I finally managed to run yesterday (Sunday). My alarm clock buzzer came on at 6.00 am. Boy, it was tough to wake up and for a while I stood by the bed and wondered if should go back to sleep. But then I said to myself " Don't be a lazy bum" and put on my T-shirt and shorts.
I was planning to run in an old park nearby but I only knew the general direction to get there. After 20 minutes of walking (2 km) I spotted a thick row of trees. Other than some early morning garbage haulers , there was no one else in the park. Unsure of my level of fitness, I decided I would run as long as I could. As I finished one loop (1 km) and on my way to the 2nd loop, I saw a guy wearing a sleeveless T-shirt, baggy shorts and a baseball cap running about 20m ahead of me. He was holding two rusty steel barbells and pumping his arms up and down whie running.
As I was about to overtake him on the right, he veered to the left. I continued running until until about 400m from the house.
Total distance ran : about 4 km.
Walked : 2 km.
Time : Did not measure.
I conclude that I am still fit anough to run about 4 to 5 km.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Friday, July 28, 2006
Turkmenistan Post #4 : What's cheap
What's cheap:
Petrol is Ringgit 30 cents per litre here.
Grapes are cheap too; 1 big plate is RM 1.00
Electricity and water is free.
What is expensive is - fish. There is no fresh fish available here in the markets. Frozen fish is RM 60 per piece and the large fish (0.5 m) can cost RM 200.
Canned sardine and tuna is the way to go if you want to eat fish here.
Petrol is Ringgit 30 cents per litre here.
Grapes are cheap too; 1 big plate is RM 1.00
Electricity and water is free.
What is expensive is - fish. There is no fresh fish available here in the markets. Frozen fish is RM 60 per piece and the large fish (0.5 m) can cost RM 200.
Canned sardine and tuna is the way to go if you want to eat fish here.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Turkmenistan Post #3 - I want to run
It's only 4 days to the Penang Bridge Run (PBR). If I was in Malaysia and running the PBR I would have already felt the a tinge of excitement and anxiousness this week. As it is I am in Ashgabat and have not run a single step.
The area where I am staying at has one nearby park across a major road. I checked it out last week but the park circumference was only 200m. It's not really a good park to run as there are very few trees. The park surface is made of concrete tiles and not very friendly to someone who has an injured knee.
I have found another park about 500 to 800 m away. It is not a fancy and beautified landscaped park with fountains built to impress by the authorities. It doesn't have these things but what is has are plenty of trees and a surfaced roads between the trees. In short, a good place to run. I plan to run this weekend in this park sometime early in the morning.
Over here, during summer the sun rises as early as 5.30 am and sets late at 8.30 pm. The evenings are just too hot to run (38 deg. C). Early morning is the only suitable time to run here.
Over the past 3 days, Ashghabat have been experiencing sometime rare - traffic jams. The Iranian president is here for a visit and entire roads have been closed for the whole day. Sometime you normally cannot do in other countries but who dares to complain here?
The area where I am staying at has one nearby park across a major road. I checked it out last week but the park circumference was only 200m. It's not really a good park to run as there are very few trees. The park surface is made of concrete tiles and not very friendly to someone who has an injured knee.
I have found another park about 500 to 800 m away. It is not a fancy and beautified landscaped park with fountains built to impress by the authorities. It doesn't have these things but what is has are plenty of trees and a surfaced roads between the trees. In short, a good place to run. I plan to run this weekend in this park sometime early in the morning.
Over here, during summer the sun rises as early as 5.30 am and sets late at 8.30 pm. The evenings are just too hot to run (38 deg. C). Early morning is the only suitable time to run here.
Over the past 3 days, Ashghabat have been experiencing sometime rare - traffic jams. The Iranian president is here for a visit and entire roads have been closed for the whole day. Sometime you normally cannot do in other countries but who dares to complain here?
Monday, July 24, 2006
Turkmenistam : Post #2 Weekend in Asghabat
Monday again.
On Saturday I went to the Turkmenistan History Museum. As it is with every goverment building, this edifice is a gigantic square building with huge columns and the enitre wall made of marble. As a foreigner, I had to pay a huge sum for the ticket ; USD 10.00. The locals pay only Manat 2,000 (USD 0.10). Yep you read that right, foreigners pay one hundred times more to get into the museum.
The museum had three floors. One of the worker showed me the way to the 1st hall. The first hall is basically about the modern history of Turkmenistan post 1991 when the current president declared inpendence from the Soviet Union. There were photos and boards showing the various achievements over the past 15 years. One hilarious photo that should not be missed is the Man himself wearing an airforce uniform. The only problem was it showed his face but it quite apparent that it the photo was a fake. Someone had done a very bad job pasting the Man's face on top of the uniform. I wish I could have taken a photo.
2nd floor contained the archeological exhhibits which I think is the most interesting area of the museum. I learnt that the areas in Turkeministan have been occupied in ancient times since 3000 B.C. (5000 years ago). There were several beautiful and elaborate ivory carvings. Again I could not take photos even furtively as the attendant followed me everywhere. Other than watching me, the pretty attendant was not much help as she could not speak English.
The rest of the 2nd floor consisted of ethnographic exhibits. The exhibits were however not quite ethnically diverse as they showed overwhelmingly Turkmen artifacts leaving out the 15 percent of the population of Uzbeks and Russian.
The 3rd floor is an exhibit of the Turkem contribution in the Patrotic war. The exhibits were entirely in Turkmen and Russian language. I had no idea what it was all about.
What was obvious to me is a large part of the Turkmenistan history has been left out, namely the 110 years subjugation by the Russian empire. I guess this is not something that the goverment want to showcase.
I can't upload photos to blogspot - not sure what is the reason.
On Saturday I went to the Turkmenistan History Museum. As it is with every goverment building, this edifice is a gigantic square building with huge columns and the enitre wall made of marble. As a foreigner, I had to pay a huge sum for the ticket ; USD 10.00. The locals pay only Manat 2,000 (USD 0.10). Yep you read that right, foreigners pay one hundred times more to get into the museum.
The museum had three floors. One of the worker showed me the way to the 1st hall. The first hall is basically about the modern history of Turkmenistan post 1991 when the current president declared inpendence from the Soviet Union. There were photos and boards showing the various achievements over the past 15 years. One hilarious photo that should not be missed is the Man himself wearing an airforce uniform. The only problem was it showed his face but it quite apparent that it the photo was a fake. Someone had done a very bad job pasting the Man's face on top of the uniform. I wish I could have taken a photo.
2nd floor contained the archeological exhhibits which I think is the most interesting area of the museum. I learnt that the areas in Turkeministan have been occupied in ancient times since 3000 B.C. (5000 years ago). There were several beautiful and elaborate ivory carvings. Again I could not take photos even furtively as the attendant followed me everywhere. Other than watching me, the pretty attendant was not much help as she could not speak English.
The rest of the 2nd floor consisted of ethnographic exhibits. The exhibits were however not quite ethnically diverse as they showed overwhelmingly Turkmen artifacts leaving out the 15 percent of the population of Uzbeks and Russian.
The 3rd floor is an exhibit of the Turkem contribution in the Patrotic war. The exhibits were entirely in Turkmen and Russian language. I had no idea what it was all about.
What was obvious to me is a large part of the Turkmenistan history has been left out, namely the 110 years subjugation by the Russian empire. I guess this is not something that the goverment want to showcase.
I can't upload photos to blogspot - not sure what is the reason.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Turkmenistan Post #1
It is now very hot in Asghabat (capital city). At 5.00 pm, it is about 39 degree C but I was told it will be hotter in August.
On Sunday I got through customs without any problems even with the 1 Litre rice cooker and a 12kg box full of food stuff. The customs guy pointed to the box and asked "Food?" I said "Yes, food". He nodded and waved me through and I was through!.
I am now staying at the Staff House which is a two storey bungalow with four rooms. The house is fully equipped with facilities for cooking and entertainment. There is even an outdoor sauna though I can't imagine anyone wanting to spend time inside it when the outside temperature is 42 degree C.
I am hoping to take some photos. It is now easier to post photos to blogspot without using separate software. I have to be a bit careful as the police here are quite touchy about anyone taking photos.
On Sunday I got through customs without any problems even with the 1 Litre rice cooker and a 12kg box full of food stuff. The customs guy pointed to the box and asked "Food?" I said "Yes, food". He nodded and waved me through and I was through!.
I am now staying at the Staff House which is a two storey bungalow with four rooms. The house is fully equipped with facilities for cooking and entertainment. There is even an outdoor sauna though I can't imagine anyone wanting to spend time inside it when the outside temperature is 42 degree C.
I am hoping to take some photos. It is now easier to post photos to blogspot without using separate software. I have to be a bit careful as the police here are quite touchy about anyone taking photos.
Friday, July 14, 2006
This week's training
I have been running a bit more than normal this week.
Monday : 5.2 km (stop and go, some walking)
Tuesday :4.0 km (some walking)
Wednesday : Rest (sore knee)
Thursday: 4.0 km (stop and go again, walked!)
Friday : 5.0 km on treadmill (9.4 km/hr down from my normal pace of 10.5 km)
Total distance = 18 km.
My right knee is still sore. I shouldn't overdo things; no more intervals run for me.
Monday : 5.2 km (stop and go, some walking)
Tuesday :4.0 km (some walking)
Wednesday : Rest (sore knee)
Thursday: 4.0 km (stop and go again, walked!)
Friday : 5.0 km on treadmill (9.4 km/hr down from my normal pace of 10.5 km)
Total distance = 18 km.
My right knee is still sore. I shouldn't overdo things; no more intervals run for me.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Yesterday's Run
Oww, Oww, my right knee is still sore today.
Yesterday I ran 5.2 km(6.5 laps) and walked 1.5 laps (2.0km). The first 800m I ran alone with Ronnie joining me at the 800m. We ran together for the 2nd lap doing 7 min 30 seconds per lap.
After the 2nd lap, my knee was getting very sore so I slowed down and ran with PM21. For the rest of the time, we ran and walked together.
Later we sat down to chat at the Bench with Al Loong and Ronnie. Tey and Phyllis was running together. A grinning PM19 showed up at 7.10 pm and rushed off to join Tey and Phylis.
My knee which was quite OK last week is hurting again. It was my fault really as last Thursday I did some interval runs at KLCC park. I shouldn't have done it but sometimes I just want to run faster and get a thumping hard workout.
I am going to Turkmenistan soon. I plan to run more often over there but it will be very hot. It's now summer and temperature ranges from 36 to 43 degree Celcius.
Yesterday I ran 5.2 km(6.5 laps) and walked 1.5 laps (2.0km). The first 800m I ran alone with Ronnie joining me at the 800m. We ran together for the 2nd lap doing 7 min 30 seconds per lap.
After the 2nd lap, my knee was getting very sore so I slowed down and ran with PM21. For the rest of the time, we ran and walked together.
Later we sat down to chat at the Bench with Al Loong and Ronnie. Tey and Phyllis was running together. A grinning PM19 showed up at 7.10 pm and rushed off to join Tey and Phylis.
My knee which was quite OK last week is hurting again. It was my fault really as last Thursday I did some interval runs at KLCC park. I shouldn't have done it but sometimes I just want to run faster and get a thumping hard workout.
I am going to Turkmenistan soon. I plan to run more often over there but it will be very hot. It's now summer and temperature ranges from 36 to 43 degree Celcius.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Turkmenistan Trip #3 : Packing
I am going to Turkmenistan again and this time it will be a longest trip; 3 weeks. Two weekends in Turkmenistan-what will I do?
You may read my previous posts on the crappy Italian food served at Nissa hotel. I now have a solution to my food "problems". First and after an extensive at three different shops; Parkson (KLCC), Isetan and Parkson (Sungai Wang), I found the solution : A rice cooker with a built in steamer (brand : Philips) and with this device. I will whip up the traditional Malaysian dishes such as sambal ikan bilis, satay sauce etc. In addition, I will be able to eat steamed vegetables a far superior and healthier alternative to the oil saturated veggies found in a typical Malaysian food stall.
Well the the last part about the steamed veggies is accurate (the rice cooker comes with a steamer , remember?). For the Malaysian dishes, refer to the photo below which shows some of the things I will bring:-
Last night, I weighed the foodstuff I will be bringing into Turkmenistan. Total weight = 11.5 kg. I hope I will get through customs OK.
You may read my previous posts on the crappy Italian food served at Nissa hotel. I now have a solution to my food "problems". First and after an extensive at three different shops; Parkson (KLCC), Isetan and Parkson (Sungai Wang), I found the solution : A rice cooker with a built in steamer (brand : Philips) and with this device. I will whip up the traditional Malaysian dishes such as sambal ikan bilis, satay sauce etc. In addition, I will be able to eat steamed vegetables a far superior and healthier alternative to the oil saturated veggies found in a typical Malaysian food stall.
Well the the last part about the steamed veggies is accurate (the rice cooker comes with a steamer , remember?). For the Malaysian dishes, refer to the photo below which shows some of the things I will bring:-
Last night, I weighed the foodstuff I will be bringing into Turkmenistan. Total weight = 11.5 kg. I hope I will get through customs OK.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Thursday Morning : Man in White
Today On my way to KLCC at the corner of Jln Sultan Ismail and Yap Kwan Seng ;7.10 am,I saw a male runner wearing a GE 30 km run vest, cap and shorts running along the road. Muscular guy - must be training for the Penang Bridge marathon.
Monday : I ran 3.9 km at KLCC park. Regulars absent. Right knee was stable and not sore.
Tuesday : 3.9 km at KLCC park. Regulars (Ronnie, Ah Long , DK , Yong, Saleh) were there as well.
Wednesday : Only ran 1.3 km before the rain hit the park.
The 2 weeks rest from running allowed a recovery of sorts on my knee. The downside is my endurance which has been improving is not very good now.
Monday : I ran 3.9 km at KLCC park. Regulars absent. Right knee was stable and not sore.
Tuesday : 3.9 km at KLCC park. Regulars (Ronnie, Ah Long , DK , Yong, Saleh) were there as well.
Wednesday : Only ran 1.3 km before the rain hit the park.
The 2 weeks rest from running allowed a recovery of sorts on my knee. The downside is my endurance which has been improving is not very good now.
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