I started to run at KLCC Park in August 1999. My running target was simple : to become fit enough to climb Mount Kinabalu in December 1999. In those days, there were very few people exercising at the park and there were only a handful of runners (probably less than five). After one month of "running" I managed to run 2 km non stop around the 1.3 km lap.
Among the runners, one stood out; a stocky Chinese fellow. He was at the park every day of the weekday and he could run 6 laps (7.8km) non-stop. Every lap was run at nearly the same time. I confessed that I secretly timed his lap time. If I recalled, it was 7 minutes per lap (5.5 min/km).
It was not until the year 2000, I introduced myself to him. He said his name is "Yong". He said he had been running for several years and had even run several marathons. He was the first marathoner I have ever met. I could not imagined anyone being capable of running 42km but he said anyone can do it with consistent training.
I got to know him better over the years. After running for a year, I too was able to run 8 laps non-stop. Many of those laps and on many days I ran with Yong. On numerous days when I tagged along and he said it was it was an easy training day, I suspect he slowed down a bit for me to keep up with him.
Year 2005 was a big year for me : After running 13 half marathons from 2000 to 2004, I decided to train for a marathon in 2005. I asked Yong if I could run with him on Sunday morning for Long Slow Distance (LSD) run. He agreed and we ran several LSD together for nearly one year. He was very patient and slowed down his pace for me to keep up. The LSD route map is here.
Alas, in 2006 my chronic knee injury became worse after February 2006. After that I had to reduce my daily runs at the park. I never ran another LSD again.
I still kept in touch with Yong, sometimes having lunch together but it was no longer possible for me to run train consistently at KLCC park.
I found out Yong had passed away last Friday. The last time I met him was 3 months ago when I saw him running at KLCC park in the morning. He had switched to morning runs to better accommodate and balance family time with running.
Thank you, Yong for being a friend, your agreeable companionship during numerous 6.00 am LSD runs, countless laps at KLCC park and being the gentle, humble and patient soul you are.
My last LSD run with Yong was Feb 2006, one month before the KL International marathon, report is posted here.
Yong's photo is here. (photo at the bottom, he is standing behind the guy wearing the blue vest).
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Korea : Gyeongju
Sunday to Thursday (10 to 14 April 2011)
I reached Seoul last Sunday after a 1.5 hours flight from Kanazawa in Japan on Korean Air line. There were less than 100 passengers on board with the majority Korean nationals.
In Seoul, I stayed at a hotel located in Myeongdong. The surprising thing was there is a night market in this area and many other areas in Seoul. I thought Korea would be similar to Japan where there are no stalls selling stuff on the street. Another surprise was litter such as cigarette butts on the streeet. Maybe I have been conditioned to near pristine streets and roads in Japan. There were also a few beggars on the side walks. In these aspects, Korea or at least Seoul no different from any other city in Asia. Perhaps it may more accurate to say that Japan and its culture is unique and different from other countries in Asia (I have been to 13 countries in Asia).
I found Seoul to be an energetic and dynamic city. The Koreans talk and laugh loudly in contrast to reserved Japanese. Things are moving and happening in Korea and in contrast Japan has been declining for the last 2 decades after the economic bubble burst in the early 1990s.
The Koreans are still behind on some technologies but some of their companies are already out competing Japanese companies; Samsung Electronics with a revenue of USD 138 billion in 2010 is the largest electronics company in the world. As comparison, the two largest Japanese electronics companies, Sony's and Toshiba's had 2010 revenues of USD 88 billion and USD 70 billion respectively adding up to USD 158 billion.
Thursday : I am now in Gyeongju, a relatively small city of 300,000 compared to Seoul's 10 million. The main attraction here for me is the historical sites from Silla kingdown. I am staying at Nahbi guest house (Won 20,000 = USD 12 , Won 15,000 for domitory). I will be
I will be here until Monday which is leaves me too short a time to go anywhere else far from Seoul. I was initially planning to go to Soereksan national park but I will have to get there via Seoul. So on Monday I will go to Busan which only 1 hour from Gyeongjo, spend 3 days there and return to Seoul on Thursday.
I reached Seoul last Sunday after a 1.5 hours flight from Kanazawa in Japan on Korean Air line. There were less than 100 passengers on board with the majority Korean nationals.
In Seoul, I stayed at a hotel located in Myeongdong. The surprising thing was there is a night market in this area and many other areas in Seoul. I thought Korea would be similar to Japan where there are no stalls selling stuff on the street. Another surprise was litter such as cigarette butts on the streeet. Maybe I have been conditioned to near pristine streets and roads in Japan. There were also a few beggars on the side walks. In these aspects, Korea or at least Seoul no different from any other city in Asia. Perhaps it may more accurate to say that Japan and its culture is unique and different from other countries in Asia (I have been to 13 countries in Asia).
I found Seoul to be an energetic and dynamic city. The Koreans talk and laugh loudly in contrast to reserved Japanese. Things are moving and happening in Korea and in contrast Japan has been declining for the last 2 decades after the economic bubble burst in the early 1990s.
The Koreans are still behind on some technologies but some of their companies are already out competing Japanese companies; Samsung Electronics with a revenue of USD 138 billion in 2010 is the largest electronics company in the world. As comparison, the two largest Japanese electronics companies, Sony's and Toshiba's had 2010 revenues of USD 88 billion and USD 70 billion respectively adding up to USD 158 billion.
Thursday : I am now in Gyeongju, a relatively small city of 300,000 compared to Seoul's 10 million. The main attraction here for me is the historical sites from Silla kingdown. I am staying at Nahbi guest house (Won 20,000 = USD 12 , Won 15,000 for domitory). I will be
I will be here until Monday which is leaves me too short a time to go anywhere else far from Seoul. I was initially planning to go to Soereksan national park but I will have to get there via Seoul. So on Monday I will go to Busan which only 1 hour from Gyeongjo, spend 3 days there and return to Seoul on Thursday.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Panda In Ueno
In Japan, you can hardly walk around without saying "Kawai" (it's cute"). The ultimate of all things Cute is now in Japan or specifically at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. The previous Panda,Ling Ling died in 2008. When I was visited the zoo in December 2009, there was a sign saying there was no longer a giant Panda at the Zoo. Solely dissapointed, I consoled myself by looking at the many animals in the fine Zoo. Ueno is actually a quite small zoo, area-wise but with the ingenuity of space optimisation, the Japanese have managed to fit all them in the small space available to them.
On Monday, I went to Ueno park to see the cherry blossoms. I was also planning to go to the zoo as well but the crowd was too big. Picture below shows it all:
"Sorry I can't upload any photo to blogger, they seem to take forever"
In Ueno, Panda images are everywhere:
Tomorrow I am headed to Kanazawa, a small city in Western Honshu. I will be there until Sunday when I will be flying to Seoul.
PS : I am not sure why many tourists are scared of going to Japan. Other than the areas affected by the Tsunami, everthing else is almost normal in Japan. There are measures to conserve energy : fewer trains, turned off neon lighting and lifts not operational. There are no black outs in the area (Asukasa) that I am staying while in Tokyo.
On Monday, I went to Ueno park to see the cherry blossoms. I was also planning to go to the zoo as well but the crowd was too big. Picture below shows it all:
"Sorry I can't upload any photo to blogger, they seem to take forever"
In Ueno, Panda images are everywhere:
Tomorrow I am headed to Kanazawa, a small city in Western Honshu. I will be there until Sunday when I will be flying to Seoul.
PS : I am not sure why many tourists are scared of going to Japan. Other than the areas affected by the Tsunami, everthing else is almost normal in Japan. There are measures to conserve energy : fewer trains, turned off neon lighting and lifts not operational. There are no black outs in the area (Asukasa) that I am staying while in Tokyo.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Who is going to Japan soon?
Who is going to Japan soon? Me. For a holiday.
When I walked into the Japanese embassy at 3.00 pm this afternoon, I was astonished to see only two people applying for visas. One was a Malaysian Chinese man holding three passports. The second person was a guy filling up a form in Japanese. There were no runners from travel agencies carrying dozens of passports unlike in December 2009 when I had to wait 3 hours for my turn to hand over my documents, today it only took 5 minutes.
My flight will to Tokyo will be on Saturday, 2 April. I am expecting an near empty airplane.
I will spend one week in Japan in Tokyo and Kanazawa. I wanted to visit Kanazawa back in Dec. 2009 when I spent three weeks in Japan. The main attraction is the well preserved houses and other buildings from the old Edo period. However I could not find the time as I was traveling and spending time in five cities (Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima and Osaka) and Kanazawa is not in the bullet train (Shinkansen) routes.
From Kanazawa, I will fly directly to the second leg of my trip to Seoul . I plan to spend about 16 days in South Korea.
I have bought some essentials for my trip :
When I walked into the Japanese embassy at 3.00 pm this afternoon, I was astonished to see only two people applying for visas. One was a Malaysian Chinese man holding three passports. The second person was a guy filling up a form in Japanese. There were no runners from travel agencies carrying dozens of passports unlike in December 2009 when I had to wait 3 hours for my turn to hand over my documents, today it only took 5 minutes.
My flight will to Tokyo will be on Saturday, 2 April. I am expecting an near empty airplane.
I will spend one week in Japan in Tokyo and Kanazawa. I wanted to visit Kanazawa back in Dec. 2009 when I spent three weeks in Japan. The main attraction is the well preserved houses and other buildings from the old Edo period. However I could not find the time as I was traveling and spending time in five cities (Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Hiroshima and Osaka) and Kanazawa is not in the bullet train (Shinkansen) routes.
From Kanazawa, I will fly directly to the second leg of my trip to Seoul . I plan to spend about 16 days in South Korea.
I have bought some essentials for my trip :
- Face mask ; 1 pair in case the level of radiation increases in Tokyo or Kanazawa.
- Six AAA batteries for the blackouts
- Two small LED flash lights
- Two packs of Panadol each with 8 tablets
- Rubber gloves
- Possibly ; 2 x 1.5L bottle of water
- A whistle.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
2011 Update
My first post for 2011. It's been ages (4 months) since I wrote a post. A few things since Penang BR, (2010):
Running.
I am still running but it is getting harder to be motivated. On a typical weekday, I run about 4 km on the treadmill at the gym. I am getting fatter for sure which makes it harder to run. I plan to run some races this year but have to wait until I get in enough shape.
Running Mom has retired from running. I have no plans to stop running.
Work
Usual, 8.00an to 5.00 pm but usually its up to 5.30 when I quit to head to the gym. From 1 April, flexi hours will start but it won't change my schedule due to the traffic jam problem. Why does almost everyone drive to and from KL?
Traveling
It seems I never stop traveling. I am going to the Ukraine (work related) this evening. I am going the same town ; Sumy that I went in February. It is a dreary small town in Ukraine. The worst thing is it takes 3 hours to get there by road from the nearest airport in Kharkov.
Holiday
I had to cancel my planned holiday to Korea in December 2010. I went to Dubai instead for work. But I have booked my flights to Japan and Korea in April. Although a major earthquake and tsunami hit North East Japan yesterday, I will still continue with the trip.
That's it for now. The taxi is coming in 2o minutes time.
Running.
I am still running but it is getting harder to be motivated. On a typical weekday, I run about 4 km on the treadmill at the gym. I am getting fatter for sure which makes it harder to run. I plan to run some races this year but have to wait until I get in enough shape.
Running Mom has retired from running. I have no plans to stop running.
Work
Usual, 8.00an to 5.00 pm but usually its up to 5.30 when I quit to head to the gym. From 1 April, flexi hours will start but it won't change my schedule due to the traffic jam problem. Why does almost everyone drive to and from KL?
Traveling
It seems I never stop traveling. I am going to the Ukraine (work related) this evening. I am going the same town ; Sumy that I went in February. It is a dreary small town in Ukraine. The worst thing is it takes 3 hours to get there by road from the nearest airport in Kharkov.
Holiday
I had to cancel my planned holiday to Korea in December 2010. I went to Dubai instead for work. But I have booked my flights to Japan and Korea in April. Although a major earthquake and tsunami hit North East Japan yesterday, I will still continue with the trip.
That's it for now. The taxi is coming in 2o minutes time.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Penang Bridge Run 2010 report
This year's PBR is my 20th half marathon. The best I could hope in my current woeful state of fitness is to finish within 3.5 hrs and get a medal. The plan was to run for at least 10 km and walk/ run the next 11 km. I found out this was not going to happen 2.7km into the race. At this point, I had run for 20 minutes but suddenly I ran out of energy. I am still at a loss on why it happened but I was reduced to a brisk walk all the way to the highest point on the bridge.
On the downhill section, I mustered enough energy to run. Ominously, at the bottom of the downhill slope, I could see in the far distance, fingers of bluish lightning bolts arching towards the ground. A short while later, I felt drops of liquid on my face. A drizzle would be nice and cooling I thought but what followed can only described wrath or punishment from the rain gods.
Rain drops fell furiously and I could swear it sounded like bullets hitting the concrete surface. The water drops were large enough to sting and and there were several occasions when I had to simply close my eyes. Needless to say, I was in no mood to slosh through the water or run in my now soaked socks and shoes. I could honestly say it was a joyless slog walk to the finish line. Thankfully I did finish in 3 hrs 10 minutes which is 10 minutes slower than last year.
It is far cry from my previous times of 2 hours over the longer (22.3 km) route which started from Universiti Sains Malaysia. Boy, I miss those days a lot.
Just one more thing ; As indication of how heavy the rain was this morning, I saw a 5 hour pacer for the women's marathon with a balloon so water logged that it failed to float in the air. The balloon was on the ground trailing behind but still attached to her.
On the downhill section, I mustered enough energy to run. Ominously, at the bottom of the downhill slope, I could see in the far distance, fingers of bluish lightning bolts arching towards the ground. A short while later, I felt drops of liquid on my face. A drizzle would be nice and cooling I thought but what followed can only described wrath or punishment from the rain gods.
Rain drops fell furiously and I could swear it sounded like bullets hitting the concrete surface. The water drops were large enough to sting and and there were several occasions when I had to simply close my eyes. Needless to say, I was in no mood to slosh through the water or run in my now soaked socks and shoes. I could honestly say it was a joyless slog walk to the finish line. Thankfully I did finish in 3 hrs 10 minutes which is 10 minutes slower than last year.
It is far cry from my previous times of 2 hours over the longer (22.3 km) route which started from Universiti Sains Malaysia. Boy, I miss those days a lot.
Just one more thing ; As indication of how heavy the rain was this morning, I saw a 5 hour pacer for the women's marathon with a balloon so water logged that it failed to float in the air. The balloon was on the ground trailing behind but still attached to her.
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Good Session on the treadmill today
Nowadays I rarely run outdoors because the higher impact force will worsen my knee problem. Almost every run I do is on a treadmill at the gym. Sometimes it is quite boring and on most days I can't wait to finish the run. Yesterday I only managed 3.2 km in 22 minutes.
On rare occasions, I experience a runner's high when running seems effortless. I sort of become aware of running and nothing else. There is even a web site that gives a method to get a runner's high here. For me it takes a run of at least 4 km to be able to experience a runner's high. I did 4.5 km (32 minutes) today and experienced the runner's high. I think I could have continued running for another 2 km but decided to stop to spare my knee.
Advice no. 4 o on the website seems to be the key "Let your speed find you".
On rare occasions, I experience a runner's high when running seems effortless. I sort of become aware of running and nothing else. There is even a web site that gives a method to get a runner's high here. For me it takes a run of at least 4 km to be able to experience a runner's high. I did 4.5 km (32 minutes) today and experienced the runner's high. I think I could have continued running for another 2 km but decided to stop to spare my knee.
Advice no. 4 o on the website seems to be the key "Let your speed find you".
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