Layan

Hi.
Sorry for the late post.
This week was/is sick week.
Four days of the holidays were mostly spent indoors. My little girl got sick up to the point where we had to take her to the clinic where they did a blood test on her. Don't get me going on the whole blood taking process.
Luckily everything came out normal but she's still having fevers on and off.

By Wednesday I caught the fever and fatigue-ness hit me on Thursday.
The funny thing about running/working out  is, when you're not feeling well, it's hard to differentiate whether you're skipping the exercise because of the sickness or because of the laziness.

But I hate being down in the dumps. So I have this video to share.
Perempuan ni takde modal la tu asik post video je
Takde, betul, video ni serius kelakar.
I remember the last time I caught Rambo at the movies a few years ago, I turned to WW and whispered loudly, " You drag me here to watch this?"
But this version is clearly better. In the sense of less harsher swear words. Huhu

 This Faradyable guy is really something.
He's the same guy who posted the Teh Ais videos on Youtube.and that Louis Armstrong Gosok Gigi thing that I posted on FB.
His voice overs are dead on.
This guy is either talented or he's got too much time on his hands.

Wote

Sorry to disrupt your holidays, peeps but this I gotta share
It's too cool.
It's overplayed at our house.
Even then kids join in, " Somebadehhhhh." at the end.

It makes me miss my Paul Smith.
I haven't touched my guitar since my failed attempt to serenade my friends at our reunion.
I chickened out last minute.
That was a month ago.
I don't even know where I put my capo

Nevertheless, Happy CNY.
Now I have 4 free days to relight the fire.

Skully And Mu(r)lder

I was getting my usual evening run done when it was rudely interrupted by a phone call from one of my staff. Apparently apart from being a clinician and an administrator, I am also a counselor.
So as I was listening to the other end pouring her heart out about work issues, I noticed something weird lying at the back of my treadmill.
To my horror, it was a decapitated mouse.
And it looked fresh.
Gross.

I glanced at my children, who were on the computer playing some games. Luckily they hadn't noticed.  Had they did, they'd be in hysterics.

Where the heck did it came from? I figured it must have either been brought in by a sneaking stray cat or it must have gotten in by the sewer hole from the ground floor toilet. The latter seemed more plausible at first as the treadmill is only a couple of  meters away from the toilet. It must have sneaked in between the machine and somehow got snagged by the belt or something. But then  I thought, there should be traces of fresh blood, wait, sprays of red mouse blood on the mill and the wall but there was none.
So I deducted it was maybe brought in by an unsuspecting cat.
Bodo punya kucing.

Trying to keep my voice steady and avoid panicking ( while left hand still holding the phone to my ear), I grabbed an empty plastic bag. The initial plan was to pick up the mouse with the plastic bag but then I got queasy. No way was I going to hold a mouse, berlapik or not.
Then while the other end was babbling and me uh-huh-ing, I got a dustpan and shoved the decapitated carcass into it with a broom, put the poor animal in an old shoe box and it went straight away into the outside bin.
After ending the call, I mopped the whole area around the treadmill to konon disinfect the area.


Then I went back running. (ha)
But in the middle of it all, it suddenly came to mind.
What if the mouse really got decapitated by the belt or the motor.
The head should be  lying somewhere. Exclamation mark.
Then , right there and then I started to panic.
About leptospirosis, about the possible stench of decomposition in the house, about the possibility of other mice getting in the house.
 But what I panicked most about was the THOUGHT of finding the mouse's head

Okay, I consider myself as an independent woman but when it comes to finding decapitated mouse heads, I simply had to call the  man of the house.
" We have a serious problem" I told my husband who's miles away.
"Why don't you  lift up the treadmill and look under it?" he suggested.
" Who me? Never."
" How about getting the pakcik next door to look for it?"
" Are you kidding? He'll think we're living in filth."
"So what's your suggestion, genius?"
"You find it. When you get back." And that would be a mere 18 more hours to go.
So he agreed.
And the thawing chicken on the kitchen counter made me sick and me and the kids ended up having take-outs for dinner.

But hey presto, after 18 hours there was no stench of rotting flesh.At all.
And no, I did not Febreezed the house.
WW took a peek under the treadmill and found nothing but dust bunnies.
Weird huh.
Wuuu wuu wuut wuut wuut wuuuut ( okay, that was supposed to sound like the X-Files opening theme)

So you'd think after learning the possibilities of my dreadmill being a rodent decapitator would stop or at least cease me from using it?
Wrong.
Out of sight, out of mind, baby.
A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
And this girl needs to run.

Even if there is a little skull lodged in the machine somewhere.
Wuuu wuu wuut wuut wuut wuuuut .

Love Is A Losing Game

I can't remember half of my patients' name but with a name and character like Jimmy Teca, it's really hard to forget.

Jimmy is actually the husband of my denture patient.I can't remember her name. She came in with him one morning, last June, a couple in their mid 70's, walking hand in hand.
She was a bit weak and frail, always smiling and polite and counting on Jimmy for support, physically and emotionally. Jimmy was jolly, constantly cheerful with everything positive to say and thinks the world of his wife.
Jimmy would charm us with his joie-de-vivre. He would often enlighten us with anecdotes of his early years. He would walk in with a steady gait, left hand firmly holding a walking stick and when asked why, he would say it was for the 'look'. Jimmy would often act as a translator as he could speak perfect English, perfect Malay and perfect Chinese. He would never forget his 'Good Mornings!" and 'Thank Yous' and would always know how engage us in the most interesting conversations..
He would proudly remind us of his only son ,married and working successfully in Singapore . Jimmy always made sure that their  visits with me would always be pleasant. It is hard not to love Jimmy.

All Jimmy Teca wants is to enjoy the rest of his life with his lovely wife in this so-called-retiree town.

The last time I saw Jimmy Tecca, he was doing perfectly fine.

Until today.
I noticed his name in my appointment book. My assistant informed me she saw him as an outpatient, an old wheelchair bound senior citizen and didn't have the heart to put him in our denture waiting list. So she immediately booked him under my appointments.
Wheelchair bound?
I was confused.

When they wheeled him in, I almost didn't recognize him. He was frail, a little more skinnier than I last saw him, his right leg in a cast and left arm in a sling. His right eye had that crossed-eye look and he came in sans dentures which made him look ancient.
" Uncle Jimmy, what happened?"

He told me he got struck by a car, almost a month ago. Near the Lake Garden. While jogging.
He is now wheelchair bound, his right hand which has always been weak since he was a child is almost useless now, and his left arm is broken. He needs someone to do the simplest tasks for him. He can't even put food into his own mouth.
He is now alone in Taiping, living in an old folks home. He sent his wife to Singapore to live with his son.
But he is fortunately, still mentally sound.

I guess my face crumpled a bit when he told me his story.
" It's okay. It's not so bad." he smiled his toothless grin.
And I resist the urge to give him a big wholesome hug.
" Life's like that." he told me.

But I'm so mad. I'm mad at that person who ran him over.
It was a jogger's path. In the Lake Garden. It was a 30 kmph road. The signboard made it clear. I know because  I've ran past the signboard many times.
But he was ran over at an estimated speed of 70kmph
His caretaker told me that accidents like that happen all the time.
" Some people just don't care about joggers there. They don't even care if it's a one way street."

I'm so angry of this carelessness. A man's life is almost ruined just because some stupid sod thought he would get away bending the rules.
I hope the perpetrator will get what he deserve. I hope karma will bite him back hard.
Or at least, at the very least , he has learned his lesson.

Jimmy laughed as I took his impressions. " You treat me like a kid" he said.
My brows furrowed as I worry.
" It'll be okay" he reassured me as he is wheeled out of my surgery.
His hand limply flopped on his lap to imitate a wave,  "I'll see you in a bit, eh Doc?".

I sure hope so, Jimmy Teca.
I hope by God's fate, somehow you will bounce back.
I hope for your sake and for everybody else's sake, that we will ALL be more careful behind the wheel.
And I convey to all  pedestrians, runners, cyclist,  please make your self visible while on the road.

We can only try.

New Year Reads!

So how was everyone's new year ?
Mine was spent stitching up a poor man's face who got split open when his mouth snagged on a nail ( or some other metal object - he wasn't sure himself) while falling down two flights of stairs. This was done with the sounds of new year fireworks booming in the distance sebagai muzik iringan..
Another mini episode of kari ngeri.
No worries, he's okay now despite probably being stuck with The Joker's trademark all his life.

Wahh, kemain lagi korang ek, baru sehari dua tahun baru dah ada race report bagai.
I have nothing for now. No plans. Nak boh tentative kat left hand side of the blog untuk 2012 pun takbleh lagi.
Though I am thinking of a race in early March to celebrate my birthday but we'll see how it goes.
Training is just on for now. Training for what, beats me.

I am told by WW that he gave Penonton's address to a friend of ours ( a newbie) to check out for local races. If he's into blog hopping, I'm sure one of these days he'll find himself landing here.
In advance, I'd like to day, " Hi, Nan!" " Hi Jemer jugak!"( wave). Welcome to the club.
Kalu hang tak baca ni sampai bila-bila, hang memang koman.

Anyway, what I'd like to do today is to review a few books.
Two to be exact.
Kenapa?
Ntah.
Saje.

Book No 1: Inspiring, Motivational and A Damn Good Read.
Title: Becoming an Ironman.

Ok, triathlons aren't my forte ( as if running is) but I really LOVE this book. Although, I can't fathom being on the bike for hours on end without getting pressure sores on your manly/womanly areas. I myself can't stand being on a bike for more than 60 measly minutes without feeling nauseous and jiggly. I can't also imagine swimming for 2.4 miles because, well.. easy, because I don't know how to swim. I saw Titanic on TV a few days ago and thought, " Boy, if I were on a sinking ship, I'd be the first poor loser to go straight to the bottom."

Anyway, this is THE book that first triggered the idea for me to race. WW got it on discount in some book sale someplace a few years ago and I read it out of curiosity 3 years ago.
Ok, honestly the last time I read this WAS 3 years ago but seriously, I'm now back on the 1st page to relive the moments.
This book is basically a collection of personal stories about the experience of completing one's first ironman-distance triathlon ( I took this from the book jacket)
But really, in one book you'll get more than 20 stories from different people, some whose names are familiar and some are just ordinary people like you and me ( or only me to be more accurate).
Macam baca race report pun ada. Ada yang terer, ada yang tak. Cerita dari first timer fast finishers,first timer slow finishers, cerita dari wargatua, cerita dari OKU. Heck there are even stories from those who DNF.
Their anecdotes are funny, tear jerking, amusing, motivating dan macam-macam lagi. Baca buku ni cam tengok movie. Serius. Ada satu part tu aku teringat aku ada nangis sket.

And, by the time you reach the end of this book and you're still not motivated to at least go for a run ( at least la), well,  hati keras macam batu ke apa?
Pi la cari. Really worth the read an money.
Pi. Cari.
And I guarantee you it'll be far better than that Murukami book or Once a Runner.

Book no 2 : No Brainer
Title: Girl on The Run

Okay, I'm not much of a chic lit fan. You'll almost never see me in a book store browsing and flipping through novels with cartoon figures of thin girls with titles like, " I Need A Hunky Man Right Now!" or " Shopping Psycho But Still Cute ( And At The Same Time Still Need A Man)"
But the word 'Run' on this book caught my eye somehow ( I'm still a geek) and after reading the synopsis, without thinking much, I tossed it in my shopping cart.
Okay,sure it got all those chic lit cliches like hopelessly successful girl unaware of her attractiveness despite being called 'beautiful' constantly by others or girl in dire need of a handsome man and finally realizes that she's in love with her best mate who is hey, by coincidence is also a handsome man . Ala cam cerita novel Melayu yang tak boleh lari dari watak-watak gelaran Dato/Datin/ Tan Sri. You get the picture.

Tapi on the running side, it's okay. Behind the chic lit facade, the book relates on newbies in running, and first timers in racing.The heroine starts off as a bum, forces herself to train for a race to raise money for a Multiple Sclerosis fund ( this is inspired by her staff who has MS) and succeeded in actually completing a half marathon.
Ada la the author threw in some running technical terms here and there. Which may let you think that she might actually be a runner herself ataupun she had a good kajian. But overall, it's strictly for light reading.
The kind of read that you don't need blood flowing in your brains.

Tapi at some parts, it can trigger off a sensational feeling to run and join a race, girly -girl style.
And for guys, you can read it but try not to snort too much on the chic- lit-ness of this novel. Kalau korang malu nak beli, hadiahla kan kat gfs ke wife ke, pastu buat-buat la pinjam baca.


Ok, itu saje review kali ni kawan-kawan.
Babai.

Nasihat Nenek

Hi kids.
With 2011 closing in, I noticed that my postings for this year have deteriorated to half the amount of the postings I wrote in 2010.
In which I concluded, banyaknya cerita aku taim 2010!
Apa ntah yang aku bebelkan?

Looking back, I'm glad I managed to complete my full marathons in 2010. Little did I know back then that I wouldn't have the time and commitment to fully train like that for years to come.
No, I'm not exaggerating. When you're a working mom with two kids going to school and a spouse working almost 300KM away from home, sometimes training takes a back seat.

Funny thing is, I was able to participate in more races this year than I did last year. Okay, one more is still more. Despite the mileage being shorter la.
But I like this. Being in the middle. I'm neither a middle distance nor a long distance runner. I'm the in-between. I guess for now, as in this moment, I'll settle with that.

Come 2012, with a whole load of other life plans, I want to improve my 10Ks and 5Ks. If I can somehow juggle the training for a half marathon, maybe I'll throw in an aim for a new PB in the mix.
And maybe, just maybe I'll take up that offer in trying out for KKM's track and field team just for kicks. This year, Sukan KKM buat kat Sabah, ba.

And next year, we plan to focus on races up north. There will be races in KL/Selangor here and there but mostly we'll be up north. So kalau hangpa mai kat sinin utagha, and you see an unassuming lady wearing normal PJ pants with a male barefooted partner, say hi whydoncha. Kami kampun-kampun saje.

For 2012, let's just run. Be it short, middle or long distances, just keep running. For fitness, for socializing, for racing, for getting that 15 minutes of fame, whatever. You can choose to write about it, FB about it, Dailymile  it, or not, whatever. You can run alone, with a partner, in a group, with your family, whatever. Just run. Don't stop. Be better.

And be nice.

But those are just plans. Things will get in the way of plans. Good things, unsuspecting things, apa-apa je la. I know somehow I will be okay with that.
It is, after all, just a piece of my time.

Great year everybody! Let's hope for more.
See you guys anywhere.
I'll see you when I see you.

Malaysian Army International Run 2011 - Edisi PCPJ Zon Utara

So 2 weeks ago, WW told me that his boss pulak paksa him to enter a race in PD.  Pulak,
We were reluctant at first as we were going to be very busy with a reunion in Lumut later in the afternoon on the same day tapi permintaan boss, macamla boleh tolak, kan?
So somehow WW's people got me signed up in the Kor Kesihatan DiRaja team. Which was quite an honor really. Siap bagi their running vest to wear ( which I didn't wear, macam biasa).

 Baju KKD

Baju larian berwarna ke-askaran. Jangan main.

Sangat Grand

Race day, we arrived at about 7 ish since the race was scheduled to start at 8.00. Lewatnya, korang mungkin kata but this is an army organized race la, biasala tu, kate WW.

I was to be in the Women Open 10K which i was a bit nervous about because
1. my last 10K was ages ago
2. training tak sesungguh dulu
3. In the rules and regulation, siap cakap " . Be properly attired during the race taking into consideration that the race will take you through jungle tracks and trails." Aduii, aku berdoala takde trails, but WW told me not to worry as the rules and regulation part was a copy paste version of SAS International Eco-Challenge punya. Cit
4. Tapi knowing it's organized by the army, WW warned that of course the route is going to be challenging.  Kalau tak, tak askar la, katanya. Great.
5. Bila berkumpul, baru nampak ramaaaiiiiinya askar, from all different states, from all different divisions.Dari Sabah ngan Sarawak pun ada turun mari.
6. Muka depa-depa ni semua jenis gaunt, tanned and chiseled. And I'm only talking about the girls !

lagi gambar abang askar tadek motif

During the race briefing, and while scanning for familiar faces (takde sangat sebab tak ramai civillians joining this race), tetiba nampak Deo di depan mata tersengih-sengih seperti biasa. Puh, power la Deo. Esoknya nak buat MR25 lagi. Sungguh gigih.

Dalam pukul 8.00 bila WW and Deo bersama-sama pelari Men Open 22K yang lain di flag off, kami Women Open dan Men Veteran lepak-lepak sambil dengar MC membebel dan merapu. Siap pi interview pelari at random sementara membuang masa ( we were to be flagged off at 8:15am). Tetiba dia interview a Kenyan Woman runner
" My best timing for a 10K is 34 minutes" kata akak Kenya tu.
Dengan otomatisnya, dengar suara-suara sumbang,
" Jom, kita semua balik!"
" Jom balik sebab dah dapat sijil dah tadi!"
Heh heh.

Sempat jugak sembang ngan satu prebet pompuan ni yang based kat PD jugak.
" Adik, kita punya route ni masuk kem ke?"
" Masuk!"
" Ada bukit ke?"
" Ada, kak. Tinggiiiiii, curammmmm"
Dem.

Bila flag off, aku rasa cam aku dok barisan paling belakang. Mana boleh saing ngan perempuan-perempuan berupa lelaki kat barisan depan tu. Dan, ramai betulla perempuan-perempuan berbentuk lelaki dalam askar ni aku perasan. Sampai kadang-kadang kena tengok kaler bib untuik tau dia pompuan ke lelaki ( bib pompuan kaler pink gitu)

Cool kan bib ni?

The first 400m I noticed my Garmin showed only the timing and not my pace or the distance. Double dem. Time ni la nak buat hal. I fiddled with the thing a couple of times tapi still tak boleh jugak. Last-last I decided lari ikut instict je la. My plan for a PB by this time was aborted.

At about 1K we hit the first hill. Gile curam. Triple dem. Almost everybody at this point started walking. Kalau yang run pun macam myself, sebenarnya buat gaya run je tapi pace cam orang jalan jugak. Yang mentalnya, masa mendaki bukit curam ni boleh nampak ada lagi bukit kat atas and you can virtually see the other faster runners making their way up the incline. Gile! Bukit atas bukit.
Masa ni, aku kata bye-bye kat sub 1 hour timing,

Lepas panjat bukit, panjat bukit lagi dan lagi. Sampai ada satu peringkat tu macam ada tiga tier bukit. Orang kat bawah nampak orang kat tengah, dan orang tengah boleh tengok orang kat lagi atas bukit. Ada jugak jalan yang kita baru nak turun downhill sket tapi kat depan nampak ada lagi incline yang lebih tinggi. Mental gila.

Tapi nasib baik geng Mat Tirap ni sangat friendly. Ok, dalam race lain, biasanya runners akan pasang game face dan muka tak bleh blah, tapi what I like about this race is almost every one of the army runners are really-really friendly and funny. Ada je komen-komen yang buat aku tergelak sampai terlupa nak menyumpah bukit. Encouragement sangat tip top.

Dan nasib lagi baik aku bawak air sendiri. Sebab water station ada satu je. Tapi sponging station ada 3-4 kot, which is a lot. And thank God for the sponging station because it was getting hot along the way. Ada kadang-kadang tu, ahem, sebab air sponge tu sejukkk sangat jadi aku pun tergoda take a sip sikit. Mmmm, somehow ada rasa a tinge of Milo. Macamana tu?

Bukits aside, best jugak lari masuk kem ni. Bukan tiap hari depa nak bagi civillian masuk kem. Walaupun aku sebagai army wife pun jarang masuk kem. Baru tau, besau betui kem askar ni, Siap boleh buat 10K race course.

Anyway, almost 1K upon finishing, kami bertembung the faster pack of the 22k Men open runners. Depa baru nak masuk course 10K berbukit bakau gunung ganang  after 12K of pounding on relatively flat route. Adoi, kesiannya.

So I crossed the finishing line at 64 mins at position no 23. Haha seperti dijangka. But I found out from Moey ( finally met Moey of Penonton!) that it was actually a 10.7 K distance. Sebagai pembenci bukit, I'm kinda happy to keep a 5:58 pace at a hilly course like that. Lagipun seperti dikata, mana bleh calen army man-girls dan atlet army yg laju.

Lepas tu tunggu WW balik pulak. Sambil tu lepak-lepak, ambik gambar, sembang-sembang ( remember, abang-abang askar sangat ramah-tamah) dan belek-belek goodie bag. Sebelum race dapat goodie bag ngan sijil, selepas race pun dapat lagi seketul goodie bag. Malangnya, no finisher medal tapi bila pikir nak medal sangat pun tak perlu sebab kat rumah dok berbelen dalam beg dan kat but kereta berlambak lagi tak hangkut dalam rumah.

Tetiba WW sampai with the timing of 2:00:24. WW in his futile attempt to convert from barefootedness to Vibrams for this race, somehow forgot his Vibrams that morning and ran barefoot jugak with no injuries. Glamer sekejap sebab ade oarng ingat dia geng komando.

Military  PCPJ ok

Tak dapat medal tapi dapat ayam goreng ala KFC. Macam race omputehs gitu

Anyway, it was a fun race despite the tough course, Will I join again next year kalau ada lagi? Semestinya.
It was very well organized, traffic was manned brilliantly not only by the military personnels but also the police,and the post run food was quirky but awesome. Despite all the drama of Garmin-not-working-well, bukit-bakau-course, lot of man-girls, sipping-on-milo-flavoured-sponge, I really had fun.

Lepas tu kalut balik sebab nak berangkat pi Lumut.

Well that's my final race for 2011. Phew, what a year!