Its called a sideWALK!

Ok, I would never purposefully down Penang, it is a great place to live and overall has more positives than negatives, that being said I have got to get this off my chest.
I run one of two routes in the morning...For the folks in the states or elsewhere this will make no sense but you can Google earth it if you want. The most often used route is the Straits Quay route, secondary to that is the Botanical Garden...i have not run the secondary for some time...mostly because i have massage clients in the morning and don't have time to lolly-gag, and running in the botanical Garden is made for lolly-gag in the best way. Most of the SQ route is well paved and eventually turns off into a neighborhood with really good sidewalks and very little traffic...except for the traffic that is ON the sidewalk.Yes the sidewalks in Penang are like the Long Island Expressway at rush hour...I have discovered that there really is no respect from a portion of the motor-able public...They really feel like "If its paved, then it can be driven on!"
 last week I ran 6 days of those 6 days 4 of them I had to doge motor bikes either coming at me or from behind on the sidewalk...WHAT THE FREAKING HELL!!!
I mean are you really that lazy that you have to drive your motorbike on the sidewalk because the turn around that would bring you onto my side of the road is 50 feet...yes 50 F'ING FEET away...and then give me a dirty look...I imagine the dirty look is because your motor bike riding, lazy, cant drive on the road fifty foot, cigarette smoking ASS...has no clue why someone would interfere with your convenience by actually doing something healthy, on the SIDEWALK!!! Its bad enough I feel like I have a target on me if i run anywhere near the road...now running on the sidwalk is like playing a real life game of FROGGER!
I am here to help though...They are called side-WALKS...In most of the modern world they are for people WALKING, that would be why "Walk" is part of the word...Although running is not walking...it a whole HELL of a lot closer than riding a GD motor bike you lazy...ok, i need to calm down, because as loud as a scream and as much as I complain...it wont change. I can only hope that at some point I don't become...well...Sidewalk-kill....I look forward to returning to the US, where my biggest worry running on the sidewalk was a big pile of dog poo...Penang motor bike sidewalk riders, you win this round...Being run over by a motor bike on the sidewalk, beats stepping in Dog S**t on the sidewalk any day...Well done, well done indeed! Run Happy

Singapore Sundown 10k.

Well this years Sundown was going to be my second race of the year...I really like this race...not because last years I got stalked and fished...that was not at all fun...I mean who does that at a marathon?! Anyway, I decided that until Sydney in September I will be doing 10k only races...it was always my best distance and at this time 1/2 marathons, in the heat and humidity, only serve to frustrate.
I also love any time I get to stay in Singapore, its a great city to get some down time in. This race has always been held in the same general area, this year though it used an epic venue. The F1 track. Last year I did a 10k with the Tri-factor series at this same venue and actually ran a really good time...it has been a steep downhill since then. I have toned down the competitive-ness that is me, and have continued to accept high 8, low 9 min mile times. I was really hoping this would be better than my recent 10k showing...it was not, but based on my overall and age group placing...it does not look as though it was that great for anyone...the heat and humidity plays a part in that I am sure.
This is a nice course generally, it passes by the majority of the Singapore landmarks, which generally are lit up at night. It is a flat course and tends to be well managed...although this time i saw a few transition areas where there was a different route for the 1/2 marathon folks, where people got off track and had to backtrack...At a night race you really need experienced and attentive marshals at the transition areas, especially if you are running a dual distance race. I would never down volunteers though especially for a race that begins at 1:00am...they do the best they can and in their defense they did provide instruction...they just need to increase the volume, runners tend to tune out, and focus on breathing and pace, well this runner does anyway...I was not happy with my finish time, despite the face that my splits were closer to even (we all hope for negative but...).
The marathon folks also offered a really cool interactive page that made me feel a bit better.

So second race of the year in the books...now I look forward to Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur in June, and Sydney in September. Run Happy Loyal reader.