Spectrum of life

Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2012 - My race report

2012-02-13T21:39:00.021+08:00

SCHKM 2012 Finisher Medal.

I came in this race with a time target in mind. Well, I didn't achieve that. The way I finished the race was not really what I had imagined it to be.

I had been training for this event for some time and I thought I would stand a chance to have a crack at 3:30. I thought of wearing VFF because I thought it would be cold if I go barefoot. After some considerations, I finally decided on going barefoot. Mainly it was due to how I trained for the past few weeks and I had not fully "broken" my new pair of Bikila yet.

Happy that I got my wife accompanied me on this trip. She was running in only her third Half Marathon. Not easy for us to travel with just two of us, we kept missing our children back home.

I met many runner friends on the plane to HK. Surprised to see so many of them. It was always good to see familiar faces, especially in races oversea.

On race day, it rained briefly in the morning. I missed the pre-race Malaysian runners group photo session as I thought it might not happen due to the rain.

I started quite in front of the pack and got off on a good start. The road condition was wet early and I had to be extra careful. The temperature at start was relatively warm I thought at this time of the year, at around 18 degrees Celsius.

First 10km was quite manageable at 49:08. After the out of the tunnel, when I reached Tsing Ma bridge, the road condition was getting rough. At this stretch, I had to rely on the white line at side of road.

At this stretch I heard a bell-ringing sound approaching. For a moment I thought Santa Claus came early this year. Then a barefoot runner with a vest reading "厦门赤脚吴善宽“ (Xiamen Barefoot Wu ShanKuan). He was wearing a headgear with a barefoot and a V-sign hand signal. On his ankle was a bell attached to it. When he overtook me, he shouted "赤脚的，好！“（Barefooted, good!). I replied, "同志！“(Comrade). Well, what I meant was, we are comrade of barefooter (not in the context of political ideology). He acknowledged me with a thumb-up sign.

Xaimen Barefooter, Wu ShanKuan. Photo by CheungWH.

Then after the first turning point at about 15.3km, there was no white line for me anymore and the wind was blowing strongly from the front, making it quite difficult to pick up speed.

Then I saw Ben Swee, he took a photo of me after my first turn.

On Tsing Ma bridge coming back. Photo by Ben Swee.

You can see that the road condition was not smooth and the safety cone was separating the runners from the white line at the road shoulder. Photo by 高志明.

Then Ben overtook me on the way to Ting Kau bridge. I made it to the half-way check point at 1:43:37.

After the second tunnel, the road condition slowly became worse. It was the one of the worse roads I had even experienced, if not the worst. I was suffering then. I ran this course last year with shoes, and I had no recollection the road was that bad. (When you were in shoes, the road condition wasn't really our concern, right?).

Split time at 30km mark was 2:30:17. Pace starting to drop by that time. I couldn't really maintain that pace with that kind of road condition.

I think this was taken near where I got my injury. You can see the road condition and this was not the worst condition. Worst was before this. Photo by Danny Lun.

I had to slow down at the rough stretches (estimated to be around 6km of it). Near 32km mark, I lost my focus for a split second and didn't lift my left foot high enough on the rough patches. The result, I brushed my left big toe on the rough surface, half of the skin on the toe torn open and I bled.

I stopped for a brief moment, and I thought my race was over, needless to say my target. Then I started to run again. I didn't want my race to end that way. I was just hoping the injury would not be serious and I could still finish the race on my own terms (and not on an ambulance). Of course, if the injury would became worse, I would stop. However, as it turned out, the pain was bearable, and the bleeding was not getting worse.

At the last few kms after the Western Harbour tunnel, the road condition was not smooth all the way. There were still some bad stretches that I had to run with my bleeding toe.

When I reached Causeway Bay, I just enjoyed myself and pumped up the cheering crowd.

Pumping up the crowd. Photo by Nelson Li.

Also "pia" a bit lah. Photo by Tey Eng Tiong (Special thanks for the support!)

Near finishing at Causeway Bay (still pia-ing). Photo by Cheung WH.

Finally I completed the race with the time of 3:39:44. I didn't meet my target of sub-3:30 and I didn't improve on my time from last year. I was a bit disappointed, but at the same time I was glad I finished it despite of the bleeding toe.

At finishing straight. Photo by Andrew Ang.

I asked for medical treatment right after the finish line. The medical staff treated my wound well and I was able to walk slowly to the baggage collection area to get my bag.

I waited for my wife, and she finished her HM in 2:25:30 (net time) for her PB. I was very happy for her.

With my wife at the finishing area.

Although I didn't meet my target, I still find a lot of positives from this race and trip. I can always try again in future events. One important thing was I got to spend some good quality time with my wife.

Until the next race, I just need to focus on recovery and get healthy first. The train hard part, later.

Mizuno Wave Run 2012

2012-02-11T14:59:00.007+08:00

Photo by Lim Soon Chung.

Date: 15 Jan 2012
Venue: Stadium UPM
Time: 7:10am
Shoes: You mean I really have to wear something?
Distance: 9.97km
Finish time: 49:27

Did a 39km LSD the day before. So really not in the condition to race. Ended up going slowly first half of the race, then started to pick up the pace a bit toward the end of the race. Ended the race strongly but timing wise not so great. Supposed to run slower as recovery run after LSD.

New Year Newton Challenge 12km/25km

2012-02-11T14:42:00.008+08:00

Photo credit to Tan Wah Sing.

Date: 1 Jan 2012
Start Time: 6:30am
Venue: Bandar Kinrara
Distance: 11.5km
Shoes: Shoes? What shoes?
Gun time: 1:18:xx

Running along side with wife. Just enjoying the run by starting and finishing together with her. Recovery run for me as well.

Christmas Round the Penang Island Run

2012-02-11T11:06:00.019+08:00

Route from my Endomondo application on my iPhone. Complete distance 73.05km.

I thought about it some time, and eventually here I am writing about the Christmas Round the Penang Island run. Not to brag about it, but just to share experience and some learnings. I am sure someone will attempt this some point in time and it would be good to know a few pointers to make a successful run.

I had this wild idea of running around Penang Island in end of 2010. My motivation then, I thought it would make a good route for my attempt to go past 42km for my first try at ultra running. You see, I don't think running 200 laps on the track or 8 laps of Gurney Drive-Esplanade or even 4 rounds of Bukit Aman - Hartamas would motivate me to do that. The route I was thinking was the same as the route in the Round the Penang Island Relay event.

Fast forward all that, I finally got my runner friend, Andrew Loh to join me on this adventure on Christmas Day of 2011. Andrew got 2 of his friends, Chun How and Steve Baron to complete the crazy gang.

Crazy Gang. Photo by Steve.

Great support from Steve on his ride. Photo by Andrew.

Some more details from Endomondo:

Date: 25 Dec 2011
Start time: 5:30am
Start/Finish venue: (in front of) Marina Bay Condominium (near Gurney Drive)
Distance: 73.05km
Elevation Gained: 464m
Elevation Lost: 452m
Calories:4471 kcal
Time taken: 10 hours 31 minutes
Participants: Andrew Loh, Lee Chun How, CP Tan
Support/Marshal: Steve Baron

Elevation chart (from my Garmin log) showing 2 hard climbs. One climb to Genting Restaurant (before Balik Pulau). One higher climb to reach Teluk Bahang. My Garmin 405CX only logged up to 60.8km before battery used up.

Running barefoot on this clockwise route. Pakcik (uncle) at a store in Balik Pulau asked me when I ran from. I said from near Gurney Drive. Then he asked me if I was turning back. I said, "No.". Then he commented, "Tak pakai kasut, nanti kaki pecah!" (Literally translated to: Not wearing shoes, your feet will break!).

Some other photos along the route below:

I was concerned about Chun How's condition as he dropped back. Steve was supporting him then, so I felt he would be ok. After all, he is an ironman.

Well-needed re-hydration.

Pit stop at Titi Kerawang on the 2nd hard climb. Andrew & I were exhausted and confused where to go now... (Photo by Steve)

Continued on the steep and rough climb... (Photos by Steve)

When we were at second climb, the road condition was very rough and I was really suffering. At some stretches I just slowed to a walk.

When we reached Teluk Bahang it was really hot, the road condition also became hot. Andrew & I walked & run a bit until Batu Ferringhi. It was becoming harder to run because of the heavy traffic also. We had under-estimated the traffic volume on that day (it was Christmas holiday). Then we had a short pit stop and I told Andrew to go ahead without me. I was thinking to myself, it would be very tough to complete the run, even with 11km to go. The road was very hot and rough, the road traffic was very heavy and I had hardly any space to run.

Finally, I had to get a pair of slippers and wore it for the rest of the route. Walk most of the remaining distance with a little bit of run until the I reached the finish point. Andrew had completed it earlier than me. We amazed ourselves on this good and crazy run. I thanked Steve for the great support, Chun How to join us in short notice, Andrew for being great running buddy in this Round the Penang Island run. It was an incredible experience on Christmas Day for us.

Epilogue:

Some key learnings (for those who wish to attempt this in the future):

1. Start early. Should have started 4:00am or earlier when the weather was cooler.

2. Start point should consider to be at Teluk Bahang. The narrow road from Teluk Bahang - Batu Ferringhi - Tanjung Bungah is not safe/suitable for running when traffic is heavy and the day is hot. If start early, then can run this part when traffic is less and sun is not up yet.

3. Need to bring hydration pack/bag and money. Some stores available to refill water or isotonic drinks, but not during climb except at Titi Kerawang. So really need to hydrate well.

4. Safety first. Safety was, and still is my top concern on long run like this. Wherever possible, avoid running alone. Some stretches quite dangerous especially at the two climbs. Need to inform your family & friends if you attempt this. Bring lights for safety and a phone for emergency use. Better still, bring a few crazy friends but not too many. It will be safety issue if too big of a crowd running together without traffic control.

5. In case you wonder, my feet looked like this, one day after the run: (I had worse than this before).

Malakoff 12km KL 2011 - Last race for 2011

2011-12-20T21:29:00.005+08:00

Thanks to Jason Thai for this photo.

With a final dash to the finish line, my racing season for 2011 came to a close.

A lot of runners would dread the hilly route of Malakoff 12km. I was one of them back in 2009 when I first ran this race. Since then I had came to the fact that, running hills was unavoidable and I just had to get better at it. I told myself I would come back again to improve on my first outing.

Well, this year was the third time I ran this race. However it was my first time I ran barefoot on this hilly route. The day before, I had done a LSD training. So my expectation was not high for the race, and just hope to finish within an hour mark.

I finished the race in 55:40, slightly better than last year's result. After my race I did a warm down run in reverse direction of the route to look for my wife. It was her third Malakoff 12km as well. I paced her back to the finish line for the last 1.5km. She had done well to improve her time to 1 hour 25 minutes.

Thanks to Lim Soon Chung for this photo.

I saw many runner friends at this event and chatted with them before leaving. Although the racing season was over, but I am still training as hard as I could. New season will start as early as New Year Day and I am setting some high targets for myself for next year. One of them is to do an ultra-marathon, that much I can say for now.

Until the next race, do train hard and stay healthy.

Run for a reason - Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (SCMS) 2011

2011-12-06T21:40:00.015+08:00

Thanks to Tan Chow Seng for this photo near finish line.

My 9th Full Marathon and it was one of the toughest that I had done.

I planned to run Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore last year (2010), but I missed the registration window and ended up disappointed. This year, I made it a point to register on time and was happy to get a slot. My wife also registered for half marathon. It was only her second HM.

I didn't train as much as I would want to, prior to the race due to busy work schedule. I planned to run it barefoot, my first time in a competitive FM race. Back in September, I had completed the River Jungle Marathon 2011 in barefoot. However, it was not a competitive run. No official timing or ranking were recorded and no special prize for being the top finishers in that marathon.

This time round, I didn't really know what to expect. It was a whole new race all together. New location, new route for me. I wasn't sure that I could finish in a 20,000-strong, mass-start field. I heard of the narrow street, cement jogging path in East Coast Park, crowded last few kms and didn't know much how it would affect me.

The night before departure, I came down with flu and runny nose and I didn't look good then. After some medication, I felt better to fly in the morning. When we reached Singapore it was already noon on Saturday. We quickly went to collect our race pack in Sands Expo. It was the biggest venue I had ever seen just to give out race packs to runners. Luckily we collected our goods within minutes. No queue at all.

Then we checked in a hotel in Little India. It rained in that afternoon and we didn't really go out far after that. I was also not too well then. Anyway, that night I took some more medication and tried to sleep early as my race would start at 5:00am.

That night I just couldn't really sleep and my lips and throat were dry. In the end, I hauled myself up at 2:15am and ate some breakfast bar & drank lots of water. Then I kissed my wife before I headed to the MRT station and to Orchard starting point for FM. She would only start her HM race at 6:30am from Sentosa Island.

After I dropped off my baggage at the baggage deposit, I walked to the starting point. At that moment I had a funny feeling of being lonely in a big crowd of runners. I was the only barefoot runner and so I thought. I met some runners friends like Zi Shen, Bryan Lee and Daniel Tan. Then I was surprised to see Tan Wah Sing, the experienced and well-known barefooter at the start line. Suddenly I felt a lot more comfortable with Master Tan around. I felt my body condition at start line was ok although I had not slept all night.

When the action was finally on (flagged off), I was trying pace with the 3:45 pacers and Zi Shen. Then Zi Shen broke away after 3km, and I tried to follow him for a few kms. Then I realised he was really going for it and I just had to let him go.

The road condition in Singapore was barefoot-friendly. So I paced at 5:00min/km pace for the first 10km. Then second 10km was mostly in East Coast Park. Some parts were not properly lit up and it was almost running in the dark. Master Tan overtook me at the ECP and asked if I was going to take some energy gel. I replied yes, and he took off. I tried to follow but I found out that he was pacing faster and faster. Within minutes, I lost sight of him.

By 21.1km U-turn point, it was already breaking dawn. My split time at 21.1km was about 1:47:xx. I thought I was doing ok then. But by km 25, I started to feel my stomach was having some gas. I could have taken 2 energy gels and too much water within last 6km. Then I began to struggle. But I saw Alam Shah in front of me and I began to speed up. He was struggling as well. I called him and asked him if he was ok and urged him on. He then picked up the pace and overtook me after a few hundreds metres.

At ECP, I managed to see some other runner friends like Tey, Winnie, Bernard Loke, Ben Lee etc. Really happy to see some familiar faces. After that, the race route took us to narrow road beside a golf course, looked at a construction area. It was at around km 33 that I was being overtaken by the 3:45 pacer group.

My pace has slowed since the 25km mark. By km 33, I was feeling quite terrible. My arms were getting numbed, my leg muscles were "twitching" as if it were going to cramp up and I was tiring fast. I was thinking to give up and just walked back. But then, I just told myself to continue on, no matter how slow I could run. At km 36 or 37, I saw June (from FMV fame) setting up her "kedai runcit" over there. I was in need of a bottle of water then to cool myself and to carry so that my arms would not feel so numbed. Thank you to June and Kash for the bottle of water.

At around here, I was surprised to see Zi Shen in front of me. I had lost sight of him since before 10km mark. Then I passed and called him and urged him on as well. I thought he followed me from behind after that. At around 38km mark, then the FM route merged with the 21km route. It was overly crowded by then. It was really difficult to run trying to zig-zag and passing the walking runners. Mind you that the HM field was also about 20,000-strong.

At about km 40, Zi Shen started to pick up his pace and zoomed past me. I just couldn't follow closely anymore. I was so high in adrenalin that I was burning up and in a "don't-know-myself-anymore" state. I just kept him in sight from then on and the last 2km was really tough. But I knew I was near, I just kept it going until I completed the race.

It was a really tough race and I was glad I overcame the little voice of giving up. At the finish point, I was so tired but I was very satisfied that I just sat on the Padang while waiting for my wife. She finished with a PB 2:46 in her second HM. I was delighted to see her achieved the feat with minimal training. Maybe one day she will train enough to run a FM with me. However, I am giving her time and space to decide on that.

I finished my 9th FM in 3:58:46 (gun time), keeping my streak of finishing last 8 FMs in sub-4 timing. However, I was prepared to finish beyond 4 hours in my last two FM in barefoot. It came as a bonus that I could still keep the streak going. The point is, I had great satisfaction running my last two FMs in barefoot. In this SCMS alone, many runners and supporters gave me thumbs up or greeted me with positive remarks. This was a good encouragement for me. My leg muscles also recovered faster than any FMs I ran before. No Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) syndrome and no serious blisters or injury to my feet.

As for the SCMS 2011 event, there are positive points and areas for improvement. I may write about it later.

Until next race, do train hard and stay healthy.

PJ Half Marathon 2011 - My 6th half marathon

2011-11-07T21:06:00.010+08:00

Thanks to Tey EngTiong for this photo.

Thanks to Chuah Sakura for this photo.

Thanks to Yap Eng Hui for this photo.

This was my only sixth half marathon since I started racing. Yes, only the sixth in my relatively young racing " career".

This was my tune-up race to Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (SCMS). I have been training for the full marathon for SCMS. So I thought I would use this race as part of my training or tune up.

The day before the race, I was training in the Bukit Jalil park. I ran for 16km. So on race day, I didn't expect to do very well.

The starting venue was in Stadium Petaling Jaya in Kelana Jaya. On race day morning, I saw my good friend, BP whom I started running with, 3 years ago. He was with his wife who was running in 10km race.

The race started on time at 6:30am for the 21km category. The race route sent the runners to Federal Highway, U-turn below the cable bridge near Freescale Electronics. Then the runners would run to Subang Airport Terminal 2 and U-turn back to the Stadium.

I started off pacing at about 4:30/km. Fellow barefooter Rich Chai was pacing near me. We overtook Paul Liong, another barefooter before the cable bridge U-turn. After the U-turn, I was pacing on my own. After turning into the airport road, I was slowing down because of the rough road surface. Then some runners overtook me. The road condition was getting worse nearer to the airport. I had to run on the white line on the road as much as I could.

After the U-turn at the Terminal 2, I picked up my pace slowly and by km 17, I overtook back some runners who passed me earlier. The sun was up and shinning brightly by then. It was my motivation to finish the race faster.

In the end, I reached the stadium and the finish line at 1:39:23. It was a personal best for me. It was a pleasant surprise as I had only expected a time around 1:45:00.

I stayed for a while and met up with some regular runners. By then the sun was getting hotter. It was a very warm and humid race.

I felt that the organiser didn't do a good job in traffic control and water stations. The traffic police at major junctions were not properly planned. Some busier junctions should had more people present to control the fast moving traffic. Also the Federal Highway and the road to airport were not closed for this event. Runners were running at the same direction as the fast-moving vehicles. At some busy stretches, there were no traffic marshals/cones at all. I felt really unsafe running in these conditions.

Water stations could have been in better locations. E.g. the first water station was at less than 4km away from the start. Perhaps the spacings between water stations could be more accurate.

Another comment is that the entry fee was expensive. The were some sponsored items in the goodie bag and there were lucky draws, but please don't tell me the entry fees went to those items.

Until the next race, do train hard and stay healthy.

An interview with a beginner barefoot runner

2011-10-26T21:08:00.006+08:00

When did you start running barefoot?

I started running barefoot in Sep-Oct 2010. At first, I walked in the park that I trained initially. After walking barefoot for a few weeks, then I jogged slowly and increased my mileage and speed.

Why do you run barefoot?

I started having this slight heel pain on my right foot around mid-2010. I ran Borneo International Marathon and SCKLM 2010 with this pain. It got worse, and I took a rest from racing. I thought the root cause was my running shoes. So I decided to stop wearing the cushioning shoes I had been wearing then. I was also guessing my running gait could be the root cause. I was hoping by running barefoot, it would improve my gait. Other reasons were to avoid more blackened toenails and to strengthen my leg muscles. So, I started trying out barefoot running.

Did barefoot running help to heal your heel injury?

I recovered from my heel injury fully after some time. But I cannot say it was solely because of barefoot running. I rested more and did a lot of other things like stretching, massage to improve my condition then. However, since I started running barefoot, I have not experienced the same heel pain anymore.

What is your first impression of running barefoot?

Running barefoot requires both mental and physical conditioning. It may not be suitable for all runners. First experience running barefoot was painful. This was due to direct contact of the soles with the rough asphalt surface. The sensation of stepping on small pebbles/stones, let's just say, is not what runners are looking for. Imagine, walking barefoot on the foot reflexology path in the park. That's why the mental part is needed. Barefoot runners need to prepare to experience some level of pain and risk of injury due to stepping on sharp objects. Otherwise on smoother surface, running barefoot would not cause much pain. Also, when running barefoot, the is more work for the Achilles tendon and calf muscles. I experienced sore Achilles tendon and calf muscles when I started running barefoot.

How did you train in transition from shoes running to barefoot running?

I trained with lightweight shoes, and alternating with barefoot running. Mileage on barefoot was much less than with shoes initially. I increased the mileage on barefoot slowly. I also did some calf muscles strengthening exercises. I only started racing barefoot in June 2011, the event was Pacesetters 15km. I still train with shoes even now. For example, early morning in the park when it is still dark and on the treadmill because it is the safety rule of the gym. I will also run with shoes on unfamiliar or rough route.

So you are not a full time barefoot runner now?

No, I don't run on barefoot 100% of the time.

Will you be a full time barefoot runner in the future?

Maybe. If I run on shoes, it will be lightweight or minimalist shoes. However, runners on minimalist shoes are normally being regarded as barefoot runners as well.

What are the challenges you face as a barefoot runner?

Going to barefoot running, it was a re-learning process for me. The biggest challenge I guess is being persistent and persevere. On rough surface, I have to be more careful and endure some pain. At end of the run or race, there could be blisters on the soles. But our body is a wonderful thing, it will adapt and get stronger.

Of course, there will be risk to get injured because of sharp objects on the road. When you start running barefoot, you will be more alert and mindful on your every step. I would say, although barefoot runners look more vulnerable, but I think the risk of getting hurt because of sharp objects for shoes runners is not a lot lesser.

Other challenges include facing the stare and comment by some people. Some people will give insensitive remarks, but I will not let those remarks bother me.

What is your advice to barefoot-aspiring runners?

If you want to try out barefoot running, do it slowly. Start by walking barefoot on a route familiar to you. Increase mileage slowly and listen to your body. There are some reference materials on the Internet that can help too. Also, runner can get in touch with those who is more experienced in barefoot running to get more tips.

Barefoot running is not about "right" or "wrong" way of running. It is perfectly fine to stay with shoes if that is working fine for you. The important thing is, you'll find joy in running.

(If you have any question, please feel free to drop a line here.)

Terry Fox Run KL 2011 - Update 4 (T-shirt sale locations)

2011-10-20T16:54:00.014+08:00

I collected my T-shirts order today.

Please take note of the locations and the start date of sale at each location.

These are the confirmed places so far for the sale of TFR KL 2011 T-shirts : (Updated as of 24 Oct 2011)

1) Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation (CARIF), 2nd Floor, Outpatient Centre, Sime Darby Medical Centre, Subang Jaya
(Mon to Fri, 9.00am to 5.00pm)
Contact person : Wong Siak Chung / Herda Abdullah
Tel: 03-56391874

2) Canadian High Commission, 17th floor Menara Tan & Tan, Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur
(Mon to Thurs, 9am to 12.00pm, 2.00pm to 4.00pm; Friday 9am to 12.00pm)

3) Clark Hatch Fitness Centres, 6th Floor, Sooka Sentral, Kuala Lumpur
(Mon-Fri, 12pm to 8.00pm, Sat-Sun 12pm-5pm)
CLOSED on Deepavali
Contact Sara: 03-27851963

4) Clark Hatch Fitness Centres, Capital Square , Kuala Lumpur
(Mon-Fri, 12pm to 8.00pm, Sat-Sun 12pm-5pm)
CLOSED on Deepavali
Contact Elaine: 03-26986080

5) Clark Hatch Fitness Centres, PJ Hilton
(Mon-Fri, 12pm to 8.00pm, Sat-Sun 12pm-5pm)
OPEN on Deepavali 9am-3pm
Contact Logesh: 03-79572939

6) Running Lab, Gnd Floor, Tropicana City Mall, PJ
Open 19-28 Oct, 31 Oct-4 Nov (1:00pm-8:00pm)
Closed 29-30 Oct, 5-6 Nov
Contact Frank: 03-77278555

7) Bangsar Village 1, Nearby Information Counter
29th & 30th Oct 2011 (Sat & Sun)
5 & 6 Nov 2011 (Sat & Sun)
10am to 6pm

8) 1 Utama Shopping Complex, Community Corner @ Oval
29th & 30th Oct 2011 (Sat & Sun)
10am to 10pm

9) Menara Citibank Lobby, Jalan Ampang, KL
31 Oct - 4 Nov
LUNCH TIME 12-2pm only

10) Padang Merbuk, KL
13 Nov 2011 (Event day)
(Please get your T-shirt early to avoid disappointment)

Please note each T-shirt is priced at RM30. Proceed will go to CARIF.

The T-shirt sizes again for your reference. Please note there is only one cutting.

SIZE	Chest (inch)	Length (inch)
2 (child)	22	16
4 (child)	24	17
3XS (child)	28	20
2XS	32	21
XS	34	22
S	36	25
M	40	26
L	42	27
XL	44	~30
2XL	46	~31
3XL	48	~32

Please come back later for more updates!

Thank you for your support for TFR KL 2011.

I'm King of the Road - adidas King of the Road 2011

2011-10-05T22:05:00.003+08:00

Thanks Tey for this photo and the support.

How often a toll highway closed for a running event? It happens once every year (for about 9 hours) at the Penang Bridge for Penang Bridge International Marathon. Apart from that, I cannot name any other annual run event that will require a toll highway to be closed for it.

adidas King of the Road 2011 is one road race event that was held on a section of New Pantai Expressway (NPE), a toll highway. This event was missing from the race calendar last year (2010). I took part in 2009, but it was held in Shah Alam. In 2007 & 2008, I heard it was held in NPE. On Sunday 2 Oct 2011, about 8000 colourfully-clad runners took part in this event in Sunway Pyramid, running on a closed section of the highway.

My wife and I took part in this road race. Not often that we could join a run event together. It was just one week after my maiden barefoot marathon. My calf muscles were still sore. I thought I would recover fully after one week. So I joined my wife for this run. She would take part in 10km and I would run longer 16.8km race.

When the race started, I paced at about 4:30 min/km. But then I felt the strain on my calf muscles and had to adjust my pace a bit. Only towards the end, I picked up the pace a bit and finished at 1:20:14 gun time. My wife finished her 10km in 1:09:53. We couldn't stay long after the run to catch up with other runner friends.

In this run, I noticed many barefoot runners. When I said "many" here, I meant in a relative sense. Relative to other run events, this event saw more barefoot runners in it. However, it was still a very small population compare to the total number of runners. Good to know that there were some barefoot runners did their maiden barefoot race in this event. For a run that was sponsored and organised by a popular sport/shoe brand, this (barefoot) trend seemed not according to the script.

During my run, I got some insensitive remarks such as "hey, adidas sells shoes you know?", "eh, mana kasut?", "you forgot your shoes?" and some stares. Anyway, it didn't bother me at all. At the same time, I got some support from other fellow runners that know me. Also, some claps and cheers from some 10km runners waiting to start, when I ran past the starting point from the opposite direction.

Overall, the run was well-organised. Although it was a big event, crowd control was good. Runners had space to mingle around after their run. Volunteers were in good number and did their job well.

Until the next race, do train hard and stay healthy.

My maiden barefoot Full Marathon - River Jungle Marathon 2011

2011-09-28T21:14:00.035+08:00

Thanks to SoonChung Lim for this photo. This was around 29km mark.

I never thought that I would run a full marathon barefoot when I started running 3 years ago. Well, I did it, and it was one of the best FM that I had run.

I registered late for this River Jungle Marathon 2011 because I wasn't sure I would have time to train for it. The organiser informed me that they would accept my late registration but I would not be guaranteed a finisher medal and T-shirt. It didn't bother me at all even if I come back empty-handed. I already set out to treat this as my training run for SCMS 2011. After all, I read about the good reviews about this run before and I thought it would be an experience for me.

The course was situated near Pekan Batu 18, Hulu Langat, about 30km from KL. Unlike the name suggests, it was not a trail or off-road run. In fact it is a road race on asphalt surface. But the route would take you to beautiful scenery of villages, jungle, hill, river, lake etc. It was unlike any FM that I ran before. All of them were in background of concrete jungle and busy roads.

Magnificent view of the Semenyih Dam Reservoir.

I did a survey of the route one week earlier. In this course, there is this grueling 5%-gradient 3.5km uphill climb that has a nickname of "Spirit Breaker". I just had to see it myself. Boy, after I saw it, I knew I was up against the most challenging FM course (but also the most beautiful course for the scenery it offers). For many days to come, the uphill climb route was etched in my mind and I was trying to figure out how to tackle it.

Fast forward to the race day, I arrived early about 3:40am in the morning. The race director, James Wong was briefing his 60-person-strong volunteers. He gave clear instructions to the volunteers on what to do. From observing at the sideline, in my view, he has the leadership quality and the know-how to organise a run event.

I met some familiar faces (and many more unknown faces) in the race. I saw June (of Full Marathon Virgin fame) and Elaine Pan. Both were part of the volunteers or crew members. Thanks for the support. I also catched up with Karim who would run his 4th FM this year. Thanks for the cookies. [Smile]

It was announced that about 370 runners registered and there were many foreign runners, most of them were from Singapore. There were also maybe a dozen first-timers in the crowd.

Thanks to Tey for this photo before the race. This was during the briefing.

With barefooter Rich Chai and new friend Teoh (photo from Teoh).

The race started at 5:00am sharp. I paced with Rich Chai early (as discussed with him before) and we were pacing about 5mins/km. Thanks Rich Chai for willing to pace with me. We both aimed to finish this course in sub-4 hour time. My strategy was to run about 51 minutes for first 10km and save some minutes for the hills. My estimate was that we would easily lost 2 minutes from the sub-4 hour average pace (~5:41 mins/km) in the climb. Actually that was an optimistic assumption. I trained on the treadmill for 5% gradient with the pace of 6:00min/km, and I found it very very difficult to maintain that kind of pace.

Anyway, at the foot of the climb, I emptied a pack of GU gel and put it in my mouth. But I didn't swallow it immediately. I just put it in my mouth and take it in bit by bit, little by little. Why? I figured this action would help me to control my heart rate and prevent it (heart rate) to skyrocket. Thus, I would not huff and puff. The result? I could maintain a pace between 6:30min/km to 7:30min/km all the way without stopping or walking. The feel good factor came when I overtook a runner and then a cyclist who was off his bike and pushing it. From then on, I knew I had a good chance to dip below 4 hours.

Another tip that I can share here was that instead of let the hill broke my spirit, I "broke" the hill. By that, I meant that I ran the grueling 3.5km uphill as a smaller sections. For example, if I could only see the road until the winding turn, then I would just focus to run to that. Then I would target the next section of uphill, and the next. Before long, I reached the top of the climb.

At top of the hill, there was a water station and this was the shot by Mahizzan. It was breaking dawn then, and not breaking spirit.

Thanks to Mahizzan for this shot.

Going downhill was actually not good section for me because of the rough road surface and the impact to the barefoot soles and knees. I didn't gain back much time in the downhill section. In fact, I was overtaken by a runner, who called out at me as "barefoot runner".

At end of the downhill section, the road condition became even worse. I had to slow down to minimise the pain. Yes, the pain. It was painful when I stepped on sharp pebble stones and rough road surfaces. A foreign runner, (by the name of Scott) overtook me before the U-turn at km 24.3 mark and asked me how I, my feet rather, were doing. (Scott, if you are reading this, please drop a comment here to keep in touch). This section of the course was the most beautiful with the scenery of the Semenyih Dam Reservoir with the backdrop of green mountains and blue sky.

After the U-turn, I saw Rich Chai on the opposite direction, perhaps 1 km behind. I could sense that he was also facing the wrath of the rough road and sharp stones. Then Daniel Tan (Raja Bukit, or King of Mountain, aka PM3) gained on me and slowly overtook me by km 29. I knew he gained a lot of time on the hill as he is a very good hill runner.

The road surface was becoming worse and worse. I could match Daniel's pace only for a couple of kms and then just had to run my own pace. The last 12 km I stopped a few times, because of small sharp pebble stones kind of stucked in my soles. I just had to stop to remove the stones.

By now, I saw many cyclists riding from opposite direction. Apparently, this route is also popular among cyclists. Most cyclists waved at me and a large group of riders cheered me on. Thanks!

In the last few kms, I managed to pick up my pace a little bit and overtook the runner who overtook me earlier at the downhill section.

At the finish, I was overwhelmed by emotion. It was a painful, painful run. But I had done it! My maiden barefoot FM. All the way, 42km, without anything between my soles and the road. I stopped my timer at 3:57:18. Some technical data from my Garmin shown below.

The chart at the centre is the elevation chart of the route. You can see that the gain of elevation and the gradient of the uphill climb. Crazy.

I had a couple of bananas and some isotonic drinks, then some stretching . I chatted with the some volunteers, and Daniel (who finished about 2 minutes ahead of me) and also Andrew, the first to finish in 3:40:xx. Some of them were amazed and jokingly asked if I had a iron plate under my soles. [Laugh]

After that, I quickly took out my camera and started shooting photos for the runners maybe about 50-100m from the finish. I had promised that I would support the runners for this event. I believed I took photos for all the runners who finished the race except those finished earlier than 4:13:xx.

During my photo-shooting, I noticed some runners struggling to finish the race. Some were walking very slowly, and a few were limping. I recalled there were many first-timers in this FM (declared during briefing before the race). I really hoped no one was seriously injured because of the grueling route. And you will run your second, third and subsequent FMs in the future, with more training hopefully.

I snapped photos for runners even during the 1 hour downpour and waited until the last runner in. Uncle Sonny Ng was the "sweeper" runner and ensure last runner came in.

Overall, the organiser had done very well in this event. Bravos to all the volunteers for the support. Thank you to the sponsors. This was an event by the runners, for the runners. And if you love running, you would love to run the River Jungle Marathon.

Until the next race, do train hard and stay healthy.

Terry Fox Run KL 2011 - Update 3 (Route Map)

2011-09-27T00:07:00.003+08:00

Route Map as above. Please click for larger image.

Terry Fox Run KL 2011 - Update 2 (General)

2011-09-26T23:55:00.004+08:00

We are marking the 31st anniversary of the Terry Fox Run this year on 13 November 2011, in Padang Merbok KL. A milestone unimaginable without the support of so many people, there is much to be done yet, we must always celebrate our victories - of which there have been many.

The beneficiary this year as in previous years, will be the Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation (CARIF). CARIF is the first independent, non-profit cancer research organization in Malaysia.

Please see the following information.

Rules and Regulations:

All participants must run on designated route.
For wheelchair bound, and physically challenged participants, please note that there are slopes along the run route.
Participants are to be at the assembly area by 8:45am.

Parking:

Limited parking is available on site, and public transport is recommended.

Notice:

The organisers, their agents, representatives, successors and assigns, are not liable for any injuries suffered, damage and lost of properties by the participants at this event.

If you like to volunteer or need more information

Please contact:

Ms Yoon/Mr Peter Kang/Ms Katrina Low/Mr Wong Siak Chung
CARIF, 2nd floor OPC, Sime Darby Medical Centre,
Tel: 03-56391874

or email: organizer@terryfoxrunkl.org

Terry Fox Run KL 2011 - Update 1 (T-shirt)

2011-09-26T23:36:00.009+08:00

Terry Fox Run KL 2011 T-shirt will be available early Oct.

Each T-shirt is priced at RM30. Proceed will go to CARIF (Cancer Research Initiative Foundation).

T-shirt design photo courtesy of organiser and RUNWITME.

Each T-shirt with company/school name embroidery (left sleeve) is RM35 (minimum quantity is 30pcs)

* Kindly note that the final order date for company name embroidery is 15 October 2011.

Sizes available:

2 (child)
4 (child)
3XS (child)
2XS
XS
S
M
L
XL
2XL
3XL

Measurements same as last year.

Please email to organizer@terryfoxrunkl.org

Terry Fox Run Kuala Lumpur 2011

2011-08-19T18:52:00.003+08:00

Please book your calendar for this good cause to raise fund for cancer research.

Terry Fox Run Kuala Lumpur 2011

Date: 13 November 2011 (Sunday)
Time: 9:00am
Venue: Padang Merbok

More details later.

Thanks for the support.

Run with BAREvME in Pacemakers Anniversary Run 7

2011-08-17T22:37:00.006+08:00

Team BAREvME. (Photo credit to Kah Wai)

My third barefoot race and what a race it was. Running in a relay team, a barefoot team named BAREvME in Pacemakers Anniversary Run 7.

My team mates: Chuah Seih Seng (aka Rich Chai), Tan Wah Sing & Boey Yin Yin.

Initially the idea to form a team for PAR was started by Chuah. We (Chuah, Paul Liong, Tan Wah Sing & I) wanted to form a team. I guessed we all share the common running style, i.e. barefoot running and wanted to form an unique team. I am the most junior in term of barefoot running experience, still learning and not really a full-time barefoot runner yet. I considered the rest as 'masters' in barefoot running.

Paul has to pull out later due to family commitment. We needed a lady runner and we agreed she would be Boey Yin Yin. Yin has been running with VFF for some time now and would be a good fit for the team.

The aim for the team was to have fun and enjoy ourselves. Yin was a bit nervous and tension since she considered herself to be the "slow" runner. Well, we all didn't see it that way and just encouraged her to enjoy herself as the most important thing.

On race day, I think we all had great fun. We ran the race with no pressure, just ran the race and enjoyed ourselves. Yin was the first runner to go (ladies started first), and she did well for the first leg. The fastest pace that I had seen her run. Chuah took over in the second leg and he did superbly by overtook many runners.

I ran the third leg and managed to finish the lap in a surprising pace (found out later). I was recovering from bad cough and lack of training. I decided I would abandon all electronics gadgets (watch, GPS, HRM, MP3, handphone) that day and just ran with my heart & 'sole' to enjoy the run. This was the first time I'd ever did that and what a great feeling, with no worries about time, distance, pace, or position, I felt the real joy of running.

Anchor leg was by the famous barefoot runner, master Tan Wah Sing. I cannot call him 'sifu' because I don't know if he will accept me as an apprentice yet. So I call him 'master' lor.

Master Tan Wah Sing also recovering from sickness but he ran our fastest leg and finished in around Top 20 position. Master Tan is always cheerful and encouraging all runners.

After the race, we chatted with other runners and took photos. I thought our team was the most-photographed team that day.

We found out only much later we finished 12th among 64 competitive teams. It was a bonus and good surprise for the team.

I enjoyed the relay race very much and thanks to my wonderful team mates, Chuah, Tan Wah Sing and Boey Yin Yin, I felt the real joy of running.

It was a very well-organised race. I would also like to express my gratitude to the organiser and all the volunteers. You all did well to make this run a success.

Until the next race, do train hard and stay healthy.

SCKLM 2011 - My Race Report

2011-06-26T16:17:00.005+08:00

My seventh full marathon and I thought it was a good one.

I woke up at 2:00am this morning and felt stomach unwell. Immediately I took the herbal medicine pill for stomach problem. I feared it would affect my race.

I arrived at Bukit Aman carpark at 3:35am. Then I found my way to Dataran Merdeka. I met some friends there, but my stomach was still acting up again. I had to go to the toilet once more before the start of the race.

Depositing the baggage was a breeze. They got enough volunteers and counters to do this.

The race started on time and I found myself pacing with the 3:30 pacer, Lionel Lee. But I only managed to follow him up to 16km, then my pace slowly dropping off. Then I found myself running behind Tan Wah Sing for a few good kms. But I was not doing well at this point of the race. I felt quite lousy and out of rhythm until 30km.

My first 21km was around 1 hour 45 minutes. But after this my pace dropped to 5:15 per km and eventually to around 5:30.

I drank at least one cup of water at every water station. At some stations, two. The weather was quite nice with windy condition. I thought it would rain at some point. But it never did.

At km 30, my feet got heavy and uncomfortable. I decided to took them off and ran barefoot. I had actually planned to do this with experience learnt from Energizer Night Race Full Marathon. My timing chip was tied to my ankle already.

Then I felt much better and my rhythm getting better and I could run better. I felt so free and liberated running the final 12km barefoot.

Then, as I was picking up the pace, both my legs and feet starting to cramp up. I had to control my pace so that it would not aggravate it.

When I arrived at km 36, I dropped off my shoes to June (from Full Marathon Virgins). I had carried them from km 30 until here. She was supporting the FMV and the runners. I was glad she was willing to help me. Really appreciate it, thanks!

Coming to km 40 near Jalan Raja Laut, there were a lot of 10km runners walking and blocking the path. I had to navigate through traffic with shouts of "Excuse me, let me through please."

Finally I was able to cross the finish line with the time 3:49:31 (unofficial gun time). This was better than last year but I had failed my target of 3:45:00.

I think I was a bit "greedy" and tried to aim higher in the race by following the 3:30 pacer. For some reasons, my second half of the race was a "mess" until I took off my shoes. Maybe it was my stomach problem or the cramp.

It was a good lesson learnt, and I know what I need to do to improve next time.

After my race, I took time to shoot photos for the runners at the finish line. I will upload and post the photos later. Please stay tune for announcement of the photos location.

My general impression of this race is positive. Water and other part of the organisation was better than last year. Good work and thanks to all the volunteers and workers.

My congratulations to all finishers especially to my friends who successfully completed their maiden Full Marathon. Well done to Paul Liong and Mark.

Until the next race, do train hard and stay healthy.

Updated 30 June 2011: My photo albums on SCKLM 2011 now available on Facebook. Please check link in Pacesetters FB page or Full Marathon Virgins FB page. If you publish or use them in other page, website, blogs, forums, FB page etc please quote source or link. Thank you for respecting the work of an amateur photographer.

My first barefoot race - New Balance 15km 2011

2011-06-16T22:19:00.007+08:00

Thank you Tey for the photos. Much appreciate it.

A Velcro strip from IKEA to tie the timing chip . An old and loose wristband I put on my ankle. A strong and determined heart. An exhilarating barefoot race!

It was maybe last September that I started to train barefoot. I started mixing barefoot running with shod running to improve my running gait and strengthen my feet and legs. At first I was just trying it out by walking in the park where I trained. Then slowly, I started to jog until I could run a full 4km lap around the park. Over time, I built enough muscle strength and confidence to run barefoot on Bukit Aman to Hartamas route.

NB15K has been my tune-up race to SCKLM for the past two years. I would use it to gauge my readiness or form for the full marathon late June. This year, the race was held in Putrajaya where the roads were mainly in good condition. So it did provide a good condition for barefoot runners especially newbies like me.

It was a windy morning and I started quite strongly and before long, barefoot elite runner Tan Wah Sing overtook me. Then barefoot Paul Liong lined up besides me. Then he dropped off maybe 500m later before 2 or 3km mark.

The race course was relatively flat with a few climbs. I was able to maintain a good and consistent pace throughout the race. I didn't want to push too hard as I didn't do any speed training on barefoot before.

At the last 2.5km mark the road condition was bad for about 500m. It was painful running through that stretch. Anyway, at the finishing straight I just tried to maintain my pace to the end.

When I crossed the finish line, it was a great feeling. My first barefoot race. One that I never thought I would do but I did. And I completed it without much problem except some blisters on my big toes (which were kind of expected). But it didn't stop me to do a reverse run to look for my wife after I crossed the finish line and had a brief chat with barefoot Chuah and Tan Wah Sing. I always treasure the opportunity to run/pace with my wife to give her encouragement.

It was a good race for me. I finished it in 1:09:52, much to my surprise as it was my best 15km time so far and it was done on barefoot. The average pace of 4:38 per km was also bettered my expectation. And not forgetting I did a 20km LSD on the previous day.

I will continue to train and race barefoot but not all the time. It will depend on course condition and my training plan. One thing for sure, I still have not trained enough to run a full marathon barefoot. Maybe one day I will. It will be great to do that.

Anyway, the NB15K was well-organised. Good venue, enough refreshment, no hiccups. I will come again.

Maybe I will write more about my take on barefoot running some other time (when I am free).

Until the next race, do train hard and stay healthy.

Energizer Nightmare Race FM, 'Fun' Marathon 2011

2011-04-24T13:59:00.006+08:00

This was my sixth time out running FM and what a disappointing race event it turned out to be.

I didn't have much expectation of this race as I was not well-prepared for the full marathon. Due to heavy workload, I got little time to train. When I did have the time, I was too tired. Anyway, the intention was to experience the night FM and running on the F1 track.

Last year, I joined the HM only and it was a tough race. Running at night was not easy as I usually train in the morning.

This year, the event attracted 10,000 runners. New event organiser was contracted to run the event. I have not heard about this organiser before.

On race day, I arrived only one hour before the race start. There were no or little signage to direct the runners to the start/finish area. There were also long queue going into the tunnels to the paddock area. I went on the other tunnel and found myself near the event main staging area.

When I found out where was the baggage area, it was already long queue waiting and I had only less than half an hour to start. I didn't manage to get permission from the other runners to deposit my bag in front of the queue. Luckily I saw Paul Liong queuing and asked for his help to deposit mine together. Then I rushed to the start/finish line with only 10 minutes left. No time to do any warm up.

The race started on time. I started with good pace around 5 min/km. The FM runners made a right turn to head to outside of the paddock area. The FM runners would run 5 loops outside the F1 circuit and only 1 loop in the F1 circuit.

The outside loop was really dark in half of the distance. It was not good to run and the route was hilly in some parts too.

Anyway, the first 2 laps was quite comfortable. The last 2 laps outside were really tough as I was getting tired quite fast. I also drank too much in a few water stations that caused me to have a stitch on my right abdomen.

I made my return to the paddock area after 5 loops outside and was greeted by cheers and claps by the exiting 5.5km and 11km runners who had already finished their race.

The last 5.5km around the track was really mind over body. My pace was getting slower and slower and eventually being overtook by 3 runners.

In the end, I finished my race in 3:45:31. The distance covered was only 39.4km according to my Garmin GPS. This was definitely under-distance as originally predicted by many runners.

At the finish line, I tried to look for water but couldn't find any. There were also no medical tent near the finish line. There were only Gatorade near the staging area.

Paul Liong greeted me and passed me my bag. I expressed my gratitude to him as he had already finished his HM race much earlier. He told me that there was some commotion in the goodie bags/medal collection area. The organiser had to stop distributing the goodie bags and medals.

I chatted with some runner friends and went back the way I came. By then it was around 1:00am.

This was the worst run event that I had ever joined. Not many positive things that I could take back from this race.

After a streak of 4 consecutive FMs that I set Personal Best, I was brought down to earth by this result:

Official time: 3:45:31
Rank Category: 16
Rank Mixed: 27
Rank Overall: 28

Until the next run, do train hard and stay healthy.

Bareno Run 21km 2011 - First HM of the Year

2011-03-15T23:26:00.009+08:00

My first half marathon of the year, the Bareno Run 21km. I was using this run as my training for the coming Energizer Night Race.

This time my wife joined me for this race, but she opted for 10km. She has not been running for a while to nurse an injury. I was really happy to see her running again.

The 21km started at 5:30am sharp. Route was a hilly one with a long and steep climb just before 10km mark and many other gentle slopes. See the route and elevation below. This was the actual route the runners ran in the race and it was slightly different from the published route.

The 21km route and elevation map.

The actual distance was only 20.59km according to my Garmin.

With all the hill trainings, I could tackle the hill with much confidence and some speed too. The steep and long climb at km 10, gave me the chance to overtake some strong and younger runners and I made full use of it.

This was a good run for me as I managed to finish in 1:42:30 (unofficial gun time) for 43rd position in Men Open.

At the last 1.5km including the long steep climb, I average about 4:30/km pace but still was overtaken by Lionel Lee and Michele Tan. I tried my best to catch up but couldn't. I think I have to train harder to even get close to them.

Anyway, after my run, I quickly collected my finisher T-shirt and medal and put them in the car before I went running (barefoot) in reverse direction to look for my wife.

Photo courtesy from Tey Eng Tiong.

Finally I found her in the middle of the slope of the last hill climb. I paced her back and she got a medal for her first run of the year.

Pacing with my wife. Photo from Tey.

After she finished her race, we didn't stay for long as we have to go back early. However, I managed to see a few friends that I didn't see for some time in this event.

Overall, race management was good. Got finisher T-shirt, enough refreshment, timing chips, lucky draws. Areas of improvement were traffic/runners control especially towards the end, wordings on the medal were not clear, route was changed (under 21.1km) and start time for 10km and 5km were changed (with notice with bib collection).

Until the next race, do train hard and stay healthy too.

Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2011 - Around and about

2011-02-27T17:44:00.026+08:00

Some notes around SCHKM 2011.

-The start was in Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui just walking distance from the hotel that I stayed. The finishing line was in Victoria Park, Hong Kong Island. Never before I joined a full marathon with different start and end points.

-The race course was hilly and tough. The toughest full marathon course that I had run. But I must say, I had only run 5 FM so far. I may write a commentary on the race course itself later. I tried to research online about the race course before the race, but not much luck.

-For the record, there were 3 bridges, 3 tunnels, 3 flyovers, 1 underpass along the FM course.

-The temperature was about 13-14 degrees Celcius at the start. It wasn't that cold really. Of course different people felt differently. I saw not less than three FM runners without any vest or top.

-I also saw this runner below overtook me at around 12km mark. Imagine my "horror" when I overtook him later before Cheung Tsing tunnel and saw him from the front. Any appeal of red lace bra had on me suddenly dissipated into thin air.

This runner overtook me at km 12, but I overtook him later before km 24. Photo by 马飞。

-The coldest part of the run was when the runners were on the bridges. Cold wind from the sea was really chilly.

-A few runners were with shark costumes. I was not exactly sure what was the message (they were trying to relate). I guessed it was something to do with saving the sharks. I have to say the runners in shark costumes did really well. One of them was just few second behind me at the finish line.

The shark runners.

-Baggage check-in and collection was a breeze. No need to wait or queue. Check-in at Nathan Road where a standard baggage bag was used and deposited to the truck number designated for the runners.

-A very good crowd control at the start, along the route and at the finish line.

-There were 14 water stations along the FM route. On average, one water station every 3km. I considered this ratio was very good. The water and isotonic drink were enough at all water stations.

-There were sweeper buses at a few check points along the FM route. If you failed to arrive at the check points at designated time, you will be ushered to the bus. Traffic will open to public after the time.

-The supporters were GREAT! Even the volunteers at the water stations cheered the runners on with signs and vocal encouragement. There also other cheering crowds on the pedestrian bridges, the balcony of some buildings etc.

-I was prepared to run barefoot for this race if it rains at the start. I trained with barefoot but not for any run longer than 8km. It was a crazy idea at the time.

-I ran with adidas adizero Boston. A very light pair of cushioning shoes. It was the first time I ran a FM race with light-weight shoes.

-The PB I achieved was not without cost. I had a sore plantar (sole of right foot) a week before the race. I aggravated the injury in the course of the race. The last 6km really tested my mental strength, as I had to overcome the pain on the right foot as well.

-No finisher T-shirt, but all runners were given a NB SCHKM dry-fit T-shirt.

Updated 5 Mar 2011:

-They were many timing/video checkpoints for the full marathon:
10km (inside Nam Wan Tunnel)
15.1km (U-turn at Tsing Ma bridge) - Video camera installed
20.1km (U-turn at Ting Kau bridge)
21.1km (between Ting Kau bridge and Cheung Tsing Tunnel)
27.3km (U-turn for half marathon) - Video camera installed
30.0km (on the West Kowloon Highway)
41.195km (last 1km point at Causeway Bay)

-The half-way split time shown on the official results was actually the split time at 20.1km mark. Not really the half-way 21.1km. I had emailed the organiser on this matter and they asked me to call a hotline as if I was complaining.

-Since we were traveling relatively light, we managed to find out a cheaper way to travel from airport to Tsim Sha Tsui. The airport express (train) was very expensive (HKD60/person one-way just to get to Tsing Yi). The cheaper alternative was go out to the bus station and take bus number S64 to Tung Chung. It was only HKD3.50 for one way. Then in Tung Chung, we did some shopping before we took the Metro (subway) to Tsim Sha Tsui. One-way ticket per person was HKD10.50.

-Tung Chung was a nice place to shop. Got a lot of outlet shops of branded label. Even sports brand like adidas, NB, Nike, Puma, K-swiss, etc. were there too. My wife had a "harvest" here.

-Thanks to Lawrence Law who collected my race pack as I arrived only on Saturday afternoon. Not much margin for error really. It would have been a rush for us from airport to Victoria Park.

With Lawrence at the start. Congrats to him for his PB.

-Top Malaysian finishers from the results:

Shaharudin Hashim 2:37:40 (Men Invitation - 14th, Overall 32nd)
NG CHEE HONG 3:23:10 (Men Senior - 178th, Overall 380th)
OH AIK SOON BILLY 3:26:15 (Men Master II - 65th, Overall 452nd)
YENG BOON PIN 3:29:21 (Men Master I - 163rd, Overall 552nd)

-On my flight to Hong Kong, I watched "Chariots of Fire" on board. The movie, especially the opening scene when the runners run barefoot on the beach and at the end, when Eric won the 400m, really inspired me. I was dreaming of a PB before SCHKM. Now after SCHKM 2011, I can dream of Boston.

"Chariots of Fire", the movie that inspired me to a PB in SCHKM 2011.

Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2011 - My first oversea marathon

2011-02-22T22:04:00.009+08:00

My last full marathon was SCKLM 2010 (June). Since then, I had taken a break from full marathon races until 20 February 2011. That was the day I ran my first full marathon outside of Malaysia. The event: Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2011.

I registered early (somewhere in October 2010 I think) and got a slot in the Full Marathon Challenge category. There was another category called Full Marathon Run 1. The division of categories was more for runners crowd control and logistics, I believe. For Half Marathon, there were three categories.

The total runners in all categories was about 65,000 as announced by the organiser. This was close to four times the number of runners in SCKLM 2010. The organisation of the event was a challenge, but I can say now, it was very well organised (more about this point in another post).

I managed to convince my wife to join me. In fact, I had this in mind before I registered for the event. A trip for two of us, just our time together. We planned only a 2-day, 1-night trip to Hong Kong. Why not longer? Because we just had a family holiday in Hong Kong back in December 2010. Also, we knew that we would miss our children had we stay longer.

I trained very hard for this event. On average, probably about 60-80 kms per week. On one particular week, I managed to run 100km and 130km in 8 days. That was like a breakthrough for me. I didn't even sure my body could hold for 100km per week. But our body is really amazing. It will adapt to trainings if done properly. I also put up many interval and tempo run sessions, to prepare to run with faster pace.

However, just a week before Chinese New Year, my mother was diagnosed with dengue fever and had to be admitted to hospital. I lost my mood to celebrate Chinese New Year, let alone to train. She went through critical period with platelet count down to single digit (normal range is 150-400). I was really worried about her. Fortunately, she recovered and finally discharged on first day of the Year of the Rabbit. I considered that the biggest ang pow that I ever received.

Then my children also being diagnosed with dengue fever a few days later. I really worried about them and brought them to medical attention. My mind was not thinking about SCHKM then. I was prepared to do a "no-show" if their condition didn't improve. With careful monitoring and early medical attention, both of them recovered one week before 20 Feb 2011.

So considering the eventful Chinese New Year that I had, I considered SCHKM 2011 a bonus for me. The fact that I managed to stand in front of the starting line with focus on the race, it was really fortunate. There was no pressure for me to set personal best or anything like that anymore. Just glad that everyone and everything were fine back home.

The full marathon route from my Garmin 405CX.

The more detailed route map from SCHKM 2010. It is the same for SCHKM 2011. (Please click for larger image)

Now the race proper.

I woke up early and changed into my running vest and other gears. My wife followed me to the baggage deposit place just walking distance away from our hotel. Lawrence Law, my runner friend also stayed in the same hotel (who also helped to collect my race pack). We quickly deposited our bags and made our ways to the waiting area to do warm up. It was a cold cold morning with temperature around 13 degrees. I was contemplating all night before what I should wear. I finally settled for the thin and light adidas vest. However, I had a T-shirt over me until I was about to start my run.

With my wife at the starting line, on Nathan Road.

I was trying to look for some runner friends from Malaysia, but soon realised it was not easy among the sea of runners. However, a familiar voice greeted me near the baggage deposit area. Cornelius Koh was there. He was wearing a sweater. I was tempted to ask him whether he planned to run in that. But I didn't.

The runners from full marathon challenge category quickly made their way to the waiting area after the start of the first half marathon category (there were three starts for HM). I managed to get a good position from the front.

The race started soon after. The initial run around Nathan Road was really crowded. Slowly, when I made my way onto the Kowloon Highway around 3km mark, I found more space to run and then there was a drizzle. The climb started there and the gradient become steeper as I reach the start of Stonecutters Bridge.

The course elevation map (taken from the SCHKM runners' guide)

The climb lasted about 1.5km and it was a good warm-up to what was coming. On the 8km onwards for about 1.6km then came the chilly winds blowing from the seas. That when I felt cold for the first time in this race. I was pacing around 5 minutes per km on average so far.

Then came the Nam Wan Tunnel. The 10km marker was inside the tunnel and the length of the tunnel was about 2km. My split time at 10km: 49:24

I was feeling quite good then. I had a feeling that my condition was good today and the weather was nice. I began to think that I could improve on my personal best despite the hilly route.

Then came the Tsing Ma Bridge. There was a slight climb before the bridge. Then race time then was about 1 hour. I saw the Kenyans were already making their way back. I saw also Shaharudin Hashim, Malaysian top runner, pacing with the elite (African) women runners.

Once on the bridge there wasn't much view as it was a cloudy day. The chilly wind was blowing again. There was an U-turn before end of the bridge. On the bridge before the U-turn, I saw Ben Swee. He smiled at me and I acknowledged him by waving. The U-turn point was about 15.3km according to my Garmin.

After my U-turn, I tried to look for my runner friends. I could only see Lawrence. He was doing quite well. I couldn't see Cornelius. I wondered if he was doing fine.

Then I turned to Ting Kau Bridge. There was an U-turn on the bridge at 20.3km mark (my Garmin reading). The wind was blowing strongly until the safety cones along the route were toppled over.

I passed the halfway mark (21.1km) with split time 1:43:39. I was beginning to think the wild and crazy idea of having a crack at 3:30. That was when I continued to maintain the 5 minutes per km pace.

Then came the Cheung Tsing tunnel. This tunnel was about 1km long. Running in the tunnel was pleasant as the runners were shielded from the cold.

After the tunnel, there was a small climb and then we were on Kowloon Highway. From this point onwards, I thought the toughest part of the race was over. The route was gradually descending. At the 30km mark, my split time was 2:27:04. I could sense then the wild and crazy idea was becoming possible.

But at 32km mark, I began to feel the tiredness in my legs. I finished my last Powergel before the entrance to the West Harbour Tunnel. That was near the 34km mark. After the coming out of the tunnel, coming to the 36km mark, there was a steep climb. I conquered that but soon found myself feeling the numb in my arms. I couldn't swing my arms as usual. I had to put my arms down every now and then to ensure the blood flew into the arms.

I tried to maintain my pace but I felt the pull on my calf muscles and hamstrings. There were two more flyovers plus an underpass before the finish line. It was really punishing in the last 6km. I was not sure if I had hit the wall. But mentally, I still wanted to push and leave nothing out there.

At Causeway Bay, about 1km to go. (Thanks to Christy)

As I approached the last 1 km marker, I saw an official timer besides it. It read 3:26:00 dead when I crossed it. My heart suddenly sunk. It was too much for me to push a 4:00 minute per km for the last km. I pushed as much as I could and also tried to look for my wife in the crowd. I had initially asked her to be at the finish line around 9:50am. It would mean then, she could have missed me around the finishing area. There were so many people around Causeway Bay and Victoria Park. She could have a hard time finding a space among the crowd.

I crossed the finish line with a lot of satisfaction as I ran a very focused and determined race. It was the best race that I had run. Finish time 3:31:21 (official gun time) for my personal best in a FM.

I tried to look for my wife after the run. But I could barely walk. So I had to seek help at the physiotherapy tent. This was the first time I went for help after a race.

After the treatment and massage, I managed to find my wife at the meeting point (the rendezvous if we couldn't meet at the finishing area) . She said she didn't see me crossing the finish line. I said to her, "That was not important. The important thing is you are with me now." I was worried earlier when I waited for her for a good 20 minutes.

With my wife after the run.

It was a good run experience and quality time spent with my wife for this short trip. I will remember this race as my first oversea full marathon. We will probably come back again next year.

Until next run, do train hard and smart, and stay healthy too.

Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2011 - Quick Update

2011-02-21T14:42:00.006+08:00

I thought I have a crack at 3:30. I really tried. It was not to be, at least not on the day.

Unofficial time: 3:31:21 (PB)

Split at 21.1km: 1:43:39
Second 21.1km: 1:47:42

I will write more about my run later.

Malakoff KL 12km 2010 - My race report

2010-12-24T10:39:00.012+08:00

It was my second time running this Malakoff KL 12km. The route was near Pusat Sains Negara and Bukit Damansara, same as last year. It was a tough hilly route.

The route map:

The elevation map:
My wife joined me for this run just like last year. She was still recovering from PBIM2010 and not been running regularly. Although it was hilly, she did well last year.

Start/finish was in Bukit Kiara Equestrian and Country Club.

Parking was limited and we arrived around 6:00am, but the parking space in Securities Commissions was already filled up. So I have to squeeze in my small car near the edge of the parking some how.

I saw the Chuah family and had a chat and photo with them. The son was on VFF, the father was on barefoot.

Photo with Chuah and son. Courtesy from Chuah.

I met some friends at the starting line too. Said good luck to them and on to the flag off for the ladies first. Men's start was 10 minutes later.

Some other photos:

Climbing the steep hill near Securities Commission. Rare shot from Chuah showing me in front of Tan Wah Sing (he soon sayur me and I lost sight of him).

I was recovering from my 20km LSD done on Saturday. But still I could push a bit and find myself in front of Tan Wah Sing, Azlan and Kenny Tan for a brief moment. Then they sayur me kau-kau lat and I couldn't respond. I knew I have more work to do to even come close to pace with them.

At end of first lap, this was how I looked. A bit tired, but still good to maintain a sub-5 min/km pace.

Photo from Chuah, thanks for the support and hardwork.

On the same hill on the second lap, I was fighting for position with the two runners besides me.

Eventually, I conceded a position to the runner in blue vest but managed to stay in front of the runner in white vest.

Running downhill back to the finish line, I could push myself more to near sub-4 min/km pace. Really enjoyed the race and came back at 55:47 (gun time). Improvement of about 6 minutes from last year. Total distance covered 11.33km.

On home straight, heading back to Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Club. (Photo coutersy of Cham)

Then I waited for my wife to finish and she done well in 1 hour 34 minutes. We collected our goodies bag and headed home.

Until next run, do train hard and stay healthy.

CICM Responsible Care Run 2010

2010-11-29T23:11:00.015+08:00

I went to support and take photos for CICM Responsible Care Run 2010 in Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil on Sunday 28 Nov 2010.

Some photos here.

Alam Shah, Ronnie, Michelle, Raymond.

Kenny Tan

SH Tan

Yin, Tan Wah Sing, Paul Liong

Kelvin Ng. I always like to take photo of Kelvin, for obvious reason.

Kevin Chow, who trains near Bukit Jalil too.

Lawrence Law, thanks for bringing breads for me while I was still shooting.

The forever-holding-hands(-near-the-finish-line) Dannie and Carrie.

The spirit of the sarong runner lives on...

Too shy for the camera?

Power Ranger!

More photos on my Multiply. Please add me as contact first to view.

Penang Bridge International Marathon 2010 - Rain-soaked bridge run

2010-11-23T01:01:00.002+08:00

It was not in the script, at least not in mine: a rain-soaked PBIM 2010.

This year, I opted to only to take part in the half marathon for PBIM 2010. When I was about to registered for PBIM earlier in the year, I asked my wife to join the half marathon. I said if she said ok, I will run in the half as well. She was not confident at first as she only ran once a week. But with some encouragement she finally agreed. That was the main reason I opted for half, as I felt it would be good to be in the same distance category with her, or perhaps I could run with her.

This year, the race routes for full and half marathon were the same as last year. My wife and I arrived at around 1:00am to get parking space and do warm-up. I took chance to snap some photos before the race and planned to snap more after the race. I managed to meet up with some friends like Wong Jin Ji, Choo Cheng Liang, Kwang Leng, Winnie Wong, and Cornelius. I was looking for other friends but couldn’t see them in the sea of runners.

The full marathon was flagged-off slightly ahead of schedule. I managed to snap a few starting photos for the full marathon. Then I quickly checked in my stuffs to the baggage area and warmed up together with my wife.

I had planned to run my race and then paced my wife later. Earlier, I had thought of running with her in her maiden half marathon. But after some consideration (by both of us), we felt it would be better for me to pace her later in the race rather the whole race.

The men half marathon started 15 minutes earlier than the women category. I started not too far from the front along with Kwang Leng. I took this chance to see if I could crack 1:45. My previous best was only 1:52. Kwang Leng had run more than 25 half marathons and had PB in the sub-1:45. I figured if I could follow him, I could stand a chance. But I couldn’t follow his initial pace (4.5 minutes/km), so I had to hope that I could pick up the pace later.

My split at the first turn at the bridge (9.4km marker) was around 48 minutes. About 10-15 minutes later, which was around 4:00am, the rain started and it got heavier soon after. It was difficult to run as the heavy rain drops just smacked in my face and eyes. The shoes also get wet and heavier and not forgetting the cold with strong winds blowing. I had to pit-stop for a while to turn off my MP3 and handphone, then, put them in the pocket of my fuel belt. I wasted some precious time there.

After I made the U-turn near E-Gate building, the rain seemed to be subsiding. I increased my pace back to 5 minutes/km. But it was too late, I knew I couldn’t beat the 1:45 barrier. Next target was improving my time if I could. Finally, I completed the race in 1:51:10, my personal best in an AIMS-certified half marathon race course.

I collected my medal and baggage quickly and saw Kwang Leng again. He did it in 1:47, a very good time actually considering the condition of the race. The rain became heavy again, and I was worried about my wife. So I quickly put down my stuffs in the car and removed my shoes. Then I walked toward the finish line and ran the course barefoot in reverse direction to look for my wife.

On my reverse run, I saw many half marathon runners were coming in. The running lane became crowded as some road lanes were blocked off. I saw some full marathoner friends like Ben Swee and Alam Shah running in the crowded lane, overtaking slower half marathoners.

I ran at a very slow pace for the fear of missed out my wife in the dark and crowded running lane. I finally saw my wife 3km from the finish line. I had brought her a new bottle of Gatorade as she doesn’t take any Powergel or any other energy/fuel gel.

I checked my time and realized that she could finish the race within 3 hours. I gave some encouragement and paced her all the way to finish line. In the end, she clocked 2:51 (official gun time) for her maiden half marathon. She had done really well. Her initially target was 3.5 hours as she feared her knees will give her problem. Luckily her knees did hold for most of the race.

Thanks to Chuah for this photo.

I saw that she was really exhausted and she could barely walk. She was also drenched and cold. I brought her towel to dry up and we rested for a few minutes. Then I decided to abandon my plan to snap more photos and sent her home.

I was very happy for my wife for completing her maiden half marathon. Perhaps, one day, she will join me for a full marathon.

Until next run, do take care and stay healthy. Not forgetting, do train harder and prepare yourself more if you want to suffer less or improve your time.

Terry Fox Run KL 2010 - Photos & report

2010-11-08T22:50:00.016+08:00

Thank you all for the support last Sunday in the Terry Fox Run KL 2010.

Turn out was great, my estimate is around 3000 people were there. This year event was kind of low profile, considering it was the 30th anniversary of TFR.

See some photos of the crowd here.

T-shirt on sale but some sizes ran out.

Waiting to start.

Probably the most-photographed individual in this year's event. The emcee.

Mike & son were there too.

Petronas had own tent, giving out caps and T-shirt with company logo on right sleeve.

Running for a good cause.

More photos later, probably on my Multiply.

Penang Bridge International Marathon 2010 - Commentary on the Full Marathon Course

2010-10-31T20:54:00.020+08:00

Here is my commentary about the PBIM 2010 Full Marathon 42.195km route.

First, let's see the official route map from the organiser website below.

Click the image above for a larger image.

This route map is obviously not to scale and could be misleading to some extent. The route information given along with the route map above is as follows:

Queensbay - Seagate - Penang Bridge - PBSB Office - Jelutong Expressway - Macallum Street - Villa Emas - Queensbay Mall

A more representative route map is shown below. You may check out this link. The U-turn at PBSB office was not accurately charted in the link.

Click the image above for a larger image.

I ran this full marathon route last year. It was the run of my life. This year, I will skip the FM and will only run in the half marathon.

I will give more details on the FM route for those who is new to this route. This route is basically the same as the 2009 FM route. The start/finish line is at Queensbay Mall. It is easier to break this route into 3 sectors, and analyse them accordingly.

Sector 1 (Queensbay Mall to Seagate then to start of Penang Bridge) (Start to ~9.5km)

From Queensbay Mall, the runners will run straight to a round-about and take the first turn to the left (9 o'clock direction). Runners will then turn left to Bayan Lepas Highway (away from the Bridge). There is a U-turn near Seagate at around 3.5km. After this U-turn (the first timing mat was placed here during the PBIM2009), runners will be heading to the Bridge via the Bayan Lepas Highway. When you are at the beginning of the Bridge, you are now at approximately 9.5km mark. This section of the course is flat and runners can take it easy and refrain from running too fast.

Sector 2 (start of Penang Bridge at Penang Island heading towards mainland, U-turn at PBSB office and back to Penang) (From ~9.5km to ~26km)

This is relatively straight forward section of the course. The bridge is flat except for the middle section. The climb start at around 12km mark until the approximately 13km mark. Then the bridge ramp down to around 14km mark. The run to the mainland is until the PBSB office when there is small gate open on the right for the runners to cut through to a U-turn beneath the bridge. When the runners come up on the other side of the bridge heading towards the island, this is approximately 18.5km mark. There will be a timing mat here.

Just before the 21km halfway mark on the bridge, FM runners will now see the half-marathoners taking their U-turn on the bridge. The route will get slightly crowded and you may find yourself weaving through the HM runners. Then you climb the middle section of the bridge and you will find yourself back to the island.

Runners should be at their marathon goal pace already at this section but be careful not to overdo it. Reserve some strength for the final sector.

Sector 3 (Penang Bridge to Lebuh Macallum then to Queensbay Mall) (~26km to Finish)

This is where the FM race really begins.

This sector is the toughest, both physically and mentally for the FM runners. After the bridge, the runners will turn right, away from Queensbay Mall, on to the Jelutong Highway. The U-turn is at Lebuh Macallum, some 6.5km away. A lot of the FM runners suffered last year during this section because of a few factors. Among them, no km markers to show the distance, three flyovers (effectively 6 in totals because of the return trip) to tackle, crowded running route near the ~37.5km mark with HM and 10km runners depending on your pace.

Heading to Lebuh Macallum you will see HM turning point at around e-Gate building. FM runners, please don't turn here. You will not run a full course by taking an early U-turn.

Last year, the U-turn at Lebuh Macallum was marked with 35km marker. This was wrong, as I later found out. The official timing split indicated later was 32km, on the finisher certificate. However, I believe this point should be in between 32km and 33km, probably much closer to 33km mark.

The run back from the U-turn to Queensbay Mall will be a test of the heart. You will likely to be tired at this stage. There will be no pretty cheerleaders cheering for you at that time. And you need to tackle the gradient of the flyovers again. Not too steep if you ask me, but any climb at that point of time (& distance) will be very demanding both on the body and mind.

My advice for the runners in this sector is to stay strong and focused. You will reach the left turn near Villa Emas before Eastin Hotel, then take the round-about at the end of the road and head towards the finish line. You will then cross that finish line with you head up, arms up, and a lot satisfaction for conquering this full marathon course.

See you at the finish line!

Terry Fox Run KL 2010 - Route Map

2010-10-29T11:13:00.008+08:00

Here is the route map. It is approximately 2.5km loop around the Taman Tasik Titiwangsa.

Terry Fox Run KL 2010 - Route map (Click on image above for larger image)

"P" is the suggested parking area. Parking space is limited. Please car pool or use public transport.

Water station labeled with "W". It is located at the top of the map.

The staging area, start/finish area is on bottom right corner of the route.

See you all there!

Terry Fox Run KL 2010 - Event Programme

2010-10-29T11:10:00.007+08:00

Terry Fox Run KL 2010

7 November

Taman Tasik Titiwangsa

Programme :

8.00am Arrival of participants

8.30am Emcee to welcome crowd.

8.35am Welcome address by Ms Jo Tan, Chairman of the Terry Fox Run KL 2010 Organising Committee. Brief about the Terry Fox Run.

8.40am Brief about beneficiary – Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation (CARIF) by Chief Executive, Professor Dr Teo Soo-Hwang

8.45am Warm up by Celebrity Fitness

8.55am Invite Mr Douglas Bingeman, Acting High Commissioner for Canada and YM Tunku Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Ahmad Yahaya, Chairman of the Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation (CARIF) Board of Trustees onto stage. Mr Bingeman to address crowd.

9.00am Flag off the “Wheelers”

9.05am Flag off the runners

9.45am Runners return – F&B distribution

10.00am Team cheering & photo session on stage / Children’s activities at the children’s tent

11.00am End of Run

theSun Motor Hunt 2010 scheduled on 21 Nov is POSTPONED

2010-10-25T16:09:00.004+08:00

Breaking news on theSun Motor Hunt 2010 taken from TimeOut Solutions website.
===============================================
Dear All,

TheSun HUNT which was scheduled for 21 Nov has now been postponed to a later date TBA

*TERMS & CONDITIONS APPLY*
===============================================

No new date posted yet.

Mizuno Wave Run 2010 - My third wave run

2010-10-18T22:07:00.010+08:00

Thanks Tey for the pia photo on top of the last hill climb.

This October marks my second anniversary in road running. Mizuno Wave Run has been special for me. It was my maiden road race back in 2008. We always remember our first time, good or bad, don't we?

This year, the event was again held in Kompleks Sukan UPM. The route was slightly different compared to last year, but I would say, easier too. Nonetheless, it was still a hilly course.

Coming to this race without much training, my expectation was to use this race as my training run to rack up mileage. Usually, Sunday is my rest day. Since June, I had not been doing any speed training and my mileage was low (as low as less than 20km per week at one point). My wife joined me for this run. It was her second Mizuno run. Most of my usual (Mizuno Wave Run) runner friends like BP and William were absent from this year event. Anyway, good to see Pang was there. Also, I met Paul at end of my run.

Photo with Paul. (Courtesy of Paul Liong)

I got a small scare during earlier part of the race as I felt a little discomfort on my right knee. Luckily it was not a big problem. Kwang Leng overtook me at around 1.5km mark. I tried to follow his pace but it was not to be. I managed to catch up with my wife (who started 10 minutes earlier) at the first water station (around 4km mark).

Anyway, I was glad to finish the run in 53:14 gun time. It was my best time for this 11km race. Split time at 10km was less than 48 minutes, it was my best time for 10km as well. I could have done better with more training, but this was a training run anyway. Although I got my PB, but I didn't feel really excited or thrilled about it. I didn't know why, maybe it was not that important as I thought it would be.

After finished my run, I quickly ate some watermelons and drink a few cups of water. Then I got a cup of ice Milo for my wife and waited for her at the finish line. She came back after 1 hour 25 minutes after the start of the women race. Good effort by her.

Overall this year run was a bit more crowded than last year. I felt the crowd control was not so good this time. This year the event registration was through online portal and with addition of timing chip system for 11km categories. Other than that, I didn't really feel the improvement overall. The medical support or response was a bit reactive. I saw there was a runner collapsing at the finish line and no medical support around immediately. There were some people helping him already when I saw him. Rustam, the PACM President was nearby and he called for medic after being alerted of the situation and soon there were some St. John ambulance personnel came to help. He was helped on to a stretcher later. Hope he has recovered now.

My advice to all runners is, please go for your yearly medical check-up and know your physical condition. Until the next run, do stay healthy and know your condition early. That's the least you can do for yourself and your family.

Updates on Terry Fox Run KL 2010 T-shirt sale locations!

2010-10-06T11:21:00.011+08:00

Please take note of the locations and the start date of sale at each location.

These are the confirmed places for the sale of TFR KL 2010 T-shirts :

1) Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation (CARIF), 2nd Floor, Outpatient Centre, Sime Darby Medical Centre
(From 13th Oct, Mon to Fri, 9.00am to 5.00pm)
Contact person : Ms Katrina Low / Pn Herda Abdullah
Tel: 03-56391874

2) Canadian High Commission, Menara Tan & Tan, Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur
(From 13th Oct, Mon to Thurs, 8.30am to 12.00pm, 2.00pm to 4.00pm, Fridays 8.30am to 12.00pm)

3) Clark Hatch Fitness Centre, Capital Square , Kuala Lumpur
(Tuesday & Thursday 19th, 21st, 26th, 28th October, 5.00pm to 7.00pm)
Contact person : Mr Peter Kang

4) Clark Hatch Fitness Centre, Hilton Petaling Jaya
(Wednesday 20th, 27th October, 5pm to 7pm)
Contact person : Mr Peter Kang

5) Runnerz Circle, 12-1, Street Wing, Sunsuria Avenue, Persiaran Mahogani, Kota Damansara
(25th to 29th October, 11.30am to 5pm)
Contact person : Ms Amelia

6) Foyer, Menara Citibank, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur
(from 25th Oct to 29th Oct 12.00 to 2.00pm)
Contact person : Ms Iriani

7) Bangsar Village
(16th & 17th October, 10am to 6pm)
Contact person : Mr Bennie

8) Community Corner, First Floor Oval, 1 Utama
(29th, 30th & 31st October - 10am to 9.00pm)
Contact person : Ms Kelly

Please note each T-shirt is priced at RM25. Proceed will go to CARIF.

The T-shirt sizes again for your reference. Please note there is only one cutting.

SIZE	Chest (inch)	Length (inch)
2 (child)	22	16
4 (child)	24	17
3XS (child)	28	20
2XS	32	21
XS	34	22
S	36	25
M	42	29
L	44	30
XL	46	31
2XL	48	32
3XL	52	34

Please come back later for more updates!

Thank you for your support for TFR KL 2010.

theSun Motor Hunt 2010 is ON!!!

2010-09-30T22:31:00.005+08:00

Information released on Time Out Solutions' website:

================================================

“theSun hunt is on!!!

Date: 21st November 2010, Sunday!

Block out your date with theSun and look out for more details later!

*TERMS & CONDITIONS APPLY*

=================================================

Those who follow my blog or know me personally know that I have another hobby. But since last year, I have not been hunting frequently and I am kind of in semi-retiring mode. That's why I don't write about treasure hunt now.

theSun Motor Hunt this year clashes with Penang Bridge International Marathon. For me, it can be only one of the two, not both. I know at least one master hunter cum runner will understand how I feel now.

Updated 25 Oct: This hunt is postponed until further notice.

Newton 25km/12km challenge 2010 - Roller coaster run under the sun

2010-09-28T22:18:00.008+08:00

My last competitive run was SCKLM 2010 in June. Since then, I decided to reduce my training due to my nagging heel pain. Then work became overwhelming and I was sent for an oversea assignment for 2 weeks in August.

When I was back home in late August, then I got sick with HFMD. It was a really a painful experience. It was so painful even to drink and walk, needless to say, run.

Anyway, I recovered from that and my conditioning and fitness were like next to nothing. But the good thing is, my heel injury has recovered.

So, when I enrolled this Newton 25km run, the expectation was to motivate me to train. However, that was easier thought than done. Work load was getting heavier and mileage per week was like 20-30km.

Good thing was that I managed to convince my wife to join me, although she opted for a shorter 12km. Little did I know that the race course was tough and hilly even for the 12km race. When I found out that during my route survey one week before, I was like, "Ok, this will be very challenging... even for the elite runners." I also felt that the race course was really tough for beginners, especially the 25km course. See the GPS elevation map below (Courtesy from my runner friend, Kwang Leng).

Two photos from Tey on the route:

You will get the feel by now. I went to the extent to describe this 25km route as "diabolical" on my Facebook page. Please don't get me wrong, I have no ill-feeling about hilly course or the organiser. If you play Suduko, you will know what I meant by, diabolical. It is just my personal comment on the level of difficulty of the race course.

Fast forward to the race then. At the starting point, I looked up to the sky and noticed it was a starry sky. Normally, from my experience, this is a sign for a clear and hot day. I had flashes of my experience in my BIM 2010. I knew I would had to deal with the dreaded hot sun besides tackling the roller coaster hills.

I met my friend, BP at the starting line. There was a big crowd for 25km. The emcee announced total runners was about 2800.

The first part of the race was tough for me, as I was trying to keep pace with some of the red army runners, if you know what I mean. Of course, that proved to be futile as the race progressed. After the first U-turn, Kwang Leng overtook me and I was huffing and puffing even before 10km mark. I reminded myself then, I had not trained enough to do a sub-5 min average per km run here. So, no pressure to set PB or anything like that.

The hot sun came sooner than I thought. At first, it was from the side, then in my face in at least two sections of the race. This time, I was able to keep focus. Staying focus on this course was really important. It was more on mental, rather than physical. I found out later, some strong runners were having some issues tackling the hilly course.

Thanks to Tey (Eng Tiong) for this photo and his hard work and support to all runners.

Anyway, I was able to come back running all the way on this diabolical 25km course. The time around 2 hours 24 minutes 2 seconds (gun time). The thought that my wife was waiting for me at the finish line kept me motivated and I was so happy to see her smiling at me when I crossed the finish line. She had done well in her 12km run and got a medal for her effort.

We rested for a while and then went home soon after to fetch our kids from the caretaker. That's why not easy for us to run in the same event always.

When I checked later on my Suunto watch, I found out that my peak HR during the race was 188bpm, average was 167. The peak HR reached was equaled to my estimated/calculated maximum HR. To run with my maximum HR, really scared me. It was like revving your engine to the max RPM. Anyway, it just showed that I am losing my fitness as I continue to train less and less.

Until the next run, do train hard and smart, and stay healthy too.

Terry Fox Run KL 2010 - T-shirt design and sizes

2010-09-14T23:48:00.007+08:00

Please see the design for the Terry Fox Run KL 2010 here:

According to information obtained, the measurements and sizes are same as last year. Here are the sizes and measurements available from last year.

Size Chest (cm) Length(cm) (inch)

2	22	16
4	24	17
3XS	28	20
2XS	30	21
XS	32	22
S	36	25
M	42	29
L	44	30
XL	46	31
2XL	48	32
3XL	52	34

Each T-shirt costs RM25. You are not obliged to run if you buy the T-shirt. You can buy the T-shirt to support the good cause even if you cannot make it to the run.

Each T-shirt with company/school name embroidery (left sleeve) is RM30 (minimum quantity is 30pcs). * Kindly note that the final order date for company name embroidery is 15 October 2010.

To order, please contact:

Katrina Low/Herda Abdullah/Yoon Sook Yee
CARIF, 2nd floor OPC, Sime Darby Medical Centre,
Tel: 03-56391874

or email us at organizer@terryfoxrunkl.org

I will update this post when more locations for T-shirt sale becomes available. See new update here.

Terry Fox Run Kuala Lumpur 2010 - 30th anniversary of TFR

2010-09-14T23:04:00.010+08:00

Just got breaking news, Terry Fox Run KL 2010 will be held:

Date: 7 Nov 2010 (Sun)
Time: 8:45am
Venue: Taman Tasik Titiwangsa (not Taman Tasik Perdana as last few years)

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Terry Fox Run. It is an important milestone.

The beneficiary in previous years and this year as well is Cancer Research Initiatives Foundation (CARIF).

Please see the following information.

Rules and Regulations:

All participants must run on designated route.
For wheelchair bound, and physically challenged participants, please note that there are slopes along the run route.
Participants are to be at the assembly area by 8:45am.

Parking:

Limited parking is available on site, and public transport is recommended.

Notice:

The organisers, their agents, representatives, successors and assigns, are not liable for any injuries suffered, damage and lost of properties by the participants at this event.

If you like to volunteer or need more information

Please contact:

Ms Yoon/Mr Peter Kang/Ms Katrina Low
CARIF, 2nd floor OPC, Sime Darby Medical Centre,
Tel: 03-56391874

or email us at organizer@terryfoxrunkl.org

I will update all when new information is available.

I'm running for...

2010-08-31T22:31:00.012+08:00

This post has been delayed for some time now. But I still feel that it is good to write about it.

I joined this Siemens Run (18 July 2010) when my company asked for representatives back in early July. At first I thought it was for the competitive 10km category, then I was told we will be running in the Corporate Run Category. It was for charity and my company had contributed substantial amount of money for the good cause.

The Corporate Run Category was non-competitive and it was for 3.5km only. The team members would run as a team and it was like a fun run. I was very keen to join as this was for charity.

I took the opportunity to double-up as the unofficial photographer as well. I brought my new D90 with 18-200mm lens (retiring my D40) and ran with it so that I could took photos along the route. Not running against time, not vying for medal, it was a relax and enjoyable run. I met some runner friends in the event and cheered them on. I felt good also to be able to take photos for them. There were many photographers in the event as well.

Some photos here.

Thanks Tey for this shot.

Thanks to Running with Passion for this shot.

My team members.

Credit to the photographer who took this shot. Sorry I forgot his name.

On the other side of my lens:

Kelvin Ng (PM2).

Chandra.

What are you running for?

More photos in my Multiply.

My Marathon Story - One Year On

2010-07-20T21:55:00.016+08:00

I have been meaning to write this post for some time now. A reflection of my short experience so far on Full Marathon running.

My maiden marathon was on 28 June 2009. The event: SCKLM 2009. After one year, I ran SCKLM for the second time, my fourth Full Marathon in a year.

Back in 2008, when I started running around September time frame, I was coming to 36 years of age. I was really out of shape and really stressed out due to work. I had frequent common sickness, e.g. cough, flu and sore throat. Most of the time, I would feel tired, both physically and mentally. I really wanted to change that. Running was something that I thought I could give a try.

I had already joined my first gym just a few months when William suggested that I join Mizuno 10km run and I found myself committed to something that I had never done before: running a 10km road race.

I started training a month before the run on a thread mill. My first 5km training on the machine, I still remember, I almost fainted by end of it! But slowly, I kept training on the machine until I felt good enough to hit the road.

My first 10km at Mizuno 2008 was a torture that time. After the hilly run, it took me a week to recover from the muscle soreness. But that didn't stop me from running at all. I just thought that this would get better in time if I continued training.

I didn't fare better either in my second race. A 7.5km run in November 2008, a week after theSun Motor Hunt. By end of the run, I almost blacked out. But I was glad I managed to stay on my feet until I found water and food at the finish station. I remember I didn't eat/drink much the day before the race.

I continued to train and run because I wasn't satisfied with myself. Surely, this could not be my limit. I could do better than this, that's what I said to myself. Slowly, little by little, I increased my mileage and long run. In one group run with some running buddies, I managed to run two laps on the reverse double-hill route, thus conquering my first 20km run. The rewards were blackened toe nails and more muscle soreness.

Somehow, I still had the guts to registered to GE20km in Jan 2009. Running with BP & Lam on my first 20km, I was very happy to reach the finish line in slightly more than 2 hours. More muscle soreness followed in the days after the race. I suffered the pain especially when coming down the stairs.

After I recovered from that, I began to do more research online and talked to runners to understand more about running and in particularly marathon running.

A few more runs later in April, that's when I decided to registered in SCKLM 2009 for Full Marathon. I wasn't 100% sure then if I could complete it, but I knew I wanted to try my best. When I was young, I always fascinated by the marathon runners. I thought these people must be gifted or had the physical attributes to run 42.195km in 2 hours plus. I always dream of completing one in my life time. But as I trained more and longer distance, I began to realise that running a marathon was more of a mental thing and not just a physical thing.

That's when I began to put into my mind that I would cross that finish line of the full marathon race. Time was not really my concern then. Of course, if I could do it in 5 hours, it will be a bonus.

When I stood on the starting line on my maiden marathon, I was confident but still not 100% sure I could complete it. But I drew inspiration from Terry Fox and support from my family and friends. In the end, I made it. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.

I didn't stop there either. After breaking the mental barrier in SCKLM 2009, I registered my second full marathon in PBIM 2009. This time for the hope of improving my timing.

What happened in PBIM 2009 surprised myself. I surpassed my own expectation and did a sub-4 finish in just my second full marathon. An improvement of about 43 minutes from SCKLM 2009.

The third full marathon was in BIM 2010 in May. The most challenging full marathon for me so far. But I survived that too. They said, what didn't break you could only make you stronger.

Now, the biggest gain that I got was not the PB that I had, and certainly not the medals. It was rather the stronger mental belief and confidence that I had now with myself. Physically also, I am healthier with less frequency of common flu.

Other things that I have noticed is that I am more tolerant to pain. Pain became something that I would not avoid. My pain threshold has increased and pain became a friendly sensation. I think it is the side effect of endorphin released naturally by my body when exerting tough training and long runs. Sometimes, I wonder if I am getting addicted to this endorphin. The other way to get endorphin naturally is through sexual intercourse. It makes one relax and probably feeling happy also. But mind you, I will make no attempt to compare that with running.

I also got to know a lot of runner friends and I truly cherish the friendship and the sharing.

This is just the beginning of more to come. My marathon stories, had just begun (to get more interesting).

SCKLM 2010 - Running the KL Marathon for the second time

2010-06-27T19:45:00.017+08:00

Thanks to Tey for this shot of me running towards the finish line.

I will start this post with a sad news. A young runner, Lim, who ran in the 10km category in SCKLM 2010 this morning passed away after collapsing during the run. According to some sources, there were a few runners with medical background tried to revive him. The ambulance arrived about 15 minutes later despite some helping runners shouted and scrambled for help. According to a runner's note in Facebook, he died on the way to the hospital. Rest in peace, Lim Wei Ji. My deepest condolences to his family and friends.

SCKLM 2009 was my maiden marathon. I never thought I could finish my maiden full marathon in just 9 months since started running in 2008. A year later, there I was, running this race for the second time and it was my fourth full marathon. Coming to this race without any solid target (and not enough training), I was determined to do my best anyway. That's just me, always give my best in whatever that I do.

I have been having this heel pain for a few months now. It has not healed yet. I am not sure if I had pushed myself too hard or it is just something else. I ran this race with the intermittent pain on the heel. I hoped I didn't aggravate it.

I came early and parked in Padang Merbok just like last year. This year my running buddy, BP joined the half marathon so I was alone coming to Dataran Merdeka this time.

It drizzled slightly when I arrived and by the time I got ready on the starting line, the rain started to come down. I was surprised and happy to see BP at the side of starting line although he would only start his race 90 minutes later. We chatted and took photo together. The race started on time at 5:00am under the down pour.

I was pacing along side an elite lady runner, Julia Lim. I figured I needed someone to pace with and I knew Julia's pace. And I predicted that she would do a sub-4 this time round.

Running in the rain was not an ideal condition. The rain made the road slippery and there were puddles all around. Your shoes would get wet and heavy and you would feel uncomfortable. Worse still, if you didn't have the right socks and Vaseline on, you would probably get blisters or even broken toenails.

I was glad that I made a bold decision to wear my new Injinji five-toe socks this morning. It was my first time running in them. I broke a runners' rule here by doing something I have not done before on race day. Luckily, the socks were comfortable even when wet. The water dried up eventually when the rain stopped and the sun starting shinning brightly. But I still got a small blister at the end of the race. But it was not major.

Some major happenings and my split times during the race from my perspective:

At roughly 9km mark, rain began to subside. I thought Alam Shah overtook me. Then followed by Ben Swee, who said hi.

At 10km split: 52 mins 3 secs

At 15km split: 1 hour 17 minutes 35 seconds

At 21km split: 1 hour 51 minutes 31 seconds

At 30km split: 2 hours 41 minutes 23 seconds, somewhere before 30km, Ronnie passed me and I realised I might be falling off the 4-hour pace as Ronnie was the official pacer for 4-hour pace. He went into the toilet in the 30km mark and overtook me again later and wished me good luck.

At 33km, I saw Ronnie's wife and son, Andrian passing something to him and cheering him on.

At 38km, my leg muscles started to cramp and it was painful to run. I had to control my pace and dared not to increase my speed. Passed Keven Bong before going down slope. Even when going down hill, it was painful and I couldn't take advantage of the down hill to pick up some time. Julia moved ahead of me for good from here.

At 39km, I saw Moey and gave him some encouragement before moving on.

At 40km split, 3 hours 39 minutes 48 seconds. The route merged with 3km, 5km, 10km, family run, 21km runners etc. It was very crowded and difficult to pass the slow moving runners.

At the finish, 3 hours 53 minutes 29 seconds. My personal best.

Then I met Andre at the finish line. He ran in the half marathon. I proceeded to collect my medal and do some stretching before met up with BP and my brothers (who came to support) to take some photos.

Chatted with my other friends who ran the 10km and 21km. All were in good spirit although completed their tough runs.

I waited in long queue later to collect my baggage. It took around 45 minutes to get mine before going home with my brother.

It was a good run this morning. Now my leg muscles are very sore and the heel is still in pain. So I think I will take good rest for some time to recover from this.

Until the next run, do train hard and stay healthy.

Quick update on SCKLM 2010

2010-06-27T12:16:00.002+08:00

I finished with my personal best in full marathon in SCKLM 2010. Finishing time 3:53:29, more details later.

Malakoff 26km Penang 2010 - Race in the Heritage City

2010-05-31T17:21:00.006+08:00

Note the people around the finish line. They must had wondered if this guy won anything.

The feeling was incredible when I crossed the finish line. Completing my second run in my second home (Penang) since PBIM 2009, with my wife waiting for me at the finish line, the feeling was probably close to winning it.

I signed up for this race after I learned that I would need to skip Sundown Marathon because of a wedding dinner in Penang. I got my wife to join me although she opted for the shorter distance 6km. She is targeting her maiden 21km in PBIM 2010.

I didn't set any target in the days leading up to the race. I am actually training for SCKLM 2010 42km scheduled on 27 June. So I was treating this race as a training run.

The race started on time at 5:30am. My wife was near the start line to cheer me on. She would start one hour later for the 6km race.

After about 2km, the climb started on Jalan Mount Erskine. It was a quite a challenging (up and down) climb to about 4.5km mark but I was glad it was at the beginning of the race. After 7km mark, when I collected my second check point ribbon (the first was at the starting line), the race course took us downhill to Jalan Batu Ferringhi where the terrain is flatter. The run on this road was pleasant with a slight upward slope near Tanjung Bungah Hotel.

At the Gurney Drive round-about (about 13km mark), it was a familiar place for most people. I had also run several times from Gurney Drive to Esplanade (and back). This route overlapped partly with my training route, so it made me felt much more comfortable and I continued to maintain my 5 minutes per km pace. At this stretch, a foreign lady runner was trying to catch up with me but I was able to hold my ground.

When I was about reached the round-about at Light Street, I saw Michele Tan already made her turn and was about 500m in front of me. I thought it was a tall order to catch up with her, so I didn't.

I collected my third check-point ribbon at the turn, around the 18km point. From here, the course took us to part of the Heritage City roads. From here, I managed to overtake a few runners. The sun by now was already shinning brightly but luckily the buildings and the trees provided the much needed shades for the runners.

At the last 3km, I followed two runners in front of me closely and I was trying to find a right time to make my move. At the last km, three of us ran into heavy traffic near Jalan Utama on the way to back to Youth Park. I was running just less than a metre from the cars cruising at around 50-60km/h, not to mention the motorcycles. Luckily there were traffic police near the traffic light to Western Garden and we safely made our crossing to the other side of the road.

After I turned into the entrance of Youth Park, I made my move and overtook the runner in front of me. Then I passed another runner 100m before the finish. At the finish line, I was just enjoying myself and crossed the line with my arms wide open.

Then I met up with my wife who snapped my finishing photo. She had finished her 6km race in about 40 minutes and helped to take some photos around the race. I quickly returned my timing chip and got my medal and goody bag.

It was a good run as I completed with an unofficial time of 2:11:35 for position 24th in Men Open Category. Average pace just about 5 minutes per km. And I was able to break the 1 hour 45 minutes barrier at the 21km split. This gave me some hope that I could improve my half marathon timing and hopefully my full marathon timing as well.

I may give my comment about this event later.

Until the next run, do train hard and stay healthy.

Quick update on Malakoff 26km Penang

2010-05-30T10:43:00.002+08:00

Finally broke the 1 hour 45 minutes barrier at the 21 km split en route to a 2:11:35 finish in this morning Malakoff Penang 26km. More details later.

I have uploaded some photos in my Multiply site. Please add me as contact if you want to view.

New Balance Pacesetters 15km 2010

2010-05-16T20:20:00.012+08:00

One week ago, I was still not sure that I could run in this race. Luckily my toe injury was healing well and I actually racked up 30km (with the injured toe) in 6 days leading up to the race.

This time, my wife joined me for the 15km run. This would be her second 15km race. What was different from the first one she'd been to, this race course was hilly and unfamiliar to her.

The race course was basically reverse double-hill route with some added routes to make it 15km.

This year the race started first for all women categories and followed 15 minutes later by men. It was in complete reverse order compared to last year. I thought this was better.

I started the race strong and stay close to the front pack for the first km. Of course, when I said close, I mean within sight. But that didn't last long as the front runners charged away.

Tan Wah Sing, the well-known barefoot runner from Kuantan, overtook me at around 1km mark. I was able to follow him for a good 500m. This was the first time I saw him run, I mean his gait, from close. I noticed he lands on mid-foot and not on fore-foot as commonly-believed gait of a barefoot runner. I thought this was the best landing for runners. When I said the best, I meant the best in term of injury prevention. Landing on fore-foot, puts a lot of stress on the Achilles tendon, while landing on the heel puts stress more on the knees.

I met my wife just before 6km mark. She was doing fine and I ran next to her for a while and gave her some encouragement.

Kwang Leng catched up with me at around 6.5km. Then we both passed Yin and her mom, SH Tan coming into Bukit Tunku. After that, I reached the mid-way check point at about 36 minutes.

Then it was a long climb followed by a long descent. I saw Mr. Yong at the point of start of descent. He applauded and cheered me. I applauded and saluted his dedication to serve as a road marshal for this run (and also many other Pacesetters run). At this time, I picked up my pace and tried my best to maintain that pace.

On this run, I saw many runners paying tribute to Ngae (a runner and triathlete) who passed away recently. Some donned a sarong while running (e.g. I saw Jennifer with a sarong), while some wrote a message on the back of their vest. I remembered him from an article he wrote on Footloose magazine Jun 2009 and I saw him running barefoot in some races and donning a sarong. My deepest condolences to his family and close friends.

Back to the race, the last part of the run was really tough as the sun was out shinning brightly and the heat started to build up. It reminded me of the the recent BIM.

This time, I was mentally prepared and luckily also there were many shaded areas. In the end, I managed to finish my race in 1 hour 16 minutes. No personal best this time, but I was happy as I could run/race again.

Thanks Tey for this pia photo at the finishing straight.

I quickly grabbed some drinks and took some watermelons and then started shooting finishing photos. This time I didn't got many shots as I started a bit late. I slowly jogged and walked in reverse direction of the route to find my wife after 15 minutes at the finish line. Then I saw her around 100m from the finish. I ran with her for the final stretch and she finished just under 2 hours. I congratulated her for a job well done.

We had to leave early to pick up our kids from class and caretakers. So I didn't really have much time to catch up with friends. BP was running this morning, but I didn't manage to see him. His knees are still bothering him. Only managed to say hi to Yin, Elaine Pan, Kwang Leng, Pang, Chuah Seih Seng, Dannie, Carrie, Moey, Lawrence Law, Julia Lim, Wai Sum, Hoffen and Christopher Jong. Julia got 3rd place in her category. Congrats!

Until the next run, do train hard and stay healthy.

New Balance Pacesetters 15KM 2010 - Bib collection

2010-05-08T22:40:00.010+08:00

Date: 8-9 May 2010
Venue: N Concept Store, Sunway Pyramid Shopping Centre

Sigh... not sure I can recover in time to run next Sunday.

BIM 2010 - My feedback on the event

2010-05-08T21:55:00.008+08:00

First, I would like to congratulate the organiser for the overall successful event. Thank you to all the crew, volunteers & sponsors too for the time, effort and sponsorship to make this an event to be remembered.

The good or positives:

1. Ample water and isotonic drinks at the water station. Water stations were located roughly 3-5km apart.

2. Got free return bus transfer from hotel to stadium. Very important for runners who came from other countries or states.

3. Nice flat race course, scenic at some parts.

4. Strong number of crew and volunteers. They were friendly and cheerful. Also encouraged the runners along the route and urged them on. Note there weren't many other people care/bother/cheer/watch along the route.

5. Distance marker at every km.

6. Nice medal design.

Areas for improvement:

1. No finisher T-shirt after race. Finisher T-shirt for full marathon has become a norm. So BIM can consider this next year?

2. Race for full marathon started 4 minutes late.

3. Race course was not certified by AIMS. I tend to believe that the actual course length was in the range of 42.6 to 43km. This was based on the recorded distance on my GPS and other runners' GPS. This could be partly due to the runners were directed to run on right side of the road (not necessarily the shortest path). In actual survey or measurement of the route, I believed the shortest path is measured to get the usual 42.195km.

4. Lack of atmosphere surrounding the run. Partly due to lack of participation I think.

5. The split time of the runner at key points of the race was not recorded. This caused the full result to have no split times other than the finish time. Last year, split times at key points were recorded and full results showed this. This also meant that manual checks were needed to ensure runners ran a fair race.

6. Lack of refreshment station after the race. Maybe I was comparing with the runs held in KL or West Malaysia. Perhaps watermelons, or even bread were not too much to ask?

BIM 2010 - My maiden run in the land beneath the wind

2010-05-08T18:08:00.021+08:00

I arrived about noon time at KK and went to the King Park Hotel (3-star, I remembered) to check in. I estimated the trip from the airport to the hotel was about 10km. The taxi coupon fare was RM30. Then, just about 30m from the hotel, the taxi that I was in, bumped into a Kancil in front that stopped suddenly. It was not a major accident, but enough to jerk me a bit. I thought that was not a good start to my first trip to KK.

After checked-in, I took a walk to the bib collection centre located in Community Hall less than 1 km away.

I didn't really get much sleep the night before the run. I tried, but I couldn't sleep. I guessed I was missing home and at the same time getting excited about the race. I woke up many times in the hotel room and eventually watched small part of football game before attempting to to sleep again. In the end, still I didn't really sleep.

I got up eventually at around 2:15am to freshen up and get ready. A bus came at around 2:55am to my hotel. There were already some runners in the bus, but only less than ten.

I arrived about 3:15am at Likas Stadium. There were already some runners there. The 42km run started at around 4:04 am.

Fast forward to after the race, I was too tired to wear my other hat as a photographer. Really wanted to, but I was too exhausted and the injury to one of my toes didn't help either. The heat had taken a lot from me, more than what I had anticipated. I had not trained under such intense heat before. I almost collapsed at the end. Losing focus at second half of the race, also caused me the injury.

The paramedic team at the stadium said they couldn't remove the blood under my toenail. After that, I met up Cornelius and then went back to the hotel to take a shower.

I had to find food quickly and then checked out of the hotel. My next stop, Queen Elizabeth Hospital emergency ward. I had to get the blood clot and the broken nail removed. The same toe had previous similar injury before and now it was completely busted.

Luckily I got the treatment that I needed in the emergency ward. The medical team injected local anesthetic on my toe and remove the blood clot and the toenail. They also gave me a tetanus jab as well. The photo below shows how the toe looked after one day. Not sure when I can run normally again.

In short, my first trip to KK had been a tough and painful experience. I couldn't really say I enjoyed the run. However, overall impression of the event and my trip was still positive. Therefore I didn't regret flying alone all the way from KL to KK for a 30-hour stay (that included almost 4 hours of running & zero hour of sleep).

I will give my comments on the event in my next post.

Until the next run, do train hard and stay healthy.

Borneo International Marathon 2010 - Running my toughest race yet

2010-05-04T17:56:00.008+08:00

I started the race with a target of 3:50:00. As I was running my last few kilometres, I was thinking if I could achieve my personal best (PB), it would be still ok for me. But when I was entering the Likas Stadium, I still wasn't sure if I could even break my previous PB of 3:57:20. I just wanted to cross that finish line. At that moment, PB seemed so insignificant, compared to what I had gone through in this race.

I was determined to make my first trip to KK and my first visit to East Malaysia to run this Borneo International Marathon 2010. Initially I registered for Sundown Marathon scheduled on the 29 May, but I cannot make it due to a wedding event that same weekend. So BIM was kind of a replacement for that. Also for me to train myself to be race-fit for full marathon at least twice a year. Sabah seemed to be a good destination too. And I always thought I would come to KK to climb Mount Kinabalu. But not this time.

I arrived in KK one day before, in fact less than 18 hours from start time of the race. It was very very hot when I arrived. The sky was so blue and without a trace of cloud. I was beginning to worry. Before I registered for the race, I asked my friend Cornelius about the weather and the sunrise time in KK. He said sun rises before 6am. By 6am, it will be quite bright. If the race starts at 4:00am, it would mean that I would need to run for about 2 hours under the morning sun for a 4-hour finishing time. Probably still ok to enrol and experience the race, I thought.

So here I was. I came by myself with no known kaki to join me from KL in this race.

At the starting line, I met Cornelius, his wife and friends. All came here for a purpose. Some for running the full for the first time, some for better personal timing and some looking for a lobster meal. Other runners that I could recognise was Alam Shah and Michele Tan Bee Kiang. Oh... the Marathon Maniac, Mohan was there as well.

The total number of participants for the full marathon I think was around 200 people.

I started my race quite cautiously. I quickly found myself running along side Michelle Tan. She is an elite lady runner, consistently on the podium position in local run events. I don't know her personally but I recognised her. We paced together for about 6km when I ran slightly faster (or did she actually slowed down her pace then?) and moved ahead of her. My split time at 10km was 51:32. I was doing quite well then.

I made the U-turn at around 12.5km mark with the split time around 1 hrs 4 minutes. At the turn, Kevin (introduced earlier to me by Cornelius) came up along side me. After pacing with him for about 3km, I decided to let him go. He was going strong and I planned to conserve my energy for the second half of the race.

By around 18km, it was already breaking dawn. I reached the 21km marker with a split time of 1:50:17 (faster than my half-marathon PB). From here, I thought that as long as I could complete the rest of the race in 2 hours, I would achieve my target.

Little did I knew that the sun was getting hotter when I was approaching the waterfront in the city. In the city, the shadow from the buildings provided the much needed shade for the runners. When I headed towards Sutera Harbour, the sun was already so hot and I could see some half-marathoners who were running back from the Tanjung Aru turn were already suffering. At this point, there was still 15km remaining for me.

Passing Harbour City shops that provided temporary shade from the sun.
Photo courtesy of Cornelius and his friends, Buddy and Sophia.

From here on, I started to look for water sponge at the sponge/water stations. I made mistake of sponging too much onto my body and legs. This caused excess water to go into my shoes and feet. After a few more kilometres, I could feel that my feet were getting wet and a bit uncomfortable. Also I accidentally kicked into two bumps on the road (forgot where exactly). From 28 km onwards, the whole complexion of my race changed. I was not running comfortably as I was in the first part of the race.

Nevertheless, I reached the Tanjung Aru U-turn (~32.4km mark) with a split time of 2:51:15. I felt the exhaustion and the heat was eating into me. I drank 2-3 cups of water at all the water stations thereafter. I also almost finished my sport drink I carried along on my fuel belt by 35km. At this moment, Michelle passed me. I didn't feel I have enough in me to follow her pace. I was just hanging on to about 6 minutes per km pace.

At this time, I just kept running with my heart and maintained that pace and hoped that I could hit my target. But as I was running with the sun in my face for more than one hour, that thought slowly faded and I could still accept any improvement on my PB.

The last few kilometres were really a torture. The distance marker seemed so far apart. I lost focus a few times and I thought about why I was here, what was happening back home, work etc.

Entering Likas Stadium with the sun in my face for the last 200m.
Photo courtesy of Cornelius and his friends, Buddy and Sophia.

Entering Likas Stadium, I was just glad to see the finishing gate without too much thought about my target and PB. Still, I managed to cross the line with about one minute improvement from my previous PB. Unofficial time was 3:56:15. A volunteer immediately put the finisher medal around my neck.

Then, I felt like fainting. But I just kept walking until I found the water station. I took in a lot of water. My arms were a little numb as well. I did some stretching and found a seat besides the track at the stadium to recover. Elaine (who also came from KL with her friends to run in the half) was kind enough to pass me a tube of muscle rub. I met Alam Shah too. He finished second in the Men Veteran category. Congrats!

I also took off my shoes to find out that I had a few blisters on my toes. Also one toenail was broken with blood under the skin. Argh....

When I was good enough to walk, I collected my bag and changed to dry clothing. Initially I planned to shoot photos immediate after my run. But I was just too exhausted to do that.

Then I met Cornelius and took photo with him before I boarded a van back to the hotel.

There is much more to tell, but this post is getting long. So I may post more about the run later.

Borneo International Marathon 2010 - Unofficial Results

2010-05-03T22:29:00.010+08:00

First, some unofficial results of BIM 2010 as posted by the organiser at the Likas Stadium.

Please check in official website later (organiser promised to upload by 5 May) for the official results.

Full Marathon Men Open:
1. Peter Kipleting Ketgr - 2:38:00
2. Johnson Kipkosgei Tarus - 2:39:09
3. Sila Kipruto Sematei - 2:45:19
4. Mohd Faizal Waridi (Malaysia) - 3:11:55
5. Faslee Mojudo (Malaysia) - 3:21:34
6. Mark Miller - 3:25:29
7. Syawal Mahmud (Malaysia) - 3:37:31
8. Franky O. Madalag - 3:40:42
9. Joseph Lau (Malaysia) - 3:49:29

Full Marathon Men Veteran:
1. Liew Joon Kim (Malaysia?) - 3:24:26
2. Alam Shah Ismail (Malaysia) - 3:24:52
3. Timothy .... (unreadable last name from printout, sorry) - 3:40:13
4. Neil Soden - 3:51:04
5. Sikin Aggom - 3:53:20
6. Dany Matias - 4:12:39
7. Robert Santi - 4:15:39
8. Edmond Gusui - 4:16:08
9. Shum Kok Khoon - 4:18:44

Full Marathon Women Open:
1. Tagami Mai (Japan) - 3:23:28
2. Susan Jemutai Chepkwony - 3:33:48
3. Peris Poymo - 3:33:58
4. Monica Chepkurgat - 3:46:37
5. (Michelle) Tan Bee Kiang (Malaysia) - 3:50:59
6. Akiyama Naomi (Japan) - 3:59:11
7. Judy Liew (Malaysia) - 4:13:54
8. Natalie Privette - 4:17:25
9. Tan Lee Lee (Malaysia) - 4:32:04
10. Claire Bowden - 4:52:44

Quick update on BIM 2010

2010-05-02T16:49:00.002+08:00

Completed the most difficult race so far. Ran more than 1 hour with the sun in my face. Almost fainted at the finish line. Barely got my PB. More details later.

Cari more makan

2010-04-20T22:37:00.018+08:00

Penang is a food heaven. The treasure hunt took us to Penang for the weekend. There were more than 45 cars joined the hunt. The hunters were on the prowl for good food after the hunt. While many were heading for the-best-in-town nasi kandar, I was heading to another location for this supposedly best in town cendol near Chowrasta Market in Penang Road.

After giving this cendol a try, I thought it was overrated. I didn't understand why some many people crowded around the stall. Maybe it used to be good before, but I felt that the quality has degraded.

There was another Penang Assam Laksa stall just besides the cendol stall. I was told that the assam laksa there was also quite good. So I tapau 2 packets back to KL for dinner/supper.

Then, my team headed to Sri Ananda Bahwan Restaurant for this banana leaf rice. The location is at the junction of Lebuh Penang and Lebuh China.

I must say I am quite skillful when eating banana leaf rice with my hand. And I like Indian food as well. Raj sometimes jokes with me that I am a half-Indian.

Anyway, on the way back to KL, Prasath recommended a better cendol in Taiping. So off we detoured to Taiping for this Ansari Famous Cendol.

This Ansari Famous Cendol has been around for 3 generations. This cendol was better than the Penang one. So it was definitely worth the detour for our afternoon tea time.

If you are interested to know the exact location of the good food above, you can drop a comment here.

Cari Makan Trail to Penang

2010-04-20T21:40:00.011+08:00

Last weekend, I went on a treasure hunt organised by our company's sports club. I was on business trip since last Thursday and just returned home 8 hours before the flag-off. I wasn't sure I would be able to make it. But I did. The destination: Penang. The theme: Cari Makan Trail.

It was the first time since the last theSun Motor Hunt that I went treasure hunting. This time Raj & Doug couldn't join. So Prasath & I teamed up with Harin and Alex for this hunt. The CoC is Time Out Solutions.

Leg 1 was before Penang and Leg 2 was in Penang. Leg 2 was around Lebuh China, Lebuh Penang, Lebuh Campbell, Chowrasta Market and Jalan Kapitan Keiling. There were two challenges. Challenge 1: Make roti canai. Challenge 2: Eat Yau Char Kuay with wasabi topping.

After doing the same challenge in the Food Hunt last year, I knew I have to let my team mate to do Challenge 1. Prasath stepped up and did his best. Now I really appreciate the mamak that make us roti canai. It is not an easy job to make a perfect roti canai.

Anyway I did the second challenge which was eat Yau Char Kuay (crunchy type, not the soft type ok? Very hard to chew and swallow in short time) with wasabi topping in 90 seconds. As long as you finished eating, you would score some points. But it was not clear the scoring mechanics, i.e. how to score 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10. So after completing the challenge in slightly more than 90 seconds, I have little clue on how well I did.

Anywhere, fast forward to the results. We did quite poorly for the challenges, scored 11 out of possible 20. That resulted us to tie on points with the runner-up. We won on tie-break on Leg 1 score.

One interesting road safety question to share, worth 1 point.

Q4: Setelah lulus ujian amali calon dikehendaki memohon lesen memandu dalam tempoh:

A) 3 bulan
B) 2 tahun
C) 1 tahun

Pick your choice. Answer later.

Apparently now, there is a requirement to have one officer from the Road Safety Department to give a talk on road safety in the pre-hunt briefing two days prior the hunt. I didn't attend that as I was on business trip in Jakarta. But my team mate told me that it was not a pleasant presentation as the guy showed photos and video of fatal accidents. Not very pleasant indeed. I don't need to elaborate.

One more road question to share. A simple one really. Worth 3 points.

Q25. Which street used to be called the street of the "new maidens"?

Answer can be found in the sign below. Click the photo below for a larger image.

Anyway, I would like to say that the hotel that we stayed was Parkroyal Hotel in Batu Ferringhi. It was a nice hotel with good food and a nice beach. We enjoyed our stay very much.

Energizer Night Race 2010 - The Good and the Bad

2010-03-30T09:58:00.011+08:00

As promised, my half-cent comments on the Energizer Night Race 2010.

The Good or positives:

1. A lot of volunteers and crew members stationed at road junctions and strategic locations. These volunteers showed good enthusiasm and cheered the runners on. Not forgetting the volunteers at the start and finish station. E.g. when I got a drink at the drink station, I said to the lady volunteer, "sen fu sai!" (appreciate your hard work in Cantonese). She replied, "mm sen fu, le bao 21km tong sen fu...." (translated literally to: not hard work, you ran 21km is more hard work). The baggage counter was well organised as I waited about 5 minutes in the queue and when it was my turn, I got my bag pretty quickly.

2. Water stations and fluid were enough for everyone.

3. Organiser was willing to take inputs and suggestions from the runners. I actually wrote to the organiser to ask them to:
i) delay the full marathon start time to at least 7:00pm or later. In the end, organiser wrote back to say they were looking into it and later agreed to postponed to 6:00pm. I am not taking any credit for this, as I know many other people requested the same thing. So it is more like a collective requests from the runners.
ii) increase the medical support team. The organiser wrote back to say that they would increase the medical station and personnel. I am not taking credit as well.
iii) issue/publish medical advice to all runners before the run. The organiser actually did this. No credit for the author asked.

4. Good goody bag with water, cakes, sponsors' samples and discount vouchers. Good medal design as well, although the size could be bigger.

5. Easy-to-use disposable timing chip.

6. Quality and personalised running bib.

7. Got dance/performance before the start of race.

8. Got sprinkler shower from firemen/fire engine for the runners.

The Bad (areas to be improved):

1. Running vest size issue. I don't want to elaborate. Onus for the organiser to get this right.

2. Only one check point for 42km and none for 21km. Although many road marshals were stationed to ensure runners follow the right path, but without more check points at strategic locations, it is difficult to ensure all runners ran a fair race. I noticed in the result, there were some discrepancies between the first 21km split and the next 21km for a few runners. Other discrepancies e.g. large gaps between chip time and gun time. I would hope that these discrepancies were due to timing chip system issue.

3. Long queue for 10km runners to collect goody bag. Actually there were different counters for different categories, but I saw men and ladies lining up the same queue. No clear direction?

4. No clear direction/signage on how to get to the designated car park and start/finish station.

5. The finishing line was not cordoned off after the the timing mat. All the runners who were leaving the area were trying walk in reverse direction of the finishing gate/line to go home. It was the same way out of the finish area. This caused the runners who were just finished their race bumping into crowd of people walking towards the finishing line in the opposite direction. The crew members were trying very hard to divert the people to go to the side of the road.

6. Distance markers not accurately placed. Please don't put the markers for the sake of putting up the markers. It really means something to the runners who were looking for these markers.

7. Official photographers I heard were not allowed near the finish gate. I couldn't confirm this. I am happy to remove this point if someone could confirm otherwise.

8. No medical team was stationed at the finish line. A few runners cramped and were helped by the crew members. Later an ambulance was called to be stationed near the finish station.

9. Crowd control still need to be improved as the finish area was quite crowded.

Energizer Night Race 2010 - Running in my first night race

2010-03-28T11:28:00.016+08:00

It was my first night race and what a tough race it was.

I arrived early with the intention to shoot some photos for the full marathon and the relay. The full marathon and the relay started around 6:00pm. The sun was quite hot at flag-off. Eventually at around 6:40pm, the weather became cloudy.

Time to change into Energizer batteries!

I started shooting at about 500m from the starting line, where there was a 1km marker (it was definitely not 1km at that point).

Mr Yong also running in the full marathon.

After shooting the last few runners at start, I ran to the next junction at around 3km mark and continue to shoot more photos.

Eugene Chan looking focus and strong.

Then I ran to the 8km mark (near Ericsson office) and then 12km mark to shoot more photos. By then it was already 7:00pm. So I have to stop and slowly make my way back to the starting line.

I bumped into this 'bunny' on her ride many times on the road. She was supporting her BF and other runners.

Because of shooting photos in various locations, I think I ran and walked about 6km even before the start of my 21km half-marathon.

I quickly changed and deposited my bag and went to the starting line. Then only I collected my headlight. Should had collected it earlier so that I could just put it in my bag.

The 21km flag-off was on time. I ran the first few km trying to pace with Kwang Leng. At around 6km, I felt pain in my left abdomen. A stitch! What a time to get it. I think I had drank or ate a little too much the hour before the race. I had to slow my pace and watch Kwang Leng running further and further away from me.

For the rest of the run, I just tried to adjust my pace and forcing some air out of my stomach. It did get better later part of the run, but then I was tiring fast. My heart rate was above 160 bpm (~85% max) from 14km onwards. So I have to slow down the pace towards the end of the race. Also, there were a lot of 10km runners running on the same route by then.

In the end, I finished with a time 1:52:17. Nothing to shout about. It was only my third half-marathon and I achieved my personal best in a tough condition.

After that, I had to cool down and do some stretching. I also drank a lot of water and isotonic drink to rehydrate myself. I met Ben (Swee) near the fruit station and chatted with him. He finished around 3:26 for third position in full marathon. Congrats! By the way, he qualified for Boston Marathon next month and will be running there!

I waited a while to collect my bag. Then I changed my soaking wet vest to something dry. I saw Lionel and he said he was not very well. He just recovered from flu and had a tough race towards the end.

By this time, most of the 10km runners were already back. The queue for their goody bags was getting longer and longer. I quickly got my camera and headed to the finishing line to take some photos. It was already 10:20pm then.

This time, I thought my camera flashlight was faulty or something was wrong with my camera. Most of the night-shots were under-exposed. I tried many settings to get it right, but the end results were still unsatisfactory. So I may have to dump these photos instead of publish them.

I met a lot of runner friends. Cornelius came all the way from KK. I met Lydia also. Christopher was there and finished within 5 hours in the full event.

I headed home around 11:15pm. I was already so tired. Shooting and running at the same event was really something! Especially when my body was acting up.

I will give my comments on the event in a different post later. Need to rest and recover now.

Energizer Night Race - Health & Safety Advice to Runners

2010-03-27T14:53:00.002+08:00

Please read this before the race tonight. Every runner should receive this in mailbox. Please click for larger image.

Energizer Night Race 2010 - Race Kit Collection

2010-03-21T14:43:00.011+08:00

The adidas Response running vest, bib number, safety pins, and Energizer LED head light (only given to full marathon runners on collection day, I got this for my friends who will run in full).

The reverse side of the running vest, the disposable D-TAG timing chip (orange colour) glued to the reverse side of the bib. Instruction leaflet for the timing chip below.

I went to collect my race kit this morning in Melia Hotel for the next Saturday Energizer Night Race 2010.

I registered for Half-Marathon event and not the full. I figured I would not able to train enough to run a good Full Marathon race in the evening.

Anyway, in the race kit collection today I saw many runners queuing up already when I arrived there at around 11:20am. The counters with most number of people were the 10km and 21km. The 42km and the relay event seemed to draw less number of runners.

The race kit contains an adidas running vest, bib personalised with runner's name, D-TAG disposable timing chip with clip & instruction, safety pins. Also got two meal discount (20%) vouchers from Cyberview Lodge. The Energizer LED head light is only issued out to the full marathon runners due to early starting time (at 6:00pm). Other runners will receive their head light on race day.

My two runner friends who asked me to collect their race kits on the behalf, are still uncertain to be able to make it to the starting point due to injury to the knees. This type of injury is really a dreaded condition for the runners. I hope they will recover soon and be able to run freely again.

Can you spot PM1 and Eugene?

Also, I met many runner friends today. I saw Ronnie, Eugene, Christopher, Lawrence, Carrie & fiance, Lionel, Mr Yong etc. All seemed so kan cheong to collect their race kit on day one of the collection. Rightly so, because one of the sizes (M) of the men running vest was gone within the first hour!

I thought I saw Michael Pang also. I wanted to say hi but couldn't see him after I collected my race kit.

More details of the event can be found here. Information about the event programme, race routes, transportation, etc is available. Every runner should read it. Good luck!

Bareno Run 15km 2010

2010-03-14T19:48:00.013+08:00

Photo courtesy of Tey.

I came into this race with no expectation as I have been a bit slacking in training lately. Lots of things happened including my mother went for operation last week. Running was not on top of my mind when my mother was in the hospital. I'm so glad and relieved that she was discharged on Thursday.

Anyway, what happened to my mother reminded me how fragile human being is. We should always be grateful and cherish those that are around us. Never take anything for granted.

The Bareno Run 15km was the first edition this year. I registered quite early for this as this race is just 2 minutes drive from my house. So, I felt the "home ground" advantage could do me good in this race.

I was joined by my wife for this race. It was her longest run thus far. She hasn't run further than 12km before. But I believed she could do this, within 2 hours.

Some other friends and colleagues also joined. BP, Devan, Janice, James, Zafir, Pang & family were there too. I registered and collected their bibs for them. Got more kakis this time. And I am becoming like an agent or ambassador for running, haha... Some more today, got a few people looked at me or cheered me on or talked to me like they knew me, but I didn't know most of them. Hello and thanks, my new runner friends!

For the run today, I completed the 15km in 1:13:36 (my personal best) for position 34th in Men Open Category. Average pace was 4'54" per km. I was surprised actually because I'd never expected to run below 5 minutes per km in this race because of lack of training. Also because of the pain I felt on my right foot near the heel area, made me worry early in the race. After about 3km, the pain subsided and I continued to push on.

After I had completed my run, I quickly got a drink and grabbed my camera bag. I ran back the running route in reverse direction to shoot photos and to find my wife. Along the way, I just tried to snap as many photos for the runners as possible. I met her around 1.5km from the finish line. Then I ran with her until the finish line. She completed her first 15km in about 1 hour 52 minutes for position 55th in Women Veteran Category.

Running towards the finishing line with my wife. Photo courtesy of Tey.

It was a good run organised by the Bukit Jalil Running Club. Some of the officials in organising committee are my running friends also. Mr Yong, Mr Tang, Mr Lim to name a few. I must congratulate them for a good job done.

Congratulations to Julia Lim too. She got champion position for Women Veteran Category. We shared the same training base, i.e. Taman Bukit Jalil (part of the 15km and 10km route today). She is a very hard-working runner and improved so much since last 2 years. She trains there almost every morning.

I will upload the photos that I took today to my Multiply site later. The quality is not so nice this time as I was running while I took some of the photos.

Until the next run, do train hard and stay healthy.

And the running continues...

2010-02-28T23:25:00.003+08:00

I have been quiet lately. Too many things going on, and so I spent little or no time to write anything.

Back to running, currently I am running about 45-50km per week. Also I am more conscious about my running mechanics, i.e. the foot landing, the arm movement etc. It is like a re-learning to run all over again.

I didn't participate in recent runs because of clash of priorities. It is always family comes first for me. Even for my training, I need to ensure that I don't spend too much time until my spouse and children feel and complain about it.

I thought of increasing my weekly minimum mileage to about 60-70km (to improve my fitness/pace), but I think I will sacrifice too much time from sleep and family, not a good idea. I received not from one, but at least three people, a same email about a corporate CEO who ran marathons died young. It was allegedly due to lack of sleep.

Anyway, I am putting different things in my trainings, e.g. short interval training and strength training. Interval training is really a struggle for me. It is very tough for me for go through my short interval session. Sometimes, I feel the cramp and nausea after the interval training.

I am also having a slight intermittent heel pain on my right foot for 2-3 weeks now. Reason is still unknown, that makes it a bit frustrating. I just have to figure it out and see if it will heal soon.

My next run is on 14 Mar, the Bareno Run 15km. I hope I can be 100% by then.

Where is the hunting?

2010-02-28T22:43:00.005+08:00

Since our team last win in the Open hunt, we have not had the opportunity to hunt again. Not that there were no hunts out there, but rather it was our own separate priorities that kept us occupied. Even for a simple lunch or coffee is also a challenge. I'm still conscious that we haven't celebrate our last success yet.

One of our team members is getting marry soon. And the company treasure hunt is coming up. He said he won't be able to make it. I guess it will be a scratch team this time. So I'm not setting any expectation for the coming closed hunt.

I mentioned earlier somewhere in my old posting that I wanted to write more about the last Open hunt. I did write something about it, but I just deleted the post somewhere somehow. I guessed I just didn't feel like it (to share). I didn't want to invoke an old topic/event and trigger more debate. One thing that I can express, is that we felt the booing (by certain people) that night when our team was on stage was inappropriate, even though we were not bothered by it.

Due to various reasons, I thought about quitting treasure hunt, just walk away, just that. In fact, this thought resurfaces every now and then. But the love for the sports still keep my interest going. I just hope I can still enjoy treasure hunt the way I want to. Just enjoy it, it is that simple.

New Balance Pacesetters 30KM 2010

2010-01-17T17:25:00.014+08:00

BP, Cornelius and I after the grueling NB Pacesetters 30km race.

The run in 2010 is getting tougher and tougher. With all the steep hills along the race course of New Balance Pacesetters 30KM 2010, I think most runners will find satisfaction just to complete it.

As for me, I found great satisfaction in conquering the super-hilly route and exceeded my target (2 hrs 45 mins) for this race.

The day started at 3:40am when my alarm sounded and woke me up to prepare myself. This time I need to pick up the master from KK, Cornelius from his hotel to the run venue. He is a friend, a keen runner cum master treasure hunter and a blogger too. See his site here.

After I fetched Cornelius, I parked in Bukit Aman car park and met BP there. We walked to Padang Merbok, the race Start/Finish place, together.

We did some light warm-ups after we deposited our bags. The 30km race started on time and we were on our way to the "super-hilly" course.

I was running at about 5 mins per km pace at the beginning and met Julia Lim around the 1km mark. She is a strong and fast runner and has improved so much over two years. Now she is consistently among Malaysia top 10 half-marathon runner in her age category. She finished on the podium in some races too. I decided to pace with her as I roughly knew her pace. I needed someone to pace with so that I would not push too hard at the beginning.

It turned out to be a good move as we paced each other, often exchanged lead and it was a motivation especially when we climbed the long steep hills.

Only at about 25km, I eased up a bit and let Julia to lead the way. From then on, I just ran at around a pace of 5'30" per km.

At the finish line, I timed myself at 2:35:49. Average pace was 5'12" per km. I exceeded my initial target for this race. I felt good after the race as I knew I could have push harder. I guessed I was a bit reserved and didn't want to risk injury on this super-hilly course.

I saw Julia right after the finish line and congratulated her. It was her first 30km race too.

Then I quickly grabbed something to drink and eat before proceeded to take my medal and goody bag. Then I collected my camera bag and started shooting the runners' finishing photos at around 8:43am.

I saw Cornelius coming back around 3 hrs 10 mins (gun time). He was quite happy to finish with that time as it was way inside his target (3 hrs 45 mins). I snapped his finishing photo and continued my unofficial duty to snap photos for other runners.

I snapped quite a lot of photos for my other runner friends. It was a good feeling for me knowing I can share those photos with them later.

BP came back after 3 hrs 29 mins. It was a punishing run for him too especially he hasn't done any long run (20km or more) since PBIM09 due to injury of his knee. He said later he almost cramped from 25km onwards.

I also met my primary school classmate, Sharon. She finished her maiden 20km in 2 hrs 20 mins (I think) and she was happy about it. On Friday, she trained until her leg muscles were sore and luckily she recovered in time.

After that I continued to shoot until around 9:20am and then I met up with BP and Cornelius to snap more photos. I didn't have much time to stay longer to catch up with my other runner friends and my wife was waiting for me at home. So we went back to our cars and I sent Cornelius back to his hotel.

I am processing the photos that I took and will upload to my Multiply site soon. Please visit my album later.

It was another good run and a very tough one also. I hope to improve on my speed and I know I must work harder to do that.

I heard some elite runners ran the wrong way in some turns where no road marshal was there to direct them. This incident caused some elite runners to lose their positions (they were heading for podium finish). Also there were no medal and finisher T-shirt for slow runners that finished late. These shortcomings were really unfortunate and I believe Pacesetters will look into this to ensure it will not happen again.

I wore this on that Sunday (race day) morning after I came home & took my shower. Then I went CNY shopping in downtown KL (show-off?).

Until next run, do train hard and stay healthy.

Spies on the run and route map of 2010 NB 30KM

2010-01-10T22:14:00.013+08:00

I collected the running bibs for the New Balance 30km 2010 on Saturday. This time BP and I got interesting running numbers. I got the James Bond's number and BP is Agent 008. It is an ong number also since it is number 8.

We registered quite early when the race was scheduled in Putrajaya. Then it was moved to Padanag Merbok. Bad news for most runners as the running routes around that area are mostly hilly. See the elevation view of the NB 30km route below from MapMyRun.com.

Elevation view of the 2010 NB 30KM route. (click for better view)

See the route map here.

2010 NB 30km route map (click for larger view).

I did a long run today. This was to train for the race on 17 Jan. I ran from Bukit Aman to Solaris Mont Kiara and then to Petronas Sri Hartamas and then return the same way. Mostly overlap with the race course. The total distance was about 26km (according to my Suunto GPS). I did it with the time about 2:27:58. Hopefully this is good enough training to prepare for the hilly course (so that I will suffer less).

This morning I saw so many runners running the usual Bukit Aman - Petronas Sri Hartamas route. I met so many runner friends during my run. I think everyone was preparing for the race next Sunday or for the Putrajaya Night Marathon (that I confirmed not running because of a wedding dinner and lack of training). The morning sun was already shining brightly and hot at about 8:00am. This will be another challenge come race day. So, fellow runners please be prepared.

Saucony Pacemakers New Year Run 2010

2010-01-02T14:39:00.008+08:00

Celebrating New Year Day and my wife's birthday in Pacemakers New Year Run 2010.
(Thanks Tey for the photo.)

Climbing the staircase. (Thanks Eugene Chan for the photo)

My first road race of the year, and it was on the first day of 2010. What made it even special, it was also my wife's birthday and she ran with me in the Saucony Pacemakers New Year Run 2010 at the Lake Garden.

I was still recovering from sickness. I got a terrible flu since Christmas and it developed into a nagging cough. I cough until I feel my lungs about to fly out and breathing also becomes difficult. At the peak of it, I coughed while I was sleeping, thus making my sleep effectively no sleep. When I tried to train or run while still recovering, breathing was not as smooth as I wanted it to be. So my weekly mileage for the period leading to the race was pathetic.

We arrived early at about 6:35am. We collected our timing chip (Championchip) and did some light warm up. The race started a bit late as the organiser was still not ready as some volunteers were missing in action. My wife and I waited near the starting line and I met Kwang Leng and Chuah Seih Seng, both fellow runners.

When the race did start, I thought I ran too fast at the beginning and I was huffing and puffing before the end of lap one. I noticed my heart rate was also quite high. First Kwang Leng overtook me and then Chuah. I couldn't pace with them then. As it was a 4-lap (total about 12km) race around the lake with >100+ steps of staircase to climb on each lap, I decided to pace slower in the second and third lap. Indeed, the staircase was a nightmare for me and most (if not all) runners. Your heart rate can skyrocket at the top of the climb, effectively making you very chuan (short of breath).

On the final lap, I decided to pick up the pace a little bit. That was after I was lapped by the eventual champion just before the end of my third lap. In the end of the final lap, I sprinted as fast that I could and overtook a few runners before the finish line. I finished in 12th position in my age category (35-40) in the time of 1:10:16, not a good result I think. I probably need to train harder on my speed training.

Then I met my wife at the finish line. She finished 7th in her category, earlier than me because the lady runners ran a 3-lap race for a total distance of 9km only.

My wife and I then grabbed some light breakfast. I chatted with Chuah and Kwang Leng and went back soon with my wife. It was a good start to another running season. Hopefully, I can improve from here. Until the next run, do train hard and stay healthy.

Malakoff KL 12km/7km run 2009 - My race report

2009-12-20T14:57:00.014+08:00

The Malakoff KL 12km/7km run 2009 was held in Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Club. I was there today with my wife to run in the 12km run. Last year, I didn't join this race so I was not sure what to expect actually.

We arrived early at about 5:40am and parked at Security Commission car park. Then we just walked a few hundred metres to the Start/Finish line. This time, I didn't really know what target to set since I didn't run a 12km race before. But I wanted to try to do a sub-hour run, although the race course was very hilly. The 12km runners were to run the Jalan Beringin loop in Bukit Damansara twice. I told my wife of the hilly course and she dreaded it.

The race started on time and I was running at 5:00 minutes/km pace initially. The first steep hill was just near the road from Securities Commission to Bukit Damansara. This place was familiar to me as I had joined some treasure hunts which started from here.

There were more hills to come. Each loop got 3 hills if I remembered correctly. If I add the first one, then the 12km run got total of 7 hills for the runners to conquer.

It was the most challenging run I had ever participated. I did a long run of 16.5km a day earlier and I guessed I still recovering from it. Nevertheless, I offered no excuse because I didn't think it mattered much anyway. I am still improving myself to be a better runner.

In the end, I came back to the finishing straight and crossed the line with an unofficial time of 1:01:10. So my target was not achieved. A bit disappointed I felt but overall I was positive about it. The weather condition was kind (cloudy and cool) and the run was organised very well. I enjoyed the run although it was the most challenging for me.

My wife came back around 1 hour 25 minutes and I showed her where to get the breakfast and goody bag. I was shooting photos then. I realised also, being a runner and photographer at the same event was really difficult to focus (to do both roles well). I didn't manage to shoot the finishing photos of most of my friends.

The best moment that I captured was a male runner (with bib number A0171) wearing a suit jacket with running vest and long slack pant (with running shoes of course) carrying a bouquet of red roses to the finish line and then proposed to his girlfriend on his knees. It was a romantic moment. I guessed the girl was very touched and the guy happily put the ring on her finger. See photos below. Anyone knows the couple, please drop a line here. I wish to send them the original photos. More photos can be found at my Multiply site here.

"Will you marry me?"

The ring is on the finger, the love is in the air.

The proposal struck and reminded me again that running was not all about getting better result or setting faster time. In this case, at least it was about changing the life of a couple, forever.

Until next run, do train hard and stay healthy.

Malakoff 12km/7km run 2009 - Important notice

2009-12-12T09:48:00.008+08:00

The bib collection booth is opposite of the Pacesetters office.

Look for this booth.

The 12km male runners will be given the white dry-fit vest. Female 12km runners the bottom orange dry-fit vest. 7km runners cotton T-shirt only.

I just came back from the bib collection for Malakoff 12km/7km run 2009. The bib collection today 12 Dec 2009, 9:00am-5:00pm is at the Pacesetters office in Lorong Jugra, off Jalan Klang Lama.

I met follow Pacesetters there, setting up the booth for the bib collection. I saw SH (Yin's mom), Kenny Tan, Marianne and Sook Ying. The bib collection is a breeze for me. Thanks!

Important notice:

1. Due to the change in Start/Finish location within the Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club, the 6km run now is a 7km run.

2. Runners are NOT allowed to park inside the Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club. Parking recommendations:
-Security Commission (~500m)
-National Science Centre (~600m)
-Sime Darby Convention Centre (2km)
-Desa Seri Hartamas shoplot area (3km)

PLEASE DO NOT park along the roads entering and exiting the Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club or along the race course because this will make it unsafe for the runners and inconvenience to the public.

3. Shuttle bus service available from Desa Seri Hartamas (Kiwi Xpress Bistro) to Race Start. Time: 5:40am, 5:50am, 6:00am, 6:10am, 6:20am, 6:30am

4. Shuttle bus service available from Race Finish to Desa Seri Hartamas (Kiwi Xpress Bistro) Time: 10:00am, 10:10am, 10:20am, 10:30am, 10:40am, 10:50am.

5. Please bring along your receipts for the collection and a refundable RM10 deposit for the timing chip for those taking part in the 12km distance.

6. Next bib collection is on 19 Dec 2009, 9:00am-5:00pm, at Kiwi Xpress Bistro Garden.

7. Race Schedule:
20 Dec 2009 (Sun)
5:30am arrival of runners
6:30am 12km runners collect start ribbon at starting line
7:00am 12km race starts
7:01am 7km runners collect start ribbon
7:15am 7km race starts
8:00am breakfast @ cark park 2
9:30am prize @ car park 2

8. Things to do after race:
- return start ribbon and get one bottle of water @ car park 3
- follow lane to car park 2
- remove your timing chip (12km) as you lining up
- collect finished medal, goody bag and breakfast voucher (entitle you to one main meal & one dessert only)
- return timing chip for 12km runners and collect RM10 in return @ car park 2
- get your light breakfast @ car park 2

Running the race of my life (2) - PBIM09

2009-11-26T22:00:00.003+08:00

Photo taken near the finish line with BP in PBIM09.

(This article is a continuation from this post.)

After I crossed the finish line and got my goody bag, I saw Andre. He is my ex-colleague, a friend and runner too. He finished his half-marathon and was waiting for his friend.

When I stopped running, my calf muscles tightened up. Andre helped me to stretch my calf muscles and I felt very grateful to him.

Then I quickly drank more water given to me at the finish line. I also ate a banana with isotonic drinks before I went to the baggage deposit centre to reclaim my baggage.

There were many people already waiting there to claim their belongings. It took me almost 15-20 minutes to get my stuffs. In it, my D40 DSLR camera, a PowerBar Protein Plus and some other small things.

I called my wife and told her about my finishing time. She was very happy for me. At that time, she was waiting near Eastin Hotel (a few hundred metres away) for the start of the Fun Run.

When I started shooting at the finish line, it was already 7:14am. I had promised BP to snap his finishing photo. He targeted to finish in sub-5 hours. While I was shooting other runners, I have to move my legs constantly to stretch and ease the soreness in my leg muscles.

BP finally came in at around 5:08 (after the start), just outside the 5-hour mark. I quickly put away my camera and looked for him. Due to many people around, I lost sight of him while I was putting my camera back into my bag. It was drizzling then, and holding a DSLR in the rain was not a good idea.

I finally saw him near the medical tent and I asked him if his knee was ok. He said it was ok but his leg muscles were very sore. Since his knee was injured, I felt worried and concerned when he ran in any race. Before the injury he could run faster than me. He finished in front of me in GE20km in January and Bidor Half Marathon in April.

I told him that I ran a sub-4 finish and share my happy feeling (that haven't sunk in yet) with him. He was the one that brought up the possibility of a sub-4 finish to me. And I didn't think I could do it then.

I showed him where to get some isotonic drinks and food. I continued to shoot some more photos and waited for my wife to finish her race.

I saw her coming in after 1 hour 8 minutes. She did well for the 10km run. I quickly met up with her and called BP. Then we shot some photos before we left Queensbay at around 9:00am to have our breakfast in Island Glades.

Looking back, I have exceeded my own expectation and target in the race. I felt it was a combination of factors such as encouragement from family and friends, consistent/persistent training, race strategy, home ground advantage, conditions on race day and mental strength.

There were some learnings from this race that I can improve on in the future. I need to learn to run an equal or negative split race. For many races, I had run positive split, i.e. first half of the race faster than the second half of the race. So I need to figure out something to address this.

Until the next run, stay healthy and train hard.

My official PBIM09 results

2009-11-24T10:09:00.004+08:00

Based on the result in the zip file on the official website, my official result for PBIM 2009:

Official (gun) time: 03:57:20

Net (chip) time: 03:57:09

Position: 42nd (Men Open Full Marathon)

Running the race of my life - Penang Bridge International Marathon 2009

2009-11-22T18:48:00.011+08:00

At 39km mark, I closed my eyes, kissed the ring on my finger, took a deep breath and when I opened my eyes again, I ran all out to finish the race of my life.

The morning started when BP picked me up at about 12:20am. We headed to Queensbay Mall together. I knew very well before I step out of the house, if I were to do well today, I would need to run with the support and belief given by my loved one.

We reached the starting point at 12:50am. There were already many people there. We were surprised to find so many young runners (teenagers) already there. The quarter marathon and 10km Fun Run would not start until 6:15am and 7:30am! The quarter marathon was only open to teenagers and the Fun Run for general public.

Some of the booths were still being set up and there was a band playing some rock/pop music. It was a carnival-like atmosphere.

We put our baggage in the baggage deposit centre and rested in the runners' tent to wait for the race to start. I took a PowerBar and drank some water, then we took turn to the toilet before we went to the starting area.

We met Mr Jordan Lee at the starting line. He is a senior veteran runner well-known in the Penang running community. He is such a jovial person and we chatted near the starting line. I also saw Chuah (Seih Seng) and wished him good luck.

Then I got a pat on my shoulder. It was Kwang Leng. He wished me luck and I thanked him. He would run in the half-marathon one hour later. This year, the full marathon, according to the organiser drew about 900 runners and the half marathon, 6000.

Then, the MC announced the arrival of the Chief Minister of Penang. He came in a car from the back of the starting line and was driven right through the runners to the front of the starting line.

We were flagged off with the sound of the gun. There were lion dance troupe performing at the starting line and cheering the runners on.

I started besides BP and pulled ahead and ran at 5 minutes per km pace. I started very near the front and I knew some good runners were still behind me. We were directed away from Queensbay towards the Free Industrial Zone. We passed by Intel and then made an U-turn near Seagate. This was the 4km mark. Lionel overtook me a few hundred metres before the turn. He is a very strong runner. I guessed he was aiming for his personal best. Anyway, I couldn't follow his pace and had no intention to. I just have to focus on my own race.

After the turning, I saw Choo Cheng Liang and called out his name. I guessed he didn't really recognise me but he shouted back "Jia you!" (Words of encouragement in Mandarin, translated literally to "add oil").

I was still pacing at around 5 min/km with an ironman on my side, but then I dropped back a little. I figured pacing with an ironman was not a good idea. I realised he was pacing faster than 5 min/km, when I check my speed reading from my Suunto timer.

About 2km before we were on the bridge, an elite lady runner passed me. Then Kenny Tan also overtook me. He didn't noticed me but I said hello to him. He asked me to go with him, but in my heart, I knew then it was not a good idea to pace with him at early of the race because the strong runner he was. His last marathon was BIM09 where he set his personal best of 3 hrs 38 minutes.

When I was finally on the bridge, I guessed that was around the 9.5km mark. This was where I dropped my pace down to 5:30min/km. At 10km mark, now that I look back at my timer, it showed 00:50:19. A blistering pace for me, good enough for top-100 or better placing in any 10km race.

At around 11km mark, Eugene Chan overtook me. I said hi to him and asked him if he was aiming for sub-4. He said, "Maybe." and then ran ahead of me. I took out my PowerGel and emptied the content. Then I took water in the next water station to wash it down. On the bridge, a few more runners passed me before the gradual climb to the centre of the bridge.

From the start, the condition has been good. With moderate to strong breeze and cool weather, it was really nice to run. I continued my run and eventually reached the other end of the bridge. I overtook Eugene before the U-turn. I was surprised to pass him, but I was feeling good that time so I continued on.

The run back the bridge was a bit crowded by the time I reached the 21km mark. This was where the half-marathoners made U-turn. So I had to thread myself among them. Then at 25km mark, I was surprised to find Kenny Tan was just in front of me. He overtook me before we headed on the bridge. I called out his name and said to him, "Pace me, Kenny." He said that was his speed then and maybe he could pick up later. Then I said to him, "Ok, pace me when you can." I was hoping an experienced runner could pace me to a good finish but at that point I knew I was on my own.

I continued on and got off the bridge heading away from Queensbay. This was the psychological challenge for all full marathoners. After got off the bridge, the runners were directed to Georgetown instead of Queensbay. I was hoping to see the 30km sign, but it didn't appear. It was a difficult run to Lebuh MaCallum as we need to climb three flyovers before reaching the U-turn point. I saw Lionel headed back to Queensbay on the first flyover. Just before the U-turn, I thought I overtook another elite runner, Bong.

At the U-turn, the sign read 35km. I checked my timer and it showed 3:00:12. I could hardly believe it. If it was true, I have another 7.195km to go with about an hour to spare to hit sub-4. This was when I realised the sub-4 was within grasp.

Then, the worse fear struck, I began to feel the pull on both calf muscles. I could sense the cramp on my legs developing slowly but surely. I quickly took the PowerGel that was given to me just before the U-turn and drank more from my Gatorade that I brought along on my waist water pouch. I was sensing the elusive target slowly going away from me.

After the 1km from U-turn, I saw Kenny and Eugene heading to the U-turn and I urged them on. From here, I paced at 6:30 to 7:00 minutes per km hoping to prevent the cramp. I overtook the elite lady runner (who passed me 2 hours earlier) and continued my run. On the way back to Queensbay, I saw many other experienced runners like Jessica, Frank, Choi CC, were on their way to the U-turn. BP saw me and cheered me on. I saw Lawrence and "hi-fived" him.

I slowed and stopped a few times when I felt the pull again. It was agonising, I thought to myself, so near but yet so far away. I had run a perfect first 35km and it meant little if I didn't make full use of this opportunity to try to hit sub-4.

Then I thought of the support given by my wife and best friends including BP and William so far. I thought to myself, "I really need to have a go in this. Leave no regret."

At around 39km, my timer read around 3:42:00, I closed my eyes, kissed the ring on my finger, took a deep breath and when I opened my eyes again, I ran all out. I shouted "Excuse me, let me pass." all the way, as the lanes were crowded by half-marathoners and most of them were walking.

I was running with all my heart out with the 2XU long compression pants given by best friends on my birthday recently. When I reached Eastin Hotel just a few hundred metres from the finish, I was still running as fast as I could as I couldn't see the finish line yet. Then the tall gate that read "FINISH" appeared. I was so happy to see that. At the finish line, Kwang Leng snapped a photo of me.

I crossed the line with an unofficial time 3:57:29. It was unbelievable. I did it! It was the race of my life.

(To be continued...)

The Compass and Timer for PBIM 09

2009-11-21T10:45:00.006+08:00

On Friday, I took a day off from my busy schedule and travel with my family to Penang. We plan a birthday party on Saturday for Ashley in Penang with her grandparents. On Sunday, I will run in the PBIM 09.

On the PLUS highway, it was raining quite heavily in most stretches. I also checked the weather forecast for the next few days and it seemed like Sunday will be a wet day as well in Penang.

We arrived on Friday afternoon, and I quickly did a 3km run near Jalan Delima. This was to get my body and mind into running in Penang on Sunday.

On Friday night, we went out for a nice dinner in Gurney with my in-laws. Good place to be to carbo-load my body. Plenty of good food in Penang.

Saturday will be a rest day. I still need to prepare something for Ashley's small birthday party tonight. BP will be arriving later today and he will join me. We will depart together after mid-night to the starting point for our first PBIM.

Initial target is 4:15:00 to 4:30:00. Not sure if I want to push hard for 4:15:00. I think I will try my best. Well, that's just me, I'm sort of a guy who gives his best and not to leave any regret behind. Sometimes, well, most of the time, I give myself much pressure in doing so.

But this time, like many runs before, there is no pressure. Like always, I will run with the compass in my heart, then only look at the timer on my wrist.

(Weather report 11:14am, 21 Nov 2009, raining in Penang).

Last long run before PBIM 09

2009-11-14T23:53:00.004+08:00

I did my last long run this morning. I covered 27.4km in 2 hours 38 minutes 53 seconds. The average pace was 5'47" per km. This was outside the average pace needed for a sub-4 hours finish in a full marathon distance of 42.195km.

Realistically, the sub-4 target is still beyond me now. I will just try my best and see if I can run an average pace of below 6 minutes per km for the race next Sunday.

The Hunt in November

2009-11-14T22:24:00.008+08:00

"I just want you guys to know, no matter what happen, you guys are the best hunters I've worked with. If we have to do the best, we will need to support each other and do this as a team." These were the words that I said to the team before we were flagged off for the hunt last Sunday.

There were so many things happened before the hunt, including one team member's mom was in operation a few days before the hunt.

I have kept the faith in the team and in the end we did the best that we could. Right after the hunt, we didn't think we could repeat what we achieved last year. But at the same time, team were not disappointed over it. I guessed that could be a sign of maturity as a hunt team. We were surprised to be even on the stage last Sunday.

I am now preparing for my second full marathon next Sunday. I need to focus on that first. Maybe I will write more on the hunt later.

My PBIM 09 race pack

2009-11-12T22:40:00.004+08:00

On Tuesday, I received my PBIM 2009 race pack. It was a reminder to me that I have less than 2 weeks to go to the race day.

The important things are the bib number (only one piece) and the timing chip. Other things are running vest (the smallest "L" size vest I have ever seen), runners' guidebook, sponsors' samples and discount vouchers.

Now, I really need to focus on my last phase of training. A long run this weekend, and start tapering next week.

Oh, I just realise, there is no detail instruction on how to put on the timing chip. In the guidebook, it is mentioned that it is to be tied between the shoe lace. The timing chip is as small as a 50-cent coin. It is so light and seemingly fragile design makes me wonder if I will lose it while running the race. I have just sent an email to the organiser on this matter. I hope they will publish more detailed information on how to secure the chip to the shoe lace soon. Well, I can always tie it on my way, but I would rather be sure and know the right way to put it on so that it will not fall off easily.

The Championchip timing chip on the left of the 50-cent coin.

While BP is dreaming of a number 8, I am just two numbers away from the number 88.

Running - One year on

2009-11-04T23:50:00.002+08:00

Thanks to QQLai for this photo taken in the recent Mizuno Wave Run 2009.
I was running up the long steep hill, less than a km away from finish line.

After slightly more than a year of running and road racing, I am now busy preparing for my second full marathon. I will take part in Penang Bridge International Marathon 2009 on 22 Nov.

Preparation is on track. Trainings started few months back with sacrifice on some sleep and lunch time. Then recently, I did two long runs of 30km each inside 3 hours, one of them under pouring rain. I may try to squeeze in another one this weekend or next weekend. BP suggested the possibility of a sub-4 hours finishing time, but I know pretty well, it is an outside chance. It will take a miracle for me to pull this off. The last 12km is the hardest to conquer. Achieving sub-3 hours time for first 30km is not a certain sign for a sub-4 finish. I will be happy to finish within 4 hours 30 minutes.

Wish me luck.

A run for a cause - Terry Fox Run KL 2009

2009-11-04T23:37:00.007+08:00

Last Sunday was the Terry Fox Run Kuala Lumpur 2009 in Lake Garden. I was there with my family. I missed the run last year because I had committed to my team mates earlier for a treasure hunt on the same date.

I have been supporting this cause for cancer research for a few years now. I draw a lot of inspiration from Terry Fox about life, running, courage, doing-what-you-can and many more. Also, I feel that finding a cure for cancer and raising awareness about cancer are important too. That's why I tried my best to promote this run in my blog as well as getting support within my company.

This year, I basically walked the 3.5km family course with Ashton under the hot sun. Ashley was with her mother and they were pacing faster than Ashton and I. Ashton was complaining more than walking or running. He was complaining about the hot sun the most. Anyway, I have to sweet-talk him, drag him and at one point, carry him on my back, in order to finish the run.

I thought the response was good this year. I estimated about 4000 runners joined the run. Some big companies came in large number of runners. There were also students from schools, particularly from international schools. Many foreigners and expatriates were seen supporting the run.

I also met some of my runner friends and colleagues as well. My buddy William was there too with his parents and family.

For photos of the run, you may visit my Multiply site here. Hope to see you next year.

Route map for Terry Fox Run KL 2009

2009-10-27T22:42:00.003+08:00

Please find the route map for Terry Fox Run 2009 above.

Date: Sunday, 1 November 2009
Venue: Flag off @ 9.00 a.m. Taman Tasik Perdana (Lake Garden)

Rules & Regulations:
1) All participants must run on the designated route. There are 2 routes- 5km and 3.5km for the family run.
2) For wheelchair bound, and physically challenged participants, please note that there are slopes along the run route.
3) Participants are to be at the assembly area by 8.45 a.m.
4) No registration required. Just turn up during the run day. You can buy the Terry Fox Run official t-shirt, RM25 each.

Parking:
Limited parking is available on site, and public transport is recommended.

Notice:
The organisers, their agents, representatives, successors and assigns, are not liable for any injuries suffered, damage and loss of properties by participants at this event

For update on T-shirt sale location, please click here.

2	22	16
4	24	17
3XS	28	20
2XS	30	21
XS	32	22
S	36	25
M	42	29
L	44	30
XL	46	31
2XL	48	32
3XL	52	34

2	22	16
4	24	17
3XS	28	20
2XS	30	21
XS	32	22
S	36	25
M	42	29
L	44	30
XL	46	31
2XL	48	32
3XL	52	34

2	22	16
4	24	17
3XS	28	20
2XS	30	21
XS	32	22
S	36	25
M	42	29
L	44	30
XL	46	31
2XL	48	32
3XL	52	34