Run Boy-o Run!!!

A little History lesson.....

Do you guys know, I'm one of the most unlikely candidate to be in the sports of running. This is not to say that I've had no interest in running since I was young. On the contrary, as a kid, when my family was still staying in my hometown, we've always ran all over the place. We walk to school, run to friends place, run out to the shops and back for groceries and ice-cream. Our mode of entertainment involves activities such as chasing your playmates around in differing activities, be it Hide and Seek, Police and Thief or just plain foot race. We even hop on 1 foot to chase each other in restricted space! Boy, those were the good old days. (Crap I sound old!)

I can't remember when it was or what was the cause, but I am pretty certain I developed a dislike to running during my primary school years. I remember vividly how I hate the 100m Dash, the 200m runs we have to make during PE in school and the cursed "Marathon" we had to run during sports day. Even when other sports involves running, I've always seen it as a chore and a punishment. Back then, during my late primary and secondary school years, I graduated from walking/running to cycling and would never turn back to that punishing activity anymore, or so I thought.

I've always been very active in sports back in my teens. I've dabbled in Karate, Swimming, Squash, Hiking, and Jungle Trekking, out of which Hiking and Jungle Trekking are my favorites. I would be one of the few guys that goes in to scout out a trail for the group to follow the day before, and I will be the few people that will bound up a rocky path like a mountain goat. All these however came to an end about 10 years ago.

It was on a Sunday morning as I was getting ready to go to church. I was having breakfast in the kitchen, and as usual, due to my sinus, I will be sneezing away for the first few minutes of the morning. I remember quite well how it felt like that morning. I was sneezing for a bit and felt a big sneeze coming along. What I wasn't prepared for however was the Pop I felt in my lower back. Sharp pain like someone driving a knife into you shoots up my back.That morning I herniated my disc.

I was regulated to bed rest for 1 month. Even after then, I was in pain for the next few months. My activity list have been cut short. High Impact sports are a big no-no to me from then on. So was any sort of heavy lifting. I'm relegated to walks and swimming has not been a strong interest due to my lack of skill in it.

As if that's not bad enough, my asthma, which I have developed when I was 14 years old, came back to haunt me. I'm pretty sure this was due to the smoking during that time.Thus start the year of fitness decline with my exercise amounting to swinging the Wiimote or going shopping with my family.

So now, 10 odd years later, with Herniated Disc, Asthma and a weak ass body, I'm getting back to something which I absolutely abhor in my younger days. Best of all, I'm not just getting back into it, but am absolutely loving it! My friends always caution me to go slow, but I've developed "the itch". If I don't run, I feel uncomfortable. Even with all the injuries, breathlessness, and muscle fatigue, it's like, when you run, you're you.

          Running = The Real Sport. The others just play with their balls. - Unknown Quote

Cruel Mistress

Oh what a cruel mistress I have. She's always sulky and when her mood is bad, she'll make sure  you suffer throughout the day or the week.She'll make sure she hurts you and turn you into a cripple. You'll be forced to give her Tender Loving Care for as long as she needs. Who is she???


















My Plantar Fascia of course.

Too Much Too Soon.

Sorry for the lack of posting these past week. I've been a bit busy with recuperating from doing Too Much Too Soon. I manage to cause some major muscle stiffness in both my calf and shin for 2 full days. I've also been pretty fatigued recently so it's usually rest for me for the pass week.

This was mainly attributed to a busy Saturday whereby I've gone for my usual Saturday morning run with my mum. After I'm done with my training, while waiting for my mum, I thought, "Oh why not, let's go for some hills." Went up twice and felt some tension on my calf so I decided to call it a day.

I had Church Band practice scheduled after lunch, but before that, I had to pick up some Chia Seed from my supplier. Since I've had a pretty good, tiring run that morning, I decided to wear my Adidas JawPaw II since it's pretty flat and comfy. Due to some out of the blue high traffic, I ended up reaching my appointment late. I parked my car and ran over to the agreed meet up place. Running in the Adidas JawPaw II is very different from my Skechers GoRun, and I've never ran in it before (I'll write more about these 2 shoes at later date).

                                                                 My Skechers GoRun

Now you may think that it's just a short run and etc and I'm just being a sissy. Well, maybe I am, but what I DO realize is that running in the Adidas JawPaw II did some considerable "damage" on that day. Damage in the sense that due to the lack of cushioning, I'm running in an entirely different way, thus exercising totally different sets of muscles.

                                                                The Adidas JawPaw II

This by itself shouldn't be too much of a problem for seasoned runners. I'm however pretty green in running and I've been a vegetable for the pass 10 years. I've also realized that my legs have actually weaken by quite a considerable amount. How do I tell? Try and stand on 1 leg with your knees slightly bent and see if you can keep yourself stable for 1 minute.

In any case, my legs started to hurt the next morning till Tuesday (and I gung ho-ed and continue with my training :P). Be that as it may, that short run in the Adidas really stir my curiosity as to whether it's possible to run in that pair of shoes.

EDIT: Updated with photos

Quick Update

Came back from work, got changed and went for my walk/run. I'm currently on a training program to help get me started with running. I'll tell you guys a little more bout me and running at a later post, but basically I'm  on my 2nd week of training whereby I have to huff and puff while "running" for 90 seconds and huff and puff while walking for 2 minutes. I managed to finish off at 3.7km with a fastest time of 6.54min/KM, my best time yet. Anyone know what's a normal run time for 5K run per km? Please advise ya.

After I'm done, I know how steamed crabs, lobsters and prawns felt like. Apparently I'm flushed red, steamy, and felt hot both internally and externally. And yet, I'm still keen on continuing with this training. In fact, I'm so keen I've enrolled myself in the Parkcity 5K run come November.

I must be nuts. Why do I say so? I'll tell you in another post.

Positive Changes

It all started in May 2012. Why is that so important? You see, I have shifted back to my mum's place on May 7th, 2012. Why you ask? Well, my wife asked me for a divorce. During that period, I was having difficulties going to sleep and concentrating so a friend of mine invited me to join him in his weekly morning walk. We were hoping that the exercise will be able to tire me out so that I can try to get some sleep and do me some good.

It worked to a certain degree. It has however set an itch in me which I could not scratch. Some insect or tick carrying a disease called "Runningtitis" or "Healthyism" or something must have bitten me during that morning walk. I started having an urge to live my life in a healthier way.

I WILL admit at this point that for the pass 10 years or more, I've not had any form of active exercise whatsoever. I've also lived my life eating whatever I want, smoking my life away, and just enjoying life as easy as can be. Most of the days, it'll be Wake up, Go work, Go back home, Play Computer Games/Shopping/Makan with wife (Soon to be ex-wife)/Meet Friends, Sleep. Rinse and Repeat 365 days a year X 10.

Looking at my lifestyle for the pass 10 years, I decided it's time for me to go for a health check ASAP. Not surprisingly, result came back and Gasp!!!! Doctor says "Everything normal, but you got High Cholestrol."

What's surprising is that I'm 5'10" and weigh in at 67kg. My mum calls me a bamboo stick and my Aunts complain that it's a waste of money to keep feeding me. My Grandma complains my mum's not feeding me enough. To me it's no surprise considering the type of rich foods I've been shoving into my system.

"So what would you like to do now?" the doctor asked. "Do you want to go on medication, or would  you like to try and do exercise?". Told the doctor flat I'll do the exercise and he said, "Ok, I'll allow it since you're still young and have demonstrated that you have the will power to change your lifestyle".

Oh, by the way, by the time I went for my health check in August, I've been completely off Nicotine for about 2 weeks. Apparently, a total Cholesterol of 7.2 is a pretty big issue. =P There goes my Roast Pork  Belly, Luncheon Meat (Spam), Fatty Bak Kut Teh. Sigh. In return, I've been shoved full of Oats, Oat Brans, and Fish oil by my mum and dad.

I've stucked to the morning walk my friend has introduced to me, and I've stucked to quitting cigarette.I've also started walk/running. I'm in the process of revamping my diet, hoping I can eat more healthily and yet be able to enjoy what I love most on an occasional basis. It's been 4 months since I had to start a new life. With these changes behind me, I hope I can continue to make positive changes not just to my own life, but the life of others.

A little background

It's been years since I penned my thoughts down, so pardon me if I'm a little rusty in this department. Here's a little background on myself.

I would like to think of myself as a typical normal guy who spends his life in this world as a temporal guest. I consider myself Middle aged, plain looking, skinny guy with a little tummy and love handle (something I'm proud of, for making sure it didn't get as big as some of my friends'). I'm a Christian and attend and serves in my church in the worship ministry by playing the Bass guitar (just a noob). My interest has always been good music, good food, and of course, computer games. (Hey I'm an IT Guy what do you expect?)

I'm however going through a tough spell in life at the moment. I'm however intrigue to find that even during this time, there are tiny surprises that kind of moved and motivated me. I hope to share with you guys my journey during this period of time in my life.