Mulberry

Taking my new toy out again for a session and this time focus on the mulberry plant that is in my garden. Still perfecting my skills and familiarization with the new toy.

In China, the mulberry plant are cultivated for their leaves and are given to silkworm as the main source of food. As for me, I have this plant mainly for the juicy little fruits. The fruits are pinkish red in color when its young. A full grown fruit will be very dark maroon in color. As for the leaves, I boil it with other chinese herbs and supposedly helps to improve one's eyesight.

Ipoh International Run 2008

I was back in Ipoh for the weekend and found out that the 10k mark of the half marathon race was very near to my house. So I took the opportunity to bring out my new toy ~ Nikon D40, and start my morning session. Not to race this time but as a camera man along the midpoint. Some random pictures that I took from the album.














Hair-raising runner cruising very comfortably.















Chanbai from Slowmovers group.















Tay Poh Chye and his nemesis of the race. The lady from Singapore. Wonder who win the fartlek challenge.















I am from Japan living in Malaysia.















Richard Habeya PM26 concentrating on his run.


Click here for the full album.

SODOMEE

Sodomee™ was introduced to the Malaysian public in 1999 and was withdrawn from the market in 2004. It is widely regarded as the most famous failed product and is the subject of studies at universities worldwide.

Will the Sodomee™ brand stick this time? Quote:

"The original recipe is being updated. Although some of the old staff are still around, we have a new chef heading product development this time".

I think it will market well with the new happening in the political scene of Malaysia !!!!

If you are not accused of being SODOMIZED, just take a break and have a SODOMEE.

ESPANA ~ Champion of Euro 2008

Espana beat Germany 1-0 to emerged champion of Euro 2008. Thanks to the well taken goal by Fernando Torres to bring the title back to their homeland.

VIVA ESPANA.

Girl Power of Euro 2008 FINALE

VERSUS






















This weekend will be the closing finale. May the best team win !!!! But I am rooting for my favorite ESPANA to lift the cup.

VIVA ESPANA

Football

Football is not all about 22 players chasing after a ball. It is also about what happened during the pre-match training. Watch the video and you will find out. And never underestimate football of being a boring game. HEHEHE!!!!!

I just wanna thank this girl for showing me that football isn't always boring !!!!

Wimbledon 2008 ~ Zheng brings Ivanovic crashing down

Zheng Jie ranked 133 in the world brings Ivanovic crashing down in straight sets securing an astonishing 6-1, 6-4 victory in 72 minutes. The Number 1 seeds when down without much fighting except for some resistance in the 2nd set. By the time she got the momentum, the game is over. The inconsistency is creeping into her game again.














With her loss I think the focus now is on the Williams sisters to take the crown, unless there are more upsets coming our way.

Does this sounds like us ~ Human Beings

Flora London Marathon 2009

Its open for overseas online entry ballot. To register for the ballot click here.

Good Luck.

Do I trust you, Mr Prime Minister

No more petrol price increase until year-end

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Wednesday that there won't be any fuel price increase for the rest of the year. He said the Government would think of ways to prevent pump prices from rising further.

What ever statement he made is always the opposite!!!!

TOO LAN !!!!!!!

INJINJI ~ Toe Socks

I am bringing this brand of socks into Malaysia. What make it so different is instead of the normal tube socks that we normally wear, INJINJI is actually a toe sock which have protection on all our toes. This provide better comfort to our feet and also have the possibilities to eliminate blister problems on our toes.

The key design principal in the development of INJINJI was to create the best possible interface that allowed the entire foot to perform naturally and freely inside our shoes, just like being barefoot. Everything about the conventional tube sock works against your feet’s natural form and function. Consider the difference between gloves and mittens.

Click here for more details on the technology of INJINJI

Click here for the testimonials of INJINJI

I am testing the market here in Malaysia and hopefully our runners are eductated enuf to spend and invest a fair amount on a quality socks especilly to those who are into high performance sports like running an Ultra, an IronMan race, a full and half marathon and even in the triathlon races.

Do contact me (Choi) at cchoi_2020@yahoo.com or 0193289083 if you are interested to know more about INJINJI.

French Open 2008 ~ Women Champion

Congratulations to Ana Ivanonic for clinching her first Grand Slam title by defeating Dinara Safina in straight sets 6-4, 6-3. Hopefully there is more to come for this young beautiful lady.

Pacemakers Anniversary Run (PAR4)

Caught in Action ........

Its was a well organised race and congrats to PM1 for a job well done. And also not forgetting all the volunteers who help out to make this event so successful. You guys are giving FTAAA and SAAA a run for the money in organising races. Keep it up.

I truly enjoy the event, friendly yet competitive.

Note: Photos courtesy from Ben Swee

Oil money and the welfare of Malaysians

On the evening of 4^th June, SMSes were flying everywhere. Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi made an announcement at 5.00 p.m. about petrol hike. With effect from 12.01 a.m. the next day petrol price will be increased by RM0.78 per litre. Subsequently Ron 92 will go up 41.5% from RM1.88 to RM2.66; Ron 97 will go up 40.63% from RM1.92 to RM2.70; and diesel will go up RM1.00 or 63.2% from RM1.58 to RM2.58.

The news caused a great traffic jam and chaos all over the country. In Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya, heavy rain poured down at 5.00 p.m. The rain spoke of a doom about our political atmosphere. Half way through at press reception a journalist left the room and murmured “it is political suicide”. With the petrol hike people were speculating how far Abdullah’s position will go amidst dissatisfaction among the public at large. People were panic and they rushed every household car to the petrol kiosks. The jams at KL and PJ lasted till midnight. It was a painful night. If the PM had already determined to increase the price in the first place, why could not he announce it in the morning so that the last-minute rush was unnecessary? The actions of a leader will reveal how tactful the person is.

A very interesting article written by one of the blogger friend Mr Allen Tan in the blogging community.

To read more about it, click here

Ana Ivanovic

She beat Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in a rubber game to advanced into the Final of the French Open 2008. Congrats Ana and go out and win this Grand Slam for yourself. I will be supporting you all the way.

Study trips to Germany and Canada under fire

A STUDY trip to a city in Europe and Canada organised by the Federal Territory Ministry, Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and Putrajaya Corporation has not gone down well with Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai.

Click here for details.

Wat the F are this clowns doing in a trip to Vancouver Canada and Berlin Germany.

It involves a delegation of 15 people including the minister of FT. They probably travel by first class or business class. So the total trip will probably goes into hundreds of thousands Ringgit if not into the million.

Why they want to go so far, and why not go to Singapore, Hongkong or Taiwan? And why need so many people?

Everytime these clowns go on such trips they called them "study trips" (Lawatan Sambil Belajar) with a big team. After coming back from these trips, KL City is still the same. Totally no improvement. The city is still congested, full of crimes, Transport system is still as bad. So tell me where is the Return Of Investment on those money spent on those so called Lawatan Sambil Belajar trips.

No wonder PM had to increase fuel price. Because no matter how much Petronas made, the money were always squandered by these clowns. ~ "Satu Lagi Projek Kerajaan Barisan Nasional"

I hope the gomen can explain this to the RAKYAT.

Pulau Batu Putih

Why we lost her to Singapore. It was because of the above letter written by one State Secretary dude ~ M. Seth Bin Saaid.

For details on a forum on the above, click here

Note: Material contributed by Naz (PM14)

Sundown Marathon 2008

With the host of the nite ~ introducing ACIDO aka Hopper aka PM19 aka Justin Lee. It was so nice of him to come by to the race site and support us, cinya kamtung. Hopper, Thank you for your support. It just hype up our morale and the determination to run the race at midnite.

After the photo session, we proceed to the kandang for the race to start. There were lotsa runners oredi there and I reckon it probably will take us at least 2-3 mins to reach the starting line when gun off. Singaporeans are gung-ho or called them kiasu, because you can see so many of them running a marathon as compare to what we have in Malaysia. They are not afraid to run a marathon just to showcase their attire and apparels. Lots and lots of running accessories on the body. From tri-suits, fuel belts, Ipods+holders, GPS watches, belts for the bib, anti-glare nite vision shades and many more. That will probably cost around SGD1000 if not more. Cinya!!!!!

At 12 midnite, the race got started and I wished Jamie, Frank and Cheang all the very best and see them at the finish. I was not able to run because of the crowd and just walk slowly until it eases off and start running just when I cross the starting line. The road was crowded with sea of runners and I just could not increase my pace. Was at a distance of 2m to 3m away from Jamie and Frank. This continues till the 5k mark and I still have visibility of Jamie in front of me. Frank had probably went off faster and try to hentam the route. Good luck on him.

I was cautious not to run too fast as I am not very sure how my body will react after midnite. Anything can happen and I just keep a close distance to Jamie using him as a pacer. KM by KM passes us and most of the water stations are crowded with runners. I skipped the 5k one but grabbed 2 cup of water from the 10k water stop onwards. The number of runners gathering around the station slow everyone down. Anyway it does not really matter as we still have another 30k to go.

Reached the 20k mark at the East Coast Park where we need to make a U-turn. I was still pacing with Jamie at this moment and saw Frank on the other side of the road. He was running strong and greeted both of us. At the stage I increased my pace a bit and I reckon Jamie was not coming up near to me. And from this stage onwards I was running on my own.

Then I have to run out of the park and onto the highway. I remembered I need to run across the first pedestrian bridge to get over to the other end of the highway. At this juncture, the runners are guided to run on the walking path which are all concrete pavement. I dislike running on such terrain because it is so hard as compare to tarmac surface.

This continues as I cut through HDB flats, high end condos, running in the dark on concrete pavements with up and down terrain all the way. Running over pedestrian bridges and I remembered one with stairs that I needed to climb. Also running thru the back lane of those apartments and smelly water canals. Cutting through park connectors at traffic junctions. There is one part, and I think is at the Bedok Reservoir when I needed to run thru a sandy path. This is cross country marathon or what!!!! All these goes on and every where that I passes by looks the same under the yellow neon lights.

Along the route I also noticed that the distance marker is a bit deceiving as most markers are about 400m short. As I approaches the 30k marker, my Garmin Forerunner is showing a distance of 31km. Its 1km off by now. At this moment I am just hoping that this race will not be an over distance marathon. Somehow from the 30k mark onwards, my whole body was reacting very well and running at a very consistent pace without feeling the tireness creeping into me. Both legs are a bit tight at the thigh muscle but good thing there is no sign of any cramp. I continued running steadily until all the way till I reached the 40k mark and my watch showed a distance of 41k. And I told myself, this will be an over distance marathon that all Sundowners have to go through. What a demoralising factor but what is there to complain, just run ahead and get it over. No point crying over it since I have came that far.

As I complete the last 2k and into the last corner to the finishing, there is a 400m marker. I have to run uphill for about 150m before proceeding into the finishing area. Run across a narrow bridge and towards the finishing area. As I crossed the finishing line, my watch showed 4:43:50 (start time) and the gun off time is 4:46:50.

Checked myself into the finishing area to collect a can of 100 Plus and a bottle of water. Then proceed to pickup my finisher medal and Tee shirt. Saw Frank at the other corner where he was resting and moved over to that area and joined him. Congratulated him for running a good race leaving both Jamie and myself behind. As we continue to rest, more and more runners were coming in. Jamie, Kit, Tomatoman, Dr Ray and Lee FK.

Overall it was a good experience to run a 42k race starting at midnite. At least my body did not collapse on me at the 30k mark (around 3am) where almost the entire Singapore is fast asleep. This had proven that given any time of the day whether its Sundown or Sunrise, we Sundowners can run a marathon without any problems.

Another marathon completed, and till then seeya in the next race again.

Sundowner

Its 5mins to midnite on 30 May 2008. The Sundown Marathon 2008 starts at 12 midnite, 31 May 2008. And one photo shot for all der 42k Sundowners before we masuk kandang for the race. Everyone looks cheerful and ready for the showdown. The big question mark lingers on....how does my body react running in a race that starts at 12 midnite. Will my body collapse and shutdown at 3am (hopefully we will be at the 30k mark) when almost the entire Singapore is asleep. I think the group take it quite positively without any kancheong syndrome as we are not sure what to expect.....so just motivate ourself and run.

But I believed everyone of us had one common objective to prove and that is we are all able to run a 42k at any given time.....Sundown or Sunrise. We will hack it with every stride we take to complete the 42k race. And that is what motivate us to do as well as experience the race.

Full report to come very soon......

RMAF Half Marathon

Another delayed report by one week but better late than never as the saying goes......

I think by now all of you wud have read so many postings on this event that I probably do not want to talk about it too much. From the great starting point of running along the air-strip of the Sg Besi airbase, the fireworks and the flares that lighted up the atmosphere when the race was flagged off, the sufficient number of water stations that the runners have no reasons to complain and all the way to the superb hospitality shown by the RMAF ~ the host. These are all the talking points of the race, everything you heard and read about is a big thumbs up to RMAF. Well done, cinya!!!!

As for my performance, I wud said I did run well in this half marathon. Although it was under distance (20.47km measured by Garmin Forerunner 205), the undulating terrain at certain part of the course is not an easy task to overcome.

Was feeling and running strong for almost the entire race except towards the last 2k where I already emptied my tank and just maintain a comfortable speed to finishing line. Didnt get a feel of a 2nd wind coming and so not risking to push above limit as the next race will be the Sundown Marathon 2008 on 31 May. Crossed the finishing line in 1h47 mins and running an average of 5min22sec pace throughout the race.

My Father In-Law

I got a call from my wife (who is in Melaka) while driving back home after the RMAF race informing me that her dad had just passed away peaceful this morning at 8.30am. He passed away at the age of 85 years old. May he rest in peace.

Oh Mi Two Foh (AMITABHA)

UNITY

Malaysian Artistes For Unity ~ Bee End.....Please learn from the lyrics

NB15k

I only have time to blog about the race now. Way overdue as I will be running another race tomorrow ie RMAF Half Marathon before the next week showdown at Sundown Marathon 2008 in Singapore. Have been racing consecutively for the past 3 weekends (including tomorrow race) Legs felt like jelly, take longer time to recover and therefore mileage is extremely low for the Sundown race. I am not sure what will happen to me next week. Worry about it later and back to the race report.

Around 2 days before race day hor, our supreme Tai Kor Captim PM1 start to set finishing time for all der PMs running this race. Cinya pressure ler. He kan cheong himself enuf lah, why make everyone of us kancheong also. Must give him more pressure next time. So hor, he start put everyone in different category from sub 60mins lah, then sub 1'10, sub 1'20, etc, etc, etc. This is cinya pressure leh, how can he do this to us. And luckily or unluckily I was potition to run under der sub 1'20 category. Jialat lor, how to run so fast ler!!!! So wat to do, Tai Kor command must follow lor.......summore he said if cannot do will deduct points. TNS!!!!

So race day come, have to wake up cinya early at 4.30am so that can get parking at Bukit Aman carpark. Do all the morning routine, go toilet and let loose, and had simple breakfast. Der kan cheong syndrome started liao, in my mind hor I am thinking how to do sub 1'20, jialat lor this morning race. Everytime think of it, body like want to pangsai like that. No wonder our Tai Kor always pangsai just before race, bcos he so kancheong mah...sit also not ngam, walk also not ngam, so many things like going to happen!!!!

Time to leave home liao, so start driving to Lake Garden. Der feeling of kancheong syndrome still there and while driving along Jalan Ampang, I feel like want to pangsai. TNS!!! have to find pitstop lah. Luckily got a few petrol station along the way. So have to quickly stop by Esso and do my big business. Wah after that I feel so much better and at ease. The kancheong feeling is gone now. I think the tactic our Tai Kor use is to pangsai and release the stress level, hahahaha!!!!

















Reached the carpark and was early. Can find parking liao. Met with all der regulars who will be running that morning ~ der likes of Frank, Jamie, Kevin Chow, Wan, Geraldine and many more. Chit-chat a bit, do some stretching and relax body. Then times up to walk to Padang Merbuk where the starting point will be. As we reached the area, its was already fill up with so many runners liao. Found out hor that the start point is different from last year, but does not matter lah. Which way we start still have to run mah. Also cinya happy to see Kenneth there and so is Cheong SH. Kenneth a bit fat ler, no more power liao bcos need to jaga baby at nite. While talking to them suddenly heard a BANG sound and race was started. Cinya fast, and how come no talk kok one!!!!

Caught by the surprise start, so I slowly run hor to warm as I was at the back. Now have to slowly turbo and overtake all the slow runners, cinya. The route was jammed with all the runners, and slowly slowly I try to overtake. First 5k struggle a bit ler, legs feel like jelly. Dont know why, but der kancheong syndrome no more there oredi what!!!! So whats happening, but slow slow momentum coming back. My confidence also go up liao. Timing so so only.

Second 5k can feel some wind oredi. Running very relax and overtaking other runners liao. At some of the hills I slow down lor to reserve energy so that later can tekan turbo again. I run and run, continue with der pace and start to feel 2nd wind coming liao. After Tugu Negara, a lot of runners try to turbo and overtake me thinking that the finishing is near but they are totally wrong. My GPS kok only showed 13k leh at der point, how can so fast finish one.

The truth happens because all runners have to run one more loop at the back of Bank Negara to complete the race. I think lotsa of runners now feeling the TNS effect. Turbo like mad and sumore got 2k more to run. Now my chances to potong sayur back, and oredi got 2nd wind. Timing now is within reach of doing sub 1'20. Tekan turbo like mad and no give chance now. Have to do sub 1'20, this is the time. After the Bank Negara hill, its was downhill all der way and turbo even faster ~ based on my standard lah. Not comparing to other fast PMs lah, they all siow lang ler, can pia so fast one!!!!

Turn into Padang Merbok and crossed the finishing line. My GPS kok showed 1h17mins20secs and potition 146. Wah, unexpected time ler.....not bad not bad. The kancheong effect that Tai Kor PM1 put on me is working, cinya. Can pia and turbo like that.

Mingled around before heading back to Bukit Aman carpark to showcase some Saucony shoes to potential buyers. Happy running and Happy Selling. Seeya in the next race......

Note: Photo courtesy of Gege Tey

Home For The Angels

Last March during the KLIM08, I was doing a charity run raising funds for the "Home For The Angels". This is an orphanage home that houses 17 orphans and taken care by some volunteers.













































After a delayed and prolong postponement, I finally find the time today to make a trip to the orphanage and pass the donations (which I collected) to Mrs Tan ~ the principal of the orphanage. Although the funds collected is not a lot but I hope the Rm2000 given to them will be of great help one way or the other.


























































And may I offered my sincere thanks to those who had donated towards the orphanage. I do hope the funds do play a role and help meet their financial needs.

Saw-Kah-Nee

We always worried about what shoe or which pair of shoes to wear in the next race, not anymore........

The Progrid Guide gives you the incredible fit and ride, with just enough stability to keep the neutral and mild pronator runners thinking about everything but their shoes. Like work, school, vacations, dinners, guys, girls, parties or the next race.......

My 1st Encounter with Saucony Progrid Guide

Just delivered the Saucony Progrid Guide to Dr Jamie Pang on Wednesday morning and he immediately put it to test on the evening itself.

Click here for full report.

Runners2Runners Program

I am launching a program whereby I am recruiting runners as members to help promote and create greater awareness on Saucony running shoes within the running community. This program is called Runners2Runners Program. All appointed members of this program will be reference as “Saucony Shoe Ambassadors”.

For those interested to participate, please send an email to me (cchoi_2020@yahoo.com). Please include your personal contact number in your email. Upon receiving the email, I will give the interested party a call to further evaluate on whether they will be the right candidate for the program itself. Selection of the candidates will be based on certain criteria that will be highlighted during the discussion.

The key objective of this program is to promote the Saucony brand and also to offer another brand of running shoes to the running community itself, and hopefully coupled with value for money models. Lets get together and make the running community more vibrant, knowledgeable and last but not least helping each other in anyway we can.

Runners2Runners here we come !!!!

Signing off……

Choi Chik Choy

What happened to the Globe

First it was Nargis who hit Myanmar and almost demolished the city and nearby towns, killing thousands of people. The number of people which are unaccounted for is still rising.

Then we have a tornado that smashed part of Oklahoma and Missouri, USA over the weekend. Although the number of death is lower but that itself already caused enough havoc and create a disaster within the two cities itself. It will definitely take a mammoth task to rebuild, not counting on lost lives, house and cars totally damage by the twister.

And then just yesterday, an earthquake of 7.9 magnitude hit the Sichuan province. Chendu was the city most badly affected by the quake killing thousands of people there. It was reported that the quake can be felt at neighboring cities like Beijing and Shanghai, and as far as Vietnam.

What is the world up to !!! I have no answer for you. No matter what, lets put our hands together and pray for the safety of all these people who are suffering because of such global disasters. Global warming and world disasters, we cannot run away from it.

MUM ROCKS

Me and my wife






















My mum ~ she is a lot thinner now due to her low appetite in her eating habit. But she is still OK with her health.

Happy Mother's Day....I would like to take this opportunity to thank both my wife and mum for their continuous support to my family, as well as the love given to me and the children. Not forgetting cooking us the delicious meals when we are hungry and giving the encouragement and advise on what we do in our daily life.

Both of you ROCKS !!!!!, thats the only word I can describe.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY.

I was on second wind

This morning I participated in the Bomba Run 10k race. I thot of using this race and see how fast can I go after having doing lotsa of long runs in preparation for KLIM08. There isnt much speed training that I had done during that period of time except for the past 1.5 weeks. And therefore I didnt expect too much out of this race. Medal allocation is only to the first 75 runners to cross the finishing line, so I told myself dont put too much hope in getting a medal as well. Just get out there and run the race as best as I can.

Got to see the usual running kakis at this event. Some of the PM members were there too. The race started 7.30am sharp and we have to run thru those hilly stretch along Kenny Hills, the Jalan Duta flyover plus the final killer stretch at Jalan Parlimen before finishing at Dataran Merdeka. The first KM was ran at a very control pace as I didnt want to push too hard. Try to reserve some energy for the second half of the race as there will be tough killer stretch to tackle.

I was running well after the first 5KM and was consistently maintaining a 5min pace, and at times slightly faster. As I reaches those hilly stretch I slowed down my pace to overcome it and push a little harder on the downhill. This continues and I find myself extremely comfortable with the pace and I told myself I am on second wind today.

Tackled the last killer stretch at Jalan Parlimen and a home run towards the finishing at Dataran Merdeka. I crossed the line in 52mins 13sec, got position number 36 and a finisher medal. I was quite amaze after finishing the race that I am able to sustain the pace throughout without any problems. Could be one of those days that I hit form and got the second wind to push myself and reward with a satisfy run. Was happy with the timing.

Next pia session is NB15k. Seeya there.

In the jungle (The Lion Sleeps Tonite)

Who can sings like Pat the Hippo and dance like Stanley the Dog!!! Just follow Stanley and I think its a damn good warmup exercise before a race. Give it a shot in your next race and hopefully the race organiser will play this song for all the runners.

May Day 30k Run

This was the first 30k run (after the recent KLIM08) in preparation for the coming Sundown Marathon. Obviously its challenging for me as my training had been slacking since then plus my form and fitness condition is not up to mark. I felt the strain on my body at the 27k mark and I slowed down tremendously so as to be able to continue running and not walk. Made it back to the finishing in one piece. Was a good run to gauge where my fitness level are at this moment.