Kita Bakor!

Orang tua cakap, jangan main api nanti terbakar. Tapi doktor cakap lemak-lemak dan minyak-minyak sapi yang dah terkumpul dalam badan kita kene dibakar, kalau simpan boleh jadi pekat cam minyak Ghee. Aku rasa kandungan lemak dan minyak dalam badan aku dah tahap nak overflow, org kerje kilang penapis minyak cakap dah "tank top".

Events tahun ini yang aku plan nak masuk memang di tahap minimum. Niat nak register tu mmg ada tapi tahun ni masa agak terhad. Jadi pilih mana-mana yang patut dan sesuai. Lagi pun kalau tak masuk events bukan tak boleh exercise, cuma kurang ler motivasi nak berletih yang sepatutnya.

Lepas dari KL Marathon, next major individual event bagi aku ialah Powerman (walau aku dalam tahap Tapauman ajer sekarang). Ingat start dari second week of Shawal boleh ler start berletih tapi hareeemmmm, layan kambing golek dgn satay ajer yang banyak. Bibik pulak pulang menyambut lebaran di Surabaya, weekend kene juga ambik duty laundry dan vacuum carpet, kalau tak memang ada potensi lesen training akan kene tarik, lagi parah.

Takut fitness level terus turun ke zero, aku paksa diri juga buat larian-larian anak jarak pendek di ujung2 Shawal. Stride pun dah jadi macam ketam. Kayuh jgn cerita ler, langsung tak sentuh beskal aku tu kecuali time aku kene alih beskal aku keluar waktu sedara-mara datang beraya kat rumah.

Pasal ada satu hari tu sekretari aku tegur badan aku nampak naik (esp tang perut), aku terus tersentak dari lamunan panjang memikirkan sesi kambing golek dan nasi mandy yang seterusnya. Pasal kawan-kawan semua dalam tahap advance latihan untuk menghadapi TNF dan PNM, memang aku rasa aku cari pasal kalau berletih dgn depa. Takut jadi kacau daun ajer pasal pace dengan endurance dah jadi tahap siput bayi. Nak lari sorang-sorang pun cam kurang plak motivasi, senang sgt nak ambil diskaun mega atau pun terus DNS sesilap haribulan.

Jadi last weekend aku pun menyambut lambungan Diket dan Azmar Org Besi buat larian geli2 di Putrajaya. Dengar plan depa nak buat brick tp lebih mirip brick untuk biathlon Chin Woo ajer (i.e. run and swim). Aku signed. Macam biasa, larian pagi sabtu aku mmg hancus, ntah ler naper susah nak recover dari letih hari jumaat. May be biasa sampai rumah lambat, dekat 9 pm kot. Apa2 pun pasal target just nak lari setakat 1 jam, dapat juga habis 8.7km dgn pace aku yg semput tapi puas mendengar borakan sakan Azmar dgn Diket.

Lepas lari, masuk pool pulak. Sah dah lama tak swim, muscles kaki mmg tak ready, baru 75m dah kene massive cramp. Kene plak masa dekat pool's depth at 2m, menggelupur ler kejap nak tenangkan diri before slow2 pergi ke tepi. Ingat nak call off terus plan swimming tp teruja tengok Azmar dgn Diket layan swimming, so sambung balik lepas lepak 4-5 minit. Bila dah dpt konsisten breathing ikut tips Diket and Syah last week, syok ler plak layan. Dpt ler 600m, ala kadar tapi puas hati. Nak kene lebih kerap turun pool kalau nak improve mileage.

Minggu ni mmg tak boleh ponteng weekdays' runs. Weekend may be buat brick solo kat shah alam. Pasal Sabtu nak ambik maid kat LCCT (yahooooo, boleh pulun lebih sikit lepas ni pasal dah boleh excuse duty laundry dgn vacuum carpet), so most probably Ahad. Next week still tak dpt buat brick dengan kawan-kawan pasal kene panjat and camping kat atas Gunung Dato'. Ni actually kes paksa rela, client suruh ikut. Aku kira cincailah this trip serves as part of my endurance training.

Harap-harap lepas ni proses pembakaran lemak dan minyak sapi dalam badan akan berjalan lancar supaya aku dapat mengelakkan dari jadi lemau tahap gaban masa Powerman kelak. Last sekali, Selamat berKOM pada kawan2 weekend ni!

1/2 Yearly Report (ramblings)

Mak oit, dah nak masuk Ogos baru nak tulis blog! Last posting aku bulan February, lepas tu terus senyap sunyi. Ada juga pikir nak tutup account ajer terus tapi dramatik sangat plak jadiknya. So, if PLCs need to submit their financial statements/reports to the Stock Exchange on a quarterly basis, I hope I will not be "de-listed" from the RBU List by submitting this 1/2 yearly report.

The thing is (sorry shuk, pinjam phrase ni kejap) I didn't really have interesting news to be updated. Not so suprising as it is reflective of my YOYO involvement in either running or cycling activities. If I could recall correctly I had a good momentum in cycling starting from the HoHoHo Fraser Hill's Ride late last year and followed with a few enjoyable and fulfilling long rides with friends, peaked when I did the Broga Reverse (captured in my last report). After that, things went downhill.....at a very fast pace. The culprit was when I was instructed to handle a deal with a crazy timeline. What to do, cari makan maaa.

So, to cut the story short, after suffering from my maiden Gombak - Janda Baik's ride due to lack of rest the night before (dah ler mmg kureng power), from that point onwards I 'd been bailing out many-many weekends of endorphine seeking retreat with friends. So, up to 30 June 2011, here are the races that I managed to force myself to do (no worry, it couldn't even qualify as a list):

(a) Energizer Night Run - Didn't register for it. The plan was to run with another's person bib in the HM category but ended up I did my maiden pirated run :-). Supposed to be my HM's PB with 2:24 but was told the distance was 1km short. No big deal since I treated this more as my first LSD after months of absence.

(b) SCKLM 2011 - A primary event for the local running scene. It was difficult to miss this so register I did for the Full Marathon category. I should have known that to run a good full marathon (of course in your own respective standard), training momentum is key. With zero events done since ENR, I found out that I was severely lacking in that aspect. Never mind, the "hayun ajer" spirit was in full swing. The result, no need to guess lah, I'd received the real life lesson of not respecting the "respect the distance" mantra. It was not a mtyh for sure! I had my PW of 6:00:40. It was not the timing that made me remember this run but the suffering that I had to endure to complete it. I had never imagined that I would even think of taking my first walk break at KM7 due to fatigue while running a Full Marathon race. Res Ipsa Loquitur!

Head down, end of suffering

Yes, that were the 2 races that I had participated so far this year. This weekend I am having my 3rd event, a relay in PD Tri. I was under coercion by OtoRayMau when I signed off for this as the team's cylist (Ray did all the registration hehehe). I hope Mr. CR1 (still lack of Buk Reynol's charmness) will be in good behaviour comes Sunday.

TO THOSE PARTICPATED IN PD TRI THIS WEEKEND, WISH YOU ALL THE BEST!

Larian Berdamping Malam dan Broga Auww CNY

Larian Berdamping Malam (bersama RBU)

Sejak masuk tahun 2011 ini memang aktiviti larian aku boleh dikira dengan jari tangan. Setakat ni dapat ler layan LSD sekali di Putrajaya dengan geng RBU, sama tarikh dan masa dengan Putrajaya Twilight Challenge tu. Nak kata kita org lari dalam event Twilight Challenge Putrajaya memang tidak boleh kerana tidak register pun tetapi sempat lah memeriahkan sekali acara tu walau pun dating sebagai geng lanun-lanun (sila rujuk gambar di bawah). Lanun tak lanun, memang seronok berlari dengan kawan-kawan, terutamanya bila melalui jambatan depan PICC. Amat menarik pemandangan di sana walaupun tak kelihatan pun air tasik di bawah jambatan itu.

LSD malam tu memang aku dah berniat nak diskaun dari 2 loops ker 1 ½ loop sahaja, jadi dapat lah jarak dalam 16km lebih kurang. Cukup lah sebagai latihan larian tahap “separa serius” yang pertama untuk tahun ini. Bila cerita hal larian ni, masalah plantar fasciitis kaki kiri aku tu masih ada, tidak lah serius tetapi sehari selepas larian tumit mula terasa sakit dan akan berterusan sehingga 4-5 hari (kalau aku rehat dari berlari). Rasa-rasanya memang kasut Brook “Hantu 3” terpaksa di simpan di dalam setor dahulu.

Lanuns Malam

Kayuhan Gong Xi Broga

Dalam usaha merehatkan otot kaki larian, aku pun melayan aktiviti kayuhan setakat mana yang termampu. Selepas kayuhan LeTua 100, aku tidak ada membuat apa-apa aktiviti kayuhan jauh, hanya setakat kayuhan santai dengan rakan-rakan BJCC dengan jarak 40km +-. Apabila terdengar ura-ura segelintir geng ‘intermediate level’ dalam BJCC untuk membuat kayuhan loop Broga “pondan” atau “Broga clock-wise” pada hari CNY, aku pun terus teruja untuk mengikut sekali. Mungkin bagi majoriti orang awam nama Broga ni lebih diketahui apabila ada cadangan Kerajaan untuk membina pusat “incinerator” pelupusan sampah di sana. Tetapi selain projek incinerator, Broga loop ini juga terkenal kerana ia menawarkan route kayuhan sengsara yang amat digemari oleh “insane-insane” cyclists yang cukup seronok nak panjat Peres, Bukit Tangga dan Bukit Lenggeng dan mungkin juga tapau sekali Bukit Hantu masuk dalam menu sekali gus (khas untuk cyclists otai powerut). Nama tempat-tempat tersebut aku ketahui melalui blog, perbualan atau dari FB status rakan-rakan cyclists. Walaupun diberikan gelaran Broga Pondan, aku tahu route ini tetap mencabar fizikal dan minda tahap gaban bagi sesiapa yang tidak sekuat mana kederat kayuhan atau tidak cukup jarak latihan (nota - siapa lagi kalau bukan orang macam aku). Tetapi kerana keghairahan hendak merasakan kesengsaraan kayuhan Broga, aku pun dengan hati terbuka menyahut lambungan member BJCC aku dan semakin teruja apabila kawan-kawan RBU/Bukit Hantu Cycling Team (ini memang group cyclist tegar/power bagat) pun ada yang bercadang untuk mencangkuk geng BJCC pada hari tersebut (walaupun secara rasminya jemputan kayuhan BHCT di FB adalah untuk kayuhan loop Broga Klasik).

Sg. Tekala – Puncak Peres

Nak dijadikan cerita, pada hari kayuhan geng BJCC lewat tiba di tempat permulaan kayuhan iaitu di Pusat Rekriasi Sg. Tekala, Ulu Semenyih. Aku tiba di sana lebih kurang pukul 7.20 pagi dan kelihatan 6-7 orang rakan-rakan BHCT (i.e. Diket, Jaja, Bahri, Bacin, Zakuan, Saiful, Doc Taufik etc) sudah pun tiba di destinasi. Tidak lama kemudian aku menerima panggilan dari rakan BJCC aku dan dia memaklumkan bahawa rombongan cyclists BJCC akan lewat tiba dan mencadangkan aku bergerak dahulu bersama rakan-rakan kumpulan BHCT. Selepas menunggu beberapa rakan BHCT lain sampai, kami pun bergerak waktu jam hampir menunjukkan pukul 8.20 am. Kayuhan panas badan adalah pada tahap sepoi-sepoi bahasa, melalui route naik turun Sg. Tekala ke simpang naik Peres, dihiasi dengan pemandangan indah Empangan Sg. Langat.

Cabaran besar pertama kayuhan adalah mendaki ke puncak Peres. Ini juga adalah cabaran pertama aku untuk menawan puncak Peres. Aku tahu kalau menawan Peres pun aku gagal atau jika aku lengit tahap gaban apabila sampai di puncak, mungkin lebih baik aku lupakan saja niat untuk berkayuh loop Broga Pondan pada hari tersebut. Jadi aku amalkan sekali lagi strategi kayuhan siput aku. Aku kekalkan kayuhan sepoi-sepoi bahasa dan aku pastikan Azwar dan awek dia kat depan aku tidak hilang dari pandangan lebih dari satu selekoh (Geng lain dah hilang lepas 4 selekoh). Pemandangan juga menarik semasa kayuhan naik, penuh dengan kehijauan hutan hujan tropika. Tahap tekanan kardio dan mental juga adalah terkawal. Aku sebagai first timer dalam kayuhan Broga terpaksa mengambil pendekatan selamat untuk jangan “bonk” di peringkat pertengahan atau hujung kayuhan. Dengan pace sepoi-sepoi bahasa aku sampai ke puncak Peres dengan selamat dan menyertai rakan-rakan lain yang sabar menanti untuk cabaran seterusnya.







Bergambar di Puncak Peres

Puncak Peres – Kuala Klawang

Laluan selepas puncak Peres tak keseluruhannya menurun. Ada juga bisul-bisul mencanak yang menanti. Aku layan sahaja hingga tiba di kaki bukit sebelah Peres (apa nama yer, TIti kot?). Bermula dari situ laluan kayuhan adalah bercampur-campur antara rata dan juga bukit-bukau tahap sederhana sehingga tiba ke re-grouping point di Stesyen Petronas Kuala Klawang. Pace peloton agak laju bagi aku. Walaupun pada mulanya aku berjaya mencangkuk peloton tetapi hanya mampu bertahan sehingga separuh jalan sebelum cangkuk aku terputus dan terpaksalah aku melayan pace kayuhan sendiri di belakang. Ada seorang rakan juga melayan pace dia sendiri di hadapan aku, jadi aku cuba pastikan dia tidak hilang dari pandangan kerana aku khuatir kalau aku terlepas mana-mana simpang. Apabila hampir tiba ke pekan Kuala Klawang aku berjaya mendekatkan diri aku dgn brother tersebut, Azwar dan aweknya untuk bersama-sama tiba di Stesyen Petronas. Geng lain sudah sedia menanti bersama-sama dengan geng BHCT yang buat loop Broga klasik. Kami berehat, re-fuel dan berjenaka secukup rasa sebelum bergerak untuk menghadapi sengsara seterusnya.

Kuala Klawang – Bkt Tangga – Bukit Lenggeng – Pekan Lenggeng

Dari Kuala Klawang kami bergerak ke Bukit Tangga. Aku meletakkan diri aku di tengah-tengah peloton supaya dapat mengekalkan motivasi mencangkuk peloton dengan Bro. Adli sebagai tukang tarik. Seperti yang telah dimaklumkan oleh Diket pada aku, Bukit Tangga akan ditempuh di dalam jarak 10km dari Kuala Klawang dan aku mula menguatkan minda aku bila aku nampak…tu dia di sana….. dinding Bukit Tangga menunggu di depan mata! “Layan ajer bro!”, Bahri memberikan semangat kepada aku.

Betul, apabila sampai di Bkt Tangga sebenarnya kita sudah tiada pilihan. Berpusing balik bermakna kita akan terpaksa mendaki Peres dari sebelah Kuala Klawang (pendakian ini lebih sengsara berbanding pendakian Peres dari sebelah Sg Tekala). Oleh itu samada Bukit Tangga itu bertangga atau tidak, kayuh tetap kayuh. Aku kayuh sungguh perlahan asalkan roda bergerak seadanya dengan kelajuan setakat 9km/jam – 11km/jam, cukup untuk memastikan kardio dalam keadaan terkawal. Berbeza dengan Peres, jalan di Bkt Tangga kurang selekoh, oleh itu pendakian adalah panjang dan curam serta kurang fasa “recovery”. Matahari pula sudah betul-betul berada di atas kepala. Di waktu itu kesengsaraan memang sungguh terasa tetapi aku tahu kalau aku terus berkayuh insyaaallah aku akan sampai ke puncak jua.

Sampai di satu selekoh yang terdapat kawasan teduhan dari sinaran terik matahari tengahari, aku dari belakang dapat melihat Hailmi CAR (first timer Broga loop macam aku tapi berdesup dia kayuh!) berhenti, Diket juga berhenti (aku rasa dia nak tanya khabar Hailmi) dan Doc Latif di belakang mereka (bro yang kayuh depan aku sebelum Kuala Klawang) pun turut berhenti. Jadi apabila aku tiba di selekoh tersebut aku pun turut sama berhenti mencari alasan untuk berehat. Hanya seketika selepas aku sampai, Hailmi CAR dan Diket menyambung pendakian mereka, tinggal aku dengan Doc Latif di situ. Aku pun mengambil peluang menelan power gel aku yang pertama untuk kayuhan ini. Selepas seketika aku pun menyambung pendakian diikuti oleh Doc Latif. Rupa-rupanya pendakian dari selekoh tersebut adalah yang terakhir untuk sampai ke puncak Bkt Tangga. Rasanya kalau pun tidak berhenti rehat di selekoh itu insyaallah aku boleh terus kayuh perlahan-lahan sampai ke puncak. Apa-apa pun kami berehat dan bergambar di puncak Bkt Tangga sebelum memulakan kayuhan turun yang menakutkan. Sememangnya kecut perut aku melayan kelajuan basikal menuruni selekoh panjang ditemankan lagi dengan tiupan angin lintang yang menggegarkan basikal, jantung dan isi perut aku.

Selesai Bkt Tangga kami terpaksa pula melalui 2 lagi pendakian di Bukit Lenggeng. Kerana aku sudah menelan power gel di Bkt Tangga, bekalan tenaga terasa mencukupi dan tidak terasa angin bonk datang menyerang walaupun boleh menahan tahap pendakian 2 bukit tersebut. Aku juga lega kerana ditemani oleh Diket dan Jaja dalam pendakian Bkt Lenggeng hingga tiba di Pekan Lenggeng. Setelah berhenti berehat dan re-fuelling, kami berpecah kepada 2, satu kumpulan mengambil keputusan untuk terus berkayuh kembali ke Sg Tekala (lebih kurang 30km lagi jaraknya) dan satu kumpulan lagi hanya akan menyambung kayuhan selepas makan tengah hari di kedai makan mamak di Pekan Lenggeng. Aku masuk di kumpulan yang kedua bersama-sama Diket, Jaja, Saiful, Hailmi CAR, Azwar dan aweknya. Menu utama makan tengah hari adalah maggi sup.

The first timers of Broga Loop (Pondan ajer) on top of Bukit Tangga

Pekan Lenggeng – Broga – Pekan Semenyih - Sg Tekala

Dari Pekan Lenggeng sudah tiada bukit untuk ditawan tetapi masih ada laluan “undulating”. Angin tengah hari juga agak kuat dan kami cuba bergerak di dalam peloton. Sampai di Pekan koboi Broga, aku, Diket dan Jaja berkayuh lebih perlahan dan kumpulan berpecah kepada 2 dengan yang lain berada di hadapan. Kami re-group kembali di Stesyen Petronas Pekan Semenyih sebelum kembali berkayuh untuk lebih kurang 12km lagi untuk tiba di Sg. Tekala. Jalan dari simpang Pekan Semenyih ke Sg Tekala menguji mental kerana cuaca panas, berdebu, keadaan jalan yang berlubang-lubang serta bilangan kenderaan yang agak banyak melalui jalan yang agak sempit. Dengan berbaki separuh lagi jarak untuk sampai ke Sg. Tekala, kumpulan berpecah lagi dengan pace kayuhan masing-masing. Pinggul aku sudah terasa kebas tahap gaban, mungkin saddle jenama Scott yang lembut tidak dapat menampung berat pinggul saiz “L” aku. Akhirnya kami tiba di Sg Tekala lebih kurang pukul 2.20pm dan dengan itu selamat aku menamatkan kayuhan loop Broga Pondan sejauh 117km.

Setelah berehat seketika aku, Diket, Saiful dan Jaja mengambil peluang berendam di dalam kedinginan air terjun Sg Tekala sebelum masing-masing memborong ayam percek Sg Tekala yg amat mantop keenakannya sebelum bergerak ke destinasi masing-masing.

Broga loop clock wise was my 4th long ride and I enjoyed the journey, the camaraderie with friends and the chances of being to places, which I would possibly never encounter if not for the ride. I hope I could do the loop again in the future with some new faces from the RBUs, possibly :-)

LeTua 100 - Expired Edition with Cut & Paste Pictorials

To tell you the truth, although I had almost mentally and psychologically recovered from the crash in the LeTua Trial Ride the previous week before the official one, with about 800 cyclists participated in the official event, I had taken a cautious approach, especially in the earlier part until I passed through the site where I crashed somewhere in the Kg road in Kuang. By that time, a wider gap and space between the various groups of cyclists were apparent for drafting, break aways and whats not, with lesser degree of concern of hitting or being hit by other cyclists. Having said that, cautious ride (or defensive riding) was the theme of the day for me and I completed the route safely without any incident and that was the paramount target for me that day.

Here are some pictures of that day taken from various FB albums of others (I claim no ownership of those pictures except for pic no. 2). With LeTua 100 done I would attempt to reactivate my running log and there is a lot of catching up that I need to do especially in my trademark snail pace but I look forward to ply those LSDs routes :-)

I joined the Bkt Hantu aka Cheras gang for the ride. We made Al-Ihsana of Bkt Jelutong as our meeting point

At the starting area. I think that bro in white was trying to check the coverage of his Blackberry

Don't know the location but may be after Bkt Rahman Putra, Sg Buloh

Riding in this kind of tight and big peloton scared me, one wrong move, you would taste the hard surface of the tarmac

The Shah Alam-Sg Buloh Road, we conquered the entire lanes

Before Bkt Rahman Putra, aach time the peloton met any corners or inclines, the situation would be like in the above picture

Once in a while the gap becoming wider along Jln Shah Alam- Sg Buloh during the flat area but would not be for long. Quite dangerous when we later met a corner or incline


Sg Buloh to Bkt Rahman Putra? I am not sure where is this place

Hahaha, here come the Dragon! Some of the cylists were just mentally or physically not prepared to conquere the Dragon Back. Please bear in mind that we only met the Dragon at KM80 onwards

Some cyclists thought after the Dragon Back, it will all the way smooth sailing riding back to Bkt Jelutong. How wrong they were with 2 more inclines, not that steep but long, especially your legs already fatigued tackling th Dragon Back. The BJCC guys call this Alam Budiman incline

Some cyclists just gave up on the last 2 inclines, i.e. Alam Budiman and Cahaya SPK.

Geng Bkt Hantu Cycling Team, semua power2, aku hanya cyclist dipinggiran :-)

I'd Done the LeTua 100 Trial Ride and ..........

God willing, I will do the official one this weekend. As I had declared in FB, I experienced my first crash during my first ever ride in the biggest cycling session so far with the participation of 160 cyclists. Alhamdulillah, i suffered only minor bruises. How it happened? There will always be conflicting versions depending whether the question is posed to me or to the other person. But the most appealing version would of course potrayed a scenario of an over excited newbie who foolishly lost control of his bike by hitting the rear wheel of the other person, who happened to be an "otai" rider with a well known cycling group. Such version, when told, was so appealing that even I had a lingering doubt on my own recollection of the event! But what I can tell you is this, if no otai rider can make any mistake then there should be zero crash in any pro tour as the pros should be, well, super expert in handling their bike.

My spirit was a bit dented immediately after the crash but I soldiered on after assessing that both my and Scotty's condition were OK. Though I need to stop 4 times to attend to my derailer problem due to the crash, alhamdulillah I managed to complete the entire route, no discount.

Riding has its own risks, as in other activities involving wheels. Looking forward, what I have to do is to be extra careful and alert in future rides and pray that God will protect me always.

Not me but this shot was taken on top of the 4th hills of the Dragon Back rolling series

That is me, tackling the 4th Hill of the Dragon Back Rolling Series, with a snail pace :-)

Kayuhan Panjat Bukit Fraser - Versi Bahasa Rojak

Sejak aku terbabit dalam aktiviti kayuhan ni, sememangnya aku tak pernah berkayuh lebih dari jarak 60km. Kalau tak silap aku, that particular ride was one of the Ramadhan night rides done this year. Dengan geng BJCC pun paling jauh aku kayuh setakat 54km, termasuk Dragonback. Other than those rides, the other distances of my rides were hovering around 30-46km.

So aku pun rasa macam tak logik kenapa aku sambut dengan tak berfikir panjang (dan terasa macam bagus) lambongan untuk kayuhan Bentong – Tranum - Fraser Hill last week. Ikut anggaran awal, jumlah jarak kayuhan pergi balik adalah lebih kurang 116km, termasuk panjat Bukit Fraser sampai puncak! Berpinar mata aku tengok, gilo apo? Tak cukup lagik tu, yang join ride tu semua dari geng-geng 2 alam, 3 alam yg bergelar Orang Power dan Orang Besi, tak pun dari golongan otai (bukan otai umur tapi otai ke”poweran” dan pengalaman dia orang tu).

Memanglah aku kena dapatkan mileage kayuhan pasal dah terdaftar untuk kayuhan LeTua 100km bulan Januari 2011 tapi, sekali lagi, kalau ikut logiknya aku patut buat kayuhan setakat 70km-80km dulu dan rasanya tak sesuai nak naik bukit yg masuk kategori gunung kot kalau panjat pakai basikal. Oleh kerana dah sambut lambongan panjat Bkt Fraser, aku pun dengan penuh rasa rendah diri terpaksa menolak lambongan kawan BJCC aku untuk buat kayuhan mingguan BJCC berjarak 80km termasuk Dragonback.

Tetapi kalau dikeluarkan faktor logik itu dari ekuasi pertimbangan, macam manalah aku nak tolak lambongan panjat Bkt Fraser kalau member-member RBU iaitu Diket, Jaja, Det, Shuk dan member sebilik kat Marathon Singapore, Azmar Orang Besi pun join kayuhan ini. Kalau yang bukan dari RBU pun rasa-rasanya golongan insan-insan (bukan insane) yang boleh menerima diri ku ini seadanya. Dibandingkan kayuhan panjat Fraser dengan kayuhan BJCC Bt Arang-Dragonback, memang aku pilih kayuhan panjat Fraser hands down, cukup hanya dengan faktor keseronokan (pikir seronok ajer, sengsara tak ingat) nak berkayuh dengan geng RBUs.

Jadi, tuan-puan, adik-abang, inilah coretan caca merba pengalaman kayuhan 100km saya yang pertama dalam sejarah.

Ready for the roll - Pic courtesy of Diket

KL – Bentong

Kita orang naik kereta lah, bukan kayuh. Berkumpul di Petronas Taman Melati dan bersarapan di McD. Syahsully aka Speedy GonSyahlez aka Kingfisher membuat special appearance di McD, ingat nak join kayuh sekali rupa-rupanya sarapan untuk persediaan merempit di FRIM. Tak per bro, next time kita buat kayuhan sama-sama. Lepas semua kaum dah muncul, rombongan berlepas ke Bentong. Cuaca adalah mendung dan menggugurkan gerimis pagi.

Bentong – Tranum (31km)

Aku tak ingat bila last time aku sampai Bentong. Aku, Diket, Det, Shuk, Azmar, Jaja, Julie (MissJewels), Helmi (cap ayam?), Shah (tinggal kasut cycling, kayuh pakai croc pinjam), Doc Taufik dan sorang lagik kawan Helmi) start kayuh dari Medan Selera, Bentong. Kat tengah Pekan Bentong join dengan group satu lagik (Bacin, Ishsal, Azwar, Jeff dan 3 org lagik kot). Masuk ajer simpang ke arah Tranum, berdesup-desup peloton depan buat breakaway. Kena ukur baju kat badan sendiri, so aku kayuh dengan pace yang aku mampu dan bernasib baik pasal Julie took it easy at the earlier part, so aku pace dengan Julie together with Doc Taufik. Kalau Julie the Ironman pun tak pulun takkan aku plak nak tunjuk terer! (yg mmg tak terer pun). Sambil-sambil tu banyak guidance Julie bagi kat aku sambil berkayuh. Sesekali Julie tekan sikit-sikit naik bukit-bukit pengenalan, terus aku tinggal belakang, tak tercangkuk aku hehehe. Kita orang re-group kat simpang Tranum – Bukit Fraser. Ride ni ada 2 support cars (wife Ishsal and wife (or GF Jeff?) manning the cars), so lega sikit aku kalau-kalau lah terkantoi atau terbonk, boleh naik support car tapi aku akan berusaha tak nak naik pasal punya jauh nak buat kayuhan ni pastu naik support car..issshhh malu wei!

Kat Simpang Tranum - Pic courtesy of Diket

Tranum – Fraser Gap (20km)

Actually usaha memanjat bermula dari simpang Tranum. Macam biasa lepas 3-4 selekoh, semua kat depan dah hilang dari pandangan. Pasal aku tak tahu setakat mana jauh dan intensiti kederat untuk kayuhan nak sampai Gap (kene pikir lepas tu ada 8km lagik nak panjat sampai puncak Fraser) aku kayuh pelan-pelan. Speedometer aku plak tak berfungsi, nasib baik Doc Taufik saing dengan aku, ada member nak borak-borak dan dia pun banyak ilmu boleh diturunkan pasal dia pun otai di alam kayuhan ni. Halfway, Doc Taufik tekan sikit, maka tinggal aku kayuh kayuh sorang2 kat belakang. On the way, Jeff potong aku dia cakap ada sorang lagik rider kat belakang, so aku lega sikit. Tak lama lepas tu aku nampak Helmi dengan kawan dia stop dekat satu selekoh. Tak ada pancit tayar, dia orang stop ambik breather. Aku pun layan kayuh sorang-sorang. It was quite a lonely ride actually in an unknown surrounding. I was cycling in a noticeably thick mist at certain areas with no soul around, climbing those windy roads for quite sometimes that I started to imagine that I might have missed a junction. At one place I even wondered whether it would be possible that people entered into any twilight zone in such area (suasana sunyi memang boleh membuat perasan kita kurang selesa). Bila aku nampak support car wife Ishal dekat satu selekoh aku rasa lega yang tak ada jalan lain, just need to kayuh until jumpa Fraser Gap.

Sampai Gap, rehat sekejap tunggu the other 3 riders sebelum usaha menawan puncak Fraser bermula.

Tranum - Gap with Doc Taufik - Pic courtesy of Ishsal

Gap –Puncak Bkt Fraser (8km)

Yes, this was the ultimate challenge for the entire ride. Kalau tak lepas sampai puncak, mmg tak boleh claim yang kita dah naik Fraser Hill. Mmg seram ler pikir tapi dah sampai takat ini, the only way is up (this is not “Handsome Up” advert). Minda aku mmg fokus giler nak kayuh naik tu (pasal tak power bro, naik Bukit Hantu kat Langat hari tu pun aku dah cukup sengsara). “Slow steady, slow steady”, that was my mantra all the way. Nak bercakap dgn org pun aku takut tapi senyum masih mampu.

Pelan-pelan aku kayuh naik, memang sengsara tapi aku paksa kaki menggerakkan crank dengan keupayaan cardio yang mmg dah nak max (takder heart rate monitor). Memang aku rasa fokus dan semangat untuk aku habiskan kayuhan itu yang berjaya membuat aku sampai ke puncak. Nak ikut letih, otot sakit, mental kacau, nafas nyawa-nyawa ikan, mmg rasa nak pusing balik ajer. Infact masa naik tu, bila bertembung dengan kereta yg dah start turun, aku rasa sure dia org kata kita org ni giler hahaha. Pada mana-mana member yg aku tak dpt tegur atau berhenti bg moral support aku minta maaf pasal aku takut kalau aku berhenti buat aku hilang determination (supply level dah ujung-ujung). Aku tak nak jadi masalah atau beban pada org lain nanti kalau aku kantoi di tengah jalan.

Setelah mengharungi segala sengsara, Alhamdulillah sampai juga aku ke puncak Fraser, yeahooooooo! Tak termimpi aku nak naik Fraser kayuh basikal. First time plak tu naik Fraser. Pada semua kawan-kawan yang sampai ke puncak, congrats to all, it was not easy for sure.

Fraser's Peak with Shuk, Doc Taufik and Azmar - Pic courtesy of Diket

Kayuhan Turun/Balik (58km)

Ride turun mmg exhilarating tapi menakutkan juga dengan korner-korner baring yang ditawarkan. Boleh cramp jari tekan brake, kene plak aku kira newbie, mmg tak berani nak layan korner macam Moto GP racers. Rupa-rupanya turun bukit pun guna tenaga, i.e. body needs to hold the down force.

Time balik yang paling mental part dari simpang Tranum sampai Bentong. Cuaca mendung dah jadi panas terik, jalan plak open, not much shade from the trees beside the road. Macam biasa aku duduk group belakang, tak tercangkuk aku peloton depan with Bacin/Azwar as prime movers. Tak per lah janji habis. Mmg seronok bila sampai Medan Selera Bentong. We high fived and congratulated each others for completing +-118km ride with Fraser Hill conquered. It was an awesome ride and I could not have asked for more for my first century (km) ride. The cendol Bentong was nice too.

Thanks to all who were there. You guys were great.

Pesanan Khidmat Komuniti RBU

For those who are yet to buy a bike, please do so and join us for a spin :D

AMARAN EDISI BASI! SCMS 2010 - The 42.2km Journey Vol. 2

Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2010 - The 42.2km Journey Vol. 2

Mukaddimah

SCMS 2010 was originally planned to be my first full marathon run (FM) but the temptation of running my first FM with many friends around and on my home soil has relegated SCMS to be my second after I dared myself to be a gung-ho in running SCKLM 2010. I did my clicking for SCMS 2010 very early (without much thought as I normally did for the other races) and on hindsight that was fortunate as the entire 19,000 slots were taken up in less than 3 weeks time! Unthinkable!

Prep, Initial Plan and Tweaking

One of the biggest lessons that I had learnt from SCKLM 2010 is to be able to start a FM run injury free (or almost injury free). This is a key factor since you could easily pick up new injury (or injuries) during the race, on top of the usual cramps and pains. Hence when I suffered my plantar fasciitis (PF) after Genting Trailblazer 2010, the main concern was more to recover from such injury than building up mileage for SCMS 2010. A self assessment that I could attempt SCMS 2010 was made after I managed to survive the last LSD a week before the race. The degree of concern as well as the extent of the injury on the PF was much lesser compared to the shin splints prior to SCKLM 2010. In my mind, barring any additional injury which may be suffered in the run, with the trademark snail pace, I would be able to complete the run in sub 6 hour (I did my FM SCKLM 2010 in almost 5:59!).

The initial plan had a bit of tweaking when the King of all Kings, i.e. King Mambo aka King Lambong aka Diket Menchanak aka Abg Jaws aka Abg Syakir Ishak, asked me whether I wish to join him for a lari-lari makan angin in Temasek. Hmm, a lari-lari makan angin pace for the no. 1 King cannot be near to 6 hour, he could be bored to death running at that pace. So, I challenged myself by telling him, we could run for a sub 5:30, still slow for him but at least that would possibly bore him to sleep only. So the goal post was shifted a bit and frankly if I want to achieve a timing of sub 5:30, it would be far from jalan-jalan cari angin pace but rather running until keluar angin kus-kus pace.

T-1

T-1 was the travelling day from KL to Singapore and race pack collection and the huru-hara sampai kaki lemau session of the RBUs at Novena Velocity Mall with the peeps, i.e Diket, Ray, Azmar, Zack, Kak June, and Aza. Those moments were best captured by Diket, Ray and Zack in their blogs.

May be it was the due to the trip and window shopping session as well as spending the night with great peeps, I had almost no pre-race jitter. We still bantered jokes and lambongs till 11.30pm before calling it a day. At least there was no Twilight Zone issue that we need to endure that night.

T-0

Actually I did not have much to report on the running itself. No drama, no bushmen, no pangsai (but small one done in a proper toilet), no wall, no busted knee (Thank God). Due to that, point forms would be appropriate:


Starting

• Went out from our hotel quite late, around 4.45 am to be exact.
• Jogged down to Orchard Road and saw a sea of runners already moving slowly.
• Me and Diket climbed and jumped into the pen and since we were in the second wave, the colour of our bib made no difference at all (i.e. we were at the back pack).
• Almost 20 minutes to reach the starting mat.

1-10km

• Run slowly in the huge running traffic.
• The first few Kms, just following the crowd and stuck at no less than 7.20 km/min pace, zig zaging looked futile albeit with some moderate squezzing plus “elbowing” as necessary (we said “excuse me” of course).
• Saw few runners already walking at KM3-4 point! (ayoyo, this is a full marathon run, walking may start at least a shade below 20km (unless you were injured lah).
• Running side by side seems impossible almost all the time, so no chit chat and just “layan perasaan” pace.
• Did not know the route at all, just run in the dark, wide road or tight lane, I follow.
• Left Diket for him to attend his small (may be big) business somewhere at KM 6 or 7 and continued plodding alone.
• No pace notes, supposedly to follow the King but remembered the King said it would still be OK to reach KM10 at 1:15 for a sub 5:30 target.
• Timing at 10km CP [from runningpix – 1:15:33]

10-21km

• The route now going to East Coast Park (ECP). Diket caught up with me near the entrance to ECP (or somewhere before) and continued to run in his makan angin pace (i.e. faster than me lah, what do u guys expect?).
• Forgot to ask him what would be the target time to reach 21km and 30km (hence now the target was whatever felt right/comfortable/better than SCKLM 2010).
• Running in ECP was mentally challenging as the lane is tight, needed to slow down, stop, zig zag, squezz plus elbowing as necessary.
• Reaching the U-Turn was felt like forever.
• Timing at 21.1km CP[From runningpix – 2:40:59]

21-30km

• Still in ECP area and started to feel sluggish after 23-24km.
• Stopped at one of the toilets for small business.
• Bumped into Kash may be around Km25? Said hi, she asked me to continue plodding.
• Started to imagine that the distance markers were located so far apart (read- dah start lengit).
• Calves’ muscles were stiff (no more pushing, if not sure cramp maaa)
• Did not know what timing to target to reach KM30.
• Timing at 30km CP [From runningpix – 4:02.01]

30—42.195km

• At last we left ECP but now running under open sky, scorching hot.
• No view to enjoy initially, construction sites, lot of people already walking slowly, tried to run as much as possible for every KM.
• At last had a refreshing sea view on the way to the Marina Barrage, windy a bit but HOT HOT still.
• Reached the long bridge near Marina Sand, of course I walked to the top and jogged going down but walked again once I reached the U-Turn, initially thought that the finishing was just a around the corner since I heard the gendang already but at the last water station it shows 2km more..aiyak!
• Last 2km seems like forever, tried to run all the way but just could not lift the spirit once I saw another bridge to pass (not steep pun tapi dah lengit). Over there Diket ran beside me and we chit chatted a bit.
• As many others, been misled by the dummy finishing gantry, darn! Could not stop and walk with so many people around, had to cover my water face to finish the race with a run.
• HABIS, TAMAT, KHATAM, FINISHED full marathon SCMS 2010 with a net time of 5:41:38



Conclusion

I managed to finish my second FM this year. Even in the eve of SCKLM 2010 I was still doubtful to run in a full marathon category (I registered for both FM and Half Marathon (HM) for SCKLM 2010 and kept the HM bib till the morning of the race day, just in case I lost my guts). At the end of the day if you have been running consistently and with the appropriate preparation, completing a full marathon is a doable feat, difficult but doable. If you put a good finishing time to nail, then you have to train more and harder. Nothing is easy in a marathon run, regardless whether you are a fast or slow aka snail pace runner like me. The most important thing is to enjoy your run and complete it injury free and that would be the best result of a marathon run as far as I am concerned.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL FINISHERS OF SCMS 2010!