Passion delivered

Guess what Mr. Postman brought me yesterday?

A finisher certificate for the Saucony Passion Run. A run in Singapore which I registered but didn't run. I skipped it for the 07.07.07 7km Sunset Charity Run in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

This is just plain weird. The cert was mailed all the way from Singapore. Very nicely done. Full coloured with my name boldly printed on it. No timing though. It would be weirder if they had printed the timing. LOL.

To the organizer, thank you very much! Very generous of you. Heheh!

Blue Waves in The City

What? Mizuno Wave Run 2007

When? 9 Sept 2007 (Sunday) 7:30am.

Where? Padang Merbok, Kuala Lumpur

Who? Organised by Pacesetters for Mizuno

How Far? 10km

It's a beautiful start. The start was graced by the Miss Malaysia Indian 2006 and this year's finalists. They would be competing in the 5km run.

Wowow! First time ever, a running event incoorporated a part of a beauty pageant. We hope to see more beauties running with all of us. Maybe this will encourage more people to take up running? Heheh!

2006 Miss Malaysia India Global Winner - She looks a bit like Nicole Scherzinger from The PussyCat Dolls.

Don't cha think so? Don't cha?

I better get behind this line. Target finishing time - 45min and above. Heheh!

The event T-shirt came in marine blue. It would be nice if ALL runners wear the same T-shirt to run. Then, only it would look like the Mizuno BLUE WAVE run!

Thirsty?

Red coloured energy drink was served at the drinking station.

The notorious "Double Hills" starts here! Notice the yellow officials who were giving away the checkpoint rubber bands.

Mid point!

No matter where you run in Kuala Lumpur, you will bound to see the KLCC Twin Towers at least once in the route. Love it!

Another towering erection in KL. Heheh!

It's 24 degree celsius out there. Temperature not too hot to run!

Traffic stoppers! Thanks for the traffic police, we get to enjoy a smooth run.

Bangunan Parlimen. This is our parliament building. The building is consist of two parts - the 3-storey main building and the 18-storey tower annexe. The building houses two national assembly halls - Dewan Rakyat (Parliament) and Dewan Negara (Senate).

It truly symbolizes the democratic system in Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur is also known as a city in a garden. See the beautifully landscaped road.

Dum! Dum! Dum! Another one bit the dust.

Mama Monkey and Baby Monkey.

Swaggering towards the Finish Line.

Where is the old lady runner who lives in a shoe? Heheh! This single big inflatable "Wave Rider" shoe has been making its appearance since the first Mizuno Wave run, three years ago. The shape is still there but the colours have faded.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest....I mean the speediest of them all?

Mizuno rep giving away the prize for the fastest Miss Malaysia-Indian 2007 finalist.

Congrats to Casey who won #3 prize in the Men Open.

The Evolution of Mizuno Wave Run Finisher Medal. Left to right: 2005, 2006 and 2007. Nothing much changes except the font and logo sizes.

Read about my past Mizuno Wave Runs here:

Mizuno Wave Run 2005

Mizuno Wave Run 2006

Overall, Mizuno Wave Run is one of the better roadraces in Kuala Lumpur. No doubt about it as it is organised by runners (Pacesetters) for runners. The lucky draw could have been better executed. Most runners have already left the Padang when they announced the draws.

The goodies and food seemed to be lesser this year. No fried bihun and nasi lemak. Budget cut? Anyway, Thank God the medal is still the same, no lost in weight and size. Heheh!

See you next year.

Meet The Dragon

What? Meet The Dragon - Jackie Chan

Where? Sunway Pyramid, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

When? 8 Sept 2007 (Saturday)

Why? Official Opening of California Fitness - Jackie Chan Sport Club

I went to California Fitness Sunway Pyramid with Amy and BW after having breakfast at Uncle Lim's.

Initially, I wanted to go to Sunway Lagoon for the Merdeka Splash (50,000 tickets were given free to NST readers). I changed my mind and decided to catch a glimpse of Jackie Chan instead. He was due to open a new California Fitness Centre in Sunway Pyramid.

We waited at the reception area while filling in the lucky draw forms. At 12:45pm, Jackie and his entourage walked up a storm into California Fitness.

See Jackie pointing at someone at the reception.

Armed with my point-and-shoot camera, I tailed Jackie Chan from there on. The bodyguards didn't make things easy for us, fans. I did capture some decent shots of Jackie Chan. Do leave your comments, OK?

See Jackie looking down at the exercise machines.

If you were Jackie Chan, you probably see this view. You get to see the awesome view of Sunway Lagoon from some of these machines.

See Jackie going downstairs to the toilet.

See Jackie walking out from the toilet. Yes...the bodyguards went into the toilet with him. To protect his family jewels, I suppose. Heheh!

See Jackie trying out the abs machine.

See Jackie trying out the shoulders machine.

See Jackie going upstairs again.

See Jackie going to the Sunway Lagoon.

See Jackie waving at ME! Yes..it was me who shouted and waved like an idiot to catch his attention.

See the 50,000 people at Sunway Lagoon for the Merdeka Splash. See I missed all this fun for Jackie Chan.

See Jackie walking into the Pyramid Ice skating ring for the launch.

My feet were like numb from standing on the icy cold skating ring. I was kinda getting cold feet! Pun intended! Heheh!

The Running Freeman was there too. He slipped through security and got some good shots of Jackie Chan on the stage. Check if he has posted them in his blog

See the amount of people who came to see Jackie.

See some kids performing JC Boxercise.

JC Boxercise combines two of Jackie Chan's favorite passions, boxing and martial arts and adds a helping of fitness and a huge dose of fun for a fantastic group exercise experience! (That was written by the California Fitness copywriter..not me. Heheh!)

See Jackie posing for photo. Ooh..Grandma, what big nose Jackie has...LOL.

See Jackie being interviewed.

See Jackie acting all goofy...pretending to hold a remote control on his hand. He was advising people to exercise more and stay off the couches.

See Jackie and the confetti. Yes...California Fitness in Sunway Pyramid is officially opened!

He was scheduled to fly to Paris for his Rush Hour 3 promo that night!

See Jackie having a press conference.

Took this pictures through the glass wall. Bodyguards didn't let us in.

I lingered for some time trying to get Jackie's autograph. I had developed a few pictures that I took of Jackie trying out the workout machines earlier for this purpose. Too bad, I was not as lucky as Amy and BW, who charged like the army of Sparta through the sea of bodyguards and crazed fans for the autographs!

BW's Jackie Chan Autograph. (Insert cry here!)

Amy's Jackie Chan Autograph (Insert wail here!)

Sob! Sob! No autographs for me but the only consolation for me was I did get the chance to shake Jackie's hand when he was on his way out. Quite a firm grip and hmmmm....very fleshy hand.

It was memorable day. I went home completely exhausted. It was one heck of work-out! No more energy after chasing Jackie Chan up and down, in and out and all around California Fitness. It was not easy being a paparazzi. Heheh!

Run, Fat Boy, Run!

Gordon: Go on then, run!

Dennis: Isn't there some kind of like... special technique?

Gordon: Well... yeah... you put one leg in front of the other over and over again really really fast.

There are not many movies about running out there. This one seems like a riot!

Plot (Source: IMDB)

Five years ago Dennis (Simon Pegg) was at the altar about to marry Libby (Thandie Newton), his pregnant fiancée. He got cold feet and ran for the hills and he's been going in circles ever since. When Dennis discovers Libby’s hooked up with high-flying-go-getter Whit (Hank Azaria), he realizes it’s now or never. He enters a marathon to show he’s more than a quitter, with his over-sexed best friend Gordon (Dylan Moran) as his coach. But Dennis then finds out just how much sweat, strain and tears it takes to run for 26 miles. Nobody gives him a chance but Dennis knows this is his only hope to become more than a running joke.

Check out the trailer here.

Directed by David Schwimmer (Yes...that goofy Ross from Friends). Slated for release in Oct.

I can’t wait! (Insert bated breath here)

Run 4 It, Run 4 "Eat"

What? Run 4 it 12K NB

Where? Padang Sultan Suleiman, Klang, Selangor

When? 2 September 2007 (Sunday), 7:15am

How far? 12km

Who? Organized by The Klang Pacers

There were three major runs held simultaneously in Klang Valley last Sunday. Run4It clashed with Shah Alam 10K and also the University Malaya’s Kardio Charity Run. I naturally picked Run4It as it offered Finisher Medals for all finishers. (Insert medal face here).

The run was held in Klang, the royal capital of the state of Selangor, Malaysia. Klang is located about 32km to the west of Kuala Lumpur.

Amy gave me a wake up call at 5:00am. I was still sleepy. My whole body was still aching due to Body Combat challenge that I participated on Friday. So, I dragged my body and got ready for the run. Met KK at the parking lot near the Padang Sultan Suleiman and collected a big NB paper bag from him. (Insert Thanks to KK for helping me with the race kit collection).

In the NB bag, I found one event vest – in striking florescent lime green, (It is so striking that you could easily spot it from 200miles away. Heheh!), a pack of Power Gel, bib and safety pins.

Few minutes before the flag off, I was approached by The Running Freeman who was there for the Run4It too. He is a regular reader of this blog and an avid runner. He is from Manila but has been working in Malaysia for a couple of years now. Thanks Mr. Bench. Nice meeting you!

The run was flagged off at 7:15am. The reporting was well handled. I was given a yellow ribbon upon surrendering the reporting card as I walked into the field. We were not supposed to leave the field until the start.

We were still in the Merdeka mood, having celebrated out 50th Independence Day on 31st August. The town was still heavily decorated the Jalur Gemilang flags, banners and posters.

The first important landmark that we passed by was the Istana Alam Shah, which is the Sultan of Selangor's official palace. It is from here that he carries out his official duties as Sultan and ceremonies involving the Selangor royalty are held here. Yes..It is the one with the blue roof and a tower, capped with a gold dome.

Notice the green striking vests? Imagine how interesting it would be to have an aerial view of the runners. Probably they would look like green protoplasm flowing in the heart of the town.

An interesting sculpture at a roundabout: A tengkolok – A Malay headdress, supported by a few keris.

Klang is “famous” with crows. Instead of birds chirping in the morning, you would get those horrible squawks from the pesky black birds. They are everywhere!

Captured here is a crow, resting on the decorative Klang Bandar Diraja (Royal Town) plate on a lamppost. Notice there is a Keris attached to the plate. What’s with the obsession with Keris? Heheh!

Pom Pom girls cheering to the tune of "Sha La la" at the water station.

There were nothing much to see along the route after the Alam Shah Palace. We ran though some BORING light industrial areas, shop lots, residential areas and villages.

At some stretches, we had to put up with horrible smog from heavy vehicles. (Insert coughing sound effect here!)

Approaching another beautiful landmark in Klang. What a welcome change of scenery!

This is the Sultan Sulaiman Royal Mosque. It was constructed by the British in the early 1930s and was officially opened in 1934 by the late Almarhum Sultan Sir Alaeddin Sulaiman Shah of Selangor and the British's Federated Malay States High Commissioner Sir Lawrence Nuuns Guillemard.

According to Wikipedia, the mosque's architecture is a combination of Western Art Deco, Neoclassical and local Islamic styles.

Its interesting features include the Tangga Diraja (royal stairs) from Istana Alam Shah and a royal mausoleum.

Sorry, I do not have time to go into the mosque to check those things up! Didn't get a nice picture of the mosque too because most parts are shielded by the trees. What a bummer! Anyway, gotta run along.....

I was quite happy when I see this gate of the Padang Sultan Suleiman. Re: End point. However, my happiness was short-lived when I saw the marshall gestured me and shouted 2 more km to go.

What? Two more? I have been running all morning and I still have two more? Oops! I forgot, this is 12K run not the usual 10K. Heheh!

For the last 2 km, we ran through the older part of Klang town. Notice brilliantly repainted pre-war shop lots.

I quickened my pace here.

Swaggering towards the FINISH line.

Apart from the usual cold Milo from the faithful Milo van, we were also served with oranges. And I must tell you - the oranges were VERY sweet! The sweetest oranges that I have ever tasted in any race.

Seen here, a runner was stuffing his face with the sweet oranges. Heheh!

Some runners were also seen shamelessly taking home those sweet orange slices in the plastic bag that came with the finisher certificate. Can't put photo here-lah! (Insert wink here!)

The Very Sweet Finisher Medal.

Overall, Run4it was a well organised run. Congratulations to Klang Pacers for a job well done...and the sweet oranges too!

There are rooms for improvement like distance markers (there weren't any this time) and less polluted route.

We didn't stay back for the prize presentation. I have a Malay wedding to attend in the afternoon in Setia Wangsa.

Wowow! The theme is GREEN! Even the sirap (rose flavoured drink, usually red in colour) is green!

Luckily, there is no florescent green like the NB vest! Heheh!

Yummy! After the Run4It this morning, it's time to Run4Eat! Nasi Minyak is a must have rice dish in Malay Wedding. Nasi Minyak literally translated is Oil Rice. It is cooked in Ghee with spices like cardamoms, cinnamon stick, cloves and star anise. Usually eaten with acar (pickles) and curries.

Wedding Goodies Bag! I think it is a trend nowadays to give Goodies Bag at Malay wedding. Once upon a time, only Bunga Telur (a boiled egg in a decorated container/ holder) was presented to guests at the wedding.

Notice most of the items are in green, in line with the theme of the wedding! Thank God the boiled egg is not green inside. Heheh!