Limping Marathon Runner

Nothing related to Microsoft at all! I felt like I am working in a Stock Exchange today. Mobile phone on left ear and a desk phone on my right ear. Two laptops running different tests - troubleshooting two different cases. Mad. Good thing, its a holiday tomorrow.

This week has been near madness and I feel like it is longer than a 42km. I got a beer together with some munchies at Dirty Nelly's last night. I am glad the work week ended today (at least work to be done) and I feel drained. Solved three cases at one go and I still have some other stuff to do. Didn't join EndlessTrail for the talk and decided to head on home. Stopping at the video store, I picked up Transformers for Bala. The Pursuit of Happyness and Stealth for myself. Okay, the show is going to start soon!

Deciding to stop and rest my legs for 1 month (away from running), one cannot image the rushing endorphins I received, just by doing a short dash of 5 metres for the bus. Caught the movie "Enchanted" at Great World around evening. Looking forward to running again!

Well done to Kops21 and ShortLegs for finishing their Western Australia IM event!

.. as some describes this - I know Fennel would. That was what left me wincing in pain as I did let the foam roller and laws of gravity carried out its tasks. Sadist (but effective) tips from Kops21, stacking both legs on the foam to increase its intensity, almost made me squeal. My face wrinkled with squinty eyes was an instant reflex from the indescribable sensation. Just little kids who want toys after dental visits. Some hot tea, please? ITB feels much better. Somemore? I'll leave that till tomorrow. It was 1.2k swim today. Recovery.

I slept as early as 4pm the day before, waking up periodically and at 7pm for dinner before sleeping again. Waking at 12 midnight, I caught some movie on T.V. before taking some noodles. I sensed that I will not have an easy day with odds stacked against me. With timed friendly feeder service at 4.10am by IMD, we reached the venue early. Baggage was a little chaotic and fortunately AlecChua was taking the half marathon, I left my shoe bag with him for deposit. Making my way to the start line, there were plenty of familiar faces to wave to.

With a countdown to 5.30am and off we went. I was still feeling good and was pretty cautious of my speed for the first 10km. But, that was not what I looked out for. at 12km, what I feared for has arrived. That warning sensation on my ITB. The first attack came at 19km. I went down to run - walk technique. At 28km, it was so intense that the only better option was to brisk walk. I could only hold up to 35km before I came down to a normal walking pace. Just before 36km, I spotted someone with cramps and I went over to assist. His calf muscle was twitching pretty badly. We spent probably 5mins to stabilize it before buddying up and chatting all the way to the finish line. With 300m before finish line, I did a slow (which was painfully slow) jog back to cross the finish line. My personal worst timing but finishing was all that matters.

Good to hear that most achieved some pretty impressive timing while others suffered like me. We will be back for revenge next year!

To celebrate the return of our Supreme Slacker, we did a low mileage swim today. Wait. Or was I the only low mileage swimmer. Nevermind. Good to see the Supreme Slacker with a new hairdo and a fierce one too!

I hope it holds. We shall see in six days' time.

Now, festive moods are everywhere. Malls are playing Christmas tunes. Decorations seen along roads and in malls. The signs are different this year and it is a little worrying to me. On a different note, is it going to be the same as last year?

Not much time to update anything - clearing work.

ET go home, ET go home One of our MenInGreen weds today! Holding his wedding lunch at Sentosa, it was a great "overseas trip". I was playing with ChiniJr where this little fella needs warming up.

The day seems great for an open water swim!

Want to know why I keep doing marathons? To feel alive. Here's how and why.

Something is wrong. It feels weird. Definitely. As much as I can contain it, I will. Felt better after three sets of muscle rehab. Weak. Okay, self-impose ban on climb tomorrow.

Yesterday, I crossed the causeway to attend my ex-colleague's wedding (not mentioning the one hour jam). From her, I learned something that I was searching (in answer) for in years. She has been through similar experiences and kind enough to explain. Once she asked if I could attend her wedding, I gave a "Definitely!" answer right away. Her wedding is pretty much like the local chinese wedding in the 80s, where singers entertain her guests on stage with their love songs and duets. Watching the entire process of her husband professing his love for her on the big screen from morning's "ordeal for the groom" makes everyone laugh because they are the cutest couple alive. We left after the banquet and faced another hour plus of jam before reaching home. Sleeping at 3am - not good.

Today's run wasn't spectacular. At 16km, problems started to surface. I stopped at 24km, estimating at 2hrs 30mins, where I am suppose to do a 35km. Plagued by several problems lately, just got to fight them off. Saw Benson, speed-monster, at the canal today. Yes, I almost got ran over by an inline skater wannabe. Perhaps I should do the treadmill.

Most significant songs from my ex-colleague's wedding:

歌: 愛,很簡單
歌手: 陶喆

忘了是怎麼開始
也許就是對你有一種感覺
忽然間發現自己
以深深愛上你 真的很簡單

愛的地暗天黑都已無所謂
是是非非無法決擇
沒有後悔為愛日也去跟隨
那個瘋狂人是我 喔

I LOVE YOU 無法不愛你 BABY
說你也愛我
I LOVE YOU 永遠不願意 BABY
失去你

不可能更快樂 只要能在一起
做什麼都可以 雖然世界變個不停
用最真誠的心 讓愛變得簡單

I LOVE YOU 我一直在這裡
一直在愛你
I LOVE YOU, OH YES I DO
永遠都不放棄 這愛你的權利

如果你還有一些困惑 OH NO
請貼 我的心傾聽 聽我說着 愛你
YES I DO 我愛你

Song: Because I Love You
Singer: Stevens Shakin'

If I got down on my knees and I pleaded with you,
if I crossed a million oceans just to be with you,
Would you ever let me down?

If I climbed the highest mountain just to hold you tight,
if I said that I would love you every single night,
Would you ever let me down?

Well, I'm sorry if it sounds kinds sad,
it's just that I'm worried,
so worried that you'll let me down.

Because I love you, love you, love you, so don't let me down.

If I swam the longest river just to call your name,
if I said the way I feel for you would never change,
Would you ever fool around?
Well, I'm sorry if it sounds kinds bad, it's just that I'm worried,
I'm so worried that you'll let me down.

Because I(love you, love you), love you, love you.

Well I'm sorry if it sounds kinds bad, it's just that I'm worried,
Yes, I'm so worried that you'll let me down.

Because I love you, love you,

Oooh, I love you, love you, love you.

This afternoon, a manageable 14.2km as I detour-ed to Cold Storage to check out their variety of cheese. The cool breeze from air-con was like the greatest gift ever on a hot afternoon. During the initial few kilometers, my right knee had some discomfort. Was it physical or mental? It went away as I pounded on and on. While running, 35km kept flashing in my head. I took the option of shelving it to Saturday instead, not doing it too fast.

I am absolutely clueless why am I still unable to sleep. Eyes totally wide open. I can't figure it out!

... the wall. As much as the title suggests, I was practically doing that to the sports climbing wall. Karen is always saying that I have suggestive moves. LOL. I do not.That move costs one bruised knee and two bruised (scratched) buckles on my harness. Probably, my butt is big. EndlessTrail pressed on my butt with my body closer to the wall when I figured out the balance. I see what he is trying to point at and I certainly think I need more practice on this. Definitely. Equipment wear and tear - expected.

Cranking too much today. Mentally flat. At least, one case solved. Running later. Short one... and a slow one too. That was what I thought.

But, when I am back from my run... my timing wasn't that slow! Must have been the good feel when I ran. 9.6km and leg holding on fine.

Short sweet 5km, before dropping by at my neighourhood grocery store to get some milk. Meanwhile, I think 32-35km will roll out as planned.

Running at East Coast around 6plus is a totally different feeling. Less crowded than afternoon. Everyone around the area preparing for their BBQ, where aroma of food over high or low flamed charcoal bits filled the air. So, there I go. Bag - checked. ITB Strap in bag - checked. H20 - checked. Pacer - ??!! Erm... checked. Step by step, we debated on the distance ... 2.5km, 5km, 6.6km, 16km.. just go! By the time we're done, it was a little pass dinner time and the hawker area was still packed. We were lucky to find seats. Celebration for passing the 2-hour plus pounding. 1 x coconut juice (each), 1 x sugar cane (each), 1 x chinese sashimi (LOL), 1 x waffle with Rum-raisin ice-cream + peach + bananas, 1 x nachos and cheese, 1 x bee hoon goreng. Carbo-reloaded for the 19.3km damage. Pass!

Weee... didn't use my strap today and I felt just a slight stretching sensation.

Somehow that ride home felt vaguely familiar. Long long time ago. ....

Since I had an appointment near EndlessTrail's office, we might as well lunch together! Familiar with where to get a good lunch, we had mince meat noodles. I think the quantity is small. But, the stall offers more noodles for free! Walking towards my destination after our lunch, I saw another MenInGreen ally. I could only give him my name card since I was on the phone with RLEK. Right after that phonecall, I received a call postponing my appointment to an hour later. I rushed to return stuff and dropped by at the temple where I paid my respect to my grandma. I stayed at the level overlooking the neighbourhood for some time before leaving for my appointment. 13 years.

.... whatever that means. Baby talk, at times, is more or less like DaVinci Code. Only the like-minded (another kid) would understand. I am blessed to have an opportunity to dine with myFTOgpx and his family. Most important of all, a dinner with his little darling. Aww.. She is so adorable, as with most kids, running around. Instantly, she gathered the attention of next two tables, while we were having coffee. Everyone wants to take pictures with her! During dinner, she picked corns from her macaroni soup and munching on those with a naughty wink. Cute! Right after dinner, we left for home and little sweetie blew me a goodbye kiss! *Sweet*

Finished a 7hr charity cycle marathon. It wasn't so much about who clocks the most most mileage. There are six teams, with five members in each team and three stationary bikes assigned to each team - team members take turns on the bikes. With a team name called Team Jiak, we were quite sure, we are going to eat and bike at the same time. Thanks to plenty of support from fellow good friends and runners who came. Mental as well as food support. There were Godzilla bao, MOS Burger fries (yum), bananas, pears and Subway sandwiches *drool*. Torture us (with food) please! Living with a label Slacker, how can I outdo others? The "trusty" Polar measured a 101km but I would prefer to measure by my gut feel - The Slack-O-Meter .... approximately 80km? Surprisingly, my ITB doesn't feel a thing. It was something else. Strange... or it is something more?

Yesterday, it was a busy day at work and more, resulting in reaching the climb site late. Awaiting for me was a surprise - saw my ex-colleague there. We chatted on some work related stuff before tackling our own routes for the night. Total of 5 climbs only. But, I was absolutely bouncing with joy since I managed to do a 6A+ route, called Vanilla Ice. The first time that I tried, I failed at a last move to the top. Doing it again, I completed it with a power move in that last move. Not much of a technique climb. In fact, I almost slipped at the last part. Nevertheless, it was a good attempt - complete with screams and hints from below.

Watched this MV on TV just now. Another piece of quality work from this singer.

歌： 思念是一种病
原唱: 张震岳

当你在穿山越岭的另一边
我在孤独的路上没有尽头
一辈子有多少的来不及
发现已经失去
最重要的东西
恍然大悟早已远去
为何总是在犯错之后
才肯相信错的是自己
他们说这就是人生
试著体会试著忍住眼泪
还是躲不开应该有的情绪
我不会奢求世界停止转动
我知道逃避一点都没有用
只是这段时间里尤其在夜里
还是会想起难忘的事情
我想我的思念是一种病
久久不能痊愈
当你在穿山越岭的另一边
我在孤独的路上没有尽头
时常感觉你在耳后的呼吸
却未曾感觉你在心口的鼻息
汲汲营营
忘记身边的人需要爱和关心
藉口总是拉远了距离
不知不觉无声无息
我们总是在抱怨事与愿违
却不愿意回头看看自己
想想自己到底做了甚黱蠢事情
也许是上帝给我一个试炼
只是这伤口需要花点时间
只是会想念过去的一切
那些人事物会离我远去
而我们终究也会远离
变成回忆
oh 思念是一种病
oh 思念是一种病一种病
多久没有说我爱你
多久没有拥抱你所爱的人
当这个世界不在那黱美好
只有爱可以让他更好
我相信一切都来得及
别管那些纷纷扰扰
别让不开心的事停下了脚步
就怕你不说就怕你不做
别让遗憾继续一切都来得及

From here.

With Roentgen's departure date nearing, some of us met up for dinner. The theme for dinner was local food. Since our center of attraction will be heading overseas where local delicacies are non-existent, the choice is clear. We topped up the evening with ice cream over loading. I would say they have some pretty interesting flavors.

Clearly the ITB problem will not go away in a short term. Now, I try pushing it by running without a strap till the point I need it. I strap it on and continues further. Let's see how this goes. Its called educating the ITB.

That feel .... that achy feeling on my ITB. It vanished! Many thanks to Philip. I was quite skeptical about using the patt strap. Today, I gave in. I paid for an "M" size and went home to test it out. Still doing my due diligence in stretching, I strapped it on my left leg and went out for a run. Cautious about my speed at the same time, I tracked my ITB condition. Finishing my 6.6km run, there wasn't even a slightest discomfort in that area! Grateful and taking this slow.

Back since yesterday, from a conference held overseas. Great to know that techies of my level are all fun-loving fellas. Even the techies Director joins when it comes to play and he plays hard! It was a great get-to-know session and experience for me.

However, at certain parts of the town or off islands, reality of tourism sets in. Where tourists dollars are concerned, this trade kills the natural habitat of other species. We see nothing but rocks of what it used to be ... corals. Petrol used in jet skis ... which offer nothing more but just a thrill ride. We may be losing it (our environment) all too soon.

During the trip, I finished Shambhala by Laurence J. Brahm and am now reading his Conversations with sacred mountains. One talks about the western Tibet, mythical Shambhala known as 'Shangri-La'. While the latter highlights his journey through Yunnan's Tea Caravan Trail - Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Lugu, Zhongdian and Kawagebo.

Nursing a bad cough now.

The sky above my head looked cloudy before I left for East Coast. Fair enough, it seems like they can hold. Nearing the coastal area, a threatening shade of grey showed up on the left side of my radar - the inlands.

Most of the folks were already there. Slackers like Tiwazz and Roonz had already settled their 3km swim. Slacker IMD did not slack a bit at all. Cycling to East Coast on his trusty HIM-Certified transport. I heard that someone got "ushered" to the end point. It did not come across to us, we (too) suffered the same fate....

The "white caps" gathered at the start point and listened to an official's last minute briefing. 5laps of 1km each - remember to loop and step on mat. Sure thing. Flag off! Our detail made waves and I reminded myself to take it easy. Swimmers lapped me like power crafts. As usual, I got molested from knee level and below. A jelly fish must have scored since I had a sting - burning sensation across my chest. I let out a "yeeeeeow", underwater. Once out of water for first lap, Mrs. Sotong (our resident pom pom girl) and Sxuanjing cheered for me. Thanks!! Trying hard not to look like I'm slacking too much. I grabbed a cup of isotonic drink, gulped down the yellow liquid and dived back down into the sea. Approximately 100m away from the shore, it started to pour. I always love rain drops falling on my head. Dark skies swiftly move to our location. Everything changed. Heavy downpour, strong winds and choppy waves sent the officials to declare the race to be stopped. It was for everyone's safety. I completed approximately 1.5km before being asked to head back to shore. A quick check with Kops21 calling Sxuanjing, Sotong was out of the waters too. Great!

All of us went for our carbo reload at Kallang hawker. To replenish my lost carbo, I took a bowl of noodles, almond paste and hamcheebang.

DNF - NMF

psst... Did Not Finish - Not My Fault
Our friend seems pretty affected by DNF.... cheer up! We'll get our revenge!

Long break from running to nurse an injury, I started my first intended run today. No fancy moves - just a short slow 3.2km. Let's do a slightly long distance tomorrow. For now, short distances, small steps will do.

I picked up my Fuji Xerox 5km Charity swim race pack today after a reminder from Julia. Thanks! A life saver ... I nearly forgot with my head in the work pile. While collecting my race pack and chatting with Beng over the phone, I saw Crudestar. She'll be doing a 3km with others like Julia, Tiwazz, Roonz and more!! Good luck!

Today, a total of 6 climbs and 1 of which I managed only half way (Magic Potion). While there weren't much people climbing today, it was a great opportunity to pick which ever route you want. We started isolating hand holds that we can't touch - minus those hand holds which made the route slightly tougher. Can't rule out more screaming, cursing and swearing. Good session. I have a better feel on CG and shifting of body weight.

Running tomorrow!~

It is great to be an Asian. Truly, it is.

The never say die, "Give me a pen and I can design you a space rocket." attitude. Many times, we are "Do first, talk later".

But, on this side of town or world (if you prefer) and when it comes to stuff like gadgets, I am not too sure.

Why is Centro popping up in U.S. and we do not have it yet. Why are all these cool models like Treo755p in their line of products and we are still sticking onto the Treo680?!

Oh.. kinda caught up with the new job thingy. Not much on updates actually. ITB feels much better.

*tick tick tick*

Enough testing and emailing for the day. Many thanks for everyone who was concerned about my physical and mental well being in my second day at new company. Pack up! Time to suffer at my 7.45pm appointment. It was a long trip and a long wait for me too since I have missed it twice.

*tick tick tick*

"Yeowwwwww". In actual fact, I was screaming in the head. I was powerless to the extend that I had no voice. At certain spots, the intense sensation sent neuro signals that instructed my eyelids to shut so tight that I see stars when I open my eyes. I recalled the last time where I dislocated my wrist and had to pop it back. It was the exact kind of sensation. I nearly fainted, several times in the 1.5hrs session. Racing heart rates, breaking into cold sweat, pale facial expression and light-headed sensation were just a handful of symptoms. Fennel says its sweet pain. It certainly is painful, minus the candies. I do feel better though.

With recent's chance to slack and much eating, I have gained ...... a surprising value of 1kg. C'mon.. where did all the food go to? My thumbs?

It was a great chance to dine with some friends and relax in a corner with a coffee in hand. Oh wine fair! I walked around a little doing some survey.

I saw some pretty nice looking cuff links. What's left are those shirts.

A friend teased me with this. Set! A destination in my list, long overdue.

I keep getting neck and shoulder aches. It must have been either the way I sleep or my pillow. Somehow my head could only turn to the left. That'll stop a lot of my activities.

One more day before I scream, "Oww oww oww".

.... still no slacking even when tomorrow is my last day of service. Booo..

Officially on the alumni list (in a few days time), many joked about my status. Even when it was one of our ex-colleague's wedding tonight, most of our jokes were industry related.

Finally, I got my swimming trunks to replace the other thinning pair. *Pant* .. I am still enduring through my five No-Run weeks to rest, stretch and strengthen my muscles around my ITB.

Nervous about my condition, I did all my stretching before even reaching Maju FCC. Once there, I continued to keep my legs in ready condition. Once the tests started, I went straight to my killer station. First attempt, .. oops.. not good. Before my second attempt, I recalled a phrase mentioned last night, "No hesitation". I recited that and took a giant leap. I cleared it! The rest of them wouldn't threaten my chance. 2.4km - 3 laps of 800m. First lap of 800m, I began to feel a stitch developing. Push on! On my second lap, I was still well within the 6:30, which means, we're in business. Left with 400m, I saw TGL and I said, "See you later", as I ran pass him. Guess he was there for RT. Once passed the finishing line, I searched frantically for my official time. Yay! Bagged a gold! I saw a long time friend, LSB too.

Too many things.. lost in that big pile. I've not even updated the weekend Climb On event that I saw.

I have broken the spell - spell of 5 weeks no run. I knew next week's run is a must. I needed to clear that. But, I had to make sure I can run on that day as well. Hence, I hit the tracks today. Before my run, I did warm ups. I did every warm up that I could think of and finally focusing on ITBs. Targeting at that specific weakness, I did the exercises for the band. After which every step I took, my legs felt like they weren't mine and I had no control at all. I tried 6 laps of slow run today. Just into 100m of my run, I had that Oh-la-la feeling. That sensation, that rush I get from a run came flowing back into me. I miss having runs so much. *guilty* I inserted an 800m sprint, to see how did I fare and if I am still close to that monetary award. I think the only stopping factor would be my jump. Fat man can't jump. I have fat fingers. They do count .. okay? Total count, 4km.

Ching tng is always great. Yummy!

I did a simple search on YouTube on climbing and came across these two awesome clips. Their moves will leave you with jaw dropped to the floor.

*Gulp* Look that these ... Video 1 and Video 2

Today, a short swim for me. It was just 1.3km focusing more on strokes rather than covering distance. I am really looking forward to my 3-4 swims a week in the future. CrudeStar dropped by for a swim. Since I can't run *taps feet*, I did Aqua walks in the pool while observing Babumouse's strokes. Cold night in the pool, especially after the downpour. Done with our swim, I went back to the hangman stance again. I did 3 sets before my swim. 3 sets again, after my swim. All I can say is that it needs a lot of work! Okay. Stretching again before I sleep.

I wanted to head over to Climb Adventure in the morning. But, I routed over to my cousin's place instead since I can go tomorrow. We threw a party for my cousin's son since he is celebrating his 1-year old birthday today. This little fella is cute. He shows you who's the boss by throwing tantrums(crying) when there are too many people around. If the room is quiet with just a handful of folks, he'll run around socialising with everyone. At the age of one and he knows how to give a High-five. That is pretty cool. Most important of all, this party gives our big family a chance to gather. My humble apartment is too small to receive the whole pack and I think I shall host it at a chalet instead, when it is our turn. Each one gets a turn at hosting. Sensing that the star of today turning grouchy again(due to the crowd), we sang a quick birthday song before cutting the cake. I baby sit the little fella for a while. Seeing his big eyes and innocent smile make me want to give him everything. He chuckles... you'll give in. We stayed on for a little longer before leaving my cousin's place.

I dropped some books at the library and had several rounds of pool with LittleJapBoy. It has been months since I played? I think so. We left for some dessert after the game before I rushed for my third appointment of the day.

At Velocity, I walked around window shopping sporting goods where I saw Pre and CheeryRunner testing out New Balance shoes. At an outdoor shop, the climbing gears were pricey and I think the main factor would be rental. Oh .. saw Taz. Soon, more of us gathered and we went over to HK Cafe. Today, we will be celebrating Taz's birthday. The company was great and for some strange reasons.. our topics would leave us talking about outer space. Ooops. That absolutely confused one Venusian being sitting around us. Prodding around our tummies, most felt that they had space left for dessert and we switched spots to Tung Shui Cafe. More food and pictures taken! Some of the orders got mixed up and we sorted that out. We chatted till everyone started to notice that TeeLee was fighting the force of the Bed-side. Let's call it a night! RV and TLV sent everyone home. Thanks guys!!

Tonight, I had a great time watching the movie - Ratatouille. Since Nemo, I have not watched a better animation till today. As with recent movies from Pixar, there is a short animation clip apart from the movie, right at the start. This time, it is about alien abduction - Lifted. That explains why we get headaches all the time.

My cousin highlighted something that I missed out all along. From my angle, I just could not see anything at all. It struck me there, right on the spot. He was an excellent engineer. Now.. he has lost his confidence. That.. I failed to spot even through my interaction. It is not easy. Not as easy as before. I will do whatever I can.

Climb was great with new shoes. Total of 8 climbs, 2 of which I failed again - Silent Sunset and Magic Potion. While I was belaying SueAnn, it seemed like the whole world paused to observe her moves. *Gulp* Still far ... cannot model. Then, I did 2 laps of Yelloween Halloween. Looking at the alphabets, I think the shoes would help and it really did. The only thing .. my grips. I saw Skyver and Rainbow there as well. Tired.

I can't run (for 5 weeks)! Already starting to have withdrawal symptoms - kept walking around. I had to drop out of Kedak Ultramarathon and Mizuno KL 10k.. that is really sucky.

So ... with Outdoor Specialist shifting, I bought a pair of climbing shoes. Now, I can't blame it on my shoes anymore. I tried on US 7.5 and I was obviously in pain. Oww. In US8, I felt much better. Not roomy, snug - tight fit and it fits like a pair of toe socks. Neat. Track mileage on climbing shoes? By number of steps I take?

After much consideration, I have self imposed a 5-week no run plan. With lots of makan and other things to learn, I think this plan will succeed. I might twitch or itch if I see other running and that is a natural withdrawal symptom. If I see you run, I will burn your running shoes. Afraid not, I only burn your retired running shoes. :p

Oh.. time to learn juggling. No wonder they say.. to rest is for the road ahead. Curses.. where are those balls?

No pictures for this race because I had intentionally left out my camera in my packing list. Plagued with ITB, I wanted to use this opportunity to find out how far I can go. Full concentration is required.

With a late night (didn't help and can't help it), I got out of bed a little stoned. Since most things have been pre-packed, it was a breeze to transform from sleep wear to slack wear. I started stretching while waiting for a Slack-mobile pickup. Thanks IMD! Lots of familiar faces were already at the starting line. There wasn't much music to pump up any adrenalin and the crackling speaker system didn't offer much help either.

Race count down and flag off! I ran with a comfortable pace. No rushing, no pushing. A pee pit stop at the first loo of EC stretch, I was still doing fine. At around the last hydration point before U-turn, disaster struck. One fellow runner cut my path to grab some water. I was already on far right of the lane to avoid the hydration crowd. It seems destined. Though he did say sorry a few times, the damage has been done. At braking on the problem leg, the "feeling" crept in. Just after the U-turn, medics were attending to someone on the floor who was in a state of convulsion. I hope he's okay. I started my run/walk at 11km. Most friends who passed me gave words of encouragement. Thanks! Not long after the first E-brake, a second came. Gone. It just got more intense. Before I reached 14km, someone came too close from behind and kicked my foot as he tried to overtake. He went off without turning back. I was already on the drain covers. Probably the road isn't big enough for all of us. At that point, my ITB seized up and I was down to walking all the way from 14km. While walking along Nicoll Highway, I received a second kick. Even walking?! Nevermind, it was "Hi!" "Hello" "Go go.. don't slack." "Injured lah.", as I told those friends who waved to me. I walked into the floating platform with no good form and even the last 50m was a chore. 2:36 hrs. Personal best out of my Personal worst range. Not bad. Grateful that I was not in DNF category. Really uncomfortable, I left for home early. I didn't collect any race pack, which Reno said I didn't miss out much. I probably missed the makan session with them.

Having said this, I do see some considerate runners who checked their blind spot before stepping out. Some even gave hand signals to indicate their intentions. I ran this race and it was a risk I took. Like I always say, shite happens and it happened on me.

The usual me, replied the sms. Dinner and then coffee. I went with a blank mind. I am still blank.

This is not an exercise. Nor am I treating this round like a way to make quick money. The wave is here and I am just another grain of sand in the vast ocean.

Somehow, today's sunset seems idyllic to me!

I used to check my SE W810 for such a SMS on every other second. I don't. Not anymore. Now, I am not sure how I should react to this SMS. Can I ignore? Seriously, I don't need to consider what I should do. This is not the usual me. There are other important things I have on hand.

I have always wanted to try foot reflexology. For some reasons, I didn't. It was until today! All tensed up!! That was what my muscles felt throughout the session. I have a high tolerance to pain, I guess. It was great! My feet felt stretched and not as tense as before. As compared, I think the ITB sports massage would give me greater pain.

Learned something new today. There is one more nerve on your left foot than your right. However, your right foot would be more painful when massaged. Strange. Our feet have the most complex bone structure in our body.

Picture by Fennel and SassyRunner from recent Desaru Pengerang Long Distance Triathlon.

We have seen plenty of red colored tracks. NP has blue tracks and I was there to try it today(first time too!). Now, I was there to play badminton and Tuesdays are officially my rest days. The blue tracks are simply too hypnotizing! I slipped off as soon as there were enough players. In reality, I wanted to see how is my left ITB doing since last Saturday's race. Taking my time on my 2.4km, which served as warm-up, I looked at the night sky. Tempo music from nearby was heard. Some students were practising their cheer leading moves. After my warm-up laps, I rehearsed moves read from Chi-Running book. Up till 6.8km in total, everything was still okay. That was when I decided to stop and not to push further. Once I got back to the courts, it was pitch dark! Everyone went down to level 1 where I saw them with my stuff.. :p We went to have dinner at a nearby place before leaving for home.

With this morning's sprint, those who participated were SassyRunner, IMD and Shut. Still felt like lazing around in my bed, I finally decided to get up. TeeLee and I took some breakfast with the rest at resort's restaurant before we gathered at the swim start line. With a routine safety briefing was conducted, most triathletes gathered at the start line to listen in. The sea looked calmer than yesterday's. Flag off!! Everyone dashed into the water! It's a sprint afterall! With just one loop, IMD was out of the water followed by SassyRunner. Anxious as we were, while waiting for Shut, we did had our breather once we saw him heading towards the shore. Yay!

Walking over to the main roads, bikes were already seen zipping down the lane. It was just a matter of time before we saw the first triathlete coming in with his bike and starting his run leg. Fast! Slowly but sure, each triathlete started their run leg. I "volunteered" as a marshal guiding them to run into the finishing lane while I cheered for them! One by one, SassyRunner, IMD and Shut completed their sprint distance. Short but fun race. There was even a father doing sprint distance together with his daughter too! So cute.

With event completed, we returned to our rooms to clean our bikes and ourselves (showered) before our complimentary triathlete lunch in the resort restaurant. The prize giving was a little long and I signaled to Kops21 for our retreat. We mounted our bikes on his car, packed our bags and made our way home. Half way in our journey, the rain was so heavy that we could hardly see the cars in front of us. We made it safe and sound home as Kops21 dropped me off at my place. Thanks for the effort and ride home! Appreciate that!

Tired and yet a fantastic racing experience. Even though I had a P.W. (Personal Worst) in 21km, I had a good time. Thanks everyone!

7.30am

I could hear noises from the other room (IMD's) since we have connecting doors. Still in lazy mode, I sprawled in my warm bed. Eventually, I got up, washed up and loaded myself with bread and jelly beans. Looking out towards the sea, I could see foam from waves that came crashing in. Uh-oh. I think its going to be one rough swim today.

We brought our bikes and stuff down to transition area before getting our bodies marked. We never fail to stop by bikes that have high "wow" factors. Today, IMD, Sotong, Roonz, TeeLee, Cfred, SV and myself are doing the Long Distance Triathlon (equates to Half Ironman in distance).

We were ushered to the swim start point where a small briefing was given before a V.I.P. did a flag off. There were four slackers who took their time to pose for pictures before entering into the waters. To be honest, I have not swam in this surf condition before. Well, I have seen this in dive trips but not swimming in it. Imagine having to fight waves to get out to the open sea, navigate, get pushed around in currents and not to mention bobbing in the sea too. I did my first 1km lap in 27mins. At the first buoy of my second lap, I spotted my fellow slacker in his yellow tri top. Too fast for me to draft, he was seen losing his swim cap after his second buoy turn. I reached the shore at 57mins. I turned around to find Eddie and Jeremy behind me. Doing a slow jog, I ran the path through overhead shower to rinse salt water off my body before gearing for my bike leg. I took 6-10mins to transit and I stole some shots of people around before I hopped on my bike. I dropped the idea of having to bring my camera along which proved to be a wise choice. At the slope up and out of transit area, *dang* I switched to a wrong gear.. oops.. and I had to dismount to push the bike up. Haaa! Joker. Before the first U-turn point, the fellow slacker (IMD) rang his bell on his mountain bike at the other side of the route. Yes, you read it correct. Mountain bike. He rang his bell each time he spotted me slacking too. At the first U-turn point, I grabbed a PowerBar bottle for hydration and as souvenir too. On the entire three loops of 30km each, I was greeted each time by SassyRunner, Mrs. Sotong and Eunice cheering for us. *Bows plenty* Many, many thanks! Familiar faces cycling along the routes waved to me as well. Around the 10km mark of the cycling route, it started to rain. Arrgg.... I will be running in this wet shoes for my 21km. Probably, my Phuket Marathon was a training race for me to run in wet shoes. For most part of my bike leg, I had rain drops "massaging" my face. Some parts of the route were hilly and there are quite scenic too. If not for the rain, I would have take a shot of the surrounding. Hence, that is why I said, not bringing my camera along for my bike leg was a good choice. At my last lap's second U-turn point, Sotong overtook me. Soon, Roonz also caught up. We spent some time drafting chatting and slacking on the bike. It was quite funny that what she said was true. We are so slow till we had the whole road to ourselves! Her yummy yellow Cervelo bike with Ultegra bike sped like a cheetah. I have "gra" on my groupset too! Not Ultegra but Tiagra. So much difference.. :p I had to be in aero position to match her speed. Moreover, we saw a stranger on mountain bike and another big boned triathlete passing us. So, its not the bike! It's the rider's fault! Sotong and IMD ambushed us at the last U-turn point before three slackers follow the "Yellow Jersey" (Tour de Desaru) back to the bike transition point. Most people were already in their run leg! Ouch... sore butt. Did I mention I had to stop to eat four bananas for fueling? That saved my life! All thanks to the volunteers.

We gathered and started running. IMD took off like a condor. Haa.. so much for a slacker. My mind was all about my ITB condition. Cfred and Fennel waved to check if I was okay and I waved back with a thumbs up. At 7km mark, I could sense my ITB tickling my left leg. At the same time, I heard a shout, "Slacker!" from behind. It was Sotong and Roonz. They were kind enough to pace me back all the way to the finishing point. At 15km, my ITB was more than just a tickle. Sigh. I finished my 21km at 2hrs 55mins (my worst ever). The three of us crossed the finishing line together. So drama! Ha... We were greeted with our finisher medals and cold, wet PowerBar towels. Our supporter friends were there to cheer for us. Thanks guys!! I give thanks to our supporters who had to brave the rain and sun to cheer for us even though we were the last ones to come back. After a chat with the organizer, we collected our bikes to return to our rooms for our shower before we head out for dinner. Need I say more that I crashed out after dinner? Lights out.

Taking a half day at work, Kops21 was too kind to drive me and my GreyHound to Desaru for our Half Ironman race. I packed my stuff the night before to facilitate a swift move out. Kops21 rented a racer with Dura-ace groupset. What!!! I think I will need to crank real hard with my Tiagra groupset. Once we got the receipt for our rooms from Sotong, we started to make our way to JB. Kops21, being the makan guru, took me to a place for some nice Ban mian that uses pork balls than some lousy frozen pork. Carbo load station. It was already pouring. My poor bike got drenched! After lunch, we continued our journey to Desaru. Since I was the vehicle commander, I navigated our way to Golden Beach Resort. However, we did make a wrong turn. Some of the hotel distance signs were really confusing.

Upon arriving at the resort, we registered for our race and picked up our goodie pack. There was a free powergel from PowerBar. Bike Boutique, ToPeak and Polygon were featured in the booths. TeeLee, SassyRunner, IMD (Ultra-slacker) and SV were already in the rooms and I moved my stuff before doing some preparation work. While lazing around and watching some T.V. programmes, we spotted people doing open swims and road biking!! What were we doing? Slacking! We munched on bread and jelly beans while watching Star Sports channel. Near race briefing time, we gathered near the hall, where Sotong, Mrs. Sotong, Eunice, Roonz and Cfred just arrived not long. A race briefing was conducted and my phone kept ringing. I had to answer the call at rear and outside of the hall. Work again. Ah... Shut just arrived. Just in time for dinner.

Around dinner time, all of us walked to a nearby place for some food. Not impressive. I know where most standards stand but.. this is certainly not even close to average. Portions were small and I had to down two burgers to make a meal. Even the tea was cold. Moreover, we were feeding the mozzies there. Immediately, we got out of the place and headed back once we were done with dinner.

I can't recall what time it was when Fennel arrived. Oh! New hair do. Sleep? Suppose to sleep early and yet we watched T.V. programmes again. I turned around to find my two room mates fast asleep. Race starts at 10am tomorrow.

This evening has been great, meeting up ex-colleagues for dinner and coffee. Thanks for the company even when everyone is busy with their lives.

Tomorrow, we're setting off to Desaru for Half Ironman (Long Distance) race. Everything else is the same. I'll take my time to complete this.

Since I wore this pair of new shoes a few times for seasoning purpose, I tried it for running today. It felt nice. Although it did not have that plush feeling of a Cumulus, I like the response from this pair of shoes. My only complain? I wouldn't say complain. It would be the width of the shoes, which is more suited for 2E. I tried it on the road and tracks today. So far, so nice. 7.8km.

Three of us wore orange today. A HWA running singlet, a passion run singlet and a Mamut Tee! Clocked around 7 climbs but 2 of them were half ways. Where foot holds are really tiny, I could feel my shoe slipping - wrong gear. Ice skating is nice with pretty good left and right grips. Yelloween Party is quite alright and I like that route. At Surfers' Paradise route, I made a mistake which made me swing out. Got to take note of that. Silent Sunset has a pit stop up in the air. But, I could not proceed to the next higher level. I'll attempt it again. Of course, we can always count on seasoned climbers attempting this route and all we have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy their graceful moves. Learn from it.

Wow... packed sandwiches! Heh heh... Carbo reload after arms and legs workout.

Could not generate much speed (only after muscles warmed up), I seem to suffer from aches that I got from yesterday's kayaking session. My shoulders were a little tight during the first 1km. I dropped the warm down and only completed 3km. Tomorrow on arms again?! Haa.

Due to whatever reasons, I was not able to sleep well last night as I tossed and turned in bed. This morning, when my alarm rang at 6.30am, imagine the fight I had to go through to get up. Afterall, it will be another long day ahead. While navigating to the hawker that I am suppose to meet Kops21 and Roentgen, I came across a low boulder wall. So tempting ... arms and legs started to itch. 10mins late, Kops21 and Roentgen already bought Nasi Lemak and coffee for our carbo loading. You can always count on these two for good food recommendations.

Once done and following Kops21's Fast and Furious machine, we arrived at the meeting point (WaterCross) to link up with a group from twodegreesnorth. Folks from WaterCross just got started for their day, we took several shots of the Pasir Ris beach before most of the kayakers came. We processed our rental at front counter of PA with Roentgen's fav This-is-not-how-you-enter-a-salom mentor. Cool! Today, I will be testing my new water resistant 5L bag too! With everyone ready and launched out, we hanged around the area for a while, waiting for some kayakers who were late. Ohh.....

Roentgen's kayak looks a little different. It has a rudder! A sea touring kayak - yellow color!! Nice! Thanks to Roentgen too! He pointed out to the sky where the sun was partially blocked by the clouds, created rays of light and provided a photography opportunity as I fumbled for my camera. Enough of waiting, the organiser for this trip made a decision to move out. 13 of us paddle straight for Pulau Ubin against some resistance from sea current. Since crossing of channels have to quick, we moved in packs - close together.


Mid day, we beach up at Pulau Ubin (near the jetty) for our well deserve lunch. Just after we finished our food, a batch of kayakers came (late this morning). We walked around and some had coconut juice while those kayakers who arrived were having their lunch. With most of them ready, we took a last toilet break before launching out to sea.

This time, while moving back, things got a little more exciting. There were several bum boats heading towards mainland and that create several opportunities for us to cut incoming waves like surfers! Yeehaaaa!! By this time, I can't help but notice Roentgen's effortless paddle. Most of us were even wriggling our toes just to make our kayaks go straight. Roentgen's kayak? Direct azimuth! Left with a last channel to cross .. *phew* .. we made a dash for it. Reaching the shores of Pasir Ris again, most looked tired and hurried to wash the equipment before bathing. Thanks everyone for the great company today!

We had some old school ice-cream with wafers after this morning's workout. Hmm.. soul food. Next, we went to attend TLR and Fd's wedding. Congrats, guys!!

I had a dinner appointment with Kitty, KittyTrainer, BBElle and some friends. Buffet... burpp... I (part-time nanny) played peek-a-boo with BBElle most of the time and she was enjoying it.

Drats ... I forgot to try Roentgen's Storm Sea Touring Kayak....

With my Canon A410 R.I.P., I went to take a look at cameras today for a second time. Since I'll be walking around, I took my New Balance MR846 out and wore it today (just to season my new shoes). I tried my hands on Canon A460. But, I found it too flimsy and with its picture quality, it just did not pass. I took the next camera in my list, Canon A570IS. It came with a complimentary 2GB SD card and four rechargeable GP batteries and charger set. I roamed around shopping malls and got my new cam its new clothes! The Tatonka protective pouch comes with a small rain coat that allows fending off slight drizzles or splashes. Perfect! I picked up two books at the library, one on sea kayaking and the other on sports climbing. One particular line in the kayaking book is really meaningful, "It has been said that the person claiming ten years' experience is likely to be someone with one year of learning and nine years of repeating the same things.". There are always new things to learn even if you are familiar with one particular sport. Oopps... I included my new New Balance MR846 as well.

I just came back from a run with my colleague. At 9pm, he prompted me for a run since he registered for Standard Chartered Half Marathon. "Pandan reservoir", he typed in MSN. Strange but true, I have not ran there before. There were a lot foreign workers around, from the nearby factories(I suppose). They must be wondering why is this two nut-case fellas running here at such a late hour. It was a good, slow paced 6.3km (minus the last walking 100m) where we completed within 43mins. Same thing for my left ITB, it held up okay. Nice.

Yay! We're kayaking tomorrow!

I haven't been running for whole of this week. I believe a rest for my legs would do some good. Seriously lack of some runners' high, I put on my Cumulus VIII and went out for a short run. With no intentions to break any sound barrier, I ran slow while focusing on what I have read from Chi Running. Time after time, my ITB teased me and that served as a gentle reminder on my running form. After 6.4km, my left ITB felt okay and that is really something to cheer for. Have I been running like Donald Duck all along, with feet and knees pointing outwards? Or was it due to fatigue that I often neglected proper running form? Looks like its worth some investigation after finishing Chi Running's book.

Yesterday was kinda pathetic. By the third appointment of the day, I could hardly keep my eyes open. I had a short informal meeting with an old acquaintance from our industry which was a surprise to me. Does that count as 4? Nah. At the end of the day, where most shops around are closed, I had a lousy Mac dinner. I don't want to enter a Japanese restaurant with someone asking, "Last order for you, sir?".

I made detour to the arcade. Gamers often need to reconnect. There was this remake of Dynamite Cops (if I remember the title correctly), which I think the ideas in the game are great. But, the whole run through of the game that I saw, made me feel short changed. Nothing has been changed except for some touch up and items enhancement. King Of Fighter 4 in 3D. Nice. A 3-On-3 with Fio (nice) and Lilly Kane! I could only watch since I think I'll be white washed if I slotted any credits asking for a challenge. Heading home, I am close to finishing Chi Running. It was still emailing once I got back. I think have dozens that need follow up. Craft not enough.

Just got back from little Elle's birthday BBQ party. I was stationed at the BBQ pit as chef, while Kitty and KittyTrainer entertained their guest. Beng, Mrs. and Junior came too. It was great fun, playing with the kids. SpaceCadet and HoustonControl got lost twice!! Met lots of old friends at the BBQ tonight. Lambie is out of town. *Faint* Yep, I smell like a roast lamb now.

These days, Tuesdays are my stay-away-from-workout days. Since I bought the harness, it would be a good time to try. At Climb Asia, I passed the boulder gym to access toilets to change into my clothes. Located in Civil Servant Club's badminton hall, there is enough room for around 15 climbers at one go. Of course, there are different climb routes and grades. As I mentioned earlier, they have a boulder gym and specialty shop which serves as their registration counter as well. Just remember to take off your shoes before you enter.

Climbing? Climb on.

Not too crowded on ground today. I tried a total of 6 climbs. Well... the last 2-3 climbs were not exactly complete climbs. I was using more arm power than posture and leg power. More often than not, I heard "Elbows point down" as I gradually grew tired. "Your shoes .... must be." It isn't everyday that you get to blame your shoes for your poor performance. I wish I could do that during races. I tried on a route codename, "Magic Potion" (6A if I recall correctly). Too much for me but it was a good try with only a quarter left before reaching the top. During my fourth climb, I tried the "Ice Skating" route which involved bridging (is that right?). I ended up doing rainbow rather than isolating colors. Fifth climb was on yellow and I switched to rainbow halfway up as well. Sixth?! No more strength around 3/4 of the route and I dropped. I am no lizard! Tonight, there were several experienced climbers and I was fortunate enough to witness their magic touch and foot work.

Review: I need to work on everything! Grip, posture, steps, etc.

The dinner that followed left me nodding, runners and climbers think alike. Order everything - share. The golden question, where to eat next?

Thanks for the fun, guys!

At work, I was asked what is my significant other working as. Since when did I have one?!! What's funnier? The comment was "Oh, people told me that.". Haa!! Let me see. I have been said that I have resigned, which I heard from our industry. I have several kids - some unknown sources. I give up.

Finally, I popped by some place to buy a measuring set and sieve! Took me so long to do it. Great to have some time to kopi with Beng and that was cool.

Only managed a 3k in the pool today. Slacked, since a fellow slacker always ask me to swim first. Suppose to have another 600m more. I skipped that. Haa.... The other slacker... did not turn up at all! Truly live up to his name! In the pool, I recalled waves that I saw at East Coast yesterday. Oh... Fuji Xerox Swim will be one big ride.

This morning, the trusty digicam had image again. Strange. Need a break? Hmm..

Before visiting a bike shop, I took my GreyHound out for a ride. Short one indeed. 4km. Half way though, my odometer showed -- -- (blank) and the speed and distance came back. I wouldn not think that it is going to kaput. But, I have no idea to trust the speed or not. I need to check it soon.

I paid a $20 to learn that my chain is still serviceable from a bike shop. I wanted to get it changed but they had the Shimano 105 9 speed instead. Worried that it might pose some problems later, I was advised not to change. Ok. But, the tune up for that $20 was less than impressive. I am no slave drive. But, one round of lube on chain costs $20? Grr... I could have gotten another 2 bottles of lube. Totally unsatisfied, I got down on my knees and dirtied by hands with patches of grease all over once I reached home. I gave the chain a good scrub and lubricated the chain and drive train again. High five, anyone? Someone?

I checked out a bike rear rack as well. High chance that I will be able to cycle to work, once the shift has been confirmed. Of course, provided there is space for me to hide my bike.

Once I have cleaned up GreyHound (BlackSteed is next), I packed and head east to meet up for a transfer to East Coast. New shoes, using Asics Cumulus VIII for the first time. Initial number of 5, we ran along the coast towards Safra chalets. When I took a shot of the surrounding, the pictures were washed like white. I think the CCD is really dead. I met Aichai and Leica on my way back. Finishing my dinner rather quickly, I left the guys to meet Shut. He told me that TLR, Ronnie and Reno each did well in their King Of The Road race. I have a new harness with me too. To rotate my new Cumulus, I tried out New Balance and gave them a chance by purchasing New Balance MR846.

Enough purchase for a day.

I saw someone who looked like Jun Ji-hyun. I was stunned for a minute. That same hairstyle, elegance and smile. I need to sit down. Heart racing .. .. like I just did an interval of 12 x 800m.

Today, while having lunch with a friend, I saw Jon and his wife. They were having lunch as well. We chatted and Jon's wife commented I looked tan or darker. Nah.. Next comment, I looked fitter. Double nah.... Don't think so.

With half way through the Chi Running book, I found out that there are more to learn from running than "just run" attitude. I am already doing some of points identified by Chi Running. However, I have more items on that list to change.

Influence (without a choice) by Karloong, I had to watch the cable program on beauty tips since she was holding onto the remote. Now, something that was mentioned in the program. Lemon is acidic. When taken into our body, it is alkaline. Strange isn't it? Knowledge or beauty tips if you prefer to call it.

..... I feel so "aunty" now. No wonder aunties are knowledgeable.

Swim ... hmm... I was said that I have the gliding reach and yet not speed to match the strokes. Looks like more work to be done. 2.6km today.

I've done up the new template layout for this blog as well.

I have been informed through Email that there will not be a second day of Smile For A Mile charity run this Sunday. I am so looking forward to it for another 20km! There are some problems and the organising committee had to call it off. The fund raising event is still on, minus the run. Such a waste.

Half way though the swim for tonight, it was raining. I did a few more laps before we starting slacking by chatting again. A few of us were doing the ITB stretch with Tiwazz doing the demo. It was a different stretch which probably hitting another angle. I have another stretching method at hand. 1.5km - slack, right?

With Kops21's enticing.. I signed up for FINA Fuji Xerox 5km swim. I love swimming even as a kid. Didn't take long to convince me in signing up.

Shot taken before training.

Eyes wide. Time check. Damn!! I'm going to be be late! Needless to say, I overslept. Showered, changed and grabbing all my stuff, I raced out of my house. "One bagel, please?" I had a take away and hurried off in a train to the meeting area for the "Smile For A Mile" charity run. Just in time to finish my bagel and reaching at the start point, Roentgen, KJ, Angelica_wonders, Simon, Chip and Eliza were already there. Eliza did her Osim Tri Sprint distance yesterday and came to do this charity run today! I deposited my bag and took my mobile phone as a backup camera device since my digital camera went ka-put yesterday. This morning, I did gave it a last try to fire it up again. Sadly, it failed to respond. I stretched and did a quick warm up (which could have been the cause of today's problem). Runners for first wave gathered at 8.30am and there was a short briefing by the organiser before his attempt at imitating a horn sound off signifying a flag off. "Porrrrrr" ... there were plenty of us laughing at flag off. Thanks to Roentgen for leading most of the run, since it is his home ground route. I must admit that it has never been my running route at this part of town, apart from MILK runs. It is certain a scenic route! KJ exclaimed half way during our run, "River reflection! Shweeee. Take picture, take picture." That a cue for official camera man (me) to start work. *Click* We continued our run and cross an overhead bridge with Borders just within our sights. That was our U-turn point. 5km mark and we headed back. Other runners must be wondering why are these few crazy people running with cameras. It was Great World City that we saw the second wave group (starting at 9.10am) led by a NJC teacher who did the Death Valley run. Reaching Sir Stamford Raffles' statue, we heard loud emcee voices across the river. There seemed to be some dragon boat race that was taking place. At the last stretch, three crazy runners ran side by side back to the finishing point. Finished 10km! I took a few shots and chatted with the lady whom I met at Phuket Marathon. She remembered me and was shocked at my back to back Phuket - Penang race. After chatting, I joined the briefing for third wave just in time for the flag off. I met Zeus for first time as we introduced ourselves.

Another artificial horn sound again. "Porrrrrr" ... LOL! Zeus led the third wave and he continued strong. For some strange reasons, I had a left pull on my ITB. I walked for a short distance before continuing. The muscle strain was quite a big deal, bigger than what I had felt on previous ITB feeling tight. I reduced my speed and maintained small steps. At one traffic junction, I stretched my ITB while waiting for the green light. Once I started running again, the initial few steps were really bad. As I carried on, it was better. Since then, I did jogging on the spot whenever I had to stop. At one of the junction, I started a conversation with a few runners asking for direction back to the start point. They joined me on my way back. One of them asked for tips on achieving a half marathon run. I shared with them on reading more and trying LSDs too. Chatting along the way, we soon reached the end point with a few rain drops on our heads. Within seconds, it poured heavily! Roentgen and KJ were waiting for me to shop for our digital cameras. So sorry! I took my stuff, wrote some encouraging words on "Smile For A Mile" tag before I bade the young runner goodbye. I hope to see him next week as I will be doing "Smile For A Mile" too for wave one and three. It sort of sums up as my LSD mileage.

Ooops... Roentgen and KJ were disappointed to find one of the camera shops closed. There was a shop who offered us some look and feel on those cameras we have in mind. Roentgen had to join his family for lunch where KJ and I had lunch before looking New Balance shoes. Since I was in New Balance, I registered for Real Run '08.

At around 3pm, I met EndlessTrail for picture viewing. It was difficult to get the group together and Eeyore was going to fly off again. Before meeting the rest, we shopped around a little and had a chance to press our cheeks against an outdoor shop selling climb gears. We looked like school kids outside an ice cream shop. Too bad it was closed today. We had little peeks at the gears hanging in the shop from the glass panels. With the rest arriving, we went though the pictures where EndlessTrail and WeiWen related their experiences in Peru. There were plenty of pictures and videos. We drained the battery on the laptop completely.

Upon reaching home, I searched for ITB stretches immediately via the information highway. I know the usual stretch. I tried but it just wasn't good enough. With luck and good keywords, I stumbled upon this website. I gave my ITB a good stretch. It feels so much better!

Pardon the camera quality from mobile phone.

After missing out on Sports Climbing Level 1 class last time, I turned up at the pre-arranged venue to learns some skills on this discipline today. I wanted to run to the venue. The red sky at 5am did a marvelous job in deterring me, putting away the idea to run there. The last thing I want is to be caught in the rain. I gave the run miss and took a train instead. I was early and helped a little on the stores before the class started.

The first part of the day was on theory with a fun group. All of which are SH's colleagues. We covered climb organizations, types of equipment, safety and some minor hands-on on knots and ropes, climber and belayer procedures and more. Everyone was pretty excited when it comes to practice. At this time, the sky was not holding up too well. It gave a threatening roar and we had to break for lunch. A call was made to switch to a different venue which has an indoor climbing wall.

The indoor wall is much shorter in height. At least, we are not going to be wet. I would love to try the outdoor wall. Rotating as a climber and belayer, I had fun. I guess I have went through the same thing during one of my company's retreat activities on climbing. But, this time round, the course was properly conducted. I cannot complain much since the company's event was an introductory session rather than a course. Our skillful course instructor gave a lot of tips, which I had found them useful. The whole time during our course, I was busy snapping pictures of SH and colleagues. Half way through, my digicam gave problems. The display blanked. After several rounds of troubleshooting, I have concluded that it is the CCD that is giving problems. I think my digicam has finally given up on me. It is not totally dead. It just comes on and goes off in some random periodic sequence. Probably not going to hold much longer. I need to source for something.

While attending a course, the scene outside the window looked like photography material. Where's my camera?! .... I'll bring on Monday.

Right after the course, I tried to rush back home and yet I was still late. I decided to do my own laps instead. I tried to tell myself over and over again during my swim that I should focus just on my strokes. I did. Strokes, strokes, strokes and nothing else. 20 laps in 44mins and I could not be happier. Not a very good timing. But, good enough to make me happy. I wanted to stack it up to 3.8km. The climb course ahead of me tomorrow made me think twice. I chose to slack.

I must have been a complete a$$ to click on the "Reply All" unintentionally. KJ asked me if my email is ...."Yes, it is." I was told that I had replied to more than a dozen of runners that I have reconfirmed my slot for an upcomng charity run. Forgive me. It must have been the multiple testing I have been running (looking at three consoles), making test plans analysis, patching of another laptop, replying mails and tapping away at the keyboard during MSN IM sessions.

I feel silly. Or at least, I am a spammer for that one email.

The only location that has "Fodor's: The Traveling Marathoner"? Since it features the Disney Marathon, I need this book. Not much of a choice, I had to head to that library. Oohh.. a newly built library too! I have not been around this area for maybe a few months. I kept pacing up and down the rows of travel books. Yet, I failed to locate "The Traveling Marathoner". After hitting a few keys at the terminal, I pin pointed the book at the sports section instead. Impressive ... there are books on climbing in various parts of U.S.. They have kayaking as well?!! I am beginning to like this place. It was only when I scanned the rows and stopped at a "Chi Running" book before I returned a kayaking book back. How often do you see a "Chi Running" book in library (not loaned)? I think you can queue up to 2010. Okay, the kayaking books make it to my list during my next visit. Upon flipping through the pages while taking the subway, I discovered the Fodor book covered New York ING, Hawaii Honolulu and Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon as well!! I waaaant!

Just when you think there were not enough nagging aches from the left shoulder, I did an American footballer charge at the metal container corner. That led to a cautious workout in the pool. I felt the strain. But, the swim was good. The drizzle came and yet was not heavy enough to get us booted out of the pool. Just 2.6km.

Yesterday was a low in productivity. Swim only lasted a 1.1km before swarms of kids made waves in the pool. Not much of a luck to swim anymore, I had a chat with Alvin. There wasn't enough time to head over to the library to get the book I wanted (recommendations by Roentgen). I joined my family, going to my cousin's place for a get-together. Most of my relatives were there. I was playing with the kids and some bigger kids, mostly my cousins' kids. Trying to make this a quarterly event, an initiative from us (juniors in this big family).

Today was a no-go at biking with rain around. Much of my time was spent on clearing documents. Finally, it has been organised!

What a day.....

To start with, I woke up with a stress (ache) on my left hamstring. Must have picked it up from squash the other day. Seems like, its a rest for me again. Tomorrow? I will stay away from run, or at least no LSD.

Next headache, from work. Dozens of boo-boo, which was recovered by noon.

More? News that I hope, that is would come or rather would not come has surfaced. Oh heck it... Deal with it.

Some more? *Beep beep* MenInGreen activity just after the weekend of my Feb event! *Faint*

Anymore?

Work is here again! Just like interval workout on heart and lungs.

This Tuesday, after an initial discussion on Jan trip, I have covered some areas. More research to be done. It was drizzling and I had to skip the bike portion. Still skipping it yesterday where it rained again.

Today, it did rain in the morning. Everything remained optimistic and I managed to reach the tracks in time. I timed myself to do some estimation and all seems well so far. We retreated to get our runners' treat. LaoKaYu saw us at the train station and we took the train back where I alighted earlier. Walking with thoughts in my head, I was interrupted by two Korean ladies wanting me to do a survey on religion. Helpless and jumping around, they passed me the survey form as they saw a cockroach coming our way. I am pretty sure that if there were tables, they would climb on it. "What's that?!! It flies!" "Its .. erm .. cockroach." *Shreeeek* *Eeeeeek*
Back to survey. "Are you a student?" "I wish I am still a student." They kept persuading me to attend a discussion session that I did not want to commit. I'm packed already.

NO slacking today. Now, we know who is the weakest link!

Warm up: 500m Free, 200m Mixed, 300m Kicks (Killer!!)
Main sets: 2 x 400m Kicks (Gag...), 100 Free, 1 x 400m Strokes
Warm down: 400m Mixed

The kicks and strokes seemed to help... only for the first few laps, right after stroke practice. I really need more practice on my strokes.

SCSM 07's registration is out. Have you registered? I just did. See you around!

It has been a long day for me today. Up for 19hrs without a nap!

This morning, I woke up at 5am. Strange but true, I did not feel sleepy. I downed a cup of corn flakes + honey water before packing my two packs for today's events. I need to be at three different place, three different activity. First up in the list, I reached MR at 6:15am. Roentgen was already there. Both of us wonder if we got the time/location wrong. Soon, Kops21 and Burnz arrived. Two more runners were late. But, we were told to carry on and they will do a different route. One Camelbak, PowerGel and digicam, I was set to run! The first 3km, we hardly spoke and all we heard were sounds of crickets in the wild and rocks or pebbles we kicked around. Today (finally), I got to know the links for some routes I had doubts previously. We crossed under the Tree Top Walk bridge and took the route to Rifle Range road, where I had previously recce-ed. First time seeing the Tree Top Walk bridge from this angle. At 7km mark, Burnz and I headed back, where Kops21 and Roentgen carried on for their 23km. On our way back to the carpark, I saw Eeyore and then followed by Leica. First time that I had a long chat with Burnz in person. Once all of us are back, including two late runners, we showered and went to ShunFu road. Attraction?? Char Kway Teow that uses microphones to place orders to the kitchen cook and a muffin store that had a really long queue!

After clearing two plates of Char Kway Teow, we ordered muffins for take away and rushed to our next destination. Mozzie had to go and the rest of us headed for dim sum. We ordered the must-have for dim sum and kept sms-ing a fallen makan comrade. Just when we were about to leave, I spotted a familiar figure. Ooopps... I called the person's phone. "Hello.. I want to order dim sim." Right away, the person sprang around, in search of me. We were laughing like mad and embarrassed at the same time. I offered a solution, "I accept bribes. Our lunch costs $74." Like what Roentgen said, "Never knew eating can be so tiring!".

Where's next? Support Alvo and Meteor in their 1 Star Kayaking class! But, Kops21 mentioned that I took the wrong bag of muffins. I have two double chocolate, one pumpkin and one cheese muffin now. JS wanted the double chocolate muffins so much. We have angered a woman!! ok, JS, I owe you the muffins! :p

At the kayaking check in list, we saw two names belonging to Sotong and Roonz which they have already postponed their class slots. We launched our craft and surprised them! We did not tease them as much, since they were still in a class. Kops21, Roentgen and I kayaked to the hanging bridge at Cosy Bay. We lazed around a little before hitting out to Sheares bridge, slightly out before returning back to basin area. Alvo and Meteor were just in time for their capsize drill! I took pictures of them dragging their kayaks back to the shore after their capsize drill. Priceless. They were all enjoying their 1 Star class.

Once everyone has washed up, we went for claypot rice at Beach road. What drink to go with the claypot rice? Sour plum juice. I accompanied them while they finished up their dinner, since I have a wedding dinner next. While they were eating, I found a spot for my two muffins in my tummy. Since, Alvo and Meteor love chocolate muffins, they were more than happy to accept the double chocolate flavored muffins. Yes... JS, next one on me.

Next appointment to attend was a wedding. One of the MenInGreen settling down today and throwing a feast. Finally. We were the support fire team on stage for the toast and we gave a thunderous roar of "yum seng" at our table as well. A gift from us (comrades). Seriously, I ought to sleep now.

After missing for a while, I was able to join swimming sessions again. Let's recap what was on the menu today.
- Warm up: 400m Free, 200m Mixed
- 200m strokes draw, 200m single arm, 200m fists
- 4 x 200m Free, 1:40, 1:58, 2:06, 2:10 <-- Crappy!
- 4 x 100m Free, 0:55, 1:00, 1:06, 1:13 <-- Crappier!
- 6 x 50m Free, 25m sprint - 25m easy
- Warm down: 100m Mixed

During our swim, Jeremy said he saw Mr. Hanky doing Howdy Ho in the water. *Eewwwww*

2.8km for today's feast. My body is scream for my bed.

I saw RealRunner today, when I finished my morning meeting. I heard that he has qualified for his Boston timing and that is totally cool.

AlecChua joined us at the tracks today. I hope he gets well soon. Healing process is slow, but it will. I did slow warm ups and then another assessment before joining AlecChua in his rounds. I tried on my Penang Marathon event today. It kept riding up like a baby's bib. Must be M-size of this singlet. Size does matter. Looks like it will be on my PJ list. We settled for ching tng after our run. Yes, nothing less.

Look at this. It'll be fun. USD$500 is a little steep. But, the idea is catchy.

Tonight, I got my little revenge on my opponent for hitting me at my chest, with a squash ball at light speed last week. Today, the ball that I returned just ricocheted off my opponent! I was breathless from laughing ..... having tummy aches and I could barely stand up straight.

Slacking all over again! I am suppose to go through 3km and there wasn't enough time. When I was done with 2km, I suddenly felt nauseous. Silly.... it was the gas that I was trying to burp. Must be the two bananas that I consumed before my swim. Mainly kicks today and that absolutely took my breath away! Still good, 2.6km.

I caught the movie, Transformers, with EndlessTrail today at noon time and I enjoyed it. Transformers are considered to be toys of my era, although I never did own one or followed the cartoon series at all. It was all, an item of would-like-to-have luxurious goods. A sentence in the movie reminded me of a longer quote that I ever came across. "Chick before dicks, Bros before whores". LOL. Good show, cool CGs....!

Nearing to 5pm, I headed to Chinatown for some errands and met a tourist from Pakistan asking for directions. I helped him to take pictures and pointed out some places of interest to him. Since I was still early for my colleague's wedding dinner, I went to check out the new mall, Central. It seems pretty normal, nothing too exciting. Usually, I don't take much food during wedding dinners and this time round, I ate something in advance. To kill time, I sat in the hotel lobby listening to some audio files. Around, 7pm, I found out I was in the wrong hotel! Two hotels of similar names. Fortunately, I was not that far away and it was just 3 bus stops away.. Phew... made it.. and still the earliest among the whole lot.

Cable T.V. showing Jeff Corwin kayaking near hump back whales in Alaska. How cool is that? Uber.

Training resumes tomorrow. Slack? May I?

Damn... the training took up a full day. Playing the role of a host, I brought our trainer around town (with a fellow course mate) for some window shopping. While looking at some people overclocking their PCs in Funan (some competition), I saw my cousin and his wife having their coffee break. We exchanged a few words and I sent our trainer off to Esplanade before I went to Vivocity. Since I was early, I read a book on Orlando while sipping my cup of caffe latte. Reading through some magazine, I stumble upon a piece of news on WWE. Chris Benoit,The Rabid Wolverine, was found dead with his wife and kid, in their apartment. A double homicide-suicide case. His signature was Crippler Crossface, Sharpshooter, German suplex and Diving headbutt. This is sad. For those who remember the "British Bulldog", Mr. Perfect and Eddie Guerrero (Latino Heat) passed away too, sometime back. Even though WWE being an entertainment company, I respect these sportsmen for their profession. Once all ex-colleagues arrived, I received a SMS and I went over to meet up with them. The four of us took our dinner at St James. I did not think that the dinner was all that great even though the restaurant is well known. All of us enjoyed each other's company more than the food and service. We talked about the times that we worked together. One of us is leaving for overseas for studies and it will be three years. With our appetite to satisfy, we went for ice-cream! Blah blah blah.. chatted till it was around 11pm before we left for home. Our dear friend bade good bye with a heavy heart, all of us promised to stay in touch and we will.

I received a post card from another friend as well, on her holiday, telling me her activities. Aww.... *Envious* But, that's sweet. I have not received post cards for a long time. I recall sending one to AGB while on world's highest post office. The other time was like 10 years back, when I was in U.S., sending to you-know-who.

Another long day tomorrow. What?! You mean my Saturday is gone?

... and again. ... I don't own this weekend. Tight, packed, squeeze all you can. I want to pack stuff soon.

Kind of stoned by today's work. Work? Suppose to be on course. I am. But, I was shuttling in and out of the training room, answering calls, calling people, giving instructions on how to install stuffs that goes "Next" "Next" "Next" Hit "Finish". Email! ... What good is training? My colleague, undergoing training with me, was not spared as well. I do not know how much I have benefited. At times, OJT will might be the best.

Still in my zombie state, I arrived early on the tracks and started off. Trying to conservative, I chose to finish a 7km. I just want to monitor the condition of my foot for now. It held up well throughout the whole run. Right after that, it was 3 sets of chin ups, 3 sets of hang-man, warm down and shower time. I was so drained till all I did was I waved to Mabel and Shobido.

Thinking about it, I saw a few familiar faces in this entire week! I must be working in the wrong side of town!

I think I might have solve the foot mystery last night. I cannot confirm anything. But, everything did look the same. During ultramarathon last year, the big toe's nail on my right foot was bruised and I felt the strain on my right foot. The exact spot of the strain is near outer top side of my right foot (not on my toe). This time round, the same spot and again, I have the same bruise on my same toe. Coincidence? No idea. Certainly, I do not hope for a third time! Last night, while trimming my toe nails, I clipped a little deeper on my bruised toe and out came a red colored liquid oozing to the surface. Ah ha... I exerted some pressure on the toe and a stream of liquid squirted as far as 75cm away! Reminds me of an old Sunkist commercial! Is the pressure building up underneath my toe nail, leading to the strain? Who knows?! Our foot happen to have the most complex bone structure... maybe some imbalance was caused?

Damn, it feels great to recover from my nagging right foot issue. I was able to do some squash swings and played a few sets. My foot felt alright during the entire session. Something new did happen. I was struck by the squash ball. After returning the ball near wall, I turned and ran back, only to find my opponent hitting the ball towards my direction. I received a "punch" on my chest. Owwww.... It was like a hammer thrown at me. It was funny and we laughed at my misfortune. But, seriously .... playing for these years, I have never been hit, head on. Everything has a first time, don't they? Redness has turned up and probably a bruised blue black tomorrow?

Endlesstrail is finally back and missing all the Peruvian babes already. Suppose to be my "THE" trip of this year as well. Aahhh... too bad. Move along.

Uniques?

Fresh from the oven (passing out from climbing course), some of the guys tried their hands (and legs) at climbing today. Touch the top! Nothing and I mean nothing can stop them! The slight drizzle did not dampen their spirits at all. They just went on and on, trying different walls. Me? Official photographer - sweating together with them. Looks like I will play a role of an audience till I get my cert. My turn to get all wobbly arms and legs. Half way though, we saw a familiar figure, Skyvers who was with Rainbow. I had a brief catch-up chat with him. Once enough of climbing, we returned our rented gears and moved around the area where there are walls that looked like a 100m high. We peeped into the boulder gym (reminded by Roentgen's blog) and it seems like a really fun place to train your skills.

What's for lunch? (Always the question) Chicken rice needed some time - due to queue, I guess. Kops21 bought some dim sum and I randomly picked at the Fun Cheong. Chicken rice soon came and it looks pretty tasty. Hmm... pass! Could use this for LSD motivational food for one's soul. Roentgen asked when can I actually go for Level 1 climb, so that I can join them for Level 2. I don't mind! Learning new stuff is always meaningful to me - soul food.

Back in those days where Internet was nothing but a bunch of wires and really high specs servers (show some simple information), there was just so little to do. Now, I can watch parodies done by Weird Al Yankovic on YouTube and laugh at them. Something which was called cassette tape ruled during my teen days. Poor students can't afford such luxurious goods - cassette tapes of idols like Debbie Gibson. That led to another solution called O.A.. I strongly believe there are more to come in the future and more changes in the world of Internet.

Cross training in equipment test (almost like cross training), I have gone all hay wired. I missed out something that has left me stuck for the past few days.

I picked up an audio learning ware and a book. Two separate things that I have always wanted to learn. Life - An endless learning journey.

Getting some stuff done at Vivo, I came across the demo set for Xbox 360 with Call Of Duty 3. First time, someone walked away from the console and I got a chance to try it out. Awesome graphics and sound! Tempting!

*poke poke*

My bruised toenail looks like its clinging onto the flesh of my big right toe. Weird to say that this is one self inflicted injury rather than from running. I went "Owww" when I dropped my baggage on my foot, last week in Phuket. It certainly looks ugly now.

I purchased a new pair of Asics Cumulus VIII this afternoon, during lunch. No, coming GST hike was not THE push factor. The GST will come anyway. I shall let my foot rest till next week's run. Seeing people sweat in sports gear makes my leg itch.

The pig trotter is starting to turn into chicken feet. So far, everything seems to be going as planned. Having said this, still feeling the aftermath of too much char kway teow and roti canai. Doing damage control now. Sick.

I am the legal spammer for today! People asking the obvious and they just kept giving me chances to flood their mailboxes! Need more PDFs?!

Just 800m .... I want to slack! Well, more like I let the waters cool my ankle. Who wants pig trotters with vinegar? Even at kicking, I took it easy. Now, it was like experiencing how does a lower dipping pair of legs in waters makes one drag. Mindful of dragging lower half body - balancing. I will need to raise those legs and sleep tonight! Come to think about it, I did not sleep well on the bus last night! Got to sleep now!

Yet again ... new things from this race, Penang Bridge Marathon 07. I enjoyed the good food and company. But, I have learned much from this race as well. At the start or finishing point, I met plenty of friends and familiar faces. Nice to see each and everyone of you! Lots of FR and pics to catch up. *Owwww*

Time to go shopping for my shoes. Cumulus VII is way due to be on retirement plans. Let my right foot rest and we shall do the purchase. *Owwww*

Sleep deficit, inherited from last night's noise from other occupants, everyone was contemplating if they should just sleep through and take breakfast,lunch and dinner before we board our bus back home. Agreed! Were there more half-marathoners than full distance runners in this accommodation? There was so much noise last night when we were in our bed around 8pm. Wish we could all stay in bed but we didn't. Waking up at 1am, we were ready to battle our reluctant inner thoughts at 2am. Making our way to the gathering point, there were already hordes of students along the way. Most of them had "the puzzled look" injected into their faces. 'Why are these people wearing bottles around their waist?' One could sense that he is being watched.... At gates of the gathering ground, I was being stopped for not having a second BIB behind my back. They wanted both my BIBs at chest levels *WITS!* 'You can't pin on the race belt.' I had to pin my rear BIB on the spot before I was allow to enter. C'mon.... firstly, I am blocking the way, can I be allowed to move aside? Secondly, how .. in the name of some holy crap am I to pin the rear BIB myself?! With much argument and disgruntlement from the staff, I was asked to pin my BIB just after the gates. There were so much commotion at the small area. Lots of runners had to turn back and get their BIBs before being allowed to race. I occupied myself with stretching and washroom visits, to distract my mind from the earlier incident. 'Slacker! I'm looking for you!' It was Cheow12. It was great to see a fellow slacker. I met Bernard and his partner (knew them during Phuket Marathon last week) as well. Making our way to the start line, I saw Mythos, Jennifery, Kops21, IMD and YeeHua. Shut was just beside me.

The race started. 'What am I doing here at 3am on a lazy Sunday?' It is not lazy anymore. Trotting along, Shut and I exclaimed at the water point that was barely around 500m away from start point. It is meant for our second loop and people are already starting to take water breaks! We continued our way, passing a loud disco on our left. People's party had ended. Ours? We just got started! Looping around before we went up a ramp to join the bridge, we were still good. Occasionally, I stopped for a photo or two. I noticed how long the bridge looked and said to myself, 'Here goes.', as I ran towards it. The gradient of the bridge was not as bad as it seemed. Did I just feel something on my left foot? Point noted. Several times during the stretch, there were spots of foul stench where you would not last even if you can hold your breathe for a minute. Wait a minute .. I did not come across any Port-A-Loo (portable loo) along the way. With my mind drifting away, I looped under the bridge and started my return leg. The returning route was just as dull as the way we came. With the entertainment from my MP3 player and half marathon runners on the opposite side of the bridge, I survived boredom. I saw Eliza on the other side.

I lost sight of Shut somewhere. He went ahead of me when I was doing my stretch somewhere, sometime. Exiting the bridge, I heard sounds of loud music coming from the end point. I had to keep left for an extended loop to Queensbay mall and further away before turning back. Along the way, at 25km mark, Powergels were distributed. I kept the new packet and consumed my own "Apple-Lime" flavored Powergel. Yucks. I'll stick to my Raspberry cream. On the opposite side, Fennel was already on her way back. She was followed by Kops21 and HoHoRunner. At the turn around Queensbay mall, first light was seen and I took a picture of it. Two, actually. Or was it three? .... Too many. I carried on. The U-turn point seemed outrageously far and it was definitely a form of encouragement when I finally reached it. Oh... the sunrise scene looked different again. More photos taken. I got to get going, no more clowning around. By this time, I was already down to every 2.5km for a run/walk break. My left foot was already giving problems. Some fellow runners thought I was giving up and kept encouraging me, when I was only taking scheduled walk breaks. As long as I reach before 6 hours, I am still happy about it. After the 35km, we need to carry on another stretch before turning back into the end point area. That 5km to 40km mark was no easy feat as well. Sun was up high in the sky. A 5:30 finishing time was still possible to me, at that point of time. I felt much lighter when I saw a "1km left" sign. Another obstacle or other obstacles came into view. There were plenty of walkers from 21k and 10k runs, dotted along the way. I had to maneuver by elbowing through the crowd as I turned to face the finishing line. There were plenty of people hanging around the area, sitting or standing, walking or running. It was a total mess. I crossed the finishing line at a 5:32 timing as I received several congratulating shouts from the side. 'Slacker!! Why are you so slow? Taking pictures, right?' I am truly guilty of taking my own sweet time. :p After collecting my finisher medal, I heard from IMD that Tricia had to be dripped (dehydrated). Take care, Tricia! Another runner suffered similar condition and had to be sent to hospital for a night's observation. I met YenErl who did her 21km (Well done!) for this event and Runwitme whom I did not get to meet at Phuket as well. Some folks did exceptionally well. Needless to say for IMD, TeeLee and YeeHua. Fennel took women's 19th position too. Well done, guys! Cheow12 came in before me and credited me for his fast timing. 'I cannot be behind Slacker Bala' Win liao. Haaaa... With several of us around, we took pictures together at the finishing line before most left for their hotels. Shut, TeeLee and I made our way back to our motel. We stopped for 7-11's Slurpee before carrying on. First time ever with Slurpee tasting like you struck gold on a treasure hunt. Most left for lunch where Shut and I decided to sleep it through lunch time. Fennel's mum's friend (confusing) took us around for feasting Char Kway Teow and we ended up at Komtar. Settling our dinner there, we made our way back to collect our baggage at our motel before boarding our bus at the terminal heading back home. I can sense the coming of a pig trotter.

-- insert pics soon --

In a way or another, I found myself awake when we crossed the Penang bridge. I took my digicam out and started snapping. The bus terminal was not too far from the bridge and we alighted the bus with everyone still yawning and stretching. Searching around, Roti Canai seemed to be the only "logical" choice. Not bad! What's missing? "Teh tarik!" Oh yeah... perfect. Did I mention there were cockroaches crawling out from my bag?! What the ??!!! Must be from the bus!! I had to empty everything from my bag, throw it all around and pack everything back. What fun I had. TMD. We met some Red Hawk runners there as well but we went our separate ways since they wanted to stay else where.

Stomach settled?! Good! Separating into 2 groups, we took cabs to our accommodation location (notice I don't call it hotel). It is $22 Ringgit per night, per person. How "hotel" can it get?! We took 2 rooms and dropped our stuff before seeking out Queensbay Mall to collect our race pack. I bumped into Joggers there. He was with his friends. Something bad... real bad. I forgot my receipt for this marathon. I thought to myself, how bad can it be? End result - it took me to go to 5 different stations, asking around before I was issued with a receipt stating my name and particulars. Great. I can collect my pack now. It took me another station to highlight my number before I was standing at an eye power station where I was waving my receipt to catch anyone's attention. 'What size?' 'Small' 'Small? Don't have!' ..... No idea what our indication of Tshirt size is for. I took whatever was in the clear plastic and walked around the race expo area. With the rest of the guys done with collection, we shopped in Queensbay Mall before stopping for lunch at the food court. Fennel's cousins were kind enough to show us around with their cars moving us from point to point. We went to Gurney drive area for a shop at the mall and then dinner at Gurney. Char Kway Teow it was! The hum-less (no cockles), hiam-ful (with chilli - spicy) and hay-less (sounds like hairless, means no prawns) sent Eliza into a state of confusion! Shut ordered Indian rojak for us to share. Set! We can head back to base! Back at the accommodation and in our rooms, we packed and prepared for the race ahead of us tomorrow. Race starts at 3am, means that we have to wake up at 1am! Better sleep now since its is 8pm. Lights out!