Second Attempt

The Kiara Park – Bukit Aman go and return route of 30km which I did before was not that fun, because I did it alone. So, with the splendid atmosphere surrounding us with LSDs upon LSDs, I’m opening an invitation to join me for a second attempt at this 30km route.

Kiara Park – Hartamas – Bukit Tunku – Bukit Aman, and return back to Kiara Park.
I jotted down my experience here.

Date: Saturday, May 22.
Time: 0615hrs meet at Kiara Park, 0630hrs roll out.
Venue: Kiara Park, TTDI.

There’s a mosque nearby if you wish to perform Subuh prayers there. And please bring along any kind of rehydration support (Fuel Belt, water bottle, etc), and also cap and sunglasses. Oh ya, bring along some small cash ya (for rehydration refill). If your feet are prone to blisters, spare some plasters ok.

For those who want to do shorter distances, you are also cordially invited to join us. There’s plenty of turnaround options that you can choose if you want to clock 10km, or 15km, or 21km, etc. It’s your choice, but it would be great if we all can roll out at 0630hrs, barula meriah sesi lambungan kita.

I’ll sacrifice my arm muscles for the run, to run along with my camera and shoot you all in action. Don’t be late ya!. And please don't expect same photo outcome as our more terer photographers like Haza or Tey, or others. I'm one step lower than an amateur.

Or, if you are not free on Saturday, there’s a “Tribute to Ngae Run” happening on Sunday (the next day), starting from Bukit Aman car park at 6.30am.

I Believe I Can Fly

Yeah right. Keep dreaming. Where got man can fly one? Even if you wear your brand new red color underwear outside of your track bottom, and tie your kain pelikat around your neck to mimic like Superman, you still can’t fly.

But you know what? Even flies who can fly every day, may sometimes feel bored you know. Let’s take a look at what they do when they get bored of flying. I got these raw creative images from a friend via email, and while my brain was still unaffected by the Monday blues, I embedded some dialogues for extra spices into the images before posting them up here. Enjoy! Click them to enlarge.

Infected Once Again

I think I’ve fully developed my immune system towards the M-bug. However, I need a lot of energy to struggle with this new virus. Let’s just call it the TMS-virus for now.

So, how do I define TMS-virus?

It’s easy. In the first minute, I have some idea of what to write on the blog. But come to the next minute, I totally lost everything. I can’t even proceed to the second or third paragraph of writing. The small idea for a blog entry cannot be further developed (or dramatized, to be exact).

And having such a melancholic personality trait, writing super short entries like those on FB walls is not my forte (macam la tulis panjang2 ni terer sangat… hampeh jugak). Not brilliant enough to play around with bombastic words added another strong venom to the TMS-virus, making it a full package deal.

That’s my TMS-virus. I’ve had this for quite some times now, which I believe started when I was bombarded with loads of urgent work a couple of months back. I thought the virus has left me last week where I managed to blog every two days or so. But it seems like the great great grandmother of the virus is still residing inside my nose (or brain? I don’t know).

Which explains why even my posting for the grand night LSD at Putrajaya which was full of fun, with many good running friends along, with lots of photos captured, also got delayed for few days before it gets published.

If you yet to get my drift, TMS means “Two Minutes Spirit”. It’s a direct translation from its original Malay version of “Semangat Dua Minit”, as what my training buddies here in JB usually say to those who, well, have high spirit to do something which ended up doing nothing, very quickly.

Life is pretty much similar to a roller coaster ride, only with unpredictable up and down times.

Imagine, we wake up one morning with big smiles on our face, suddenly we get a phone call or a text message that is powerful enough to turn the smiles 180 degrees in a split second. Be it family issues, friendship issues, banking issues. You name it.

Or, we came out from a meeting room with a high hope that our proposals or ideas will be accepted, only to see a new email coming into our mailbox few hours later saying something in the line of “Sorry to inform that due to certain circumstances we have to reject your blablablablabla…”

Or, when nobody appreciates us for staying late in the office for additional few hours everyday of the week, but yet, dare to make noise to higher management when we are late to work for only 7 minutes.

Not my fault what? The alarm was dead maa.

I just wanted to say that I’m having a feeling that my desire and interest in writing is slowly declining.

I think I should just download an anti-virus into my brain. Habis cerita.

Night Weekend Warriors

“Running Bloggers United”, as mentioned by Haza, is such a strong pulling factor for the community we are now in. Initiated and triggered mainly by entries and comments left on some of the blogs we frequent, the night LSD run training at Putrajaya’s Palace of Justice came to reality last Saturday.

Based on my very strong visual memory (assisted by the 87 photos I took), there were twenty night warriors, plus one amazing support crew. Let’s get to know them, shall we? (Ini kes dah kehabisan modal nak lambung la ni)

“Kalau nak gaya lambung baeeek punya, buat macam ni la!”
The King Lambung a.k.a King Mambo, showing the latest version of Lambung V1.1, released one day earlier.

Special appearance by the lady in white, who had just ran 45km in the earlier morning. I guess we all managed to download* a little bit of her inspirations. Haza came to support our night LSD, especially her partner-in-crime, Kash.
(*Err.. download?)

In their Fast n’ Serious mode.
I had difficulties chasing their sub 6min/km pace to take this shot.
L-R: Shakhir, Azmar, Nizam and Dett.

Daud a.k.a CheRaMiChe (right) gave his glowie band to Syed a.k.a Crusshio as he retired the run after 11km.

Saudagar kurma dari Cheras sedang buat promosi PowerDates kepada Pak Wibowo the librarian runner.

Upon completing our first loop of 11km-ish, we had some kurma fiesta.
Khairul Anuar (white/red vest), Yim (with the fuel belt), and Ian (squatting) picking up the last bit of dates.

Just like a superstar, Syah’s grand appearance was just before we continued with our second loop.

Syah lead the group on our second loop. Looks just like larian pasukan rumah putih

Rais n’ Kash’s “kedai runcit” is now mobile!
And they operate on special occasions only.

Ijam with his LSD… eh, I mean, SLR!

Ketua Kampung KLCC park, Shuk (left), running strong alongside FMV Minister, Yim.

I’m not sure if I’ve covered everybody. Perhaps not. I’m going to put all the other photos on my Facebook album (for the first time ever!), where we can continue the sesi lambungan sesuka hati.

Anyway, my first loop of the run was OK. But coming to the first half of the second loop, it was KO. I suddenly lost the gas in my tank, and slowed down and started walking. I decided to stop at 16km, after gulping one bottle of Gatorade sponsored by Kash (thanks!) in less than a minute. As he came by, I told Ian that I doubt I could finish the second loop but he told me otherwise. So, I ended up forcing myself to continue plodding with him for the remaining half of the second loop.

By the time we made a turn behind PICC, I knew I won’t be able to clock 30km as I initially intended to do for that night. Finishing up that first 20km was already a difficult task, in that environment. This time I find it difficult to run strong at night.

We took another rest in front of Palace of Justice (PoJ), and as soon as the sweat on my skin evaporated, few of us braved the quiet boulevard for another few clicks, to finish it off with 25km-ish in total. My running time was 2hr45min, very the slow.

Strong legs in action. Definitely not mine.

We ended our night at a restaurant with another session of LSD (meLantak Sampai Demam)

A group photo of the night warriors. 90% of them are bloggers.
We should invite more bloggers to run, and more runners to blog.

I leave you with a final quiz.
Siapa punya kaki lambung ni haa?

Her Name is Sara

She can normally be seen running alone at the garden almost everyday for about one hour each session, starting at 6pm. Her pace was always steady, and pretty fast too. Never did I spoke to her, except for some occasional waves as we passed each other on the opposite side of the run.

And the last time I saw her running was about, ermm, three months ago I guess. Out of a sudden, I realized she’s not there anymore. Even some of my running buddies here noticed about her absence for quite some times. My assumption was, she moved to some other states for working purpose.

Ok, fine with that.

Except for yesterday, when I saw a glimpse from afar of another female runner that the way of her running resembles the swings and strides as the lady I mentioned earlier, only at much slower pace. Just to make sure I didn’t get the wrong person, I gave a chase. And as I came close to her left hand side I braved myself to take a look at the face of this female runner.

Yup, it was her. The same person. But she appeared with slightly longer hair, and it’s not difficult to see that she had gain some weight too.

I didn't feel good running yesterday. Lethargic. Can't even run non stop for more than 30minutes. I stopped to take a breather at this corner after doing two loops to enjoy the evening view overseeing Selat Tebrau and Singapore.

I slowed my pace down and run besides her. For the first time I started a conversation with her, while running. She was a bit shocked at first, since we’ve never talked before. After a little bit of some self-introductory, I asked about her long absence.

Me: “It’s been a while since you last run here. I thought you’ve move to KL or somewhere.”
Her: “No lah. I was sick. I was hospitalized for a few months. Cancer.”

I was dazed as I heard that. The two most common cancer cases for females are breast and cervix. And she told me she got cervical cancer.

“Fortunately it was detected at a very early stage. And I’ve got it removed. Luckily, or else I would have to do chemotherapy which I don’t want to. I want to keep my hair.”, she told me.

I can’t imagine how her feeling was when she first discovered about the cancer. I can’t imagine how suffering she has been during the operation, and after the operation. I can’t imagine how life will be for her. I can’t imagine how it is, to be related to the word of cancer.

We continued exchanging thoughts related to cancer and running, while finishing the last stretch of our runs. She only did one lap, as she just started running this week and as of yesterday, she still looked a bit weak. I was already on my last lap, out of three. At one point she thought I am a medical practitioner. She looked a bit surprised when I cited a few cancer-related terms that not many people use on daily basis.

“So, what makes you run?”, was my final question to her.

“Because it is something that I love to do. Plus, I like to eat too. So this is the only way for me to balance things up.”, she replied.

And when she returned the same question to me;

“I run because I do triathlon”.

I immediately felt embarrassed, as it abruptly made me realize that I actually don’t really love or don’t have passion in running.

Hang on, I don’t think I have any passions in anything at all.

By the way, as for Sara, I hope she will survive much longer. And I somehow believe, that the spirit of a runner will keep her moving positively in life.

New Meaning Of LSD

Running with a group of friends normally won't make you feel so mentally tired, regardless of the distance covered. But, this morning was something different. I felt a bit tired. Not due to running, but due to laughing. It brought a new meaning to the abbreviation LSD.

As planned, we gathered at Bukit Aman this morning for a long run. When the five of us met, the laughing session began. We get to know that two other weekend warriors were lost in their battle with alarm clocks and blankets. Poor them, they didn't manage to join us.

The local Geng Kaki Lambung.
L-R: Syah, Det, Shakhir (Lambung King), Shuk and EnAikAY

I was surprised I could still manage to wake up at 5am, inspite of just having less than 4 hours of sleep. The traffic up from JB to KL last night was pretty bad at some places, and the bus express driver could only drive as fast. And since Puduraya is closed for renovation now, having to touch down at Bukit Jalil temporary bus terminal with that nightmare-ish grid-lock prolonged my journey home even longer.

During my first few clicks of the run this morning, I kept on checking my running legs as sometimes, if I fail to get sufficient sleep, they might feel as heavy as lead. Fortunately today, perhaps by getting the aura from these strong runners around me, my legs felt ok for the long run. So, I kept on moving with my new practice of hydrating myself every 10 minutes.

With every plod we made from Bukit Aman, through Matrade and finally taking a short break at Petronas Hartamas, we never really stopped talking and making jokes and laughing. Acara lambung-melambung pagi tadi memang best. All the way through.

The spirit for doing a long run this morning was maintained on a higher level, without any discount being made to the original running route plan. We returned back to Bukit Aman from Hartamas on the same route as we came in. In fact, we almost did more than we first ought to do. We were “this close” to be doing the Double Hill on our way back. But, maybe in the next session ajelah.

I'm not really sure of the exact distance of our run today. Maybe 23km, maybe 22km. Nevertheless, my 2hr22min timing should be a good kick start for another marathon training season. With 7 more weekends to go, I should make full use of them if I don't want to suffer at the race, again.

He introduced the term "lambung" to us. So, he shall be known as the Lambung King, ok tak bos?.

Look at him, still can smile after 22km-ish run. Amazing!
Soon to be promoted to ketua kampung KLCC park, so I heard.

Det, he's sekampung with the Lambung King. Strong and steady.

Another strong companion on the run. Soon to be equally powerful in the swimming arena.

"Oh dindaaa, di mana kah kau beradaaa, rindu aku ingin jumpaaaaa..."

Shakhir: "Det, macam ni la style aku merempit guna beskal anak aku minggu lepas."
Det: "Ooo, ye ke? Style aku tunduk kepala sikit, baru la aerodynamic bai."

With their own stretching and cooling down practices.

Thanks guys, I had a really good running session with you all this morning. Let's do this more often ya!

It was a great run, because of the group of friends who were around. We had a good time, laughing and chatting along the run. The lambung-melambung session that went on and on, entitled for a new meaning of LSD;

LSD = Lambung Sampai berDarah.

If you want to add some humour juice in your blood during a run, come and join us. Hahaha... peace!

P/s: For the unfamiliar, LSD actualy stands for Long Slow Distance running.

P/s: Kepada yang terlibat secara langsung dalam drama di atas, jangan marah aaaaa...

What A Day

Yesterday was a very good day for me. When I went to bed at almost 2am this morning, I was still smiling from ear to ear. Nasib baik tak ngigau terbang-terbang.

Life during working time yesterday was as what they always say, same ‘ol same **** (sendiri tambah lah). When it’s time for me to shut down my laptop, the weather was inviting for me to do another easy run at the park. This week the weather has seen some positive changes. More shines, and that’s a good sign.

While I was taking dinner with the nasi goreng daging campur ayam goreng campur telur separuh masak, a friend texted me and asked me to meet up for a quick chat later on. And when that session was over, the time was already showing about 10pm and as I passed by Skudai Parade, my eyes opened wide as I saw ‘it’, posted on the big wall.

“This must be the day!”, my inner self was talking.

Oh ya, from my previous observations worldwide, I get this concluded that every new showing will be on Thursday. So, yesterday was Thursday and I tried my luck.

I made a turnaround and instead of going home, I went to Skudai Parade, went up 6th floor and at the counter, I politely asked the lady behind the counter, “Excuse me, is there anymore showing for tonight for ‘that’ one?”, while pointing my finger towards one of the posters on the wall.

“Yes we do, at 11.30pm. Still plenty available sir.”

Without any further due, I took a red note from my wallet and get it exchanged with a small piece of white paper with some tiny prints on it that made me smile. It was among the best purchase of the day, for me.

And that little piece of white paper was a movie ticket for the most awaited movie (for me) for 2010, what else if is not

I R O N M A N 2

If the first Ironman movie was cool, this time it is hundred times cooler.

And if the first Ironman movie was awesome, this time it is (oh Gosh, I’ve lost count) much much much much much much much more... ok, lets’ just take a number then. This time, it is thousands time more AWESOME!!!!!

I kid you not!

Now you know why I went to bed smiling.

And I am still smiling as I post this entry, because I have another few plans to go and watch it again for second or third or maybe fourth times, while it is still showing on the big screen. I can't wait, hehe. Gelojoh dan haloba betul.

P/s: No movie preview or anything from me here (coz I'm not good at it). Go and watch it yourselves, ok.

Macho je style terbang macam ni, kan?