MWM...an evening with the running ladies

MWM will always hold a special place in my heart.  My maiden marathon set in my most favourite playground - shah alam.  So its only natural that I'd be excited about doing it again next year although I'm not crazy over running marathons. MWM is the only one on my must do list lol.

Preoccupied with cycling, I almost missed out on MWM's first running clinic.  Galvanised into action I immediately registered for the full and thru sweet generous karen got myself a last minute invite he3.

Its always nice to be surrounded by like minded people especially when most of them are friends. 

Suzie & marlina of the pink runners were there as well as other familiar faces, all smiling away happy to a part of the sisterhood.  Of course there were also men present;  husbands, partners, supporters, media but it was women who held centre stage.

And residing over the rest was of course the inspiring, legendary yet very humble & down to earth Kathrine Switzer.  As usual she was mobbed by adoring fans all wanting a piece of her lol.... but being the gracious lady that she was, everybody was treated with a hug and a smile.

Being a regular at the tasik, karen asked me to point out to the trainers the possible routes for the short running session.....  and boy was i nervous, shuffling along in the company of such speedy runners he3.

After the rousing speeches and the  preliminaries were over and done with,  the trainers took over and brought most of the participants for a short brisk run round the tasik.   

I gave it a skip bcos this time; I wanted to make sure I snapped a pic with kathrine, something I failed to do previously.  Yup at 66, she's my inspiration.... and bcos of her I cant say I cant anymore lol.

All good things must come to an end and by 7pm most of us had to go our separate ways.

Till the next running clinic sisters mine ;))

(Photo credit - Marlina of Life in my own backyard & Andrew of Moving on AC - TQVM)

My World of Cycling

I used to moan & groan over my plantar faciitis and how badly it had affected my activities.  But now i have come to realise that when God closes one door, in His absolute Mercy He opens up so many others.  One of it is my exposure to the joys of cycling.  I would never have wanted to try anything else when I was so absorbed in my running, but the moment I had to find a suitable alternative, the world opened up right in front of me.  Now I have no regrets.  Well to be honest, theres still that tightness in the pit of my stomach whenever I think of the good old painfree days, days when i was happily pounding away at the tarmac... but now I also have the means of going that much faster & further than I have ever been able to, and its indeed a fantastic  feeling lol.

Its been a year since i first cycled so just for the fun of it lets do a recap shall we?

Family & friends know that it all started with my son’s mountain bike, the one that was slowly gathering dust behind the sofa.  Work somehow got the better of him and he had to put his cycling on hold.

So one day I took it out for a spin round the neighbourhood.

Then friends took me under their wings and we tried out the streets of Bukit Jelutong.

 

It grew into a bigger crowd and we started going to Bukit Cerakah during weekends.

 

As well as the Guthrie Corridor Expressway.

 

But it was time for me to get my own bike.  As I ventured further and further out it became clear that I just had to have a bike that fitted me, one that was suitable for my size.   A week of intensive window shopping finally led me to the purchase of my pride & joy, a road bike by BH, short for Beistegul Hermanos a Spanish brand.

 

 The BH Cristal Ladies ProSeries aka Tizzy

From then on it was GO GO GO all the way lol.

The PLACES that i've been to :

Genting Sempah - 4x up the old road

Genting Peras/Perez

 

Fraser’s Hill – 2x from KKB to the clock tower 

Morib – 2x to the beachfront  landmark.

 Tanjung Sepat - jetty 

Port Dickson – PD Golf & Country Club 

 

Pulau Carey –  Kg Bumbun Puak Mahmeri

Jugra - lighthouse 

Kg Kubu Gajah - Little Cambodia

Kuang – Air Terjun Bt Putih 

Kundang – 2x to Tasik Biru 

Putrajaya – the seat of government

Kuala Lumpur – Petronas Twin Tower 

The PEOPLE that i've met :

Fellow riders - from all walks of life 

  

 Corporate CEOs
Ahmad Jauhari of MAS

Local Artistes
Drama king Zamarul Hisyam

Cycling Giants
Coach Ng Joo Ngan

 

Olympic cyclist M. Kumaresan

 

The EVENTS that i've bulldozed thru :

My 1st 100km ride
- to Kuala Selangor with my sifu & cycling buddies.

My 1st cycling event
- Where2Go Penang with my cycling team MKCT. 

My 1st Century Ride of 100miles/160km
- Trengganu Century Ride, Kuala Trengganu

My 1st Duathlon
- Malakoff Powerman Duathlon Championships Putrajaya, an event that combines both running & cycling in a sequence of 5.5km run followed by 32km bike and finishing off with another 5.5km run (Sprint).

So now i have added another chapter to my life.  Yup, its true that life begins at 40, but then it also starts again at 50, 60, 70 lol.   Insyaallah selagi hayat dikandung badan and as long as faith & hope flows thru your veins,  life will never stop unravelling its mystery & surprises :)

Lets live and let live peeps hehehehe ;}