Tambah nasi bang...

Milage bertambah lagi...macam orang tambah nasi cuma lauk je ada kelat sikit nak telan. After stepback yang kurang memberangsangkan, Week 13 datang dengan sambutan yang sederhana. Takde bunga mangga & kompang. Masing-masing sambut dengan penuh kematangan & tenang...hehehe...yang lebih penting ialah berhati-hati. Apa taknya, selepas race New Balance 15k last Sunday, masing-masing dapat lah sedikit sebanyak menimba pengalaman & pengetahuan.

Midweek runs aku kurang meyakinkan hasil dari komitmen & faktor cuaca di Lembah Klang yang lately kurang menentu. Tapi dapat jugak aku layan dengan kaum hari Rabu (sort-a long run 14.2km), itupun habis pukul 7.45pm sambil layan pace yang agak steady. Khamis, untuk pertama kali aku mengambil option untuk lari malam. Malam Jumaat pulak tu. Apa taknya, nak layan petang, KL trafik sendat macam karipap sardin mak aku buat (favourite aku tuh). Rupanya kawan sekampung pun tak dapat run petang tu. So, apa lagi, layan je 4.5km keliling Zon 5 start 10.20 sampai 11.15pm dalam sejuk angin yang nyaman lepas hujan petang...pergh! Mantop! Dapat la aku lepas geram dengan trial run Adizero Boston putih melepak aku sambau kat Bangin dengan harga potongan sehingga 70% dari shelf price. Double Mantop!

OK, sekarang long run punya citer. Takde apa sangat, crew macam biasa jumpa kat carpark Bukit Aman & kami berjaya mula 6.15am which resulted to a very productive achievement. Azmar & Laif join sampai masjid & took the shorter route to Hartamas. We all took Jln Khidmat Usaha, joined by Rasyid, our new pacesetter...sebab dia pakai Polar yg ada shoe pot...hehehe. Kejap2 tanya brp pace & milage. The run to Hartamas plus double loop there was chun. Semua program smooth, cantek. Run back pun cun maintaining pace back to Tijani.

Bila run time dah mula mencecah 2 hours plus, kaki dah mula menunjukkan ciri-ciri mental kacau. Sakit sikit-sikit dah, itu pun nasib baik cuaca still cun & baru pukul 9.00. Aku bagi cadangan untuk stop by kat carpark untuk refuel sebelum complete kan Taman Rusa reverse. We did as planned tapi the Taman Rusa stretch 40% run + 60% walk. Hahaha! A walk in the park sambil sembang, which we find it relieving & fruitful. Janji khatam 28.6km. Amin.

Facts & figs : 15.02km (1:35) 13.62km (1:39) Pace : 6:21

Larian rehersal

Yep...aku ada terbaca pasal race rehersal theory kat mag runnersworld where kita digalakkan buat rehersal for our main race either kita plan for a simulation or join any race. So the NB15k by pacesetter placed at just the correct time about a month plus prior to SCKLM. Though I was looking forward for a half marathon race, 15km should be enough to rehearse my race pace & race gears. Despite the cekik darah fee due from "late bird" registration (RM55), aku redha je untuk run this race.

It was Week 12, a stepback week where milage reduced. Too bad, milage aku was reduced to almost an uncompromised level. Lepas dari outstation, fatigue & malas started creeping in. Tambah lagi dengan alasan Yasmin's mid-term exam week. Ada pulak kawan-kawan sekampung yang anak2 pun sama exam. Tambah lagi dengan ada kaum yang diagnosed with late-bonk syndrome (bonk 2 hari lepas long run). End up aku telah men-sengalkan otot-otot kaki aku during speedwork tahap geli-geli kat area rumah dengan sorang kaum lagi. Tiga hari aku jalan keras & urut-urut kaki yang sengal.

Sampai Sabtu, baru mula gelabah sebab esoknya NB15k. Pagi tu baru aku mulakan langkah pertama untuk berlari semata-mata untuk recall running pace & tempo & get back breathing rythm. Ternyata the first kilometre was a bit haywire. Eventually everything came in place & I was back on my race feet again Alhamdullillah.

Though the race was nothing that I am excited about, it was still a crucial one. Aku tak berapa excited sangat, entah kenapa? Tapi layan aje. 1800 registered runners & maybe lagi 200 lanun. Carpooled dengan member sekampung. Carpark Bukit Aman dah sesak lepas dapat laporan trafik dari Saiful. So, terpaksa park tepi jalan depan Memorial Tun Razak & walked down Taman Rusa to Tapak A. Socialised kejap dengan kawan-kawan yang terjumpa kat starting line & off we jammed the Lake Garden arterial road climbing & descending. Pace was ok untuk aku mula-mula tu. Sampai stesen komuter Bank Negara ada rasa terkucil sikit tapi malas nak layan sebab jalan tengah sesak & hari dah terang benderang. Kalau lari masuk semak sure menarik perhatian ramai.

Double hill route dah memang favorite route for any sub-20k races kat KL ni, termasuklah pacesetter punya events. So, ternyata ramai jugak yang mula meng-kencundang-kan diri bila dah start mendaki first bukit tu. Nafas-nafas kuda & kambing dah mula berkumandang di sepanjang laluan. Dah lama aku tak lari kat sini, terasa macam ada tumbuh bukit-bukit baru pulak sementara nak sampai ke Mahameru. Lega rasa & lapang dada bila dah keluar dari Bukit Tunku. Dah mula nampak runners yang cross Mahameru & mula climb last bukit Wisma Tani yang memang menjadi landmark terakhir, even for the upcoming scklm. Suka betul diorang dengan bukit ni. Lepas water station kat situ, aku mula mengorak langkah yang lebih bertenaga untuk mendaki tapi malangnya kemampuan hanya sampai Istana Selangor bila kaki aku terasa keras & lutut sudah tangkap...seriaaap! Tambah pulak lagi dengan permukaan jalan yang menyenget...apa punya design la.

Kedengaran bunyi hon-hon pemandu2 yang mula marah sebab kena tahan sebab kita orang cross Jalan Parlimen. Maklum la depa semua takut nasi lemak Tangling habis la tu. Last task will be completing the lake loop yang dijangka akan menyebabkan mental kacau bagi mereka yang lemah semangat. Ada runners yang terpedaya dengan tipu helah ni, depa ingat dah boleh balik ke Tapak A rupanya 1 loop lake dulu beb. Dah member bonk half way. Tergelak aku bila aku potong dia. Aku mula susun langkah & shift gear rendah untuk catch up dengan 2 kaum di depan. Layan je, bak pepatah yang aku selalu pegang "run with your heart". Dapat jugak aku cross finish line dengan sorang kaum. Lagi sorang lead guitarist tak dapat kejor sebab dia laju nak buat performance kat Panggung Anivesari. Unofficial time dari jam aku is 1:29:24 pacing at 5:58min/km. Agak laju untuk scklm tapi just nice untuk NB15k. One thing obvious & agak pelik untuk run hari ni, sweat rate aku agak tinggi. Habis lencun & banyak peluh. Wonder why?

Garam di laut, asam di darat

"Garam di laut, asam di darat". Antara pepatah Melayu yang selalu kita dengar tapi aku masih blurr apa maksud dia. Dia punya penyudah tu kot yang ada erti sikit, which is "...akhirnya bertemu juga di dalam periuk". Tapi maksud dia lain la dengan apa yang aku nak try tulis ni. Senang citer, pepatah lain la..."jauh perjalanan, luas pemandangan, banyak pengalaman" or "banyak makan garam".

Ok la, actually nak kaitkan dengan experience aku menongkah perjalanan ke arah event marathon aku yang pertama. Tapi banyak hilang garam ada la...hahaha.

Sepanjang aku mengorak langkah, bertekad semangat & bulatkan suara untuk mencuba first marathon ni, sedikit sebanyak ada juga pengajaran & pengalaman pahit getir & manis yang aku alami & saksikan. Mostly pahit kot sebab of course la penat & pongeh. Mana ada orang training marathon yang balik rumah ceria & lebih bertenaga. Actually berkoyan jugak la ilmu-ilmu baru yang aku dapat.

Seperti yang coach Mark William bagitau masa marathon clinic hari tu, bukan semua orang boleh lari 42km ni. Normal person yang biasa berlari pun boleh achieve 30km je. The rest of it comes with a price. No wonder la dulu-dulu aku jumpa ada kaum yang share bagitau running a 42km boleh bunuh diri. Now I know la tapi mintak dijauhkan Insyallah.

Decision untuk do the full marathon memerlukan komitmen yang tinggi & mental yang kuat. Berlari ni pun satu bala jugak. Bukan boleh layan sorang-sorang beb. Kalau setakat 5km or 10km boleh digagahkan lagi tapi bila milage training for long runs dah masuk 15km ke atas, boleh kena sawan.

Ok la, aku tak yah la mula citer dari awal aku dapat ilham nak try marathon, berjela jawapnya. To cut it short, after all those mid week runs & tireless long runs, alhamdullillah aku dah sampai milage tahap gaban. Pagi tadi aku baru complete 25.7km (16 miles ikut Hal's schedule). Actually for the second time reaching this plateau. First time masa aku training end of 2008 kononnya KLIM Ambank akan berlangsung bulan Mac 2009. After today's effort, aku terasa nak luahkan semua kat sini.

About the pengalaman & pengajaran, memang banyak. Sebab tu la aku nak rekodkan kat sini. Overall, MARATHON telah mengajar aku supaya menjadi a better person...secara keseluruhan. Obviously dari sudut health. Sepanjang hayat aku, ni lah period yang aku agak conscious dengan apa yang aku makan, minum & how aku spend time aku. Suddenly aku jadi dietrician pulak. Of course la conscious on runners' angle which diet which is high in carbohydrates, proteins & hydrations. Lemak tu tak payah cari la, almost semua serving kita ada. Aku jugak kerap check berat badan & lately take the effort to catat kat whiteboard...dah jadi freak ke aku ni? Takpe lah, looking at the bright side...it's a healthy lifestyle.

Second good thing is that stamina memang mantop bin pop! Meletup-letup beb. Aku sendiri pun tak sangka endurance, strength & recovery yang terserlah. Ini lah berkat training schedule yang teratur & tak ponteng. Kalau dulu-dulu dengar cerita orang run dari Bukit Aman ke Sri Hartamas lalu Bukit Tunku, cross Jalan Duta & lalu bukit bukau Plaza Damas...pergh! Giler tu. Hilang hakal ke? Sekarang, aku antara orang-orang yang giler berlari kat situ setiap hujung minggu...hehehe. Maybe sebab masa aku spend untuk lari ni yang obviously resulted to the overwhelming products. Patut la professional athletes makan tidur dengan sukan diorang 24/7. Cuma aku rasa stamina aku belum cukup melatup untuk aku mendisplinkan diri buat cross training hari Ahad. Bila milage dah tinggi ni, bangun tidur Ahad pagi lepas carbo load kat Dju Cafe antara yang paling nikmat dalam dunia.

Besides the knowledge about healthy foods & not, aku jugak dah hampir terjebak dengan ilmu kasut...kah kah kah! Bab cari kasut memang boleh menyebabkan oneself jadi gila! Tambah lagi dengan aku yang a bit particular (cerewet) & market Malaysia yang very limited. Dari magazines to internet sampaikan ke rak-rak kasut kat semua kedai sukan yang aku boleh capai sekitar KL, habis semua aku balun. Dalam diam-diam aku dah stock-up 3 pasang running shoes yang aku bangga.

Lately, after running all those days and hours, aku terfikir pasal running mechanics yang optimum supaya my runs become more economical. Sekarang dok kemaruk membaca apa je articles pasal run-mechs. Maybe sebelum ni aku praktikkan method yang salah, so today aku manage to apply and improve & paling penting avoid injury.

Eventually these hectic & tight routine masa mid-week runs & weekend long runs menyebabkan aku atur & plan ahead semua jadual aku walaupun kena look ahead up to a month punya takwim. Maklum lah, season macam ni bukan boleh tangkap muat je program. Zaman sekarang nak plan bercuti pun kena plan 6 bulan awal, especially bab booking hotels & flight.

Last but not least, besides knowing our own self inside & outside, we get to know the people around us. Make new friends from local running community & run freaks yang cakap sorang-sorang masa lari...hahaha! Tapi these people are cool. They average themselves as humble individuals & willing to share knowledge & all anytime any place. Maybe sebab running is a sport yang kita make direct contact dengan "earth" with those constant pounding lasting hours by hours. On top of that, aku jugak get to know kawan-kawan sendiri yang berlari 3 petang seminggu & 2-3 jam setiap weekend.

Route tour

Selepas puas balun 10k twice & 21k twice for the last 4 weeks on long runs, come May the milage starts to touch the pain & challenging figure. The Labour Day break was definitely defined as the LABOUR workout for 6 of us.

Plan to start early but despite the Sujud Sejadah at Masjid Bukit Aman during Subuh, we flagged off at 6.30am. Despite the early start, we still can't beat the early sun & warmness of KL climate nowadays. By the time we reached Masjid Wilayah route, the sparkling brightness has begun. All was good to Sri Hartamas & back until hell broke loose after crossing the Mahameru bridge.

The remaining 4km back to Bukit Aman was nothing more than adding some pace & spices to the pack. Zakuan opted to play safe while Zaidi chosed the shorter trip avoiding new Bank Negara - Commuter Station stretch. The final league was a breakfast session with mee kicap & kuew teow goreng at Tangling recalling the pain & agony of running today.

Clocked 2:25 (approx.)

Nothing else matters

With SCKLM around the corner of another few blocks of months to go, the worriness of not having enough milage has begun haunting ones feelings. My long runs have only completed it's 21km debut yesterday, as scheduled, but the strength within the legs & core muscles require more tune-ups. Add some spices to the remedy with unsync-ed time & schedule of fellow buddies, getting everybody to hit the tarmac together is something else.

Managed to attend a marathon clinic last Sunday hosted by Marc William, a New Zealander's favourite pro runner. Much of the tips are being adopted & practiced, plus a few new ones which can be helpful during rainy days. The best part was getting to carbo load of 450g per serving 3 days in a row before race day which is equivalent to stuffing oneself with 7 servings of pasta per day. Hahaha! Need to whack through those carbo menus & recipes for other options.

I'm trying not to abscence myself from all the scheduled runs, especially the midweeks. Getting the right meals everyday & on weekends is another task that I have to commit for the next two months. Not forgetting getting myself strong enough from diseases. Overall, I can say that taking the road to a marathon is actually leading oneself a healthy & committed lifestyle. It's a bit hard to get use to the routine but it's an awesome one if you're addicted to it.

As I saw those London marathoners glide across my tv screen LIVE, I was already hyped and inspired. These superhumans elite runners are awesome. Though with all those experience, training and diets, it is obvious the accumulated fatigues and dehydrations as they gain milage plus the constant pounding of feet began to show it's impact on the runners. Seems those 3 villains have to be tackled beforehand.

SCKLM 2009

R.E.M. - Man On The Moon

Wa been spending time travelling outstation assignments for the last few days & sometimes when I'm alone, loads of thinking & muhasabah diri took place...

Mott the Hoople and the Game of Life
Andy Kaufman in the wrestling match
Monopoly, twenty one, checkers, and chess
Mister Fred Blassie in a breakfast mess
Let's play Twister, let's play Risk
See you in heaven if you make the list

Hey Andy, did you hear about this one? Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy, are you goofing on Elvis? Hey baby, are we losing touch?
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool

Moses went walking with the staff of wood
Newton got beaned by the apple good
Egypt was troubled by the horrible asp
Mister Charles Darwin had the gall to ask

Hey Andy, did you hear about this one? Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy, are you goofing on Elvis? Hey baby, are you having fun?
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool

Here's a little agit for the never-believer
Here's a little ghost for the offering
Here's a truck stop instead of Saint Peter's
Mister Andy Kaufman's gone wrestling (wrestling bears).

Hey Andy, did you hear about this one? Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy, are you goofing on Elvis? Hey baby, are you having fun?
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon

Hey Andy, did you hear about this one? Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy, are you goofing on Elvis? Hey baby, are we losing touch?
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool

If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is cool

Empire Strikes Back

Lately best bangat layan Clone Wars every Friday evening at Cartoon Network (talking about the kid in me). Mengalahkan Amir pulak. Even dia pun tak suka layan. Takpe janji the Star Wars syndrome is still within...or should I say "The Force is in me"?...hahaha.

Ok la, cut the crap. Actually tu semua mukaddimah sebab nak layan hati ku yang sedikit girang sebab dapat kembali beraksi berlari semula setelah hampir sebulan setengah aku layan mental from the hamstring pull. Lepas puas vacation dengan family, layan kayuh mtb seronok2 with old trails revisited & diet yang memang hancus cachos...sekarang aku kena kembali ke jalan yang benar.

I started back hitting the hard pave on the last week of March. OK la, tested by pace & ryhtm. So far cun cuma need some fine tune to the breathing. Then, it was back to evenings at Lake Garden. The atmosphere I missed, the cooling feeling of the greeneries & loads of runners.

Once bila dah mula run dengan handai taulan, the anxiety & adrenalin was up. The chit & chats were lengthy & the old stuff jokes were shared again & again. At least those work stresses yang aku terkena lately melted away into the pavement & rinsed to the lake...hahaha.

Nak kasi panas lagi semangat yang sedang membara, aku pun eventually signed up for the most awaited Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009 for the full 42km marathon. Insyallah aku akan cuba untuk habiskan. Kalau tak habis pun takpe, janji aku dah cuba. World! Looking forward for the next run & long run. Balun jangan tak balun bai.

Mtb Evo II

Fuh! Bukan main susah nak cari masa nak sambung chapter 2. Macam-macam kejadian sepanjang 2-3 minggu yang lepas sampai kan badan pun dah naik lebam.

Ok2...kat mana aku stop? Yep, that was the empire...the Celcom Boys Empire which lasted for less than a year. However, the glories last forever. When it was time for everybody to pick their own way, the timing was almost the same. Some moved into new house far away from Klang Valley. Some chosed to try out other sports. While the rest stayed, waited & see the coming atmosphere.

The rides at Kemensah, Sg Pusu, Teratak Tekala & Batu Dam came to hault. We need new kind of trails. No more the canopied, mud, technical singletracks. No idea arose until Brahim invited us to Elmina. A new breed of trail & riders were introduced to us. These are the fast & furious firetrack riders of Ladang Elmina, a large network of trails in an oil palm plantation. We have steep long grannies, fast winding descents & long open flats miles and miles ahead. Week by week we returned for more trail networks.

There was a time when we were also introduced to UPSI mountainbikers. We commuted to Tg Malim & rode their trails of rubber plantations & secondary forest. A few trips were organised which eventually brought us an ultimate Trans Titiwangsa expedition during our country's National Day.

We were hunger for more adventures and adrenalins. We planned for more epic rides. We attempted Sg Dua trail, Pertak trail & signed up for PCC Presidential endurance ride & never missed the annual KOTRT Penang Jamboree.

My mtb evo I

Since maybe sekarang aku tengah kemaruk dengan mtb, feels like strolling down back to memory lane. Wayback where I started to ride again, mountainbike style instead of my schooldays commuter bike. Maklum la, malas nak fikir pasal running since masih dalam confinement :P

As I still remember, maybe it was estimated to be somewhere in 2003, when I moved into my new house. Tak lama rupanya, only 6 years ago. Tapi rasa macam lama dah, maybe sebab the evolution went very fast. I was first introduced to the world of singletracks & mountain biking by a fellow schoolmate whom owned & still am a GT Avalanche. He was truly proud of it & I was admiring the steed with it's cool colour & fat tyres. Another buddy was riding a Shimano frame which I have no idea what model it was but light enough to go off-roading. I was loaned with a cap ayam bike came with a rigid fork. Weight wise, only God knows :(

The first trail we ventured was the Sg Kantan rubber estate & orchard trails. Quite a short trail but good enough to pump up the adrenalin & talked about. I was becoming crazy with the exposure until I purchase my own complete bike, brand new from KSH PJ a year later. An entry level Kona Ha'hana? Did I spell it right? Maybe la kot, but the price suits my budget. Good enough for me to bang it for almost a year.

Too bad for me, my buddy moved to Putrajaya & was occupied with new house, family & work. I was left with not many options but to find new friends. Desperate punya pasal, aku bedal je. That day, aku pi tengok Kiara Mtb Carnival. Saja nak tengok & amik feel what it was like with dunia mountainbike secara profesional. Memang nampak gempak with all those gorgeous bikes swaying around the courtyard & macho looks. Aku redah tegur seorang insan yang nampak approachable. Nizam from Maluri was my second mtb buddy. Syiok punya pasal tengok race, aku sign up for my first mtb race. The Parit Buntar Mtb Challenge. Aku & ex-uni mate. He rode one tough peugeot full suss. Nak nangis je aku tengok panjat bukit. My Kona met it's purpose.

From that point onwards, Nizam & me were allies. We expand the horizon & get to know fellow Celcom buddies when we first attempted Kemensah trail. "Brader, boleh join you all kayuh tak?" My first dialogue to Nik who was waiting depan Zoo Negara for the rest of his buddies. It was the beginning of a new era for me. We were known by budak-budak Celcom. Masa tu, tak banyak group mtb. We were Nizam, Nik, Bachin, Azri, Fendi, Din Nokia, Nas, Amin. Lepas tu we all kenal otai Mizi yang memang regular kat Kemensah.

Dah puas Lubuk Tedung & Kem Sleh of Kemensah, we ventured into Batu Dam forest reserve. In & out we rode the magnificent trails. Sambil2 tu, we planned for more challenges. With the help of geng Kemensah, we attempted our maiden epic ride from Sg Pusu to Kemensah (Ulu Gombak traverse). It was awesome.