Larian Hijau MPSP Green Run, 1/2 Marathon

So this was to be my grand and glorious follow-up to my Hunter Valley NSW Australia triumph. I was excited for this race for many reasons. 1.) a good friend Andrew Loh was one of the organizers and many other running friends would be bike marshalls and volunteers, so there were alot of people I knew and respected who were involved in the race, 2.) it was my first good opportunity to run with my I-run friends at this distance, and i wanted to have a good race, especially after the SCKL (Standard Chartered KL 1/2) disaster. 3.)Confidence was high after OZ, and this was a loop course that was very flat, so a good time was more than possible. Then, we went to Singapore for 5 days, and my training fell off the cliff, I got very little sleep, and picked up a horrible sinus infection. I figured that despite that I would still be ok, i had trained well up until the fall off, and usually in the past when I am not feeling well, i can do very well in an athletic endeavour. Running a 1/2 marathon, and playing hockey are two very different animals I would soon find out.

So i felt good at the race start, and decided to pull the best time i could for the first 6 miles, That was the last of my positive accomplishments in this race. the first 6 miles was in 49:32...I did not feel to bad as I passed 7 miles still keeping an 8:30 pace...passed 8 miles, starting to struggle now...yes some cramping in my hamstring but mostly it was my head...i felt feverish, and felt like my head was going to explode, I decided to push to 9 miles, before I would really stop, but It was not happening, once i lost it, it was gone.

then it was the mental game of fighting my pain threshold, and my discomfort. If it was just the hammy I would have been find, but with the hammy and the head...not happening, so the last 3-4 miles were a process of run a 1/2 mile walk a1/4 mile, run a 1/2 miles walk a 1/4 mile. thanks to Hoay Jen, Khoo Siew Swan, Kelvin Cupido, Eric Lim,Karen Geh who gave me encouragement along the way, it helped, finally with about 700 meters to go I was caught by Lim Ping Wooi, and we finished together.

 I think it was a 2:14:00 finish which is tough to take, especially after the Hunter Valley, NSW finish. Its a finish though, and I say to others all the time, crossing the finish line is all that matters. Rather than look at the negative of a disappointing finish time there are many lessons to be learned...as this is only the second 1/2 marathon I have done in this climate...I.) i have found that I cannot run it the same way i would run in cooler conditions, i need to monitor my pace better and look for negative splits next time, perhaps that conserving at the start will give me more at the end. II.) Running a half marathon sick and playing Ice Hockey sick are two totally different things, and I will not do that again. the expectation of "sweating out" a fever in a competitive running event is just plain stupid. III.) Training is vitally important. Next time I will not plan 2 half marathons so close together, my recovery time is different from when I was younger, a 10K or less during that recovery time would have been better. IV.) I am still very competitive, and the sad thing is that i will never be as good a runner as I was a hockey player (some would say I was never good at that either) I have many trophies and won many championships on the ice...I think i need to have more fun with the running and realize my days of being on the podium are over, my competitive self does not like this one bit, but he needs to shut it and deal. So next is the ECO night run on Thursday, a nice 8K, tough hilly course...should be fun

Catching up!

So its been some time since I blogged. The summer has been tough for training with Brenna being out of school and the "haze" being really bad more days than not, no excuses though, all the single moms and dads out there seem to find the time and I need to do the same. I am still able to get in at least 5 days of running, but my gym time has suffered big time and i am getting flabby again. Anyway...How about those Olympics! It was a fun, yes?? Our two Malaysian superstars took home medals, and although our US women and men did not medal in the marathon, Kara and Shalane did really well, and Meb is the man! I was however reminded of what happened in 1972, and having just read an article in Runners World by Kenny Moore (one of the USA participants in the marathon that year). There is a quote in the article that I will keep with me. "...here the village had been a refuge, admittedly imperfect, from a larger, seedier world in which individuals and governments refused to adhere to any human code. For two weeks every four years we direct our kind of fanaticism into the essentially absurd activities of running and swimming and being beautiful on the balance beam. Yet even in the rage of competition we keep from hurting each other, and thereby demonstrate the meaning of civilization. I shook and cried as that illusion, the strongest of my life, was shattered.." I found it poignant that he wrote that in 1972 and for the most part it is still true today, so sad that often it is the people, who might not even agree with the position of their government, get hurt the most. It got me thinking that it would be so nice if most of the larger world struggles were solved by taking the respective leaders involved in the struggle and letting them solve their differences in the realm of sport...Osama (when he was alive) and GW in a 50k ultra-marathon. Osama and Ahmadinejad play a best of seven in "H.O.R.S.E". When I get to be king...that's whats going to happen. I really don't mean to get political, but Its starting to get a bit silly, don't you think?? Personally I don't care what Mitt Romney paid in taxes...I know I can kick his ass in a 5k!

I love running in Penang, i really do, but If i had my wish i would superimpose Singapore on Penang, What Penang lacks, Singapore has and vice versa. Penang has beautiful areas to run, but you have to contend with the traffic and they will hit you, seriously, they will. Singapore also has some really beautiful areas also, and you never have to contend with traffic. I would love it if Penang would take some time and work on that, the longest single traffic free part of penang i have run on is the botanical garden, or parts of Straits Quay. If anyone else knows of a traffic free area of longer than 5k in Penang, let me know (city not jungle/trail). I would love to run it.

Well the minimalistic craze is here to stay I guess and every shoe company is getting in on it, hell its even spawned some new companies. I think its great, however...It has its drawbacks, if you are not prepared bio-mechanically for it it can do some real damage. I mean you cant be a 2 day a week trainer doing less that 15 miles a week generally used to training in a cushioned shoe and switch to vibram 5 fingers, without some transition. I started running in the Brooks Glycerine, a cushioned neutral shoe, despite a noticeable tibial twist, I still run better in neutral shoes, I moved from the Glycerine to the Launch after about a year, the launch being another neutral without as much of the cushioning, and from the Launch I would do shorter races 5k -10k in the T-6 (now the T-7). after about 1 and a half years, i would train at 10k in the T-7, once a week. I then began to work in the Green Silence to the point where I would switch off between the Launch and Green Silence, with the T-7 for speed work. After about 2 years of that rotation, I was able to train regularly in the Green Silence and now in rotation with the Pure Flow. Although my stride is 100% bio-mechanically correct, I am still recovering from my injury and know what I am doing wrong. Now i do NOT mean to say "be like me"all I am saying is make sure that you give your body time to develop as a runner before you try and become a minimalist runner.

Ok last thing...My Garmin 305 is dying, after 4 years the battery is crapping out and the GPS has trouble more often than not. So I think its time to replace it. I will either go back to another 305, despite that they are really hard to find, even from Garmin USA. So my choice is the new 910xt, which is truly more of a Triathlon watch. With the swim metrics, its really a waste of money as 2/3 of the watches technology I will never use (swim/bike). The 610 and 410, i have heard nothing but bad things about and to be hones most of the runners i know don't use either model if they can avoid it.I'm looking at the Forerunner 310XT...which I have known has been  a great watch for many people. I have always been a Garmin guy. Here's the thing though Timex has a GPS enabled watch now, I have begun to read some reviews, but it does not seem to be good enough to keep me from going with Garmin again. Run Happy!

55th Chung Ling Cross Country Run

Last year this was the first real time I spent away from the house and on crutches. It had been less than a month from the accident...i remember slipping on a dead bird and falling, and having a great time with my good friends. This year I was not on crutches, but still find it difficult to make an Irish/German, Chinese. The reason i say that is that the tradition of this race is that it is open to individuals of Chinese descent only...i have so much respect for that, i would never run in this event even for fun, tradition needs to be honored and celebrated. So i decided to take some photos and celebrate that tradition, spend some time with good friends, and hopefully meet some new ones. I had a blast. I love being a part of the I-run group and the Penang running community in general, it encompasses some really great people. I-run again made a really great showing, especially amongst the ladies. Our guys did not do too bad either, and as a group, overall, I-run was well represented.
This is a group I will miss more than I can say, as we inch closer to our time to depart Penang...I am going to take every chance i get to create as many great memories as I can. This particular run, will always be one of those memories! Run Happy, loyal reader!

2011, cast and crutches.

2012, "look mom, no crutches!"