How I Started Running

4 Times A Week & Beginner's 10 km

Every annual medical checkup, I am being told by the GP to exercise, “Do you exercise at least 4 times a week?” How is this possible when I am already struggling to do it once a week? After the last checkup where the Dr advised me to improve my HDL cholesterol level and the encouragement from my office comrades to join the KL Marathon, it is time to RUN (not run away).

High End Shoes

Bought a pair of Mizuno Strada shoes at 50% discount RM149 (list price RM299) at Lot 10. There wasn’t a choice as it was the only size 8.5 pair left. It is my first Mizuno shoes. I have worn Bata, Fung Keong, Power, Aliph, Ascot, Adidas, Reebok and New Sport (China brand - value for money) shoes before and all cost below RM120 perpair. Is this my first “high end” shoes?

First Impression

I always have a belief that shoes are overpriced because of their branding and design. I often wondered how good can a shoe be, just like you wear a RM10 vs a RM200+ crocodile T-shirt. The moment of truth has arrived. The shoes were so light it felt like a pair of slippers. When I walked to the main road, it didn’t appear to me as extraordinary. Finally, when I ran, the first few strides it became apparent that these are no ordinary shoes that I have worn previously. The shoes seemed to transform the bitumen road into rubber! Each step produces a bounce and a lunge forward. The level of shock absorption is wonderful. As the Chinese saying goes “One cent cost is One cent merchandize” (English: You get what you pay for).

Training

With the new armory, I was rather excited to see if the shoes made any difference in extending my jogging endurance. I was never a runner during my school days, always trailing behind others in cross-country events. In fact, I never fancied jogging because it is boring and I lack stamina. As one ages and approaches the 40s, the mindset changes. After having seen several deaths including my Dad's (god i still miss him!) and undergone a prolong period of chest pains (stress related), I decided to change my lifestyle to a healthy one.

Coming back to training, I ran the first ever 10 km with the Mizuno shoes in 83 minutes. The second run I managed a slight improvement of 80 minutes. Subsequent runs were borderline cases that are around 78-80 minutes in exactly 10 kms.

Uphill

The most difficult part of running is the uphill portion. Thoughts of stopping, giving up and not covering the intended distance always crop up whenever I struggle on a long uphill. This was my weakness. Then I remember Jamie's advise to adopt the Galloway Running (run-walk technique). The Gallo-running was effective in the uphill. One need not run non-stop but stop to preserve the strain on the legs and even the back (I suffer backache after 15 mins of running). The 1-minute walk can extend your endurance and can be construed as a "reward" for taxing the body. Once you are rewarded the body will perform better.

Well-being

There are many health websites that would tell you the benefits of exercising. There is no denying that after a good jog, regular runners would attain the "feel good” euphoria (endorphins?) but I wish I could make jogging more interesting. My wife, Mee Peng and I always go for a "justified" good makan after a short jog. Reward oneself with good food after a workout? It is also a good reason to wake up early on a Sunday morning to meet up with old friends and relatives. Gone are the late nights get together. Probably the greatest mutual feeling is seeing yourself, your loved ones and good friends maintain fitness and good health.

PowerBar

After reading Jamie's PowerBar experience in Singapore, I decided to try it myself. This bar appears to be grain based with a concoction of multi-vitamins. Vitamin B complex is a known source of energy booster. An old friend of mine ate half a bar and said it didn’t have any effect on him. Personally, after having tested a few Performance bars, I believe it can improve performance by maybe 5%. The bar has such high-energy retention properties that even after an hour of strenuous morning run I do not have the hunger for breakfast!

Gatorade

100 Plus without the gas? Not quite. Gatorade is a non-carbonated drink with 35 years history of producing isotonic drinks. When I first drank Gatorade I was amazed by how little one need to drink to quench thirst. Initially I suspected Gatorade had the strange ability of reducing perspiration and the frequency of emptying one’s bladder. Later, when I checked the www.gatorade.com website this magical drink has indeed been researched by professors to optimize body fluid functions!

KLIM 2004

Prior to the KLIM (Kuala Lumpur International Marathon), I measured the 10 km route and was surprised to find that it is actually more than 10 kms probably in the range of 10.6 kms. My running timing is bordering the 80mins qualifying mark; any additional distance will require more time. I was also concern about the 2 uphills: Starting from the Tennis Stadium on Jln Duta and the Jln Parlimen climb. Most of my runs in Bandar Sri Damansara are on a very gradual uphill. The gradient at Jln Duta and Parlimen were much steeper.

D-Day

I was glad Mee Peng, my wife was willing to wake up at 5 a.m to witness the KLIM at Dataran. She would be the camerawoman and also the motivation to do my best in the maiden run. I picked up Kenny, my brother and an old friend, Fook Shing. Parked at Dataran basement – initially we thought it was free but later had to fork out a flat rate of RM4, which I thought, was worth the money.

The organizers of KLIM could do with a lot of improvement because some of the instructions listed on the pamphlet were inaccurate. I do not want to dwell on it, as I am sure the organizers are aware of the discrepancies.

15 mins before time, Kenny, Fook Shing, CS and I entered the 10km barricade. I drank half a bottle of Gatorade to keep myself hydrated but not to a point where I need to go to the washroom. The loudhailer was simply not loud enough – being a first timer I was naturally curious as to what the organizer was trying to address. Kenny and Fook Shing have completed half-marathons before and they were completely relaxed. Later the Treasure-Hunt Champs, William and Jamie came to greet us. We could not find Newton and Tham. Jo Ee, my cousin was also there to wish us good luck. 3 minutes before start Jamie moved forward to the starting line and commanded “Cheong, do it in qualifying time!” of which I chuckled sheepishly, “It’s a tall order”.

The race has started and I didn’t even hear the gunfire! As we walked towards the starting line, Kenny cautioned us to watch our step, do not push and avoid being pushed. Fook Shing told Kenny to follow the leader. I asked him who is the leader and he said it was me. We laughed; knowingly none of us are good runners. As we approached the roundabout, a few runners stumbled upon the kerb and had a rather bad fall. Kenny asked them if they were ok. Apparently, when the runners leaped from the road and onto the kerbs, the sardine-packed runners behind thought it was a flat road hence the miss footing.

At the 1 km mark i.e. after Bank Negara I was losing sight of Fook Shing and Kenny. Each time I turn my head back I couldn’t see them, instead scores of runners ran past me at a rather fast pace. I was alone. I look in front to see if there were any familiar bib numbers but couldn’t see any. Just as I entered Jln Ismail, for no reason I started coughing uncontrollably. I could hear there were 2 or maybe 3 runners coughing as well. Was there something in the air? I do not know. Fortunately, the coughing stopped after I passed that area.

At the 4 km mark, Jln Langgak Tunku, runners were rushing to grab drinks at the drinking station. I remembered the pamphlet says White Cloth = Water, Red Cloth = 100 Plus. I saw no cloth. All were serving 100 Plus. I bypass this stall completely and focused on the start of the Jln Duta slope. Just before the Tennis Stadium/Duta Roundabout, I adopted a short burst of momentum run to overcome the hill. Once at Jln Duta, the entire 3-lane road was cordoned off for the runners. I observed the runners were on the left most side of the road; maybe they were afraid of cars. I decided to run at the center of the road as this gives me better ventilation and more fresh air.

The most dreaded stretch the ascending Jln Duta hill had majority of runners walking. I decided to walk for 50 seconds to rest my legs. For the second time, I again deployed the gain momentum run to overcome this steep hill only to be defeated 60 seconds later. By this time I was almost reaching the peak and decided to limp run slowly and catch up on the downhill stretch. There was this Thai runner who took the hill effortlessly only to stop halfway to take photos with his digital camera! I wish I had that kind of stamina – Marathoner-cum-Photographer!

As I past the Indian Embassy, had a glimpse of the Elites -The Full Marathoners were already making their U-turn back to Dataran. From about 15 meters, I could see a few ladies who were trading leads with me in the entire run. I decided to “accelerate” (can do it once or twice only). I was not out to overtake them but merely psyching myself up to run faster! I ran past a number of runners who where approaching the Jln Parlimen slope. At this point, I used the momentum run the third time and slowed to a walk of 50 seconds and then ran again. Despite being the last 2 kms, I observed almost half the runners were walking up the slope, probably conserving their energy for the final leg.

I crossed the Bukit Aman traffic lights and looked at my stopwatch. It was 1:08. I had 12 minutes to cover about 1-1.4 kms. A number of runners were sprinting downhill. I tried to run fast too but was held back by a mild stomach cramp. It crossed my mind what the F1 drivers had commented, “The Last Lap is the Longest Lap”. Towards the roundabout, I closed my thoughts of exhaustion and ran towards the Padang finish line with long strides (last and final “Acceleration”). I saw Mee Peng at the corner of my eye as I collected the certificate of completion from the official. Honestly, I couldn’t see where exactly is the official finishing LINE! There was no timer display at the end of the race or finisher’s placing. I looked at my stopwatch it was 1:14:49.

Kenny and Fook Shing were running without a watch hence no precise timing recorded but I think they were within the Junior Veteran’s qualifying time. Kenny was just a few minutes behind me. Met up with Newton, William, CS and Jamie later for a group photo. That was it; I have completed my first Quarter Marathon.

Conclusion

With the end of this event, I hope my jogging efforts would continue, not so much to improve my timings but more importantly to strive and maintain an excellent health. I hope by end of this year; the HDL cholesterol would show improvement, which would be my ultimate goal and Medal of Honor!

Footnote: Mee Peng video recorded the startup. Later she relayed to me the 7km batch of runners in the process of relocating from the 2nd barricade to the starting grid, those located at the back thought it was the start of the race or wanted to get in front and started pressing forward. In the confusion, a few runners trip and fell. I suspect the runners situated at the rear end may not have heard the megaphone instructions clearly.