SCKLM 2009 Prelude 4

I was running in Taman Bukit Jalil 5:30am this morning. This is my first run since last Saturday. I thought I was tapering a bit more that I should. So 6km of solid running in the morning drizzle made me feel charged up again.

The weather these few days was really crazy. Firstly is the haze, secondly is the heat, thirdly is the rain. All these factors can affect the runners. It is up to the runners to deal with it as it comes. So I will focus on what can I do to deal with these weather conditions.

Haze - I cannot avoid breathing in the polluted air while running. Running with a mask is not practical. So I think I will run normally until I feel breathing is difficult then I will slow down or even walk. Maybe I will take a small sip of water. Also important to breathe through the nose, not the mouth.

Heat - Must be mindful to keep myself hydrated. Just need to drink 2 small cups of water at every 5 km. To avoid getting no water at water stations at later part of the race, I will bring a bottle of Gatorade. Perhaps I will also apply some sun block as well. As my "ETA" at finish line is around 10:00am, it will quite hot by then if it is a sunny day. I have never tried running with sports hat or cap before, so I will not try on race day.

Rain - Although I have trained in the rain before, but the intensity of rain could be different. I guess the difficulty if it rains heavily, is that I will feel uncomfortable with the wet clothing and shoes. There is also an issue of slippery road. So to counter the rain effect, I guess I have to run at a slower pace, just like I would drive slowly in rain.

I guess the main point here is, don't get too worry about the factors that are out of our hands. Just need to deal with it as it comes and focus on what we can do.

I know I will enjoy the race no matter what. It will be an experience of its own running in a marathon.

SCKLM 2009 Prelude 2

I was doing a checklist yesterday on the things I need to do or bring on race day.

To bring:

1. Wristband & headband
2. Water bottle holder waist pouch (Pacesetters)
3. Gatorade 500ml
4. PowerGel x 2
5. Nike arm pouch
6. iPod shuffle
7. Sunnto Heart Rate Monitor (Belt and watch)
8. Suunto GPS
9. Nike socks (65% cotton)
10. adidas Supernova Glide running shoes
11. Phiten Insoles
12. Running vest with bib all pinned up.
13. IC & drivers license
14. Handphone

To do:

1. Eat light breakfast/PowerBar
2. Apply Vaseline on skin areas susceptible to chafing or friction
3. Drink two cups of water
4. Run through/visualise the route in my mind
5. Go toilet before depart
6. Apply sun block
7. ...

SCKLM 2009 Prelude 3

I attended my Yoga class on Monday. It was a good session for my tune-up to race day. I felt refreshed after the class. But since then, I have not done any running or spinning. So I need to run a few km tomorrow.

Besides that, I eat a bit more as part of the plan to do carbo-loading. My diet is full of rice. If I don't eat rice for lunch or dinner, I will feel hungry within 3 hours. Water is important as well. I am drinking a lot so that my body will learn to store more water, or at least I ensure I am not dehydrated.

BP sent me a link today. It was about "sleep-loading". There is this article saying that sleep is probably one thing most athletes overlooked. It could be part of the "training aid". That is what I did more this week compare to last week anyway. So I felt better reading it.

Talking about BP, he could still start the race on Sunday. Will and I have been asking him to see a specialist about his knee. I think BP knows his body best, so if he decides to start and see how far he can go, I'll just say, "Just don't overdo it."

I enrolled in SCKLM 2009 thinking that running with BP will be easier. It will be a different feeling for me if he cannot make it to the starting line.

SCKLM 2009 Prelude 1

Last week I was sent to India for 2-day management workshop. The weather there was really hot. The maximum was 41 degrees Celcius, and it was dry. It was really a hectic schedule, so I didn't manage to go out of the hotel to do some shopping or exploring.

Anyway, I managed to run about 15km in the gym of the hotel and I guess it was the best that I could do. I didn't want to risk running on the streets of Delhi in the heat, unknown traffic condition and safety reason.

Last Saturday, I managed to run a relax 20km as my final long run training before SCKLM 2009. Now it is only less than a week to go. I have this mixed feeling in me. Feeling of excitement, anxiety, uncertainty, to name a few. Confidence level I could say, maybe at 75%. Last night I even dreamed about the marathon. In it, I was so late for the flag-off, I was feeling disappointed and didn't even wanted to run knowing I could never complete it within the qualifying time.

I guess now that it is near, I kind of putting some unnecessary pressure on myself (to complete my first marathon in my first attempt). It has been a dream of mine to complete one (marathon) in my life. There could be more. But for now, I will run that dream this Sunday.

SCKLM 2009 Final Running Clinic - Countdown to race day

From left: Rodney, Hemant, Edwin, Mark, Kannan, Lim, Shaharuddin.

This morning I woke up for my long run at about 5:30am. I was feeling quite tired these few days. I don't really know why, but I force myself to get up and do my training anyway.

I plan to run in Taman Bukit Jalil and I did. I wanted to complete 5 laps for 20km today. After doing about 3 laps, suddenly I remembered there was a running clinic today in Lake Garden. (Sigh...sign of getting old.) I quickly got into my car and drove to Lake Garden.

When I arrived in Tapak A, there were already many people there. I was already 5 minutes late but the clinic has not started yet. The event finally started about 5 minutes later. There were about 80-100 runners already present


This time, the guests included elite runner Mark (Williams), (Reebok) physical trainer Rodney, dietitian Ms. Lim, MSIG insurance representative Mr. Edwin, "Ultraman" Kannan Muragasan, national runners Yuan Yu Fang and Shaharudin Hashim. As usual, race director Hemant Dua was there to kick things off.

Mr Edwin spoke first and introduced the sport insurance product for everyone. It was not a heavy sale pitch. Being "Gold Sponsor" of the event, I guess they deserve some air time to say a few words.

Rodney got the crowd warming up with some warm-up exercise. Everybody got a good stretch.


Then Ms Lim Ai Ling, dietitian from Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre gave a brief talk on race nutrition. She emphasised on carbo-loading and hydration. Runners need to eat more carbohydrate and less fat. Basically fat is harder to digest and stays longer in the stomach. Carbohydrate is instant source of energy and runners can replenish them during training with sport drinks. Hydration is very important. Runners needs to replenish the liquid in the body during and after training. After the run, runners need to drink 1.5 times the body weight lost during the run. E.g. if you lost 1 kg after the race, you must drink 1.5 litres of fluid within12 hours.

Next up is "Ultraman" Mr Kannan, who basically speak a bit on his experience of preparing for the race. Usually, runners get anxiety on the eve of the race. He said this can be overcome by during mental visualisation to prepare yourself, e.g. imagine every details of the morning before the race, thinking about how you want to finish the race etc. He also mentioned, 2 weeks from the race, runners should taper off and not do long runs until it causes muscle soreness. He said runners should focus on doing more stretching exercise (Yoga included). Kannan also gave a good tip on how to manage the race. He said runners should think about the full marathon as several 10 kms or even 5 kms distance. Then the runners can tackle the shorter distance one by one with a slower pace.

Mark spoke briefly about this time of tapering as well. Yu Fang reminded everyone to be happy and enjoy the run as last preparation for the race. A very important point there. Shaharudin said doing more stretching and have enough rest are some of his ways of tapering.

Then it was another running time. Yu Fang and Shaharudin were supposed to lead everyone for a 20-30 minutes running around the Lake Garden. For some of the runners, they had already completed their morining runs like me. So some stayed around the area and chatted with Ms Lim, Mark, and "Ultraman" Kannan. I also took the chance to have a chat with Milo Ais, Satu!. She is running for her half-marathon in SCKLM 2009. All the best to you, Yin!

Like in the second clinic, runners were provided bananas, apples, water and isotonic drinks after the run.


Then, the Q&A time. Not many questions from the crowd, so one of the members from the organiser posted a question to Shaharudin, after questions earlier were answered by Kannan and Mark. Shaharudin is aiming to better his personal best of 2:34 for the full marathon. Before closing off, Yu Fang also added that massage is a good way to recover from long run.

Race director Hemant reminded everyone to take public transport on race day. There will be buses from Rapid KL shuffling runners from 8 locations around KL to Dataran Merdeka. Please see this link for more information.

I asked Hemant whether there will be pacesetters employed by the organiser. He said there will be pacers for 3, 4 and 5 hours. Just look for the runners with balloon tie to them!

Run along Nopparatthara beach

I took a family vacation in Krabi Thailand and returned at mid-week. It was a relaxing break. The main idea was to spend quality time with my family away from the work and other things.

It was a good holiday as Ashley and Ashton were enjoying their time at the beach. We went to island hopping day tour and spent a good whole day on several sandy beaches with crystal-clear water. They fed colourful fishes, enjoyed their swim and built sand models.

It was also a good break for me to recharge. I always make it a point to be close to my family and spend time together. Work has been generating a lot of pressure and taking a lot of my time. Therefore it is important not to let work 'consumes' me.

As I am still training for my first marathon, I still brought my running shoes. I woke up early in the mornings so that I could also train. In fact, I am mindful not to spend too much time on trainings all this while so that I would not neglect my family. So far, I could achieve that balance.

I ran in the long Nopparatthara beach. With the help of GPS, it measured about 3km long. Running on a foreign land was a first time for me. This beach was clean and the sand was fine. It was also quite flat. The sound of the waves was music to my ears. Running along this beach was really exhilarating. I could do it everyday if I stay near a beach like that.

Weekend long run before vacation

I went for a long 30 km long run on Saturday. The route was from Bukit Aman to Seri Hartamas with extra loops here & there.

This time I didn't call BP as he is still having knee problem. Hope he can recover soon.

I was with Lam this time. He was taking it easy. I managed to complete the 30 km in slightly less than 3.5 hours.

Photo above was taken near Kompleks Kerajaan. Beautiful sky when breaking dawn, taken during brief pit-stop for water.

This time the 30 km was not as difficult as my previous ones. My average heart rate was below 80% for almost the entire run. This was a good sign.

Today, I will take a break and go on a vacation with my family. This is a long-awaited break. I will take this chance to recharge. I am still packing my running shoes. :-)