Energizer Night Race 2010

Energizer, the world’s leading brand in battery technology, is hosting one of the biggest night races in Malaysia! Runners will don an Energizer headlight (provided in the goodie bag upon registration, along with other Adidas goodies) to run 42 kilometers.The country’s inaugural night race will actually take place in Cyberjaya on March 27, 2010, and is divided into 4 main categories. These are 42 kilometers, 21 kilometers, 10 kilometers, and the relay race which is (4 pax x 10 km) each. Beginning at 5 pm for the 42 km race, the event is scheduled to end at midnight.

Energizer Malaysia brand manager, said that Energizer has successfully organised night runs all around the world. The Energizer Night Race has been held since 2007 globally, becoming a major event in South Korea, Argentina, and South Africa. Energizer Sponsors Night Race. The minimum age for entry is 16 years, and there is no upper age limit. Those interested to run are encouraged to practice from the time of this announcement, advises Rustam Affandin Zaihan, the President of Pacesetters, an athletic group which is the event organiser for this race.

The circuit will appear something like the shape of the number eight. Medical assistance will be set up every 5 km, with water stations. Before the race commences, there will be a mini-concert, with local indie bands performing. Sports trainers will also be there to help participants warm up before the night run. The entry fee is RM 50 for Pacesetter members (an athletic organisation which has been around for 25 years), RM 60 for the public.

All registered participants receive a limited edition Energizer adidas running vest and many other free merchandise . Among the sponsors are Schick; venue sponsor, Cyberview Sdn Bhd; and Cyberview Lodge Hotel as the official hotel. There are discounts for runners who wish to stay the night.The official website, www.energizernightrace.com.my, will be launched on January 10, 2010.

Registration forms can be downloaded from the website. Photo credits : http://www.energizernightrace.com/fotos.html

Peres...been a while

It's been a while...yes, everything's been a while. LSD, climbing Peres, etc. What better way to welcome the new year with something I've left and longing to redo for the past months. Nothing official but just some friends which I managed to gather via sms a day before. The menu was plain simple, roll off at 7.00am to Genting Peres and back. Perhaps or is it a must to stop for roti canai at Batu 18.

Alwin & me started off from my place & met up with Bahri at Batu 9. Eventually we met up with a group of cyclists from PCC at Batu 14 i.e. Clarence, PK & maybe seven others. They wanted to climb Peres & to Tekala. Our climb was casual though I suffered for the last 500 yards. Lucky Bahri was there for a non-stop huffing conversation, which he also thought the other way round. Hahaha. We didn't manage to catch the chilling Peres mist, maybe we started off a bit late from Batu 14 but the descent was relaxing.

Our starvation was cut short from an expected feeding frenzy when roti canai was only available one for each of us. Alamak! Stok tepung habis daaa... It never taste better that morning. Cukup rangup & lembut. Too bad we had to hold our desire to wallop more.

The spin back to my place was taxing for the three of us. I felt a slight hamstring pain on my left leg as I pushed on for the last 14km. Whether it's my lack of carbo load or my undisciplined diet that was draining me. I presumed that those fat-riched kambing for bbq I scoffed Friday night might be the 99% reason. Hahaha!

A week to go and it's going to be another year passed by and another year to venture. I've been busy with a few errands myself, like million others. Completing the current tasks in hand & perhaps undertaking new ones in 2010. Planning for events and races for next year almost through. I'm just targetting a few major ones and more social-driven experience. With the lack of a helping hand at home come March, I expect things would be a bit tougher for us but we'll manage. It's either now or never. All those experiences from trainings, marathon, races, events, motivations shall come in handy.

With the Hijrah & Masihi exchanging figures, and with all other resolutions at bay, I still need to be a better person. The calendar marks the spot for a paradigm. 2010 shall be another adventurous year. Insyallah.

First runners gathering for 2010 : Saucony Pacemaker Network Run Lake Garden 1st January 2010 7.30 a.m. See you there!

Smell of Bukit Tunku

Fresh feeling I can say, as I log this down, excited enough after logging my first official long-slow-distance run. It was 6 months ago, we ran here every Saturday, following Hal's program for our first marathon appearance. The Bukit Tunku route is an all time favourite for weekend LSDs.

After our Subuh prayer in Bukit Aman mosque, we assembled at the parking lot. Three failed to turn up, only six left. Supposed with nine buddies, we sure had the road sealed. Anyway, with some of us being season runners and a few decided to take running to the next level, we paced ourselves nicely towards Jalan Duta. Sight of other runners along the way felt like it was homecoming. Vista of Tijani's awesome architecture was stunning. Smell of green habitats from the Tunku neighbourhood was refreshing. Everthing was awesome.

The milage was kept at no more than 10k with option to add a few more at Lake Garden. After checking with buddies, we decided to turn back, split up & paced up to cover the Lake Garden loop. With less milage on the legs eversince Salomon, I gave it a chase, pounding the tarmac and my heart out. Pom! Pom! Pom! It almost sounded like kompang orang kawin la! Hahaha!

OK. It went well until we reached Lake Garden playground. It was always a dejavu when we attempted this loop in the later part of LSD. Always! The mental kacau syndrome. The lake loop was only about 3k but the clairvoyant synched really tore us apart. Hahaha! We decided to take a detour, a Christmas sale discount & climbed the stairs to the memorial & back to carpark. Aiyo!

Felt fresh from the run. Best part was, it's 8.30am. Generous enough for a chat over kuew teow Tangling & teh-O suam before we departed, looking forward for future mission to Sri Hartamas.

Ride & mess

First of all, just look at the mess I've done. Gatal nak mess up blog layout just because I don't like photos without frames & verdana is still my favourite font. Happened to be, I reverted back to my previous template. Kechooww! Takpe, a nice neat layout keeps up the inspiration. And sometimes we need to change to learn & perhaps start all over again. Just hope blogspot can put up some nice templates in the future that suits my preference.

OK, the post is actually to record my comeback on wheels after over a month now since Manjung erm...alahai. I barely touched nor peek at it. The courage to remove those t-bars just wouldn't turn up. Anyway, the recent public holiday gave me a starter. It was a hot day & after some dashed in the pool instead of pounding the tarmac, I was stripped free from other errands. It was just my Manjung gears & me.

As I rolled it out onto the car porch, I caught a glimpse of something peculiar on the front wheel. I didn't recall having to dirty the wheels with dirt nor mud. It was scorching & arid in Seri Manjung. A closer look & a smirk strike my face as it happened to be a tossed of Johnson & Johnson powder. I can confirmed those baby smells & bear out a vision of tiny little fingers experimenting the chemistry between beauty & bike. Hahaha! Should I left my bike a little bit longer, I can't imagine what it should turn out. A quick rinse, chafing & buff, my black beauty shined in the afternoon sun. T-bars removed, tyres rock solid pressurised. I started gathering spare tubes, tyre levers, shoes, Giro & Oakley. To boost up the motivation, I yanked myself to the LBS later in the evening with the intention to get my kids' bike brakes fixed. A nice pair of Cannondale socks caught my wallet as I left the LBS looking forward for a future spin.

Come Sunday & after a not so taxing run on Saturday, I hauled my lazy & sleepy feet to the front gate welcoming ride buddies whom decided to roll off from my place. Hanchik & Saiful shared the same calamity since Powerman. I was not alone...lega :) Just a handful of us, didn't plan for anything glamorous for a start. We met up with Bahri at Batu 9. He was already shouting for some discounts from the ride after his great 20km LSD the day before. Blessing in disguise, he found the coolest ride buddies today.

We rode all the way to Peres junction at a leisurely conversational pace. It was quite a splendid one except for the last draggy climb, which without fail will never pleased most cyclists. More cycling clans were on display along the way. Casual mountainbikers on slicks. Tandems. And for a shocker, some ladies or shall I say kakak, easily late 40's, in cycling tights handling Cervelo & Scotts! Giler kentang hebat! Those are awesome sights. I even get a chance to exchange smile with Malik, as I remember him from Baik Punya Cilok movie...orang kanan Touke Wong la. I didn't know that he's a cyclist. Saiful confirmed my puzzled mind & even affirmed that "Malik" even rode Kiara! Pergh! Mantap!

We jacked up our HRs on the way back to Batu 18, racing against time stalling at 36-37 kph. It was actually more like racing against the roti canai. Yes, we were starving even as we passed the stall on our way in earlier. Hanchik did the work while I desperately clinging to survive the 10km TT stretch. Melatop kaki! Hahaha!

Some talks over breakfast about next years takwim, especially the interstate. Heard news that the ride venues will be awesome. Looking forward to partake & might need to block my calendar. We headed home in what appeared to be a very blazing late morning climate. It felt like 1.00pm & yet we were still early to finish our ride at 10.30am. More talks over post ride at my place about future rides & events. Already I am looking forward to. Perhaps I should workout a schedule or program to get me committed & manage my weekend bustles.

Batu Dam revisited...on foot

Running up and down memory lane was something that I looked forward to when our trail running buddies planned for it as we crossed Salomon xtrail run finish line a week ago. It's been say 4 years ago when I last rode here with fellow mountainbikers. Most of them migrated into more specific activities after that. I can say that Batu Dam was a real heaven's trail for newbies on bike. It has all the leasurely undulating cross country trail along the massive lake. Should one wish to consider a bit more techy trails, entering deeper into the catchment shall be rewarded with steep technical climbs and fast winding descents through tricky bamboo trails. Exiting via the Ulu Yam trunk road can be a feast with a superb maggie soup at the rest area for the famished souls.

Group photo

Today, 18 trail runners, a by-product of Salomon xtrail event, attempted the non-public access of Batu Dam trail. We got into some lingering moments at Petronas Sg Tua, meeting up before proceeding to the rowing school entrance. What was supposed to be a 7.30am flag-off had to be altered for a half an hour delay. Anyway, everything was cool since weather was as bright as ever, so was the past 2 days.

Fong & rowing buddies were our host, so she lead the enthusiastic group into the trail. It was magnificent. Trail condition was marvelous, with a bit more sugar, it should be sweet enough for everyone. Single tracks winding around the lake shore, crossing cold stream & river, thick canopies of dipterocarps. A complete weekend getaway. Ammah! What else could I say?

We were cut short with the excitement upon reaching the trail end at Riverstone. We opted for an easy & fast back to carpark via the Ulu Yam trunk road. I bet we were the only souls who run that road in a million years. Hahaha! Eventually the chain of runners broke once we hit the tarmac when everyone ran their own pace. So, the ever embracing motto of "Jangan kasi pecah" was abandoned :P. I decided to be back with our fellow sweepers Daud & Shaq escorting Nizam, whom have only started to take running into the next level. We ran & walked back, gasping the cold morning enriching air.

Our mud accumulated shoes were then rinsed while we rest on a pontoon by the rowing school, enjoying a lovely view of the calm water body of the lake. A dip is a must for the eager ones. Splash! We went into the water for a quick sponge down, washing away those dirt & sweat.

It was quite a short run, that I was caught in a dilemma to reward myself with carbo replenishing fiesta. We stopped at a mamak for a quick breakfast of roti telur, tose rawa (new to me) and of course teh tarik.

Eventually, later in the evening, with the chance to bring my kids for a second trip to the pool, I wallop a few more laps calling it a day with clear mind & feeling bouncy.

The tarmac back with fellow sweepers

The newly crowned marathoner leading the pack

Happy to reach the carpark

Still more turns away

The pontoon lepaking

Jungle flaws - Salomon xtrail run

One of those unfortunate events when one is caught in a dead beat situation...lost! I was so determined for the race, aiming high to do a nice pacing, placing perhaps & fun. Well, the forest really took it's toll on me.

Cut short of the pre-race morning errands, we were thrilled & pumped & ready to blast-off once the air horn blew off at Kiara Park. With the strategy of hitting the trail in the front pack to avoid traffic backlog, I squeezed myself through other runners during the "screening" league around Taman Tun school. HR was idling in Zone 5 as I hopped on slippery green rocks & squeeze between runners overtaking them.

The trail pounding was kept at moderate upon reaching a more open trail which I presumed Janie's Addiction and Bar-a-cuda. As I looked front and back, I was actually in the same pack with Stephanie Chok & Wong Ah Thiam. Fuh! Laju sangat ke aku ni?! About 10 other seems like strong runners were also constantly pacing together, howling down steep long descents & huffing up steep climbs.

As we reached DS2, which was after Lower Short for drinks, I noticed the pack didn't stay long. I was already left behind. Did I only realised right while typing this post, that my attempt catching up to the group, unaware of the dedicated race route, I followed them to a detour. For what supposed to be a familiar juncture to Snake and Ladder, I made the wrong turn and ended up hammering half of Janie's and Bar-a-cuda again! Aiyo 800 kali! I was biting my lips off thinking of the blunder. It costed me half an hour repeating about 2-3km and another 3km running on the tarmac to get to the Four Cross. I was running with a Mat Salleh & a chinese senior guy complaining of the incident.

As I swerved down 2K and thumping 4K, I knew that I was already in the rear pack. Deep inside my mind, I almost wanted to abandon the race optioning for the tarmac way down. On second thought, nope. I still need the Salomon pouch after paying 60 hardly earned bucks & getting a piece of cheap & wrongly sized non-Salomon t-shirt. I'm not giving up! Ammah! Let the world go round. I'm finishing this race...strong!

I managed to catch up with my newly met senior race buddies halfway into 4K (didn't had the chance to know their names). Jumping, sliding, tree hugging, honking, shouting while overtaking more and more runners on the trail. I crossed the finish line clocking 1:45 hours...satisfied.

Mosin

Got my pouch, photo session with friends & getting "lost" again on the mamak's table with my running buddies before calling it a day contemplating for another running adventure.

Oops! Forget to line up all the trail buddies that shook the forest together, only that they didn't get lost. And better still, one of us won a podium placing! That should be Ling the Great. Won herself in the 4k Women's Cat. The rest that was sharing some sympathy & also laughed with me was Nik, Che, Bacin, Fong, Saiful, Hanchik, Akmal, Alwin & Ajeep.

Back to constant pounding

I'm back, and it feels good. My days without runs must end or my attempt for upcoming events will end up crying (deep down inside la not out loud by the roadside...giler kentang!). I've managed to get a very strong reason to start pounding back on the tarmac. Trikidz. Yep, after my daughter decided to do a comeback, I've decided that she would be a great training buddy. Long school break and she has all the rest time & carbo time she wants. Splendid!

After Kiara trip last Sunday, I was spending my Monday as usual...honeymooning. Not actually, it was more like scheduling for runs. With some buddies keyed up for a great 2010 running year, we had the ball rolling with some running topics. Macam biasa, shopping was the most talk about. Hahaha!

Tuesday, my anxiety to be back home on time for my initial attempt fell short due to slow traffic flow from a late evening shower down in Klang Valley. Aku redha. At least it provided an awesome ambient for an early slumber party. Mantap.

Wednesday, I had to take a rain cheque from a futsal game & rushed back home for a second attempt. Yasmin & Amir on their bikes & I am slowly making way aerobicly. They ditched the bikes after covering about 2.5km. Yasmin ran pulak this time with me attempting her first 1km route. It's the usual loop around our neighbourhood. Of course for her first time would be tough. Run & walk. We were chatting & she didn't give up. Great! With some hype & some enthusiasms left in me, I battered the remaining minutes before azan clocking 5km. Original menu was supposed to be 8km. Janji ada. I heartened Yasmin for a repeat the following day & she agreed.

Thursday, dark clouds hovering over Cheras sky promising for a wild & wet evening. Fortunately it was a pass by, enough to lower the temperature for another shot. We were running the same route but skipped the cycle part. Perhaps Yasmin have to get some milage on those legs & some cardio workout before any brick. Amir tagged along & their laughter & joking around tire them off prematurely. So I decided to squeeze some mini fartlek to give a different tempo to it. At least they managed to run all the way completing 1 loop. Second time for Yasmin. Thumbs up! I rushed away with a bit more fartlek for myself. The post run feeling was satisfying. It was a great moment for a proper stretching, core & of course a bit of muhasabah diri.

I really missed those days, a year ago, ending my weekday runs at Lake Garden with kaum. Stretching & chat away under the blink of neon lights as joggers dispersed to conclude another day of work & workout.

Off the beaten track

Didn't find the tunnel, only the toll plaza

It was rather an uncertain morning climate as we rendevouzed at Kiara Park that morning. The previous night was full of doubtness from the weather forecast, especially after the torrential thunderstorm that hit Klang Valley on hari raya evening. I had to abandon my ride on Saturday morning due to qorban's commitment. My whole week without any run will pretty much sure pay my body some upshots.

Turn up was quite encouraging. From what supposed to be only a party of 3, there was an additional of 6 more! Wowzy! Words of mouth & some networking managed to gather a powerful group this morning. The trail was ready to be thomped for the next hours.

Of course our main plan was to run the whole Salomon race route but as usual & as before, we were kind of deviated from the map. Kiara trails were no longer a holy grail after it was ripped apart by metal clunkers few years back, making way for horse trails...konon! Horses won't need a trail 3 meters apart! Mountainbike trails were cut-off, making our journey tracing it from the map a bit thorny. Making our way from Lower Carnival up to Flintstone's Playground was kinda straight forward with some awkward moments here and there. Swerving onto Janie's Addiction (dulu ni la the mother of fast holy grail up to kampung road) which is perhaps now Janie "the horse trail", we were halted by some major deviation from finding Bar-a-kuda. Of course I had to go for Plan B which was enrouting the party towards the mansion on the hill & climbing the cut hill towards the peak.

Acap attempting a trail runner model post

We didn't head off towards Twin Peaks this time but continued into Snake and Ladders (the mountainbike trail). Gosh! It was total fun! I kept saying to Alwin & Saiful how awesome it was & remembering all those moments riding it. It was definite snaking & laddering around those rubber trees while balancing oneself from sliding down the steep terraces. We missed those great days. Hmmm...2004 or 2005 that was? Now running on it gave the same feeling but with a slightly different vision.

Dark skies on our right creeping in

As we came to the 4 cross junction where the normal hang-outs for fellow mountainbikers, we were almost completing the agenda. There lays 2K & 4K for us to connect the puzzle. Down 2K, Apollo & up dragging ourselves onto The Mission. Constant trail pounding & undulating courses started to zapp our oomph! We were already looking forward for a discount. As soon as we reached the tarmac by the water tank, we were frenzy enough to whack through the carnival course back to carpark. Perhaps everyone had to call it a day & had enough of the beating. However we still managed to strike a post with smiles & chats before feasting with carbos.

L-R: Azmar, Ling, Fong, Ajeep, Saiful, Bacin, Acap, Alwin & me

Trails! Trails! Trails!

Completing two trail runs in a row was demanding for my maiden adventure. Dengan berbekalkan semangat kasut baru & the urge to be back on the nature's trail, I traded my weekend mornings with two trail runs into Bukit Kiara & Pangsoon.

On Saturday morning, about 9 of us gathered at Kiara Park. I've decided to join some new friends whom apparently are avid bloggers which I discovered the run from. Names I can recall were Ian, Syah, Shaq, Doris, Shuk, Shukran & wife & of course Kash, Nik & Cheramiche. Semua kenal through blogs. Hebat dunia sekarang.

The menu was to attempt the Salomon xtrail route. Cheramiche guided us via Pat's only established Kiara map (mountainbike's map actually). Nik was all over the place taking photos of the run. We waded through steep technical climbs of Flintstone's Playground & found ourselves on top of Penchala Link's tunnel. It was everybody's dream to be there. That was the spot that I wondered years back whether mountaibike trails passed that route as I drove into the tunnel every now & then. Trails around the area were a bit vague since mountainbikers seldom used these technical routes unless those with 6 inches droppies. Some singletracks were gone replaced by horse trails.

We made our way back to Bar-a-kuda & Snakes & ladders. Twin Peaks remained as before with all those ferns but the view of Pusat Sains Negara were covered by rubber trees. We burst down Twin Peaks towards Simpang Empat. I was enjoying every bit of the descent as though I was on my bike only without tapping on the brake levers. It felt so free & most importantly my knees didn't give up on me. Alhamdullillah.

Above the Penchala Link's tunnel. Akhirnya our curiosity terjawab

Our last stretch were 2K and part of the race track. Stumbled upon some mountainbiker friends & chatted away. Macam biasa, kalau berjumpa mesti mau sembang. It felt like reunion pulak. Hahaha. Apa taknya, Kiara trails used to be our weekend warrior battleground. I think my last ride here was 2 years which was only kept near to 2K & race track. During prime time, we often whacked our way towards Sg. Penchala & Segambut.

The run clocked almost 2 hours. We were awarded with an awesome weather before we wrapped up our post run meals (cokodok, salad, watermelon, 100+ : thanks to fellow sponsors). It started to drizzle as we hopped into our cars & left with smiles.

Senyum selagi boleh sebelum cekak pinggang kejap lagi

Come Sunday, I attempted the gruelling Pangsoon trail with fellow Camdekians. Semua nak test kasut baru. 6 of us. Though with some pains from Kiara's run, a promise is still a promise. We started a bit late at 10.00 allowing oneselves to secure domestic errands. My previous attempts up Gunung Nuang way back 20 years ago was nothing close to this method. Those years were either with a 10kg backpack or a day trip up to the peak hiking. The peak was always the objective upon setting foot at Pangsoon. But this time, we only attempted up to Kem Lolo...running! Peak of Nuang not in the menu.

Yes, the trail condition & elevation didn't change much. The continuing torment from the beginning to the end of the road was horrifying. The elevation gained in less than 5km was taxing every bit of our muscles. Giler kentang! Pom! Pom! Pom! Pakai ekzos besi pun takde makna. Hahaha! We were making small tiny running steps climbing those giant killer climbs. Walking with hands on our waists was not a good option. It will only strain more muscle & fatigue.

Kasut aneka rasa

Masih mampu berlari uphill

We managed to reach Kem Lolo an hour later feeling challenged & satisfied. The sight of descending back all those elevations was worrying. Can our knees survive? We stopped for a breather & some nonsense talks at Kem Lolo for 15 minutes before dashing off back down to Pangsoon. Suprisingly the agony was quick as we managed to constantly ran downhills, still with tiny steps without stopping too much.

Our last vertical before Lolo

Now, after two straight days of body banging, every point aches but it felt good. With these momentums, pursuing more workouts is not an option anymore. Do it.

Top Twelve Trail Tips!

Well, what do you know? I know nothing. Nothing about trail running but it's time for me to find out. I need to add variations to my workouts especially working out those quads & calfs. Pounding oneself on the tarmac can be a bit monotonous at times. Perhaps it's about time to indulge myself back to nature as I used to be. I don't know whether my trekking & running downhills in Nuang ages ago can be defined as trail running.

I've been hyped by the shoe shopping affair. Been amazed by those spectacular photos from mags & webs. Perhaps some fundamental could be useful for a start. Adopted from Buzz Burrell's tips at http://mountainrun.wordpress.com/.

1) The longer the race, the longer the taper, and the shorter the warmup. The shorter the race the shorter the taper, and the longer the warmup.

2) You can only train as hard as you can rest. Running doesn’t actually make you better; it’s during the resting phase afterward that your body adapts and improves.

3) In a race, whoever takes the most steps, wins. Clever thought, eh? It might not be true, but it’s a good thought to keep in mind.

4) Periodization is key. Because nature goes in cycles, so should we. Daily, weekly, monthly, and annual cycles of effort and rest are good.

5) The older you get: The more you need to rest, but the less time you should take off. Make sense? Masters runners can’t do hard days in a row w/o risking injury, but neither can they take a month off in the winter and come back readily.

6) Don’t be shy of roads, especially during the offseason. Running on cold, hard pavement will quicken your turnover and improve your form. And running on a treadmill during the offseason does wonders for your form.

7) Running uphill could be easy. There is no impact, thus minimal risk of injury, so many older runners specialize in uphill races. Don’t get psyched out – uphill is work for everyone; concentrate (as in all running) on quick turnover rather than strength; breathe more than you ever thought possible, and go for it.

8) Downhill running can be tricky. Really concentrate on quick turnover to maintain proper form and not over-stride. On technical descents: relax, pay close attention, and go for it.

9) Running is actually an injury prevention game. All the training plans you hear about are secondary; anyone can train, most people can race, and if you’re reading this you are motivated to learn. But can you keep from being injured?

10) American trail runners don’t aspire to run faster; they aspire to run longer. This is odd. Few people are capable of effectively running a Marathon let alone longer than that; first learn to run period, before trying to go ultra distances.

11) If you’re not happy, you’re blowing it. Better take a look at that, and make the appropriate choices. Happiness is your choice.

12) There is a great diet that is perfect for long-distance runners. Unfortunately, no one knows what it is.

Seri Manjung...hmmm alahai

Sedap sungguh nama tu. Seri Manjung. Nama yang aku langsung tak kenal until Powerman was introduced. Yang aku pernah dengar cuma Kampung Manjoi & Manjung powerplant. After my visit there in 2007, rupa-rupanya kerap pulak aku ke sana & hovering around nearby Lumut town.

Ok, this year I came back with a big mission. The Individual Distance. Something that I expected to be gruelling like running a 26 miler but without a bag of training. Only with the courage & confident from last SCKLM & some tiny trainings, I gave it a shot. Perhaps the shot wasn't much of a bang as I continue with this :)

8-November 2009. Powerman Malaysia.
Seven of us made the trip to Seri Manjung after quite a thorough planning. Saiful, Nizam, Hanchik, Azahari & me in the individual age category, Alwin in mix relay cat & Bahri in the sprint. Two cars fitted with 7 bikes & 7 souls. More like a can of sardines. Trust me, the journey was not a back-friendly one.

Weather was pretty warm & humid as we were flagged off at 7.30am. I can say about 500 athletes swarmed the Seri Manjung road attempting our first 11km run. My first run was kept at steady pace but noticeably sweat & HR was a bit on the threshold level. First gel was consumed at the water station about 1km before transition. I was careful while transitting, putting on my cycling shoes trying to avoid any movement that can invite cramps. In 2 minutes I was out of the transition & humping away into the bike course.

Speed & anxiety was awesome. I was maintaining a comfortable 30kph for the first 10km when suddenly disaster strike. Left calf cramped! Aiyo! So early eh? Trying not to panic, I slowly reduced my cadence & assessed the condition. Within the next 3 minutes, the right calf pulak! Ammmah! Well at least I was prepared for it. Memang dah jangka benda ni akan berlaku berpasangan. Hahaha! Just before the 15km U-turn, I stopped for a calf spray at the first aid station. Tapi macam tak rasa apa2 spray tu. Air sejuk agaknya.

The cramps came and left a few times especially when cadence varies & during any bridge humps. Maybe muscle twitched & vibration triggered it. Aku layan aje sampai la ke stadium semula untuk bike second lap. Another gel was scoffed. During this second lap that I stopped to lend Mohd. Zaki from CAR my tools. From the look of it, he was in a state of suffer. Saiful, Nizam & Hanchik rode pass. We played cat & mouse at the remaining distance as head wind & scortching sun added to the suffering pleasure. Hanchik banged his saddle while Nizam can't survive any further than 24kph. We came across Alwin at his prime speed a few times. Another gel. Saiful & me entered the transition together. He suffered cramps while dislodging from the bike & was "forced" to standstill while medic came.

Time was about 10.53am as I started to run leaving the stadium. Initial running condition was ok but not until the next 10 minutes. My slow & tiny pace can't survive longer. I walked & jogged for the remaining 10km. Luckily Saiful & another guy caught up & we chatted away over our run all the way to the finish line for which seemed so demanding. We walked under tree shades & ran when the sky opened. We burned like pisang salai.

We were awarded with medals & finisher t-shirt. Best of all was the freezing cold towel layed on our backs & non-stop orange & watermelon fiesta. I was sitting by the tent gulping loads of it. The lunch award menu was awesome. Pasta, cream soup, salad, fried chicken & rice. But I was already hungry within an hour. Hahaha. Body was burning calories like a boiler.

For my first time multi-sport event doing this distance, I was quite satisfied & thankful that I survived the milage & temperature. Crossing the finish line although barely 9 minutes before cut-off time was a bonus. The fundamental of it, kena train more la dude.

We arranged our award lunch ourselves. After checking out, we left straight to Ipoh for a feast at the legendary Nasi Vanggey! Ammmah! Thanks to Alwin for the sponsorship from his victory in mix relay. Lepas tu tapau Laksa Padang Polo pulak. Hahaha! Nothing more exciting besides the race than a road trip with friends.

Total time : 4:51:26
Run 1 : 00:58:54
Transition 1 : 00:02:04
Bike : 02:19:21
Transition 2 : 00:02:12
Run 2 : 01:28:54

Disquiet

With the remaining days to go, the pre-race anxiety started to bug me. The inclement weather condition added to the blues. As I sat safely in my car, avoiding all necessary risk from being a motorist approaching the race day, in the cold morning and evening traffic, the doubt, the dilemma, the curiosity & worriness engulfed at one time into once mind. Day came, day go. Two more days dude!

Comparing my recent SCKLM with this upcoming Seri Manjung trip, it is obvious that preparation was a huge different. Unscheduled trainings. Lack of discipline. Tonnes of laziness. Training buddies. Holidays. Duties. Or whatever lame excuses I can grip at. What have I done? I wish I don't deserve the consequences. I wish that every moment of my Seri Manjung trip will be a sweet & motivational adventure.

Be strong. Be confident. Run strong. Cycle smart. Enjoy the trip. Breath in the nice ambient. It should be an awesome outing. Anchor yourself dude!

Senaman batu bata

Due to work fatigue, drive fatigue & inconsistent weather pattern my week was jumbled up between languor, interval & taper (if I define it right...hehe). It's just a matter of getting more rest during taperring or is it I still have the hunch that I am undertrained. No need to worry la bro. It should be ok. Hopefully. Just enjoy the trip & the race. Despite the 50-50 feeling of undertrained, I am convinced that it would be a great race. Insyallah.

So, as the days passed by filled with lots of stuff, cold & wet, hot & dry, I approached the weekend with some high hopes for a final brick workout. Saturday morning came with a thunderstorm all over Klang Valley. I'm assuming that most workouts were abandoned that morning. I adapted to the climate although getting stuck in bed was preferable. Although I had some workout plans up my sleeve but it was nothing obligatory. All things outdoors were KIVed. I ended up tutoring my daughter for her exam with a cup of hot nescafe & the Star by the sliding door enjoying every second of the cold & wet morning. Yes, it rained throughout the day. Drizzled & sprinkled now and then.

By 11.30am it was guys time out. New word I got from Julie..."bromantic time". Hahaha. Almost sounded like Brokeback Mountain. Det & me went to Armada Hotel for our Powerman race kit collection. We met up with Hanchik & Alwin & some other friends i.e. Laif & Julie. Some jokes with Jashrul of Total Field Powerbar. We left for Mines for lunch & window shopped. Something for Salomon Xtrail Run prep. Saiful & me are eyeing a pair of Kanadia TR2.

Come Sunday, I left home as early as 6.15am to meet up with the rest of kaum Camdek at Putrajaya pool for our planned brickwork. Weather was perfect. 6 of us & we saw some others were doing the same. Perhaps the rest of Klang Valley athletes were running the Terry Fox run in KL. Menu was 1 loop of IM bike route & 1 loop of PICC great climb for run. Workout went well & we had some great laughs while cooling down by the lake. Biasa la kaum Camdek, kalau tak merapu tak sah. One week to go or is it 6 days la! Perhaps I could squeeze in some mini workouts to straigten my tight nerves.

It's 28th & I'm 38!

Apa lagi yang paling menarik ganjaran untuk hari lahir kalau bukan dengan pampering oneself with things we love doing. I didn't had the chance to take leave from duty since kena attend pre-arranged meetings but I was rewarded with an early arrival at home with a great weather.

I was hyped by the loud beat of Linkin Park & Goo Goo Dolls on my back from Sepang. I kept the beat up & decided to attempt a short tempo run in the cold evening post thunderstorm climate. I already felt great with all those almost 30 over birthday wishes I got from friends at FB. It was perfect.

3 weeks to Seri Manjung...hmm alahai

Foto ceduk dari album CAR

Suddenly as the festive mood vanished from us, the race season dropped in with a boom! Big time! All race organisers gone wild & unwittingly scheduled their events sampaikan oneself dah mula rasa loya, mual & ngeri. Dengan terpaksa survive gaji sebulan untuk 40 hari, transferring those race fees through maybank2u hanya dengan menutup sebelah mata.

With my trip to Seri Manjung just around the corner, the pre-race anxiety & panic dah mula terasa. Weekdays workout dah ler rongak bila kena outstation & cuaca yang mula mengganas. Tinggal 2 minggu aje lagi beb! Argh! Ngeri 8000 kali. After this weekend's menu, I felt a bit of 70-30 to visit Seri Manjung with a bang.

Semalam, Sabtu, walau dengan sambutan yang kurang meriah, a few of us proceed with our shceduled workout plan. Only Saifu, Dicky & me cycled up to Peres junction & back to my place. Clocking 64km in 2:29:03 averaging a 25 kph. We were quite satisfied with the achievement, but not the run after. We were struggling alright. Though we only managed to run one loop of my neighbourhood's route (1.21km!!), we were complaining those stiff knee, stiff quad, bright sun & whatever reasons for not to continue. These originate myself to reconsider my training schedule & make the remaining time useful.

Today, the much awaited Mizuno Wave Run 2009 held at UPM berlangsung dengan jayanya. I had anticipated those hills which were there like before, 20 years ago during the school days. I had a good run. It was awesome. Pace was great. Found out later it was a good 5.38. My record for 11km was 1:01:59 (from Start banner to finish line). Race climate was great. Friendly venue, nice booths. I took the chance to get to know a few of Chap Ayam Runners & the best part was taking photos with them. This group is growing day by day. Thumbs up to cikens.

Berbalik ke post raya menu

Udah le tu...cukup-cukup lah. Puas sangat beraya. Sakan betul aku tengok orang kita ni beraya sampaikan jalan-jalan kat KL ni luarbiasa sesak bila weekend, even lebih teruk dari hari kerja. Untuk weekend ni, aku decided to stay domestic. Tak sanggup aku nak memenatkan diri, family & enjin kereta aku dalam kesesakan open house raya. With wifey a bit tight up with work, aku cuma lepak rumah lepas my morning workouts for both days.

Sabtu pagi, cuma Nizam & me rolled off from our houses to meet Bachin at bus stop Batu 9. Our menu today was to be up Peres & Tekala, covering about 90km perhaps. Met up with Saiful & Abu at Batu 14. Rolling towards Batu 18. Sempat la jugak aku test power aerobars kat jalan kampung Batu 18 tu. Tapi disebabkan ada member cangkuk kat belakang, heart rate aku melambung-lambung macam ombak pantai timur. By the time sampai simpang Peres, Azmar cought up to join the climb. Pace cantek je, seiring & sejalan dengan kaum Ironman ni. Ok la, 30 minit later sampai puncak dengan rasa yang kurang meletup compared to last 2 weeks punya visit.

Nizam had to cut short & reprogram the menu. So we decided to repeat Bukit Hantu. Aku attempted kali ni dengan lebih berhati-hati supaya tak terpedaya dengan geografi topo yang sedikit deceiving. Cuaca agak menyebelahi pihak riders kali ni since dari early morning some slight overcast hovering over southern of Klang Valley. Regroup at peak & descended towards Batu 14 for a coke kat kedai runcit tepi traffic light. Nikmat tak terhingga. The rest tambah nasik dengan climb Bukit Ampang while Nizam & aku kayuh balik. Selit sikit lagi LT workout maintaining 30kph average sampai highway.

Ahad, aku lari sorang-sorang sebab kebanyakan kaum tewas or gagal dengan urusan masing-masing. Layan je route McDonald 8km at 7.00a.m. Dengan bertemankan HRM yang setia, aku cuba untuk maintain at aerobic zone. Nak mula lari kaki ada rasa sikit lenguh, maybe sebab semalam balun kayuh tak ingat. No wonder aku fatigue sikit lepas ride semalam. Tapi once dah mula atur langkah, stomping menjadi semakin rancak. Nothing felt better than to breath the fresh morning air kat kampung sendiri, zero traffic & erti kebebasan...hehehe.

As I passed Lake Valley, parking space was still ample, tak macam weekends sebelum puasa. Masyarakat yang masih sakan beraya & attending open house hari Sabtu sampaikan terlalu penat & careless about apa diorang makan & workouts. Maybe dah habis Syawal baru penuh semula kot tempat parking dengan joggers. Dapat gak complete 8km in about 41 minutes. Lepas key in kat logyourrun.com sekai pace 5.06! Laju tuh. Kena adjust sikit next time.

Aidilfitri ups & downs

Mujurlah ada jugak beberapa runs & cycles yang aku dapat buat sepanjang Ramadhan walaupun virus malas ada jugak sikit-sikit menggigit especially part hujung nak ke raya. All in all, dengan jaga makan, minum & tidur, insyallah aku dapat retain stamina. Maybe muscle aku kurang berkembang sebab diet aku pun kurang, maklum lah berpuasa.

Since KPI Ramadhan aku ditahap average (at least better than last year sebab kena sinus), sambutan aidilfitri aku pun agak sederhana jugak, on the expenditure point of view la. Takde la shopping sakan. Ada lah jugak rezeki dari sumber-sumber lain yang tak memerlukan aku & famili untuk berbelanja banyak. Alhamdullillah. Akan tetapi, aktiviti kekeluargaan di antara sanak saudara menjelang Syawal sangat meriah. Ziarah menziarahi di kampung tersangat meriah di antara pakcik, makcik, sepupu sepapat, dua pupu, anak buah & definitely all those ketupat, kari ayam, lemang pakcik bawak dari Tampin, roti jala, laksa dll. Mantap 8000 kali.

Workout telah bermula dengan grand seminggu selepas raya. Rupa-rupanya ramai yang tertunggu-tunggu. Hampir 10 orang kaum berkumpul kat rumah aku. Aku pun tak sure sama ada diorang ni nak mula situ sebab nak bedal mee bandung lepas ride or memang nak milage. Kah kah kah! Tapi takpe, all good. Turning up for the ride was at least a big leap from Ramadhan's hibernation for some. There were Alwin, Azahari, Hanchik, Saiful, Nizam, Deti. Bachin & Dicky kita orang jumpa kat bus-stop Batu 9. The menu was to get up Peres & Bukit Hantu & back to BTHO.

Hanchik, Nizam & Deti menambah milage kat basikal baru diorang yg depa purchased bulan posa hari tu. Memang looking forward sangat lah dengan kayuhan ni, especially untuk panjat Peres. Azahari dengan wheelset Reynolds baru beli dari ebay. Aku pulak mau try out C24 ler panjat Peres.

Memanjat Peres was something unbelievable sebab aku dapat cangkuk kat Alwin, knowing for his climbing strength. Dia cranking up big gears, aku spin till my hearts out. Maybe to the omission of a few grams from my bike. Too bad, a handful of us yang opted to get discounts by not joining up Peres & Bukit Hantu. We clocked total of 80km & bedal mee bandung at my place. Hari tu we all dapat panggilan Jockeys. Aku kena sediakan jockey's lounge nanti dalam plan house renovation. Hehe.

My runs thru the mid weeks was a bit substandard due to some adjusted evening plans which I decided to be prioritised. Aku dapat run Isnin & Selasa je. Khamis pi ziarah neighbour warded for diabeter & Friday came back late from meeting. Takde hal. I don't need to worry myself for the Ekiden Run on Sunday as long as I have my running muscles twitched.

Saturday, Alwin & me planned for a test ride with our aerobars. We picked the Ironman 70.3 loop in Putrajaya. It was a 30km route with rolling hills & flat-out flats. The aerobars assisted outstandingly at flat stretches. Memang berbaloi. Easily aku achieved 39-40kph at easy cadence...teruja 800 kali. Hopefully during Powerman, this gadget dapat bantu aku.

Ahad, Ekiden Run kat Putrajaya dengan kaum 10 orang 2 team. Camdek A & B. Tahun ni nampak participation sungguh cemerlang. Kaum Pacemaker vs kaum Chap Ayam Runners. Depa hantar a few teams. Team lain pun banyak jugak. Meriah la kira, compare dengan last year. Crowd dah macam event larian anjuran Pacesetter. Kalau tak silap, team aku placing 18th in our category & 48th in overall. Ok la. Alhamdullillah all went well.

We were served with another sport event took place same time & same venue. Ironman 70.3. Dapat lah aku tengok all those triatletes & super-triathletes beraksi, yang selama ni aku nampak kat dalam blog je. Ramai muka-muka yang aku kenal yang memang berkecimpung dengan sukan ni. A bit teruja tapi aku masih belum taksub dengan challenge yang dihidangkan. Bukan setakat tu, komitmen, masa & sacrifices among those yang lebih penting. Anyway, there is a plan to try the sprint tri next year up my sleeves & also to take up swimming lessons. See how it goes as we approach 2010 lah.

The remaining of my weekend was spent domestically. Neighbours datang beraya & aku sefamili pi beraya ke rumah depa. Tersangat meriah, especially for the kids where they had the chance to walk & laugh & play throughout the moments.

My downside of the week happened Thursday night. Handphone kesayangan telah disambar mat rempit masa kat Shell Cheras Perdana while I was walking towards my car from the cashier. 8 juta kali tahap kemarahan aku bila setiap kali aku ingatkan tragedi tu. Ada lah agaknya hikmah Allah disebalik ni semua. Aku perlu redha. Amin.

3rd week

Dah masuk 3rd week into Ramadhan. Tarawih aku balun, lari tak seberapa tapi weekend night ride aku looked forward to. With the last 2 rides covering the mains of Putrajaya road, the workout turned out to be awesomes.

Last weekend quite a handful of us covered 47km which ended us hit by windstorm. We were drenched and cold but a tasty garlic cheese nan weaved with mee goreng mamak at 2.00 in the morning was promising. We closed the day at 3.30am sleepy.

I only managed to squeeze in a tiny short run on Tuesday, just enough to twitch the running muscles and back for buka puasa. Compared to the tiny workout, a bigger chunk of grilled lamb dumped in at two different buka puasa occassions. Those are loads of cholesterol dude!

Last night's ride was a different agenda. All 17 of us which was successfully organised by Julie vied FB rolled of from palace of justice at almost 12.00. The menu was 25 kph over 60 km. We struggled to suit the menu but failed. Adrenaline rushed in and the ride turned out to be an interval ride, bashing at every flat, attack at every climb and crouching oneself tucked in at every descent. The flats, the short and long climbs and the descents were superbly spreaded throughout the route. With more grilled lamb chucked in during buka puasa, I felt that it almost gave me a belly cramp.

We were rewarded with magnificent carbo reloads and snacks at post ride. Thanks again to Julie again. I swigged in loads of those sweet seedless black grapes & a cute bottle of vitagen. The best ever post ride meal.

Looks like it was our last night ride for this years Ramadhan. The menu during Syawal shall be well table out for the next task in hand.

PCM No. 19 (Ramadhan ride)

With a week done fasting & two weeks after my last ride, eventually I found my enthusiasm. After prez ride (a week before Ramadhan), the days were spent incuperating & recovering oneself & also preparing for the Ramadhan break. A week into Ramadhan, I was struggling to get myself out of the sofa. The evenings were so indolent after surviving the evening traffic from work back to home. Some evenings were so hot that it drained remainings of juice for the one hour inside the car. Days gone without even a minute of thoughts to do workout. My mind were fighting vigorously but the body remains shutdown.

Until last night. The night that most of us looked forward to. Us, the cycling community. It was the last Friday of the month. It was the monthly Putrajaya Critical Mass. I took the chance to get myself committed. Plans were made, though only a handful of buddies managed to participate, we swarmed the streets. It was my second time. A promising 70 cyclists let loose their hunger for adrenalines.

The ride started at almost 11.30pm with the first 10km rolling lazily towards PICC & back vied the Shape Run route. Weather was perfect, though with some pretty rain clouds & guzz of pre-storm wind added some drag to us. The remaining ride from Alamanda back to PICC vied Jalan U4 was awesome. We managed to squeeze in sort-a interval ride. Most of us agreed in silence of the night that it was a great short session.

Though with the adrenalines fed & satisfaction accounted for, the ride was accompanied by a casualty. A young fellow from MSN was a casulaty from egoism & extreme fatigue. With young blood flowing in those legs, this guy didn't want to miss every piece of the action. He was pumping the climbs like we did & won the polka dot jersey. He was sprinting his guts out at every flats we could find & boasted the victory. But he forgot to listen to his body. It's fasting month la dude. No superhuman can deceive the biological condition of oneself. He ended up fainted on the staircase of Palace of Justice during our finishing group photo. Macam ni punya orang pun ada.

I reached home at almost 4.00am after a mamak session at post ride (a compulsory agenda). Prepared some menus for sahur for kids & wifey before I embarked my long journey back to recovery. With adrenalines pumped in, I looked forward for my next workout, perhaps a run. Next week?

Dirt, dust & bang on Prez

After the Bagan Lalang ride, I was bogged down to hit another 100km mark on the saddle. Every weekend seemed too exigent be it in time quantum or physical. I decided to cool off from joining the Broga Classic ride the following weekend and opted to accompany a friend newbie on cycling into Langat. It turned out to be a great relaxing and good workout as well.

As usual, the weekdays were none other than the self yoga workout behind steering wheels. I was attending meetings more than I can imagine. The evenings ended up me being knackered to reach my running shoes. The weather was also a bit haywire. It rained most of the days, morning and evening. Cools off the haze & humid from the last few weeks. It even cooled off my gusto to run. Slack.

From too much public exposed and meeting people, I was proned to the outbreak of flu. I was down with fever on Friday. It was a restless Friday. Joints were aching and my solitary condition ended up me being tossing myself on the bed for 8 hours. It was not a rest indeed. I kept reminding my sons not to come close, knowing the power of flu infection. I kept myself disciplined to repeat with antibiotics and hydrations and stayed focus to recover for the Sunday Presidential Ride.

Saturday I felt fine though with still bitter taste from the fever, I thrusted in carbos and fuel up though I was still hesitent for the Sunday event. My son was down with flu pulak. I ensured that he gets the same treatment as I had for fast recovery. Alhamdullillah it did and he was joyfully shouting across the hall by evening.

The annual mtb gathering organised by PCC took place at Univeristy of Nottingham, Semenyih. This would be my first mtb event for 2009. It was greatly anticipated by a few of us since the route would take us through 68km of rolling hills across Broga and Lenggeng. I was a bit cautious as not to push hard on myself considering the recovery rate I'm in.

Turn-up from fellow friends was awesome. It was like a get together ride, especially when we get to meet old friends. A mega weekend ride with the same purpose, to get tired and dirty. 4 loops with 3 checkpoints waiting for us with 3 major hills reaching as high as 236m. We tried to stay together most of the time, just to ensure that we stayed focus & euphoric. As the milage clocked in and fatigue crept, cramps along the trail were a common sight which includes a few of our fellow buddies. They had to pace themselves as not to push harder. Cut-off time at checkpoints gave us the pressure to pursue.

Managed to reach CP3 20 minutes before cut-off time when I decided to call it a day. It was 1.10pm and body gave signals that it was time to take it slow. I've clocked 5 1/2 hours of ride covering about 50km hovering across plantations and forest. Nothing better than to spend a Sunday in dirt, dust & banging on the trails. Just like the old times.

A few of us didn't reached CP3 on time. Another few took up the challenge of the last Loop 4 while some of us pedal off through chicken loop for another 7.5km back to the university on the Broga trunk road.

Our curses and desperation on completing this event will always be an awesome memories, just like the previous years where we can still share every detail of it. Best of all, our laughters and nonsense be it at the parking lots, on the trail and even over late lunch will always be a cure for stress and flu. Looking forward for another ride Mr. Prez.

Gold Coast...Bagan Lalang aje

Weekends come and go. Those are the days noticeable. The weekdays are more like a waiting period. As I recalled before, the weekends ahead are going to be a colourful ones with full of activities which I should pick wisely. Previous weekend agendas filled with ride & run was magnificent & so was Saturday's long haul.

Yesterday I revisited down to the coastal line of Selangor. My last ride here was 2 years ago & both was not a proud one when I waved the white flag at 90% of the war. This time, I could consider I came prepared.

The ride rolled off from my place at 7.20 a.m. with Bacin, Adeline, Bahri & Saiful. We rendevouzed with Alwin & Arif at MTD Bangi 45 minutes later. Alwin overshot his wakeup call. Weather was splendid but a bit of haze as we approached Sepang. Traffic was innocent enough except for one lorry driver who honked & drove by us & that shooked out hearts out somewhere before Sepang town. Crazy guy or perhaps he's late for work. A pit stop at Shell Sungai Pelek for a leak & continued the ride to Bagan Lalang covering the remaining 16km. All went smoothly until approaching the kedai makan, tiny sprinkles of the morning coastal rain welcomed us. We stayed calm & expect it was just a drove-by, just like the lorry driver.

We picked our favorite bi hun soup & drinks which was scheduled to be a 30 minutes refuelling. Then it started to rain heavily. It rained for the next 2 hours. Calmness turned nervous. Full stomachs want more. Another glass of teh 'o' panas...recap...make sure 'panas ye'. We prayed that the rain would subside & permit a safe journey home.

12.00 p.m. it cleared but with a bit more of drizzle. We took the chance with the gap & hoping that it will stop & stayed that way. The first few hundred meters on the bike was tormenting. It was cold & we were yelling & shaking to pump the blood faster. Yes, it did drizzled all the way back to Sungai Pelek & Sepang town. We were drenched, cold, filthy & fatigue started creeping in slowly. We concluded the ride eventually with some detour to shorten the time which most of us concurred to. It was already 2.30 p.m.

The afternoon was too tired for a nap. By 4.30 p.m. I accompanied Det to fetch his dream Scott Speedster S30 at Bikepro as promised. The transaction ended at 7.30 p.m. as I signed off the evening as early as 9.00 p.m. My mind already sent signals & decision that the Sunday run at Adidas King of the Road had to be abandoned.

Figs:

Route milage : 132.36km

Time on bike : 4:59:59

Ave spd : 26.4 kph

Mx spd : 53.8 kph

Post event assessment

This is not about any particluar event that I joined & attempted but more of a self rationalisation of thoughts and recompiling every bit of the puzzle that I lost from "the" last 2 weeks occurence. This early assessment might help me reorganize all the plannings & takwims and in fact the cost incurred from the "fall".

Eversince the accident I was quite hesitated & lost a bit of courage & guts to participate & attempt any weekend events or routines. I had the thought that the recovery might take ages & the pain, mentally & on the cut itself will drain my psych. Even a night stay in the ward broke my mind loose & even better when the smiley face nurse came to me presenting the unbelieveable bill. It cut even deeper into my heart & soul.

Fortunately, yes I couldn't agree more, over and over again, MARATHON can change people. Bill Rodgers, winner of four Boston and four NYC marathons said "The marathon can humble you." That's a nice caption and I held to it eversince. It has been a motivational quote for me to push on. Though I missed my maiden century ride in the July 19th Ipoh Century Ride held 2 days after my accident, I shoved on. My 1 week abscent was a very patience one.

The recent Men's Health Night Run 2009 was probably my starting block to reignite the fainting flare. I trust that my legs & cardio capability are still in place. The weekends ahead approaching Ramadhan will be spent wisely. So, the game continues with perhaps the followings:

1/8 - Ride to Bagan Lalang
2/8 - Adidas KOTR
16/9 - PCC Prez Ride
Ramadhan and the list continues till end of the year with more exciting running & cycling events, Insyallah.

And now comes the economy part. The cost implication. I am needing to replace a few things that was spoilt from the accident. Priority will be my phone. Now I am surviving with an adhoc RM140 nokia. Not good enough since I'm used to the mobile in connect life. Then, it will be my Dockers. Good time & reason to get a new pair, perhaps with a few shirts. Eventually will be my EX5. Yesterday I had a sneak preview of the aftermath. A dented absorber, scratches on the mudguard & seat, broken side mirror, footrest & grip. Getting the nerve to ride again on the dangerous lanes of Klang Valley will take time. In the mean time I will have to get use to the slow bumper to bumper morning & evening traffic settling myself with the pleasant harmony of Faithfully by Journey.

Surviving Saturday

The early cool Sunday morning was never the same as the one I experienced a day earlier. Looks like today would be a great day for a lazy couch & carboload day enjoying my last one week leave from work. I survived the closing week with loads of hot stuff and hectic physical moments which was quite a good package.

My abscent from doing workouts due to the recent accident have boiled my adrenalines so much that I was craving for Saturday happenings. The day started by joining a large group of cycling buddies at Batu 14. Saiful and me pedalled from my place at 7.00am rendevouzed half an hour later with about 20 others at Batu 14 and Batu 18. We casually rode together filling up the gaps throughout the 10km kampung road towards Peres junction before regrouping and attempt Genting Peres climb at our own pace. Since I had shorten the menu by not joining the Kuala Klawang trip, I cranked up the climb as part of the climbing menu inspired by all those TdF awesome climbers. Too bad I missed the timing but it was worth it. Some intervals on the way back & the rest of it trying to survive the remaining milage back home.

A quick nap for recovery in the afternoon before the next serving. Without any runs for almost 2 weeks, signing up for the Men's Health 11.5km Night Run was quite a gamble. Hoping to have the stamina & running legs & at the same time surviving my still bandaged hand. Took my family along. Atmosphere was awesome, 800 times livelier & happenings than SCKLM. True that, my kids were jumping with joy.

As Saiful, Bachin, Zakuan, Nizam & me checked into the starting line with perhaps thousands others, the heat from the crowd created a humid & hot atmosphere. I managed to say Hi to one of fellow bloggers that my wife & me enjoyed reading, Ms Haza from runningmom-haza.blogspot.com. She's a strong lady, she covers more milage than me on runs & events. Admire her courage. 8.00am the we were off.

I was pacing Bacin for the first 5km as arranged. He was a bit fatigue from Klawang trip. Upon giving the green light to leave him, I sped off chasing the rest of the friends one by one. Caught up Saiful, then Zakuan but Nizam was nowhere to be seen. Legs were good although at certain moments I almost walk due to the suffocating haze, but I pushed on. Clocked 1:09:14.

Public Enemies

After spending 2 hours 35 minutes in TGV semalam, nothing else came to mind but more movies must be watched in this leave period. Too bad, I've seen the rest of it i.e. Revenge of the Fallen (1st day), Dawn of the Dinasour. So, something out of the mainstream did I pick for today's menu. Itu pun sebab it's an old skool gangster & cop stuff and also sebab two big stars casted the movie. Long lost Pirates of Carribean Mr Johnny Depp as the popular John Dillinger (the mob) and no other than the current big screen hit Batman/Terminator Christian Bale. Meletup ala kapal angkasa gaban...sepatutnya.

However the story line kept everybody to their role, where no biaise are being granted on both sides. John, an obsessed opportunist big time bank robber grown popular & turned desperate as more deceased members whacked down by FBI while Special Agent Purvis was about to reach his peak carrier building his portfolio maintaining machoism. Yes, the story overcast around these two characters but Dillinger was the main star here...don't forget the movie title.

Movie scenes was very, very, very detail. Most of the shots are taken closely, you'll need a widescreen tv to enjoy this. I can still clearly remember every faces in the movie until I reached the carpark.

The sounds & enviro was quite similar to Miami Vice especially the liveshot camera following the gunfights & the booming 1930's machinegun shots across the cinema hall. World!

Overall, it was something out off the mainstream in the summer release, take out fantasies & science fiction stuff, this movie was branded original from the US dark history where heroes and villains turned out dead at the end. However, it did spooked me into revisiting The Untouchables & Miami Vice though. Maybe later tonight after Tour de France.

OK, those are the movies but I'm not. TALK TO THE HAND buddy. Yep, hand is recovering. Dropped by PKUPM yesterday & replaced the bandage. Stitches alright but little bites of pain still I endure once in a while. Can I make it for the weekend's Shape Run & Saturday's ride? Insyallah.

Mr Potter

Hah! Without planning, I was quite sure that this movie will be part of my one week leave menu. I have abandoned the novel eversince they made Harry Potter came to live, catching up with the evolution of this guy was something like pacing a Kenyans on a run...too fast. I was only able to whack the pages of the first three pieces until they greedily decided to screen Potter almost annually. They almost resembled themselves like Jackie Chan.

I'm no good at reviewing movies but the story was something I need to follow especially when the puzzle and plots are being fixed and solved throughout the 2 hours 35 minutes. I did miss a slot while rushing to the loo in which however I managed to fix the loose ends myself as it moves. I guarantee that the novel itself contains 60% more stories than the one I just saw just now. Some scenes & plots seemed a bit premature & hanging while the end was a typical slot promising a continuation of Potter's journey against Valdemort. Somehow, I did read somewhere that Ms Rowling herself was quite convinced the Half Blood Prince will be the end of the Potter's sequel on the movie screen.

Fortunately, watching some other trailers brought me back to the movie-going mood with some other future releases. With the return of earth destruction episodes, can I say prequels to The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day (revisited on dvd last night...what a coincedence). The 2012 releasing in November this year and the of course the return of Mr Ironman himself in the Sherlock Holmes movie. Quite a list there.

So fast yet so blurr

Khamis, macam hari-hari yang lain aku di ofis & looking forward for lunch break & better still waktu habis kerja. 4.15pm ada appointment dengan client di Kajang. 3.45pm aku exited the office dengan tenang.

MRR2 was so calm with less traffic. In which aku rasa menjelang setengah jam lagi akan mula sesak. As I was approaching to Taman Putera Sulaiman's junction, aku slowed down to give way for the van that was making the left turn depan aku.

Dengan sepantas halilintar, perkara yang tak aku duga berlaku. Aku telah tergebak sebab terjebak dalam kemalangan jalanraya. Dengan speed aku yang dah slow tu, suddenly motor aku jadi laju & menyebabkan aku lost control. Sekelip mata aku dah tergedodos & terpongeh al-kemput kat tepi jalan meleret sepanjang lebih kurang 20 kaki. Yang aku cuma perasan, handle motor aku dah terlipat, jacket aku tersangkut kat throttle & menyebabkan enjin motor mengaum walaupu motor dah terbaring tepi jalan.

Lantas aku loosen jacket yang tersangkut & bangun. First round assessment untuk make sure aku masih qualify untuk pi Century ride ke tak. Ternyata, right wrist aku dah terluka...besar about 1 inch. Argh! Confirm tak boleh pegang handlebar.

Aku dirikan motor & tanggalkan helmet, sambil pandang ke belakang cuba digest apa yang dah terjadi. Ada sorang lagi rider yang nampak gaya senasib dengan aku. Dia jerit "ada wira putih langgar saya". Aku presumed that the bloody wira driver hit that guy & that guy lost control, langgar aku & wira cabut lari. Hmmm...what a cruel world.

Sambil aku duduk atas motor cuba fikir apa plan seterusnya, kepala jadi ringan. Pandangan jadi kabur, maybe due to the impact from the fall. Slowly aku dengan tenang call office untuk tanya mana panel insurance's hospital terdekat. My thought was Gleneagle. Terdengar suara my clerk, kak Fida dah mula kecoh dengan berita aku accident. Orang lain pulak yang panik.

Aku decide untuk mintak tolong brader yang senasib dengan aku untuk tolong hantar ke Gleneagle. Dia kata ok. Aku kena park motor ke tempat yang selamat dulu, depan kedai mamak dekat dengan office Dicky. Brader tu, Mie nama dia pun hantar aku. Kepala aku masih ringan & my sight masih blurr.

Sesampai di Gleneagle, terus dapatkan emergency treatment & register. Wifey sampai at 5.30pm sementara tengah tunggu result x-ray which later turned out just fine, takde patah tulang or any cebisan kaca. Alhamdullillah. Nurse & doktor confirmed that tangan aku perlukan perkhidmatan tukang jahit pakar. Kena warded sebab nak qualify untuk insurance claim.

Dah masuk ward, tangan masih menunggu panggilan ke OT. Sekali sekala serangan or renjatan kesakitan menyerang. Pukul 11.00pm barulah dapat jemputan ke OT. Dari saat tu, aku dah tak tau apa jadi sebab telah pekena bius. Antara sedar & tak, aku dah kembali ke wad, baring atas katil, tangan berbalut rapi & baju dah bertukar.

Mula dari aku celik mata, phone non-stop berdering. Nak layan lentuk pun tak dapat lena. Kawan, kakak, mak, sedare semua call. Phone pulak buat hal. By 12.00pm aku discharge & pulang ke rumah. Dapat medical leave seminggu. Recovery untuk kembali beraksi tak tau berapa lama.

However it took me a day to digest & rationalised everything. Kadang-kadang ia memerlukan ketabahan & kesabaran yang lebih untuk mendekatkan diri kita kepada Allah. So, aku take this as dugaan Allah untuk menguji kesabaran aku. Insyallah, dengan izinNya juga aku akan terus berusaha untuk terima everything dengan redha.

Broga boo-ga

Second week into recovery of post marathon & I was already putting myself into labour. Kalau dah kemaruk tu, bagi alasan apa pun tak guna. A week of rest pun dah cukup buat aku huru hara. Mental dah mula meracau & fikir yang macam-macam untuk aku kembali workout.

At first the weekend was something that I looked forward to. Though some plans are being made with fellow friends, my lengthy dilemma have yet to convince me to decide for commitments. Eventually, came Saturday morning, I was already in my running gears & ready to head out into the dark cold morning of BTHO with Deti. Nothing felt more enjoyable than to run, breathing the cold air & chit chat. Felt like I've left the thing in ages. We covered the 8km McD route & believe me, the recovery run turned out to be a high pace one. Akibat dari stim yang lama terpendam + confidence from the marathon experience, we were huffing and puffing our hearts away in 47 minutes. Pace was 5:40! Giler kentang. Later that day, we were blaming each other for the fatigue & sore legs post run syndrome.

With a 50-50 feeling, I woke up Sunday morning as early as 6.00am to be ready for the proclaim Broga (reverse) ride with fellow friends, which was planned to be a milage training for the upcoming Ipoh Century Ride. Sky was not so convincing with an overcast of dark rain clouds all over Cheras. A quick sms to Azahari & his reply was only "OK, thanks bai"...not strong enough to bail out. Hahaha. OK, cut the crap. A glance at eurosport news for TdF stage results & I was pedalling off to Langat by 7.00am. Temperature was chilling. Broga, here I come for the 2nd time.

There was Bacin, Azwar, Azahari, Saiful & Sofian (baru kenal). Saiful terpaksa buat jualan murah & diskaun about 3/4 way up Peres dengan alasan lemah semangat. Dengan beberapa kilo racun yang dah ditabur sepanjang climb, he didn't eat the bait. Chis! Well at least he knows his limit. Aku pulak saja nak test water or in other terms...saja cari penyakit. Hehehe.

We rode up Peres, down towards Kuala Klawang, up the majestic Bukit Tangga (a quick stop at the newly built bus stop for a leak & bite), down to Lenggeng for maggie sup, rolling into Broga & Semenyih. I waved to Azahari (the only person left with me at the back) before we branched out. He joined the rest at Tekala while I forked away towards home taking the Semenyih-Kajang highway. The feat was never different from my 1st attempt. That's why the call it Broga...I guess.

The almost 6 hours fulfillment with aching legs successfully brought me to a 130km training ground for next Sunday's challenge. Sama ada berjaya atau tak, aku akan guna konsep marathon. Janji come prepared. Success or not is qadha' & qadar.

Antara adizero, Jawbone & Jebon

I'm sandwiched in between decisions. Just about 2 weeks after SCKLM, I have yet to discover or gauge my strength & endurance. Some plans have been made for the remaining days of this year but thoughts are still hazy. All are pile up in one or two hectic weekends back to back, cramping our athletes before coming of Ramadhan. A wise desire is required...mentally & economically.

First, there is the ipoh century ride coming up on 19-July. Considering it's about 3 weeks after the marathon, my initial judgement to participate was not an option. Being crazy & allowing my body to another mega stress is not a jedi move.

Second is the university duathlon series. Same day. It will be in UPM, my memorable place. Spent half my life there. Participating in a race would be a nostalgia, of course the climate won't be as 20 years ago. And it could be a nice rehersal as well for my next big event which is the powerman. Yes, after the humble glory of marathon, I plan to sign up for the long cat.

Then, there's the much awaited Shape Run. This year will be in Putrajaya at 9.00 pm. Something interesting. Since I missed it last year due to my zero-running year, a continuation of joining KL running events would be a good idea. It will be on 25-July, a week after Siemens, Century & Dua UPM. The same weekend also will be the Dua in Uniten but spending more bucks in a week is not an option. Not going to be a race freak. I thing Shape Run will do.

The next weekend of 1-2 Aug will be more hectic & crazy race days. Saturday will be the Dua in UM. In the evening will be Search's last concert before retirement. We, the old school rockers will be there to scream our lungs out. Sunday will be the Adidas King of the Road in Shah Alam. How do I squeeze these stuff will be decided later.

Last but not least before Ramadhan arrive will be the PCC Presidential Ride. Covering longer distance of 65km and will be run at a new venue, University of Nottingham, Semenyih. I wonder what they have for us this year round.

And so the mental disarrangement thing continued. Till today and I have yet to decide about tomorrow's Broga ride, my second attempt actually. The first one was a nightmare. It was supposed to be part of the Century training, covering the least 120km. Time & climate will tell tomorrow.

In the mean time, I won't give up my 5 months treasured base training. Last Tuesday a few of us from around the neighbourhood took a spin for more than an hour. Touring from housing areas to another. It was cool.

An attempt to revisit our training ground, Lake Garden last Thursday was abandoned. A great thunderstorm hit Klang Valley and we had to hold our excitement. Friday, I was so relieved, like all other millions of people across the globe, but I had no plans. An adhoc run with my kids was awesome. They cycled while I ran. The adizero CS bought from the warehouse sale felt great. Made me felt like flying, though I had only a pagoda t-shirt on...hahaha! Accidently met Det & it felt awhile since we met, so the chat went on completing our run. The feeling was great, and so I decided to keep on running.

Not forgetting, I took the liberty to reward myself & at the same time boosting my enthusiasms towards cycling, which was abandoned eversince I signed up for marathon. I took the bait. Thought of getting the Pro M Frame series but I was hooked to love at first sight to the Jawbone. No regrets, I should be rewarded for my triumph.

And now, the road goes on. Races will come & go. Weekends will come into sight & slight pass me in a brink of an eye. Weekends are about being out there, be it one a pair of trusted running snickers or sitting high on a saddle winding through roads. Valueing the richness of the world, be it day or night, rain or shine. It's how I will continue to reward myself with my love ones.