2012 A Year in Review

At Akibahara Station in Tokyo. A trip to remember in 2012. 

It is difficult to write a blog post when your mind is still on holiday mood. Although my legs are already back to normal running for the past two weeks. Managed to run 13.5km at Mengkuang Dam last Sunday with a pace of 7:05/km for 1:35. Much faster than I did my 13.09km run on 25 March 2012 with a pace of 7:54/km for 1:43.  Hope to be able to run below 7.0/km for my long distance run in the coming weeks.

2012 is an eventful year for me. I really felt like a runner after going through this first marathon journey.   I started back into running in 2010 but I was doing my runs on a treadmill where I did my 10K in that year and then a half marathon in 2011. But I have never felt so much into running until 2012 when I started my first marathon journey in March 2012. Eight months of training and I managed to run my first marathon at the Penang Bridge International Marathon on 18 November is an amazing and unforgettable experience. I felt enlighten during my marathon journey where I start to see myself in a different perspective, physically and mentally.

I have actually managed to do two half marathons in August before my first marathon as a preparation.  One is the trial run for the Green Run MPSP and two weeks later is the actual run. Not many races to boast about. But I enjoyed all of it. I guess I will not be the runner that will be participating in all the races that have been scheduled. I will mostly select the marathons that I want to participate and fixed those dates first. The other races will just be fitted in for the preparation of these bigger races.

Of course after your first marathon, the next objective is how do I run faster? Have been trying to do faster run on my shorter runs and slowly surprising myself that I could actually run faster than I think I can.

2012 is also a year that I have been to my dream vacation country, i.e. Japan, visiting Tokyo and Kyoto. The timing and injury of the trip almost ruined my first marathon. Although I end up with a slower time because of the non-training of 15 days but I managed to pick myself up and finished my first marathon. And I just saw a video of two Taiwanese guys running the Osaka Marathon on 25 November 2012. It was so much fun ! My next trip to Japan will definitely be going to Osaka and run this marathon.

A video link to the two Taiwanese guys enjoying their run at the Osaka Marathon

A company trip to Bali in August 2012 was also a much relaxing trip after the work deadlines till 31 July 2012. The weather in Bali during August is just fantastic with a cooling breeze! A run on the beach in Bali in the early morning was such a welcome change in sight while tapering for the Green Run MPSP.

A company trip in Bali on August 2012.

So what is my running mileage for 2012? 1,400.24 km. But I only started my running log from 11 March 2012. But most of the running was done after this date. The distance from Penang to Johor Bahru is about 692km. Technically, I have ran to and fro from Penang to Johor Bahru which is only 1,384km. Wow....quite a distance if it was measured in this manner. Pretty unbelievable !

My Yearly Running log recorded in my Runmeter

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year 2013 !

May the running journey bring peace to our mind, health to our body and joy to our life. 

Unbroken

A book on Louis Zamperini by Laura Hillenbrand.

This book that I got on audio book which I find it was such an amazing and inspiring story about Louis Zamperini. I would not be surprised his story will become a movie. I have been listening to the audio book during my cross-training session at the gym.  Laura Hillenbrand who is also an author of "Seabiscuit" is such a marvelous writer. She did not meet Louis Zamperini in person throughout the writing of this book. Hillenbrand suffers from debilitating chronic fatigue syndrome, and remains largely confined to her home.

Louis Zamperini trains for the Olympics in 1940.

Louie Zamperini, is a young Italian-American from Torrance, Calif., was expected to be the first to run a four-minute mile. After an astonishing but losing race at the 1936 Olympics, Louie was hoping for gold in the 1940 games. But war ended those dreams forever. Zamperini enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in September 1941, and earned a commission as a second lieutenant. He was deployed to the Pacific island of Funafuti as a bombardier on a B-24 Liberator bomber. In April 1942, the plane was badly damaged in combat, and the crew were assigned to conduct a search for a lost aircraft and crew. In May 1943 his B-24, The Green Hornet, crashed into the Pacific.

After a record-breaking 47 days adrift on a shark-encircled life raft with his pal and pilot, Russell Allen "Phil" Phillips, they were captured by the Japanese. Louie landed in the cruelest theaters of all: under the control of Corp. Mutsuhiro Watanabe (also known as The Bird), a brutal sadist who never killed his victims outright--his pleasure came from their slow, unending torment. By war's end, Louie was near death. When the war ended in mid-August 1945, a depleted Louie's only thought was "I'm free! I'm free! I'm free!" However, Louie was not yet free. Even as, returning tried to build a life, Louie remained in the Bird's clutches, haunted in his dreams, drinking to forget, and obsessed with vengeance.The book's final section is the story of how, Louie found his path.

The story of Louis Zamperini on CBS Sunday morning on YouTube.

"Life is about experiencing all the things you find interesting and fascinating. Just get out there and experience as much as you can. Participate in life." ~ Louie Zamperini

For his 81st birthday in January 1998, Zamperini ran a leg in the Olympic Torch relay for the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. While there, he attempted to meet with his chief and most brutal tormentor during the war, Mutsuhiro Watanabe, who had evaded prosecution as a war criminal, but the latter refused to see him. In March 2005 he returned to Germany to visit the Berlin Olympic Stadium for the first time since he competed there.

Louis Zamperini's Interview on the Runner's World.

Running is a therapy

Have you seen the phrase "Running is cheaper than therapy"? Running is actually a therapy to most runners which non-runners never could understand.

In an article from Runner's World written by Betsy Noxon,
 "The therapeutic benefits of exercise increase with intensity," says Madhukar Trivedi, M.D., professor of psychiatry and director of the mood disorders program at the University of Texas Southwestern. Dr. Trivedi's research shows that a particular dose (30 to 35 minutes, three or four times a week) and intensity (moderate to high) of exercise is most effective for relieving feelings of sadness and irritability.

I started off my journey with running on a treadmill while watching television and listening to music. Almost zero running on the road. I did most of my first half marathon training on the treadmill and only a few long runs on the road.  Eventually I realised that watching TV and running is difficult to do when you are running at a faster pace. So I only listen to music when running on a treadmill. When I started my marathon training in March with lots of road running and having to look for suitable routes to do the runs especially the long runs.

Initially, during the early training on the road I have to depend on music to get through the runs. It is like the music has to keep the engine going. After a few months, my training start to change. I get to understand my body better and running on the road with nice routes and zero traffic, I started to get bored with the music and shuts off the music. That's when I slowly tuned my body to mother nature, the motion of my body and my breathing. After a few kilometers, all these elements seem to be in sync. That's when you feel the most relaxed and your mind wonders. You start to clear those thoughts and find answers or solutions to your problems. That's the therapeutic part of running. You seem to run more effortlessly.

In another article from BBC Sport on "Running as therapy",

If you asked 100 people, you might get 100 different replies, but there's no doubt that having some time and space to think - to clear your head and process your thoughts in peace - is one of the big attractions of the sport to many people. To some, on the other hand, it can be an opportunity - just for that short spell - to escape their thoughts altogether. As the celebrated Japanese author Huraki Murakami says in his book, 'What I Talk About When I Talk About Running': "I run in a void, or maybe I should put it the other way: I run in order to acquire a void." Running can also help people recovering from tragic events in their life, and committing to training for a marathon - with all the dedication that entails, and the structure it provides - is a popular way both to commemorate a loved one and to help deal with their loss.


For my runs on the road nowadays, I only listening to music occasionally. I enjoy the therapeutic effect of running. Only for the treadmill running, I will crank up the music. However, I realise I am doing less and less of treadmill running except to train for hill running and tempo runs. This marathon training has finally makes me realise what is the joy of running and understand what running is all about.


 "Running has always been a relief and a sanctuary—something that makes me feel good, both physically and mentally. For me it's not so much about the health benefits. Those are great, but I believe that the best thing about running is the joy it brings to life."  ~ Kara Goucher

84 Penang Hill Hiking Challenge

84 Penang Hill and the Rest Stop at 46.

Two weeks after my PBIM 2012, it is time for 84 Penang Hill Inter-firm Hiking Challenge. I went for a practice hike about a week ago, just to see how far my stamina goes for this hiking. Have not been hiking this road for a while. My practice hike ended with 33 mins. Plan to do a sub 30 mins during the challenge.

The 3 dogs at the main gate of the jeep track to Penang Hill

The hike was to start at 8am on Saturday morning. Arrived about 7.20am and after that went to the flat loop of Penang Botanical Garden just a warm up run. The flat loop is not ideal to run when the loop is pretty crowded with walkers in the morning. And I see runners weaving themselves in and out of traffic  at the car park outside the Botanical Garden. It is difficult to hike immediately without a warm up run. Walking slowly to the main gate after a short run at about 7.50pm and you have to register yourself and be give a small slip of paper indicating which firm you are from. I guess I will be the oldest the participant for the hike. Hopefully, can smoked a number of them during the hike. Trying to stand in front of the pack as they are no timing chip and once they say "Start" and that is when the hiking start.

Cyclist riding up the steep slope

Views along the route

I saw the guy who has been fastest for the past few years from one of the bigger firm. And one guy was whispering to me. That guy is the fastest let us try to overtake him slowly. I could not hike faster than him which I knew this guy has done it in 19 mins before a few years back. A few of them was trying to run in the beginning which I knew you will be walking very soon because the 84 Penang Hill Hike is very steep until 46. After that they will some flat short course and some slope but not as steep as from 1 to 46. True enough, after a short turn, all of these guys are walking.

I just concentrate on my hike and forget about the rest. I manage to overtake a number of guys along the slope up to 46. But the stretch from 30 to 46 is really steep. Almost have to drop my pace at this point and I was breathing very heavily. At this point, a number of guys drop their pace and you overtake a few more. I reached 46 in about 18 mins. After 46, have to take a short walk of about 30 seconds and then I have to run. Because if i don't run after 46, I will never make it in less than 30 mins. I keep running until when it becomes too steep and have to walk again. My consolation is that for the whole hike I think only one guy overtook me. Finally reaching 84 Penang Hill, finishing in 28:58. I got my sub 30 mins finished. And they wrote your time on the small slip of paper which I gave them on passing the finishing point.

Plants along the route

The marathon training has given me the confidence to push harder during the tough part of the steep slope and having to run after the steep. I was trying to see who are other guys that were there and who is finishing after me. To my surprise, met a partner from another firm who has just got into running and hiking. He is about 5 years my senior. I was just telling him I normally do trails hiking and not this road nowadays and I have been doing a lot of road running. He was saying he intended to run the half marathon at PBIM 2012 recently but have to pull out due to family commitment. I told him I ran the half last year and just completed my full marathon this year. I relay a bit of marathon experience and where he could get the resources from the internet if he wants to.

The chit-chat distracted me from noticing who have finished the hike and who were there. Finally, I only noticed that our guys and gals have completed the hike. Nice to see that the gals finished the hike. Last year they could not finish it. And one of the gals managed to finished in less than 40 mins. I just found out that the fast guy who finished first this year did it in 26 mins. My timing is not really that far from him. And I probably enjoy beating the younger guys in this hiking challenge. Now finally a rest after my marathon.

A Fun Hiking Challenge. All of us finished it.