Bring it on May

My first run outside of Malaysia, and my first full marathon for the year!

Details                                                                                      Event: Sundown Marathon 2012                                     Date: 26th May 2012                                                         Flag off: 12.45am (27th May 2012)                                 Qualifying time: TBC

When I registered for the run, people told me that the route gonna kill me; boring route (imagine Penang Bridge). Somehow the organizer decided that this year they are changing the route. Yeayy?

 The new route, I supposed. A lot of running by the water.

Anyhow, I'm very excited to run this race for three reasons:

1. My first event outside of Malaysia. I know it is only in Singapore, but I still need my passport :p 

2. I will be running with a partner. For the first time. ;) 

3. The finisher tee; quite nice actually

Yay or Nay?

And the whole gang that went to PBIM'11 is going too! Masyur and MatRock will be doing their first FM, Izyan will be doing HM, and Muzlifah will be doing a 10k!!!  Awesome no?

Muzlifah missing :p

But but....been slacking in training. Gotta pick up the momentum.

Mondays we all hate em'

Happy Mondays everyone!
"Happy Mondays" is an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. You should check them out if you are bored in the office, like myself :p
In late 1990, Paul McCartney stated:

I saw the Happy Mondays on TV, and they reminded me of the Beatles in their 'Strawberry Fields' phase

I hope everyone is working hard today. My work so far today; boring and slow paced.

Hard work never killed anybody - But why take the risk? :p

On the other hand, Borneo International Marathon is this coming weekend, a few of my friends will be running, so good luck to all of you and happy running! May the force be with you! (I just learned that May 4th is the annual Star Wars Day :p ).

Imagine running in this suit. A-we-so-me :D

Reminder to self

Something that I would like to share with you all. Cool anti-smoking campaign ads.

A reminder to myself and to everyone else.

Steady and slowly.

Shop & Win @ Zalora

The new ipad 3! Zalora decided to give away 3 New iPad. How to win it? Just shop @ Zalora! :)

Be in the running to win the Apple's New iPad from Zalora by being the top 3 highest spender (accumulated amount spend) on Zalora's website from April 12 - May 13.

For terms and conditions; click here.

Happy shopping people :)

101 Running Tips - Tip #1

Running is an all-star calorie crusher, mood enhancer and disease fighter. And those are just a few of running's many benefits. If you have never run before, it can feel intimidating to get out there and start running.

The most difficult obstacle that you need to overcome in order to start running is actually to get out of the couch and start running. You don't need special skills, athletic ability, or even good genes. All you need is a pair of shoes and a little determination.

#1. Accept the Challenge

"Every one is an athlete, but some of us are training and some of us are not"

It is fairly simple, we need to train and we need to run to actually enjoy it. You can't expect to just jump out off the couch one day and run a 20miler after years being idle in front of the television everyday after work.

I remember my first time, 3km and I was out of breath, I questioned myself why people would inflict such pain upon themselves. But I was thankful for that time I have my running partner to rely on, we helped each other. From 3km to 4km the next day; we pushed each other until we manage to complete 10km, timing was never a factor to us.

Now we are not always gasping for air every time we run, and running is more enjoyable.

So what I'm trying to say here, keep on running, and soon enough, running will be enjoyable for you too.  :)

Mondays we all hate em'

We all hate it. Monday tells us that the weekend is over and we have to start working. Monday tells us that there are five more days to go until the next weekend. It also tells us that we have to face the heavy traffic on the road, morning & evening.

So here you go; a little something to keep all of us going through the next 4 or 5 working days (depending on your working shifts :p).

taken from the net of course. not my work in any way :p

Wishing you a great week ahead! 

March 2012 - Recap

Recorded the highest mileage (for me) for the month of March. Probably the first time I clocked more than 100km in a month. 50km was extreme for me before, now I still can not believe myself that I have recorded 133km for last month. What happened? I still can't answer myself. So let see.

A big jump from Jan & Feb. Almost quadrupled from Feb's total of 39km

Breakdown by week, and I'll be able to tell what happened actually.

Pay attention to week 10 - week 14 :P

Week 10 (32km)

1.3.12 - 16.00km - COBC Night Run, Putrajaya Precint 3

3.3.12 - 5.420km - Impian Setia - IGCC - Impian Setia

4.3.12 - 10.08km - Padang Merbuk, 1 Vision Run

Week 11 (10km)

8.3.12 - 10.20km - COBC Night Run, Beringin Loop x 2

Week 12 (20km)

18.3.12 - 19.66km - COBC Morning Run, BA - Hartamas - BA

Week 13 (44km)

23.3.12 - 3.800km - Kota Damansara Seksyen 6

24.3.12 - 16.00km - Kuala Pilah Morning Run

25.3.12 - 24.22km - COBC Morning Run, BA - Hartamas - BA

Week 14 (27km)

27.3.12 - 4.030km - Kota Damansara Seksyen 6

29.3.12 - 10.06km - Kota Damansara Seksyen 6

29.3.12 - 13.37km - COBC Night Run, Putrajaya Precint 3

Since I'm free in the office, I did some online research and taught myself how to create a timeline using excel. So this is what I came up with. :p

(Click on it to enlarge)

Not bad eh? 

The high mileage can be contributed to the COBC weekly run that I have been joining since their week 1. As the marathon date is getting nearer, it is only normal for them to increase the distance run. I think that is the only logical explanation. Runs that were self-initiated mostly doesn't go further than 10km :p 

All in all, March has been a good month. I PR-ed my 10k during the 1 Vision Run, did more running than I'm used to and I got to know a lot of new people. Oh and I started working in Zalora in March too. A totally different environment compared to KPMG. Don't know whether this is good for me.

April so far has been good too. 83km now and counting. Let see whether April can beat March in term of mileage. :p

Addiction

Smoking kills. We all know this, but it is hard to stop.

"Well, it looks like that clinic sorted you right out, Johnny boy. You feeling better?"

"Well, I was. Until I saw youse twos. I'm clean now. Straight, I gave it all up. All but these little bastards." 

Johnny Quid famous line at the end of the movie "RocknRolla", as he walks out from rehab and lights up a smoke; which was referred as the little bastards.

None of us are stupid enough not to believe that smoking kills, that every smoke that we inhale is slowly killing us. We are basically on a timer, one day the heart will stop beating and smoking is only helping in accelerating the timer. Do we want that? I know I don't.

So, slowly and painfully, I'm gonna cut down. It is hard to do it cold turkey. I know I've tried. Some succeeded, but I know it's gonna take me a longer time to quit compared to others.

It's been 8 years now. InsyaAllah if I put my heart to it.

Official Launch - Zalora 5.4.12

Today mark the official launch of the new Zalora online shopping website for Malaysia. 

The people at Rocket Internet calls this a disruptive innovation, where they are going to change how people going to shop.
Instead of selling clothes from generic brands, they decided to go big by bringing brands that most people would want to buy from a mall. They have from low end to high end clothing and accessories for both gender! They are being really aggressive with their strategy here.

A brief look at the list of the brands that they are selling on their website, you'll understand when I said that they are being aggressive.

I was a bit skeptical, knowing that if you were to buy an expensive clothing e.g. Ralph Lauren; you would want to have the Ralph Lauren paper bag upon purchasing the item, enabling you to carry it around the mall. It's not about arrogance, it just gives some people the satisfaction that they wanted when they buy high end items.

But they believe that they can change all that. With most people (Gen X & Gen Y) are getting busier with their ever hectic work/life/social schedule, less time will be available to do their shopping. It is a proven business model in the Western Countries, where the public are more willing to buy items online and they are dreaming of bringing the culture here. Plus shopping online saves you from all the hassle of travelling to malls (traffic jams, petrol, parking). So you get to save time and money. Parking fares and petrol are not exactly cheap nowadays.

So to make it possible, to instill the confidence among the public that online shopping is the way to go, Zalora has decided to ship for free and there is also the 30 days return. Of course there is a term&conditions for everything.

Here is a promotional video from their website http://www.zalora.com.my

 Be Obsessed 

Everyone is getting hitched.

Saturday March the 24th - Restoran Seri Melayu.

Majlis Perkahwinan Fahrul & Fiza.

I have known these people for 6 years now, how time flies.

I have always love weddings. Despite having to force myself to go through KL traffic on Friday night, or on weekends, having to iron my baju melayu, having to seat through the whole ceremony, not being able to smoke straight away after my meal; still I have always love weddings.

Being there for your friend's big day, the day where they cant stop smiling knowing that they have achieved what they have been working for. Knowing that what they have been through throughout their dating life doesn't matter anymore now that they are man and wife.

Weddings also give me hope; that one day I will be the one on stage, the celebrated one. InsyaAllah

Is Money The Root of All Evil?

The pursuits by the world banks of ever larger profit has led the world to the brink of economy collapse. So is it safe to assume that money is the root of all evil? Nope. The love for money is the answer. In other word; Greed. It has reduced the value of human life that so few could willingly profit at the expense of so many is the true evil.

Surely human is ungrateful to his Lord, and to this he himself is a sure witness and most surely he is violent in love of wealth  (Al-'Aadiyaat 6-8) 

Greed is nothing new; it has been around and is here to stay. 

Radix malorum est cupiditas (Greed is the root of all evil)

Greed is the source of all kind of cruelty; stealing, hoarding, plundering and treason. But I'm not saying greed is all bad. Greed is good too; it is the most important incentive for people to work hard, getting a good education and makes people productive. This is a way, contributes to the general society. 


It is only bad when human does not know when to stop. They can not stop accumulating wealth, not being able to tell that enough is enough. The fear of being poor make people greedier. They accumulate so much wealth that even their children or grandchildren can not possibly use all of it.


And the fear of being poor leads people to do unethical, immoral things in the pursuit of money.


But not everyone is a servant of money. Majority of people are good hearted, who are willing to give away portions of their earnings to good cause or charity. They are willing to help.


But after all, we all are the children of Gordon Gekko; as Australian ex-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd quoted saying "It is perhaps time now to admit that we did not learn the full lessons of the greed-is-good ideology. And today we are still cleaning up the mess of the 21st-century children of Gordon Gekko" during one of his speech about the Financial Crisis 2007-2010.

For the love of the money

Sub4

Getting better. 

It is normal for us to want to improve ourselves; be it in quality of life, at the workplace, personal well being, relationship with God, appearance, and the list goes on and on.

I appreciate all the small achievements that I have achieved so far. Even being able to wake up early on weekends is an achievement itself. Yes, waking up early is hard for me. A few of my friends can testify on this matter.

Some call it greed (most of us will call it kiasu), some say betterment. I prefer the later. I cant imagine being stationary at one place for a long period of time. It kills me being mundane; doing the same thing day in day out. All of us need a bit of challenge in our daily life. The only thing I miss being in the Audit industry is the challenge that it brings to all of us auditors. Constantly needing to crack our head for all possible solutions, having to come out with our analytical review for every single major transactions a client could possibly have. 

When it comes to running, it is only logical for us wanting to run better; better posture, injury free, faster time, longer endurance et cetera. When I started running, I keep getting knee injury if I run longer than 10km. It goes on for about 6 months before I started my own research, asking fellow runners, going to running stores to get as many opinions as I can. I got my answer one day; when I posted a question on twitter; "Why my knees keep on hurting everytime I run?" Fellow runners retweeted my questions and later during the day; someone replied "Google Pose Method, nothing to lose". The rest is history; now I believe I run better, I land softer, my back is more straight with slight inclination to the front, and my landing is more under my center of gravity.

Then I started to get ankle injuries after every run, which started during Adidas KOTR in 2011. After getting advice from other runners, and after much googling, only then i realised that forefoot running is putting a lot of stress on my ankle. Now I run with mid-foot striking and I am getting less pain in overall.

Oh, why the title is sub4? That is my ultimate goal this year. To run a full marathon under 4 hours. An ambitious goal I think; considering that I've only done one sub4:30. I know it is only 30 minutes differences but it is hard. I need to train a lot more; which is something that I'm lacking at the moment. I'm planning to run right after this entry, but we'll see. So malas.

But again, nothing is impossible no? If you put your heart to it, you can achieve anything under the sun.

My Missus

The most important aspect when it comes to running is finding the right shoe for your feet. We have many types of shoe nowadays, that it is hard to know which one is the right one. It is no longer about the right size, its about the right type, pronation wise, support, cushioning etc. Or for none at all; you can get those minimalist shoe like Vibram Five Fingers, Merrel, or you can go barefoot completely.

I'm no expert, but when it comes to shoe, I dont have a specific type. What I do most of the time, is to wear it and run around in the store with the shoe. If it feels right, if its comfortable enough for me, then the shoe is the right one. I still hasnt found the one for me, but I have found a few that I really like and still use till now.

Nike Free (RM375)

I got this shoe few years back, merely as my jogging shoes/kasut jalan-jalan. Started running seriously in it in 2010. Really comfortable, light and flexible too. Its good for anything below 10km, anything above 10km my feet started to hurt. Back then, I was still a heel striker. Now this shoe is merely for jalan-jalan and no longer for running. Probably should send it over to the shop when they have the shoe recycling program. :)

 Nike Lunarglide+ (RM400)


Bought it in 2010, in time for the We Run KL 2010. A good shoe, plenty of cushioning, Ran a few 10k races, Penang Half Marathon (2010) and Penang Full Marathon (2011) Because of the cushioning, the shoe is a lil bit heavy. I was a heel striker at first and the shoe is perfect. Once i change to fore foot striker, started to feel that the cushioning at the heel is unnecessary and just an additional weight to the shoe.

 Adidas AdiZero Tempo (RM220)

Got it at a clearance sale. Didnt even try it on when buying. Bought it because of the weight and the colour :P Turned out to be a good shoe. Cushioning not too much, forefoot running with it. Ran the SCKLM Full Marathon with it, without any discomfort. Breathable upper mesh. Very light shoe. Not the lightest in the AdiZero range tho. The rubber last longer than my Nike. My fav shoe at the moment for long distance running. :) Will definitely buy it again.

Adidas AdiZero Adios (RM420)

Bought it because of the design honestly. Ran around in the shop. Love the cushioning at the front of the shoe. The lightest shoe in the AdiZero range. Use it for 10k runs mostly and it feels good. Now a mid-foot striker instead of forefoot. Havent gone more than 20k with this shoe. Very thin sole, so I'll have to try first whether my feet can take the bashing for 42km in this shoe. Sole doesnt last as long as my Tempo. Can see the wear and tear after 2 months using. 

So there you go, there are other brands that I should try, NB, Mizuno, Brooks, Asics, KSwiss etc. Maybe one day when I have extra cash lying around (I wish) then I'll buy shoes from other brands. But for now, I'm more than happy with my Tempo and Adios.

One thing that I keep telling myself when buying new shoes; "If it feels right, then it is the right shoe"

What is going on?

Its 22nd of March 2012, and I have clocked 147km to date.

I started to run on a more regular basis, been running LSD (Long Slow Distance) almost every Sunday, if not once a week. Some people clock 100km if not more on a monthly basis but I am happy with where I am right now. A big improvement I might add. Oh not to forget, I started doing weight training too; every fortnight, not sure if it gonna help with my running, but I'm running without much pain nowadays.

For the past two years, I only run whenever I feel like it (believe me, I don't feel like running every single day). So what happened most of the time is that I'll start my running/training one week or two week at most before any races. Probably the reason why I keep 'pancit-ing' at all my races, having to struggle to finish any races be it 10ks, half, or full marathons. Now, I cant wait for the next run, the next races. I actually look forward to my Sunday LSDs.

Now I run in groups, at least I'm no longer alone during any of my runs. Got to know a few more "seasoned/experienced" runners which is kinda good. I also do not remember when was the last time I run my 10km Kota Damansara route; most of my running now are somewhere between TTDI - Damansara Heights - Bukit Tunku - Hartamas. Even if I were to run alone, I'm not alone. Plenty of runners there. Some are very warm and friendly, will say good morning at any runner they meet; some are very serious, probably training for something. I'm just happy to run at my pace, losing myself in the zone, in my own vacuum, where nothing will hurt me or break me.

So what happened between last year and this year? Why the sudden change? That is for your to find out.
All I can tell, I'm running happy now.

And here is a great movie that I love, watched it way back before I started running. :)

Zalora

This is where I work now.

This is just one of the promotional poster on our website at the moment.

Well, you should check out and register at our website www.zalora.com.my
If you register now, you'll get a RM10 voucher. Yes, we are cheapskate :p

LSD with the COBC

Chief Original Boot Camp

You may have seen these group people a few times, either at dawn or at dusk over at your local field.

these are the people from the COBC (taken from here)

COBC is a military inspired work-out, not your average gym workout I supposed; for more information on COBC you can go to their official website here

I'm not part of COBC and I have never attended any of their training, but I have been running with them on weekends. A lot of the bootcampers started running and most of them will be doing their first half marathon/full marathon either in Borneo International Marathon or Bali International Marathon. They are clearly a very fun bunch of people.

Rather than going to the gym, do your workout (most times not knowing what to do, unless you hire a PT) and go home; you can actually join the COBC and actually work in teams and make new friends.

So yes, since they started running every weekend, I've been running/freeloading their weekly run. 

 Putrajaya LSD

 Damansara Heights LSD

 Desa Park City LSD

1 Vision Run

Maybe..I said maybe..One day I'll go and try one of their bootcamp session. :p

1 Vision Run - Padang Merbuk 4.3.12

My third race/run of the year. For this run, I was running with the people from COBC; a whole lot of them. This is also a birthday run for Sarge Nawal Aini.

The run started of a bit later than scheduled,
by then most of the runners are aware that this run is not properly organised. Never mind then, as long as we can run safely and have fun; that is fine with us.

I started the run slowly for the first km, considering that I was only half awake. :P Kept asking myself why did I register for this run; otherwise I would be in bed enjoying my Sunday; sleeping.

After the kilometer 2, I started to force myself to run my usual pace, wanting to get over with this race as soon as possible. The thought of the birthday cake waiting at the finish line really did help. There were a few hills (again; i hate hills) in this route, and i walk most of them. They were too steep! So as usual I followed my old strategy, walk the hills, run the flats.

I completed the run in 55mins07secs. An improvement by seconds compared to Mizuno Wave Run. Never mind, I'll take it anyways. Seconds does count no? Sarge Nawal were right in front of me when I crossed the finish line.

 A PB for Sarge Nawal on her birthday run! Congrats!

The whole lot from COBC.

The cake was really nice, and as we all are adults, we ensure that no cake is wasted on silly cake fight.

Not!

In Life, Everyone Needs A Bit of...

Dont Ask Me Why.

But I am a very happy man today. :) Nothing at work, will take away the smile from me, today!

The question that you should ask is, are you happy?

Mizuno Wave Run 2012 – Universiti Putra Malaysia

This is a run that I didn’t even plan on running. Heck, I didn’t even register for this run. I guess I have to thank Izuan for this. It’s a funny story on how Azu, Nana and me (all 3 of us didn’t register for this run initially) signed up for the run at the very last minute. 

This what happened during lunch:

Izuan : "I need to go to curve today!"

Me : "Nape?"

Izuan : "Nak collect race pack for Mizuno Wave Run"

So of we go to curve to collect Izuan's race pack.

At the collection booth, Izuan took out his blackberry to check his email for the proof of payment/registration confirmation.

A picture worth a thousand words.

Izuan : "Alamak, tak register la rupanya!!"

So that is how we ended up registering for the run, all four of us.

At the start of the paragraph, I wrote “This is a run that I didn’t even plan on running”. Why? The very reason is on the name of the race itself, Mizuno WAVE Run. It is organized by the Pacesetter and the route has been well known to be hilly every year. I'm not kidding, i hate hills. Usually (read: all the time) I will just walk up the hills and run the downhills. 

So this is the 2nd race of the year i joined.

But this is a run that i did not regret joining, managed to finish the run in 55mins40secs. a PB for 10k!! All four of us managed to complete it within 1 hour. Not a big deal for most people, but it is a big deal for me. For the first time i managed a sub-1hr for a 10km run :)

Despite all the hills, I ran through all of them (a first time *grins*). Maybe because the air is cleaner/fresher there. Mind you, there are cows there too. Very kampung like scenery at some point. 

And it was fun too, because a few of my friends were running too.

 Steve, Masyur, Izyan (she is a sub1hr now!)

The otais! Tulan, Cicak, and Bad