The Energizer Night Race 2011 - Saturday, 16th Apr 2011

I have made a decision to go for the 2011 Energizer Night Race few months ago. I utterly surprised when my wife told me that the registration for the race has closed and another friend of ours could not get a place. Apparently the race have received very good response and all allocated places for runners have been taken up for all categories, 5.5 km, 11 km, 21 km and 42 km. Get the link to the web site here.

Well, looks like there are some other unexpected benefits for signing up early other than getting that 10% off.

The race starts at 7.45 pm, but I wonder why is the event organizer is asking us to "register" at 5.00 pm. I wonder what am I expected to do between that 2 hours and 45 minutes at the SIC (Sepang International Circuit). Yes! The race IS going to take place at one of the most renowned land mark of Malaysia, the Malaysian F1 circuit. I might not drive a car fast enough to drive on this track, but at least I can run on it. The other running events that I have participated did not need to register as we already have the timing chip. We just be there, and start at the starting line by stepping on the timing platform.

The runner's goody bag which I collected from the event organizer contains the singlet, timing chip and also the running bib looks like the below.

Now its only waiting for the event to start on Saturday.

Segamat Flood 2011 - The Aftermath

Just a week before Chinese New Year, days of unrelenting rain has hit the sleepy town of Segamat and causing the Segamat river to swell, and subsequently the repeat of what happened 4 years ago.

As many braced themselves for the worse, many have tried to find ways on how to even enter the quiet town to visit their loved ones only to find their efforts in vain as flood waters cut off main federal roads which connects the town to the highways.

The flood water has brought devastation but fortunately, as quickly as the flood came into the homes of thousands of people in the town, it left in a hurry as well, leaving the people some time to prepare themselves for the festival.

The flood started on a rainy Sunday on the 30th Jan 2011, and the water started receding on the next day. Taman Segar and Kampung Abdullah, the worse hit was free of flood water on Tuesday, 1st Feb 2011. Power and water supply was restored on the day as well.

Mud stained furniture seen left outside houses aat Taman Segar, waiting to be collected by local council workers. 

 A Chinese ethnic burning joss paper as a normal local ritual here after prayer, and another younger member of the family looks on in despair.

 The local secondary school which was hit by the flood.

 

A debris and garbage covered local nursery's playground.

Sections of asphalt road seen swept off by flood waters to the side of the road.

Malaysian army were seen in many areas of the town helping civilians and public establishments.

Playground at a nearby park being flooded.

Part of the railroad foundation was being excavated to make way for the flood water, which caused the service to be out for few days.

Within the next days, railway workers were seen fixing the rail road. And on the 5th Feb 2011, the service was already back to normal. 

Early after the flood, Malaysian government has announced the use of early warning system assisted with satellite technology and funds allocated which its cost exceeds as much as billions of ringgit. My only hope that with these large amount of funds, which are tax payers money could be effectively used to curb and totally avoid such occurrences from happening again.

Although we have seen the swift actions of government departments and the royal military in actions, working quickly to assist those who needed help and in the rebuilding of public services, but from what we have seen in 2006 once with 60,000-70,000 civilians were evacuated and RM 1.5 billion reported loss, and the current 2011 year with 47,000 evacuated with the losses still being calculated, what actions from the current government to avoid these disastrous tragedies from reoccurring will be served as a important consideration to win the people's support in the near future.

Bukit Damansara Malakoff Run 19th Dec 2010

It was one of those rare morning where I wake up really early to get to an event.

I am not much of a morning person, but I have registered myself and as the alarm went off, I got up, took a quick shower, made myself coffee and had a banana and got myself there.

I got my bib together with the running chip that were given out at Jaya 33 earlier that week at Athlete's Cicle. Collection was a breeze as I went there in the afternoon, only few participants were there and there were 2 counters.

The run was very organized with online registration & payments, lots of info regarding how to get there and where to park, and of course the run circuit as per below. Website is here .

The Race
The race started at 7.10 am for men open - 12 KM, I find it a bit tough in the beginning of the track where it was quite steep running up the Bukit Damansara. So I would advice runners to do some warm up before the race as it would take you less then few minutes to get to this first climb.

After the first climb it was a breeze and there were the first drink station. By the time you get to the 5th KM, after running pass the HP tower, there were another 2 climbs before you start your second lap.

I manage to run this race at 1 hour 13 mins, 22 minutes before the qualifying time of 1 hour and 35 minutes. At the finish line, there were stalls of sponsors where you walk to another section of the event to collect your medal. There were event organizers there who would award you with the finisher's metal and do a mark on your running bib to indicate that you have collected your medal and goodie bag. Inside the goodie bag, there is a breakfast coupon which they served roti jala and mee goreng mamak. I chosed the mee goreng but found that it was too dry for me to swallow. There were another stall which served tou-fu-fah to all.

Inside the goodie bag was a box of cereal and a Biore anti-dandruff shampoo. Which I find them quite delightful (practical goodies for a change)!!! lol.


Some photos to share.

 At the starting line.

 Finisher's medal.

As a conclusion, I had fun, and definately, God willing, I will come back next year!!!

Panasonic Water / Sweat Resistant Headphones RP HS-33

I have to admit it, I have a weakness.

I can't run without music.

I do not know why, but I rather listen to Fall Out Boy or Led Zep rather than listening the beating of my heart and the panting sound from my breathing.

This is where the problems come along. Normal headphones just doesn't cut out for me. They either drop out of my ears when I run, or they will not last more than 3 weeks (that is about 10-12 sessions) as I understand there are metal parts (driver) in the headphones that will get rusty (yes... the inside of my ears sweat)

I've been searching for a good pair of headphones that is water / sweat resistance. I tried the a particular expensive USD 70 pair of headphones but they tend to stop working after 3 months. It was the stereo jack (the inner cable) that broke and I only get music from one side of the earphones. Probably from all the rattle when I keep it in my pocket when I run.

Last week I toured around eBay and found this one.

It is the Panasonic RP HS-33. I have read good reviews about how well it works, and this is the cheapest water resistant earphones I see so far, only USD 10!!! Hopefully this Japanese product will do better than the German made.

This is how it looks like.

Will post an entry once this one stops working...

Cheers.

Penang Bridge International Marathon - Results

After many hours of sleep and gallons of fluids to rejuvenate, I realized that I have gone through my very first official half marathon.

Before the event, I wanted to get some shut eyes, but excitement got the best of me. I did not get any rest and with the butterfly in my stomach, I left for the event wearing my old pair of New Balance shoes, my polar HRM and my Nokia phones.

I hooked up with an old friend of mine at the Penang jetty and took the shuttle bus down to the race event. There were thousand of participants at the site and can feel the adrenaline in the air. The marathon is one of the biggest in the region with 24 thousands participants. The full marathon started at 2.00 am, and the racers already left when we arrived. The half marathon was schedule to start an hour later.

15 mins before the half marathon started, thousands gathered around before the starting line doing stretching. At 3 pm sharp, the race started with the loud speakers voice keep reminding all racers to step on the race mats to record our time from our champion chip tied to our shoe.

This is how it looked like after the half marathon started half hour.

On the bridge, we ran accross the bridge until near the other side of the island. At about 3 km from the mainland, we made a U turn running back to the island. This is where it got interesting.

It started to rain! And boy the rain was so heavy with the wind blowing over our heads and the rain drops hitting on all our faces made our journey back feels like 10 times harder. Every step become heavier, and the rain coolled down my body, making me feel even more tired. I could see other runners started to slow down, and my shoes was making some squishy sounds like water in a bottle.With my body cooling down, I took a deep breathe, then I tried running faster with the music still playing in my headphones.

At about 5km left in the race, my phone failed as it got wet although I tried to keep it dry by wrapping it with a plastic bag. It stopped playing music and my sports-tracker stopped recording my work out. I ran the rest of the course in silence. With shots of isotonic drinks, I continue the race and completed my 21 km in nearly 3 hours. At the finish line, I stepped on the final running mat and a volunteer passed me a bottled water. I couldn't take any more pictures as my phone has died. I joined a queue to collect a finisher's medal which look like this.

I slept for 12 hours straight after I got home and I realize that it was a great feeling to finish the race. The result was published on the organizer's website on Monday evening with my time 2:44:49. Not bad for an amateur.

Would I do it again? Of course! I feel a great sense of accomplishment in finishing this race.
See you next year, Penang Bridge International Marathon.

The Great Run - The 2010 Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM)

I was never the avid runner like those who runs with a passion, who can finish a full marathon in like 3 and a half hours with muscles built up their thigh and calfs that you can spot those muscular legs from across the street.

I always like running as a simple exercise. All I need is a pair of shoes and with my headphones, with Fall Out Boy & Funeral for a Friend on my playlist, then off I go.

I came across the PBIM (Penang Bridge International Marathon) back in July, then I thought it would be cool that I could participate. I signed myself up online here.

Weeks passed, with a couple of training session at a nearby park which I could do some rounds in the evenings, I received a goodie bag last week, just a week before the event.

Few things in the bag, Running Bib with 4 pins, running chip (to be tied on to your shoe), a singlet, and some gifts from the sponsors. There is a New Balance 30% discount voucher that is worth mentioning here.

Here is how the contents looks like.

The runner's timing chip that you tie onto your shoes with your shoelaces. The chip looks like this.

And for those who like wearing a yellow sexy singlet to run (not really my kind of thing), here is how the front piece look like.

and the back looks like this.

For different categories, the color of the singlet will be different. For full marathon (42km) participants are given light blue singlets, for half marathon (21km) the men are given yellows and women are given red singlets. For the less challenging 10 km run are given green singlets and for fun run participants are given a T shirt.

There is another gear which I usualy would bring along is my HRM (Hear Rate Monitor) which I can track my hear rate as well as the burnt workout that I did, so that I wouldn't over do myself and pass out on the Penang Bridge with people come after me with a stretcher. That piece of gear looks like this, it is basically a watch and a chest band that will show my hear rate when I run.

The events starts early in the morning and I understand there will be a concert being held tonight, before the run begins. My only hope is that I will be able to complete my 21 km in 3 and a half hours so that I can get my medal.

Better get some shut eyes now.