A date with the SINISTER

I had a date with the SINISTER this morning for a 6k run. While I always wanted to get a pair of light weight trainer cum racer for myself, I watched a video pre-launch of this shoe sometime in mid 2007. The video and the preview got me really excited about the SINISTER at that time.

As I was not in a hurry to get it and my pace is not as fast as I wanted, I can actually afford to wait for its customer release in USA sometime during the August time frame. It reaches the Malaysia soil sometime in Sept/Oct period and I decided to purchase it since the distributor that I am dealing with got the stock and is able to ship it down to KL.

Street price of the shoe is RM280 after discount and I would said this is a wonderful light weight trainer for me after today's workout. The color of metallic blue was also very striking and give me the roar of a light weight trainer cum racer. Weighing just a bit over 10 oz, the SINISTER is the ideal light weight trainer cum racer for me in running future 10ks and 21ks, and maybe taking it for a stroll in a 42k race!!!!

Although the shoe does not look too cushy, but once I ran in it I actual felt the solid cushioning as I landed on the tarmac. It gives me just the right cushioning for my run and just not add extra weight to it. With the introduction of Flexion Ride Technology, it actually gives me the lift off in a very much more responsive manner. The SINISTER also gives a good fit feeling and does not have too much unwanted space in between my feet and the shoe itself. That is actually extremely important for a light weight trainer cum racer to give one that good fit feeling and the responsive transition from the heel to toe. I will definitely take the shoe out for a longer run (20k) to test out how it perform and its responsiveness when I am on the road longer. But I have this confidence that it will still pass with flying colors.

Overall I am very happy with the SINISTER and will dare to make recommendation to anyone out there who is on the lookout for a new pair of light weight trainer cum racer.

Technology writeups
Introduction Flexion Ride Technology from Saucony. Sinister, a lightweight training shoe, incorporates a flexion plate to naturally propel runners onto their forefoot. The Sinister combines a great fit and responsive cushioning for a more efficient running gait. The injection molded EVA provides shock attenuation, responsive cushioning and durability. The visible rearfoot grid system provides superior cushioning and stability by centering the heel on impact. Breathable, moisture wicking, anti-odor and anti-microbial Ortholite® insole provides improved step-in comfort with rebound properties. The HRC Strobel board increases cushioning and step-in comfort.


Runner's World BEST DEBUT: Saucony Grid Sinister
RW: The new Sinister features a full-length plastic plate in the midsole that provides a smooth transition from heel-strike to toe-off. This design helps move you through the gait cycle more quickly for a more efficient toe-off. The plate and the durable carbon-rubber outsole makes the shoe firm, but the Sinister is not as stiff as you would expect, according to RW Shoe Lab tests. We recommend the Sinister as a racing shoe or trainer for efficient, average-weight runners.
Wear-testers Say: "Just enough cushioning for long runs but not so much that it added weight or bulk." --Cristen Miller, 24, Allentown
"The best tempo shoe I've ever worn." --Jose Brown, 50, East Lansing

Widths: Standard
Weight: 10.4 oz (M) 8.9 oz (W)
Contact: 800-365-4933; www.saucony.com

A thousand marbles

Got this article from an email and I thot its worth sharing will everyone

How Many Marbles Do You Have Left?

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the
quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's
the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first
few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the kitchen, with a steaming
cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What
began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons
that life seems to hand you from time to time.

Let me tell you about it. I turned the volume up on my radio in order
to listen to a Saturday morning talk show. I heard an older sounding
chap with a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he
should be in the broadcasting business himself.

He was talking about "a thousand marbles" to someone named "Tom". I
was intrigued and sat down to listen to what he had to say. "Well,
Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay
you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your
family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work
sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed
your daughter's dance recital. " He continued, "Let me tell you
something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective
on my own priorities." And that's when he began to explain his theory of
a "thousand marbles."

"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average
person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some
live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years. Now
then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the
number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime."

"Now stick with me Tom, I'm getting to the important part. "It took me
until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any
detail", he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-
eight hundred Saturdays. "I got to thinking that if I lived to be
seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I
went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended
up having to visit three toy stores to round-up 1000 marbles. I took
them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container
right here in my workshop next to the radio. Every Saturday since
then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away."

"I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more
on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching
your timehere on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.
"Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my
lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last
marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday
then God has blessed me with a little extra time to be with my loved
ones...... "It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you spend more time
with your loved ones, and I hope to meet you again someday. Have a
good morning!"

You could have heard a pin drop when he finished. Even the show's
moderator didn't have anything to say for a few moments. I guess he
gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to do some work that
morning, then go to the gym. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my
wife up with a kiss.

"C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast." "What
brought this on?" she asked with a smile. "Oh, nothing special," I said. " It
has just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the
kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy
some marbles."

"Life is fragile. Handle with Prayer"

Facebook

About Facebook

Founded in February 2004, Facebook is a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and coworkers. The company develops technologies that facilitate the sharing of information through the social graph, the digital mapping of people's real-world social connections. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact with the people they know in a trusted environment. Facebook is a part of millions of people’s lives and half of the users return daily. Facebook is a privately-held company and is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif.

To me this is a very powerful tool currently to communicate effectively with your frenz, express yourself and track down your long lost frenz. Try getting yourself an account and I guarantee you will get hooked to it and find it extremely useful. The more important thing is that it changes the way you communicate with your frenz and families ~ locally and abroad.

Check it out!!!!

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!!!!

PUMA Running

I am currently doing a research on whether PUMA running technology will be well accepted in the running communities in Malaysia. PUMA are more well known in the football arena, F1 shoes and apparels, as well as lifestyle. But when comes to running, this is an unknown brand amongst runners like us. But I am willing to give it a shot if given the chance to promote and push the brand.......



1. A 2 layer upper of highly breathable air and single mesh combined with strengthening synthetic leather provides excellent ventilation, foot climate, comfort and stablility.

2. Lace Wrap System: internal free running lace loops make the shoe adjustable to every foot shape and gives and even more supportive felling as the upper nestles against the foot.

3. Stretchable tongue insert for adjustable fit.

4. Finemoulding and heat cut details for additional heel stablitliy and upper support, reducing the stretch of the mesh and the amount of overlays for greater comfort and reduction of weight.

5. Achilles protector for a comfortable, snug and stable heel fit and improved foot guidance during the gait cycle.



6. 3M Scotchlite 360 visiblity on heel, vamp, lace loops and support trimmings for maximum low light safety.

7. Perforated KMS 100 sockliner with moisture-wicking top fabric for durable comfort and dry feet.

8. Low density CELL (ldCELL) insert blended into the midsole provides excellent forefoot cushioning. It absorbs forefoot imparct while maintaining the natural propulsive motion of the foot to give a fast and efficient toe-off.

9. M2D (medial dual density): an insert of higher CM-EVA denscity on the medial side to control and guide the foot motion of a mild and moderate overpornator during the gait cycle.

10. ArchTec: A TPU midfoot shank placed right under the arch. It strengthens and controls the torsional heel and forefoot motion during the gait cycle and stabilizes the foot during the stance phase.

11. DUO CELL: The 2CELL layers, made of a super elastomer, greatly reduce the impact forces upon heel strike. The new independent CELLS support a natural foot motion and slow the foot’s inward rotation for optimal footstrike.

12. EverTrack: PUMA’s rubber compound for higher abrasion resistance.

13. EverRide: A blown rubber compound that provides additional cushioning through the outsole and reduces the weight of the shoe.

14. Asymmetirc heel flair for a controlled heel-strike reducing impact forces and leading the foot from touch-down to stance phase.

15. Flex-grooves for increased flexibility and a smoother faster feel as you push off from the ground.

Mt Kinabalu (6-9 Oct 07) ~ Report

I guessed I dont need to write much about this trip anymore as the pictures that were posted said it all. Its definitely one of the most enjoyable climb for me. I must said that the team were really blessed with fantastic weather for the entire climb and even at the summit. Never before had I encountered such beautiful weather especially when its towards the end of the year. Even the guides told me that Mt Kinabalu never had such good weather during the Oct-Dec months. It shud be raining and misty at the summit!!!! So instead of a lengthy report, I would summarised it into the top 5 things of this climb.



















Top 5 things about this climb.

1. Great team spirit
2. Wonderful mountain durians that we ate
3. Beautiful photos that everyone had taken
4. Fantastic weather
5. New friendships were born

Malaysia, where is your Enforcement & Execution?

First was the bus systems that were compromised. Buses on the road without operating license as well as collecting summons and not paying it. Bus drivers are on drugs!!!!

Now is the ferry service pulak!!!! What happened in Mersing recently where the ferry caught fire and upon further checking, as usual no operating license, the pilot of the ferry is not registered. Blah,Blah,Blah......

What had happened all this while actually exposed a very poor administration, enforcement and execution of respective government agencies and departments to ensure all these operators are carrying out the services properly and with the utmost safety of the passengers in mind. Everything in Malaysia seems so SLACK.

And as usual, everything start to back paddle while the top man of the country feels very ANGRY and instruct to ensure all these are put on checks. What for doing that when the worst had already happened!!!!

I wonder what next will happen and cause the losses of lives again. Maybe it cud be our train services...watch out.

And we still wants to expose ourselves to space expedition. Izit Angkasawan or Angkasa-WANT!!! Do we do it with a purpose or just for the sake of doing it bcos we are first to do it than our neighbours. Maybe I dunno!!!

Malaysia, please clean up your own backyard before doing anything else.

I am a true MALAYSIAN but felt very shameful when all these basic fundamentals are put on a compromised impacting the credibility of the country.

As someone wrote before "FIRST CLASS INFRASTRUCTURE, THIRD WORLD SERVICES"

Me and My favorite tree ~ 2007

Mt Kinabalu (6-9 Oct 07) ~ Random photos

One for all, and all for one. The team were all hype-up before the climb























Taking a picture is always a must at Laban Rata


















Anyone interested to eat a mountain durian?


















A victorious picture during sunset at Laban Rata



















At the summit with South Peak as the backdrop























































































On the way up to Laban Rata at the 1KM mark as well as along the Golden Trail with my favorite tree

The Moon, The Sun, The Mountain and The Human

This is a fantastic shot captured by a Vietnamese which I befriended at The Summit of Mt Kinabalu. The photo was unique in such a way that you get to see the Sun rises thru the horizon and with the Moon still at a visible distance. And the most amazing part of this picture is the human image on the left. Is that a real human or a shadow of another kind!!!!

Mt Kinabalu (6-9 Oct 07)

Top of the World

I was blessed with the most beautiful weather amongst all my climbs. Perfect condition for reaching the summit. The only thing is that its extremely windy and therefore bringing the temperature even lower and staying up at the peak was much colder.




















Story coming later........


Besides a successful climb, one of the guides also taught me this very famous Kadazandusun song (while descending from summit to Laban Rata) which is about a woman crossing the Tamparuli bridge and losing her high-heeled shoes and going off to buy a new pair at the Wednesday market.

The first four lines go like this: Pak pak kangku doh/ summsui do jambatan/ jambatan do Tamparuli/ bakasut tinggi oku. The song is set to the catchy beat of the sumazau, a dance unique to the Kadazandusun.

Jambatan Tamparuli available at YouTube and the historical value behind it.

If I am running a marathon

If I am running a marathon at the end of the year be it in Xinjiapoh, Chiangmai or other places, this will generally be my training regime. But since I wont be doing any this year, I will still draw out the training plan in case someone need to have some cross reference. My program may not be the best and or suit everyone, but I felt it is generally OK for most runners training for a 42k race. Consider a two month training regime with the earlier month being your base training. I assume one would have a solid one month base and able to run a 20k comfortably in whatever timing you are doing. The most important is you dont struggle at this distance with two months to race day. The next two months will be extremely crucial to condition your body to take on the distance, and therefore solid LSD shud be in place. This is to ensure your body get use to such distance and you are mentally prepare to go the distance. Otherwise the chances of hitting the wall is extremely high.






















And here is how I would plan out the two months of training.

Week 1
Mon - Fri ~ total of 20k to 25k
Sat/Sun ~ the LSD shud be 25k

Week 2
Mon - Fri ~ total of 20k to 25k
Sat/Sun ~ the LSD shud be 28k (break the body resistance)

Week 3
Mon - Fri ~ total of 20k to 25k
Sat/Sun ~ back to a 25k (give your body some rest)

Week 4
Mon - Fri ~ total of 25k to 30k
Sat/Sun ~ Go for a 30k run ( this is the time you will find out if your body breaks)
Do this if you are planning for 2 x 30k runs in your training, else a 28k will be fine

Week 5
Mon - Fri ~ total of 20k to 25k
Sat/Sun ~ A 25k-28k will do (listen to your body)

Week 6
Mon - Fri ~ total of 25k to 30k
Sat/Sun ~ A 30k run
This will either be your 1st or 2nd 30k run in your training program

Week 7 and 8 (tapering week)
Mon - Fri ~ just workout your body. 15k to 20k total mileage will be fine
Sat/Sun ~ An easy 15k-20k run

Race Day
Who let the dogs out.
Its your day to finish the race.

Me and my favorite tree

Its a new ball game again. Next week I will be having another photoshot with my favorite tree. YES, u guess right. I am off for my 6th climb to Mt Kinabalu next week from 6-9 Oct 2007. This time taking another group of rookies as well as season trekkers up the trail and hopefully reaching the summit again. With some seasoners around, I hope my job as the sweeper will be much easier.

Hopefully the weather will be kind to us and god blessed ~ Namo O Mi Tho Fwo, because bad weather will be the deciding factor of success and failure in reaching the summit. Strong winds and coldness can also be the other factor ~ so every climb for me is a challenge because its not always the same. The trail maybe the same but definitely not the weather!!!!

Some candid photos taken during my last trip.















Cinya "Sui" wild Orkid















Born free, as free as the wind blows



















Hello, izit me you looking for?















The Full Monty, is there one this year?

Life is......

No competition in mind, no pressure to train, just run at the easiest pace and enjoy it thoroughly. Thats what going on with me right now. Just maintain fitness and try to get myself to run a bit faster at times. Hopefully this will get myself ready for some serious races when the running season comes back after the Hari Puasa month.

Anyway did just that on Saturday with Jamie, KNN, Tey, Phyllis, Kenny and G. We did a Double Hill while Kenny + G (will strike the right cord ~ Kenny G with his sax) opted for the 20k Hartamas route. It was cooling and fresh for me on the morning running, and so is KNN which is not struggling to keep to our pace anymore. Kudos to him for maintaining his fitness at the gym.

Completed the DH route at ease and had a water stop before heading off for another 5k run via Carcosa, then onto Deer Park and back to Bukit Aman carpark via the Islamic Museum (minus Planetarium) The route was measured with the Garmin 205 and the distance was 5.45k ending at the Bukit Aman carpark. Probably Ronnie PM1 will be interested to know the exact distance for his pia kau kau lat training. Maybe can also counter with the roda measurement service by Kenny!!!

Happy training to those going for International races in Xinjiapoh and ChiangMai, etc, etc.