Zero Week ( Entry basi)

I'm kinda not happy with my running or rather, lack of running lately. Zero week has come and gone swiftly and according to plans, I'm supposed to return to my normal running routine sans the looonggg LSD weekends.
But by the looks of it, I may temporarily return to the thrillmill as it rains here, heavily EVERY evening.
It's all sunny , loodeedoodee doo but then at about 4 ish pm, the sky will suddenly open up and it will not stop pouring till the day's end.
But I guess, I shouldn't complain much. My marathon is over and I'm only running for the heck of it.
Until my next race, that is. Hee.

Here's some pic from my zero week. We went on a tiny cuti-cuti makan-makan. I'd love to set up a foodie's blog like KOG but when it comes to taking pics of the food at an eatery, I always shy-shy cat one.

ayam penyet - sambal pedas gile

st. cinnamon- my favourite

the best goreng pisang in Taiping- seriously

sinful nasi goreng kampung- tapi sangat settap..haha

air amra- kusyukkk dan masyukkk

the best burgers are the local ones ( provided they're Ramli's)- sangat sloppy dan menjilat jari

oh, noww I remember why I'm so anal on running post zero week. 

must.lose.extra.weight.

Oh and, konon sebagai hadiah ( konon) for our marathon. Jeng jeng

his and hers - okay, the purple one's not new, but the stand is.

goreng macam nasik goreng kampung.

Sekian, terima kasih.

pebim doplohseploh, cerita satu lagi

Daha lama gila dah rasanya aku tak menulis. Bukan apa, malas takde masa nak update. Lagi pun rasanya takde apa yang menarik nak cerita.

Hari Ahad aku lari maraton Jembatan Pulau Pinang. Aku rasa persediaan untuk event ni memang agak bersungguh-sunggh jugak la. Gila apa tak bersungguh kalo dah sampai training memalam buta, sebelum subuh, tengah panas, bulan posa, hari raya.. Orang kat tempat aku ni pun agaknya dah boleh cam dah kot aku ngan bini, the looney couple.. heheh..

Target aku untuk PBIM 2010 ada 3. A: sub-4:00, B: sub 4:30, C: sub-5:00. There, aku dah bagitau dah. All my previous race results points that I can achieve sasaran A tu, provided that I did proper training. Dan waktu training pun kebanyakannya, >90%, aku buleh buat ikut pace dan jadual yang telah diset. Yang tak dapat ikut sebab life got in the way atau pun mungkin masa tu hari bodoh aku.

Tapi apa boleh buat, aku cuma mampu merancang, Allah yang menentukan.

Untuk dapat maraton sub-4, strategi aku cuma perlu maintain average 9:05/mile pace all the way, no time-banking, with gels every 6 miles. And that's exactly what I did, up to mile 17, kemudian semua neraka pecah keluar..

Mile 1-7: semuanya berjalan lancar. berjaya kontrol tak start laju sangat, lari ikut pace seniri, tanak lumba ngan sesapa pun, cuma lumba ngan diri seniri je. Macam biasa, sampai je kat tempat volunteer, aku ucap terima kasih.

Mile  8-16: dapat kejar pacer untuk 4:00 kat awal mile 8 tu. kira ok la tu, on target la kununnya. Pastu cadangnya nak maintain je la ngan pacer tu. tapi aku perasan kan, geng pacer 4:00 ni (yang lain aku tak tau), diorang suka surge, pastu slow sebab nak minum, pastu surge balik untuk build time cushion kot, pastu slow lagi. Laju, pelan, laju, pelan. Pacer guys, even pacing laa.. kesian kat orang yang ngikut korang tu. Masa ni moral masih tinggi lagi. Lepas U turn kat tol pun masih steady. Hollered at bini at the other side of the bridge around the 13 mile point. Tengok dia lari pun steady je, kira ok jugak tu. Pastu merge ngan geng 21k, busy la sket. Tambah pulak tengah naik bukit kat tengah jambatan tu, pace terpaksa la dislow kan, tapi aku dah expect dah.. no big deal la. Angin sejuk sudah datang membelai, aku dengan peluh-peluhnya, lagi la tambah sejuk. Rintik hujan pun dah mula terasa. Bajet ujan la kejap lagi.

Mile 17: And then it rained, HARD. Struggled to keep pace. Pastu ada aura nak kejang perut ngan peha. Rasanya buleh shake it off bila turun jambatan nanti. And I was wrong.

Mile 18-26.2: Turun je jambatan masuk highway Jelutong, itu kejang perut sudah mari. tapi takleh lawan aku punya kejang kaki. Frustrating gila! Cemana nak cakap ye? I didn't bank time. Aku tak penat, tak mengah, tak semput. Tapi cuba la sedaya upaya pun, tak buleh jugak nak lari setapak pun tanpa otot peha tu mengancam untuk tarik betis sampai tersimpul buku sila. Maka bermula la death march aku sampai ke habis. Aku jalan kejap untuk ilangkan cramp. Lepas 1-2 minit jalan, aku try lari balik. Tapi setiap kali aku lari, paling jauh pun setengah batu je, mostly lagi pendek dari tu. Itu cramp just wouldn't let go. Pace jangan cerita le. Bila berlari 13 min/mile, bila berjalan 20 min/mile! Air pun dah tak lalu minum, pisang pun tak lalu makan dah. Itu la dia ceritanya sampai ke habis. Lebih banyak masa berjalan dari berlari. Bila lari je cramp tu menyerang dari peha turun ke betis sampai la ke jari kaki. Buleh berjalan-jalan pulak cramp ni ekk?

Masa berjalan ala zombie tu perasan la a few fast guys yang aku perasan selalu buat sub-4 (ada yang sub 3:40) pun berjalan gak. Makna kata bukan aku sorang je la yang kena geget ngan zombie ni.. Sesungguhnya aku memahami perasaan diorang. TENSEN SIOT!

Ingatkan dari bulatan Queensbay tu sampai ke tamat buleh lari, tapi tetap kantoi. Berjalan kejap. Nak habis sub-4:45 jugak. So dari traffic light ke garisan penamat aku belasah struggle lari.. Kalo terpaksa merangkak macam dalam video ironman tu pun gasak la.

Dan aku berjaya habiskan dalam masa 4:40:35 (chip time). Habis je suda ada datang aura mau pitam. Aku terus carik railing barrier nak support badan. Ada sorang budak St John tanya "Encik ok ke?". Aku tak sempat nak jawab terus dia letak aku kat atas kerusi roda pastu sorong aku pegi medical tent.

Sampai kat medical tent aku kejang lagi. Geng medical kat situ baringkan aku kat atas stretcher, tanggalkan kasut pastu letak la ais kat kaki. Sebenarnya aku takleh nak pikir clearly masa tu. Diorang tanya sakit kat mana pun aku kena pikir dulu baru buleh jawab. Ais punya ais, aku pun kata dah ok kot dan mintak nak kuar. Diorang tolong aku berdiri dan aku pun ngan pening lalatnya pegi tunggu bini kat finishing line. Pastu decide nak gi amik medal dulu sebelum aku terpengsan kat situ. At least dah amik medal dah. Kalo pengsan dulu kang, medal abih plak.. hahaha..

Lepas amik medal je baru nampak la bini aku dah beratur kat situ nak amik medal gak. Ok la tu, aku pun dah ada aura nak muntah gak. Berapa banyak aura daa.. Aku pun dah start wheezing dah masa tu. Kitorang duduk kejap. Pastu bila dah buleh bernafas macam biasa dan paksa diri minum milo, pegi tengok khemah makanan. Serius cakap, aku apa benda pun dah tak lalu dah masa tu, nak muntah punya pasal. Kaki pun dok kejang lagi, tapi perut dah tak kejang sangat. Ingat nak balik umah terlentang je.

Sampai je umah, memang terus baring. Dapat gak lelap dalam sejam. Dannn.. aku muntah. 2-3 kali.

Looking back, aku sebenarnya dehydrated gila-gila punya waktu race tu. The signs were all there. Chills, cramps, disorientation, wheezing, nausea, vomiting, super dark urine, among others. Bini aku kata mata aku sunken gila, pastu ada black rings macam panda bila aku bangun tido tu. Dia cuak gila. Taim dinner aku paksa diri makan extra, walaupun tak berapa lalu. Bila aku timbang badan lepas dinner, aku hilang 4 KILO dari berat pre-race! Itu timbang lepas aku dinner tu.. Kalo timbang immediately lepas race mau lagi parah. Hambik, kalo tak gila lagi tu tak tau la. Alhamdulillah tak jadi apa-apa yang lebih teruk.

Lebih kurang macam ni la rupanya. I kill you!

The day after the run (Isnin), other than lenguh kaki macam lepas long run, surprisingly I felt fine. No aches, no problems going up and down the stairs, no nausea, appetite back to normal.

Apa yang aku belajar? Salah aku la beb. Weather and terrain is definitely out of my control. But for the things that are within my jurisdiction, aku rasa ada tiga benda yang menyebabkan aku tidak mencapai A target:

• Dehydration. Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb mistake. 
• Tak biasakan diri ngan gels, thus causing GI distress. Masa training aku guna 100+ ngan roti krim jagung je untuk long run.
• Long runs yang too slow for me (negligible factor. ni tak kesah, bini punya pasal. really glad to help her blast her target).

Feel free to learn from my mistakes. Hope you guys achieve whatever your goals are. Nothing substitutes real, consistent training. But watch out for injuries.

Hiatus perhaps?

-wan won-

PBIM 2010- Blood, Tears and Joy ( macam bagus je)

Hi kids..
My legs hurt and I think I'll develop a couple of black toes but otherwise I'm super.
I had a great morning running in Penang and I love almost every moment of it.
I have to get this written down ASAP because I'll be a wee bit busy this week and the longer I put it off, I might end up not writing this at all..heh heh.

Macam biasa le ekk? Point form is fine kan?

Pre Race

• We spent most of the time trying to get some sleep in the car. I got 1 hour. Hub got none.
• Went to the starting line at about 15 minutes before gun off. Chatted a bit with Ijam. Couldn't locate KakJune and the gang,
• Starting was quite slow as there is an increase of full marathon participants ( >1000) this year. Had to pujuk myself not to weave in and out to conserve energy. Cheyy. 

 Totally misjudged the bib. I thought it would be lunyai at the end of the whole 42K but it survived even the heavy downpour

 Mile 1-10

• I always have problems with stiffness of my left leg in the beginning of runs. This went on for like 4 miles and almost felt painful but luckily it went away.
• Saw Pui San and said hi. She was running with Mo Maniac and some other friend I don't know.
• When we got on the bridge, I was hoping it would be windy like last year but it was freaking hot, man. And it was worser on the first incline. That stretch seem to go on forever. Got my first gel out, my first experience with the apple flavoured kind. Tasted like medicine-yuck. Telan je la.
• At the middle of the bridge we went downhill. At first I soared down, but after a bit my legs got tired and I couldn't wait for the route to get flat again.
• To get me through to the first end of the bridge, I paced with this crazy guy wearing a baju melayu. Didn't get to catch his face though as he was in front of me all along. But we managed to exchange some remarks. He commented my red shoes and I commented his attire. Funny guy even farted and hooted about it. But I lost him at the turn around. 

Mile 11-15

• While running back on the bridge after the toll area, I saw a distance marker stating that it was already 20.3 K and I glanced at my watch and saw my timing was 2:03. Aik, biar betul. Laju la pulak. Just as I was about to go to perasan mode, I noticed Lillac showed that it was only just 11 something miles which is about  only 18 K.. Cis, penipu punya marker.
• I commented to a Sabahan girl that it's unusually hot that morning and that it's supposed to be cool and windy on the bridge. Me and my big fat mouth. Right after the 13th mile, it started to rain- HARD. It pelted heavily on my face and I was like, " Ouch, ouch, ouch" but shut up when people around me looked weirdly at me. 
• Only after a few seconds, I was drenched inside out. My whole attire felt heavy, my shoes were like blocks and I couldn't see a thing in front of me. Plus the wind was blowing hard against us runners. And the fact that at exactly that time, the FM route merged with the HM route didn't help either. 
• I trudged ahead with poor vision, but then suddenly I saw pacer balloon floating in front of me so I followed the balloon to get through the crowd. But that wasn't long because it was a 4.5 pacer baloon. Tak larat aku nak ikut all the way.

Mile 16-20 

• Turun je jambatan, I naively thought that the worse was over. I hastened my pace because seriously I thought the turning point would be at Tesco. Boy was I wrong.
• I've written down some posts ago that PBIM is a flat route kan? Well, I take that back. We had to go through 3 flyovers before the turning point tau. And we had to go over the same flyovers on our way back.With fatigued legs!.
• Saw hub as he was running the opposite direction. " Jauh lagi ke turning point?" I shouted from across the road. " Jauuuhhhh lagi". I thought he was kidding. Argh.
• Saw Kak June from across the street and managed to croak a hi. I planned to singgah at her kedai runcit on the way back but mysteriously, on the way back, I couldn't see her or her car. Pelik kan? And she SMSed me afterwards and told me she was there all along and missed me on my turning point jugak. Aik?

 Mile 20-26.2 

• On the turning point, I pujuk-ed myself, " Okay, only 6 miles to go ". It's so easy thinking in miles cause 6 miles seems so much less intimidating than saying " 10 K to go".
• I ran almost all the way from here with this boy from Ipoh. He told his friends I was his motivator. I kept him as a pacer. But it was nice to have someone to talk to , to get the miles go by.
• Sedor tak sedor, we only got 4 miles to go. I told Ipoh Boy, " Ok, 4 je lagi", kunun I was encouraging him la padehal tengah psaiko diri. At this time, I had to practically pujuk myself not to walk.
• Wei, the last 3 miles seem to go on forever. Tambah bila bertembung the 10K runners. Some were inconsiderate enough to go into our lane and made  us stop abruptly a few times to avoid a crash. Hey, I was tired, I got crancky, so I shouted " Tepi la!" at a few boys. Heh heh.
•  Ipoh Boy made a sudden surge at the last 1 K. Siot je. Haha. Tetiba je ada power to give a final kick.
• Last 1 K was pure torture, I was like " Where the hell is the finishing line?!". My tudung all kelepet from the rain, my attire drenched and I didn't care to smile or pose to any photographers because I know I look like a nightmare. 
• Finally crossed the finishing line at 4:51:52. Ni ikut Lillac la. Alhamdulillah.

Post-Race

• Spotted hub at the medal tent. Told me he had severe stomach and leg cramps and had to alternate walking and running right after the 18th mile. But against all odds, he was still able to complete his marathon in 4:40. So proud of him. He'll tell his side of the story afterwards in this blog. Tengok tahap kerajinan, katanya.
• I learned something new today. I never knew that rib muscles could get cramps. I coughed out loud to clear my chest and suddenly I felt cramps in my ribs and the pain was excruciating. 
• We lepaked and ate the post run meal in the car as it was still raining and our feet were still wobbly.
• Met Shahnaz. Cute gal. She's what I'll call a pocket rocket woman, so small but so fast.  
• Mom called to inform that the kids are having a tantrum so we had to head back early so tak sempat jugak meet the rest of RBUs and FMV. Next time , Gadget, next time. 

 The parking lot sudah macam bendang daa

 The jam to the ferry terminal.

 The medal. I wish it had a nicer color.

The finisher's tee. Kuning pun kuning la.

Damage done.

If you think this looks bad, try smelling it.

So all in all, PBIM 2010 was still a great race despite the weather. I had loads of fun but if you ask me, I don't feel like doing another marathon in a long time.Or is that the muscle soreness talking?
I'd like to thank hub/coach who endlessly encouraged me to train even on days I felt too tired for any letihan and to my parents for willingly taking care of the kids on my LSD days even though they don't get our craze for long distance running.

Congrats Ijam ,Yim  and others ( sape-sape saje la) for their sub 5 or any other personal achievements and thanks Zaki for cheering me on ( 2 times!) and bringing up my spirits while I was feeling a bit crummy at the time. You had no idea kan?
You guys exude awesomeness!

Sekianlah.

dag dig dug

Okay, on Monday I said I was less jittery.
Well, I'd like to take that back.
I'm a nervous wreck and it's getting worser in increments.
Like yesterday morning when I was dropping off the kids to school, suddenly I felt my heart fluttering. And I wondered, " Kenapa ye? kenapa ye?"
Then, I remembered the marathon. Then the flutters became palpitations and I had the sudden urge to go to the toilet ( okay, too much information).
I'm scared. But at the same time I'm excited.
Eh. macam nak kawin pulak.
Heh heh.

Good luck runners of PBIM. Let's all torture ourselves and wonder what we were thinking when we signed up together.
See you then.

T-6 days?

I can finally heave a sigh of relief. My on call week is over! No more antsy-ness when my phone rings. No more hanging on to my phone like my life depends on it.

Luckily, on call week has been kind. I only got 4 calls all week and none of them were really that gory. The only case that came with an exclamation mark was a 20 year old girl who woke up Saturday morning ,yawned a bit too wide, dislocated her jaws and couldn't get her mouth shut. Sure, it may sound funny, but I heard it hurts like hell. The poor girl had tears in her eyes when I reduced  the dislocation by pushing the joint back into the socket.
But then on Saturday, I had to spend almost 3 hours in the hospital discharging patients from the ward. I swear, paperwork here takes more time than seeing the actual patients.
Wait a minute, some readers might think. I thought she's a dentist.

Yeah, tell me about it.

Anyway, I'm happily tapering. Dengan jayanya tak lari for 2 days due to my chesty cough. I was hoping I could run today, even on the thrill mill, but I guess I better take care if myself these few days. I hope I get better come Sunday.
Did I forget to mention that my brother is getting engaged too? And it's on Saturday, the day before PBIM? He's 25 and he's getting engaged. Sigh. My baby brother is tying the knot ( well, almost). And although I think he's still young the take the plunge ( nevermind the fact that I got married at the age of 23), I'm still happy for him.
And thank God, his to-be-fiancé's house is only 45 minutes away and the majlis will be held just before Zuhur. Sempat-sempat je lepas tu ke Penang. Fuh! Nevertheless, I predict it'll be a super busy day. Heck, this week will be a super busy week what's with hari raya and all.

And I hate to admit it but I'm less jittery now compared to my first marathon.
But it's just Monday. Too early to tell. Don't jinx yourself.
Just shut your gob, Julin.

Crappy Run

I can simply describe this morning's LSD in one word : Ugh.
But that wouldn't be much of an entry kan?
It's not even a proper word.

Anyway, this morning I planned to run a simple no stress 14 miler. After last week's 20 miles, this one seems like a breather for a change. Or so I thought.
After a pre-run snack of a bun each, we were out the door by 4.30am and the first 8 miles seemed to go okay. Usually, I would munch on a small box of raisins at the 6th mile but after considering the brief Subuh prayer stop at the 8th mile, I chose to eat the raisins then. And because I couldn't find any other powergel flavor except chocolate the day before, I decided to forgo on taking any gel at all. What difference would it make, I thought. Besides I just ate a box of raisins. I should be alright.
Big mistake.

Right on the 11th mile, I suddenly felt my energy level plummeting down. My pace deteriorated, my legs fatigued and I got frustrated. On the 12th mile, I was practically dragging my feet. " Pick them up! Pick them up!" I half shouted in the darkness, which startled my husband a bit.
And because I couldn't run like I wanted to, I began to get snappy.

"Maybe we should cut the mileage" husband suggested.
" No!" I snapped.
"Maybe we should change to course to cut the monotony?"
" No!" I snapped
"" It's okay if we go slower"
" No!" I snapped.
Cough, cough
" No !" I snapped.
Breathe, breathe.
" No!" I snapped.

Thankfully he was patient with me. And accompanied me home until my 14th mile ( in which he turned back to complete his 16 miler). My legs felt like logs at the end of the run. I couldn't even stand straight. It wasn't because I was winded, it was more like I was tired to the core. But when I got myself some cold sarsaparilla, I felt almost 70% better. And wouldn't you know it, not even by noon, all the fatigueness was gone. Hub even joked and called me Wolverine. Kuikui..

So lesson learnt. Jangan belagak. Fuel up. I need sugar in my runs.
And oh,
Train your race, but don't race your trains.

Borak-borak lunch time

Hai,
Bes gile semalam kena bambu ngan Big Boss Negeri. Bukan apa, ada kesalahan sikit la kat jadual junior officers ( macam housemanship la) kat sini so aku point it out la kat dia sebab kalau tak buat camtu. benda ni akan balik menyusahkan keje aku jugak.

" Dr, sorry nak tegur tapi jadual ni salah"

Tup-tup dia tetiba defensive. Aku naik heran jugak la. La, tolong bagitau benda alah tu salah pun nak marah ke? Aku pun bagitau la kat District boss aku. Dia kata , " Laa..yang hang kata dia salah tu buat apa. Hang tau dak jadual tu dia yang buat"
Mana la aku nak tau. Setau aku, benda-benda mangatur jadual ni PA dia ke, kerani dia ke or orang kanan dia buat. Ni mesti kes pulun nak buat micromanagement.
Satu lagi, kalau salah tak boleh nak point out ke? Orang besar immune kepada kesalahan ke? Ego? Perangai orang tua?
Ntahlah.
Saya yang menurut perintah.

Anyway, ahad lepas aku buat la LSD peak aku. Semua orait walaupun slow. Tapi okla mandangkan aku survive on air, 1 peket powergel dan satu kotak kismis. Lepas ni, it's all downhill, bebeh. ( dalam mileage la). Minggu depan  taim taper ( ke tapir) pun aku oncall kat hospital, so ok la tu. Kalau kenal mana-mana orang di Taiping ni, tolong pesan ye sila pandu kereta elok2, naik moto pakai helmet, kurung anak-anak yang ala-ala rempit tu dalam rumah minggu depan. Kata aku yang suruh.

Oh ye, masa aku buat LSD hari tu, pacer baru aku, Si Lillac tu buat hal pulak dah. Lillac ni korang kenal dah kot sbb aku dah perkenalkan kat korang taim race report Tanjung 10K lepas. Anyway, aku perasan Lillac ni dok bunyik 'beep' kat tempat yang aku comfirm tak sampai lagi 1 mile. Pastu bila banding ngan Garmin laki aku, macam lebih laju lak pace dia. Mula-mula aku konfiden Garmin laki aku yang salah. Sungguh-sungguh cakap, benda alah tu abis bateri la, season la. Check balik, rupa-rupanya memang salah Lillac ku. Memang nak kena calibrate la ni. Hadui.
Duhai Lillac, hang memang la macam tuan hang. Nak lari laju pada masa lebih singkat pada mileage yang lebih pendek. Pendek kata, sama-sama perasan.

Padan muka aku.