My Running journal!

My first 10k!! - SUNDOWN MARATHON!

We drove to Singapore in Kash's mpv with her kids and maid. Its been too long for me to remember the last time i went to singapore using the land route. We departed at 8.30pm and estimated to reach singapore at 12++. I slept almost the whole journey but i can still listen to all the conversation in the car. Tido2 ayam la kot. Kash was fresh enough to drive the whole journey. Lucky the co-pilot was awake too to talk and accompany her. We reached at her resident in Clementi Avenue around 1.30am. We could've been arrived earlier but documents and passport verification at the immigration took longer than usual. Security is pretty strict as compared to the last time i came here. Kash and Rais were kind enough to allow us to stay at her crib. They have nice spacious double storey apartment. Well designed yet simple.

The next morning we had a nice 5km run around the neighborhood. There's a nice canal walk underneath a bridge for joggers. Tested my new running tights.. it felt good so far. We went home for breakfast, freshen up and getting ready for the day.. Window shopping at peninsula plaza.. ogling and drool over some lenses and camera stuffs, rashid went to Feder Sports to eye some sports stuffs. Good price.. Too bad we did not plan to come to singapore to shop but i guess i'll definitely come back to get some cool sport stuffs here. Shoes are definitely cheaper here. Not all models are available in KL. From Peninsula Plaza we commute to Novena Square to see whats there at Velocity. Its a mall of sports and adventure equipments i might say..

We came back around 4pm and rest for a bit while watching some dvd before tonight's marathon. We were a bit tired and got carried away till we realised it was already 7pm! 1 and a half hour to race. Things got a lil messy and hay wired. We left the house at 7.30pm. we literally running to the mrt station. 1 hour to go.. Rashid bought a wrong ticket. We were supposed to alight at Pasiris station and take a shuttle bus to Changi point. Instead he bought to Tanah Merah. We alight at Tanah Merah station and decided to turn back and buy a ticket to Pasiris till we saw 2 girls in sundown marathon vest. We decided to ask them for confirmation and they were actually bought wrong tickets too. Four of us decided to share one cab and get to changi point. Its already 8pm. Half an hour to go , we argued with the cabby on routes as he wasn't sure where to drop us. Neither do we. I was nervous, antsy at the same time. Took out my powerbar and grab a bite. Haven't been eating and drinking sufficiently since last night. I better leave them arguing as i'm in no position to direct them on directions. We finally reached the starting point with the help of runners.. the ultra marathoners started the race earlier.. so we followed their trails. 8.25pm.. 5 mins before the race.. i need to pee badly. Hahah.. damn. Jumped over the fence, rushed to the toilet and ahhhh.. From the toilet i heard the emcee counting down the race.. in 8,7,6,5.. I ran out and jumped over the fence.. 4,3,2... reached the starting point just on time for the race.. we walked in grace.. the crowd was massive..... 1... breeep! the race starts and i began to feel the rush of adrenaline.. excited at the same time.. I was glad i peed.

I kept my pace slow.. consistently running. The weather was good. The night was breezy but the large crowd made me grasping for air. I increased my speed, overtook some runners just to get some space to breathe. It felt good all through 5km. Some runners began to walk.. but i keep on running. My throat felt so dry. where's the god damn water station? I thought it was supposed to be at 5km point? 2 km passed by.. the water station was actually at the 7th km. I was so thirsty. After i quenched my thirst i kept on running for the next 3km.. The path was a bit narrow and it was a bit bottle neck at some point. 1 hour passed and i have 1km to go.. keep my breathing slow.. gosh, the closer it gets to the finishing point the longer it seems to end. Rashid gave me words of motivation.. "just a lil bit more.. come on you can do it!" My knee started to weakened but i kept on running.. 500m, 400m, 300m.. i get slower.. mental siot! 200m.. the crowd was cheering to the finishing line.. 100m... my knee wobble. That was the longest 100m for me.. i pushed it and I MADE IT! i made it in 1hr 8mins.. the feeling was good. i bet it even hundred times better if doing the full marathon.. but i deserve to feel good even though its just a 10km run. I managed to run all through 10km without stopping. And to finish.. That matters! I finished my first 10km race. I just started running a month ago and regardless my knee injuries i had years back.. and not forgetting i stopped running since secondary school and never ran eversince.. I'm proud of myself for being able to do this.. i do. But 1 thing i missed was to capture the scene. I did not bring my dslr and not even any recording devices. I don't have any memories of me running to bring back. Just these two tired shots as we got home and rest our bum..

oh by the way, for the record.. had minor chafing on my ass.. next time i should consider undies or vaseline under my tights.

Sundown Marathon here i come!!

approximately 24 hours to go..

A nice 8km run.

I was supposed to shoot our PM launching the FELDA rally this morning. That means i had to wake up super early to make sure i reached Dewan Felda before Najib arrives. Unfortunately the shooting was canceled at a very last minute. Bummer no pocket money for me.. but yay! i can sleep in again today. However, regardless no early morning shoot, the weather this morning is too good to waste. 7.30am i was getting ready to have my morning run. Since i only manage to push for less that 3km yesterday (my body felt so weak yesterday, the sweat taste weird and my ankle still hurt), i decided to run more today..

The moment i reached my run spot, lots of cars filling the parking area. The space was almost full, but most are apeks and nyonyas enjoying the morning breeze walking. Most of 'em were familiar faces. Greeted each other and exchanging smiles among new faces. I didn't see any solo runners besides myself. I am used to running alone. What i need is my ipod and good music.. Most friends are working at that hour.. But i don't mind, seriously. Running is my self-therapy.. I don't have enough stamina to run and talk at the same time anyway. I'll be a passive listener when i am running with a talkative runner! lol.

I ran slowly at a constant speed.. as time passed by, people became lesser and lesser. Maybe went back to continue their routine life. A group of veteran men went back to their wives, the young one went to their offices.. all with different lifestyle and routines.

On the other hand, i myself continued my run. Knowing that i have nothing to look forward to at home and to go back this soon and waste the beautiful morning.. I'd rather stay a lil longer and continue running. After a while, i didn't see anymore joggers except for lawn mower,lake maintenance people and some fishing addicts. The same indonesian lady i see everyday sweeping dried leaves.. and the same middle-aged male foreign worker trimming trees and shrubs. Wow, it takes stamina too to maintain the lake area.

I enjoyed the view of the scenic lake, the smell of fresh grasses being mowed, the sound of bird chirping, the same lil buddy crossing in front of me at the very same spot - the baby alligator that freaked me out the first time we bumped into each other. Now, i'll be like.. "hey lil buddy!". The smell of fallen frangipani along the path of the track was strong.. even stronger at night. I never dared to walk there at night again after creepy rumors from one of the runners some time back. "Tempat ni keras sikit.. dulu ada org penah kena bunuh kat sini.." (this place is haunted. someone was murdered here before). The story got my neck hair stood still and hell it was eerie! During day time, i'm okay with it. Like now.. i'm enjoying every moment of it. My ankle is fine today.. no more blisters on my right toes.. the injinji socks helped a lot except for the one on the left. It was torn and one of my toe keeps rubbing against the inner shoes. I am going to buy one toe socks.. but injinji seems to be overprice! $50 for a pair! I'll get one from sox world for less than $20.

I am reaching 8km and decided to complete that loop and go back. I guess its a good achievement for me. From 3km - 5km - 6km - 8km. All within less than a month. I am pretty happy that i am able to gradually increase my distance. Not drastically! I don't think i can increase my speed for now. What matters to me is endurance and to be able to maintain a constant speed. Good enough.

My running top is soaking wet. Its time to go back, freshen up and recharge.

running fever.

So i did my run this evening. The watch shows 6 but the sky was still striking bright as if it was 3. I decided to wait a lil more hoping it'll be less sunny. The whole effect of global warming wears me out easily. I hate running in hot sunny day. I just can't. My body can't tolerate with it.

Started my 1st loop at 6.30. Still too bright. I was looking down with my cap on half way through the loop. It was more like a brisk walk just to get my body warmed up. 1 week of not running, my hamstrings surely need a good stretch before i start being a nagging bitch again complaining on muscle sores.

I started to run on my 2nd loop. Had a good pace.. breathing was good. No coughing nor sneezing. Same goes on my 3rd loop. 3/4 of the 3rd loop still doing fine and steady. Going to loop 4, i started coughing. Breathing became harder. Me heart was jumping and felt like bursting. I slowed down, but still maintain running. A friend passed by and said i looked so pale. My lips looked as white as my skin. Not a good sign. I almost faint for not having enough oxygen in my blood. We sat down for a bit. It wasn't a good idea to stop and sit. It felt even worse so I decided to continue walking. I took a deep long breath and walk the rest of the loop and made another to complete my 5km for the day.

I set the target and i met it. I didn't expect too much today but to be able to run approx 3k and 2k of walking is good enough for me. for a sick person. for a sick stubborn one. like me.

later at night i feel a bit better. perhaps because of the run. No muscle sore, so far.

New addiction. I need it!

I haven't been running for a week. I miss running. I miss the pain on my shins while thumping on my soles. I miss complaining how tiring it is doing the loops. I miss catching my breath and slowing down my heart rate while running. Sometimes your heart is pumping and jumping so hard it feels like bursting and that point of time you slow down and take baby steps and tune back the rythm. Some people say running is a torture. Why? because running is tiring and makes you sweat like a pig. True. I couldn't agree more. Then why run? The feeling of post-running effect is satisfying. To feel every drop of your sweat on your forehead and the pain you bring back after running is indescribable. Then comes a new you. You'll feel better and you want to do it again. Running is my new addiction. Blame to whoever has dragged me into this.

Breathing is hard since my flu doesn't seem to go away. Its been a week now. There's too much going on this week. Being sick does not mean i have to be in bed all day long. I am going to run this evening. Or if i can't run, i'll walk. Just to get rid off some toxic in my brain.

the beginning of a healthy life, no?

start a day in a healthy way. that's what the sayings say. Its my birthday and it feels good to start my 31 with a 3km muscle working.

so i did jogging today. A friend wants to see if i can run and says there's a potential in me regardless how hard i tried to convince everyone that i hate running. We went to a shoe shop to eye some running shoes few days back. (Sounds like a very serious runner, huh?) Just to check the type of feet i have and what type of shoes are suitable. The last running shoes i had was a bad reebok i bought during warehouse sale centuries ago that i had to curse every time after i used it. Not to mention blisters! The moment i entered the shop, the shop owner said i definitely have the potential to become a runner looking at my build. Ahh.. don't give a damn thing about it.. but.. really? He put me on one shoe and actually asked me to run and test the shoes outside the shop and i can even tour the shopping mall with it. I was like.. "what..?!! you gotta be kidding me!" and guess what? i did.. except for the run thingy. Managed to have one round of tour and enjoying the comfort of the soles.

Back to jogging. I was actually brisk walking.. and run for a bit.. on and off. I don't remember when was the last time time i had jogged. No idea. Altogether, managed to push my muscles to work for 3km. I don't dare to go further and push until i get a proper shoes. No, i haven't bought any shoes yet. No budget just yet. Borrowed sis' nike and i don't think it was even my size. Lebam. Plus, have to be careful with the knee injuries occured some time back. I definitely need more stamina, but how come swimming don't give thaaat sore. Maybe because i enjoy breast stroking more than thumping my feet.

My shins and thighs are soring! But atleast the muscle is working babeh!