August

Oh, I'm glad August is coming to an end. I've been very much involved in the evangelism of running, giving a series of talks on shoes and running but at the expense of my personal training. With the Vertical Challenge happening next Wednesday, before the Human Race 10K the same weekend, my running will have to be skewed to short and fast workouts. I plan to put in an interval session just to perk up the VO2Max level. I'm just saying it but I'm not really sure if it happens that way!



After August comes September and that means I've less than 2 months to the day I fly off to the Big Apple. I'm really looking forward to it but am dreading my condition now. Will I have the time to work myself up to peak condition?

adidas King of The Road Race Report

Other than a 4K on Tuesday, and an insignificant 3.6K run with the beginners on Saturday, I really rested for this race. I was only 70% confident of acquitting myself well and didn't set any expectations for a PR. My stomach rebelled on Saturday and even though I'd done all the necessary toilet business prior to my leaving the house on race morning, my gut still felt very uncomfortable when I got to the parking spot just in front of Quality Hotel. With wads of toilet paper in my hand, I went into the dark hotel but all the toilets were locked. How about that for hospitality?! While wandering the area in exasperation, I bumped into Frank and Lionel.


Everyone seemed to be hunting for toilets but there wasn't a single mobile toilet in sight. However, when you gotta go, you gotta go. I knew that if I didn't relieve myself, I might as well don't race. The organizers didn't count on the resourcefulness of runners. Suffice to say that I managed to find a discreet but undisclosed location to make my deposit. Then I sat down by a kerb near the starting area and chatted with fellow runners. With 30 minutes to go, I walked back to the car to change into the race gear. I handed the Lunar Trainer their maiden race. I was confident, despite logging just 4K in them, that both of us will have no problems going the distance.

To read the rest of the report please click here.

Nike LunaRacer+ and Trainer+ Launch

Despite a hectic schedule, nothing was going to stop me from attending the Nike Lunar Trainer and Racer briefing at the Nike Sales office. To me at least, these duo act are even more revolutionary than the Zoom Victory, which is already quite a happening shoe. Therefore please indulge me if this seems like an extended writeup here. I entered the briefing somewhat informed as I've been tracking various running forums on user feedback. The shoes have been launched on limited distribution in the United States. I’m incidentally reading Geoff Hollister’s book Out of Nowhere: The Inside Story of How Nike Marketed the Culture of Running and I’ve to say that what Nike is doing right now certainly epitomizes the traditions and the visions of Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman.



My lunch that day consisted only of a slice of pizza and a bun at 3pm. I was still mildly hungry when I was walking with Loke and Geraldine to the Nike office but daren't eat anything more in anticipation of the 5K run following the briefing. We were greeted by Alison Lee, Nike Sales Malaysia’s Marketing Communication Manager soon after we stepped into the cool waiting area. Incidentally the décor was all about the upcoming Beijing Olympics. A section of the floor was even painted to look like a running track.

Read the rest of the report here.