A Revisit To Old Training Ground And Another Run With A Veteran!

!On Tue, I had a great training run with Don Khor. I was feeling a little lazy to run on the way back home, but decided to stop by Taman Tasik Permaisuri. This place brings back a lot of good memories as it was here that I met a lot of wonderful people who are still close friends of mine. And this is where I joined the Permaisuri Pacesetters area group. You can always ask Kelvin Ng on how I ended up in Pacesetters or in Permaisuri Pacesetters and he can still repeat the story over and over again to everyone!! It was also my first training ground after coming back from a long layoff since I moved to KL. Below is a map showing the location of Taman Tasik Permaisuri if anybody is interested in going there (Geographical Coordinates are 3° 5' 54" North, 101° 43' 11" East).

View Larger Map

Some of the photos taken at Taman Tasik Permaisuri (Photos courtesy from Alden)
-Alden, sorry I didn't ask for your permission ho...don't sue me ya?

There a few young runners who were training with Don (pic below). Since he was there, thought it would be a good idea to run with him since I need someone to pace with. As always, I like to tell him to take it slow. He said he was tired and he wants to take it slow, but most people who knows him, the word "SLOW" probably has a different definition in his dictionary from everyone else's. Yes, we did start slow, but somehow the pace went up a notch (I wasn't surprise). Me being a "younger" runner here, well, I kept quiet and never asked him to slow down. Hey, how do you feel when you are asking a 51-year old runner to slow down? (Everyone has a little bit of ego lah). Well, we finished the first lap and I thought he was done when he stopped. But my watch was only showing 25mins of run, so I went off by myself. Two laps around the lake, then near the end, I heard footsteps nearing me at a fast pace. I didn't look back as I thought it was a friend of mine whom I've just passed trying to have a little fun trying to pass me. I stopped to end my run, and there he was, Uncle Don. Haha. He "scolded" me, saying, "Why you went off yourself? I was chasing you like mad. I was only stopping for a drink!" Oops, guess I didnt hear it. We stopped for a drink and I was getting ready to do some strectching, when he asked me, "Let's do another big lap big lap around the park". Me, "Gulp...!". So off we went. Again, he wasn't slowing down when I told him to take it slow before we started. Maybe it was his new pair of "Newton" shoe that is making him fast. (I'm just trying to find some excuses on why he is running faster than me lah). Anyway, it was a great training run with him which I needed. Glad that I didn't give up like I used to.

Anyway, he is usually there on Mon, Tue and Thu. So if anyone is keen to train with him, be there at 5.30pm at the carpark in between the football stadium and swimming pool. Then you will know what's it like to run with a "PRO" veteran. I'm not sure I can still be at his fitness level when I'm at his age.

His quote of the day (when I questioned him whether he has injuries to his knees):

"If you are having injury to your knees, that means your running style is wrong" - he was referring to how most runners run these days. He says, we should run like we are running barefooted, as we mostly likely to use mid/forefoot landing rather than heel strike.

Well, there are still a lot of debates on midfoot vs heelstrike running styles. Some articles provide interesting findings & comments.

http://www.sportsscientists.com/2008/04/running-technique-footstrike.html

http://www.sportsscientists.com/2007/12/running-economy-part-iii.html

http://hastenministries.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/the-great-midfoot-heelstrike-debate/

Will let you readers decide which is right......

For me, I think I am a midfoot, but when I get tired, I think I'm a heelstrike runner. I don't know, never really did taped myself running. From photos, I can see that I'm a heelstriker, but I don't have a lot of photos of me in action or to see how my foot is landing.

Coach, Training Partners and Friends!

I can't say I'm the fastest distance runner but I think I'm just above the average. I don't really have much talent in running. It's purely from training. Without training, I'm going to do badly, just like everyone else but I can still do a little better than the average. I think it's mainly due to the training I had when I was in schooldays and also because it's hard for me to put on weight, it's easier for me to get back into some kind of fitness (not full fitness) with a just a few training runs.

Back in the schooldays, I was training with the then no. 1 Sarawak distance runner, Kaliani. I've already started running since Form 2 but without much success. It's only when I entered Form 6 that I started training with him and improved. 

My friend cum rival from another school, Kok Jin (pic) decided to start training with Kaliani. Since then, me and Kok Jin basically dominated the school scene, both in Kuching and Sarawak. Well, unfortunately, I'd always come up short by ending up with a lot of silver medals around my neck (A choker maybe!). Kok Jin has since left the sport after high school and is now climbing the corporate ladder (or the specifically the engineering field) in the US. He is one determined friend I have both in and out of the athletics field. In state level school competition, although finishing second in 1500m & 3000m SC and also winning the 5000m event, which he did not compete, I didn't get to compete in MSSM and SUKMA. Kind of missed the mark (target time). Until now, i still don't agree with the way Sarawak Amateur Atheltics Association chooses who to compete in the national school level meet (Sore loser!). Kok Jin went on to compete in both MSSM and Sukma games and did well. Although not winning any medals in both meets, he lowered his 1500m PB to 4:13 (I think). I'd barely broke 4:20 (4:19) for 1500m just after I left school. Nothing concrete on the timing, cos I heard it only over the PA system when they were announcing the results. I may have heard it wrongly and also I was too out of breath to even look at my stopwatch while running!

Anyways, Kaliani was here for a holiday trip with his family. Have not seen his family for years and only got to know that his eldest daughter has already finished Form 5. Usually when I go back Kuching for a trip, I will only see him at our usual training ground in Resevoir Park and sometimes I join him in training. He is still training hard as he was when I trained with him about 16 years ago and he's fit as ever at age 48 (I think). Time really flies!

Me and Kaliani

Kaliani and family

When we were training with him, he was on his way to break a few state records, i.e. 5000m (16m20s++), 3000m SC (9:54) and 10000m (34m++). I think the records have already fallen to the hands of Mohd Jironi Riduan who is the current national 800m runner. I think only the 10000m record, still stands. I may be wrong. Problem is that all these records are not accessible though the internet, so can't really confirm. I've always told him that I will be the one breaking his 3000m steeplechase record being my pet event, but I never gotten near that.

My training now are a lot less intensive when I was training with him. Altough my mileage has gone up but speed is no longer there. Getting old! Haha! Can still remember the days that we were grinding out on the track almost daily with some days reserved for road running. I never even hit a mileage of more than 15km in a single run when I was in school. That explains why I had to take the ambulance back when I did my first marathon in 1995 (or 96). I had phobia running the full ever since and only made my second appearance in full marathon in 2003. My 3rd and 4th appearance was at last year's KL Marathon (June) and Melbourne Marathon (October).

Anyway, training with Kaliani has given me such a strong base in running that I can still run well today. Fairly well. Ok, maybe my skinny figure helps too but I don't really follow how he trains before as I dont think I can last. Sometimes I do wonder how I can run those times when I was in school without a strong mileage. Guess we did the speedworkouts in such a high intensity and volume, that it substitutes the long runs I lacked. Now I've got a higher mileage but have slowed down a lot. That's why I think I need to go back to basic and brush up my speedwork in addition to increasing mileage. Got to balance it, right?

I took him out for a run on Sunday to the usual Hartamas and Bukit Tunku route. He enjoyed the run. Also took him and his family to Batu Caves and also Putrajaya. I always like to take friends from outstation to Putrajaya, not only for its beauty but also to let them know, "Hey, this is where your tax payments go to!" LoL!

As of now, still can't find the motivation to train. Been resting far too long since Pacesetters NB 20km run.

Next race(s): I've got 2 races coming up this month, Bareno 15km and Energizer Night Run 4 x 10km.

Weekend Results...

IRONMAN LANGKAWI
27 February 2010
Swim 3.8km / Bike 180km / Run 42.195km

Listing only some of the known names (to me):

NAME             SWIM  /    BIKE   /    RUN   / TOTAL  /   DIV  / OVR / DIV
Hafiz       1:13:51 / 5:03:21 / 3:47:00 / 10:08:16 / M35-39 / 17 /   1
Barry L    1:05:46 / 5:21:10 / 3:52:05 / 10:23:45 / M18-24 / 26 /   2
Heidilee  1:20:48 / 5:25:17 / 3:51:35 / 10:44:49 / M25-29 /  32 /   2
Emma B   1:30:06 / 5:18:20 / 4:13:05 / 11:05:58 / F35-39 /  51 /   1
Kevin S    1:05:34 / 5:43:57 / 4:39:40 / 11:33:12 / M25-29 /  72 /  10
K Seong   1:37:19 / 5:48:33 / 5:11:40 / 12:45:14 / M30-34 / 152 /  22
Roger Y   1:29:34 / 5:58:22 / 5:40:39 / 13:22:19 / M25-29 / 189 /  22
Yip WT    1:22:30 / 5:59:33 / 6:12:44 / 13:42:01 / M30-34 / 211 /  31
Ray Ng     1:53:17 / 6:42:41 / 5:04:09 / 13:56:22 / M35-39 / 233 /  30
Chris KK   1:31:58 / 6:09:43 / 6:07:52 / 13:59:05 / F30-34  / 240 /   2
Lian Meng 1:47:24 / 6:37:00 / 5:45:05 / 14:22:18 / M25-29 / 264 /  27
Lee KK     1:31:35 / 6:27:54 / 6:38:46 / 14:59:10 / M40-44 / 303 /  59
Ben Swee 1:39:00 / 7:51:00 / 6:07:00 / 16:07:00 /
Lee PH     1:45:59 / 7:12:13 / 6:48:15 / 16:09:26 / M35-39 / 382 /  53
Elaine W   2:20:20 / 6:00:08 /  --:--     /  --:--      / F30-34 / 461 /  9


FTAAA CROSS COUNTRY RUN 2010 
28th February 2010
Where : Taman Lembah Rimba, Taman Tun Dr. Ismail, KL
Distance: 8.2km Men Open / Other 6.2km
Medals : 150 for Men Open

Men Open Result :
53.55 - Naresh Kumar, Pm37 (10th)
54.53 - Gunaselan Rajagopal, Pm39 (12th)
56.28 - Stanley Cheong, Pm53 (14th)
64.13 - Ghejanthran (23rd)
64.41 - Liew Chen Kwok (25th)
74.13 - Wong Kei Ming, Pm55 (44th)
00.00 - Zulazlan Shah, Pm43 (00th)
00.00 - Suresh, Pm47 (00th)

Men Junior Veteran :
72.13 - Cheang Meng Wai (56th)
00.00 - Vincent Wong, Pm10 (00th)

brought 2u by pm1

STANDARD CHARTERED HONG KONG MARATHON
28 February 2010

Full
5:09 - Choi SeeCube

Half
DSQ - Rayhond Hee (According to my realiable source....hehehe!)

Training Going Haywire!

After a long break from running after New Balance Pacesetters 20km, I'd better start training for the Energizer Night Run. Although it's only a 10km race, but it'll be a relay event. One thing I hate about relay is if you performed badly, you'll be the cause of bad performance in the team and also you'll need to take responsibility for it.

After NB Pacestters 20km, I've only managed about 1 run per week. Worse of all, been sleeping late during Chinese New Year and now having a hard time adjusting to my normal routine. And with all the Chinese New Year food and also drinking quite a bit, my fitness has gone down the drain. I tried to run a 40mins run on Wed but my heart rate was constantly hovering around 160bpm. At that pace normally, it's normally around 140-150bpm. I got to start from ground zero again!

Now, I am worried about my performance in the relay event. So much so, I'm pulling out from the Larian Desa (X-country) event in Lembah Kiara, TTDI tomorrow. It's better that i do a long run tomorrow morning to gain back my fitness. Probably do couple of long slow runs next week, before going into speedier sessions the week after. I have a 15km race on the 14 Mac, so will probably take it as part of my training run.

Lots of events going on this week mostly outside KL:

1. Ironman Langkawi (27 Feb)

- to track an athlete, you can go to this link

2. Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon (28 Feb)

3. Tokyo Marathon (28 Feb)

4. FTAAA Cross Country Run, Lembah Kiara, TTDI (28 Feb)

My Next Run: Bareno 15km (Bukit Jalil)

Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin Quote

I was just watching a documentary on Steve Irwin and saw him saying something to his fans at the end of the show which I find inspiring. Just want to share it here.

"I have a message for my fans. Whatever you want to do in this world, it is achievable. The most important thing that I've found, that perhaps you could use, is be passionate and enthusiastic in the direction that you choose in life, and you'll be a winner."

---Steve Irwin

    "Crikey! What an Adventure on Animal Planet, 2007"

 

Crikey!

Chinese New Year In Kuching!

Chinese New Year is always the time that I slack in training. What can you do? All the good home cook food, authentic Kuching food stall food and also all the cookies (and the "bak gua" - dried meat) sitting on the table waiting for you to munch away while watching TV.

I am going to find it tough going getting back into my running. I'll probably go run today just to get my engine started again. Otherwise, I am going to suffer in my race next weekend.

The sound of firecrackers and fireworks that last at least an hour is a norm in Kuching. Usually starts slightly after 11pm on the eve of CNY and gets louder at 12am, then it will last for maybe another hour.

My home in Kuching traditionally will host an open house on the first day of CNY.

My grandma in the middle

My father's birthday cakes on the table

My usual routine for CNY will be sleep late and wake up late. So it's pretty unhealthy, especially with all types of food going into my system. I think I am going to suffer in my race after CNY end of this month.

Next race: FTAAA Cross Country, Lembah Kiara, TTDI. (I didn't know this race was going to cost me RM30! to register)

Tiger Year Wishes Came Early!

I'm pretty sure most of you know that I won the RM8,888 worth of dreams from the Tiger Run just last Saturday. Of course, most of you thought that I won RM8,888 worth of cash, right? Well it's not. But hey, it's similiar, just that I don't get to touch it!

Tiger Run - What is it? And how the hell did I get into this run?

As a matter of fact, I'd only got to know about the run just a few days before the event. I wasn't sure what was it anyway. Besides, I had signed up for Putrajaya Night Run which was held on the same evening. However, the half marathon only starts at 8.30pm. However, I wasn't feeling too well on the eve of the race day, so decided I might try out the Tiger Run, but wasn't sure whether I will get an entry/invite to the run. No harm trying, I submitted my blog entry - "My Dream in the Year of the Tiger" hence, what you see in my last post.

Some of the prizes given out for this run:

Grand Prize

RM8,888 worth of dreams + RM1,888 cash prize

1st Runner Up (Male)

RM8,888 worth of dreams

1st Runner Up (Female)

RM8,888 worth of dreams

Consolation Prizes :

RM88 + 6 Packs of Tiger Beers 

Anyway, I can count my lucky stars in winning this and of course there were "curses" too of not getting the top prize.

Lucky Star No.1 - Kelvin was the one who informed me about the run just 2 days before event. Without him telling me about it, I won't have known about it.

Lucky Star No. 2 - Nuffnang  & Tiger Beer accepted my entry.

Lucky Star No. 3 (but not so lucky in getting sick!) - I was still feeling unwell on the morning of the event day, so I decided not to take the risk of running the Putrajaya Night Run. But I was still ok for a short run. So, Tiger Run it is.

I knew we had to do some tasks in our run, and looking at the map of the Jaya One running perimeter, event should over quite fast if it was a run only event, but unfortunately that's not the case. (Maybe we can label this as Curse No. 1)

The route taken by runners

Well, I already sold off my bib for Putrajaya Night Half Marathon category to one Japanese guy. I asked Kelvin to help me pass it to him. Julie and Pueh Tian were the familiar faces from running scene at the Tiger Run. PT as always, will have his camera ready to shoot! Julie as her happy self is all raring to go.

 

The Race & Tasks involved?

There were 5 participating outlets where tasks will be performed. Cafe and Bars involved were, Bar Madrid, Frontera, Heaquatrs (HQ), Chulo, Frontera and Royal Oak. Each runner is required to run 2 laps of Jaya One, starting from HQ. After 2 laps, runner will go in HQ to perform the first task.

The race started in a fast and furious fashion. 2 or 3 runners, sped up at top speed. One of them was the eventual winner, Eugene. I just followed them behind as I knew they would not last with that kind of pace. Well, so much of following the lead, we went off course! Lucky for us, the people who overtook us were not quick runners, and eventually before the end of the 1st lap I was able to catch the lead guy. From there onwards, I was running practically alone. (Lucky Star No. 4 - Lucky I had a competitive running background).

Task No. 1

Curse No. 2 (Mother of all curse) - You are to tweet about your Tiger Run. I do not have a Tweeter account and I had to sit there for maybe 5-6 mins just signing up for an account. The guys who came after me, just tweet and went off like a rocket. From that point, I thought I'd lost it already. But I just went on with it, smiling each time I see Pueh Tian trying to take photos or to the passer-by encouraging us or the marshalls.

Task No. 2

After the 1st task, we just need to run half of Jaya One cutting through the shops to reach out next station. Royal Oak was next in the list. The marshalling girl asked me to put my hand in the ice box and grab a bottle of Tiger Beer. And I thought I was going to have to drink it. Luckily, that is all we had to do, just grabbing it out from the ice box. So off I went to do another "half lap". Oh, in each lap, we need to collect certain tokens as our checkpoints proof. If any of these items are missing from the bag, we will be disqualified. (Oh, I didnt mentioned that we need to carry a Tiger paper bag along).

Task No. 3

Next pit stop, Frontera Cafe. When I got into the cafe, I saw baskets of chicken wings and I thought, damm, you are not serious that each of us will need to finish up one basket (You know, those tiny baskets you usually get in cafes when you order fries). Well the marshall did say, "Pls take one". But I checked with him again to confirmed it. He meant, just take one pc only. Whew! So for me, I thought, "Piece of cake lah". I was wrong. The chicken was covered with chilli, I think it was Tabasco. And my lip/mouth was still burning after the run. Yeah it was that hot! On with my next lap.

Task No. 4

I ran into Cafe Chulo and found laptops awaiting. I was hoping something easy this time. Luckily, I had a facebook account and we just need to accept Tiger Beer as a fan in our page. That was easy. So onto my final lap. I ran as fast as I could on the final lap and just hope for the best, as I do not know exactly what was my position. There were many runners that I overtook but the slow runners are also taking the same route. Therefore, I could not tell who were in front of me, but I did see the guy who won it finishing when I was just starting my final lap. Well, I crossed the finish line, feeling a little cursed that I didn't have tweeter account and even informed a few of my friends thru sms that I didnt win as I failed on my first task, which costs me placing. 

However, it was quite an entertaining run and I really had fun meeting new people. We had complimentary drinks and dinner from the organiser at Bar Madrid. Free flow of Tiger Beer too! Too bad I was sick, so I didn't drink, only plain water!

There were lion dance peformance during the dinner too.

While eating, one of the committee member, came into the bar and was asking for me. So I went out with him and he informed me that I am the 1st runner-up! I was shocked and happy at the same time! I can't believe that I'm getting my dream all paid for (ok, only RM8,888 worth but it's still worth a lot).

After the dinner, it was the prize presentation and hearing them calling me out my name, unbelievable. More so, because of the events that have happened till I made it to the starting line of this event.

Wow...Europe or US are the places I like to visit one day and run, but the price of air ticket and ground arrangement have always been the major deterrant for me to travel there. And now it's going to be made possible with this prize! So big thanks to Nuffnang and Tiger Beer for this!

More photos at : Shaolin Tiger Flickr or Shaolin Tiger

(Shaolin Tiger, hope you don't mind if I used a few of your photos here. Thanks)

My Dream in the Year of the Tiger

I’m sure that on each New Year’s Day everyone will set their resolutions to achieve and dream(s) to fulfil. Whether it is achievable or not, that will be answered by end of the year. However, no one can be deprived from dreaming or living their dream.

I always like to challenge myself in doing something that I like to do. Marathon running had always been my least favoured running event, as it requires a lot of effort to prepare and to run the race. Hey, it's no joke, 42.195km in distance. OK, maybe the ultra runners will laugh at this, but it is tough. In the past I have managed to do the distance twice. Both times in KL and both times, I had bad cramps but managed to finish the distance. Actually, I did the distance 3 times. Well, the first one didn't count. I did it way back in my teenage years, where I was a little "gung-ho" and signed up for the event without even preparing for it. That turned out badly, as I had to take the ambulance back with major cramps on my legs and couldn't move for an hour. Those kind of setbacks, really got me thinking in taking part in another one!

Last year, I spent 3 months in Melbourne, Australia. Although financially tight, I did managed to keep my expenses down and of course, having relatives living in the city was a huge help by providing me shelter for FREE!! I took part in the Melbourne Marathon (my 4th marathon) and enjoyed my run in the cool weather in Melbourne! Surprisingly, I was able to set my personal best time despite the lack of training. I still suffered cramps but I think more positively about marathon running that i was before. I wish I had train harder for that event but the time achieved was something to be proud of. 

Cool weather does help in marathon running. Runners so used to the humidity in Malaysia will find that running in the cooler weather, meant you'll sweat less. You'll probably last longer in the run. A country rich in sporting culture will also provide you with a setting in achieving your best. I can't even get into the Top 500 in the event. But it was worth taking part in it, I was able to meet and run with the people who shares the same passion in running. And they come from different walks of life. They could be a retiree, the IT people, the housewife and many more.

So what am I saying here? Well, I've always wanted to do a sub-3 hour marathon one day (the sooner the better. Am not getting any younger!) and also taking part in one of the bigger marathon stage in the world, especially in the US or Europe, i.e. tens of thousand runners lining up at the starting line and festival or carnival-like event. But one thing I can be sure of, I don't think I want to do another marathon in a hot and humid country. Can't stand the heat. Therefore, my dream is to train hard for the marathon, find a big marathon race to compete in and come back with a wide smile on my face!

Ok. That's not me, but you catch my drift. So, Santa, God of Wealth, and etc, make my wish come true in the year of the.....

Ok..ok...maybe not this Tiger.....

This one's more like it.....