Fat boy

Survived NB 30K, in a disappointing 3:20.
Target 3:15.
Time last year was 2:57.
Pls read report from last year http://jabbeer.blogspot.com/2009/01/polar-bear-on-run.html .

Verdict - 2 reasons
1. I'm fat
2. My legs are not strong enough

Woke up at 4, took the shower and had my ritual 'kubab'. Stomach still feels full from Nasi Lemak dinner binge , instead just had half a cup of coffee. Pushed off with Azmil arnd 4:40 and arrived at 5. Sampai2 je perut buat hal.

Walked from Tugu Negara to Pdg Merbuk. My heart was racing the moment I saw the long queues for the 4 portable toilets. Survival mode kicked in. No choice but to looked for the most isolated longkang to release my bombs there. Was unfortunate as Ikang caught me on the act. Not during the actual bombing, but just before....

At least my stomach felt good for the run. Was flagged off at 5:30. Maintained avg 6min/k for the first 10K. Enjoyed the hill at sekolah Arab cos they were no ligths at all and it was pitch black. Felt like running to Eternity and did not feel like u r climbing a hill as u cant see anything except for ppl few ft in front of u.

Slowed down the pace at the turning of Hartamas as suddenly the left knee felt so painful after running up the hill at Plaza Damas. Tried to put more weight on my right leg, and after 1-2 K, the left knee was OK. Was running at 6:30 avg until the start of Double Hill, probably KM 19. Started to walk for the first part of the hill as fatigue kicked in.

Met Mantat at 21K as he handed me the power gel. Managed to push myself to run 7K/min throughout the hills and came out around Tijani. Was excited to bump into my wife, D, Ezan, Yvone and Nizz at Tijani water station. They were in such a cheerfull mood, wonder why? Walked again for abt 100m just before the climb to go back into double hill. Ezan was there and encouraged me to run up the hill. I sure hell needed that and ran in 6:45 avg untill the start of Jln Sultan Salehudin.

Walked for abt 200m. As I wanted to start to run again up the hill, I start to feel tingling on my right quad. I know well enough that the cramps are coming. Couldnt do much and just walked from there on untill few hundred mtrs before Tugu. Told my self that I need to fight the cramps and slowly started running. As I started to pick-up my pace the cramp tangkap my right calf and left quads, almost stumbled to the ground. No choice but to walk again.

Started runing slowly pass Pdg Merbuk and stopped everytime the tinglings came. Met up my wife and D again at the junction of Bank Rakyat, they tried to give me encouragement and urged me to run. Wanted to run as I'm not really feeling tired but couldnt do much as still having the cramp problem. Sticked to 100 run 50 walk untill the finishing line.

I'm relieved that I can complete the run albeit 5 min off target and 22 mins slower than last year.

Really proud of Ikang from my running group as he clocked in 3:40, 20 mins earlier than target.

But for now;
Immediate target : Recovery and fix the knee
Intermediate target : Strength training + proper diet = Weight loss

To 'tekan' or not to 'tekan'

I woke up late again this morning. 6:20, wont have enough time to do 5K and to be ready behind the desk before 8. This has been a constance battle for me lately. I can wake up to the rings of my alarm clock but I just dont have enough will power to stay awake.

Earlier, I woke up at 5:30, and turn off the alarm. Sedar2 je dah pukul 6:20. Crap...

My plan was to do at least 5K around KLCC park, in the early morning. Looks like now I have to go to the gym instead during luch to make ammend. So to the gym I went.

I never really enjoyed running on treadmill, so I set a modest target of 6-6:30min/K for 30min. Changed attire and dah pakai kasut semua cukup, terlupa pulak nak pakai knee brace. I've been wearing a knee brace on my left knee to give me extra support when running. I suspect I'm suffering from a minor meniscus tear, but Stupe told me not to self diagnose myself.

Anyway, malas nak bukak kasut utk pakai the knee brace so just decided that I will take it easy on the treadmill. But after 4-5 mins, the knee felt right, so i set the speed to 10.5, which will give me the pace of 5:45-6min/K. For some reasons, felt really good. Decided to 'tekan sikit' and increased the speed untill 12 and ran for 42 mins, tertambah sikit time utk genapkan 7K. So average was 6m/K pasal the earlier part lari2 anak.

Was very satisfied with the run as I think now my knee is getting better. Hopefully it will be in a good conditon for this Sunay 30K run. Insya'Allah.

Lesson learnt: When everything feels right, do extra than what u've planned. It will make up for the time when u feel shitty.

Catching up

I have not been writing in this blog for about 6 months. I dont need to give any excuses, this is my blog, I can write whenever I feel like writing, and nobody can say anything about it. That's the beauty.

Many eventful things happened in the last 6 months, Noah turned 1, I completed Half Ironman, Tesa completed half marathon to name a few. But one of the thing that stands out and that I take pride on is making my family and friends to lead a more healthy living. I shared and guided them with what little knowledge that I have to help them kickstart their healthy and fitness journey. It just made feel good that at least I'm making impacts on their lives.

But now, I'm gonna write on something that is more current. There are many things that I wanna do this year, but let me scope it down to sporting goal, as it is mainly within my control. I have 2 attainable goals;
1. Complete KL Marathon in 4:30
2. Complete Half IM in 7 hrs

Basically, its all abt improving the timing for these 2 events that I struggled the most last year.

This month, I'm still charting up the plan to attack this. There are so many factors that will come into place. As planning is very crucial, I'm using as much time as possible to design the most effective plan to me.

In general, There are few things that I need to improve to achieve the goals above.
1. Get into my optimal weight of 68KG.
2. Improve in my cycling ability

So my plan will revolve around the 2 areas of improvement above to achieve my goals.

From time to time, I will update the blogs to share my experience in terms of training, races, nutirition etc as I think ppl can learn as much as what I have learnt from this journey.

Wish me luck guys.

Nasi Lemak Bukit Antarabangsa

Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa!!! U better watch out, there's a new rival in town, and she's loaded with Ribena Berry. Catchy starting sentence huh? Boleh buat iklan kat 'broadband', eh silap, billboard..

Lets go to the report guys...

Had Nasi Lemak at Ikang's house as a reward for him in completing larian Bukit Antarabangsa. His wife Dee, woke up at 5am to cook the rice and then waited through out the whole race to ensure her hubby will get all the support for his maiden run. In fact, as he claimed so often, it was a first attempt for him to do any health related activity after RMC. (Pls Ikang, cake throwing at Hard Rock is not a sport).

Ikang as he is affectionately known by his friends did something that he'd never imagined maybe few months back. He completed 7K of hilly Bukit Antarabangsa terrain and did it in a good 45 mins or so, very, very good for a first timer. And I made it a point to be there and join the race to support him.

But I think his wife was the most happiest. Her effort of persuading him to live a healthier lifestyle has paid off. Eventhough she has been pestered by her ever demanding friends to masak nasi lemak and invite us all to have breakfast at her house after the hubby complete the race. It's so worth it kan Dee?

As for me, a satisfying run and managed to complete it in 34 mins. The only difference for this race was that I got number 26, and top 30 was called to the stage to get a medal. It was so unexpected as I thought I will be slow having had to run sub 5min/km for 5.5K from my house to the venue bcos I woke up late. Had always planned to 'run from house' (my wife hates this phrase), but in leisurely pace as a warm up to the race. But as I mentioned, woke up late and had like less than 40 mins to reach the venue. Apalagi, pulun la, and the heavy rain also did not helped that much. Was happy that Tesa, Noah, Ezan 'Barra' Azira(kesian, couldnt join pasal Dr bodoh tak bagi lari), Ikang and Dee were there to witness it.

After race, ramai2 pergi serang rumah Dee/Ikang for the Nasi Lemak. Were joined later by Atuk(who didn't joined the run pasal bangun lambat), Piche&Ubai, Sahura&Doya, and Farouk&Aff.

Later in the afternoon few of them came to my house for a splish splash session at my condo's pool and Tesa's Kuew Tiow. We ended the day with a Karaoke session at Ampang Park.

All in all, it was time well spent on weekend. Feeling is good to know that more and more of my friends are inclined towards healthier living. Next mission is to get Mantat(in S'pore to see his new heroes - Liverpool) and Black(Piche) to run.

Maiden Triathlon - PD 2009

Apa ni? semuanya 'Maiden'. Well, its better than saying 'lost virginity' kan? as I lost my virgin in triathlon-ing. And did it joyfully.

This event came 2 weeks after KL Marathon, where I struggled to complete. So this time, I dont want to get hard done by again. I vowed to prepare myself better this time.

The real training only starts the Sunday, a week before the race. As this race intially, was supposed to be a warm-up for the half ironman(IM) end of July(postponed to Oct) , I planned for a heavy duty training sessions, fully knowing the risk that I might not be in peak condition for the PD race bcos I would only be in the middle of my 1/2 IM training.

That was also add on to the fact that my feet was still hurting from the Marathon. So the Sunday a week before the race, Bandit was kind enough to accompany me for an 80K ride in Dengkil/Sepang. Chipang was there too. Was sluggish after the first 50K, but was not worried bcos will be doing Olympic Distance (OD - Swim 1.5K, Bike 40K, Run 10K) in PD.

The week leading up to the race, did double sessions everyday. Gym during lunch followed by run/swim at night. By Friday, I think I'm at 60-70% condition. Good enough to pull me thru the race.

On Sat, checked in to PDGC. Then when straight to register for the race, took me bloody 45 minutes. I was actually intimidated a little bit, looking at all the well defined and toned body of most of the athletes, and the bikes, talk also no use, semua power2. But re-grouped my thoughts, I need to focus abt me only, dont get physcoed by this.

Had a trial swim in the sea with Bandit before the sprint event, which was really a good move, cos now I know how it feels to swim in open water. Needed some time to get to use to, as the water was quite choppy.

Later at night, had the carbo loading dinner and briefing at the hotel. Tesa, Noah, Cyrus and Alisha came arnd 9.30 pm. Went for another round of sea food dinner, and joined by Mantat as well.

Woke up at 6am on Sunday, do my usual stuffs, kubab 2 kali. Biked out from the apratment with Stupe and Bandit. They helped me a lot on how to organise my stuffs in the T area. Did the body marking and went kubab again as usual.

Went for a warm-up swim with bandit 30 mins before start. Tesa and Cyrus came to see me start-off, and I told them to wait 45 mins, cos Ill be out of the water by then. Confident je nak cakap mcm tu.

I was not really nervous at the starting line, even when I dont fully know what to expect. Maybe its because I was confident that I did enough training, and the fact that I've done distances more than the OD in my trainings, cuma tak pernah buat continously je la. The only thing that troubles me was how would I react if I have a puncture. Only had that once during training, and itupun Bandit yg tolong. Well, too late to back out now. Belasah je lah.

We were flagged off at 8:15, and what Stupe said was entirely correct, It was a contact sport. Ppl keep on sepak-ing, pelangkung-ing and shoving me left right up and down for the first 200-300 m. And the choppy water was not doing any favour either. It was very hard to keep my strokes, end up that I need to lift up my head every 3-4 strokes to look to where I was going. After the 1st bouy, as I was entering the marina, the strokes were getting smoother and the traffic clearer. Starting to enjoy it.

As I made the U-turn, tried to relieve myself, kencing la...Ok, now I learn 1 thing, susah nak kencing while swimming, kena stop jugak. The route back was excellent, really enjoyed it. I think I did the fastest in this section. But it gets harder again when I'm back at the last bouy as we were faced again with the strong waves. To my surprise, I clocked 47 min to finish the swim and Tesa n Cyrus were still there, keeping to my words that I'll be done in 45 mins.

Ran to T1, takkan nak jln kot, tak macho la. But at T1, relax gile, pakai kasut slow2 and jalan tolak the bike out. As I started pedalling, I remembered Bandit said not to push too hard for the first few K. Did just that. But after 5K, I've been passed by a lot of cyclist. Lembab sgt ke aku ni? Bila ada org potong je, I will look at the crank position they were using and try to emulate that. Tapi tak laju jugak. I even stopped to pump my back tyre as I tot it doesnt have enough air, a reason I was slow. Shdnt have done that.

I wanted to enjoy the ride, but looking at so many ppl passing me, on the route back I tekan sikit. Maybe shaved 5 mins off. But total bike time was 1:37. Terrible. Need to improve. Especially on the techniques.

At T2, sama jugak mcm T1, took my own sweet time to pakai kasut and tukar bib to my running vest. Leceh betul la nak kena pin2 ni. Shd have bought the racing belt the day before. Started off running behind Upiq and passed him few hundred metres after that, and saw Tesa and the whole family there to cheer me on.

Felt my legs very heavy for the 1st 5k, effect of cycling. Kam told me to do bricks to teach the muscle memory not to have this effect. Walked at all the water stations. Probably was doing 6-6:30 in the first 5K. But hit my strap turning back. Maybe it was like 5:30/km. Enjoyed it very much. Passed by all friends during this leg.

As I was entering the finishing line, wanted to sprint, tapi kaki ada rasa keras2 mcm nak cramp, so just maintained the pace. Greeted first by Chipang 30 m from the line, and then by Tesa, Noah, Cyrus, Alisha, and Mantat. Crossed the line in 3:31. Still in a very good spirit, and enjoyed it very, very, very much. Will come again next year.

Timing:
Swim 1.5K = 47 mins
Bike 40K = 1 hr :37 mins
Run 10K = 58 mins
Total Transitions = 9 mins
Total Time = 3hr 31 mins

Target was 3:30. Lari seminit.

*I want to say special thx to Bandit, Stupe, Mantat, Kam, Upiq, Chipang, Cyrus, Alisha and off course my beloved Tesa and Noah.

Official Timing

Got the official timing for 42.195K

05:01:53.94

And this is my wife's timing for 10K

01:22:54.02

Maiden Marathon

As I'm writing this, the pain below my feet is still tingling. Good, that will make my memory fresh from the marathon that I ran yesterday. Yup, I ran the Kuala Lumpur International Marathon and I completed the full 42.195 KM in 5hrs 02mins.

I shd porbably start with my journey to reach this goal. As some of u are aware, my ultimate goal is to be an IronMan(IM), and marathon is 1/3 of the disciplines that I need to complete to become one. It would be foolish if I go to IM without even completing the full marathon distance first.

The farthest that I had run before this was 30K, and this was back in January. And since then, my training has been irregular becos of so many unavoidable reasons, but some of it because I had lazy ass. To cut story short, I had compressed my training plan into 1 mth, and that was a month before the Marathon. (not a good idea).

With the compressed training plan, I never achieved the distance I wanted to achieve in training, because I will always get cramps abt 3/4 of the distance. Eg; If i planned to run 24K, I will end up running 20K only. So, coming in to the Marathon dates, I was not as prepared as I had hoped for. This is not good for me, because my confidence always comes from knowing that I had enough preparation. But I guess now I just had to rely on my mental strength than anything else to carry me thru this.

In terms of food intake, the preparation was the same as before, a lot of carbo 2 days before, but this time, I add on a lot of potasium and sodioum from stuffs like banana and prunes, hoping to prevent the cramps.

So on the race day, woke up at 3.3o. Had breakfast and most importantly, kubab. My dearest wife sent me to Dataran Merdeka, she needs to get back to prepare for her 10K which only start at 7. As I entered the field, met up with Kam, Budin and Akmal. Then Bandit and Shazly came along.

The race was flagged-off at 5 am sharp. The only thing that was on my mind was the the tip by Stupe, 'keep your pace, don't get overly excited'. I felt very good for the 1st 10K (1:10), as it was quite cooling after the slight drizzles just before the race. I re-hydrate at every water station, and that was my plan, to keep on drinking at every stops. Succesfully maintained 7-7.30m/km.

As I passed 15K, my mind started to think abt my wife and Noah. I dont know why, but I was feeling the goosebumps. One thing for sure, I know I have to do this for them, I need to show them u can do anything if u put ur mind into it. I had a banana at the food station, and my pace had risen up to abt 6.45K/min, the sun was abt to rise.

Reaching the 2oK mark, the time was 2hr 1omins. I was going too fast, need to slow down. Went to relieved myself by the bushes and continue running. At this point, I have not stop running yet.

Moving along, tried to slow down the pace to 7mins, but I felt strains on my calves if I try to do that, so maintained 6.45 pace. As I reached 25K, I think somewhere arnd Beach club, I walked up Jln Sultan Ismail instead of running as I'm starting to feel strains on my quads. So I changed my strategy, I will only run up any hills if I dont feel the strains.

But after that, managed to run at 6.45-7min pace till 30K. Eventhough, the pain in my legs is getting stronger, I told to myself, I'm not tired, I'm just in pain. Just shut-up, tahan sikit sakit and get on with it, dont be such a sissy.

I know Mantat is somewhere arnd 30K as he was distributing the power gel. From abt 100m I could saw his towering firgure. I dont why I just felt terharu to see him there. I even refused to take a power gel from the person in front of him, I want to take it from his hands. Well this is what 30k of running is doing to u, it will get u emotional.

It was 8:15 when I reached 30k. I have 1hr 15 mins to do it sub 4:30 and 1:45 to do sub 5. Very do-able. Or so I thought...

I'm telling you guys, the marathon only starts after 30K. The last 12K felt like forever. I only ran when there were flats and downhills. Unfortunately, half of the last 12K was uphill. The part from Istana to Jln Sultan Sallehuddin was ruthless, with big hills and totally exposed to the sun and traffic.

But the worst has yet to come. I was doing the walk 50m run 200m strategy from lake gardens to the peak of Jalan Sultan Sallehudin, to my horror, there was no water at the water station. Its 5k to go and 40 mins to do it sub 5. Sounds easy right? wrong. It was the hardest 5k of my life.

As I start to run with a faster pace, both legs started to cramp, everywhere. Shit, all sort of questions came thru my mind. Will I be able to finish this? I cant even run without having any cramps. But I have to do it, for Tesa and Noah. They must know that I'm not a quitter. I'm not running against time anymore now, I'm running against myself.

At 39K, my strategy is walk 100 run 100. On top of the cramps, I'm starting to feel sharp pain at my rib cage. I was trying as hard as I could to run, but the legs just wont give in, it will just lock.

As I see the finishing line, I was trying with all my might to run, I dont want to finish a marathon walking. But I couldnt bend my legs anymore now, little bend will cause severe cramps. I was limping 100m from fininsh. To withstand the pain, I was grinding my teeth so hard that I think it would crumble into sands.

50m from finish, the public was cheering for the finishers. I tried to run really slowly. I could hear Isma and Callie (frow work) cheering for me.

But my saviour, my angle, my wife came to me 30m from the line. She screamed on top of her lungs and dragged me to complete it running. I dont care abt the pain anymore, I ran as hard as I could without bending my legs at all, to reach the goal, the ulitimate recognisiton of being a MARATHONER. And so I did....Alhamdullillah. Thank God for giving me the opportunity to realised my dream, my everloving wife, the pillar of my strength. And my family and friends, for giving the me support.