Bila cadence dah masuk kolam

Last week layan basahkan tekak kat Pusat Akuatik Nasional. Main simbah-simbah je. Ahad layan kayuh ke Janda Baik dari Gombak dengan kaum pace sederhana dan beberapa kaum RBU. Penampilan pertama Det & Syah ke bukit bukau Janda Baik yang menjanjikan tiupan angin dusun yang nyaman & deruan bunyi arus sungai yang terapiutik.

Aku, ibarat kata Jaja, telah menemui mojo ku. Mungkin berkat kayuhan setiap minggu tanpa belas kasihan. Puas rasanya dapat daki setiap bukit dengan nafas yang terkawal dan kaki masih mampu untuk tarik last 7km balik ke carpark. Overall, aku dapat rasakan kayuhan dan gandingan kaum yang join sangat secucok. Apa taknya, tak habis-habis dengan lawak kering gusi yang diselit-selitkan dengan adegan Usop Wilcha! Adoiii aiii...tak larat den nahan golak ni hah!

As usual, seminggu tulang empat kerat ni hanya mampu untuk concentrate urusan kekeluargaan. Tambahan lagi dengan 2-3 malam badan rasa seram sejuk macam nak demam menjelang malam. Tekak ni dah serupa kena gosok kertas pasir. Dan paling aku ngeri, selsema menghinggap, yang pastinya akan makan masa untuk pulih. Pantang nampak air putih, aku teguk selagi boleh. Akibatnya, kunjungan ke tandas menghasilkan beberapa unscheduled interval workout. Hari-hari mulut ni letih berpesan kat anak-anak supaya banyak minum air. Cuaca ekstrim sebegini memang mudah menduga imunisasi diri.

Namun, weekend datang jua. Kejap je rasa. Sesi kedua berenang yang dinanti-nantikan. Nasib baik ada kaum yang turun layan, aku pun dengan masih selsema akur untuk cangkuk apa jua menu yang dibentangkan. Bak kata cikgu dan cikgi aku pagi tadi, nak terer long distance swim macam depa, kena la rajin sikit. Aku rasa, semua benda macam tu kan? Nak lari menchanak, kena rajin secret training. Nak dok depan tarik peloton 30km/jam kena la rajin main cadence. Jadi, moral of the story, berenang ni sama je. Aku SIGN!

Masuk je kolam, aku dengor je jaguhan-jaguhan bersembang pasal menu. OK, warmup 200m. Serious?! Warmup pun dah 200m?! Untuk depa warmup, untuk aku cungap. Tapi aku SIGN jugak. Yang best-nya, satu lane tu kita orang dah siap pajak, so kami buat macam rumah sendiri. Cantek. Tak perlu risau pasal nak berlaga dengan swimmer tak dikenali.

Dah cungap 200m, depa layan lagi 200. Apa ler agaknya tektik depa ni? Kak Tipah saja ler tu lambung aku. Nik pulak pembakar semangat, dengan swim yang tak henti-henti. Kena sawan kutu air ke apa brader kita ni? Dah tu, sampai pulak Kash. Dengan sedikit teguran, aku terpaksa duduk dalam peloton depa untuk menu 600m yang seterusnya. Boleh ke ni? SIGN.

Aku tak kira berapa lap, Kak Tipah yang kira. Aku cangkuk je. Asal aku nak sampai dinding, depa akan tunggu. Bila aku sentuh je dinding, depa calo. Agak-agak aku nak ngelat amik nafas 3 saat, aku nampak Kak Tipah macam menjeling ke belakang masa dia breath. Aisey! Sekali dia jeling daaa. Terus je aku tendang dinding untuk terus cangkuk. Last-last habis jugak 600m. Lega tak hengat. Hi Five Hawaii Five O la aku. Punya la cungap, sampai terkeluar vokal pompuan dari kotak suara ku ini.

Sekali alih-alih depa dok congak berapa dah kita layan? 200 + 200 + 600. Fuiyo! Terkeluar pulak nombor 500m dari mulut Kak Tipah.

"Joms kita complete kan OD 1.5km."

"Weh! Ni main-main ke betul-betul?"

Belum sempat aku nak protes, depa dah tendang dinding. Aiyak! Nak tak nak, aku SIGN lagi sekali.

Bila dah mula layan panjang-panjang ni, fikiran dah mula fikir untuk safe apa yang boleh. Breathing kena rilex so tak huru hara yang boleh mengakibatkan penat tak tentu pasal. Setiap stroke kena efficient, so tak membazir tenaga untuk stroke yang takde pull. Kaki pun kena la control cadence supaya tak penat cepat. Pandai pulak ek?

Last lap, Nik yang entah dari mana pulak datang, sempat pulak geletek kaki aku. Choit! Dia ingat aku ni Syah agaknya bila geletek terus keluar turbo. Terpaksa aku stop kejap sebab nak gelak geli. Bila nak start semula, betis tangkap cramp pulak. Adoi aiii! Takpe, buat aje la apa aksi stretching sambil berenang tu janji sampai ke dinding. Kat dinding aku sempat henjut-henjut sikit betis melegakan cramp tadi. Last 50m memang terasa lega tak hengat. Aku layan dengan rasa puas dan sedikit tak sangka aku dapat mendugongkan diri sejauh tu. Ni semua hasil lambungan kengkawan. Aku jamin kalau tahap beginner macam aku ni, kalau layan sesorang, kompom nak mengelat sokmo. And mustahil aku dapat capai jarak di luar jangkaan ni. Setinggi-tinggi jutaan terima kasih kepada cikgu dan cikgi.

Depa cooldown dengan lagi 500m. Aku cooldown dengan dok bertenggek tepi kolam je. Macho la konon tak nak naik ikut tangga. Sekali aku lonjat nak keluar kolam, tangkap pulak cramp betis kanan. Pergh! Control macho tepi kolam, aku buat aksi stretching la konon. Ceh! Aku dok perhati je depa semua swim. Memang konsisten. Actually macam-macam gaya. Bak kata Mr Smooth, kalau ada 7 perenang olimpik yang berlumba, setiap perenang dengan gaya depa sendiri. Namun, pemenang pingat emas aje yang membuktikan dia mempunyai stroke yang paling efficient. Aku nak efficient bukan untuk pingat tapi just untuk habis sudah. SIGN.

Praise You Like I Should

Im Westen nichts Neues

All Quiet on the Western Front. OK perhaps I watched movies too much but lately the title seemed to linger around the RBU world. Yes, we did talk about it this morning - rare blog updating. After our swim session - a dip for me actually. It may be due to no local events or races. Or also maybe everyone too secretive about their training? Hehe. The later would be too provocative la kan? However, with big events coming up at least on the fourth month, we have ample time for a good training window. At least a solid base training, the building blocks so they say.

OK back to what these dads were doing this morning. Yes, finally I managed to convinced myself to plunge into the pool with these Great Whites. I've been contemplating too much lately. To swim or not to swim. Kenyir la, PD la, open water swim la. Semua melopong je. Nak masuk Trikidz, obviously I will scare the hell out of those cute triathletes.

A small window for me actually. It's a school day, replacing CNY. So, between 8.00 a.m. and 12.00 p.m., a 2 hours casual dip with buddies won't do much harm I guess. My first attempt at Pusat Akuatik Nasional - tu dia aih! Terus peringkat nasional! Lol. No lah. It's because location wise, convenient for everyone. It was an adhoc arrangement and a last minute confirmation. Since dads are all flexilble people, everyone seemed easily agreeable with the plan.

Two olympic size pools and a dive pool. All covered. Weekend entry is RM5. Lepas roti telur & teh tarik, that would summed up to RM10 for me today - breakfast and swim. Nice pools, nice crowd. They have strings, so we occupied one lane and the system seemed manageable.

With strong swimmers all around, I get loads of tips. Caring is sharing. So I heard about triathletes, they share and share a lot. That's what happened in US, so I read. The first basic one I got from Nik was how to put on the swim cap. Pretty much tricky on dry land, but tips by Nik, it was successful only at one attempt. The trick was to fill the swim cap with water, hold both hands at the side of the cap and put it on. You'll complete two tasks - putting on your cap and a shower. Hehe. Bring along a shower gel & toothbrush while you're at it - kompom kena halau.

To let friends help me, I did a demo and they observed. Yep, 360 observation. From behind, from the sides. And at one time I was stunned when I saw this huge figure lying face up on the pool floor! It was Syah! Bila pulak great white ada bulu dada?!

I put myself as zero knowledge and took in every knowledge they shared. First comment, I have fast legs. They would easily drain me for long distance. And the knees were too flexible. Use the hip muscles since their bigger. Then the stroke for forward propulsion. Then the breathing. Whoa! That's a lot for a single attempt to synchronise everything eh? No worries, I'll do it one at a time.

We kinda swam and chat, swam and chat. More on technics and sharing experience with some nonsense thrown in to chase the shivers away. Lucky la nobody asked for teh tarik by the pool. I hope I didn't take too much of your time guys. And thanks for everything Ian, Nik, Syah, Azmar - hopefully Saiful dah belajor cara sighting. A repeat is a must.

Gauging from the attempt, I think I had to squeeze in time for this. Everything require time actually but juggling and balancing is the biggest of all. Anyway, with the rhythm and the boogy of the gliding motion cutting through the fluid, it kinda get to me. Hopefully, like running and cycling, though we cannot chat lambung during swimming cause that will only empty the pool, we still can make it a group activity. Darn it. I forgot about the open water thing. They've done it la. OK will try to join next one!

Wabbit Year Broga Feast & Gold Coast Roundup

Been awhile now. Things are quite blurry and kinda lost of words to put in place. A week plus. Two rides and a balik kampung feasting took place. Should be straight forward I guess putting it in summary.

After PTC, weather was gloomy for sunny rides in which cycling took a turn for me. Guilt & lazy weaving, leaving me helpless enjoying my feast, building up tummy side up. Yes, on the good side, I gain weight. Kinda happy also but the tummy looks a little bit ugly la. Obviously I get a few teases from friends and relatives. I'm all in for the biggest gainer. Hehe. No lah, hopefully my cycle & runs can help cap the scale.

Weekdays are just plain hectic. Zero workout defined. First because evening till night full with Kumon, tuition and Iqra' classes from Monday to Wednesday. Secondly, no targetted race so soon except for ENR. That also I signed up for half, which comes to the third reason for no needing for hard training. Just run and I will just make sure my G-force stays within limit taking up those sharp corners around SIC.

CNY

I decided to jump on the sufferfest bandwagon and gave a shot at Broga. I knew that I will suffer big time but the camaraderie with friends was not something I wanted to miss. Especially with special appearance by Ziff and Hailmi of CAR for their Broga debut. Yes, obviously I was totally koyak-ed and tapau-ed by them and yet still I found it satisfying. Why? Don't know la, perhaps the ayam percik at the end of the ride could be the answer.

CNY Weekend

Gone back to hometown. Been awhile since early December 2010. Eventually rain and flood subsided welcoming Wabbit Year. Feasting myself to the brim. Three days of the best of JB's finest. Kacang pool at Larkin, Mee Rebus Haji Wahid at Restoran Barakath, Taman Sri Tebrau, western cuisine at Kg. Melayu Steak House, my aunty's home made steam boat and laksa Johor, frozen Pau Roslan at Kg. Melayu. I had to give Larkin's putu piring a miss. Queueing at 2.00 p.m. dealing with not so friendly putu piring maker doesn't make any sense.

Bagan Lalang Roundup

I have yet to restart my run. Berapa kali mau restart daaa? Perhaps I'll be needing a jumper cable soon. 9 weeks to go for ENR. When dad got nothing to do, guess who fell prey to the boredom? We went to Putrajaya for the carnival. I don't know what carnival that was but saw the promo on TV at the barber. Amir wanted to see an F1 car on display. He sure did but the Lamborghini got him. He insisted wanting to watch the F1 race. How I wish I have the extra cash for the exquisite ticket price, and damaging my ear drums somemore.

Face painting for free

Sunday's ride was saved for the best. With the milage from Broga, momentum should be fair enough. I caught hold of a slow group ride to Bagan Lalang. A sunny day awaits with Maggi soup and Bryani Gam thrown in as rewards. Adding eat and fun to the endurance recipe was just plain weekend warrior stuff and I loved every second of it. Looks like the cycle bug got me again and with PCC Interstate in May, I don't plan to miss any weekend without a ride.

When the going gets tough, the clowns gets going

Enjoy The Silence

Should you be in the 80's genre, you'll recognise the phrase. After so much chaos and living in the so-called fast lane, the recent weekend was kept at a manageable pace dealing more with self thoughtfulness and retreat.

Though it was kinda weird for being existence in the house on Saturday morning, I played the role of Saturday-morning-dad. Been awhile, but enough to keep me occupied handling diplomatic issues with fellow Diket's citizens. Extra class at school, homeworks, Kumon, siblings debate peringkat daerah and conspiracy to topple Diket's Administrative. Almost made me forgot about the night LSD. How time flew and I also forgot about lunch. Well, a last minute carboload at 5.00 p.m. did the trick.

It rained as I left the house for Putrajaya that evening but the urge to meet up with friends especially a large gathering of fellow RBUs is expected. Nik showed seconds after me & we saw Zaki, hence we perform solat together. The rest of the suspects arrived moments later. By  this time, the official registered runners have started their run. I think we started ours somewhere around 8.30 p.m. in the slightly drizzling rain.

Putrajaya, monotonous as it is. Good for mental strength training but not quite accomodating for a man without a mission like me. Though I plan for 2 loops, completing one loop almost killed me from boredom. I tried changing pace once in a while and catching up stories with Ian and Nik. Didn't quite manage to synchronize the pace with Zaki, else we should've muttered lots of Dreamer 100 stories. The KNN guys were on duties, hence once in awhile a few "latest updates" were thrown in, in the midst of the run.

Too bad I only ran one and a half loop. Sigh. Night running just ain't geared up for me. Not just yet perhaps. From the bridge fronting PICC, I couldn't stand the boredom, hence increasing the pace all the way back to PoJ. It was kinda fast I guess and horribly far also. I remember Nik's howling statement "Weiii! Ni jauh lagi nak sampai PoJ tau!" but he was also up for the 2 miles dash together with Det. Didn't stayed back for mamak gathering & rushed back home.

The laid back Sunday was pretty much...laid. We went for a picnic somewhere in rural Selangor. Rain? Yep. It was raining alright, throughout but kids loved it. When was the last time dad allowed to play in the rain? It's the rainforest, hence you get all the freshness from nature plus you have to stand the cold.

High canopies, wet, gushing rivers and food. As I stood there on the patio watching the water level elevates, it brought me back to the years. The years of mountain and gullies. From majestic waterfalls, leeches and heavy load backpacks to beautiful peaks and serene riverside coffee in mass-tin. The years full of appreciation. Where I kept on expressing gratitude to the Creator for the his creation.

Skyscrapers and highways - materials. Dipterocarps and damped trails - flesh and blood.