Limping Marathon Runner

Hi there, kiddo!! Hello!!

Congrats to Beng and BengTrainer!!
We have been waiting for this new born for a long time.

Welcome to this world, munchkin!

Waking up at 5.30am on a non-race day is never easy. Air-conditioning buses are killers to me at 6am. Freezing cold! I had to wear another dri-fit Tee over my running singlet. I reached the waiting point sharp at 6.45am. More guys arrived as I warmed up my legs. A new face walked towards us, mentioning a name that does not even ring a bell. Once she said, "mis_nomer". We went, "Ooooh!" Renohtaram did a quick briefing on the Vanilla/Caramel/Chocolate route and off we went. We paused along the way for some toilet breaks and mini hill runnings before tackling a "must-do" Ultraman's slope. Spotting Renohtaram along the way, guiding and making sure that no one loses their way, we looped back to BG again. I told Renohtaram to go ahead with the 16kms and 21kms while I waited for the rest. Since Tiwazz and Bee did the 11km, I accompanied AlecChua and Meteor as the last man for the 16km or 21km. Reaching one of the 7-11s along the way, I thought AlecChua looked a little worn out and we bought some Isotonic drinks. The air-conditioning's cool air was fantastic! We continued our run where AlecChua wanted to walk (signaling us to go ahead) when we were at the Newton Circus stretch. Meteor and I proceeded towards BG. Most of them were already done with their run and waiting at the starting point. I did the last stretch of 4km since Meteor stopped at 16km. It was a great run this morning.

A lot more events throughout the entire day.
But, this is all I wish to write. Over and out.

Waiting for my RoadID to appear in my mailbox.

Three places to be at today. In the morning, it was a run at MR with my cousin and his colleagues. Just at the SICC golf course portion, I met Ronnie who seems to be doing his own ninja session. Ha! At the tower, they decided to walk. I switched my mindset to "walk" the rest of the 6km. A sign that I should do an easy run today to rest my legs for tomorrow Vanilla-Caramel-Chocolate triple treat run? Likely .. .. yes. Trails were really crowded today with track-n-field students doing their trainings and groups of people heading to Tree Top Walk, I suppose. After our breakfast, I went back home, changed and travelled to HWA.

Great work organising the talk and coordination by the committee. The running injuries talk at HWA by Dr. Jason Chia was great. Ahh... runners knee. My fave topic. *grumbles* Much of the information on this topic has been gone through by me before. I learned a lot today and I always believe in re-learning topics that I have covered before. Rounds of applause for the two doctors! Heading off, run.run.runaway offered to drive us to a Novena MRT. But, Renohtaram walked out to take our bus instead. Along the way, we saw a traditional bakery making bread. We bought one loaf each and started snacking away!
Renohtaram still has a little flu. Rest well!

I went to get a couple book in the evening and slept like a zombie till I reach my station.

Just happen to see my poser photo with SV at the Trailblazers last weekend. Tired but still have to pose during the run, right? Damn comical!

A couple of friends are already at Desaru doing some triathlon event on this Saturday. IMD, SV, Cfred, Loneshark, Andy, Charmane and Sotong (I think).... Good luck guys!! IMD and Shutehelup will be doing Putrajaya runs on Sunday. Here goes crazy....

Alrighty!!! My battle scars from Trailblazers seem to be fading. Healing, so to speak.

The raspberry cheesecake I ate last night tasted like my Oreo cheesecake (booooo!!! Shameless) *thumbs down* Just like what Kay has mentioned before. I understand what he meant when he said, it tasted a little too cheesy. I kinda agree. Maybe I should add water?? *choke on crumbs*

Frenchman Breaks Record By Running To Japan
Taken from ChannelNewsAsia
Posted: 05 September 2006 1722 hrs

TOKYO : Frenchman Serge Girard has completed a 260-day run from Paris to Tokyo, breaking the record for the longest journey without a full day of rest.

The 52-year-old former insurance worker arrived at a hotel in the Japanese capital after running 19,097 kilometers (11,840 miles) since setting off from Paris on December 18.

Looking tanned, fit but also tired, Girard was greeted by a small crowd of around 10 supporters and was embraced by his three children.

"This is a great joy. This incredible feat was accomplished with a team. It wasn't just me," he told reporters.

But he added: "There is a certain feeling of sadness as it's true that this was a fabulous adventure that comes to a close."

On Sunday, Girard beat the world record held by the Australian Gary Parson who ran around his own country for 19,030 kilometers (11,799 miles) for 276 days without resting.

Girard, a former financial adviser for French insurer AGF, ran about 73 kilometers (45 miles) a day guided by satellite through the Global Positioning System. He rested at night.

He ran through 19 countries: France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China and finally Japan.

He completed his journey with a 20-kilometer (12-mile) run through the Japanese capital that took him past the imperial palace.

Girard says he is also the sole runner to have raced the distance across all continents, having previously run across the United States, Australia, South America and Europe.

- AFP

All the running gods have gone touring.

This day, I redeemed my status back to gold. Yay! My previous record was fail. I can only be a pacer if I drew a number tag. To pace my platoon mates, I can only run at a just pass pace for them to follow. Strange to declare fail on all the other stations, right? So, today, I cleared my killer station, standing broad jump station, and happy to clear the 2.4km to claim some moola. Yay! Maybe can go shoe shopping and be vain. Buy that red Asics Cumulus VIII?

After my test, I went over to SP Tracks and since none of the guys were there, I started right away. I did a couple of 800s and soon saw Tiwazz and Kops21. Once I was done with my run, LimYouLiang came to collect his running set and AlecChua joined us for the dinner. IMD met us at the Commonwealth station, where I gave the guys a Ching Tng treat. Some opt for a second on the house, Dao Suan. Damn... the Dao Suan looks really nice and I did not have my digicam with me. The uncle at dessert store was playing "BeeGees" today. Waa.... Retro-papa... It is Desserts Day, afterall.

... D-day? Let's see if I can bag something tomorrow. Today's CBD was okay. I ran with Kay and asked the rest to move forward. Meteor sort of lead the run with the front pack. We went slow just to let our bodies warm up. Part of me wanted to go slow and give my legs an easy time. Good run and met some new faces again! Trial ....tomorrow?

Received a call from someone who is really stressed over work. Sounds like someone hitting the shitty patch. (T_T) ... simply does not help at all. I can only go, "Yes yes yes, I understand."

I think I will "!@#$%^&" another round or rather each time I change my dressing for my battle scar.

Just touched home after a leaving IMD on a separate bus. Checking on my most prominent battle scar, it has turned really red and swollen. Applied some antiseptic cream and I went, "!@#$%^&*".

6am!! TLR's alarm rang. I want to sleep some more!! The weather is nice to curl up under a warm comforter like a cocoon. But, it's time to get up after all.. we will have to "navigate" to the football field, which happens to be the starting point. Since we had problems finding the LongHouse last night, we should move out earlier, just in case.

Breakfast would be provided after the race. Hence, I did not take any food at all. We started walking towards the direction where most people are heading to and the sound from loud music and people talking over the microphone soon appeared to be closer. The event ground is already filled with participants, volunteers and officials. The Fitness First team conducted a short warm up and we took some more pictures before moving to the start line. That was when we saw Ham who was there with her friends. 8.15am (or so) the wild category was flagged off. We started out trail run! The mild category started 15 minutes later. It was still early that we ran on the road and we were soon greeted by gentle trails. The first mud pool came where I cross it rather easily. I heard people shouting that their shoes were stuck in the bottom. Poor souls. Tighten your laces! We had to do some ascends.. steep slopes. Practically, if you see ropes... you'll know that you need them. We sort of went back up and then back down to be greeted by streams. The sound of rushing water is quite clear and distinct. We had to climb up the slopes then stairs before reaching near the LongHouse area. But, that is not the end yet. There was still another 2km to go. Some twists and turns, up slopes and down slopes before we climb in and out 3 large pits that were 2 metres deep. The next obstacle .. .. mud pools!! Two mud pools, approximately 5-8 metres long?! I can't be doing TI in those!!! Crossed a row of tyres. We had to climb and cross 2-3 man made ramps before crossing the finishing line! A quick check at our timing, I found that my watch still caked with mud!!! SV has been a good race partner. He is usually ahead. But, always waits at the start of the obstacles. We collect our finisher medals. Well done, SV!! And me ... of course.

We had a quick shower and claimed our well deserved breakfast. Let me see... there were cereal, maggi mee, sandwiches, bananas, ice milo, and more ... burp! IMD's babe was lucky enough to win a Swatch SKIN watch through lucky draw!! How lucky! All of us went back to shower PROPERLY before getting changed and ready to check out of the hotel. We took the bus back to the Genting Bus Terminal and saw Runwitme. It was the first time seeing him in person. More chit chats on the upcoming races and we took a picture before we board the bus back to Puduraya. I managed to catch some sleep even on this one hour plus ride. We took our late lunch, where I had a Cheese Nann. Nothing is complete with a wash down with Teh Tarik. Our bus back to homeland was a little late during to traffic and the carbon monoxide build up did not help at all. So ... our bus brought us back to YongPeng and then to Woodlands checkpoint to conclude our trip out for this weekend!! Fun!

Our "trip" starting on Friday night, after my 10km run and getting my book from the library, I met up with IMD at Gelare - CityLink for his ... sin. Waffle and ice cream. I had a Mango milkshake thingie to replenish my sugars. Sins. We moved over to Beach Road market to meet up with SV and TLR for our dinner. IMD carbo loaded again!! This guy had dinner before his waffle .... Another bottomless pit. Three of us had Roti John and SV ordered Mutton Soup.

While we were awaiting for our bus(Sri Maju services) to come, we filled up our immigration cards. IMD said, "That looks like the back of a familiar person". "Seal!!", I shouted out. True enough, it was the man himself. He is on a visiting trip to KL. Somehow he had some trouble with his bus service and eventually settled the problem. We left as he wished us good luck to our race and right after the immigration, we saw Seal again. Once the bus started moving again, it was till and hour or so later, that we reached YongPeng for a drink/food/toilet stopover. Three of us walked around while TLR continued with his power sleep. We reach Hentian Puduraya at around 4am plus and took some food and drinks while waiting for 7.30am bus ticketing office to purchase our tickets to Genting. I had Roti Canai and Kopi. We queued for our return tickets once we reached the bus terminal at Genting. Walking around looking for the bus that connects us to Awana Resort, TLR asked for directions and found the waiting point. Once the bus came, we hopped on it and it was just 5 minutes of ride, we reached Awana Resort.

Since it was just 9am plus, the set up was not ready. We had to kill some time before collecting the race packs. It was just poor coordination (IMO) that some of the helpers do not know what to do and what to check. No briefing to the helpers/volunteers? No idea. Hungry. Looking for food in a golf resort? Never expect "afforable". We left the "afforable" cafe and headed back to the cable cars tower / bus terminal for cheaper alternatives. RM$3.50 for maggi mee.. no complains. Beat IMD's cold fried rice. LOL. Yeah, the hunk grumbled. TLR and SV bought some tidbits before we took the complimentary bus back to the resort to get our room. Ta-da!!! The room was not even done up, since the last guest left. But, it looks spacious enough for four! We called for housekeeping and went for the briefing by the Event Director. There was a talk by a lady triathlete / adventure racer on fueling and training. Another session on foot injuries and stretching by a sports doctor. Sam and Eddie from RL is also participating in the race. BabyMonster was spotted with her hunk as well. We collected our free PowerBar and went back to our rooms for a power nap.


Around 6pm to 7pm, we linked up with IMD's babe and her colleagues before moving to the "LongHouse" for our Jamboree dinner. Due to the sub-standard instructions and no maps guiding to the LongHouse, we had to take a few wrong turns. From far, we can hear the music of the dinner event grounds booming away. Did they say LongHouse or LongWalk???!! Anyway, we took a "short cut", bashing through barb wires and greenery before reaching the top. Some gradient workout before our dinner, huh?! I enjoyed the live band music more than the food. The music soothed our mood and we headed back to our rooms for shower and an early night.

.... with great friends! I joined Mrs. Fong and Beng for lunch at Hans today. It was a stroke of luck. I SMS-ed Beng to ask him out for lunch since I was around his area. "Before and After Dating Days" topics had us chatting all the way till we walked Mrs. Fong back to her office. I hope she'll recovering well from her flu. After getting some money changed, I met Sxuanjing who was really casual (on half day). I met an ex colleague, Sandra as well. Further down the road, I bumped into yet another ex colleague, Elayne. She exclaimed, "Wah, you still remember my name?!!". Apparently, she has forgotten mine. *pffftt*

Back from a 10km, where my 1.6km was the timing that I wanted to maintain. That is the goal for now. I'm happy. Gonna get changed, packed and head for Trailblazers!! Ciao! Field report when I get back. FR .. FR ... FR

Lunch was great this afternoon. I have not had a good lunch with ZhiMien for some time ago. We chatted about recent stuff and how a familiar nick came to my ear. You know who you are! Almost did not get to play pool today. But, I was lucky since there were some last minute changes. Not on my side! Somehow, we all need a little 5-15mins in the pressure cooker to perform. I nearly had a one cue game, except for the 8-ball. Breaking is still. ... far from desirable. My Vaude backpack gave way. I had to buy another bag for the laptop and got a $24 sling bag. Not exactly the biggest bag around. But, that'll do for now. Trailblazer is here on the weekend and I'm not packed yet!

Another fellow competitor is selling the bike, hanging the shoes and burning the tri suits. Quitting the tri scene for now. I read ... FOR NOW. Hope you'll make a come back some day.

Sign the petition for her big come back!!

On a separate note... when someone copies your work... it means that you're heading in the right direction.

Asics Landreth II (my pair) is going to be retired in another 200km's time. While shopping with my cousin the other day, I think Asics Speedstar II winked at me. SeXy Blue!! On the other hand shoe, the fiery red Asics Cumulus VIII might join my shoe rack too!

I think everyone is in slack recovery mode at swimming pool today. I clocked a 1.5km of strokes only. I'm still snorting water!! Either my nostrils are positioned to collect water or I have no idea what reasons to give myself.

Another thought after reading some books. Trying hard to cut down snacks!

I could hardly sleep last night. Don't have to wonder why. The living room was still pretty noisy till 1am. Woke up by my alarm clock, I felt drained. Karloong asked me if I was crazy to wake up at 3am. Yes, I am and I have a run. *Karloong eyes roll* Cereal to fill my tummy! I packed, grabbed my stuff and waited at the pick up point for IMD. IMD arrived with his meimei and another friend, Benson. I've seen Benson before!! I asked him is he used to run around Queenstown stadium. He is one prominent dude because of his speed on the tracks. Speed monster!

IMD parked his car and we walked towards event holding area. While warming up, I greeted a few familiar faces. Moving over to the start line, we began to see more runners we know. 5.30am. The race was flagged off. I ran at a slightly faster than comfortable race pace initially. By the 8km mark, I ran into the toilet to relive myself. Around 10km mark, I was significantly slower, just to avoid the old injury from coming back. Curses!! Something else surfaced! Stitch and my right big toenail problem. It only went off around 15km. (v_v)

Apart from that, I was stopped at traffic for approximately 7 or 8 times. Well... running in the city has always been this way. Kinda expected that, so not complaining. I was only picking up some speed around the 18km area. Crossing the line in good condition is important for me now. Everything else is secondary. Not exactly the timing I would like to have (not important for now). Feeling glad that my legs were fine and my right knee held up well. There were quite a handful of runners, that I know, are already back with very good timings. I chatted with many different runners before heading out further away before the finishing line. I cheered those who are coming in. A lot of familar faces ran passed me!! Races. A great way to spot old friends. Somehow, it rained!

Most gathered at Marina Square food court for our breakfast and a couple of us went over to Starbucks to catch a second cup of coffee. The famous second wind?

What's with the vistor count or readership today?!!! New record high of 90?!! A guy who does long distance limping, rants about his near non-existant life and shoots the food that he enjoys....... interesting read, meh?!

In the entire day (yesterday), I spoke to three different person at different stages of their lives.

One who accepts life and what comes along his way, takes each day as a lesson learned.
One who looks out for love in all directions.
One who struggles to keep the love alive.

At the usual run last night, I buddied up with PuayHian since he does not want to go up the bridge. We covered a shorter route and were soon caught up by LaoKaYu, since he lost sight of the front batch of runners. We saw Ronnie too. He was doing his own training. By the time most of the runners were back, some of us changed and moved over to the usual spot for dinner.

I had a good lunch break at work today with my cousin at Ikea. We had a pretty good chat before helping him out in shoes selection at Queensway. He looked surprised when he saw me with the book that I am currently reading. This is a book about commnications and self awareness. Yes, the title did only help me in receiving a weird stare from him. (O_o)

I think I am in between Dead or Alive.... or neither. I better catch some sleep before I collapse. This week is "madness town" week anyway.

I get all panicky when it comes to a race. Unable to wake up in time, is usually the reason. Tiwazz's friend gave me a lift to Sentosa this morning for the Real Run. We were beside Roentgen's vehicle just before turning into the gantry for Sentosa. He was kind enough to let us cut queue and I wasn't too sure if the vehicle behind Roentgen's, gave him a "complaint" horn? Once we settled for the parking lot, we walked towards the meeting point. Waa..... lots of faces that I have not seen for a really long time. 136Fallschirmjäger, Freddy, True_Atlantean, Shaunzer and more! I met a couple of old friends that I know at this run too. WeeKeong and Roger (which I always see him in races). The run is pretty much the same as last year. I didn't really go fast and was constantly checking my knee. One particular Caucasian (wearing a MR25 singlet) was pretty funny. At the stretch of sand, he went, "Aiyoh... seow ah... very siong!". Pretty unusual but funny at the same time to hear him speak with a local accent. Happy with this run. Not looking at any PBs.. just keep moving, that's all.

After the race, some of us went to the beach area to chill out. Some swam while the others played volleyball. Thanks to those who provided pinic food!!

I remember clearly that last year, in this same race, I met a lot of new friends. People who are behind the monitors and keyboards ... !! Relating names to faces.

My gaming day isn't exactly like a hard core 9am-9pm, non stop gaming session. I did some testing in the office before packing up and heading over to Sotong's place. I had to give Cfred's birthday lunch a miss, since we planned the gaming session earlier. Since I had most of the LAN gaming and a board game with me, I was there early. Right after lunch, we had a short warm up game of Rumis before the rest came. Some played Ticket To Ride: Europe at another table, while I tried my first time at Settlers Of Catan. Very interesting game!! I gave a surprise win to my opponents at the second game. It was a close fight between Sotong and me. He should win the second game! We ordered some pizza for dinner and changed to another game where everyone could join in the fun. Scene It. I guess this is very much a Hollywood trivia / quiz game?! Who know Jamie Lee Curtis's parents name!!!??? I've never seen Goldie Hawn in her hot black/white photo shot before!!!?? Who would know?! So, the expansion set for this would be Bollywood or HK Films edition?! Everyone felt relieved when the game ended and we played Pictionary Mania! next. We had a fantastic time, drawing, laughing at other people's drawings and giggling at each other team's efforts in guessing. Time really flies while you're having fun. We left Sotong's place around 10pm. We still have New Balance Real Run tomorrow!

It was a surprising morning to see a lot of familiar faces at a site today. Happy!! Not prearranged. But, everyone is on a different project. On the other hand, I do not have the slightest idea, why is my presence required for today's meeting/testing. It totally wasted my day, where I could have done more testing for my own cases. *Slaps forehead*

I collected my AHM race pack and saw Uncle Chan (Ultramarathon & Mongolia 100km) and Leica on my way out. Coincidence!

Taking dim sum from Fortunate Restaurant (at Food Republic), I was utterly disappointed with the quality. I have high expectation of dim sums. The moment we left Wisma, my tummy was feeling kinda weird. It felt like a cement mixer! I do not think that the food was well cooked ......

I had quite a bad time with my tummy in constant discomfort. However, I gave my opponent a run for his money in American Pool today. I am totally high and ecstatic, when I had several good double shots. *Taps pool table* Despite all these.... I need to work on my breaks. Half way through our session, the Daniel Bedingfield song was on air. No let down, I have to focus! The whole session came to an all time high during the last two sets, where both opponents had to level up to top form!!

KJ wants a dinner followed by American Pool next Friday night. I'll make sure he sees stars.... Let's get PTK and CZB along!

Think you can kick some butts at this event? I'll see you at the starting line.

Ironman 70.3

Mark your calendar, September 2nd 2007