Warriors Charity Run 2013

5km Run

Warrior's Fund

There's a 5km run for the Tabung Pahlawan on 2nd November at 8am, to raise funds for ex-army association, if anyone in Kuching is interested.  Registration opens on Monday at Plaza Merdeka 10.00 am to 8.00 pm. Fees are RM10 for adults and RM5 for students.  The run will be divided into Men Veteran (42 & above), Men Open (15 & above) and Women Open (15 & above).  Prizes will be given to the top 3 finishers in each category. The run starts and ends at Plaza Merdeka. Tentatively it will go along Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, Sarawak Club, Jalan Tan Sri Ong Kee Hui, Jalan Tabuan, 260 Xpress, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, and Main Bazaar. Please note that yours truly went after 5pm today (28th October) to register and was told by the concierge lady that they had left earlier but given the forms to her. So if you come later just go straight to the counter. The concierge people will accept your registrations too. Cheers!

Registration form

King of the Road Malaysia 2013

16.8km

Running on Empty

Part Two of Weekend Run Combo

Sometimes we do crazy things. Someone would later go on to call it crazy brave.  Some would call it insane. Doing two runs in two days is no joke.  I know a certain 'always smiling runner' who recently did two FMs in two days. Met him in both the Putrajaya Night Marathon doing 42.195km and the Adidas King of the Road doing 16.8km.  Both times he called out my name.  The big difference between him and me apart from him being five years older is the fact he is a much faster runner than me.  So he gets more time to rest in between runs.  When I signed up for these two events and distances I didn't think, I just did. In retrospect it was a foolish thing.  Then again I have always plunged in head first and then worry about the consequences.  That for me makes life fun.  If all of us were so predictable life would be boring indeed.  Kept reminding myself this was 58.995km over a span of hours not days.  I would start PNM at 8pm and then KOTR at 6.45am. So I had little or no time to recover in between.

Those who read my PNM post will know that I clocked 5:46 for my PB.  What that meant was that I had more time on my hands.  Time to head from Putrajaya to Sunway Pyramid.  Time to eat and rest.  Sleep however didn't come easy. One hour sleep, a quick shower, and I was at the startling line 5 minutes before gun time.  The good thing was that I stayed so close to the race site.  So if I had to crawl back to my room I could in fact do so.  The bad thing was I wasn't even warmed up before the race started.  This was the highway run along the NPE. Just the sort of run to prepare me for a return to Penang.  Had no illusion of clocking a fast time. On paper I could easily dip under 2 hours.  Tell my kaputed legs that.  From the start I knew I was running on empty.  Tried as hard as I could to get going.  Managed to struggle on for the first two km.  Nice to see so many fresh legs around me.  How I wish I could run in the bouncy way that many of the youngsters did.  My feet felt like they were encase in lead.

Starting on empty (pic: Deo AH)

Saw a couple of familiar faces.  Some called me by name, which is always nice.  How I wished to have a running buddy then.  Did meet up with fellow stragglers.  Chatted with a couple of them.  What I didn't want to do was get injured.  This was for me a sort of fun run.  Wanted to experience a shorter race with about 11,000 participants.  In the beginning it felt like a tight squeeze along the highway.  Slowly but surely it thinned out.  There was no need for me to look at my watch.  Knew my time was a disaster.  The feeling of utter hopelessness was there.  Badly wanted to finish this. Had not come all the way to go home without two medals.  My biggest fear was that the sweeper bus would catch up with me.  The nice auntie far back was still walking gamely on.  If she could do it so could I.  My legs were still after all attached to my body and I wasn't cramping or anything like that.  What I needed was something to spur me on.  A quick call to MBF did the trick.

Meeting up with Jimmy Teh (pic: Jimmy Teh)

Saw the sweeper bus slowly approaching with some 4km to go.  The nice chap tried to persuade people to hitch a ride with him.  Lots of them took up his offer.  Was hoping even more would so, so that the bus would move ever so slowly.  So I still had time.  Walked and jogged on.  Struggled to put some distance between me and the bus.  The kms were going but so very slowly.  This was not what I had envisioned. When the bus finally caught up with me the guy did try to persuade me to hop on.  I said no.  There was no way I was going to hitch a ride if the nice auntie behind me hadn't.  I salute her! She kept on going.  When we reached a tunnel section the sweeper bus didn't follow us anymore.  Kept on going.  One more tunnel followed straight into the home stretch.  Saw MBF cheering me on.  Managed to hit the finishing line on two feet.  Then got a banana and my medal.  Quickly sat at the sidewalk and ate my banana and drank the water they gave me. Waited for MBF to come.

Totally kaputed (pic: Jimmy Teh)

Met up with the nice auntie again.  And there was Mohan as usual with his trusty camera cheering us on.  We took pictures. He had come to support both runs this weekend.  That was much appreciated by many of us. Did I bite off more than I could chew? Well the answer is yes and no. If I hadn't eaten and slept and just went for it am sure I could have easily done 60km.  This is not an idle boast.  What killed my legs was starting from zero again after doing so much.  Maybe if I had held back during PNM things would have been different.  Of course there was no way I was going to give up on a chance at a PB when my legs were going so good then.  Will I run KOTR again?  The answer to that is a resounding yes! The atmosphere was really nice.  The KOTR crew went all out to cheer us on.  This may have been a short run but it was very well managed and the runners were well cared for.  How I wish more short runs were this professional.  There might not have been a finisher t-shirt but the Adidas race top was simply fabulous.

The nice auntie and I

Nasa and I

My medal

Thank you Mr. Postman...

When I returned to Kuching something was waiting for me in the mail.  It was a fulfilment of my new year's resolution. When I first saw Mohan wearing it I said to myself I wanted one too.  However little did I know the price of getting such a race top.  Am hoping to wear it at my next marathon.  Nothing beats wearing something we earn.  Running FMs has done me a world of good. My health has improved tremendously and I have made many new and wonderful friends.  This race top is just the icing on the cake for me.  Am hoping it will spur me on to even greater running heights.  Thank you to the awesome people at Marathon Maniacs for accepting me into their fold.  My running journey will forever be a long one, made much easier knowing that I have the support of people who have run so many marathons behind me.  Yes I am itching to run, but recover I must.  Come my next marathon I hope to do the Maniacs proud. Happy running always! Maniac #7614 signing off.

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BSN Putrajaya Night Marathon 2013

My Fifth Full Marathon

My First Night Marathon

Part One of Weekend Run Combo

It has always been a dream of mine to do a long night run.  The Putrajaya Night Marathon was the perfect venue for me to test my night running abilities.  Had heard from others how hot the street lights are and how humid the conditions are.  One person even told me that night running saps 20% more energy from the runner. The only thing I was sure of was that when my FM started at 8pm, I better not be thinking about food.  So what I did when I had my breakfast at the coffee shop was to have nasi goreng ayam AND roti sardin.  Only then was I satisfied that I had enough in my belly to last me till gun time.  The other big fear was whether I could get enough sleep or not and of course going to the toilet.  The latter was easily solved twice. Sleep came later than expected.  Managed to squeeze in a couple of hours.  Had to be up by four to make sure that I had not forgotten anything for the run - that meant checking everything for the umpteenth time. Our friends were picking us up at 5pm.

Nasa Zaidul, me, Ryan Tay and friends

Nasa and Cynthia Andrew

We were good to go at the appointed time.  They were late, but since Cynthia would be running 21km, we weren't worried.  In fact, when she and her bf did arrive we found Precinct 3 at Putrajaya in record time. I had to make sure we hooked up with my buddy Ryan Tay from Kuching as we had his 21km bib.  He had arrived on a later flight and was unable to collect it himself.  We found Ryan, and later some other friends from Kuching who were going to run 21km too.  However, the bulk of our Kuching runners would be attempting the full distance.  Rain threatened.  It drizzled intermittently.  Since I had my running cap on, I wasn't that worried.  Plus, I was wearing stuff that dried quickly.  Did munch on an energy bar and drink a new hydration mix I had gotten just for this marathon.  That done, I felt I was good to go.  All I needed was a quick trip to the loo.  Usually really hate portable toilets, so will always seek out one in a building.  And with that taken care of, I headed to the FM corral.

Taking to Uncle Oliver (pic: Rustam Affandi Zaihan)

This time around there were no plans for taking pictures, so no camera was with me.  Also kept my music in its pouch.  For River Jungle Marathon I had survived without music. With the continuous drizzle I decided to forego music altogether.  Met several familiar faces, amongst them were my blogging buddy Hafiz Aizat, the always smiling YK Foo, and the always spritely Uncle Oliver Ker . Finally got to meet Karim Gila Bola, and really admired his very new looking Marathon Maniac running top. Was always used to seeing Mohan Marathon's worn down one.  Sorry Mo, but it's true! Got a hug from the running diva herself, Karen Loh. Badly want to run as a pacer in her marathon come March next year.  Now who shall I pace? Hmmm.... Those who know me, know my obsession with running long, so 21km is out of the question unless it is the only distance available.  Besides, next year I want to mix things up and try different things. Everything next year for me would revolve around the Kuching Marathon, which would occur 10 days before I get even older.

Into the darkness we go 

The plan for me was to run BSN PNM at 6:00 pace.  Even had a pace band made out just for that. Everything felt good at the start. Ran my usual way while trying to get my engine warmed up.  Caught up with Hafiz along the route.  He was planning on a 5:30 run.  Followed behind him for quite a bit.  Was feeling really strong so decided to go past him.  My engine was working fine.  There was no need to slow my pace down.  In fact, every time I looked at my pace band I was running ahead of time.  It came to the point where I even texted MBF at the 21km sign  that I was 24 minutes ahead of my 6:00 pace.  The fastest I have ever run an HM was 2:30.  Halfway through the marathon my watch showed that it took only 2:35.  For me that was fast! I never dreamed of running a sub-5 so I knew I had to slow down.  In fact there was a big chance that Hafiz would catch up with me again.  Instead of taking my gels at 7km intervals, I took my first one at 10km and then my second one after the halfway point.  

Another new thing I tried were GU Chewies.  Had the strawberry ones.  Those were nice.  Took two at a time when I needed it.  It had drizzled earlier into the run.  After that, rain never threatened again.  Felt a slight aching in my right heel from km13 onwards but it was never really a big problem for me. Yes, I was slowing down but I was expecting that.  The banana at the fruit station was nice.  Later we would be surprised with watermelon slices.  Ate five.  In my defense, it was really small.  The promised gel arrived with a bit of caffeine in it.  The taste made me cringe but I needed a boost at km32.  Later there would be people handing out tiny cups of Ribena or Pepsi.  When in doubt, always go for the caffeine is my rule of thumb.  Said no to the offered Snickers bar.  Having never eaten chocolate on a long run, I would never risk it.  The km markers seem to come and go faster than ever.  All systems were going good.  It was very quiet though.  That was the biggest thing I noticed.

Going strong! (pic: Kevin Tan)

Of course there were groups of people cheering us on.  There were pom pom girls, Avenger characters with bulging foam muscles too.  Spidey was late to greet us and was seen running to his cheer point.  The fire breathers amazed me and I enjoyed the haka dance.  There was a marching band too.  I saw drums covered up because of the rain, so we missed that bit of fun.  Fire works lighted up the night sky at one point.  Apart from that, heard whistles and thought of Mo, but it was the traffic controllers.  A big thank you to young lad who gave me ice cubes filled in a surgical glove.  Really needed that to cool my neck down.  The sponges don't do much for me.  After my experiences at RJM, I always want ice cubes.  Came across Winnie Wong, another Marathon Maniac.  She always tries to get me running, like at BIM.  This time though I had the legs for it.  By km30, I knew for sure a sub-5 was not possible.  That was my joke to myself.  What was sure was that I was slowing down bit by bit.  The blame lay in the extra 10kg hydration pack I carried in my body. I had weighed in at 95kg before the run you see.

Ran with two 300ml bottles of my secret hydration mix.  Used it sparingly because there were lots of 100 Plus isotonic drinks available.  Have been to runs where the isotonic drinks had run out but not here.  Even near the very end of the run the sponges were really cold.  Now that is what I like.  Made an effort to thank the crew whenever possible.  Two traffic cops encouraged me on at an intersection.  That was when I had only a handful of kms to go.  Met up with another guy and we decided to run together till the finishing line. The clock was ticking and yes, I was still ahead of schedule.  So you can imagine my surprise when I saw the time and it read 5:46.  I had another PB! My BIM time had been bettered and battered by 22 minutes! It pays not to run with a camera and take lots of pictures.  It pays not to go into a convenience store - not that there were any along the route - and chat up the proprietors.  Was more serious this time around.  Yes, some of the inclines did get to me.  Ran as smart as I could so that I had something left in my tank for the finish.

Finish line joy

MBF, Cynthia and her bf, were waiting for me at the finishing line.  It's always good to be greeted by familiar faces.  For a short while I did rest.  Took the opportunity to replenish fluids.  Then went looking for Mohan. Found him.  He wasn't able to run because of injury.  Yet he was there to lend his support to all the runners. That was really big of him.  The others from our Kuching group had long since gone. Wasn't surprised since I was the slowest runner of the bunch.  Then we headed off to our hotel next to Sunway Pyramid.  I did a quick change.  Wore my pink Finisher t-shirt.  Always nice to have that on.  If not, I would have been forced to wear my medal for the latest supper ever.  This time around was truly ravenous.  Ate nasi Pattaya and mee goreng. The mee goreng was a tad spicy so I couldn't finish it.  Knew I needed to sleep since I would be running another race at 6.45am.  Yes, that was Part Two of my combo run.  I tried desperately to sleep but couldn't. In the end did manage to squeeze in an hour of shut eye.

Mohd Adzale Ainuddin and me meters from the end

Totally kaputed and it shows

Looking terrified at the photographer! (pic: Tey Eng Tiong)

Always happy to meet Mohan (Pic: Tey Eng Tiong)

Man hug time! (Pic: Tey Eng Tiong)

Mohan, Cynthia, me and Nasa

Cynthia and her boyfriend

Winnie Wong and me

What did I learn from Putrajaya Night Marathon?  The most important thing for me was that I could run faster and longer without walking.  There were even times when it felt easy.  This I attribute to my two runs the weekend before.  Had taken part in a 10km run at a leisurely speed that Saturday.  Then on Sunday had run 5km up a mountain road and 5km down it.  Felt really strong then too.  Unknown to me it would be a harbinger of good things to come.  Honestly don't know if I can go any faster in my next full marathon.  I'll take it one run at a time.  If I feel good at that moment, I might consider going for it.  There's no need for me to PB in every run.  There will be times when I just don't have it.  I have to accept that.  The fact that I am now a sub-6 marathon runner means a lot to me mentally.  My confidence in my body's performance has improved greatly.  Gone are the worries of cramping up or losing even more toenails.  I look forward to my next full marathon.  As things stand now I am a happy runner indeed.

My swag

Kuching Marathon on 17th August 2014

Let the countdown begin!

298 days to go before Kuching's very own full marathon

As a Kuching-born runner it has always been my dream to run a full marathon in my own hometown.  Since I only started running seriously last year I have had to run all my full marathons outside my home state of Sarawak.  To date I have run five of them.  So now that the date of the Kuching Marathon has been announced as 17th August 2014 I know what I will be doing on that morning.  Am hoping that many Kuchingites take up the challenge to go the full 42.195km.  Last year I started my adventure in running by attempting 5km at the inaugural Spring Live Active Run.  My first FM was at the Penang Bridge International Marathon last year. I have run two half marathons since, but for me it has always been about going the full distance.  It is hard for me to explain to non marathon runners how it feels to run long.  All I can say after completing the Putrajaya Night Marathon in a PB is that it is simply orgasmic!

So anyone contemplating running 42.195km can start training now.  There is so much time. When I trained for PBIM I used a 16-week program.  Am also hoping that my friends from all over Malaysia and beyond, especially those in Singapore, will come and join us for this momentous running experience.  I and all my running buddies will welcome you with open arms.  We may not have the fastest runners in Malaysia, but our boys really like to run as can be attested by how many of them did the Putrajaya Night Marathon and Adidas King of the Road combo.  I am so proud of them.  They have the legs to carry on running for years to come and make our State proud.  So if you think you cannot do it look at this fat old man running.  I used to weigh 105kg and could barely complete 5km.  Now I can do back to back long runs with only an hour's sleep.  If I can do it so can you!  What better way to kick start such a journey then to run the Kuching Marathon.  I hope to see you there!

My five full marathon medals

For more info do click here . Please note that the website is still in progress.  I will try my best to update my fellow readers on the latest news pertaining to this marathon.

Charity Walk with Happy 2013

4km Charity Walk

This event is organised by Lian Hua Seng Sdn Bhd - the rice people. Just the mere mention of happy walk and am already excited. What a wonderful name for an event. This will be the second year running (or should I say walking?) that it is being held. This time around participants will have to walk 4 km! It will held on Sunday, 10th November 2013 at the Kuching Waterfront's Square Tower. There is no age limit so everyone can join. An entry fee of RM5 will be charged, however all the monies will go to charity. Entry forms are available here for download. Please fill it and submit to:

Lian Hua Seng Sdn Bhd
Ground Floor, SL 6535 & 6536
Jalan Pending, 93450 Kuching

The hard copy of the forms can also be obtained from them. The last day for registration is 2nd November 2013.  All the participants need to do is fill in the entry form together with the RM5 entry fee, and the organisers will provide them with a free coupon for a t-shirt. The coupon needs to be returned to the organiser on the actual event day. For more information do go to their website or Facebook page. Happy walking everyone!

Power of Love Charity Run - Report

Charity Run for Sarawak Children's Cancer Society

5km and 10km

Yours truly signed up for this charity run knowing full well that I couldn't run it. I would be in Kuala Lumpur running my first really long back to back races that weekend.  Since the Power of Love Charity Run is for my favourite charity, and yes I have gone bald twice for it, I chose to sign up for it, and then hand my bib to my friend Reuben Su to run it and then take pics for me.  So all the photos you see are thanks to him.  I was told that runners from as far as Australia and England were among the participants.  The 5km run was won by Mohd Farhan Mulyadiy.  Coming in second was Kenny Kho Hian Beng, who was one of the 2:30 pacers at this year's Spring Live Active Run, who helped 'me achieve my half marathon PB. In third spot was Damien Ng Heng Howe.  In the 10km run, Chong Yen Boon emerged victorious.  He was followed by Yeo Kia Hong and Kueh Kui Chai, who finished second and third respectively.  All the participants who finished within the cut off time got medals and certificates.

I shamelessly took the 2XL t-shirt for myself.  Reuben ran the 10km and so got his medal and cert. Isn't it amazing how many runs are happening so close to each other in Kuching right now.  How I wish I could run them all, however some of them overlap.  So choices have to be made.  It's events like this that help motivate young and old alike to lead a healthy lifestyle.  As of today it's 298 days before the Kuching Marathon is run.  I will try to keep everyone updated on any of the latest developments on my hometown marathon.  As it stands now all we can do is train and run the many short runs in Kuching.  Those who are lucky enough to run outside Sarawak and Malaysia, all I can say is good on you! From what I heard the Power of Love Charity Run was an outstanding success. Nothing beats running for charity for me when I can do so.  If it's not possible then my friends can always run in my shoes.  Below are assorted pics from the run...

The Animazing Race - Report

SSPCA 10km Run

The Animazing Race on 12th October was something I really looked forward too. Maybe not for the run itself. Had run part of the route during my LSD last Sunday so was quite familiar with it. The nice thing about charity runs is seeing so many familiar faces and also all those new faces who don't usually participate in such events. The turn out for the race was a bit disappointing even though many had registered for it. I don't want to speculate why this is so. However am always happy to see runners proudly sporting their race t-shirts and bib numbers.  The grizzly veterans chose to wear their own drifit tops.  Yours truly is a sweats heavily so no cotton for me even on a fun run. Have had enough torture wearing cotton without even running.  Went early for the run to pass the last remaining race pack to one of my running buddies who I knew could win it.  Yes the mere whiff of free entry into the upcoming Penang International Bridge Marathon for the top 3 finishers had made things even more interesting...

Since it was open category running I just took it upon myself to have a good time.  When I run with camera in hand that means I just want to have fun.  Finished my final training run before I get serious next week in 1:12 which was much better than I expected.  In fact I was saving my legs for climbing Mount Serapi the very next day.  The climb consists of 5km up and 5km down.  It's just a road but can be very slippery when wet.  I went up in 1:27 which was a PB of sorts for me.  Going down was a tad treacherous but managed it in 53 minutes.  It's a wonder I didn't hurt myself.  However nothing beats the thrill of going downhill at speed. By the way the mountain is only 890m high so it isn't really a challenge.  But I am a heavyset person so going up is always hard.  Was using a hydration pack filled with 1.5L of isotonic drink too.  Running whether on a straight road or on a mountain is very addictive.  The hardest thing for me is to not run three days in a row and to remind myself I have a real race next week and don't want to get injured.

As for the Animazing Race, the results were as follows: For the Men's category, the winner was John Lonchienne, Mohamad Ajwad Morshidi came in second, and Kaliani Rajamanickom.  As for the Women's categpory, I was won by Eng Sia Jin, with Tang Sii Eng and Hii Yieng Nyuk coming in second and third respectively.  

Abdul Aziz, Karen Than, Nasa Zaidul

Meeting up with friends

Veterans and newbies together

Me and John Lonchienne

Christopher Sia, me and Reuben Su

The pink rabbit guy 

Some fast runners here

Kaliani Rajamanickom and me

Albert Tan and daughter

Lots of cops making our run route safe

Paced Brenda Eu who was running her first 10km

First water station

Even more cops and RELA members keeping watch

Second water station

Cops posing for me

Nasa happy to finish ahead of the guys

Winnie Tan, Caroline Ling and Bernard Lee

Wendy Ng, Brenda, me and Nasa

Camera hogs we be

Aziz and Karen 10km virgins no more

Me flanked by Brenda and Karen

Leo Bin (5th place) and me

The top 5 finishers

My race kit

The Wiggle Waggle Walk

Came back in the afternoon to watch the owners walk their dogs around the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK), where the whole SSPCA event was held.  Was surprised to see quite a number of dogs that needed to be adopted.  Their handlers really had good bonds with their charges.  Dogs being dogs decided whether they wanted to go or not.  Some didn't even move while others just shot off like a bullet with their masters in tow.  The dogs came it all sizes and it's always nice seeing how much their owners pamper them after the walk.  Some dogs even refused to get up after the exertion and lapped happily at the water provided.  I took as many pics of the dogs as I possibly could.  I was a shame that nobody brought cats.  I was told that cats could participate if they were kept in their voyagers.  That meant it was up to the owners to walk really fast.  However even though I am the proud minder of a couple of cats I dared not risk it with many so many huge doggies around.  That night there was the WAG concert. I was just to zapped out to go even though I had tickets for it.  So there aren't any pictures of that event here.

Looking for any interesting pets?

I know there are people out there who craved even more exotic pets.  I like snakes and played around with a tiny albino King Snake.  It can grow up to a meter but is non-poisonous.  Let me tell you when out of it's container it can really move.  Look at the pics below and see if you can spot even more familiar critters... Being a cat lover I cannot keep any of them as I know what will happen if these creatures escape from their cages.  So I only enjoy them like this.  It's nice to see that such exotic animals are available in Kuching for a price.  I hope to visit the pet shop again soon to play with them.