Last 10km

It’s been raining every Saturday morning! It drizzled a little today, and I wasn’t sure if it would start pouring while I was running, so I decided to be safe and run in the gym….since my distance was only 10km today. I have been unfortunate to get a bit of a runny nose in the last week before my marathon!!! BAH! I think it’s because I got down from my car without an umbrella on Thursday night. I’m currently stuffing myself with Vitamin C daily…I pray pray pray I will recover by next week!!

SO off to the gym I went. And as usual, in Celebrity Fitness fashion, the gym wasn’t opened at 6.40am! CELEBRITY FITNESS IS TRULY A RUBBISH GYM. Members like me drag themselves out of bed early in the morning only to find these irresponsible gym attendants not opening the gym on time.

So anyway, did a fast (according to my pace that is) 10km.

Oh woe is me. I hope my runny nose dries up by tomorrow.

Last Long Run

Did my last long run before the race...20km. It rained again this morning! Good thing it stopped by 6.20am so at least I could still run today and not have to worry about it tomorrow.

On the way back, I actually got "picked up". Haha, first time I ever got "picked up" while running, considering I am so slow! At about the 15th km, I saw a guy running towards me, and he was fiddling with his ipod. He stopped me and asked if he could run back with me. He was a novice on the 10km route (although he looked reasonably fit, I am sure he could have run faster) and said this was his second time on this route. I was actually running at a reasonably fast pace, but I slowed down and we ran back together. What the heck I thought, it's kind of nice to have someone to run with and talk to - considering I've been doing the Lone Ranger for almost 4 months now.

That's the end of long runs for now. It will be short runs until race day.

Pet Peeves in the Gym

1. People who don't wipe their sweat off machines

2. People who don't return free weights to the rack ESPECIALLY heavy weights

3. People who don't return free weights to the original place on the rack

4. people who stop to talk to you when you are SO DYING to get on with your exercise, and they end up wasting 10 minutes of your time because they can't stop talking.

5. People who fart while exercisig (trust me, there's a guy who constantly farts on the treadmill. Imagine you are sprinting and gasping for air, how horrible can that be???)

6. People who hog the entire floorspace when you're trying to do your abs

7. Guys/girls who are there to be seen.

8. People who don't understand the concept of personal space and come and workout too close to you

9.When you're using a particular equipment and some person comes and uses the equipment next to yours and gets in your way

10.No towels

Winding Down

Post 35km pleasure! I'm beginning to taper off now....ran 25km today (Sunday) since it poured cats and dogs yesterday. What a bummer. I woke up at 5am yesterday and it was drizzling. I thought the rain had come to a tail end so I happily drove myself to Lake Gardens. Horrors, by the time i got there it started pouring cats and dogs!Never mind, I was optimistic enough to think the rain would stop (as it had at my house)...but noooooo.....it went ON and ON and ON. I slept it my car waiting for the rain to stop..by the time it was 6.50am I knew there was no chance it would stop so soon. THe rain eventually subsided only at 8am.

SO....I ran 25km today. Great run, strong.

BUt I am so sore now! I can't wait to feast at Daily Grind tonight! FOod always tastes so much better after a minimum of 20km run!

Oh ya, tried my new socks today. They still got drenched although they dont feel as icky coz they are light. Well for RM49 per pair I'd better believe it works!

Is it safe to run a marathon?

This article is taken from Runner's World. Actually it isn't a bad idea dying while running....die happy what..

So sorry, Doc, to hear one of your runners at the NYC marathon didn’t make it. It seems that every time I pick up the newspaper after a major marathon, I hear of a death. Is it really safe to run a marathon? - Jeffrey S., Chicago

Thanks, Jeffrey. This question already has my office phones ringing off the hook. (Actually, two runners died after last weekend's New York City Marathon.) It's a timely topic, too, as Amby Burfoot writes at length about this in the December 2008 issue of Runner's World; click here to read his special report.)

On the days following a marathon, not only am I treating all the aches and pains associated with running this event, I am also answering this sort of question. Time to re-emphasize some important points I first wrote about in my post "Can I prevent 'sudden death' while exercising?" back in November 2007.

Marathon running is safe for those cleared by their doctors to compete. Although the worldwide statistic is about one death in 50,000 participants or one in 75,000 (depending on the study), and this is quite small, whenever you get a large number of people together in one place, there are “expected” demises.

All who experience “sudden death” have an underlying cause. This points out the need for everyone to get a stress test after age 40 or earlier if recommended by their physician and get checked if they experience chest pain, pressure, shortness of breath, or some other abnormal feeling while exercising. This also points out the need for everyone to fill out the medical information label on the back of their bib number so as to make it easier for emergency personnel to take care of you if needed.

Speaking of which, here's an example of the kind of story you don’t read about:

In this year's marathon, a man was resuscitated on the 59th Street Bridge (he had no pulse and wasn’t breathing; a med team and ambulance were there in two minutes) and rushed to the hospital. He was having a heart attack. The man had angioplasty and will walk out of the hospital to someday run again! With thousands of medical volunteers and an ambulance system tuned to caring for our runners, response time, the greatest indicator for survival, was dramatic. Had he been sitting in his living room, he may not have made it.

In other words: Assuming you have all the appropriate pre-race health screening, running a marathon is safer than sitting in your living room. If you do your part, the marathon course may just be the safest place to be race day.

Enjoy the ride.

SOURCE: Runner's World/Ask the Running Doc

Poor Gus :(

The world's ugliest dog, Gus has died after battling with cancer. He was a one eyed 3 legged Chinese Crested dog. He was 9 years old.

RIP Gus.

Celebrity for life?

Got a call from Celebrity Fitness today, asking me to upgrade my membership to Diamond membership (lifetime). The guy got lambasted big time. I told him the gym needs to get their act together before approaching members for upgrades.No manager on duty, no towels to shortchanging us of personal training sessions were but only part of my complaints.

Honestly all they want is $ from us, then they will treat us like crap again. He confessed that they have staffing problems and turnover is high but hey, I am in retail/service line too, so as far as consumers are concerned, it's not their problem.

He kept saying that I will save a lot of $ by signing up but I told him, if i dont sign up I will at least have the option of joining another gym.

After what happened to Lifestyle Gym previously (ie chup lup)I don't mind paying slightly more for short term, and extend again later. I don't see the point of paying lifetime membership (although it is worth it for me) when I cant even be sure that the gym will survive.

Candidate for Heart Disease

There's been some studies conducted in Warwick University (UK) that people who sleep less than 7.5 hours have higher risk of having heart disease! I usually get by with 6-7 hours of sleep, some days about 5- 5.5 hours only

Looks like I am a potential candidate for heart disease...and kidney failure probably due to all the melamine I've consumed. I consume quite a bit of milk daily as I have cereals for breakfast.

To read on more, here's the article.

Solemates

Asics Gel Evo 3D


My solemate

My Asics Gel Evolution 3D has really served me well. Considering that I've run cumulatively 500km (minimum) with them, the outer soles are still in excellent condition. Both my brother and friend purchased the Hurricane 10 and for some strange reason the soles wore out pretty quickly..I took a look at my friend's soles today and they were terribly worn out. Granted, sometimes its the way a person runs, but even with all my shuffling, the Asics withstood all the thrashing.Unfortunately this wont be the pair that I will be taking for race day - I will be using Saucony Hurricane 9. I am usually a die-hard Hurricane fan but I had wanted to try out Asics this time, and I am impressed with it. I've also ordered a Hurricane 10, but I've been told the Hurricane 9 is sturdier than the 10 so Hurricane 9 is probably the shoes I will wear for race day.


My other solemate


This is the orthotics which I have been using.. this is my 2nd pair. It's a bit more elevated than my first pair. But I'll probably use my first pair for race day since that's what I have been using for my long distance runs. I'm easing myself into this 2nd pair and the longest distance I have gone in them is 8km.

Anyway I ran 8km outdoor today, boy I was still low on energy. Partially also because I did weights on legs yesterday, so I was struggling a bit uphill.Not to mention that I had Thai for dinner, and my stomach was burning a little!

But I am glad I ran even though I was tired.

Got Socked Alright..

In my earlier post Sock It To Me I mentioned that I needed new socks for the race. Well, I got them tonight...and the price sure knocked the socks off me. First of all, I am quite upset that New Balance is not giving discounts to Pacesetter members anymore..secondly, I paid an arm and leg for those socks!!

I think people would think that I am mad to pay RM49 for a pair of socks. 2 things to note: firstly, that I am a self confessed wannabe runner, so the thought of buying a pair of "marathon trainer" socks turned me on. Anything that I can associate myself with being a marathon runner, I will surely get sucked into. Secondly, I DO perpsire a lot - infact my socks are already drenched in the 8th km...and it's not exactly a nice sensation to be running in wet socks for the next 34km.

So there you go - I got sucked into buying New Balance Marathon trainer socks.

On the tag is says:
*Left/right - anatomically correct
*Friction-free Profelin Yarn in heel and toe eliminates blisters and skin irritation
*Tactel Nylon for comfort and moisture management
*2nd skin fit
*Arch support - stability and comfort

Well I am going to test it this week and see if it works any better.

If I Could be a "Heroes" hero(ine)..

..I'd be Claire Bennet. Why Claire? Because my tissues would then regenerate so fast that I'll be able to recover from each run quickly, and start running again soon after. Savvy? Oh yeah! Imagine being able to run marathon after marathon...or run a marathon every week. How cool can that be???

Not to mention also that I'd have a chance with Milo Ventimiglia!!(ah but then he'll actually be my uncle :P :P :P)

Did a recovery run of 3km on the treadmill today. My legs felt a bit heavy..was also a bit low on energy this morning until I reenergised myself with oats.

Watched "Quantum of Solace" yesterday...I rate it as "I enjoyed it while it lasted" (gee, that sounds like a one night stand! :P). Entertaining but forgettable. Extremely forgettable.

35km!

It was all quiet on the blogfront the whole of last week...Reason is that last weekend I did not run over the weekend..had a wedding to attend, plus I developed a cough. I had planned to run on Sunday instead of Saturday as I usually do, but I decided against it since I did not have proper carbo loading during the wedding plus I had 1 glass of wine too many. Also having taken antibiotics the few days before, my body felt rather weak and I wasn't sure if i could pull off 30km.

The rest paid off though. I ran 35km today, and I felt extremely strong!Today I had my friend and brother with me, we started together but as usual I am the last to finish. I didn't carry my MP3 today as I wont be using it on the actual day itself...so why not emulate the same scenario. Also wore my running vest for the race - the maroon didn't feel too hot in the sun..I think. Don't think I felt a significant difference wearing red or maroon...i am sure the fluorescent yellow deflects light but...I'd like to wear something new for the race. (It's not superstition, just VANITY)

I was in top form today, even from 20-30km I was going strong. What killed me was the last 2km, suddenly I developed a very bad stomach cramp...I don't think it was from dehydration as I ensured that I was well hydrated during the run..I don't know what it was, it felt like a period cramp but it couldnt possibly be as it wasnt that time.. I sure hope I dont have the same thing for the real run. Maybe I drank too much water.

Even as I finished my last leg, my calves were sore but my legs felt like they could go on. Was still quite energetic...it was that cramp which slowed me down.

There. I've completed 35km. I'm just looking forward to tapering down...and to 7th December.