[Running] All Over Again: Training Day 1 - Nike We Run KL Training Run @ Titiwangsa

Group photo of Nike We Run KL Training Run @ Titiwangsa participants.

Two weeks have gone since I completed Adidas King of The Road 16.8k and I’ve pretty much lounging around doing nothing ever since. No running, no exercise, no workout…yup, nothing. I’ve decided that I had enough and since the Nike We Run KL 2012 is going to take place in less than one month time, it is a high time to get back into the groove.

Coincidentally, the first session of Nike We Run KL Training Run series starts yesterday and the distance for the session was quite short at around 3km (yeah, the actual distance was shorter than they first announced). A good starting point, I guess.

"Find Your Greatness": Mid-run motivation.

Held at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa under a cloudy weather, the participants were divided into three groups according to pace level and I (naturally) decided to join the “slow” group. It turned out that the “slow” was not really slow as you can see from my Nike+ SportWatch GPS stats below that our average pace was around low 7 min/km which was kinda fast for me. Nevertheless, it was good to be back on that pace after pulling out the turtle-ish average pace at KoTR.

Nike+ stats for the first 2.4k.

Around half a click before we wrapped up the run, the group stopped to do sets of forward lunge, squats and combo of both. The lunge + squats combo got my attention – now, why I never thought of that? We then pretty much finished the remaining 0.6km at slightly faster pace.

Nike+ stats for the remaining 0.6km. I rarely able to go 5min/km and in fact, I believe I can maintain it for a least a full click. ME GUSTA x 9000.

Post-run, I actually expected them to put us through the Nike Training Club (NTC) drills (it might be designed for women but the drills are are god damn intense - been through them twice previously) but kinda relieved that they didn't. That being said, I do wish for it since the drills are very useful.

So, there you have it – my first day of training for Nike We Run KL 2012 as well as other upcoming run till the end of 2012. My feet were damn restless last night, so I can’t wait for subsequent training days as well as the second (and longer) training run session with Nike at KLCC Park next Saturday. More to come!

The badge that I received at the end of training session.

Meanwhile, there are still few more photos from the training right after jump. Just click on the link below to check them out.

[What’s Up] H&M Lands In Kuala Lumpur; First Look and Scenes From Grand Opening Night

The renowned Swedish fashion label - H&M - has finally landed in Malaysia via its first Malaysian branch in Lot 10 over at Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. A special grand opening event was held last night and boy, what a blast it was.

It felt like almost all of the who’s who of Kuala Lumpur was there - from entertainment industry to fashion to music to lifestyle and of course, the media folks. From LYN's side, both Tech (me + my editor - obviously for a casual visit) and Lifestyle (Hype, Lipstiq and Wanista) team were there to check out what kind of hype does H&M brings to Malaysia.

Check out the crowd!

Judging from my brief time there, the Lot 10 store caters to everyone from infants to adults (including pregnant ladies); both male and female. The store has pretty much everything – clothing (formal, casual and leisure), undergarments (and lingerie *cough*), accessories and shoes.

Just a very small section of the men's department.

That being said, the store is mainly made for ladies as two floors are dedicated exclusively for them while for guys, they have to share the same floor with kids and maternity clothing. Pricing-wise, I would say that it is slightly cheaper than Uniqlo although the differences aren’t really huge.

AWWWW YEAAA.

So, what I actually ended up with from last night’s opening then? A cozy blazer (my first blazer ever!) priced at RM 259 and an el-cheapo belt that cost me RM 19.90. There were couple of other things as well that attracted my attention but I’m going to save them for next subsequent visit to H&M Lot 10.

Obviously, I snapped hecktons of images from last night’s grand opening which you can check out after the jump and if that not enough, my colleagues have also posted their own take on the new H&M Kuala Lumpur store over at Lipstiq.com and Wanista.com. If you like what you see, just make your way to the new H&M Kuala Lumpur store in Lot 10 which will be officially open for business starting from tomorrow, September 22 at 11AM onwards.

Thanks to Mandy for all her fashion advices and tips on that night. Hope you enjoy your new clothes and shoe from H&M! xD

[AWWW YEAAA] McDonald’s Samurai Burger: It Came and Disappeared…But It's Coming Back

I can’t remember the exact period but I believe it was more than a decade ago (I was still in school back then) since McDonald’s offered Samurai Burger as part of their menu. It was before (again, if my memories served me correctly) Prosperity Burger and I believe many of you out there still remember about it.

I don’t get to eat much McDonald’s back then as it was considered rather premium by my parents, so naturally I never get to taste Samurai Burger…until recently. Yup, Samurai Burger is back. Ok, it is more like McDonald’s first offered it (UNANNOUNCED) only at a handful of McDonald’s branches around Klang Valley for just one week and then, it disappeared.

Really, that was exactly how the story went. Those who followed my Twitter or Instagram and my Facebook friends would remember that on the day of Adidas King of The Road [here's my race report of the event], I actually had Samurai Burger as my lunch (and my post-run reward) at McDonald’s Sunway Pyramid. I then had another serving of the burger - in its Double Samurai form - for dinner at the same branch.

On the following day, my housemate actually went to the same branch but was told that Samurai Burger is no longer on the menu. He was not the only one though as many of my friends were frustrated as well when they received similar reply at other listed branches.

That being said...don’t fret if you feel that you are missing the Samurai Burger train as it will be back on McDonald’s menu tomorrow, September 20! This news was first delivered to me by gnomeMY who received a SMS from McDonald’s earlier today and I’ve also confirmed it with a staff at McDonald’s Mid Valley during lunch.

Furthermore, the proper Samurai Burger menu will also be accompanied by Katsu Curry McShaker Fries and Sakura McFizz which were missing from the initial one-week limited run. Well, you can already guess what I’m going to have for lunch tomorrow then…I’m going to take it as my last megafood before I resume training for the upcoming Nike We Run KL 2012, lol.

Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/chapree and Instagram via this ID: chapree2277. Also, check out Lowyat.NET for daily tech goodies on weekdays!

[Running] Race Report: Adidas King of The Road 2012 16.8KM

Yup, this corny pose was one of my official photos from the run. Courtesy of Adidas Malaysia.

So, the Adidas King of The Road is here once again. Took place on 9th September, it was pretty much identical like last year's edition with two types of categories (10k and 16.8k), same venue (start/finish at Sunway Pyramid with New Pantai Expressway as the route) and…yeah, pretty much the same vibe all over again.

But then again…I stepped up the game this year by participating in the 16.8k category instead of last year’s 10k and it is now the longest distance I’ve ever attempted. Pre-race, I believed that I’ll be able to finish the run within 2 hours but unfortunately, I eventually clocked around 2 hours 20 minutes.

The route, as tracked by Nike+ SportWatch GPS. Click on the picture to enlarge it on a new window.

Originally, I divided the race into three different pace level – each in batch of 6km. So, basically it should be mid/hi 7min/km from 0km to 6km, then hi 6min/km till 12km and back to mid/hi 7min/km for 12km till finish. Obviously, my plan was shattered to pieces as you can see from the timing that my Nike+ SportWatch GPS tracked during the run:

Click on the picture to enlarge it on a new window.

There is only one reason to this - I totally overestimated my general fitness level. As whenever I tried to push towards 6min/km, the feeling of side stitch came in - so, to be safe, I slowed down but with fatigue building up as the distance added up, I never really able to go faster. Nevertheless, I’m still pretty happy since not only it was my furthest run for now but I did couple of “first” in this event such as taking gel during the race and wearing a compression long pants (a Nike Swift Running Tights, to be exact).

Now officially a member of Kelab Seluar Ketat. Picture courtesy of Adidas Malaysia.

Managed by the highly experienced Hivelocity Events team (if I’m not mistaken), Adidas King of The Road 2012 got my thumbs up in terms of the organizer’s capability of executing the event as expected. The number of water stations along the route were quite adequate with one for each 3 km in addition to excellent (IMHO, of course) medical support throughout the route – paramedics, mobile medical personnel on bike checking out on participants, Deep Heat sprays etc.

My only complaint (sort of) is that there were barricades at the both sides of the starting line which made it hard for 16.8km participants that came late to the starting line to enter the starting area since they have to go through throngs of 10k runners that lined up behind the 16.8k group. This is rather very very very small thing though; not a biggie at all.

The ever popular Photo Wall.

Also, I felt that the vibe at the finishing area while were quite exciting since you can’t beat the feeling of completing a run, it was also quite dull at the same time. Apart from free Nestle cereals and Milo as well as a rather awesome photo wall, the race carnival area didn’t offer anything much despite being called a “carnival”. While this is not essential and certainly didn’t really affect my race experience, I do feel that some post-race activities/entertainment could liven up the area and give participants something to do beyond the typical “run, take medal, snap photos with friends and go home” routine.

Nevertheless, will I return next year? I like the route, so you most probably will see me again – assuming that Adidas will continue to use NPE as KoTR route. Even if they decide to change the venue/route, chances are you still going to see me again. :)

For the meantime, do check out other photos that managed to snap at the even through the link below.