Neo-shoes

I was thinking of getting a pair of new shoes as the one i am using now is more than a year old and it has been put through to some rough mileage. Although it’s still usable and in a good condition, i need another pair as a backup (i convinced myself! he he). I am currently using Nike Zoom+, which i bought during Christmas sales in Belfast a year ago for the price of £20..only in Nike Factory Outlet in Junction 9 will i ever get this price!

So, early this evening; i went to survey the shoes at Midvalley with my mate – Hisham. I was thinking of getting the new Nike Lunarlite+, went into the Nike boutique shop but found out that it is overprice and sometimes these Nike shoes are overrated! At the cost of RM450 per pair i reaffirm my hypothesis – it’s damn overprice! Furthermore, with two speeding summons which i just paid dearly, i don’t think my bank account will agree to finance this new Nike shoes.

Out we went from the Nike store into the next shoes store – near the Cosmic Bowling. My eyes caught the yellow glimpse as i entered the store, is it the Adidas shoes worn by Faris Al-Sultan, the champion triathlete? Upon further inspection, it is Adidas shoes – yellow Adidas Adizero Shoes; and it’s on reduced price… much more cheaper than Nike but light as a feather – I WAS SOLD!

In the end of the day, Nike lost! Adidas won! and I happily end up owning a pair of brand new - bright yellow – shiny - “racing flats” – Adidas Adizero Adios with the featherweight of 200 grams. Now i knew why women so happy buying those new shoes every payday at month end.

Now i have new shoes for the bunny run, i have  no excuse not to train now! If you happen to see a guy in a spanking brand new yellow Adidas shoes in the Energizer run next month – that might be yours truly. :-)

PNM 2010 – Official Results

The officials results of the PNM are out, I just found out from CAR official website, good job guys keep up the good work in the Reban. It was a pleasant surprise, i was placed at no. 553 out of 891 in the F-Category: Half Marathon - Men Open. My official time is 2:46:16 (21 km) and 1:04:03 (10 km), I did not expect to finish the run in the middle of the pack, i really thought i was among the last group of runners..he he.

Not bad for my 1st Half Marathon with the lack of preparation in terms of training mileage. In a nutshell, congratulations to all runners who completed the race, even the guy who finish last at no. 891 with the time of 4:24:40, i admire your courage to go on completing the race even after everyone has gone. Most important thing –  DNF is not in your vocabulary, true blue runners portray this trait.

Click here for complete result (21 km): F Category – Men Open

Check out Chap Ayam Runners website for full results.

Putrajaya Night Marathon 2010

Yesterday was the D-Day, it’s an historic event not only to the City of Putrajaya for hosting it’s first Marathon but to yours truly himself as he entered his first half marathon. I arrived early to the event area in Precint 3 (Palace of Justice – Putrajaya Corp Building) just before 6 p.m. As early bird, I found a very good and strategic parking spot beside Putrajaya Corporation Building, very near to the surau.

The weather was humid, humid and humid..and you need to drink more water to avoid Dehydration. The marathon runners wearing the yellow bib were flag off at 8.00 pm sharp, followed by half marathon runners – blue bibs (21 km) at 8.30 pm then followed by 7.7 km and fun run at 9.00 pm. It’s still humid when we ran into night, i started off with slow pace, i was thinking to conserve my energy just enough to complete the half marathon run. The water stations was superb, we have selections either water or 100 plus, it’s located every 2.5 km; the 1st water station i totally ignored as i carried my own water.

I hit the “wall” at half point, after 10km..it was walk-run-walk after that, which is to me is very disappointing as i assume i did not accumulated enough training miles. Then my feet was acting up as i endured pains and blisters from both leg, it’s too late to stop now and as my bottle ran dry the water stations is my only saviours from Dehydration. After 15km, the only think that kept me going was my mental determination, i just don’t care about my feet, my pains, everyone else running besides me – i just pictured the finish line with me crossing it. After that i gone mental – i just chant out loud to myself - “you can do it!”, “this is easy!”, “i can do this all night long”, “ i will conquered this run!”, etc. If you came across some crazy dude talking to himself – that might be me.

5 km from the finish line, i noticed this lady cycling his mountain bike besides me and she stop few meters in front and start clapping and giving us runners moral support – she said “you doing great”, “keep up the good work”. I do not know who you are, but thanks a million – coz that just what i need, a refill of motivation –  i just started to think to myself this is bad idea..he he

The last 2 km was the killing me, i ran and ran and saw the finish line, yahoo almost there..then i came to the “detour”..i said WTF…a detour?..we were routed to the road at the back of Palace of Justice..now i understand..my feet was giving up on me then, just what i needed, i was running zig zagging like an aeroplane about crash..at this stage, i think was half past dead, going on auto-pilot mode…god please give me the strength to complete this. If i need to crash, let me crash at home in my bed! When i saw the finish line, it was wonderful, with the crowd and the photographer, just like a beautiful place with picturesque view. With a few ounce of energy left, i kept my pace and raise both hands as i crossed the finish line; my way of saying - “I conquered this” as i completed my very 1st Half Marathon.

I competed the 21 km – Half Marathon with unofficial time 2:46 min, and i never though i can ever run this long. Although, I did not meet my target to complete the race within 2:30 hours, but i did completed the 21 km race which a small step to mankind but giant leap for me. After collecting my medal at the finish line, i went on to treat myself to the free cold Milo and i had 3 glass and another small bottle of 100plus i kept in my car. I was so thirsty after race, i think i can consume all the water in the world at the time. I gave away my dinner pack as i was not that hungry, i was full with water i guess. Later on i was looking for Chap Ayam gang, but they are no way to be found, well i guess i’ll see them in the next race – The Energizer Night Run, it will be my 2nd Half Marathon. Hopefully i will do better than this run and  now it’s recuperation time for me till the next race.

     Look at the crowd, it’s a big party. Congrats Putrajaya Night Marathon organizer.

Yours truly after completing the race

My 1st Half Marathon medal

Putrajaya Night Marathon - Race Kit

During lunch hour today, i collected my race kit for Putrajaya Night Marathon at Wisma OCM, KL. I also bought some power bars gel for the event after collecting my race kit, there’s a Power Bar booth at the entrance and they selling the goods at discounted price . It’s going to be my 1st half marathon and  its happening fast – Saturday is just around the corner. One of the staff there urged me to test timing chip-just to make sure its works, i promptly said yes, i don’t want another Malakoff incident (my timing chip was faulty – meaning that no record for my run and no certificate of completing the run).

I also registered another Half Marathon run- the Energizer Night Run@Cyber Jaya, which will be held at the end of March. But that is another story, for this story my target is to complete the race within 2 1/2 hours, nevertheless by completing the Half Marathon itself its an accomplishment for me. Here we go again – my adrenaline is pumping fast now as its nearing the D day.

The race kit – running vest, bib number F5381 and timing chip.