Malakoff Penang 2012 Prelim Result

Well, the prelim result is announced 2 days after the event, I'm happy with the achievement that I've made, although I know that many good runners actually skipped the race because it is quite expensive. Anyhow, the 22nd placing in Men Open category is like the icing on the cake for me, I'm quite happy with the improvement that I have made.

You can check the result at Malakoff Run official website.

Besides, the official photographer has snapped a nice photo of me crossing the finishing line. Whoever you are, thank you very much.

Happy~!

Race Report - Malakoff Penang 2012

Event: Malakoff Penang 2012
Date: 25 March 2012
Location: Padang Kota Lama, Penang
Distance: 17km (16.88km)
Registration Fee: RM50 (Men Open)
Gears: Adidas Adizero, Garmin Forerunner 405
Starting Time: 7.00am
Running Time: 01:20:21
Pace: 04:46

It was a blur blur Saturday, I have actually forgotten what I have done, just remember the morning run that I have tried my compression shorts and the farewell dim sum session with Nigel, who has relocated himself to JB. Wish him all the best.

I remembered that I put myself on the bed at 11 something on Saturday night, I wanted to do well so badly and the quality of sleep must not be compromised. Alarm was set at 5.30am.

I woke up and did the big business after downing a glass of water, want to clear the tank before I hit the race. After that, I made myself a glass of hot milo, and the last cookie that I have bought from New Zealand, back dated to end of September 2011. I consider it was 'good' and 'safe' to consume, as there's nothing wrong with the taste. The amount of energy from the early breakfast should be enough for the race.

Packed my things, dressed myself up with the Brooks running shorts, the sexy red shorts, the Adidas Sundown marathon vest, the tracksuit and bright yellow jacket. I want everyone to notice me when I'm on the road, on the bike, especially. I thought I can get to the starting point in 30 minutes, but it was not true.

I was overestimated the ability of the aging Honda EX5 Wave, I tried to push to get over 90km/h but never hit that mark. I paid the Penang Bridge toll on the bike the first time in 2012, RM1.40, relatively cheap compared to a car :P

Riding the bike on the way to Padang Kota Lama or Esplanade was like forever, it was so slow. I started to question my judgement to ride the bike on race day. Having departed at 6.05am and I managed to get to the starting point at 6.45am. I was quite nervous because I still need to see Huei Giap to get my bib and tracking chip. I parked my bike in front of the GE office, took off my outfit and rock and roll.

I quickly ran to the point that Huei Giap was expecting me to turn up at 6.30am. He helped me with the tracking chip while I I pinned all the bib to my vest. Still not warm up yet. I tried to move as much as I could, and I meet Steven from LLC and Telly from PLLC.

Runners starting to gather in front of the line and I was like 30m behind the crowd, there was simply no chance for me to squeeze myself through, at that point of time. I wanted to do it in an easy way.

'Bang' and the race has been flagged off. I told myself to do reverse split (ideally, but things does not always in your favour). I was busy clearing the human traffic, I think I only managed to run freely after 1km since Penang runners are quite strong.

I'm not sure who is in front, so I just tried my best to play the catching up game. Checked my pace once a while to ensure that I'm still competitive (in sub-5 pace). I can see a few female runners in front of me near Gurney Plaze at the Kelawei Road, they were very strong, consistent pace with several supporters cheering for them from the side. I wish I have one.

I tried to move in a more economical way to get pass the female runner after running behind them for the whole stretch of Kelawei Road, finally I got past the only female runner in my sight and after a while, we were running into Tanjung Pinang or Straits Quay, there was a water station which the female runner who I have overtook ran shoulder to shoulder with me, and finally left me behind the dust after the checkpoint, I tried to chase her, but I did not want to spoil the whole run and it was a good race until that moment. I overtook runners and only being overtaken by one.

Then, I have set my sight on a foreign runner, his move was very economical as well. I ran behind him from the Island Plaza, we were like 60 meters away, and I managed to overtook him in front of Gurney Plaza. Phew....

After that, I felt the tiredness creeping in because the pace dropped 20 seconds per km. I have not drink enough and I guessed I was paying the price for it. Sacrifice hydration for time is not a good idea. I tried to push to catch the next runner in front of me, about 100m away. For the whole stretch of Gurney coastal way, I could not close the gap.

I just tried to pushed until I see Citibank, E&O Hotel and I knew that it was going to the finishing line. At the junction of the Padang Kota Lama, I took a wrong turn to the left and that makes me ran into a wrong route and I had to finish from behind. There was a policeman or RELA volunteer who saw me doing that turn did not bother at all. Haih... after all, it is my fault for not going thru the route thoroughly.

Finished in 01:20:21 with a respectable pace of 4:46, I should be able to do better. Hopefully by next run, I can do better.

Took a few photos of Steven Heng, Qamarrul, Huei Giap, Hubert, KP Loo, Krishna and PC Tang. Then, rode my bike back to mainland for Cheng Beng.

:-)

I Own This~!

Hehe, I have won one and the actual unit is actually at my home now.... hurray~!

Give

I was surfing some good quotes of the art of giving and I've found this, of course it was not just below, I have to pick the best 3 out of the rest and I think everyone should spend some time reading it, understand it and put it into action.

Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need. - Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931)

The great art of giving consists in this: the gift should cost very little and yet be greatly coveted, so that it may be the more highly appreciated. - Baltasar Gracian

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. - Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965) 

I'm not a very generous person but I do give, from time to time, maybe I'm taking too much pride than I need. That's is something that I have acknowledged after the spending spree in the first 2 months in 2012. I bought myself iPad2, iPhone4S, Garmin Forerunner 405, etc. The total cost of these things could easily help a family to survive for a few months, or even a year.

I know what I've done and I told myself I have to cut down the spending and stop acting that I'm rich (which in fact I'm NOT!!!!) I have ensure that I make the full use of the luxurious acquisitions, I use my iPad2 for reading when I'm in the BEST, I use my iPhone to connect with my wife (utilize the 3G and other apps too, but it is not living to its best potential yet), and the most utilized one is the Garmin Forerunner 405 which I use for the training day in and day out, which I feel good about it.

Besides, the maid that has been serving my family for 3 years will leave and go back to her home town, Solo in Indonesia. She is a hardworking person, can execute tasks and behave nicely. However, she has to improve her attitude and the flexibility or the dynamic of working. It is not so important anymore. I just wish that she will be happy reuniting with her family after being separated for 5 years, expecting her first grandchild. Hope that the money she earns here could bring her family a better life.

In my opinion, she has done something great, like taking care of the house when there is nobody at home, taking care of Brandi and Benji like her own children, not to mention the Arowana and Guppies. If the new policy were to enfored, we need to pay multiple of RM700 for each and every task she has done. To show my gratitude, I actually have given away some of my belongings to her, or to her son. My old shorts, pants and jeans are still in good condition, they just don't fit me so well anymore, they are at least 7-9 years old, but I can they are in tip-top condition, some just need minimal repair. Buying things in Indonesia is expensive, I hope this really ease some of her financial burden as well. The thing that I afraid the most is her son is hesitant to take them, or to own them.

From one of the statistic that I have came across from nowhere, I can estimate myself in the top 20% high earners in Malaysia. It is not much compared to the top 3% but I actually can have a decent standard of living. Therefore, I believe that we should always give back to the community, the society to make this world a better place, although the person could be a stranger or just Tom, Dick and Harry.

Happy giving.

 

Race Report - Merentas Desa Pulau Pinang 2012

Event: Merentas Desa Pulau Pinang 2012
Date: 18 March 2012
Location: Teluk Kumbar, Penang
Distance: 8km (7.48km)
Registration Fee: RM12 (Men Open)
Gears: Asics Landreth, Garmin Forerunner 405
Starting Time: 7.30am
Running Time: 00:43:03
Pace: 05:45

It is the first race in Penang and no doubt that all the top runners in Penang are going to flood this event. No doubt, it proves me right when I see some top runners from Forward, I-Run, The Wind, etc are stretching when I was looking for a car park slot. It was very difficult to look for a potty, hence I just walked to one of the lorong and settle it fast and furious.

By the time I walked to the gathering spot, all the Open category runners are instructed to gather at the start/finish line. I did not have time to do the warm up, so I just moved my body to heat it up a little bit, the heart beat still at 13x. Not so long later, I heard 'ke garisan' and 'bang', here it went.

I was trying to keep up with the leading pack, but you know what? They are too fast, I checked my pace, it was <4:00, crazy.... I started panting, so I slow down a bit, just to be able to maintain the top 30 position (cincai kira one laaa). It was all good until we hit the beach, it was between km-3 and km-4, every step I made was like sinking in the sand, it drained a lot of my energy, it could be the pounding force of my feet is too big and there was little respond. After trying for a few hundred meters, I had to walked, I could feel the strain in my leg.

By that time, I just see runners keep overtaking me, so sien.... after the beach run, it was going into the kampung again, I was OK with that until I saw the up hill trail, pace drop and had to walk again. Maybe I thought I should not run because I will injure myself, but maybe that was just excuses. I don't know.... 

After the run in the trail, then we had to go thru some path that is able to cater for one runner at a time only, overtaking is limited by the space and I had to slow down. After exiting the narrow trail, then I resumed the 5:00-5:30 pace to play catch up, but the legs are exhausted, the heart was screaming 'help me'!!!!

Then I can see that the finishing line, I just sprinted and slowed down because it was not a good run, and crossed the finishing line in 43:03. I had analysed the run, and the main let-downs are:

• Beach run (or I can say beach walk)
• Up hill trail (or again, up hill walk)

The Positive:

• Be able to run at max heart rate at ~190bpm for quite some time.

Anyway, it is good for me to know my weaknesses so that I can work on it, Malakoff Penang 17km is next week, hope that I can do better, since I have done the simulation run.

Attached is the details of the run:

-.-

Theft

It is not right to steal, hence it shall be punished, but the motive or root cause shall be considered. Then, the severity of the punishment shall be applied. We are seeing theft of less than

I'm not trying to justify theft that was committed by the average people or poor people, but a fair trial shall be applied to all people in Malaysia. The poor would steal food, clothes, or goods for exchange for money, just to survive, compared to those endless gratification of the people in power, it is a great shame for the country.

The wealth gap or the distribution is widening, the rich is getting richer, the poor continue to be the poor or hardcore poor. We shall help them, educate them, so that they could reach the correct channels to sought for help, not by stealing.

I hope everyone can do a little to help the poor. They need the RM10 more than we do. We can skip the luxurious Starbucks expresso to buy them meals for a day.

Live Green Pledges 2012

Live Green pledges
At 8.30pm on 26th March 2011, Earth Hour celebrated a worldwide commitment to ongoing change for the betterment of the one thing that unites us all - our living planet.

Pledge to Live Green; be a Conservation Hero:
Add the power of your voice to the hundreds of millions across the globe who have already spoken with their actions; from now until Earth Hour 2012, pledge to "Live Green" towards more sustainable lifestyles,
Act on your "Live Green" pledge and help take care of the world where you live, and
Gain access to WWF-Malaysia e-posters and banners that will empower you to spread the important "Live Green" message.


I also pledge to switch off lights, computers and other electrical appliances in the office when my colleagues and I go out for lunch, in addition to doing so at the end of the day.


Can I just switch off the power plug and let my lappy hibernate only?

You can make your own pledge here.

Live Green. For yourself, for your children.

Car Repair

Wifey has been driving her father's Toyota SEG 1.6 since don't know when. Last time it was not my problem but now it is part of my problem, I need take care of it. It is definitely a burden, but I have to do it to ensure that wifey can get to and back from workplace.

It was a not so good year for the car in 2012, probably the feng shui isn't right for it. First, it broke down half way to work on Friday, I had to come back from workplace early (luckily I could go at 3pm) and went to fetch Ah Yung from Kulim to inspect the car.

The car cannot move, something wrong with the timing belt. I spent RM500 to get it fixed, with some routine maintenance of engine oil change, tyres rotation, alignment, etc. Well, that's only in January 2012.

Just into the last week of February 2012, something happened again. It was raining like cats and dogs on Saturday. Wifey drove her car from MB to BI so that we could get to SP together for a wedding dinner.

It was so unlucky that accident happened, the car was trapped in the man-hole that was lifted due to the large volume of water flowing out. According to wifey, the tyre was trapped and the car was spinning 360 degree. I guess she must be terribly shocked (which I denied :p)

In the other hand, it was very lucky that wifey is safe. She drove it to BI and park it there while we headed to SP in my car.

This few days, I finally got the chance to change the spare tyre because the rear tyre was damaged, with a 50 cent big puncture hole, clearly visible. Walao eh. I was thinking, RM200-250 gone for a new tyre. So I changed it and drove to Kulim.

In the midway, I smelled something burned, like to rubber abrasion/burning odour, I knew something was not right but I only can pray that I could reach the workshop before anything else happen, because I already used up the spare tyre.

At last, Ah Yung helped me to check it. The severity of the accident was out of my expectation. Besides the puncture tyre, the rear shock absorber is damaged, knuckle is danaged and the combination of those was scrapping the spare tyre and it (spare tyre) was pretty much worn out when they took it out, bad, very bad.

The initial cost to replace all those is RM700 to RM800 with everything new, but I'm not going to do that. I'm not sure how long the SEG can survive, so I decided to make it work with the least cost.

Today I got the receipt, it was RM430, almost 50% reduction, including the replacement of brake pump that was malfunction and detected just before Ah Yung send the car back to me. Wow... the SEG is sucking my blood.

I really need to have a replacement plan in place, how about Toyota for a Toyota? Prius C? RM97k????? Am I crazy? After some calculation, I don't think we (I mean myself and my wife) want to put our money in a car, at this point of time where our cash are pretty drained off and serving debt for years.

How about a second hand MyVi?

:-)