DNS

I'm not motivated to update this blog coz I've not been running much lately coz of an injury I
picked up out of the blue. This is the dreaded Plantar Fasciitis which hit me a long time ago. I even forgot how I manage to pull out of it. This time its even worst than before coz I've had it with me for the past 4 weeks and it seems to be "glued" to me. Me being the hard headed type does not give in that easily and will not be conformed to sit on my ass the whole time. I've cut down on my running and hit the elliptical machine in the gym. But I still find running has more "kick" than swaying my feet back and forth.

That dreaded injury is still there after all the precautionary steps I've taken. I'm doing nitely massages by stepping on a golf ball and rolling it back and forth around the arch. It actually works for a short period but it comes back the next day. I'm really up in arms over this stupid injury and will not give in so easily. We shall see this Sunday when I hobble, walk or run to the finish line of the NB 15k.

I caught the flu after KLIM and I passed it on to my kid and then my wife. We were all down with flu. To make things worst, my kid went for this 3rd and final hexa combo jabs and that made his immune system weak and that didn't do him any good.

I registered for the Orange Run and I got my friend to take the bib for me BUT I did not manage to start because I was up most of the nite when my boy cried because he was uneasy. He's 7 months old now and he still wakes up in the middle of the nite for his feeds. I guess he's not planning to outgrow this nite feed thing and my wife and me will have to wait it out. He started on his cereal when he was 5.5 mths old and have progressed to cereal and porridge as his main meals. The only drawback is that he "gian susu" whenever he wants to sleep. He needs to get his fix no matter what. If not he will not be able to fall asleep.

I got myself a new Sony Ericsson 5 megapixel toy and have been busily using it to snap pix of my kid whenever I have the chance. This is so convenient as lugging around a camera is so troublesome. I've placed a few of the pix below and you can view them. Picture wise, I can't complain much coz its a phone and I don't expect it to have the sharpness and details of a digicam. Beggars are no choosers lah.

I'm now in the midst of overhauling my rides. I'm not referring to my car(s) but to my running shoes. I think its time for me to replace my aging pair of GT2110. My Precision 7's are half way there but I'll use them till they are worn out and use them as leisure shoes, just like my Precision 6. I'll be down in Singapore for a conference on the 26th this month and will pick up my GT2130. SLUUUURP! The thought of it sends tingle down my spine. I can't wait to slip them on and give them a good run in. I also plan to add 1 or 2 more pairs to my collection to have some variety. (Rancangan Tergendala......)

Cont (15/5/08)...
Getting new shoes also mean that I need to step up and put more effort in getting my endurance and strength back. 4.30 and 5 mins pace days are long gone. At the present moment, maintaining a 6 min pace is already a tall order. I really miss the Kg Pandan days when Coach Chan will drill you to the max. I had a late run yesterday after work and was lost in my thoughts. One of the funny thing about the position I'm in currently compared to the Kg Pandan days is that I've forgotten the feel of pain. Pain was the one that brought about 4.30 and 5 min pace. As the saying goes, no pain no gain. Yes, I'm in pain now coz my PF does not look like its gonna leave soon and this kinda pain is not what I'm looking for. It now the waiting game for me. ^%$#@#$%$

Have to start them young. hehe


Me on my "Dining Throne"




Me in my crib. Hugging my angel to sleep


Cool or not? Little adult


Catching up on the latest new while havin' breakfast.
After that I can rip them all apart.


Cheeky t-shirt.

Pah lin tau, kang kang & turned turtle - KLIM 08 Race report

I never imagined myself completing the 21k in sub 2:30 yesterday. This must be one of the most suffering runs I've endured since I started this activity. I've lost count of the times which I stopped to walk because my legs were just not accustomed to the distance. This IS the longest I've ran since Mizuno Wave last year and I'm really GLAD I did it coz it really brought back fond memories of me pia-ing in my previous races.

I planned to run this race way back last year after missing Standard Chartered's Singapore Marathon. I was so looking forward to this race to get back into my groove but things didn't turn out quite as it seems. I tried doing long runs during the weekends only to be slowed down by fatigue and tiredness. The furthest I've ran was 11+kms and I know that will never be sufficient for to be able to run the full distance of 21km. I was not pressured to PR during this race as I know it's way beyond me and I planned to run walk instead.

I got an SMS at 4:30am from Martin as a reminder to wake up. I was still lounging in bed coz I only slept at 12+ coz thoughts of the race kept playing in my head. It's been a while since I participated in these kinda events and I still get butterflies in my tummy. I washed up and had a light breakfast and rushed off the KL's Post Office which I found ample parking. Thank God I slathered myself with loads of Bodyglide or else I would have been in pain the whole day. Both my inner thighs had double helping and I took even more precaution on my toes as I painstakingly fingered them. Hehe..

I warmed up with a short run to Dataran and did some light stretching before entering the kandang. Where I met Tang, Kell Jay, Buluman and wife, Kevin Chow, Eric and few other familiar faces. The gun went off and I was so happy coz I just can't wait for this event to end. We took a new route and made a 1km loop and went pass Dataran again. The mile markers were %$%*&^ WRONG! Not that I cared much about it but it affects you psychologically. I met buluman at the Seremban Highway turnoff and he walk walking with his running vest in hand. He told me that he'll catch up and he never did. Since I knew that I'll never make it through the race without taking walk break, I did most of the walking at places of incline.

As said above, it's really been a while since my legs and body was put through a grueling session. I can really feel the lactic acid building up but I just tried to put that aside and continued running. My quads and knees were sore and I just needed to cool down. I was taking bottles at refreshing station and pouring it over my head and back and that helped a bit. I caught up with Eric who was walking in Jalan P. Ramlee and his quads were cramping. The last stretch was the worst coz all my energy was spent and at the same time happy coz we did have to do the stupid loop unlike previous years. I was just so happy to see Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman and just kept my focus on finishing the race.

I looked at my watch and I knew that I was definitely able to finish it in sub 2:30 (I was hoping for sub 3:00). Screw all the excuses! This is it! Finish the race, get your medal, go home, have a nice breakfast and catch the highlights of Manchester United thrashing Aston Villa (This was the icing on the cake which called up my reserves). The arch was a sight to behold coz that was what I was looking forward to for the past 2 hrs plus. I crossed the line in 2:24.50 but my official time was 2:26.24. I don't care! The most important thing was that I finish what I started! and I can now go back and chill with my kid for the rest of the day.

I'm sorry if I did not stay back for the photo session ritual coz I just wanted to have a nice shower and ice those legs of mine. For the first few hours I was limping and it was so hard to climb up the stairs but slowly things improved and I'm feeling much better now even though there are still aches all over my body. I'm now looking forward to NB Pacesetter's 15K run in May and hopefully I'm more prepared for it. Below are a few pix of KNN junior waiting for his turn to outdo me. Check out his new crew cut hairstyle. Looks like a "pai lang thau" (gang leader)

What you looking at?


Don't &%$# around with me. *that's my evil laugh

Miscellaneous rantings

The people have finally spoken. Will the coalition please stand up, please stand up. Read my lips, N-o-t-h-i-n-g l-a-s-t-s f-o-r-e-v-e-r. Its time that the DAP-PKR-PAS JV guys get on with their job and stop bickering over who gets the seats in the various state exco. What happen to the one Malaysia you were preaching about, the removal of racial politics? Nuff said.

I'm updating my blog, finally, after some pestering from Jamie. Well, part of it was from his pestering and part of it was "trick questions" that I've been asked over the past week. "Are you doing the KLIM?" Yes. "So how? Sub 2?", that came from 2 people. Here's another one "You running KLIM?" Yes. "You doing the full ah?". Errrmmm...WTF!? Me doing the full? I don't think so.

I'm so envious of you guys that are already tapering and doing the "needful" for this coming Sunday's race. Jamie is doing his speed sessions and he is so scientific about it. All his fine tuning and tweaking sessions seems to be going fine. Good luck in your quest to PR in this year's KLIM.

Ronnie and gang have been hammering out the KLIM circuit runs and also his own method of "hentaming" before race day. Dinesh has his own training going on and the rest of the pacemakers are all prepped and ready to rock KLIM this year. As for me, I have a long way to go before I can PR any event coz I'm way way off my best and I'm now reduced to what I was when I started joining the pacemakers.

I'm inspired to complete this Sunday's run after watching "Run Fatboy run" during the weekend. I've not managed to put in ANY serious mileage as much as I want to. The longest run for me since Mizuno wave was 7 miles (approx 11km) and completing 21km for me this weekend might be a tall order. Die die lah!

FYI, I'm still running but not as frequent as I want to OR if I still have the strength after a day at work. My kid is already 5.5 mths old and he is still waking up in the middle of the nite to feed. He is only taking 4 ounces of milk at one go coz he was born small and his tummy is not used to taking in large amounts. He is tough and bigger than a normal child coz he eats frequently but the drawback is the amount that he takes. I was speaking to Dinesh the other day and he told me that his kid is only 3 months old and is already consuming 6 ounces at 1 go. The last feed for the nite will last her till morning. I sometimes have to wake up twice a nite to feed my kid coz he will not take more as he has fallen asleep while eating and will wake up again to finish his feed.
Both my wife and me will be zombified in the mornings from the lack of quality sleep and will have to weather out this storm till my kid is old enough to take sleep through the nite. My kid overslept this morning (4am) and woke up extremely hungry and when he crosses that barrier, his cries can be really annoying. He will add screams to his cries and half the neighborhood will be woken up. Though my wife took over that feed, I only manage to fall asleep again at 5am. I now feel so sleepy that lunch will be a sleep affair for me today.

I've captured a short video clip of my kid and you will have a first hands experience in listening to his screams. I can't help it coz he's blessed with my voicebox.

The first scene where we are trying to put him to sleep by using his musical toy. The second scene is where he's already fed up and going into "overdrive". This is the typical nite life for my wife and me. My son will get cranky when he's about to sleep and he'll struggle and scream till he knocks himself out. A pair of ear muffs is part of my wish list. *hint *hint

I need good rest

This year's CNY holz has not been a good break although my wife and me got to spend some valuable time with our son. It's been a very hectic run-around visiting CNY and it doesn't get any easy with a baby in hand. This is our first CNY with him and we are getting first hand experience. I did manage to throw in some running but not what it was not what I expected because of lack of rest. I've filled up the KLIM form and will go fun-run the half marathon event. Setting a PR is not in my agenda this year.

I think my wife and me have come a long way since the arrival of my 5.5 weeks premature born son. He is already 4 months old and a whopping 7kg (last weight end Feb when he went for his 2nd jab). He is really a handful coz he wants people to carry him and he is very alert. He is very attentive to the things around him and is alwayz looking around. My wife and I agreed that he's gonna be a very hyper kid when he gets older. On the downside, my kid has this bad habit of screaming when he cries and he has been blessed with a set of pipes just like mine. Some of you know how loud I can get.

Every night my wife and I will have to brave the nightly feeds that my son insist on having. Sometimes we have to do it twice in the nite and this really breaks the sleep-cruise-control. I've not been getting quality sleep after the confinement because of these nitely feeds. I know some babies sleep through the nite after the 2nd month and we have to bear with this until he breaks the habit. Both of us wake up looking like zombies everyday and I do try to take power naps during lunch break. I do this in order to be able to have some energy to run in the evenings. Sometimes I feel so lethargic and tired that I can barely finish 3km and this is putting a damper in my so-called training.

On the bright side, my son is very bubbly and very playful. Thank God he doesn't get much nitemares when he sleeps altho we once encountered him laughing during his sleep. We just bought the baby harness in order to carry him around the house. There is no way I can hold him for half an hour without my hands aching. I have my own personal gym in the house. No monthly fees. Just add milk.

Recovery

Thank God today is a public holiday. This last minute "present" from our Prime Minister prior to general election was a much welcomed gift. I managed to get some rest and also recover from the flu bug that knocked me out for almost a week. I don't think I would have even lasted 5k if I managed to register for last Sunday's GE 30k. My fever was like our volatile share market, going up and down. Imagine a hot Saturday afternoon and most of you would have been under the fan but I was lying in bed with the blanket over my body. I can't recall the last time I felt so sick coz it's been more than a year and now is "payback" time.

To add to my body aches and sore throat, the doctor checked my blood pressure and BMI. My blood pressure was alrite but she said I was overweight. OVERWIGHT?!!! KNN. She wants me to lose 5kgs. KNNCCB. Am I that fat? She just made my day lah. That statement got me thinking about starting my running regiment again. I will need to sit down and start planning my weekly mileage and runs in order to bring my "weight" down. I've done it once and I can do it again. This will also kickstart my comeback for KLIM which falls on the 30th of March. I'm planning to register for the half marathon and work towards completing it in a reasonable time.

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Operasi

Up, down, up, down, diagonal left, diagonal right, up, down, up, down. Most of you must be wondering what the hell I'm rambling about. Yes, it sounds like some sex moves and no, its not what I'm writing about. The operasi here is operasi cukur. I gave my son a well deserved shave coz his hair is growing uneven and all over the place. I didn't give him the kojak treatment but more of a commando look. He now looks more decent and by the time Chinese New Year comes, his hair would have grown just a bit longer.

I think he is more comfortable now because he will not feel so sweaty and his hair will grow evenly. The thing that surprise me was that he kept quiet throughout the whole session. He must have been surprised by the sound and vibration of the shaver on his head. Let me get some pictures and post them up.