New bundle of joy

Isabelle Ann, born at 1.08pm 14th November 2007. Weight 4.11kg through natural birth. Here are some pictures of her at 20 days.






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50th Merdeka Celebrations

Happy Birthday Grandma

Soul searching and priorities

The most important thing to happen this June was my rediscovering of God's grace, love and patience towards me. In this past 5 years I seemed to have wandered far away from Him and yet in His unfailing love and grace He has not given up on me. Praise be to God forevermore!

Work has taken a slight setback after our company lost two major accounts. Things are still uncertain at this stage but there are a few decent sized projects which are looking quite positive. We shall know for certain how things are going to turn out only in a few months time. Worst case scenario - have to gulung tikar, but we are quite positive it wont amount to that, God willing.

While work in the office is slow, this means I have more time in my hands which is good. I've just started my dissertation research module which happens to be the last stage of my Masters. From what I can see so far, it's going to be tough as expected and will require some serious discipline on my end. My boss is supportive and allows me time to work on this since we don't have much to do anyhow.

Running?? Yes I've been doing a little running here and there. Average mileage for the past month maybe about 20k per week. Weight training sessions are still continuing with 2 to 3 sessions a week. Oh yes and my recent blood test results show me to be in tip top condition! Praise God for that too!

Now, the reduced running mileage and moderate exercise while keeping me fit has also surprisingly left me feeling so much less tired both mentally and physically. I just realise that constant training to be in race form with high mileage has been a real drain on me. This also resulted in me very often neglecting quality time with the family due to fatigue.

I think that I've found the right balance for me now and shall stick to it with priorities being put in my relationship with God and also my family. Next would be to give my best towards completing my studies. Running will always be my passion and there will be many more road races to look forward to including full marathons, but just not now.

Time to slow it down!

We were in Lumut over the weekend for a short retreat with our church home fellowship. Stayed at the Marina Cove Resort which was very well kept and quite nice. Here I was reminded that I need to slow down the pace in my life and take time to just reflect on God's goodness and faithfullness. Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God"


Nicholas enjoying the beach in his Hawaian suit.


The beautiful view from our balcony and my beautiful wife.


The resort even has a water theme park as you can see in the background.


I didnt even know my camera had a professional mode. A brother taught me how to change the settings to get this remarkable colour in the picture.


Pooltime!

New Balance 15k '07

This time drove to race site alone instead of car pooling with other Klang kaki. Might just do that for other races as it makes it convenient to go back early and attend bible study in church. Wow the number of participants seemed like it had doubled since last year. Sure enough I found out later that 1500 runners had turned up!

As planned I started really slow and only slightly picked up the pace after 5k. I had a few fast workouts during the week and just wanted to complete the distance considering the terrain was already hilly. Even took some extended walking breathers at the water stations and one final one at tani hill before turning onto the palace road.

Overall it was an enjoyable run. Completed the race in 1h 34m, quite a few minutes slower than last year's 1h 28m. As suspected my leg muscles felt mildly sore on Monday as my longest run for the last 5 weeks was just 8k. On a positive note, there is no sign of the tendonitis returning!

Postponed marathon

In view of my injury with took 3 weeks to fully recover, I am not going to Penang this year. I will choose another marathon to participate in when I have the time to train again. I've kept fit these few week's by some shorter runs, weight training and swimming.

I will be running the New Balance 15k on May 20th but will take part to just have some fun. My next serious race will be the Subang Jaya 10k on July 1st, followed by the PJ Half marathon on August 12th. No targets set for either race for now.

Worse than expected

The injury is worse than expected. The anti inflammatories get the swelling down and pain subsides by morning but after walking around the whole day its back by night. This is going to take longer than expected to cure.

Meanwhile I shall not be running. Tomorrow's Power Run is off for me then. No point risking long term injury. I shall be taking Nick to the swimming complex today and hope to get a workout there myself.

Extensor Tendinitis

I am down with an injury called extensor tendinitis. I believe it occured during last Saturday's long run. There was a dull pain after Sat's run at the top of my left foot but it went away quickly. I did not feel any pain while running my tempo on Monday but as soon as I finished running I felt it.

Icing the foot and oral anti inflamatories helped and I did not feel any pain yesterday before my evening run. After 1k I started feeling a slight pain but by km 3 it was gone. The pain returned after my run. Once again icing the foot and the oral anti inflamatories with rest has helped and the pain is gone today. I need to rest completely for a few days and continue treatment.

I shall leave my Penang bridge marathon registration to the very last minute. There is a possibility of switching to the half marathon if I can't get in sufficient training or if ANY injury occurs or persists.

Description

The extensor tendons to the foot come from the relatively small muscles in the front of the leg. The two main extensor muscles are the Extensor Hallucis Longus muscle (EHL) and the Extensor Digitrorum Longus muscle (EDL).

The tendons from these muscles cross the front of the ankle, pass across the top of the foot and attach into the big toe (EHL) and lesser toes (EDL). These tendons function to pull the foot upward and work with resistance from the Achilles tendon and the calf muscles (flexor muscle group) that pulls the foot downward.

Cause of Extensor Tendonitis:

When these tendons become over stressed they become inflamed and painful. Swelling may accompany the inflammation. Most commonly it is the extensor tendon to the big toe (EHL) that is affected. In other instances the extensor tendons to the lesser toes (EDL) is affected. The most common factors that cause extensor tendonitis are excessive tightness of the calf muscles, over exertion during exercise and falling of the foot arch.

A simple test to determine if the pain on the top of the foot is due to extensor tendonitis is to flex the foot downward and have a friend provide resistance to the top of the toes. Try to pull the toes upward against resistance. If you experience pain across the top of the foot or along the course of a tendon on the top of the foot then the diagnosis is likely extensor tendonitis.

Treatment:

In mild cases of extensor tendonitis treatment consists of calf muscle stretching and oral anti-inflammatory medications. In more sever cases treatment may include a removable below the knee cast, calf muscle stretching and oral anti-inflammatory medications. Many podiatrists may also recommend long term treatment with inserts for the shoes called orthotics

10 weeks countdown

These last three weeks I have to keep reminding myself... Accept and appreciate the fact that not every single run can be a good one... Don’t think too much about it or you won’t do it... Even a bad run is better then no run at all. It has been a struggle so far but I'm positive it can only get better!

I'm not overly happy with my mileage logged so far but I have decided to listen to the body and adjust accordingly. I shall also adjust my race goals appropriately as race day gets nearer and I'm able to judge my level of fitness. In the next 10 weeks the key is to 'somehow' enjoy the experience of training hard in the midst of pain (if this is possible).

Yesterday's failure to complete the planned 25k means I will be skipping the Power Run next week to re-attempt the 25k. Instead of taking part in the New Balance 15k, I've decided to take part in the Centennial Half Marathon in Ipoh on May 6th as the distance would be more appropriate to fit into my training program.

Diverting away from the topic of running now, my wife is suffering from some bad pregnancy sickness again. With Nicholas, it lasted till the fifth month so we are hoping it does not last nearly as long this time. This time it gets worse at night. Do any of you mothers or ladies out there or even guys have any tips on how to ease this feeling of nausea?

This month is a stressful month at the office. The next few weeks could be crucial in indicating what direction the company's business will take in the next two years. There is one major contract renewal pending and a few more crucial pilot projects we hope to get a long term contract for. I have a positive feeling that we are going to have a good year.

Well it's time to get Nicholas ready for bed now. Here come's the little guy calling me now. Sometimes it's quite fun just to sit and watch him play by himself. He's growing up so fast that it amazes us. It won't be long before he's all grown up and will not be calling me saying 'Papa can you play with me or not?'.

A gift from above

Psalm 127:3 - Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Having Nicholas has been one of the biggest blessing both my wife and I have had. He brings such colour and joy into our lifes and we can't imagine what it would be without him. The bible says that children are a gift from God and that we are supposed to bring them up in His likeness.

Being a parent can have its share of difficulty and frustrations, but beyond that the satisfaction and joy of the daily antics that we go through with the child is something not to be missed by married couples who can have children.

Yes you might find that you have less time for yourself, and sometimes even each other, but we have never once regretted and I'm sure you will find the same joy and satisfaction once you have children of your own. So to my friends who are still waiting for the 'right' time, now is that time!

I'm getting quite excited at the thought of our second little one arriving in November and Nick has already planned by himself which of his Toys he would share with his new sister or brother. Making him feel important and part of the pregnancy has made him quite excited about the new baby as well.