Short Report on a Trip to Singapore

I was in Singapore for a 2 day business trip (Monday night to Wednesday afternoon). Other than a meeting on Tuesday, I had some free time on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. Initially I was planning to go to Queenstown shopping complex to buy the Saucony Progrid Triump 4 shoe but I had decided to buy it from Choi. After lunch on Tuesday, it was too hot to walk around so I stayed in the hotel until 4.00 pm. After 4.00pm, I took the MRT trains to City Hall station which was near the Funan IT mall. My destination was the "Running Lab" shop.

In Kuala Lumpur there are no specialist shops for runners and triathletes. I spent about one hour in the shop and bought a few things:-

1. One Sorbothane Elite insole
2. Two race bib belts
3. One Wright Coolmax sock
4. One wallet that can be clipped to a short (Nathan brand)
   

After leaving Funan IT mall, I went to HMV in Orchard Road to look for CD and DVDs. I bought the Malaysian banned DVD "Lelaki Komnunis Terakhir". It was almost 7.00 pm when I left HMV and I walked about 500m back to the Royal Plaza Hotel in Scotts Road.

After a shower and rest, I felt a bit restless and so went out to the Borders bookshop about 100m away from the hotel. I spent one hour there and bought 2 books and a LED reading light.I was a bit hungry as I had not eaten dinner and by the time I left Borders it was almost 10.00 pm. I made a quick stop at McDonalds to get a Fillet-O-Fish which I took with me to the hotel.
Lights out at 11.00 pm.

The next morning I had a late breakfast at almost 9.30 am. Loitered in my hotel room and decided to check out at 11.00 am. After checking out, I went to Bugis and Arab street using the MRT. Walked around in the hot mid-day sun to have a look around the area. The area is a backpacker hangout but it is unlike many such places around Asia. For one, it was spotless clean. I guess the Singapore authorities have "sanitised" the area. I did not sight a single grubby back-packer nor were there any whiff of an easy availability of illegal substances a.k.a ganja, pills etc.

I had lunch at Raffles hospital food court. On the way back to the hotel, I stopped by a shop to buy some CDs. I collected my bag from the hotel and took a taxi to Changi airport. I managed to get on an earlier shuttle flight at 3.25 pm. I reached home at 6.00 pm.

As usual, Singapore has always impressed me with its efficiency in doing most things. Buses and MRT trains arrive on time. The streets are free of litter. There are none of the chaos and disorder found in cities like Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. The efficiency and order are good for business and makes life predictable for most people living in Singapore. I have say that the more trips (this was my 3rd trip in 3 years) I made to Singapore, I could be live there for a while.

However what I discovered is Singapore is not a forgiving society/country. In Singapore I have always come across various people who lived on the margins. The elderly woman at the Orchard Road MRT selling various cheap goods for a few Singapore and a blind man selling tissue at Funan IT mall. For a country listed as the 21st wealthiest in the world, should such people be left behind and be forced to live at the margin ? This article has something to say about "Survival of the Fittest"mentality amongst Singapore leaders.

Malaysia = Fat Nation

Last month, the Malaysian government proposed to ban fast food advertisements. Ever wonder why?

Malaysia now has the fattest population in South East Asia. In 2006, Malaysia passed a milestone - the overweight population (54%) now outnumber the "not" overweight (46%). In just ten years, the proportion of population who are overweight in Malaysia has more than the doubled from 24 to 54 %. See this report.

As for me, I am doing my bit to ensure the minority (46%) of Malaysian do not fall into the majority category. On Friday I ran 6 km in 36 minutes and yesterday 4 km (time unknown).

I want to Shop!

PM19 is going to Bali tomorrow for the 4th time. I went to Bali in 2004 and liked the place a lot too. The things I enjoyed the most were the cultural stuff like watching the dances, shadow puppet shows (Wayang Kulit) and the wide variety of cuisine.

I ran yesterday with Gan. As customary when I am running with Gan, the pace will not be slow. We hit sub 7 min 30 seconds pace for three laps (1.3 km each) until both of us were tired. After that we power walked for another two laps at maybe 10-11 minutes per lap (7 to 8 km/hr). Total distance = 6.5 km.

Today I had a more leisurely run at KLCC park but first I ran two fast two alone. I met Newton and we continue to run together. A lap later we came across Jamie and I did 2 more laps. All three laps were run at 8 min. 45 seconds. Total distance = 6.5 km. My right is a bit sore tonight.

After reading up on some shoe reviews, I have decided to buy Saucony Progrid Triump 4. This shoe received an excellent review in Runners World U.K. Jamie mentioned this shoe when we were running today. I have actually worn a Saucony shoe way back in 2001. I loved that shoe but I left it on the bus when I returned to Kuala Lumpur from the Penang Bridge Run. Very soon afterwards, Saucony shoes were no longer available in Malaysia.

I have added a few more items to my shopping list in Singapore:-

• DVDs : In addition to the "Lelaki Komunis Terakhir" ,I will be looking for "The Big Durian"and a box set of "M.A.S.H, the TV series".
  
  
• Books at Borders or Kinokouniya.

Tired 3 Days

The last 3 days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) have not been great training days. On Friday I was around at KLCC park but I couldn't run because my right knee was sore. So I had to walk, walk and walk for one hour. Walking is so boring. Nothing beats running.

I also didn't run much over the the weekend. I tried to run on Saturday evening but my left foot hurt after just running 400m. So it was another one hour walking session. On Sunday, I only walked for 30 minutes. Two days walkijg was enough for me but today (Monday) my left foot is better. Right knee is still sore. Hopefully I can run today.

Two weeks ago I ordered some vitamins, phytochemicals and glucosamine-MSM tablets from the USA. I appointed Pos Malaysia as my agent to clear them past customs at the KL International airports. Last week I received a letter from the Pharmaceutical and Drugs Dept. of Malaysia. The stuff I have ordered has been marked as "Unregistered drugs and substances" and illegal importation is subject to a fine of Ringgit 50,000 and a jail sentence.
Well the tablets worth USD 150 is now stuck at the customs. Maybe they will be destroyed off or become "misplaced". The tablets I bought contained substances that have been generically approved in Malaysia. True, the brands have not been approved and registered in Malaysia but someone at the Pharmacy department can at least read the labels, could'nt they ? In fact, last year I ordered the similar products without going through the same problem. Why now?

Singapore Shopping List

I will be going to Singapore for a meeting on 2nd April. I have already prepared a shopping list for things I want to buy in Singapore.

1. ASICS GT-2110 (not the 2120) to replace my 2 year old ASICS GT-2100.
   
   
2. 2 pairs of impact absorbing orthortics.
   
   
3. 1 new split notch type running shorts. My old shorts which I used to wear in 2003 doesn't fit anymore :-(
   
   
4. DVDs in particular "Lelaki Komunis Terakhir" by Malaysian film maker, Amir Muhammad. His latest documentary "Apa Khabar Orang Kampung" has just been banned by the authorities in Boleh Land.

Indoor Running

I had to run on a treadmill for 3 days since Monday (rested on Tuesday). My left foot pain has eased a bit. I was able to run on Wednesday (5 km) and Thursday (5km).

Yesterday's workout was more interesting and quite strenous than the previous two. I ran for 500m at 8.0 km/hr followed by another 500 m at 9.0 kmh/hr, a total of 1.0 km. For the next 2 km, I ran at a constant pace 10.3 km/hr. For the last 2 km, I increased the treadmill speed to 10.8 km/hr. It was quite hard going to keep running. One guy who was also running for 20 minutes looked over checked me out a few times. I don't know what that was about though

My training plans for March and April is to gradually increase my training distance to 8 to 10 km. I also plan to improve my speed as measured on the treadmill to 11.0 km/hr and be able to maintain it for at least 10 km. I don't plan to do any long runs yet.

I hope it doesn't run this evening again and I will be able to run outdoors.

Wednesday : Foot Pain

I ran 6km on the treadmill yesterday. Average speed ; first 5 km : 10.3 km/hr and last 1 km 10.5 km/hr.

When I woke up this morning and stood up, my left foot hurt. More precisely, the bottom of my left foot was tight and sore. It felt as though there was a rubber band stretched a bit too tight across the arch. After I walked around for a few minutes, the tight and sore sensations disappeared and didn't appear for the whole day. But now as I am typing this in my room, I could feel a sore sensation when I rub my fingers across the arch. It's probably the beginnings of plantar fasciitis. I am glad I didn't run today.

I think I've experience this before a long time ago and made a full recovery. I certainly don't want it to become worse, so I may not run tomorrow if the area is still a bit tender.

Monday : Easy Run

Today was an easy run day for me. I didn't run at KLCC park but hit the treadmill at the fitness centre. I kept boredom at bay by listening to Hiroshima on my iPod and watching other exercisers running on the treadmill. In particular I "observed" one well endowed Chinese girl running furiously on a treadmill two treadmills away from me. It was too bad she was wearing a loose fitting white T-shirt:-)

She is quite a good runner, possibly running at 8 or 9 km/hr and she was already running when I started and she kept going for a few minutes more after I stopped my run.

Distance run : 6.0 km
Time : about 35 minutes
Pace : 10.3 km/hr

KL International Marathon (KLIM) 2007 Photos

My plan was to be present at Dataran Merdeka before 6.00 am in time for the flag off for the half marathon run. But I woke up late this morning and only reached Dataran Merdeka at 6.30pm.I didn't participate in any event during this years KLIM. Here are some of the photos I took during the event:-

The rest of the photos are in this album.

Note I've made the album Public. You can see the photos now. (Thanks, Jamie)

Malaysia Boleh ! (Malaysian Can !)

I managed to get air tickets in Sudan that enabled me to leave Khartoum on Thursday night instead of Saturday night. It was a long journey home as I had to fly from Khartoum to Dubai (3.5 hrs) and transit in Dubai airport for 4 hrs from midnight t0 11.30 pm to 3.30 am. If you transiting in Dubai airport, be prepared for the crowds and lack of space and seats. You may end up sitting on the floors because all the chairs are occupied.

I boarded an Emirates flight from Dubai to Singapore at 3.20am. There were many Indonesian women (20 or so) boarding the flight as well. They were probbaly working as maids in the middle east. Unknown to me, after 3.5 hrs of flying the airplane stopped in Colombo, Sri Lanka for 1.5 hrs to pick up some passengers. After another 3.5 hrs, I finally arrive in Singapore at 4.00 pm. At 6.20pm. I caught another flight (1 hour) to Kuala Lumpur.

Altogether, the return trip took 18 hours through 3 countries (United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka and Singapore). A long and tiring trip but it was better than spending the weekend in Khartoum.

Malaysian Airlines has been named as the 3rd best Cabin staff in 2006. 1st place was Thai Airways, 2nd ranked was Qatar Airways and at 5th place, Singapore Airlines. Malaysian Airlines (MAS) also won "The Best Economy Class". Well the economy class in MAS is not cheap compared to other airlines but at least you know it is the "best".

My blog site has a new look. After 3 years, I was getting bored at how it looked.

KLIM Runners !

SMART Tunnel Run Photo taken by Runwitme (Thanks, dude!) when I was on way to the finishing line. I GIVE UP!.
My best wishes to all of the KLIM runners especially the Pacemaker guys/girls. Give it all your best and if you are not satisfied with your result, there is always next year's race. It's too bad I could not be there to run or even cheer you on. By the time you have started the race, I will be in an airplane flying in the skiers over the Middle East. I hope you won't give-up like I did during the SMART tunnel run.

I will be staying again at the Grand Hotel Villa hotel in Khartoum. It is a hotel owned by a Malaysian company. The good thing about the hotel is there is Malaysian food available in the restaurant. The not so good things are the hotel standards is not up to the mark, dealing with the unhelpful/haughty staff at the reception desk and the almost useless/ ancient treadmill in the so called "fitness centre".

SMART Tunnel Run Race 11 March 2007 - Report

Two weeks ago I quietly and secretly registered for the SMART Tunnel Run. I didn't tell anyone expect one person (he is not a Pacemaker runner) as I really wasn't too sure if I would go ahead to run on the day of the race (today). The distance was quite daunting (16 km) and in my current state of fitness, I doubted my ability to be able to run the entire distance. I was quite sure I would be able to run at least 5 km but beyond that either my stamina or my knee would fail.

After collecting my race bibs on Friday when I had to walk 4 km to and from the Central Market to the Wisma OCM, I thought I would decide on Saturday night if I would go or not to the run. The decision was made for the moment I held the bibs in my hands, I knew I would be there on Sunday morning. I have not run any race in a year and I missed running races a lot. I decided not to wear the Pacemaker vest as I didn't think it would look good for the Pacemaker group if I end up walking most of the course. So I wore last year's Great Eastern 30k vest.

I arrived a bit too early at the car park (6.15am) and walked to the white coloured tents. There was not much to do so I made myself comfortable in one of the plastic chairs. I met Ronnie and Rachel near the start line a few minutes before 7.30 am. It was announced that the race distance is 13.3 km instead of 16km. A bonus for me.

The men's open category was "shot" off a bit later than 7.30 am. It was announced the race start would be broadcasted live on TV. I guess only when there are VIPs present, in this case, the Prime Minister can we expect some TV coverage. Running is a low profile sports in the media here although the local town/city councils are the organiser for many races in Malaysia. I am not one to gripe about these matters but the only politician that has ever run a marathon is the honourable Datuk Shahrir Samad and he is not exactly a typical Malaysian politician. I guess the rest of the herd, plays golf.

But back to the start for my category. The start was delayed again for about 10 minutes. I am not sure what time it started but I sure ran quite slowly when it did. From the start, it was about 400m to the main road. I was trying very hard to keep a slow pace until I reached the tunnel section (6 km long). This is where the men will be separated from the boys ha-ha!.

I was running quite well in the tunnel until 26 min. 30 seconds when the stifling heat and humidity caught up with me. BTW, the tunnel is surprisingly small although there are two vehicle lanes in it. I guess you don't notice the small size unless you are foolish enough to run in one. My first walk break came just after 26 min. 30 seconds.

I restarted my run after walking for about 100m with an Indian man who had stopped running for one year due to an accident. Later he told me he had been hospitalised for 3 weeks from dengue fever He had just checked out 2 weeks ago and now he is running in a fairly challenging conditions.

After running through the tunnel for about 35 minutes, I came to the open road. I saw Tai, a regular Pacesetter runners and fellow enthusiast running towards an ambulance. What was he up to ? He managed to get a bottle of water from the ambulance guys. He drank some and kindly passed the bottle to me. I took some water and passed the half full bottle to the Indian guy. He drank some and poured some over his head. Then he passed the quarter full bottle to the other side of the road barrier to another runner. If you are wondering why this is happening, the first drink station ran out of water. They never learn do they ?

It was pretty much downhill for me from there on - I mostly walked my way through the tunnel on the way back. I tried to run at short bursts a few times but just I just did not have the endurance to keep going at a sustained pace.

Near the tunnel exit, I met Run wit Me. After I went out of the tunnel, there was only about one km to the finish line. This is where I made a last ditch effort to grab the 100 medals on offer. I sped through the tired runners/walkers and overtook a few of the Category C participants. But alas, the 100 medals were gone by the time I crossed the finishing line in 1 hour 33 min. 15 seconds. Out of this, I probably spent about 15 to 20 minutes of walking.

After the race, I did not come across the rest of the Pacemaker Group except for PM3 and Adam.

Now know the current state of my fitness to run distances longer than 5 km. There is a lot of training ahead of me to run farther and I have to do it within the constraints of my injury.

See you guys in a future race!.

Bad News

I just got my flight tickets for my trip to Sudan next week.

I was dismayed to discover that I had to stay in Khartoum on their weekend (Friday and Saturday). I will fly from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai on Malaysian Airlines on Tuesday. From Dubai on the same day I will fly to Khartoum and arrive at 6.25 pm.

I have to attend meetings on Wednesday and Thursday. I had hoped to catch a flight on Friday and be back in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, just in time for me to see the KL International Marathon on Sunday. But instead due to unavailability of air tickets on Friday, I have to stay in Khartoum on a weekend there : Friday and Saturday. I will only be leaving Khartoum at 8.00 pm and have to transits at two airports; Dubai and Singapore. My return flights duration including transit time will take about 18 hours.

Two days in Khartoum - what shall or can I do to occupy my time? Honestly, there is mot much to do or see in Khartoum. The US embassy website lists the places to visit in Khartoum here. I think I will visit two museums to pass the time away. There are really no places to go for entertainment as cinemas, karaokes, bars, discos are banned by the government. I have no plans to run while I am in Khartoum.

On Thursday, I ran at KLCC park with Newton and Cheong. I haven't meet the two guys for at least six months so we spend the time catching up on our respective running and exercise activities. I ran two laps with them and after they stopped, I continued another two laps with a fast pace last lap. Total = 5.2 km.

Trip to Sudan

After two trips to Sudan last year of 3 weeks duration in total, I thought I wouldn't have to go to Sudan for at least a few years. Guess I was wrong as next week I am going to Sudan again!. Mercifully and thanks to the Almighty God, this trip will be very short. I will spend about only 3 nights or possibly 4 nights in Khartoum.

Now my international passport will have visas stamped by countries (Sudan and Pakistan) that for a lack of better words has and still have links to "Islamic Terrorists". I am sure if I apply visa for entry into the U.S.A., I will have go through a rigorous interview. Many Malaysians are not aware that the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur interviews most people who apply for visa. The US authorities has a profiling software to screen high risk individuals. My profile I think would easily fit in the high risk group, I am :-

• Single
• Male
  
• Middle age
• Muslim
• No immediate dependents e.g. wife and children
  
• Has spent time in high risk countries where Al-Qaeda use to or still operates. (Note: Osama bin Laden have lived in both Pakistan and Sudan)

For all I know the CIA, FBI or the National Security Agency (NSA) computers will detect this story with keywords like "Muslim", "Osama" and "bin Laden" appearing here and there.

I had a good run today at KLCC park. For the first 2 laps (1.3km x 2) I ran with Gan who was race walking. His race walking pace is about 9 min per lap (1.3 km). Yong made a rare appearance at KLCC park and I ran with him for 2 more laps. I was not sure of the pace we ran - maybe 8 min per lap. PM1 and Lai F.S was there too. Jamie turned up at 6.50 pm but I had finished my run by then. I think I had satisfying run today and I might run again tomorrow if my knee is OK.

Running Update

Since last week I have been cutting back on my mileage. My plans to increase my runs from 5 to 6.5 km has not materialised.

My worst days were last Friday and Saturday when I wasn't in the mood to run at all. On Friday, I ran 3 km on the treadmill before getting bored. I walked one km and ran the last one km. Total = 5km (287 kcal). On Saturday, I managed to run 1.6 km at the Klang stadium and walked about 2.4 km.

The Sunday run was a lot better for me. I ran with Albert, Jimmy and another Klang Pacer guy. We did the usual 6km route. I managed to keep up with the guys until 5km when I became tired with a sore left quadriceps muscle. I stopped running and walked 100m where I had to run on a badly pot-holed road. I resumed running and finished 6km in 38 minutes.

On Monday, I had a sore left hamstring - a forced rest day.

Today : It is sunny and it looks quite hot but I will be running today.

Hero

I had a good training run yesterday constrained as it is by my injured knee.

Yesterday, I ran 2 laps at KLCC park and it felt good to be able to run at a faster pace (7 min 30 seconds per 1.3 km lap). My fitness is fairly good now, allowing me to run 5 km continuosly but only if my knee is OK on but yesterday I had to stop at 2.6km. I was pretty disappointed that I could not run further. I was just getting into the "Zone", feeling calm and wonderful but alas it wasn't to be. I limped(walked) for another 2 laps before calling it a day.

My friend, Hairul Awzar, PM3 completed his first Ironman Triathlon. Congratulations, man! Read about his heroic effort and experience here.

Here is a running website from Robert Key, based in the U.SA. who posted a comment in my previous report.

Music currently listening to : Ahir by Prem Joshua and Chintan
Book currently reading: God's Messengers What Animals Teach Us about the Divine.

Reduced Training

I have been on a reduced training mileage for since 14 February 2007. Up to that date, I have been able to run 5 km 4 to 5 times a week notwithstanding my right knee meniscus and cartilage problem. Ocsasionally I even managed to do some tempo runs of 20 minutes. My eagerness to get back into shape fast and nmy ever ready desire to run everday brought my downfall. As it is now, I have a sore right knee most of time. I am still trying to run as often as I can.

I've had some success in my quest to lost 6 kilogram weight. I think I have lost about 1 or 2 kg over the past one month. I can't lose a lot of weight by running due to the limited mileage I run nowadays. So I am compensating by eating less food. I often don't eat lunch in particular on the days where I don't run. For dinner, I only eat one small bowl of rice. It is not a Malay custom to eat in a bowl instead of a plate but that is what's I have to do for portion control.

I have also implemented another rule "Eat until I am 60% full". Way back in year 2000 I also followed the same rule when I lost 6 kg but I also ran 50 km a week then. Honestly I cannot figure out why anyone would eat until they are completely stuffed.

"Eat to Live" I say instead of "Live to eat".

Gong XI Fa Chai

I would like to wish Gong Xi Fa Chai and to all my friends. Drive carefully to your hometowns and I hope you will enjoy the long holiday.

I also wish Happy Tet for my Vietnamese friends. If you are reading this blog, please send me an e-mail to my jaring e-mail as I have lost your e-mail addresses due to a configuration problem.

As for me I have no plans to go anywhere very far. Hopefully I will be able to do longer runs during the four day holiday.

Knee Problem Again

I have pushing things a bit too far over the past 2 weeks. My right knee is a bit sore today even though I didn't run today. Over the past 3 weeks, I have been trying to increase my daily training mileage with the occasional tempo runs thrown in. Although my endurance have noticeably improved (I am now able to run 4 km continuously without becoming tired), I am reminded by the sore knee that I am certainly far from OK.

Reminder to my self "Be patient and take things one step at a time (literally)".

Book currently reading : Records and Recollection -1889 to 1934 by J.H.M. Robinson. Published by the Malaysian Branch of Royal Asiatic Society. This book contains a series of articles covering the period from 1889 to 1934 written by an Englishman, J. Robinson who started the Malay Mail newspaper in 1896.

Fraser Hill Rest

Going to Fraser Hill is a bit easier now. The new road (8 km long) to F.H. is operational although it was built way back in March 2001. Rumours say the new road was closed for five years due to land slides and slope improvement. Frankly the new road is worse than the old "Gap" road. Firstly it was cut along hill slopes where unlike the old road where you drive with the slope on the left side and trees on the right, for the new road the right side is "Air". Beyond "Air" is a steep drop down the hill. Driving along the road was a rather disconcerting experience. Secondly, the road has too many turns and corners, some at extreme angles. Just five km on this road, I got a mild headache probably caused by the frequent movement of the car to take the corners. It was not a really pleasant driving experience.

Despite the new access road which now allows continuous access, there were still few visitors to F.H. on Friday night. During dinner at the restaurant near the clock tower, there were four foreigners. Counting six locals including myself brought the total to ten. During the weekend, the crowd was larger but I think at most, there were still only 20 to 30 visitors to F.H. I am not complaining as I enjoyed the peace and quiet that F.H. offers compared to Genting or Cameron Highlands.

I didn't run at F.H. as the hilly routes would cause further damage to my knee.

I returned home on Sunday and after 2 days of rest was eager to run again. On Sunday, I had to run at Shah Alam because the stadium in Klang was closed. The surface was too hard for me to run long distances so I just ran 4 km. On Monday the stadium was still closed and I had to run somewhere else again (4 km).

Cuti Cuti Malaysia

I am taking 2 days leave starting from today. I was planning to go to Cameron Highlands bur changed my mind for 2 reasons. No. 1 - it's quite a long drive from Klang; at least 3 and half hours . 2nd reason: I woke up late this morning - 9.00am. So I am going to Fraser Hills instead.

Yesterday I had lunch at Madam Kwan restaurant at KLCC with the department staff. The food was pretty good and arrived quite fast. I had rice, stir fried bean sprouts (taugeh) with salted fish and cold tofu.

In the evening despite my vow to rest and a sore knee I decided to run again. To reduce the impact on my knee, I ran on the treadmill. I was glad to see I could continue running until 4 km at 10 km/hr without too much exertion or becoming tired. My stamina has definitely improved since Dec 2006.

Later in the gym I introduced myself to Mr. Z****&& who also runs at KLCC park. He is a new face at KLCC and I've run with him once before and boy he is really fast, probably faster than me at the moment. His running style resembles a horse running at full speed.

Is Running Marathons Bad for your Heart and is Running Bad for your Skin?

I came across 2 recent articles about the "negative" (health-wise) aspects of running. I am not sure what to make of these 2 reports about my chosen and beloved sport.

The 1st article is from Harvard University researchers mentions the effect of marathon training on the heart. The 2nd article is on skin cancer.

My Confession

It's a bit late to write this but had a good weekend. The DVD I was looking forward to see arrived last week from Amazon.com. I spent a good 10 hrs over Saturday and Sunday and finished watching the last episode on Monday morning, 12.30 am. The DVD that I just had to watch was "Justice League Unlimited - Season 1". It is actually a cartoon series featuring DC comics superheroes such as Batman, Superman, Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern etc. That was my confession - I watch cartoons!. It's not something I am ashamed to write (that I watch cartoons) about. Really there are great and entertaining cartoons with interesting stories.
My favourite cartoons are:

• Samurai Jack
• The Simpsons
• Spongeboard and Squarepants
• Justice League Unlimited
• The Batman
• Tom and Jerry
  

I did some running too over the past four days : Sunday = 5 km, Monday = 4 km, Tuesday = rest and today, I ran about 5 km at KLCC park. My right knee is getting sore again so I had to rest on Tuesday. I think I have to stop running faster pace runs which nowadays mean 7 min 45 seconds over the 1.3 km lap at KLCC park. Any faster than this pace increases the impact on my right knee and causing it to become sore and swollen. My knee is sore as I am typing this now.

I might not run tomorrow.

Back on Line

I'm back on line after getting my PC fixed at a computer shop. I haven't been able to access my home Internet connection for 6 weeks. The fix was to reinstall Windows XP Pro. On the same night I went on-line, the PC Windows XP Pro crashed again and again. I couldn't even login into my PC. My DIY fix was to install a 2nd copy of Windows but now I cannot access most of my program installed on the original Windows. So much for Windows stability and robustness. Even after 14 years since the 1st Windows came out, Microsoft is still unable to produce a robust and reliable operating system. Enough said.

I have been running more often over the last 2 months. My usual daily run 4 to 5 km each time and about four times a week. I wish I could run farther but I still have to be careful as my right knee injury although it is now better, is certainly far from cured.

I was in Langkawi island last week for an industry workshop (4 days). My last trip to Langkawi was 8 years ago. Eight years later, I could not even recognise the place. The roads are wider. The airport and jetty complex are brand new. There was no time to visit places except for a outing to the Mahsuri tomb. Before there was only the tomb and water well. Now the authorities have added traditional village houses, a building for the drama-pantomine show, restaurant and a place where traditonal "kueh" (snacks) are made. Each kueh cost an astonishing RM 2.00 per piece which is even more expensive than the prices in a 5 star hotel in Malaysia.

I watched the drama-pantomime show. I must say I enjoyed watching the one hour long show. The pace was just right with the dramatic elements at the right time to spice things up. I think the organiser have selected the most beautiful malay girls they could find for the show. It was too bad I was sitting a bit too far from the stage.

Not all of the development was good though. I saw some monkeys sitting by the road side from the airport to town. I guess their home in the forest have been "developed". I wonder where they are going to get food and where they are going to live. A very sad thought for me.

The famous Langkawi eagle statue was built at the new jetty and marina area. The jetty also had an adjacent shopping complex named "Jetty Point". Around the area, there were a number of shops selling mostly malay food. Both the jetty and shopping complex were painted white. I thought the entire place was just too monstrously huge and out of place for a relatively small island.

Uhh - I also managed to run only once in Langkawi. On Tuesday, I hit the hotel treadmill for an easy 3 km run. Langkawi island is actually a fine place to run during the off peak holiday season. During the holiday season, I would imagine, you would be at risk being run over by various vehicles (narrow roads).

Two Frustrations

I am back in Malaysia. Now straight to this post's title.

Frustration #1 :
I ran yesterday in Klang stadium. I did 400m x 7 and 5 laps of of walking - no knee problems but I am certainly far from cured. I walked with two "retired" runners. Runner No 1 : Mr *** whom I haven't seen for one year. It turns out he has an Achilles tendon injury. In his words "It is now wrecked" (hancur in Malay language). He can no longer run and now has to walk. Runner #2 : Has stopped running since 2005 due to foot injury (bottom).

Runner #3 : Has stopped running races since Feb. 2006. Ocassionally able to run short distances up to 5km. Missed yesterday's Great Eastern 30km. That runner is me.

Frustation #2 :
My home Internet connection has been down for five weeks. The DSL line is working fine but the PC is not detecting the IP address. I have even installed a new Ethernet card. The Telekoms Malaysia tech. guy has tried three times but without success. What's up ?

3 Day Weekend in Asghabat

Thanks for the SMS from various people wishing me a happy birthday. I turned 43 on 8 Jan 2006. I am well past middle age! But I do aim to stay healthy and fit regardless of my age.

Tomorrow is a public holiday in Turkmenistan for Remembrance Day. I don't know what it is about though. What I am thinking of what the *%%# I am going to do for the next 3 days (Friday and weekend).

What I have in mind to do is to watch some DVDs, finish a 2nd novel "Memories of a Pure Spring" by the same Vietnamese author and in case I finish it tomorow, a back-up book" Process Control for Technicians and Engineers". I hope the last book will not put me to sleep.

An election will be held on 11 February 2007 to choose a new President of Turkmenistan. There are six candidates and I've seen two of them on the local TV station channels. The front runner seems to be the current acting president, the former health minister (don't remember his name) . He has been the longest serving minister in the cabinet (5 years) compared to the other five.

Weekend in Asghabat

Weekend in Asghabat. It was very cold - sub zero degrees C.

On Sunday I went to the market to buy some groceries.

There isn't much to do here during the weekend. It's too cold to play any kind of sports.

The TV had a satellite decoder box with 1300 programs to watch. Most were in a foreign language. CSI Vegas was shown with with the actors and actresses speaking in Italian. There were dozens of channels offering pornography. None were free ; you had to call in the the tel. number shown on the TVand pay using a credit card to see any action. The only programs in English were BBC News, CNN, CCTV( (China), MRTV (Myanmmar) and sometimes Arirang (South Korea).

I finished reading "Paradise of the Blind" a novel written by D.T. Thuong from Vietnam. That was the highlight of my weekend. Other than that, it was a normal boring weekend in Asghabat.

Winter in Turkmenistan

I am now in Asghabat, the capital city in Turkmenistan. It is the midst of winter here and when the airplane landed at 12.00 am last night, the stewardess announced the outside temperature was -3 deg C. When I got out I could tsee he roads and trees partially covered by snow.

After I got my visa at immigration, at the customs check desk I had to line up behind an older man and woman (both were foreigners). One customs guy was going through their belongings in the two bags and he discovered a newspaper. To my amazement, the custom guy went through every page of the newspaper. A second customs guy went through the rest of the items. The experience brought home that in Turkmenistan, access to information citizen is strictly controlled by the government.

On running; on Monday I managed to run 7km with the Klang Pacer guys; Albert. Jimmy and Kong. But I had to stop and walk 3 times about 100m each time. The guys were kind and patient enough to walk with me. I still don't have the fitness to run more than 4 km. Staying here in Asghabat for the next two weeks will not make it better. It's just too cold to run here.

Running Slowly

This week I had the chance and pleasure to run more often than I've ever had over the past 9 months. The weather was very good in KL during the 3 days I ran at KLCC park.

Tuesday : 4 km at KLCC park. Ran 2 laps with Mr. Gan

Wednesday : Ran a fast 2 laps (2.6km). Had to walk 1 lap. Paid the price for running fast as my right knee was sore the whole night. Foolish!

Thursday : I ran 3 km but had to stop due to a sore knee. I had the company of Jamie and Azwar for another 2 km. An enthusiastic newbie runner A*** turned up to meet us and we chatted with her. PM5 gave her some valuable tips about training and running races.

Party Boy Arrives to Party One Day Late

I missed DK's Christmas open house. Yesterday (Monday) night I arrive at DK's house only to see some Chinese guys people loading chairs on to a lorry. It was only then I realised the open house was on SUNDAY night. I cae one day late ! Anyway I saw DK's vacuuming the floor and I went in to wish him "Merry Christmas". I was too embarrassed to say that I went on the wrong night.The photos are at PM1 and Tey's site.

I have been slowly building up my endurance although I am still hampered by the injured knee. My plan is just to keep fit and maintain weight. I will probably not run any races next year.

Weekend Runs

I had a reasonably running weekend. It's not that I have recovered but at least I managed to run a bit.

Saturday : I did a slow run with A*** and Axxx around the 400m track in the Klang stadium. My time was about 25 minutes (maybe 4 km). The slow pace didn't matter and I am not sure how long I ran. I just wanted to run.

Sunday : I managed to run for the 2nd consecutive day with Albert. Maybe did 3 km but this time at a faster pace. Knee was a bit sore.

At this stage, I am not keeping track of distance or time whenever I am running. I am just glad to be able to run a bit.

Monday (Today) : Rest day but the weather is absolutely great to run but my right knee is sore. Hopefully I will be able run tomorrow.

The Adidas_Pacemaker relay team finished the 72.5km Round Penang Island Relay race on Sunday. The results are posted here.

Thursday's Run at KLCC

I have a horror story to tell. Yesterday I stepped on the weighing scale at The Sweat Club. It read "61 kg". S*%t!

61 kilogram is just one kilo short of my weight way back in year 2000. Back then, I had only been running for about 6 months and I weighed about 62 kg. After a lot of effort and by increasing my daily run from 4 to 6 km, I managed to get my weight down to 56 kg. Now, six years later I am back to where I was.

To make it worst, due my permanent knee injury there is no way I would be able to run very far. Yesterday I managed to run about 2.6 km (2 laps) at KLCC. I could feel my right thigh and leg bones crunching against each other. I had to stop after 2 laps with a very sore knee.

How am I going to lose 5 kg ? Dieting is my only hope now.

Back in Malaysia

I returned to Malaysia on Saturday last week. My assignment in Pakistan is done.

This year running has been a non event for me. I only ran 2 races ;Great Eastern 30km and a Medeka day community race in Klang 5 km. I haven't run much at all over the past 3 months.
Still having problem with knee.

This week I will probably run a few kms at KLCC park. I don't even know how far I can run since my endurance is probably at a state it was during my couch potato years.

See you at KLCC park!

Last Pakistan Report

I will be going back to Malaysia for good on 8 Dec. 2006.

Last week I was actually in Malaysia for one week. I even managed to run again at KLCC park on Wednesday and Friday evening. I only ran 3 km each time but I was suprised I could still run after 2 months of rest. But my right knee is still not OK and is likely not to be cured anytime soon. I have to rule out running in races and doing long runs.

For the runners running in Singapore Marathon this Sunday "Good luck and hope you can meet your target finishing time".

Pakistan Report #6 - Visit to Taxila (Part 1 of 2)

Taxila is a town , 30 km from Islamabad. From 2500 to 1800 years ago, it was major Vedic and Buddhist learning centre. Me and several others went to Taxila on Saturday. We went to four places ; Museum, Bhir Mound (oldest site), Jhaulian (stupa and monastery) and Dharmajika (largest stupa and monastery). The photos taken during the visit are shown in two parts. The first part shows various types of vehicles travelling on the roads in Pakistan.

Visit to Taxila Photos and Report Coming Up

On Saturday, I went to Taxila a 3000 year old historical site which used to be a major buddhist centre. Photos and brief report to follow tomorrow.

Pakistan Repot #5 : The Good and the Bad

The good news : My right knee is no longer sore after not running for 2 weeks. I plan not to lay off running until January 2007.

The bad news: Yesterday I put on my Docker pants (black colour) which I bought in Paris way back in September 2003. I had brought along it to Pakistan to wear during the winter season. I found out with some suprise and horror that I could hardly fit into it. After I buttoned and zipped it up, it wasway too tight around my waist. Now I know I am definitely fatter than I was three years ago. Even after fasting one month, I could not reduce my waist size to what it was 3 years ago. Oh it is truly shocking on how far I have been redcued to what I was three years (In 2003 - I ran my personal best times in 10km in 47 minutes and 21 km in 1 hour 43 minutes).

I was planning to go to Taxila, a historical buddhist site located30km from Islamabad. But I have to cancel it today. I plan to go there next week on Thursday when it is a public holiday here. I will post some photos if I make it there.

I found out here are very few professional working women in Pakistan. To ny surprise, many of the female employees in the office hold degrees or even post graduates qualification but work as secretaries, clerks etc. Most of them or if not all stop working after they get married.

Newt week : security in Islamabad will very tight because due to an
economics forum organised by the Organisation of Islamic countries. Virtually all of the hotels in Islamabad are full and I have to stay in a guest house.

Suvarnabhumi Airport Photos - Part 2

The new airport was opened on 28 September 2006 but a few things were not ready a month later as can be seen from these photos.

Cables, paints and other stuff is stored at various corners.

Signboard at the entrance of the shopping area. The tiles used for the floor are quite slippery.
These men were on the roof and doing some construction work.

I was sitting in semi-darkness in the departure lounge. During the one hour I was there, two bulbs blew out causing the lounge to become even darker. Ten percent of the bulbs was not working. There is a design problem here as the lights were directed upwards to reduce glare. Fine if the roof was white in colour as the light rays would be reflected back. But when the roof is made from grey coloured concrete , it doesn't work very well.
Some more men working on the roofs above the shops.
Other problems include:-

• Insufficient toilets as only 100 has been built. An additional 300 toilets will be built.
• Insufficient signage. Curently many signs are "home made" from paper.
• Cracked aircraft taxiways and car parks.
• Only one bussiness lounge (Thai International) is available. Other airlines buss. lounger are not completed.
• Dirty windows and floors.

The Thai authorities will be carrying investigation to see if there are any corrupt practices involved for the new airport. The airport could have been much better without these problems. This is not to say it is not a world class airport but I am sure these problems will eventually be fixed at some cost .

Suvarnabhumi Airport Photos - Part 1

The airport is huge (can handle 45 million passengers per year) and spaciuos. The photo shows the departure lounge area.
The airport is shaped like ocean waves. Painted white instead of blue though.
The interior has a minimal and bare look with cable trays, pipe and unpainted concrete. Popular nowadays with new airports and saves money.
The arport structure is made of trusses. Looks quite nice.
Gardens at the ground level , similar (copied?) to KLIA.

Running: Is it FINALLY Over for me ?

Tomorrow I am flying back to Islamabad , Pakistan. I will be there for another two months.

This afternoon I had lunch at KLCC's Burger King with Ronnie, Jamie, Newton and DK. The main topic conversation was the usual ; running. Ronnie handed to me a beautiful corporate sponsor trophy. The upcoming two races were talked about - Bidor and Subang Jaya 10km, both to be held next Sunday. The other topics were the "competitors" - other runners; who is improving and who is getting there. I felt a bit left out of the scene after not running any races since Feb 2005 (Great Eastern 30km).

I only ran once during the fasting month. I ran 5 km on the hotel treadmill. Butr after that throughout the whole month, my right knee was sore. . After I returned to Malaysia on Saturday f0r Hari Raya, I did not run but my knee seemed to be getting better. But I found out otherwise yesterday (Thursday) when I decided to try to run at the Klang stadium. The first 800m was OK but my knee become sorer as I countinued. I decided to stop after 1.6km. Worse was yet to come. My knee was sore and a bit swollen at night time.

After five years (since March 2001) of battling the injury,continuing running (18 half marathons) through a persistent right knee injury - initially a torn meniscus, w the injury has gradually worsen and is now at its worst I think. I suspect my injury has now progressed to a point where the knee articular cartilage has become damaged. Hence my right knee is sore even when I am walking or just standing up.

So I have decided to stop running during my next two months in Pakistan. After that I will have to see what happens. It is a medical fact that knee meniscus tears are normally incurable. The reason for this permanency is the meniscus receives blood suppy to only 30 percent of it's area. (Red area). The remaining 70 percent does not contain blood vessels (White area). Without a blood supply, the repair mechanisms by cell action is not possible.

Even after 2 months rest. I don't think I will be able to do do long runs and much less running races. Maybe I have to stop running altogether. Perhaps it is the only option I have left now.

P.S : To those who have been reading my blogs since 2003, I think I have mentioned at least three times I was going to quit running. But I am serious now !

Pakistan Report # 4 : Another Shopping Trip

I went shopping again on Saturday. This time is I went to Sardar bazaar in a city called Rawalpindi, 18 km from Islamabad. Like I wrote before, Islamabad does not resemble a typical city in Pakistan. In Rawalpindi the main road was jam packed with all sorts of vehicles. There were colourful buses, vans, "tuk-tuks, cars, trucks and motorcycles. Other than the vehicles running on internal combustion engines, there were others vehicles running on animal or human power. There was a cart pulled by a horse with sacks of flour, bicycles and even a a man pulling on a cart filled with fruits. It was very chaotic and a scene you would never see in Malaysia.

I bought two leather jackets for RM 160 and RM 200 for men's and ladies respectively. They were not for me but a colleaugue asked me to buy them in Pakistan.

The Pacemaker Run was held at the Lake Gardens onn Sunday morning with a cake cutting ceremony for the birthdayboy. Ronnie (PM1).

I won't be running this fasting month. I still have a knee problem.

This morning in the local newspaper in one of the headlines " Hunger Haunts over 1.8 million children in Pakistan". An estimated 1.85 million children in Pakistan are at risk of malnutrition and 74 out of 120 districts of the country have been found to be food deficient in terms of availability at the grassroots.

Shopping Tip : If you want to buy Giorgio Armani suit, consider buying it in Pakistan. On Sunday I visited a shop which actually makes Armani suit and pants for just RM220 (USD 60) . They were not a fake or imitation product but it is the real thing. The shop make these suits in Pakistan and later they are sold under the Armani brand for USD 200 or more.

Pakistan Report #3 : Shopping

On Saturday I went shopping for souveniers in Islamabad. Islamabad, the capital city does not represent the conditions in the rest of the cities in Pakistan. For one, the roads are free of traffiic jams. Secondly, it has a well-ordered and planned areas. In a way it is like Putrajaya and Putrajaya certainly does not look remotely have the chaos and dirt of Kuala Lumpur.

I went to three places in Islamabad; Melody market Aapbara market and the Supermarket. Aapbara is the oldest market in Islamabad and the roads certainly reflected its old age with pot holes everywhere. The Supermarket is actually not a supermarket but rather a city block filled with shops. There is no shopping complex in Islamabad so you get forget mall crawling in air conditioned comfort.

Last week, two roket launchers (107 mm Russian made) were discovered hidden in bushes near President Musharaff's offices. They were wired up with a device to be trigerred from a mobile phone. It was something of a shock to residents here as these things are not supposed to occur in Islamabad. Everywhere else in Pakistan every week there are bombs exploding , people killed in sectarian violence (Sunni vs. Shia) and dacoits (highway robbers) robbing.

I haven't run since 2 weeks ago as I am still having a knee problem.

Pakistan Report #2 : Fasting, Training and Women

Monday is the first day of fasting in most of Pakistan. I wrote 'most' because in one part of this country, the Northwest Free Frontier Area, Ramadan started on Sunday. This area is something of a wild and lawless area governed by various tribes like the the Pashtun instead of the Pakistan goverment.

I did my first fasting month run on Tuesday. I ran 5 km on a treadmill. I had more than enough energy to run 5 km and could certainly run another 3 km if thirst and dehydration were not limiting factors.

I didn't run on Wednsday and Thursday. Right knee problem again.

Although Pakistan is officially an Islamic county and regarded as staunch Muslim society, most of the women here do not wear a hijab or "tudung" or even cover their hair. Most women wear a loose fitting blouse and tunic called Salwar Kameez. Last night I even saw some Causasian women in a shop wearing Salwar Kameez. However I have not seen any women in Islamabad wearing western clothes much less a skirt.

Pakistan : Report # 1 The first 3 days

I hope I won't into trouble by blogging this from Pakistan. Pakistan has imposed a blanket bsan on several blog sites including blogspot. Read this article for more information.

I arrived in Islamabad on Saturday morning on Pakistan Airlines from Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates). I was in the UAE for 3 days. One thing I can say about the U.A.E is it's not for the budget traveller (read : backpacker). You won't see young people carrying back-packs roaming anywhere in the UAE. The reason ? Cost - UAE is one of the most expensive places to travel. A five star hotel here starts at USD 250 or more. Luckily my hotel (USD 160 per night under corporate rate) is paid by the company.

In the UAE, the majority of the population are foreigners. Indians and Pakistanis as labourers, technicians and engineers in the construction sector and filipinas in the service industry as waitresses, cashiers , receptionist , secretaries. Last year,the UAE passed a law to get the companies to employ UAE nationals to be employed in the public relations and secretarial services. The finance sector already has the same law for a number of years. The trouble with this law is the expectations. A national UAE secretary is asking USD 3000 per month while the foreigner (almost always from the Philippines or perhaps Egypt) , USD 1000. Sounds a bit like the situation in Malaysia. doesn't it?

Back to my first 3 days in Pakistan. I am staying in Islamabad , the capital of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The office is just next door to where I am staying: the Marriott hotel.
The Mariott hotel chain is of course owned by a US based company in a nation led by the El-Diablo "The Devil" himself as Mr Hugo Chavez (Venezuelan President) called George Bush junior (USA president) last week.

Let me describe the security set-up st the Marriott hotel here.

• Outside the 3 foot high concrete gate, there are 3 security guards holding rifles. I took s peek yesterday on what kind of rifles they were holding. The rifles seemed to be the old bolt action firing pins ala the famous Enfield rifle used in World War I. I am not an expert on this matter but that is the impression.
  
• There is a steel barrier (3 inch diameter steel pole) slung across the main entrance. Upon stopping here, the guards will check the car; opening the engine compartment and car boot. There is also some sort of device to check for bombs underneath a vehicle. At this point, there are about 4 security guards with few more inside a guardhouse.
  
• After passing through the above gate, there are 2 more security guards at the hotel entrance doors. Just beyond these doors, there is
  
• An X-ray machine to scan baggage and there is also a metal detector to pass through. The set-up is identical to an airport.
  
• Lastly, there is also a steel pole before getting into a separate car parking area.
  
• I also checked the glsss windows at the hotel. The windows have been laminated with tough plastic film to prevent shrapnels from say flying everywhere from umh ... an exploding device (bomb).

Don't get me wrong when I am writing sbout the security measures (I am not complaining but just describing them). The measures are quite unobstrusive and necessary in the ever present risk of a terrorist attack. The Marriott is indeed an amazing hotel. My room (USD 150 per night) has a 42 inch LCD TV mounted on a wall and 60 channels. Plus a fruit basket and free refill of the minibar everyday. The hotel services are very good perhaps near perfect.

I ran yesterday on the treadmill at the Mariott fitness centre. Did 5.0 km.

As for the price of petrol here - it is RM 3.40 per litre. Compared to RM 1.90 in Malaysia we have it good back home.

Airports

I say that you can judge a country such as how well or how badly it's run by the International airports. After having been through the chaos at Khartoum airport (Sudan) this year, I am to
Pakistan this Saturday via Abu Dhabi. I will be flying on Pakistan Air lines landing at Islamabad airport.

Read about what other people wrote about Islamabad airport here and here.

If you read the report, they are not exactly the sort of experience I want to go through but I have to go through it to get into the country.

I ran yesterday evening at 6.00 pm in the old park again. It was quite cold as I was just wearing a T-shirt and shorts. I did 3 km before deciding to go back before it gets any colder.

Sunday Morning Run in Asghabat

I managed to drag myself out of bed yesterday for an early morning run. It was quite chilly but it was not cold enough to stop me from wearing shorts.

The park where I was going running was 5 minutes away. It is old park untouched by the beautifification craze by the authorities. I did some strecthing near a tree. In the park, there was a guy with a huge dog , maybe a bull mastiff or some equally giant dog breed. I decided to run a route away from the dog just in case.

I was suprised to see someone else running in the park besides me. A short woman with flaming red colour hair and wearing black T-shirt and tights was running at a brisk pace (9 km/hr estimated). Too bad she looked a bit haggard and drawn out.

After finishing my stretching, I started to run. I love running in the cooler temperature (low 20's degrees C) . It 's just too bad that after 2 km, I was hit by the urge to go to the toilet. I ran another 1 km before doing my cool down stretching. I ran just 3 km.

I wil be going to Dubai this Wednesday morning . I will be in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for 3days for a meeting on Thursday. I will be leaving Abu Dhabi at 2.15 am to Islamabad, Pakistan for a 3 months assignment.

I though of taking a break from running during the fasting month but I have changed my mind. I plan to run on a treadmill which hopefully is available in the hotel.

I love this photo taken during the Mizuno Wave run yesterday.

Sore

Played 4 sets of badminton yesterday. Sore body today.

Turkmenistan Update

I have been here for 5 days now. When I reached Asghabat airport on Sunday, everyone had to had to have their baggage scanned at an X-ray machine before going through customs.

I had 3 things with me; 2 bags and 1 box filled with food , spices, ikan bilis (anchovies) etc. When I was about to collect the box, the airport guy manning asked me to open the box. Then he said something else "Ten dollar, go". He said it twice. He was asking me to bribe him. There is no way I was going to give him any money so I said I will open the box. I did and showed him what was inside He didn't seemed particularly interested in the contents. The point of the "inspection" was an opportunity for him to extract money.

It is now a noticeably cooler in Ashghabat. The temperature in the morning is the mid 20's deg. C. I plan to run a few km in morning in the park this weekend.

Going Overseas Again

I haven't got much to write on running. On Monday I ran 5 km on a treadmill. It was very boring.

On Tuesday the Rat Race was held in KL. Some of my friends were running but I wasn;t able to see it. On Wednesday, I wanted to run outddoor but it rained again.

I am going overseas again. Two weeks in Turkmenistan and then three months in Pakistan (until end Dec.).

This year if including the forthcoming Pakistan trip, I would ve spent about half of the year overseas.

To those running the Putrajaya race this Sunday and the Mizuno Wave Run next Sunday, good luck and enjoy the races.

Klang Merdeka Run (31 August) Report -

The event was a Merdeka Run on 31 August at Sekolah Rendah Cina Pandamaran B in Pandamaran, Klang. The race start time was 7.00 am.

Before I started driving, I checked out a map on how to get to the school. It was still dark when I left the house at 6.00 am intending to reach there at 6.30 am. I should have known better as I got lost. Although I reached the area at 6.30am, I promptly became hopelessly lost. I spent the next 30 minutes driving around, stopping 3 times to look at the map and pissed one time into a drain. It was only at 7.00 am that I was able figure out where the school was but it was too late as the race would started already.

As it turns out, when I reached the school there were still many people milling in front of the school hall. Ahh thanks goodness, it is a "political" race. You can always count on such races to start late. I met up with many Klang Pacers runners whom I didn't meet often due to absence from running scene and weekend training. I was especially glad to have met Kong who I have not seen for 3 months.

An announcement was made before the start that the race distance had been shortened from 5.5 km to 4.5km. The race finally flagged off with a Malaysian flag (Merdeka!) at 7.34 am. In no time everyone else was ahead with me "leading" the back-end of runners. 5 minutes later the Klang Pacers have all dissappeared far ahead. For a while I was running with Mrs Kong. I think this was the first time I've run with Mrs Kong. I think if she was younger she would be more than able to give the current female runners a run for the their medal.

After a while , my right knee was still OK so I decided to run faster in the hope of making up for lost time and perhaps a chance to get the 100 medals. Alas, my desire and attempt to run faster was not matched by my stamina. I had to take short walks (100 to 200m) about three times. I had never run at the back-end of a race before and it was quite discouraging to be at the bottpm 10 percent of the pack. But still I reminded myselt to let it go as I was in not in the best of shape. I still felt the tinges of excitement to be in a "race" and ruefull recalled the races I had missed this year; Ipoh, Seremban , Penang and so many others.

27 minutes later I passed through the school gates and ran in between a row of chairs to finish the race emptyhanded - the 100 medals were all gone.

I hung around for a while to watch the prize giving ceremony and witnessed two Pacemaker members (PM 37 and PM39) getting their hampers. I left the scene after all the prizes had been given out.

My First "Race" this year

I registered yesterday for my first "Race" for this year. It is a low key last minute event to be held near Klang town to celebrate the National day. No prizes given out and a free registration. The distance is only 5.5km.

I joined the above event to support the Klang Pacer Athletic Club who is organising the race. The race will starts at a Chinese Primary School. Strangely enough the run starts quite early at 7.00 am. I think it will be a social run for most of the serious runners.

Customs Again!

I received a notice from Pos Malaysia on Tuesday asking me to pick-up something from the Post Office. On Wednesday , I got the item but it was what I was expected but instead it was another form. The form said the item I had bought from the USA is now at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The precise location ? Customs dept. - it has been held back pending clearance and possibly payment of sales and import tax.

The item I bought are two iPod accessories ; a silicone case with a belt clip and an FM tranmitter. The total value is USD 100 (RM 360). The silicone with belt clip is for me to use the iPod while I am running on a treadmill. What amazes me is the customs authorities taking the trouble to inspect and possibly charge taxes on something that is worth very little.

Malaysian customs motto now is "Every Dollar Counts"

Update

It' s been more than one week since my last blog update. To tell you truth, I wanted to write a some entries but the broadband speed at my place is so slow that I could not open my blog to write them.

I attended a course this week at JW Marriot hotel in KL. I only managed to run 2.6 km at KLCC park on Monday. I ran too fast, made my right knee injury worse and had to stop after the 2nd lap.

I couldn't run for the next 3 days.I wanted to run but I had to rest my knee.

Friday : The course finished at 12.00 pm. My right knee was still sore but decided to try running in the evening. Only managed to run 2.6km before stopping. Walked 3 more laps with a trio of women walkers who are regulars at KLCC park.

I bought a PDA last weeek; a Palm TX. If only I had the time to use it.

Today (Saturday) : I had to pay RM 275 to the Fedex delivery guy for the flashlights I bought from the US. I was hoping customs would not charge sales and import tax (30% total) but no such luck. I'll bet that during the upcoming 2007 budget speech, taxes and duties collected over the past one year will be the highest ever. I have certainly made my contributions in import and sales tax for the things I bought from the Internet.

Last week I bought PALM TX. If only I had the time to learn how to use it.

3 Days of Running

I have been able to run 3 conseutive days with two of them outdoor in fine weather and haze free.

Monday : 5 km on the treadmill . Thick haze. Got bored after 3 km (15 minutes).

Tuesday : Clear skies and clean air at last. I ran at KLCC park. Did 2.6 km(2 laps) with Gan at a pace which was too fast at my current level of fitness. I had to stop after 2 laps. I saw Jamie running too and I ran another 2 laps with him. Later Justin showed up to run as well. Total = 5.2 km.

Wednesday : 3rd day of running. It is quite unbelievable that I was able to run for a 3rd consecutive day. Less problem with my right knee. I did 6.5 km, 2 laps with Yong, stopped, continued another 2 laps with Jamie and Justin, stopped and ran the 5th lap with Newton. Total = 6.5 km.

Thursday : I am not running today to rest my right knee. I

Being able to run for 3 days is something wonderful I have NOT experienced since February 2006. My right knee seems to be getting better but I will limit my runs to about 5 km for now.

Here We Go Again

I was going to run to KLCC park today but the haze is just so bad now. I wuz going to do 5 km. With the KLCC runners gasng like Jamie. But I might as smoke a cigarette if I was going to run in this haze.

Didn't the SBY (Indonesian President) apologised last year and said his country will not carry out open burning which is the source of haze . And the same thing is said every year since 1998. F*** It!

I have to run on a treadmill today. I will be bored after 20 minutes. I hope there will be something nice to see in the gym today.

Turkemistan Post #5 : Running on Sunday

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sudan Post #6 The End

Tomorrow is my last day in Sudan. Back to Malaysia and running at KLCC park. I am not quite sure the level of my fitness after not running for more than 2 weeks. I guess I will find out this weekend.

I won't be running in the Ipoh half marathon this year. I have run in Ipoh HM for 4 consecutive years between 2002 to 2005. The race route itself is not that great as it mostly goes through Ipoh town. However the medals are easy to get if you run within the qualifying time of 2.5 hrs.

Good luck to the runners running in the Ipoh half marathon.

I would have liked to write more about Sudan but I don't think the company will be pleased on some of the things I would say.

Sudan Post #4 - Taxi Ride

Friday is the start of the weekend in Sudan.

In the afternoon, myself and a colleague went to the first shopping complex built in Khartoum. The place was called 'Afra' actually located near the airport.

The complex consists of three floors. The 1st floor had a supermarket and shops. The 2nd floor had retails shops and the third floor, a food court and offices. The size of the complex would be about the same as the Giant supermarket complex in Kelana Jaya, P.J. The retail shops were all closed.

We went to the supermarket. It was set up with like a hypermarket selling a range of goods like food, toys, TVs etc ala Carrefour and Giant. There is not quite the variety and quality found in similar hypermarkets in Malaysia but the basic stuff were there.

After we had completed our shopping (biscuits and some local food), we went out to find a taxi. The taxis here are yellow coloured and universally of ancient lineage and in semi working condition (no air-cond.).

As we made our way in decrepit taxi , 2 km on , the engines suddenly sputterred to a stop. We ended up on the side of a busy road. A policeman sauntered and asked the taxi to be moved to a side road. How was this task to be accomplished? By the two of us pushing the taxi and the driver handling the steering wheel. All done in 40 deg Celcius heat.

We assumed that the car had broken down and looked for a passing taxi to flag. The taxi driver opened the car boot and took out a small plastic container (about 2 Litre ). He gestured towards the container and looked at me, he said "Bensen". With his fingers, made the universal sign for "money". The answer the taxi had stopped - it had ran out of gas!. It seems this was a regular occurrence for this particular taxi driver , hence the plastic container.

Anyway we found another taxi and boarded it. I gave SND 500 (USD 2.00) to our previous taxi driver. As we moved off, I saw him walking no doubt to find petrol and later perhaps the next victims to push his ancient taxi when it stops again.

Sudan Post#3

Yesterday I had lunch at a well known Sudanese restaurant. I couldn't eat most of the stuff on the menu. The local food has a lot meat based dishes ; chicken, mutton and beef. Mutton is especially popular. The Malaysians here say the mutton here tastes better and "healthier" than the ones in Malaysia.

I ordered fried fish, rice and salad. The fish came with a huge amounf or rice. It was not bad although there is very little cooked vegetables here. The local food is similar to Middle Easternt or Turkish food, mainly based around meat which I don't eat.

I haven't run in Khartoum and I am not planning to do so. In the morning, the temperature is reasonably low to run but there are no large parks to run in. Sand and dust is everywhere on the roads. The hotel fitness club is a wreck.

Last night, I found out there are 2,000 Malaysians living in Sudan mainly working in the oil industry.

Sudan Post #2 : The Yellow Stuff

Everything outside is tinged with yellow colour now. The air is filled with fine yellow colour sand from a dust storm which has been going since 11.00 am. Visibility is down to 50m.

Yet there are local people siting and playing in the park. The sand makes me blink repeatedly and my throat itchy and dry.

Sudan Post #1

I am now in Sudan, 9.20 am local time, 2.20 p Malaysian. Sunday is a working day here. Only Friday is a day off for the company here.

It was along journey from Kuala Lumpur to Khartoum on Friday. It was impossible to get shorter flight routes for example KK to Cairo to Khartoum. So I had to fly to Frankfurt (12 hrs), transit at Frankfurt airport (6 hrs) and fly from Frankfurt to Khartoum (6 hrs). Altogether 24 hrs of travel - enough time to fly around the entire planet.

Fortunately I managed to get about 3 hrs sleep on the KL to Frankfurt flight on Malaysian airlines flight MH 06C. I think I dozed off at about 3.00 am. Suddenly I woke up at about 6.30am. Immediately I thought about the PJ half marathon is starting precisely in that instant.
I could not go back to sleep after that. For the next two hrs, I lay on the bed looking at my watch and imagining I was running in the race.

When I checked my watch at 7.19 am, 49 minutes atfer the start , I would have been running on the flyover at Subang airport road. At 8.20 am, I think I would just about turned left from the airport road running towards P.J. Alas, I was only doing these things in my imagination and was instead sitting on a Boeing 777-200 aircraft , 11,000 m high flying over the Mediterranean sea. Today I realised I had imagined the race one day earlier than the day it took place which is this morning.

For the reports and results on the PJ half marathonn, please visit PM1's site.

PC Problem

I enjoyed yesterday's run at KLCC park. I ran with Newton and I was surprised to discover I could run 4 laps (8 min per lap, total 5.2 km). Just 2 weeks ago, I could only run less than 2 km. I guess my endurance has improved a fair bit. I have hit on a plan to maintain a reasonable level of fitness until I can run without too much problems.

• Once a week I will run a 5.2 km subject to the condition of my right knee.
• Two or three times a week, run 3 km.

For a report on Jason's five lap PR , visit PM'1 site.

With the exception of Phyllis who ran 11 laps and Ah Long (8 laps), the other runners (Tony making a surprise appearance) were taking it easy just 4 days before the PJ half marathon.

My PC LCD monitor is not working and I am still here on Saturday, I will have to buy a replacement.I will be on my way to Sudan tonight via a horribly long route (12 hrs to Frankfurt) and xx hrs to Khartoum. Probably I will have to endure 20 hrs of travel time.

Good luck to eveyone running the PJ half marathon.

Sudan again!

12.00 pm today : I am on my way to a shop to repair my PC.

Suddenly I get a tel. call informing that I have to go to Sudan tomorrow morning. W.T.F.?
For 2 weeks.

From then on, rush, rush.........
........ to the bank to get $$$
....... to get the money changer to get US$ (credit cards cannot be used in Sudan)
........... to Kinokuniya to buy books to read
.............. to the office to arrange for the flights and check my e-mails.

As of 5.15 pm , the flights are still not available.

W.T.F.!

View of Singapore near sunset 

The Last Batch 

Landscape Views from Tanjung Piai 

Tanjung Piai Wetlands in Pontian, Johor 

Off To Johor

I am to Johor today for 4 days, to be specific to Tanjung Piai.

Have a good week, runners.

Wednesday's Run

I had an enjoyable run yesterday at KLCC park. The weather was cloudy and colder than normal due to the afternoon's rain. I ran the first lap alone. About 400 m into the 2nd lap, I saw Newton running in the opposite direction. I joined him and we ran together while talking to ech other. We ran a relaxed pace of 8 min per lap 1.3km. It's has been two months since I ran more than 2 km.

After the 3rd lap my right was getting sore but I didn't want to stop immediately as I was enjoying the run too much. I kept going another lap until I could not tolerate the soreness and had to stop near the Bench.

Later, we (PM1, PM21), Ah Long and Newton hung around to talk .

Today the weather is good as yesterday. I regret that I cannot run today because a sore knee.

A Letter from Thailand

I received a letter from Thailand last week (click letter to enlarge but it is too small to be seen on IE; if you save the file, it is legible on any graphic software). The story behind this letter is I filled in a survey form about Thai International Airline. The survey form was available in a stationaries "file" with some postcards. Not only did they took the trouble to sent an e-mail but receiving the letter from Thai International was a surprise.

Another nice surprise was the rice congee I had for breakfast in the same flight had spring onions. On my previous flight in March from Bangkok, I suggested they put some spring onions to give some colour to the congee. They have done just that.; that's what I call listening to your customers.

20km Long Run Route - Bird's Eye View

The 20km long run route from the Bukit Aman carpark to the Petronas petrol station at Sri Hartamas is a favourite among many runners every weeekend. The route map is available at Pacesetter Malaysia website here as Hockey Stadium/Hartamas.For a different perpective, I have partially plotted the route from Jalan Duta/hockey stadium to Sri Hartamas using Google Earth.

This alternate map is shown below (please click map to enlarge) :

Pacemaker Annual Run 2006

The Pacemaker Annual Run (PAR) 2006 was held at KLCC this morning. Unlike the previous two PARs (2005 and 2006) , there was no press coverage of this self organised "Runners Event".

The event was organised as a relay race consisting of 4 runners in 9 teams. Each runner had to run two laps (2.6km) with a total of 10.4km for each team. The starting time was 7.30am.

I had the honour of flagging of the runners and time recorder; I wrote down the runners times shouted out by PM21.

What struck me about this event was not the finishing times but the other things:-

• Everyone had the spirit and determination to give their best run. I think every runner gave 100% effort.
• Every runner got tremendous support from other runners regardless of their team .
• Everyone had a good time.

Today's PAR is is something different from the usual training and races. This is an exiciting and enjoyable running event that deserves to held again.

For results, visit PM1's site here.

Meeting at the Bench

It was great to meet the runners again at the Bench yesterday.

I started running alone at KLCC park. After one lap, I saw Yong and we ran together. Unfortunately my fitness level is not up to the mark and I had to stop near the Bench (600m). Met Jamie there and we had a chat. He told me the runners are planning to run a one lap trial. In a short while, the "competitors" arrive near the Bench after their warm-up run.

You can read the report and timings at Ronnie's website here. I was a bit surprised to see Jamie and Dk able to run so fast (5 min 12 sec for 1300m or 1 min 36 sec for every 400m).

I couldn't run the time trial but I was glad to meet the guys again after a long time.

This Saturday the PAR relay run will be held at KLCC. I will have the honour of flagging off the runners .