the benifits and necessity of rest...

Well it has been sometime, since I have done any work on this blog and for that I am sorry. there has been a great deal going on so I will recap the last month or so for you...The last race I covered was the round Island Relay here in Penang, after that we were on our way back to the US for our annual holiday visit. We began our home visit in St. Pete, after some rest days with Roxanne's Dad and then with her Mom...Wow did I miss St. Pete, especially during the months of December and January. its beautiful, blue skies, cool temperatures and just the beauty of the berg. I got in a few runs in some of my favorite spots, The Pier and Coffee Pot Bayou, and the hotel we stay at, big time nod to the Hampton Inn downtown, is right at the St. Pete Yacht club so I just walk out the doors and I am off! See Dolphins playing in the bay, tons of birds, and sometimes even a manatee or two, and with temps in the high 30's low 40's...it was epic! I even got a chance to run with two friends while I was there, which makes it even better.

The Yacht Club, St Petersburg.

Coffee Pot Bayou

 

The Next thing on the agenda was a return to Roxanne's Dads place in Lake Wales, Florida. I was to have done the Zombie 5K, an adventure run where you are required to run from Zombies through a maze of different conditions, one of the things was through water....now this would have been fine, however it was supposed to be near freezing temps that morning and the venue was almost 2 hours away from where we were staying. So I begged off and gave my spot to a friend...The last thing I wanted to do after spending the last year in sub tropical conditions was to wade through water on a near freezing day...not a good plan. I was disappointed as I was supposed to do the race with my friend Jason, I have not seen him for well over 2 years and it would have been a blast to do the run with him. there will be other chances though I am sure! sorry Jason hope you guys had a blast!!
Running on the roads out by Roxanne's dads place was really nice, generally empty back roads, lots of cows and Sandhill Cranes. The weather was equally good, however a few morning presented a new problem, dense fog, which is not always the best idea to run in on a back country road...usually waiting to a bit later in the morning helped, and it was still just a cool outside. Cow pastures offer a whole new sensory experience though, mostly for the nose...they stink, not to put to fine a point on it..

cows

Sandhill Cranes

Now it was on to Roxanne's Moms in Lakeland, Florida. Another great visit and another great place to run, although this run involved a short drive to Lake Holingsworth. then a few loops around a beautiful lake, surrounded by multi million dollar homes and a university...nice!

Then it was on to my parents place in south Florida, I was also slated to do a 10k in Boca Raton, on 30/12/12. The race was right along the ocean on A1A. That day dawned very cold. It was only in the 40's at race start, but this was a really nice race. most of it along the highway, the rest through a neighborhood. It was a lot of fun, and I ran fairly well...47:44 was my timing.

So on 5 January we were back in Penang, I ran once more before that in the states, then 2 times more when I returned to Penang. Then I got very sick, bringing a cold/flu back from the states. Today after almost 10 days off, I finally feel normal, I still have some respiratory  issues, but the rest has really helped. I feel rejuvenated, and ready to go back to it. Loyal reader, its a new year and lots of new challenges lie ahead...Thanks for reading, Run Happy!

35th Annual Penang Round Island Relay

Now, Pink is not a color that works for me, some guys can pull it off...i am not one of them. That being said, when I arrived at this event at 4:30AM and was presented with my Pink singlet...i though..."ok, maybe this is some sorta Karma moment...I missed this race last year, could not wait till it came around again, hoped i would be picked for a team, and I am here, I got picked for a team and now I'm wearing pink...somehow this has to work out in a positive way!

There are moments in life that stand out, that become etched in your conscious mind, there have been a few of those moments this year, Australia (Positive) SCKL (Not) Penang Bridge (50/50)...This will go down as a positive. I truly had a great time and you know what...."Pink, its my favorite color".... This race is fun for so many reasons...first of all its a team experience, which offers a challenge, unlike other races, yes there is the course, the weather and your own internal voice (for me anyway). Mostly though those things drive the individual to perform...Having been a guy who played team sports my whole life the concept of individual goals has always been a work in progress. My goals were always directed towards the team, sometimes (as a goalie) you have a bad night and the team picks you up...some nights you dominate and the other guys don't have to be at their best...some nights I wish that this all would end...ooops sorry, drifted off there...Anyway, with running its just you and the course really...if you have a bad race there could be a zillion reasons why, at the end of it all though it comes down to you, period. With a relay, the team concept comes back into play and even if you run a bad leg, someone can run a better one and pick you up. The other thing that a race like this does though that is perhaps something that is not often seen as a part of running (except by runners), that is that running is a fellowship of athletes who generally have a great deal of respect for one another, and will cheer just as hard for the first guy to cross the tape as they will the last!

So, anyway, the team i was a part of had no one that i really knew, mostly facebook folks and guys I had never met, but seen at the local events. That was a cool part of the experience, as I am always intrigued to meet knew people. I was supposed to run the 8th leg of the 12 leg event, 7.something KM...There were some changes made during the week by Captain Andrew "Damn he fast" Loh, and I ended up running the 3rd leg a 6.4 KM trot. 3:00 is freakin early, and I met up with Sunny Ng Adeline Tan (driver) Vincent Teoh, and another young woman I did not know. we arrived at City Hall in Georgetown, got our kits.
Oh, time out for a moment...i am very happy to announce that i have fallen in love...with my T7's (again), i forgot how much i love to race in this shoe, i had been using the green silences as a race shoe and sometimes training shoe, but no more...the GS's will go back on the training shoe shelf along with the Pure Flow. The T7 is now my go to race shoe, she is sexy and fit and man I love her in red (going to try the Pure Drift as a racer, not sure if anything could be better than my T7 though...love ya baby) ok, back to our regularly scheduled program...

  ...and then loaded on buses by our wave # (2-3 were together). the bus dropped us at our start point and then it was just a matter of waiting for our runner to come by. Baton in hand i headed off into the steamy thunder and lightning spotted Penang morning...It was a pretty easy beginning, but it got tough towards the end with some steeper sections and it was a bit long..6.4KM is about 3.9 miles, by the watch I ran 4.3 miles 6.9KM...Does not matter though, it was my first time in Penang, in any race no matter the distance, that I was under 7:00/mile, I did the 4.3 miles in 30:00 flat and that works out at 6:59...I am significantly proud of that, especially since i did have to stop 3 times and get my breath back. As a team (with no name) we came in 3rd and the guys all ran phenomenal...i mean these were some tough tracks and they were awesome...We came in 3rd place, and yes that is out of three teams, but we did great and to be honest, i still have no clue when the Y team passed us...I saw the X team go ahead during my lap, Our Z team was next, and when I left the Y team was still waiting...So I have no idea when they made the pass. I does not matter though because on this day we were great! I cannot think of a better way to wrap up 2012 here in Penang...i had a blast and met some new folks....a better day, I could not have asked for . So my last post for 2012 will be a wrap up of what was a very busy year, that really began for me in February...I have had a blast sharing my experience with all of you, and I really hope you have enjoyed the ride in 2012 and will come along with me in 2013 while i try to tackle "The Great Wall" 1/2 marathon, and hopefully revisit some races, see if I can better some times and check out some new races!! Loyal reader, my deepest thanks, and as always Run Happy!

Takasima Run 2012

 

This is a charity race (so no medals and no timing chip except if you come in in the top 20), held on the Penang Mainland at a new industrial park where the headquarters for the Takasima company is located...FYI they make exercise equipment and also carry other companies products and they seem

to like Ferrari and Lamborghini...Go figure...Who doesn't!

This was a 10k race and although it was un-timed I wanted to try and run better than I had...My review of my performance...Eh....
I was somewhere around 48 - 49  min...I was very lucky to have been lent a GPS watch (polar, sorry Garmin...when I get home I will be testing the 310 and 210...promise!). This was a fun race, some up and down sections over some raised highway section, a nice newer highway, a good competitive crowd, and lots of good friends around to enjoy it with...I am finding that I have been racing too much so I am taking more rest days, and to be honest, I was concerned I would slow a bit, but 47-49 seems to be my time for a 10k here in Malaysia. Now I had thought this would be my last race in Penang for 2012, but I have the Round Island Relay, which is in its 35th year, I think...I missed it last year due to my injury so I am excited I will be able to be a part of it! Takasima, good time!

Penang Bridge International Marathon 2012

Hello loyal reader well this was supposed to be the last race of the year, but if you know the Floridian runner, you know that any opportunity to compete will not be passed up (I should really take the rest of the year off though). Penang Bridge was the very first race I signed up for in Penang. I signed up for it before we had moved to Penang back in 2010. That was for the 2011 race (duh), Then the day that will live in infamy happened, (accident) and I missed it. So this would be my first Penang bridge run, and the 1/2 marathon was on tap. I was terribly sore, and worried about the distance really wreaking my hip flexors and quads worse than they were. The race began at 3:00AM, and although that sounds like torture, it was not that bad, i had friends who had a hotel room close to the venue, so I had a place to crash. Now, generally the smaller races in Penang take place with little or no traffic control. This race was on a closed course which is wonderful. However, I did not run well and the sub two hour 1/2 marathon, here in Penang, continues to elude me...that sucks. The startting corral was tough, very crowded and the fact that in began on the feeder road in front of the Queensbay mall...so getting out of the pack was not easy...That always drives me crazy and messes with my pacing every time. The reason is that once i get free i find myself wanting to "make up the time"...

So as it has gone in other 1/2's here. I did the first 10k really well...the second 10k...not so much...It was hot, now its always hot here, so that should come as no surprise, however even some of my local friends said it was hot. I expected some sea breeze on the bridge to help a bit, there was NONE...The route back was brutal for me and although I tried the walk a 1/2 mile run a mile...i was not able to...I crossed the finish line in the 2:20's....which is not very good, but seems to be my target pace based on my last 3 half marathons here (3 in Penang, counting this one, and one in Singapore). This was special because last year for this race I was still on crutches, and THIS was the LAST Penang Bridge run on this span of the bridge, in the coming years it will be on the new span they are building. Proud of the friends i have and their accomplishments...I did miss out on the post race pictures which stinks, but i needed to get home and get some sleep, I'm old....

There was a more significant negative that happened with the close of this race, and that was my Garmin FR305 finally died...I LOVED this watch and it will be missed! So the year will close with two more races in Penang, the Takasima (spelling?) run 10k, and the Round Island Relay...The two races at home, while we are back... So a few more posts before I wrap up the year. Thanks loyal reader for hanging in there! Run Happy!

Running In Hong Kong

This is just a short post...Rox or I will post a longer blog on our other site about Hong Kong...I did run there which is AWESOME!! I have now run or raced in 5 different countries (6 if you count the US). Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, and now Hong Kong...It was cooler there, not by much but the difference between 80 degrees and 85 degrees is huge when you are running...anyway, we stayed in the Kowloon area, right near the esplanade and the Avenue of the stars, so that is where I ran...It was beautiful...Really blessed to not only still be able to run after my accident, but to run is such cool places!

Ok, its a cheesy picture but no one ever wants to get up to take pictures of me running...so cheese is it...enjoy!! Loyal reader...Run Happy!!

Tanjung 10km Run, November 10, 2012

Ok so this was supposed to be a good prep for the Penang Bridge 1/2 Marathon, and it would have been if i had spent any time training consistently over the last 2 months...I have actually been slacking pretty bad, now in my defense we have been traveling over the last 2 months quite a bit, but no excuses...So this is a smaller race but seeped in tradition i think as I did see some folks with T-shirts that were a few years old...The Fellowship of the Run, was out in full force for this one and that makes for a very competitive outing, so i had no visions of grandure, this was going to be fun!

Race course was good, nice and flat and through some areas of town that I don't get see much.For me the local, smaller races are very fascinating here in Penang. First of all, the medals are often really nice, second, the support is really good considering its a smaller event, Third, the public, going about their normal morning business, often has the strangest look about them as this big group goes running by...Which brings me to another huge difference between running a race at home and running one here, no difference does not imply better or worse, just different. At home the route is usually closed to traffic in some capacity, here you generally run with traffic. There is cross street support from local law enforcement usually, but open road is you, me and the traffic, and during this race, i lost it on some poor guy, went totally New York on him...i mean I am as far over to the shoulder as a can be and he got REALLY close...he turned ahead of me and I caught up there and after a few not so kind words I told him that he really did not need to be that close...i mean if i moved left because of debris on the shoulder, he would have hit me...Anyway, it was a fun race and I did ok. It was to have been a 10k but it was more like a 5.4 mile run...i did it in 44:35. I felt ok, but still dealing with a hamstring/quad problem, so more sore than i should be...

Anyway Good times, and now we head off to Hong Kong for 5 days, i should be able to get in a few runs there before Penang Bridge...i just hope I can run off this soreness....Thanks for being there loyal reader..Run Happy!!

Rock to Rock Run, Hard Rock Hotel, Penang..28 October 2012

Well last year for this race, I had just been allowed to begin weight bearing exercise...so I was not really crutches free, but I was close. It was nice to be at this one and be able to run...I Got a ride in from my friend Thuan. The event asks folks to dress up...i think its a bit for Halloween and just a bit for fun...This year people went all out, there were some really good ones. I have been trying to use races as a test to see what i can do and how fast i can go...this one was a really bad one to try that with...i managed 3 miles in 23:00, and 4 miles in 31...the last 2 miles stunk though...I ended up at 51 and change...Not bad for the first run in a week, but the 10k which used to be my go to race has started to become my worst...I did really well in the Tri-Factor in Singapore earlier this year and now each successive 10k has been worse by 1 min. I think i am racing too much and not training enough. Anyway I was thankful to have some I-run friends around in those last 2 miles to push me along, but I still was not at my best. Good friends and a good time makes up for it though! Anyway, now I really need to kick up my training so i can do well at Penang Bridge 1/2...Still have a few weeks to go. Run Happy loyal reader.