Pre race jitters

I know i've been away for awhile but lets just jump right into it shall we?

Nothing better than the 'now' right hehehe ;)

I'm feeling more than a little anxious this morning.  its a beautiful, bright sun shiny day, dont get me wrong... its just that tomorrow, tomorrow i'll be running a race and when it comes to races i tend to lose whatever cool i have and become this jittery moron.

Resah. seriau. cuak. langsung tak boleh rileks.

It'll be my 1st half marathon.  i'll be running 21km on sunday morning with others who like me, are equally addicted to pounding the tarmac.  although my running has only taken me as far as 16km but i know i'm good for it. insyallah finishing it will not be a problem, acing it at a respectable time is of course another matter altogether haha.  but i'm just aiming to finish it on my feet, still up... and running :)

So, the jitters & anxiety arent really warranted.  i shouldnt be feeling this way mainly bcos 1. i have been running for some time now (since 2005) and i have been quite consistent at it, give and take a few short breaks. 2. i'm not competitive and am not trying to prove anything or make any kind of statement. sooo it shouldnt matter and i should just look at it as just another run right?

My 1st race in 2005 - Shah Alam 10k Run

Heh, i wish!!

Well at least i had a good nites sleep bcos for sure i wont be getting any winks tonite huahua.

For better for worse, PJ Half Marathon, here i come ;p

Hopefully, i'll be up & about to write about it hehehe.. wish me well peeps :)

Time flies

OMG its been ages.

Really.

And almost forgetting my password drove the fact home even further.

I gotta start writing even tho i dont actually know where to begin, so much has happened.

But top on the list is... I'VE HIT 50 woot woot!!

Yup 50.. wish me well peeps, i'll be needing it ;p

28 years

Aku bersyukur segala nikmat Mu ya Rabb.

After 28 years, you're still the one for me and whatever the future may bring, we'll always be able to look back & remember there was never a shortage of love.


Happy anniversary.

Dream on

Yup i'm still alive & kicking, up & running hehehe.  the hard days & long nites havent gotten to me yet.. and its gonna take more than that to bring this soldier's daughter down LOL.

Right now i find myself focusing more on my running. probably wearing my kneecaps off in the process but i'm happy. and i'm feeling really good about myself.  i'll be hitting 50 in a couple of months but oddly, i've never felt better and more in control of my body (which is more than i can say for my restless, wayward soul but we cant have everything now can we lol).

1973 - Rumah Hijau, ABS Mentakab

Becoming a member of a running group was probably one of the smartest decisions i'd made in a long while.  theres nothing more gratifying then being with like minded people who share the same crazy passion as you do.  things like voluntarily running up and down a steep hill to the verge of puking while others are chilling out watching their fav drama on tv. and running round and round and round the field close to becoming mental just so u can clock up an hour of running on grass while all around you the rest of humanity's goofing about having fun.

2011 - ANR Shah Alam

And what keeps me coming back for more? theres nothing that can quite compare with the satisfaction of using ur body to the max. and apart from the x word lol,  running is the thing for me.  maybe i'm just addicted to the endorphine rush but its what makes me feel good and feeling good, when you've already put in half a century of living, is definately on top of my list.

I'm still not really that interested in running races but now i'm slowly working my way towards making my dream come true.. to have the strength & courage to finish at least one marathon in my lifetime.

Maybe not now, maybe not ever but as long as i am still running, the hope is there and the dream is still alive :)

Hard days, long nites

There are days when all the juice is sucked outta you and you find yourself with not much left to go on.   you dig deep, to the very depths of your innermost soul for that tiny little spark to light the furnace up again.

Its hard going but persevere you must bcos the only other option is to succumb to the cold.. the barren, empty landscape of a lost cause.


"Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us and grant us mercy.  Truly, You are the Bestower" - (Al Quran V 3:8)

His day

He was born 53 years ago in a place called temangan lama.

I was told by my mom we had a cat named temangan once, back in those early days when my dad was posted in pengkalan chepa. i was around 5.

Random or another one of life's coincidences?

Whatever it may be, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Golfman, may the years ahead be blessedly happy & healthy ones <3

Lets work it

I'm not an athlete, nor am i athletic but i've always had these weird dreams of running. you know how it is that sometimes you dream of endlessly falling, falling, falling from some great height and suddenly waking up midfall?  its the same except this time its running, running, running into the great horizon, sometimes fast sometimes in slow mo but always in constant motion. and i can still taste that lingering feeling of power & freedom when i wake up.

So maybe its just my subconcious telling me to break free of all that binds me. maybe i'm just being fanciful. but whatever it is, instead of speeding off into the sunset in a sleek powerful ferrari or cruising the super highways on a rumbling harley, its being in control of my own body that excites me enough to keep dreaming about.

Theres nothing more beautiful than rippling muscles set in motion. you see it in the lions & tigers while they're chasing their prey or the wild horses when they're galloping the fields. and even men when they're either bent on out running each other or out chasing their own demons lol.

I admit, i'll always take that extra second to check out the runner that i'm passing while i drive down that road.  its a subconcious reaction, a feeling of connection. heck i cant explain it well enough for it to come off other than being fanciful. but i think other people who seem to like pounding god's earth would understand lol.

In a world of uncertainty and chaos, its liberating to feel that at least we can be in control of our body.  its god's gift and its up to us to use it in the best possible way.

For me its running.. but theres walking, climbing, swimming, diving, dancing, whatever moves you.  just get out there and work it ;p

Have a good week ahead peeps!

Another first

Only last week i was raving about my first nite run. i'd always wanted to run through the streets of shah alam with its pretty blinking lights and never ending flow of people.  the students of UiTM and MSU play a big part in making sure that the place is kept alive.   but sadly with no one in the family actually sharing my predilection to running, my wish had to stay buried.  although not of faint heart, i wasnt about to venture out alone at nite, no sirreee lol.

Yup running at nite turned out to be exactly as i pictured it.. absolutely smashing hehehe.  it gets progressively cooler as the nite moves along unike the day when it gets hotter & hotter. heat has never worked for me...  in fact its my mortal enemy.

Last wednesday not only did i complete another nite run, i also did my first 14k!!

 14k Route - From Sek 13 to Bkt Bandaraya & back.

 I may have been running consistently for well past 6 years but truth of the matter is, i only average 4 - 5km per run, my longest distance being 12km.  so i was understandably, a teeny weeny bit worried to be running with the group.. they're mostly a bunch of hyperactive young 'uns with their age going for them lol.  me, i'm the makcik who could suddenly, out of the blue run out of steam and subsequently hold everyone back!!  gawd i didnt want to be the oddball who should've known better and just stayed home baking cookies hehehe.

 The ladies just before the run.

The men in action 

The me huffin' & puffin' lol

Completion of first half - another 7k to go.

Thankfully i made it.  oh there were a couple of wicked hills alright but it turned out ok. and by breaking the run up into 2 parts with a short break in between, our coachie also managed to turn it into an enjoyable experience for all of us.  with members of varied capabilities,  such a move kept the team spirit up & the members cohesive from start to finish.

Mission accomplished!!

aNR shah alam rawks... come join us peeps ;p

Beyond the beaten path

For the past 6 years i have generally stuck to the 3.8k loop of the shah alam lake gardens.  that route would take me past the 'popular' spots (mainly the 3 taichi areas and the playgrounds) as well as the lonely stretches.

Theres also the reflexology hut that not only offers a mini path for use but also serves as a meeting place for most of the taichi practitioners. its a popular place and sometimes its quite difficult to find a spot of your own.

Many tend to forget or overlook the fact that there actually is another reflexology path at the extreme end of the tasik (the one beside kedai kopi dua).  its bigger and actually better bcos it consists of 3 separate paths, one of which is specifically catered for the senior citizen.

 

Its where i spend my mornings whenever i'm on a running break.

After about half an hour of walking through the path, its feeding the turtles & fishes then on to my favourite spot for a little stretching and practising my asanas or yoga poses.

A great way to start any day believe me ;D

Taking down a pop-up

Late last year AH managed to coerce her daddy into buying her a sugar glider.  she wanted a pet when she was away at casa.  and of course i couldnt, wouldnt let her take nicolei. he was undoubtedly the darling of the family.

Milo has long since grown from a timid little fury ball into a good size horny male pining for a mate. the poor sod is already showing signs of balding, an indication that he's more than ready to start a family.  the plan that AH had cooked up with her friend was actually pretty sound... they were both getting sugar gliders of different gender to be paired off when the time was right. unfortunately, up till now her friend has failed to deliver his side of the bargain leaving poor milo high & dry.

In an attempt to make milo a little happier (and bcos AH & me actually like 'main pondok2' lol), i bought a pop-up tent from tesco so that we could play with milo to our hearts content in a controlled environment outside of his cage.

The first day the tent was up guess who claimed it as his own?

Well, mr nicolei, king of the heap of course lol.

He made himself comfortable and slept in there throughout the day... and nite hehehe. and was delirious when AH decided to join him with her pillows & blankets.  looks like milo will have to make do with his cage after all. and truth be told, i was actually a little worried about him peeing all over the tent, rendering everything soiled & smelly.

But after a week i was pretty tired of the tent occupying almost half of my bedroom.  i wanted my space back and it just had to come down.  i can always pop it back up again in a couple of weeks for the fun to start all over again.

What i didnt bargain for was my inability to fold it back down to its storage size... and the instructions that came with it didnt help in any way at all!!!

I twisted it this way and that but it still refused to cooperate and was more than willing to pop right back up again.

Help!!!

Even the kiddoes couldnt figure it out and after hours of not getting anywhere, we decided to abandon the whole thing and leave it for another day.  i even deliberated about going back to tesco for assistance. but i then got caught up with more pressing matters and the stubborn tent became nico's sanctuary.

But as the days rolled by it was getting more and more on my nerves.. until one morning i decided right then & there i was going to get it down even if it killed me (cewah,,dramatic la skit kan hehehe). and in that instant that i reached for the steel frames, i suddenly realised this was the one thing that i'd forgotten to google!!!!  hehehe, me the self professed google slut maniac forgot all about googling?

So, to cut the story short, i found out i wasnt the only one having major problems with the pop-ups and that there're more than a dozen vidoes on utube giving step by step guide on how to tackle the stubborn tents lol.



Thank God, i have my room back :)

A first of many

I finally did something i should have done a long time ago... join a running club.

Adination of runners shah alam has actualy been around for quite some time and although i'm aware of its existence, i just didnt feel it was for me.  there i was, a makcik who knew nuts about running, with no targets and nothing but her love of movement going for her.

And the thought of being with all the strong young runners was pretty scary lol.

But then i guess like most things in life, it was actually a matter of the right timing.  my break from work has given me the freedom to explore a lot of areas that hadnt been accessible to me before and i can now pursue the things that i love,  running being a big part of it.

One thing led to another and before i knew it, i was doing drills lol.  it doesnt matter that i'm probably the oldest makcik in the group,  it doesnt matter that people are throwing me funny looks..  i'm just happy that i now have the opportunity to better myself and be with others who share the same passion.

I'm still the target-less makcik who just loves to run and isnt too concerned about racing or PBs..  but at least now i'm more informed lol.

And i finally, finally got my wish of running through the beautifully lighted streets of shah alam.. my first nite run ever!!  and it was great :)

I guess there'll be more running stories after this lol.

Aie's 26

The Cikgu is 26 today.  may his life forever be blessed.

Yesterday we had an early celebration.  his gf made a surprise appearance and after cutting his ever-so-healthy high fibre birthday cake at home, we made our way to dinner.

It coincided with earth hour and turned out to be a merry little affair. and although it would've been more meaningful with AA & AI present, it was just one of those things...  i'm sure they would've wanted to be around if they could.

We luvya cikgu... happy birthday <3

Blogger's block

Heh.

My life feels like its on hold most of the time.  and my thoughts are a jumbled up mess.  its all churning round and round in my head without any beginning or end. which doesnt bode well for any form of consistent writing.  i can only manage a couple of sentences these days and even then its all pretty disjointed lol.

But i still hafta unload one way or another and writing has always helped me think things out.

So, i guess i'll just hang in there and go with the flow.  hopefully sooner or later i'll be able to share more meaningful stuff other than ultra brief recounts of my running lol.

Lately the demons have been having a field day with me so today i added an extra loop to my run just to chase 'em away lol.  all in all i managed to put in 12k in 90mins.  nothing great but enough to send some of 'em packing, for now at least.

And i'm looking forward to a long monkey-ing session later in the day hehehe.  anyone care to join me?

Lets sweat it all out peeps ;p

Oh btw, part of my duties when golfman is away includes...

repairing leaky roofs -_-'