Seremban Half Marathon
I didn't get the finisher's medal. I didn't win the prizes at stake. I didn't even finish within the cut-off time. But the trip down to Seremban wasn't a waste. In fact, it was one of the most fulfilling runs I had ever done.
I helped my buddy Plum finish his 1st half marathon and stayed with him thruout (ok, 90% of the time) the race. I know what its like to the mentally and physically hurting when you run long distance for the 1st time and contempleting thoughts of giving up. I hurt badly in my Pg Bridge run last year and it wasn't something I would like my frens to go thru alone.... So this run was meant to be run together... And finishing the race side-by-side as we ran across the finish line together was the biggest prize for me so far. You did it dude!! And to top it all off, he won a mystery prize in the form of a 6-pack of 100+. You go rehydrate yourself kau-kau man..
The race started off at 6:45am and in a 21km run of about 300 odd runners, we soon found ourselves at the back of the pack with barely 1km gone.... No worries, most important thing for the day was to finish, the timing wan't important.
1st half of the route was scenic, taking us thru a new development called Forest Heights and it felt like running up Camerons, albeit with wider roads... The air was fresh and cooling and it was a bit of an uphill, but as it was early in the race, Plum was going strong. And so was myself.
We had agreed that whenever the pace slowed to a walk, or if there were any detours, I would run off, get some extra mileage in and catch up with him a lil later... Since I was running at a pace which I was comfortable in, the race was a training session for me to get in additional mileage as the base for my marathon training. I would eventually end up running 25.3kms instead of the designated 21km.
The 2nd half of the race was where the tiredness start to set in for Plum. Although he didn't admit it to me then (I know you were hurting, dude) and he kept on going (kudos to you!!).. the pace slowed... but the traffic didn't. It was getting later and traffic had started to build up and we were getting onto main roads now and going pass intersections and some of them were not even manned.
Traffic control was kinda poor, and there were no traffic cones for us to run within a designated path for safety and for a lot of stretches, we were running on the white lines on the road; 3 inches to the left - grass and gravel and stones, and 3 inches to the right - whizzing traffic. Stressful.
Plum did well for his 1st half marathon, and although we walked thru the water stations, and refilled our bottles, he only dropped to a walk just before we hit the last water station at 16km... That's practically a full 16kms of running for you before walking man! After that however, the road started to go uphill, but Plum's day went downhill...
Cramps started to set in on both legs, and it was stretch, walk, stop, stretch, walk, stop, stretch, walk all the way until the finish line where he summoned enough strength to run the last 100m across the finish chute. I'm pretty sure that was a huge sense of achievement.
Dude, I'm proud of you. Lets do the full next.
42.195km / 26 miles 385 yards
My marathon training officially starts tomorrow. At the Seremban Half Marathon (SHM). In Seremban obviously. And what am I aiming for?? The KL International Marathon (KLIM) 2009, expected in February or March 2009. That will be my 1st marathon and will allow me to strike it off my life's to do list (on my sidebar)...
.... Its a great deal of sacrifice and also effort put in to train to run 42kms non-stop... Imagine running from Klang to KL city centre.... or Teluk Intan towards Bidor and going on straight some more.. Seriously its no joke...
And to keep this training a secret and not to divulge too much of tactics and strategies... I'll just say that my initial phase training shall consist of building mileage, burning fat, increasing endurance and cross-training.
And for tomorrow's SHM, I shall not be running it as a race. The certificate is not my priority. The medal is not my priority. The cut-off time is not my priority. My priority is to finish the run together with my buddy Plum. Its gonna be his 1st half-marathon and I will be with him the whole way. We'll cross the finish line together, buddy. Thanks for coming along. I really appreciate it.
And my priority after tomorrow's SHM?
42.195kms.
I Just Don't Get It
..... ....
Datukship for Lee Chong Wei from Penang Government...
Holy shit! I'm going to be a Datuk??What's the value of a "datukship" these days?
GOD! Why wasn't I born in Malaysia??So what does this guy deserve then? United States Presidency?
Ranting and Running
I'm disappointed.
Adidas - King of the Road; Photo by Jason Lee.
What do I have to do to get some definition on my legs? Sheeesh.
Bugger legs look like tree trunks. Short banana tree trunks.
................................
Neways, update of last run yesterday at Dataran Merdeka, Larian Perpaduan Merdeka:
Actual distance: 10.7km
Total Time: 0:55:50
Ave Pace: 5:13km
Ave HR: 169bpm
Calories burned: 791 Calories
Split 10km Time: 0:52:35 (This is my personal best so far)
Next target, sub-50mins 10km.
PMS
What drives us to do the things that we do? What makes us motivated to go out and pursue what we hope to achieve? What makes us push ourselves beyond what others would?
I don't have the answer. But I keep doing it.
2 and 1/2 hours out in the sun this morning, and I was cursing myself the whole way. I felt lethargic and tired when I walked out the door, but still i laced my shoes and started slow. Halfway thru, I felt like giving up and going home, knowing that nobody would know but myself. That thought of a steaming cup of coffee and morning papers felt like a slice of heaven, but I kept going. My legs felt like iron bars and every step was labourous but I persevered. Why? I seriously don't know. Why do I do this?
Pain.
An hour or so later, I came in my door. I could have just took off my shoes and clothes and hit the shower, but no. I was tired, but I told myself its just mental. Strapping on my cycling shoes, I pushed my bike out the door. Hit the road and manouvered thru morning traffic till I dove into Kesas bike lane. Motored down the highway averaging 33km/h and feeling the morning sun burning my skin. Why torture myself thru the dust and smoke and heat? Even a stretch along Kesas near Bandar Puteri had open burning and the stench of smoke stuck to me like a leech. Still I had to keep on going. My mind was nowhere. Fleeting thoughts of Cancellara powering the Great Wall of China enroute to his Gold medal winning efforts made me pick the speed up a notch. The stinging pain in my quads and my labouring breaths slowed me down on the return.
Solitude. Suffering.
Close to an hour after I pushed my bike out the door, I was pushing my bike back in. I should have parked my bike, lie on the floor and catch my breath. But all I did was grab my goggles, my towel and head out the door again. Jumping into the pool, I was already famished. I pretty much estimated I had burned close to 1500 calories by now, and all the nutrition I had was a gel at km9.5 on the run. Hunger does funny things to your mind. It tells you that your legs are made of lead and your arms are heavy good-for-nothing rusty rods. 20 laps in the pool and I had nothing left. Climbing out of the pool, I was spent.
Torture.
And I still do not know why I do this. Why I bring suffering and pain to my body and my mind. Why I brave the heat and the humidity and the screwed up environment to go out there and torture myself.
Comfort.
I believe its an addiction. Pretty much like cocaine, nicotine, alcohol and booze. My addiction is called PMS. Its short for Physical-Muscular-Suffering.
Yes, I am a wannabe athlete.
Adidas - King of the Road
... but luckily I didn't 'Kong' on the road...
I had been nursing this nagging hamstring strain for about a week and every single day that the King Of The Road (KOTR) event drew closer, I got even more worried about whether I could last the full distance without injury or cramping.. Well, looks like I turned out OK!!
And to keep a long run story short, I'll just provide the gist of the event:
6:00am - arrived at Dataran Shah Alam with Andrew
6:30am - warmed up with some light running and stretches
6:48am - gun went off to mark the flag-off for half-marathon categories
2 hours 8 mins and 39 seconds later, I crossed the finish line to receive a finisher's medal and certificate.
Medal and cert...Nice parts of the race:- Can't remember any
Ugly parts of the race:- Distance markers way out
- refreshments stations not evenly spread out and no water (all 100+)
- not very good traffic management
Race specifics:Actual distance: 22.17km (My 405)
Total timing: 2:08:39
Average pace: 5:48/km
Calories burned: 1632 Cal
10km split time: 0:57:50
21km split time: 2:02:11
Another Note...
Her Sanctuary,
PO Box 221108,
Mummy Tummy.
7th August 2008Dear Mummy & Daddy's Lil' Girl,
Looks like its been 2 months since daddy wrote a letter to you. I guess this note is way overdue. But not to worry, mummy and daddy talk to you every night don't we? You hear our voices and mummy's singing (maybe a wee bit off-key sometimes) before you go to sleep ya...
Mummy and daddy knew you were to be our lil girl last month, and immediately we went out and bought some lovely dresses for you... even though it'd be a few more months before we see you, and another few more months after that before you'd fit into them... Haha... mummy and daddy just couldn't control ourselves... They just look so cute, and you would be such a doll wearing them... Muaks.
A fashion collection...Now, mummy has to set aside some space in her closet to share with you. In no time, you will have as many dresses as mummy... boy, daddy's gonna need to go out and buy another closet.
You have grown so much since the day we first saw you at the doctor's. And you have grown a lot heavier too... Mummy says she looks like a beach ball now... Hehe.. daddy thinks she looks like a watermelon... haha.. but that's our lil secret ok? Don't let mummy know...
Mummy says she feels you kicking and punching her harder now, its like you're telling her you're there..." Don't forget to feed me, mummy!!... Don't do your work until you forget about me!!... I'm here! I'm here!... " ... Well, daddy says... give mummy all the kicking you can... she loves it!! She loves to know you're there... and daddy absolutely adores it when daddy puts his face on mummy's tum-tum and gets a kick or punch on the nose...
Dear, you concentrate on growing up strong and healthy ya... Mummy and daddy are now busy buying stuff and getting all things ready for you. Until daddy writes another letter again, know that deep in mummy and daddy's heart, you're the best thing that's ever happened to both of us.
Lotsa love and kisses,
Mummy and daddy.
Another One??
You know the good thing about working in the telco industry? You get (practically) free phones for your usage!!
In >6 yrs of working, I have gone thru like 8 phones (if I remember correctly) and I actually only bought 2 of them...
Behold, the latest...
Nokia 5320 XpressMusic...
Red and black... I like!!
And lets not even get to the free calls part... Ahem.
