[Running] Nike We Run KL 2012: Gearing Up For The Big Day!

If there is a period that I’m really looking forward to in the standard routine of participating in a running event (other than registration and the actual race day, of course), that would be the race kit collection week and for the Nike We Run KL 2012, it took place throughout last weekend. It was an interesting occasion as there were a little bit more to it than just grabbing my race pack.

One, it was the first time I actually see the Nike We Run KL 2012’s race route. There was slight change as the finish line has been moved from Dataran Merdeka to the nearby Padang Merbok but apart from that, the route looks pretty good to me especially with Ampang – KL Elevated Highway (AKLEH) is right there on the centre of the route. This is not the first time that Nike included AKLEH in its We Run KL route though as I’ve also went through AKLEH during Nike We Run KL 2010.

Second, just like last year’s race pack collection week, Nike Malaysia brought along couple of side activities for runners to check out. The foot scan (held at nearby Nike Store) and product showcase made a return this year but they do add another one to the mix: the 1 Minute Running Challenge.

Runners can tried on the new Nike LunarGlide+ 4 Shield (plenty of them around) and hop on one of the four available treadmills to participate in the challenge. An iPhone loaded with Nike Running app was then strapped on the runner to track his or her run which is also displayed on the huge display in front of the treadmill. Once done, runners will then be given the Super Runner patch for them to hot press it onto their Nike We Run KL 2012 running top on the spot.

Really love the setup – wish local Nike Store could obtain it so customers can actually choose their running shoes by actually testing them in stores as well as to easily demonstrate Nike+ technology.

As for the Nike We Run KL 2012 race kit itself, the contents are pretty standard such as the compulsory Dri-Fit race tee, the D-tag timing chip, a Nike water bottle and discount vouchers for selected Nike Store as well as Zalora. There are also wrist band for the finisher’s tee and I received an extra wrist band for access to VIP area (jangan jelly :p).

Well, now that my outfit for the race is already here, can’t wait for Nike We Run KL 2012 to start later today! Rain or shine! :D

Follow my Twitter (www.twitter.com/chapree) and add me on Instagram (ID: chapree2277) to check out live status and scenes from the Nike We Run KL 2012 today!

[Running] All Over Again: Training Day 4 – Nike We Run KL Training Run @ KLCC

Interval is the name of the game for this particular day of training and damn, it was hellish. Now, interval run – whereby you basically you run then rest and then run again - is not a foreign method to me since I read a lot about it in Runner’s World but it was never in my routine (which pretty much just consisted of distance run).

The timing for the session was pretty nice: it took place after rain and it was overcast throughout the run although the venue was a little bit wet. The venue - KLCC Park - was also one of my personal favourite parks to run since it has soft, cushiony surface which made running easier on the foot and it has a mix of flat as well as hilly areas.

The training session today required us to hit 1.5km which then followed by a short 30 sec break and resumed with another 1.5km. We hit two set of this routine which equivalent to 6km of distance. The session starts with Nike Training Club drills which were aimed to increase our heart-rate as well as a pre-run warm-up. As usual, runners were first separated into groups according to pace and off we go!

The distance wasn’t my main concern…the pace proved to be a killer. Not long after the run kicked off, I found myself slowly dropping to the back of my “average” group (which wasn’t so average after all) as I did my best to keep up. It was pretty obvious from timing as tracked by my Nike+ SportWatch GPS:

Despite that, I found that interval runs are very fun. Apart from the obvious benefit from intense work out, I also learned my actual limit in number. Hence, this is not going to be the last time that you will see me doing interval runs.

Meanwhile, I managed to check out the new all-weather Nike LunarGlide+4 Shield edition - part of the newly released Hypershield pack and was the featured trial shoe - at the training session. That being said, I didn’t get to use it though as I choose to use my existing working horse - the Nike Free Run+ 3 – instead. Its ok…turns out I get my chance soon enough. :D

Up next…I was hit by another bout of idle days bug again. As hard as I tried to find time to run, my training session only took place a week after the session above - at the final Nike We Run KL training session which took place at The Curve. Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. Stay tuned for that in a bit.

[Quads of Thunder] Red Bull 400: The Uphill Highway of Hell

It might be just a 400m run which is rather short in flat line (equivalent to one full lap in a typical track setting) but then, it is not going to be a Red Bull - who loves crazy stuff – event if it just a plain old 400m run. God damn…just look at that incline. All 36 degrees of it.

At this particular Red Bull 400 event at Planica in Slovenia last month, 164 runners from 9 countries braced the slope and tried their best to conquer it. This is an excellent recap video of the event:

I can see that majority, if not all of the participants looked superbly fit. Guess I need to get off all these fatties from my body before I can even dream of attempting this event or something similar to it. Then again, I heard it is not that hard to hike Bukit Broga in Semenyih…think I just found a perfect reason to get myself a trail running shoe. :D

[Source: Red Bull via Kin Meng]

[Recent Acquisition] 2012 Malaysia Nike Dri-Fit T-Shirt: Is The New Harimau Malaysia Collection On Its Way?

The front graphic.

The story goes that I visited Nike Store at Mid Valley Megamall after work two days ago to grab a head/hair tie since I’ve mysteriously (oh lol) or rather successfully misplaced all my hair ties. At the same time, since I haven’t visited the store for quite some time (true story, bro), I also went around to check out some of the latest Nike products that have just arrived at the store.

As I stopped by at the football section, this Dri-Fit t-shirt caught my eyes. I believe that this very t-shirt is part of the new Malaysia national football team collection for 2012 and the first to be released into the market as I never seen them at Nike stores or other sports store before.

The back graphic. Not a fan of that map, I think it's somehow out of place. I prefer to have just texts there.

As you can recall, the last national football jersey was launched in 2010 – just before AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 which Malaysia ended up as the champion of the tournament. The tournament will be making a return this year and words in the air that Harimau Malaya might be receiving a new set of kit this year. With the arrival of this new t-shirt, I think we are on to something here.

Also available in blue, this t-shirt is priced at RM 119 – a rather hefty price tag, I must say. Apart from the price tag as well as the tiny Malaysian map at the back, I really love the design especially that little touch on the left sleeve. Can’t wait for the rest of the collection (especially the new jersey) to be available in the stores!

The graphic on left sleeve. Gotta love this one.

[Running] All Over Again: Training Day 3 – The 7KM After 4 Idle Days

YOLO! Herp derp de derp derp...[image: AllTheRageFaces.com]

For my Twitter followers and Facebook friends, they might already know about this but for the five or so of you that are reading this blog, these were my thoughts as I went through 7km of wet, morning run last Friday as part of my on-going training for Nike We Run KL 2012:

1km: Malasnya...
2km: Woraits, getting in the groove.
3km: Biasa jer ni...
4km: Chap, what r u doin.
5km: Chap, stahp.
6km: Almooosssttt thereee HNGGHHHH
7km: HNGHHHHHH FINALLY. NEED DRINKKKK

Despite the remarks above, I’m actually quite satisfied with my run as I still managed to pull off an average pace of low 7 min/km. Plus, I did it in the morning which is quite amazing since me and early morning virtually don’t co-exist together.

Stats from the run, as tracked by my Nike+ SportWatch GPS.

Nevertheless, here I am again – bitten by the “idle days bug” as I like to call it. 4 days are not that bad actually (5 days would be my benchmark) but I still felt the symptoms such the lingering lazy feeling, loss of focus and of course, not feeling really fit.

However, I wasn’t really concerned about it because my training continues the next day with Nike for another round of We Run KL Training Run series which focuses on…interval training. If there is one word to describe how that training session went, it would be: HELL. Check back soon for the next chapter of my training diary. :D

[Running] All Over Again: Training Day 2 - 5KM and Reaching The 1000KM Milestone

November 2009 – September 2012: after almost three freaking years, I’ve finally reach the milestone. One thousand kilometres. AWWW YEAAA~

Three years = 1000km that was accumulated through close to 200 runs in four different continents. Wow. I couldn't believe it myself too.

A lot of things have changed since the day I started running again in November 2009 but thankfully, running is one of those things that has remained as a constant in my life. Obviously, I’m already looking forward for the next 1000km and beyond. I mean, if the first 1000km has been this good, I’m sure it will just get better as I go further. Rest assured, I’ll not stop until the time comes.

Meanwhile, the exact run that brought me through the 1000km milestone actually happened on a treadmill at my usual gym. Anti-climax, I know.

I figured that since I’ve already run on the road the day before at Taman Tasik Titiwangsa during the first Nike We Run KL Training Run, I would like to shift the gear down on treadmill taking advantage of the machine’s softer and constant surface. Well, turned out I actually went pretty fast (by my standard) with an average pace of low-6 minutes per km.

Here's the breakdown of my run, as recorded by my Nike+ SportWatch GPS:

It really looked like I might already on to something here but then...I let few days passed by before my next training run. Woopsie. Check back soon for the next chapter of my training diary in which once again I learned about leaving too many idle days between runs.