Shoe Review: Nike LunarGlide+

The first time I looked at it, it doesn't seem quite looks like a pair of running shoes. I thought it was for trail running.

From the design department, it certainly looks good. But the question is whether it could perform as good as it looks.

I took it for a 12km run, and surprisingly it was light. And the time I clocked was just a minute more from the usual Saucony pair I had. I could go faster and it will allow me to go, although the soles looks a bit thick. What I didn't expect was the bouncy feeling it gave. Somehow the bounce could translate to further distance per running step, which makes you go futher.

I also did a few walks in it. Now why would one try test walking? If you are comfortable walking in a pair of shoes, running would be the same. Ever walk in a pair of running shoes and you feel tired just by standing? And walking in it does feel naturally stable. You won't feel tired, even after you had walk miles in this.

I would say it's perfect for training up to 21km, but not for fast road racing. If you ever wanted a pair of running shoes that is light, stable and attractive, it's definitely worthwhile to consider.

Retail Price MYR 399.00

Ipoh Century Ride 2009

At the head of the peloton...Zain 3rd from the right

Great company made this trip a memorable one. This was my first time doing the 160km century ride. The first time I heard about it was last year, but didn't join because I was not into cycling at that time.

We reached the starting car park around 6:45am. But I wasn't sure where was the starting line when suddenly the marshalls were clearing the way. The race has started with cyclist pouring into the main road. Without wasting a moments time, I quickly mounted on and pedal furiously. Abu had advised to stick to the first peloton, so I just did that.

Bumped into my cycling buddy Zain, along the way. The pack was really not going that fast at the start. But things starting to pickup soon after. There were a bunch of blue jerseys UCI and orange jersey cyclist which seems like a team. There was the occasional attack when one guy would charge afront. Then the rest would follow.

Now the funny thing is, Zain and I was at the front, sort of creating a lead pack, but of course we know this won't last long. At times, I find myself pulling the peloton, and sometimes chasing the attacker, who was trying to create a breakaway. Zain and bernard was gracious to advise to save energy.

After like 50km plus, I decided to keep at the middle pack, hanging there for the draft. But it was still fast and furious as usual, up hills and down hills.

I didn't go aero because it would be darn dangerous if I fell.

But when we proceeded after 80km to do some serious climbing, I missed the first peloton. It was not much fun at that point. Just hanging with 4 to 5 guys working the group. Some parts of the hills looks a bit steep but not for long.

Almost fell into a hole by the road just below the rails as it was a 90 degrees turn. But luckily managed to remain calm and averted it.

I did a quick check at my time for the last 10k back and it was sufficient to guarantee a sub 5. Finished the ride in hot sun with 4:47:23. Not a pretty good time, but just happy to make it back safely.

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I used the arogon 18 TT bike. Not a good choice for this route with lots of climbs. Easily gets dropped if the rest attack hills.

Port Dickson Triathlon 2009

Marina bay. We have to swim here..

After the swim..

At the end of the bike section

(pic from Faisal..)

Firstly, thanks to all THG members who had made this trip fun and exciting. Tri races is actually more of a gathering of friends and athletes, and maybe, the race itself secondary, unless you have your own target to win.

I went into the race with an elbow still injured, and still having fatigue from last sunday's long ride. So I don't expect much.

Now for the swim, I think everyone did badly. It was high incoming tide, and boy, swimming in it can get you sea sick from all the waves pounding. I opted to start from the rightmost side because of the wound on the right arm. If someone were to hit it at the right spot, my swim is surely a goner. And not being able to swim for a week made the effort a weak one. The time of 35 minutes says it all.

And for the bike transition, I spent a whole minute more, putting on socks, helmets, sunnies. Must've been the whirpool swim.

Biking section wasn't a blast as well. I couldn't find the strong rythm which I could usually pound. I was not there. When Simon Cross went blazing by in his black beauty, I tried to hitched a ride, but am only able to maintain 1-2k before I figured out I could get a heart attack. We were going 45 above and 50km/h.

The route itself is dotted with rolling hills. Nothing much too hard to overcome. Soon, I settled at a slower pace while trying to draft some guys. I did some lead as well, until I reached the u-turn clocking 37 minutes. Then it was heading back, where I stuck with a Look 496 biker lady for most of the time.

Now, I don't know if this is cheating but I noticed one guy drafting a motor bike. I thought, this ain't right. But then you have like 10 bikers following it. The motor bike would slow down if it gets too fast so the biker behind could catch up. Go figure...

As we head towards the highway, only then my legs came back. They were lost for most of the biking section. We stuck in a peloton, which I lead a bit, then it was off to running. If only this was how it was back.

Since, I haven't pushed much during biking, the legs were so fresh, I thought I just started doing the race. Was with Sam Matsunaga for awhile, then I left him at 2km point. I was hoping to do a 5 min pace. Then caught up with Zabil who said he was cramping, so I went pass. Caroline was happily splashing the runners with a hose.

Met Andy as well (did a 2:24) running the opposite direction. Then reached the u-turn in 23 minutes. Great!...So I quickly turned a faster pace back so I could hit 46 by the time back. Finally nailed the run in 45 minutes, which turned out to be just a nice negative split.

The girls did well with Siok bee, Mich, Jenn, and Lydia Tan winning top 10 position. Wondering when will the guys win something?

Time: 2:34:58

Ultra cycling: KL-Klawang-Karak-Tranum-Fraser Gap-KKB-Ulu Yam-KL 344km

Bukit hantu...

Morning was beautiful with mist...

Up genting peres...

Notice the fellow at the back?...he's chasing

Refuelling with durians...better than powerbar.

Karak...

Somewhere to tranum...on the verge of bonking...

Fraser hill at the back...it's going to be a tough climb...

Road to Tranum....

Finally reaching Fraser Gap...


Suprisingly, I could still cycle to work today. Although a bit stoked from all the cycling done the previous day. I couldn't sleep well either. I kept on having dreams on and off with a brain full of activity.

I knew right before hand, this won't be easy. Lights will be needed to go beyond 12 hours into the night.

I started exactly at 7:27am, zooming off to climb the Ampang hill, then Bukit Hantu (which always is the hardest), and then Genting Peres. Met some cyclist on the way as well. Sofian and Chan's group, which made me wonder if they were doing broga.

The nice part with going up Genting Peres was a mini race. There was a group which had just started the same time, to start the climb. The leader stubbornly stick to my back 10,20 meters or so. And each time he neared, I pushed up the pedal and went off. This happened for a few kms, and he dropped off somewhere. Then there was a guy in a cervelo road bike.

I passed him, and he seems not so impressed. So he worked hard to chase. Managed to pass me once, but when Genting Peres was near, I pushed again, and he was left in the dust. Oh well, that was fun.

Then it was off to Klawang which I reached around 10:15. Had some lunch, and it was off to Simpang Pertang. It had started to rain slightly, and it turn out to be a downpour. That had me soaked from top to bottom, and some how, I sensed my speed was not going that fast either.

Passed Simpang Pertang, and then had a stop at Simpang Durian, where I had some drinks and removed the wet socks with Nike dry fit. Then it was a stop at Manchis to have some fruits and drink before finishing the 30km to Karak. Managed to reach karak around 3 something.

I had been thinking of refuelling, and I thought why not durians? So at karak, I had 2 of them, which I told the boss, it was for climbing up Fraser.

Then it was a stop at the mosque in bentong. I give the kow pow ice kacang a pass, because I don't want to be climbing up Fraser in the dark. From bentong at 4:52pm, it was a race up to tranum. Now, the road to tranum is a bit tricky. What looks like flat are not. You could sense it when you're wondering why your speedometer keep on hovering around 15km/h. And at this point, I was on the merge of bonking, having delusional thoughts if I could even make it up to Fraser gap. I was stoked and dreaming of Gap, and the slow speed is certainly a heart breaker. I wanted to go fast and the legs and butt pain is becoming a hindrance.

Anyway, managed to reach Tranum. And then it was a long long climb up. The elevation is similar to going up Genting sempah from bentong. But the distance of 21km is a real mental challenge as I was left wondering when all this would end. Every twist and turn looks monotously the same. It was sitting and pedalling for a few hundred of meters, and then standing up to loosen up the legs and back.

After 1.5 hours, I did reach Fraser gap at around 6:30pm. Sitting down on the bench never felt so good. I reflected the journey from Klawang and calculated the distance. It's 170km approx. It was just shy of 10km for IM distance.

There's no time to lose. So it's all downhill to KKB for 30km. This is perhaps the best part of the trip and I felt I deserved it after suffering. As I passed the lake at the dam, I never thought I'll see Lake Semenyih and this one at KKB on the same day. There was a lot of people doing fishing, and it seems the water level had gone down a few meters.

I reached KKB at 7:30 and had one gel. But I was craving for solid food. I did have a powerbar but that doesn't seem like edible. It was getting dark, so I proped up the bright LED light.

It was bright enough to see the what's ahead. So, it was pretty safe, I guess, to ride in the dark. Managed to reach Batang Kali, and I settled down for a burger and some drinks. Then it was off to Ulu yam.

And now here's the hardest part. The first climb is similar to bukit hantu for a few k. Atrociously hard. The dark night made it more dangerous. And then there's speeding cars cutting corners like mad because of the downhill. After that was done, it was pure bliss downhill.

Now what is most dangerous of this route is not the climb, cars or the night. It's muggers. My friend Zin had warned me of this place. I acknowledged it with some sense of understanding of what I was getting into.

I noticed a motor bike trailing for a few k, just like 100meters at the back as I was zooming down 30kmh over. But it soon pass ahead. I didn't give it much thought because of the mammoth final climb up the hill near the dam.

That final climb was overcome with every muscle fiber in the leg mashing the pedals. Luckily it was short, and the time showed 9:27pm. Time to get back home, or I thought.

Just after the junction into the main road, a motor bike with 2 guys appear from behind. One tried to grab my pouch bag. I yelled ooi...but the yank made me fell. They didn't made off with it though. And this was right at the middle of the road. Luckily no cars was behind. I quickly made a reassessment of damage. No bones broke but a minor abrasion on the right elbow. The bike was ok and ridable.

I stood there cursing those fellows. Later at a petrol station washing the wound, a man told me that place was notorious with gangsters, gum sniffing and mat rempits. Snatch thievery is common.

Because of the wound, I could manage to cycle slowly back to KL, going through Jln Tun Razak, and then back to Cheras.

Looking back, this ride is probably the only one I would not do again. It could have been a blast if not the mishap with snatch thieves. But in the end, finishing is all that matters.

Distance: 344km
Ave: 24.3km/h
Out on the road: 7:27am to 11:30pm (16 hours)
On the saddle: 15 hours
Total Elevation: unknown....

Cycling Beyond 300km

What happens if you combine Fraser loop and Klawang-karak loop? You get a mega loop distance of 340km.

KL-Klawang-Karak-Bentong-Tranum-Fraser Gap-KKB-Ulu Yam-KL

At least 15 hours of cycling and lots of climbs too...

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009: Finally sub 4

Anxiously waiting to start...

Running along Jln Tun Razak...

Long from Klang and he did a sub 4 marathon first time. He later thanked me for the pace. I think both of us worked together to get it done.

Woke up at 3:45 am. After some breakfast, took my black bike and zoomed off towards Dataran Merdeka. I noticed the wind was blowing and the sky indeed looks like it's going to pour. And rain it did, when I was halfway on my destination on Loke Yew road. I was actually drenched when I reached.

But there was no time to waste. Went to deposit the bag and sat down to squeeze as much water from the socks. Met with John and wife, Chris, Sam, and also Abu just before the start. While we were waiting, a slight rain poured for a few minutes. I was just hoping things wouldn't get worse.

5 am sharp, and the horn went. As usual, the first 1k is jam packed. Everyone is just starting their engines for the long way ahead.

The route went towards brickfields, and u-turn towards loke yew. Then it's all the way to cheras badminton court and back to Jln Tun Razak. For the first 10km, I was hoping to maintain a 5min per km. It was slightly off a few minutes by then. At 12km, I clocked 1:05 just as I entered the mosque for dawn prayers. There were already a few going in. Time for prayer was 3 minutes as I exited and proceeded to run along Jln Tun Razak.

As I went through, I realize my right foot was manifesting a blister due to the wet socks. Pain slowly grew out from every step. I choose to ignore it. There were some Klang road runners with orange-t I was chasing. Well not really chasing, but pacing with. I soon overshot them. I think Jason Thiang was on a mountain bike all along and encouraging us to go faster.

After the Pahang Roundabout near Hospital KL, the turn went into KL area, name kampung baru, KLCC. And the funny part is, I hardly remember where I ran. I was just focusing on getting 5min/km at every marker. I didn't pause to take photos or savour the KL urbanscape. It was just pure focus on getting the pace right.

I did remember a spanish runner (was obvious from the spain flag from the back) who I thought was pretty fast. He was breathing hard, and pushing it was every step. I choose to open up my stride. The blister was a pain, so this was a way to minimize the pounding. He would soon went off in front.

As the morning light slowly crept back, I found myself running towards Petaling Street for km 30. Then a young man (Long) came running side by side. Obviously we were pacing each other. I overshoot him, but he'll keep on sticking. We had a few chats, and I said we'll do sub 4 hour if we keep to this pace.

As we went overhead up the road along Jln Istana, the Malaysian ugly mentality was there for all runners to see. The police had blocked the entire road so that we could pass to run on the near right side. There were horns and shouts of dissapproval. Malaysia, I thought at that point, is still a 3rd world country. I don't remember any Malaysians shouting words of encouragement or cheered for us. The only person I remember was an Indian chap clapping for us before 39km. The rest of supporters are foreigners.

Not to be discourage from all this, we keep on running, side stepping the shorter distance runners. Heck, most of them was jogging leisurely, and we were the ones out pacing them. We know what is at stake.

As we went up towards the hill at the government complex, I told my friend this is the last hill. Then it was off towards the city blocks for 39, 40 and 41km. Funnily enough I though 41km marker is a bit short. Then Long had a faster pace and left me. It's ok because I was beginning to slow down from all the hard running and also the blister.

When reaching Dataran merdeka, amazingly all the pain, fatigue and tiredness went away. It was time to celebrate the moment. I estimated that sub 4 is possible because I had a margin of 1km to make it.

Finally made the whole marathon in 3:55.

Congrats to all marathon runners, either slow or fast because 42 is not a piece of cake. You know you've overcome all hardship to earn this. There were some bad comments on the slow packs, and agreeable they should have thought about it better. I think many Malaysians non runners have no inkling on the hardship of marathon runners. If they did, they would have cheered at least.

Here's an idea, politicians can jump start this. Instead of doing the Dancercise (obviously Dance Exercise), our PM wife could have opted to run at least 10km. Besides a free slimming course, I bet it will gain nationwide publicity and also a better respect for runners.

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Results:

Name:	STEVE YIP (MAS)
Net Start:	04:58:11	Category:	Full Marathon 42km
Net Time:	03:55:02	Position:	153 (087)
Finish Timing:	03:55:02.69

Xterra Malaysia 2009

A beautiful morning at Teluk Chempedak...

Queuing up for obligatory body marking..

Transition for both bike and swim...

The individuals go first...

There's some current to the left, so I set my sight a bit to the right of the buoy.

Got to run...!

Here's the pros....noticed he had some cuts on his back...



Home run...Sanggup Richard is just behind me.


Actually I was hesitating to join the race, but since Zain had been thinking of doing the bike section, and i need to balik kampung anyway, so we team up for the relay section. Besides, this is organised by our close tri friends.

The event was held at Kuantan's favourite beach, Telok Chempedak. Frankly, I have never swam in any beaches in Kuantan at all, though i live so near to them. Partly because of the effluent I have seen going into the sea...But, the beach is a lovely place because of it's location, eateries (yeap...MacD), and also Hyatt resort nearby.

Although it could be 3 man relay, I opted to do the swim and the run, and Zain doing the mountain biking section. The scene is almost the same as a normal tri event, except the transition area is filled with mountain bikes!

8am - Tengku Mahkota arrived to officiate the starting. The relay teams had to wait 5 minutes after the individuals had their start. I was hoping to dip below 30 minutes. I could see the rest of the swimmers are pretty strong. When the horn blew, all of us just flew into the sea, and fought to gain lead. After awhile...I settled for a fast but not optimum pace. Then, I suddenly knock into something, which turned out to be a jet ski with a floater at the back. It had came to rescue a girl swimmer, who had some problems.

We have to swim 2 triangle loops. And to my surprise, I managed to clock 13:12 minutes for the first, which requires us to run back on the beach for the second loop. Feeling great, I managed to complete the whole swim leg in 28 minutes.

At the transition, Zain was waiting. I quickly passed him the chip, and off he went for the bike part. Zain is from mountain biking background, and pretty strong and fast cyclist. I budget 1.5 hours for the bike section.

---

While waiting, the results of the swim were out. And yeap, the other swimmers did much better. In fact one team went 19 minutes for 1.5k! Average would be 25 minutes.

While waiting in the waiting box, we could see how the pros went blazingly fast. One of them had scratches on the back, apparent from a fell. Then it's our national pros who were coming in, lead by Shahrom. Razani, Dino and a few others came back almost the same time. At 9:58am, the first relay biker came. I was anxiously hoping Zain could come back sooner, but since this is a first, I don't want to put so much hope.

At 9:20, he arrived, and I quickly unlaced the chip, and went for the run. Frankly I didn't have any idea how the run is going to be. The starting path have us going uphill a bit on gravel, then tar, then headed up the hill in trails, and then downhill. Afterwards it's going through a small park called Taman Gelora.

And then things became tougher as we ran up stairs, then trails up a fairly steep hill. I was pushing it from the start, but when the climbing started, I opted to powerwalk instead. The climax was getting a ribbon at the peak, then descend back on to the beach for a second loop. Now running on road is ok, trails pretty exciting, beach...pretty sucky because all your leg power is muffled by sand.

And now for the part I don't understand. We have to go through a waist deep 'stream', then pass some huge rocks on the beaches, make a U turn and run on a set of planks (which I thought was for bikes). Surely, the organizers could find a better place to run. Fyi, the stream is a waste water drain out, so not so lovely yea...

On the second loop, guess what. I finally found myself at the back of Sanggup Richard. I thought it would not be a bad idea to draft him. Puzi was nearby as well. Then Sanggup slowed down, so I decided to push ahead. I managed to lead until the part descending towards the beach. But he had stopped for drinks just 500 meters to finish, so I guess I'll just try to outrun him to the finishing line. Anyway, we came back almost together. My running time was 47 minutes 39 secs, and I couldn't be happier.

We finished 9th for the team event. So I guess we did pretty ok.

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All in all, there's some complaints, but it's pretty well done. But I won't be getting a mountain bike soon just to do this. Just looking at how dirty the bikers were is a real put off.

Anyway, my hats off to the Xterra team who had made this possible. My only grudge is not getting a finisher T for the team event..:)