Orange Run 2011

Woke up about 5.30am on Sunday to get ready for my run. I was really hungry when I woke up and had a cup of hot drink before I left the house. By the time I got to Curve it was nearly 6.30am. And then I realised that there is no bag drop facility over there. So I had to walk all the way back to the car to put my stuff, and went back to the starting line. The ladies starts the race at 7.00am and by the time I got back to the starting line it was 6.50am. I didn't do any stretching, nor warming up and just waiting to start running. And then the racebegan and I noticed an annoying uncle who started the race together with the ladies and yet at the same time blocking the way. Men are supposed to start their race 10 mins later but yet I don'tunderstand why this uncle had to start with the ladies.

It was a nice run and I did the same route last year. I remembered I wasn't that good and it took me 1 hour 11mins to complete it if I'm not mistaken. But this time I felt that my stamina was way much better and I could run all the way without stopping. I completed my race within 57mins for 11km at an average pace of 5:11. I was Position No. 9 in Women's Open category and I got a prize for the first time. :) I was really happy as I didn't expect to win at all.

I met a few regular runners and also my ex-uni mate which I have not seen for ages. It was really nice catching up with these people and of course meeting new ones too. :)

Anyway, I always love this run. After the race, there were loads of goodies given out. Even more than those runs that I joined which cost me RM60. And this race used to be free but this year they started charging for RM5 for charity purposes. But it's still one of the cheapest run I had ever participated. They also make sure they feed you well after the race as well and there were nasi lemak, cereal and loads of drinks to be taken.

I stayed till the end of the event as I was waiting to collect my prize. There was a lucky draw and I was hoping to win the lucky draw grand prize which was the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Unfortunately luck was really not there as they called a number which is 1 number different from my bib. Dang... Oh well, it was the first time I actually stayed till the event ended. It was great fun and I have to say that it was the best race ever.

I got 9th place and won BHP vouchers... Woohoo!!!

MCD Run -17 July 2011

I went for the MCD Olympic Day Run at Dataran Merdeka on Sunday. Was really looking forward to this run for some reason. I think it was because I love MCD too much that I'm supporting everything they do. I guess in some ways I was hoping that they will serve Sausage Egg McMuffin after the run or Sundae Ice Cream. :) Yeah, I can keep hoping.

It's a 7km run and I didn't know what to expect as I had never done a short distance run for a long time. I think the last one I did was in 2009 and even then I didn't push really hard. So I thought this one will be a great training and to test what's my pace as well. I simply pluck from the sky the timing that I wish to achieve and then I realised it was just really tough especially for someone who doesn't train like me.



I was very disappointed with the race actually. It was very messy and the announcer was unclear and signs were not clear as well. Toilet is also another issue. When I approached the organiser, they didn't know where the toilet was and pointed here and there to me. Only later part I realised that it was at the car park area and they charge Rm0.20 for the toilet. Now that's a rip off especially when there are so many runners there who will definitely use the toilet especially before the race.

At the start of the race, there were simply too many people. It was just so crowded and again the slow runners were all queued in the front line and they ended up walking during the race and block the way.

Anyway, I finished the race with the time of 39 mins 34sec and position No.16 for Women's Open. And I got my medal. It's quite a pretty decent medal. It was quite a hilly run and I guess I underestimated it.



I was breathing so loud during the race and pushed myself really hard. I think some people thought I was suffering from asthma attack. 'lol' Well, that's how I breath when I push myself hard and sorry guys for making you all worry. It's also my first time running without an ipod. So I could hear my own breathing quite clearly and gosh it's loud.



Well, luckily I finished fast. I got my goodie bag, had loads of orange juice drink, ribena and also milo and got my banana too. After taking picture with Ronald and moo moo, I was getting ready to go home, I saw the queue to all the drinks station were insanely long. Well, I'm sure a lot of people will be complaining about the race. As for me, I doubt I will join this race again next year. It's just too crowded at the starting line. Anyway, most importantly is I get to feast and sleep after a Sunday run. haha.. And I had MCD for lunch. :)

My First Full Marathon

My first half marathon was the Putrajaya Night Marathon 2010. My initial target was to do a full marathon during this race but unfortunately my leg was giving me a hard time. I was still in a lot of pain and was too afraid to commit to a full marathon. But I can say that it was indeed a great run. I finished it at 2:29:41.

Then when 27th March came, I did my first Full Marathon in the Energizer Night Race. I could still remember clearly that during the last 2 weeks before the race, it was raining everyday during the evening. So I thought it might be a good race if it rains around 5 or 6pm. However, on that day itself, the sun was shining brightly and it was really hot at 6pm. I never thought that the sun was still up and shining brightly at that hour. I was already sweating profusely even before the start of the race. When the race finally began, I realised it was going to be a tough race as it was difficult to breath and the water at the water station was really warm. Gosh, it was really awful.

I did my first 21km at the normal pace whereby my time was 2:42. However, I think I hit the wall after that. I felt that it took me forever to finish every km. I remembered I walked a lot and every slope to me was a killer and I couldn't run as well. It was then only I realised that running a marathon is not easy at all. Yes, I know I'm silly but then I think one can never imagine how far 42km is until they try to run it. I remembered meeting some people as well while I was running the last 10km. There weren't many people left actually. Initially while I was running at km30, there were still a lot of people at the same pace as me. But soon, there were lesser and lesser people as they all overtook me. Everywhere was just getting quieter. It felt a little like watching Titanic at the end of the scene whereby people were drowning after the ship sank. Initially there were a lot of people screaming for help but after that it became silent. Alright, nobody died in the race but it was just that there were lesser people around me.

And even at the last km, I couldn't run all the way. I still had to walk but when I finally passed the finishing line, I was just soooo glad that it was all over. It felt like eternity. I finished my race with the time of 6:05:28. I can't imagine myself running and walking for 6 hours. Gosh, it was 6 hours. I can sleep for 6 hours but exercising for 6 hours was just crazy. But nothing beats the feeling of crossing the finishing line. And that's probably one of my greatest achievement.

This picture was taken towards the end of the race. I was all soaking wet.

And after that, I just wanted to take picture with the energizer battery and I love the mascot very much.

And here it is, my first finisher t-shirt for my marathon. And this was just the beginning of my marathon. I'm just loving it. Oh ya, I suffered with loads of abrasion (it was hell) and I was limping for the next few days as the injury on my leg was still not recover. But it was sooo worth it. I always believe the saying of 'No Pain, No Gain'.

Cutie was in Pain

Just as when I first decided to run, I injured my left thigh while doing some weights in the gym (I didn't know how). I was still not very active then and only go to the gym once or twice a month and only run 30 mins on the treadmill each time. However that didn't stop me from running though at times I did give some excuses of not going to the gym.

My first race that I took part was the Malakoff Run 7km in 2009. I remembered that I wasn't a fast runner then and felt that 7km was really a long distance. I didn't even know what my timing was as there were no timing chip and neither did I wear a watch to time myself. I remembered asking one of the volunteers there how do I get to know my timing, he said that for those who participated in the 7km run, they will have to time themselves as there isn't any timing chip for them. Only those who do the 12km runs will have the timing chip. From then on I told myself that I will run longer races and ensure that there is a timing chip for the races that I join.

I was also very stubborn and I think I'm probably one of the people that will annoy a lot of real runners as I just wanted to just participate and complete a marathon in the shortest span of time without training. And my 2nd race was the New Balance Pacesetter held in January 2010. There were 10km, 20km and 30km to choose from. And I was very tempted to do the 30km run but I got discouraged by a lot of people who told me that I'm not ready for it as I had never run even a 20km before. And during then, my right thigh was hurting real bad to the extent that I had to limp at times. So I decided to do a 20km run instead and completed it in 2:20:24.

I did regret a little not doing the 30km run but I was in serious pain after the race that it took me forever to walk to the car after the race. And I was in so much pain for the next few days to the extent that I had difficulty getting off the bed in the morning. But I kept telling myself it is all in my mind and if I have a strong mind, I will be able to go through the pain. Anyway. it was indeed a great experience. And I enjoyed it a lot even with all the pain I had to go through. But I realised going through that pain made me a stronger person physically.





And this is me who was so chubby then. hehe... Thanks to running, I lost some weight and look much better now, I think. 'grin' :)

How Cutie Starts Becoming Active?

Well, I thought it will be great to start writing my whole running journey experience since I only started about less than 2 years ago. Would love to keep track of my running records. hehe..

I actually love sports when I was a little girl. And I used to love running when I was in primary school. However, when I was in secondary school, I stopped all sports activities as I didn't manage to get any transportation to go for these activities. That's when I stopped being active and I remembered giving excuses that I would die if I exercise too much. I used to say that I wasn't being able to breath properly and gave all sorts of excuses that my mind was providing me just to get me not to exercise.

But I believed all these are being controlled in the mind. It's up to you how much you want it.

When I started working, there was this colleague of mine who used to ask me to join him for Terry Fox Run. I would give all sorts of excuses that I could come up like it was a waste of money and the distance is too far etc. I said that I would rather run in the gym instead. But I ended up not doing so.

So when did I actually started running? I started becoming active in running after participating in a 2.5km run in one of my Company's event in 2009 and I was placed 2nd. That was when I felt great. And during then I had this colleague of mine who had been running marathon for years and I felt that I wanted to be like him. And I wanted to achieve something different in life and of course something to look forward to. And that's how Cutie began her running journey. :)