Virgin 21km @ Penang International Bridge Run 2012

 First time collecting my kit from a half marathon counter k?!!

Damn proud lo...

This is my first and maiden half marathon after 2 years of running. I remember that I started running in 2011 and my first 10km run was at the Standard Chartered KL Marathon which I joined due to peer pressure. And just last Sunday, I participated in the half Marathon just to see if I can survive the challenge which my friends posed to me. Actually, all my running "kakis" are all taking the 21km run and thus I signed up for it due to peer pressure again.

"This year, the marathon managed to attract more than 34,500 participants from 67 countries all over the world, and hopes to attract more International participants next year. For the second consecutive year, the APBIM is once again listed as Malaysia’s Largest Bridge Run by the Malaysia Book of Records!" (quoted from the APBIM email I received)

 

All these for only RM22 for 4 of us!

Prior to the run, we made a detour to Ipoh for lunch. The "tai shu geok" (Big Tree Foot @ Pasir Pinji) remains as one of my friend's favourite food outlet in Ipoh due to the freshness of the Yong Tau Fu and also the "super reasonable" pricing of just 60 cents a piece!

Carbo loading is the way to go before a run!

When we arrived at Penang, we checked into Traders Hotel and have a short rest before having our dinner at 6pm. Since the run starts at 3am, I had to catch some sleep by 9pm and thus having dinner early is a good idea. Just a few hundred metre walk away is the New Lane Hawker Stall where the it's a food street filled with mobile hawker stalls that sell Char Koay Teow, Lor Bak, Grilled chicken wings, Rojak, Prawn mee and chee cheong fun. We were having a feast again! However, the food here are just mediocre and what my sis called "tummy fillers". This is not up to my expectations at all. So no point writing about them either. heheh

The Women Open Half Marathon started at 3.15am compared to the Men's at 3am. I was very enthusiastic about the run but equally scared as well due to the distance and the lack of training. The rainy days made me lazy to run. You have no idea how much excuses I gave to myself for not training. When I arrived home from work, "ooh... it looks like it's going to rain" and when I woke up on the weekends, "ooh look, the road is wet after the rain and thus it's slippery" and I went back to bed.

This Nike+ only lasted me for 2 years. Sigh...

So what was going on my mind when I was running that 21km? At first, I remembered one of my colleagues said this "I just can't understand why some people started walking just after 2km, it's just 10% of the route!" and I told myself that I had to continue running even if I'm tired. So I ran and ran for 40 minutes before stopping for some water and walked for some distance. When I reached the midpoint of the bridge, I had a quarter bottle of 100plus and that gave me the edge. Out of a sudden, I felt that burst of energy and continued running until the 9th km where the U-turn is located.

When I see that I am running past some men (who started 15mins earlier), I was so motivated to continue running, knowing that I would be 15mins ahead of them. As I passed the other side of the bridge, I can see that they are still others who are 30 mins behind me and this is a great motivation. One of the unlucky events was when I felt part of my left shoe sole coming off after a few km but I don't bother about it and kept running. Then the right part started falling apart. It did make the running uncomfortable but I wanted to finish it as soon as possible so I kept myself running until the last 4km where I had to walk. I was exhausted but gave myself a target of 10mins per km just to make sure I finish before 3 hours.

And so I did! At the last 500m, I sprinted all the way to the finishing line using the last breath I could take and the last tank of energy I had in my legs.

Not something to shout about but because it's my maiden half marathon, I have the right to brag about it! 2 hours 56 minutes woot!

We had so much fun. With my sister and friends taking pictures with our well-deserved medals.

Met Lee Jian at the event too. Surprised how I could actually meet some friends I haven't seen for ages here!

Before I had this run, I thought this would be my first and last 21km. Looks like I'm not going to retire yet. Nice bib number there! *wink

oooh... and the best adrenaline I got when I was watching the guys Full Marathon start-off, a cute guy actually smiled at me when he ran past. Now I know where the energy came from. heheh...

Adidas King of The Road 2012

I woke up at 4.40am this morning just to psych myself up for the 10km run at Adidas KOTR in Sunway that I will be participating at 7am. Most of my colleagues are already in the 16.8km league but I was kinda lazy to train for it and thus I'm just feeling comfortable to run the 10km route this time. I didn't train much for this run as I was busy traveling and the day before I was cleaning my new house with mom and so I stood all day and my legs were tired! (excuses, excuses, and excuses...)

The running vests are all very colourful this year and the colours are released in different batches. I went on the first day to collect them and I had a green one while those who went on the 2nd day will have the purple one.

Yiling & Me

See the 3 of us?!! Calvin, Yiling & me!

It's always advisable to go to the venue early as most of the roads leading into Sunway Pyramid were closed and for parking reasons as well. Calvin picked my sister and I up at SS15 and we managed to park the car in Pyramid Tower. After that, we had to walk over to the other side of the road where Caltex is and that's the starting point.

 MC - Adam C

This is my 1st time running the Adidas KOTR and I felt that the view is kinda mundane but there were quite some terrain there! There's a few uphill slopes and then a few downhill slopes making it quite a challenging run. It also felt different to be able to run on a highway (New Pantai Expressway) and running through those toll booths. 

 The Winner for the Women's 10km completed in 41 minutes!

 And what was my timing?!! Ultra slow if compared to hers...

 

 

Although my timing is not very good, I'd still have the medal for keeping! And of course I was delighted that Adidas made a nice facade for the runners to camwhore. However, Malaysians ought to be taught some manners. There was a queue leading to the facade but many chose to cut the queue and jump right onto the stage from elsewhere. Don't this scenario reminds you of the traffic?

Well, in the end we all had fun. My friends all did very well in the 16.8km category too clocking in at 1hr and 51mins and others a few minutes later. Well done!

The overall organisation of the run is well executed. Most of the counters are in order and there's free flow of 100Plus, Milo and Fitnesse Cereal. This is much better than the Standard Chartered Marathon 2012 which was held in May.

 Credits*SCChan

For those who participated and if you want to check your timing, here's the link.

P/S: I'm very disappointed with the NIKE: We Run KL 2012 which the registration starts on Friday and it closes on the same day. Apparently they have started registering students sometime back and I heard there's only 1000 people who managed to register online. Then why publicise it if you don't have spaces for people to register?!! My friends and I are mad and I guess Nike didn't do a good job handling this matter. Read their FB page on the link and read all the angry comments from the people!

NTV7 Feel Good Run 2012

 

 My newest addition to my existing running medal collection!

Sometimes, there is some sacrifices to be made in order to be healthy. One such sacrifice is always CARBOHYDRATES but I'm not willing to let go of that yet. Thus, I have to sacrifice my Saturday night at Neverland to attend a friend's party to wake up early on Sunday for the NTV7 Feel Good Run 2012. Argghhh... I'm denied of my only Saturday party night for the past few months!

I'm a lazy person when it comes to exercising. If it's not for the peer pressure, (Yes, I was forced by my colleagues to run!) I wouldn't have gone through so many runs since my 1st run at Standard Chartered Marathon 2011. I learnt the hard way. My formula to run is that if it doesn't hurt, it doesn't work. Therefore, after I have paid hundreds in registering a number of runs, it would be a complete waste of money (hurts my pocket) if I don't train for the run. And if you have that mentality (kiasuism), you will run!

Peers who gave me the pressure!

We did it! 7km no less. Woot...

My friend, Yve Vonn who is also a DJ from OneFM.

Our running bibs.

I really like how NTV7 allow us runners to unleash our creativity. We were given blank running bibs where we can actually write whatever we want onto it. I have see some pretty funny messages like "POKE me if you LIKE", "Call me at 01X-XXXXXXX" and "Mencari Jodoh...." There are also some serious ones like "Stop LYNAS" and mine was "I'm Fabulous. I will run for FOOD!"

Guess who I saw at the run? The incredible Hulk & Captain America no less!

There's also a shy Snow White!

Besides them who came in costumes, there were also a dinosaur, a red & yellow Angry Bird characters and some wore butterfly wings and horns. It would have been a good run if it wasn't for the rain early in the morning. The road were wet and there's also a guy who slipped and fell at the corridors of one of the buildings even before the run started. What a mishap!

The 7km is otherwise a good run if we wouldn't have to go through that uphill slope on Persiaran Bukit Utama (from KBU leading to Bulit Utama Golf Course). I tell you, the slope was quite steep and it's a long way to go! Half way treading uphill, I could feel the pain in my knees and there was this urge to just stop walking. But I didn't and I pushed myself to the top and then it was a breeze when running downhill.

In the end, I reach the finishing line at 52mins and I think I've done my best for this run. My timing was quite consistent with the previous run but I guess I could have done better if I were to train more often.

Told you I'll run for food! We had a satisfying post run Dim Sum breakfast. I think the calories I've burnt during the run is not even enough to compensate what I've eaten. Enuff said.

My collection of medals so far. More to come I hope!

Runs for 2012

10km Standard Chartered KL

7km NTV7 Feel Good Run

10km Adidas King of The Road

21km Penang Bridge Run

10km Standard Chartered Singapore (???)

10km Nike We Run KL (???)

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2012

 

It's another milestone for me this year at the Standard Chartered KL Marathon which was held on 24th June 2012. This marked my 2nd participation in the yearly run held by SC and this is also my 4th run ever since I started running last year. It's my fourth medal for finishing the 10km category and I must say that I could have done better if not for the heavy travel schedule for the past few weeks that I didn't get to train.

I was quite happy with the results because at least I improved by 8 minutes from my run last year. This time, I managed to complete 10.79km in 1:16:19 and I finished at the top 10% of the women open 10km category. The route is quite challenging as there were quite some elevations throughout the journey and I hate running uphill!

I'm glad Yiling also participated in this run together with Calvin. It's their first SC KL run but their 2nd run after the Energizer run a few months ago. Eventhough they are still new to the scene, they both are really good. That's why you both should sign up for the "speed" category and not the "cruise" category!

At the time I finished, Dataran Merdeka was still quite empty. However, in another 30 minutes the whole place was jam-packed! I also like the availability of Salonpas Pain Relief Spray where we can get a spray or two after completing the run.

Nando's was also there to promote their "chicken". They gave away vouchers for free Coca-Cola - how disappointing (and it has to be redeemed from a certain outlet)!

This is my running gang! Some of them has already moved on to Half Marathon and hopefully I will be also able to do that end of this year.

After such a tiring run, we head to Segambut to have some Ipoh Road Yong Tau Foo! The calories burnt was instantly replenished. The next day, I was limping to work and for the past few days, I couldn't walk properly but I was glad I managed to start training again yesterday but for a start, I only ran 2.5km before heading home for dinner. See you next week at the NTV7 Feel Good Run!

Orange, orange!

This is my new acquisition. In fact it's my first football jersey. I love the colours, and I also love Robin Van Persie. The funny thing is, the sizes in Europe are all so big and I need to buy it from kid's sizes. If you want to know how much is this jersey, it's actually 70 Euros. Oh well, there's always a first. And you'll know which team I support for Euro 2012.

Holland - het winnende team!! Robin Van Persie... Ik vind je leuk!!

Recently, I've also discovered how difficult it is to run on sand. Training at the beach is no easy feat as the sand adds to the friction when running. But it does feel better running at 10°C compared to running at 30°C on a beach in the morning. After almost 5km, I felt like I've lost my legs and my hands were freezing. It is an experience.

This year, I've signed up for a few runs. Coming up, I'll still be running 10km for Standard Chartered KL Marathon and Adidas King of The Road. Then I'll run 7km for NTV Feel Good Run and the ultimate is the debut 21km run in Nov for Penang Bridge Run. Therefore, I really need to run more during these few months to prepare myself. If I can overcome that, I'll run the Standard Chartered Singapore Half Marathon as well.

Wish me luck!

My 1st jog in the Cold

This is probably my first time running in a cold weather. It was 5 degrees Celsius and it took me 30 minutes to complete a 4.24km distance. I think it's quite an achievement because my 2 colleagues have been cheering me on when I wanted to slow down and walk instead of jog.

During this short run, we managed to pass by the San Vittorio Emanulle II. it's a beautiful giant building, well lit up as it was still dark. The U Turn point is the Colosseum. It's such a beautiful structure although I only managed to admire it for a a minute.

Wanted to post pictures but dunno why the pictures didn't went through. I'll post it soon. Ciao!

Putrajaya Night Run 2011

Years ago, I wouldn't have imagined myself participating in any of the runs organised every year. When I was in school, running 400m is already a challenge and the annual 7km run test held during the "Pendidikan Jasmani" lessons is enough to kill me too. Then, months ago I finally put myself to a test by joining the annual Standard Chartered Run which I signed up for the 10km race.

I was surprised that not only I managed to survive the 10km, I did myself proud for doing a total of 10.6 km in 1 hour and 24 minutes, ranked 530 out of the 3910 runners in the Open Women 10km Category. For some people, it wasn't anything to be proud about but for me, it was an achievement. I don't have a good stamina and I'm lazy to exercise. Even my friends were surprised that I would sacrifice my Saturday night to go for a run!




It sounds crazy but I was preparing myself for this night run by waking up at 1pm (to ensure that I have enough rest), do not go out and exhaust myself and took a banana before the run. The venue was at Putrajaya Prescint 3 and I can help but admire the beautiful lighted buildings in the administration city at night. It was indeed a well-planned city but too bad, it's a little too far.





Energy bars and water were distributed to the runners. But what I really wanted to drink at that moment was Milo. So the only encouragement to finish the race is to think about the ice-cold Milo! After 5km, I was really tired. That's the threshold of the 10km run. I don't really have a strategy because I like to sprint during the beginning and then I had to resort to walking for a while to regain the strength to continue the run. Sigh... but I was glad that I manage to complete it within 82 minutes.



In the end, we were all happy that we got our medals, milo & a good exercise! I slept so well and I think I've lost easily 2 cm? hahah... Looking forward to my next run at the Penang Bridge Run in November! Yay...

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2011

Just some updates on the run that I did yesterday at the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2011. It was my first time taking part in a run and before this, I never truly understand the joy of running or even a marathon. Every year, I'll be wondering what's the fuss over a marathon and why so many people are so enthusiastic to run?!!

We were there as early at 6am!

Occasionally I used to go for a morning walk or a little run with my dear friend Emily. I've only started to take running a little more seriously 2 months ago when my colleague managed to "con"-vinced me into taking part in the SC Marathon which was held on 26th July 2011. After paying for the registration fees, I've decided to train more seriously to make sure that I'm now throwing RM70 into the drain. I've to make sure that I will at least collect my 1st medal by making it to the finish line in one piece.







The race started in Jalan Parlimen and it was hell trying to find a place to park the car as the roads were closed as early as 6am sharp. I woke up at 4.30am! Lucky we all have a colleague who drove and he managed to find a place to park and join us in time for the run. There were altogether 22000 participants this year and it looks like the number of runners are ever increasing.







It was quite a challenge for me to finish the 10km as I've always been doing either 5km or 7km. Last Thursday was my 1st ever attempt to complete 10km in my neighbourhood which translates to 15 rounds around the place I'm staying. It took me almost 1 hour and 25 minutes to finish and I think I finished almost the same time in the run yesterday.

10km! Woot!

Everyone had fun!

I felt so good after the race. It's like an adrenaline rush and looks like I'll be registering in the coming Penang Bridge 10km run! Hopefully after a few more of 10km, I can be fit enough for a half marathon next time!







After that, we had a hearty breakfast at Petaling Street, starting with some comfort food of Hon Kee Porridge. To celebrate my 1st run, at night my friend invited me to a Japanese restaurant (which I would be writing about it soon) and we had some Krug champange, followed by some nice Japanese whisky and sake! Cheers... (my legs were in pain today!)



And the results are out....



I managed to finish at 1 hour and 24 minutes, ranked 530 out of the 3910 runners in the Open Women 10km Category.

Watching the Singapore Marathon @ The Ritz Carlton

After my meeting on Thursday and Friday in Singapore, I decide to stay over the weekends for some leisure time and some shopping for warm clothings for my Europe trip this Saturday. I read that it was freezing cold in London and I haven't even got the checklist ready for my 2 weeks trip. Worst of all, I haven't even got my train ticket from Amsterdam to Paris! Apparently Thalys does not accept credits cards outside of Europe and now I am frantically asking around if someone has an European credit card.

I got the clothings and jacket from Uniqlo and a pair of really comfortable flat pumps and socks from Muji (from Ion Orchard). A friend asked me if I am into Japanese clothings because I am getting everything from Japanese stores. It's not the case. I like these stores because I knew that I can get what I wanted and although they are a little more expensive, these are good quality items. Total spending SGD$300.

The Ritz-Carlton, Milennia Singapore is actually a very nice hotel to stay in. Although it's not my usual hotel that is located in Orchard Road, this hotel overlooks the Marina Bay and the view was just breathtaking.


The view overlooks the Marina Bay Sands, The Helix Bridge, Marina Bay's Floating Stadium which featured a very cool floating soccer field and you can even see One Fullerton from up here. The white dots that you see on the water is actually helium balloons. There were thousands of them floating on the water. I heard that these balloons are for the wishes.


Ok, my pictures sucked but the real view is really nice. The rooms are luxurious and what I loved most is the big windows in front of the bed and there is one too at the bathtub. I was also advised not to take a shower with the curtains opened! lol.. The bed is so comfortable and it's huge and in fact the room size here is much bigger than what you get in the hotels at Orchard Rd.



The best deal is that - they gave complimentary Valrhona chocolates! These Valrhona squares come in milk and dark variants. It's just perfecto!



The Club Lounge does serve breakfast but the selection is rather limited. I had some chinese steamed dumplings, roasted potatoes, cheese sausages which is very crunchy and delicious and some omelette. The view here is just great and at the same time, I can actually watch the ongoing Singapore Marathon.

The Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2010 saw a big participation this year with 60,000 people joining the 3 routes which includes a full marathon (42.195km), half marathon (21.1km) and a 10km marathon. The full marathon starts at 5am and is flagged off at Orchard Rd. By the time I had my breakfast at 10am, I am still in time to catch the action as I see them passing by the Marina Bay.



I had a flight to catch at 1pm and I decided to leave at 11am so that I do not miss my flight due to the traffic conditions. Many roads were closed for the marathon and lucky I was at the airport early and had enough time to do my GST claims and browse through the duty free shops.

I had such a good time there and looking forward for my next trip to the republic again.