3) Putrajaya Half Marathon (11/09/2005) - Registered 10km
4) PJ Half Marathon (18/09/2005) - Registered 21km
5) Shah Alam 10k (25/09/2005) - Planned to register
6) KWYP City Run (13/11/2005) - Planned to register
7) SC Singapore Marathon (04/12/2005) - Registered 21km
8) Starwalk (11/12/2005) - Under consideration
9) Round The Island Relay (18/12/2005) - Planned to register

Basically, there are 9 more runs/walks for me to participate. I might skip a few, depending on the running date as most of the runs are held in central region and I'm staying in the island of the northern region. However, I'll try to go back every weekend in September as those are the crucial runs for me. Hopefully I can steal a couple of medals from there. Adidas KOTR and Shah Alam will be a tough race as many competitive runners will be trying to grab a piece on the medals. I missed the KOTR'04 medal by 6 rungs out(156th) and I was placed 96th out of 100 medals given in Shah Alam last year. Hence, these 2 runs will be most significant run for me this year as I will have to try extra hard to squeeze myself into the medal positions. Not to sound very kiasu here, for me, getting medal in a run will be my greatest boost to improve myself in the running world. To be frank, I've never have any sport medal during my schooling days and now I can at least be proud of myself that I can still excel in sports even in my adult years, although there's price to pay, leg injuries. I personally do think that we cannot run away from injuries in sports. Injuries sometimes make us smarter and better.

Bonus Medal

2005-08-10T08:38:00.000+08:00

I've been surfing a few running blogs quite often lately. I've also received a lot of compliments for my achievement in my previous Tanjong 10k Run. Thanks a lot guys, but I was just lucky as this year's amount of runners were very few. So, there was one day I went to Haris' blog and I found out that he's had another top finisher medal for his 11th position in Tanjong and they were giving out to top 15 for Men Open. I wasn't around during the prize giving ceremony!!!!! I grabbed my phone and called SEAMEO RECSAM in the nick of time to enquire MAP office number. And then I called straight to the organiser to ask if I still can claim my top finisher medal. Luckily they said yes and I sped off to their office at 4pm. A bit kiasu huh? Hahahaha. Actually I wouldn't mind if I missed the medal but I guess it wouldn't hurt giving a try to check it out. So, I have another medal in my collection, making my medal hunting less harder this year. Hahaha. (10 medal target is quite a big task for me this year).

Ronnie has actually asked me to join his group for the Team Relay in Round the Penang Island event end of this year. I am more than happy to join but at the same time warned him that I am not a fast runner and I might slow his team down. I also heard that the event was a tough race as my roomate and my good pal 'Palapes Heng' joined the relay run before under UM's elite runner team. I will need to train a bit harder as this event will be held two weeks after Singapore Marathon. Luckily I did not register Full Marathon else I will have difficulty running the team relay event later.

Tanjong 10k Run 2005, Penang

2005-08-07T09:46:00.000+08:00

I've heard Tanjong 10k run since last year and as I know, the run is an annual event. So, since I'm working in Penang now, I took the opportunity to participate in this run. Since I'm a stranger to this run, I knew nothing and the organisers also confuse me. The registration was at SEAMEO RECSAM building, then the t-shirt collection was at Kompleks Belia dan Sukan and the race venue was at Sekolah Menengah Padang Polo and these 3 places are totally quite a distance to each other.

I woke up at 5am this morning and I parked my car in Penang Hospital at 6am. To my surprise, there wasn't any banner, bunting or booth around the area and the officials arrived the same time as I was. What an event! The place was empty. I felt weird as if around this time in any Klang Valley's run, there's already a big crowd. Anyway, I just wandered around the school, did some warm up and my left knee still not healed. Damn.. It does not hurt but it's giving this annoying feel when I bend it to a certain extent.

The people started coming in after 6.45am and by 7.15am, there's quite a number of people crowding the school compound, however, the number is still not too large compare to other runs. I guessed less than 1000 runners. All the categories are running 10km so all of us started running after the flag off time at 7.30am.

There wasn't many runners I can notice in my category, but I noticed quite a few pro runners in junior veteran category. But they didn't look like they're in their 40s. Unbelievable. Many Penangites look younger than their real age. After the flag off, I sprinted off. In front of me were about 20 over runners and they were too damn fast even though they were wearing junior veteran bibs. Finally, I found my comfort zone and I ran with my own pace. I wasn't running at my top condition today maybe because I had trouble in sleeping these few days and heavy travels and workloads just drained my energy outta me. So, I was just trying stay in top 100, as I knew they were giving out finisher medals for all who complete the run.

We started off running along Macalister Road, then the Anson Road, the longest Kelawei Road. Then to Bagan Jermal, Gottlieb, Utama, Macalister and then back to the school. Overall, it was a boring running route because yeah you know, no HILLS. I could not switch my speed and finally, I finished the route in 51mins 52secs. The timing was my standard timing so I'm quite satisfied. Ok, now the better part is, I found myself ranked 46th in overall position. Wow, not bad. Then I wandered around the officials and I found out I ranked 15th in my own category. WOOOOOOW. My best position so far. But there ain't many runners today so I got lucky. If the pacemakers gang is here, they will conquer all the top 10 positions. I left early coz I thought there's nothing for me to do there. I was running alone this time.

I will take a 3 weeks break from joining any run just to prepare myself for the super hectic September running schedule. I need an adequate time to heal my knee too. I have achieved my sixth medal this year in my latest six consecutive runs despite Larian Mesra and Hong Leong Charity. I kinda happy and I hope I will achieve my 10 medals target by the end of the this year. So far, 8 runs completed and 6 finisher medals. I have about 6 more runs to complete this year. Biggest regret, skipped half marathon in KLIM due to unavailability.