Looking into that mirror

I was recently directed to a blog while surfing and i am suddenly reminded that I, myself, am also an owner of a blog!!  Yeah, really lol and i used to love love love blogging.. expressing myself, sharing thoughts, recording experiences, exchanging ideas, the list goes on.  But it tapered off, slowly, without me realising it.  Until today.  I’ve been thinking about it.  Why have I stopped doing something that initially gave me so much joy & fulfillment.  Why??

3 reasons come to mind..
One, i’ve become a lazy bum and blogging takes too much time and effort.
Two, i’ve become a busy bee and when I’m free, blogging is the furthest thing on my mind.
Three, i’m actually running away from myself bcos blogging has a lot to do with honest to goodness self reflection and I actually don’t really like what I see.

I’m kinda thinking it’s mostly number three on that list.  I’m kinda thinking that my life is not where I want it to be and i’m sweeping stuff under the carpet.  And I’m also thinking that right now I’m not courageous enough to make the decisions that I should.

So, maybe I should start to collect my scattered thoughts and slowly build the strength to face that person in the mirror.   And face her with courage & honesty 🤟

What works for me.

I have always loved music.  And because music comes with rhythm and beat, naturally, i also love to dance.

My mom tells me when i was still a kid, she & her sister had decked me out in long flouncing skirts with bells at my feet very similar to that of an indian dancer. And like a happy camper i would spend hours swaying, twisting & turning, lost in my own world.  As a side note, my parents probably were very much into hindustani movies during that time, thus the influence lol.

Even now, my body reacts before my mind  does whenever i hear a catchy song.  Of course whether i dance well or not is an entirely different story lol.  I guess it all adds up to the fact that i'm rather light on my feet.  And because i find joy in dancing, it affects others in a positive way.  People at the aerobics studio call me the hyper macik and seem to enjoy my monkeying around 😅

So, since many have been asking me how i am able to maintain my energy level throughout the workouts here are a few of the things that seem to work for me... but please, please do tailor it to suit your own needs.

1.  Most important thing for me is controlled breathing.  No matter how strong u physically are if u do not control ur breathing throughout the session u will end up gasping for breath and getting tired prematurely.  Hours spent on running has taught me to follow a certain tempo when i breathe.  For example 2 strides breathe IN, 2 strides breathe OUT... and to regulate the breathing to suit intensity & pace. Although its not the same for aerobics or dancing, the principle of regulating your breathing throughout the workout still holds.

2.  Keeping a good posture throughout the workout.  Its easy... just push the chest out, tuck the tummy in and keep the back straight.  And whatever moves you execute u must try to maintain that state.  Sometimes people readily bend their backs instead of bending their knees and that will actually cause u backaches as well as disrupt ur breathing.

3.  And knees, the all important knees.  So many of us seem to have knee problems one way or another, and it concerns both the young and the old.  In relation to cardio workouts, all the jumping, twisting and turning could be disastrous for the knees.  And because those are the three things i love to do the most, i had to find a solution that works.  For me everytime i land on my two feet i slightly bend my knees to minimise the impact.  It works to the extent i have come to do it naturally.  Less impact less jarring better on the knees lol.

There are loads of other stuff u can do to maintain your stamina but i'll leave that to mr google.  He'll keep you fully informed on the matter lol. This is just me sharing what works for me.  Hope it helps.

Cheers 💋💋

Its 2017

Well whadaya know, its already February of another brand new year.  Time is flying so fast its leaving me speechless.

Lamenting over the past and my failure to keep this blog updated would really be a waste of precious time.  I'd probably just keep doing the same thing despite my good intentions... of putting together and sharing life experiences, in the hope that it would be of some use to other people.

Since thats the case lets just live for the moment and lemme write whatever comes to mind or catches my fancy.

Speaking of which, something happened at the park this morning that somehow prodded me into sharing some thoughts.  While i was pretending to be Lara Croft & trying some kickass moves (me being dramatic lol) i saw this guy sluggishly coming out  of his car, walk a couple of steps and went straight into stretching!! He seemed a little halfhearted about it but he still went thru the usual routine that most of us are rather familiar with.

I am an active person, a cardio freak.  In some ways i can also be considered a little hyper.  My son who has ADHD jokingly blames me for his condition.  "Ni mama la ni, mane reti duduk diam".... thats when  i come back all sweaty from zumba yet still keep pestering him to come cycle with me round the neighbourhood.

We all know the benefits of warming up.  Our muscles need to be nice & warm before we start torturing them lol.  And of course most of us turn to stretching to achieve that purpose.  Those mornings when we drag ourselves from the comfort of our beds and reluctantly prepare for some action, we vaguely remember that we have to warm up and automatically start stretching, pushing & pulling our limbs this way & that.

But its actually pretty dangerous to do so.  Especially when u've piled on the years like me and have bodies that are just not that responsive or flexible anymore.

Forget about the younger people, they somehow get away with murder lol.  Their young bodies can take whatever punishment they dish out.  But for me personally, i strongly believe that dynamic stretching is a better option for warming up as compared to static stretching. We can't just shock the muscles into action and expect them to perform.  Like an old used rubberband, more often than not it'll just snap.  The movements in a dynamic stretch would slowly bring the body into stretching mode.  Static stetching on the other hand is perfect for cooling down.  I can feel my sore muscles thanking me for it lol.

Theres a hell of a lot of debate over the benefits and effectiveness of static & dynamic stretching.  I don't want to go into that.  You can check that out with Mr. Google.  I can only say about stuff that is directly related to me and how best my body feels.

The fitness community is chockful of dedicated people but they are mostly young and are not really exposed to the specific needs & requirement of the older generation.  This puts the responsibility of  determining whats best for our bodies onto our own shoulders.  Be knowledgeable, advice cannot be swallowed whole.

So please, a little more care and awareness will go a long way. Our bodies need not be abused in the name of health & fitness.  Oh and on the subject of abuse,  please understand that NOT doing anything is also detrimental to our bodies.

Peace y'all 🤘

Connected.

Staying connected is a must these days.  There might be times when u can't meet up with friends & family but thats no more a problem.  By staying connected to the net, u stay connected to the world!!

But being human we tend to take things to the extreme, for some life don't seem to be worth living if that 'connection' is taken away from them.  They cannot imagine life w/out the net and completely immerse themselves into the cyber world.  They lose sight of their natural surroundings and gradually fail to appreciate the beauty of spontaneous living. I guess thats the price we pay for technology.

That being said, i am certainly not an evangelist denying the advancement & modernization of our society.  I myself feel quite lost w/out my phone & am constantly connected to the web.  Its just that i make a point not to go crazy when i forget my phone or to just enjoy the time when i'm temporarily out of the grid.

Life still goes on even when we're not connected & we'll be just fine lol... believe me.

*sadly my chosen pic refuse to appear... ah well, i'll just hafta post this bare lol*

Self discovery

As I grow older each passing day I realise that self discovery never ends.  Theres always something new to discover even when its someone u thought u knew inside out lol.

Its surprises me that my sense of loyalty is even invading my love for all that is reel i.e. dramas & movies.   I find myself getting pissed when my fav OTPs get all lovey dovey with different partners... IN DIFFERENT DRAMAS!!!  Gawd its so pathetic for me to want them to be together all the time but I just can't help myself. 

I know, I seriously need help lol

When I'm not outdoors i love escaping to dramaland and from the truckloads i've gone thru, my favourite Reel Couples are Aom Shushar & Mike Angelo, KimSo Eun & Song Jaerim , Zhao Liying & QiJi, Park Shin Hye & Lee Jong Suk.

They colour my soul in soft pastel colours lol 😍

Mobile updates

Finally I figured out the way to update my blog via my phone.  No big deal for most but kinda complicated for this macik lol.  my head even feels warm, like the batteries of my cellphone, the grey matter lodged between my two ears has a tendency to overheat ha3.

One of the main reasons for abandoning my laptop is the easy access to my pics.  what is a blog post without accompanying photos right? after all a picture really is worth a thousand words (and a godsend when ur mind suddenly shuts down and goes blank on u lol).

What have I been up to u might wonder.  well, nothing much actually but one thing's for sure, growing old-er is indeed pretty challenging. .. both physically & emotionally.  at the end of the day, theres plenty that u just hafta accept as part of the deal, of coming that much closer to the end.

Anyways, why dwell on the inevitable, life is to be lived, it'll end when it ends lol.  Till then theres still so much to be done :)

Hello hello.. anyone still out there

Oh My God.

My last entry was in November of last year and in another month's time it'll be November again!!!!  One year of my life, a big chuck of it.... tapi  tak terasa masa yang berlalu.  It seems like only yesterday I was that simple, down to earth woman who was realistic but at the same time, a hopeful (not hopeless mind you lol) romantic.

What has changed in all that time?  Indeed, an awful lot.  so much that I can say with certainty I am not the same person anymore.  and its not necessarily a bad thing, I like who I am now.

If nothing else i'm still as active as I was before bcos I still love love love a good sweat.   but my activities have kinda changed.  No more running & jumping, at least for now... but instead lotsa lotsa cycling with a little bit of swimming thrown in.  Why?  bcos back in march of this year I popped my Achilles tendon while I was jumping about like a mad monkey.  it was  during one of my high impact aerobics session, the kind that squeezes out every drop of sweat outta you.

Yup.  my Achilles tendon, that ridge at the back of the ankle running up the calf... and according to the doc, the biggest tendon in my body. 

"You should listen to your body" people tell me. "You shouldn't keep pushing yourself" they sputter.  Sigh.  Its actually easier said than done.  When u're relatively fit and constantly active ur body tells u, Go Go Go.   I felt fine before my tendon snapped, in fact I was feeling on top of the world shaking my booty with the rest of the ladies at the gym lol. Was there indicative pain? No.  Was I in any way feeling tired? No. But I guess at this age limit is only known once it is crossed. I guess the body itself is feeling its way around trying to reset new levels.

Anyway, here I am, as I am lol.. its been 7 months of rehab and sweating it out is still one of my favourite state of being.

But this time, I'm gradually moving away from competitive events (even if all this while the competition was with nobody else but myself lol).  i'm more at peace now.  although I still hv demons to slay, they seem to be less ferocious somehow lol.  life is an adventure and I want to enjoy every bit of time that's left to me.  in a nutshell, I just wanna be happy :)

So, I bought myself a surly and am now in the process of slowly prepping it up to be tour ready.  slowly but surely i'm heading out for the horizon lol

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 ;}