Open Water Swimming

Ipin had asked me whether i wanted to join him training an open water swimming session at Port Dickson and i just said "I'm in"..guess what, we are joining Azran Osman Rani, the CEO of AirAsia X..he's gonna participate in Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore Triathlon in 18 March 2012..so he needed a proper training to familiarize himself with the condition and distance..we arrived at Bayu Beach Resort, PD around 8.30am and started swimming very soon upon arrival..its just to make sure that we could finish before the sunlight burns our skin..we did a loop from Bayu Resort shore to the Avillion Admiral Cove's guard house..one way course is estimated to be 1km in length..

Swimming in an open water is totally different with pool..fighting with current and salty water is unpleasant and could not simply finish it..your throat can easily dried out and sore because of the saltiness..i just made up my mind to finish the route no matter what..even it was just a training session, i needed to take this opportunity to challenge myself..experiencing the difficulty during last year PD International Triathlon, i took my own sweet time swimming back and forth to the shorelines..the only problem, my open water swimming navigation is failed..i can simply swim away out of the course route and not clocking good time because of it..hmm lesson learnt and i need to improve it from time to time..perhaps training in pool guided by the line underneath the surface did not help at all when it comes to open water swim..

Even feeling unwell with my throat after a long back to back salt water swim, i did enjoy the session and meeting new friends who enjoy doing this thingy especially Azran, man behind the scene of successful airlines sharing same interest with me..at least got something to be proud of..wishing u a best of luck competing Aviva 70.3 Ironman..hope we can compete each other in a triathlon race but in different age category..hehehe

me after swim

he's a good swimmer, man!

swim course map

Broga Hill trip

The day after Janda Baik trip, i decided to make a short climb at Broga Hill, Semenyih..it's been a while since the last trip back in May 2011..this time i've been accompanied by Gope and Usop and we reached Broga as early as 6.15am on the Tuesday morning..the weather is good and we took almost 45 minutes to reach the first peak..the peak was crowded with people who arrived earlier than us..i was not happy at all since so many goers did not take a good care of the hill anymore..they threw away rubbish everywhere and the climbing slope become dangerous and slippery because of heavy usage..

but, taking a deep breath of fresh air just could wash away my anger and frustration..this hill never fail to mesmerized anybody reaching there..the scenery and landscape generate thousands senses and feelings..that's why Broga never lose the crowd..people came here to enjoy the scenic view of Semenyih town, some of them use the trail for fitness training regime..while other group chose Broga Hill as photography session background..a land with purposes..

But still im aware of the future of this hill..without sense of belongings and awareness from the visitor,it will  worn the beauty out..i really hope everybody plays their own role in keeping Broga Hill clean and safe for young generation..

Courtesy from travel.701panduan.com

View from Broga Hill
Courtesy from euniceta.blogspot.com

CNY - Janda Baik Easy Ride

After the memorable trip to Fraser's Hill two days before, me and Panglima were planned to make another hit..but this time would be more relax and enjoyable one..a return trip to Janda Baik from Greenwood Park, Gombak..at first only both of us would go for the ride but then Abe just confirmed that he would join us..we started from Shell Greenwood and headed to the Hospital Orang Asli and climbed up the hill of Genting Sempah..for me, i could feel the different when climbing this hill after a grueling climbing experience in Fraser's Hill two days back..it's like a getting fitter and stronger..i managed to ascend the hill faster than any trip i have done before reached Genting Sempah 45 minutes later..there were just a few cyclists stopped at the checkpoint which was not a usual situation..my thought was everybody were happy resting at their hometown for the festive break..after a long rest, I and Panglima continued cruising down the hill to Janda Baik while Abe decided to return early because of family matters..

There was a rare feeling when I crossed the main entrance of Janda Baik..feeling of tranquility and i loved it so much..a few sections of up and down the hill made the trip merrier..we stopped at a restaurant called Andak's Place Jungle Cafe, 6km from Janda Baik main entrance and had my nasi kerabu while Panglima went for nasi dagang..great breakfast after a great ride and the food is a good reward..somehow i was wondering how to cycle back after that heavy food intake..we started to cycle back at 11.30am and this time more ascending route to be faced..uphill section after R&R Genting Sempah was the most cruelest climb to be through..almost 15% climbing just could not made our feet moved easily..one could stop and tow the bike till the end section..descending the hill was the best thing to be done but unfortunately heavy downpour after few kilometers downhill..need to be extra careful because of uneven tarmac and slippery road..we finished the ride around 1pm and prepare to attend Yahya's wedding ceremony somewhere in Taman Melati.

After all, i enjoyed these two rides as more climb sections were hit and could improve my strength massively..its a good training and experience to be told and i wish to do it again next time..

Screen shot from my Timex TrainingPeaks record. Unfortunately the watch's battery was flat along the way down. Just managed to record uphill section

refueling the energy

Chinese New Year Ride

When Malaysians were busy heading back to their hometown during the festive break, I, panglima and few new friends planned a day ride to Fraser's Hill on Saturday 24th January 2012. Its been a while not doing a climbing trip to Fraser's Hill which was done during my first introduction to road bike riding. This time five of us planned to hit the hill from Bentong..we gathered at Shell, Greenwood and used old road to Bentong since the highway was reported having a massive traffic congestion due to a broken down lorry near the Genting Sempah tunnel..morning ride to Bentong using the old road was awesome and had very few cars passed by..we reached Bentong around 8.30am and parked the cars in front of legendary Kow Po ice cream shop and prepared for the ride..i was introduced to Doc Azim and King whom i met for the first time and Doc Taufik - have been training with him before..

We started the trip and headed to Tranum (30km from Bentong) before start the climb..the ride was quite fast since we reached Tranum in an hour which was 30mins earlier than i expected..from Tranum, there is another 30km to be climbed to reach the clock tower..the weather was great and i could not maintain the pace to follow Doc Azim who leading the peloton..everybody was taking their own time to reached the 'Gap'..it was tougher than my last ride because the intensity and pace set by Doc Azim were beyond my capability..we arrived at the Gap an hour later from Tranum checkpoint..it was too fast!!we stopped by the stall and had a sip of hot drinks before proceeded to the last 8km climb..along the way to the clock tower, i could not push myself anymore coz had no more energy (out of gas)....i needed to stop twice before continued the push..4km to go, the rain started to pour down heavily..after struggling with the body and ascending road, i reached the clock tower almost 15mins later than Doc Azim..Damn, it was a very hard climb and felt my body degraded and going to collapse..We took a few pictures the tower and met few cyclists that successfully reached the summit..

With an empty stomach, we searched for the best restaurant and had our lunch in big amount to replace the energy lost..after refueling the energy, we did not waste time at the top and began descending..this was not a best part because we need to be carefully and aware of potholes..any misjudge can lead to crash or puncture..downhill ride was superb and we reached Tranum around 4 o'clock..here was raining some more at last 5km, and we reached Kow Po at 5.15pm..total mileage - almost 120km..

Most rewarding moment, we had ice cream special at Kow Po and headed back to KL..its a pleasure for me to ride and meet new friends during this Fraser's Hill trip..very strong team and its was good for me to improve my riding skills and pace..i did enjoy the long trip and hope can do it again..

Reach the summit

the fellow riders
(from left: Panglima, Doc Azim, Doc Taufik, Me, King, errr)

Best team - Me and Cik Kiah

the reward - legendary Kow Po's ice cream special

screen shot from my Timex TrainingPeaks record

2012 First Challenge

New Year Challenge 1.1.2012

While most Malaysians are sleeping soundly after celebrated new year night, some avid runners were preparing for their very first 2012 running event as early as 4am..it was Newton Challenge 12km and 25km  which taken place at Bandar Kinrara, Puchong, Selangor..The organisers has chosen same route as 2010 edition, but slightly changed it at some part of the hilly section for both 12k and 25k category..meaning both categories did not use the same route after U-turn section..for me, compromising new year celebration for competing in an event like this was not a big deal since im not so eager in taking part counting down during the new year eve..that should be an advantage for me..

Departing for Putrajaya to Bandar Kinrara did not take a long time..its about 20 minutes journey and even can be shorten by increasing the car speed (not recommended)..we arrive just before the flag off and had enough time for warming up and saying hello to fellow runners..the event was flagged off exactly at 5.30am for 25km category and it took almost 5 minutes to clear the starting point..as expected, my strategy was to run in slightly slow pace (7min/km) to loosen my muscle before entering the hilly section..the first 5km was good and my body was giving a good respond and successfully completed the first 10km climb..i stopped at the Puncak Jalil Petronas to perform Subuh prayer and proceeded the run..comparing to 2010 experience, i was already 'sayur' (hit the wall) when entering last 15km section and walked all the way after final checkpoint (16th km) whilst this time i finished the run non stop and clocked 2.55hours!!(last year was 3.45hours)..unfortunately, i did not manage to register for this event, but i was running using my friend's bib (not recommended) since he encountered a hamstring injury and could not compete in the race..

Felt great can finish the run within 3 hours with this type of route..to all finishers, u must be proud of yourself!!its not an ordinary route with so many deadly (was it appropriate??) hills to be climbed..in addition, this time Syafiq and I were running for a cause..our secondary schoolmate was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma cancer last few weeks..since he was in critical situation and wanted him to fight the pain, we tried to show our great support through this..hopefully, it would give him hope that he was not alone in fighting it..so we decided to put a shout out at our back and received good luck wishes from runners passed by (it did not mean i was slow...hehehe)

Back to the running story, the medal design was frustrating because it does not stated finishers' category..by the way, for overall review the event was a success and hopefully will be continued by the organiser..one thing that i loved about this event is its epic route..i enjoyed challenging myself with the route and satisfied with my performance (even the time was not good)..NOT BAD lorhh..congratulation to all runners for showing up and finished the race no matter how hard..

This will become a remark to start year 2012..next event?? (will be updated soon)

p/s: dear Haikal, please be strong and our prayers always be with you

with my unused Powergel..few kms to go
(picture by Runner Footprints)

Sprint to the finishing line
(picture by Tey EngTiong)

Post run pic

The shout out carried

Finisher medal

Happy 2012

Happy New Year guys!!wish u the best of happiness and prosperity for the whole year..just try to be the best in whatever thing u do..for me, this year will open a new chapter of my life with more determination and success..2012, please be nice ya....