Gigih!

Gigih!
Tu komen membe-membe bukan pelari aku bila aku bagitau depa aku lari atas treadmill.
" Gigihnya hang menapak atas benda alah tu lebih dari setengah jam!"

Aku rasa tu tak gigh lagi. Alah! Peserta The Biggest Loser lagi selamba berlari atas treadmill lagi lama dari tu sambil membuat aksi juggle diselang seli somersault.
Gigih lagi korang semua yang lari beraun-raun taim Twilight Ultramarathon Challenge kat Singapore baru-baru nih ( Zaki, Yim, Kak Kash among others). Puh! Aku takbleh imagine cemana korang buat. Mental woo nak pusing-pusing camtu sampai 100K. Mak aih, gigih betoi. Tahniah dari aku. Serius cakap, aku tak mampu nak buat.

Tapi yang super duper crite paling gigih aku penah dengar ialah dari sahabat aku, Incik Solja. Incik Solja ni bekerja sebagai Mat Tiarap ( panggilan manje untuk askar). Dalam bidang kerja Incik  Solja, dia kadang-kadang terpaksa dihantar untuk membuat khidmat bakti di hutan-hutan.

Ada sekali tu, Incik Solja dihantar untuk selama seminggu ke hutan untuk memberi khidmat bakti kepada orang-orang asli di sana. Sebagai pelari tegar, Incik Solja seperti cacing kepanasan kerana tidak dapat lari. Untuk menyelesaikan masalah ini, Incik Solja akan bangun pada waktu yang sangat pagi selepas subuh dan akan berlari trail di dalam hutan selama sejam sampai naik matahari. Hutan ye kawan-kawan, bukan trail run seperti di taman-taman rekriasi.
Setelah hari keempat dia berlari, adalah seorang membe dia tegor,
" Ko lari-lari tengah gelap tak terserempak ngan Pak Belang ke?"
Incik solja sangat inosen. Dia padang membe dia dengan wajah blur.
" Ko tau tak semalam kat trail ko lari, kami jumpa tapak harimau. Taik gajah pun ada"
Mulai hari itu, Incik Solja lari keliling padang sekolah orang asli sahaja.

Incik Solja masih lagi gigih. Baru-baru ini Incik Solja dihantar ke satu negeri seberang laut untuk memberi khidmatnya. Yelah kan, pilihanraya di negeri itu semakin dekat dan usaha-usaha membeli jiwa perlu dipertingkatkan.
Incik Solja diarahkan ke sana dan kemari ke kampung-kampung dan lokasi di ulu banat di mana dia kesukaran untuk mencari tempat berlari. Oleh kerana sekali lagi dia seperti cacing kepanasan, dia begitu gigih berlari sekeliling padang sebesar padang netball di kampung tersebut. Untuk larian sejauh 5 mile, Incik Solja terpaksa membuat larian berpusing-pusing sekeliling padang tersebut selama 90 round. Yaa adik-adik. 90 round.

Tak ke gile keje nya tu?
Agaknya orang pribumi di situ tertanya-tanya, " Ko pehal mamat?"

Apapun, aku sangat salute Incik Solja.
Sangat, yang amat gigih.
Lu memang hero.

Unforeseen Circumstances ( Konon)

Ha Ha Hampeh No 1:

Due to a recent allergic reaction, my dermatologist advised me to go on a vegetarian diet for 2 weeks to rule out the cause. He suspected that it was something I ate.
Okay, if he told me to do this last year, when I was training gila-gila untuk my marathons, when I was at my fittest level, when I was a health freak, I would gladly comply without the slightest hesitation. But on that day, in the doctor's room, I was like, " Err..."
But I wanted to be a good patient. And I wanted my condition to get better. So it all went well, for like a week. Until last weekend, on an unplanned trip to Bangi, to an 'unplanned' visit to my favorite restaurant there.
Jeng jeng jeng

Nah ko!

 Hambik!

 Rasakan!

Dush!

Mana tahan beb!

Ha Ha Hampeh

Guess I have to reschedule that appointment for about a week.

Ha Ha Hampeh no2

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, me and hub will not be able to make it for our beloved Malakoff Run in Penang this coming weekend. And to think I was so looking forward to running against the sea breeze and killing myself over the steep hill at the end of the course. I will however pick up our race kits in Penang on Saturday sometime in the afternoon . Rugi woo, bayar mahal-mahal. Hey, at least we'll get the shirt and the personalized bibs. My dad tried to convince me to go by myself to the run on Sunday, but I don't trust myself driving in Penang traffic. Even if it's 5 in the morning.

Ha Ha Hampeh.

Ha Ha Hampeh no 3

After all the hampeh-ness, watching this made me laugh till I cried.

Okay, so if THAT didn't make you laugh, I don't know what will.

Your Pace/ Run happy

First of all, thanks all for your birthday wishes. I really appreciate it and truly feel loved and blessed.
Secondly for those who have been asking, I'm 31.
31 years old and feeling great about it.
A friend asked, " If you were given a choice on what age you want to be on your birthday, what will it be?"
I'd say 31. I wouldn't want to be any age younger. Do you ever look back when you were young and cringe at the things you said or did. I've made a couple of stupid/weird/bad choices way back then and suffice to say, yeah, I'm happy being where I'm at right now, thank you very much. Not to say, I'm so much smarter now but let's just say that it'll take me at least 10 years to look back and say to myself, " I did THAT( insert stupid behavior) at 31?"

I haven't much to say today. I'm just killing time waiting for my other half to get the car serviced.But I really want to write this down before I change my mind.
I'm really sad about the way running has turned out for some of us. It has ceased to be a hobby and become more of a burden. Running is supposed to make us happy but don't you think something is wrong when we're not enjoying it as much as when we first started? We used to enjoy taking our time, listening to the pitter patter of our feet shuffling to the rhythm of our runs. Now it's like we're more into how fast and how far we'd go, that 10-11 minute/mile is not good enough and  this mileage has to be done no matter what or we'll deem ourselves doomed.
This is a hobby.  A mere thing we do to fill up the extra time. It's not a job. We're not professionals. We don't have the extra 4 hours a day to complete that dreadly mileage we intend to do. We won't die today if we don't do that 15K. We have our  careers, we have our kids, we have our spouses. By doing this, running on and on for hours and hours, we're not only taking up our precious spare time, but we're taking theirs as well. Their time with us.

What I'm saying is, find that balance. That thin line that separates us from falling over the edge. Or leaving us feeling burnt out.

Don't stop racing. Oh no, I'm not even remotely suggesting that. And don't stop running. But do it at your pace. If you can only afford the time to train for 1-2 marathons a year, that's good enough.If you can only train for little races here and there, then good for you. If you can afford the time to train for a marathon every month and it makes you happy, then do that. At your pace. If it makes you happy. Secukup rasa.

But if it's starting to feel like a chore, like not once in a while, like in most of the time,every day, every time then slow down. Take a breather.
You're not racing anybody but yourself. It's called a PB because it's a PB. Don't fret, somebody already got the 2 03 marathon record. Somebody already did 50 marathons is 50 months. One more or one less, nobody's worried.

At least that's what I think.
I'm not a preacher and I'm the last person in the world to do this. This is a gentle reminder to myself
And I'm not good in conveying my thoughts in words. And this may get misinterpreted by some.
But that's what I think . For now.
Who knows, maybe 10 years from now, I would read back this post and cringe and think, " I wrote that at 31?"

Jaguh-jaguh

My boss called me up to his room and said, " They're gonna have this run somewhere in June,"
I scrunched up my nose. Oh no, I thought. He probably wants me to be in the commitee.
" I don't want you to go to the meeting this afternoon. I don't want you included in the AJK. Matron will go." he said as if reading my mind - or my expression.
Huh?
" I want you to enter. I want you to win this"
Aik?
Sejak bila jadi manager aku nih? Tetibe.
Macam Jaguh-Jaguh. Macam Maero Attack.
Apparently he heard from someone/somewhere I got 2nd place in the run held two years back in Manjung. But that was TWO YEARS ago. Before the running buzz started nationwide. This year, the competition will be fierce, man.
" Ha, tengok la boss. Bulan enam tu jauh lagi. Kot saya naik pangkat kena posting ke ( heh, dream on). Kot saya pregnant ke taim tu. Tengoklah."
" Tu lain kira. Skarang hang bagi nama masuk. Tengok-tengok, aku sekeh kepala hang sat gi."

Haduu..

Ini pose jambu Eizlan Yusuf. Ingat tak dia dalam spektra Jaguh-Jaguh. Masa tu dia kanyaq lagi. ( Please refer your Kedahan friends for the meaning of this word)
Huh. Tetibe.