Youth Park LLC Outcome

Youth Park LLC

Goal:

1. Kill time. (Met, 1:30 spent for 14km of run)
2. Try new route. (Met, first time ran from Youth Park to Taman Jesselton to Batonical Garden)
3. Easy work out. (Met, ran at 6:15 to 6:30 pace)

New findings:

1. Good elevation in Botanical Garden, good if can put in more regular training there.
2. Youth Park route is short.

That's all. Tomorrow gonna attend the PBIM running clinic organized by Asics, before that, maybe 11 or 15km.

= woohoo =

Youth Park LLC Plan

The weather is still hot out there but I'm going to get out of the office at 3pm or before 3:30pm. The farewell dinner with colleagues starts at 7pm. That's 3 and a half hours to go.... I'm not going to mall because I would spend money there. I'm not going to stay in the office, it is not my favourite place and never will be ( I guess ).

Therefore, I have had a plan up front. It sounds crazy and stupid and I'm going to try it. I'm going to run. Initially I was thinking to park my car at Straits Quay and start running from there to Youth Park, but after second thought, the route should be quite busy, so I changed the plan again.

I started to map a run to roughly get the estimated distance that I would like to cover. I have never done this, but with my Garmin Forerunner 405, I could run anywhere, anytime and yet be able to know the actual route I took and distance covered, but I feel insecure to go blindly, so I play play with the mapmyrun.

So basically if I run there, back and forth and took a couple of repeated section of route, I am still OK. Anyway, it is just a plan, not a concrete plan. I will start at the car park, run opposite to the driving direction, then towards the main road and to Botanical Garden before returning to Youth Park car park. Check point and rest.

Then take the straight route to Taman Jesselton and try to cover all streets in the neighbourhood, out to main road again, and check point again at Youth Park car park. Tentatively, that should give me 10km.

I'll continue to run if I'm still fresh. I need to kill the time until 6:15 to 6:30pm. Shower at Youth Park then Straits Quay.

May the Force be with me!

= run fire =

Review - Nathan Trek

This a long overdue review because I promised to write about this waist hydration pack in April 2012 after throwing it into a few races. Let me count, I used it in PJ Dawn 2012, Hatyai International Marathon 2012, ASJC 2012, SCKLM 2012, this should covered over 120km on my waist, or 13 hours of race time, and uncountable training runs. I guess I should be able to give a few comment about it.

First, let us review the description of Nathan Trek as published in Nathan official website:

• Limited-stretch elesticized waistbelt
  
  The stretch is limited but I'm not sure whether the elesticized is the correct word for the elasticity that it has. I always fasten the belt to my waist to minimize the bumping while running.
• 70/30 bottle positioning for stability
• 22 oz. (650 mL) Hydration Bottle with Clipless Cap
• Fully insulated, angled bottle holster
• Bottle security Shock Cord
  
  About the bottle, I chose Trek because of its volume, I guess those 300ml bottle is not suitable for me because I sweat a lot (really a lot and I need more water reservoir) during training run. The bottle is well-stabilized and the angle is really well-placed that my hand can actually pull out the bottle easily and place it back with minimal effort.
  
  The security cord is something that you need to pay attention too because it plays a role to hold the bottle nicely. When the bottle is full, it does not shake a lot due to its weight but when the volume is halved, then you could feel something shaking behind.
• Weather-resistant pocket and zipper provide extra protection from moisture
• Key clip
• Airmesh moisture-wicking backing
• Incorporated, waterproof ID/medical emergency card
• Reflective details
  
  The so-called weather-resistant or water resistant pocket is 'not-so' water resistant to me, probably I sweat a lot and most of the time after more than 1 hour of training, the whole thing would be soaked in my perspiration, especially there is the moisture-wicking backing, seems like the capillary action is taking in all my sweat.
  I still used a plastic bag to wrap my phone or keys, just to prevent them being malfunction after sweating like hell and want to get home but the remote is bad, the phone is not working... poka-yoke :P
  
  The reflective details work in dark when there is any light source being radiated on it. Not really utilize the ket clip and ID card. Maybe I should.


• Weight: 7.6 oz. (.22 kg)
• Adjustable fit - one size fits most
  
  The weight is still acceptable to me even the bottle is full, maybe because I have not bring a lighter waistbelt before, and I enjoy using the Nathan Trek since I had to hold the 500ml bottle in my hand during the run. Not good at all.
  
  I believe if your waist is from 28 inches to 35 inches, the belt should fit, just a wild guess by looking at the long adjustable belt that I did not utilize.

Haaa... that's all I have for my brief review on the Nathan Trek. It cost me RM139 which is quite expensive, but I needed it last time. You can get it from Amazon.com at close to USD30, which is cheaper (excluding the shipping fee, of course).

If you want to see it, hold it, try on it. Then probably you could visit:

Athlete's Circle Malaysia
A-17-G, Ground Floor, Block A (next to OCBC)
JAYA ONE, 72A Jalan Universiti 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Tel: +603-7960 2313
Opening hours: Mon – Fri (10am – 8pm), Sat (10am – 3pm). Closed on Sunday & Public Holiday.

Note: I did not have any relation with this outlet but I saw Nathan products were sold there at the same price that I've paid, when I was collecting my PJ Dawn bib there.

That's all.

:P

Travel Picks: Top 10 Cities for Street Food

When I saw the title, I know that Penang must be in top 3 but I was in disbelief that Penang is ranked behind Singapore.... Help me....

This is the latest hooha by Penangites after reading an article which the content is quite similar to Travel Picks: Top 10 Cities for Street Food. I read the article in a very open-minded mode but failed to recognize the the fact that Penang is ranked behind Singapore for STREET FOOD. I'm proud to say that Penang could be behind in many aspects, but definitely not street food.

Those hawkers in Singapore are putting up big banner like Penang Char Koay Teow, Penang Hokkien Mee, Penang Asam Laksa.... OMG, what does this tell?

You could go to Singapore youself, to taste the food and come back to Penang to taste it again, to believe it. I do not even want to say much about this, but putting in behind my head.

You could say that I'm proud (which I am very much of it).... but I comment based on my taste buds, because I have tried Singapore food, for several times and I live in Penang.

= food for life =

Race Report - Men's Health Shape Run 2012

Event: Men's Health Shape Run 2012
Date: 14 July 2012
Location: Precinct 3, Putrajaya
Distance: 11.8km (12.28km)
Bib No.: A00965
Registration Fee: RM50 (Men Open)
Gears: Asics DS-Trainer, Garmin Forerunner 405
Starting Time: 8.00pm
Running Time: 00:59:14
Pace: 4:49 min/km

It was a long day, at least I felt like that mentally. Wifey sent me to the bus stop to board the bus at 9:30am and she was a little bit disappointed I left her home alone again, but I reassured her that I'd be back early the next day morning. This marked the beginning of a hectic trip to my first Men's Health Night Run, although I have read about it 2 years ago.

I had 7 hours sleep the night before so I spent some time reading the financial newspaper - The Edge Malaysia to make myself tired, so that I could go on a nap. Basically I spent one and a half hour reading it, it is a very informative material but most of the time I just dump it aside and surf the internet. That's kinda money wasting subscription, but luckily I told myself I must recover the fee by making some profit from investment, which was materialized a few days before, so I'm good with it.

After that, I just got into a nap and by the time I heard the driver yelled 'Puduraya'...'KL'.... I knew that I'm in the busy city again but somehow I could not recognize where I was. I guessed the driver must have been taking some shortcut or other routes, but I saw Petaling Street on my left. I know that place but I still did not have any idea to navigate myself to KL Sogo.

What the hell, took out my iPhone and key in the destination but I still did not know whether I got the direction right. I did not care, maybe I just walk more if I went to the wrong way. Walked to Jalan Tun Perak (a familiar name), should have ran on it during SCKLM, not only that.... I sat there after my SCKLM 2012. Recognize the route from the overhead monorail and the Masjid Jamek LRT station. Then, took one shortcut, but don't know to where initially which got me to Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman and Sogo is just around the corner, but the whole street was so crowded, wondered what was happening?!

 

Managed to reach KL Sogo and walked to the main entrance. Wow.... I just followed the line, the place was traffic controlled, even on the escalator. There was simply too too too many people there, believe me when I use so many too's. I was not even sure SportsDirect is up there, I just went up using the escalators from one floor to another floor. 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th.... and I saw the big banner. phew.... luckily I was at the right place.

I did not waste much time there by scanning around for the running shoes corner for my target - Brooks Pure Connect which was sold at RM239. I don't think I could get such price in Penang. I scanned through all the running shoes, there were some items in my wanted list but I was not going to buy any except Pure Connect, but I did tried on the Adidas Boston and Pure Flow, not as nice after I had put on the Pure Connect. Took my one sweet time there to test it, walked in it, simulate running in it, sitting and watching it. It is fit, but without socks. After I spent close to 30 minutes there, I decided to buy it because I felt good in it even without stocking. Suddenly, I saw additional 5% off, then I asked the promoter what was it about? He said I need a Sogo member card or Cherrie Maybankard? He even said I need either one to walk into Sogo, but I don't have any???!!!!

 

Then, the mathematics started to roll inside my head, 5% of RM239 is quite a sum and I could get another 5% to pay using my AMEX Maybankard on weekend spending. I quickly look for someone to borrow Sogo member card, luckily one nice lady helped me with that. Paid my bill and officially I got my Pure Connect at RM227. It is going to be my race shoes, but I need some training on it, else bad things would happen. (Discuss about this later)

 

Took my late lunch at Old Town Kopitiam (things are more expensive) and moved on to board KTM to KL Sentral or Bandar Tasek Selatan. I know the name of the place but have no sense of direction when I got to the commuter station. I had to download the route map and check carefully to avoid making any mistakes. After making some cost calculation, I guess it would be more economical to stay longer in Rapid/KTM rather than ERL, so I went down at Bandar Tasek Selatan interchange station and boarded ERL to Putrajaya Sentral.

I reached Putrajaya around 5 something and it was quite early, the race only start at 8pm. I checked on the map of Putrajaya and the buses that I could take to reach Prescient 3. Enquired the bus fee direct to Butterworth, it was RM42, scheduled to depart at 10.30pm.... reach too early at Butterworth (not a good move). Waited a while for it and I had to pay RM1 for RM0.50 fee because I did not have any coins, I donated all to the needy people when I walked on the KL streets. Donated another RM0.50 to a bus company -.-

It took merely 15 minutes and I reached the race venue.

I was there early, very early, I think it was 6pm. I walked one round to check on the race venue setup and booths (to see whether there was anything that I could take advantage of). After identifying the bag deposit area, I was looking for a washroom to get change. Changed into my orange vest and black pants and went out to prep myself. Applied Counterpain cream over my legs but I barely felt anything, put on my socks and shoes and I went hunting for food after depositing my bag.

I was so... so... so........... hungry because I was so anxious that I might not be able to get to the destination on time, ended up I ate nothing except the Ipoh Hor Fun, mind was laser focused on race :P I took 2 serving of corn flakes + milk (in my own experience, milk and run does not work well). I took another 2 because I suspect I would be running flat of battery after 3km. Searching for familiar faces but none found, until I heard someone told me not to 'keep eating'. It was Alwin Tan, so glad to see a familiar face, walked along with him and saw a few more runners from Penang. Then, I saw Tey. I was happy because I could have a decent photo again :P

Time flies, I did not know what did I do and the emcee was making announcement to get people into the barricades. I followed and it was only 7:30pm. Why I was so kiasu? That was the worst mistake that I've made that day. Long waiting time has drained away my energy, I was literally yawning among a sea of people. Wanted to sleep, at the same time trying to keep my body warm.

After long long time waiting, finally the race started. I wanted to do a good pace and get a good place, but I did not want to start too fast and pay for it at the end of the race. One thing that I dislike is many recreational runners squeezed themselves among the front liners, I'm not sure whether they were too optimistic, or being ignorant. I told myself, they paid the same price for the race, so let them be. I ran zig-zag to overtake some relatively slower runners, got one runner dashing from the back kicked my leg and both of us lost balance, luckily there's nothing serious.

When I checked my watch, I was running at pace 5:30, oh gosh.... too slow. I increased the pace and going past a few females i-runners that I could recognize. All three of them are fast runners, I heard from one of the auntie (I called him auntie not because she is older but by seniority) before that she could run sub-4 FM easily. Wow.... but she took pills (painkillers) before the race. What is the purpose of the exercise if you need to take pills to do it? Against my principle. I just proudly ran and pushed myself to the target pace of 4:45 and 4:30.

No problem in km-1 to km-2 but on the way to km-3 I saw the first elevation of the route, not good, I tried to maintain the 4:30 pace but it was not easy, I was breathing heavily by then. I think the ups and downs continued for 2kms until reaching the first water station, just water, but better than nothing. I was so warm that I needed to pour drinking water on my head to cool off the system.

The cooling system was not working well, I guess it was due to the limited water that I had taken because I took bus and I wanted to avoid pee-ing in the bus, but I paid the huge price for it, running in the full throttle mode. I was like dying, due to the heat, due to the uncomfy feeling, due to the new water bottle (the bottle that I have bought in the afternoon, never tried it before)..... but the water saved me and I kept refilling it during the water stations. Basically I drank 2 cups at each station and 2 cups on my head.

I was blaming myself for not preparing well for this race because I still did interval last Tuesday and hill jog last Thursday. It was taken toll on me. Every km was like 10km. Pace dropped to 5-ish but I could not do anything.... felt so useless and upset with the everything. However, I told myself I could run at this pace but at km-10 onwards I need to increase the pace to 4:30 or faster again.

At km-8, something that has not hit me for quite some time attacked me again. I was like running on top of a frying pan. It was like something burning from inside, firing at the bottom of my foot. That's a sign of blistering. I told myself, it was only 3-4km to go, I'm not going to slow down and I need to increase speed some more at the last 2km or so. It was painful, it was unbearable but I must not stop.

There was one Indian guy who was running at the about same pace with me, he always went faster going up the elevations and I was slower. I think we were exchanging places for quite some time, he was a front, then I was at front, he, me, he, me.... but I noticed that he was on barefoot. What an amazing runner, his footsteps was like a feather touching/kissing the ground, so gentle, yet so fast.

At km-10 to 11, I picked up my speed and only managed to overtake a few runners, at the same time, I need to deal with the pain from the burning. I'm not familiar with Putrajaya but when I hit km-11 and yet there was no sign on the finishing line, I guessed it was over distance. It proved me right that I was running when my Garmin show it passed 11.8km, but the route became familiar, I could hear the crowd. I wanted to push further or maintain the pace but I could not, I had to let go my determination when the finishing line was within my sight.

2 runners from that I had overtaken in last km ran past me while I was 200m away from the finishing line. I was so relieved to see the finishing line. I saw many photographers, I held my right arm with the bottle high up in the sky, to change some pose :P while easing the heat under my feet. I knew that I was far from no.10 judging from the time on Garmin, so another few placing behind will not make the difference. I was handed a little '45' card.

phew.... what a tough route, but glad that it is a job done. At least I can people that I ran in Men's Health Shape Run now. Then, I took a shower, made my way back to Puduraya. Paid another RM5 for RM0.50 bus ticket. Sien.... took KFC late dinner and back to Butterworth. All done in between 9:30am (Sat) to 5:00am (Sun).

Race Summary:

• Rest enough for any races that you want to do good in, else, don't complain. Never walk in backpack around the city for half a day before making the way to starting line.
• Don't get into the starting crowd too soon, it drains a lot of energy standing, you might not notice it if you are not racing or want to perform at the optimum performance.
• Tough route and still quite warm at 8pm. Need to train at this intensity, temperature and humidity if really want to tackle this route. (Let me think about it, maybe years later?!)
• Never do an intense race in new shoes or relatively new shoes. I'm not sure whether there is blisters down under, but I still could run the next day and next 2 day, should be OK then.

Garmin data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/199238912

Race Review:

Pros:

• Challenging route with multiple elevations, quite tough but good for competition. It reminds you what you are still lacking behind in running.
• 3 water stations in 12km are sufficient. Distance marker at every km. I wonder why no Gatorade served in the second water station?
• Many free food to eat, many freebies in goodie bag, many youngsters took part, 6500 participants for all fun run and competitive categories.
• Good organization for bag deposit, medal distribution and goodies bag collection.

Cons:

• Early announcement to gather runners into the starting line barricaded area. Suffocating there....
• No public transport information provided to runners, especially those who travel from outstation like me. Finding my own way there -.-'''
• A little over distance? by 400-500m?

That's all. Gonna take a break until Hatyai Nature Run.

== woohoo ==

Plan 17.7 Canceled

I have to call the interesting plan off because:

• I was not sure whether I can do it alone with 2 bags. One backpack and one goodie bag.
• My wife does not approve the proposal.
• Dan said that it is quite dangerous because nowadays the robber will 'disable' you before they rob you.
• Recently so many news about robbery. 

Safety first.

O.o

Lost my Nike Relentless

Last Thursday, I was very anxious about the quiz of CQE on the next day because I had not done any reading on it, I was bugging by one D to complete certain assessment for him, I was trapped in the traffic and I wanted to do my run, because I have committed myself to fulfill it to my best ability.

After wasting so much time in the traffic jam, I quickly put on my running shoes and went for a run, I thought to do 8k but ended up 6 or 7km only because my body was not in the 'correct' mood to train. I took my dinner at parents' home and went back to the car.

I drove home all the way and when I was unloading my stuff from the car, I took my laptop bag, my chest strap, my day clothes, and I went up stair to wash the sportswear. I felt weird like something is missing, I went down to check again, OMG.... where are my shoes? I tried to recap and the last thing that I remembered is I put in on the roof of my car, then I drove off.

Without much delaying, I called dad to check for me, maybe I just left it on the car porch. Dad searched and told me he found nothing and did not see anything outside the house. I quickly took my shower and drove back again to check whether it dropped somewhere else. I checked in the shoe cabinets, car porch, everywhere inside my car and still not found. I should see it if it was somewhere there because the shoe is very eye-catching with neon sole and shoe laces.

I took the bike to go back and forth the route that I have taken moments ago. I saw nothing. I was so up set, because of my 'chekongness' I lost my shoes. How many times I need to tell myself not to 'che kong'???

At 10pm, I officially declared that I've lost my Nike Relentless which cost me RM192. The shoe mileage is at 196km which means I have paid ~RM1 for each KM on the shoes. I just hope that the person that took it can utilize it.

Last night, I just knew that dad has been talking to the security guards that patrolling around the neughbourhood. There are 4 crews, 1 head and 3 subordinates. 2 of them were telling my dad that they saw the shoes which matches the description that my dad told them. It was on the 3rd subordinate's foot 2 days ago.

I'm not sure whether he will return the shoes to me or not, but I told dad that I could pay RM30 if he returns it to me, I think dad will help to nego with the head security and see how things turn out.

Lesson learned:

1. Don't che kong no matter what happens.
2. Don't put things on the car roof.
3. Don't buy attractive shoes :P (Buy things that you need, I initially bought it to train at dark Batu Kawan LSD)

- sien -

Out of Breathe?

Sometimes, in the shorter run like 5k tempo training or 10k or less races, I tend to be running out of breathe, I know that it is not good but it is not bad either. After reading some articles, it could narrowed down to a few possibilities.

1. I have heart or breathing problems?
   I had been recording 19X bpm using my Garmin 405 HRM and gasping for oxygen for many times and I am still alive, kicking and running. I should be safe. Therefore, I ruled out this cause.
   
2. I have low aerobic capacity?
   I guess this is a relative comparison. I have lower aerobic capacity if compared with those elite runners that could run 3:30 - 5:00 pace for a full marathon, but I'm better if compared to those couch potatoes. I shall train more on aerobic training, especially the LSD.
   
3. I have shallow breathing?
   Another relative comparison question, but I am breathing using my tummy most of the time because I can observe that my belly becomes bigger when I inhale. Shallow breathing prevents your body to utilize the lung capacity and oxygen adsorption efficiently and it makes you nervous when you are getting tired, and makes you breathe harder and shallower. Not economy. I shall try to run + belly breathing, out 3 strides, in 2 strides. See how it goes.
   
4. I'm carrying tension in my muscles?
   In another word, my muscles are not relaxed. Sometimes, we put too much pressure on ourselves, to beat the PB in races, to outperform the training expectations, to show people how good we are and we become so tensed, shoulder locked up, legs muscles are held tightly. Cure? Drop your shoulders, check for tight muscles, relax, smile and enjoy the run.
   
5. I do not have enough rest?
   This could happen anytime. Most of the people thinks he is machine or robot, can do the same thing for 24/7 without resting. I'm human. Human make mistakes. I'm constantly reminding myself not to over-train, no back-to-back hard days, sleep enough (7-8 hours at least), enough nutrition, etc. Recovery is part of the training, that's the period of time your body get stronger, so spare time for it.

That's it. Monday is rest day :P Have a nice week ahead.

= woohoo =

SCKLM Certificate Print/Download

Ladies and gentlemen, you can print one of your proudest certificate from here or http://www.kl-marathon.com/users/certificate_check by simply entering your email address and IC no.

I have got mine... glad to have the consecutive 5 PB's in full marathon events from Sundown 2011 to SCKLM 2012.

hurray....~!

= yIPPie =

15-July Plan?

Planning something interesting for next weekend. With one backpack and a few kg loads, can I do it?

- YEAH -

What I did Last Saturday?

I was thinking hard what did I do last Saturday and I was spending some time to put the pieces together.

I was awake at 6am in the morning, no alarm clock, I guess the biological clock thing works for me, I had been trying to plant this ability that I have lost since some time ago. Surprisingly, I was be able to wake up a few minutes before the alarm was fired, a job well done. However, it needs regular maintenance, else it goes haywire again.

Sitting up on the bed, looking at my sleeping wife, I was hesitating, errrr.... hesitating whether I should go for a run or not because the next day is race day, normally pre-race training is totally prohibited, but if I go down, I will spend hours watching TV, which gains me nothing as well. So, I changed up and went for a neighbourhood run. Dan and co. are doing 10k+ LSD at Sungai Dua and started at 5:30am, too far and too early and too tiring for me, so I ran alone. I thought I could do an 8K, but I was like out of energy on the 6th km, so I called it a day.

Not much sense of accomplishment but sense of satisfaction, because I did something different.

Then, we went to Taman Sentosa with pama to have yam rice, BM famous yam rice. I was in hungry and took a lot of sodium, because the soup was heavily flavoured with salt. I guess no harm take a lil more because I would use them the next day.

Then we went to hunt for furniture or simply storage cabinets for wifey and bed side table for myself. My iphone and magazine are on the floor most of the time, since there was no other 'convenient' space that I could use. We checked out the Move, Micasa and Td, all the cheapo furniture shops but we could not get anything, So sien....

Then, we went for laksa. Taman Bukit laksa. Wifey's favourite too. She was saying that she could have laksa as her lunch every day.

After that, we went home, she fallen asleep. Then, I used the tape that I bought in Tesco to wrap up the legs of my lounge set chairs and table. They have studs but still got corroded after exposing it to the rain splash and sunlight. Worse thing is they left the hard-to-be-removed stains on the floor, spoiled my tiles.

 
Pama highlighted this long long ago and they did help me to wrap them up with plastic cover so that the legs will not have direct contact with the tiles. After months, finally I took the initiative to wrap up the legs with the tape, since I think additional studs won't help.

I'm not sure whether it will last but I gotta finish all, else maybe it will take another few months for me to do it again. The wrapping is not perfect but I hope it is sufficient to prevent the stain from contaminating the tiles.

 

FYI, 12 studs cost me RM4.50 but only can do 3 chairs but this 4 rolls of tape is also RM4.50 and I can completely wrap all them up with one roll to spare. Good deal.

O.o

Quote of The Day

Tuesday is going to be a hard day for me until PBIM, I could have 100 of reasons and excuses for not doing it but I will try my best to fulfill it because I've acknowledged what I want.

Intervals.... here I come.

It is not going to be easy, but I can make it fun :P

== + oil ==

Race Report - JSP City Run 2012

Event: JSP City Run 2012
Date: 01 July 2012
Location: Bukit Mertajam, Penang
Distance: 8.0km (6.98km)
Registration Fee: RM20 (Men Open)
Gears: Asics DS-Trainer, Garmin Forerunner 405
Starting Time: 7.30am
Running Time: 00:30:54
Pace: 4:26 min/km

I knew my stomach was not good for glutinous rice at night, but I still took the black glutinous rice dessert at home, because mom has cooked a big pot of it, so I was not going to waste. This gave me the washing machine whole night. Like usual, I was up early to prepare for the race, this time at 5:45am, you know what? The race only started at 7:30am, but it has became a Sunday routine for me. Waking up at 5:45am was quite late, compared to LSD days that I had to drag myself up at 3:30am.

Made myself a Milo and continued to munch those expired chocolate cookies, they are/still fresh because my stomach took it well. I read from somewhere that the label that in printed expired date is actually the date the product must be removed from the counter, does not mean that it is bad though. I'm not sure how true is it, you better find out yourself. Then, I filled in plain water into Gatorade bottle for wifey and another one with honey (energy) drink for myself, because most of the time I am heavily dehydrated in the morning after sleep and my mouth and lips would turn dry, I hate that.

Then, FB for a while, checking some update and glad to know that Alwin, Kenny and Raja Uda Idol would be there as well. 6:30am, I woke my wifey up, I made her a tuna bread slice that off we go at 6:50am. I wanted to go early because I did not get my bib yet.

When we almost reach Jit Sin Independent High School, the traffic was so congested, RELA members were helping with the traffic coordination, I saw a yellow line spot, just parked it in since it was a race day, I guess the mata-mata will give face kut.

When I stepped into the school with wifey, there were already many runners there, I greeted some of my friends before getting my bib (the most important thing in race). I was so nervous that I forgot to put on my bib and took me seconds to realize it after claiming it from the counter. Maybe I was thinking how to grab 1 out of the 30 limited finisher medals.

Get myself prepared and keep hydrating myself, talking to Kenny and others, most people also want the limited medals badly. I updated my FB status to 'Many dogs with limited bones'. Expect a tough battle. There were so many students too, they were called to assemble at the main road, I thought they start first? Can't be?!!!!! Else, we need to zig-zag to go past them. Luckily, the men open started first. Saw a few Indian runners and one black (I do not have a word to use, maybe African) runner too. The chances was getting slimmer and slimmer, but I will fight for it.

It was only by count, 3, 2, 1 then go... Many runners were likely caged animals, flying ahead with 3 minute pace, I knew I cannot sustain that pace, so I tried my best to keep the distance, viewing distance, by that time, I was doing like 4:00 pace too.... too fast for me. I adjusted myself a little bit because I rather finish within 30 than puncture in the middle.

I was quite familiar with the route because I live here for so many years already, since I was born? I was not quite sure when I saw the schematic route that is printed in the registration form but whatever, I know the way to go at any turns the front runners take.

We ran past Convent Girl School, SRJK (C) Kim Sen (my primary school), then we're officially on the busiet Jalan Kulim, the road that links Bukit Mertajam to Kulim. Eric Lim and many runner still ahead of me, I was nervous, thinking that am I out of the top-30? That's the case when they mix Men Open and Veteran together, expect a dog fight. I even told Kenny that we had to tackle or kill someone to get hold on the placing for medal. Luckily not.

We ran past St.Anne Church, pace at 4:30, I guess I have to settle with the pace because any faster I will be out of breathe soon, any slower, no medals. I forgot at what distance that I ran past Eric and Hafiz, but it should be in Taman Alma. Then, we ran towards B-Garden and took a route that I never use before. I could see 3 runners running in a pack but that's almost 100 meter away. I composed myself, it is not the time to push further yet.

Then, we ran out from Taman Berjaya Indah and ran in the road behind Kim Sen. I saw female runners in front of me, so I had to hunt her down, managed to do so before getting into Jalan Kulim again. My Garmin 405 showed that the distance was only 6km plus and I was ready to push but as soon as we ran past the District Hospital, seems like it was the end of the race already, I knew that it was going to be under distance, I did not have to chase because there was no more margin and my energy was depleting fast.

The street has became very busy, I just flagged my hand to signal the cars before I crossed the road, even the race marshals were doing their job. Wifey was there taking photos so I posed for her. As soon as I entered the school compound, one told me to run towards the finishing point at the middle of the field and I just cruised myself past it at 30 minutes 54 seconds.

They handed me a laminated tag with "10". Yes, I made it and I quickly went to exchange the ribbons for drink. Then, I saw Kenny and Eric they all coming back, I saw them with medal but how come I don't have? I quickly went back to ask for it again and they told me that I would get it from the prize presentation ceremony. Geeez.... luckily got medal.

I got myself a quick shower and changed into casual wear before heading to one Indian shop opposite the road to have roti canai and teh ais. I could not finish 2 roti canai, maybe I was still tired. Wifey was satisfied to have her favourite evil food (roti canai is not an healthy food that can be consumed daily, you'll get fat easily). We went back, talked to friends, waited for sometimes, then we left after I have got myself the 10th placing medal.

Race Summary:

• I believe the honey drink is helping for certain degree and the pre-race run that I had in Mengkuang to test out my Asics GS-Trainer got me into the condition.
• Satisfied with the pace that I did but I believe I could go faster, if I can execute my training plan for PBIM 2012.
• I love my RED Asics DS-Trainer 16.

You can review the Garmin Connect data here or http://connect.garmin.com/splits/194414591.

Race Review:

Pro's:

• Good wave start to prevent chaotic condition on the road.
• Acceptable traffic control by Traffic Police Officers, RELA members and others.
• Ribbon to exchange for drinks, slow runners are taken care of.

Con's:

•  No exact marker or label to direct runners to the race route, cause some runners to run over distance.
• Schedule was not planned properly, race starts at 7:30 to 8:00am, but prize presentation was at 10am. Much time wasted.
• Mixed Men/Women Open and Men/Women Veteran that make it a dog fight. Certificates shall be distribute to all finishers.

Until then, 2 weeks to Shape Run and no more races until August 2012.