Squashed the M Bug

Yesterday was a funny story.

I had planned to run. Changed into my running attire after work, went through all the hoopla. Yet when I arrived at the KJ LRT station to my car I was overwhelmed by the laziest feeling in the world. The sky looked dark, it looked like it was about to pour heavily any second. I began making excuses for myself. I'm just too tired, I think. Plus, it's Ramadhan. Most runners don't even run. You won't lose your conditioning, I told myself. Hey, aren't you supposed to enjoy running? You need a mental rest from all these running. And so on.. all the way into LDP.

When I reached the Western Digital junction, I was praying to God for it to rain. I just neede an excuse not to run. It's just too dark to run, I thought miserably. RAIN now! I ordered to the sky from my tiny antique car.

When I got into the intersection to subang via SJMC, I looked to the right and saw only 2 lone figures at the lake, doing their laps. That's it, I'm not going, I told myself. But I know deep down inside I would NEVEr hear the end of it if I didn't. Laziness is common, I told myself sternly. YOU JUST HAVE TO DO IT.

So I did.

And it was a great run. Great, as in, I wasn't really tired, although very thirsty and somewhat achier than normal. I kept to my Ramadhan pace although I tried upping the speed a little bit, and fought with my wimpy self when I pushed a little bit harder during uphill. Great, I thought ironically, of all the time I wanted to push myself harder, I have to do it during Ramadhan.

The lake was surprisingly near empty. Maybe it was the looming dark sky that made people think a downpour's going to happen, but it did not start to drizzle until I was doing my post-run stretches. There were only 5 cars there including me. I saw the friendly Indian uncle as usual with his running buddies. I was enjoying my run. It's funny - most of my great runs happened in Ramadhan. I guess it was a combination of things = less people, slower pace, shady weather.

I'll definitely keep up to this. Next up, Thursday.

Tuesday ramadhan run = 6.6km, 50 minutes.

Lake at Ramadhan

Finally after nearly a week of not running, I went for a nice run. In fact, I think I pushed myself to go longer than normal... and I couldn't even do that when I wasn't fasting!

 Last Wednesday I was all psyched to go for a run. Have not been running since Friday and my feet were itching. Plus all my ramadhan run so far was only 3km more or less. I'm a bit dissatisfied with the distance. I would like to think that I'm the kind of runner that runs longer rather than harder. Plus I would like to build up the mileage first and then concentrate on speed. 

 Anyway last Wednesday I knew I was sort of heading into a running disaster. I didn't have anything for sahur, only a glass of water, because I was too lazy to go down and prepare something. And during ramadhan we all leave work early - at 4pm. So that wednedsay found me at the lake at 515pm. Definitely early and definitely plenty of time for me to run slow.

 I told myself that I want to break the dreaded 5.5km curse that's been latching itself on my back for weeks now. I figured now's the time to do it since my only excuse for not being able to push it to 6.6km was because time wasnt on my side. Since I have about 2 hours to run all I can, there's no excuse to not complete it.

 The first 3 km was, as usual, hard and painful. I took it reallllly slow, I call it my Grandma speed, thanks to a grandma that I paced myself on the first time I went running 2 months back. I told myself to just concentrate on my breathing and form, and not be swayed to run faster when a runner rushes past. I tend to do that; follow a faster runner's pace when they run past me. It's a default setting in my feet or something.

 The last 1.1km felt like a congratulatory lap. I was patting myself on the back the whole way - I'd actually added one more lap to my stagnant mileage in ramadhan... and it was scorching hot! It was so hot that I could feel the sweat turning warm under my tshirt.

 My left ankle hurt during this run. 

 I didn't run on thursday.

 But I went running today, and for the first time ever I was actually happy to see the overcast sky. I've always loved running with the sun shining... I like it that I sweat more and my joints don't hurt as much when it is hot outside. But I was really suffering on my wednesday run - with the lack of fuel and dehydration afterwards - that I was actually grateful when the sun was hidden behind a thick cloud. And it wasn't the kind of grey that I dislike - it was just... not scorching hot. 

 I took it slow this time around too, telling myself to enjoy the run and not focus so much on the time, but on completing 6 laps. And it was such a great run; I didn't even feel tired or burned out even after 3km. I think the macaroni goreng I ate during sahur helped as well. It was only in the last lap when I ran faster that I started to feel my heart gasping for air. I love it when you get to feel a great run like this. My legs hurt all the time though... but I wasn't mentally down or huffing and puffing. In fact, I felt like I could do more. But I didn't.

 So this week, 12km total... or to be really accurate, 13.2 km. I'm happy with the distance...well, I would love to hit the 20km mark like the weeks before, but I'll take 13.2 km over 9 measly km/week... like last week.

 On a different note, yesterday watched my boyfriend on his futsal friendly against the malaysian team. The team came in an impressive contigent eventhough it was a friendly; with the coaches and the net of balls, and all the players decked out in malaysian jerseys. Their warm up was a crowd puller too - they were systematic and efficient, hardly any balls straying off the path or bouncing away from the team. Their goalies were good as well, as opposed to my boyfriend's team's goalie, who was still smoking at the goalpost. His team's warmup was haphazard too, one guy doing leg stretches and another bending his back and another jogging in place. You could see the comparison in experience and teamwork. I think any team, with proper discipline and teamwork would be a smashing success.

 But some of the players were not professional though. Of course our team lost - the malaysian players, aside from being efficient with the setting of goals and what not, were confident and brazen, buoyed by the fact that they are wearing the malaysian jersey. My boyfriend's team, on the other hand, were nervous and strung out, stressed and pressed to score or at least create a scare in the opponent's defense den and create an impression. 

 During the last few minutes of the second half, as my boyfriend were hassling the guy who was possessing the ball, he inadvertently elbowed my boyfriend on the mouth. It was a cheap blow - and it was as obvious to everyone who was watching. My boyfriend cried out in protest, and for a moment stared at the guy for a while. I could tell he was fighting the urge not to fight back, as most guys would. I mean, an elbow to the mouth - even I would be pissed, and no contact was made even. He wisely turned and stalked out of the game. Later when we came to him I found out that the right side of his face was swollen like a big fat wiener. His lips were busted... and there was a gash on the upper lip. His t-shirt were bloody and you could see his whole face puffing up.

 I thank God he was game enough to be civil when he shook hands with his attacker.

Great Run

One of the reasons I love running is because it is a solitary sport. It's just you and all the long empty road stretching ahead. You could be having the biggest problems in the world, or you could be feeling horrible, or tired, or anything, but they provide the best form of base for you to start your running. Most of the time I enjoy running with my mind going loose. I would go through anything my mind could think of; how lazy I am at work, the next haircut I'm going to take, my annoying friend who keeps talking about her pregnancy, etc. Then something would catch my eye and my thoughts would go towards it and work until another thing catches my attention.

 Today as I was going for my run I was thinking about how - even though I love the solitude - how nice it would be if I had a friend to run with. Maybe I am just demotivated or plain lazy, but today I was not feeling up to it as much as the other day. Sometimes running around the same lap more than 4 times could get boring. A friend that I could converse with could take my mind of the boredom that sometimes plagues runners.

 As I was doing my second kilometer, Dennis fell into step beside me. We went to the same school. Shared a couple of classes throughout middle and high school. Even so, we weren't friends-friends - our history in school was more of a mere acquaintance. He was a prefect until the senior year and once chased my ex-boyfriend up until the hills. Should have known he was a runner even then. We met a couple of times at the lake but always said hi-bye or the customary what are you doing, do you know this and this is married? Today was the first time we ran together and had a conversation. After the second round, the skies were as dark as night and lightning stuck a few times. I wanted to stop but Dennis suggested that we have another round. Not wanting to give up, always liking a challenge, I said yes. And I was glad I did. I actually ran at a faster pace today than any other days. And I managed! I thought I'd be gasping for air but I was able to maintain for about 2km.

 It's so obvious that running alone has somewhat dwindled my training. I never seem to get better because I don't seem to be pushing myself. Running with someone forces me to try to keep up and keep my mind of the possible tiredness.

 We did only 3 rounds today due to the rain but it was a nice run. 3.3km for 22 minutes and 07 seconds.

Friday Speedwork

I realized the importance of doing intervals or speedwork after my first 10k run. The kick you need to run faster at the last stretch of the race does not come from simply just training at a normal pace. You need to condition your body to be able to run fast at short bursts. It's just like my field hockey training when I was in high school. We all, in addition to having a top notch endurance, should have the stamina to run fast and stop for how many times we need to.

I warmed up at a normal pace for 1.1k around the lake, then did 7x30 seconds of fast running, maybe RPE 6-7. In between instead of walking like last week, I ran at a slow pace. I finished the whole thing in 26:35:78. The sky was already dark when I started, didn't really want to push it even more.

Today is Saturday. I didn't go for a swim. Felt a bit guilty, but I was tired and I think I deserved a nice rest.

Thursday Normal

Yesterday it was one of my hardest run. I was struggling to finish the boring 5.5km lap as opposed to other normal days. I also think it's because I didn't have sufficient energy to burn. I had toast for breakfast, and nuggets for lunch. And that was it. Today, I had 2 helpings of Nasi Lemak with fried chicken... not exactly healthy, but just want to see whether this whole carbo loading theory is true or not. Hahah okay that's not a reason for me to gorge on food for breakfast. My department is actually having a little feast to celebrate the coming of Ramadhan.

Today would be my second speedwork. To be honest I can't wait. I just want to run better. But I know it'll be crazy. Plus, I'm nervous about this upcoming event I have to be and mc for on Monday. I need to burn the nervousness.

5.5km = 38:34

Friday Speedwork

Today was my first attempt at doing speedwork... or intervals or however you call it. To be honest I have no idea how to do it but I figured the easiest way would be speeding for a distance and doing it for a couple of times. I remember when me and my dad used to run at the subang lake 4 years back there was this uncle who always did speedwork on wednesdays mornings. I haven't seen him around at the lake anymore.

Measuring it by time would be tough because my stopwatch is a simple 'start-stop-erase and start again' system. So I used distance markings. I warmed up with an slow 1.1km run in 7 minutes trying to loosen joints on my knees and ankles. Then I did 200m (roughly) in a pace of RPE 5-6. I wanted to run slowly in between but my heart was pounding so hard I had to walk, but I was careful not to let my heart rate slowed down to a normal level. So this is what it feels like to do speed intervals, I was thinking to myself. What torture!

I did it for 5 times before calling it quit. I would love to do more, but I didn't want to overexert myself plus I've been feeling quite tired the past few days. I spent more time on stretching then headed home. I was satisfied because despite the brief workout (30 minutes) I covered 3.3km haha. Any km is good!

Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon

Without a doubt, this is the worst race organizer ever.

Well the term 'worst' is relative since this is my first encounter of such unprofessional handling of matters.

Look at the picture below:


It is a screen shot of my Maybank2u credit card transaction slip. It says, if I may, that I have made a payment to Standard Chartered Singapore SG for the amount of $52 (for half marathon) on the July 27th.

I have emailed them about 5 times. I called their hotline about more than 15 times. I think they all know my name already. I still haven't received the confirmation slip. When they checked their database, they say my name nor the payment is recorded. They asked me to check with my bank.

I checked with Maybank, and they said there is really nothing they could do because the payment has been made to them. I should print out this transaction as proof, they said.

I have already attached this screenshot. And the hotline said that if it was their payment, it would have the RBS Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon on the slip.

So I said, okay fine. I'll re-register again, even if it means I burned rm 128 for some phantom payment to standard chartered, even if it means I missed out on the early bird fee.

This morning, I registered. And I GOT THE SAME PROBLEM AGAIN. As soon as I pressed Ok for the visa payment, it LEAD ME BACK TO THEIR WAIVER PAGE, no confirmation whatsoever. What is wrong with their system?

To say that there is something wrong with MY card, it couldn't be because just yesterday I registered for the great eastern women singapore and it got through just like in seconds. From RBS as well. So no complaints from my card or the bank.

What I am frustrated about is the fact that they don't want to help at all. Like, dude, I am sorry, but you seem to be the ONLY one who's having this problem... so it's your loss not mine. We've already received a staggering response from people.

I told them that I have no idea how this happen, but my intention is simple: I just wanted to register. Is there anything, ANYTHINg you could do? I mean, short of telling me I have to register in person in singapore, there's nothing they could do, they say. Just like that.

The worst thing is that I might have to look for someone who lives in Singapore who is kind hearted enough to register for me at the registration center. The standard chartered people gave me their number, and when I told them (the singapore athletics association) they say it's typical of the race organizers to 'tai-chi' the problems to the registration center. That guy was really kind. He says since they have no such technologies, and they can only accept manual registration, he would allow somebody else to register for me, even if it is strictly in person.

THAT'S how you want to help people. Even if I'm the only person having this problem. How could you say, "Sorry... there's nothing we can do?" to someone who wants to register?

Anyway, yesterday because of this particularly upsetting news, I decided to take it easy on my running. I did a simple 5.5km in 39:38:09 which is slower than my normal times, but I couldn't be bothered. My knees hurt all the time now... and my shin is starting to throb. Im feeling an onset of injuries piling in. But I'm a bit upset about the registration to worry about other things. I do not want to miss the race. But how am I able to register if they won't let me??

Wednesday Lake

I just realized something on my run today.

 I am getting slower each lap. And it's my own fault.

 I started out too fast because I was already comfortable doing 2km as opposed to when I first started - gasping for air at the last 500 meters. Because of that my time for the first lap was the fastest. I maintained the speed on my second lap, but got progressively slower the third until the fifth.

 I am such a show off. I hate it when I feel like I need to run fast just to show that I could. Urgh. I'm not in high school anymore, competing for 200m.

 Tomorrow it's going to be my easy run. I'm going to start very slow, slower than normal, because if I could, I'm going to up my distance to 6.6 km. Why 6.6? Because one complete circle is 1.1km.

 My time for completing today's 5.5km? 38 minutes and 05 seconds.

 I didn't really sweat as much or felt exhausted like I usually do after the run. Maybe my body is telling me that I can up the distance now. But I'm careful to take it slow because my knees are starting to hurt even when not running and my shin hurt too when I run. I am SO scared of injuries especially my knees. I have weak knees which is the reason why I swim so much.

 I have a good news today, which carried me for the first lap. And then I psyched myself to finish the last km by thinking about how much I miss my boyfriend who is at a football summer camp in Japan. Hhaha whatever works ey?