NB 15km Recce Run

Thanks for all the condolences and words of comfort forwarded to us recently.

As Wai Mun mentioned in her eulogy for Jennifer ...
"Altho' her time with us has been a short one, Jennifer had indeed lived well, laughed often & loved much.
She filled her niche & accomplished her task,
A tougher sister / friend we have yet to find,
May God grant her His Rest & Peace divine.
We will all missed her - her voice, her smile, her wit & her passion for life. May we then cherish these fond memories of her in our hearts and move on with life with Jennifer's enthusiasm."

Yeah my dear friends, it's really so important for us to live, laugh and love. Let's learn to treasure every moment. When we first joined Pacesetters, we were just going crazy on running. Our minds was so focused into running, racing and achieving PBs in competitions after competitions. It was until Wai Mun and I met and got married that we finally 'stopped to smell the flowers' and began to appreciate the friendship we made via the Club.

Next week, Wai Mun and I have been assigned a road marshall job for the coming NB 15km Run. While I have a little experience in the task before, it is interesting to see how Wai Mun will deal with it - as I believe most people will agree with me that female species don't have great sense of direction! Ha! Ha! Ha! Joke aside, I still have strong faith in her in carrying out her duty well.

This morning, most of the PACM members have a familiarization run on the actual route. So did I, except that I took my run more seriously compared to the rest. I just wanted to have a feel on the new course plus a test on my fitness level.

Though I did not push up to 100%, the new route is challenging enough to make me sweat to my last drop. It took me 1:15:17 to complete the run.

My personal observation is that this year's run will certainly be more challenging compared to previous years as there are more hills to tackle. Another factor to consider is that runners are to run a repetition loop up the Bukit Tunku which will be a test on your mental strength as well.

Fellow runners, good luck and don't forget to have fun on race day!

Life's A Roller Coaster

Ever since I took up a new job early this year, my running has taken a back seat. That explains why I have been inactive in blogging too.

My weekly mileage barely touches 30km. And most of my runs were done on 2 days only - a back-to-back Saturday and Sunday! A run on weekdays seems like a mission impossible to me these days.

It was like everything had to stop after KLIM. It was also clearly unfortunate that we had to miss the Saberkas Marathon due to the untimely death of Jennifer (Wai Mun's younger sister). Jennifer had suffered brain tumour & lung cancer for a year & a half. Her journey with C had indeed been a tough one cos' by the time she was diagnosed with this C, she was already in her 4th stage. Imagine the agony she had to go through with chemo + surgery. Within 2 months, she went thru' 2 operations : one for brain & one for the left lung! As a result, she lost her vision of the left eye....However, she had been very strong and positive about the whole thing. Her courage & trust in God has been such a comfort & encouragement to the family. Even towards the end of her days, she kept holding onto dear life & fighting back. So, it was truly amazing to see her making her own obituary & funeral arrangements ie. what dress to wear, flowers, which pastors to conduct her funeral etc. etc.

We came to realize how short, fragile & uncertain life can be. Therefore, while we still can...value health - treasure the little things - stop to smell the flowers - live life to the fullest - learn to love more...etc. etc. (easier said than done, right?)

Considering our current situation, my wife and I have decided to give this year's PACM 15km run a miss. However, we will both still be there - as volunteers of course. We hope to be able to catch you guys in action on the race day. Don't forget to have fun running!

Before signing off, I wish to share a thot which you may or may not agree. Well, anyways...

"Racing through life could be very stressful. If we stay in high gear too long, we lose our ability to shift down. And when we are stressed, we can't access happiness, appreciation, fun compassion, generosity, awareness of beauty and other wonderful qualities. High stress also triggers negative emotions like frustration, anger and fear.
Life has much to offer if we will slow down and truly experience it. We must always remember that we are the ones in control of the accelerator....we CAN choose to brake.
Therefore, enjoy life! It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast...you'll also miss the sense of where you are going & why." - Eddie Cantor

My First Half Marathon In KL

Can you believe it? Yes, it is indeed my very first half marathon in this metropolitan city since I started running in KL in 1990. I had either run full distances or 10KMs before! Perhaps that was why I could only sleep for an hour the night before the KLIM 2006.

As usual, I started slowly to warm up. I reached the 5km mark in 24:34.

As I was feeling good, I increased the pace and overtook quite a number of runners on the uphill near Tmn Desa. I reached 10km in 47.19. Oh yes! Thanks to the Powerbar Team for handing out the Powergel.

After the Dewan Bahasa Dan Pustaka, I think I lost my rhythm and energy a bit by zigzagging past the school children in the 7km category. My 15km timing was 1:12.

The story went on until the finishing with occasional blocks by the kids. How frustrating! I intentionally skipped the water (or mist?) sprinkle provided by Nike at Jalan Sultan Ismail. Sorry, no time for water game!

My spirit was lifted when I saw a group of PACM members and friends cheering us at the Dataran Merdeka U-Turn. Thanks mate! See you later as I've an unfinished job to do.

I knew the finishing is near so I tried to increase my pace. However, due to the lack of training for the last 3 weeks before the race, my endurance seemed to have failed me. I couldn't find my strength I needed most.

I completed my maiden half marathon in KL in 1:42:32! Still, it is the best time I've ever clocked since my injury. Hope for more better things to come!

5km Split Time:-
1st 5km - 24:34
2nd 5km - 22:45
3rd 5km - 24:46
Final 6km - 30:26

Official Results of GE PACM 30km Is Out

To view the final results of the GE PACM 30km Run, please click here.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

We would like to wish you a happy and prosperous Lunar New Year.

Two more days to the CNY and we are already starting to eat, eat and eat. Need to run more during this long holiday break or I will turn into a big, fat dog!

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Run For Terence

der_Pacemakers is organising a run to show our support to one of our fellow runners, Terence (Penguin-6) who was diagnosed with brain tumour.

While his wife is not working and his own job is at stake, whatever assistance and support we extend him will be useful. Runners are known as a supportive and positive bunch. It's time to come forward to help a fellow sportsman in need. Treatment for tumours are often expensive and debilitating. The patient will also be weakened substantially by all the drugs. Besides resting and taking proper food, it's also beneficial to take food supplements such as antioxidants. All these require money.

As this is a non-competitive run, you can run any number of laps you wish to. After which we'll be passing the hat around to collect some contribution for him. You can also pen down messages for him in a book.

Date: Saturday, Feb 4th
Time: 8am
Venue: KLCC Park, the large space between the carpark and the mosque
Distance: Any number of laps

Please turn up in full to support him and spread the word around. Please also indicate your interest to take part in the comment column in der_Pacemakers blog. Thank you.

This One For You, Terence

First of all, I would like to dedicate this GE Pacesetters 30km Run to one of our fellow runners, Mr Terence a.k.a KL Penguin who has been diagnosed with brain tumor recently. I wish to tell him that he is not fighting the illness alone. He has got a strong support from all the runners and triathletes. So, be strong and fight like a champ!

I had a memorable experience in the inaugural GE Pacesetters 30km run this morning. The run was generally well organised by the PACM. If there is any area for improvement, it will be the toilet facilities and the availability of more cheering teams. Anyway, kudos to the cheering team whom I'm sure have lifted our spirit during our run. A high five to you!

The run is tough and challenging, I can tell you. For those who are not familiar with the course, it could be a nightmare as we have to conquer so many hills. However, the roller coaster-like terrain suits me fine. I just needed to pace myself well. I completed my first Double Hill loop in 58:44.

I got a big boost at the beginning of my second loop from the cheering team. From there, I was encouraged to increase my pace slightly and was rewarded with a timing of 48:01 at the Hartamas checkpoint.

On my home run, knowing that I should be safe from any leg cramp, I increased my pace further with 3km to go and sprinted to the finishing line in a time of 2:34.39. The last 10km split was 47:53.

Wai Mun completed a remarkable 2:51.29.

Once again, I would like to say a big thank you to all the volunteers for their sacrifice and effort to make this run a success. I'm sure we runners will always appreciate your contribution.

2 More Weeks to GE PACM 30K Run

Yeah! Bring it on, baby!

I did my longest run of the year this morning - 25km and I felt quite good with my condition at the moment. That showed my 5-week of conditioning trainings have borne fruits.

I will add some speed work-outs in my next phase of training before tapering off for the 30km run.

Although it won't be one of my key events, I will aim for a 2:30 finishing. Any takers out there to pace together on that day?

First CNY Card

I received my first Chinese New Year card today from the generous Datuk Mohd Yaziz - one of our sponsors for the Pacemaker Runs. See how creative he is to put every friends' name in the card and post it via website. How effective and efficient way of wishing people you know!

Wai Mun and I would like to wish him a healthy and fit body to enjoy his promotions-after-promotions, from Datuk to Datuk Seri, then Tan Sri and whatsoever!

Adious 2005, Welcome 2006

We would like to wish all our friends, runners, walkers and bloggers an endless happiness and excellent health.

Happy New Year!

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas

(Picture courtey of KC & The Sunshine Runners)

First of all, I would like to wish all runners and readers of this blog a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

It's a Sunday morning. So you can expect some runners gather at the Lake Garden to start their run even though it's a Christmas day.

However, I chose to do something different this year - by dressing up as a Santa Claus! This is the second time I dressed up fancifully for a run - the first being in an office attire for the Rat Race!

Thank goodness, everyone seemed to be in jovial mood when they were approached by this little Santa Claus. They were even more surprise when they received their little presents - some Himalaya sweets (sponsored by Wai Mun) and bottle of lotion (courtesy of Amelia). Looking at their smiles really made me feel good!

And yes, I completed my 20km run and came back in one piece - unlike the Santa Claus who is always madly being rush by children for goodies in the shopping malls.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Happy Dong Zhi

Today is a rest day for me. Yes, no running!

Instead, I have been eating the whole day. I had breakfast with my wife at Mid Valley, Christmas lunch in KLCC with buddies and soon, I will be having a family reunion dinner for the Dong Zhi festival in Bangsar. Isn't that wonderful?

Hey! Did I mention I had tang yuan (glutinous rice ball) too? Yes, I had it during my tea time, courtesy of my likeable neighbour.

Life is good.... enjoy it while you can.

By the way, if you don't know what Dong Zhi is, here's some explaination (which I will try to remember too):

"In the Chinese calendar, the festival falls six weeks before Chinese New Year. A popular expression among the older Chinese to refer to the end of a year and the coming of the next one is: “Chi tang yuan, da yi nian (Eat tang yuan and grow older by a year).”

One of the must-haves for the festival is the marble-shaped tang yuan, which carries the meaning of a family reunion.

Yuan, which means “round” or “a circle”, is also an auspicious word that suggests yuan man (perfection)."

Mizuno Wave Run

It was a different role for me in this Run. Instead of participating as a runner, I rendered my service as a volunteer and I was assigned the Route Marshal's job.

A day prior to the Run, we gathered at the venue - Padang Merbok in the morning. We have a great time determining the best spot for the Start/Finish point. Due to the heavy rain the night before, the field has turned to a little pond with water and mud everywhere. Eventually, we agreed on a dryer ground before the Race Director - Mr Wan piled the first wood as the marker in a simple "opening ceremony". From there-on the job was much easier as we just needed to work according to the layout set by the Race Director. We made sure there was sufficient space for distributing the Finisher's Position cards and medals, timekeepers, result recording, check-in and exit areas.

Next we recce the actual race route and put on the road signages so that the runners would not lose their way. We had a short briefing at 4pm with all the 18 road marshals and assigned each duties at the specific checkpoints. That was our Day One job.

The following day when the Run was to start at 7.30am, we arrived early at 6am. After our breakfast, we adjourned to our respective checkpoints. I was based at Checkpoint No.2 and the last checkpoint.



At checkpoint 2, I needed to make sure all the runners turned right to the KTM Station behind the Bank Negara. After just 10 minutes from the Start, all the runners had passed by my checkpoint. Thereafter, I walked back to the last checkpoint guiding them to the finishing line.

It's always interesting to see how the runners react to their run. Some of them can run very fast; some struggling; some for fun; some for personal glory.

For me, it's indeed a pleasure to give back to what I like doing - running!

Zhen Qi Practice

My wife and I have been attending Qi Gong or Zhen Qi classes lately.

The practice is easy as what you need to do is to focus on your exhaling and your "tan dien" or abdomen. We need not do all the exercises like you see in Tai Chee. We sit and concentrate on our breathing - sound easy?

Actually, it's not as easy as we think as our mind is always "in the go". If you are not thinking of something else, you may sometime fall into the trap of sleeping.

There are 5 steps in a routine of EXHALING:
1) Focus on your heart.
2) Imagine the Qi flows from the heart to your lower "tan dien" (abdomen).
3) Concentrate on your "tan dien".
4) The Qi will flow to your back and then to the top of your head once it gets stronger.
5) The circle will complete when the Qi flows from the top of the head to your forehead, chin and back to your "tan dien".

You will notice some reactions in your body, depending on your health condition. Some participants burst into cry due to their past bad experience or depression. If you have blockage in certain parts of the body, you will feel a sensation of poking or ants biting at that specific area. Once the Qi has heal the problematic areas, its flow will become smoother and you will feel great! I saw some participants' face has turned reddish! How envious!

Well, we have not reached that level yet but we will be there if we are persistent to do more practices. However, I notice some positive result in my achilles tendon injury as the pain is almost gone (if not fully gone, touch wood).

Hope we could incorporate this Zhen Qi practice in our run - before, during and after. Who knows, we could do more PBs in the coming future. Hehehehe....

Our new World Champion

Congratulations to Nicol David for becoming the new World Champion & World No. 1 ranked women squash player!

We are so proud of your achievements and your contributions to our country. Malaysia Boleh!!!

Mouth-Watering Sports Attire

Congratulations to Malaysian athletes who won gold medals in the SEA Games in the Philippines.


What attracted me the most is their sports attire - so trendy and stylish. The colour and the design is also outstanding unlike the previous series. What make it so special this year is that male athletes got the chance to match their female counterparts in this area. It's good to see that whenever there is a Malaysian athlete on the starting block, they have already won a "gold medal" - in terms of presentation. Way to go, Malaysia!

By the way, are they for sale to the public?

Hari Raya Open House

Attended Azwar's Open House last Sunday. Most of the PM members were there. There is one obvious strength in all runners - punctuality. In all the functions I attended to, runners would be the first to arrive - on time, on the dot! Even the host's wife commended it. Keep it up, fella.

We had a good time together, served with lots of good food and entertained by the latest hot-in-town news-turn-jokes.

Azwar has a very nice house. If I have a house like his, I will install some simulators - swim like Ian Thorpe, cycle like Lance Armstrong and run like Haile Gebrselassie! How nice.....!

Again, thank you for the invite, Azwar.

KRI 2005 Full Results

Click the URL below for the full results of the 2005 KRI 10km Run :

http://www.ipohroadrunners.org/200510k/10KRR2005.xls

No Medal For Me in the KRI 2005

My wife and I went to Ipoh International School to collect her BIB last Saturday. Incidentally, we attended a talk by Dr Ron Hill on his running experience.

This averaged-built and soft spoken 67-year-old Englishman is the first Briton to complete a marathon under 2:10 - a feat he accomplished by clocking 2:09:28 during the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh. Wow! What is he doing in such a small race like KRI then? Apparently, he aims to run in 100 different countries before he turns 70! Double Wow! Sound familiar? Yes, I hope The Running Couple can do that too!

I picked up a few tips from this legend during his sharing:
1) High weekly mileage - the longer the better. He did more than 250km per week! No wonder he has been running EVERYDAY since 1964.
2) He has got achilles tendon injury before. And what he did to his injury? He continued running...SLOWLY. Eventually, the pain went off! That really excited me and I'm looking forward to my running again.
3) No cross training is required. His method is a pure running.

----------------------
RACE DAY



I started very slowly at 6:02 for the first km. Gradually, I increased my pace. By the 3rd km, I was back on track - 15:38. But there was no panic button to press as I took this "race" as my normal Sunday training run. I cheered and motivated the fellow runners especially our friends in PACM.

At the u-turn in the mid-way point, I finally saw my wife in front. She was running very well this morning. In fact I was supposedly pacing her. But now I trailed her!

After the u-turn, I ran more seriously. At the 6th km, my time has dipped below 29 minutes. At this point, I overtook Dr Ron Hill - the winner of 1970 Boston Marathon. With due respect, he has run very well in his age and in this hot and high humidity country like ours! Furthermore, he didn't aim to win the race. Otherwise, a small fly like me has got no chance at all!

With about 2 more km to go, I caught up with Khee Meng and Mr Yee from Seremban. Both told me my wife was just in front. I nodded and tried to catch her.



With about 500 metres to go, I caught up and said hi to my wife. I increased my speed a little so that she could overtake a girl in front of her. I paced her until the entrant of the finishing point at the football field. I stopped and checked my watch. To my surprise, it showed 47:56!

No medal for the pacer, yet I was very satisfied with the work-out. By the way, my wife got second in her category in 48:30 unofficial time. Well done, dear!

Hot, Hot, Hot Taroko International Marathon

“Oh yes! I finally reached the turning point,” I whispered inside my heart with much relief. The heat was getting on me. It was so scorching hot. I reckoned it was equivalent to 10am Malaysia time (30 degree Celcius perhaps). I bade farewell to the full marathoners and sincerely wished them luck as I made my u-turn back.

We were only about 40 minutes into the running yet I have started to struggle. “Maybe I should be joining the 8am running group in Bukit Aman next time. It is too late now as I am in the midst of a race of the Taroko International Marathon.”



One month before the race on 5 November, we weren’t sure if this year’s competition would be on or not. The official website has not been updated and worse still, it was removed all together sometime in October. We were informed that this year’s event was a go through our counterpart in Taipei - Yung Ho Running Club (YHRC). We quickly gathered our PACM members who had expressed their interest to participate earlier. In the end, 8 of us made the trip. They were Hooi Siew Weng, Ong Boon Hin, Ng Soo Fin (for the full marathon) and Teresa Goh, Phua Qui Thin, Yap Wai Mun and I (for the half marathon) and Chan Wing Kai (the cameraman). Special thanks to the YHRC and the ever-helpful Tey Eng Tiong for helping us with the registration.

At 5.00am, 8 of us assembled at our hotel lobby for the official bus to shuttle us to the starting point which was located some 40 minutes away. There were many other runners as well in the bus comprising mainly locals from other cities in Taiwan.



Upon stepping down from the bus, we were welcomed by cool breeze and magnificent view of the mountains. The atmosphere was very carnival-liked with lots of banner, loud music and of course the toilets. There was also an aerobic warming up session.

We quickly did some stretching, took some photos and went to the toilet before checking in our luggage. We walked slowly to the starting line which was situated right at the famous entrance arch of the Taroko National Park.

The 5km fun run was flagged off at 7.00am. We were supposed to flag off 10 minutes later. However, due to the uncontrollable crowd, the run was further delayed by another 15 minutes. The MC had to repeatedly announce for the runners to move behind the starting line. That shows the enthusiasm of the full and half marathoners to start the race!

“Bang!” I started slowly but steadily. I kept to the left which is the fastest lane in the Taiwanese traffic system. After just 2-3km, I started to sweat heavily and the sun was already on top of my head. I could actually see my own shadow running beside me. The course was straight and flat. At some point, we were sandwiched by seaside on the left and mountains on the right.



After the u-turn, there were not many runners in front of me anymore. It was kind of boring running alone! The heat had taken its toil on me and my armpit started to ache! A Caucasian runner was seen running without his shirt.

We were cheered on by some of the villagers and young children along the way. At one section, the workers from a nearby cement factory turned up to cheer us at the roadside. How sweet!

After crossing the starting arch, we were required to run another 5-6km inside the Taroko National Park. I rejoiced as the environment here was much cooler. There were many caves and tunnels. I could imagine we were like rats running from one hole to another! The view here was magnificent with waterfall flowing and the beautiful rocks just next to you. That’s the reward/incentive for traveling this far for a marathon. This is also the reason for running the Taroko Marathon, for I am so sure that we can never get to run into such a beautiful gorge with such magnificent scenes back home in Malaysia or anywhere else!



Some of the tunnels were quite dark. However, the ventilation was good. With about 1km to go, I could hear some cheering from the spectators outside the long tunnel. Suddenly I saw sunlight and I knew the finishing line was near. I pushed as hard as I could to complete this hottest half marathon that I had ever run!

The Results
21km

NameCategoryNet TimeOverallPosPos by GenderPos by Age Group

Tan John YamMen 36-451:44:471029626
Yap Wai MunWomen 36-451:54:04228182
Teresa GohWomen 56 above2:11:50602441
Phua Qui ThinMen 56-652:58:481867163468

1st runner 1:14:13 Last runner 3:12:57

42.195km

Ong Boon HinMen 46-554:37:48305287104
Ng Soo FinMen 46-555:09:17485456161
Hooi Siew WengMen 66 above5:38:236566145

1st runner 2:44:14 Last runner 6:11:53

For complete result, click on the link below:
Full marathon
http://www.sportsnet.org.tw/score_detail.php?Id=4

Half marathon
http://www.sportsnet.org.tw/score_detail.php?Id=5

What they said:
Phua, “The run was generally well organized. If the starting time can be earlier and the route remains inside the Taroko National Park, I think it will be wonderful.”

Ong, “I’m satisfied with my time today even though it got tougher at the end of the race. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the scenery here. After my run in Beijing and Taroko, I’m looking forward for a better result in the coming Singapore Full Marathon.”

Hooi, “This is the toughest and hottest in my 23 full marathons experience so far. Physically I’m still very tired and have not recovered from my tracking trip from Nepal the week before.”

Teresa, “I had a pleasant run here except for the heat. At my age, to be able to run, I’m already happy. Coming back 1st is a bonus!”

Wai Mun, “I came to view the beautiful Taroko Gorge and not only have I seen it, I’m glad I left my footprints there. It was another memorable experience for John & I.”