Malakoff 12km run

After 2 months of hectic runs midweeks and long runs on weekends, the Malakoff 12km Run was my first race & the last race for 2008. My buddies & me were looking forward for it, making sure to try out our theoretical pace analysis from our trainings. Not just that, it was also the right time to test our running gears grabbed from warehouse sales & running shops after spending cash & time running in them during our trainings.

Come Saturday morning we rallied at Taman Rimba Kiara for our kit collection. We were provided with an overlarge New Balance vest & some other ignorable stuff. I took along Yasmin after her swimming class. All of us dropped by the Garden for a quick tour of Adidas & Mizuno boutiques for some close up views of those gorgeous footwears reviewed from websites & blogs, locals & abroads.

Race day, we left for Taman Tun at 5.20am, carpooled with Nizam. Performed Subuh at Taman Tun's mosque and left our cars there. A half an hour of nerve wrecking moment, qeueing behind the start line & off we hurdled towards the welcoming long & steep hill of the first 3km stretch.

The route was revised to a 2 laps of the same road instead of running on the sprint highway & Penchala Link tunnel. That was a bit dissappointing. So, we had to face the same hills twice. My first lap was an observation one, gauging the juices used & remaining in store. The final stretch back to finish line was more on assessing my strength. It was a great feeling. I clocked 1'03"45min pacing at 5.19min/km...macam laju aje. Bacin pesan, kalau marathon buat pace tu...mampuih ler :P

Training buddies

Illiotibialist

KRU (Kumpulan Rambut Uban)

Macha Rocco

Dealer tupperware

Jiwa kacau

Footwear evaluation phenomena a.k.a. jiwa kacau

Pergh! Hampir semua dah kena sawan kasut. Teringat aku nickname "kasut" untuk sorang member aku masa kat kolej...hehehe. Pitcher softball yang senang mental kacau, actually semua pitcher mental kacau. Ada yang sampai cakap sorang-sorang kat tengah pitch tu.

Ok la, since Hal ada mention in his 5th week schedule, it is time to evaluate our footwear. Evaluate je sebenarnya tapi budak-budak ni dah bantai assessment tahap ISO. Tambah lagi dengan adanya M'sia Sale Carnival. Aku pun terjebak sekali. Actually memang it's a good timing la sebab ni la masa nak dapat good offer or bargains. Kalau takde sale, jangan harap le nak belek any of those juicy trainers from the shelves.

Started from last week, semua dah tak sabor nak tunggu weekend 29-Nov mulanya shopping carnival. Come weekend during our long run, the morning air was filled with shoe & gear talks. Come Sunday, sms & phone calls exchanged throughout the day. Busy, busy, busy with footwear tests & talks.

I was not left out. My month long target for the Adizero Tempo can't be compromised. With only 10% less, aku sambau aje...malas nak fikir lama2 & menanggung seksa jiwa yang kacau. Sekali dengan selai vest Formotion yang nampak lazat bila dah try.

Ropa2nya Bacin lagi jiwa lara kronik dari aku. Sabtu petang dah tunggang terbalik kat rumah. Petang tu jugak dia pi sambau Supernova Sequence kat Pavillion dengan offer untuk trade in his old Asics. On the way balik, call aku dengan nada poyo & puas.

Isnin, aku temankan Saiful to Garden. Yang ni pun lagi rakus. Habis semua kasut kat shelf dalam adidas boutique dia capai & try. Adistar Control 5 or Cushion 7? Tapi eventually malam tu jugak pi sambau Mizuno Wave Rider 12 kat Bangsar with unresisted offer. Dapat staff price, cut off 40% for this newly arrived model Runner's World Editor's Choice...cilakak! Run Selasa petang masing2 memperagakan footwear baru kecuali aku & Nizam. Aku cool saja nak bior depa poyo dulu. Huru hara kejap jugak la Lake Garden petang tu. Nizam dah mula dijangkit jiwa kacau. Siap la nanti aku akan terima phone calls...hehehe.

We just hope with these right chosen gears, we could excel, motivate & survive the 18 weeks training & eventually achieved our goals. Insyallah.

Run jangan tak run beb...

Lama jugak tak update blog, ada 2 minggu kot. Maybe sebab dah sampai tahap stim nak berlari, so takde feel nak mengarang. Except for tonight. Only this weekend aje yang sought of reda sikit from activities. Dah 2 minggu miss EPL on tv & 2 minggu tak kayuh & 2 minggu tak update blog.

Perkembangan training marathon aku agak positif. Despite some rainy evenings & outstations, aku still survive to squeeze in the mid week runs & have not cheated on the weekend long runs. Ada jugak yang we had to run in rain sebab we have done a lap of the Lake garden route...belasah aje. Tapi tak sehebat those regulars la yang bedal sampai 4 laps until gelap gelita pun lari lagi. Sat lagi maghrib pulak entah ke mana.

Like before during this year half marathon, aku masih cuba survive with a healthy diet especially carbos prior to runs. Watched by cafine intake & those saturated fats. Ngeri ooo...

Running pals were great. We managed to maintain the pack, be it the mid week runs & even the weekend's. At certain session, the comers were encouraging 10 runners. To keep me up with the running anxiety, I would do like what I always do, keep on feeding myself with running infos & facts, and the better deal is going shopping for running stuffs. Hahaha...with the Malaysia sale carnival on, things will be a bit chaotic in the next few weeks.

Eventually aku managed to squeeze in a cycling session as part of the cross training. Come Sunday, though with all the laziness in the world & tiredness from yesterday's long run, aku layan je. Rolled off from my place with Saiful towards Langat & back. Felt good. Just a santai ride spinning all the way. We missed 2 weeks & our milage dah reset balik. Rugi ooo...

New stuff

Whoaaa...ever since I earned the Nike Zoom Victory+, my instinct tells me that I am still not satisfied. Something is not right or a certain percentage of satisfaction was not achieved. Why eh? Hmmm...beats me. Though I ran miles after miles, something felt missing.

Ok lah, eventually I admitted it. I really need a pair of trainers. The Victory+ is not one. Trainer is a pair that I can bedal & belasah throughout the week & the weeks after. A nice comfortable & reliable one.

So, back to the shoe hunting board. One of my favorites. Complex upon complex, shop upon shop. Shoe upon shoe. Lifted it from the shelves, belek-belek & put it back. Nothing struck me. Eventually met Adizero Tempo. Price was too steep but shoe was awesome. Pretty stuff. Cool colours, nice tech, enough weight & just the support that I need. Gonna need some strategies to beat the steep price.

Back at home, I went back to some old materials about shoe finding, shoe buying guide (which I've read thousands of time) & finalising the wet feet test to confirm the info received from the mamat New Balance earlier. Slight pronate! Argh! Do I really need those supported trainers with very high soles? Ok lah, probably the Tempo might help me.

The search goes on & my sleep was compromised thinking of these crazy gears. Took a detour today for a few more shops. "Kalau dah jodoh tak ke mana". A friend & some old sayings used to tell me. Hahahah! I came across my forgotten Supernova (earlier post with details). The price tag was so alarming! Almost took my breath away. Sriap! An hour of deep thoughts & reviews from buddies, I ran effortlessly today. Alhamdullillah.

2nd Week

The second week started with a rest day on Monday as recommended by Hal. After all those freaking fitness chores last week, a day of rest seems so heaven. Baru seminggu dah mula being particular...choit.

11-November 2008 Tuesday, back to the training board.
Venue : Lake Garden
Distance : Scheduled 3m (4.8km); Actual 5.1km
Time : 31m31s

16-November 2008 Sunday
Venue : Taman Tasik Permaisuri
Distance : Long run

Another week of training but weather was not on our side. Out of 3 mid week runs, 2 was cancelled due to the monsoon atmosphere. The guilt for having to stare through the window while listening to the tapping of rain was appalling. However, the long run was completed joyously especially when the running group was joined by some other runners met at the venue.

What a week...?

Whoaa...never done this before but it was great & awesome so far. A week full of freaky fitness activity. Run, run & run which ended up today with a long ride; which was supposed to be a cross training.

Since we've planned for a long ride a week earlier, Bentong was chosen for a revisit. Our last ride here was about a year ago. Six of us were later joined by half a dozen more towards Bentong upon regrouping at peak of Genting Sempah. Ride towards Bentong was fast & energetic, we managed to reach the mamak in 2 hours. The mee goreng was nothing compared to the original mamak next to the famous ABC shop in mid town.

The ride back (up) was the usual 30km non-stop pedalling & climbing, no discount offered. It was heaven & hell. Heaven, when one can enjoy the hilltop climate of Bukit Tinggi & Janda Baik cool breeze & greeneries. Hell, when the going gets tough & the tough gets going.

Group was separated into four. Saiful, Akmal & me were in the third group staying in our aerobic stage. We were wretched to the saddle. Regrouped at Genting Sempah R&R near the buah berangan stall. We managed our final climb of the day, the ultimate McDonald Big Mac climb & spinned away to HOA.

• Route : HOA - Bentong - HOA
• Milage : 96.49km
• Clock : 4hr 16min

1st Week

After all the hassle & mentally disturbed process of getting a satisfied & worth shoes, it is time to hit the pavement. Started yesterday, introduced by fellow friend to Lake Garden panoramic & cooling route. Owh...got myself the hyped Nike Zoom Victory+ at a good bargain that I can't resist...knowing Nike's hikey price tag.

4-November 2008
Route : Lake Garden
Distance : 5.1km (1 loop Carcosa + 1 loop lake) - 3.17 miles
Time : 29m14s

5-November 2008
Route Lake Garden
Distance : 5.6km (2 loops Carcosa) - 3.47 miles
Time : 36m22s

6-November 2008
Outstation

8-November 2008
Route : Double Hill, Bukit Tunku
Distance : 10km
Time : 1h17m16s

Total 1st week : 20.7km (12.8 miles)

Ok, so I've taken this thing seriously now. Perhaps I should, since the goal is something that cannot be taken lightly. My first approach into the world of serious running was facilitate by Bacin, being introduced to runner's hub, our famous Lake Garden. As scheduled by Hal Higdon, start easy. 2 days in a row enjoying the cool climate of greeny Lake Garden together with fellow running enthusiasts. They are quite the gila-gila type also, so easy to blend in but not to follow their pace should one decide to commit suicide.

The scheduled weekend long run today was decided to be the legendary Double Hill. My first attempt. No double nor triple but hill after hill through all those big mansions of Bukit Tunku residencies. Four of us (Bacin, Akmal, Saiful & me) paced it slow & steady. Pace setting & running buddies are truely a remarkable strategy be it physically & mentally.

Coolrunning

Whoaa...I didn't realise the new challenge really obsessed me too much. Well actually I favor browsing the net for knowledge & infos of stuffs that falls under my interest categories. Cycling, running, hiking, moutaineering, photography...but all are seasonal. This month's big task will be running.

Finding the best shoes was never easy for me ever since. School pairs excluded in the discussion though. Be it a pair of working leathers to the casual ones. Getting a pair of clipless for my mtb & roadrides gave me nightmares last year. Luckily I found Sidi, best ever. Won't change to other names but still curious to try out Shimanos.

Running shoes was not so difficult to grab in the early days in campus, maybe because the design was simpler. I had asic gel, adidas & nike cross trainer before & they served me undoubted till the end. Ever since I lost my last running pair, the Adidas due to it's age, I was caught in the shoe finding nightmare again. Never found anything that pleases me until now though I bought a pair of New Balance last year for temporary usage. It served me in the 10k and half KLIM in two consequitive years. Maybe it's about time to be serious in my search.

It started earlier this week. I shall start with my several comebacks to Jusco admiring my almost a year Adidas Supernova Control 10 sitting helplessly on the shelf. Had it KIV due to it's ridicilous RM399 tag. Only now it's been reduced by 10% which is still at RM359 ridiculous tag. It's a stability shoe for underpronators or supinate runners but it fits me so good.

Then a visit to Adidas (M) store in Pavillion based from a friend's suggestion. A 10 minutes chat with the sales assistant broaden my knowledge about Adidas technology. He advised the Supernova Control 10 is not meant for natural feet like me...pulak! I was eyeing those slicky Adizero though those are racing shoes (not at that stage yet).

Stopped by two Nike store today. First visit in Suria KLCC and tried out my long admiring Air Pegasus. The price was reduced (from RM349 to RM249) due to it's odd sizes stock but was unfortunate Pegasus was only available for wide feet...argh!

The second Nike store rendevoued me with the stylish Zoom Victory+. First perception, looks nothing more than a stylish weekend walking shoes though the sales guy insisted that it's for running. Tried it on, felt the outsole was flat & hard. The fitting was cool since it looks narrow & wrapped around my feet nicely.

Last but least, I met Mizuno Wave Rider 10, earlier model than the 11 (current). Jusco had it slashed by up to 50% from RM429 to RM215!!! Whoaaa...this is really making me crazy.

Back to the www & I crazily read reviews of each pair of shoes. Now I had to narrow down & compare it at every angle i.e. availability in size, price, looks, comfort, etc.

Generally all the above shoes have it's pros & cons as summarised below:

Adidas Supernova Control - only availabe in Jusco since old model, size also limited, price tag a bit crazy for my wallet but the snug fit was cool. Might need to find out more from interview with sales guy.

Nike Zoom Victory+ - price about the same as Supernova. Read two reviews by fellow local entusiast runners & received good reviews be it for training or for short races. Attractive looks. Lightweight.

Mizuno Wave Rider 10 - have the lowest price tag among the three which also fit my wallet. Good reviews from websites since it's predessors 8 & 9. Lighweight enough for training & races.

New challenge

Out of nowhere bila balik dari Melaka ride, aku suddenly felt healthy, strong and confident. Maybe sebab after Sahara, the impact to fitness aku bertambah & also maybe sebab aku dah fully recover from my month long sinus. Harap aku stay this way.

Loads of activities came across my mind. I just need to lay in piece by piece & manage the calendar. However, the thought of going back to running was considered. Apa kata next year's KL International Marathon aku try buat full marathon 42km? Seems like doable. Thanks to Alwin bagi aku link to Hal Higdon's (http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00index.htm) training for marathon website. Need 18 weeks (four an a half months) of commitments & discipline.

Cuba aje...will try to plan & work out the training logs.

Post Sahara

A week after the gruelling Sahara ride, some of us looked forward to go back to the normal routine of hitting the tarmac. Eventually the same corum rolled in at my place & we took the Semenyih loop. A breakfast stop at Tekala & we continued up Bukit Sg Tekali. A second breakfast of mee jawa at Batu 14 before rolling back in covering 62km in 2 hours 36 minutes.

Some theories or presumptions were made during this post Sahara ride. I have no idea whether it's true or vise versa but just for the sake of recording it for future analysis:

1. Us cyclist involve in mountainbiking & roadcycling need to balance the time spent between these two types.
2. Roadcycling rewards oneself with extra endurance or fortitude.
3. Mountainbiking in the other hand could tutor a cyclist with the sudden boost climb or sustaining a long granny.
4. Roadcycling provide muscle strength through thousands of cadence especially the lower body.
5. Mountainbiking though helps to build the extra upper body muscles through handlebar controlling on technical climbs & definitely the bike hiking commotion. Best example was this morning's Bukit Sg Tekali 2km climb in a less suffering moment.