Ages since my last post

Hi guys,

It's been ages since my last post here. So sorry about that. I've been epically busy with my new job as well as the personal crisis management part that I'm left with little time to write.

Lots have happened recently in this 2 months of absence. SCKLM have been postponed. I've recovered from an injured ankle which have caused me to have a downtime of over 1 month. The haze have come and gone. I've tried out new gears which I should be writing about, but have yet to have time to do so. I'll try to do so hopefully by next week as I've been busy travelling alot recently.

Yeah. Just a quick note to let you guys know I'm still alive :)

Run for Nasam - People Giving.

First of all, I need to apologize for the lack of posting recently. I've recently had a lot on my plate. I'm in the midst of moving to another company so I'm busy with preparation as well as handing over my job duty to my replacement. I've also been busy with preparation as well as my trip to Osaka end of May. Yes, yes, I promise to write about it at a later post but do give me time for it.

As some of you may have known, I've already signed up for the Half Marathon for SCKLM this year. What you may not know is that I've been asked whether I'm interested in running for a charitable cause. My thought was since I'm running anyway, why not? It'll help to benefit those in need as well as to draw attention to their cause.

I hope to be able to post more in the coming days but this week and the following week I'll be super busy. I'll try and post more after that. In the mean time, do hop on over to the campaign page and support the runners and do help to share it out.

My Campaign Page - People Giving

It's been a year

It's been a year. A year where my old life had ended and I was forced into the position I'm in now.

It's been a year. A year of solitude, grief and sorrow. A year of anger, frustration and pain.

It's been a year. A  year of loneliness, picking up the pieces, and starting over again.

It's been a year. A year where promises made had been broken, life made had been broken, and a journey began, ended.

It's been a year. A year since you told me you want out. You want your old life back. You don't want anything to do with me anymore.

It's been a year. A year of suffering internally while making sure other family members and friends do not get the backlash of your decision.

It's been a year. A year full of internal tears and scream. A year full of anger at myself and self-loathing. A year full of questioning oneself and insecurities.

It's been a year. A year of empty smiles and laughter. A year of assuring everyone everything is fine when nothing is. A year of daily struggle to live a meaningful life.1

It's been a year.

I praise the Lord for being with me throughout this year. Constantly reassuring me that I AM loved by sending the right people along when I'm at my loneliest and lowest. Constantly giving me the strength to go on.

I praise the Lord for guiding me throughout this year. Without his guidance, directly and indirectly, I would have been a lost sheep.

I thank the Lord for watching over me throughout this year. He hath provided for my all. When all things fail, when no one seems to care or help. He is always there for me.

I thank the Lord for sending me his angels throughout this year. I've met old and new friends throughout the year who have selflessly given of their time and care to me. You have touched my life and fanned new hope in my heart by the simple act of being there and being a friend.

I thank the Lord for this year of learning. I have been a firm believer that things happen for a reason. I do not know the whole reason for what had happened, but throughout this year, I've grown to be more matured, more independent, more reliant on other's compassion, but most importantly, more reliant on God Almighty.

As this year pass on. There are still new challenges ahead for me to overcome. I pray that the Lord will continue to watch over me and guide me for the days to come.

Amen.

KL 10K Road Race Report and Review

This report and review is a little overdue but with what had happened on 15.04.2013, I felt that I should defer posting this up by 1 week as a sign of respect to the victim of the Boston Marathon bombing.

REVIEW

Ok, first thing first. KL 10K Road Race is organized by Cadence Project Services and supported by DBKL. It's Co-Sponsored (quite last minute I would say) by Milo, Kinesio Garage, and Protex. Just so you guys know, I couldn't google up anything on Cadence Project at all and I've always been good at finding information of these sorts. The main reason for me to join this race was to have consistent "higher" (by my then current standard) mileage race to continue to motivate me onward in my training. Below is the review in point form:


The Good:
1. Dry Fit Round Neck T-shirt. I'm a sucker for them since I'm kind of shy. Vests are too sexy for my taste.
2. Smaller number of runners result in less traffic congestion for runners, making it easier for us to run.
3. Great volunteers. They direct clearly and cheer you and encourage you along the way.
4. Marshall and RELA members escorted vehicles through the runners safely. Good job on that.

The Bad:
1. Information seems to be slow in coming out. Race Kit Collection was announced about 1 1/2 Month before event, and Race Route was only out 2 weeks before the event. Is this due to lack of preparation or lack of experience or lack of personnel?
2. Race kit collection was poorly done. There was no direction provided to get to the room. Wisma OCM is multi-faceted. Where should we go?
3. Bib was made out of paper, which disintegrated before I finished the race and only realized it when I wanted to take it off.
4. You're required to write your own name and emergency contact number. Not a biggie but we WERE promised a personalized bib. Also, with the guaranteed disintegration of the bib, what's the point?
5. No medical personnel as far as I can tell. Not sure if they're at the water station or not since I BYOW anyway so I can't confirm on that.
6. Insufficient personnel at water station? I have a lot of feedback whereby runners have to stop to fill up their own cups.
7. No notification on REPC was sent to the runners. Coupled with the fact that REPC information was not given upon registration, quite a few runners actually forgot about it. It's not fully the organizer's fault but it would be nice to be reminded since no info was stated beforehand.

The Ugly:
1. Promises were not kept. e.g. Personalized Bib Number, Goodie Bag, Light Breakfast. There's also no XS T-Shirt available.
2. "Route will cover notable landmarks in Kuala Lumpur and opportunity to view a piece of Malaysian
history." The route goes through from Padang Merbok, to Mahameru, to Bukit Tunku and then back. Can someone please enlighten me on the historical aspect of this route please? I failed my History.
3. Bad runner mentality. At both water station, I see runners throwing cups on the floor when there's a rubbish bin 2 feet ahead of them. Throw it in the bin or carry it all the way back please.
4. Organizer seem to have reduced down the prize money as well as those entitled to the prize money. I'm not too sure on this matter since I don't run for the money, but if it's been promised and the organizer is to do that, it's extremely wrong.

As of now there's still a debate as to whether we should still give the organizer a chance for next year. What do you guys think?


REPORT

What have I to say about this race? Well for one, Ouch comes to mind at the moment. It took me a few days to get my "spring" back in my leg. Considering that it's the 4th race that I've ever joined, I would say I'm still kinda ignorant to some things like whether it's a good idea to have a race once a month and how long is the recovery period and etc. This race was actually set as a low priority race as I wanted to concentrate on my training the Half Marathon at SCKLM, that is until Eugene from Team 2ndSkin got wind of it.

I know Eugene from the KL Runners Group in Facebook. We've never actually met but we got along well and had fun chatting and sharing online. Anyway, Eugene kinda found out my timing for the 10K I ran in Brooks Half Marathon 2013 and volunteered to pace me to a new PB. I was a bit hesitant, seeing that it's only my 2nd 10K race and only 1 month after Brooks. Half of that 1 month I wasn't able to train much at all. We had a short chat and Eugene advised me to start incorporating faster kicks at the end of all my runs for at least 500m, so that was that and we kind of agreed to it. When the race course came out two weeks before the race, I plotted it into Garmin and found that it was quite hilly, oh well, it's just a few hills right? Which race in Malaysia doesn't have hills? I kind of thought nothing of it after that.

Race kit collection day roll around and since I don't know where the place is, I hitched a ride with a friend who knows the way. Locating the building was not too bad. Problem is locating where we're suppose to collect the Race kit. There was a lack of signage to point us in the right direction. When we asked the staff of the hotel, we only manage to get a general direction which did not help at all. Luckily a kind guy saw that we were still struggling to look for the place and walked us there. :)

Things looked to be pretty standard, with 1 team of people checking your Confirmation slip to get the Bib Number, while another team go about gathering  your Race Kit. First surprise came when the T-shirt size requested by my friend (XS) was not available. 2nd surprise came when there's no Race Program included. Instead, it was printed on a banner for you to see. That's it. When I got back to prepare the items, I found that the Bib was made out of paper. I accidentally tore it before the race day even came about. Not a good start of things.

Before heading back, my friend decided to go for a drive to Padang Merbok to see where we can park as well as to survey the route. Imagine to our surprised when we saw the amount of hills that we had to traverse. I wasn't too intimidated, but it certainly is daunting. What with the amount of hills as well as the incline, the first thought that came to mind was whether I would be able to finish strongly at all, let alone a PB. Oh well, one can only do one's best. As you can see, I've already started thinking negatively about the race.

Race day come about, I went over to fetch a running buddy that wanted to carpool and drove on to the race venue. We decided to go earlier to ensure that we can get a parking lot due to the lack of parking facilities there. There wasn't any guide on alternative parking area so we wanted to make sure we can get a space. Well, we were one of the first participant to arrive. The rest of the people, as far as I can tell are volunteers. Pretty soon, the parking was filled up and the Rela volunteers stopped anymore cars from coming in. Where to park leh then? Side of the road as far as I can tell. This proved to be correct as after we start the race, we could see cars parked along the side of the road. In fact, there are people who even parked on Jalan Parlimen itself!

Closer to race time, we decided to get out of the car and go in search of toilet. Imagine our surprise when we were informed that there's none. Apparently the Organizer have applied for permit for Porta-loo but was rejected by DBKL. We were informed that there's a public toilet at Padang Merbok itself but it'll only be opened after 7am. Guess what, the start time of the race was 7am. Some enterprising soul managed to talked the guards at the one of the academy nearby into letting them have access to the toilet there. It was briefly opened to the public but quickly closed after a while due to the huge number of runners. It's understandable since they are responsible for the security of the academy and they may be questioned if the toilet get messed up.

Be that as it may I saw the legendary Yim Heng Fatt holding a camera walking about and went up to him and introduced myself. We chatted for awhile when out of the blue, someone came up to us and ask whether he's the photographer ET Tey. Both of us had a good quiet laugh as he kindly and humbly corrected the guy. After that, he got busy taking photos so off I went to look for others that I've met and gotten to know. I managed to catch up with Joanne, and Lorna and her friends. While waiting for Lorna to warm up, I managed to catch sight of Eugene. We've never met before but the shirt he wore was just too bright to be ignored. :) I went up to him and introduced myself. We chatted a bit and then I introduced him to the rest of the KL Runners gang who were already there.

As we chatted, we went back to the topic of getting a PB here. I voiced my doubt that I could do it due to the huge number of hills, but Eugene was undeterred. He was pretty certain we can do it and convinced me to follow his pace until I pass out. I looked at him incredulously as I've never been paced before so I wasn't too sure on what to expect. Sure, I've paced others before mainly as an encouragement, but this time round, we're going on a mission to break a time record so I hope you guys understand why I'm a little nervous about things. At about 6.50am, we were all asked to report to the starting corral. So off we went, lining up like sardines in a can. As I looked around, I realized that we were slightly further in front than where I'm used to and prefer to line up. We're up at the 2nd quarter of the corral whereas I'm usually at the 3rd quarter. It's a clear indication on the expected pace Eugene will be setting.

As the gun went off and we started shuffling toward the timing mat like a bunch of zombie. Before we even reached the mat, you can see the fast runners setting off up the hill already. The moment we got out, we hit the first hill. As we're still shuffling for position, we didn't mind going at a relatively "slower" pace of 7:14min/km Pace. I'm starting to not get surprised to see walkers appearing within the 1st KM. Anyway, as we near the end of the hill, we stumbled onto a kid who's running with his dad. According to Eugene, this is the first time the kid is running in a race. His dad signed up for him as so that he can run with the bib.

Kid finishing the race in style. Dad in yellow shirt carrying his shoes. Photo Courtesy of Yim Heng Fatt.

Check out the guys behind the kid. Whoever you are kiddo, you're my hero! Photo Courtesy of Yim Heng Fatt.

We started to speed up as we get to the downhill section. We were going way faster than what I'm used to, mostly sub 7min/km pace to 6min/km pace. I'm a slow starter and usually need a few km to warm up before going faster. I mentioned it to Eugene and he assures me that we're on the right pacing for a PB. When we hit the Bukit Tunku hills, I know I'm in trouble as my heart rate has been elevated more than usual for quite some time already. I voiced out my thought that the hills are gonna be hell and Eugene patiently told me to get rid of such negative thoughts and concentrate on shortening my stride length to go up the hill instead.

As we're going up the hills at Bukit Tunku, we heard a motorbike coming from the back with whistle blowing. After a while, the motorbike came around and behind it, the Kenyans are passing us by. There goes the locals dream of getting the prize money lol. Things were starting to get tough for me at this point of time. I'm feeling out of breathe, my heart rate is more elevated than I would like it to be, and we're going faster than I'm accustomed to. As we near the top of the killer hill at Bukit Tunku, Eugene noticed I kept glancing at my Garmin, so he told me not to look at it and to trust him instead. I told him I was checking my heart rate, of which, it was at 178 bpm.

Well, with my heart rate like that, Eugene decided not to speed up during the downhill, instead, we used it as a recovery phase for me but even then that was not enough. I have started off too fast too soon and my body is starting to deplete it's store of glycogen, not surprising since I've gone anaerobic quite early on. I took half a packet of Hammer Nutrition Gel at about KM5 and the other half about KM 6. By this time I'm at the stage where, I am reserving my breathe to talk already. I know I slowed down alot from KM6 to KM7 as it was an uphill section and I really needed to slow down to catch my breathe and recover.

I can't really recall much information except that Lorna came up from behind us and got a drink from my bottle before speeding off as usual. :) Eugene egg me on and continue to give encouragement throughout the race. Even when I felt like stopping to take a walk, which I know is a bad idea, he throw out little challenges to make me dig deeper in myself to just go that extra distance further. Thinking back, I'm really glad I didn't stop to walk because I'm pretty sure I won't be able to start back up again. By the time we reached KM 8, Eugene let me know we have the PB in the bag as long as we don't stop running now. Come to think of it... Duhhhhh. Kena conned. -_-

After passing the KTM station, we saw Yim taking photo in front of us. Eugene went hyper on me. I'm still surprised he's still got so much energy. For me, all I could do was to try and catch my breath and continue running, and of course, look smart on photo.

Eugene going Hyper when he saw Yim. Photo Courtesy of Yim Heng Fatt.

Truth be told this antic made me laugh. Cheered me up but I almost couldn't run due to the lack of breath. Photo Courtesy of Yim Heng Fatt.

With less than 2KM to go, I did what I could to speed up which I doubt I did. I'm just glad it's sub 7min pace all the way back to the finishing line. Crossing the line was a huge relieve. I totally forgot about the timing. Eugene congrats me on a new PB and all I could do was smile stupidly. I'm sure he must be wondering what's going through my brain at the moment. Truth is, brain is on "collect" mode. Processing mode kind of switched off a few KM back. :)

Once again, I just want to thank Eugene for pacing me on this race. Your encouragement and belief in me made a huge difference to me. I've learned a lot on this race with you.

After a job well done. I'm completely drenched and couldn't even stand straight. lol. Picture courtesy of Xydra Lau

Things I've learned in this race: 

1. Shorten your stride length while maintaining effort when going uphill. Overall, you don't tax your muscle as much as when you take your normal stride length.
2. When you think you're running on empty, dig deeper. You'll be surprised to find that there's more there.
3. When you think you can't, you can't. Mental strength plays a very crucial role in your run. If there's a huge challenge or obstacle, turn it into a motivation or cut it into manageable bits. When you take it head on positively, you will be able to overcome it. (Thanks Eugene for showing me. :))

Are we doing our part?

Few days ago, I stumbled upon a video on  Facebook. What that video does is to  reminds me of a struggle I face everyday which I've come to realize for a few months now. As a runner and as as a driver on the road, we are paradoxically, 2 side of the same coin.

On the Driver side of the coin, we are often seen to be in a rush, driving with excessive speed, being discourteous to other road users, double parking, queue jumping, and etc, etc, etc. The list does go on, but we all know what those lists contain. We break the rules and law when others are not watching, and even more so now a days, when it's convenient for us.

On the Runner side of the coin, We tend to feel that runners/pedestrians have the right of way.This is even more so when there's a Zebra Crossing. There are times we can be so anal about this that we put ourselves at risk of being mowed down by the drivers on the road. We become discourteous to the drivers, staring at them like they're the most hateful thing in this world. as well as by being a "PITA" pedestrians too.

There WILL be a few readers out there that may have the though "I'm free to do whatever I want" going through their mind now. That's completely Ok, and normal. Freedom is our God given right as everyone would say, argue, fight, and die for. But with the word "Freedom" comes another word that a lot of us conveniently forget. I do apologize for being philosophical and some of you guys may get upset by what I have to say, but do remember that this are my thoughts and opinion only and you may agree or disagree freely.

Responsibility

“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.”

― Eleanor Roosevelt, You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life

As the quote above says, With Freedom comes Responsibility. A lot of us have enjoyed our freedom of speech, freedom of choice and Freedom in general to the extend that we forget that with THAT freedom comes responsibilities that's associated with it. You are FREE to drive your car, but  you are also responsible for not just maintaining your own safety, but the safety of other road users. You are also FREE to run on the road, BUT, you are also responsible for making sure that you run on the right side of the road so that you can see incoming vehicles, as well as to take all necessary precaution to ensure that you are as safe as possible.

A lot of time, we push the responsibility to others. Classic Example: I'm a pedestrian crossing the road, the driver should be aware and wary of pedestrians. Or; Reversing out of a parking and expecting the pedestrians to keep clear just because you can't see everywhere or going slowly. What happen to the responsibility part? It is as if, like what Eleanor Roosevelt said, "For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.” Can you imagine a bunch of kids or children running in the street and driving on the road?

Part of growing up has always been to take on more and more responsibilities. It's a part of the journey of life itself. A lot of us "grown ups" think that we're matured and responsible enough as it is, Is that really true? Being "grown up" does not always equate to being matured. How many of us have really matured to the extent that we see beyond the immediate event and the surface? How many of us have matured to the extent that we dare to conduct a self-evaluation and to say yes, I'm doing this wrongly, I need to change?

The Challenge

This post is not about putting any sort of faults on the drivers or the pedestrians. This post is all about giving you a wake up. We are ALL Road Users, be you a runner or a driver. Most of us that follow this blog are both. The challenge I'm putting up to readers here is this. Be aware of what's going on on the road, be it when you're driving, or when you're running. Make positive changes that can impact other road users on the road.

For the past 2 months or so, I've been consciously trying to change the way I drive. It's a hard habit to break. This is especially true when faced with the likes of queue jumpers and rude drivers. I have to constantly remind myself that it's not worth it to drive angrily or drive excessively fast. I try to slow down and give way to other drivers that are struggling to cross the road or merge into the traffic. I especially try to change lane when there's a pedestrian on the road. If I can't change lane, I'll slow down and move further away so as to give them that extra buffer zone of safety.

It's not always successful, I'll admit, but I believe that with perseverance and determination, I'll definitely be able to break this habit off and be a more responsible driver on the road. One chant that helps me along whenever I'm struggling  is "Just breathe" One day at a time, one moment at a time, one breath at a time :)" This is especially helpful if you're running late. There's no point for you to drive like an F1 driver when you're running late. No matter how fast you drive, you'll still be late. Might as well drive carefully and reach your destination in a better mental state than what the rush will do to you.

Remember, just because you use the road, doesn't mean you own it. Respect everyone who uses it, be it pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist, or car drivers. All of us can do something to make the road a safer place. We may think it's ok to break the law, but you are still morally responsible for your action.

“I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.”
― Robert A. Heinlein

Running Dos and Don'ts in Malaysia

You know what? Every time we go to a race, we are always faced with the same inevitable problems of runners doing whatever they want. I don't know whether this is due to ignorance, lack of information, lack of education or lack of the grey matter, but I hope this post can help to address this issue. I plan to append to this post and compile some sort of a booklet that hopefully I can pass on to organizers to print out to pass to runners. Who knows, maybe I can get DBKL to print out some simple guideline in the park as well.

Running Etiquette:

1. Do run a maximum of 2 abreast. Share the running path with other runners. They're not made exclusively just for you.

2. If  you are running with others, please remember that you are only as fast as your slowest running partner.

3. In most park you will notice that runners tend to go in 1 direction. There are however times where people may run in the opposite direction. If that's the case, just do the logical thing and keep to the left just like how you would drive. I'm not too sure whether left-hand drive country will keep to the right or not. This will be interesting to find out, especially for runners traveling to other countries.

4. If you run on the road, do run AGAINST the flow of traffic. It is safer as you will be able to see cars approaching you and take evasive measures in case the driver is not paying attention to his/her driving. If in doubt of whether the driver sees you, always assume that he/she didn't.

5. Don't run or walk in the middle of the track. Keep to the left to facilitate overtaking runners.

6. At the same time, runners overtaking should alert walkers or slower runners that they're being passed. Don't assume they are aware of their surrounding. A simple "Coming through", "Excuse Me", or "On you right" is good enough.

7. Acknowledge other runners as well as drivers who take extra care to ensure your safety. It's always nice to be acknowledged, especially drivers. We don't just want to promote the sport of running, but also to promote running in a positive manner.

Racing Etiquette:

1. Do line up appropriately. If you plan to walk/run or go slow, line up further back in the start corral. This help to control traffic on the route and there's less jostling about for everyone. Just because you line up further in front does not mean that you will finish the race faster. It is fine to ask fellow participants their targeted finishing time to know if you're in the right spot.

2. Ever get pissed off with snobbish runners shouting at you to "Keep left"? Well guess what, that runner is trying to help you by teaching you that the right etiquette for going slow is to keep left. Just like driving, don't hog the fast lane if you're one of the below:
a. Slow runner.
b. Walker.
c. Couple/Dating on the run.
d. Cam-whoring or SelCa-ing
e. High on something.

3. Don't ever, ever pull an abrupt stop during a race. You run the risk of causing an accident to runners behind you. If you need to stop, move left and check to make sure you're out of the traffic flow before stopping. This include stopping all of a sudden to tie your shoe lace in the middle of the route. Please, please, please move to the left and out of traffic flow or refer to online resources on How to tie your shoe lace correctly.

4. Don't cut in front of runners all of a sudden. Same issue will result as above. If you need to pass or cut across, do indicate and check for other runners behind you. If someone is wearing earphone in front of you, and they are blocking, gently touch their elbow or shoulder to alert them of  your presence as you pass them.

5. Please please please, don't hog the water station. I've never ever used the Water Station in any of the run I've participated. You know why? Coz I got traumatized during my first race. It's like a herd of parched Wildebeest stampeding to a watering hole.

Luckily there's no crocodile for us runners.

Do try to go in slow, take the cup and continue moving along instead of stopping to take a drink. If you DO need to stop to take a drink, move further up and out of the traffic flow so as not to cause a congestion. Or do like me, BYOW (Bring Your Own Water). You won't be caught in situation where you need water and there's none.

6. Do throw your cups into the designated bin or mash it up and carry it along with you. Some people say that it's OK to throw the cups on the road as long as it's close to the volunteer station. I don't see why we can't carry/pocket something that doesn't weight much back to the finish line or till we find a rubbish bin to dispose of instead of endangering the lives of the volunteer who has to clean up after you.

7. Watch where you throw your waste. We're not Michael Jordan and even then, there's such a thing called Interception. Smacking a fellow runner in the face with your waste is bad form.

8. If you need to perform the Snot Rocket/Farmer's Blow, do make sure there's no one behind you. It would help if you could move aside and ensure that no one is in the "shotgun" zone when you perform this task.

9. Do not blast your earphone until you can't hear what's going on. We all love music, but you ARE in a race and safety of other runners as well as yourself IS paramount. If you want to listen to music, do keep one earbud off so you can hear runners and marshals calling out warnings as well as any approaching vehicles.

10. Listen to Traffic Controller's instruction. When asked to give way for cars, stop and let the cars through. We don't own the road, we share them, so respect other road user's right as well.

11. Always thank the volunteers. Without them, the race may not happen. Even if you're running the race of your life, or you're all spent and out of breathe, a simple nod, thumbs up, or gesture will go a long way to make the volunteer's day.

12. We rarely see supporters here in Malaysia, but I make it a point to say "Thank You" to any supporter is see. These people come out to cheer you on in their own time with their own expenses. The least they deserve is a Thank you from you.

13. Do continue moving after you've crossed the Finish line. There are other runners coming through. As always, get out of the traffic flow before slowing.

14. Don't cut course or run out of course. You're only cheating yourself.

Star Wars Running Quotes

Just for the heck of it, I thought I might as well make a post on quotes from Star Wars and mix them up with some running Lingos. Have a laugh, contribute to it, use it. It's all for the fun of running. :)

Quotes from Yoda

“Speed, PB, pace... the dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.”

I can imagine Yoda using the above quote when training Luke for a marathon.

"When 42.195 kilometer you reach, look as good, you will not."

"Try Not. Do or do not; there is no try."

"Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering."

"Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose."

The above 2 quote is something I myself will have to learn haha. I’m sure that will lead us to enjoy our runs and races even more.

Quotes from Princess Leia

"If personal bests are all you love, then that's what you'll receive."

"He must run his own race; no one can run it for him."

"You came here without training? You're braver than I thought."

I can imagine using that last one on someone who joins a HM or even FM without proper training. Although, he/she may be more foolish than brave.

Quotes from Obiwan-Kenobi

“Use the Force, *Insert Name here*.”

Wonder what will happen if we use the above to cheer people on. Hahaha.

Quotes from Chancellor Palpatine

"All who gain PB are afraid to lose it, even the Jedi."

"The attempt on my PB has left me scarred and deformed, but I assure you… my resolve has never been stronger!"

"There is no civility, only the podium."

Quotes from Darth Vader

“The Force is strong with this one.”

“I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

I think Darth Vader is secretly a runner. His quote doesn’t need to be changed much.

Quote by Chewbacca

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgh!"

You can use this when you cross the Finish Line

So remember always, “May the Force be with you.”

TRISTUPE.COM: Save Bukit Kiara Walk March 17, 2013

Ok, I'm helping a friend spread the news so I hope anyone reading this will help out as well by sharing this out. Do come support the walk as Bukit Kiara is a very important green lung in Selangor.

TRISTUPE.COM: Save Bukit Kiara Walk March 17, 2013: This was shared with me from TRAKS website. There will be a walk to exert pressure with regards to the recent land gazzette to Berjaya dev...

Brooks Half Marathon 2013 Review.

Ok, ok. I know I’m late posting this up but I’ve been catching up with my sleep and hoarding food into my tummy as it’s been complaining about the lack off food. I myself am surprised by my large appetite after this run.

As some of you may have known, I’ve been preparing for this run for about 3 months already. Just a little bit off info, I was actually contemplating on going for the Half Marathon before this. I’m glad I signed up for the 10K instead because I’m pretty sure that I will never be able to finish the 21K at this period of time. Not because of lack of trying but rather, I want to enjoy the journey to completing a marathon. As it was, it wasn’t smooth sailing while preparing for this run what with numerous down time due to my calves complaining…. Sissy.

Going into this run, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to run the course the whole way. Instead I opted to set myself a challenging goal of finishing in 1.20min and not mind about the walking part at all. Reason being, in these 3 months of training, I’ve never been able to, not even once, completely run 10K without taking at least 4-5 walking breaks. Even then, each time I go for anything above 8K my legs will start protesting and giving me problems. So since it’s now crunch time, I might as well go out and enjoy myself.

I’ve arranged with some friends to meet up at the Baggage Drop off area on race day, however we have differing arrival time. After the experience from the Park City run last year, I decided to get to the venue as early as possible. Reaching the Stadium at 4.30am. I proceed to SMS my friends to inform them on the developing traffic and of course, eat my breakfast. Once that's done, it's time for a little R&R. Played a little game on the iPhone and check some statuses on FB. Come 5am, I went to catch up with the gang at the baggage area. Mana tau, they haven’t arrive yet….

While waiting for the gangs, I realised that there is a HUUUUGGGEEEEE number of runners milling about. At first I thought that they’re just a mixture of all the runners from the different categories. Imagine my surprise when after the gun off, we were left with only a handful of people around. WOW! Well, I thought nothing of it since the flag off area seems kind of small anyway. Back to the wait, Once the guys are in, and the time for flag off for the 10K got near, we proceed to the flag off area too.

Upon countdown, we all mill and slowly shuffle our way toward the start line with people jumping in from the side as the flag off area is insufficient to accommodate the number of runners. Me and a regular running kaki decided to run together since our pacing is similar. We both agree that when he start lagging, I’ll just go on ahead. We both know that there’s a possibility whereby he’ll have to walk partially as he wasn’t able to get ready in time. As an experiment, we decided to load him up with some Gu Gel 30 minutes before flag off to see if it’ll help to sustain his run.

In any case, our game plan was to maintain our pace, slow down on hills, hammer the descent and possibly walk up that crazy incline at Technology park. Well, that was our initial plan. We didn’t factor in the crowd that we’ll be facing.

Upon exiting the Stadium Parking, both me and my buddy went OMG! Instead of taking up one lane, the runners are taking up 2 lanes and it’s stretching ahead of us by quite a distance. Well, we thought, ok, let’s chill a while and the crowd will disperse in about 1-2km. Boy were we wrong. Not even 1K in, we have people starting to walk or slow down already, ON THE RIGHT SIDE! My thought was, here we go again. The problem was compounded by the huge crowd. There isn’t any space whatsoever to maneuver at all. We saw a lot of runners running onto sidewalks or even the side of the drain just to have some space to overtake people.

Not too far from the start, near by to IMU, the road started to get dark. A lot of people ran into the safety cones and some runners start bumping into each other as we try to avoid it and other runners. Shortly thereafter, there was some commotion ahead. We were wondering what’s happening when we saw that a runner was down and some runners were performing first aid. We thought that the runner may have fainted as there was a clear space around him/her and some runners have taken off their vest and am fanning the downed runner with it. I was therefore surprised when I heard the cue of CPR being administered after passing him/her.

I’m not sure who it is that was helping the downed runner as I do not have a clear view, and the crowd requires that I pay attention to what’s happening around me, thus I’m not sure if it’s a medical personnel or a runner who assisted. I DO note that I did not see any medical personnel personally throughout the 10K I was running. It COULD be that they are at the water station but I could not confirm as I didn’t stop for any water.

Talk about water station, What is it with Malaysian runners and Water Station? Seriously, everything went to hell the moment a water station came up. At the first water station, I had a guy on the left cut right in front of me to go to the right side and all of a sudden decided to cut back left to get water. He tried to squeeze into some space along the crowd and stop right in front of me, causing me to collide into him. Seriously?!?! No apologies or anything… The scene is worse than any mamak I’ve ever seen. I asked my partner if he wants a drink. He looked at the station and goes, no way. He’d rather get water from the 2nd station what with the crowd. I told him ok, I’ll leave him behind there then.

We proceed to skip over the runners stopping to water themselves and proceed to try and get some space for us to run at a comfortable pace. Unfortunately that’s not to be what with the runners weaving into our lane all of sudden and the sudden stops as well as us weaving to overtake slow runners on the outside. People, Please learn to walk or slow down on the LEFT! If you do this in your car on the right lane in Malaysia, you’ll get into an accident. Same thing with running….. Things were so bad that my partner almost end up falling into the drain when another runner bumped into him trying to run at the side of the drain. At least this guy is courteous enough to apologize. Kudos to him.

Since things were pretty bad, we decided to forgo any walk plans on the hills, including the big one at Technology Park. We hammered the descent to try to make as much time as we could and overtake as many people as we could, and we slow down to a manageable pace for the incline and flats. We thought we were getting clearer then we found out the 5K groups have joined up with us.

Things just got from bad to worse. Now  you have kids zooming in front only to putter out right in front of you. Jeez. Kid, this is an Endurance run. Not a sprint. Take it easy and you can go further.

2nd Water Station is no better than the first Water Station. It’s completely crowded and the volunteer have to scream their head off to let the runners know that there’s more water in front. I decided to speed up and finish the run as soon as possible at this point coz of the water cup war going on there. From here on it was solo run all the way back. It got difficult at some point and there are times I just want to stop and walk. But I reminded myself that I’ve come this far and it’s only 3km, 2km, 1km to go.
Reaching the finish line, I am surprised on 2 matters:

1. I finished the 10K without stopping once for a walk break.
2. I finished it in 1 hr 12 min. 8 minute ahead of my goal time.
3. Apparently my friend found that the Gel does help him sustain his run throughout. He finished just 2 minutes behind me, without any stop as well. :)

The result made me very happy and have indeed brighten my day by a lot. I’m a little bit more confident that I can get ready in time for the Standard Chartered Half Marathon. Just a bit
Now to the Pros and Cons of this race.

Pros:

1. Race kit collection is done in a large area. Yeah it’s not computerized and it’s a little slow, but things get done.
2. Lovely product exhibition at the Race Kit Collection and Race venue.
3. Ample parking (although I heard that they ran out of parking for the late comers).
4. Lots of open space for runners after the run. We know how we smell like and open air is much preferred.

Cons:

1. No medical Personnel that I saw. Please let me know so that I can correct this if anyone saw otherwise.
2. Running through dark streets. I was lucky not to get into any potholes but some runners aren't so lucky.
3. Safety cones became hazard cones, this is mainly due to the following 2 points.
4. Lack of Traffic Marshall on the road. Runners are running on 2 lanes instead of one.
5. Too many participants for the route. Seriously, we had to slow down at one point to get through a corner at one point.
6. Water station is overly crowded. This is partially the runners fault for crowding, but I’m sure if the organizer is to have a longer water station, this could help out.
7. No photographers. Come on, runners are all cam whore. How can there be no photographers till the last 400 meter?

Recommendations:

1. Looking at the number of participants, I would have recommended the organizer to corral the runners with estimated finishing time and stagger their departure.
2. As mentioned above, longer water station or double deck them into 2 lanes.
3. Huge number of waste paper cup on the road. As I don’t use the water station due to this issue I don’t know what’s the cause. I however suspect that the organizer can help by having more trash bin along the way for people to throw the waste paper cup into.
4. Be firm on the number of runners instead of trying to rake in more profit and allow more runners to sign up after the initial number has been reached.
5. More Road Marshalls, Volunteers, Medical Personnel.
6. Come out with a brochure to educate the Malaysian runners on running etiquette.

Pet Peeves:

1. Slow runners on right side of the lane. With the number of runners on this run, I can’t even tell where there’s a fast lane or not. We had to weave through the crowd just to maintain our pace. Please runners, if you need to slow down or stop, check behind you and go to the left before you stop or slow down.
2. Water Station Crowd. Looks like Zebra in the Sahara Watering hole. Seriously.
3. Come on, throw the paper cups into the rubbish bin. Or squash them and bring them along till you can throw them away. Put them in the pouch or your pocket. Please don’t litter all over the road. It could be dangerous for the volunteers to clean up after you. Please be considerate.
4. 10 second Jim. Sprint ahead of you then stop and walk then sprint again. Make up your mind dude. Or train up your aerobic base. RESPECT THE DISTANCE!!!
5. Kiasu Runners. They try to block you or speed up when you try to overtake them. Dafuq?!?
6. Impatient drivers. Nuff Said.

With all the above, I’m wondering whether it’s legal for me to bring an Air Horn or a Taser to clear the path ahead. Lol. Here’s looking at Stan Chart Half Marathon training starting next week.
Post script. We have the unfortunate news that the runner who collapsed during the run was not resuscitated successfully even though during the run we saw an ambulance leaving the area. Our condolences to the family.

Edit:
Just to show you how massive the crowd is, do check out Mr. Tey's video. Note the cam whoring and the chaos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLBaAtvACuA&list=UUewiMGqQJ31P0DzEY0vxK6g&index=1

Puma Mobium Elite in KL

Guess what? The Puma Mobium Elite is now available in Malaysia! I stumbled across it after collecting the race kit for the Brooks Half Marathon 10K run on Saturday. I know, I know, today is Tuesday and my news travel slow.

I'll tell you what though. I've tried it in store so I'll give you a quick update on what I think about it. I am not able to give a thorough input on this shoe as I only have it on for a while and was concentrating on an important question going through my head; to buy or not to buy.

Built and Look:
The Puma Mobium Elite looks phenomenal (personal opinion of course). I mean come on, how many shoes have that killer arch and black outsole pods that looks to be anatomically replicating our foot sole? Coupled with the bright color, I was sold to a 70% level already.

I'm unable to comment on the upper much as I didn't get to try it on long enough to check on breathability and heat. If I remember correctly, some part of it are cushioned whereas, other area are kind of thin. The Tongue is a thin piece of synthetic that's mainly there to prevent any chafing from the shoe laces. Feels good though.

Fit:
Fit wise, the shoe is kind of difficult to get into unless you've loosen the shoe lace by quite a bit. This is good, because it mean that your feet is gonna be secured pretty well. Once in, I was pretty surprised at the width of the forefoot area. In the picture above, the shoe looks kind of tight in that area and that was one of my reservation on whether to buy the shoe before putting it on. The mid foot area is solidly locked in place by the lace.

The Ankle area however is a different story. It felt very loose and insecure. I keep having the feeling that the shoe may fly off even though the mid is pretty secured. It could be due to the lack of a heel counter or too much padding in the upper, I wasn't too sure. I wanted to go 1 size down to reconfirm but unfortunately, they do not have that size. :(

Flexibility:
The shoe in itself is pretty flexible lengthwise. This is especially true where the shoe arch upward but reduce by quite a bit as it moves forward toward the forefoot area. It is still flexible enough for you to bend it easily with 1 hand. Sideway, this shoe ain't gonna win any twister competition like the GoBionic. It is however, flexible enough to allow your feet to twist in any direction upon landing to a degree greater than that of a traditional stability shoe.

Feel:
Without a run to confirm anything, this is going to be pretty vague. Initial observation is that the shoe is very cushioned. This may be due to the insole which, by the way, is removable. I'm not sure what the material is, but it's kind of "foamy". The last of the shoe seems to fit my feet pretty well, what with the ample forefoot space, and a secure mid area. The shoe seems to be built fit around your fit snugly, although the cast must have ham for ankle.

A few jumping test confirms that the feel of the foot upon landing is so-so, cushioned, firm, and not as flexible as the Skechers. Meaning, if you land on a gravel, you may not feel it as much, and the shoe may pretty well cause your feet to roll. I don't like the insole as it feels foamy/airy and not firm. The stack height is also quite high. What this mean is that I don't get feel the road as much as I'd like.

Now to the claim of the expanding sole. From what I can see of the sole area, the only part that expands is the arch area but not the rest of the pod. This is because the sole and pod area does not appear to have any mechanism to allow it to expand upon landing. As for the arch area, upon landing the arch will flatten out and contract upward again upon kick off, compliment of the X-Band located there. I can feel this working even while walking, but unfortunately I won't be able to tell you how it feels like while running. It feels kind of weak though. For me, I think I would prefer it to be tighter/stronger so that the arch don't collapse so easily.

Grip wise, this shoe is pretty grippy for something with not much grooves cut into it. This could be due to the outsole material or something which I may not have noticed.

To wrap up below are the pros and cons of the shoe in this
Pros:
1. Roomy toebox.
2. Secure Midfoot area.
3. Some springiness from the X-band (although I would prefer it to be on the tighter side for added firmness).

Cons:
1. Ankle area does not feel secure. I'm very aware of it but heck, I'm only walking and jumping so can't really comment on it unless I run in it and it feels the same..
2. Stack height too high.
3. Foamy insole. I would prefer something firmer like that of the GoRun2.
4. Don't have a smaller size. You know what they say about guys with small feet. They wear smaller shoes. :P
5. A tad heavy but not too extreme. Just heavier than what I'm used to I would say.

Conclusion:
Given the above, would I still go for this shoe? There is a high chance I may go for it if the smaller size fits better on my feet. I just need to confirm on the fitting around the ankle is all.

This shoe seems to be built for speed. Why do I say that? I don't know. It just feel that way what with the snug fit, the heel-drop ratio (which I don't know of), and how it feels like wearing it for a short time.

Truth be told, I've never been blown away by Puma's offering of running shoes. This however have changed my view on this matter. Puma seems to be moving slowly into the minimalist stream while still keeping half a feet in the mainstream shoe. They got some things right in this shoe, there's also lots of area for improvement on it. One thing for sure, I'll keep my eyes open for more Puma shoes next time.

For those interested in the shoe, you can get the Mobium Elite at the Puma store at The Curve Shopping Mall. Sorry but I forgot to check the price. If anyone of you happens to be there, do check it out and let me know.

p.s. They do not have any ladies size or offering of the Mobium Elite at the moment it seems. Wonder what the ladies will make of it. Hopefully the ladies version will come out soon since I know a friend who's interested in this shoe.

Edited: 4th March, 2013
p.p.s. Thanks to Wei Aun for checking out the price. Retail price is at RM 389, which puts it in the price range of Skechers GoRun2 and the GoBionic. I think I'm gonna have to go hunt for someone who has tried the shoes to give a proper review on this shoe.

Edited: 16th May, 2013
Additional information from Offshewent. Thank you so much for providing this information :)

Hi hi from Singapore. I chanced upon your blog when i was googling puma mobium to see who else was using it. I have a pair of the womens version, so far, after using it for 3 weeks, i feel that its built more for people who have neutral to normal arches. Flat footed people like me have to take a longer time to get used to it due its more slim fit design. Also, the shoe encourages the use of mid foot strike so those starting out to use the shoe might want to increase mileage slowly. I liked the fact that it really is quite light and conforms, not so good for trails though as gravel might get stuck in the grooves underneath where the band is. happy running! :)

Puma Mobium Elite

As you all may know, I'm pretty particular with the shoes that I wear for my runs. Not because I'm fussy, but more like my feet are fussy. Weigh, Stack Height, Heel Drop, Flexibility, and Toe Width all comes into play when I have to look for a pair of running shoes. So far, the only running shoes that I'm comfortable with are the Skechers GoRun, and the Merrel Road Glove. This may however change pretty soon if Puma really launches their new shoes. Truth be told, I've yet to see a single Puma Running shoes that actually fit my bill, till this came along that is.

For more info, please go to Pete's site and read up on Puma's new shoe, the Puma Mobium. Wonder whether Puma will send the running community here in Malaysia a few pair for review purposes :P

UPDATE: Just got news from Puma that the Mobium Elite will arrive in Malaysia in April!

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2013 opens today

Standard Chartered KL Marathon will be open for registration today, 30th January 2013 at 1800hrs local time.

Categories available are:

As you can see, they're making it pretty big this year with a targeted participant number of 30,250. That's about 2+K more participant than last year!!! There's a category of run for everyone so do join up if  you guys can.

I've gotten the pricing and posted it here for easier reference for you guys. As can be seen this is an international event so if you wanna sign up, do make sure you do so ASAP.

For more info, please visit their facebook page at Here, or their Twitter page at Here.

The homepage is currently still in Countdown mode and should be made available at 1800hrs. It can be accessed Here.

As for myself, I think I'm gonna take the plunge and go for the Half Marathon even though I don't know whether I will be able to even prepare enough to make it. It's a scary and nervous thought actually especially considering the fact that during my preparation for 10K I'm still facing some difficulties adapting to that distance.

If you guys have any advise or anything, I would really appreciate if you would share it with me.

Happy Running everyone.

Running Injury and how our body heal.

I had a difficult time trying to put a proper title to this blog post. First thing first. Disclaimer: I am not a doctor/podiatrist/biomechanist/etc, what you see here are compilation of information from what I've read, and researched upon. I tried not to get too technical but anatomy being anatomy, there are terms which I would recommend you to read up on. Take this post as a platform for you to launch yourself into understanding your body more. This was posted because I just basically want to share some info about injuries as well as how our body deals with it to the runners out there.

A lot of us out there have the misconception that if you're injured, we should rest. I don't blame you nor am I saying it is wrong, since this is what we have been taught by our doctors, parents and friends. Well, a lot of you out there will be surprised that not all injuries get better with rest. In fact, some even get worse apparently. How is that so? Well it depends on the type of tissues in our musculoskeletal that was injured. Does anyone know how many types of tissues are involved? Don't you wish you've been paying attention during your science class now? lol

Ok ok, here's the list. They’re:

1.    Bones

2.    Tendons

3.    Ligaments

4.    Muscle

5.    Cartilage

You see, each of the above have different properties, ranging from how they get their nutrients to how they react to stress and etc. Below are as quick a summary as I can make it

Cartilage:

Cartilage are the springy white stuff at the end of your bones which prevent bone to bone meeting while also acts as shock absorbers for the bones (yes it's the one some of us tend to chew off our chicken wings). Cartilage mainly gets its nutrient from the Synovial Fluid just like the tendons and ligaments. It has to be noted that distribution of the Synovial Fluid comes from compression, decompression and movements, so who says running is not good for your joints? (Subject to wear and tear of course) Cartilages do not have pain nerve so you will not feel any hurt or pain from damaged cartilage. The bad stuff only comes when it's already down to bone to bone grinding.

Ligaments:

Ligaments are the tissues that attach bones to bones. What, we ain’t got no super glue attaching our bones together ok? Ligaments do not have much give and they attached bones together at an optimal distance, not too loose, not too tight, juuuuussttt nice. Ligaments are oriented to resist tension a long a very specific direction, so they don’t tolerate nonsense like slipping sideway (shearing), which is the major cause of ligament tears.

The cool thing about ligaments is the fact that it gets its nutrients from the fluid inside the joints (Synovial Fluid). Ligaments can't contract like muscles but they can, and do get thicker and stronger with exercise and training. They are one of the tissues that do not heal 100% after injuries, only up to 97-98%. That’s why for those that have sprained ankles before, you’ll realize your ankle will not be as strong as before and need to be strengthened by additional training and exercises.

Bones:

Guess what. There are actually 206 bones in our body, and their main duty is not just to provide our body with the structural shape, but also to provide anchoring points for us to move our body via other tissues. Contrary to what many believes, bones are not rigid, but are actually flexible and can display slight bend/flex when you exert force on it, kind of like a thick cane. There are actually 2 parts to our bones.

2 parts to bones:

Cortical: This is the hard outer layer of our bone. It is compacted and made up 80% of our skeletons.

Cancellous: This is the inner part of bones, which provide scaffolding (looks kind of like sponge) to the bones. It is also where majority of the tissues are replaced. The Cancellous area has good blood supply with blood being pumped in by dedicated arteries through the surface of the bones. Yes bones have blood flow inside too. How do you think we get our red blood cells?

Bones are constantly growing and will adapt to the optimal load placed on it. How they do so is by constantly breaking down bone for calcium (as per the requirement of the bodily function) and the laying down new minerals for increased integrity, a process called Osteoclast and Osteoblast. In other word, you’re constantly breaking bones to make them stronger. How freaky is that?

Tendons:

The tendons are the rubber band tissues of your body. This is the magic stuff which makes us so adept at running. How they do so is by storing energy upon impact/compression and returning it as free energy at the next phase of running. One of the most popular tendons in our body is the Achilles tendon, no thanks to a certain Ancient hero's weakness :P The tendons are also the tissue that sits sitting between the bones and the muscles.

Tendons have very little blood flow to them and gets nutrients mainly from a covering or sheath around them that contains Synovial Fluid. Growth and repair of the tendon is via a process called Fibroblast (the manufacturing of elastic cells), and also by improving the density and structure of the tendons via exercise and Trigger Point Treatment to break up scar tissues for realignment.

One particular thing that I would like to point out is that, apparently, tendons are not capable of inflammation. So, any doctors that want to give you anti-inflammatory shots for your inflamed Tendon or Tendinitis should be avoided. The cause of the inflammation is actually by tissues surrounding the affected area, acting as a splint and a message to the body to repair the affected area.

Muscles:

These tissues are the powerhouse for the body and are responsible for the majority of the movements or the generating of force/power that we require. The muscles are tissues that have a very active supply of blood. Muscles can be trained to generate more power via 2 methods.

1. Hypertrophy and Hyperplasia: (to put it simply, an increase in size in the Muscle cell and division of Muscle cells). Hypertrophy typically takes 6-8 weeks to develop; and 
2. Nerve control: Improved control of your musculature via increased nerve firing.

In human, there are 3 type of muscle fiber, Type I or Slow Twitch, Type IIa or Intermediate Fast Twitch, and Type IIx or Fast Twitch. There is actually a fourth type called Type IIb which is present mainly in small animals and is a Fast Twitch Fiber (this is how we get our White Meat). This can be confusing so I'm gonna put in a table with the individual features for easier reference.

Feature	Type I (Slow Twitch fiber)	Type IIa (Medium fast twitch fiber)	Type IIx (Fast Twitch fiber)
Twitch Rate	Slow	Fast	Fast
Myosin ATPase Activity (How fast power can be generated)	Slow	Fast	Fast
ATP Synthesis	Aerobic	Aerobic	Anaerobic
Myoglobin Level (How well oxygenated the muscle can get)	High	High	Low
Glycogen Store (Fuel)	Low	Medium	High
Fatigue Rate	Slow	Medium	High
Color	Red	Pink	Whitish/Pale Pink

The ratio of Muscle fiber type is fixed in each individual and no matter how much training we do, we cannot gain additional Type I/IIx Fiber. We CAN however train Type IIa to work similar to Type I with aerobic/cardio training. Note that it takes almost no training to get Type IIa to work like Type IIx. It should also be noted that Mitochondria (a component which is important for aerobic metabolism) is readily available in Type I and Type IIa in high concentration but not that much in Type IIx Fiber.

As you can see from the above, majority of our tissues actually require activities to get their nutrients. So what does protracted rest actually do to our specific type of tissues?

Cartilage - Swelling occurs and binding agent weakens.
Ligaments - Decrease it's strength and holding power.
Bones - Weakened due to breakdown of collagen structure and mineral density.

Tendons - Decreases strength and causes disorganized collagen similar to scar tissue.

Muscles - Weakens muscles, Atrophy of muscles.

So what should we do?

Exercise within means of course. That's why Physiotherapy is so important after any major injuries. The initial rest period is for your body to start the healing process. Exercise is a very important part of the healing process that a lot of people actually skip or do without, thinking that rest will fix all things. What type of exercise is beneficial to the specific type of tissues?

Bones > Slight compression and vibrations. Simulated in running, jumping and etc.

Cartilage > moderate loading within comfortable range of mobility.

ligaments > Controlled, comfortable loading of stress along the natural line of force.

Tendons > Eccentric Strengthening via loading of tension to improve organization of collagen fibers

Muscles > Aerobic exercise to induce Type IIA adaptation.

I've included Wiki links to some of the more bizarre lingo in this post to help people understand more about what some of these things are. If you have any question, do post a comment and I'll try to answer it to the best of my ability. Most importantly, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT use this post as a self diagnostic to how you can heal yourself. Always consult your doctor and heed their advise. Use this post as an added knowledge so that you can get better faster. Clear any activities/exercise you would like to do with your doctor before hand.

Happy running people.