~

Hey everyone!

Hope you guys have been still training. I picked up a minor knee lig. strain a couple o months back so took time off then. Have been easing back slowly and am pretty much back to full swing now.

Am running twice a week, boxing twice and doing str work once. Am up for any runs if anyone's interested. Schedule's pretty packed w/ postgrad apps and all, but am in the shape for and would be interested running something~ =)

Update Summaries~

Hi Everyone~

Still no word on how your official runs have been going... =\

Hope everyone's trainings been going well~ This blog seems kinda dead but I'll probably still post on it just to keep my training on track~ ;)

As before i've been focusing tons on speedwork lately..so runs are mostly sprints + recovery intervals...(speed being a relative term...on a competitive level i'm running like a middle aged man for my 5k...:P..though my mile time is okay i guess)...

Total Distance : 16500
Average Speed : 7 mph

Str Work
4800kg of lifts...plus misc body weight work...lifting is fun!...body work...not so fun....

Rest week next week!

Messaged everyone on a run on facebook....message back if interested ya~ ;)

Current Year Targets

sub 5 minute mile (faster then 19.3kph/12mph)
20 minute 5k (15kph/9.3 mph)

Current Status

5:45 minute mile (16.8kph/10.4mph) [ran this about a month ago. Due for a record run in 2 weeks... must...improve time....]

25 minute 5k (12kph/7.46mph) [just ran this record yesterday....time still kinda sucks....must improve!]

John : Week 19,20,21

Hi Everyone~

How'd the King of the road + the other runs go?...hope to hear from you guys soon.... :)

Haven't been posting much here since me and ash seem to be the only ones.. :P...though as usual i've been keeping detailed training logs....been focusing on pace for the past couple o weeks...wasn't happy with the pace i kept at for the std charted 10k... =\....also training heavily to get back into the ring (boxing) so tons of explosive strength and str endurance workouts going on in the background....

Total Distance : 18000m (6 runs of varying distances)
Total Time : 96 min
Average Speed : 11.25kph/7 mph

Str work
3000kg lifts...deads...squats...bent and bench presses mostly....just started w/ the side press...it's a bitch....can barely handle 20kg/hand in it...=\....think there are some girls who can handle more...hhahahaha....well at least the rest of the lifts are alright... :)

B.W work...
60 chins
80 squats
60 dips
100 lunges
150 pushups
240 crunches
120 supermen

I'm tired....might take next week easy... :)

Full Results out~

Hey everyone...full results for the 10k categories are out... =D

Browsed a couple o results (btw, for cross comparison between ourselves we should use the net time which is actually our personal bib times =)....)...think nellie got a 3 minute boost... =D

Heheh....plus now that we know the total number of runners we can calculate relative performance...i'm in the top 16% of the men's 10k class... =P

Targets~

Just some random musings.....

Speed division's a rather controversial issue among runners....few debate the 4mph walking barrier (beyond which almost everyone starts jogging instead of walking...lest a brisk walking style is adopted)....the jog/run division is a battlezone tgh....some camps believe it doesn't exist...others that there are differences between the two....it does make a lot of sense to factor in height and stride length into the equation....based on my run experiences i would divide speeds into the following categories.....just in case anyone's curious... ;P

Average Walk		3 mph
Fast Walk		4 mph
Jog		5 mph
Fast Jog		6 mph
Run Zone		9 mph
Sprint Zone		15 mph

~

On another note...i'll be heading back to the ring to pick up boxing again....(gotta get a new set of gloves tgh.....)... =)....gonna be seeing a lot more fast miles and 5k marks popping up...and probably less long runs.....hardcore endurance being a lil counterproductive to developing what I need in the ring... =\ ....will probably be joining the "shorter" distances in future races (3k/5k/7k/ occasionally 10k) and focus on tight explosive times....

Could feel the training clash during the recent 10k....body felt wonderful in the last mile sprint...but all the slower bits didnt feel too brilliant.... =\...time reflective of such too....guess i should start following the ol' sit on one chair maxim...hehe....

Goal = Sub 20min 5k, sub 45 10k....

So i won't be slacking off by any means~ =P...looking forward to future runs with everyone....and the occasional training run? ;)

Std Chartered run~

Whew~ what a run~

Just stat updates for now... :P...

Official Total distance : 10.62 (bit of slopey course tgh, so a tack on a bit. :P)
Startline Clock Time : 1 hour 3 minutes
Average Speed : 10.11kph/6.3mph

I like to compare my runs on a performance ratio to previous runs....a constant ratio (1:1) indicative of having mantained my pacing despite milage increase (gets tons harder the faster you get!).....taking my first 5k as 1 my current ratios for past races...a decline in ratio = slower pacing...increase = pace increase (sadly rather uncommon once you're in relatively decent shape...one or the other in that case....rarely both... =\...)

5 k = 1.00
7 k = 0.98 (virtually identical pacing)
10k = 0.90 [vs 7k]/0.89 [vs 5k] (bit of a pace decline....would have had to run 58 to mantain)

computed asha's...nellies and my sisters performance ratios...couldnt recall May's and siew li's 5k times tgh (and there's no post on that.....)... =\

Asha

5k = 1.00
7k = 1.05
10k = 0.98 [vs 7k]/1.03 [vs 5k]

Sis
5k = 1.00
10k = 0.92

Nellie
5k = 1.00
10k = 1.05

John : Week 18

A lovely rest week....skipped one run this week due to a nasty haze spell on that day.....ran two (approximately) mile runs....one at my usual pace...and one...for a new record~!...hahaha~....managed to trim 35 seconds off my previous best mile run time. :)

Times follow~

Run 1
Distance : 1525
Time : 9 min 29 sec
Speed : 9.65kph/6mph

Run 2 (record run)
Distance : 1610
Time : 5 min 45 sec
Speed : 16.8kph/10.4mph

Total Distance : 3135
Total Time : 15 min 14 sec
Average Speed : 12.4kph/7.7mph

Asha: Week 17 & Week 18

Did my 9k run on Week 17... Stats for that and total stats follows...

Week 17

Distance: 9.1k
Time: 96 minutes
Speed: 5.688 km/h

Not good at all... The last 1 - 1.5 k was really difficult... :/ However, I still want to try and finish the 10k in 90 minutes, so that will be my goal... :)

Total distance: 18.47km
Time:182 minutes
Average speed: 6.089km/h or 3.805mph

Week 18 (rest week.. yay!)

Total distance: 4.55km
Time: 43minutes
Average speed: 6.349km/h or 3.98mph

John : Week 17

Mostly speed work this week...feels really great to be back in training... =D...did do two runs tgh...times follow...

Run 1
Distance : 4000m
Time : 23 min 13 sec
Speed : 10.4kph/6.5mph

Run 2
Distance : 9067m
Time : 57 min
Speed : 9.54kph/5.93mph

Run 2 was my long run of the week...gearing up for the upcoming 10k....target time was actually 54 min...so i dipped a wee bit below that....probably due to the brisk walk session (tis a long story) I had bout a half hour before the run (2.8k in 30 min, 5.6kph) and another 2.2k walk (6kph) to actually get to the run site (ran at gardens)....ankles felt a bit strained so i decided not to push (also had the 2k walk home in mind..a walk which was anything but brisk..hahah~)....just need to be well rested on the 10k run day itself and I'm fairly certain i'll be able to hit a sub hour time... :P

Total Milage (without/with walks) : 13067m/17867m
Total Time : 80 min /130min
Total Speed including walks : 8.2kph/5.12mph
Total Speed excluding walks : 9.8kph/6.1mph

All in all....a decent week...next week...REST!..

John : Week 16

Focused more on strength work this week....1.6 tonnes of weights....and some light running...

Total distance : 4000m
Time : 22:35
Speed : 10.6kph/6.6mph

Asha: Week 14b-16

I call it 14b cause based on the schedule, I went back to week 14... :)

Anyway, the lack of updates have been due to busyness and laziness... Hehehe...

After we got back from Redang, I manage to squeeze in a long run.. Not sure where this fits... :P

Distance: about 5.1 km
Time: 50 minutes
Speed: 6.120 km/h

Week 14b

Total distance: 6.11km (not including around 4km of walking)
Time: 58mins
Average speed: 6.32km/h or 3.95mph

Week 15

Total distance: 11.1km
Time: 105 mins
Average speed: 6.343km/h or 3.964mph

Week 16 (rest week)

Total distance: 9.62km
Time: 89mins
Average speed: 6.485kmh or 4.053mph

Going to be running a 9k run this weekend! Anyone care to join? :)

How is everyone else's training going? :D

John : Week 15

Hi Everyone~

Hope training's been going well... ;)

My week run stats...had 3 runs this week....short 2.2k one...med 4.4k one...longer 6.6k one....also did tons of strength work this week and quite a bit of walking (about 4 miles worth)....times have dipped a little of course given the additional load on my body and the fact that i've switched to sloped routes... :)...run stats for each run is relatively similar , plus the route was the same for each (just *2 and *3 respectively for the longer runs) so i'll just report total stats...

Total Distance = 13100m (there's a bit of rounding up for each run in the distances listed above..this is the actual distance)
Total Time = 80 min 45 sec
Average speed = 9.7kph/6.0mph

John : Week 14

Took a bit of a break from regular runs to introduce strength focused weights and other stuff to my physical routine....did do one stair run though...stats follow... ;)

Total Floorage? : 40 Stories (up and down)
# of stairs : 760 (one way)
Vertical Distance : 114 m
Total time (all the way up and down) : 10 minutes 20 seconds
Average time per storey (up and down) : 15.5 seconds

Also lifted 1200kg in a single weight session...good start of a new wave cycle... =)

Asha: Week 14

Did one run this week, as it was a rest week after the 7k run...

Total distance: 1.52km
Time: 15 mins
speed: 6.08 km/h or 3.8 mph

Should be back to training some time next week for the 10k after a short break... :D Hope everyone else's training's been good!

Graveyard run recap

Finally got some time this week to write up about the 7k run...

So, it started with me getting up at 6.15am (after a night of restless sleep lasting about 3 hours) and arriving at the race venue by 6.35am (after the blunder at Jalil, I became paranoid)... Sis and brother dropped me off and walked around the place and waited for the rest... Got a call from Waiz and went down to meet Waiz, Xiu, John and John's sis, Rebecca...
Then, the loooong wait began... After hanging around for a while, it was warm-up dancing galore!! :) Most of the people were pretty gung-ho about doing the dance (including John and Waiz's hilarious interpretations... hehehe...)...

After a restless wait till 8am, there was a sudden rush to the starting line for the 7k.. Xiu and I waited together somewhere in the middle of the starting line group and waited for the blowhorn...

Then, we were off! This time, I was able to pace myself from the start.. Some people shot off, of course.. Managed to pass some of them a few minutes in (when they got tired... hehehe...). Was weird running down the road I have been taking for eons to get back home.. but was a nice feeling :).. Continued running till I arrived the graveyard enterance... Was by passed by some school kids... Hahaha...

From the graveyard entrance, I started running slower cuz it was getting slopey... Took short breaks in between... The graveyard was really nice... very serene... And it was my first time in a Chinese graveyard, so it was interesting to see what it was like... However, I was wondering whether it was ok for us to run over some of the graves at some points... :/

The first part in the graveyard end and I was getting pretty thirsty at this point and was tempted to stop and buy from a person selling water by the side... It was really really hot! But, I pushed on and went on to the 2nd part of running in graveyard... This one was a little easier (initially that is)...

While running downhill at one point, some dude saw me running and yelled "Gambate!".. Hahaha.. Then, came the toughest part of the run! A freaking steep uphill stretch... I walked up this part... Then, joined the the main road and made my way to the final stretch... Got to the final stretch, passed a whole bunch of people (around 30-40 of them)... However, was forced to stop by the traffic police and the all the people caught up.. :(

Jogged/walked my way to the finish line and got ambushed (and shoved) by Waiz... hehehe... Did better than I expected... Target time was around 70 mins.. Finished it in 66... Hoorah! :)

It was a fun race, with some interesting elements thrown in (the dance shall remain in the my memory forever... hahaa...) Will be probably try and join next year's one... :)

Looking forward to the 10k... Should be a bit of a challenge for me... :D

Asha: Week 13

Only did one run for Week 13 (the week before the 7k)... The week of the 7k run I was down with food poisoning, so I rested till the 7k run... ;)

Week 13

Distance: 3.13km
Time: 33 mins
Speed: 5.690 km/h or 3.557mph

How far can you go? :P

Heheheh~ added up all the runs i've had since we started.....total milage atm lets me go from my house to port dickson (assuming it's remotely possible to run in a straghit line...hahahah~)

John : Week 13

Hmmmm~ how's everyone training been going? Havent been hearing much from anyone... :P

Just one gentle recovery run for me this week~ ;)

Total distance : 2790m
Total time : 19 min
average speed : 8.8kph/5.5mph

Larian Kubur : Extended Writeup

*edit* grp pic added. Taken from xiuli's facebook. :P

Bit of run background...seems the thing's been around since bout 2001. It's one of those runs where they dont really keep track of placings beyond the top 30 so it's tough to know how well you did. Luckily enough it seems that they use the same distance and route each year so a bit o digging turned up some times that can roughly be used to estimate how well one did. These are placings and times from 2006 that i dug up from personal blogs. :P

*edit* : Top 30 qualifying time this year was 30'50......damn....need to buck up for future runs...bah~ +P

Men open 7k
1st 29:03
2nd 29.15
8th 35:10
15th 36:45

Women open 7k
2nd 42.xx
3rd 42.56

Seems rather clear that this year's pool was more competitive. Dont see any african runners in the 2006 top listings but there were a bunch this year. =\. Run experience follows!

Been sleeping at 6am for the past 2 weeks or so so i just couldnt go to bed early. Ended up sleeping at 5 and getting up at 6....hahahah~ felt relatively rested...changed...ate chocs....woke up sis....headed to meet waiz and xiu who were dropping by to pick us up....was a little worried that we'd be late (turns out later that fear was very much unwarranted!).....got to the carpark....walked over to the field where everyone was gathering...meeting up with ash on the way....

got there at 7....to hear the same announcements over and over again...."no more registering! wear the damn shirt! Don't litter! Put your sticker on! Dont lose your coupon or we'll refuse to give you a bun!".... =P....after a bit they started with the opening....dull speech (brought back memories of high school assemblies)....opening ceremony.....then.....dancing time!....a guy came on stage to lead us all in a warmup...rather...memorable one... =P...tis difficult to describe but i shall try....clap clap...kay yow! shout...obscene looking hip thrusting gesture to the right while shouting "oof off" (apparently the feet were doing stome stuff i couldnt see from where i was standing)...obscene looking hip thrusting gesture to the left while shouting "oof off"....spin hands by side of head like a mad man....the other side....repeat ad infinitum.....amusing dance that served as the source of many jokes later.....i propose we have it as our group cheer!...hahahaha~

All this went on for bout an hour so we got to the line at 8....racing mind mode....go!....(me, ash and my sis tracked the route the night before so we knew what to expect)....nice level wide 1.75k stretch first.....africans and rather fit indian runners leading already....tons of runners dashing like mad...didnt bother matching since i knew the pace i could keep for the run....pace pace pace....reach the first "marker" the cemetery entrance....from here on the route was mostly upslope downslope....the final one being a rather long upslope....the cemetery itself was really beautiful tgh...clear air...blue skies....stillness...lovely place to run....started overtaking most of the sprinters on the upslopes....overtook some runners that i didnt expect to be able to pass....no sign of the africans tgh...ah well...someday.....heheheh.....singled out 3 runners that seemed to be at a similar level of fitness and set beating them as my race target.....run run run....3 of us playing the overtake be overtaken game....was keeping a steady pace tgh, they were the ones speeding up and slowing down.....knowing that the track after the final upslope was mostly all level i walked the final bit of it gearing up for a fast run once over the slope.....over the slope!....fast run time....

Rest of it was pretty much textbook running...fast pacing till the final k....fast dash to the finish line....didnt manage to make the cut for the top 30 this time....ah well... =P....final time 38min....

Hang around the line....sis was the first across....33-34 minutes (5k)....xiu li next at 50....waiz at 57....then ash at 67.....we didnt stay for the ceremony tgh....went off to breakfield for a pork noodles breakfast....joked and talked till we parted ways....got home typed the brief report...and went for a nap~






All in all...a rather fun run....:D...will defintely be in for it again next year if I'm still about....heheheh~

and finally a quote from waiz about the run...hehehe~...

Graveyard Run

Whew~ Just got back a bit ago from it all...will post a longer detailing after a nap....brief report....we all finished...none with medals sadly.... =P ...the track was pretty good, quite a few slopes..straight line distance is 6200 so there should be about 800m worth of "hidden incline" in the track...not very hidden when you're running it tgh... :P...total distance 7000m~

times follow

John : 38 min, average speed = 11kph/6.9mph
Xiuli : 50 min, average speed = 8.4kph/5.2mph
Waiz : 57 min, average speed = 7.4kph/4.6mph
Asha : 67 min, average speed = 6.3kph/3.9mph

my younger sis ran the 5k...her times follow. :P

Becca : 33 (34?) min, average speed = 9kph/5.7mph

will upload pics and a vid or two as well as elab more on the track, the xp and dancing fun!...hahahaha~...i'm sure the rest of the grp'll also be sharing theirs too soon... =D

Larian Bomba? :P

The run details are out. Tis a 10k affair on the 10th of May. A bit soon for me given the upcoming graveyard run. Want to get some serious training in. Though if any of you guys are interested in getting some running done before the standard chartered affair.. :P...medals for the top 75....hmmmm~ might be tempted to join..see how it goes...

http://runnaz.blogspot.com/2009/04/larian-bersama-bomba-2009-form.html

There's also a fun run organized by the klang pacers. Just 4.5k on the 7th of June. Deadline for registering 24th of May (but spaces are limited!). =P. Will probably be joining just for the fun of it.heheheh~

http://klang-pacers.blogspot.com/2009/03/open-for-registration-now-date-7th-june.html

And of course the upcoming std. chartered run. All registered? I havent yet (missed the 10bucks early bird but not too worried about that. =P). Will definitely be in for that one.

Calender

7 May - Closing date of registration for the bomba run
10 May - Bomba run (10k)
24 May - Klang pacers registration deadline
1 June - End of normal reg for standard chartered run
7 June - Klang pacers run (4.5k fun)
15 June - End of reg for chartered run
28 June - Chartered run (10k right? :P)

Well, the cemetery runners'll be off in a couple o hours for our 7k run! Wish us luck. :)

John : Week 12

Just one easy short run this week....might do another warm up type run sometime later this week...but might just unwind till sun~

Run 1
Distance : 1865m
Total time : 9min 55sec
Average speed : 11.3kph/7mph

Run 2
Distance : 7000m
Total time : 38 min
Average speed : 11kph/6.9mph

Total of runs

Distance : 8865m
Time : 48 min
Average speed : 11kph/6.88mph

Asha: Week 12

Only managed one run this week... Wanted to do a 7k one on Sunday but that one was rained out (long story...)..

Distance: 1.93km
Time: 17 minutes
Speed: 6.812 km/h or 4.257mph

I think I was still exhausted from my 6k run a few days before this one, so I actually took more breaks than I should have... Not one my best runs I think... However, really excited about the 7k one! Yay!! :D

John : Week 11

Decided to do hill runs this week given the fact that the upcoming Larian Kubur's route is said to be rather hilly (will know more of it when we [ash, waiz, me , xiu, maybe my sis] walk the route sometime this week. Though the times and speed may suggest a lack of improvement over the past week, note that the routes tackled this week were far tougher then the ones i've run the weeks before... =P

Uphill Distance : 1485 m
Downhill Distance : 700 downhill
Slopy Distance : 7532 m
Total Distance : 9712 m
Total time : 59min 30sec
Average speed : 9.8kph/6.1mph

Total of two runs, one long nonstop 7.4k one and another short 2.4k one which had two 3 minute breaks in it. All in all a decent run week...looking forward to tackling the graveyard... ;)

Asha: Week 11

This week was tough, cause the distances have increased... Stats follows..

Total distance: 9.372 km
Total time: 93 minutes
Average speed: 6.0465 km/h or 3.779 mph

So, how about the group run next week? Maybe we can have two competitive runs some time soon? One in Lake Gardens, the other in ttdi? :)

Group Run Proposal

Anyone up for a group run next week friday/saturday/sunday?

I propose we have a "competitive" 5k+ group run. Not too picky on location, but am picky on the fact that the distance must be very well determined and verified. =P.

Was thinking of the roads near college but the place is all clouded on googleearth so i can't accurately chart the route (the superimposed road system can be quite a bit off at times).

Anyone have a route in mind? As a fallback there's always gardens. See 5006m route (measured distance in 3 laps below).

Fuz: Updates

Today's run was disappointing as I really was not prepared for it at all. Firstly, had a lack of sleep due to the large dose of mocha latte the night before (thanks to you, John) and pretty much stayed up till 4AM fixing the computer before I went to sleep. Woke up at 6AM in order to get to college.

Came back around 3pm and took a nap before waking up at 6pm then straight to the running trail in Taman Rakyat Klang. So I was sleep deprived, groggy and hungry as my only meal was at 9.30AM.

I have a love/hate thing with TRK as the route I chose is pretty much uphill on the get go and a few more uphill battles in the middle of the route so it's pretty tiring. I have no idea how long is the total park route length, but from google its estimated at 6 miles. I took a shorter one, so I can only estimate it at 3-4 miles? Did 1 lap with 20:08, on my second lap, 4 minutes in I began to feel sharp pains to my kidney area, so I decided to walked it off instead of continuing.

Distance: 3 miles
Time: 20:08 minutes
Speed: no idea

The whole track I think: http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/malaysia/klang/597959148

Something I found:

Nellie: Week 7 (Run 1, 2 & 3)

It was SS17 perimeter for all the runs we did this week.

Run 1 (Tuesday, 24th)

Distance: 2.65 km
Total time: 18 minutes (this is just an estimate, as somebody forgot to press start on his stopwatch...)
Average speed: 8.83 kmph

Run 2 (Thursday, 26th)

Distance: 2.65 km
Total time: 19:23 minutes
Average speed: 8.2 kmph

Apologies for going back on our words about joining you guys for Treakathon. It sounded like fun until I heard it was going to be muddy and slippery and possibly dangerous :(

We went for a run in the evening instead :)

Run 3 (Saturday, 28th)

Distance: 2.65 km
Total time: 19:32 minutes
Average speed: 8.14 kmph

For the second and third run, I actually wanted to extend to 4 km, but due to the falling dusk, it didn't seem very safe to continue my run. (Shaun did manage 4 km in the second run though).

Hmm if my estimation for the first run is correct, then it seems that my speed has slowed down a bit from first to the last run. A bit of a bummer there. Even so, I'm extremely pleased with myself because I have finally managed to overcome the mental block and ran through the course, no stopping whatsoever :D

Run Pics

Some pics from the warisan run~ Taken by Mr. Tey~

Nellie: Week 6 (Run 1 & Run 2)

The first run on Tuesday following our 5km marathon.

Week 6 (Run 1)

Distance: 2 km
Total time: (wasn't keeping time)
Average speed: Unknown

We ran the perimeter of SS17 but couldn't complete the entire course. Kinda expected this as we were probably still recovering from the massive workout two days before (5 km AND THEN futsal to top it off).

Decided to give our muscles a short break after that, so our next run was on Friday instead of our usual Thursday. However, instead of just a regular run we did fartleks and attempted a really short run after that (short because we were already so beat after the fartleks).

Week 6 (Run 2)

Fartlek distance: 310 m * 7 laps = 2.17 km
Total time: About 16 minutes
Average speed: 8.14 kmph

Run distance: 0.82 km
Total time: 4 minutes
Average speed: 12.3 kmph

My first trekathon... :P

And what a bloody trekathon it was... :)

Despite the rain... I was quite pumped up about it as it had been ages since I had been trekking..

Anyway.. initially, they started off by saying that girls start 5 mins later.. After all the girls were at the back of the line, the organisers changed their minds and said, everyone start together... It was a bit of a bummer cause with the slower guys holding up the rest, some of us were caught... And some of the girls were standing in the side lines had to push our ways through the moving crowd.. Kept getting caught behind people who had been running but abruptly stopped and started waling..

Arrived at the bridge and god, was the line loooong... Had to wait in line (longer than a cinema line, mind you)... I think I waited in line for a bout 5-7 minutes... Then, started the trek up the first uphill phase... Wasn't sooo bad.. Was panting at the end though... Slipped at a muddy area, but was fine.. Started the downhill trek with a bunch of girls crawling at snail pace... Tried to overtake them but they were all over the place...

Arrived at the stream and the girls were scared of the water (heehehe), so managed to swerve past them and jogged and walked my way through the stream... Was the nicest part of the whole race... Half way through the stream, some of the guys in front of me though they were lost and weren't sure where to go... I thought I was lost as well, but I kept following the stream...

Then began the monumental task of the 2nd uphill trek... The initial parts weren't so bad... Half way through, I took a break and was talking to some guys from the Business dept about what a bitch of the trek this was... :P Started singing to myself to keep motivated to continue.. About 200m away from the finish line, I start feeling faint, was seeing spots and felt like throwing up... Decided to sit down and take a rest... One of our former classmates (Yan Ling) was nice enough to come back and check up on me... :) After the rest, felt much better and started the final trek.. Was tough, but I could hear people's voices so I kept at it... What a relief it was to see the road... Took my number and met the rest of the gang (who were feasting already..)

It sucked being caught behind all those people... Lesson learnt: Don't be too nice in a run and don't wait for others who are taking their time...

Time: 57 minutes
Distance: not sure.. but according to Josephine, about 2-3km

Overall female standings: 104 (would have been less if I hadn't stopped for the break)

Staff ranking: 6

Oh well... It was my first hill run and my first trek in years... Was an interesting experience...

Now I'm actually looking forward to the 7k run as it'll probably not be as painful as this one... :P

Asha: Week 10

Did one run this week, in prep for the trekathon...

Distance: 1.42km
Time: 14 minutes
Speed: 6.086 km/h or 3.804 mph

Help Treakathon 2009

Hehehe....run xp follows....(p.s. wonder where the rest of you guys were...TTDI was represented by Siew Li alone...whereas lake gardens was represented in full...with a possible new convert too~! =P).....

Things begin the day before....a lovely storm that danced along portended a wet muddy trail come the day after....=\

Cue day itself...got up early.*groans*...got to college...took a ride over to the hill proper....time....7:30....race begins? 9am...groans.....hang around chatting and waiting impatiently.....jogged for a couple hundred meters to warm up before the run itself....race time!...we walk about 300-400 meters away from the hill itself....hang around waiting again...the usual announcements....bit of a thing with the female timings (ash/siew/joa/ will probably elab)...on your mark get set go!....mad dash towards the hill.....feels slightly strange to be madly dashing in a pack of people towards a lone hill in the distance....reach turnstile where lines wait patiently....no time for lines!...dash and duck under fence bars....dash dash....damn the mud....almost slip as a silly bugger in front of me slows down....spin past him...reach the bridge...and the dreaded single file uphill bit....damned slow line....climb up slowly....hoorah double lane...dash past people....run run run...downhill bit...trapped behind limp wristed afraid to fall dudes....patiently wait for the op to bypass each one....uphill bit....whew...haven't been running hills in ages....river!....run in the middle of the river against the current....luckily enough it's only about ankle deep.....bypass quite a few buggers....ooo uphill again....i wonder how long before it levels up...jog up jog up....bugger this...does it ever level up?...trek up trek up....great...i think it nvr does....it's gonna be like this till the end isn't it?....wish i had known...would have conserved energy at the start if i did....climb over trunks...push pass annoying branches....finally out!....finish line!....dash down staff lane...what? wrong lane?...dash back...and dash down another...what wrong lane?....dash back and down the third...collect a number....what? you're staff....ahh then the first lane was the right one......bugger this lot....end of race!.....collect water...glug while waiting for the next runners to come in.....the next baton goes to Joa so i'll let her tell her story....

Overall distance : have no idea...too much uphill and curves and water to really get a good measure....

Overall time : Including the 300-400m bit....20 minutes and a bit....

Overall Ranking : 17th place (out of all the departments and genders)

Male Ranking : 17th place

Staff ranking : 1st...though the commander didnt run this time around so i was one of only 2 male runners on the trek.....

Department (Bpsych) Ranking : 3rd (including both male and female runners)

All in all...a great run xp....havent run hills in ages....was nice tackling one.....kudos to all runners!.... =D...

wonder why they had that bit before the hill proper....we cant actually compare times with treks from previous years (assuming the same route was used) since there's that addition there... =\

Upcoming Runs and Deadlines

2 April - BHP deadline (tgh the 3000 limit may already have been hit. =\ )
10 April - Registration deadline for graveyard run (Rm 15)
12 April - BHP run (free) (11k)
18 April - Early bird registration for the Std. Chartered run (rm 40)
26 April - Graveyard Run (7k)
10 May - Larian bersama bomba anyone? (usually a 10k affair with placings for the top 50/75...not sure if i'll be ready to run for placing come may tgh...=\ )
1 June - Normal period registration for the std.chartered run (50)
15 June - late period for the std chartered run (60)
28th June - Std. Chartered run (10k?)

I'm assuming that we'll be going for the 10k run in the std?.. :P....that should be the aim for this year mid...if we're planning to run a full next year....heheheh~

John : Week 10

Whew~.....had two runs this week...one relatively light training one...and....the help 2009 trekathon!... =D...stats for the first follow...

Run 1
Total Distance : 1654m
Total Time : 8min 17sec
Average speed : 12kph/7.45mph

A relatively slow mile....just wanted to get into the distance mindset for the "treakathon"... :P...didnt run more or harder since i wanted to take the week easy for the weekend trek...

Fuz: Updates

This week I managed to run twice in Taman Rakyat, Klang. I have yet to figure out the exact length of the route I am taking, so I really have no idea the progress I am making. I did finish one full lap (for the route we chose) in about 18 minutes.

I am planning to run again today and tomorrow if possible, depending on the time factor. Finished 1 1/2 lap on Wednesday and 1 lap yesterday as I felt a slight cramp on my left leg and in the midst of walking it off, it dawned upon me that it was getting to dark to run in the middle of a jungle :/

I want this: http://www.runningexpo.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=130

If you lots see it anywhere in Malaysia, notify me :D

Oh, and I think this marathon is great for us: http://www.kl-marathon.com/ .. Got 5km, 10km or 12km for John alone.

Asha: Week 7, 8 & 9

So, I just realised I hadn't posted up the summary for the last few weeks.. So here they are...

Week 7

Total distance: 8.26 km
Time: 89mins
Average speed: 5.569 km/h or 3.48mph

This also includes the 5k Lake Gardens run with John and Joa... :) The stats for that

Total distance: 4.98km
Time: 52mins
Average speed: 5.75km/h or 3.59 mph


Week 8

Did only one run this week as it was our 5k run week... So, stats for that:

Total distance: 1km
Time: 10 mins
Average speed: 6.000km/h or 3.75mph

Stats for the 5k is already here... :)

Week 9

Did two runs this week as I felt quite tired when it was time for my first run... However, my long run today wasn't sooo bad.. :)

Total distance: 5.169 km
Total time: 54mins
Average speed: 5.7433 km/h or 3.59 mph

Should be an interesting and fun next few weeks as we have quite a few events coming up (trekathon, 7k run).. Hope to see you all that the trekathon!! :)

John : week 9

Whew~ A lovely well deserved recovery week....originally planned to jog twice...but one of the runs turned into a sparring session (long story~)....so i just had one short run over the weekend....didnt take it too heavy since next weekend's gonna be the help trekathon....hope so see some (if not all) of you guys there! :)

Total Distance : 3200m
Time :19 min
Speed : 10.1kph/6.3mph

Nellie: Larian Amal Seri Sinar 2009 / Week 5 (Run 3)

You know Nellie is busy at work, when her posts are getting more scarce and scarce.... :D

It really has been a long, hectic week. This will be a very short post.

To recap the event:
- Frantic start to the morning
- Paced self too slowly at beginning of the race
- There were at least 3 slopes
- Ran about half the course
- Walked up most of the slopes, ran down most of them
- Tried running up the slope to the finishing line, stopped, then ran the last few metres at Shaun's urging

Distance: 5.62 km (This is according to Google Map)
Total time: 46:19 minutes
Average speed: 7.28 kmph

Frankly, am a lil disappointed as I didn't do as well as I hoped I would. But I did manage to finish within the time frame I limited myself to, so I guess that was good. And I'm definitely happy that I actually completed the run :)

On to the next run!

Jimmy: Run 1

Well, it went well although we had some hiccups along the way, didn't we? People went missing, John and Asha started late, Wayne and Steph arrived too late to change into the given shirt.

But overall, I'm happy given the effort I put in and the end I achieved. Breakfast was too heavy for my liking, I could feel it nearing the end, forcing me to slow down in order to avoid it coming out. So lesson learned there.

Best part? Catching up and beating Wayne, who had sprinted ahead with Steph while I paced myself since we did not get a chance to warm up. Worst part? Seeing John (who started late as we all know) skipped past me like nothing. However, was pleased that I was able to keep up with Shaun (I was less than a minute behind him) and knowing that if I had trained more (I only ran twice, once in Lake Gardens the first time around, the next three days before the competition).

I'm still trying to get a good place to run in Klang that do not require me to drive and I need to get over the mental block. I was physically fine and had no pain issues after the run and futsal, so I know it was my mind and stomach giving up :D

Well, coming in fourth is not a bad thing given my condition, at least I beat Nellie :D

Distance : 5k
Time : 40:00
Speed : I have no idea.

My first ever 5k race..

hahaha.. I know the title sounds like an English essay from primary school, but I thought it would be appropriate...

Well, you guys got the earlier part of the story from John's... Ironically, as we were walking down the slope to the starting line, I heard the blow horn and said "imagine if that was the 5k run".. And guess what?.. It was... :/

Anyway, as John sprinted away in front, I started off running faster that I should have.. Covered around 1.5km in less than 10 mins, which is a big deal for me... Alas, probably paid the price for that blunder... Anyway, the area around the shop lots was pretty ok... Then, I hit the slopes.. I ran up all the slopes (albeit not very fast)... The downhill parts were a welcome relief... My goal was to finish in 48 mins, but with the delayed start and the unexpected slowness of running uphill, I was a tad disappointed with my time (my lake gardens run was better).. However, I'm happy that I finished my first ever race within 1 hour (yay!).. I must say that I learned a lot from this race... While I was taking breaks, I took notice of how the 10k runners were running... Now, I'm more determined to improve myself... Anyway, as the time was hitting 52-53 mins, I started running as fast as I could to the finish line (even with the freaking steep climb to the finish line, Joa was a witness to the end result of that on myself.. hehehe..)... Saw Joa waving at me frantically at the finish line... Was a tad disoriented after that... Got my first ever running medal!! :)

Distance: 5km
Time: 57 minutes
Average speed: 5.263 km/h (this sucks as my lake gardens run averaged at about 5.7.. :( )

On the plus side, I managed to pass some of the people who overtook me at the start (they started late too).. So, it's not all that bad (and breakfast was fun too!)... And had lots of fun training for it... Hopefully, there will come a day when you guys will have to buy me breakfast... Hahaha... ;) Regardless, kudos to all of us for finishing!! :D

Run Run~

See topic on discussion board on facebook group... =D

the 5km run

so the run was today. it was a hectic start to the run. the organizers were screaming their lungs out.. trying to get all the participants for the 5km run to the starting line. wonderful thing was, half the run group was missing. haha. after much deliberations, the rest of us decided to just go on.. and right on time too.. the whistle went off just as we reached the back of the hoard of people waiting at the starting line. lol.
first part of the run was relatively flat and downhill. had fun weaving in and out the crowd.. trying to get ahead of them. there were loads of kids around too. hehe. the last part of the run was a bitch though.. the slopes and the carbon monoxide =.=........plus crazy motorists drving in the running area. ><. that was the hard part of the run. by the time i was approaching the finishing line.. i was cussing in my head at why were all the bloody slopes at the end of the run... ISH.
anyways, got ambushed by john as soon as i crossed the finishing line. the dude wanted to know my time so he could determine just how late he was to the starting line. haha. got me finishing medal.. and apparently i placed 18 for the the female 5km catergory. got to go sandpaper the 3km part on the medal though =.=. i would say not bad for a first try. ^^

total time: 37 minutes
distance: 5km
average speed: 8.108km/h

best part of the day????? the finishing line and dim sum....

ps: nellie.. you were right.. i liked the siu mai loads.. ahha

"Competitive" run 1 experience

Whew~ great run guys...i had tons of fun...race xp follows...

Woke up pretty latish....bout 6:15?.....decided to spend the night over at Ash's place since i was a little worried bout the LRT/Taxi related delays....still we had everything prepper and left the place bout 6:25?....quick drive to the place...saw steff and wayne on the way....parked over at carpark B....had a nice walk through the park....got to the finishing line...met nellie and shaun (oops on our bit for not heading down....a fact we'd soon regret further~)....accompanied ren and siew li to the storage counter......thought we had tons of time so we were taking our sweet time to walk down....only to learn once we got down that the 5k pack had left~! 3+ minutes ago!....cue running burst....

Run Run run....can't see the main pack anywhere...curse curse curse....run run run.....ahhh there they are...about 800 meters ahead....curse curse....run faster....met siew li and ren (both started a little late too i think....).....feeling happier....run run....saw steff sorta skipping along (curious indeed) before starting to run in earnest....run run.....saw shaun next i think....run run....then jimmy.....then wayne.....then joa....my mental tally didn't have may and nellie....glanced back at the bend and saw may...but not Nellie....wondered briefly if Nellie was sprinting far ahead....just in case...ran faster....run run....stupid 3k family runners...admire form of some of the late 10kers...run downhill happily.....fuck...the slope....run slower....realized earlier pace was a bit too quick....ah well....run run....hoorah! turning....run run...fuck...another slope....still it's at the end...run faster.....cross line....stop time....glance at ranking card....relatively content...though for some reason I simply can't recall my position now.....still it didn't mean much given the 3+ minute delay....Hover around finishing line to see who was next and to get their time so i can figure out how delayed we were......hoorah~ up comes joa...18th place for the females i think.....her time was 37....my watch had almost 34...so delay was about 3 minutes....

Run stats

Distance : 5k/5.62k?
Time : 30:00
Speed : 10kph/6.22mph or 11.25kph/7mph

And now for our next run!....will start a forum on the facebook group....have your say on things there yar~... :P....ps jk with the elite runners line just in case anyone took it seriously~ hahahaha~....*toasts to the group*~....good run guys...the first of many God willing... :) ...

P.S. thanks for breakfast guys (in earnest...not a taunt... :P)...was a lovely gesture and reward.... =)

Running maps

The 5k maps are out on the run site... ;)

http://niterunning.blogspot.com/

John : Week 7

Since this Sunday's race day, i'll only be running once this week so i though i'd might as well post this week up... :)

Run 1
Total distance : 3275m
Total time: 17min 20 sec
Average speed : 11.34kph/7.05mph

Run 2 (race run)
Total distance : 5000m
Total time : 39 min
Average speed : 10kph/6.22mph

A decent run...at this pace I'll hit 5k in bout 26 and a half minutes....you can bet i'll be pushing harder come race day tgh... ;)

John : Week 6

Took the last week of Feb off to recover from my dental surgeries... =\ ....got back to running as soon as i could the week after...week stats follow....

Total distance : 11122km
Total Time : 59min 15sec
Average Speed : 11.26kph/7.00mph

A fairly good week with perfect pacing...the run distances are inclusive of the time I met up with ash and joa last Saturday for a run (the lake gardens squad vs TTDI's guys... ;)...)....we all ran 5k round the lake...the specific stats for that run follows...

Total distance : 4980m
total time : 24min
average speed : 12.5kph/7.8mph

The weather was perfect for it last sat...it had just finished raining/was still drizzling a wee bit/ when we took off for our 3 laps round the lake race.....was thissss close to lapping joa.... ;)...hahahaha~...great run though guys....go gardens team! =P

Nellie: Week 5 (Run 1 & Run 2)

Run 1 (9th March)

I was in Malacca for an overnight so I decided to grab the opportunity to run in a foreign place by myself. Up to now, I've always been running with Shaun so I thought it would be interesting to see how I would survive on my own :D Anyways, we were staying in A Farmosa Resort Villa; the place has row and rows of bungalows, so it really was just like running in a small housing area - nothing too foreign about that. Hahahaha.

Woke up at 6:35 in the morning for food and hot drink. Actually my mom woke me up even though I told her I was going to wake up only at 7. Ugh, too bloody early for me.

Distance: Unknown
Total time: 31:43 minutes
Average speed: Unknown

I didn't have the chance to drive around and check with the car odometer to see how much I ran. Google map doesn't have the street map of the place so I couldn't check there as well. But I figured I ran about 2.5km or so.

Run 2 (10th March)

On this evening we ventured to Subang Ria Recreational Park for a really short run. We wanted to run longer distance, but we got there too late and it was getting rather dark even during our first lap around the lake.

Distance: 1.14 km
Total time: 7:54 minutes
Average speed: 8.66 kmph

We did another lap around the lake but I only managed to half walk half run that lap. I figure my muscles haven't fully recovered from the previous day's run. And I ran into a swarm of bugs so that disrupted my run for a bit. Blehssssss. Never gonna run there after 7pm anymore.

The good news is my right ankle didn't give me much problem during the run on both days, possibly because I tried to minimise the impact on it.

Nellie: Week 4 (Run 2 & Run 3)

Run 2 (5th March)

We initially wanted to run at the Subang Ria Recreational Park, but because it was getting gloomy and looking like it was going to rain, we decided to stay put and run the perimeter of SS17.

Distance: 2.65 km
Total time: 20:05 minutes
Average speed: 7.92 kmph

My breathing has become easier so I thought it was a pretty good run, except that a few times I had to stop because of the pain in my right ankle. My right leg hurts, while my left never ached at all. Could this be due to me (possibly) applying more pressure on my right foot when running, or due to the uneven ground? (When I run, I run at the left side of the road where the path slopes slightly downwards at the side).

Run 3 (7th March)

Woke up at about 8. Was supposed to wake up at 7 but because of the rain, decided to sleep in a lil longer. Hehhehe.

As usual, had some hot drink and food first before the run. We were supposed to run 2 laps of SS17 perimeter as we wanted to test our endurance for 5km (2 laps of the course would be slightly more than 5km). I went once around the perimeter of SS17, and cut through the housing area during the second lap, as my right ankle was giving me problem again. This is so frustrating :(

Distance: 3.95 km
Total time: 33:00 minutes
Average speed: 7.18 kmph

Run Registration Completo~

How many of us have registered for the run? =)

So based on the site there'll be about 1300 runners on the day.....about 260 of them will be running the 5k....910 the 10k....130 the family run....

Heheh...a rather close field...probably some really fast runners among them.....have you set your target times yet?

Mine's twenty four minutes.....though i'd really like to dip below that if i can.... =P

What's your goal?

Btw, don't forget to collect your shirt and dibs next Friday/Saturday over at jalil~ =)

Nellie: Week 4 (Run 1)

Tuesday evening, 3rd March. There were freaking ominous looking clouds in the skies, but still I braved home as early as I could to.... RUN! :D

Actually I almost couldn't make it as I had a rather bad gastric attack just before the run. But I went anyways. Funnily enough the pain disappeared during the run.

Ran the slope-y route within SS17 with Shaun. This time around, I had my iPod with me. Initially I found the music a lil disruptive as it threw my tempo off a bit, but I managed to get into rhythm with my breathing soon enough.

Distance: 1.21 km
Total time: 9:06 minutes
Average speed: 7.98 kmph

I managed to run through the course again, with no pause/stop whatsoever :D It felt better than the previous time. Every time I felt like stopping, I reminded myself of the really hot Indian girl (I saw during the TTDI group run) and how I want to have legs as slim and toned as hers :D I pushed myself ahead also by thinking of how amazed I was, reading about this 5 month pregnant lady who ran 10 km marathons :O

*motivated*

Anyways, tomorrow we're going running again, this time the perimeter of the SS17 housing area. I'm also going to work on my breathing; inhale and exhale in shorter durations. Hopefully I would be able to push myself to run through the course.

Our race in approximately 10 days' time :D

Nellie: Week 3 (Run 3 & Run 4)

Run 3 (28th Feb)

6 p.m. in the evening. Same route within SS17; the slope-y one.

Distance: 1.21 km
Total time: Unknown (forgot to keep track of time again...)
Average speed: Unknown

This time I managed to run through the entire course, with minimal push from Shaun from the side :) We didn't do our usual strength training routine after the run, as we didn't want to push it too much before our group run the following morning.

Run 4 (29th Feb)

Group run!!!! Participants were me, Shaun, Siew Li, May, Jimmy and Wayne.

Although we were supposed to meet at 0830, by the time everyone had breakfast and got together at Wayne's place, we only managed to start running at 0915. And it was bloody hot by then. Hehehehe I think everyone agrees that for the next group run, we'll probably get together by 0700 or 0730 to begin the run ;)

There was two main running tracks in Lembah Kiara recreational park, an inner track and an outer track. The outer track is basically longer (2.2 km), a rather slope-y one and thus tougher, as it is stretched out along a hill. The inner track is somewhat flatter and half of the outer track's length (1.1 km).

We started with the outer track, most of us keeping to our own pace. Shaun and Jimmy sped ahead. Myself, I started out with a bit of walking, a short stretch just to enough to warm my muscles. After about few minutes of that I went after the boys. Throughout the course of the outer track, I ran and stopped I think about 3 times each, and as the outer track joins with the inner track I continued on to run most of it. Another short round of walking, then I tried running again the inner track for a short stretch. Stopped and walked, and finally a bit more running with May. All in all, we estimated that we ran and walked about 5 km in total. Under an hour I think. Not too bad, although personally I was disappointed as I wanted to run consistently for at least 2.5 km. Sigh :(

Asha: Week 6

This week was hectic... too bad I couldn't join you guys for the group run... Had some family thing going on and also I wanted to sleep in for at least one day...Hehehehe... Managed to run today evening... Didn't realise how much fun it is to run in the rain.... :D

Total distance: 7.67km
Time: 87 mins
Average speed: 5.289 km/h or 3.306mph

Not bad I guess... I think I owe it all to today's run where my 1st mile was 6.45km/h.. Decided to experiment by going faster... Going to continue doing that next week as well... Hopefully can maintain it in the 6s for the next week.. :)

Nellie: Week 2 (Run 3) & Week 3 (Run 1 & Run 2)

Week 2 (Run 3)

I dragged myself out of bed at 0730 last Saturday (21st Feb) for a morning run with Shaun. But before going off for the run, I thought it would be best to have some breakfast first to fuel my energy, hence the ungodly time of rousing.

We went running around SS17 again. Maybe it was just too soon or what, basically there was no improvement from the previous run. Hmmm.

Distance: 2.65 km
Total time: 25 minutes
Average speed: 6.36 kmph

Week 3 (Run 1) - Monday, 23rd Feb

We ran a different route this time, but we were still within SS17. This route is somewhat more challenging as there are a lot of slope-y stretches, including one killer 45 degree inclined slope.

Distance: 1.05 km
Total time: Unknown (we had no time on us!)
Average speed: Unknown

I didn't manage to run through the whole course, as it was really quite tough because of the slopes and all. Stopped a few times because of the burning sensation in my calves. Shaun managed to run the whole way though. After running, we went back to the 45 degree slope and did a few rounds of strength training. This time we managed to sprint up the slope 4 times.

Week 3 (Run 2) - Thursday, 26th Feb

The same route as the previous one.

Distance: 1.05 km
Total time: Unknown
Average speed: Unknown

However, we managed to run another round after resting for about 20 minutes after the first run.

Distance: 1.45 km
Total time: Unknown
Average speed: Unknown

Still haven't been able to run consistently yet; still had to stop a few times. Am still struggling with the burning sensation in my calves and ankle area. I'm not sure if I should push it, as it's not exactly painful. In fact they felt more heavy rather than painful.

Did sprints up the killer slope again, this time we managed 6!!! Super proud :D

joa: week 5, run 1

distance: 5km
time: 44 minutes and 30 seconds
speed: ran mostly at 7, walked some at 6.5. did about 1km at 8 and the last 300m at 8.6
average speed: 6.7421 km/h

i had super bad cramps this time around.. first it was on the left... it then moved to the right and in the end i had it in both side. =.=. no burning pain at the ankle though. that's a good thing.

i think i started a little too strongly in the beginning. i overestimated myself from last week's run. oh well. got to pace myself better. ^^

plus i think i need to run more than once a week. hahaha

Asha: Week 5

Just got back from my long run at Lake Gardens today... Looking forward to Jap later tonight... ;)

The summary for this week... :)

Total distance: 7.43km (doesn't include a total of 3 miles of brisk walking)
Total time: 85 minutes
Average speed: 5.245 km/h or 3.277 mph

Average speed has gone down again!! :( However, I am running for longer distances and taking less breaks in between... Shall keep trying to improve my pace... And I think since I missed a few runs here and there, my first run this week was really tough and I ran slower than usual... Shall not let that slip happen again... :P

joa: week 4, run 1

i ran in penang once for week 3. however, because i'm super forgetful in penang, i forgot to bring my watch and handphone along. meaning i've no idea how long i ran. i knew i had to keep up with my father though... =.=

anyway.. i don't know what got into me today.. probably the uneasy feeling of having not run yet this week.. hehe. or as a friend said, the stars were aligned.. i woke up for a morning threadmill run.

distance: 5km.. finally.. well, to me honest i think i walked for about 1km in between..
time: 47 minutes ^^
speed: walked at about 6 and ran at speed 7 to 7.5, depending on how much the % for the incline was. fastest speed was probably the last 300m... 7.8.. haha. at that point, i really just wanted to get it over and done with.
average speed: 6.3833km/h

i was attacked by cramps in the side and had some pains on the left ankle.. other than that, i think it was a good run. 5km more to go then.
tsk. i just remembered i have badminton tonight =.=

Nellie: Week 2 (Run 1 & 2)

Run 1 (Monday, 16th Feb):

Distance: Less than 1km?
Total time: Unknown
Average speed: Unknown

Cannot understand why I ran less for this session in comparison with the other 2 runs in the first week. Could it be that I was still exhausted from the previous runs?

I asked around, and some of the responses were:

- Could be psychological. Brain hasn't had time to register the amount of training your body has been taking
- Didn't push yourself hard enough
- Started off faster than the previous runs


Run 2 (Thursday, 19th Feb):

Today we ran the perimeter of Shaun's housing area in SS17.

Distance: 2.65 km (according to mapmyrun.com, which btw is such a nifty little tool. Hee)
Total time: 25 minutes
Average speed: 6.36 kmph

Didn't actually run through the whole course, but I'd like to think that I ran most of it and at least the harder, slope-y routes :)

My breathing has become alot easier now, and I don't pant so quickly anymore after I start running, so that's good. I realised the few times I paused was due to my aching muscles; I guess my muscles are rather weak still. After running the course, we did a bit of strength training; what we did was basically sprinting up a really steep slope (I think it was about 30-40 degrees of steepness) as fast as our legs could carry us. We each did 3 of that, but Shaun obviously could sprint faster.

John : Week 5

Whew~ Haven't been too well for this week and it's my rest week so i didn't push too hard this time round...

Had one pace run this week....so speed was the goal this time round... :)

Total distance : 1620m
Total Time : 6:20
Average Speed : 15.35kph/9.54mph

My running pace has been slightly readjusted. :)

Nellie: Week 1 Run (Run 2)

My second run for the week (My week ends on Sunday hehehe).

It has been rather hot for the past few days, and I ALMOST didn't make it for the run today as I was feeling lazy. Stupid heat. But in the end I managed to drag my legs out onto the road, and covered the road around my neighbourhood.

Distance: About 1.5km (I couldn't actually tell what the distance was, but I drove around the area and checked with my car odometer)
Total time: About 50 minutes
Average speed: Slightly faster than the previous run, I think

I ran around my housing area once, then brisk walked most of the same distance, and then ran up and down the road in front of my house twice. According to Shaun's estimate, I actually ran less than the other run I did this week (He didn't run with me today, but I told him which roads I covered). This was probably cause I had no one to push me, like how he was pushing me the other day.

Anyways, I didn't do a lot of stretching after running, which is probably not very good for my training.

BUT I did play a few rounds of tennis, golf, bowling and boxing on Wii after that, so it should be all good :D
(Yes there's a brand new Wii sitting in my house!!!!!!!!)

Asha Week 1-4

Since I haven't posted up all my 4 week's log, here they are.. :)

Week 1

Total distance: 8.28km (includes our Lake Gardens run)
Total time: 90 minutes
Average speed: 5.52km/h or 3.45mph

Week 2

Total distance: 6.64km
Total time: 72 minutes
Average speed: 5.53km/h or 3.46mph

Week 3

Missed two runs this week due to our extended weekend gambling session and recovering from that as well as sudden shifts in plans on other days... Although the average speed has gone down, I have been walking less and taking less breaks and jogging more (but at a pace that is comfortable for me to run far)

Total distance: 1.6km
Total time: 18 mins
Average speed: 5.33km/h or 3.33mph

Week 4

Missed another two runs this week as I was holidaying in Bali... Did a lot of walking there though (not sure if it counts.. :P).. Thought of fitting in a run today, but seems like I won't be able as I'm exhausted in general (it was bloody hot in Bali) and going for a family dinner...

Total distance: 1.68km
Total time: 19 mins
Average speed: 5.316 km/h or 3.32mph

Hmmm... my average speed has gone down... Going to try and improve that...

Have also been trying to keep in form and breath properly (which seems to be ok, I think, in my latest run)...

Hope everyone else's runs are going well!! :)

joa: week 3, run 1

distance: 3km
time: 42 minutes
incline: 5.5% to 7%
speed: 5
level: 8

average speed: 4.285km/h

decided to take things slow this time around. concentrated more on running uphill. it was a good run though. better control in breathing. ^^. had a nice swim with steph after the run. :)

Random tips....

Hehehe~ it's often the little things that end up making a big difference after months of training....some useful little things include...

1) keeping a training diary/log....it's difficult to exaggerate the importance of having a training log with your mileage...speed...route ran....time...how the run "felt"...mistakes you made on the route (started to fast....ran too slowly [lotsa energy left at the end] etc.) recorded down ....it helps motivate you...helps warn you of undertraining/overtraining....helps fix bad habits that are hurting the trainee (e.g. a runner who tends to constantly start fast is probably relying on his/her fast twitch muscles to run instead of the slow twitch ones....so no matter how much he/she trains, his/her long distance ability may see little improvement...)...if you don't have a record of what's going on it's really hard to know what training methods suit your current state best... =\

2) Try to eat something within a half hour or hour after the run even if you don't feel like it... ;)

3) Learn to watch your breathing and pace in the early stages of the run....if you start panting really soon, it's quite possibly that your start is far to quick + your respritory muscles aren't fit yet....so the combination of the two results in the muscles not having enough time to "notice" or "adapt" to the demand quickly enough....so lactic acid builds up really quick....resulting in a prematurely deflated runner.... :P....start out really really slow if you have to....let your heart and lungs get into "running mode" so to speak before you start working the miles....

4) run your own race....everyone has their current level of fitness...and important ability to learn is how to ignore how other runners are running and run at the pace that you know is your best.....that hot shot speedster might collapse on the next lap....or he/she might be a world class marathon runner....match another runner only if you're confident in your ability to keep pace and eventually (if it's a real run) overtake... :)

Nellie: (Long Delayed) Week 1 Run

Weather was good.
Left work on time.
Reached home before it got dark.
No CNY business to take care off.
No shoe shopping with Siew Li.

Finally!


And so I went for my first run :D Hehehhehe.

Well to be fair to myself, I've actually started my "training" sometime before we had discussion about our group marathon. Basically what I was doing was run up and down the road in front of my house. Since it's a slightly sloped road, I would run up the "slope" and speed walk down the road. Not sure if it's the best way to develop a stamina, but there was no other way about it since I was/am in such bad shape.. I couldn't manage anything more strenuous than that.

But anyways! Back to my run yesterday, my first official run after our whole discussion about group marathon (btw, have I told you guys that I think it's such a brilliant idea? :D). Shaun and I went running around-ish my housing area.

Distance: Unknown (I'm guessing it was probably about 1.5 to 2 km?)
Total time: Unknown (Oops! Forgot to keep track, but I'm guessing it was about 20 minutes? Actually to me it felt like eternity.. I felt like I wanted to die)
Average speed: No idea (But according to Shaun, I was "slow")

Throughout the distance I paused a few times, so my stamina is still in pretty bad shape :(
I didn't manage to stretch after running; I was too beat. But we went to kick around a ball a bit after that, so I guess that was good :D

Week 4

Heheheh~ only got one short run in this week sadly....weather was bad for my first....and didnt manage to go on my sunday one.... =\ ....

Total Mileage : 2580m
Total Time : 15 minutes 15 seconds
Average speed : 10.15kph/6.31mph

run 2: the week after cny

distance: 3km/1.8641 miles
time: 33 minutes
treadmill level: 8
speed: 6

took a longer time compared to the previous one because this was in uphill mode.
though, another reason for the slower time could be due to all the gluttony during CNY.. ^^
oh well.

John : Week 3

Whew~....missed a run this week due to CNY celebrations....but managed to squeeze two in... ;) ...running speed is on par with my usual (6mph) for the level sections...but i slowed to about 5-5.5mph for the uphill sections (choose to run some hill tracks this week).

Total Mileage: 6711m total
Mileage Breakdown : 5860m level/851m uphill
Total Time : 42min 38sec
Average Speed : 9.45kph/5.87mph

Note of the week : take stretching seriously (on our first run it seemed like quite a few treat it as a formality...which it's not.. ;P ). Do it after runs, never before.

John : Week 2

Heheh~ Just got back from my hometown and havent really gotten any real mileage in this week yet. Will probably be getting some in today....these stats are from last week... :)

Total Mileage : 9180m
Total Time : 53min 18sec
Average Speed: 10334kph/6.42mph

Am reasonably ok with last week's stats...btw in case anyone hasnt trained long distance before...resist the urge to really boost your times till you hit a decent run length of maybe 10-15k. Reason being is that speed running will boost dev of the muscles that handle sprinting, not so the muscles that you use for long distance endurance work. So take the runs easy in terms of speed for now and focus more on distance (though try to run 5mph at least/6 being a ideal speed....top notch marathon runners run at 12...wheeee~ [do not try to run at 12... :P]....hope everyone's enjoying the new years!....

Oooo...dont forget, for every week of inactivity you lose 10% of your fitness.....it takes 3 weeks to get it back... ;)

joa: run 1

*high fives Asha*
i did my first run today too.. well, on the treadmill. funny thing about it is that i kept hitting the emergency stop button by accident. =.=. everytime i do that, i have to reset the bloody machine again. i think the one cool part bout the machine is that it measure's my heartbeat rate too. certainly not a place to go if you don't want ur heartbeat rate known. hehe.

i'm all in for the friday run. saturday's a little tough because i will be leaving for penang. ah glorious food. there goes all the exercises... down the drain.

Some early challanges

heheh~ just though i'd share a few things i've learnt from running.....

1) aches and pains are rather normal at the start...i recommend trying cold/hot water alternate showers (where you shower in really hot water then switch to cold back to hot etc)....it really helps reduce muscles aches the day after and has recently been shown to improve fitness and strength gains... =D

2) It's common to have a "stitch in your side" while running...especially when you start out....opinions are mixed regarding why it's there...the view i favor is that it's a cramp of a diaphragm muscle...it won't give you appendicitis, and the key to managing it when you start out is breath control....dont worry too much about it, it'll fade as you get more fit....

3) Mileage is important and you do want to improve. However, don't be in a mad rush to do so. Unlike the movies, simply running more and more without a plan will probably lead to an overtrained tired soul who's aching almost everyday and is wondering why he/she isn't seeing his/her dreams coming true on the track....a good routine has rest weeks....and if you sense that you're having more and more difficulties meeting the week targets, go right ahead and add in more rest weeks as you see fit (tgh dont be too lazy and have the whole month off! =P)....

4) Dont forget to stretch....even if it's just for 10 minutes....try to hit every part of your body in effective body stretches....(strech routines are a particular area of interest of mine)....a lot of stretches (virtually everything you learnt in high school) are dangerous in the long term and really shouldn't be done by anyone....stretching does seem to help a little with aches (tgh ops are mixed) but defintely helps you become a better runner since your form'll improve....remember to stretch AFTER running and not before (heck dont do a single stretch before you head out)....stretching before gives you poorer times and raises your risk of injuries... :)

5) Try to have a strength routine in there somewhere....i have a full blown one of my own that's quite intense, but even a minor one with 5-6 exercises is more then enough....stronger legs/back/abs/and even arm muscles will help you run more powerfully with better form.... :)

And that should be it for now...no need to blast this place with dozens of training tips...hahahah~....hope you guys find this useful somewhat.... =)

Meet-up/Practice Session

Hey guys,

I did my first jog/brisk walk today and I think it would be good to organise a meet-up early on... I need it, I think, cause I want to make sure I'm running properly and at the proper speed... So, maybe it will be a good time to start off the training well, instead of waiting for ages before we meet....

John and I free this week Friday (after 4 or 5 is good) and on Saturday as well... Anyone else free on any of these two days? Proposals for other days are welcome, but I'm guessing after Friday or Saturday, most of you will be leaving for CNY right?

We will see which day the most of us are free and meet up then and practice... :)

Let me know what you guys think?

Oh, and John suggested Lake Gardens for this meet-up... :)

A quick guide to buying shoes..

Here is a very good site that teaches you how to choose a good pair of shoes based on the type of foot you have as well as shoe ratings so if you are planning to buy a pair, you will be buying one that suits you rather than one that looks nice or cost the most.

http://on-track.com.sg

It is reviewed by a few Singaporean experts, so it is much more relevant to us as the shoes they reviewed will have a higher chance of being stocked here in Backward Island.

John : Federal Hill/Bangsar Running Route

Behold running route 2. This is my hill mapped out. I used to run all about the place, but for the past couple o years i've ignored the 1-7 track (damned tough and quite a few cars, so not really a trail i run too often, having said that, it's a really good hill track)....Dont have photos for all stations at this time, may upload some later... =P


1) Our beloved help college car park. Route heads from there past the help hostel to a little turn in that leads to my hill... ;)

2)

the entrance to my hill, track to this point has been quite level....enjoy it while it lasts....

3)

The end of the level track and the beginning of the hills.... =P

4) If you've reached this point you've just ran about 3/4 of a kilometer of hills...good on yeh matey! Track from this point to 5 is quite level....

5) Another rather steep slope section that leads up to the prime minister's old place....quite a nice track section....if it wasnt' uphill...nearby there's a grass hill with no track that's great for crosscountry hill running (sadists only please)....

6) PM's old place...

7)

The top of the slope that leads down to my current route start point....I keep planning to add this particular hill section (from 7-8) to my running routine....but haven't gotten around to it yet....=P
...view from bottom below...


8)
Ahhhh~ my traditional starting/finishing point for almost all my races....a true psychological marker....a lovely stop sign by it too... =P....The route from 8-9 is nice and level with great curves....*wicked grin*..see below....


9)


A roundabout that offers a great choice of route selections..... =)

10)
This route choice is relatively nice and straight...no surprises....this a simple marker that marks the turn in point....

11)

Sultan of Perak's residence....didnt snap any pictures of the place itself though....might get captured by CCTV get ISAed the day after... ;) ....route to this spot is rather decent...see below...



12)

If you had turned this way instead you'd reach this point after a nice run through a slightly inclined route which seems deceptively level. See below.


13)

The point after 12 is sloped quite a bit and leads to the petrol station below where refreshments (and bathrooms) can be found... =D....note identifying nearest bathrooms and refreshment spots is crucial in any route plan!... =P....this station is right next to kl central... =)

14)

If you had turned this way instead you'd find yourself running up a rather steep slope (heck it's called federal hill for a reason!). =)

15)

After the end of the past slope, there's a level section followed by.....surprise! another slope....once you're past that, it's level land all the way to 16.

16)

From here you can head down a little shortcut through the jungle that leads to a spot in bangsar that comes out near BSC or head on to 17 where there's a set of stairs that heads to a spot in bangsar nearer to bangsar village....


17)

See steps... =P

18) If you had chosen the jungle path instead, it's a straight run through a residential area till you come out on a road that's not quite a main road but close...follow it till you reach a hill with a school nearby....run up till your past the school...see silly school logo below...


19) Hoorah, you're past the school....now you can choose to turn in towards a playground or continue running up the hill (you sadist you)....

20) wheee...playground....there's a bball court here that used to be my favourite practice spot... ;)


21)
Hoorah! More hill running....this hill is quite steep....if you made it all the way up, you're in BSC....i used to make this run all the time from my house when i was in school (that school you passed was one of my old schools btw... =p)...note this is an old pic of the place....



And there you have it....a lovely rather flexible run route around federal/bangar hill.... =D