2008 Running Summary

Hey hey its the last day of 2008 ! Above my proud summary of my runs since I started using the Nike Plus tool.

Major Marathon's this Year
1) Tanjung 10K
2) Penang Bridge Marathon ( Fun Run )

There were so many learning this year since I first began running from Sifu(i.e. Foong) as well as Mr. Raman whom inspired me to run marathons. Its has been quite the journey and I am looking forward to next year 2009 which is going to an amazing year for my running activities. I happy with my progress admist the injuries that I had to endure but its was a learning process never the less.

The adventure continues into 2009 !

Running Journal RunDate 28122008

Pasta Power ! That's the theme of today's run as the fuel for my run was the pasta that I cooked yesterday, yummies. Thanks to Sifu's (i.e. Foong advise) plus a master chef I happened to know (i.e. Kumaresh) my pasta dreams came thru. We went grocery shopping to pick out the necessaries yesterday and cooked it in the evening, damn its was good if I say so myself, just missing the spice factor, hehehehe !

Today run was interesting as I did a heart run focus more on my heart rate whilst running and maintain my heart rate in my MEP(133-143) zone. Occasionally I would jump to my anaerobic side to push a bit with increased pace. The only thing was it kinda crowded with busses today at PISA stadium, was kinda wondering what was going on ... hmm. I believe I keep to this I would be able to do much better over time plus improve my pace as my heart and lungs get stronger ! This run is monumental as I have crossed the total running distance of 100km, yippee !!!

Looking forward the next run .... till then the adventure continues !

Running Journal RunDate 26122008

A great day to run ! Its was another awesome day with my sifu(i.e. the Master) Foong. We went to a new spot(i.e. for me at least) which was the Ayer Itam Dam. Its a beautiful location with a damn catchment on one side and a spectacular view on the other side of Penang.

As usual Foong told lets "jog" and I know Foong defination of jog is far from jogging :) As his jogging would be my running pace :) We started off together and eventually lost him along the way partly due to the uphill/downhill route. Its was quite a challenging route for me at least but nevertheless a gorgeous one ! NOTE TO SELF : Take some shots next time !

I ran two round around the dam (Sifu ran 3 of course!) and damn its was quite the run nevertheless is was a fullfilling one ! We adjourned after a good run for a nice Indian breakfast .... till the next time the adventures continues ...

How to Speed Train ?

Running Journal RunDate 22122008

I'm back again after being slightly sidelines after the last run and had to visit the physician again and he literally rapped my knees with some form of "ancient" herbal goodies. He told "Move it not you shall, heal you will in time, run not you must till then !" .... hmmm sounds familiar I thought. So I heeded the master words of wisdom and I am back today after a long break ... really long break ... but back nevertheless.

I decided to ease myself back into training by running only a 5km. One thing I noted was I was running much better after the rest only thing that my heart was giving way to early .. I guess these are the after effects of long run breaks ... nevertheless I completed the distance ... wooohooo also finished of with a 50 meter sprint dunno why just did it !

Packed up and left, got errands to do this morning .. so till next time (i.e Wednesday) .. the adventure continues ....

Running Journal RunDate 16122008

After a long long break due to injury which felt like all eternity I back again to my running. Even though I was still hurting a little on both knees, I wanted to see whether I could run the 6km target today. And I did !!! The pain was not so bad and as soon that I came back I ran them with cold water to help reduce inflammation. Actually its much better :)

So I will behave myself and keep tomorrow as an off day and run on Thu plus look out for improves .. till then I will keep posting on other things too from time to time. Till then the adventure continues .... woooohoooo I am back !!!

Granny Knots vs. Reef Knots

Injury Plagued !!!

I am down down down ! Damn, been side benched for the past few days. It's so frustrating that I cannot continue with my training :( My knees have been getting from bad to worse, even walk became such a big challenge. Well I am partly to be blamed for that for kinda sorta overdoing with my workouts that led to this .....

Also found out that I was doing the wrong thing to treat the injury, that made it from bad to worse. For example treating the knee swelling with running warm water is a NO! NO! NO! Your suppose the ICE it to reduce the swelling instead ... hmmm me and my wise moves.

Well there is also another saying "You can keep a good man down !" so I shall return better , stronger its just the waiting its killing me .... the adventure continues ......

David Goggins : An Ultramarathoner, An Inspiration, A Force for Good !

Runners World : How to Lace Your Shoes to Avoid Sore Toes

Running Journal RunDate 09122008

Ooo.. its back to running again. I still kinda perplexed with my knees still giving issue .. considering visiting the physician again for another round of massage to tweak it. One thing I did different was today was relaced my shoes. I found a good video from Runners World website on different methods of lacing your shoes that addresses different issues.

The lacing did leviate pressures for different parts of the shoes and made it a more comfortable fit and wear. I shall post the video up soon .. figuring it out now ! The run was not as expected as I hoped to better my mileage against time for the 6km target today. My heart was not racing yet but my legs were really giving way due to knee. I guess rest, recovery and a massage may do wonders, so tomorrow will not be running as may be leaving to KL today to settle some matters.

Oh ya, I'm that I recorded 70km of total runs as of today, Yippe !!! Plus I had the pleasure of Paula Chasing giving a comment at the end of my run hhhmmmmm, sweet !!!

Till the next run the adventure continues :)

Running Journal RunDate 07122008

Its a Sunday ! The day where everyone comes out ! I decided to take an easy walk today as my knee is still aching. I just wanted to get moving so that there is some blood circulation around the knee. I reached BG(i.e. Botanical Gardens) around 6:00am. Surprisingly its was quite crowded today, families coming out for a walk and the regular crowd(i.e. The Seniors). I spent about an hour walking as my knees were really hurting with every step but I pushed on to complete 5km.

I stopped my worked out and drove over to GD(i.e. Gurney Drive) and walked along the beach side for another 20minutes whilst enjoying the morning breeze and the tide coming in. I left soonafter to pursue my week sin of tosai and vaadai (i.e. Indian Cuisine), yummies :) Today is going to be a damaging day as I have lunch wedding(i.e. to attend, woooooo ..... thy shall moderate ;)

Till the next run ... the adventure continues !!

Running Journal RunDate 06122008

It's Saturday, the day for the longest run of the week (i.e. 10k based on my Nike+ Training Schedule)! I was up at 5:30am as I wanted to run at the PISA stadium today and there was a PCFair going on and wanted to get out there before the crowd got there for fair. I was there at 6:00am, started to stretch a bit to loosen up. My right knee was still hurting a bit, wondering wat went wrong where.

I recalled reading Stu Mittleman's book "Slow Burn", where he quoted muscular pain may something because cause by other weakening of certain organs related to that particular muscle .. hmm wat could be wrong .... Anyways I put that aside for the moment to ponder upon it later and started my run also I was wearing my new NIKE Dri Fit. It's really comfortable plus it has reflectors to warn drives that a runner's is upfront (i.e. for those whom are not blind)

I was having difficulty breathing as I am still having flu and its difficult breathing, wondering when will this go away. Either way I pushed on to complete the 10km but its was in good pace but not good timing though, I felt that I would have done better. I guess I need to be a patient and continue to develop strength and pace.

Knee still giving trouble ... till tomorrow comes ... the adventure continues !

Running Journal RunDate 04122008

Still recovering my flu and and aching knee but the show must go on. Went to the PISA stadium today, a change of venue so that I could do some interval training to improve my pace, strength and speed. Its a good place to train and I will probably use this as the base of training in the future only thing is that I should get there a bit more earlier about 6:00am.

There were already a few seniors on their morning walk and few runners making their rounds when I got there. Seniors, they never seem to fail to amaze me :). My intervals weren't something to be shouting about as I was still not 100% recovered from the flu and cough. I made sure that I kept up the Training Schedule that I set on Nike+ Website and its 6km target to day. I did manage to keep a constant pace today and am happy with that. :))

I completed it and took a slow drive to GD(i.e. Gurney Drive) to get some fresh air and enjoy the view of the ocean, its was nice :) Till tomorrow, the adventure continues ! ;)

Running Journal RunDate 03122008

Today was not so good still recovering from fever and flu, didn't sleep last night either due to discomfort in breathing due the flu. Still crawled out of bed at 6:00 am and drove off for my run. Kicked off the run at about 6:30am after strapping on my new Nike+ Arm Strap. This was the best part of my run, its was comfortable and easier for me to toggle my Nano. :) I didn't feel that I was up to full strength today, was actually not to happy about my run, its was very sluggish.

As you can see from my Nike+ Run there's a huge dip towards the end .. :( , I wasn't at my optimal today, and my muscle were a bit tight. Even after a stretch, it did feel so good :( I still made sure that I did at least 5km+ to keep myself tuned in. My pace is still fluctuating within 7 min/km to 8min/km. Wondering how to improve it ... think of doing a bit more interval training to gather speed and strength.

Another thing is that my should was hurting badly towards completing 30 min of run, I had no idea why as this just happened as well I could feel my spine hurting. I have a feeling that there is a problem with my running posture and have a tendency to learn forward forming kinda a leaning tower hip onwards, kinda feels something no right somewhere. NOTE TO SELF: Be aware of posture ! I finished the run kinda abruptly and got back home to get a quick shower and off to a physician to massage my legs and my shoulders, lets see whether this helps tomorrow ;)

Now a bit about arms bands. If you love to listen to music while you run like me and utilize it during your workout the Nike Arm Band is a useful tool to give you freedom of mobility while you workout and enjoy your favorite tunes. Bellow are 2 version of the arm band by Nike...



The first one on top is original as a storage pouch for your cell phones, I tried using for the iPOD. Its snugly fit in but the draw back in I could not see the iPOD controls plus the strap was a bit small for my arms. This may be suitable for individuals with small arms(i.e. Diameter of 3 -3.5 inches).

Now the other one which has the iPOD snugled in is a better choice. It's comfort level is superb and the clear window to which I can view and interact with my Nano is a big plus point. The only drawback to this design is that where the Nike+ Sensor interfaces with the Nano. Its kinda exposed to the body and when you run your gonna sweat .. which in some ways may not be good for the sensor. Thats the only comment I have about the arm band beside that I really happy with this arm band ! ;)

Running Journal RunDate 02122008

It's time again to run, a bit under the weather today due to the travelling yesterday plus KL's unforgiving weather. Was running a fever but what the heck let see what I can do, read about Paula Chasing win at the NYC marathon (i.e. Running Stats Above), truly admirable and looking a splits and pace ... only one word comes to mind .. absolutely outstanding !

Anyways back to me .. I was running a mild fever but still the show must go on. Drove to BG(i.e. Botanical Garden). Its was about 6:45am I think, got ready and started my run, decided to go for about 5km today as its the start of the week, I would slowly ramp over the week. The one thing I felt which was not so good today is that my running shoes were kinda tight. I adjusted this because I wanted to make sure that the sensor was strapped on neatly to get accurate readings.

NOTE TO SELF: Loosen it up, feet are aching now ! Another thing was I bought the Nike Arm Band to hold Nano so that I would need to strap a waist bag on while running, kinda super cumbersome and uncomfortable especially on long runs. I got two versions one was actually for cell phones storage that I cross used to hold the Nano, the other was the arm strap designed for Nano. This was a useful tool have a view that you could look at the display and kept the unit dry.

I finished my run, not bad for a sick guy. Off I went till tomorrow, as I had errands to run this morning ! :))