RUN EAT TRAVEL LIKE A DIVA ... LOL!: 2XU COMPRESSION RUN MALAYSIA 2014

Hi there fellow readers and loyal followers... Happy Wednesday to all of you guys out there.... Hopefully no Monday Blues ya at the office today... Me? I started to feel a bit under the weather today. Some sore throat and light headache... It's definitely time for me to rest and recover...

Well, well, well.... Forgive me for my long hiatus... Well you know, the most common reasons were writer's block and laziness finally set in huhu... My bad...

I would love to share with you guys on this recent 2XU Compression Run Malaysia 2014. For the record, it was my 20th Half Marathon so far. I always love to run a HM because of its decent distance. Just nice to enjoy the hilly route along Bukit Tunku, Kuala Lumpur.

Lucky Me, Triple Eight! =)

I went to collect my racekit along with Rashid's and his friend at 2XU Outlet in Gardens, Midvalley last Friday. The collection process was silky smooth, No long queue or whatsoever.

On that night, I went for a Insanity Abs Cardio session. It was conducted by my running buddy, Acid. There were many people took part in this abs shredding session on that very night. I sweated bucket loads during the warming up session. The workout was awesome! I had to make sure that my left knee stay intact with less damage. With all the jumping squats and insane plank... Those workout really leave me breathless... Nampak sangat badan ini tak cukup fit hahaa... Can't wait for next week Insanity Cardio and Balance session... Note to myself: Must bring my own yoga mat and a big bottle of drinking water! Kihkih...

Totisthoners Trio (Without Acid in this picture)

Fast forward to the day of the event. Woke up around 3.20 am.... Hurriedly took a shower and prepped myself up. Left home with my partner in crime, Rashid and managed to reach National Monument car park circa 4.20 am. I was struggling to make sure I did not leave any necessary items behind, especially my energy gels and knee straps. Dashed to the starting line in Lake Garden. Met several familiar faces and took a selfie with them at the starting line. After saying best wishes to them, we were flagged off by 5.05 am. Did not target any PB or decent timing as I want to treat it as my usual long run during the weekend. To finish around 3 hours was good enough for me at that moment.

Any minute from now, off I go! Credits to Mr. ET Tey

Shaky picture of us but still recognizable... huhu... Pic credits to Azril... =D

After 1km of running, I had this sudden urge to honour the nature's calling. So I decided to stop by at National Mosque for my toilet break. After that, it was already almost 5.30 am. So I tried to run a lil bit faster to catch up the last batch... Bumped into the Awesome Trio (Zen, Heng & Chiew) as I ran towards the first loop. Said hi to Sis Lily, Redzuan and Azrie who were manning the road along Jalan Sultan Salahudin... Thanks guys for your support and being the road marshalls... =D

Just look at the elevation profile... Semput baq ang... =P

From there, I ran towards the normal route, Jalan Dato Onn and went past Bank Negara KTM Station and took the right turn towards Jalan Tun Ismail. Here the 10km runners merged with the 21km for a while before I ran straight ahead towards the second loop (10km). After the mild hilly route, the real challenge began once I entered Jalan Tunku. Luckily I bumped into my running buddy, Zen and I asked him to tag along with me. At least I wasn't running alone huhu....

Me & my running buddy, Zen at our final 2 km, I guessed... (Credits to Lokman Keme for this pic)

The tormenting hill along Persiaran Duta near Tun Razak Hockey Stadium felt like forever to run uphill. So we shuffled leisurely there.. After that it's all going through the rolling hills along Persiaran Duta towards Changkat Duta and Jalan Tunku Putra. As we came towards the dreaded jaw dropping Changkat Tunku incline @ Mayor Hill, we tried to slow jog and enjoyed the climb. Some how I had to power walk when the incline was unbearable. Once we reached the top, we stopped for a while after the u-turn to take some mesmerizing photos up there. Unfortunately they were running out of drinking cups. So I had to drink from the large bottle instead and shared it with Zen. That's what slow runners like us had to deal with... Oh well... pasrah saja lah huhu...

Sikit lagik, sikit lagik Pari2 Gebu nak sampai garisan penamat nih (Pic courtesy of Pali Sado)

From there on, it's all down hill and we ran gingerly to catch up with the slow climb hehe... We ran along Persiaran Sultan Salahuddin and went passed Istana Selangor and National Monument. I could see there were a lot of macaques sitting along the power lines along the stretch. The final 2km was so exciting as we ran passed the huge crowd of 5km and 10km runners who were on their way home. Some of them cheered for us. Finally I crossed the Finishing Line in 03h:15m:08s (nett time), ranked 1102 out of 1605. Not bad after all... huhu...=D

My results... =)

After the run, it was time for photo taking ritual with all the runners. I was so excited to take pictures with so many friendly runners. It's a must indeed. Felt like I was in a runners gathering at that moment huhu... No drama, just strike for a pose here and there...

Me & My new running friend, Farhan... Nice meeting you bro... =)

Me, Acid & Rashid

One for the photo with Edan Syah, our Champion for 10km... Well done Edan!

With Kijang Road Runners (Fifi, Syed Azmi & Friend) and Kak Nor Mah & her friend

Wewowewowewowewwo.... Padat sangat pic nih, credits to Lokman Keme....

Me & The Gorgeous Runners (Aizul Plantar, Ridwan, Am & KZ)

We Are Runners!

Me, Cikgu Budin, Rashid & Mrs Page Khas (Mak Buyong)

Sempat lagik berwefie tuh... hohoho!

Over all, it was a well organized event. Traffic control was excellent, the weather was on our side, stayed overcast throughout the morning, thanks to the heavy downpour the whole day before. Plenty of water stations along the way with drinking water and Revive isotonic. They gave us a banana each circa KM 10. It was right on time as I felt a bit hungry during my run. Plus the finisher medal is exactly identical to what I've received when I finished 2XU Compression Run in Singapore last March. Oh well...