The Working Formula

One pack of the Weider IN Jelly consumed before I start my LSD and a bottle of Endurox R4 consumed in the first 5k of my 30k. This is a wonderful formula for me. Give me the energy and the power to last the entire run.

Obviously in between there will be refueling, else See Kiaw Kiaw liao!!!

Kordel's - Arthritis Foundation Charity Walkathon

Date: 24 May 2009 (Sunday)
Venue: Taman Jaya, Petaling Jaya
Time: 7.00am to 11.oo am
Distance: 4.5km (3 x 1.5k loop)
Prizes: 1st - RM1000; 2nd to 10th - Hampers worth RM100


It was a last minute entry where Cheang and Julie sms me asking if I want to be part of their 4 member team for this charity walk. Since this is a charity walk I have no second thought to it and accepted their invitation. The team member comprised of Cheang, Kei Meng, Julie and myself.

Arrived at the event site at around 7am. Bumped into Amelia, Kevin Chow and some familiar faces in the running community. Was waiting for Cheang to arrive and register the team. A while later Cheang arrived and got the team registered. Soon Julie and Kei meng arrived as well and we started to pin up our bibs and we are Team 008. The number of participant is not too big.

One of the VIP for this event is our Angkasawan, Datuk SMS. The MC announced his arrival and heaps of people went rushing to him for autographs and having a photo session with him. Our group also did not missed the opportunity and have a group photo with him as well.















Team 008 (All Black) with Angkasawan
Picture courtesy of RunWitMe


Its oredi 8am now and we are still waiting for the arrival of the VVIP for this event. As the clock approaches 8.15am, all the participants were informed by the MC to move to the Starting Line and the walk will start at 8.30am. At the Starting Line, all the participants were guided to a warmup and stretching session by some national walkers who were also here for the event.

There was a countdown to the starting of the event and out we go. All four of us stick together as we race began. I was tailing behind Cheang and Julie for the first loop as the leg muscle are pretty stiff. As I go into the 2nd loop, I began to increase my walking speed and the muscle are more or less ease up and was side by side with Cheang. Julie and Kei Meng was slightly about 30m behind us. Once I completed Lap 2, my walking speed gained momentum and this is where I start to make my move in walking faster. I overtook Cheang and start making my way towards the finishing line.

As i approaches the Finishing Line, I waited for the team to reach and thought of finishing it together. The official told me to cross the line first and I did it together with Cheang and Julie as they were also quite near. Kei Meng was a bit behind (i think he was too tired after last nite 29k run)

After completing the walk, Cheang's wife told us we are in the running of a top 10 position. That was good news to all of us. We had our refreshment and rest while waiting for the prize giving ceremony and handing out of the event goodies bag. While waiting there was some form of entertainment and games coordinated by the event MC. In general it was done together with all the particpants going up to the stage and participate.

By around 10.15am, the official results were ready to be announce. We got position number 8 and that means Team 008 had won a hamper that is worth RM100. Kudos for the team members who put in an effort to got for a top 10 position. It was a good outing and also a charitable one as well.




















I was hoping to take this VW home too!!!!
Picture courtesy of RunWitMe















Things from the goodies bag















Prizes from the hamper and this is my fair share





















Certificate Of Participation

Born Free, As Free As The Wind Blows

Courtesy of Michael Liew

This is wat makes me trek Mt Kinabalu every year. The early morning sun that shines on the summit transformed it into a Golden Peak. Two GONG GONG trekkers slowly making their way up to the summit. He told his trekking buddy "We are almost there, just another couple of metres up the steep rocky path and you will reach the highest peak in South East Asia"

12 May 2009

This will be a day that will go down my memory lane very well. Aiks, dont mistaken that its the pre May 13 thingy, although its another day that I will remembered forever. Its the darkest day in Malaysia and as far as the country its concern, May 13 doesnt exist in our history books. Yet if you are old enuf, you will know what it means and what actually took place. Try googled it and do a research for yourself.

Well lets put that aside and focus on what I am trying to say. May 12 is the day I bidded goodbye to a 14 years and 3 months relationship. A relationship that had brought me good exposure, took good care of my family and where we are today. Created a great opportunity for me to express myself and to the world, got me the opportunity to at least show the world what I can do. It wasnt easy but we do it together and achieved what we targetted.

There were so many things that had happened in this 14 years and 3 months. The ups and downs of life together, the pressure to ensure things are done correctly, etc, etc. And to cut the story short, well things finally had to come to an end. Bidding farewell with handshakes and signing off documents to ensure it was done in a legal and professional manner.

I hope we will still be friends and may our path meet again. Adios.................

Sichuan Earthquake 1st anniversary

Survivors of last year's devastating earthquake in China's Sichuan province have marked the 1st anniversary of the tragedy that left 90,000 peopledead ormissing and 5 million homeless.

May the lost souls all rest in peace.....Oh Mi Two Foh

I would love to visit this province in the near future especially Chengdu and Mt Emei.

Wesak Day - Candle Procession

Buddhist devotees join in the Candle procession















































































The floats during the procession














This dude hit the wall....he is panting furiously














This young one is part of the crowd














Mens best friends - The K9 is part of the crowd














The stylo milo crowd














We did it together !!!














The young monks

Wesak Day - A visit to the Vihara temple

Big crowd inside the temple














Oil lamps














Flags & Light Bulbs to beautify the temple














The devotees offering their candles and joss sticks














May I blessed with good health, good life & a good husband too!!!
......A marathon runner as a husband is perfectly fine














The main prayer hall of the temple














The entrance to the temple














A view from the outside

A Great Mountaineer

Met my fren T Ravichandran during my visit to the Vihara temple in Brickfields in this week Wesak Day celebration. Ravi is no ordinary person but to me he is one of the greatest mountaineer in Malaysia and maybe even within ASEAN.

He is the only person in ASEAN who did a solo climb (without any help & support from local Sherpa) and reach the summit of Mount Everest from the North - Tibet side and at the same time raise funds to benefit various charity houses in Malaysia.

Happy Wesak Day

Tomorrow Buddhist all over the world will celebrate Wesak Day which actually encompasses the birth, enlightenment Nirvana, and passing of Gautama Buddha.







Oh Mi Two Foh aka Amitaba Buddha.

A day at the rubber plantation

It was a beautiful morning and I decided to go out for a shooting session at a rubber plantation. A quite place with fresh air and birds chipping away, where one can never find in the city. Its located at Machap Baru(where my wife live), the biggest Chinese New Village in Melaka.

More shots can be found at my album in Facebook.

The Sun and the Moon

This shot was taken this evening when I suddenly noticed that the Moon had appeared in broad daylight. Is there something special to the Solar system today where the Moon appears before the sun set.

Mount Kinabalu (23 -26 April 2009)

Note: Pictures courtesy from Frank Chong

Its my 7th climb and reaching the Summit for the 6th time. Every each of these climbs give me different challenges and feelings, and more importantly provide me with an opportunity to learn new things and get to make new friends. I am not sure if I want to blog in detail about this climb but definitely I will do it. Probably in a different angle.

Come back soon.........

Hot Hot 25k

It was a training run that I wanted badly. Down for more than 3 weeks with cough and throat infection, coupled with the medication which knock me out almost completely. So yesterday 25k run was a test of my endurance and whether I am back in shape after knocking in some 3ok within the week.

The morning started off extremely hot and humid, and I have Loke as my running buddy this time. I just take it very slowly in the beginning. Just make sure that I dont push too hard and run out of energy towards the return leg.

Able to handle the first 10k pretty well but the humidity is taking a toll on both of us. We hydrated ourselves at the Petronas kiosk and continued with 2 loops (2.27k) around the Hartamas housing area before running back to Bukit Aman carpark.

The return leg was ran at a slightly faster pace as compare to the first leg. Am still able to handle the pace pretty well. Struggled a bit on the uphill around Tijani area. Once both of us cleared that, it was a good pace together till we hit Jalan Parlimen. Loke increased the pace a bit along the uphill stretch towards Lake Garden and I just tailgate closely behind. Although pushing harder and feeling some strain, I can feel that I have almost regain 70%-80% of my original fitness (from an endurance perspective).

Completed the run in almost 2hr 45mins (plus water stop time) and I thot it was a pretty good run for me. I am glad my fitness is coming back and hopefully by end of May, I shall have my full fitness, endurance and speed back.

More hard work ahead......

BHP Orange Run 2009

I was informed that BHP Orange Run is into its 4th year. I must say its very well organized especially when its a free event. Coupled with quite a fair bit of sponsors throwing in some marketing dollar to create the awareness of the BHP brand for the consumers.

For me, this is more of a fun run, carrying my point & shoot camera while running. Also is a get together with some running buddies and take the opportunity to showcase some Saucony shoes to interested runners. Killing many birds with one stone.

Well I wont describe much about the event as I said earlier that its pretty well organised. Just watch the photos which I took before, during and after the race.

1 Malaysia. People First. Performance Now.

Well tha'ts the tagline of our new Prime Minister. Prove it to the Rakyat that you are sincere about it and most importantly work towards it. What I am expecting out of it.......

1 MALAYSIA
Just abolish the need of going thru Immigration checkpoints when entering Sabah and Sarawak. I felt like an outsider when entering the 2 states although the people are friendly there. If we are 1 Malaysia, why the need to do that. It just incurred high cost for the country to do that. This is just one of them, in fact there are many more!!!!

People First
No discrimination amongst all Malaysian irregardless of races. That is equal rights and no special privileges and treatments to any races. Treat every single RAKYAT equally and have us compete at the same level.

Performance Now
Just take out all the deadwood in the Ministery Cabinet and punish those who are caught with corruption. Eg are like ppl who misused states funds and go for technical visits in Disneylands.


Can you do it, Mr Prime Minister?

I am......

I am down but not out............

Will make a comeback soon...........

High Spirits

After yesterday torturous 21k run (Bkt Aman - Solaris - Petronas Hartamas [2 loops] - Bkt Aman), my running spirits are much much higher now. Never had I been in such a condition during training. I told myself after the run "How bad can it be" as I have ran my most suffering 21k in all these years. It can only get better as time goes by.

I made the right choice by not doing a 10k this morning and choose to have more sleep/rest but I still woke up at 8am. Do the normal house chores as wife is not at home for the weekend. Met the Navy boyz and deliver some shoes at LG. It was an honor to meet my fren and congrat him personally for coming out 2nd (Malaysian) in Ironman Langkawi.

The rest of the day will be chilling out at home before another week starts. Dont forget school reopens next week and back to the madness of traffic jams in the morning.

The Problem with US Economy

The Problem with the US Economy:

Sweet and Simple

John Smith started the day early having set his alarm

clock

(MADE IN JAPAN )

for 6 am.

While his

coffeepot

(MADE IN CHINA )

was perking, he shaved with his

electric razor

(MADE IN HONG KONG ).

He put on a

dress shirt

(MADE IN SRI LANKA ),

designer jeans

(MADE IN SINGAPORE )

and

tennis shoes

(MADE IN KOREA )

After cooking his breakfast in his new

electric skillet

(MADE IN INDIA )

he sat down with his

calculator

(MADE IN MEXICO )

to see how much he could spend today. After setting his

watch

(MADE IN TAIWAN )

to the

radio

(MADE IN INDIA )

he got in his

car

(MADE IN GERMANY )

filled it with

GAS

(from Saudi Arabia )

and continued his search

for a good paying AMERICAN JOB.

At the end

of yet another discouraging

and fruitless day

checking his

Computer

(Made In Malaysia ),

Joe decided to relax for a while.

He put on his

sandals

(MADE IN BRAZIL )

poured himself a glass of

wine

(MADE IN FRANCE )

and turned on his

TV

(MADE IN INDONESIA ),

and then wondered

why he can't find

a good paying job

in the US

$$$ Politics

Is

MONEY POLITICS

Equals

C O R R U P T I O N

StanChart KL Marathon 2009

Dear Runner

Octagon, a division of CMGRP (M) Sdn. Bhd and Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Berhad are pleased to commence the official registration and website for the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009, the biggest and most rewarding marathon to hit Malaysia.

To commemorate the start of the registration tomorrow, we are having some activities in KL to kick off the registration. We would like to invite you to come over to Pavilion KL to join in on the festivities. Lucky runners who sign up tomorrow at Pavilion KL will stand a chance to win thumb drives, free registration and a grand prize of 2 VIP Access Passes to attend the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009 (great gift for your friends and family).

When ? 10.00am to 1.00pm on 13 March 2009 (Friday)

Where ? Espressamente Illy Café

Lot 310, Level 3, Pavilion KL, 168 Jalan Bukit Bintang

55100 Kuala Lumpur (facing Bintang Walk)

Or if you’re unable to come over to Pavilion KL, no worries. Just log on to www.kl-marathon.com from tomorrow onwards to register! Also, tomorrow we will be sending you the official press release announcing the start of registration to post on your blog.

If you need more info about what is happening tomorrow, please do not hesitate to contact:

Weber Shandwick Malaysia, at 03-7843 3100, or;

Alina Morais amorais@webershandwick.com (017 323 3078 / 03 7843 3125)

Norhayati Malek nmalek@webershandwick.com (012 713 2770 / 03 7843 3129)

Marc Ng marc5133@yahoo.com (019 3196032)

Thanks

Alina

Alina Morais

Consultant

Weber Shandwick

4-01, 4th Floor
Wisma LYL
No. 12, Jalan 51A/223
46100 Petaling Jaya

Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia
T: +603 7843 3100 | DL: +603 7843 3125 | F: +603 7843 3199

E: amorais@webershandwick.com

www.webershandwick.com