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After months and days of counting down, I am finally going to leave home tomorrow morning for Big Apple...

I would like to thank all of my friends and my readers here for supporting me throughout my training with your encouragements and positive words... Allah knows how deeply grateful I am to have all of you in my life... Alhamdulillah and may God bless you always....

My parents are definitely my backbone... I wake up every morning and thank Allah for blessing me with loving and understanding parents... Not easy to let them see their first daughter 'running' away to the other side of the world... ;)



Superexcited from the inspirational video... Can't believe that I'm this superclose to running my dream marathon... I hope that I'll do well... Amin... :)

I will be away for awhile... Taking a break after the marathon... Maybe you'll hear from me when I'm there insyaAllah...

Pray for my Gs (Shanaz and Selly) and I to have a safe journey and an awesome trip... :)

T-8: I'm going to be a part of it, New York New York!!! :D :D :D

Tribute #1

"Most of us get high aiming for a faster marathon while gunning for that top level spot in our corporate day job. For some of us, we move along at our own pace and sometimes still struggling to find relevance in what we do. There is a place for everyone in Paradise as someone commented on my Facebook status. But more importantly - you have to strive to sleep enough, eat well, workout more, work smart and Godwilling you'll be healthier and happier. And that is not an overrated phrase either."

- The late Kharis Idris @ TSB -

Taken from his blog here... 

Thought of sharing excerpts from his blog before it gets lost or disappeared... He used to excitedly tell me his latest post before it gets published and shared to everyone...  

The All Blacks won the Rugby World Cup yesterday... He must be smiling :) 

Ladies - This One's For You ;)

Haven't shared an ad for quite sometime now...

Came across this TVC that was shared by a friend on Facebook...

And I thought that it'll be such a clever and motivating way to encourage us ladies to exercise ;)

I wouldn't mind staying on the bike for hours... Haha! 

Have a good weekend everyone! :) 

New Balance Real Run Singapore

With only less than 3 hours of sleep and still feeling supertired from TNF50km, the Gs and I contemplated whether to run our 10km recovery run or not... But since it was just a few days after Azu aka Apprentice's birthday, we thought of dedicating and also run with her since it was going to be her first Singapore run... So thoughtful kan Apprentice even though you're like you-know-what... :P

And it was also my first time running a back-to-back races on a weekend! ;)

We woke up at 430am (yawn), got ready and left to the Changi Exhibition Centre... Mind you, this was the same venue for the infamous Sundown Marathon that I ran my first 10km event 3 years ago...

The Gs and I in polka dotty running skirts ;)

Pic credits to Selly

We were flagged off at 7am... I wanted to take it easy for this run since I was feeling pretty sleepy and tired... But at the same time I just couldn't wait to cross the line (again!)... Oh, the drama I have with myself :P

They didn't call it Real Run for nothing alright! Served me right for not checking out the website on the course.. It was actually a 2km run on the trail, 1.5km run on the sand, and 6.5km run on the road!!! As if running through the woods the previous day was not enough! :P

I was happy that I hit the 5km in 30 mins and managed to catch up with Izuan before entering the beach... I'd say that this was the hardest part of the run... I pretty much had to zig-zag myself at this point as I wanted leave the beach! :P

 

Another roasting session... 

Look how I was frowning while running... Haha

Pic credits to Runevent Shots

By the time we left the beach it was really hot and I just sped my way to the finish line because I couldn't stand the heat and was stoked to have completed my recovery run in 1 hr 56 secs :D :D :D (Official PB since my first and only 10km event was 1 hr 21 mins)

With the other recovery runners... 

Superb la you guys and my Gs!!! :D :D :D



Captain completed in sub 1 hour, Apprentice in 1 hr 5 mins and Senorita in 1 hr 15 mins!
My G girls are just on fire! ;)
Pic credits to Selly

My sweet medals from SG this year... 

It was a superhectic day for both Captain and I as we had to rush straight from LCCT immediately after touching down from SG to Shangri-La to attend our running friend's wedding reception...

Both of us changed into our outfits in the carpark within 5 mins! 

Not bad right? Hehe
Hope there wasn't any CCTV nearby!!! :P  

So, there you have it!!! My last race before my dream marathon for the year, the NYC Marathon :)

Will be leaving in 10 days time with Captain G... Oh emmm geeee!!! *Superanxious but excited* Need to start packing soon!!!

Next: ING New York City Marathon :D :D :D

The Merciless Sun @ The North Face 100 Singapore

After hearing good reviews about the event last year from my running friends, I decided to take part in the 50km mixed duo... I had troubles at first looking for a partner for this event, but thank God for my fellow Glory-glory G aka Idola, Izuan as he decided to be my partner...

Basically, as a team, each of us would have to complete the 25km trail course that has been set from the MacRitchie Resevoir Park...

You can click here for a bigger view of the map

With my still-in-a-daze condition, the will and heart to run for the event was just not there... But I knew that he would've wanted me to complete this run since I've talked to him about it previously... And that it would be one of my last events before flying off to the NYC :) So mileage was needed for the week...

Thanks to my Senorita G aka Selly, the Gs and I bunked over at her place for the weekend... 

I am not sure on who's idea to start this category at 10am, but when we got to the park around 9am, it was blazing hot already... And all of us knew that it was going to be a long and 'roasting' session under the sun...

Team InYourFace reporting for TNF 50km duo duty! ;)

Team InYourFace, Thundercatz and Crazy Scorpios!

Pic credits to Izuan

See how bright and sunny the day was!!!

We were flagged off about 10 mins after we weigh in our hydration bags respectively... I was running with Izuan at an easy pace for the first 7km of the route... But somehow my partner looked not-so-good at our first water station... So decided to pace with him until we bumped into Selly and Agus (Team Crazy Scorpios) again before reaching to the second water station at km15...

Still looking sane here at the first water station... 

Pic credits to Sidyz See

At this point, we've been running for almost 3 hours and we were really shocked by the fact that this particular station ran out of friggin' WATER!!! You could have imagined our and other participants' frustrations here... The most essential thing needed in a race (especially a trail run) was finished!!! We found out afterwards that it was long gone even when Shanaz and Irwan (Team Thurdercatz) arrived at the water station much earlier on! Not good at all, organisers considering the amount of fees that we had to fork out for this race!!! Thank God for the water tap that was available at the toilet just after the station... 

At this point, Team Crazy Scorpios and Team InYourFace decided to swap partners and I ran with Agus for the last 10km of the route, while Selly (God bless you babe!) stayed back and pace with Izuan who wasn't looking good at all... Thanks to Agus, we managed to head back and complete the race in less than 4 hrs 30mins!!!

Wanted to cross the line badly...

Sorry Agus for leaving you (well not that far :P) behind!

Pic credits to Shanaz

See my reaction?!! ;)

Pic credits to Shanaz

Team Thundercats: Captain completed the race in 3 hrs 41 mins while Herr completed the race in 4 hrs 6 mins! Awesome team! :)

Pic credits to Shanaz

My partner Izuan and Selly completed the race in 4 hrs 36 mins! 

Look at their faces :) 

Pic credits to Shanaz

With Azu aka Apprentice, our cheerleader and photographer for the day :) 

Besides the water issue, confusing signage along the route and the hot scorching sun, I was happy to see all kinds of food that the organisers prepared for us after crossing the line... The tummy was happy :)

Also, BIG Congratulations to the 100km Duo teams: Dzul and Cynthia, Yim and Karen (they both went back to KL and ran the Putrajaya Night Marathon on the same day!!! Major salute!!!) Deo and Ray, Ijam and Ian, Kash and Syah, Frank and Jeff, & Izat and partner!!! You guys are so much nuttier than us!!! ;P

The trails were beautiful... I had so much fun running, walking and hiking through it... Maybe FRIM isn't that bad afterall then, even though my skin was 'boiled' and 'deep fried' on that day and that I think my big toes are suffering or 'dying' slowly at the moment :P

The hard earned medal... 

This one's for you TSB... Thank you for the inspirations.. You were definitely in my thoughts throughout the run... 

Would I do this event again? Heck yeah!!! Maybe I will upgrade myself to the 100km duo instead for the next year's one... Partner me anyone? ;)

Next: Recovery Run @ The New Balance Real Run Singapore

Overwhelmed

In the past 4 days, I have been feeling:

.Sad about the loss of a great friend.

.Exhausted from the back-to-back runs in Singapore (which I will blog next!) over the weekend.

.Happy for a running friend on his wedding day (Congrats Hafeez & Shereen!). 

.Grateful for my supportive friends and also the lovely company that I've had in Singapore to distract my mind (Thank you for the laughs and smiles Gs). 

.Tired from the lack of sleep.

My body is screaming for a decent body massage now...

I really can't wait for the next 2 weeks to go by quickly... It's just too much for me at the moment...

T-20 days!!! 

Farewell Mr Bolehman...

"Surely we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return." (Sura Al-Baqara)

Yesterday, the running/triathlon/social media/PR/advertising/blogging community here was shocked to have lost a friend by the name of Tuan Senang Besar @ TSB...

I lost a truly great friend by the name of Kharis Idris...

You have touched so many lives and hearts and I am grateful to be one of them...

Thank you for being an incredible friend and for being one of the best men that I've known in my life... 

May Allah bless your soul always and ditempatkan di kalangan orang-orang yang beriman insyaAllah...

You will be greatly missed... 

Al - Fatihah... 

A Running Movement With A Difference :)

I'm so excited that my friends at runfool are organising this superawesome runfest!!! :D 

This is going to be an epic day filled with lots of fun and smiles for all of us runners here!!!

So come and join us :D

Who Says You Can't Run Even When You're 9 Months Pregnant?!

Personally, I wouldn't think about running when I'm in my final trimester... But crazy mad RESPECT for Amber Miller for doing accomplishing such feat at last Sunday's Chicago Marathon!!! :) 

Here's her story:

Pic credits to abc News image

Amber Miller found completing the Chicago Marathon on Sunday a laborious feat — that's because she went into labour shortly after crossing the finish line and gave birth to a daughter hours later.

From her hospital bed, Miller, of DuPage County in Illinois, told the Daily Herald she took on the 42.2-kilometre challenge because her doctor said she could run half the race and then walk the rest of the way.

Miller, who was 38 weeks and five days into her pregnancy, told the newspaper she felt "something" as she crossed the finish line in less than 6½ hours, at around 3:30 p.m. local time.

"A few minutes after I crossed through the finish chute, the contractions were coming a little stronger than I was used to," she told the Daily Herald on the phone from her hospital bed. "That’s when I figured out what was going on."

Miller said she would feel contractions while running during both her pregnancies.
But after the marathon Sunday, the contractions were more regular, so she stopped and grabbed a sandwich and then went to the hospital.

"It was the longest day of my life," she said.

Her daughter, June, was born after two hours and 18 minutes of labour, weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces.

Defending champion Liliya Shobukhova of Russia captured the women's portion of the race featuring 45,000 runners in 2:18:20. Her time is the fastest for a woman in the world this year.

*The article was taken from here

Forgiveness

" Pray for those who hurt you. Pray for those who do not accept you. Love them for the sake of God. Pray that they realize their wrongs before they face their Lord. Pray that no one ever has to go through the same thing you did at the hands of this person. Love your oppressor for the sake of God, because love is the only emotion that is strong enough to penetrate a hardened heart, but know it will take time. Perhaps years, but you will be a better person because you chose to take the higher route: Forgiveness."

Taken from SuhaibWebb.com

Shared by ultramummy Kash :) 

Happy Monday everyone! :) 

Connect the Dots

Truly inspiring... One of the best speeches I've heard and made a difference in my life... 

Thank you for sharing the world with your visions and your superawesome inventions...

Rest in Peace, Mr Steve Jobs

You will definitely be missed! 

Song of the Week

A good song to hear to while running too! :)

Now, if only I can find 'you' ;P 

Military Queens of the Road @ adidas KOTR 2011 ;)

Whoa... Just realised that it has been 2 months since I've participated in a running event here in KL! Hehe...

Yesterday, the Gs and our other running friends ran the anticipated running event by adidas... I took part in the 16.8km race... The 4 of us (Azu, Shanaz, Selly and I) decided to coordinate our outfits again! ;)

Waterguns would've completed our outfits ;) 
Oh, and would've worn an adidas top if they did sell a plain black running vest ;P

With less than 4 hours of sleep the night before and still feeling very tired from the previous runs on my happymill, I decided to just run happy and be satisfied if I were to complete the run within 1 hour 50 mins..

The 16.8km category was flagged off at 645am and the route shows no mercy right from the beginning!!! The NPE highway (Sunway - Jalan Templar - Sunway) was like a friggin' rollercoaster ride for the legs!!! I was running with Shanaz, Nik and Irwan at first... Since we started at the back, we had to zig zag and maneuver ourselves at the first 4km of the route... I started losing the trio after the 4km marker because my left foot got cramped up and ran solo from then onwards... Too fast for my legs to keep up with them :P

Alhamdulillah, the weather was nice and cloudy...  But that didn't stop me from sweating profusely while going through the elevations! The only setback during the run was the fact that the drinks at the water stations were not cold (room temperature... ugh!)... Oh, and it wasn't a scenic route at all of course! Definitely had to entertain my mind... :P

Bumped into a couple of my running friends while happily running... Decided to run faster than my usual pace at the last 2.8km... By the time I completed the race, I was completely drenched in sweat!!! Even my friends were laughing to see how one tiny small girl could sweat so much! Hehe...

Before crossing the finish line.. Hehe..

Pic credits to Tey

I completed the race in 1 hour 42 mins (unofficial time)... Woot woot!!! :D :D :D

And I am stoked to have managed to clock in my highest weekly mileage ever last week too!!! Double :D :D :D

The G queens ;)

Marlin, next time you must have the same skirt(s) as all of us :P

The Jejakas aka Js ;)

It was definitely an organised event... The fact that we had the highway to ourselves for the entire morning was uber cool! And I superlike the finisher medal! And the Gs definitely had lots of fun yesterday since it has been a while since all of us ran together in a race! :)

Pic credits to Zukhairi

And I debuted my new Miss Starry and did 'her' proud on her first race... Yayyyy!!! She's so lucky that I'll be taking her to New York!!! Grateful to have these shoes... You know who you are... :)

Happy queens! :)
Pic credits to Marlin

Congratulations to all of the kings and queens of the road yesterday! :)

T-34 days!!! *Nervous*

Next: The North Face 50km Mixed Duo, Singapore