The show must go on

This morning run was one of the very first time I step foot to BA after almost 2 months of absence.  0515 is the start our morning run and the distance will be 30k which Loke SS, Lawrence Leong and Andrew Chan will be doing.  I am opting for a 25k and if I can get it done comfortably its oledi a bonus.

Reached BA and only a few cars at the carpark.  Recognised Jeff Ooi and Jamie cars which were there and these gungho runners are going for the supreme 50k.  Salute, Salute.  We started with  the Bird Park loop before hitting the usual BA-Hartamas-BA route.

As we complete the 2nd loop, the sky started to open up and a thunderstorm with strong wind hit us.  We have no choice but to take shelter at the public toilet area and waited for at least 15mins hoping for the rain will stop.  It didnt but by now its not as heavy.  And so rather than calling off our run, we decided the show must go on.  Under a heavy drizzle and very cold chilly condition, the 4 of us hit the road towards Hartamas.

The rain continues to hit our body and its rather cold with strong breeze making the condition rather chilly.  We continued and I felt rather hungry when I reached the Petronas station.  Although I didnt buy any food, but Lawrence cannot tahan and got himself 2 buns.  So its not only me that felt hungry bcos of the cold weather.
 
After a short hydration break, we made our way back to BA.  By this time, the rain had oledi stopped but the cool weather still makes the body very cold to run and take a while to get warm up.  Slowly but surely, Km after Km we make our way back and reaches the BA carpark.

Andrew and Loke opted for another loop around the Bird Park, while Lawrence and myself just called it a day after completing abt 24k for the day.  So it was a good run under a very chilly condition and we was debating how can we endure a race that  is run under sub5 Celcius condition,  That must be areal challenge.

Pot Hole

Today I step into pothole while running in the morning.
The TNS lamp post have no lights so cannot see the pothole.
Cinya TNS!!!!!

Enjoy Running

I saw this quote somewhere and I thot its pretty inspiring especially when sometimes we all feel so tired or just lame lazy for a workout.

Running can be fun, can't it? Sure sometimes its hard to motivate yourself to go out for a run or you want to take the short cut for the last kilometer....but who says running can't be enjoyable.

So put on your rubbers, kick your butt out of that comfortable couch and hit the road for some sweat and mileage. You will definitely feel better after that!!!!

To Pia or Not To Pia

Two weeks, Two races and Two death....Cinya!!!! I am lost for words and sad to hear such news.

This is almost unbelievable and such incidents hardly happened in the sports scene 10-15 years ago. So wats happening now?. Izit pure carelessness or just coincidental. Last week I was informed that a participant actually got drown and passed away in the PD Triathlon event. Wat actually happened to him that causes his death, I dun know. If anyone know the root cause please share with everyone so that we are aware of it.

And today I was again informed that a 48 year old man passed away after finishing the Melaka Half Marathon race. Wat happened to him.....did he pushes himself too hard and trigger a heart attack. Does he had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and hypertension that trigger the attack. All these are possibilities to any runner especially when one doesnt know their own condition. So its extremely important to know your personal blood pressure and heart condition, especially when you are 40 years old and above.

So the next Q for myself is whether to really push myself in races. Or just take it easy from now on and run comfortably. Izit really beneficial to one when we race week in week out? Do we need to allow more time to rest our body before the next race? I think the most important thing here is to listen to our body and not pushes it too hard. Else it will just give way and we will collapse. I dont have all the answers and hopefully someone can make some comments here, especially those in the medical profession.

Take care all and run well.

Tough comeback....a 25k run that didnt happened

Its was a tough comeback for me after almost 10 days being dormant (out for my China trip). The Sat morning run started at Lake Gardens (Bkt Aman carpark) with the usual buddies like Jamie, Tey, Wong, Geraldine and the MIA guy Bro Ben. My aim was to do a 25k this morning together with Wong to catchup with some mileage.

Jamie and Tey opted for a 10k run (making their turn back at Selangor Properties) and the rest of us continue to do the LG-Hartamas-LG route of 20k. I was running sluggishly after the 10 days break but trying hard to keep up with the pack. Reached Hartamas in 58mins and did a loop of abt 800m around the block at the back of the Petronas petrol kiosk. Stopped for water and continue our return leg back to LG. My body and legs were giving signals that I am tiring out so I just maintain a slow pace behind Wong while Geraldine and Ben were about 200m in front. That continued till we reached Bkt Aman carpark. Stopped for water and I am totally exhausted but told Wong that I want to do one lap around the lake (via Carcosa route) instead of 2 laps.

We set off slowly with the aim to finish the one lapper and at least that will give me 22.5k mileage for the LSD. As we run we spent most of the time talking about my China trip and that helps keep me away from thinking of the tireness. Soon we are back to the carpark and as we walk towards our car, I told Wong that I can probably push for another lap very slowly (which he agree too) but bcos of my tireness I believed I had made the right choice to call it a day and not get myself injure. There will always be another run that I will feel stronger and come out better as my training progresses towards the next 7 weeks in preparation for the Penang Marathon. I hope to peak at the right time cos this will be my last 42k race for 2007. The second half of the year will be for shorter races (10k and 21k) and probably focus on my speed.

Its always hard to make a comeback, but never giveup!!! More importantly take each run as a phase-in rather than rushing into it. Its better to gain back the momentum slowly than getting injured.

The rain

It was good to be back to the ground where I considered as my old training ground. Yes, its no other than the Ipoh Polo ground. I was back in Ipoh over the weekend and deciced to run at the ground again to catch up will some mileage.

Was there early with my family at 5pm sharp. Did some warmup by doing some brisk walking around the running track. After 10mins, begin a slow run to get my muscle going. Then started my first lap. Am not too sure what is the distance of one lap, probably have to check with either Master Chen or Kenny Tan, who also use to run at the ground when they are back in Ipoh.

As I complete the first lap, the sky seems to be covered by rain clouds. I was praying that the wind will blow it away, and as I started my second lap the sky was getting darker. The wind was blowing strongly by now and as I continued to run I saw most people at the ground starting to leave and getting back into their cars.

I completed the second lap and by now the rain clouds are all over the sky and I know in no time it will start to rain heavily. As I finsihed the second lap and starting the third lap, the rain came pouring. Me and my family have to rush back to our car and have to cut short our workout for the day. Too bad and do I have a choice to go against the nature.

So all in all its just a 25mins workout for the weekend but the blessing in disguise is that after the rain, the weather in Ipoh is very cooling . I do enjoy it.