Seize the day!

26 June 2006
This is my first run after the PJ half.
Rested 1 week after the 21km because my left sole was swollen and right heel was in pain.
Upon reaching KLCC, I spotted Ronnie, happy to see his smiling face and run with him.
I stopped after running only 1 lap with Ronnie, he is too fast for me.
Waited for Dinesh and Jamie as Ronnie said they were supposed to run too.
As I was about to join Ronnie for another lap, spotted Dinesh at the car park.
Dinesh had completed 16.1km at Lake Gardens on Saturday and was still feeling the soreness in his legs,
despite this, here he is running at KLCC, preparing for his Ipoh half this coming Sunday.
My hats off to Dinesh for his discipline, which turns out to be good thing for me too because there
was no one else running, that I can pace with.
My laziness and weak mental have gotten the better of me, after only 2 laps with Dinesh I already feel like stopping.
and we were going at a comfortable pace around 8minutes per lap!
But I kept silent about my weakness and plodded on with Dinesh, keeping conversation to distract my laziness
and my body and mind calling out to me to have a Kit Kat.
I swallowed my saliva thinking of some more other foods. Quickly and frequently I have to think of some topic
to discuss with Dinesh, from his son to runners injuries to running shoes and whatelse I cannot remember.
Surprisingly the distraction by conversion worked, especially if we speak more in-depth about any topic.
Somehow I managed to complete 5 laps with Dinesh and called it a day.
Dinesh continued and completed another 2 faster than earlier laps.
Thanks to Dinesh and Ronnie for their company.

# posted by Newton @ 2:11 PM 0 comments

18 June 2006
i did not prepare for this race.
no long runs, in fact did not run much at all.
was contemplating not to go for the race.
just in case, set alarm for 5.15am.
woke up to turn off the noisy alarm and continue to sleep.
woke up 5.40am, decided to go for race.
i am late, panic, panic panic.
drove fast and furious.
reached around 6.20am, holding on to my keys, powerbar and water.
look for Cheong to pace with and his wife (Mee Peng) to safekeep my keys.
cannot find them, more panic, did not eat powerbar yet.
heard the gun, oh shit.
threw away the bottle of water, what a waste i thought,
holding on to powerbar and keys.
spotted Mee Peng taking pictures, quickly pass her the powerbar and keys,
phew what a relieve. spotted Cheong, yes, someone to pace and chat with.
in terms of training, or in our case lack of it, Cheong and i were in the same boat.
after 26 minutes only then realized i have not started my stop watch.
therefore my eventual finish time is a close estimate.
Cheong stomach discomfort after 5-6 km, slowed down, asked me to go ahead.
i plodded along alone.
no problems with any water stations and sponging stations.
plenty of water, 100plus and sponges, volunteers were cheerful and fast.
throughout the race i was running at a comfortable pace
i was afraid of getting cramps and not able to finish the race
spotted so many friends they were running the opposite side of the road already on the way back
only when i reached the u-turn i realized how far ahead they were
met tey at the flyover, good samaritan tey was helping someone that had fainted
a police vehicle stopped to assist, i plodded on
after the flyover my thighs feel like gonna cramp.
i started walk / run and by now realized and disappointed that i would not be able to qualify
but what to expect with not much training and going at comfortable pace
was hoping that cheong would catch up and at least have good company
but cheong was not in sight, hope he is alright
the walk / run helped, i did not get any cramps
the stadium as the finishing is a good idea
no muddy fields, sense of grandeur
eventually finished in around 2:23
unlike most races, pj half did not give extra time for 'old' fellas like me to qualify
one qualifying time for all ie. 2 hours 15 minutes
anyway no regrets going for this race
race was well organized and goodie bag was much better than expected
traffic control can be better as there were a few places not manned
congrats to all that improved their timings or had won a medal or simply enjoyed a good run.

# posted by Newton @ 5:58 PM 0 comments

03 Jun 2006
Firstly, thanks to ALL that make this run possible.
The organizers did a wonderful job!
They made sure :-
- nice trophies
the design and size makes me feel like a champion
do not know if this was deliberate but to me this was a right choice
i do not win medals during races let alone trophies which are usually for top positions

- many photographers covering the event (around 7)
this is probably the most photographers besides my wedding

- after the run there were plenty of bananas, water and isotonic drinks
as this was only a short run (2 laps per runner = 2.6km), no water station was required
but even if there was a need, believe me, there WILL be water

- cleanliness
the organizers brought garbage bags to make sure the park was just as clean after the run

- batons
the organizers improvised and created their own 'batons'
even took the trouble to spray it metallic silver

- camaraderie
eventhough they say its a fun run, believe me some/most are real serious about it
but everyone still cheered for each other, supported each other
its good to meet up with the runners and chit chat

- excitement
the organizers have been doing a fantastic job of promoting this run
from countdown to the day of the event to hilarious team posters

- and what nots
there are probably a lot of other stuff the organizers did that I am not aware of that
made this a successful, exciting and memorable event.

In the end, our team Der TNS team turn up 6th place out of 9 teams. Not a good placing I have to admit.
But everybody in our team did well because they did their best. We ran our hearts and lungs out.
Of course it felt very difficult but on the other hand it feels great because we did our best!

# posted by Newton @ 4:40 PM 0 comments