Tokyo and Kyoto. Adding salt to the wound. Part 1

Tokyo Skytree, the latest landmark of Tokyo. Open to the public on 22 May 2012

My long time dream vacation was finally realised in 2012. My trip to Japan. Honestly, this is more  important to me than running a marathon. Because if I don't run in this November I can still have plenty of races to choose to run in 2013. It will just be the case of when it will happen.

The flight from KLIA to Haneda Airport in Tokyo takes about 7 hours and after you have taken the luggage it was already past midnight on Saturday. The taxi fare to go to Tokyo town at this time of the night will cost you about RM300 so we have earlier booked ourselves in a cabin size hotel room on the domestic terminal. It is a very small room with bed, TV and a small space for you to place your luggage. Most Japanese I saw book into even smaller rooms where it can just accommodate a bed. You only have common bathrooms and toilets.  Just for a night rest, anything will do better than sleeping at the airport.

First Cabin, cabin size hotel room

Taking the subway to Shinjuku the next morning on Sunday is a challenge. Our knowledge of the Japanese language is very very basic. Fortunately we can read Chinese and some Japanese words are written in kanji which is basically chinese characters. The subway system of Tokyo is like spiderweb which is the big challenge when you travelling by yourself in Tokyo. Generally, most of the information counters can speak English or they could understand English. It was not the biggest problem if you can't speak Japanese. Knowing some basic Japanese will make you appear more friendly. Japan is the most polite country I have ever visited and generally the people are just extremely helpful.

Tokyo spiderweb subway map

Tokyo is a highly populated area. The Tokyo marathon is said to be one of the most well organised marathon in Asia. When I was visiting the Imperial Palace in the evening, the runners around the Imperial Palace really caught my attention. There are just so many runners around the Imperial Palace. And a lot of them can run really fast. They are probably preparing for the Osaka Marathon that will be held on 25 November 2012. The loop around the Imperial Palace is such a nice place to run with nice environment and zero traffic. Of course, when you travelling around on your own there is a lot of walking the whole day. You just don't really have the energy to think of running. I was thinking of running in Yoyogi park later in the week when I get familiarise with the place. Eventually, it never crystallise due what happen the next day in Kyoto.

Imperial Palace, Tokyo with runners running around the palace

Woke up at 4.15am the next morning to catch the shinkansen (Nozomi super express) to Kyoto at 6.50am. Lack of sleep again for another night. Kyoto is formerly the imperial capital of Japan where they have retained a lot of the old buildings and temples. It is such a nice place to visit especially during autumn. But the best time to visit is in mid-November where all the leaves have turned red, which they called "koyo". I was there 3 weeks earlier so you only get a bit of red and yellow. But the nice cooling weather with temperature around 18 deg Celcious and the temples are just awesome ! However, you have to keep climbing the steps and walking around the attractions in Kyoto. This really killed my calves and we walked almost non-stop for ten hours until it was dark and was trying to get a bus to check into the hotel in Kyoto.

Mt Fuji, view from shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto

View of  Ginkakuji temple in autumn

Sunlight in the forest of Ginkakuji Temple 

But we was kind of lost taking the bus around and our heels and feet is just hurting from the hill climbing and walking. So we decided to look for the subway instead. As we were going down the steps, we noticed that the train has already arrived.  We rushed to take the train and suddenly I feel the excruciating pain in my calf which is worst than a cramp on the steps leading to the platform. It is like one part of my calf was hit by a hammer. I almost fell on the platform. Fortunately, I still managed to pull myself into the train. The pain was so bad. I was trying to keep my legs straight so it will not cramp again. I have experienced cramps many times before and I know this is worse than a cramp.

Kiyomizudera temple in Kyoto

Street Parade for festival in Kyoto

Sunset view from Kiyomizudera temple

So we got out of train after a few stops and we make a mistake and get off the train one station earlier. Climbing up the stairs to get to the road was most painful and having to walk a station in pain to the hotel. We later managed to get Salonpas ice-cing spray from one of the shops near to the hotel. But it was painful even when I am not walking. So I just spray the Salonpas spray on the calf and take two panadols and go to sleep. I also started to notice some swelling on the calf. Hope that the pain will just go away the next morning ! This is only my 2nd day and I have four more days to go. How am I going to walk if the pain is so bad ? I am already having ankle injury from my last long run and now another muscle strain, this is like adding salt to the wound !

Night View of the Bamboo Forest on the hills in Kyoto

To be continued...

Run Your Own Race

"The way you step up your game is not to worry about the other guy in any situation, because you can't control the other guy. You only have control over yourself. So it's like running a race. The energy that it takes to look back and see where the other guys are takes energy away from you. And if they're too close, it scares you. So, that's what I would say to my team all the time: Don't waste your time in the race looking back to see where the other guy is or what the other guy is doing. It's not about the other guy. It's about what can you do. You just need to run that race as hard as you can. You need to give it everything you've got, all the time, for yourself." — Oprah Winfrey

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it."  - Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah Winfrey finished her first marathon at Marine Corps Marathon in 1994 with a time of 4:29:15. Probably we should just run our own race and not try to beat Oprah although it is a tempting thought.

The other celebrities who has completed a marathon are :-

George W. Bush, 1993 Houston Marathon (3:44:52)

Ed Norton, 2009 New York City Marathon (3:48:01)

Ryan Reynolds, 2008 New York City Marathon (3:50:22)

Sarah Palin, 2005 Humpy's Marathon (3:59:36)

Alanis Morissette, 2009 New York City Marathon (4:28:45)

Al Gore, 1997 Marine Corps Marathon (4:54:25)

John Cryer from "Two and A Half Men", one of the comedies that I enjoyed a lot,  competes in triathlons. Quite a surprise for me when I read this in Runner's World. And he has done 12 - 15 triathlons. Wow !!

One of the great personal development and leadership guru that I admired is Robin Sharma. This is after reading his book "The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari" which is a fable about a lawyer forced to confront the spiritual crisis of his out-of-balance life. On a life-changing odyssey to an ancient culture, he discovers powerful, wise, and practical lessons. I listen to a lot of his podcasts during my morning runs/walks when I first get back into running. Those podcasts were available online has helped me a lot through difficult moments in my life and career. His webpage is at www.robinsharma.com. You can listen to this podcast Robin Sharma's Podcast. Podcast #33 on "Run Your Own Race."   In this podcast he share one of his most important lessons in life.

"You need not change your world in a day. Start off small. The thousand mile journey begins by taking the first step. We grow great by degrees. Small daily steps lead to stunning results over time"- Robin Sharma

In running, there is always somebody that is going run faster than you and somebody that is running slower than you. There is a guy who can run 2 marathons and 1 ultramarathon all in a month! He ran one in Peninsular Malaysia, 1 ultra in Sabah and 1 marathon overseas. Of course, it makes us envy his endurance, time and money spent on those events. But he is running his own race and most likely he enjoys every minute of it. Everybody has a different mission in life. We may just be happy running a marathon once in our life or once a year or twice a year. Let's run our own race and not compare to others. Remembering when I was running the trial run for Green Run MPSP. I was also running with runners that was way faster than I am. But I just kept my own pace although I was running alone the whole time and finished the race, strong. 

A short update on my latest run

Ran another 6km on Wednesday morning after my long run on Sunday. The pain on the ankle came back after I started to pick up my pace at 2km and I pushed myself to finish the 6km. But it was a mistake. Immediately started limping after that and for the whole day. I am guessing the ankle pain could be due to the new shoes, Brooks Pure Connect, which has too much cushioning for me. I have been more accustomed to more minimalist shoes lately. The other possibility is the long runs are just too long. Decided to switch back to my Merrell Trail Glove for future long runs as I have better experience with it on my long runs since I have done 30km in it without the ankle injury. The only problem is hopefully my ankle can recover on time for my overseas trip. I wouldn't like to be limping around for eight days during travelling. And it is really painful, I could hardly walked on Wednesday. Pray that the ankle injury will not flare up again after a long run. Injury and pain becomes a part of the Marathon journey...

Managed to finish this post before going for a holiday and scheduled it to be posted on Monday, a motivational posting through life journey.....

A Journey to My First Marathon Part 15

This reminds me of my LSDs on Sunday morning

Yes ! I finished my 32km. One km shorter than I planned but it is enough for my longest run. Technically, I would say I am ready. Following my training plan, the next two weeks should be tapering weeks then the full marathon on the 3rd week. However, I have changed the plan due to my overseas trip this weekend and the whole of next week. Should have done my longest run later but just have to alter the plan to suit my schedule.

Probably will squeeze another 30km on the weekend back from holidays if my body can hold up to run such a long distance after the holiday. Keeping my fingers crossed.  Hope to do some shorter distances during the trip just to throw in some mileage. But it is good to give the body a rest since it is my first marathon. These two long runs, 30km and 32 km, is really tough. Different parts of my body and legs start to feel the pain. And I have to virtually run through the pain to complete the distance. And you will definitely limp after the run. I feel completely wasted after the run. These 30km and above runs are really brutal !

For the 32km, the weather has been kind to me. It was raining the day before and weather was much cooler running on a Sunday morning at 4.50am. Again, it is late considering having to run 4 hours or more. At least got my prayers answered as I have a kind weather on Sunday. The run took 4 hours 30 mins and not including two longer walk breaks. One is walking back to the car to get my water bottle and taking a gel after running for about 22km. The second walk break is after 27km where I have to walk to the Petronas petrol station for a pee break, Milo break and also a bottle of 100plus.

I put on my kick butt music for the last 5km and finished the 32 km. The strange part is I run the final 5km the strongest of the last 20km run. This make me realise that my body can actually hold up to it even after 32km. But after the running 32km, the stretching part is important. This is to ease the pain on the legs. I usually take a glass of low fat chocolate milk after long runs. This recovery part is also very critical. And I did what I didn't do after my 30km the last time, I iced my feet. Just put ice into a bucket of water and put both feet in. This is reduce to the soreness or inflammations and it definitely help. The limping is mainly due to the ankle pain. It is like you have sprain your ankle. And I have knee pain which I never had before. I also felt lower back pain after running 23km during the training.

For all runners, I think one of our biggest fears are injuries. No matter how much training you do and if you are injured, you can say bye bye to the race. Like everybody used to say "Always to listen to our body". So definitely, no running for me in the next two days. Will do a bit of swimming which I know is ideal to heal my ankle injury and weight training.

After I have taken my late breakfast, I just lie down on the settee put both of my feet up and just laze around and watch TV and take short naps for the rest of the morning. I recovered after about 2 to 3 hours rest and back to my energetic self for the rest of the day although I am still limping after that. And  by 10pm, the tiredness started again since I have wake up at 4am and ran for 4 and a half hours. So bedtime by 11pm and I am preparing to oversleep on the Monday morning for recovery. Thank God I have more flexible work hours.

“I run because long after my footprints fade away, maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy path, hit the trails, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I run because it always takes me where I want to go.”  ― Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner

Will have to miss a blog post next week due to my holidays......but the Marathon Journey still continues...

When 10 is not enough. Another 10 Kick Butt Songs !!

ANOTHER 10 KICK BUTT SONGS

Surprisingly, getting a lot of page views for this post "My 10 Kick Butt Songs". Thanks to those that have been viewed the post and looking for kick butt songs for running or exercise. Obviously, I have a long list of songs. I have only choosen 10 from the very long list. It was actually difficult to narrow down the list to 10. So to those that are hungry for another 10 song, here it comes.

[Hands Up] David Guetta ft. Sia - Titanium Ryan Ceriouz Hands up Mix

http://soundcloud.com/ryanceriouzofficial/david-guetta-ft-sia-titanium  <- Click this link to listen and download

Let me start with the Penang guy, Ryan Ceriouz (his stage name) who has done a pretty credible job on this remix. Ryan is from Penang, Malaysia who has composed an original composition "I Will Make It" in my earlier post.  "My 10 Kick Butt Songs".  He has done a trance remix of the song which is more suited for running and exercise. So let's run !!

Hall of Fame (feat. Will.I.Am) - The Script
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtgoDXEOxTM

A new song by The Script from their latest album "#3" which I have just purchased from iTunes store for USD6.99 about MYR21.  The Script is an Irish rock band and writes awesome lyrics. I have always love their earlier songs and albums. And if you are looking for a motivational song for 2012 this should be it.

You could go the distance
You could run the mile
You could walk straight through hell with a smile
You could be the hero
You could get the gold
Breaking all the records that thought never could be broke

Appropriately written for a runner.
Another well known song by The Script is "Live Like We're Dying", another personal favourite of mine has been covered by American Idol winner, Kris Allen.

Whistle - Flo Rida
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSnkWzZ7ZAA

This song just grows on you. The more you listen the more it grows on to you. Such a nice song to accompany me while running. It makes you want to whistle along. Flo Rida has another great song for running "Good Feeling" but it is actually from Avicii "Levels". I personally prefer the Avicii version without the rap and it used to be on my running playlist for quite a long time.

Changed The Way You Kissed Me - Example
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLXt3yh2g0s

Example (his stage name) is a British singer and rapper that has a few songs suited for running. I have only chosen this song which is among his more well known songs.  This song is from the album "Playing in the Shadows" released in 2011 which also feature another great running song "Natural Disaster". He is also featured in a new song by Calvin Harris "We'll be coming back" which is also pretty suited for running. His other songs are "Won't Go Quietly" and "Kickstarts" also used to be on my running playlist.

New Divide - Linkin Park
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysSxxIqKNN0

Another older song by Linkin Park from the second Transformer movie with great melody, guitars play, drums and screaming of course. This song always remind me of the Transformer ride in Universal Studio, Singapore. Hopefully, I would able to digest their new album "Living Things" and found some new running songs.

Human - Ellie Goulding 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46y8E-RIhdc (Audio Only)

A British singer-songwriter starting to get attention from the US market. Probably the second most famous female singer from UK after Adele. Her more famous song is "Lights". But I have always prefer this song which is from the same album "Bright Lights". And she did an excellent cover of Elton John's "Your Song" just showcasing her voice. Another great part of this song is the lyrics. "Human I'm trying to come clean, I will be a better me, I will not drink until I'm dead, I'll make the most of it. I don't know what it's like to be alive, to say goodbye, to cry a thousand tears because my ears won't listen."

Blow Me (One Last Kiss) - P!nk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jNlIGDRkvQ

I wonder if my imagination would have run wild if the title is just "Blow Me". This is the latest from P!nk and it is very fitted for running. P!nk over the years has had quite a few songs that hit the No. 1 spot on the charts. One of her songs "Perfect" has such brilliant lyrics. Her earlier song, "Raise Your Glass" used to be on my running playlist also.

She Wolf (Falling to Pieces) - David Guetta feat. Sia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVzljDmoPVs

Have to feature David Guetta again. He just have so many great dance music suited for running. This latest song comes with strong vocal from Sia and music from David Guetta. This is from a re-released of his album "Nothing But The Beat" titled "Nothing But The Beat 2.0". Great running music ! David Guetta will be appearing in Malaysia for a special outdoor gig at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor on 12 October 2012.

Wings - Little Mix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOQDsmEqVt8

Just discovered this song from UK charts. Such a catchy tune. These girls are just absolutely gorgeous. They are a 4 girls' group who won the X Factor UK in 2011. The first group entry to won the X factor UK. And who can resist "These wings are made to fly". We can't fly, so we just run.

Feel Again - OneRepublic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tMKO_9SD1Y

One of my favorite bands currently, OneRepublic, an American rock band. This is the first singles from  the yet to be released album called "Native" scheduled to be released on November 2012.  Just a great song to listen while running. Their previous song, "Good Life", is still one of my ringtones. Of course, the song that make them well known is "Apologize" from the "Dreaming Out Loud" album. Ryan Tedder the lead singer has such an amazing voice and was featured in quite a number of songs with other artiste like in "The Fighter" with Gym Class heroes.

Bukit Mertajam Recreational Forest - Taman Rimba Bukit Mertajam

Entrance and Location Plan of Bukit Mertajam Recreational Forest (Taman Rimba Bukit Mertajam)

Need a break from the normal Sunday long run. Decided to do a long run on a treadmill on Saturday afternoon. But it is a torture to do a long run on a treadmill. It is just too monotonous. Supposed to do 20km end up with 18km. Although the gym is air condition but the afternoon sun virtually heat up the whole gym room. It is like running in a oven after an hour. I am completely soaked wet after an hour. It is like leaking fluid through my skin. And I have to run more than two hours. Probably if I want to do another long run on a treadmill it has to be in the morning and not at 3.30pm in the afternoon.

So what to do on a Sunday morning after a long sauna run on Saturday. Do a hike or try a hill run, of course ! I missed mother nature...

The chalets and route hiking, running or cycling up the hill

Not visited the Bukit Mertajam (BM) Recreational Forest which is at Cherok To'kun of Bukit Mertajam for a while.  Rather than keep pounding the road every Sunday, time for a hike or a hill run. A change of scenery amd routine will energise my run next week. Reach Cherok To'kun at almost 7.30am later than I wanted. But the place is shady and not worried about the sun. Plenty of hikers and mountain bikers on a Sunday morning. This BM hill is always a hot spot for mountain bikers as the gradient is not so steep. However, it is not advisable to wear headphones while hiking on this hill as the bikers at times come charging down the slope. You will not be able to hear and avoid them.

Mountain bikers coming down the hill

Ambitious me. Thought my body would be able to run up the hill. The hill is just too steep for me ! So ? Power walk up the hill and take some pictures along the way. The consolation is I could overtake everyone that is in front of me due to better endurance. After the half way point, the air gets cooler and cooler. The attraction of the hike is the view of Mengkuang dam from a far. The only problem is that there is no signage to inform you about the view of Mengkuang. I remember the last time there was a signage there. If not, you will just missed it. Unfortunately, there are quite a lot of development around Mengkuang dam nowadays.

View of Mengkuang Dam from the Hill

Manage to capture the distance and time on my Garmin watch. The max elevation is 545m and it is about 3.3km to reach the top and takes about 48 mins. But nothing attractive with only those red transmitting stations.

GPS recording of my hike

Transmitting Stations on top of hill

Decided to run down the hill but it is hard on the knees at times. While wondering around, I realise there is a area of the forest which I have never explored. There are actually jungle trails in the forest. I have always been just hiking the hill. I noticed some senior citizens were placing their hands on one big tree probably believing that they can absorbed good "chi"(energy force) from that tree.  But it was running really late and I am just starved with no food in the morning except water.  Just managed to cover a small section of the trails. Eager to explore more...

Jungle trails in the forest

Jungle trails in the forest

There is actually a tea shop that serves Chinese tea and some fruits stalls at the entrance. Nice natural environment having a tea shop in the forest. It blend with overall relaxing pace.  To fill my stomach temporary, I just bought a piece of papaya and rush home for brunch. Will be back the next trip to explore the jungle trails and have some tea at the place.

Tea Spa and Fruit Stalls

A Journey to My First Marathon Part 14

As the long run gets further my confidence of completing my First Marathon grows stronger. When the  long run hit 30 km, you finally realised that you can really finished the race. It is a grueling 4 hours run on Sunday at 5am and the hot sun on Sunday makes it a even harder run. My objective is to finish the 30 km last Sunday without bothering about the pace and time. It turned me into a roast duck after that due to the blistering sun. As a result of the hot weather, my last two km I have to run to a 7 eleven store bought a bottle of 100 plus and finished off the last 2 km.  With total training distance exceeding 1,000 km, I can say "A Journey of a Thousand Kilometers begins with a single step".

Brooks Pure Connect with extremely bright colours

However, it has been raining in the earlier weeks during my runs. Fortunately, I have bought a new pair of running shoes as Brooks was having a promotion for running shoes. I can alternate the shoes if it gets wet in the rain. Decided to get a pair of Brooks Pure Connect with a rebate of RM150. My second pair of Brooks. The Brooks Pure series are more of minimalist shoes. Currently, I am more accustomed to shoes with less cushioning like my Vibrams Seeya and Merrell Trail Glove. My Brooks Pure Connect is a bit too much cushioning to me and it is already considered the most stripped down in the series. I have only been using my Vibrams Seeya at the gym on treadmill.  Have not tested it on the road yet. Of the three pair of shoes I have, I still prefer my Merrrell Trail Glove. The Merrell is also multi-purpose and you can wear them for shopping. The Brooks Pure Connect just doesn't feel comfortable for walking but I have no problem running in them.

I will have two more very long runs, ie 33km and 30km, to complete the training before tapering.  I decided to change my training program in the last two days. Initially, I wanted to do a 33km run before my overseas trip and taper after that. But looking at the training, it would be better to squeeze in another 30 km and then taper. This is to allow my body to adjust to these longer runs.  But I am thinking of doing the last 30 km on a treadmill than on a road. This is to train my body to run at a consistent pace for 30 km which will be useful on a race day. My furthest run on a treadmill is 21 km. Anyway, I will love to do shorter runs during my overseas trip just like in Bali. It makes the trip more memorable.

I will also have to concentrate on the hill runs and interval training. And I found that it is easier to do interval training on the treadmill so that I can locked in the speed that I want to hit. I tend to make it easier if I do it on the road and I have to keep looking at my GPS watch to look at the distance covered.

Is there a post race depression? It already crosses my mind a few times. Like a woman after giving birth to a child she may hit a depression phase. Although they say giving birth is harder than running a marathon. I wouldn't know as I can't give birth to a child. Can we say running a marathon is like giving birth to a child without the epidural ? What will I be doing after a marathon? Another race. Or just running for fun. Possibly, it may be good to look at shorter races after that. So I will not be too slack in the running. At the same time, allowing the body to recover after months of training for the marathon.

Last week, our people in the office just entered my name for 84 Penang Hill hike for the inter-firms games in early December. At least I would have something coming up in December. But looking for shorter races would be good. The only problem is that there are usually not many races in early part of the year except those the overseas marathons which I am not ready for that.  The sport.my web page has not listed the races in 2013 yet. Just hope that Andrew will organise an event after Chinese New Year. Since so many of us have been pestering him to organise an event so that we can burned all the Chinese New Year's goodies. A half marathon will suffice.

The Marathon Journey continues........