RMAF Half Marathon

Not long after we parked our car, we were chartered in a bus to bring us to the starting point of run.

When the race began, fireworks were displayed on the air until we left the 2km long air-way. A good effort made by the organiser although it was not as grand as it was last held in the early 90s.



We were required to run almost the same route as the KLIM. I must say the organiser had done a good job by having the safety cones along the roads and making sure it's safety first for the runners. Water stations were adequate and we were even provided a power gel.

As I have yet to recover from yesterday's cycling, I just made sure I finished the run and qualified for a medal as my birthday gift! I completed in 1:40:16 for a 52nd position. What a good number to buy 2552 or 5225! Hahaha!



Yes! Today I turned 40 and like many people say, life is just beginning! I quite agree with the saying as you may've observed, I have just started cycling and travelling to places I've never heard of before. I'm still learning new things and meeting new friends. I'm so blessed to have met good people so far, people and friends who share the same passion and values in life. May I make a birthday wish here to wish all the friends I know, a healthy and enjoyable life for the years ahead!

Titi Ride

Yes, I finally exceeded the magical 100KM of cycling in one ride!

This morning, I rode with the Iron Lady - Lisar Onn to a little town in the state of Negeri Sembilan called Titi and back. Honestly, I fell in love with Titi at first sight. This town is so simple, peaceful and clean. I wish to stay here with Wai Mun when we retire. I think she will like it too.

Anyway, we started our ride from Pekan Bt14, proceeded to Pekan Bt18 (Gerard joined us at this point), then Genting Peres (Gerard turned back here) and straight to Titi. After having our breakfast, we continued the journey where we came from earlier.

The route offers a magnificent and scenic view with some mountains and a waterfall at the backdrop. There are plenty of greens. Air is fresh. Furthermore, the weather this morning was fantastic with some mist near Pekan Bt18 and Titi. I assure you this is the best day for cycling! Anyway this is not the highlight of my experience. The highlight is how I struggled up the 14km-long hilly stretch of Genting Peres on the return. If not for Lisar's constant motivation, I think I'd have given up!

Cycling with Lisar is really fun. I confessed I had goose bumps when she called me to join her. I was excited at the prospect of riding with an Iron Lady yet I was worried I would be "tortured" by her - her speed of course! In contrast, she kept reminding me to go slow and save some energy for the return leg. That advice is really a music to my ear! Hahaha! An added bonus to this ride is she makes good cookies too! Now I felt fortunate and really enjoy cycling with ladies! Hahaha!

Thanks to Lisar's company and pacing, we completed the ride at a total distance of 109.76km. Total time 4:29:42. Avg speed 24.4 km/h. Max speed 56.6km/h.

NB 15KM 2008

As mentioned in my previous posting, I took part in this year's NB 15km just because of this....



Isn't it unique and cute?

Anyway, I finished the run in 1:10:14 for a 58th position in the Overall Men category. Not bad considering I just cycled more than 90km the day before.

The hilly terrains would prove too much for many runners. However judging from their facial expressions, I believe not many would complain about that. Everyone seemed to be satisfied after they had completed their run.

As expected, this race was well organised with sufficient water stations, good traffic management and a runner-friendly running course. Thank you to the volunteers for their effort and time. You did a splendid job!

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Saturday, May 17 - We cycled from Pekan 18-Pangsun-Pekan 18-Genting Peres-Tekala-Pekan 18-Pangsun-Pekan 18 for a total distance of 94km. I believe 60% of our ride was at speed of 30km/hour or more, for which I was very pleased with. Our very young team (in experience not in age of course!) has certainly been progressing. Keep it up teammates!

A'Famosa Triathlon 2008

I can't imagine I did it - I woke up as early as 5am, drove an hour (about 100km), waited almost 3 hours for my turn to race and then drove back - just for that 10km run!

Yes, I was in the thick of action again, this time I was to run in the Mix Relay for the A'Famosa International Triathlon in Melaka. Dr Rum started with swimming which is his forte, our gutsy lady Yit Thing did the riding and I was the anchorman in the running segment.

Mind you, this doctor can really swim! He was one of the first few to come out from the water. By the time he passed the ribbon to our rider, our team was fourth. As Yit Thing is quite new in cycling, we expected our ranking to drop eventually. Nevertheless, she did her very best and came back safely. We were told there was a crash involving 4 riders with one of them having to be sent to the hospital!

Honestly when I received the ribbon, I was in a dilemma : should I go all out or just take it easy as I knew by then we were out of the podium finish? Thank goodness I chose the former. My form today was much better compared to yesterday. Furthermore the stress on my both thighs did not bother me at all while running and that further boosted my confidence level.

After running with all my heart and might for 40:34, I finally hit the tape to complete my first experience in a back-to-back 10km race. Even though the race course is slightly under-distance, I'm very happy and satisfied with my performance this morning. To add icing to the cake, we were surprised to learn that we were 2nd Runner Up during the prize presentation. And this is what we got ....


By the way, I would like to congratulate Tomatoman and Ultraman Yip for their Third placing in the Men Relay, Michelle for her successful debut as a Triathlete and many more who have participated.

Bomba Run 2008

Picture courtesy of Lee Yin Fook aka Pm40.

This is my first 10km run after don't know how many donkey years! Yes, it's that long! I took part just because I'm into this Powerman thing in Nov or else I would rather sleep in the comfort of my bed! Hahaha! Just kidding!

The Run, on a 10.9km-undulating course, this morning has highlighted some of my weaknesses especially on the strength of my leg muscle as well as the speed. I have also lost my sharpness and credence in this type of short distance running. Thank goodness I still have 6 months to polish them up!

For the record, I did 50:48 for a 28th position. Wai Mun got 8th and earned herself RM100. How envy! I made her buy breakfast after the run. Hehehe!

Bidor Half Marathon 2008

April 27, 2008.

Woke up at 3.30am. Couldn't sleep any further as the weather this morning was rather hot and humid. I wasn't sure if it was the consequence from overtraining as I did a ride-and-run the day before?

Left home at 4.30am and by 6.00am we already arrived at Bidor. Honestly I was quite sleepy and thought of taking a nap in the car. However, excitement won over the drowsiness and I decided to just get ready for the race.

The race was started at 7am sharp. After 2-3 minutes into running, I could feel the stress on both shin - no thanks to my usual laziness of not doing a proper warm up! Being an experienced runner, I knew the pain will go off eventually, so I just stayed calm. True enough the pain vanished after running 3-4km.

As I was beginning to cruise, I started observing and enjoying the surroundings. The route was generally undulating. There are lots of green and rubber trees. Air was good. The best part was runners basically occupied the whole 2-lane road to ourselves due to the almost zero traffic around this area.

After 5km, we were required to make a u-turn heading back to the town. Upon reaching the town, we turned right to another side of the town. This part is even more hilly but I like it very much as it is quite similiar to our training ground at Bukit Tunku area.

Again after another 5km or so, we made a u-turn and headed back to the finishing line in the town. I was pleased to complete the race in 1:39:24 and was fourth in the Jr Veteran category. Wai Mun came back some 15 minutes later and she was 2nd Runners-up in the ladies category. Some of our friends also won the Top 10 finishers. Congratulations to Ben Swee, Neil, Mr Chin, Jessica, Kim in half marathon and Shahnom, Ronnie See, Chen, Clara Bong in 10km. We were presented with a beautiful medal and trophy.

Special thanks to the event organizers for a well organised and runner-friendly race. Enjoyed the race!