UPSR & FTAAA XC

UPSR

The awaited weekend was halted when Yasmin came back from school on Friday with a notice about UPSR briefing for parents. This is mandatory, considering she's the first family member to sit for a major exam. It will be the benchmark for the rest of us. It will prove how good parents perform in meeting current national academic demands. Wait till you read the rest of it. Scary! And cycling plan had to take a rain cheque...

The yearly Larian Integrasi was also held the same day. This time it was not opened for parents, hence I left my running shoes at home. Nak jugak tu! Hahaha. OK, no run for me until the archilles tendonitis is gone. Say, until February? 

Parents were placed in the assembly hall. The new school principal, a lady, with lots of experience I presumed, started giving speech about UPSR. It gave me the chill when she started tabling the statistics. It got scarier when the PIBG Chairman started sharing his views about the current school performance and what is expected for the coming years. The scariest of em' all was when the Head of UPSR Committee (can you believe that? They have a task force for that!) started tabling out the school programs for the kids. The exam will be in September, and you can expect the tempo will start rising as we approach February. That will be only seven months. And you can start feeling that there won't be the luxurious of time in the world to be wasted.

I remained cool (on the outside of course) and kept it to myself, for not wanting to trickle any premature panic in the family, especially mom. Though I sensed a mild hysteric sensation around her, I presumed she's also having some deep thoughts about the strategy.

For the moment, we'll just follow what is laid out for us. Yasmin will do her best attending primary school in the morning and KAFA class in the afternoon. Kumon will continue as usual, that should help with her free time and ditch Facebooking. Extra classes at school will be on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights and on Saturday morning. One tuition only on Thursday. No more Quran classes on weekdays' nights but will have to be with yours truly on sempat-or tak sempat basis. That's about it I guess. Six out of seven days a week is about nice. Sunday is for chilling. InsyaAllah, the best will be upon us all.

FTAAA Cross Country

Though Amir ran the Larian Integrasi at school on Saturday, he was still determined to run the FTAAA Cross Country on Sunday. He was excited about it. I had to put aside any cycling plan (again...sigh...again...) after 'asking' him for 20 times about the run. Attempt melambung anak sendiri pun jadik. Hehe. The orang kampung convoy fled off for Padang Merbok at 6.30 a.m. that morning with Det, Naufal (his kid) and Nizam. Macam biasa, konvoi superbike berkapasiti kecik.

The usual crowd from Tibi Run it seemed. Just enough the size to be manageable. Most of are the regulars, I can call hardcores. You can tell from the exposed quads and calves from the 3 inch running short. These guys really meant business. Going for the limited medals. Then there were the school kids, who came in by buses! Five bucks per entry for them, you won't loose a cent. Makan roti sardin kat Pelita pun dah RM5.90.

On top of the syok-sendiri emcee who was mostly talking about country's running prospects (I don't quite understand his point actually), the categories were flagged off 10 minutes apart. Syah dropped in for a 'bidan terjun' bib. Det, Nizam and Ray ran their first Junior Veteran race. And for my Amir, his first 2012 official run. I was side lined by my injury, hence I stood there as supporter and shutterbug.

Joyfully everyone managed to secure cups of Milo while appreciating the piece of medal. Or should it be the other way round? Securing medal while appreciating Milo?

Amir missed the medal quota but got himself a finisher certificate. As usual, they won't bother about the piece of paper. But I'll make sure it will be on his wall of achievement. Kasi decorate bilik sikit selain gambor Transformers tu.

Young athletes...start to get bored after the run

Roti canai, roti telur, roti tisu...bab makan sama je macam ayah

Juniors, Junior Vets and Power Bidan Terjun

Lovely (Pic by Aini Kasim

Aku pakai skirt labuh eh? (Pic by Aini Kasim)

Return of Super Supir

But in real life things don't go so smoothly. At certain time in our lives, when we really need a clear-cut solution, the person who knocks at our door is, more likely than not, a messenger bearing bad news. It isn't always the case, but from experience I'd say the gloomy reports far outnumber the others. The messenger touches his hand to his cap and looks apologetic, but that does nothing to improve the contents of the message. It isn't the messenger's fault. No good to blame him, no god to grab him by the collar and shake him. The messenger is just conscientiously doing the job his boss assigned him. And this boss? That would none other than our old friend Reality

 __________________________________Haruki____________________________________

Welcome 2012. Welcome back school days. Welcome back Super Supir! Looks like I'm back with more tasks & superheroes' stuff. It didn't take long for me to be in action. Goodbye school holiday & late wake up calls. The third day into 2012, I was already spreading 7 pairs of school uniforms on the iron board, whilst recovering from the Newton scar. The lower legs were screaming in despair for an hour plus.

First week of school was not much action except dealing with un-improved fee paying methods. Parents had to squeeze in those narrow stuffy & humid corridors queueing for almost an hour, laughing away at un-planned school administrative for their planned stresses. Why can't they use maybank2u? And also running here and there for last minute's shopping for the kids. There's always missing items at the very last minute. Which reminds me, I had to postpone my Newton recovery. Which also, I had to endure the consequences come the Saturday LSD.

The tingling sensation was felt late Friday evening, in which the stubborn me ignored. The excitement for LSD overcame the pain. It's been a while doing a group run, hence it was full of anxiety. The run went well though. In fact it was great. But surprise came right after the run. Right at the car park. Though I emphasized on doing extra stretching which I anticipate the pain will hover right away. It didn't take long for it to cherished my stubbornness. I was limping as I disembarked from the car, trying to maintain walking gait from the excruciating pain. It was not happily ever after. The whole day of Saturday, an actually the beginning of all the agony for the days to come.

I can barely walk with a normal posture. My Sunday was a slamdunk zero activities but I had to channel the remaining adrenaline to something profitable. Suddenly it was spring cleaning day! Lovely Sunday that was, well at least I made good use of it.

Monday and Tuesday were hectic. Yours truely Kumon, iqra' & tuition driver & assisting wifey running house cafe & laundry etc. I anticipated the week will pass by, fast. And that's the way it is. Weekdays will be like this and I don't have the slightest idea of having any run nor whatever other sporting activity. Well, at least I'll be looking forward for weekends.

Until yesterday I had the only chance to google about my lower leg pain. 98% certainty it's an Achilles Tendinitis. It's an old friend actually, way back during active cycling years. 5 years ago I guess, but the pain came and go like a long distance lover. Last Saturday was the acute kiss of pain. I've been icing it, sprayed and self massaged morning, evening and night. Alhamdullillah it seemed to fade but I'll be extra cautious avoiding any extra strain & weight. Looks like no FTAAA cross country for me this Sunday. But the reality also came with good news. Umar first Kumon started last week and yesterday he joyfully counted 1 to 120 with confidence. Alhamdullillah :]

Here are some simple explanation of Achilles Hercules Decimus Maximus Tendinities. I wonder if the name came from the movie Gladiator kan? 

Achilles Tendinitis

Description:

Pain in the lower calf along the Achilles tendon, the cord connecting the heel to the calf muscle. The injury is actually the swelling of the sheath within which the cord slides. When it becomes swollen, it creates too tight a fit for the tendon. Friction -- and pain -- are the results. To confirm that you have Achilles tendinitis, pinch the tendon starting close to the heel and working your way up toward the calf. If you feel some serious pain and maybe some swelling, you've got Achilles tendinitis.

Likely causes: Your tendon is being pulled, and because tendons don't much like to stretch, you feel a lot of pain. There are two reasons it might be getting stretched. First, your calf muscle might be too short. Second, your heel might be too far from the calf muscle.

Remedy: Reduce the pain and swelling by icing the area immediately after running. You can use either a store-bought cold pack or a frozen wet towel. Ice for 10 or 15 minutes. To reduce inflammation, take an aspirin or ibuprofen at mealtime. At other times (before bed, for example), soak the sore tendon in hot water.

Lifting your heel up toward your calf will relieve the pull on your tendon. Try a heel insert in your regular shoes as well as your running shoes. You can purchase heel lifts in the foot section of many drugstores, or try using a makeup sponge as a substitute. You'll probably notice an immediate difference.

Most important, though, you'll have to stop running for a few days. Give your tendon as much time as it needs for the pain to go away. If you continue to run through the injury, you risk tearing the tendon, and then you're looking at real pain. The time you should take off will range anywhere from a few days to two weeks. And don't stretch during this period, either. Your tendon has already been yanked around too much, and stretching, at least at first, will hurt more than help.

When you begin running again, pay special attention to stretching your calves with wall pushups and your hamstrings with the hamstring stretch (these stretches, incidentally, are the key modes of preventive maintenance for avoiding Achilles tendinitis in the future). Avoid running on soft surfaces which might let your heel sink in too much (e.g., sand). Ice your tendon after every run and put a heating pad (at a low setting) on the area in the evening and at bedtime.

Incidentally, hill work is particularly aggravating to your injury. Cut way back on hills until the injury has healed, and then return to hill work only gradually

Newton - Scar of Distance Running

The scars of your love remind me of us

They keep me thinking that we almost had it all

The scars of your love, they leave me breathless

I can't help feeling
___________________________________ < > __________________________________

My longest run from the off-seasoning was 10km (Nike Run). After that it was a few dashes of 7Ks and travelling and eat-ings. And the only preparation for me to undertake Ammah Hills' advocates was a...playlist. Could you believe that?

It was kinda a bit rush for me. From the travelling, I would rather took the few days left prior to the weekend as rest days than putting on my running sneakers and not have enough time to recover. So, there you got it. A formula for disaster.

There I was after the first half of the pitch black running, tackling the first & second hills of Ammah Series, as the dawn broke & myself included. Ammah was majestic for me at that point of time. One and only reason...I don't have the potion for more than an hour of running. Simply said.

My second half was run-walk-run. Even my playlist felt dumb. I kept on repeating Rolling In The Deep and as if I was carving deeper scar into my first run of the year as a re-start for distance running.

The distance view of Ammah while running back almost caught me in awe, which perhaps Tibetan would call it Chomolangma. I only caught site the peak of Petronas high-mass sign and that was a great climb indeed. I don't recall how many points I broke to revert to walking but it was wise of me...I guess. 

And even the remaining 3km back on the straight road was a combo meal of walk-run-chat with another fellow runner whom I made friend with, who studied at UPNM, a track athlete in background, who does not feel satisfy with the system where they don't have specific track training, and he had to join the bigger triathlon group only available. Long conversation kan? Yes, I guess it took us almost 2KM to cover those. Muahaha.

Along came Mohan Marathon with his wistle, which surprisingly helpful for me to get my rhythm back, which was a thousand times better than my playlist. Great sport he is and always be. We ran together for awhile before he bit his support to other runners in need. I asked him how he managed to run & whistle at the same time, which was obviously tricky especially when one was heavily saturated in need of O2. Mohan said that he was actually PANTING and not blowing. So, that was the trick la. Aisey. That was simple. And we joyously plodded along until the finish line which, eventually I realized the smile on my face recovers fully :]

By the way, the scar seeped away when we gathered for milo talk after the run and as usual, catching up with hilarious lambungan ombak melepas rindu sebab sekali sekala jumpa. Berair mata, cramp rahang layan korang tauuu...keh keh keh.

Just like the old dayz tapi dulu KA pakai seluar :]

Bukan senang nak bergambor dengan Celebrity Runners :]