Holidays - My Escape from the Tsunami

As mentioned before, I need to rest so I went for a 6 days holiday starting from 24 to 29 Dec 2004.

My holiday destination was the state of Kedah. The first destination was to Gunung Jerai on 25 Dec for one night. I drove down the mountain the next day intending to visit the areas around Sungei Petani.

On 26 Dec. 2004, an earthquake ocurred off Sumatra. The tsunami wave struck 11 countries including Malaysia. In Malaysia, three states were affected; Penang, Kedah and Perak. As it happens, I was in Kedah when the tsunami wave came struck Kedah. As I am writing this blog, it also means I am alive and well . I was very lucky to have escaped when the waves came ashore.

More to come this weekend.

Rest

I need to rest. Rest from work and running. From running, it is a forced rest because of injury. From work, it is a welcomed rest because I am tired. Ever since I've joined the project 1-1/2 years ago, it has been non-stop work at a frenetic pace. December 2005 has been especially busy. January 2005 will even be worse.

I have taken 3 days leave until Wednesday to clear my annual leave . I will be going to Gunung Jerai and then wandering around somewhere.

Don't expect my H/P to be swtiched on very often. Merry Christmas everyone.

The New Far Eastern Economic Review

I have always had a lot of interest in issues related to Asia. Perhaps it is because I have spend most of my travel time in the Asian region. One of my main sources of news about Asia is the Far Eastern Economic Review. I have been reading FEER since 1989 and has been a subscriber since then except for 2 years.

In November I received an e-mail from the publisher saying that the weekly FEER will cease publication. A magazine which has been published for 58 years and have been fearless in reports of corruption and despotic regimes will be closed. I was shocked and dismayed.

The e-mail mentioned FEER will be relaunched in a journal format published once a month. It will be published in Beijing instead of Hong Kong. Today I received the first copy of the "new" FEER.

Well after flipping through the articles, I can't say I am that impressed with the new FEER. There seems to be less bite in the articles. The contributors are sourced from various academic institutions, think tanks or well known Asian thinkers. Previous FEER staff who have first hand and "street knowledge" about Asia does not make any contribution in this FEER. They were all fired in December 2004 by Dow Jones, the publisher.

I will keep receiving the "new" FEER until the value of my previous weekly FEER is utilised. In the coming months, I will have to judge if it's worth subscribing to this FEER.

I wonder if this new FEER will publish articles critical of the Chinese government. I' ll doubt if they would although it is stated on page 3 : " .... continue to offer independent reporting and analysis of Asia...." .

Backpacker Days

I am reading a book called "Maximum City". The book is a non-fiction story about the author's experience when he moved back to Mumbai (Bombay). The chapter I was reading was about various problems living in Mumbai like paying the gas man to get cooking gas cylinders.

While reading about these problems, I was overcomed by a wave of nostalgia. I could relate to these problems. I have encountered them often during my travels in India.

In those days I used to travel back-packer style. Nowadays this type of traveller has a more upmarket term coined by the tour companies - F.I.T : Free Independent Traveller. Back when I started to travel in the late 1980's , it was a back-packer , budget traveller or just "The Great Unwashed El cheapo, skinflint tourist". Yeah , I used to be one of these types although I did try to bathe at least twice a day and I did NOT try to always save every dollar.

I think ever since 1999, I have changed the way I travel. Now I stay at hotels instead hostels or guest houses. True, I don't stay at 5 star hotels (affordability reason) but now choose the more affordable 2 or 3 star. I take tours bought from travel companies going around in air-conditioned bus or vans. Usually there is even a tour guide to fend off the touts and unofficial "tour" guides.

There is a price to pay for these conveniences, comfort and security. I spend less time talking to the locals I meet and instead learn about the country from the tourist guide or books. I am surrounded by people connected to the tourist industry.

Discovering about a country, culture and people has been reduced to what I read from the Lonely Planet guidebooks and tourist brochures. The sense of discovery and wonder learning from direct experience is lost.

I resolve to return to my roots, the way I used to travel and enjoy travelling - as a back-packer.


This will be one of my new year resolutions.

So much for Retirement

I did not run on Thursday and Friday due to my retirement from running.

On Saturday evening, the sky were filled with dark clouds and there were rumbling sounds from thunder. After two days without exercise, I was feeling lethargic and out of sorts. I went to the Klang stadium intending to do brisk walking for 4 km. I walked for 2 x 400 m , saw Albert doing an easy run . I wanted to ask him where to buy discounted Brooks shoes for Klang Pacer members. To do this, I started to run beside him intending to stop after he had answered my question.

The intended "stop" did not happen as I continued running with him. In fact, I continued running for 6 x 400 m . So much for retirement.

After the run, I walked on the reflexology path. No problems with my left foot today.

I just CAN'T stop running- love it too much and because it means so much to me.

I decided that I won't retire after all, instead I will reduce mileage and frequency. My plan is
is to run 4 km x 3 times a week. The other 4 days I will do race walking which I had just learn from Mr. Gan three weeks ago.

However I won't be running at the Bukit Aman or going to the Pacesetters KLIM 2005 Peer Support event tomorrow.

Retirement from Running

After doing research on the Internet, I have concluded (as did the specialist) that I have a compressed nerve (pinched nerve) - <info also here>, somewhere which is causing problems on my left foot. It is not Plantar Fasciitis as my symptoms are more typical of nerve compression. The symptoms as I experienced it, starting from around January 2004:-

1) 1 to 4 mths : Numbness of the left foot during running and pain in the toes, then

2) 4 to 7 mths : Numbness dissapeared but felt burning sensation after each run, then

3) 8 to 10 mths: Discomfort during running, swollen foot and burning sensation.

4) Oct/Nov : Fasting month, reduced mileage : 2-3 km twice a week. Minor symptoms as per 3).

4) Before and after Singapore race, symptoms became worse.

The Siemens 10k was the turning point - my left foot was sore for 2 days (until Wednesday). This incident prompted me to seek medical advice the following week.

Now what ? For a start , I have decided to retire from running. I will not run again or do any form of sustained running/training until the symptoms fully dissappear. I may try to run sometime in early Jan. 2004 before the next medical appointment (14 Jan. 2005). The outcome of the run will determine whether I continue to "retire" or commence running.

I will miss being able to run but I look at it this way: My "retirement" will perhaps allow full recovery?

My Left Foot Injury - the Diagnosis

I went to see the Orthopedic specialist on Tuesday. The diagnosis - possible compressed nerve. But I am not entirely sure if the diagnosis is 100% accurate. I will have to research this subject more to see if it fits the symptoms. However my greater concern is the long term effects of this problem.

I am currently taking Metycobal (Vitamin B12) for this injury. It's supposed to accelerate the repair of damaged nerves.

Again I have to do more research on this problem to evaluate its impact on my running. Do I take a break or continue running by making some changes like a getting a suitable shoe?

Recipe #1 - Breakfast

I thought I shared one of my favourite breakfast recipes. Sometimes even I get sick of eating cereals or oatmeal for breakfast even though they are good for me. So when I get bored with cereals/oatmeals, this is one of the things I eat:-

Recipe#1
1) Two slices of wholemeal bread - toasted medium.

2) While still hot, spread peanut butter on the slices.

3) On top of the peanut butter, spread cream of corn

4) Add honey to to the cream of corn and mix them

5) Eat !

The good stuff:
a) Fibre - from bread and corn
b) Vitamins
c) Monosaturated fat from peanut- lowers risk of heart disease.
d) Anti-Oxidants (honey)

The bad stuff:-
a) The cream of corn has a high salt content.

KL Marathon 2005 - Where the fak is the website?

I have been trying to register for the KL International Marathon 2005. But got this error message:-

Unable to determine IP address from host name for www.klmarathon.gov.my

Where the fak is the website? The organisers can't even get the website up and running properly.

I have decided to register for the full marathon but just in case, I will also register for the half marathon. It will be my first marathon.

Really when I think about it, the Singapore marathon is the best race for a first time marathoner. Besides the flat course, the facilities and support for the runners are first class, reallu deserves to be called an international event. Will KLIM be an international class event?

My Medal Colllection

Period 1999-2004

Post Singapore Recovery Runs

After the Singapore Run, I took three days off from running to rest. Unlike previous half marathons in Malaysia where my legs would be sore for 3-4 days, this week just two days later,my legs has fully recovered. Perhaps it was running at slow speed but what helped a lot was the flat course. There was no straining of the quads when running uphill or pounding on the legs when going downhill.

On Wednesday I was already doing a recovery run for 4 km. The next day I did 3.9 km and then another 2.6 km with Jamie and Justin.

Today I ran 4.8 km around the 400 m track at the Klang stadium with one of the Klang Pacer runner. Enjoyed today's run a lot. So far, my left foot injury has improved a lot. Not much swelling or pain after each run. On Tuesday, I have an appointment with the specialist.

I also made a trip to the Ikano Power Centre this morning. The reason was to check out the sports shop. There was really only one sports shop - Citadium. They had a largest range of Brooks shoed I've seen anywhere in the Klang valley. I've never worn a Brooks shoe before but am planning to get one this year. The thing that struck me about the Ikano P.S was its design. It felt more like I was walking aroung a shopping centre in Europe, Scandinavia in particular.The vibe was so unlike a typical Malaysian shopping centre.

Singapore Marathon 2004 Report

I stayed at Hotel Asia , Scotts Road throughout the 5 days in Singapore. The half marathon race starting time was 6.30 am. Unsure of the extent of road closures and the time it will take to reach the Esplanade, I booked a taxi to pick me up at 5.00 am. It turned out that it took only 10 minutes to reach the Esplanade. I had more than 1 hour time to kill before the start. I spend this time wandering around the starting line and field (Padang) and going to the portable toilet three times. Amazingly there were dozens of portable toilets at strategic locations. This was so unlike the big races in Malaysia like KLIM or Penang where there are at most 6 portable toilets. Come-on race organisers in Malaysia, how much does does it cost to hire more portable toilets?

Pre-Race
There were also other useful facilities ; tents with various types of food (payable), bag storage, drinking water station, playground equipment for kids etc. In short, the organiser have really given much thought on the needs of officials, volunteers, runners and their family and children as well.

I came across Andrew, Bernice and Justin at the Padang. We chatted about our race plans. I showed Justin where the bag storage and later we went to see the full marathon start. We missed the start, but the crowd was so big that the back end runners were still walking towards the starting line.

After this I got into the pen for the sub 2.5 hrs runner while Justin was in the sub 2 hr pen. Standing next to me was Julian. We talked about his trip to Bangkok while waiting the firing of the start gun. Suddenly the front runners started to move forward, had the starter fired the gun? I didn't noticed but just followed the crowd walking towards the start banner.

The First 10 km
Past the start banner, I started to run slowly, cautiously while gauging the sensations of my left foot. Was there any discomfort or pain? At this time, I was still running beside Julian and chatting. After 2-3 minutes, the left foot was still OK and I increased my pace.

It was a comfortable jogging pace for me. My target was to run 65 minutes for the first 10 km. Due to an injury on the left foot. my modest race target of 2 hrs 15 min seemed to be achievable at this point. It was quite boring to run at this slow pace as my normal pace for a half marathon is 58 min. To minimise boredom, I spent the time looking for my friends running the marathon. Only managed to spot Alex and no one else. There was also a guy running in a wedding cake costume.

I reached the the 10 km mark slightly ahead of schedule at 63 minutes.

The last 11 km
The last 11 km is when I got into trouble. It started with a slight discomfort on my left foot. Shortly it started to hurt so I slowed down a bit and changed my running form to minimise impact on the left foot. Somewhere at 12 km mark, I had to stop and walked for a few minutes. The pain eased off and I started to run again. When it started to hurt again, I walked and ran and so on. Must have spent about 10-15 minutes walking. I was also getting tired mainly due to lack of training (low mileage) and possibly having my running rythm disrupted by the walk-run repetitions.

Inexplicably at the 15 km, I had the sudden urge to defecate - the toilets were in view but I decided to resist in order not to lose time. Instead I slowed down to allow the urge to dissipate. It did after some 10 minutes of running at a slower pace.

At the 19 km, the stretch towards the Esplanade bridge was exposed to the sun. It was damn hot. I could the sun rays burning my shoulders and exposed neck. It was time to push towards the finish if not to look good for the crowd but to reduce exposure to the sun. On the bridge I remarked to another runner "I am glad this will be over soon" . I was indeed more than motivated to sprint the last 100 m to the finish line.

My time was 2 hrs 19 min. 54 sec (Gun time ), 2 hrs 16 min. 42 sec (Chip time) in 924 position out of 2004 finishers.

Post Race
After the race and drinks, I went to the medical tent to apply ice on my left foot. Remarkably, there was a volunteer asking the injured runners (but conscious) on the type and location of their injury. I spent the rest of the morning to cheer on the marathon runners.

Summary
The Singapore Marathon organisers have done a great job to make the race enjoyable and hassle free for the runners and their supporters. Minor quibbles were the length of time it took to retrieve bags and inaudible loud speakers for the back end runners at the starting line.

If I go to Singapore again next year, I will take either the bus or airplane. No more KTM train to Singapore for me. I will not go into the reasons but suffice to say the train service was not satisfactory or reliable.

December Plan
Today (Wednesday) I did a recovery run at KLCC for 2.6 km. I still experienced pain on the left foot. I have brought forward the appointment with the specialist by one week to next Tuesday . I think I have a good idea where the injury lies if not I can describe the symptoms inn detail.

I may have to stop running for a few weeks. I can tell you that if this happens "It Sucks". What will I do then for exercise?

Left Foot Injury - Observation #1, Wednesday

Today I ran with Yong at KLCC park. The pace was the fastest I've done at KLCC for the past 5 months. Did 3 laps x 1.3 km at 7.00 min per lap, possibly going below 7 min for the 3rd lap. After the third lap, I decided to stop to prevent the risk of aggravating the foot injury.

After the run , I immediately removed both shoes and did some calf stretching. As mentioned yesterday, I suspected it could be Plantar Fasciitis.

I also saw the ever cheerful Ng - seems he is doing some serious training. Then I walked to the 600 m mark and chatted with Justin about this Sunday's race.

I decided that to pin-point the cause of injury, I must document the effects in detail. Knowing the effects, the cause of injury may be determined accurately. So here are my observations:-

1. For the whole day, my left foot was normal; no discomfort or pain.
2. Before running, I did extra calf stretches (4 x).
3. Shoes : ASICS Kayano XI.
4. Medication: 500 mg Methycobal morning.
   
5. During the run, the left side of my foot (left of arch) was hitting the shoe bottom. No painful sensation but felt tightness in the arch left side. Foot seems to be twisting along the long axis.
   
6. No such thing was observed for the right foot.
7. After the run, took off shoes; no pain whatsoever but the tissue underneath the left arch was slightly swollen.
8. Pressed my fingers along the arch bottom (both foot); no tenderness or pain on either foot.
9. During the cool down walk - 500m, there was some tenderness felt underneath the left arch, somewhere in the centre.
   
10. 5 minutes later in the gym, I pressed with my fingers length-wise onn both arches. No pain or tenderness. Noticed tissue undeneath the left arch was swollen.
    
11. 1 hour later, left foot was slightly swollen, Removed shoe and swolleness dissappeared.
12. At 10.00 pm , pressed fingers along both arches. OK for right foot. For the left arch, there was a slight soreness felt at the arch bottom Soreness still persists at 10.40 pm.
13. Noticed the centre of the left arch is swollen but no redness.