Impossible is Null

Annapurna 100: The Race

2012-01-16T22:50:00.000-08:00

Race starts at 5:30am. I was already awake at 4 sth. It was cold as usual. The major concerns that I had was the low temperature & the altitude. For top, I wore 2xu as base, and the Salomon red shirt as the secondary layer. I also wore the buff, white cap & for pants the knee length Salomon tights. As for socks I wore nike as base, and another thicker socks. I choosed the NB minimus for shoes.

As for hydration, I used the Salomon XT adanved skin 12, which was great cause I could chuck in the top thermal layer just in case. And I also brought trekking poles.

5:30am was still dark, with another hour before daylight. We were let off, and soon we were running the streets of Pokhara. The first 12km will be on tarmac. The temperature was in the sub 10 range. But once I started moving, that didn't bother much. We were running past some buildings & houses, bridges, and some minor elevation up.

I think after half an hour, my right knee pain started to creep up. Not good. Seems like the injury is still there.

By 12k, the run detoured from the tarmac, into a village called Hyangja. There were spectators cheering us on as we make our way to the first checkpoint. I stopped by to fill some water into the bladder, as I wasn't carrying any. I did bring a 600ml bottle of accelerade as well. At the checkpoint they had ramen soup, with potatoes & salt, as well as water in bottles.

The route afterwards was 10-20% gradient dirt road. I started to use my poles. I could still move on, with some pain which I could manage. It wasn't at the speed that I usually could push.

The weather was an anamoly that day. It had been cloudy from morning. Thus, we can't see the beautiful mountain range, even as we were running nearer to them now.

As I was running on the road, suddenly, a sign showed Dhampus to the right. So I followed. Then I met 2 Nepalese runners who were resting, and they asked for something to eat. So I gave each a date. I guessed they must have bonked or hadn't ate breakfast. Then we ran alongside some open rice fields, when a japanese runner ran the opposite way. I guess he was on the phone trying to find the way. Are we lost?

Seems like it. A big group of runners, including me, was running in padi fields cut off the slopes, which were kind of odd. I thought we were supposed to run on obvious tracks? Problem was there wasn't much signage from the race.

Anyway, I followed some guys, and soon we reached a village. That lead uphill where I saw Roger, and a few more meters it was the 2nd checkpoint at 23km mark.

I went off after having some potatoes, and making sure I have salt in it. The next part was gradually uphill, as we head up to Deurali, Pothana (1890m), and Pitam Deurali (2080m). I kept a fast moving pace, trying to move up the ascent as best as possible using the poles. As we went up, it got more chilly.

Then it was a really steep downhill, with rocky steps. I had to traverse slowly as downhill caused more pain on my right knee. The poles helped greatly. Else I would have been more crippled.

I noticed I was moving slowly, which took more time. The 12pm cut off at Gandruk is slowly seeping away from target. There was a Brit lady who I paced with most of the way. She had signed up for 100k, but decided to do the 50 instead. She was kind of chirpy and seemed enjoying the race.

As I moved past Tolka (1700m), I could see Mount Machapuchare among the clouds. Although it's still cloudy with no blue skies in sight, the mountain size was huge, and at that moment it felt awesome just to be running there.

It was now drizzling a litle, with cold wind sweeping by the valley. The amazing thing about the track is the sheer vertical drop on the left side, almost a few hundred meters drop. There's no railings, so if you do fell over, it could be a long way down.

After passing more houses and farms, I finally reached Landruk (37.5km) at 11:20am. Great, I still have 40 minutes to Gandruk. It was all descent with stairs down to the river. With the hampering knee pain, I have to descend slowly. After crossing the bridge, I tried my best to push the pace. I wanted to get to the top before 12. It's steps after steps vertically up. And that's 800m up to Gandruk!

Just to give you an idea, how high is that: KLCC is 450m plus the antenna. You'll have to plus another 350m. That means the whole KLCC can sit inside the valley, and still you have some space on top.

I reached Gandruk (1940m 40km) at 12:20pm, exactly an hour from Landruk with a distance of 2.5km only. I took quite a long rest, gulping down ramen & potatoes and even hot milk tea. It was now very cold at around 5c. After leaving the station, I took my thermals out and wore them as outer layer. My fingers were getting numb as well.

I decided to go for the 70km now, since 100km is out of reach. After this it's still all the way up to Tadapani (2590m). I think I reached it at 4pm, which was really slow. The wind was really blowing hard at Tadapani, and the cold just gets colder. I didn't stayed too long, as I have to move to get to Ghorepani.

It's still climbing up most of the way here. I bumped into George, and we criss crossed a few times. I couldn't passed him on the downhills, but on the uphills, I could. I was pushing the pace regardless of elevation or fatigue. As we went up to 2800, it started to snow! It was a first for me. At first it started to snow lightly, but as the altitude went up, the snow started to feel more like rain. I was elated to see snow for the first time. But daylight will soon turn into darkness.

By 5pm I reached a lodge at Banthati (I think), went in and have a hot cup of milk tea. I really needed one, as the snow fell even heavier. George came in, drank his juice, and quickly left. He wanted to get to Ghorepani asap as well. As I left the lodge, a man bid "Good luck with your madness". Well, I guess running in this weather is indeed madness.

It was some uphills a bit more, and by this time, the thickness of the groud snow has grew into inches. I was alone, and it was getting dark. I turned on my headlamps. It's now trying to see George's track in the snow.

At the top, I reached a formation of rocks. The westward wind was blowing snow all over the place. On the left & right were sheer drops of unknown depths. It was an awesome sight to behold, if not for the creeping darkness, I would have enjoyed hanging there. Soon after, it was descent.

And for this reason, I was glad to have the poles again for support and balance. It made descending in snow easier.

As I almost reached Ghorepani, a guy with a Nepalese runner "Daba" came from behind. They claimed that somebody might have lost the way. Was that George? I couldn't tell. But one of the locals took my lamp and went searching.

I was glad to reach Ghorepani (2874m) around 6pm. It's very dark now. At least there's a heater in the middle. We all sat closed to it, trying to get some warmth in. It's hard to describe how cold things were. When night sets in, that's when it gets colder by a few notches. It was snowing heavily outside, and some local kids were having fun throwing snowballs at each other. But we were all huddled near the heater.

I was now thinking if I should just stayed there, and forget about the race. To continue, it would mean going in the dark, with very low temperatures outside. Soon, a finnish couple joined us. Finally after some rest, we decided to make it all the way back to Birethanti. Walking in daylight will take 4 hours. But with the night it will take more than that. I took out my poncho and wore it.

We started the trek at 7:30pm and kept walking, chatting at some point. Daba was a bit injured in his knee as well, so the finnish lady gave him some painkillers, and their poles to help him going.

Now walking in the snow wasn't that cold. But as we descend lower, snow turned into rain, and the snow beneath turned into cold wet slurpy mud. After 2 hours, we reached a checkpoint at Banthanti.
It was really pouring now, and coupled with the knee pain & cold, at times I couldn't really take it. But there's no choice to move forward in this terrain. Even if you stopped, there's no fast accessible roads to this part of the trails. The only way is to walk all the way down to Birethanti.

After resting, we went off again. I was only worried about the 3280 stone steps downwards at Uleri. The steps just kept on going and going without end of sight. It's wet and slippery so each step was cautious. For myself, the knee pain just makes things very slow. Finally the Finnish lady offered a pain killer, and I took it since we have to keep on moving.

As we descend, I could see faraway yellow lights from villages. It gave the sense of space in the darkness. We were really descending a steep slope but how steep? I couldn't tell.

Finally when we reached Sudame, things got better. I think this was the last checkpoint, before we walked on open roads still on the descent. I was getting sleepier on the walk. I have finished all my physical reserves, and all I have left was the mental part. I was moving purely on will. The pain killer was also playing havoc with my gut. I knew I could vomit anytime.

We got lost a bit as well. We should have joined the main road, but detoured abit.

Finally we reached Birethanti at 1:15am. I think the time was 19:51 for 70km. Roger & Ramesh was there to greet us. I felt a sense of relieve that we have made it. Afterwards I was too tired and cold to think about food. Not that I can eat anyway. I grabbed my bag, head to the cold lodge, changed into a new set of clothes and slept. The thing was I didn't had any blankets and socks, just a thin sheet. It was terribly cold. But I did sleep.

---
Woke up in the morning with my toes numbed. Went to grab some breakfast and chatted with a few fellow runners. It seems like many has decided to stay at lodges along the path, instead of continuing in the dark.

After the breakfast, the bus took us back to Pokhara. Though the distance is short, but it took 2 hours as the bus has to move up a hill, then descend on the other side of the valley.

There was a prize giving at 11:30am, where they hand out medals & certs to the finishers, and a lunch for all the participants afterwards.

---
Just some thoughts about this race. NB minimus is indeed not the right shoe as most of the paths are paved with stones that can be sharp. The steps are made of stones as well, so more protection is needed. I think I have tested the minimus to the extreme by using it here. If the path has many stones, it's a better idea to get a thicker sets of shoes, cause it's easier to just step on it, and move on.

If you were wearing minimalism, one has to think where to step, which waste time.

For the steps, you'll need to train going up vertical elevation for a few hours. The limiting factor for ascent is your cardio, rather than technique. For the descent, try running down steps in quick succession. It's hard to find the same altitude in Malaysia, but mountains at 1500m should suffice.

I think this is a very hard 100k to finish within 18.5hr, but it can be done. I was racing with injury so that really slowed things down. But I still doubted I can finish the 100km even if not injured. It will take a few tries to get this right.

* Sorry no pictures on the race. Perhaps the organisers will have some soon.
Links:

http://annapurna100.com/707/2012-route-map/
http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1282575

Annapurna 100: Ride to Pokhara

2012-01-15T22:30:00.000-08:00

Kathmandu valley

Descent after passing hills surrounding the valley..

Annapurna range...

Range right of Annapurna

Stopped for fuel.

The bridge where we had to walk to get to Pokhara.

Machapuchare up close.

View of the blockade.

It's a festive atmosphere in Pokhara for new year's eve.

Registration for the race

Woke up around 4:30am. It was freezing as usual. I had the bag packed last night. The bus, coordinated by Roger, leaves Summit Hotel at 6am. Using the Hotel's request, I got a taxi to get me there. That cost 600nr.

Not many were still up when I reached. The runners who stayed there had breakfast before the ride. It seems like many participants who were joining this race have strong credentials. The french guy Sylvain Bazin, had done UTMB, and said there's harder mountain races in France apart from that. Tori, had climbed Aconcagua, a peak of 6962m in South America. Then there's the italian couple who lives in the mountainous northern region of Italy. In terms of altitude, I have yet to even reached the highest peak in Malaysia, Mount Kinabalu.

I secured a right view seat, just to get a closer look at possible mountains & valleys. As the bus heads westwards & up above Kathmandu valley, the scenes of locals minding their own morning life came into view. The outer region of the city has a few brick factories, with tall chimneys spewing up smoke, which was another source of pollution.

After reaching the top of the hills, it was descent, most of the time. It was a clear day, and some snow caped peaks were in view. They seemed distant. On the right of us, were deep vertical drops of a few hundred meters the least.

It took at least 6 hours to get to Pokhara. We've had some hiccups at a small town. Seems like the Maoist internal faction were creating trouble by blocking the main road. At one moment, a guy stormed the bus, and asked 2 locals who were in the bus, runners I assumed, to get off the bus. Tourist were actually exempted. But Roger quickly brushed them off saying they were guides.

As we reached Pokhara, the same group, this time created more blockade with some buses, parked diagonally across the streets just before a bridge. It was a ruinous moment. So, we all left the bus and proceeded to walk the next few km. We hardly walked a few hundred meters, when we boarded another bus from the other side to Pokhara. Our bags will come later.

From Pokhara, the Annapuran Massif, and Annapurna II & IV views were impressive. This was the first time for me looking at snow caped mountains up close. The idea of running there was tantalizing, yet I am still worried if I could stand the cold or the altitude.

Upon reaching Pokhara, we have to get off just before entering the city, as it was geared for new year's celebration the next day. Finally, after some walking, we reached Barahi Hotel.

I met up with Mr Yong Yuen Cheng from Singapore at the venue during registration. He wasn't the only Singaporean. Katja Fink, who stayed there, was also in the race. She was the first lady in TMBT 100k in Sabah.

The briefing was conducted by Roger Henke and Ramesh Battachan. Race starts at 5:30am There will be 2 cut off times. One at 12pm at Gandruk, and another at Tadapani at 4:30pm for the 100k runners. For 70k runners, one must reach Gandruk before 2pm before being allowed to continue up to Ghorepani.

We were given maps as well. The course were designed such that you can sign up for 100km, but if you decided to do 70km, you can just cut across to Tadapani, and if you want to do 50km only, a descent to Birethati from Gandruk for 10km will complete that. Gandruk is only 40k into the race, and according to Roger, most of runners will ultimately decide the next due course, upon reaching there. The race ends at 12midnight

After the briefing, we still have to wait for the bags to arrive. I haven't booked the hotel in Pokhara, and was a bit worried. I have met with Dana, a fast talking Australian doctor, who was doing his housemanship in Kathmandu. I managed to get a booking at the hotel (Three Sisters) he's staying.

While walking there, even his pace was fast. Upon reaching the hotel, I found out the room was given to someone else. Luckily, Mr Yong has mentioned he had a spare bed. Finally I stayed there, which was a better idea, as it was real close to the starting line. Three Sisters is a 20 minute walk.

It had been a long day, with the bus journey & briefing. Sleep wasn't easy with the sounds of new year's celebration in Pokhara's street.

Annapurna 100: Flight to Nepal

2012-01-13T05:02:00.000-08:00

Suvarnabumi Airport: looks better than KLIA

The Himalayas!

Kathmandu airport

At the top of Tibet Guest House

Prayer flags in the air...

Summit Hotel!

The view from the hotel was just spectacular. The 3 mountain range can be seen from here, a rare scene.

Temples around Thamel area.

Another view of Kathmandu in the evening.

After mr25, I got back to training mode. With 2 weeks to the event, there wasn't much time. Grace Lim graciously lent her trekking poles. I was a bit skeptical at first. But having an injured knee, and having pain, or minor discomfort, as I would like to call it, isn't a promising way to finish even the race.

So I tried them up Bkt Segar. And it was awesome. I could ascend & descend without putting more weight on my knees, which prolonged the time I could be out there. Or at least, if I was too crippled, I would just use the poles to shift my weight forward.

I tried 5 loops, ascent of 1000m, at that was quite a workout. I tried 10, but missed out on the last loop, cause I was just too tired, even using my mind to turn things around, I was barely making it out. It was a vertical ascent after all, But I was happy that at least I finished 9 loops for a total of 1872m.

All in all, I wasn't too happy with the mediocre training, but that's the most I could put up, without getting too much injured.

---

The flight to Nepal has a transit in Bangkok for a night. I coudn't really sleep there. It was cold as well, without any jacket on.

The next day, I was seated next to a couple who were under an NGO overseeing the Himalayas. They were grateful enough to let me seated to the window, and overlooking the Himalaya range. I coudn't contain my excitement as Everest, Lhotse, Lantang, and some other range not within my knowledge came into view. They looked like white clouds hovering above the sky. And our plane cruising altitude seems the same as the height of the mountains.

The couple did gave some advice on what to wear during winter time in Nepal. Yes, it was winter, which is also the least tourist traffic time of the year. Also, they did warned about the pollution and the safety issue in regard to water & food.

The first thing that hit me, when overseeing kathmandu is how sporadic the buildings were. Then, how simple, and small the airport in Kathmandu is, compared to Suvarnabumi in Thai.

I went through the immigration, and luggage check without much hassle. Then I tried to seek the taxi that would bring me to Tibet Guest House. Luckily the hotel said it as it was. After getting another 2 passengers from Korea, and we're off to the hotel.

Another thing that struck me was the smoggy air, and the layer of haze that just lies across the city. Then there was the shock of the terrible roads & infrastructure throughout the journey. Not to mention the garbage strewn in the waterways & all around. I had trouble breathing a few times.

Finally we reached the hotel, which was really nice. The management, however, warned us of scheduled power cuts. The room I stayed didn't have a heater, and therefore cheap, costing 24usd for 2 nights.

Soon, the low temperature hit me. I think it's around 15c. I have been to a server room at 18c, and it was terribly cold. I quickly unpacked, and went searching for winter clothing. The couple had advised to get a 'down' jacket, so I got that, with a pair of gloves. Still, I have trouble with the cold.

Had dinner, then went off to bed at 6:30pm local time. I didn't have much sleep at the airport in thailand. Sleeping wasn't that pleasant either. Everything is cold, including the bed.

---

I woke up the next day, and felt much better. It was way much colder in the morning. I went up the rooftop, and the view from there was amazing. Kathmandu is a big city, and a unique one that is. Every single building is different, with it's own design, number of floors, and color, and age. And the smoggy smell still persists, giving the air a certain permanent odour.

After having a hearty breakfast in the hotel, I went for a walk across town. I have downloaded the map on my phone, so I figured I could walk from Thamel to Kupondole, where Summit Hotel is located. I also wanted to see more of Kathmandu, so I guess walking a few hours will be a nice idea.

The interesting thing is, I was mistaken for being a Nepalese a few times. Some sellers spoke to me in Nepalese, and I have to say I wasn't able to speak. But most just ignored my presence.

I finally reached Summit hotel, after asking for directions at Kupondole. That place was just luxurious, and even has its' own pool. Roger Henke, the race director was gracious enough for a chat. We talked mostly about the race, and notably the cut off times involved. He has this kind of grin, that somehow I felt like saying "this 100km is real tough, and if you aren't a local, you have no chance of completing it". There's truth in that as I would later find out.

The race TMBT 100km in sabah was generous with 36 hours. You could walk that entire course with that time. But Annapurna 100 is 18.5 hours only. And given almost 6000m in total elevation, that is one tough one to pull off. Yet, the local runners are doing it in sub 12 hours!

After the chat, I walked back to Thamel, passing some old temples, which was kind of interesting as well. But I wasn't too focused on the sight seeing part. I knew I have to get things packing for the next day's ride to Pokhara.

MR25 ultra marathon: Injured

2012-01-13T03:35:00.000-08:00

While training for both MR25 and Annapurna100, I tripped over a root and scraped my right knee on the trails. It was bad enough, as blood were streaming down to my socks & shoes. Worse, I could see half a cm gash deep in the knee cap, with some scraps around.

Thankfully, some passer by gave me a clean towel, which I wrapped onto the knee. Then, painfully, I walked gingerly back to my bike, and walked & cycled slowly back to my house. It was serious enough to take a trip to the clinic to get it dressed up, and got some medication.

It's a bad time to be injured. I've got a major race coming in 3 weeks time.

The first day, I walked with lots of pain. After 2 days, it felt better.

I resumed training on the 6th. I have no choice, given that I have to race MR25 ultra in Singapore. I ran 2 times around my house, and once in FRIM. But I knew it will be hard for MR25.

For the first loop of MR25, the usual pain at the right side of the knee kicked in. That slowed me down considerably. Khaliq Samat seems like injured as well.

The weather was pretty cooling with clouds, that rained a bit. I turned on the ipod to mask the pain.

But that's the most I could do. I quit after 5 loops. Then I felt the usual nausea, which means I will be vomitting soon. Which I did. Actually I was more depressed of the vomitting than the injured knee.

After I did some study, it dawned on me that I suffered from hyponatremia, a condition where your body loss to much salt (Sodium specifically), and couldn't balance things up. I couldn't believe that after all these years doing ultra stuff, I have neglected this basic principle.

But you learn from mistakes & injuries. Life just have to go on.

Nike We Run KL: Breaking the Barrier

2012-01-13T02:08:00.000-08:00

Just a day after the 5km race, my sis & I joined the Nike 10km run around kl. The start was a bit confusing. How come some runners get VIP treatment? While we're waiting at the start, the usual strong guys were there, and some kenyans too.

As the start time draws near, they let us pass the front VIP pack. I inched my way to the start. Then we're let off. The first few km was just trying to get the pacing right. I noticed Jasni was way in front like 150m. Then Richard Habeya came rushing by. Oh, seems like he got the legs this time.

Anyway, as we went into brickfields, I managed to inch closer to Jasni. At moments, he was trying to push forward. Alongside us were the women kenyan runners. Running at this high speed was zen. I didn't feel like dying, nor do I feel like I could run faster. Everything just flows. I didn't want to push things so we went along together.

At 5km mark, I clocked 18 minutes. As we went along the way at Bank Negara, I passed Richard. I was actually trying to chase Ong Wei Xiang, who's putting on a fast cadence, out running both Jasni and I. I knew we have like 2km left, so I tried to bridge the gap. That was succesful. Then as we ran pass the last water station, I knew there's another hill before going down to the finishing.

I used my mind to bend reality. I imagined the hill was flat. And I went all out. By the time I reached the top, there's no more pacing or running style. It's do or die. I raced to the finishing arch in 37:24 to get 6th in my category (25 above), ahead of Jasni and Ong.

There wasn't any prize, as only top 3 were given. But it doesn't matter. For once, after working on speedwork for almost 2 years, and figuring what works and not, I've managed to break another milestone. And that's what really matters.

Larian Koperasi: Run like Hell

2012-01-13T01:52:00.000-08:00

It was a really short run of 5km. But somehow, it seems like all the elites are here, including lots of indian runners. Some guys looks like they have been doing track work for ages. Rumours has it, since that the kenyans aren't allowed in this race, more fast runners showed up to get a swipe at the prize.

Anyway, from the start as we were let off, lots of runners were doing sprinting work. I noticed Barry Lee went ahead too fast. Now, I always been wondering why he shoots off like that.

I kept my pace, as I knew we'll encounter a hill. Somehow, I managed to inched behind Jasni. We went up the hill with lots of huffing & puffing. It seems like no one is setting any pace. If you've got something left in the tank, just go.

So that's what I did. There's no pacing needed in such a short race. I managed to passed him, but I can't really remember where. All I know I was home running this.

When I was done, he had just finished behind me. For once, I've managed to beat him. But I knew 5km isn't our bread & butter. And it's not the best yardstick to predict consistent results.

Turning into the finishing.

Powerman 2011: Hot Race

2011-12-14T05:17:00.000-08:00

After a week from TMBT, I don't have much confidence in pulling off this one. Finishing yes, but racing at peak ffitness is another matter. I just managed to do 2 short runs, and one cycling course for preparation. Running an ultra drains you for a few days.

Weather was predicted to be hot. Odd thing was, in rained buckets the day before. After looking at the winners list last year, I found out a surprise. Not only Danny Feng was a strong cyclist in P2k, he also won 2nd last year. That shows he's a pretty fast runner as well.

Race day. I stood at the front while waiting for the flag off. When the gun started, I quickly went up. I wasn't that fast. I didn't think my legs were there. So I tried the faster cadence method instead with lower cardio holding. What was surprising, Chan Jun Sen from UPNM was running alongside me. With the pace we were running, it's pretty fast. Another guy wearing black from singapore was fast too. At times I was chasing him, and at times I passed him. Somehow when I passed him, he would try to attack. I tried to keep my ego down. This wasn't the time to push all out. There's still the cycling leg and another running leg. Eventually I would learned that he was the winner for aged 20-29. The first run was completed in 0:40:28.

Time for the bike. The first few km was trying to set the speed up to 40kmh. Then somehow, more and more guys bunched up in what I could say was the first non pro leading group. Chan Jun Sen was with us as well, and we're both wondering why some guys in front were obviously drafting. I did my best not to draft by staying on the sideways or some lengths behind the cyclist in front.

When we reached a small bridge, there was a slight slope that caused my bike to dipped and shoke. My water bottle fell off. I just had one. In that moment I slowed down. I was wondering if I should pick it up, or continue. That aero bottle cost 120 per piece, but I decided that I could probably win back some cash to cover it up. If I had stopped, I would have lost the leading edge.

Problem was that was my electrolyte drink as well. I didn't brought any gels, so I thought that would suffice. I resorted to slowing down at water checkpoints to get water, but I ended up with gatorade. Something that doesn't sit easily with my stomach.

On the 2nd loop, we caught up with Shahrom. He stayed until the end. I could see that he was too trying to avoid drafting. There was a marshall beside us that warned some of us who were drafting. But on the 2nd loop, things were harder. We were passing slower guys, and some parts of the lane became smaller.

I do remember on the way back, a marshall standing beside the road, yelling at us asking us to break up.

2nd run. Things were tougher. I had twice of gatorade on the bike and it wasn't sitting well. Besides, the sun was up. Luckily I got my shades and cap. Without both I would have slowed down considerably. At water stations I was walking and pouring water on my head just to cool off. The heat always slows you down. And doing a fast pace is pretty hard.

I finished with a time of 3:12:37. Given the circumstances after 100k TMBT, I was pretty ok with the timing. Then I saw Richard Tang stumbled into the tent. He was drenched in sweat and looked like he had a bloody tough race. Then to my surprise I saw Danny Feng came in later.

After some hours the race, I was glad to make it 3rd. But such was the toll of the race on my body, that I wasn't pretty coherent during prize giving. I think the heat and gatarode might be the problem. But finishing with a better time margin than last year 3:34:24 proves that all the hard work in speed has paid off. I had a better cardio engine now. It's a matter of tweaking it to any races, given the adequate time to train, to perform at peak.

Sabah TMBT: The Most Beautiful (Brutal) Thing 100km

2011-12-04T03:17:00.001-08:00

The 100km route...

At the start...

After CP1

Running back to CP 7, among the padi plantation...

I've done quite a number of ultra runs on the road. But not many on trails.

100K's are always tough even on road. Put trails in, and it becomes a few times tougher. Put in the elevation and it adds up even more.

To date, I've only attempted one 100k trail which was the TNF sg last year. I DNFed at 60k after puking, which I believe was caused by gulping 2 power gels.

Sabah's TMBT was my next attempt at 100k trails. After 2 day SAC ultra run in the middle of the year, I knew before hand, the ups and downs can be horrendous.

---
Race day. I was bumped in with Tony Quay and Mr Chong. We woke up just after 3am. With a hazy mind we packed, then went down for the bus which will take us to Kota Belud. I seated beside Vincent Casanova, whom I had met at SAC ultra run as well. We chatted, and as the morning lights came out, the beauty of Sabah captivates us. The crocker range was clouded in mist, with hills poking up everywhere.

Finally we reached our destination. The first thing that struck me was Mount Kinabalu. I have actually forgottten the fact that this mountain is the most obvious towering object on the horizon. The view was just beautiful.

After some photo sessions, it's time for the start. We're let off the hook, and slowly I started up my pace. Jimmy Tee ran alongside, and we both made up a good pace. From the start, we both agreed on a quick pace. He was doing 50k, but I didn't mind.

There was a caucassion dude was trying to follow us, but soon lost it. I think he was the winner later. The first check point (CP1 9.5km) was reached without much hassle in 0:51:39. I took some water, and then we both shoot off.

Then Dino came from behind. I guess he's into racing mode. All 3 of us just tried our best to keep up with each other. The pace was as quick as possible. Most of the steep inclines, we just ran regardless.

Then we reached CP 2 19.5km at 1:55:35. But somehow after that, I just slowed down. Jimmy was trying to coax me to run faster. But I was wearing the NB minimus which was low profile, and slowed me down at the gravel roads, which was aplenty. Actually most of sabah road trails are made up of gravels, as they are used for 4WDs to go through. And of course, another thing is I didn't want to push the pace now. 100k is too far a distance to know if you can even survive that.

At CP3 27.5km, I could still see them from behind, but then I lost them afterwards. Reached CP 3 in 2:34:49. The locals put up some music with gongs. I thought that was nice.

There was a bridge that I had to crossed to reach (CP 3a) 3:17:01. The river passing beneath was just beautiful with crystal clear rapids. If I could have more time, I would have gone for a dip.

After CP3a, was another hanging bridge. The condition was so bad I thought any moment the planks might break. Then there was a very steep incline uphill. Luckily it wasnt too high. That descended into a river that we have to cross waist deep, but it was a very slow moving and crystal clear as well. It almost begs me to stop for a relaxing dip, but this is a race, and I've got to move on.

After more villages, and crossing a final bridge, then that's when things become tougher. I've anticipated from the map, that things will go uphill after CP3a. In fact the previous entire route is pretty flattish. I went uphills, downhills, crossing into single track trails, small streams, and then finally reaching an opening which I thought was CP 4, but wasn't. There was some drinks provided though.

A caucassion guy who was doing 50km distance passed me at this point. Then I reached a major bridge, which lead uphill for almost a few km! Had to walk that one, cause it was just mind boggling steep. It started to rain as well, so I took off my poncho and tried it on vainly. Didn't bother with it later as it stopped.

Finally reach CP4 41.5km at 4:59:46. Overall my ranking was still 2nd. Dino was first, and he had left. The call for muslim prayer had started, so I thought I might as well do the combine prayers at the nearby surau. I think that took me 10 minutes. Soon after I finished, I was surprised to see the Czech guy and Khaliq Samat came in together. Uh oh, time to shoot off again.

So I put on a descent pace, and get my legs running up to CP5. The route was indeed getting exponentially steeper with very long stretches of 30 to 45 degrees inclination. The skies was getting darker as well. I just managed to reached CP5 49.8km just before it rained very heavily. Time taken was 6:10:09. Considering the terrain, I think the timing was pretty good. There was lunch provided nearby, so I digged in. Dino has already left for the next checkpoint. With another 50km to go, one will have to eat. I remember seeing the czech guy came in and left. Then Khaliq came afterwards as I was just finishing my lunch. Ahmadul, who is quite a seasoned athlete in triathlon and adventure races, came in as well.

I think I spent around 20 minutes for lunch. As I was leaving, Ahmadul followed suit. I was determined to create a gap, so I started jogging towards the steep slope up to CP6. Then it was climbing stair case most of the way, and boy was it long. It took forever to reach the village, and finally CP6 (7:01:48).

Then it was going through a rubber plantation, hill rice fields, and reaching a dense forest that we have to loop to get through CP6a. I remember the view here was just spectacular, especially the high padi fields. At first I thought it was the usual "lalang" (tall grass), but on closer observation I could see green grains.

Running past 50km wasn't easy. So I coax my mind, saying that running 100km is a privilege as you get to see more of Sabah.

I reached CP6a at 8:03:15 after much slipping on uneven mud and undergrowth. At this point, I just regard the slipping as necessary movement, and tried the best to get fast over it. Met with Puzi and Shine coming in. I told them they have another hour to go.

When I finally reached CP7, I looked at the sheet; the leader was 40 minutes ahead. Strangely, I heard someone calling my name, asking me to sit down and have food. I didn't really cared, until I realized it was Dino. He said he was resting (due to his knee problem) and the czech guy has left a long time ago. I didn't want to delay further, so I said I'll go. He followed, but not for long. So, I just ran downhill all the way up to CP8 (same as CP 4) clocking 9:33:28.

At the rest point, I took out one sachet of electrolyte, and poured it into the bottle. Took a few sips, and I am off again. It's back to the major bridge, and then turning left for a long 4km climb! Saw Tony on his way up to CP4. He's doing 50km, so I guess he's well into target to reach CP5. At the bridge I hesitated with the direction until a british guy from HK (doing 100k) confirmed the route. So we went uphill together. The route wasn't easy as it took us more than 30min to reached the top. From some chat, he said he had done HK 100, and it's more steeper. He was carrying a Salomon bag, which I though was cool looking.

Then I felt something unwell, and I puked for the first time. Uh oh, not a good sign. But I kept going on. I have puked on too many occasions, so this time it wasn't s surprise. I was trying to pinpoint what went wrong and it could be the electrolyte I had drank at CP8. It was the same brand but different flavouring (orange).

By the time I reached CP 9 at 10:43:43, I wasn't in good shape. Dino and Ahmadul had caught up. I signed in at 3rd for 100k, but then I knew my race was over. I couldn't keep up with the duo, and it was getting darker. Dino mentioned the hills here were tough, and judging by all the past terrain, there's some truth in it. But the truth was we were running on a ridge, and it wasn't so bad. The thing that was, I was getting delirious from the purging. I purged 3 times, and ran out of water.

It was really walking & running afterwards. I stopped by at a side hut and lay there for 10 minutes, staring at the night sky, pondering how much more to go. With a tired body and mind, I pushed on further until I reached a house. I had ran out of water so I though I could get some. Turns out I was too messed up to even continute. The problem with me, was, if I puked, that's it. It's white flag. It has been at TNF sg, & MR25 last year.

The house owner, a local Dusun guy invited me to go upstairs. He was very nice to let me sleep on the sofa. His wife cooked a plate of rice and fried an omelette, and made some tea. I said I'll need to rest for the night, and they were ok with that. I tried calling Aman Avtar (organiser) to tell him where I was, but couldn't reached him. Then I messaged Raymong Ng & Tony saying I was in some house at a village. I did told them I was considering DNF, but Tony said something like it will be wasted since I wasn't too far from the fiinish. After my head cleared up a little, I recalled the cut off time was 36 hours. That means I still have 7pm the next day to reach.

I knew I couldn't run at this point, so I opted to sleep till 6am the next day. The house owner has a few dogs, and they barked whenever the runners ran past. Aman, himself came by at 12 mignight to check up on me. I was so surprised to see him. I guess he must have got the message from Tony. He thanked the house owner for letting me rest there.

Morning came, and after a good rest, I was feeling pretty good again. My gut wasn't protesting so I ate the rice and omelette, thanked the host, and left. I guess there's some good thing after all. I could now see more of Sabah's trails, instead of darkness if I had continued.

Some more steep downhills and I reached CP 10 after 23:34:37. I have rested more than 10 hours. From here on, it's running all the way down to the finishing. I passed some guys who were walking the trails. They had it rougher, as they had been up all night.

Just before reaching into Kg Pukak, I met a singaporean couple. I thought the ending was near, but we still have to go through some single track trails before crossing the last hanging bridge to the finishing.

The ending was just beautiful, with a river flowing beside a cliff, and an open field. I was just happy to see the ending. Finally it's over. Time taken was 25:13:50

---
This is an indeed a very well organised race. I have enjoyed most of it, and the view is just worth it. There's also 2 points to qualify for UTMB (Ultra Trail Mount Blanc), which is the top ultra trail race in France.

Another thing which I was satisfied, is that I have managed to read the entire route pretty well. After watching Kilian poured over maps in youtube, I now understand the importance of studying the map, and knowing which are the hard sections, and which are not. It's the same as Lance Armstrong, who does a rekkie of the current tour's route.

Personally I have finally finished a 100km ultra trail run. This one wasn't easy. I've done FRIM runs and the climb just pales in comparison. Total elevation given was 3450m. But I could stomach the hills. I've set my mind to overcome that. You can give me as many hills as possible, and I'll climb every single one of them. But I couldn't overcome my gut. I will still need to figure that out.

My next trail run will be MR25, then Nepal Annapurna 100km, and HK Vibrams 100km. I coudn't wait.

PJ Half marathon 2011: Tough Fight

2011-11-30T21:43:00.001-08:00

There was an absence of strong runners in this race. Later I found out the reason was there was quite a huge number of kenyans in the field.

I haven't been running long distance races. And it had been a long time since I raced for 21km, so the question is if I could mantain a sub 4 pace for that long. I did do a fast time in bkt aman run, with a time of 1:22, so perhaps I could last for that long.

The race started, and the kenyans went off in a group. I tried chasing them, vainly, for the first 1km. Then Peter and Shaharuddin came passing by. Peter the french guy, commented I was too fast out from the start.

Anyway, we ran into the adjoining Federay Highway, and I soon lose the duo. As we ran the u-turn, and back down, I was shocked the see a japanese runner in orange, ran past me with ease. He was kicking in at a higher cadence. I was dumbfounded how easily he could past me.

Then an indian runner came by. We ran side by side for almost the entire way up to the u-turn near the subang airport, but I soon lose him. He said he was just training for PBIM.

I could see an kenyan lady runner ahead. So that became my carrot. Without knowing if I could really pass her, I just kept on chasing. At one point, she slowed down, and that was when I passed her. At least I could say I passed a kenyan.

The run back was a lonely one. I didn't feel I pushed too hard on the cardio, but just trying to get the pace correct.

Came back in 12th position in 1:22:20. Was pretty happy with the sub 4 pace. At least I know I could maintain it for that long. The top 9 position was taken by kenyans. Shaharuddin was in 10th place, clocking 1:16. That was an awesome 3.5m/km pace.

But I had sharp shoulder pain. It was bad enough to the point I couldn't lift things up.

Running with Kilian Journet

2011-11-23T19:30:00.001-08:00

Kilian Journet is now considered the best trail & sky runner, with impressive wins in the Western States 100m, UTMB, and with his final win in Mount Kinabalu Climbathon this year (last circuit of the sky running series).

World of Sports was gracious to host Kilian and Gregory. Both of them gave talks & shown videos on the design, and manufacturing process of their products. Makes you want to splurge on their stuff.

Then, the highlight of the day, was having a short trail run in Kiara, which was something I was waiting for.

We started cruising slowly. After awhile I ended up running behind him. I was trying to observe his running gait. I noticed lots of forefoot landing, and he's always like leaning forward during the run. He wasn't running fast, but I bet that he's just taking it easy.

We came out of the trails section to take a breather. Then it was back in for the last 2k or so. Suddenly I found myself chasing the Malaysian elites, who were chasing Gregory. We were going like 3.5min/km pace up and down the slopes. The final section has us jumping 7 feet downhill. I woudn't have done that if I were alone.

He was wearing the Salomon S-Lab Fellcross, one of the shoe that is in my list, but not out yet here.

http://www.salomonrunning.com/my/product/s-labfellcross.html

Kilian was wearing the Salomon prototype, which he wore for UTMB as well. Between the two, I would have got Kilian's.
It's so much lower profile, and lighter.

Met with Jimmy Tee, who I mistaken was a Singaporean. Apparently, I wasn't far off. He studied most of his life there, hence his accent. He was going to do the TMBT (The Most Beautiful Thing) 50 as well. Judging from his 50k time in TNF SG, he's a pretty fast runner.

We ended the session with more photo sessions. It had been a great experience running with the God of trails. If only I could run as fast as him up mountains.

Perhentian Island Challenge 2011: I survived

2011-11-15T05:44:00.001-08:00

At the start of the elite

Perhentian Island Kecil (small)

Arriving at the big island camp site

At the finishing.

Perhentian Island Challenge is one of those race that has intrigued me for eons. It seems like you not only do running, but swimming, kayaking and some obstacles. But then that was years back. Since it was taken by a new management, the format has been slightly less complicated, but tough nevertheless.

Another reason to do this is because I haven't step foot on that place before. So, it's more or less like a holiday.

I joined the elite category, which comprised of running 9k on the big island, then swimming across 1.2k to the small island, and finally running 14km to the finishing. Novice were only required to run 14km on the small island.

The problem with this race is you've got to put on or carry the life jacket plus your gears during the swim. How you do that is up to you. Prior to the race, I was trying to figure out the best way to minimize drag. I tried swimming in a life jacket and it was really slow. Andrew Loh gave an idea of getting a trash bag, then putting in everything including the life jacket, then tie it to your waist during the swim. He got that idea from a participant who did the same last year.

Race day. The elites have to be ferried to the small island for the opening ceremony. Then back to the big island for the start. Kind of unnecessary I think. When the race started, the strong guys rushed to the front. I was just trying to get into a good pace. I didn't know the route well, and don't want to push too hard. We started at 10:15am, and it was already hot. We ran some sandy beaches section before heading into the woods.

Then things got harder. The elevation went up and down steeply, but it was something I could handle. After the worst of Tioman Eco Challenge, I could stomach this. But still I was too cautious on the footing on downhill slopes. I didn't want to risk it. One mistake and you could easily get injured.

I caught up with Razani, who was wearing the S-Lab4. We ran some sections together before getting out onto the final stretches back to the start, where we had to embark on the swim. It took me 1:06 to finish the loop.

I had put the trash bag in my back pack. I took it out, then proceeded to dump everything into it including the life jacket. Then made a knot with a string. Unfortunately I forgot to dump in the race vest and my cap. While doing all this, Cheah Mei Mei was beside observing. I didn't realized until she offered to keep my cap.

So it's off to swim! A few strokes and it wasn't easy to adjust to the awkwardness. Found it kind of hard to kick because i could tangle my legs with the string. In the end I resorted to hand pedalling more than kicking. Also I realized that the current was pushing me northwards, so I adjusted my bearings.

The swim took 40 minutes, and boy I was glad to land. I tore open the bag, then wore back the shoes & hydration bag. Cheah Mei Mei was there to returned my cap. I was really thankful for that cause I wouldn't survive without it on the next run.

The smaller island route was pretty easy on certain sections. But the open hot sandy beaches were torturous. Reminded me NOT to do desert runs like MDS. I met 2 guys without enough water, so I gave them mine.

Certain parts really had me down. I think it was due to the heat & humidity. When in the jungle, it can get pretty stuffy & humid. I was reduced to walking certain stretches.

The last stretch at the staircase gave us a beautiful view. We have to go to the bottom to get to the checkpoint, then up again to descend to the finishing. Sweetest thing about this part is I managed to pass 3 navy guys on the way up.

Then ran down as fast as possible to finish in 8th with the time of 4:22. But I was truly knocked out from the heat, trails and swim. Sitting there at the finishing, and looking back at the other island really made me wonder that I survived this.

---
Great thing about this race is you get to camp with the participants. Be ready to stay in tents for 2 nights. But it was fun meeting so many new friends, and not to mention swimming among the reefs nearby. I would come back again for this.

KOM UCI 2011: Stuck at 2nd gear

2011-10-11T02:52:00.000-07:00

Lots of thoughts in my head...

2nd major ascent

I didn't realise I was pulling so many...

Mark Cheong going for the attack, and I gave chase.

Gear was stuck at 5th from bottom at RD.

Finished in 5th. With only one gear, nothing much I could do.

Damn proud of this bike

Cable snapped at the front shifter.

Gear stuck at 5th

To my dad.

With only 2 rides up to hulu langat the same week, I wasn't really hoping much from this ride.
I did, however, went to Edwin's shop to get racing tubulars, which cost quite a lot. But it was necessary, as the only pair of racing wheels light enough, was my Mavic Kysirium, and that was tubular.

Mich's aunt was gracious to host us at her place in Ipoh.

Race day. Morning came, and the rain was still pouring outside. I thought it would be cold, so I brought the 2XU compression top. Loaded the bike in the car, and we went off to the starting point.

When I unloaded the bike off the boot, I was horrified to find out the gear cable to the rear derailleur had snapped. Raymond Ng and I was trying to figure out how to connect the braided steel wires, but we coudn't figure that out. Time was only 20 minutes to the start. So he suggested I go find Kenny to see if he could fix it.

I quickly pumped up the tires, then cycled to the arch. Stopped to ask a guy at the van nearby if he knows anyone who could fix that. Answer was negative. Found Kenny, and he suggested that the high gear screw be adjusted to move the chain up. With a screwdriver, I managed to set it higher. Adzim helped took off the broken wiring.

At that point, I didn't even know if I could ride this. If it's flats, it might be ok, but we are riding up to almost 1500 meters, with some steep climbs. I actually had thought this ride is gone. I stood there, waiting for the marshalls, to let us go, and thinking if the ride was even possible. Safety issue came to mind firstly. It's just a ride, and there's no point continuing if there's
probable risk I could harm myself & others. As I stood there listening to the fireman, reading the prayer for our safety, I prayed earnestly.

Then they let us off. 5km to the flagoff. I tried riding as cautiously as possible, still trying to feel, if I could still ride this semi-fixie bike. Only the front derailleur is working. That's all I could play with.

After the flag off, the speed picked up, and we were soon heading towards the first major climb. I've actually cycled this route twice before. So, I roughly know the major points of attack. The first steep climb is a 2km, bukit hantu kind of gradient. Anticipating an attack,
I moved my way leftwards and surged ahead. I looked back. No one followed. Odd. So, I kept pedalling. Surprisingly, I could put the power instead of cadence. I wasn't dying so I just kept pedalling until the flats alone, in front. Saw Lydia Yeow, and was quite happy to see her there.

I thought at least, I won this first major climb. But I will be swamped by the riders soon. Or so I thought. I looked back and the peloton is still hanging in one bunch behind. Funny. No one wants to reel me in. I slowed down a little, to join them. There's no point riding this fast,
at this speed. So I stayed there for some time.

Then we encounter another steep slope, that marks the beginning of some very winding & relatively steep hills. There were some attacks by others, but
the momentum didn't sustain. The peloton managed to reel them in.

With only 2 gears, I needed a different strategy. I know I wouldn't be able to follow their attack, so I will have to attack early, and be ahead, rather than staying in a group.

Then we passed the bridge, and it was a smoother climb uphill.

I stood up, snapped the pedals, and sprint ahead, hoping someone would follow. None did. So, I continue riding in front, and was feeling quite comfortable, almost at home. Used to riding solo, I preferred that to a group. My mind wasn't with the ride. My father has passed away suddenly
last week tuesday. Watching him with all the life supporting machine hooking up, with the heart rate monitor kept on blinking, was really heart breaking to watch. For someone who wasn't active & he was a bit obese, his high heart rate at 190 & 180 was just incomprehensible.
I had ran uphills for training and 170 feels like dying.

The peloton came by again. Somehow everyone was riding safely. I urgently need to pushed to pace. I attacked again, signalling to Kelvin Tan, riding a blue Trek, wearing the P2K jersey to follow me. He did. We went off in front, and did some work together. I chuckled when he said "This is your day Steve". How do you ride a race using only this? He did warned me that's it's only 30km, and there's still some distance to go.

Then the peloton reeled us back again. This time, a rider wearing orange riding an Orbea, attacked. I stood up, and gave chase. He went at a furious speed, and drafted behind a support motorcycle carrying 2 extra wheels. Was that legal? Anyway, I managed to reel him back,
and his words were "Kat depan ada 6 lagi rider.(In front there's 6 more riders)". That's odd, I thought we are the only ones in front.

I remember another attack by Mark Cheong, riding an awesome Look bike. I gave chase as well.

Finally the whole group decided to attack. I tried to follow, but with only 1 light gear, I couldn't do much. I was left behind and all I could
do was watch the whole peloton moved past, as they snaked up the hills. Mark had an issue with his chain, and he stopped. I just kept on pedaling.

After awhile, I looked back at my meter, and it's 37km. I was still behind. I realised if I don't chase the front pack, I will lose them once they hit the flats after 44km. So, I tried to go faster, and managed to catch up with the group after the wooden hut at the right side of the road.

Then I went all out on attack again. I wanted to get to the flats first. It was kind of rolling, and the speed was intoxicating. As I entered the Welcome to Cameron huge words cliff, I saw Shahrin Amir, wearing a Malaysia white jersey, riding impressively on a MTB. Wow, could this guy win this whole race?

As we reached the flats, he let me move to the front, and urged me to go faster. I had only one high gear, and that's all I could go, and it was
60kmh. Then the rest of the front pack attacked again, this time leaving me a bit far off.

As we reached the second last climb, they slowed down. I looked at my meter ant it was 51km plus. Not much distance left.
I went for an attack again, and surged back to the front. This is now all out. I just hope they won't catch up with me.

With one last climb to go, the marshal on the bike said there's only 800m left. Could I really win this? We finally reached the last turn up the hill,
and that's when everyone attacks. With only 1 gear, I could do nothing. I tried my best to follow. With less than 100m left, it's time to die.
I pedaled furiously and managed to fend off some guys. When I passed the finishing, I still have something in the tank. I still could breath
easily, and it was kind of frustrating to not be able to attack with the right gear. I got 5th placing.

Looking back, it was a good race. I was able to chase some guys, and lead, despite using one gear. I had wanted to ride this for my dad.
He struggled after his watch business went sour, and we all in the family did. Despite all this, he finally managed to set up his beloved
business again during his last 5 years. He worked until the last day he passed on. I will always remember him as a watch repairer, which one
has to have lots of patience tinkering minute dials & screws.

I started this ride with the thought:

"Shit, I can't ride this race." to

"Maybe, I will just ride for fun." to

"Maybe, if I attack, I could win this."

This ride will be my most memorable one.

Siemens run: Hazy skies

2011-10-11T02:41:00.000-07:00

My sis & I went for this run. We arrived early by 30 minutes. By then, they have opened the gantry for runners to go in. So we quickly went to fill the front slots. If you were to gun for position, being in front will be advantageous.

From the start, Peter, with this tall built was sprinting out. I passed the usual suspects early in the beginning. Then I noticed Mark Williams, with shoulders hunched ran past me. He really look like hammering it. I just stuck to my own pace.

All of a sudden, a kenyan ran past at such high speed, relatively, I thought he was sprinting and I was just walking. But the reality was, I was putting my maximum speed allowed. That was an eye opener.

Around half way point, my shoelace came off, and I spent a few secs tying them up. It proved futile as it came off anyway. Good thing was I tied a first dead knot, so that wouldn't be a problem.

I was trailing this indian veteran. Try as much as I can, I was never able to beat him, even to the end. His running style seem so effortless, but yet was able to keep me at bay.

I ended up at 10th position. The top 4 were kenyans, and Ahmad Lamchannak, a Moroccan, who works here, was in 9th. My sister however missed the prize at 23th.

The weather was hazy, and I didn't really enjoyed the run. Somehow the gloomy skies, signifies an uneasiness that I would only found out later that night.

KLIUC Unity Run 2011: Half Asleep

2011-09-19T19:34:00.001-07:00

Michelle, my sis, and my youngest brother.

This run, wasn't ran in the best of mind. I had been working since yesterday on some technical issues with some lack of sleep, and that was right after BJCC ride to Bentong 110km in race mode. Now just a bit on the cycling ride. Leonard Lim is one tough nut to crack. It was either me chasing him, or he was hanging on my back. And all the way up Genting Sempah. And we aren't riding in leisure mode. On the way back up to Sempah, it's the same scenario. Regardless of uneven tarmac, heat, wind, it was race mode.

So, I found myself on the starting line, quite not in the mind to race. My sister is joining as well in the B category. They let us off at first for the A, B, C category.

As usual, hordes of sprinters in the first few hundred meters. Noticeably I saw a malay chap (Syahidan) in yellow Adidas jersey at the front. Then 2 indian guys went off with him. An african dude was hanging with them, but he soon dropped off.

The route wasn't flat all the way. There's some hilly sections as well. I was just trying to stave off the back guys. It was quite a fast pace.

I only started to 'wake' up after like 5km. Then at the last 3km, the winner of C (junior vet), passed me as we entered the college. I tried chasing him, but never did pass him until the end.

Time at the finish was 38:05 in 4th position. Kind of happy, given the circumstances. My sis got 9th, which is not bad. She hardly sweat, so I told her to run faster next time.

Salomon X-trail: Fun in the mud

2011-09-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

Chasing Jasni...

The last downhill section...

Sprinting for the finish...

I think they gave us too much stuff...

This would be the first race after ramadhan. I had been doing training during fasting, but just for maintenance, rather than pushing the body. Training after break of fast, is very tough, so I opted in the morning instead. Hydration is a problem, so I figured out if I over hydrate, I could go through the rest of the day.

As for this race, I didn't thought it would be rather technical. So I didn't opt for trail shoes. Instead I used my usual NB racer.

At the starting line, I looked down at my chest, and my heart was beating too hard. Maybe a little nervous. The gun went off, and Jasni raced to the front. I followed suit. He wasn't going too fast at the beginning, but once out of the stadium into the main road, he attacked.

I tried to follow. The first obstacle was the puddle of mud water. I didn't want to go in, but Jasni just zoomed it through. Oh well then...

Certain sections were puddled from yesterday's rain, and slippery. At times I find that I had to balance before proceeding for the next step. Jasni was slowly slipping away, and then came Don Khor.

We ran side by side for most of the trails. Then at one section of hills, he raced uphill, left me, but then turned right. He followed a person (actually a lady going in the wrong direction). At that point I had doubts, so I slowed down, looked back & forth.

When he did finally made a u-turn, I turned back, yelled at the ladies runners to turn. I could hear Don spewing expletives at the marshall. But there was not a time to waste. I readjusted my mind instead on figuring out if some damage had been done. Actually there was. Dino was ahead by 10 meters, so I quickly chased him down.

We went downhill at an atrocious speed. But he was breathing heavily, and I figured out I still have the final card. Once the tarmac section came, I knew I could outrun him.

Finished in 44m24sec for 10km in 2nd placing. I think the getting lost part cost 1 minute.

---

It was a good race organised. The route is pretty scenic. The part I remember was a dark horse ran alongside us, when it saw we were running.

Shape Run Pirate

2011-08-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

Now, I have no idea about this run, until a friend told me. I guess with the fasting month nearing, I thought this could be the last event (PD tri is supposed to be the last..).

The pre-race atmosphere was happening with many booths & runners all around waiting for the start. "Skins" was there as well. Thought of getting one but then I couldn't find any need for it.

Before the start, the full 12.3km runners had to bundle up before the line. The MCs was trying their best to raise the atmosphere to party level, but I guess the runners aren't that interested. I stood a few meters ahead of the start line, waiting. Since PD, I haven't had any runs, except hills. And that morning, I cycled the usual Hulu Langat in high intensity going uphills. I have no idea how would I fare in this race.

The gun went off, and hordes of runners were let loose. I waited for a few moments before joining the crowd. For the first few km, I was moving up. Saw the elites as usual bunched up in front. Then I saw Don Khor slightly behind. Now Don's a really fast runner. Despite his age of 50+, most of us had problem keeping up with him in races, myself included. He'll start a bit slow, but would be able to maintain a negative split at the end.

I haven't been able to beat him. So, my objective then, was to keep as close as possible.

I trailed him for some time, but found myself comfortable going faster, so I went off. But I know he won't be far behind. I set my guns on the guys in front. One thing about running racing at the top group is, everyone is bloody fast. So you can't go all out. That would be suicidal. I kept a constant but high intensity pace without killing myself, yet.

The only guy I caught up with was Casey, and that was because he walked abit. Then he ran again, and we ran together. I looked back and sure enough Don was there with 2 other guys not far.

I decided to slow down to join them. We ran together until Casey and the 2 other guys shoot off. But I decided to just run with Don. So we ran almost together until the last 3km heading back, then I decided to go for it. Now it was all guns ablaze. The 2 guys in front were still far ahead, and I guess I won't be able to better them. Now it's just keeping Don at bay.

There was one last hill up, and then the final turn right into the finishing. I looked back. He was 50 meters back, so I knew I finally beat him. I think Tey, who taking photos, was a bit skeptical caused I wasn't wearing any bib. Anyway, I didn't go into the finishing line as the marshall diverted.

Finished in 49min for 12.3km. I think it's 48ish, but I'll just put up 49 for some margins. I could have won 8th in mens open.

Anyway, it's been one of the best 'pirate' race I have been. Couldn't ask for more.

Port Dickson Triathlon 2011

2011-07-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

Port Dickson triathlon is one of those events that you must do. It's near to KL, and most importantly, hordes of athletes will be there.

As much for preparation, it's really not that much that I had hoped for. For swimming, I think I've gained ground. Problem was, I don't wear a watch in the water these days, so I have no idea how fast I was going. Reassuringly, I could pace with the regulars in the pool. Bike, I've done a lot of distance, but for tri position, it would just be enough. Running, I don't have much doubt. I could still put on the speed if needed.

Another different approach to training these days, is to put more emphasis on cardio intensity. I think it does pays off. I've been doing times that I thought was impossible years back. I did a test run at bkt aman, and did the whole thing in record time 1:21. The prior best time was 1:33.

---
Race Day:
Swim: We had to run like 50 meters into the water as it's knee deep, before we can swim. I did push but tried to stay within a comfortable range. As long as I could feel I am moving fast enough that's ok. On the way back, I had to stand up, wade through the water, then only start running back to transition.

I heard Shahrom & Hafiz Wong names being mentioned by the MC. I couldn't be too far off then. Now, problem was I was sitting on the floor trying to get socks on. Yes, I am still not comfortable with no socks. So that took some seconds.

Hooped onto the bike and it was time to test the new Transition bike. The early parts of the bike, I was passing everyone. I was trying to see who could make a good drafting team. The odd feeling was, where is everyone?

After turning right from the traffics after 5km, it's another 15km to the u-turn. I did work with one guy in blue, for some time, but then he dropped off after some time. After the u-turn, I did managed to catch another dude in powerbar bib 1101. He was pretty strong, so both of us took turns to race back to the finishing. Noticed big packs of peloton was coming in the other direction.

Now the bike was pretty fast. It's not that light with tri-spokes, but when you get it going, it does go.

Run: Back into transition, put on the shoes, and started to run. I noticed Allan Lee just beside on the start. The first few hundred meters wasn't well adjusted, as usual. I kept a high cadence and that did the work. But weird thing is, I wasn't really pushing it, or don't feel like pushing it. I could pass most of the guys, except on the way back after the u-turn, one guy in the younger age group ran quite fast ahead. Oddly, I didn't feel like chasing. But I did kept a fast pace, but not into the bonking zone.

Came back with the clock 2:12. Then I remembered it's minus 5, so that makes it 2:07.

Anyway, that time wasn't good enough to be in the top 10 age grouper. Position is 12th in 30-39 mens. So I was just happy I did a good time.

---

Summary: Training on intensity has paid off. I could push harder & longer. But one thing that irks me, was taking too much time on the bike trying to work with other guys. That fast & slow pace really did disturb the rhythm. Maybe I should have just sit in aero, and gone all out. That could have saved more time.

I didn't pushed on the run too much. Maybe I was feeling too comfortable. Another reason was there wasn't anyone in front I could see in my age group. I think I should have raced harder instead of being happy with running just fast.

Swim, being the most technical of all, remains a hard discipline to master. Will need to focus harder on how to swim 1.5k fast.

Ultra Ride: KL-Gohtong-Fraser Peak-Tapah-Brinchang

2011-06-20T01:16:00.000-07:00

Cameron is very far...

Route up Fraser

The bike looks pretty here...

Descending from Fraser Peak

It's pretty dangerous...route towards Gap

Lata Iskandar...

Brinchang!

The bike has to rest too...

It's time to go home..

Route from Ringlet downwards...pretty scenic...

"What's the most resilient parasite? An idea. A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules. Which is why I have to steal it."...Inception

The idea was to climb all 3 peaks Genting, Fraser & Cameron Highlands in one day. But due to the restricted access up Genting, I had to be happy with just climbing up Gohtong. Still, the idea is too big to fit into the daylights of a single day. No matter how you put it, you'll have to ride parts of it, either early in the morning or after the sun sets.

Part of the earlier problem was there's only odd hours traffic up Fraser Peak, and even hours coming down. That adds to the time needed to finish the whole thing. Then, as I found out last week, the other route down from Fraser peak has reopened, and thus one is able to go up anytime.

In my earlier calculations, one would need to start at 4am from KL. Since the Genting peak is a pass, and Fraser situation has ease, I thought starting just around near 6am from home, with some night climbs up Cameron, would be doable.

---

I started at 5:53am, sped along MRR2 highway heading nortwards into gombak, reached HOA just shy of one hour, then started the climb up Sempah as the morning rays lighted up the sky.

Then it was up Gohtong, rest & eat, and then it was going downhill towards Batang Kali, KKB.

At KKB, I refilled the front bottle, as I knew this would be at least 1hr 45 minutes up to Gap. It's a good 30km climb, which is kinda monotonous, though scenic. Stopped by for nasi lemak and drinks at Gap. A bunch of MTBers were also there. There was something strange about their group name. It's called "Strange" MTBers from Rawang, if I can recall correctly.

I didn't stopped long. Then I proceeded to do the final 8km climb up Fraser peak, which wasn't too hard. But the downhill part was pretty dangerous. With sharp turns and certain sections strewn with pebbles, I had to be extra careful. Once as I ascended up the slope, I switched a few gears and the chain fell off. The bike stalled. There wasn't anything I could do except embrace for impact. Luckily nothing serious. I was more concerned about bike damage, which turned out ok.

After Gap, it was speeding towards KKB, then joining the main road, heading northwards towards Tapah. My front rim was giving me problems again. There's an occasional screeching sound from the hub. I swear after this I'll get a fulcrum zero with ceramic bearings.

Up till now, my meter was 164km. I knew Tapah is around 90km, The problem with this route is, Cameron is darn far. From Tapah, it's another 64km up Brinchang. That means half of the difficulty has just started.

From now on, it's a whole new guessing game. I've done Gohtong & Fraser, so there's not much doubt, but timing. The time is now 1:50pm

The ride towards Tapah was pretty warm & windy. Stopped a few times for refill. I had wanted to reached Tapah at 5pm. Instead I only reached 5:35pm. The cyclometer is now at 252km

As I head rightwards towards the route up Cameron, I knew this would take more than 4 hours. I've done this route once, and it took exactly 4 hours up Brinchang. Climbing after such a long distance, plus with a bag pack, would only mean more time.

I was tired, fatigue. My butt is in pain. And my speed ain't that fast. All I knew is I had to keep on pedalling. The last real meal I had was nasi lemak at Gap. After 20km, I stopped by Lata Iskandar, which is a waterfall tourist area, for iced milo & a cereal bar.

Time was running out. I hopped onto the bike again, and continued. By 7:30pm, with 15km left up Ringlet, climbing up this route would need to be done in the dark. There's no street lamps at this area.

It didn't get totally dark until 7:50pm. I turned on the front LED light. By then I couldn't read the cyclometer, and I didn't know how far was left. A bat struck me once, which is odd considering that they have sonar capabilities, and I was such a big target.

It was now a question "Are we there yet?" over & over again. The route has lots of turns, and uneven. Once in awhile cars passed by, providing ample lighting. I had to be extra careful at where to put the front wheel. I didn't want to get the tyre puncture at this point.

All around is darkness with silhouettes of trees & the night sky. It's not a place to be cycling. But I had no choice. When you have no choice, you take the only option, and keep on pedaling.

The LED light wasn't getting dimmer. Must be the darn batteries. Finally I saw orange light from streetlamps that goes into Ringlet. Yes, I finally reached the big strawberry at Ringlet, and out of this darkness. It's now 8:30pm.

I stopped for food at Ringlet, with mee that taste so bland, I thought it's uneatable. I was so tired I could have plonked my face into the plate. I knew I had to eat, as there's another 15km up Brinchang.

I've done this part in the dark before, so I knew it's doable. Restarted at 9pm. It was chillingly cold. I pedalled just because I wanted to get the heat up.

It was now a matter of calculating the KM left. After Tanah Rata, there's another 2km of climb, and that's it.

When I reached Brinchang at 10:10pm, I couldn't decide what to feel. It had took months of training & work, and it's finally done. There was doubts, and now that's erased. I finally got the idea off my head, so now I could go on with my life.

Although I didn't went up Genting Peak, this is still a very tough ride. But at least, it could give some future framework on how all 3 peaks can be achieved in one day.

Surprisingly, I didn't feel too bonked like the last ride from KL. Checked into Brinchang Hotel. I still have to cycle back to KL the next day. Distance is 313km.

---

Ride back KL was uneventful. Pretty hot, some rain at KKB. Took longer, but that's expected after such a ride prior. Distance is 218.5km, reached home at 8pm plus.

---

Some thoughts. It would be nice to get a support car the next time. I had butt pain, due to the bag. Cringed every time I had to go over bumps.

Time taken for the route is 16hr 20minutes from KL. This is the longest ride time I have done in a single day. Rough estimate for total distance climbing is 125km:

HOA-Gohtong: 25km

KKB-Fraser Peak: 40km

Tapah-Brinchang: 65km

The idea is now no longer an idea. It's real.

Putrajaya Ekiden Relay

2011-06-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

Our team:

1) Jason Loh

2) Ronnie See

3) Steven Yip

4) Michele tan

5) Chen

As you see, we aren't the fastest group. I had a great time chasing Wong Kei Ming as he slowed down after half way point.

That brought us to 3rd position. Then Michele Tan (very fast girl) put us at 2nd, but in the end we ended 3rd overall.

Not bad, considering we're eyeing top 5 position.

Now, oddly, I missed the prize giving ceremony, so basically no pictures.

The Devil II Reincarnated

2011-06-13T06:18:00.001-07:00

Sexiest seat ever...

For the past few months I've been scouting for a new TT bike. I had been riding the Argon 18 Mercury for the past 3 years, and the front bar is having some corrosion. So I guess it's time to break the bank for a new bike, or the frame will accidentally break? (Actually very unlikely, but that's just some excuse).

I finally settled for the Specialized Transition. Now, it's actually not the most aero bike, but it looks gorgeous with aerofoil design in almost every part of the geometry. I bought the standard complete package, and then replaced the seat with the sexiest one I could find, red tape for the default white tap, and added an aero bottlecage.

Daniel helped with some tips on the bike fitting, did the final assembly, and the result was promising.

I've done 2 rides. The first was in Putrajaya, and the second using the usual hulu langat route. I noticed climbing is a bit sluggish, but perhaps that's because the back wheels is placed too near to the frame. It has ajustable back wheel position, which is great as sometimes you might have larger tyres.

But on the flats & downhill, it's totally a different riding experience.

On the flats, with the trispokes, cruising at 40kmh was made easier.

It goes downhill so silent as if you're in stealth mode. And handling is pretty stable, so assured, that there's total confidence in cornering.

But, the bike is not everything, and one still has to train. Only thing if I ride too slow, then style would be a consolation.

Double Gohtong & Fraser Gap

2011-06-07T06:34:00.000-07:00

At Gohtong...

Superbikes at the Gap

Lepaking at Fraser Gap

At Gohtong, 2nd time..

Suddenly I got this idea of climbing Gohtong twice, with fraser gap to top that up. Now climbing from HOA gombak to Gohtong is really hard, but to climb from Batang Kali a second time, is something unknown, nor have I heard anyone doing it. Could it be done? Or would I puke on the second climb.

On the way up Gohtong, I met with Suhaimi Amy and his gang. They were stopping just after the first checkpoint from Sempah. At first we were together, but somehow he had went down to check on his friends.

Downhill gohtong to batang kali is dangerous but fun. Just remember to grab the brakes tightly, but not all the time. You don't want your rims overheating, which might burst the tyres. I had this once happened after descending from Genting peak, but luckily it happened when I was near HOA car park.

Then it was a boring, monotonous climb up Fraser Gap. I think the only fun I had was counting the decreasing kilometers on the cyclometer. At gap, met with 3 singaporeans who had cycled from Batang Kali.

I didn't plan to go up peak, so I headed straight down KKB, took a refill at Batang Kali, and then boom, it rained cats n dogs. Have to wait another 30 minutes before I could climb up Gohtong.

I wasn't worried on timing as there's ample time. As usual, climbing up this route, is mentally & physically draining. All climbs and climbs for a few km straight. The wet road made it easier, compared to if the sun was shining at your back.

Finally I reached Gohtong, which I so happily concluded that it's not impossible to climb it twice.

Then it's all the way back HOA.

I tried to roughly calculate the total ascent, and it should be around close to 2500m of climb. The view has been fantastic though, which is why I like climbing hills. The higher you get, the better the view, with sweeping valleys, and majestic mountains to accompany you.

Distance ought to be close to 180km. My meter said it was 176, but it had malfunctioned the last few k down.

---

I'll try to go up Fraser peak on the next ride. Now if only they would allow the route up Genting Peak, the 3 Peaks could as well be double Genting Peak & Fraser Peak. Now that would be something...

Nirvana Memorial Charity Run

2011-06-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

At the start..

Chasing the 2 Caucasians..

But ended in 4th

It's titled 5km fun run. Now this is one of the shortest run course I've ever done.

Upon receiving the bib, not many had signed up. But on the race day itself, some fast legs were there.

There was 2 Caucasians, one elderly & the other young. And some local indians. When the race started, they were off sprinting, and I had to give chase. I was tailing them for some time, before the real fast guys (2 indians) just past us like effortlessly.

Well, this is a 5km race, and you just had to put the hammer down. But due to my lower cadence turn over, I knew it's next to impossible to even hang on to those guys, so I just tried to go at my own pace.

At the turn around, the indian pair went off even faster. I was still finding myself chasing the caucasians, whom one I eventually caught up with, the younger one. He had slowed down considerably, I think due to over pushing.

Ran back in 4th position in 15:53 for a distance of 4:34 (not actually 5km), pace 3.66min/km. It's a pretty flat course. I had run my limit, but as you go faster, certain limitations will kick in. Had to improve on my cadence.

---

Michelle got first in the ladies. Unfortunately no prizes is given, as it's for everyone. This ought to be rectified next year, if it's held.

Tioman Eco Challenge: Warning! For Military Personnel Only

2011-05-25T02:10:00.001-07:00

After almost 9 hours from KL, we finally arrived...

My sis's first time here too...

A group pic before the start..

This is the easy part...

Before the start...I noticed a lot of strong guys taking part.

Sky divers putting on a show...

Hills here are indeed steep. The highest point of Tioman is 1000 meters above sea level.

Despite being a Pahangnite, I haven't been to the island before. Since the Tioman Eco Challenge is held there, with a promising 30km of trail run, I thought it would be a splendid way to visit and perhaps enjoy the trails.

Ray Ng, Mich Looi, my sis & I went in my car, with a journey that took 6 hours to reached Mersing. Then it was another 2 hours ferry ride to the island. What struck me upon reaching, was the tall & steep hills which starts almost immediately from the shores. Uh oh, this doesn't look good.

We had some briefing upon registration at Berjaya Tioman Resort. The trail is divided into 5 sections A, B, C, D & E. There's 3 checkpoints for A, B, C, and 2 chk points for D, and lastly 1 checkpoint for E. Cut off time is 7 hours. I thought I could game it in 5.

According to the spokesman, the path from A1 to C2 will be very hard, and if you can get to C2, the rest of the parts will be smooth sailing. Which is kind of untrue. We'll get to that part later.

---

Race day. Kind of lots of fanfare with skydivers & a VIP from the military to officiate. In fact there's lots of military guys taking part. And, best of all, the route is done by them as well.

The Kenyans were as usual in the international. My focus would be on Jasni, and of course superhuman Dino himself. Strategy is to just run in the front pack.

Race started, and soon we ran along the nice man made path, until we hit the hills. And that's where things get from easy to tough. First it's bloody steep. No one could run up, I just sort of trying to walk up as fast as I could, or as far as the lungs can take it.

Secondly, lots of thorny bushes, on the surface, or grown on trunks that you could have use your hand to hold them. Basically it's a bit of nuisance if you have to pass through them.

Thirdly, almost invisible small roots that you could have tripped if you aren't careful. Yes, even while walking, many times I got my foot stuck, and had almost fallen.

Needless to say, Jasni had already passed me. Dino had disappeared up front. And I was just trying to move as carefully as possible which wasn't a good idea if you want to go fast.

We had to follow yellow ribbons tied as a way point from one location to the other. Sometimes, even as a group, you might missed it, and you'll have to stop & look for it.

The ridiculous thing on steepness is, just imagine from start to A2, the height at A2 is 450 meters. It took me 40 minutes to reach A2. Then it was a bit of downhill, which was steep as well, and running is not a good idea. It's only before, and after A3 (at the waterfall), that you could run a bit.

I think Chan Mei Mei (first local lady), passed me after A2 on the downhill. The group that she was with was going downhill quite fast, and I was too chickened to follow.

The route towards B2 reached a resort at the beach. Then we have to move towards B3, and C1. Then finally go uphill (very steep as well), towards C2. While climbing the rocks near C2, I saw one guy lying on his back and resting. It taxed even the strongest guys I have seen on the trails.

I will see more of this later on.

There were some rain, which made the path more slippery, which made movement more dangerous. I was just adamant of trying to get to C2, in hope that the worse is over. Finally after 4:20, I did reached C2, which was beside the beach. I sat on the stretcher, took some bar, and drank, and it was the first time I questioned if the 7 hours cut off time is doable? Cause the problem was C2 is halfway point up to the finish.

Ok, the route should be easier, as the organizer had said. But easy it was NOT. We have to go back right into the wild bushes & hills, and it was quite wild. There's one section you have to climbed up a rock 4 meters high using a rope. It wasn't going up any major uphills, BUT the route looks like just newly hacked, goes up & down until you reached C3.

I just couldn't believe it. I thought we would be running beside man-made paths or beach, up to the end.

Finally did reached C3, which reaches Kampung Paya if not mistaken. Thoughts of DNFing was really etched in my mind. I was tired, hungry, hot, & disoriented from all the pounding up & down trails. I have got 1hr and 10 minutes left to cover 10km. Ah, this should be the easy part, so I started running.

After 5km, there's some trails we need to go through again. Nevermind, I thought, this could be the last one before we reach the beach. Then I saw the orange coloured apartment complex behind Berjaya Resort, and thought, yes, I finally made it. That's another 3km more...or so I thought.

Upon reaching the beach after the trails, I saw a guy sitting on a log, and he said he's quitting cause we only got 15minutes. I wondered why, until I found what the reason was: we have to go back up the trails again on the right!. And there was some uphills again! My spirit is almost broken, and I couldn't comprehend why we can't run on the beach? F**k this, hell, I would rather swim across than see another rock, tree trunk, roots. But I remembered what David Goggins said "Always open the door, which gave me a few more miles". Alrighty then, it's back to hill slugging.

Finally after much trail navigating insanity, I reached the final E1 checkpoint, to run up some gravel, and finally reaching the tarmac on the golf course. I couldn't be much happier upon reaching the finishing line. My sis had been waiting patiently for 2 hours more, and I didn't want to make her wait longer. This medal is so tough to get, I had thoughts of framing it up.

Time taken was 7:09:00

Dino got first, Jasni 7th, and most of the top 10 was won by military guys.

---

Ok, compared to Sabah Adventure Challenge, this is indeed harder by a few times. I didn't thought of quitting in SAC, but I had almost quit this due to the cut off time. Definitely the wildest trail I have ever been through. I mean, I have been through thorns & stuff like that, but not in a race where you are chasing for time. Some parts are dangerous, as one mistake could be fatal. I think around 50 made it back. The rest DNF.

Compared to the TNF SG? I am sorry folks, TNF SG is like a walk in the park. On a scale from 1 to 10, TNF sg is at 1 or 2, SAC around 6 and Tioman Eco challenge at 10. So if you want to kill yourself, try this.

PCC Interstate 2011: 5 days of tarmac

2011-05-06T02:39:00.000-07:00

Cycling with Poh Seng's group

Start of Day 3...

Ending at Damai Laut...

Interstate this year starts from Raub, and ends at Damai Laut, Lumut. The actual advertised distance for PCC interstate 2011 is 460km, which was a bit too short. So adding a day before and after the 3 days would make it longer.

Day 0: Cycled from KL to Raub. I've done this twice so it was basically a slow one covering 110km. The only serious climb was at Genting Sempah. Also learned that Vong, Adzim & Adeline had done the same as well. For hotels, we got a nice big house under Nice Stay hotel. It was great and not kind of crampy since most of us had bikes to ferry here and there.

This ride was important as a warm up, because I have done no mileage on the bike after Sabah Adventure Challenge, and it was the first time testing out the carbon road bike. Besides that, my right big toe was still in pain from all the impact on downhill running.

Day 1: Raub-Brinchang. This is a tough route. Basically mostly flats until you hit Sg Koyan. From the start I tagged along 2 guys who broke away from the rest of the peloton. We were quite alone until 30+km when swarms of P2K rushed up like soldiers on the battlefield. It was wet from some downpour, so drafting behind someone had water splashing onto your face. I tried to keep up with the front pack, which broke into two, but soon lost them after having the chains fell off from switching gears. Then they were long gone, so I did a lonely cycle till the last 10km up Ringlet. This is the toughest part up, as it was pouring and windy and cold.

Soon, Adzim, Andrea and some other guys caught up. With 2 or 3km to, we stopped for lunch break, which was kind of necessary after the energy sapping climbs.

Afterwards, it was a race up the hills towards Tanah Rata. I think the coffee did the trick, as I managed to put on a consistent power on the climb. When we reached Brinchang, and finally the hotel, I was glad it's done. Thinking back, this time the climb is easier compared to the last one I did under the hot afternoon sun. If it's hot, you won't have any shades, as it's a pretty new route with clearings on both sides.

Distance covered 150km

Day 2: Brinchang-Bukit Merah resort.

Started off approximately at 7am, and I couldn't wait to get back on the bike. We had to climb up Kea Farm, and then do a steep descent to Kg Raja. Now I've had this problem with my front wheel, which I think it's from the hub. Going fast downhill will create some sort of creaking sound. So to avoid that I just had to keep on pedalling while going downhill. Afraid of any mishaps, I decided to slow down just in case.

The route to Kg Raja has some uphills as well. Saw some riders, notably p2k guys, and I tried to attack on the uphills. Was fun until my shades fell off. Dismounted, and they passed. Then it was attacking again, and passed them. And then it was up the steep climb after Kg Raja, where I caught up with Sergio Consen.

Now this is the fun downhill part, but since my front hub is a bit faulty, I choosed not to go too fast. Once in awhile Sergio was in front, due to his size, he had more downhill momentum, and sometimes I was in front.

That was until when the P2k guys came rushing downhill at high speed. I think it's closed to 70kmh, and the leader of the pack is still pedalling! I had all my gears up, pedalling hard and still left in the dust. I decided to dropped back due to safety reasons. It was dangerous weaving through all the sharp corners.

I think Andrea, and a few other guys caught up and we pedalled to Simpang Pulai. Seems like the whole front group had stopped, due to a puncture. I didn't opt to wait, so it was up to the traffics then met with 2 other cyclist. I asked one of them if they know the way, which then he gave an affirmative.

So we pedalled towards sunway city, took a right turn towards Tambun, but somehow he wasn't sure of the way, until we saw the main pack passed by. Shit, it was back chasing the P2k guys, and I had to pedalled furiously to get back into the group. Missing the peloton means missing the fast train to Bkt Merah. Luckily it was some traffic lights that had to make them stop, or else they would have dissappeared.

Riding in the peloton, and going 40kmh was just great. We were riding fast and the locations just passed by without much of a notice. Once I got reprimanded for not 'doing the work' and asked to go to the back. So I tried to figured out what he meant. I think it's probably I wasn't too close to the front wheel or something like that, which could break apart the peloton. But actually I wasn't comfortable drafting such a close distance with the front guy.

I saw something that had me in awe. One of the cyclist took off both hands from the bar, took a bottle, unscrew it, poured powdered electrolytes, mixed it with water from another bottle, and threw the other bottle away, all while doing 35kmh.

Soon, we stopped by at Sg siput for lunch. I had my cereal bar, downed with some drinks. From here it's another 80km to Bkt Merah, still quite a long way to go.

There was a steep climbed next to a highway, and that's where the group broke when some attacked. When I descended, managed to regrouped with Adzim & Sergio. Soon we were racing on the flats and some even drafted lorries. Then I noticed the group was having a rest stop at a petrol station on the right. I decided to push on.

Now it was time trialling session. Riding with the peloton was fast & saved quite some energy, but I preferred a solo more. There's no cues to give to the back or someone to chase. Only you and the bike. The route was flat onwards, so it's easily 35kmh over. I wasn't sure of the road and had to stopped once to ask for directions.

Adzim had mentioned a surprise when we reached the resort, and yes, it was a bloody steep climb up a few hundred meters. After almost 200km, this was tough, but I didn't want to walk up.

Finally reaching the resort at 1:45pm. Distance covered 200km

Day3: Bkt Merah - Damai Laut Lumut

It ought to be an easy day today, with a distance of 110km. The organiser gave us a choice to ride uphill or a longer flat section, of which most of us voted the flat one. From the start, we cycled behind the PCC 4wd vehicle, until the main highway.

As the signal is given, 3 guys in white & green jersey took off, so I mounted a chase, which I was able to caught up with them. We took turns doing some work. Not long after, the main pack caught up with us again. Yet it was still a fast group, as we easily reached 40 above.

Then it was a right turn, then left turn into some village route, which wasn't even, and had holes and certain sections. I found myself at the front, and unfortunately, my back tyre busted. So, it was 10 minutes down fixing the tyre. Poh Seng dropped by and then we're off again cycling. But somehow I lost the fast legs prior, so we weren't going very fast.

He wanted to catch up with his group, so both of us pushed on until we caught up with them. Riding in this group was kind of nice cruising around 30-35kmh. We had a stop for break. Then it was back to riding.

As we were heading towards Pantai Remis, another group doing 40kmh passed by. I couldn't resist the temptation to go fast and hopped on. Unfortunately they stopped at a petrol station soon after. So it was back to solo cycling until some guys caught up.

Then a huge guy with a TT bike surged ahead. I tried to move up draft him, but he seemed so strong mashing the pedals that I soon lost him. He was doing speeds exceeding 40kmh, and it was just hard to keep up.

The route to the resort wasn't easier as there's some hills to conquer. And it's all worth it once you reached the scenic Damai Laut resort.

Distance: 110km

Day 4: Damai Laut-KL

After 4 days of cycling, surprisingly I wasn't too beaten up. I think it's due to all the nice drafting riding in a peloton.

Adzim and I were supposed to ride together, but he started at 7am, while I started 45 minutes later. So, it was a solo ride all the way back KL. To keep things fast, I tried to be aero as possible while maintaining 30-35kmh.

We did a few exhanges of message to meet somewhere ahead, but we were too far ahead, and I sensed that he's going faster.

Route was flat as a pancake, except approaching Sg Buluh, and going into KL area.

After 9 hours on the bike, and 233km, I finally reached home. Bonus was getting an average of 30.3kmh.

Total 5 days: 803.3km

---

Sabah Adventure Challenge Ultra Run: Paradise in Tambunan

2011-04-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

Lai Kuan, Edwin Goh & Tony...

I had to smile just for the cameras, but in fact I was pretty wasted...

Trudging along...not easy at all..

Race day 2 start...

Reaching CP6, I think I was in more than 10th placing...

With Aunt Helena's homestay house...

I think the Sabah book was a nice gift...

I'll have to admit. The first time I saw the distance of 60km of trails over two days, I thought it was easy game. After having done them, easy isn't a suitable description.

Initially we're supposed to run 30km day 1 and 30km day 2. However the last few days, with incessant rain pouring over Sabah, they had to changed the route for both ultra runners & adventure racers, due to landslides.

Tony, Lai Kuan, and Edwin, departed in the same flight from LCCT and we arrived at the hotel at KK for registration. Nothing much really, just checking in our name & getting the bib. Then we're all transported via bus to Tambunan.

As for accomodation, I think our homestay owner is one of the nicest person I ever known, called Helena. She has let us stayed for 3 nights and cooked dinner too. Coincidentally it's the starting line for day 2 as well, located at Kampung Mansok. There were 5 of us there, 3 from Singapore (james, Ching Soon, Teo) , and 1 french guy (Vincent Casanova...I am jealous of his name).

Day1 Race:

Julie had told me of Dydimus Talaji, who had clocked 3:41 at Kinabalu Climbathon 2006, doing the race as well. Now, I've tried twice and failed at both accounts. So this is indeed serious competition.

We started running from the Tambunan Village Resort Center, then headed north eastwards for 4km. The adventure racers have to run the same distance as us, and they'll continue with the bikes after the run.

No sooner, Dydimus came to the fore, and I joined in as well. I think we're doing quite a fast pace. Earlier the Aussie Solomon team was ahead. After like 20 minutes, there's a sharp right uphill, which leads to CP1. I wasn't sure and asked him if it was the right trail. After checking the map, it looks like it is. I think I've never seen such a steep trail before, and we had to walked.

After signing in at CP1, it was some more uphill before we reached a gate that can be opened. Then there was 2 roads. One uphill on the right, the other straight ahead. Dydimus took the right, and I was once again questioning if it's the right one. After checking the compass, it was wrong, and we went the other way.

Then we reached a bamboo gate, which you had to climbed over. Some halting here, and the rest of the pack reached us, including the solomon guys, and some other runners. After this, it was kind of like a chase pack. We kept running, and slipping over muddy terrain, with each one of us not willing to slow down.

As the route became smaller & wilder, it was harder to find. Some stop was needed to verify our bearings, but we didn't got lost. I noticed the solomon guys had a tow line tied to each other, something I haven't seen before. The guy at the back would read the map while the front guy ran ahead.

After CP2, it was heading downhill abit towards a stream. Dydimus and some others took a short cut, but the solomon guys, and another guy named Matthiew Ling, proceeded to take the main road. I joined this group thinking it was better to run further instead of getting lost. Anyway, soon we reached the earlier group who had stopped by a hut to ask for directions. I guess not much difference anyway, as we ran together again.

Then we went down some really seriously steep & muddy slopes. I had to slow down considerably. It was here that Matthiew strained his ankle. Dydimus and the front pack soon disappeared ahead.

After the stream crossing, it was uphill again. Now, certain hill sections here are pretty steep. Running is a waste of energy. I think all of us walked, but the solomon guys walking pace is way faster than my walking pace. Soon, they dissapeared as well.

I fell twice on the course. Once during downhill while stepping on a hard stone, and another time after crossing a bridge just before CP4. 2 adventure racers team caught up with me here as well.

As I reached CP 3, a huge guy in white shirt caught up with me (adventure race), we kept on running. Then we bumped into the solomon guys who had headed the wrong direction into a village. Yet after that, they still run/walk faster than my pace.

As I approaced CP 4, the route was made of concrete pavement, which went down a bridge. As I signed in, I was surprised to see no runners had passed. I had actually reached CP4 first. However I still had this feeling that that couldn't be true, until I saw Dydimus running on the opposite direction. Perplexed, I asked him, and he said he had got lost. So he was running to CP4 to get his name there.

Anyway, it's still a long way towards CP4a (ending). The route was made tougher by the heat & many more uphills & downhills. I was just glad to see the finishing, when I spotted some 4wds and tents.

Now at this point I didn't believe I was first until I really checked in. They had a rafia string as the crossing, and some camera men was there. I couldn't be more happy. I finally won a running race. But I wasn't too overjoyed. Dydimus came in second with Abdul Khaliq (Singaporean) together just 5 minutes apart.

Distance: 32km Time:4:12:41

Day2:

The adventure racers would bike from TVRC, and doing the same route from CP2 onwards. The runners starts at CP2. I've been memorizing the instructions from the map, and could recall every single thing. Rumors had it, that today would be easier.

But easy it was not, as the start is a road that's so steep and long, the only comparison is the sharp turn up Genting Peak. And that was a hundred meters. This was almost 1km or more. We were let off after 7:30am. Immediately I pushed the pace. I think Dydimus followed. I know I had to lost them on the uphill, or just to test if they could really follow my pace. Soon afterwards I couldn't see them. I was confident that if I pushed the same intensity, I could game this race. I had wanted to win this race convincingly & decisively.

Today's route wasn't as confusing as day 1. I went along until CP4 doing 2 hours. Saw some bikes lying there, which means the adventure racers had reached. But it was a hard sight to see some of them pushing their bikes uphill. Running up these steep slopes had been hard. I think pushing a 10kg bike is harder still.

From the start until CP5 (which is also CP2), I was in first position, with Dydimus probably 10 min behind. Now here was my mistake. There's 2 routes up CP6. I took the longer one, which had some stream crossing. CP6 sits on top of hamburger hill, which is a bloody steep hill with uphills & downhills that can kill your legs.

When I reached CP6, the leader had came in 40 minutes earlier. I know then, it was hard to chase them. But I kept on going. By this time it was getting hotter. Had to stopped at a small house to get some water just in case. The 10km almost flat route in the heat back was probably the worst journey of all. I was also low in energy. I had taken only 1 cereal bar & energy drink, and I think it wasn't enough. So the journey back was more to run/walk. My only motivation was sitting at the restaurant at TVRC having iced milo.

Some runners soon caught up, including Abdul Khaliq. But I somehow managed to get ahead until the finishing in 4th place with a time of 5:09:28, that had placed me overall 3rd.

Distance: 37km Time:5:09:28

The next morning, with no race ahead, only did I realized Tambunan is a very idyllic place, with cool breeze, and unique vegetation, unlike any other I have seen. I haven't been paying attention to the scenery much during race, so today was more into savoring what went by.

---

Some thoughts on the event. It's very well managed, with very punctual timing. If the organiser said it starts at 8, they really mean at 8 and not 5 minutes later. I think one of the nice feeling you'll have, is the organiser makes it as though you mattered. Almost everything is taken care off, so you don't need to worry on the directions & logistics.

Tambunan is really a beautiful placed, situated 500m above sea level. It could be hot, but generally it was cooling after evening. But one thing I didn't anticipate was the hills. If you thought FRIM steroid hill is a killer one, try imagining multiples of that in one race course, and some even steeper and longer too.

By the way, the same organiser will organised a 100km trail run in Sabah in November 2011. I might join this one.

*pics copyright belong to their rightfull owners*

Kenyir Tri 2011: Wettest Tri Ever

2011-04-12T02:54:00.000-07:00

Nice view, if sans rain...

The rupiah joke is always up...

New route, the bike route (red) turns right, and we had to climb that #Q$%# hill.

Along side Msia Ironman legend (Sofian)

Opps..a bunch of guys at my tail...

Damn...I missed my running train...

Sofian and Richard Tang should turn pro now...

This year's kenyir tri was probably the wettest in history. I am used to monsoons at the eastern coastal areas during the season, so it wasn't something I haven't experienced. However it's odd that it came at this time of the year. Usually monsoons period hovers end of the year.

With such bad weather, the organiser had almost called off the bike leg.

Now this wasn't something I had wished, neither does the rest of us. The last time I was in kenyir was 3 years back for my maiden tri, so to have that, would have been a bummer.

Fortunately, the race went on.

Now for the swim, I hadn't been doing much swimming. So I wasn't really going fast. The start was ridiculously chaotic, as if suddenly everyone wants to sprint distance swimming. It took awhile to coast down the heart rate, but my strokes were pretty bad. When I came up, I saw Sofian along side. And seems like many athletes had made their way up.

Went up to the bike transition, and took awhile before I managed to get in the socks. I think that could have been 30 secs, as I tried to get my bearings right. I didn't brought the shades, and that proved to be an error later.

Quickly I took the bike and ran to the starting bike line, mount on it, and quickly dashed up the hill. Passed Sofian as I went up. Bike is not my forte, but I've been doing tons of hills at hulu langat, so the hills were pretty ok. But I was afraid I couldn't hammer on flats.

This year's bike route took a change. Rather than turning left towards the dam, now we have to turn right, go down a steep downhill, then turn left for a 12km rolling route, and back.

Since I hadn't got the shades on, riding behind someone has water splashing all over your face. Doesn't help that mother nature dumps torrents of blinding rain when you're going fast.

There wasn't much drafting to be done. I tried to work with someone for a few k, but that guy pace was a tad slow, so I thought I would just do it all alone. I did pulled him for sometime though. Before the 5km u-turn, I saw the first guy on the bike, then a peloton passing by. Opps seems like I am way far behind.

After the u-turn, it was pretty much a lonely affair, save for another athlete who managed to zoom passed. We cycled together, but not much team work, till we reached the dreaded hills back. I reckoned it's steeper than Bukit Hantu. Some cyclist were zig zagging on the way up. I thought, no way I am going do that, so I stood up and went straight up.

As I went down the slopes towards the transition area, I saw Dush, Andy with a bunch of guys already running in a train. Opps, looks like I got some catching to do. I think I could punch this one. The previous day I did a test run 4.84 km flat in 17:37 (pace 3.63m/km), so I know I could muster the speed needed.

Soon enough, passed Andy, then some thai? guys, and finally Dush after the left turn. Then caught up with the first girl winner, and then passed another 2 guys along side her. Afterwards, it was running on the dam itself.

It could have been scenic had it been not raining. I peered at the horizon and could see 4-5 lads around 500m in front. I have been running at high intensity, and this time it was the time to kick it. However it was futile effort, as I couldn't reach any of them.

Surprisingly I saw Shahrom coming down after the final u-turn towards the finishing. So I thought I couldn't be doing that bad.

After crossing the line, I went to checked the clock timing and was pretty surprised to do 2:13:08. I hadn't wore a watch, thus I was racing blind. I guess racing without one feels more carefree and you just go on chasing the next guy.

Got 5th as well in my age group (30-39). Something I thought wasn't possible.

---

Summary: I was able race at a higher holding heart rate. So, in terms of cardio fitness, I was ready. However the swim was terrible. Yeap... I was actually lazy and skipped some sessions.

So, it's back to the drawing board. Lots of work to be done.

Cameron Interstate Ride

2011-02-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

Genting Sempah...not much riders today...

Stopped for a gel.

Raub!

Bleerggh route towards Sg Koyan.

Felda Sg Koyan...

Approaching the ranges of Titiwangsa

The route's condition is pretty good.

Long long climb...

And the view is nice..

Oh, finally seeing Cameron...

A tribute to my bike...

Kea farm..

Going uphills towards Kea farm

At this point, it's all downhill from Cameron...enjoy an hour of bliss..

Pretty descriptive...

The valleys beside the road.

Kampar...still way far from home...

Now if there's one thing that intrigued me, it was how many routes one can take, to go up Cameron Highlands. I've done 2 well known ones, Simpang Pulai & from Tapah. There's another one from Gua Musang. And it was a surprise to find out that there's a new route from Sg Koyan. It doesn't exist in Google maps, hence the surprise.

From some googling, it seems the route was completed last year. And there's some info on the GPS elevation from Sg Koyan to Ringlet as well. Day 1 of Interstate will start from Raub to Brinchang and that's a good 145km distance. But I was wondering if I could start from KL.

So here goes. Started from KL at 7:36am. I had wanted to start early, but due to some issues, I woke up around 3am and hadn't slept much then. I had packed 3 tubes, 1 spare tyre, a pair of clothes, tools, and 2 Accelerade gels. Yes, that's my only nutrition if something goes wrong.

The bag wasn't heavy, which is close to 3kg. Sped off on the MRR2 to head towards gombak. Reached HOA with the distance of 27.4km only. I thought it was 30km, but oh well. Then it was a slow grind up Genting Sempah, and quick descent towards Bentong.

At Bentong, I stopped for nasi lemak & iced kacang. This would be the last time for a heavy meal for the day. Then it was reaching raub (distance 113km). It was getting kind of hot. And there's nothing better than downing 2 cups of cane water, then eating fruits. I was kinda bloated...but I think that would go off soon.

Then it was embarking on the unknown route towards Sg Koyan. The route can be described as rolling and not so well maintained. The tarmac looks like it could use some repair. You will passthrough a section of palm oil plantations until you reached Sg Koyan itself. Had a bit of a scare as a "musang" ran across the road. I had almost knocked into it, but missed it inches.

Reaching Sg Koyan marks 163km. Had to stopped for some tasteless chicken rice, because the route ahead will have no stalls or shops for one to refill. There's a Petronas section ahead from the turning into Pos Betau around 1km. I head there first to refill on soya & some can drinks, instead of only having water.

Started from the junction towards Ringlet at approx 3:15pm. From my guess, it's a good 10okm up to brinchang. And I was hoping to reach Ringlet in daylight, if possible.

The route is basically devoid of vehicles, pretty well maintained, and new as well. There's a few uphills & downhills up to Pos Betau. And from there the steepness of the climb slowly increased. But it's still rolling up and down as well. So it's kind of frustrating in that you hope that you wanted to keep the elevation gained, but then it's all gone on the downhill. Brinchang is at the height of 1500m, so it's not going to be easy.

At the 44km mark from Sg Koyan, the route became visibly harder as it snakes up the mountain range. I think this is when tough becomes tougher. It's a good 2-3km non stop climb, then some flats. And then some more climb. But there's some downhill section as well.

The first visible signs of nearing Ringlet is farms on the side of the road. At this point I was really bonking. I didn't know what the distance was to ringlet, and I could only speculate. Finally a signboard for some hotels in Brinchang came into view, stating it's another 28km up. Yes, that's the only distance marker for the entire climb up Ringlet. But 28km isn't on flats.

I had to stopped for awhile. My back were aching from the bag, and I was famished. Downed a gel, then went back into the climbing game. Finally to my joy, I reached a sundry shop, so I stopped by, grab a bread, some drinks and chilled out at the stool outside the shop. If there's a definition of bonking, I think I found it there and then. I was staring and marvelling at the farms set up high on the peaks of the hills. I wonder how on earth did they build those structures up there.

But it was getting dark, and it's time to get on the bike and pedal. There's still rolling hills, nothing pretty much hard until you reached the final long steep climb up Ringlet. It's a good 1-2km. I was hungry again, so I stopped to have tosai with egg, and to get some rest. It tasted so bad, that I didn't finish it.

It's another 15km from Ringlet. And by this time, it's truly dark. I restarted cycling at 8:15pm. There's some downhill from Ringlet, then some flats, and then 7-8km of climbs up Tanah Rata. I had my front LED light on, and since it's climbing, it's pretty safe as long as vehicles can see you. At this point, it's just trying to complete this whole thing in one piece. Slowly but surely, I am gaining distance, so that's all that I needed to know.

After Tanah Rata, it was pretty flat, but once I reached Brinchang at 9:30pm, it's a final 15% gradient up again. Pretty crazy way to finish this whole route. I was just glad to finish off this ride safely.

Dinner was pretty tasteless. After such an effort, the food doesn't taste good at all. I checked into Kowloon hotel, and promptly slept.

Day 1: 263km

---

In the morning I went sight seeing around the area. I hadn't explored it from the last visit. I visited the nearby Strawberry Park Farm, and that was an enjoyable experience looking at so many types of flowers which I hadn't seen before. Had strawberries, honey & yogurt with tea, and it was just splendid in the cool morning air.

Today's ride was just basically a relaxing one. I was taking my time to enjoy every bit of Cameron, so the ride was pretty slow. Then descending from Cameron was pretty exhilarating, as you don't need to do much work to keep the wheels going. But there's some hiccups on the way down. Somehow the front rim had a screeching sound as though the brakes were applied. But after some checks, the brake calipers were opened at its widest, so how was that possible? It only happens randomly.

Then as I reached Sg Pulai, my back tyre burst. After some checks, the cause was the old rim tape being in a state of damage at certain parts. It's made of plastic. And some parts weren't even, so that putting back the tube meant that the whole tyre isn't even. I was worried that puncture might recur. I slowly cycled to Ipoh to checkin into the hotel . Question was should I fixed it?

Day 2: 89km

---

After getting some info on the bike shops near town, I think it's best to get it fixed. It didn't took long, but cost me having to start at 10am. I was just hoping to reach KL within day light.

So, this time it's TT mode, heads down and pedal like mad. I was kind of happy to see an average of 30kmh after 100km. But it's been hot the whole day, and late noon was hot as well. I stopped a few times to get drinks, lunch or a wash.

After reaching KKB, I decided to try the Rawang route for a change, back to KL. It's a bit further, and totally unfit for cycling. Firstly the traffic is bad at the route up Templar's park. Lorries were moving 100kmh beside me, which made me wonder what in the world are they rushing for. I had thought that the climbs here would be minimal compared to Ulu yam, but roughly you still do the same work.

Then it was KL back again. Got stucked in a bit of traffic as usual. After cycling through Jln Kuching, Loke Yew, finally I reached home at 7:15pm

Day 3: 217km

Total: 576km for 3 days.

---

For those doing PCC Interstate this year, be prepared for lots of climbs. Try broga reverse until you feel comfortable as you'll have climbs of similar steepness and distance. The route from Sg Koyan to Brinchang will test your climbing skills to the max, and I am not kidding.

Fraser Loop Revisited

2011-02-21T20:36:00.000-08:00

Raub...pretty small town.

Hotel seri raub...and I believe it's fully booked for Interstate 2011

Tras village...

Gap..as usual

Faris & Anas...

Dam at KKB...

This is the start of a long continuous climb up Gohtong. It's probably 5-6km with no flats in between. So be well prepared...

I had wanted to do a route which exceeds 200km, and frasers provide an easy answer. This time the difference was adding Raub into the equation, and climbing up Gohtong Jaya.

I've just signed up for interstate 2011, hence popping into Raub. Starting from HOA gombak to Raub is 84km. It's a pretty small town. But bigger than Klawang imho. I was eyeing which hotel would be suitable for booking. There's Hotel Seri Raub smacked right in the middle of the town. But there's numerous other smaller hotels which isn't far from the center. The most you would be out, is around2-3km.

After Raub, it was heading to Tranum via a 10km long road which passes Tras, a small village just 2-3km before Tranum. Then it was a boring 20km climb up to the Gap. I've never liked this route, with it's monotonous view and turns, there's not much difference even if you've cycled a few miles. At Gap, had nasi lemak & burger for lunch. Then my friend Anas, who was at the top of Frasers messaged, that he's coming down. I've seen him in a few years, so I waited for them to descend. They had started from KKB, and it was a leisure ride for them back.

After some chat, I had to speed off cause of the batang kali-gohtong climb. Had to stopped at batang kali to refill bottles with water & icy cold coconut drink, before embarking on one of the hardest climb. Yes, it's hard no matter how experienced you are. In my books, if you can sit patiently for more than one hour climbing a steepness as of bukit hantu for more than 10km, you are considered a true road cyclist. It was pretty hot as well, which made the climb a suffer fest.

Reached Gohtong, had some food, and then it was all the way back to HOA. Total distance is 210.5 km

Putrajaya Twilight Ultramarathon

2011-02-17T06:40:00.000-08:00

At the start of the run...

Before the start...

Mich & Ray Ng, this part is across the bridge before the u-turn at the PICC

Jamie, Frank, Karen & Kelvin Ng

Pacing with Ray...

Karen setup a nice refueling station, meant as charity for Orang Asli

Well, I didn't ran a marathon. And actually I didn't sign up. In fact it's only 2 loops (22km). Main reason was I am not into ultras this year, so it's more like supporting the other runners.

A few crazy guys are there as well. Jeff Ooi had been running earlier, and was planning to cover 100km. He managed to do 70plus. Frank and the rest were planning to do 50km. Karen Loh also did a 50km distance.

Ray & mich was there as well. We just ran at our own pace, which was pretty fast to cover 2 loops. I think I was doing it fast just to finish the whole thing fast, so I don't need to run longer.

Then it was just hanging around looking at the other runners, and chit chatting.

I think it's pretty good that more & more runners are doing ultras. That said, ultras is not easy. Know yourself, and know how much your body can take before injury becomes permanent. That's the most important rule to know, cause everyone is different. The more you know how much you are willing to hurt, and knowing that you can come back, the safer you are in the long term.

There's another twilight event in Singapore. All the best to those who are going for that as well.

FTAAA Cross Country Run

2011-02-17T06:09:00.000-08:00

Now if you're wondering how on earth do you find 'cross country' terrain in the heart of KL, you're not the only one. The course was changed last minute to start from padang merbok, and I couldn't be bothered to look at the map. Will go with the flow and we'll see then if it's the real deal.

By the way, I was disappointed with the only Malaysians regulations stated in the form. When I went for the registration at FTAAA office, I saw a well known fellow runner from Morocco, Ahmed, sitting with his friend pondering on the form to find out where it stated so. It was in malay, and not english. After scrutinizing the fine print, the rule does say so. So I told him, yeah, it's only Malaysians. Then he went on saying he's been working here for some time, and I could feel that he's not happy with the rules.

Now, to understand where this is coming from, I recalled there's a few discussions in the running scene, between top local runners who could have bagged the win, if not for the foreigners, last year. So, somehow, it's becoming to come to this. Our local races are now becoming more inwards rather than welcoming some foreign competitors. And that is a bad thing in the long run. Shunning foreign runners reflects how bad our sportsmanship is, and how some of us, just want to join races and win. But they forgot that not all foreign runners are joining for the sake of winning. They might come here, miles away, just to join a few local races for fun. If you look at the economic aspect, that's good for our tourism.

Well, as for the race, at the start, I managed to edge into 4th placing. I remember Jasni was in front with 2 other indian runners. Then we approached the trails, which was a bit of downhill action, and I had to slow down considerably, to avoid tripping or slipping. I was wearing the racers, and practically there's no traction on the soil. Then I lost my way abit, and another 2 runners passed by. As I came out from the trails, a few hundred meters and it was up a slope. Another runner passed me by.

I was already running at almost full capacity, so I tried to slow down things a little. When we were running at the tarmac, finally I put some speed, but that didn't matter as the front guys, and back guys were not letting up. As we went into the lake gardens, I remember seeing one guy running straight out into the highway. I thought that's odd, and after some direction searching, the correct route was leftwards and up towards the planetarium.

More hills, and more hills at the planetarium before speeding downhill. The chinese dude who was in UM race yesterday was still hot on my heels behind. But I just kept on maintaining the pace and I think he soon dropped off.

Then as went twist and turn around the garden's walkpath, another chinese guy came close and we're running side by side. The route is pretty confusing, and the only markers I could see was plastic ribbons tied on trees. So much for direction. As we ran out into the traffic at the main road, it was then all out. He couldn't catch up, so I knew I was pretty safe.

Finished the race 6th in 0:44:55. I think the leaders were doing 40min.

They were giving out prizes to top 10, so managed to get a prettier medal than the rest. :)

UM Larian Gemilang Run

2011-02-13T21:29:00.001-08:00

Mad dash at the start...

Sprinting all out at the finishing...

Heard this run weeks ago, but only registered after it closed. However, after further enquiries, I managed to get in. My sis, who is currently studying, joined too.

It was advertised as 10km run. And it didn't start on schedule, which kind off pissed the runners waiting for at least an hour or so. There was even a senamrobik warm up, and a speech by the VIP. Considering that it wasn't professionally organised, I was pretty ok with it. But I don't think it's a good idea to start late based on advertised. Or else we won't be here so early.

Managed to met Paul Liong, who was running barefoot. And his sifu is no other than Tan Wah Seng, probably Msia's most recognised barefoot runner.

The UPNM guys, notably Chan Jun Sen were there. And Barry Lee, a fellow Ironman, was there as well.

The ladies were let off first, followed by the guys. Since it was a short distance, the start was a mad dash out. I tried following a group of indian runners who wasn't accelerating, but were setting up the pace.

We ran out UM, on onto the ramp downwards along Federal Highway. Now the shocking part is, there's no cones on the left for us. Crossing the road from the side up the bridge requires risking your life. However, I kept going as hard as my breathing is possible. A chinese guy in blue shirt ran past me at this point.

Then we reentered UM, and we had to run up this long steep hill, which by then I managed to catch up with the chinese guy. I didn't want to kill myself up the hill. And as I ran downwards, I saw another runner in front (Ran speed? based on FB). Caught up with him, but then he quicken his pace and dropped me.

Now I guess he thought I was left behind. He slowed down. So I quickly ran silently behind, matching his pace, as to obscure the fact I was just 1 meter back. When we reached the final 200m, I went all out. Lungs are at max capacity. Legs are at longest possible strides. And all that just for a 7th placing. He later said he didn't know I was at the back.

The nice thing about the run is that prizes were given up to 30th placing! My sis managed to get 14th placing for a hamper. Mich and Oh Yann Kai (2nd) got prizes as well.

PACM Track Meet 2011

2011-02-05T07:38:00.000-08:00

At the start of the 3200m...

Our 4x400 mens team

Home sprint for the last 150m

Our team for the mixed relay in the format of 200m,400m,600m, and 800m

It's been a very very long time since I ran on a track. In fact if I can recall correctly, since I left university in 2001. And that wasn't a race, but just for usual training for a few rounds. The last time I actually raced in one dates back to high school in 1996.

I used to aced 800m and 1500m during school days. I wasn't a sprinter, so long distance was where my forte lies. The best achievement was winning the cross country 6km sth, in form 5. The previous years I managed to secure the top 10 placing overall. Somehow, I just prefer to run these distances and I find it appealing to race longer.

Now, the only event that I signed up for was the 3000m. The rest where too short, and needed sprinting capabilities, which is something I don't have.

During race day, the 3k became a 3.2km for 8 loops round the track. It was the first event of the day. Jasni was there, so I knew competition would be tough. When the horn blew, as usual, pace was set and the fast runners soon move forward to secure the pace. Jasni, and Ong Chin was fast, followed by a light blue runner pushing forward. Then another westerner surged ahead as well, and Goh too.

I was left behind, and I thought my pace was too fast, so I just hoped I could catch up with them. This proves to be true as I finally caught up with the westerner, Goh, and the light blue runner at the last 2 laps.

But Jasni and Ong Chin was too far ahead. Jasni crossed the line when I was about 150m back. Placing was 3rd overall and 2nd in my age category.

--
The other 2 events were impromptu. 4x100 men and mixed relay. Now running these 2 was totally something new. Running 400m was hard as I find it hard to sustain the momentum during the last 100m.

And running 800m was awesome as well. Our team was leading the pack, and once Lian Bee Hoon passed the baton, I quickly went all out, as Ong Chin was at the back chasing. I think he managed to edged closer throughout the run. When the last 150m came about, it was all guns ablazing, as I used maximum effort to push for the finishing to win it for the team.

The surprising thing was, I only started sweating after the 800m leg of the mixed relay.

Overall, it was a good event organised by the Pacesetters group as people from all ages, and races mixed together to race something they love.

Ride: Simpang Pulai - Kg Raja

2011-01-25T01:34:00.000-08:00

Breathtaking mountains...

The valley below...you can see the road going up from miles away.

Some serious erosion..

After having done Tapah-Brinchang, I hunger for another ride, but this time Sg Pulai (near Ipoh), to Kg Raja. I've heard this route is safer than the one from Tapah, but with the recent bus crash with 27 fatalities, I have doubts to how safe it was.

I departed quite late from KL (8am), which was caused by lousy sleeping the night before. Drove all the way to Sg Pulai, and started the ride around 10:45am. Yea, it was late morning, and my head was still in a state of drowsiness. Partly from lack of sleep, partly from driving 2 hours on the road.

As I unpacked the bike, to my horror, I forgotten the bike pump. Now the rule to riding is always self sufficiency. You've got to make sure you have everything spares just in case. And I don't really like the feeling of riding far crippled by the lack of tools. But I took a gamble anyway, hoping for the best.

As the ride started from the main crossroads into the blasted quarry hills and beyond, it was soon obvious there won't be much shades covering. And it was getting hot.

After 8km, I passed the corner where the bus had crashed. Debris is still visible on the left side of the road, and black patches were around there as well. The divided has been repaired. As I move on, I find it hard to imagine so many perished at the same spot.

As the elevation gains, the view changed as well. What struck me was the tall mountains towering just beside the road. It was almost vertical up, and I can't help to slow down just to appreciate.

But I was getting hungrier on the way, and tired as well. It's mostly climbs and frankly too much of it, is draining my energy. By 40km, I stopped to rest and have some snacks, which wasn't really enough. Luckily a lone food shop provided some coffee, and fried bananas, which I desperately needed.

And it was getting cold as well, almost to the point of drizzling but not raining. As it was the monsoon season, the easternly winds were blowing hard and dumping rain as I headed downwards towards Kg raja.

Finally reaching Kg Raja, which looks like a small town, and less exciting than Brinchang. Had lunch there as well. It was in my earlier plan to cycle to Brinchang, but time wasn't enough, so it's back to Sg Pulai again.

After the initial climb up to the top from Kg raja, the downhill is perhaps the most exciting part of the ride. Since traffic is sparse, you could have the whole road by yourself.

I didn't really took note of the time reaching back, but it's probably 4 something. Anyway, I was thankful I had no punctures, or else I've got to try to hitch a ride back.

---

This route is really recommended for its' scenic mountain view and valleys. The next ride is going to cover one big loop from Sg pulai-kg Raja-Brinchang-Tapah and back.

MR25 Ultra Marathon 2010: Another Gut Distress

2011-01-15T01:47:00.000-08:00

This year more Malaysians participated. And the route had some changes as well. Rather than having one big loop around the lake, now a detour is set at the 5km mark.

I stayed with Frank this year, same hotel as last year. Had a pleasant get together for dinner with the whole gang. I guessed most of us ate more than usual for the next day.

At the start, I was trying to set a pace which was not that fast, and not too slow. Soon, I was passed by one indian runner and eventually the winner (wearing red, and lightweight shoes). I tried tailing them for some time, but guessed their pace was too fast. Soon, I settled on just setting my own pace.

I think the first loop was done in 50minutes. The next was around 55, and third loop is around an hour. I could remember I did 4 loops in 3:45.

Soon, things began to go downhill from there. I was too hungry. Bought some food from the cafetaria nearby, and had iced coffee.

5th loop was ok, but after then end of sixth, I knew that things were coming to a halt. Senses of gut discomfort soon came. I just sat at the chair and sort of waiting for things to turn around. But, it didn't came.

I knew my race stops once I vomitted. So that's that. I reported back to the time keeper that I'll just do 6 loops (in 6:32).

---

There's some goals that I have set which is doing 5 loops in less than 6 hours, which was achieved. Overall, I am happy with the timing, but non too happy with things crashing down from my gut.

I would also like to say that in 2011, I'll do less long distance. Heck, I think I am too lazy to do a marathon now, or ultra. I'll just focus on my weakness which is speed. Another reason is also, I think I've done and been there, so I don't really miss doing long distance.

Year 2011 has a few major ultras on the calendar. I wish those joining the best of luck. It's not going to be easy, but with training and patience, I think most can make it.

Thanks to Tey for the photos.

Malakoff 12km run: Not So Killer Hills

2011-01-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

I don't recall where was this...

I've heard this run was hilly. But after KRI 12km run in Bkt Kinding, it was pretty tame by comparison.

Before the race, was glad to meet Kevin Siah and his family. He had just finish Ironman Busselton (IMWA) and was there to support.

Now the odd thing is they let the women go first, and men 10min later. I stood just behind a few guys before the starting line. When the horn went, it was a mad dash off. I noticed one guy in white went very quickly up, and it took awhile to realize it was Shahrom.

Somehow, I manged to bumped into 2nd. As the uphills came, Casey went pass. Soon, I find Don Khor and I believe Kevin, came pass.

I was already going almost maximum intensity, so I just hope I could trail these guys. I passed Don at one point, but I think a few KM afterwards, he passed me. This old man is not to be reckoned with.

Now, the one thing I realized running at high speed is the relative speed between yours and others. We were passing the women's runners and catching from behind. They seemed so stationary.

But then, an african runner came blasting from behind. And that makes me look comparatively stationary. I soon found out that he started 3 minutes late.

As the 2nd loop ends on the uphill, I was beginning to sense cramps coming in. Blasted all the way down hill to the end, and I was just happy to make it below 48 min (47min 42).

Also found myself in 5th in my category as well, which was a pleasant surprise.

KRI 12km Run: Killer Hills

2010-12-29T18:32:00.000-08:00

Home run...

The next day after the Cameron's bike leg, was the KRI run which I had signed up. Starting course is exactly same as the KRI's century's ride, that I've participated last year.

Thanks to Lydia Yeow who had helped took my bib, albeit they put me in the wrong category. So a new one has to be written.

Ray Ng & Michelle where there too, which was a surprise cause I think they would lay off after Angkor Wat run.

Before the start, I didn't expect much. Just see if I could run as possibly fast as I could. I did hope that the previous cycling adventure haven't left me debilitated.

After the horn blew, and 2km into the run, it became apparent that hills will be a major hurdle. Now we are talking about elevation say 30-40% at certain stretch. All I could do is making sure running cadence goes up on uphills, then sprint like mad on the downhill.

In this manner I was able to hold 3 and 4th position throughout the race. But as always, I don't want to press the accelerator to the max, cause I don't know the route. I don't know if one downhill will lead to another uphill, so I had to stay safe.

But there's one guy behind whom I tried to keep a safe distance. I didn't knew that he (Wong Lip Soon) was in a different category.

Finished the race in 52 min on the dot, position 4th, much to the surprise of my younger brother.

Michelle managed to win the women's and she was even lucky to won the first lucky draw.

Ride: Tapah - Brinchang

2010-12-21T19:13:00.000-08:00

Weird name, considering this is in Perak state..

Lata Iskandar I think, water was crystal clear..

Ringlet...

There's lots of FWD like these still ploughing the roads...

Ah...flats..

Tanah Rata...I do hope it has 'rata' terrain. Rata means flat...

Brinchang is terribly unscenic. I prefer the road up Tanah Rata from Ringlet.

This is where your tea comes from.

Alan Tan (2nd from right)

I've never done Cameron Highlands before. So, as part of the familiarization course, I decided to drive up to Tapah, to climb up to Brinchang.

The drive from KL took almost 2.5 hours. When I exited towards Tapah from the highway, it was drizzling lightly. I was thinking of actually not doing it. After some thoughts, I thought as long as it's not pouring cats & dogs, it's doable.

Parked at Kg Pahang, and started the long climb at 9:41am. At first it's a bit of flats. Then it gradually build up into an ever winding, twisty turning road, with an elevation steepness that doesn't wary much. Except for the few last km to Ringlet.

Now, I've brought a powerbar for this excursion. But when I stopped to consume it, it was actually already very old, apparently from the broken plastic cover. But being so famished from all the climbs, I took 2 bites. Then decided it's too unpalatable and threw it away.

Luckily Ringlet wasn't far. So I stopped for a hearty lunch and some drinks.

It was a bit cold as well. And I didn't actually know what the elevation was at this point.

Now Ringlet is a nice small town, and the roads aren't that steep either. I enjoyed the flats for a few km, before another long winding uphill road towards Tanah Rata. After that it's another few km to Brinchang and it's all done.

Total time up is 3:55 plus rest. Distance is 61km. So if you start from Tapah, it would be around 65km.

Then I proceeded the long trip downhill. I thought things would be great as it's mainly a downhill course. How wrong it was, when I was stuck to a fast-slow traffic headed by a bus which had to slow down to a halt while negotiating sharp turns. I couldn't find the room for overtaking as well, cause the road is terribly small without any extra emergency lane at the side.

On the way back, I met with Alan Tan, who had an unfortunate car broke down in their treasure hunt event.

After around 7 hours, I managed to reach back safely.

Carl Lewis The Legend

2010-12-14T18:24:00.000-08:00

Through an invite from Jamie, Nike held a close up with the legendary Carl Lewis. He has 10 olympic gold medal to his record, with 9 of it gold.

Frankly, I've only heard about this guy. So I googled up, and was really surprised that he's in the ranks of the greats in track & field.

When he finally turned up, the audience was kind of awestruck by this big man.

There were some key important points in his talk.

1. Analyze your competition. He treats his races as a job, does alot of strategy, and analyzes his competitors strengths & weaknesses.

2 . He hardly goes to the gym to do strength training. Most of this is achieved through other methods on the field. He laments that younger sprinters are bulking up, which does not necessarily makes you faster cause you need to carry lots of bulk.

3. Before race, he trains his mind by getting in focus. This means no treating pre-race as a party.

4. You can only run your max speed for 10m. So in order to run a 100m, once you reach maximum velocity at 60m mark, the rest is maintaining posture while remaining calm. He noticed that most runners slows down considerably at the end of the 100m, so if he can maintain the speed plateau, he can pass them at the end.

*This is another aspect of sprinters which is revealing. You do push your body, but your mind has to be calm & relax to do it. Alexander Popov (olympic swimmer) does this as well. Maintaining speed efficiently is of paramount importance.

5. Get a good coach. He attributed his early success to his coaches who improved his time.

Well, he's still looking good. Although a little tummy is obvious. Finally all of us took turns to get a picture.

Long Ride: Elusive Genting

2010-11-21T17:48:00.000-08:00

Descending to Batang Kali from Gohtong Jaya...

Fraser was hot!

Eating nasi lemak while my ride rests..

The peak finally...

It'll be another 90km over back to Gombak.

This ride is to see how long it would take to ride from Gombak, to Genting Peak and Fraser peak.

Started from Gombak (near some food stalls car park), at 8:09am. Met Vong who was waiting for a friend at the traffics, as I head up Sempah. As I passed a group of cyclist, one of them hook up behind me.

Now I tried to shake him off a few times. Well after a few KMs, managed to get him off. It's all for fun. Then it's up to Gohtong.

I was riding my roadie, and best thing is, it's compact crank. So going uphill is more pleasing. Reached Gohtong for some food.

Tried to go up the last 9km but the police won't allow. "Majikan punya arahan" according to person manning the station. Oh well, felt dejected, and headed down towards batang kali.

Now if there's cycling nirvana, this is it. I could easily go above 50kmh without doing a thing. Roads here are so steep you just zoom pass on furious speed. Some caution on the brakes will do.

Reaching the intersection to the main road is around 50km of distance. Now it's the long grinding up KKB, and Fraser peak. Nothing much to say, but the journey is exactly 96km up to gap.

Another 8km and it was 104km at the peak. I ascended using the 1pm slot. Actually reaching Gap around 12:45pm, and having nasi lemak beforehand.

2pm, and it was all the way back to KKB, Ulu yam and batu caves. I was abit cautious at the dam area. Previous mugging here made me paranoid at any motorcycle sound from behind. I had to hide my pouch bag under the shirt so as to be not that obvious.

After 9.5 hours and 197.5km, I was safely back.

---
Here's some interesting data:

To reach fraser gap from Genting peak, you'll need approx 3 hours. I think it was a blessing I wasn't let up, because if I did, I would have reach Gap around 1:45pm, given it'll add another hour just to ascend Genting Peak from Gohtong and coming down. By then, I'll have to wait for 3pm slot to go up.

Descending to KKB will bring the total distance to 143km. Now distance to Tapah from here will be 92.4km, and climb up to Brinchang is another 70km.

Therefore to cycle all 3 peaks should be around 320km. The insane part is more than 100km of climbs.

Now, if you could excuse me, let me jump off this building..

Malakoff Powerman 2010

2010-11-17T06:27:00.000-08:00

I did this race last year. However, then, it was just to replace Victor Loh, who had an unexpected injury.

So, this year, it was my first time seriously doing it. Therefore, no more cycling to Lumut like last year.

And we're kind of lucky, as it drizzled a bit before the race. Last year, it was terribly hot.

Now, the race format is to run 11km, then cycle 64km, and then run another 10km. Sounds easy compared to half Ironman,

First run. We're let off on the dot. I have no set timing for this. Just run as fast as possible. Surprisingly, I saw Don Khor and thought that I would try to match his pace. But perhaps due to my immaturity in pacing, I passed him early. Of course, he passed me soon at the path coming back for the first loop.

Finished in around 42 minutes.

Then it was bike time. Now, I have yet neglected training seriously for the bike, and it shows. Tried to gun for 40kmh but found 35, 36 to be my pace for the remainder. Now funny thing was, I thought it was only one loop, after finding out that one loop doesn't suffice for 64km. Got the better of it, and did 2 loops.

I had one powergel after the bridge.

Finally it was the last run leg. The first loop was still cool. I saw Shahrom passed me just right in front of the water station, and in his haste grab the whole water bottle as he sprinted beyond. I was beginning to get cramps on both quads. Had to get some spray on, and just hope my legs will bring me through.

2nd loop and I was just wanting to end it all.

Came back in 3:34

---

Congras to all who have finished it. Especially to Richard Tang who aced with 6th position in 3:20. Simon Cross would have a good nemesis coming into his age group soon.

Cycling Genting Highlands: Riding the TT bike

2010-11-01T22:52:00.000-07:00

Descending...

Finally reaching the top...

Looks fun...don't wear a white shirt. Even the best detergent on earth won't work.

The next day after the 12km run, I was onto something else. Now it's time to see if I could ride a TT bike up there. I've been doing all my genting climb using a roadie, so this kind of intrigues. Another thing is, I've not been riding alot. Fitness was there, but riding on a bike seems so alien after months not being on one.

After parking at HOA, I departed at 8:49am, reached Genting Sempah after 50 mins. The p2k group was there as well, waiting for some other guys before their usual breakie jaunt at bkt tinggi. Then after some rest, I headed solo towards Gohtong.

Easy, it wasn't. Although I could climb, speed was really slow, but I kept at it, and standing up only if the inclination is too much to handle. After the 4km hard climb, it was an easy ride up to Gohtong.

Then comes the hard part. Riding up Genting is like going into a forbidden place. Only the staunch, experienced and hardy cyclist attempts this. And it doesn't matter how strong you are, the mountain mocks you by saying "Oh, so you've climb this far? wait till you go higher..."

Really. The hardest part of the whole route, is the last 4.4km marker. From my memory, nothing is more harder than the last 4.4km up. Cause it really is. Two very steep hairpins, and the final 300m to the arch at the top, is enough of a challenge for anyone dares to go up.

And on a TT bike, it's definitely harder. I find myself climbing in an awkward position. Trying to coax the bike up is like pulling a rock up. It won't respond. You just have to mash the pedals or pull harder to lift it up. At times, I almost cramped at the quads. But I made a promise to my bike and whispered "I'll put you up there, baby"..

The only view I was having is making sure my front tyre moves. And of course the top was enjoyable after 2:40 climbing from HOA. Met with a guy resting at the cafe (rode a superbike), who was impressed with cycling up.

Then, it was going down to Awana to meet some friends doing the fun 14km run. Shih Ming & San did well (got 2nd), and Ray & Mich too (4th).

---

Now here's the challenge that is in my mind, with some friends. I consider it the holy grail of cycling climb in Malaysia.

Ride Genting Peak, Fraser Peak, and reaching Cameroon Highlands in one day.

Could that be done? Go figure...

Genting Trailblazer 12km Run

2010-10-31T18:35:00.000-07:00

Jamie & Jeff Ooi

This year, the organizers had set up 2 days with different course of run. I joined the Saturday 12km, as getting drenched in mud, wasn't I think, fun. Did some trails training prior, and I think I had the right fitness level to tackle it.

Met with some friends prior to race. Jeff Ooi, Lee & his wife, Major Kalam & his son, and Allan was there as well. And some African runners were there to try, wait, that's not a right word. Win, is more likely.

After some of the usual aerobics, we're let off at 8:30. Just after the start, the African's dazzling speed is no match for the local runners. They were so fast, that I lost them just after a few hundred meters. Mark williams passed me by, and he's off. Ahmad, the Moroccon runner (wasn't participating officially), went fast as well.

I was just trying to hang on. When the trails started, I was in my element. The shoes gripped well, and I was able to bounce off & leap easily. But when the uphill starts, that's when the walking started.

After the wooden staircase, there's even more rocky uphills to battle. Then it's back down for a 2nd loop.

Miro (this guy cycled up to Awana yesterday) caught up with me after the 2nd loop. But on the uphills, I couldn't caught up. Lungs were just going almost max. I was wondering if I could still push it.

Anyway, back to the finishing in 1:09:57 at 17th position. It was kind of fun, and that's what trails is.

Now if only I could figure out how to train to run faster.

The North Face 100km solo: TNF DNF

2010-10-11T22:59:00.000-07:00

A group pic at the start..

Thanks Freddie for this pic...

Resting at the medic tent. Not all is well...

Hmm...that rhymes. Ok doesn't sound so bad after all.

Alright, as for this race, my preparation wasn't so much on covering distance. I focused more on upper body strength, core, and speed work. At the end of the whole training regime, I think I did achieve what I intended to be better at. Stronger legs, better cardio, and feet that can withstand repetitive pounding on the trails.

Another thing is lugging a hydration bag, which I wasn't so fancy of. But after awhile, I got used to it. Heck, it's better than carrying a pouch bag.

---

Race day. I woke up 2:30am after several hours of unfit-full sleep. Got the usual breakie in, then took a cab to the starting point.

As for the solo 100k runners, they gave us a table to put our bags. I'd recognize a few faces, namely Sallehan from Brunei, Mr Yong Yuen Cheng who did 218km, Sean Tan who won MR25 last year, and Jeri Collett. However Tobias was not here.

Before entering the starting line, they had to weigh our bags. I have no inkling what mine was, but was glad it's around 1.6kg. Yeah, another goal is not to run with a heavy load.

At first everyone was running pretty decent speed. I soon took off on the lead, but I am very assured that my speed wasn't fast. It's 100km anyway. After exiting the 4.1km trails, I proceeded a bit further up the road. But actually I was heading in the wrong direction. The right direction was actually barred by a metal pole, which leads back to the trails. There was a car there somehow, but no one to direct me.

As I ventured further, I found myself the opposite direction, as one runner came streaming blazingly fast. Curious, I tried asking him if he was one of the solo runner, and he said yes, as he continued on running. No one was following him, and I was confused. So I guess I might as well follow him and see where this leads to.

Yes, there are signs put up, but if you somehow missed that, it's hard to know where to go. It's dark, and the LED light can't possible scan all the possible options to take. At one path, I stood confused again which route to take. Is it left or right? Right looks like an open path, but after I found out, it was a small stream. Kinda bad choice cause I soak my shoes in it.

Another part where I got lost was at Bkt Timah Nature Reserve. I noticed a motorcycle parking area, and a tar road leading up. I thought I saw a TNF marshall, and gestured for direction, and he showed it was up the hill. So I ran up the pretty steep tar path until I met a fork with no directions. Darn, looks like I got lost again. I tried looking at the map near the hut, but couldn't make sense of it (yes, btw I didn't brought my own map, so partly this is my fault), so I took the right path, and after meeting an uncle, I concluded this is the wrong route.

So I backtracked down the hill, finally found the sign and ran up a small hill. I thought I was at last right, with some lads following behind, but then we're stuck at some lookout hut. One of us called the number, and tried to find the right direction, but I guess that didn't help. 7 of us were lost up there.

So, it's backtracking again, and soon enough, the error was we took the right path up, instead of left.

Soon, I was in front again, but I don't know my position. I didn't care much then, just hoping that I run at the right path.

Daylight came, and i soon reached Mandai. I've been running solo till now. After reaching another signage, I stopped to do dawn prayers, then continued on.

Now this is where the tough path, becomes tougher. There's tar road, gravel, sharp rocks, uneven concrete, you name it. If you're not wearing tails shoes, you're in for a big pain on the feet.

Upon reaching hill 265, I broke open a powerbar, then ran down. I think it's another 25km back.

I tried to run as much as possible, and soon I was passing all the front runners. But I wasn't speeding at all. It was just moving on as much as possible. If you're no running now when it's cold, it's going to be hard to run later.

On the way back, the 100km duo had started. The first runner I noticed had a 'F1 runner' emblazened on his bib. And yes, he was as fast as one too. Then met with Frank, jamie, and some other familliar faces.

For the last 10km, the path diverted, and soon, I was running the tar road back to Mac Ritchie. Then things look tougher. It was the increasing humidity as the sun came up. Breathing in it was like nothing getting enough air. Eventually I slowed down, and walk some parts of it.

Around 1km before the start, the 25km runners were let loose, so I had to walk back. Finish the first loop in 6:15.

I was hungry, eaten some food, and then went for the next loop. But things just got worse from here. My gut wasn't feeling well, so I walk most of the route, trying to keep the body moving. Now the heat is really getting higher.

Reached Bkt Timah again, when I started puking after drinking a can of tea. So that's it, I thought it'll be too dangerous to continue and decided to call it quits after 60km. An ambulance came and drove me back to the start.

Thanks to my buddies who was concerned. I kind of sad to disappoint some of you who had expected a completion, but I think it's best to err on the side of safety. I am pretty ok with DNF, and there's always next time.

---

I've been thinking what went wrong, and it's certainly got to do with my guts. I had puked at Ironman, Sundown, and finally TNF. Somehow it's just not working, or perhaps I've loaded on water. This could be one of the problem.

I think high humidity has also caused water retention in the guts, as it's pretty hard to for sweat to evaporate, thus causing most of the fluid to stay there.

Or it's basically something I ate which just doesn't gel well. Anyway, I'll need to sort this out by figuring what I can only eat during race rather than gulping down anything.

My legs were pretty ok, and not so bashed up as MR25 last year.

Would I do this next year? Maybe not. I think the route up north is too hard to run on. Some parts are really hard and sharp rocks, with uneven cement jagged out, ready to shred your feet to pieces. I wasn't even running on that parts. More like treading safely.

As for the organisation, I had wished some marshalls had directed us more. It's pretty hard to see in the dark. Yes, I understand we have to consult the map, but it would be nice not to stop and find your way around.

But overall, it's pretty well organised, only that I wished the route would be easier to run on.

Mount Nuang: Muddy trails

2010-09-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

The peak..

It was muddy to the point of quick sand at certain sections after false peak..

some injury...

It's been ages since I've been up the peak. With TNF looming, I think it would be a good idea to do some runs up.

Arrived there around 8:30am before heading up at 8:40. There was KC's group going up as well, as part of their Kinabalu Climbathon, who had left 30min earlier.

With some consistent running uphills, I managed to reach the 1st waterfalls around 30min, then it's up to Camp Lolo, and soon it's heading up the muddy path towards Camp Pacat. Managed to reach Pacat at 1:20. KC and his earlier gang was there. I actually passed by Jason thiang before Pacat.

Then it was the almost vertical section where one have to use all fours to haul yourselves up. I found myself panting and really out of breath. Thank god I am not doing kinabalu, because the whole race up is basically pushing at what your heart can't tolerate for 2.5 hours!

Once i reached the false peak, I gulped down a powergel. I was abit worried, as I had only that for food. Just before reaching the real peak, bump with the Edwin (part of KC's gang) who was going downhill.

Reached the peak at 2:14. Sat down for awhile, then after 5 minutes it was back on the trails. Now the hard part is really the muddy and slippery path. I almost fell a few times. Scrapped my shin against some protruding root. The rocks were sharp and slippery, unlike clear trails like FRIM.

I tried to move fast enough, but my legs weren't working Running was reduced to jogging. Once i reached the first waterfall, it's another 4km. Tried running, but lack of energy is making me more delirious.

Finally reaching carpark after 3:46. It was my best PB from 4:15. But I think it wasn't the best of run. I could do faster if I had enough food, or fit enough to tackle the technicalities of moving fast. Instability was a major problem.

GPS route up

GPS route down

Bukit Hatamas Trails

2010-08-23T02:18:00.000-07:00

Entry point..

That's bukit ketumbar...another one of my favourite lung busting steep trail.

Nice petite waterfall...

Thank god for these...

Don't let Pak Mo (Mahmud Taib) near this log...

Really? How nice...

This is overlooking the MRR2

Yes...some parts is 70 degrees...

Glad to make it out...

I knew about this trails just around my backyard, but not really having the motivation to check it out. Since TNF singapore is near, trails is a must for training.

So last Sunday, I decided to see if there's anything exciting about it. Bukit Hatamas can be conjured up as a valley of houses nested in between hills, and has quite a view. The hills to the east is actually hutan simpanan selangor.

View Larger Map

I didn't really know the entry point, so had to hike up an exposed slope, which then further connects into the main route. Now, the route really looks well established with some occassional hikers and lots of paper indicator thrown out by hashers. Since it's a hilly area, not all routes are runnable, but the downhill is exciting.

There seems to be checkpoints with tents where hikers gather for chat & rest. I decided to take the rightmost turn from these checkpoints and see where this leads to. Luckily I brought my HTC phone which has GPS. Once in awhile I would checkout my location just to know the directions.

After awhile I stumbled upon a clearing, apparently private property, and I soon realize i was looking at Venice Condo at the back. There were a pack of dogs guarding, so it's backtracking now. Then there's a small waterfall, and the route becomes wilder. All I was depending on was the old discarded hash markers.

Soon, I was at the top of a hill checkpoint, and then downwards, until I finally exited somewhere further north from my entry point.

I would say, it's a pretty nice place for some outdoor trail running/hiking. Further googling reveals there's another entry point (which is much popular) near Taman Cuepacs, which is not far from where I started. And this route actually goes much further in the north east direction.

---

I've finally got selected for TNF 100km solo. Now, actually I am not pretty daunted by the distance. The distance is doable, based on my past experience in MR 25 last year. Question is, how fast I could run this.

Here's some tips for trails. Focus on fore foot landing. If you notice, during trails running, forefoot landing provides the best balance and quick maneuver. Trails are filled with roots, rocks, soft mud, which requires quick reflexes and ability to hold a grip, while you transfer your movement foreward.

Now running uphill will be tough, so if you can't run, then powerwalk. Some parts are really just too steep to run.

Another main thing to train is your core and upper body. Note that road running is really just using the same set of running muscles but not much on the upper body, while trails force you to do things like jumping, docking and sometimes using your hands to pull your body up.

---

I can't really run for now, since fasting obligations. So, it's mainly trails for 20-30 minutes and upper body strength training.

PD Triathlon 2010: Not Ready

2010-07-27T00:46:00.001-07:00

Swim was slow...

Coming out for the bike leg.

Run...

Yes, if there's any description with this race, it's not ready to race. I've slacked on training. Reasons are many, partly work and less interest in doing Tris. But I did add some intensity training during runs, and also devised new ways for swimming, which mainly focus on technical efficiency rather than more power. As for going the distance, not that many workouts.

The swim initially had me gasping for air. Felt kind of weak and lacking of strength. As usual, traffic was blocked by breast stroke swimmers, and it's not easy to navigate. Once got kicked in the mouth, but realizing we are all in this big soup, it's nothing to get angry about. Time exit from the water was 28.5min.

Ran to the bike transition, and it's off. Now it's guessing time to see if I still got the legs. Yes, I am not even ready to bike TT mode cause I haven't been doing much training in TT mode. Roadie mode, I've got plenty from riding across KL, but that's different. But I was glad when I could still push 40 above going solo for the first few KM, when the fast riders were closing in.

The usual suspects were to be seen, Simon Cross one of them. He was so fast on the uphill, with a few other fellows, that I had no guts to chase him down.

Then another huge group with Leanord Lim came by, and we are much stuck until the end of the bike course. The peloton was fast and almost everyone did their job pulling.

As I turned into the road for the bike transition, the guy in front crashed into the bushes while trying to unclip. Just hope he's ok, if not bruised.

Went back to park the bike, and grabbed a gel to gulp down while running. I was merely holding in around 80%, while thinking if I should put it all out. Saw Simon on the way back from the turn around, and he was as usual fast as lightning.

At the turnaround it was 21 minutes, which was kind of odd, cause I don't think I could run this fast. But it gave some hope if I could double that for the run. So that was that, and I quickly put the pace up to finish in 2:19:46 in 17th place age grouper.

---

There's still a lot of work to be done. But one thing that I didn't regret was intensity training. I could at least sustain speed & power while not going bonkers. The one thing that you need is to maintain power output based on your cardio intensity, and not allowing that to fluctuate too much. So if you've done your homework in intensity training, naturally you could hold it longer.

PD Prelude

2010-07-12T23:27:00.000-07:00

Beautiful sunday on PD

Broga ride group pic..

Julie was pretty fast. First time I saw her on this bike.

I am riding a Cervelo...with sandals. Now who needs carbon soles?

PD tri is coming and I don't feel much prepared in terms of training. Broga ride on saturday was marred with both tubulars having slow leak. It actually happened just before the peres climb. Thanks for Ishal's pump, I thought the tyres could last this ride.

Then just before klawang, the front tubular went full blast puncture. Had to changed that one with a new one; lucky for bringing a spare.

Broga was hot. Had to keep on rehydrating. Once tekala, I decided to call it a day and hitch a ride from Adli to home. Managed to crank only 138km.

---

There was a Tri clinic going on Sunday (got the news from julie). I didn't actually want to cycle...swim and run would be enough. However, the option of getting some cycling training done came, with a bike borrowed from Uncle chan...

For the swim, it was 600m out and back in a straight line. Kayaks and boat were there to guide us. And the water was pretty clear and not choppy.

Cycling is more like cruising, and sometimes pushing it. Can't really pushed anyway with sandals on.

Running? I think I did 2km....too lazy to run the full distance.

Being here without the usual Tri atmosphere was real pleasing. Quiet, calm and tranquile.

Sometimes you wonder why the need to push our bodies. Ralph Dixon was there as well, and here's what he said about Marathon Des Sables this year, "You suffer for 6 months training, then you suffer another 7 days", and when asked would he do it again, it's a positive no.

I drove home finding the answer, and I think it lies with our inner desire to go beyond what we can comprehend. There was one thing I didn't mentioned after 5 days ride of 1200km. The aftermath is a feeling of hollowness. You feel your body is there, but your soul feels like it can seep out anytime. It's as if time has sped forward, and you had aged to 100. Perpetual fatigue that only makes you want to lie down and sleep.

And that went on for 2 to 3 days, before your senses normalize.

It's not something that everyone would like, but then the ones who does this are not many as well.

There are no limits

2010-06-14T02:23:00.000-07:00

Enlarge

There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.

Sundown Ultramarathon 84km 2010: Sub 10

2010-06-01T23:09:00.000-07:00

Before the run...

Passing Teh poh chye...

Sitting down at east coast park during the 2nd loop.

Finally finishing the race...

This year, the starting venue shifted from Changi Village to a bigger location. I was having trouble understanding the map until we actually reached there. Many of us were running. Choi, Kash, Haza, Richard Tang, Frank, Tey and I choosed the 84km while the others, marathon and half.

I had done the first sundown, which wasn't a pleasant experience. I'd just hope that this time I could run faster and having less cramps.

The race for ultras started at 6pm. All I was carrying is a powerbar and money. I think that would suffice. Was surprised to see Freddy and Melvin Lee (whom I met at RRS 2010). And seems like Adrian Mok was also running.

The horn blew, and we were all sent running. Drums were beating making us feeling good about it. But I knew it's going to be a long long time before coming back here. Managed to passed by Teh Poh Chye after 2km. But the fast ones were already far far ahead. I was just trying to get a good pace. Not too fast, and not too slow.

The distance is so far, you can't possibly risked it by pushing above what you're comfortable with. The cramps in my first sundown thought me that.

We ran along the changi airport for around 8k before hitting East Coast Park, which I admit was better that the boring and straight road. I managed to reached the u-turn after 21km in a time of 1:56. Then it was heading back from where we ran from. Didn't really like the path here because of the concrete pavement. So I tried to run on grass and on the other side instead. After 33km, I made a rough calculation, and looks like I could reach the marathon mark in less than 4 hours. So it was running a tad faster until the end of the first loop. Did the marathon in 3:59.

As I went into the transition tent, I noticed many had actually completed the first loop as well. Shows that these folks are pretty strong runners. Then went on to have a bread with honey, some raisins, went to the loo, and then was out in 8 minutes. As I exited the marshall asked "Are you ready for the next loop?".. That sounds odd,...it's not like I have a choice :)

So, on and on I ran on the same route again. By this time, it's the fatigue that's kicking in. The drink stations only provided water and 100plus, which was not pretty digestible. So, my motivation was, reaching East coast park and gulping some iced milo. But this time, I ran slower. Rather than killing myself pushing, I would just take this easy.

Glad to meet some volunteers at the park. One gave an iced coffee, which was fantastic. Lynette was there as well and had brought a milo. Managed to bump into Henry Yong, whom I met during MR25 and RRS.

Now, problems starting to crop up. There was chaffing in between the legs, so that was painful, but one that I could tolerate. Then there was the gut problem, which probably came after I had an ice cream at 34km mark. Didn't run too well for the last few k. With 2km to go, Alaw Law passed me. I tried to to run...but was on the verge of puking. So I walk the remainder until the last few hundred meters. Finished it with the time of 9:50.

Well, it wasn't good feeling afterwards either. I found myself puking a few times. Reminded of my Ironman this year.

The good thing was I had no blisters, no cramps, and didn't really felt sleepy.

My split:

Chip Time

0KM - 10KM 00:51:25

10KM - 20KM 01:56:36

20KM - 30KM 02:46:20

30KM - 42KM 04:07:23 (plus 8min transition)

42KM - 52KM 05:13:27

52KM - 62KM 06:51:17

62KM - 72KM 08:03:24

09:50:04

---

Kash and Haza did well by finishing the 84km within cut off time. My hats off to them. I also qualified for TNF100km solo, but still am not sure if it's in the todo list.

In memory of Ngae

2010-05-18T06:51:00.000-07:00

When Frank sent me the message of Ngae's passing, I was really in shock. It was just very hard to believe. He had been battling brain tumor for a year, and after an initial comeback in Putrajaya half IM, things doesn't seemed so well after that. He was having memory loss with even his best friend. But the reality of his condition didn't sinked in, after knowing more details from his wife's story during the memorial. If I had known that it was that bad, I would have paid a visit.

We know him as someone who is full of life, joyfull, and friendly. And he was one tough guy. He ran Marathon Des Sables, ran ultras, did 3 IM, and countless other races. His uniqueness stands out, and he's always a well known guy. He's sort of a rock to most of us. And of course, I think he's a bit crazy sometimes, running barefoot, and wearing a sarong. But he doesn't seemed the less minded of it. He just does things his own way.

Before I started doing ultras, I had gained some inspiration from him, especially on the 100km he did from Subang to PD. If this guy could do it, then somehow, I had hope, that I could do that as well.

I believe his passing would have us ponder our mortality. Death is something will come. But the bigger question is, did we live fulfilling lives? Did we try to savor each passing day? Did we fulfill our dreams? I think, Ngae has shown us that he had lived his dreams. He trains and puts a lot of effort into them, and that has inspired the rest of us greatly.

He'll always be in our memories, as long as we live.

Interstate 2010: Extended version

2010-05-04T04:31:00.000-07:00

The climb to ulu yam...

Now downhill towards ulu yam

I hope it doesn't bite...

It rained near slim river....

Can't remember where this was...but it's 50km to ipoh.

Perak has nice mountains...

Finally reaching Kangsar...

At the start of the first day....

Now that is a cool bike...

It had rained hard early in the morning...

Stopping at Gerik...

Banding..it's as nice as people say it is...

But...I got to rush off to Kota Bharu...

This is almost reaching the top...it had been a tough climb from Banding...

Titiwangsa rest area...

Another view from Titiwangsa...

Kota bharu....it's now cycling southwards towards Kuantan....

Padi fields...

Reaching Pasir Puteh...

Reaching Kuala Terengganu...

Resting at Zaharah Mosque...

Having breakfast at Dungun before heading for Kuantan...

I think this is kerteh...

Paka looks out of place with it's refinery...

It was so hot I downed 3 glass of coconut water...

At batu hitam...finally reaching Kuantan...

Now it's back to KL

It's another 249km...

Near sri jaya....

I spend alot of time with this view...

Cycling up towards Genting Sempah...on the highway!

Most brutal climb to Sempah...

It's getting dark...so it's all the way to Gombak.

I've heard of the interstate held annually, but till now, haven't participated in any. When Jezamine pestered the rest of us to ride 3 days among the hills of perak to the flats of east coast kelantan, I thought if it was possible to ride more than that. The question was how much time it would take.

What I had in mind:

Day 1: KL to Kangsar

Day 2: Kangsar to Kota Bharu

Day 3: K.Bharu to Kuantan

Day 4: rest

Day 5: Kuantan to KL

Roughly estimated distance is more than 1000km. I kept thinking it over, and over again. There's questions of supplies, what to bring, what to wear. I only told a handful of people cause I don't know if I could pull it off. The worst case is to hitch a bus home if conditions becomes too unbearable. I was thinking of asking my bro to follow, but decided otherwise. The maximum distance will exceed 300km, and you just have to had done that, to know how it feels, and still be willing to continue the next day.

Day 1:

I knew this route after driving from KL to penang on trunk roads. Around 7:20am, I rode northwards on MRR2 until the Ulu Yam dam. The climb up the dam was hard, and slowly the elevation went up until the peak. Then it was high speed to ulu yam for a rest and drink, before moving up towards Tanjung Malim. I didn't really know if it's in Selangor or Perak until some signs showed it was Perak.

Rain clouds was gathering as I approached Slim River. The roads were straight and rolling, so cars were really going fast. I witnessed a tragedy just before slim river. A motorcyclist was lying underneath a mangled car. I believe he's a goner.

Then it started to rain, so I tucked in at a bus stop to wait it out. Afterwards, it was again cycling passing tapah, bidor, and I believe I hit 180km in Kampar. As usual, it was hot. I was feeling pretty ok but tired by the time I hit Ipoh at 215km. Had something to eat before speeding off to Sg Siput, and in the last few kms to Kangsar, I was really bonking.

I hadn't refueled enough. So when I reached Kangsar at 7:30pm, I just have to eat something at the mamak. Jezamine, Kenny, Gerard, Debbie were already there, and they were kind enough to let me stay one night.

By now, I was wondering if I could even cycle to KB.

Distance: 270km

Day 2:

There was lots of cyclist at the starting line, all eager to ride. As we speed towards Lenggong and Gerik, the scenery was spectacular. Hills and mist greeted us from every view.

My strategy was just to draft. This is needed to conserve for the next 180km after Banding.

Already at the start the strong ones were moving at the head of the peloton breaking away from us. I toead in line with Faizal and Adzim, Poh Seng and Iwan, while they pulled us towards Gerik.

Another problem I was having is the bag. It's 3.6kg, and this is probably a heavy burdern to shoulder, literally. Climbing hills is tough. Climbing with weights stuck on your back, up in the noon sun, with windless air, is hell.

But I was really thankful of the granny gear I was having. Poh seng then mentioned I could put the bag in their support car.

After Gerik it was climbing for 20km.

I thought we have another 10km to climb, when it was actually downhill all the way to the resort. But...the road up the resort is a steep 20%, albeit for short few meters.

Distance was 139km. After refuelling with water, I took my bag, bid some friends farewell, before heading towards Kota Bharu.

Now, it's all a lonely ride from here. Little did know that the path from Banding goes up for another 30km! It was so tough, I was bonking. Reason was I had only raisins since Gerik. After 15km, thank god for the rest area, I stopped for lunch and prayers. Chatting with a lorry driver revealed it's all climb from here.

When I finally reached the rest area at Titiwangsa, it had took me 3 hours. I stopped and eat for at least 30 minutes before speeding downhill towards Jeli.

From Jeli, as I looked back at the mountain range, I thought as if I've escaped a prison of hills.

From here, it's another 50km to Tanah Merah, then 50km to Kota bharu. I was tired, and was wondering if I should just bunk in Tanah Merah. You see, if I stay in Tanah Merah, then the distance to Kuala terengganu will be much shorter.

But I thought about the goal of KB, and all I need now, is just to pedal, regardless if I was bonking, tired, sleepy and on the verge of quitting.

Another challenge was the darkness. There's no street lights up to Tanah Merah, and all I had was the front lamp, giving luminance for at least 2 meters. After riding so long, I had butt pain and each bump on the road, is enough to make you cringe.

I saw the sign towards tanah merah, and turned in. The darkness just turned surreal. It was so dark, and the stars were so beautifully hung up in the sky. I almost veered off the road when I took a look. Finally I did reach Tanah Merah.

It's just another 40km plus...So I rode on, and on. I noticed the flat terrain were padi fields, but nothing much you can see. After the roudabout at pasir mas, it was going over a bridge for the final 20km. I was so tired, that every KM reached means so much.

By 4km, it was already near the town area, where I had to stop for some drinks. And finally I've reach KB at 11pm.

I quickly check into a hotel, went for Nasi Kerabu, then slept.

Distance:320km

Day 3:

Because of the weight of the bag, and the underwear outer line causing deep pain, I thought it's best to not wear one. My palms were pretty much in pain from holding the handlebar.

At 8am, I speed of, in hope of reaching kuantan, or maybe if not, as close as possible.

The roads were very very flat. So I could go aero at long period of time, pushing 30kmh. But the sun was hot, and I had to constantly remind myself to drink every 5km.

By the time I reached the border of Terengganu, the roads were once more rolling hills. Nothing much to say but it was tough and hot, when reaching Kuala terrenganu at 163km. I stopped by Zaharah Mosque to rest, and eat some snacks. By this time, the only real food I had was 15km after KB, nasi kerabu.

I wasn't really hungry, so I thought of skipping lunch until night time. Not that you can really eat under this heat anyway. It was soon a decision I would come to regret.

I was bonking very very hard on the way towards dungun. But it was also other reasons. Riding high mileage for the past 2 days, takes a toll on your body. You know you are bonking, when the highest speed you could pedal is 25kmh. And my right knee was having pain as well. Standing up to pedal is almost impossible. But you had to, just to relieve your butt.

The coconut trees, and sandy beaches on my left were so enticing, I wished I could stop, and just sit down under them. But I can't. I got to pedal. The purpose of this ride was to seek my limits. And now I am looking at it...head on. Eyes glazed, sleepy, and hungry, slowly I pedaled towards dungun. A few k before that, I decided to stop and have some fried rice.

I knew by another 130km from dungun to kuantan is doable, but dangerous. After having dinner, I think I could continue, but decided to stay a night. I can't risk another night of cycling in unknown roads.

Distance: 238.8km

Day 4:

After having breakfast, it was back to cycling. This time, the morning was fresh, and the view scenic. Hot, but it was something I just got used to it. The skin on the back of my neck is already sunburned, so I don't really feel much pain there.

I always loved the coastal roads at this part of Terengganu. The beaches are lovely, it's as though a paiting was drawn right on it. But I didn't stop until I reach Batu Hitam, and celebrated the reaching of Kuantan with ABC.

4 days of cycling and finally I've reached home.

Distance: 131km

Day 5:

The final leg. I couldn't wait. I've ridden this route twice before, and it was going to be a long day cycling.

By the time I reached Karak it was 4plus. After having KFC, it was 5:15pm.

I knew if I took the old route bentong, it'll be climbing bkt tinggi in the dark. Time was just not on my side.

So I risked it by using the highway all the way up to Sempah. The 3km climb up to sempah was probably the most brutal climb since I had. Passed by Sempah, but didn't stop. I can't stop now. It's already 7:05pm, and darkness will come soon. So I sped off into the tunnel, and all the way towards Gombak toll.

Then it was MRR2, and stopping by McD. It was the first stop after Karak. I'd also noticed the distance using the highway was 20km shorter.

For the next few KM, I pedaled hard and fast back home. Surprisingly I was feeling ok, and all I need now is rest.

Distance: 259km

Total distance: 1222.5km

---

Riding such long periods of time caused pain on the palms. Quads are also in pain, but not much on the feet. Usually it's the extremities with contact on the bike will experience soreness...and that including the butt.

But...it had been a blast. I did this ride without even knowing if I can finish it within a timeframe of 5 days, and to have done so, I am content enough.

A big thanks to all my friends who had helped, and shown concern during the ride.

Kapas Marang Swimathon 2010: Land in Sight

2010-04-28T05:10:00.000-07:00

My bro...

Teoh...it's his first time.

Enjoying the fast ride to kapas...the water seems oddly calm.

Sandy beaches, and blue waters..

Anxious swimmers at the starting...

Now you can see there's 2 groups going different directions. I am betting the right one is heading towards the marine boat, which is wrong.

The landing...

The one arm guy...faster than me!

Silly shirt...

More and more swimmers getting back. This year more than 220 participants made it back.

This years' kapas swimathon has the highest participants numbering more than 300. As usual, for this swim, I treated it as a holiday rather than a race. My bro tagged along, but just as a spectator.

Met with Teoh, Raymond Tan, Elaine and some friends (PS Sim) from singapore. Also, met with some guys from UPM swimming club. And Jason Tiang is also joining for a first timer.

After a bus ride from KL, and a hearty breakfast at KT, we headed for registration. Then it's off to the blue small paradise of kapas. I just couldn't wait to dip into blue clear water filled with corals and colorful marine fishes.

---

I had brought along the trusted rifle scope. And it prove to be a great confidence booster, as I could even spot the bright orange balloon on the shores of pantai kelulut. I could even see 2 small buoys at the far end. Didn't really went for briefing, as I roughly know what to expect. It's my 4th time anyway.

The only thing you need to do is know where to land regardless of buoys and marine patrol boats. Buoys could get lost, and boats will move, regardless of what they told you. Then compensate for current all the time. You have to realize that the current changes from the start to the end. So, always keep an eye of where you are going.

Once you know this, it's a matter of swimming and getting ashore asap.

And also before the swim, drink enough water, cause there won't be any for the next 2-3 hours.

---

At the starting line, you could really see the strong swimmers from the average. Strong and fast ones usually have strong upper body parts.

The horn blew, and it's time to swim. Now funny thing is, the group started to break into 2. One heading right, another left. I have no idea why so, but I knew where to go, so that's that. One lady was tagging behind for 1-2km. I'd guess she doesn't know the way. And it was pretty hard to see the landing as well once you're in the water.

But as time passes, the shore came closer, and the radio station on the left of the landing, came into view. I could now see the balloon. So, it was swimming as hard as possible, with more kicks.

But as always, nearing the shore, is tougher. Maybe it's the fatigue. Or maybe I am not just a good swimmer. But I set my sights on landing and just swam, counting the strokes up to 50 before glancing at the landing. Now, even if you're in the water, you can still navigate. Just observe the position of the sun during breathing, and you can roughly steer in the right direction.

Landing was close, and suddenly a huge wave brought me crashing into the sand. What a landing!...so I went to put on that silly shirt and got the medal, with the time of 2:26. My bro was there snapping pics...he said he'll be interested to do this next year.

Now, there was this guy with one arm. Yet he swam faster than me! Swimming is perhaps the hardest discipline to master. I've been swimming for years, but the improvements are minuscule.

Oh well...it was fun, and that's the main reason I always back at Kapas.

Double broga in two days

2010-04-11T20:04:00.000-07:00

Leonard, waiting for me patiently at peres...

The end of suffering, at least for broga loop.

I thought PCC ride to broga falls on saturday. That morning was really heavy with clouds, and rain looks like it could come anytime. I'd hope the rain be dumped elsewhere, as I rode up Ampang hill. Then I was lucky to meet Leonard, who was also doing broga. After some chats, I realized it was tomorrow and not today. Oh well, since we are here, we might as well ride on.

Then it rained. And pretty soon, we're riding in the wettest condition. I was just hoping not to skid on the downhills. Broga is tough not because of its' distance, but it's the many tough and long climbs you've to endure.

I was riding my roadie, so climbs seemed so much easier than the tri. We rode together but often I find myself drifting futher behind. He was very strong on the bike. I was just hoping to preserver enough energy to do the peres climb.

By noon, the sun came up, which was a relieve to the cold and wet ride prior. As usual, the toughest part is to climb back Ampang hill, and back to home.

166k done.

---

There were 2 groups on sunday. P2k and PCC. PCC starts from tekala, which is much easier cause you don't need to climb the notorious bukit hantu. Shorter as well.

I wasn't sure to do this. But I felt not that bad, so I setup the TT bike, and rode fast to catch P2k depart from bt 14 hulu langat. Looks like a lot of strong riders. The ones I knew were Sean Chang, Jacky but not many. During the ride, after introducing to Danny, he asked me if I could reach broga on the TT. Well, I said "let's see how".

I tried to hang on up bkt hantu, but as usual, the strong p2k riders went up like mountain goats.

Then I decided to go solo TT mode down tekala to get a drink. The peloton then passed, and I had to put on the TT legs again and chased the group down.

Stayed with the peloton until lenggeng, and again, some riders rode uphills like it was an easy thing to do. Then up bkt tangga, where I did manage to catch some later.

Stopped at klawang, and we had manage to caught up with riders from PCC. It was getting hot now, and I'd just wanted to ride home as fast as possible. Now suprisingly, I felt better riding today compared to yesterday. It was really a solo and fast affair from klawang, and some p2k riders managed to caught up after 2km into the climb up peres.

Got up to Peres, and I was still feeling strong, but I have to eat. One thing I have to have, is enough food and hydration in long endurance activities. I couldn't go on if there's nothing much left. It's one of the reason why I had dnf during the singapore run. I just have to stop and eat something, then continue on my own pace, and not really following another guy's pace.

Then on the way up Ampang, Sean was climbing up as well. I thought of riding together but he looks fatigued.

So there, another 166km.

---

I've not ridden for a long time, so it'll take some time my bike fitness to come back. Just have to work more on speed.

NTU Run Round Singapore 2010 218km: Part of History

2010-03-29T17:49:00.001-07:00

At the starting point in NTU.

Tobias, Henry Yong

With Lynette..

Janette, Mok, and Kok Chiow

Each core runner has vehicle support...and police escort as well.

Near Kranji way

Mok receiving medical assistance at the first main checkpoint 45km.

The green rubbish can is filled with iced water. You could soak your whole body in there...

The director and Mok having a talk..but he decided to dnf.

Lim Ngee Huat...60 years and still going strong at East Coast park.

Pacing Melvin after Mountbatten..Thank god for flyovers above

Still running happily in the morning sun..

Then it was hell...

PS Sim, Melvin lee..

And the finishing...job done.

NTU ultra run of 218km is organised as part of their alumni celebration this year. Running one marathon is hard. Imagine running 5 marathons. And they would try to do it within 36 hours.

I came with the intention of seeing if I could run the whole thing. I had also looked up google street view of every single checkpoint for route familiarization. I am not so worried about food and hydration at this point. Just need to know which path to take.

Lynette Gan was gracious to provide accomodation at her house near Pasir Ris. The next saturday morning, as usual, had breakfast, and plastered some parts of the feet. Then we took an hour long MRT ride to the nearest station, and then a taxi to NTU. Met with Tobias, Henry Yong, and some new friends as well. Looks like each 9 core runner will have a support car tagging along.

8:30am, and we're off. Since it's the first checkpoint, many NTU students joined in. And as we approached the second, we're relieved from the relay runners (relay runners will run according to set timeline) and we're pretty much left with the core runners and some pacers.

At this point, it's not so hot but humid. We're running all along until Lim Ngee Huat started walking as part of his strategy of running and walking. I told tobias I'll move forward with Adrian Mok, Chua Kok Chiow, with fellow pacer Janette (champion lady of Sundown 84km). The pace was pretty fast. I felt I could keep up but was a bit worried if this is the pace all the way. Had some powerbar for refueling.

Halfway through marathon distance, the temperature went up a few notches. And we're soon drenched with sweat. It was hot, and it reminded me of IM langkawi. Now the amazing thing is, these runners didn't dropped the pace.

By marathon distance around 1pm, I was beginning to wonder if lunch is provided. The first main checkpoint is actually at 45.3km near Evans Road #15. The core runners had cold iced bath to soak their legs into it, as well as massages. Everyone was pretty fine at this time. I tried to have some bread to refuel. Soon, the other runners came along. I think the time spent at the station was half an hour.

Then it was back to running with Mok, Chua KC, and Janette. The temperature was seriously high, and my energy was low. I really felt I needed to eat something solid. Yet these guys were still going fast. I soon dropped the pace and started walking. Tobias who was pacing Ngee Huat came by. In the midst of all that, I decided to stop. I couldn't imagine going through the barren woodlands in this heat. I was also wondering why I came down here to suffer.

So I detour at Sixth Avenue off Bkt Timah Road and tried to have roti prata, and cold herbal tea. The roti tasted horrible, and I could only finish half of it. Then I gave a call to lynette saying I was bailing out. At this point I only did 48km. Then it was a long train ride back to pasir ris. My legs were still ok actually. I just cannot continue because of the heat.

---

Had some sleep in the train, then more sleep back home. Now each support car has a GPS device, so we could track them real time online. So, estimated time to reach Pasir Ris station (which is quite near our place) was roughly 2am. Lynette and I headed to Tampines for some dinner. I was thinking if I should running from Pasir Ris to the end. That would be another 89km.

Back home, slept a bit more, then we hauled ourselves up at Pasir Ris drive 3. Yong yuen cheng has already went past. But we're in time for Mok and Chua KC team. And these guys were seriously fatigued, in pain, incoherent. They had just completed 129.3km. I know at this point it's the hardest. Lack of sleep will also affects one mental state.

As they went off again, I decided to paced them again. Mok and Chua KC were having some conversation of asking Chua to go first. Looks like signs of quitting for Mok, and he doesn't want to slow things down for Chua. So Chua went ahead, and I was left pacing with Mok. He told me to go ahead as well, but I mentioned I am ok pacing him. We're the only ones both running now.

From our chat, he seemed bogged down with some other issues at work, and an old injury. Signs of quitting was there. I told him if we can last until morning, we can probably make it. Then we stopped some where near changi village at around 3:40am, and he went for a nap. At 4am, he had trouble standing up cause both his legs muscles were stiff. And his body temperature was hot as well.

After sitting at the bus stop for a few minutes, he decided to call it quits. The director of the run came by for a talk with him. But try as he might, Mok can't go on. He was mentally and physically unable to move on. It was a hard and emotional decision for him.

Now, I was left all alone. Melvin lee and Lim NH already left 1 hour earlier. It was 5am now. So I started running hoping to see if I can catch them. It was night but the humidity still lingers. Running along the 9km straight airport road was tough. My only worry was water because I haven't got enough of it. Luckily I reached east coast park and there were some water. Also did the dawn prayers, before running.

It was now morning. Suddenly I saw some blinking lights ahead, and knew it was one of the support vehicle. Turns up to be Lim's car. So I decided to paced with them until Mountbatten. The pace however was very slow. It was running and walking. I really could go fast, but this was not a race. At this point, it's better to support the core runners.

At Mountbatten 161.8km, Melvin Lee's gang was already there. His feet were wrapped up in bandages for blisters, I suppose. Looks like some parts was swollen. I wondered if he can really run now. It's only another 57km.

So we continue on running. The main pacers are now Freddy and Sim PS. Freddy set us for a pace of running and walking of around 8-10 min/km. The morning turns into afternoon, and it was again hot. Amazingly Melvin could still run. He looked pretty stoked, and not much conversation except for directions and support.

The hardest and hottest part was the west coast highway. The hard part is not the distance, but the heat. This makes IM looks easy. At times I felt I could run faster. We had a stop at the final 31km for rest and food. Lynette came by with some food and drinks, and she would support us in the car until the end.

After the highway, we detour into Boon Lay area, and some parts I can't really remember because it went through housing. The last 3km, Melvin was running more consistent, and it was then back to NTU. The crowd was cheering, and he crossed the line in 33 hr 10 min.

Another 4 runners added to the list of core runners to finish. These folks are truly superb. And I was glad to be a part to witness its' dramas, high and lows, and be a part of history. Total distance for 2 days 136.93km.

---

The hardest part of ultra running is putting forth your mental fortitude after your physical is gone. You're in pain, and it's a lot of pain. Blisters, fatigue, digestive system havoc, heat stroke, lack of sleep is what you have to endure to go through this. I think the toughest part is the heat. For 2 days, the same high temperature stayed.

As for myself, I've got some hot spots on the feet, 1 blister but legs are pretty much ok. Pain as usual, but not as bad as MR25 8 loops.

Bareno Run 2010: Speed test

2010-03-14T07:22:00.000-07:00

The uncle on my left was sprinting all the way....so I just can't lose...

My bro coming back in 1:16..not too bad.

This was not in my to do list actually. But after hearing the run from Keat Seong, Jenn, and Kevin Siah, during lunch with the rest of the gang, I thought it would be probably a good idea to crash the race. So I egged my brother to join as well.

Woke up around 6am, had a piece of bread and we're off. Managed just to get in time a few minutes before starting. Managed to bump into KS, Jenn, and kevin before the race. We're in the back pack, and when the race started, it took some time before the pack thinned and allowed us to get into running mode.

Soon after the first left turn into the highway, I was picking up the pace and passing runners. Passed by Fairuz, then Yee Choy (Roger Yee's dad). Then it was soon heading back to the stadium. Met Tey (the ever dedicated sports photographer), and that's when I realized the 10km guys were coming in.

So I tried to hook up to an indian runner in blue shorts, but he was too fast. But soon he slowed a bit further down, and I could make a pass.

But the highlight of the day was, when I found out Ronnie and Kenny Tan were in front. You see, we had made a wager to beat Ronnie during lunch yesterday, just for fun sakes. Now that I was tailing him, I tried to think if I should give chase?

Given the pace that I was able to muster, it was in fact doable. So, I ran past the duo, say hi, and then pushed the pace further.

But I wasn't pushing past bonking stage, since I don't know the route well. Then a veteran in orange vest came blazing past. Gave some chase and managed to pass him back. He would turned out to be finishing with both of us crossing the line.

Managed to caught up with Barry Lee, which was another surprise. He was indeed pushing it real hard. So I just keep tailing behind. But when the hills came, he dropped back.

Back to the finishing in 1:05:05. And the weird thing is, I didn't felt bad. The marshalls were wondering about my bib but I just showed I had none.
Based on the timing I could have got 11th in Men Open 15km.

Anyway, it's all for fun.

My real focus is actually on Singapore's NTU 218km run within 36 hours. The furthest I've been on foot is 147km, and that took 26 hours. Tobias (the 3rd guy in his IM langkawi age grouper), is taking part as well. And yes, we are somehow scared.

How on earth do you cover more than 5 marathons distance in one run? I really have no idea.

But remembering this might help..."You don't have to be fast, you have to be fearless..." (quote from the book `Born to Run` when commenting on Leadville ultra 100miles)

*thanks to Frank for the pics...*