merry christmas

wishing everybody a merry jolly christmas.

i've been in london for a long time. so of course christmas means to me, good beer and even better crisp.

merry christmas everybody.

a thought

i normally have very neutral views on controversial issues, be it politics, religion, foreign affairs. 

but, seriously. 

some people, claim to know god (be it whatever their religion may be). they profess to know god, to abide by god, yet their very actions, seem to make me wonder what kind of god they believe in. seriously, they preach and claim to be the very best of man kind because they are religious. yet the very essence of rudeness flows in their veins. the very essence of bad intention, the explicit intention to hurt someone flows in their blood. this really begs the question what kind of god they believe in - one that preaches rudeness and bad intention. 

i have flaws. i don't claim to be perfect. but i do not hide behind the veil of religion.  i do not claim to be a better person, because of religion. nor do i discriminate against others who are of other religions, or better yet do not believe in any religion. 

somehow, these people are perfect and right because of their religion. somehow, we are all lesser beings because we are not of their religion. 

they come and tell us they are better people than us, because whatever ill intentions they have is acting in the name of god.

if i am being polite, this is the view of the confused. if i am being direct, this is the view of the uneducated. 

i believe all religions do not encourage ill-intentions. 

so if you have ill-intentions, you're just not religious enough. don't be the pot that calls the kettle black then. 

run for it 9

i know my competitive running for the year 2015 was supposed to end with the salomon x-trail run, oh no, it was supposed to end with pbim - salomon was last minute as well. but well - after viper challenge, i knew i would need something to kickstart my running engine. if not i would probably lay in bed and sleep, and eat, and neglect running, and put running at the very back of my mind.

so, i very last minute signed up for run for it 9. i signed up only for the 6km because my body could still feel the repercussions of viper challenge. i am still bruised. i have a terrible skin allergy. my cuts aren't healed yet. i'm still on medication. so at least i would try to run at least to prep for the race. quite the logic right no?
 
but now i really know the meaning of fatigue. believe me when they say it takes more than, just a couple of days for your body to recover from an ultra run. but then again, i have so bad an allergy, i've been on anti-histamines, that are drowsy. so right now i cant differentiate between fatigue and drowsy haha.

anyways, back to this run. so after practically not running for a week, i was just going to take it as it is. my running plan was - to see how my leg condition is, and just go with the flow.

so upon flagoff, i just bounced away. i saw the other girls speeding off. but i didn't want to push my legs where my legs or lungs couldn't take me. so i just ran comfortably. my first km was a tad bit too fast though, clocking in a slightly under 4 minute pace. then i slowed down to a more conservative pace. normally i dont go so fast, but i wanted to keep the girls in front of me, at least in my line of sight. after that, slowly but surely, i overtook them one by one. before the u-turn back, i was running in first place. and that is also where, i think i totally gassed out.

i could definitely feel my pace dropping. sign number one i was not recovered yet. anyways, when my watch showed i was 5km in, i picked up speed again. it was just 1 more km to go. u should have seen my face when my watch said 6.2km, and the signage said 1 more km to go. completely drained, i had no choice but to try salvage whatever little energy i had left, and push myself to the finishing line.

i managed to come in 1st place, but more importantly, i kickstarted my running engine. although, my timing for this run, is far from ideal, but well, what did i expect right, right after a 24 hour event, i can't be performing at my peak. so it was satisfactory for me.

someone say off-season?

congratulations to all the winners. don came in 4th place in the men veteran category sinyee came in 7th whereas hannah secured the 10th position.

viper 24

viper 24, synonymous with enjoyable mental and physical exhaustion. basically, it is a 10km loop, with 15-ish obstacles, whereby u run the loop as many times as possible in 24 hours. i mean i love obstacle courses. but i'm not sure i love it that much to be running it for 24 hours. well i was about to find out wasn't i?

but seriously, what an experience! it was really, dirt, mud, swear, blood and tears. and the souvenirs i got - bruises, cuts, bites.

viper challenge

1. most disliked obstacle: 

- now this one is tough. but the winner has got to be the electric shock obstacle. the first round, it took me so long to get through it. i came out of it crying. and that was not the last time i cried. i cried on every lap, so much so, the marshall had to say, please don't cry this time. the worst time i cried, was after the torrential rain. the water level was so high, that every single wire would have been impossible to dodge. i started crying for a good 15 minutes before attempting it, to find out, it was switched off. definitely least favourite obbstale. 

-of course that was not the only obstacle that made me cry. the leaping frog obstacle is basically one whereby you scale a wall, which is pretty high, and jump off it. yes you heard me right, jump! you should have seen my reaction! i sat up there for so long with tears streaming down my cheeks. it took me so long to muster the courage. i hung off the ledge. the marshalls counted 1, 2, 3, and i was supposed to let go. except i didn't. for so many times. that the marshall had to say, i think you're too strong to be hanging there for so long. but after 3 laps, i got the hang of it. i was still scared, but i no longer cried. 

-i didn't like the first obstacle that much either. it's actually an easy obstacle. you just scale a tube. except that it was so muddy and slippery after the first lap. on the first lap, this obstacle was a breeze through. but after, it was so difficult for me. 

-i like walls because i can scale them quite well. but on my 5th or was it 6th lap, someone gave me a boost. unfortunately, before i caught the upper ledge, he let go, so i fell on my lower back. so i kind of have a phobia now. when i fell, it was also the time i wanted to give up. i completed my loop, and went to the medic tent in tears. my thoughts were if i have a placing i would continue. if not, i would give up. 

but just because i don't like them doesn't mean they aren't good obstacles. i would probably have enjoyed all of them, if i had to go through the course only once. 

2. favourite part of the race:

the company/ my favourite part of the race has definitely got to be the support and encouragement, without which i probably would have given up half way. thanks to all the people who helped me out in the zone, and even on the course.from a small cheer asking me to go on, to a boost over the walls, to checking on how i am everytime i enter the zone, to making sure i go back out on the course as soon as possible, i appreciate every gesture.

faisal was the star of the 24 hours, really the man that made it all happen. thanks for taking such great care of us. thanks for dropping by sinyee. thanks for the support. it really means alot. thanks for driving me back too. probably would have just slept at the rest stop if not. thanks dar for driving me there in the morning. thanks amir, guzzy and coach's brother for dropping by. thanks sunil  and raj  for the support as well. you guys were always the first person i saw upon entering the zone. major thanks to coach who despite my constant urges to just leave me behind,  decided to pace me after my fall from the wall. and of course, thanks to every single person who helped me along the course, boosting me over the wall, reassuring me i could do the obstacles, mucho gracias.

the company definitely made the race and i am sure it is for everyone.

3. would i do this again?

come 11pm, i was so sleepy. i actually closed my eyes walking up the road sections. i did think to myself, i am not made out for 24 hour events. i wanted to give up. but for the people back in the tent who pushed me to go on, i would have gone to sleep. i told myself, i'm going to retire from endurance events, nothing more than 12 hours. i felt so exhausted both physically and mentally, that i told myself, never again.

but after the entire event, i cannot deny, i did enjoy the event. i enjoyed making new friends, meeting up with old friends, i really enjoyed the whole camaraderie atmosphere. so, just maybe, just maybe.

but i think everyone should do an obstacle course race. its very different from say running a 10km or a 42km. you really get the leave no-one behind feel. 

well i managed to come in 2nd, managing a distance of 90km. could have hit 100, but i really could not be bothered, i was exhausted, physically and mentally. i really didnt want to go in for another loop. maybe next time, when i actually train fro a 100km hehe.

big congratulations to all the winners and finishers of viper 24. to complete this is a great accomplishment. good job everyone for giving it all they have during this event.

. 

till next time, viper 24. and this is how i end my 2015. with a big bang! 

2016

in terms of race calendar, i have no idea how year 2016 can top 2015. i did my first ultra trail run. i managed my first triathlon, which happens to be an ironman 70.3 distance. i did my first 24 hour event. and also my very first overseas run in bandung. 

year 2016, you have big shoes to fill. 

year 2016, has to be so big, that it has to make me excited yet nervous at the same time. its really interesting. and its funny that i inspired my friend to do his ironman. he is now an ironman. and now he has in turn inspired me to challenge qualifying for boston, and running boston. 

this is going to be big for me. of course boston is definitely a race on my bucket list. i'm quite excited, yet nervous to be embarking on trying to qualify for boston. to qualify for boston, i would need to do a good timing in an AIMS certified race. i do have a big race in mind. of course, naturally, i would think of doing it in australia. 

i think this would top 2015. if i manage to pull this off. 

2016, i have great plans for you. 

Salomon Action Asia Trail Run in assoc with Otterbox @ Janda Baik

salomon action asia trail run in association with otterbox - it was pretty last minute for me to join this race. in fact, i was already registered for another race. but duty calls. so i found myself at the startline in janda baik on a sunday rainy morning.

i think i had a couple of concerns tucked at the back of my head. 

1. it was raining. i heard from colleen that the route was muddy. the rain would mean that it would be even muddier. and i don't do well with wet trails, greatly exemplified by my avid cursing doing the technical wet trails during tmbt. i'm very upfront about my weakness. and i knew mud was one of them. so i was quite worried how this would affect my performance.

2. like i said last minute. my s-lab sense 3 is pretty worn out. i love that pair of shoes. so much so i use it for everything, from training, to speed work, to racing, to lsd, to ultra races, you name it. so of course it is pretty worn out. so i was in a complete dilemma as to whether i should wear my pink salomon x-scream 3d or my slab. the former is abit heavier (meaning soaking in the rainwater would make it even heavier), however, i know it would perfect running on concrete should i need to run on concrete after having my shoes dragged through mud. my s labs are perfectly comfortable, would remain lightweight even if soaked in mud, would offer me better grip (it it weren't worn out), but would lack working on concrete as well as my x-scream. after much hesitation, i decided to go with my x-scream. i decided to go with safety. i would just have to work with heavier shoes.

3. because this was super last minute, i did not train on any trails. all i could do was to rely on my road running, and hopefully i would pull through. the last time i was on a trail was in august. pretty much self explanatory i would think.

so i thought through how i should run the race as the organizer kind of mapped out the route. the beginning was a 1.8km ish road run downhill, then you turn into a single trail which would be muddy. after that you would come to a wider path. and it's all easy from there (yeah right was what colleen said, and yeah seriously, easy my foot!). i know my strength would be on the road. and my weakness on any muddy technical sections, and wet downhills. my uphill isn't that much great either. so i knew i had to take advantage of the 1,8km road and put in as large a gap as i can.

upon flagoff, is also when i sped off. i saw colleen zoom pass me, i knew i had to push on harder. because, this road here, supposed to be my strength. anything after would not play to my favour. i had to play to my strengths. so i pushed on harder. i went really fast on the road. but that speed stopped abruptly upon entering the trails.

we were greeted with a mud fest. the mud was knee deep. i had trouble getting through the mud. i kept getting stuck. so i threaded carefully. i didn't want to injure myself. but after coming out into the open trails. that's where i fely more comfortable. the gravel downhills. and here was where my shoes worked perfectly for me. i ran the downhills like the wind. there was a part where i remember was significantly slippery, so i slowed down alot. i brisk walked most of the uphill sections, making sure to push on the downhill portions to make up for my slow uphill.

there was one point where i heard colleen shout out to me. it was super nice of her to give me the motivation to push on. i was walking uphill at that point. that scream, made me start running again.

i think the most memorable section of the trail was this super muddy steep uphill. i could barely move up. i tried to climb a step up, but i slid 2 steps down. i literally had to go down on all fours to pull myself up. i grabbed on to the grass and literally had to pull myself up.

i was super glad to see the finishing line after. i knew i looked like i had gone through alot, with mud every where. but nonetheless, it was a great experience, despite the cuts i now have all over my legs. to come in champion was just a bonus. the experience was priceless.

many thanks to salomon malaysia and action asia for the opportunity to run this race. final trail race for the year 2015, and what a way to end it.