More disgusting photos of my foot...

Ok...so this would be my 4th run in my Vibram KSO....

After the 3rd run in them with the band-aid on went off without a hitch, I thought that the skin on my feet would have at least grown several percent thicker in its epidermis layer.

So I figured I'm ready for more runs in the VFF.

I must have plastered them on wrongly (or whatever) coz I could feel it peeling off and rolling itself into a knot inside my VFF as I was running.
I thought nevermind, let's try WITHOUT the band-aid and see how it'll fare.

Of course it didn't fare well at all.
The pain returned.
But I was already about 3km in.

Thankfully I was pretty near the Brandon Park Mall and I had 5 bucks with me...

Erm.....hang on...let me backtrack a little.

The reason why I brought along some money with me this time around (I usually run cashless) was because I didn't bother having breakfast before my run (and I might need to buy something to eat/drink on the run)......and reason for that was because when I got up this morning (late as always), I stepped on the weighing scale and it registered me to be 0.5kg heavier than yesterday!!!
Ok...not to panic. I'm on holiday.
I'm allowed to get fat.
But then again I have a marathon coming up.
And I don't want to look fat in pictures taken during the marathon.
Then suddenly I was having a mental slide-show of all the ice creams/yogurts/steaks/crap that I've been gorging on since I arrived here.....all while still standing on the weighing scale.

Shit.
Palpitation frenzy.
Bloody hell!
Not good.
Have to go run NOW!!!
Screw breakfast....I need to lose 0.5kg pronto!!!
(it's amazing how a fraction of a number on the scale could really screw up my whole entire day. Goes to prove to all those non-believers that I'm very much female still!!! Erm, that's another story altogether)

So yea...there I was...running along Ferntree Gully Road....heading towards Brandon Park Mall....limping in my weird looking shoes (I could feel the people in the cars next to me staring!).....thinking of what I can NOT eat when I get back.....thinking of how much further I need to run to lose that 0.5kg!!

I got to the mall and thankfully the pharmacy was right at the entrance.
Bought 20 pieces of band-aids (Elastoplast, if you were wondering).....paid for them....had a nice conversation with 2 people at the pharmacy about the odd looking contraption at my feet, answering their questions ("No, they really ARE for running"...."Yes, they've given me some blisters"...."Yes, I am running home in them"...."No, they aren't for swimming. Where did you get that idea from?"...."No, they don't really hurt aside from the blisters"...), then off I went.

As I was running back....I started thinking.

I really wanna be able to run like a Tarahumara....(google it, or go read "Born to Run")
I really wanna try chia seeds....and perhaps make my own iskiate....
I wonder if I could survive on a daily diet like the Tarahumara and Scott Jurek....
I'm sure I could lose that dreaded 0.5kg quickly on that sorta diet....
I may lose more than 0.5kg!!! (I'd be ecstatic!!!)

But that would mean giving up ice cream, steak, cakes, pizza.....
And it would mean I'd have to revert back to being a vegan.....
That would mean, life would be shit boring....

...or maybe I'll just stick with the chia seeds first.

Next thing I knew, I was back at the house.

Took off my VFF and found my band-aid blood soaked.




Well..thankfully I have plenty more of those band-aids that I just bought!!!!


Later!!!!

Hey hey it's Saturday!!!

So when I was in transit in Singapore en route to Melbourne, I popped over to Takashimaya to get myself a pair of Vibrams.
Yes I do remember I have "one" pair....but it's fake so it doesn't count.
Please click HERE to learn more on how to detect a counterfeit.

Anyway.....
I had some Takashimaya (thanks Dad!) vouchers dating back to goodness-knows-when amounting to...erm...quite a bit.
I've had them since like....2 years ago.
I didn't see any expiry date on them so figured they should still be valid.
(despite Mo-maniac and SC having their doubts of the validity of these vouchers....they ARE valid!)

So after lunch with those "uncles", I got myself over to Takashimaya and got myself these:



My Vibram KSO!!! (cost SGD179)

So I paid SGD10 and the rest were vouchers...and I got a dollar back.
(and later claimed GST from the airport and they paid me back SGD10! So the VFF technically cost me a negative dollar!)

Oh..and I bought (finally) a copy of 'Born to Run' by Christopher McDougall....(I wanted it in paperback but all I found was hardcover in Singapore and back home)


Pretty good compliment to my new VFF..don't you think? (try not to roll your eyes too much)


So without lubing my feet (like I would in my fake Vibram Sprint), I set off on a run.
I intended to run 8km.
But after 3km in, I could feel chafing at both my arch area.
Continued the run until about 4.6km back to the house.
When I removed my VFFm found these:


Not the nicest things to look at or have.

Anyway....they just develop into massive fluid-filled blisters.
So I pricked them....drained the fluids.....bandaged them....and decided it was a FANTASTIC idea to try running in the VFF again!!!

* The yellow flip-flops have nothing to do with the story today but they just brighten up the blog entry, don't you think? Oh just ignore me...

Everything was going well...until about 5km in.
I felt a sudden stabbing pain on my left blister-area.
I hopped to the nearest tree, leaned on it, took off my VFF....only to discover that the bandage had curled itself up and dragged the skin off the blister, revealing raw flesh.
Now that hurt...A LOT!

Since I didn't have any money on me to get more bandages and the house was less than 2km away....I hobbled back, trying my darnest not to think about the pain.

Sigh.

The third day, ran in my Brooks Ghost 3.
But that was another eventful run....and it ended with the heavens opening up and pouring its entire content down as rain!!!

* The current state of the blister with one day rest (ie TODAY)


So I'm hoping that tomorrow I'll get to go run in my VFF again....without any problems blister-related.


Later!!!!

Fess up, it's Friday

I'm not too sure if I've mentioned before that I'm sorta boycotting the Malacca 12-hour Walk in favour for the Ipoh's KRI 12km run, the weekend AFTER Singapore Marathon....

Well...anyway.....the reason why I started my own personal boycott was because of some "misunderstanding" (their words, not mine!) in the payment of the registration fee.

I knew about the 12-hour walk from Terence and Maybel.
They said that they'll do a "touch-and-go" sorta thing by leaving Saturday afternoon, walk all night to total up 60-65km....then then drive back post-walk to KL on Sunday.
Well...great plan, I thought.

So I went and register.

The thing with this race was that they needed me to transfer the registration fee of RM70 (early bird fee) into their bank account and then scan the receipt and email it to them...
(confusing....I know.....but stay with me!)

So I did just that.

I transferred the money into their account and then emailed them about it.
I however lack the scanning machine and therefore did not forward a copy of my receipt to them.

I later received an email stating that I have yet to pay.
I explained (VERY nicely, might I add) that I had already by then, threw away the receipt and there was no way I could somehow magically make the thrown-away receipt re-appear out of thin air, scan it and then forward it to them.

So they claim that they will check it out anyway and mentioned in their email that they trust that I have paid them...again, their words not mine.
I'm no fan of displaying my trust issues in emails, possibly for the world to see.

Almost a month pass and no news from them.
I thought I was in.

Then one day, I received another email from them saying that I have not paid up.

Imagine how annoyed I was!!!

So I told them to stuff it up where the sun don't shine....(ok, not exactly those words but in a more polite way)

Instead, I went and signed up for the KRI 12km race.

Another month passed.

Then I received a phone call from their office asking me to pay up.
I told them my predicament and told them that I no longer want to participate in such an event that reeks of calamity in their office!!!
(again I didn't use those words but something along those lines....)

I thought that was the end of things.
I tried to get all psych up for the KRI race.
I even tried (but failed pathetically) to get crush-boy to go for the 12km run.

Anyway.....today I received another email from those idiots saying that I'm confirmed for the 12-hour walk.

I was not sure if I should roll my eyes until my extra-occular muscles goes into spasm.
I'm not sure if I should laugh out loud.

Sigh....the absurdity of Malaysian races.


Later!!!!

p/s: by the way....I'm still in Melbourne, so get in touch with me if anyone out there (obviously whom I know!) is still here!!!

Penang Bridge Marathon - 21/112010

Sigh.....(I just need to get this report out of the way....)

Sorry for the delay in the race-report.
I was actually contemplating on NOT reporting on this race at all....
No....not that I'm lazy or it was uneventful thus pointless to do a write up.
But the fact that many things went wrong, personally.....
So I was contemplating doing a report on my race "post-mortem".

But let's not ruin "tradition".

So here goes.....

Work finished at 8am, Saturday morning.....groggy and irritable due to lack of sleep.
Picked up Lydia and Wendy to head to Penang after breakfast.
Got to Penang...checked into Eastin Hotel and then popped over to Queensbay Mall to pick up race kit.


Then went for lunch......I figured that if I could not "sleep-load", I'd carbo-load.


Post-lunch, head back to the hotel and try to get some proper shut-eye.
I had initially planned to sleep by 4pm...sleep through until 12am....then wake up and run 42km.

Of course, like all things planned...it doesn't quite go as I wanted it to.

I think I only slept like 2 hours...and I was still in sleep-debt from the night before.

I tried to will myself back to sleep but all attempts failed. Decided to get myself up and get the rest of the girls to go for dinner and returned later to attempt sleeping again.

Of course that failed as well.
Just laid in bed staring at the ceiling.
I think I eventually did dose off but was rudely awakened by the wake-up call at 11.30pm.
Curses!!!!

By 1am, we were ready and waiting and the lobby for a bit of photo-op with the rest of the full marathon runners.



The weather at the start was humid and warm.
Before starting the race, I was already sweating up the storm.
I was thankful at that point that I decided last minute NOT to wear my 2XU compression shorts underneath my running skirt.
Imagine how much more warmer I'd be if I've worn them.

I was already thirsty at the start.



Winnie and I told Mo-maniac that we're aiming sub-5, preferably.
I think that was our biggest mistake.....

At 2am, we were flagged off for our race.
Right from the start, Mo-maniac kept Winnie and I at a faster pace than usual.
The combination of the humidity and the still warm night air made running at that pace (a pace that is usually pretty effortless) very difficult.
At least for me.
Right off, I knew it was gonna be a struggle to keep at this pace for the entire 42km.
At that point, I was praying hard for rain.
(if only I knew what I was praying for!)


The hydration stations were well-staffed and well-handled.....although I'd prefer if they had served us isotonics.
I guzzled down my fluids because I was really thirsting for water!!!


By the time we got onto the bridge, at around 10km in distance....I could feel myself slowing down. I felt that I couldn't keep up.
But Mo-maniac kept at urging us to keep at our current pace.
It was difficult.
I was tired.
I was starting to feel nauseated.
I really wanted to walk.
But Mo-maniac would have none of that walking-nonsense.
So we kept on running.....albeit at a slightly slower pace.

Slowly but surely I could feel cool breeze against my skin as we ran to the top of the bridge.
Thank you God for relieving us from this heat and humidity!!!!

Over the horizon, I could see flashes of lightning.
Nope..it definitely ain't camera flash.
I was quite sure it was nature's way of telling me that I might have prayed too hard for rain.
And surely soon enough, I could hear the thunder.

By the 21km mark, we've slowed down considerably and I think we passed the halfway mark almost at 2:30.

I admit.....at that point, I've mentally given up on wanting to sub-5.
As long as I complete it, I'll be happy.

Past 21km, the cool breeze had turned into strong gusts of wind.
I knew rain was impending.

Within 5 minutes, the first few tiny droplets were felt.
And quickly followed were large, huge drops of rain and I could feel mild cutaneous pain as it pelted against my skin.
Cats and dogs......

The direction of the wind and rain were against us and I could barely open my eyes and see where I was going.
I kept looking down and kept on running forward.

But the rain was extremely welcomed.
I felt suddenly invigorated and the running didn't feel as difficult as it did before.

In fact...IT WAS FUN!!!

I lost Mo-maniac somewhere on the bridge.....but then as the half-ers and FM-ers met on the bridge, I bumped into Leen.
Ran with her and chatted all the way for about 5km until the half-ers ran the U-turn and the FM-ers continued on the dreaded-never-ending Jelutong Highway.

At the start of the Jelutong Highway, the rain had declined into a constant drizzle.

And I was starting to get tired.
And I could see the fast runners returning... (this means you, Uncle Terence!!)
And I was a little demotivated. Ok...VERY demotivated.

God was good (go on...give me a Hallelujah!!! I know you want to!!!) and he brought me a running companion in the form of Izuana's hubby...(sori sayang, I lupa nama dia/sorry dear,I forgot his name)
He claimed he was tired as well....so we made an alliance of finishing this race together.
That was 30km in.

Kak June of the Full Marathon Virgins (FMVs) fame had her car (the FMV Mobile Grocer) parked at the 32km/25km (it was a turnaround) giving out isotonics/food/analgesics/whatever to runners who needed it.

[a little history on things....FMV was the brainchild of June Malik, running-cheerleader-extraordinaire to encourage and offer support to runners attempting their first time full marathon distance. After establishing her "group" on Facebook and by the magic of the word of mouth, one of her ex-runner friend decided to donate to her cause, a bunch of the FMV black vests (famously seen in a lot of Malaysian road races). The proceeds from the sales of vest went into a piggy-bank-collection that June uses to buy the isotonics/food/analgesics/whatever to stock her "Mobile Grocer". Any runner, especially the FMVs and the RBUs (Running Bloggers United....ahem, I'm one of them) can pop by the "Mobile Grocer" for whatever they need for FREE. Yes....this is how the MOTHER of FMVs give back to the running community!!!]

We decided to run-1km then walk-1km...repeat many times until finish line in within sight.
That continued until 36km.
We were both tired....exhausted....cold....hungry.....

We subsequently decided to downgrade it to run-500m then walk-500m..repeat until finish line.

With 3km left, Choi (who's the 6:00 pacer) came and gathered all FM-ers and encouraged all of us to complete this race with him.
So followed we did....
Forget the tiredness.
Forget that the feet hurts.
Forget the hunger.
Forget all the annoying fun-runners hogging the road and blocking your way.
Forget everything!
Keep running....focus on Choi....and soon enough, the finish line was in sight!!!!

Finished 5:46-ish....(I forgot the exactly timing and I'm in no hurry to relive that memory)

I'm just glad I finished this race.


GOOD BITS ABOUT RACE:
1. good traffic control
2. sufficient hydration station (as compared to previous years....although we definitely need more stations with isotonics)
3. Tech-shirt for finisher's T!!!
4. it rained....

BAD BITS ABOUT RACE:
1. baggage collection was HELL ON EARTH!!!
2. give me my isotonics!!!
3. be gone, sleep-debt!!!
4. sigh.....I wish crush-boy was there.....(at least I'd have something to look forward to at each turnaround!!!)


Oh...anyway I'm in Melbourne right now.
Current most important aim is NOT TO GAIN WEIGHT.


Later!!!!

Fess up, it's Friday!

Big confession to make.

I'm currently terrified to look at my next month's credit card bill....

Erm...well...because....

....Sigh....because.......I signed up for Sundown Ultramarathon in June 2011....AND the Sundown FULL Marathon in May 2011 as well....not to mention the air tickets to Singapore too!!!

I can literally hear my bank balance crying and begging for mercy.

I might just opt out of Gold Coast Marathon as part of the save-money contingency plan.

Anyway....I'd like to discuss a rather interesting topic I stumbled upon today.

Since the onset of the Sundown online registration.....the entire Facebook running community (at least on MY FB anyway) is talking about it.....which race to go for....which category.....am I man enough for the ultra? Should I even bother THINKING about attempting an ultra.....and the list goes on to no ends.

Then.....my runner-enthusiast friend, Jamie (check out his blog HERE) posted this very interesting thought input on FB:

"An ultramarathon's qualifying standards shouldn't be diluted for the sake of commercialism and catering to the "if-i-can-you-can" types. "If-i-can-you-can" method should be employed responsibly by experienced runners. I'm disappointed at how some are turning it into a dare".

His status update had the most thought-provoking comments to date....and the conversation online has gotten rather interesting.

Well....most was obviously in support for this status comment.

But I'm not going to go into what was said.

However, I felt rather differently about it.....

Instead, here was what I posted in the comment section to his post:

Since I'm in the "if-i-can-you-can" category of runners, I SHOULD bite my tongue.
But this conversation is extremely interesting.

"I used to be a "if-you-can-doesn't-mean-I-can" sort of runner. And then I met my sifu.
He says that if you don't try....you'll never know.
If you don't push hard....you'll never know how tough you can be.
A lot of people are happy and content in their comfort zone...which is fine if you look back onto yourself one day without regret.
But most people will regret.
....I should have tried....
....I should have gone....
....I should....

Instead of focusing on what should have been done/raced/run...why not instead focus on TRYING to ACHIEVE.

Sure..a lot of people because their friends signed up....and I'm sure there are some will regret their decision sooner or later. But there are also plenty who just needs a nudge to push themselves out of their comfort zone...to train harder...to achieve more....to aim higher....

....again, if you don't try...you'll never know!!!"

Jamie does have a point....in the case of the unprepared runner who signed up just because his friends all did too....

But sometimes, the "If-I-can-you-can" types are the ones who get pushed out of their comfort zone and the ones who will achieve what was once thought impossible for them.

So what say YOU?

Later!!!!

TGIT!!!!!

I'm packing right now!!!!

I'm packing for my on-call tomorrow...and my trip to Penang for PBIM!!!

Gosh I'm hoping I'd remember to bring EVERYTHING that I need.

And get this..I'm packing and cranking up the Christmas songs....(I know it ain't December yet...but these songs always gets me into the festive mood!!)

* My MarathonManiac bright yellow vest....my dependable running skirt....my (most possibly will wear) 2XU compression tights....my (free!) 2XU socks....

* My Dylan-the-Garmin.....again HUGE THANKS to my secret benefactor....whoever you are!!!

* My Sport-Shield....needs it's own plastic bag as it leaks....but definitely better than the traditional BodyShield.....(the above bottle is courtesy of Mo-maniac....you're the best sifu ever!!!)

* My TackOnz! Gone are the days of using the shirt-staining metal pins....(my MM shirt is precious!!!) Of course I think I've lost a few TackOnz from some race previously...

Definitely must remind self to stock up on more colourful TackOnz when in Singapore....

* Stocked up on Powergel during Genting Trailblazer.....(hoping that it'll give the boost needed to sub-5)

* My beloved, albeit very soiled-looking Brooks Launch.

Mind the dirt...it's from Mount Kinabalu!!! (yup...wore these babies up during the Climbathon)

* My free-swag bag....kinda stole it off Mo-maniac. He was disposing of a bag...I was in need of a larger bag.

* I suddenly had bad cravings for doughnuts......I'll consider it as carbo-loading and try (really TRY) to NOT think about the unnecessary calories.....

Anyway...I've found takers for the Sundown 100km race!!!!

And I just found out you-know-who (just pretend that you do know) is in for the torture as well!

Ah..nothing reads of potential romance like enduring/suffering an ultramarathon together!!

(feel free to get nauseated.....and do excuse me, I'm after all PRE-oncall, PRE-suppose-to-PB-marathon, PRE-jitters....PRE-whatever....)

So...who's up for an ultramarathon!?

Can I still persuade some undecided souls regarding MR25 ultramarathon on Boxing day?

Oh c'mon...it's GREAT training for Sundown Ultra!!!!

No...I'm sure your bad knee would not act up on the day of the race.

No....I'm pretty sure you won't collapse and die of a coronary.

Yes...I'm pretty sure that if you do by any bad luck collapse, I'd try to resuscitate you.

No...my resuscitation success rate ain't that high....

But let's not let that dissuade you from joining an ultramarathon....

Later!!!!

Ho hum.....

So this was happened for the past 3 days since the last blog entry....

1. I'm coming out of my haze of extreme sleepiness albeit rather slowly.....(at least my need for nap time during working hours has reduced tremendously....)

2. I've not run since Powerman.....and rather hesitant about attempting to PB at the upcoming Penang Bridge Marathon.

3. I realized that I'm totally dependent on my iPhone....and suffering from an addiction to Mobile Facebook with the quality of a crack-addict......It was the most painful withdrawal ever on Monday when I arrive at work and realized I left the iPhone at home. I still feel the sting of that memory.....

4. I'm totally upset with Sundown Organizers for changing the schedule for the ultra/marathon. It totally upsets my 2011 marathon timetable with the postponement of the ultra to a month AFTER the full.

5. I'm surprised with myself for not being too upset that the ultra for Sundown has been increased from 84km to 100km. In fact I'm really looking forward to this challenge. I'm also hoping that crush-boy would commit to this race...therefore I'd at least have someone cute to look at while being on my feet for almost 24 hours!!! (BONUS!!)

6. ...however, I'm very ambivalent about committing to the ultramarathon as it is scheduled on the same supposed date that KL marathon usually takes place. I love my KL!!!!

7. I'm currently suffering from the aftermath of a bad case of 'serve-you-right-for-not-wearing-sunscreen-and-now-you're-totally-sunburnt'. My face is peeling and breaking out like there's no tomorrow.

8. I'm not carboloading enough. In fact I think I left my appetite back in Kota Kinabalu. Appetite seemed to have plummeted somewhat since. I partially blame the recurrence of acute gastroenteritis.....the depressive symptoms....my aversion to unspeakable weight gain (which stems from comments of random people stating that I've suddenly looked somewhat more "filled-up")....and my growing anxiety about sub-5-ing it at PBIM (yes I do realized that many people sub-5 at a drop of a hat...but I'm not one of those velocity-gifted sort)!!!

9. I'm a little frustrated that my conversations with God about "certain topics" have not resulted in an answer or a given direction. I'm still fumbling in the dark....

Of course I don't expect to actually hear His "reply"....coz if I did, I'd start popping anti-psychotics!!!!

Anyway....whatever it is, PBIM is this Sunday......and I'm looking forward to my Melbourne trip post PBIM!!!

So anyone else thinking about the 100km challenge next June?

Later!!!!

Powerman - 14/11/2010

OMG...I can't believe that's over....

Yup...am talking about Powerman that just went on in Seri Manjung, Perak YESTERDAY!!!!

So now...it's literally countdown till Penang Bridge Full Marathon...and my second attempt for a sub-5 race for this year. *breathe in....breathe out*

Anyway.....whatever I ate on Friday for dinner, must have been a curse coz I had bouts of diarrhea before dozing off to sleep that night. Then Saturday morning, a few more bouts of diarrhea before our hike at Kledang Hill.

Thankfully it all stayed IN during the entire hike up and down.

* Misni and I keep bumping into each other. Good on ya for coming all the way from Singapore!

And before heading off to Seri Manjung to meet Terence, Maybel, Winnie, Bryan and Andrew....I evacuated whatever I could no longer retain within me....then prayed fervently that it was going to be the last time ever!!! (thankfully it was)

Met the rest at K-west Hotel, Seri Manjung. Pretty decent place.

Andrew (bless him!) collected my race kit for me the week before. So there was no hurry to the race site for collection.

We sauntered over to the race site only to collect our timing chip....which I had to throw in a RM50 deposit (definitely the most expensive deposit to date) for it.

Then linger around the expo (pretty decent by Malaysian standards), bumped into friends founded through this crazy sport then headed off for the race briefing.

* The expo......

* The timing chip with the pricey deposit.......

* The race briefing......

I'm not exactly sure what went on during the briefing coz I was too busy taking photos and looking around for more familiar faces...and cute triathlete-like participants.

(it's completely alright to ogle at the opposite sex when you're single and have absolutely nothing better to do...besides, I could always ask Terence later about the briefing!)

After that, Terence took us on a tour of Lumut town....and then for some serious carbo-loading.

So serious that we had to do it twice!!!!

(dinner and then supper, all within 2-ish hours apart....if that ain't serious carbo-loading, then I don't know what is!)

Woke up 4.30am on race morning.

Check through Facebook via iPhone (I don't know how life was without it!) and found out from Frank that is was raining outside...(Frank posted it on FB. He was also participating in this race)

* Tobias.....obviously not ready for the race.....

* Maybel and Terence!!!

* Chooi Wan, Wendy and Me.....thanks for coming to support and take pictures!!!

Oh well...at least it won't be shiteously hot....this race is afterall well known for the heat and the glaring sun!

* Walking to deposit the bike at the transition...

* Pre-race atmosphere

* I can almost hear Tobias whining...oh get a grip on yourself, boy!!!!

* KRI uncles doing the race as well....

We got the race site by 6.30am. Race scheduled to start at 7.30am for the full distance of 11km run-64km bike-10km run. The sprinters (me, Winnie and Maybel) will start at 7.45am...and we'll be doing the 5.5km run-32km bike-5km run.

After flagging off Terence, Bryan, Andrew and a host of other really perky glutes and sexy hamstrings, we went back to cam-whoring while waiting for our own flag off.

* Before the start....

* Getting ready....

At 7.45am......our turn to go.

All systems are GO and I started the run with a rather good pace (not wearing Garmin, self-evaluated pace).

I was trying to catch up with Winnie and Maybel.....and of course it was a bad idea!!!! Maybel turned on to turbo-mode the minute the start horn went off!!!

Winnie too was trying to catch up to Maybel...but in the end suffered from possible shinsplints and she slowed down.

Everyone around me seemed to be running fast.

I'm thinking to myself...if I keep this up, it'll be fine if I were to be racing a 10-K. Unfortunately after this 5.5km, I have to get on a bike and ride 32km....and you know that I pretty much suck at cycling.

But because EVERYONE else was running fast, I felt this urge to keep up pace despite knowing that I'll be too tired later.

About 4km in....I started to feel very nauseated.

Like breakfast was trying to regurgitate itself out.

Vomiting was not an option.

I'm way too embarrass to do that rite now....in front of all these people!!!!

I slowed down slightly.....and told myself that I'd feel better once on the bike.

At transition....I took my time. I could feel my heart beating to its full glory.

Took some sips of isotonics before heading off for the ride.....coz y'know....I have yet to master the cycling-with-one-hand-on-the-handle-bar thing yet and I know I'd be starved of fluids for the entire 32km.

By default and not by choice...

So the bike leg started.....

The road was mostly flat....with only 3 areas of elevation.....and that wasn't too bad!

Since it was mostly flat....I tried to crank up the gears to go faster.

But I could feel my legs, especially my quads being all fatigue-y and shit.

Still....it wasn't too bad.

However, no matter how hard I felt I was cycling.....everyone else around me seemed to be overtaking me.

That was real de-motivating.....

But whatever.....they are probably doing double of my distance.....

They were handing out opened water bottles to cyclists and I REALLY wanted to take one coz I was feeling very thirsty but I was terrified that if I stretch my arm out to grab that bottle, I'd loose balance and topple over, causing a horrific and most epic multi-bike crash in the whole history of Powerman.

Nope...I don't want to be that famous yet!

I sucked it up and told myself that I'll guzzle more water once back at transition.

After the turnaround, the nauseated feeling came back......and while trying to cycle uphill....I could feel my stomach content reversed back up the oesophagus and I could taste vomit in my mouth.

(bloody useless lower oesophageal sphincter!!)

Nothing I could do...but to swallow it back down again.

Sigh.....I was already slow. I wasn't going to pull over to throw up or drink water.

I seriously have to re-consider my biking position because my lower back hurts like hell....I could no longer feel my hands...and my lady bits still hurt!!!

(despite everyone telling me that the pain will eventually lessen, it was still a pain in the perineum each time I mount the bike)

I'm so thankful to see the transition area.

* Extremely happy to be back on the run again....

* Loading up on the fluids....

Quickly got off Tobias......drank more isotonics.....(felt extremely fantastic to have fluids in me again!)

...and off I went for the next 5km run.

You all know that I did zero brick training....so it would not be of surprise that the transition to running was a little awry in the beginning.

But after about 1km in.....my legs started to feel normal again.

Finally I was running....slow...but definitely running!

Gosh it felt great to be running again!!!

Slowly but surely....I eventually reach the finish line.

Maybel was already done and cheering people on!!! (she is super fast!!!)

The chute to the finishing branches out into two...one with a proper timing clock for the full distance, with all the glory and shit.....and the other...and mini version of the previous one...without a clock.....and barely noticeable, for the sprinters.

I suddenly felt like the black sheep of the family that no one wants around for Christmas dinner but you suddenly showed up so they had no choice but serve you whatever leftover food they have. Something like that.

Oh yea...finish in 2:34.....(self-timed, obviously)

* Ok...promise promise next year I'll do the full distance....

But I'm very happy for all my friends for finishing their very first full distance Powerman within stipulated time!!!!

You guys rock!! (now you can go show off that grey finisher's T of yours despite the unattractive colour)

And I'm eager to do the same next year.

I swear.....(really!!!)....I'll work on my cycling......and hopefully Tobias will treat me better...(we're definitely working on our relationship)

Also...I'm very ecstatic (ok..maybe not to that extent...but definitely glad) that crush boy did extremely well for this first ever Powerman!!!

Alright...now back to ogling other tri-type hot dudes and hot bikes......

Later!!!!

p/s: thanks Chooiwan for the pictures....thanks Wendy for coming to support....thanks God for the morning rain....thanks TPRC (Terence Poon Running Club...what, you're not a member yet?!) group for the great weekend!!!! See most of you next week.....

Fess up, it's Friday!

Sigh......

Did I mention that I can't believe Powerman is this Sunday?

Yea....I'm pretty sure I did....like many times....

I'm not ready for it.....like really!!!!

Took yesterday off from any form of workout......coz I just didn't feel like it.

In fact, yesterday felt pretty shitty in terms of overall "feeling of wellness".

I've been feeling extremely exhausted of late.

Probably since towards the end of last week...(blame the diarrhea)

And starting from this week, I've been feeling tired and for some reason, having insatiable appetite for SLEEP!!!!

I can't get enough of it!!!!

First thing I wanna do when I wake up is GO BACK TO SLEEP....

First thing I wanna do when I reach the hospital is to go take a nap....

First thing I wanna do when it's lunch time is go back to my nap....

First thing I wanna do when I finish work is to rush back home to nap....

(in fact if I could, I'd skip the workout altogether......AND when I'm running, I'm thinking about sleeping!!!)

First thing I wanna do right after dinner is GO SLEEP!!!

The above describe my entire week to fine precision.

Pathetic.....I know.

I can't believe I have yet to overdose on sleep.

I don't think my depression has relapsed that badly that I'm regressing in such a major way!

I don't quite feel like pricking myself (since it's not yet time for my bi-annual routine blood tests....I'm a little, ok MAJORLY hypochondriac) so I'll assume that I'm borderline on being anaemic and adding in the haematinics for good measure.

And since we're on the subject of "good measure", I'll up my anti-depressant dose as well.....just for a couple of days to tie over the low mood that seemed to accompany the persistent need for sleep.

Nope...it has not been an easy week....not at all.

Anyway.....I'll be driving to Manjung tomorrow after brunch for Powerman on Sunday.

I just found out that I'll be bunking in with 'dashingly-handsome' Uncle Terence and gang at K-West Hotel....which frankly I have no idea where it is situated.

I've yet to pack Tobias into the back of the car yet.

I'll probably do it after my morning hike up Kledang Hill with the girls.

Anything to get some endorphins to rev up my already somnolent week!!!

Oh...photo-log:

* Took this picture when was at FocusAce to get a pair of Brooks Ghost 3 for Carrie.....

C'mon.....come to Ipoh for this race!!!!!

* Aside from signing up in person at FocusAce, you can log on to www.themarathonshop.com.my to register!!!

* Dinner with Lydia and Wendy. Lydia showed me the x-ray of her coccyx bone which was sorta fractured post-Genting Trailblazer.

* They are carbo-loading with me for my upcoming races...

* Post dinner, I just NEEDED to get some dessert.....so we popped over to Coffeebean.

* Appearance is rather deceiving. The cake sucked!!!!

* This morning, still yearning for a chocolate fix......I present to you, MY BREAKFAST!!!

* Lunch at Beacon Point......the chocolate cake was divine!!!

I know.....I am exhausted, I am in dire need of sleep, I am perpetually looking for a choco-fix.....I'm either PMS-ing or very very depress!!!!

* Pasta with aubergine.......

Despite my extremely pathetic cooking skills....I think I make better pasta!!!

* Apple crumble, anyone?

* I got back to work after lunch to find THIS (note the package above) on my table....

The tech-shirt that I ordered from Ron's website!!!!

Click HERE to view website....

* I know.....I totally rock this shirt!!!!

Alright.....I really need to SLEEP now!!!!!

Later....