Sun's in my eyes

HURRAAHHH!!! What fantastic weather today. For the first time in weeks I am so glad to see the sun bursting right out of the sky. Haze has cleared in the last 2 days..I hope it will remain this way. Pity today I'm not running outdoor, as I'd decided to do it yesterday - my usual 6.6km. Thought I'd rest and go to the gym instead to recover for a long run over the weekend.

Legs day today.

Hurricane Preferred

I had a good 7km run this morning. Tested out my Saucony Triumph. Very sturdy shoe, but C-Cube is quite right in saying that it's quite tight. Although I bought half a size bigger than my usual size, I still found it pretty tight initially. It's definitely better than New Balance 1060 in my opinion, but Hurricane fitted me more like a glove. I just love how sturdy Saucony shoes are. It even feels like it stabilizes your knees. And I believe that even when you're tired, a good pair of running shoes will help you run fast. Today my calf muscles were still pretty sore from Sunday, but yet I ran the fastest 7km I have ever run (Aiya wasted, I didn't time myself..but I knew for sure Jin and Hsiung were far behind and it's VERY RARE they dont catch up with me after 7km)

So I've decided. It's Hurricane for the race.

28km

Ran 28km last Sunday. Due to my indiscipline of late night on Friday, I woke up on Saturday morning feeling sick, and to make things worse, I had thosai and curry for breakfast (made by my neighbour for Deepavali). Lunch time i popped over to a friend's and had overdose of curry as well. I ended up feeling quite sick on Saturday and could not work much. Not to forget I missed my usual run.

But as a result of overeating, I had to force myself to run on Sunday. Woke up feeling not-quite-recovered but nevertheless went for a run..and I achieved 28km without dying! 2 points - point no 1 i think i was well rested from Saturday
-point no 2: it was much easier to achieve this 28km compared to the first time i did it in 2004.
Thanks to KC, who ran with me until about 15km before I decided I was going to U turn and do a longer run.

Hopefully the HK trip won't foil my training much.

Bombed

Had a nice foot massage this morning. Despite all the stretching I do, it's still good to go for a massage once in a while to loosen up all the tight muscles. Ran 6km on treadmill indoors today..haze is worsening, there's no improvement despite heavy downpour. Overdid it at dinner yesterday. Had dinner at Lake Club, in the Orchid Room.

I had grilled salmon with baked potatoes and vege, and then had the killer: Bombe Alaska...a sponge cake topped with diced fresh fruit and vanilla ice cream, encapsulated by merangue drowned with rum and set aflame.

I'm so disappointed in myself, it's already so difficult to lose weight and now I'm even packing on the pounds. Sigh. Need to discipline myself in my diet.

Here Comes the Rain Again

RAIN!!!!!! Hurrah!!! (no, not the Korean popster)

Ran 9km Pantai Hills + Terasek. This is crazy, with the haze and all. When will it come to an end??

4km run on treadmill
Push ups
Upright row
Cable row
Cable pullover
Crunches

Hmmph. Haze not cleared yet. >:(

25km

Failed miserably today. Had planned to do 28km but all I could manage was 25km. Well, I suppose that's 1km more than last week. But I was in poor form today. I think it's because I haven't had any rest since last Sunday.

Wasn't sure if I wanted to run today as there was still some haze, but I figured out it's not going to get that much better by tomorrow. Anyway better to do it today so that I have a full Sunday to do my studies. The first 10km was tiring, the 2nd 10km was even more tiring, and the last 5 km I just died.,..had to go very very slow. Even the Power bar didn't help. Rest is really important, because it helps your muscles to recover so that they can perform better. Struggled a bit with my running belt, as the water was getting very heavy and at the same it kept slipping down.I think I took nearly 3 hours for the whole run. Baaadd.

Getting Clearer

The haze has cleared up quite a bit! There's still traces of it, but I would consider it quite "normal"...it's one of those days that look a bit hazy but I wouln't hesitate to go out for a run. I think runners' tolerance to haze is quite high. Or maybe we are just justifying ourselves because we can't go without running.

Ran 6.6km today. I think my speed has improved a little. My mental strength has also improved a little. I'm doing pretty well in my running now, I dread to think what the 1 week in Hong Kong is going to do to me. I think the trick is to just take it easy and not put too much pressure on myself. When I return from Hong Kong, I will take it slow, and just treat any LSD as my usual exercise.

Of Hurricanes and Haze

Tested my Saucony Hurricane today on an 8km run in Pantai Hills. If I had to use one word to describe Hurricane, it is STABLE. Very firm and sturdy. This is my 3rd pair of Hurricane, and I get maximum satisfaction out of every pair I have owned. The sole is a lot thicker, which is good because I am more heavy set, and it helps a lot with shock absorption. I love it! I love it! 99% satisfaction guaranteed.(I don't believe anything is 100%.. i think.)

Since the haze was still quite bad this morning, I decided to run indoor(treadmill). I consulted Jenny and even she, who would usually run in ALL conditions, suggested we do indoor. Hsiung on the other hand, has been slacking and for the life of me I can't understand why he is so keen to run outdoors today. I think he was guilty because he missed his run on Saturday. So somehow, after running on the treadmill about 5 mins, Hsiung came along and persuaded us to do outdoor. Against my better judgment, I agreed to go.

I nearly died. At the peak of Pantai Hills, I could not even see KL Tower nor Twin Towers. That's how bad it was. I'm getting sick of the haze. Year in, year out.

It's raining now. I hope the haze clears.

Over the Weekend

Here's what happened last weekend:

Saturday
Decided not to run on Saturday as the haze was still quite bad. As I opened the door I was welcomed with a whiff of smoke and thick acrid haze. (Actually I was still quite down so had no mood to run, coupled with the depressing haze). Anyway, my friend's mom invited me to go for ALAN TAM concert in Bukit Jalil. What a joke! A banana in a Chinese concert.

I ended up enjoying the concert, although I didn't understand a single word he sang except for "pang yau". I understood him when he spoke but somehow I couldn't understand him when he sang - I guess the language is more poetic in the songs. Mandarin songs - worse still - don't understand anything. We got the RM340 VIP seats , which was quite near the stage. I thought Alan was a little tubby, and as a result couldn't hop around as much. The stage and special effects were wonderful, with fireworks and streamers bursting. Even the dancers were really good. Costume - Alan's costume - so so only. Despite the banana I am, I recognised some of his really old songs like Fantasy and Lorelei (if those are the actual titles). Also recognised the English songs which were translated, like "THe Look", "Hand in hand" and "All out of love".

The concert was value for money - 3 full hours of excitement and entertainment. Good thing I wasn't busting to go to toilet. One thing I don't understand about the organisers is that, they don't permit us to bring bottled water in but they permit people to bring in cigarette lighters. Some bozo's were smoking during the show - that was SO annoying. I had a great time and so did aunty. My first Chinese concert ever and I enjoyed it thoroughly! Jesscet - can burn some Alan Tam songs for me ah?

Sunday
OK - felt guilty about not running yesterday, so decided to join Jenny for a run today. Clocked in 24km...it was a great run. I was in top form considering I didn't eat well on Saturday. All I had were 2 sandwiches, 1 glass of red bean soup and 2 slices of banana cake the whole day. But I had Power Bar that morning and it really gave me lots of energy. Finished 20km in good time, i took about 2 hours 8 mins when i usually take 2 hours 15 mins. But I DIED the rest of the 4km. Was supposed to do 25km but I cheated a bit and did 24km.

All sore today, could only cycle in the gym. Did a bit of upper body as well.

Mel Boy

6.6km run today. My mood is so low that I didn't even feel better after running. Running has always been a great stress reliever for me but today I am saddened by a friend's departure to Hong Kong.

Finally!

Yay! My usual running buddies have decided to sign up for Singapore Marathon!Hsiung and Jin signed up for half though. And Jenny is downgrading from full to half. Nevertheless I am still glad they are going. It was extremely difficult to convince them to go, but Jenny reckons they were inspired by my training and determination.

I won't be doing LSD with them, in any case they won't be doing such long distances and I am ahead of them in training. I am glad I got to know some new Pacesetters, people like C-Cube, DK, Geraldine and a few others, I am very motivated to run. Infact I am even toying with the idea of doing an ultra marathon one fine day! Crazy or what.....

Increased distance slightly on my Pantai route. Ran 8.5km today. Adrenaline pumping. Also not in good mood, my heart rate has increased as though I've been running hills all day.

Fantasitic Sat morn run

Did a 20km on Saturday. Woke up in a bit of denial, didn’t feel like running but anyhow just dragged myself along. Had half a Power Bar before the run, it was still chilled and hard, I felt like a cow chewing on it. We started at about 6.10am. Weather was perfect – it drizzled a bit and it was breezy. I suffered during the 1^st 10km, my thighs felt like lead and I was struggling, especially at the slight slope where the government office is located. I rehydrated myself with a zesty 100+ at the Petronas station, and it helped to ease the soreness in my thighs. I guess my body must have been low in minerals.

Picked up speed during the 2^nd half, and completed the run in about 2 hours 15 mins. Showered after that and went immediately to work, was knackered!