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

First Official Non-competitive run

As a close running goal, who's up for a non-competitive run at Bukit Jalil on the 15th of March! =D

Deadline for entry is the 1st of March, entry fee is pretty okay (RM 15). Drinks and light refreshments ,event shirt and pewter finish medal inclusive. Heck you have 2 1/4 hours to finish the run for a medal so it's pretty much confirmed you'll get one =P . It'll definitely be a good experience if you haven't run a road race before, and if you have , let's see who's the current running champ among us! =D

See site for registration details.

http://niterunning.blogspot.com/2009/01/larian-amal-seri-sinar-2009-unofficial.html

Asha: Group Run!

I think before we actually start training seriously (for those of us who are starting from scratch), maybe we should organise a group run early on, so that we can make sure our form is right (to avoid injuries and unnecessary painful experiences) and to check up on each other. Also, it will be a good reason to meet up right?

I propose we try Lake Gardens out (since that's where John's training we wouldn't want him to have an advantage right when we have our actual run?) sometime by the end of February.

I'm guessing everyone should be free on weekends, so if we can settle on a date soon it would be good. Just if in case, I won't be free on the 14th and 15th Feb weekend as I'm going on a holiday, so any other weekends are ok by me.

John : Lake Gardens Running Route

behold! the lake gardens route mapped out in full glory. For some reason no one seems to have mapped out this rather lovely run route out either online or on paper so i decided to set out and do it myself today. I mapped it on foot and measured it's distance using paces twice (within an accuracy of +/- 5 steps, then compared my distance to a google earth approximate and found almost perfect (-20m) agreement, so i think the route distances are relatively accurate. My route walkthrough follows. :)



The route (handdrawn by me). Yes it looks like crap, you try doing better after walking/running round and round the silly lake. =P Numbers in black represent distance in meters, numbers in green represent stations (more detail below)

The route on googlemap. =)

1

This is where the running track begins. It starts next to a playground (see below) filled with happy little children. Up ahead's the carpark, i think it's free, but is often packed. An alternative parking place is at the museum which charges Rm2 per entrance i think. The track itself isn't rubber, it's gravel which I find to be great since it's less hard on your body then pavement (the worst) or asphalt (which isn't as bad as concrete). While a nice soft treadmill and rubber surface is nice to train on, it doesn't really train/strengthen the parts of your body that help absorb the impact/wear and tear/ road races put on you, so if you don't start getting used to it, the shock your body'll get when you do start running on hard surfaces can really hurt your knees and ankles... ;\



2

Some pusat pertanian tent. The route between 1-2 is actually one of the toughest/easiest (depending on your direction) in the whole route since it's the steepest (uphill/downhill) stretch. =P

3)

The bridge that (in this route) goes across the lake. For some reason or other, it's been dubbed "the drawbridge" by my old running friends (who have all morphed into couch potatoes). =S. It's a nice bridge, but you'll probably end up cursing it after a couple o runs since it's curve is really weird and the route after it is a lil steep.

4)

A white bridge.

5)


End of the official running path, though far from the end of this mapped route. The surface change is really good training since you'll usually do lots of that in a real run so it's good to get used to the slight change of style you need to perform when during switches. ;)

7)


Yes i know this should be 6 and yes i'm too lazy to correct it so live with it! This is "the plant". Yes there are thousands of other plants around but this is "the plant". Heck you gotta have an easy to remember system for stations, you try telling another runner next to you where you're going after running a half a dozen miles around the lake "i'm going...pant pant...up there....you know...bit after the boats...near the corner there...the tunnel theeerreee" vs "i'm running to "the plant"...=P...hahahah~


6)

The underground link between the museum and the park also called "the tunnel" for obvious reasons. A favorite finish line spot. =P

8)


Start of wavy path. Another surface switch. =P

9)

End of wavy path

10)

The turn out. so from the old route which was following the lake, you turn out to the main path. no cheating by running on grass! =P

11)

Lake boating house? we just call it the marina. All the boats are kept here. There's a little food place here (yay ice cream!) and the toilets (see below) are nearby (90m away).


12)

A little rest place next to some weird red thingys (see below). Used to be my traditional waiting spot. =P


I propose lake gardens as a candidate for a 7k race at lake gardens come the 2nd of May (week 15th if you're running on my training schedules). Is there anyone who can't make the date? =P . The term ends on the 26th for those of us who are students.

Suggested route is

(3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11,12,3)*3 + (3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11)*1

It's good to run races to give you a close tangible target to meet. Running in a competitive group will also guarantee you a better time. The 7k is the lowest level that most big marathons will have as a option so it'll be great to start with that. The target pace is usually a little bit faster then the average of your 10k and 5k pace.

Apart from running routes, lake gardens is also a great place to train. There are tons of hilly run routes (not shown on this route) and stair climbs (one that my boxing friends still refer to affectionately as the "fucking staircase") =P. I'm always game for a fun/tough training/group run at the place (I prefer evening runs though...esp when followed by nice dinners *grins*)...

Whew~ I've also mapped and photographed my usual jogging route around my hill (a truly lovely jogging place). Shall upload that route sometime next week. :)

*edit* fixed silly typos and changed date from 3rd to 2nd of may. =P

John : Week 1

Total Mileage : 15400m
Total time : 2h 15m
Average Speed : 6.85 kph/4.25mph

Didn't actually run much this week (about 2700m of the total milage is actual running). Spent my long run today mapping out routes on foot, measuring their distance as well as taking photos and making notes. Finished up 2 routes this week. :)

What this is~

Long distance training isn't always easy, especially when you're going for something as challenging as a full marathon in a year!

It can however be extremely fun and rewarding, especially when you have a group of friends at it with you. :P

I hope that we'll be able to meet up and have runs together (both training runs and race runs) throughout the year whenever possible. From personal xp i can say that to me, that's one of the best parts of running

(other best parts include overtaking those close friends, sitting around at the finish line watching everyone trickle in, the first taste of 100 plus [all hail 100+] after running half a dozen miles, having a huge dinner after a long ass run...etc).

Even if we aren't able to arrange for that, being able to share our current state with the rest of the team really does help keep you on track (and away from skipping runs!). Which is rather important. From personal experience, i've also seen entire marathon teams vanish one by one over the course of a year, leaving a remainder of 2 runners from an original 12! =P . I have high hopes that this won't turn out the same~ heheh~

Hence this blog for any one of us who's wants to post occasionally on his/her current week runs status (i'll be posting regularly of course).

Also, if you have the time, why not map and share a route with the rest of us. I've mapped my two favorite run places (would be more then happy to arrange a group run at them) fully for everyone to take a look. ;)