27 July 2009

Men's Health Night Run 09

Long story short - I completed my first >10km running event.


It was also my first proper running event because the 5km Fun Run at KL Marathon was botched (read previous post).

Heck, even on a normal day I barely manage to finish a 5km training run. So completing this 11.5km is something I'm quite happy about.

According to Robert who paced with me all the way, we completed the course in 1hr 21mins. That's an average speed of 8.5kmph - not bad at all for my first time. But I'm sure Robert would have done it in about an hour had he gone on his own.Nonetheless, his encouragement and the added pressure of not wanting him to be too slow because of me kept me going. When we saw the "4km To Go" hoarding I was all ready to give up. But it just wouldn't do Robert justice if I did so I pressed on and completed the entire run. Moral of the story - running with a buddy can go a long way.
All in all I didn't really prepare myself that well. Though I have been running short distances regularly for 2 months now, I didn't bother much with the pre-run regime. Didn't pay too much attention to keeping myself properly hydrated and I wasn't well-rested either. I only had 1 meal on the day of the run and I even went out for happy hour the night before, leaving me with diarrhea throughout the day of the run.

Must be good next time. Mizuno Wave Run on 25 Oct 2009.

05 July 2009

Of Late

It's been a busy period for me, thus the lack of updates. Here are a few just for the record.

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009
It was my first running event. I signed up for the 5km fun run just to try it out. Truth be told I really enjoyed the running as I prepared weeks before the event. So much so that I looked forward to finishing work on time just to go home to do my usual 3.3km round the neighborhood.

The 5km event itself was a disappointment. I was at the back of the group of I don't know how many people at the start of the run. If I had to guess, 5000 maybe? It really sucked that I wanted to run but couldn't because everyone around me just began by walking. Had to slowly weave my way through the hordes of people. This alone is enough reason for me to want to try the 10km. Hopefully people actually run!

What's more, the route wasn't clearly marked and someone in front decided to take a wrong turn, with the whole group following. We wound up back at the start only 3km on. Didn't get to run the full 5km.

Next run - Men's Health Run '09 on 25/Jul. I signed up for the 11.5km just for kicks. Have to start improving my stamina immediately.

Work at Desaru
Reason I've been so tied up with work these past couple of weeks is because I've been heavily involved in one of my company's projects to supply IT hardware for Lotus Group's new resort in Desaru, Johor.

Bulk of the work was in the planning and coordinating of the delivery of goods. The past 3 days was spent on-site setting up their over-spec-ed server and office PC's. It was a lot of waiting around as the office was barely ready for our arrival, but good fun just the same.

MIDE 2009
I was in a big hurry to finish up at Desaru so that I would have my Sunday free to visit the Malaysia International Dive Expo at PWTC. Today's their final day. I had only one intent which was to find good rates for our upcoming dive trip to Sipadan. It's a big crowd of 14 people so I wanted to make sure we got some good rates.

Funny thing is that this time I was surrounded by dive gear left, right and center, all on promotion, but I wasn't at all tempted to purchase anything. I guess I've already spent more than necessary and own all the equipment I really need to enjoy a good dive. The only money spent this round was RM25 for a stainless steel pointer, since I have a fair eye at spotting stuff underwater.

Quick check based on one of my previous post More Diving...
To-do list before next trip:
- Tusa Passage due for service.
- Atomic Aquatics B2 due for annual check.
- Suunto Mosquito 3 bars battery left and quite unstable - buy battery replacement just in case.
- Lubricate wheels and zips for bag.
- Clean & lubricate torchlight o-rings.
- Buy motion sickness pills. CHECKED
- Buy metal rod. CHECKED
- Check new Atomic subframe ARC mask for fogging, bring extra toothpaste if necessary. CHECKED

We've decided to drop plans to dive over Merdeka weekend as we're once again reminded that we don't have bottomless wallets.