Away for pass few weeks and into my 5K Race

Sorry I've not been posting anything in this blog for the pass few weeks. I've been away in Sandakan over the pass 2 weeks for work related purposes. In a way, this is kind of a welcomed break for me. Things have gotten hectic "challenging" in office and a change of tempo and scenery is greatly appreciated.

My work there is mainly to install programs for a new hotel that's coming up. It's a stressful but fun time to be there. It's a quaint little hotel, looks normal on the outside but full of surprises on the inside, so I'll strongly recommend people to go for a visit there.

Reception Area of Borneo Cove Hotel

5.45pm from hotel room (pardon the picture quality)

Borneo Cove Hotel in Sandakan

Life in Sandakan is slow. Very slow. To get work done there you need to learn to do things at snail pace or skip from Point A to Point G or you'll lose your mind. The good folks there are however kind enough to bring me for some sight seeing.

Agnes Keith House

How the House once used to look Pre-WWII

The Bedroom (Agnes Keith House)

A spot of English Tea perhaps?

St Michael's Church. Too bad they charge RM 5 for entry.

"Beach" behind the hotel. Check out the "Chicks".

Panoramic view of the bay area from one of the temples.

Ranau Death March Memorial.

I had a good time doing my C25K training there. The roads are hilly and not as heavily used as here in Good ol KL. This is not to say that I had it easy there, instead, the first run I did there I almost pass out. This was mainly due to the heat and the hills. Killer combination. I however feel that I've done lots of progress while I was there what with the heat, the hills and a crazy co-runner who decided to speed up and leave me behind on our way back to the hotel.

For all that trouble, I finished the Parkcity run with ease. Yeah! I did it at a lowly time of 41.26. But this was mainly because I decided to pace a friend who wasn't feeling too well that day. I however realized I didn't breathe hard throughout the run and didn't even feel tired out. For that, I get the below as a present.

Consolation Prize. Finisher Medal.

The real prize is that I walked away from the race knowing now that I can run the complete 5K without stopping. A goal I have set in the beginning before I started running. And with that done, what do I do now? Why go for another race of course lol. I plan to do better next round and have signed up for a 10K comes March. I plan to also work my way up to a Full Marathon in the next year or 2. And since this is suppose to be a quick update, I'm gonna go off and go sleep, lol. Gnite folks.

New to the Running Sport

As a new runner, I'll always have questions in my head. How should I start running? Is my form correct? What type of shoes should I get? How often should I run? Where should I start?

Out there in the InterWeb is lots of information. Unfortunately they're all scattered and some are even contradictory. Hopefully I can use this blog as a stepping stone for people who, like me, would like to pick up the sport of running. In no way

So, where do we start? We start like all manner of things, in the beginning. Nahhhhh. I'm not here to give you a history lesson (yet = P). Depending on whether you're like me, a couch potato, or already running short distances, you will want to start off on one of the following level below.

Walks: 
Walking is a good way to start. I would recommend you go to a park and pick up walking. Do your walks with a friend or relative to alleviate any boredom you may face. Yeah lots of people will say I walk enough when I go out shopping. The truth is indoor and outdoor walking differs. Some of these differences are:

• Indoor walks do not face Wind Resistance. A strong head wind can force you to use more strength to counter the push back factor.
• Walking surfaces for outdoor walks have subtle unevenness, forcing your muscles in your leg to adapt to the surface you walk on.
• Outdoor walks have slopes and elevation you have to deal with, helping to build up your leg strength in many ways.
• If you walk in the evening, the heat and humidity of the weather will force you to exert more.

The objective of the walk is to build up your leg strength as well as to build up some level of stamina for you to progress to the next step.

Walk/Run: 
Once you feel that you are ready to start running, you can transition into it by adopting a Walk/Run Program. A walk/run program such as C25K is used to help people who are not used to running to get into running in a systematic, controlled approach. The program is designed as “Intervals” to ease you into the habit of running.  These intervals can differ. For example, you can have a 1 Minute Run X 90 Second Walk interval. As you progress along, the intervals between Run and Walk will get Longer and Shorter, till you’re running a full 5KM non-stop.

When are you ready? For me, I walked up to about 6km in 1 hour after which, I couldn’t stand the itch to start running. Some things to consider when you do walk/run program:

• There is no Hard and Fast rule that you have to follow. Everyone is different. You can always slow down the program or repeat 1 plan till you’re comfortable to move on to the next step.
• Take it slow and don’t overdo it. That’s what everybody tells me. Problem is, how would you know you’re gonna overdo it till you’ve overdid it? So instead of telling you that, I’ll say, Take it slow and listen to your body. If you hurt, don’t push it.
• Be patient. Sometimes it may not be apparent that you’re improving. It is important to remember that you’re building your foundation at the moment and will reap the fruit of harvest in the near future.

The objective of the Walk/Run program is to get a person used to running for longer distance in a systematic and gradual way. If  you'd like to try one out, go on and head to Cool Runing's Couch to 5K Plan.

Run: 
Congratulation. You’ve made it to your goal of being a runner. Take your time and slowly build up on your mileage, from 5K to 10K to half marathon to full marathon and etc.

Disclaimer: All the rambling above are from a crazy old man and should be taken with a healthy dose of caution and self-censorship. ;)