Watermelon, Vico & Winners Finally, I made it to the finishing line. Collected my certificate, medal and breakfast voucher. First stop – the fruit station. All you can eat honey dew and watermelon. Sweet! Light breakfast was provided – a sardine sandwich, a curry puff and a kuih bakar. The Milo van had some competition from the Vico van. Somehow, Vico tasted better. Not as sickly sweet at Milo. Yummy! Had a few cuppa. Winners were presented with a trophy. What a cute little thing! No cash prizes this time. Lingered awhile at TC for lucky draw. There were lots of hampers to be won. Overall, I enjoyed the TC run. The weather was superb. The route was not too tough. The organizer had put lots of effort to ensure the enjoyment and comfort of the participant. I would like to thanks Pacesetters Kuantan Area Group for a run well run. Bravo! (Insert thunderous applause here!)

All That Glitter The TC Kuantan Run 2005 Finisher Medal According to reliable source, the finisher medals were imported from Thailand. Bronze in colour with light blue ribbon. Heavy. Oval shaped. Handsomely designed. One of my favourite medals in my humble collection. Initially, there was an alarm about not enough medals for runner due to overwhelming response but I think all finishers got their medal. No complains. I supposed not all the people who registered turn up for the run. I think they signed up to get the nice Brooks T-shirt. A golden key-chain was given to each Pacesetters member who signed up for the run. A pleasant surprise as I didn’t expect this. Each non-member will be given one upon signing up as member. A brilliant membership drive!

The Push to the Peak

Up, Up and Away Pushing To The Peak is a charity event organized by NAMLIFA and sponsored by ING to raise fund for Kiwanis Down Syndrome, Pusat Haemodialysis Mawar and MAKNA. Wheelchair Ultra Marathoner, Dr. William Tan wheeled himself up battling the force of gravity to raise RM 500,000, starting from Awana Resort to Genting Highland Outdoor Theme Park on 17 March 2005. Dr. Tan is attempting to be the first disabled person in the world to complete 7 marathons in 7 continents within 36 days. It was a last minute decision to go for this event after I managed to secure one room to stay for a night despite the peak season in Genting Highland. I heard there were about 10,000 insurance agents up in Genting Highland for some sort of conference. I was lucky to get a room. Woke up early in the morning at about 5am. Had a cup of instant mushroom soup and a meat floss bun. Met Amy and Tan at the lobby about 5:30am and off we went to skyway cable car station. We arrived too early at Awana. We found out that the event supposed to start at 8am not at 7am as told by Amy who got this info from a friend. So, we waited at the chair at the entrance of Awana like some homeless people. I could have eaten the hotel breakfast and had an hour of extra sleep if not for this wrong info. Should have checked with the organizer. But anyway, no need to lose my cool, it was not about me - I was there to support the event. We are given an Orange ING t-shirt at the starting point, a bus stop, opposite the main gate of Awana. Met Mr. Chow I supposed he was the organizer. He used to run sub-4 hr marathon. He shared some of his training techniques. Dr. Tan arrived at the starting point at about 8am in an ambulance. He was radiant, cheerful and ready to go. He joked about the sambal that he had for breakfast. I never meet someone this enthusiastic and perky in the morning before. The weather was sunny. Not windy. The race started at about 8:15am. Dr. Tan was flagged off by some dude from the insurance company, I didn’t catch his name. That was after a series of warming exercises by Mr. Chow. Dr. Tan’s entourage consisted of 2 cops on bikes, 1 patrol car, 2 ambulances and about 17 of us - orange shirt wearing supporters. The supporters were mainly from the insurance company. We walked slowly behind Dr. Tan’s wheels. The push was not that simple. There was no momentum to help him at all. It was just him against the force of gravity. He must have had steel for hands, as he would need lots of arm strength to wheel himself up. Slowly but steadily we moved up the slope. At some steep slope he had to zigzag his way up. Left to right. Right to left. On an uneven slope. I gotta take my hat off for this man! He is a victim to polio at age 2. Now he is a brain scientist based in New Castle, NSW, Australia.

The Attack of Watermelons!

Juicy Tale At about 3 km or so (just a guestimate), there was a minor mishap. A crate of watermelon fell out of the back of a lorry about 200 meters from Dr. Tan. Some splattered on the road like a busted brain. Some rolled downhill toward Dr. Tan like bowling balls. It was so unreal like a comic book. But where is the superhero with red underwear to save the day? Left to our own devices, we dashed out in time to grab the rolling watermelons and throw them into the drain by the road. Yeah! We saved the day and Dr. Tan can savely continue his journey up Genting. The toughest part was at the steep slope near the Chin Swee Caves Temple. Dr. Tan persisted. We encouraged him. Many cars honked to give moral support to him. We also played some inspirational songs from small boom box that we carried along – The Eyes of the Tiger (from Rocky OST), Reach (Gloria Estefan 1988 Olympic Anthem), I Believe I Can Fly (from Space Jam OST), Power of the Dream (Celine Dion) etc. Dr. Tan believes that winning medals, trophies or prize money should not be an end to itself. It should be a means to further goodness and to help people. Wah..very inspirational! Medal chasers out there should take note. I should now on support all charity runs!! Will start with Hong Leong Charity Run this April! The road up Genting was scenic. Misty. Genting Hotel was seen perched on top of the peak at the distance. The long winding road was nice to the eyes but it became an obstacle for someone on a wheelchair like Dr. Tan. He lamented that he did not get the chance to enjoy the view and said with mock regret that he should have taken the cable car up! I guess humour would make everything seemed well. Dr. Tan spirit maintained very high all the way.

Excitement at its Peak

The only way is up! At about 11:45am, Dr. Tan reached the Outdoor Theme Park main gate. Hordes of people were clapping and cheering for him. He gave a short speech and thanked everyone to make that event successful. I congratulated Dr. Tan and sheepishly asked for his autograph. He obliged.

Priceless

Dr. William Tan Autograph Return Bus Ticket to Genting Highlands - RM9.20 One night at First World Hotel - RM 80.00 Skyway Cable Car to Awana - RM 4.00 A chance to support Dr. William Tan in Charity Wheelchair Push to the Peak – Priceless

Runwitme's Top 10 Running Scenes in A Motion Picture

My Favourite Running Scene in a Motion Picture Running is my passion. So is watching movie. These are my favourite running scenes from movies. By the way, these are not running themed movies. If you have any favourite running scenes from movie, which are not mentioned below, please share them with me by leaving them in my comment link. Thank you. 1) Kung Fu Hustle - Ah Sing chased by the landlady ala Wild E. Coyote and Roadrunner (Beep! Beep!). Sing uses the knives stabbed on his shoulder as rear view mirrors. ROTFLOL. I can never stop laughing every time I see this part on my DVD. 2) Trinity (Carrie Anne Moss) running away from the Agents after her signature leap-in-the-air-kick in opening scene of Matrix. Gravity defying, she runs and leaps from building to building effortlessly in her slick PVC bodysuit with heels. Run, Trinity, run! 3) Dash in Mr. Incredible zip-zaps around the jungle to escape from the baddies. Oh wow! He can run on water too. Isn’t he incredible? 4) My Best Friend's Wedding – Michael (Dermot Mulroney) running after Kimmy (Cameron Diaz) after she sees him kissing Jules (Julia Roberts) and then Jules starts chasing after them in the lawn...a threesome act...What can you expect? 5) Forrest Gump - Run Forrest Run! Remember Forrest suddenly runs non-stop Interstates? This inspirational movie stars Tom Hanks as light-brained and also light-footed Forrest Gump. 6) Dawn of The Dead - The zombies are speed demons. Unlike the sluggish living deads in previous zombie movies, the white-eyed, rabid zombies here are vicious, fast and could sprint out of nowhere to gnaw on your flesh. Scary shit this. 7) The Bachelor - Jimmie (Chris O'Donnell) in tuxedo, running away from hundreds of brides in the street. Now, this is scarier than the zombies..LOL. 8) Men In Black – J (Will Smith) gives an out-of-this-world speedy guy a chase in the street of New York. The guy turns out to be an alien with eyes that blink vertically. 9) Casey (Drew Barrymore) is pursuit by Ghost-faced killer in opening sequence of Scream. She ends up bloodily stabbed on her boobs and hung on a tree. This is later charismatically parodied by silicon enhanced Carmen Electra in Scary Movie which involves a slow-mo ala Baywatch run in the garden with the sprinkler on in her two-piece itsy bitsy bikini. Scary turns hilarious! 10) Ong Bak - Ting (Tony Jaa) chased by a bunch of bad-asses in the street of Bangkok. He skillfully navigates around, under, above and through obstacles like kids, stalls, bicycles, tables, drums, barbwires, boiling oil, glass panels, tires, fences, moving cars etc. Jackie Chan would be proud of this agile Thai boy.

Kuala Lumpur International Marathon (KLIM) 05 Part 1 - A Tourist in KL

Food, Glorious Food I checked-in to a tiny hotel in Petaling Street the day before the marathon. I was trying something different this year to escape the hassle of commuting from PJ and to add an extra hour of dreamtime before the run. It was about 3pm when I played tourist in KL. Explored the Petaling Street and its vicinity. My senses were overwhelmed. The smell of roasted chestnuts and barbequed pork invaded my nose. My sight was bombarded with shiny glares from cheap “genuine fake” Rolexes and the colourful “authentic copy designer” bags. My ears were assaulted by the aggressive peddlers’ sales pitches and blaring music from the textile shops. Great touristy moment for me. Escaped the heat temporarily when having an espresso Frappacino at Kota Raya Starbuck. Wonderful! Bought 6 pirated CDs for RM20 from the street peddler. Mostly rare remixes and songs not released here yet. Went to UDA Ocean to buy some bananas – the official marathoner fruit. Got back to the hotel and napped around 5pm. Discovered a King’s Café next to Swiss In Hotel while looking for a place for dinner. They serve local and western fares. Great ambiance. Clean. Affordable. Attentive waiters. Check this place out. What is a marathon without the pasta party? I ordered white sauce roasted chicken and mushroom fettuccini. The soft drink came free with the meal. Wonderful! Spent the night watching TV and did some reading in air-conditioned comfort.

KLIM 05 Part 2 - Me Against The Tarmac

Beginning Point Woke up about 3:30am. Downed a black forest donut with generous serving of chunky peanut butter, washed with a cup of coffee. Marinated myself in Piz Buin sun block and did the usual lubricating ritual. Smeared a generous amount of Petroleum Jelly between my toes, feet, underarms, between my thighs and not forgetting my nipples. Bleeding nipples are not a pretty sight. Yeow….they hurt too! After the lubricating ritual came the warming ritual. Rubbed Sloan Analgesic on my feet and calves. Warm and wonderful! Walked out of the hotel about 4am. Saw two booty-licious girl marathoners in the lift. Greeted them. Bumped into two Sarawakian runners at the entrance of the hotel and took a stroll to Dataran Merdeka. Chatted with them along the way. No stress. No hassle. Wonderful! Saw lots of people at Dataran Merdeka when I arrived. The Sultan Abdul Samad Building was brightly lit up and looked magnificent. We were set off at 5am sharp (I didn’t hear the ding dong sound of the clock tower...perhaps the clock need repairing). Last year we got fireworks to start the event. This year we got tribal drum beats from Rebana Ubi….The runners charged like warriors into the war zone. I felt high. The running crowd dispersed quite quickly, unlike in Singapore Marathon where we had to jostle for a distance before we could actually start running. My MP3 player was playing Britney Spears’ Me Against The Music (G&B Club Mix). I was not against the music, I was against the tarmac. Slow and steady I stepped to the beat…First 20 km was a breeze. Enjoyed the scenic run. I could see KL Twin Towers “winking” at me from the distance at the earlier part of the run. I must say that I loved the Nike mist station. One is not enough. They should have like thousand of these mist-generating fans along the marathon route. Hahaha! Very der Kiasu! Muscle cramp and fatigue began to set in at 30km. Knees began to feel like tau foo fah and the leg muscles were screaming for oxygen. I took each step with pain, short of crying at the pavement like Paula. I had no choice but to walk the last 12km. DNFing is not an option. To add insult to my injuries, I was harassed by the sweeper van around Jalan Parlimen. I felt like a helpless man on a dessert, with vultures hovering above; waiting for him to devour his meat. The van was trailing so close behind me that I almost tripped and fell. Come on guys! Let me finish my marathon! I would crawl to the finish line if I had to. But let me complete my marathon with dignity. I almost gave them the finger but being the polite and gentle person that I am (Ehem!), I gave them the “I-will-scratch-your-eyes-out-if-you-don’t-leave-me-alone-stare” instead. They got the message and drove pass me to harass someone else. Sheesh! Some people!

KLIM 05 Part 3 - A Medal Within A Medal

More Pictures At last, after 12 km of agonizing pain, I crossed the finish line and received my shiny golden medal. Yeah! I must say it is the most beautiful medal in my collection. A medal within a medal. The medal has a swiveling round piece within it. See picture. Painfully, I dragged my feet back to the hotel. I felt queasy, bloated and felt like vomiting. Drank too much water, I thought. My head was throbbing and my whole body felt like a burning up from inside. Checked my nipples in the shower…Still there. No pain; thanks to the well-lubed tips. Haha! Managed to catch a few winks before it was time to check out. Had to struggle a bit to get of the bed. Yoko Yoko helped. It was 2pm – time to say bye bye to hotel room. Returned to King’s café for lunch. The waiter recognized me. Had Tom Yam seafood noodle. Delicious. Spicy. My queasiness was gone, effectively diluted by the strongly sour and spicy Tom Yam soup. Felt wonderful again! Hurray! No more running for a week. Plan to take a rest this coming weekend before hitting the road again. Perhaps will hunt for cheap plane tickets at Matta Fair 2005. My next couple of runs will not be in KL. Will be playing tourist in Kuantan and Nilai (on 20 and 27 March respectively). If God is willing, I will add two more finisher medals to my humble collection. Yes! One down, two more to go this month. (Insert applause here).

Medal Within A Medal 

Vest, Bib & Chip

Top (L to R): Enter the ballroom; Bib collection in progress; Dismembered Nike models? Middle (L to R): Run, Run, Run; KLIM 2005 Cotton Vest; Leggy bunting. Bottom (L to R): My running pack; My Champion-chip; Dinner @ Hard Rock Café

I dashed out of office at 5:15pm sharp. Thank God that the rain had stopped. Asked Tan, my colleague to drop Amy and I at Taman Jaya LRT station. We managed to catch the train as soon as we arrived at the platform. Stopped at Dang Wangi Station and big walked to Concorde Hotel. Made it 10 minutes before 6:00pm. There was no grandeur expo like Singapore Marathon Expo. Just some booths from the usual corporate sponsors - Ambank, Nike, Power Bar, Celcom, Coleman etc. Most of the people manning the booth are either packing their stuff to call it a day or chit-chatting away. Glad that we made it before they totally close shop.

Collected everything that need to be collected – white Cougar brand cotton vest (which will end up as my sleepwear), Champion-chip and for the first time – a plastic bib…(unlike the typical turpentine smelling screen-printed cloth bib). Not much hassle. Not many people anyway.

Had dinner at Hard Rock Café with Amy, BW and Selvi (FTAAA part-timer). Scrapped the idea of having salad when I saw a Caribbean Grill Chicken Sandwich is more less at the same price. Yummy! I will run the calories off this Sunday, I whispered to myself.

Took the monorail to Bkt Bintang. Bought an USB charger for my MP3 player and some 3 for RM10 DVDs – Dawn of the Dead (zombies, zombies and more zombies), The Resident Evil 2 (zombies, zombies and zombie ass-kicking Milla Jovovich) and The Shutter (a very good Thai spook fest). Nothing beats resting at home after a marathon later with some good scares. (Insert blood-curdling pontianak-esque scream here).

Can't Get Running Out Of My Head

Music To My Ears

I am drowsing my bitterness about the whole vest thingy with the sweetness of music.

Currently, I am busy selecting songs and planning their sequence to jive with my marathon this weekend. I read in the March edition of Runner's World that music can improve the running performance. There is no better time to try it as I just got myself a ultra cool, ultra slim mp3 player!

What's on the play list? Crazy in Love - Beyonce; Don't Give Up (Club Mix) - Chicane feat. Bryan Adams; All Night (Don't Stop) - Janet Jackson; I Believe In You - Kylie Minogue; I'm A Slave 4U (Thunderpuss Club Mix) - Britney; Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz, When Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going - Billy Ocean; Breathe - The Prodigy; Enter Sandman - Metallica; What It Feels like For a Girl (Paul Oakenfold Remix) - Madonna; Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi; Don't Call Me Baby (Madison from Out of Space Remix) - Madison Avenue; A Little Less Conversation (JXL Remix) - Elvis Presley; Rockerfellar Skank - Fat Boy Slim, Rolling - Limp Bizkit, Jump - House of Pain...etc So many songs, so little time....My choices are eclectic, upbeat and fun.

I think I am going to enjoy my marathon more this year. Lalalalalalalala....I just can't get running out of my head : )

Running with Horses

Padang Polo - Royal Playground

During CNY holidays, I managed to run a few rounds around Padang Polo Pekan. It is one of my favourite place to run. One round approximately 2.5 km. Best place to run is early in the morning, when the sun is not that hot.

You may get to see many of the polo horses doing their morning exercise on the polo field.

I must say horse riding is a very sexy activity. The motions - up and down. The rubbing. The bouncing. Better stop or else I need a cold shower. Hehehe...but I think running is also sexy. The sweat. The heavy-breathing. The heartbeat racing.....and the orgasmic cup of ice-cold milo at the end of the run. Superb! (Insert wink here!)

Click here for more AMAZING pictures of PEKAN, Pahang

My Big Fat Chinese New Year Celebration

Chinese New Year Visits

Big - because my belly girth has increased after back from CNY celebration.

Fat - the amount of fried food that I have gobbled up. Super size me, honey bunny!

My Chinese new year rituals involve these items:

1) Wear something red (this year I bought 2 red shirts and 3 red underwear)

2) Remote controls (4 of them - Astro, TV, VCD player and AIWA mini Hifi)

3) Mandarin oranges, cookies, sweets and dried meat (bak kua)

4) A fake smile when asked when will I get hitched.

I visited my uncle and took a look at his medal collection. Impressive. He has a display cabinet for all of his medal! He also gave me his extra Seremban 1/2 Marathon pewter medal which he found after the run. Hehe...people get ang pow for CNY, I got a medal. Cool, eh?

Spring Breeze Kisses on My Face Tell Me Spring has Arrived

Spring Decor 2005

This year marks my first new year with a place on my own. I finally purchased over the apartment that I have been renting from the landlady last year. It is nice to have a place of my own. I can decorate it as I like to usher the lunar new year.

I spent the whole evening yesterday to fengshui-ing my living room. I had to rearrange my furniture to avoid facing West, where the Grand Duke of Jupiter (Tai Sui) resides this year. Who is this Duke bloke? I don't really know but he will bring serious bad luck if offended. One shall not face him directly or suffers.

Incidently another annual affliction - the 3 killing (Sam Sart) is also in the East. One must not have one's back facing Sam Sart or it will stab from behind. So, I have arranged my sofa and TV in away that I face East when I watch TV. I have Grand Dukey supporting me from West to face-off with Sam Sart at the East.

One more feng shui menace is the Five Yellow, residing at Northwest. I have got a cure for this - 5 Element Pagoda. It is 5 inches tall, pointy and made of brass. Five Emperor coins and some garden soil must be placed inside the pagoda. Got mine from a little Feng Shui shop at Jalan HS Lee for RM70; but if you buy it from Lillian Too's World of Feng Shui, it will set you back RM118. Now you know why that Ah So is getting filthy rich!

I also decorated my home with pussy willows, lucky bamboos and auspicious CNY decoration to welcome the good chi of the coming CNY. (See pictures)

Haha..so much of Feng Shui lesson or else I will be told to change my blog name ot Feng Shui with Passion. I am not an expert but I like to dabble in Feng Shui as it is fun and I guess it is one of the ways for me to get in touch with my Chinese heritage. Can you apply Feng Shui in running? Maybe! I will explore this topic in my future blog.

OK. Lunch time almost over. I guess this will the last blog for the Monkey year. Will be going back to hometown this weekend. Yes! It is the time of the year again, when I join thousand of Chinese in Klang Valley in an exodus back to the our respective hometown to celebrate Chinese New Year. I have already packed my new year goodies and to spend time with my mummy, daddy and sisters at home.

Wishing everyone celebrating CNY a Happy and Prosperous New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai! Xin Nian Jin Bu! and Happy Holidays for the rest!!

My First Finisher Cert & Medal for 2005

Penang 12 Hr Walk Bragging Rights

I received my Penang 12 Hr Walk certificate via snail mail yesterday. This will be my first finisher certicate (and medal) for 2005. Great start for the year! Gong Xi! Gong Xi!

Eat to Run or Run to Eat?

My very first Yee Sang in 2005

Here's a verbatim comment from a reader of my blog:

"Your blog started out with a healthy theme...then went to some sort of a travel log, then shhhhhoppping...now food...i think there is need to do some re-engineering of the theme "running with passion". huh?"

How true! Heheh! I just tossed my very first "Yee Sang" this year. I hope to toss more. The concept is the more we toss, the more prosperous we become. Dunno what is the logic behind it, but Yee Sang certainly tastes good.

Just like you cannot separate festivities with food, you cannot separate food with running.

So, do you eat to run or run to eat?

I certainly I fall in latter category - run to eat. I binge on everything except pork (long story, don't ask). I will certainly pack my running gear and shoes in my "balik kampung" bag. There will be a lot of running since there will be a lot of eating too. (Insert notti wink here!)

Eat, Shop and Be Merry

Thank God it's Yummy

Oh Dear! Time flies when you're having fun. My marathon training schedule is flying out of the window with the bulk of work that need to be done before my one week festive break and the festivity preparation that are going on in my life.

Done most of my CNY shopping. Feng Shui enhancers for the year. New clothes. New shoes, sandals rather. New pants. New embroidered cushion covers. Pussy willows, lucky bamboos and cute knotted decorative items for my living room. Dried meat. Bus ticket to balik kampung. All set.

I was invited for free lunch at TGIF Subang yesterday. My friend has won some free lunch vouchers in some call-in contest on radio. Wow! What a lunch! A big slab of Jack Daniel glazed ribs. Juicy fried mushroom. Buffalo Wings. Three tier brownies and a scoop of rich vanilla icecream for dessert. By the rate I eat, no wonder I can't get rid of the stubborn fat slosh around my mid section no matter how much I running I do. Sigh!

Talk the Walk, Walk the Talk

2nd Penang International 12 Hours Walk

Just a short entry to let everyone know that I survived the Penang International 12 Hour Walk last weekend. The walk was not rather uneventful, but the journey to Penang and back were. Promise to write a little longer about the walk and the juicy tales that prelude it during the long Raya Haji break.

Click here for an NST article on Penang International 12 Hours Walk