We decided to put up the Christmas tree a little earlier this year so Nick can enjoy it for his birthday.
Mummy! Is this really for me?
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
The tree is up
We decided to put up the Christmas tree a little earlier this year so Nick can enjoy it for his birthday.
Mummy! Is this really for me?
Monday, November 28, 2005
KLIM preparation
I was thinking about it over the last few days, and realised that KLIM is not too far away. Most people have adviced me to try running the half marathon at the upcoming KLIM and to perhaps look at running the full marathon in Singapore next year, since the training involved for the Full marathon is a lot more than one would care to think it is.
Having run two long runs of approximately 20k to 21k each recently, both with comfortable pacing and average timings of below 2:15, I find that I prefer running long distances at a slower pace, over racing 10k at a much faster pace.
Most recommended marathon training programs involve a training schedule of 16 weeks prior to the targetted race. Since the estimated date for KLIM 06' is somewhere in March, this leaves us with less than 16 weeks to prepare for the race. I was looking over my mileage log for the last 8 weeks, and it shows that I have been averaging 40k per week, with a highest mileage of 54k and lowest of 32k.
With the training I've put in over the last 2 months, it might be reasonable for me to say I've built up a comfortable base from which I can now start to increase the intensity of my training and mileage over the coming weeks. Perhaps the speed workouts at Kg Pandan on Tuesdays would be of some help in improving my fitness.
I now need to find a suitable time and place for my long runs on Saturdays, since I'm not free on Sunday mornings. The only problem with running on Saturdays is the high volume of traffic on the roads. Now if only I can find a running partner in Klang for my long runs on Saturdays.
I am looking forward to the PMs New Year 21k run at Lake Gardens on Jan 1st and the Great Eastern Pacesetters 30k run on Jan 22nd. I've decided to take part in the 30k category instead of the 20k as I had planned initially. I will use that run to decide whether to register for the half or full in the KLIM.
Having run two long runs of approximately 20k to 21k each recently, both with comfortable pacing and average timings of below 2:15, I find that I prefer running long distances at a slower pace, over racing 10k at a much faster pace.
Most recommended marathon training programs involve a training schedule of 16 weeks prior to the targetted race. Since the estimated date for KLIM 06' is somewhere in March, this leaves us with less than 16 weeks to prepare for the race. I was looking over my mileage log for the last 8 weeks, and it shows that I have been averaging 40k per week, with a highest mileage of 54k and lowest of 32k.
With the training I've put in over the last 2 months, it might be reasonable for me to say I've built up a comfortable base from which I can now start to increase the intensity of my training and mileage over the coming weeks. Perhaps the speed workouts at Kg Pandan on Tuesdays would be of some help in improving my fitness.
I now need to find a suitable time and place for my long runs on Saturdays, since I'm not free on Sunday mornings. The only problem with running on Saturdays is the high volume of traffic on the roads. Now if only I can find a running partner in Klang for my long runs on Saturdays.
I am looking forward to the PMs New Year 21k run at Lake Gardens on Jan 1st and the Great Eastern Pacesetters 30k run on Jan 22nd. I've decided to take part in the 30k category instead of the 20k as I had planned initially. I will use that run to decide whether to register for the half or full in the KLIM.
Friday, November 25, 2005
My runs for the week
I decided to give gym a skip on Tuesday and headed to the Kg. Pandan track instead. I was really curious as to what Ronnie meant by der_menu dished out by the coach. It was raining from afternoon and it hadn't stopped by the time I reached.
After changing and waiting a bit, Ronnie arrived. He told me to start with my warm ups. I did just two laps as a warmup and waited around for coach to arrive. Later Ronnie introduced me to coach and we were told to start the drills almost immediately.
To sum up the session, I started too fast and kept up with the front pack for the first few 'dishes' on the menu. By the last few dishes, I had to slow down quite a bit and almost decided to quit. The rain was of no help either since it blurred my vision. Overall it was a good experience and I will try to make the sessions once a week. Oh yes, I also met Kenneth Teh (pm20) there for the first time.
Wednesday's fellowship run was called off due to the rain. I was really looking forward to that... sigh! Yesterday I went to the gym and managed a half hearted 6.5k on the mill. I was hoping to do more, but after my shoelaces came undone I just lost the momentum.
I'll be heading to KLCC park in about 30 minutes. I hope to be able to run 8 laps today. Ronnie is going to be there as well. Later tonight I'll be taking the family to Tesco for our monthly grocery shopping and also to pick up some other stuff. Tomorrow morning I should be running with PM20 at 7am from Taman Rakyat if it doesnt rain. I'm looking forward to that. I plan to rest this Sunday.
After changing and waiting a bit, Ronnie arrived. He told me to start with my warm ups. I did just two laps as a warmup and waited around for coach to arrive. Later Ronnie introduced me to coach and we were told to start the drills almost immediately.
To sum up the session, I started too fast and kept up with the front pack for the first few 'dishes' on the menu. By the last few dishes, I had to slow down quite a bit and almost decided to quit. The rain was of no help either since it blurred my vision. Overall it was a good experience and I will try to make the sessions once a week. Oh yes, I also met Kenneth Teh (pm20) there for the first time.
Wednesday's fellowship run was called off due to the rain. I was really looking forward to that... sigh! Yesterday I went to the gym and managed a half hearted 6.5k on the mill. I was hoping to do more, but after my shoelaces came undone I just lost the momentum.
I'll be heading to KLCC park in about 30 minutes. I hope to be able to run 8 laps today. Ronnie is going to be there as well. Later tonight I'll be taking the family to Tesco for our monthly grocery shopping and also to pick up some other stuff. Tomorrow morning I should be running with PM20 at 7am from Taman Rakyat if it doesnt rain. I'm looking forward to that. I plan to rest this Sunday.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Singapore
I never thought that I would be taking part in this year's Singapore International Marathon. With all the recent hype on the internet and the PMs chatbox of how good this event is going to be, I was on the lookout for anyone who wanted to sell their 21k entry.
Yesterday when Jamie mentioned that he had a 10k entry which was up for sale, I was having mixed feelings, since going all the way to Singapore for a 10k might not be worth the effort? I managed to speak to my boss on the availability of our company's apartment in Singapore, and since he said I was welcome to use it, I decided to buy the 10k entry.
I've looked through the official marathon site on Jamie's advice and managed to find the details on the strategic cheering spots for the full marathon participants. They have broken down the times and places we should be at to cheer for the participants based on different race finish timings i.e sub 4 hours, sub 5 hours, sub 6 hours etc. They even provide shuttle busses which will transport supporters to the various cheering stations.
Since I start my 10k at 7am and should be finished by 8am, this gives me plenty of time to position myself at some of the cheering stations. I have promised Lim that I would give him the support he needs to complete the full distance. Hopefully I can also get some good photos of the event, including Lim in action!
My wife has yet to confirm if she will come to Singapore with me. We have actually taken our leave long ago (not for Singapore) since 30th Nov is our wedding anniversary and 1st Dec is Nick's birthday. It would be nice if she can come and experience this event.
Yesterday when Jamie mentioned that he had a 10k entry which was up for sale, I was having mixed feelings, since going all the way to Singapore for a 10k might not be worth the effort? I managed to speak to my boss on the availability of our company's apartment in Singapore, and since he said I was welcome to use it, I decided to buy the 10k entry.
I've looked through the official marathon site on Jamie's advice and managed to find the details on the strategic cheering spots for the full marathon participants. They have broken down the times and places we should be at to cheer for the participants based on different race finish timings i.e sub 4 hours, sub 5 hours, sub 6 hours etc. They even provide shuttle busses which will transport supporters to the various cheering stations.
Since I start my 10k at 7am and should be finished by 8am, this gives me plenty of time to position myself at some of the cheering stations. I have promised Lim that I would give him the support he needs to complete the full distance. Hopefully I can also get some good photos of the event, including Lim in action!
My wife has yet to confirm if she will come to Singapore with me. We have actually taken our leave long ago (not for Singapore) since 30th Nov is our wedding anniversary and 1st Dec is Nick's birthday. It would be nice if she can come and experience this event.
Belilah barangan buatan Malaysia
I have been labelled as crazy by my wife and close friends for my obsession of testing the limit of my car's fuel tank. Since most of my trips are of my daily travels from Klang to KL and back, this means I would spend lots of time caught in the city's traffic jams.
With a mixture of driving on the highway and city traffic, I have always managed to get about 720km on average from a full tank of fuel. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I drive a Proton Waja 1.6(auto) which comes with a large 60 litre fuel tank.
Having filled the tank just before leaving for Ipoh on Saturday, I was really surprised on Tuesday when my petrol indicator showed a substantial amount of fuel left in the tank even though I had clocked over 700km. Yesterday I drove to work and back (110km), and then drove to Port Klang for dinner before deciding to fill the tank again.
At the station, my trip meter showed 820.6km. After filling the tank until it could take no more, the kiosk showed that I had put in 57 litres of petrol, which means that there was still about 3 litres left in the tank! This works out to be an amazing 11.3 cents per km. I'm not sure how this compares with other cars of the same engine capacity, but to me its as good as it gets!
With a mixture of driving on the highway and city traffic, I have always managed to get about 720km on average from a full tank of fuel. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I drive a Proton Waja 1.6(auto) which comes with a large 60 litre fuel tank.
Having filled the tank just before leaving for Ipoh on Saturday, I was really surprised on Tuesday when my petrol indicator showed a substantial amount of fuel left in the tank even though I had clocked over 700km. Yesterday I drove to work and back (110km), and then drove to Port Klang for dinner before deciding to fill the tank again.
At the station, my trip meter showed 820.6km. After filling the tank until it could take no more, the kiosk showed that I had put in 57 litres of petrol, which means that there was still about 3 litres left in the tank! This works out to be an amazing 11.3 cents per km. I'm not sure how this compares with other cars of the same engine capacity, but to me its as good as it gets!
Monday, November 21, 2005
ING KRI 10k report and photos
Arriving in Ipoh
Albert called me on Saturday morning asking what time we were planning to leave. He told me that Peter and Ms. Chee were both unable to make it at the last minute, so Leow was going to pick him up at 1pm. We decided to leave together and to meet at the Happy Garden junction at 1pm.
The car packing was quite a process since I decided to take a whole lot of things to keep Nick occupied, including his bicycle and toys. We were at the Happy Garden junction at 1.05pm, and a few minutes later Leow arrived with his carload, so off we went. The journey was smooth and traffic was clear, even thought it rained when we were reaching. We arrived at the Hillcity Hotel and Condo which Lim had booked around 3.30pm.
Lim was waiting for us at the lobby upon arrival and helped us cart all the stuff from the car to the apartment. I was surprised at how big the apartment was. It had four bedrooms, and Lim had arranged the rooming such that my family got the master bedroom. After putting all our stuff in the room a few of us hopped back into the car and headed into town to collect our running numbers.
Number collection
After some searching, we finally found the collection area. There weren’t many people there when we arrived. Dr. Ron Hill and his wife were sitting on one end of the long hall, speaking to some of the runners. Lim quickly produced the receipts and our ‘goodie bags’ were handed to us.
Lim advised us to check the contents, especially the t-shirt. Lo and behold, my bag had an XS t-shirt instead of the XL which was marked on the label of the bag. I requested for a size change but for some stupid reason or other, they only had sizes M or smaller.
I was really disappointed with them at that time but nothing could really be done about it. I should have recognized this as the first bad sign that the entire event was going to be poorly managed.
We left the centre soon after and spend the rest of the day resting. After dinner most of us went to Ipoh Parade. I picked up some stuff for the next day’s breakfast from Tesco. We were back at the apartment by 10pm and I was sound asleep by 11pm.
Race morning
I woke up at 5.50am, quickly ate two bananas with the snicker’s bar I had bought and had some 100plus as well. I saved some of the 100plus for just before the race, since I read that drinking a sports drink just minutes before the race starts would help. We were all ready by 6.30am and left for the starting point.
Leow, Ms. Lee (his girlfriend), Albert and I were in one car. When we arrived there, most car park lots had been taken up but we managed to get a spot some distance away from the starting point. We saw many of the runners warming up on the tar track around the field and joined them for a quick warm up lap before positioning ourselves somewhere at the front of the starting line.
The KRI president was giving announcements and he also introduced Dr. Ron Hill to the crowd. Some photos were taken while we waited for the Perak Menteri Besar to arrive. He has been invited to start the race. I couldn’t believe it when it suddenly started to rain just before the official arrived. This would be my second race in the rain, the first being the recent PJ Half.
A blurred 10k
We were allowed to start just after 7.30. By that time, the rain had gotten slightly heavier. Albert managed to maneuver his way through the crowd but I found myself being tripped by some runners so I slowed the pace to be safe. After the first 500m or so, I managed to find some clear space and started picking up to my race pace.
After running for 5 minutes, my spectacles were completely fogged up and I knew that I would be running the rest of the race with a forward vision of no more than 5 meters. I did not manage to see any of the KM markers that Albert told me about later. The only marker I thought I saw was the 3KM yellow painted marker on the road which could not be right because my watch showed 24m at that point.
At the u-turn, I almost missed taking the ‘ribbon’ and was prompted by the official. At the 6.5km mark, I did not see the drink station until I was right next to it, so I just decided to continue running. So that is exactly what I did that morning, just run and run blindly. I could not see the turnings, I could not see the end of each road and worst of all I thought I would not be able to know when we started approaching the finishing point.
Luckily for me, I managed to recognize the road when we passed the starting line and this meant that the finish was just up ahead. I quickened my pace to a half sprint and finally reached the finish line. I literally mean ‘Finish Line’ because I had to queue up for a few minutes before they registered my number as having finished.
I almost forgot to stop my watch when I had finished, and when I finally did it showed a timing of 52m47s. This meant a 9 minute PR for me. However after queuing for a few minutes, I was given a small piece of paper which showed that they had recorded my timing as 55m55s. I did not think twice about it at that time but only later realized that this incorrect timing (due to their poor race planning and management at the finish line) was going to be put on my cert.
Lucky draws and race winners
After some searching and waiting, I managed to see Leow and Ms. Lee at the open area in front of the stage. A little while later I saw Albert. I did not believe him at first when he told me I was faster than him as I did not remember overtaking him, not that I was able to recognize anybody during the run with the condition I was in. He said he had completed in 53mXXs but the officials had recorded is time as 57mXXs after all the queuing.
Later I met Ronnie See for the first time and said hello to both him and his wife Rachel. We spend the rest of the morning eating, taking pictures and listening to the names being called out for the lucky draws. Lim, his nephew, Chak and his wife later joined us in some of the photo shots shown below.
While Leow who had run with a timing of just over 41m was waiting for his winner’s trophy, we were really pleasantly surprised when his girlfriend’s name was called as a winner for her category. This was her first ever race and she managed to get a winners position with her timing of 54mXXs in the women’s age category 30-39. The best part is that she did not come to Ipoh to run, but decided to register on Saturday just for fun! I joked with Leow that he now needs to have a serious talk to encourage her to train for more races.
The only person in our group who got a lucky draw was yours truly. It is a nice dark blue Brooks collar t-shirt. Luckily the size is XL and it’s something I can use. Does this make up for their earlier mistake with the race t-shirt??...well let me think about it since I am still very upset about the wrongly registered finish timing. Btw, later I found out from Lim that those runners who came in much later were caught in a longer queue and some had up to 7 minutes added to their actual finish time!!
By the time Leow got his trophy, it was past 12pm. We made a quick dash to the international school where we were told to collect our certs. The only valuable information I got from the cert was my category position which is 22/76. The overall position was incorrect since many ladies who came in after the men runners were registered with much quicker times, resulting in better overall positioning for them.
Since it was already late and we had to check-out from the apartment by 1.30pm, we rushed back. I had my shower, packed the bags into the car, had a quick bite, bid farewell to everyone, picked up a couple of pomelo fruits from the stalls opposite the apartment and headed home. The traffic was smooth and we were back home by 4.30pm.
Post race analysis
1. I am very happy with my timing of 52m47s. This is about a 9min PR for me since my last race which was the Shah Alam 10k, run in over 61mins. Since this is a flat course, I am going to train harder to maintain or improve this timing even on the difficult courses.
2. I am overall disappointed with the organizing and management of the race. Collective bad experiences from our group include…
Group picture of all the runner's in our group. From left Ms. Lee, Leow, Albert, Chak, Chak's wife, Lim, Lim's nephew and me.
Lim, quite happy to have participated in yet another KRI event
Trainee with her coach... no one knew Leow was secretly training his girlfriend to a podium finish!
Yours truly feeling quite satisfied with today's performance
A great husband and wife team. They even participated in the Genting 24 hour walk together
Is that a bored look I see on this veteran runner's face? I have great respect for this runner, he has taught me a lot!
An overjoyed first time winner!
The deserving winning couple
Leow with Ronnie See on the winners' platform
My faithful NB680 pair finally got their well deserved wash
Albert called me on Saturday morning asking what time we were planning to leave. He told me that Peter and Ms. Chee were both unable to make it at the last minute, so Leow was going to pick him up at 1pm. We decided to leave together and to meet at the Happy Garden junction at 1pm.
The car packing was quite a process since I decided to take a whole lot of things to keep Nick occupied, including his bicycle and toys. We were at the Happy Garden junction at 1.05pm, and a few minutes later Leow arrived with his carload, so off we went. The journey was smooth and traffic was clear, even thought it rained when we were reaching. We arrived at the Hillcity Hotel and Condo which Lim had booked around 3.30pm.
Lim was waiting for us at the lobby upon arrival and helped us cart all the stuff from the car to the apartment. I was surprised at how big the apartment was. It had four bedrooms, and Lim had arranged the rooming such that my family got the master bedroom. After putting all our stuff in the room a few of us hopped back into the car and headed into town to collect our running numbers.
Number collection
After some searching, we finally found the collection area. There weren’t many people there when we arrived. Dr. Ron Hill and his wife were sitting on one end of the long hall, speaking to some of the runners. Lim quickly produced the receipts and our ‘goodie bags’ were handed to us.
Lim advised us to check the contents, especially the t-shirt. Lo and behold, my bag had an XS t-shirt instead of the XL which was marked on the label of the bag. I requested for a size change but for some stupid reason or other, they only had sizes M or smaller.
I was really disappointed with them at that time but nothing could really be done about it. I should have recognized this as the first bad sign that the entire event was going to be poorly managed.
We left the centre soon after and spend the rest of the day resting. After dinner most of us went to Ipoh Parade. I picked up some stuff for the next day’s breakfast from Tesco. We were back at the apartment by 10pm and I was sound asleep by 11pm.
Race morning
I woke up at 5.50am, quickly ate two bananas with the snicker’s bar I had bought and had some 100plus as well. I saved some of the 100plus for just before the race, since I read that drinking a sports drink just minutes before the race starts would help. We were all ready by 6.30am and left for the starting point.
Leow, Ms. Lee (his girlfriend), Albert and I were in one car. When we arrived there, most car park lots had been taken up but we managed to get a spot some distance away from the starting point. We saw many of the runners warming up on the tar track around the field and joined them for a quick warm up lap before positioning ourselves somewhere at the front of the starting line.
The KRI president was giving announcements and he also introduced Dr. Ron Hill to the crowd. Some photos were taken while we waited for the Perak Menteri Besar to arrive. He has been invited to start the race. I couldn’t believe it when it suddenly started to rain just before the official arrived. This would be my second race in the rain, the first being the recent PJ Half.
A blurred 10k
We were allowed to start just after 7.30. By that time, the rain had gotten slightly heavier. Albert managed to maneuver his way through the crowd but I found myself being tripped by some runners so I slowed the pace to be safe. After the first 500m or so, I managed to find some clear space and started picking up to my race pace.
After running for 5 minutes, my spectacles were completely fogged up and I knew that I would be running the rest of the race with a forward vision of no more than 5 meters. I did not manage to see any of the KM markers that Albert told me about later. The only marker I thought I saw was the 3KM yellow painted marker on the road which could not be right because my watch showed 24m at that point.
At the u-turn, I almost missed taking the ‘ribbon’ and was prompted by the official. At the 6.5km mark, I did not see the drink station until I was right next to it, so I just decided to continue running. So that is exactly what I did that morning, just run and run blindly. I could not see the turnings, I could not see the end of each road and worst of all I thought I would not be able to know when we started approaching the finishing point.
Luckily for me, I managed to recognize the road when we passed the starting line and this meant that the finish was just up ahead. I quickened my pace to a half sprint and finally reached the finish line. I literally mean ‘Finish Line’ because I had to queue up for a few minutes before they registered my number as having finished.
I almost forgot to stop my watch when I had finished, and when I finally did it showed a timing of 52m47s. This meant a 9 minute PR for me. However after queuing for a few minutes, I was given a small piece of paper which showed that they had recorded my timing as 55m55s. I did not think twice about it at that time but only later realized that this incorrect timing (due to their poor race planning and management at the finish line) was going to be put on my cert.
Lucky draws and race winners
After some searching and waiting, I managed to see Leow and Ms. Lee at the open area in front of the stage. A little while later I saw Albert. I did not believe him at first when he told me I was faster than him as I did not remember overtaking him, not that I was able to recognize anybody during the run with the condition I was in. He said he had completed in 53mXXs but the officials had recorded is time as 57mXXs after all the queuing.
Later I met Ronnie See for the first time and said hello to both him and his wife Rachel. We spend the rest of the morning eating, taking pictures and listening to the names being called out for the lucky draws. Lim, his nephew, Chak and his wife later joined us in some of the photo shots shown below.
While Leow who had run with a timing of just over 41m was waiting for his winner’s trophy, we were really pleasantly surprised when his girlfriend’s name was called as a winner for her category. This was her first ever race and she managed to get a winners position with her timing of 54mXXs in the women’s age category 30-39. The best part is that she did not come to Ipoh to run, but decided to register on Saturday just for fun! I joked with Leow that he now needs to have a serious talk to encourage her to train for more races.
The only person in our group who got a lucky draw was yours truly. It is a nice dark blue Brooks collar t-shirt. Luckily the size is XL and it’s something I can use. Does this make up for their earlier mistake with the race t-shirt??...well let me think about it since I am still very upset about the wrongly registered finish timing. Btw, later I found out from Lim that those runners who came in much later were caught in a longer queue and some had up to 7 minutes added to their actual finish time!!
By the time Leow got his trophy, it was past 12pm. We made a quick dash to the international school where we were told to collect our certs. The only valuable information I got from the cert was my category position which is 22/76. The overall position was incorrect since many ladies who came in after the men runners were registered with much quicker times, resulting in better overall positioning for them.
Since it was already late and we had to check-out from the apartment by 1.30pm, we rushed back. I had my shower, packed the bags into the car, had a quick bite, bid farewell to everyone, picked up a couple of pomelo fruits from the stalls opposite the apartment and headed home. The traffic was smooth and we were back home by 4.30pm.
Post race analysis
1. I am very happy with my timing of 52m47s. This is about a 9min PR for me since my last race which was the Shah Alam 10k, run in over 61mins. Since this is a flat course, I am going to train harder to maintain or improve this timing even on the difficult courses.
2. I am overall disappointed with the organizing and management of the race. Collective bad experiences from our group include…
- Incorrect race t-shirt sizes
- Extremely wrong finish timing and positioning registered for male runners
- Inaccurate kilometer markers
- Insufficient supply at the water station for slower runners
I will have to think twice about taking part in this event in the future, since it is not a very cheap occasion considering all the traveling costs, accommodation and even the expensive participation fees. Overall I cannot agree with the many who have rated this event as one of the top events in the country.
Lastly, on a positive note… Chiew Chin and Nicholas had a relaxing and enjoyable time. I am also happy that my wife has gotten to know and spend time talking with more of my new friends. She was also encouraged to perhaps find time for some regular walking or slow jogging which I hope she will. I must thank Lim who organized the logistics of our group’s travel etc. very well.
Group picture of all the runner's in our group. From left Ms. Lee, Leow, Albert, Chak, Chak's wife, Lim, Lim's nephew and me.
Lim, quite happy to have participated in yet another KRI event
Trainee with her coach... no one knew Leow was secretly training his girlfriend to a podium finish!
Yours truly feeling quite satisfied with today's performance
A great husband and wife team. They even participated in the Genting 24 hour walk together
Is that a bored look I see on this veteran runner's face? I have great respect for this runner, he has taught me a lot!
An overjoyed first time winner!
The deserving winning couple
Leow with Ronnie See on the winners' platform
My faithful NB680 pair finally got their well deserved wash
Niece's 3rd Birthday
Last Saturday was my niece’s third birthday. We had a small celebration for her with just the family members. It was a nice time of feasting and chatting for the adults, and the kids enjoyed themselves playing. As usual I ate more than I should have!
Nicholas second birthday is in 10 days (Dec 1st). My third wedding anniversary is in 9 days (30th Nov). We still have not planned what to do for Nick’s birthday. I will be on leave for one week from 28th Nov. I think we will most likely have a small celebration at home with the family.
Birthday girl Ashley with her favourite cousin Nicholas
Picture of Ashley and Nicholas, taken 18 months ago… how they have grown since then!
Some leftovers of the delicious food prepared by my mother in law
Nicholas enjoying some adult conversation at the dinner table
Nicholas in his PJs ready for bed… or is he?
Nicholas second birthday is in 10 days (Dec 1st). My third wedding anniversary is in 9 days (30th Nov). We still have not planned what to do for Nick’s birthday. I will be on leave for one week from 28th Nov. I think we will most likely have a small celebration at home with the family.
Birthday girl Ashley with her favourite cousin Nicholas
Picture of Ashley and Nicholas, taken 18 months ago… how they have grown since then!
Some leftovers of the delicious food prepared by my mother in law
Nicholas enjoying some adult conversation at the dinner table
Nicholas in his PJs ready for bed… or is he?
Friday, November 18, 2005
Few short runs
Since I will be running in this weekend's KRI 10k race, I decided to keep my runs short this week. Monday was a rest day after the 20k practice run on Sunday. On Tuesday I went to the gym as usual, where I did a 6k tempo run. On Wednesday I ran another brisk 5.7k at Taman Rakyat with Albert, Lim and Ajeep.
Yesterday it was raining in KL when I left, but the skies were clear and beautiful when I reached Klang. I put on my shoes and started running my final training run before the race. The plan was to try to run at a pace slightly slower than my race pace for 5 to 6km to judge my fitness level and to fix my target finish time for Sunday's race. At the end I managed to cover 5 laps or 5.6k in 30m12s rather comfortably.
At this pace, my 10k timing should be somewhere between 54 to 55mins. I think I will fix a target of 55mins for now, since that would mean an improvement of almost 7mins from my last 10k race in September, which I think is good. I will be very happy if I can just meet the target. If I run faster than 55mins, it will be a bonus. If along the way I crash out, there will be other races.
Lim has booked two 4-bedroom apartment units in Hillcity Hotel and Condo in Ipoh. In total there will be more than 20 people going to Ipoh from Klang this Saturday, including family and relatives of the runners. The apartment is very near the Simpang Pulai toll, so I presume it must be quite a distance from the town. However it should not really be a problem getting to the race the next morning since it will be really early.
I'm looking forward to this race because this is where I will be able to see how much my training effort has helped me improve. It is almost exactly two months since my first ever race in Putrajaya. This is exciting! Good luck to everyone who will be participating as well!
Yesterday it was raining in KL when I left, but the skies were clear and beautiful when I reached Klang. I put on my shoes and started running my final training run before the race. The plan was to try to run at a pace slightly slower than my race pace for 5 to 6km to judge my fitness level and to fix my target finish time for Sunday's race. At the end I managed to cover 5 laps or 5.6k in 30m12s rather comfortably.
At this pace, my 10k timing should be somewhere between 54 to 55mins. I think I will fix a target of 55mins for now, since that would mean an improvement of almost 7mins from my last 10k race in September, which I think is good. I will be very happy if I can just meet the target. If I run faster than 55mins, it will be a bonus. If along the way I crash out, there will be other races.
Lim has booked two 4-bedroom apartment units in Hillcity Hotel and Condo in Ipoh. In total there will be more than 20 people going to Ipoh from Klang this Saturday, including family and relatives of the runners. The apartment is very near the Simpang Pulai toll, so I presume it must be quite a distance from the town. However it should not really be a problem getting to the race the next morning since it will be really early.
I'm looking forward to this race because this is where I will be able to see how much my training effort has helped me improve. It is almost exactly two months since my first ever race in Putrajaya. This is exciting! Good luck to everyone who will be participating as well!
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Toe woes
When I purchased my shoes 2 months ago at the New Balance store in BBK Plaza, Albert the store manager checked my feet size and told me that my right foot was one size bigger than my left. Now this was the first I had heard about this kind of thing and was quite surprised actually.
I got myself the size 12, 4E shoes after trying them out and finding them quite comfortable. The shoes were a little stiff on the first few runs, but after a few runs it started to be a lot more comfortable. It is only in these last few weeks where I've used them on my 20k runs, did I start to realise that my big toe nail and the one next to it (right foot) seem to be quite painful. I believe this is the result of my toes being jammed into the top of my sneakers while I run, causing what doctors call blunt trauma.
From reading some articles online, the main cause of this seem to be ill-fitting running shoes. I must admit however on my recent long runs, my toe nails were not as short as they could have been. Perhaps this could have made it worse.
Speaking to Tey recently on the PM's chatbox, he told me to get more than one pair of training shoes since I train on average 5 days a week. Now if at all I manage to convince my wife this is really necessary, I wonder if I should still try another New Balance model since the NB680 stability shoes I use now does not seem to be the best fit for me? Having just checked my mileage log, a quick calculation says that this pair has clocked about 320km in the past 8 weeks.
The other problem I seem to face on long runs are big, painful, water-logged blisters on the toes. Having solved the chaffing problem I faced on my thighs by using some petroleum jelly, would the same product help if used on the toes? I tried taping the toes with the cheap plaster I bought but it seemed to make it worse. Another contributing factor I believe is that I probably sweat buckets on my long run, causing my shoes and socks to be soaked and squishy at the end of each run.
I got myself the size 12, 4E shoes after trying them out and finding them quite comfortable. The shoes were a little stiff on the first few runs, but after a few runs it started to be a lot more comfortable. It is only in these last few weeks where I've used them on my 20k runs, did I start to realise that my big toe nail and the one next to it (right foot) seem to be quite painful. I believe this is the result of my toes being jammed into the top of my sneakers while I run, causing what doctors call blunt trauma.
From reading some articles online, the main cause of this seem to be ill-fitting running shoes. I must admit however on my recent long runs, my toe nails were not as short as they could have been. Perhaps this could have made it worse.
Speaking to Tey recently on the PM's chatbox, he told me to get more than one pair of training shoes since I train on average 5 days a week. Now if at all I manage to convince my wife this is really necessary, I wonder if I should still try another New Balance model since the NB680 stability shoes I use now does not seem to be the best fit for me? Having just checked my mileage log, a quick calculation says that this pair has clocked about 320km in the past 8 weeks.
The other problem I seem to face on long runs are big, painful, water-logged blisters on the toes. Having solved the chaffing problem I faced on my thighs by using some petroleum jelly, would the same product help if used on the toes? I tried taping the toes with the cheap plaster I bought but it seemed to make it worse. Another contributing factor I believe is that I probably sweat buckets on my long run, causing my shoes and socks to be soaked and squishy at the end of each run.
Monday, November 14, 2005
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