Malcolm Foo Photography

I’m hoping to achieve 5k run today at the gym. It’s not much for a lot of regular runners but that would be a good target for someone who can barely run!

So stay tuned. Will publish my summary (if I make it! hehe).

Okay. I’m back home basically in pieces or at least that’s how I feel. I travelled I think over 50km total with uphill and downhill. I started riding around 12.35pm (noon) and basically got home after around 9 hours of pedalling at around 8.35pm. The duration sucks big time but frankly.. I dont quite care. I made it. That is the most important part. Here is the summary..

Took off at around 12.35pm (couldn’t wait for the battery to fully charge )
Reached Balik Pulau about 2.00pm
Damn happy to see the sign to “Tropical Fruit” farm.. meaning I’m close.
First round of thigh muscle cramp kicked in and reached Teluk Bahang Dam around 3.55/4.00pm.
SMS-ed Ashwin “Reached Teluk Bahang Dam”
Took a break to call Ashwin and 1 bar of mars chocolate consumed.
Called another friend to bug but she was prep-ing for a dinner.
Cycled off again.
Another round of cramp kicked it before Butterfly Farm.
Reached the “End of The World” famous roundabout and stopped at Indian/Muslim restaurant for 100plus replenishment. Bad cramp kicked in when I got off the bike. Stood frozen for a minute and force my muscles to flex.
Took off again and manage my pedalling in a slower manner to manage my cramps.
Stopped in front of Rasa Sayang. Leg frozen cramp for another few minutes. Had to sit down on the grass with no one to help. THAT WAS TOUGH. I dropped my bike and dropped on the grass.
Got up and started pedalling… stopped in front of Crown Prince due to rain. Called friends to bug.
Started to push the bike over “Hillside” to manage/minimize my leg cramps.
Stopped again at Chinese Swimming Club as rain picked up and took off again in the light drizzle.
Started raining in the middle of my cycling. Couldn’t care less about the rain anymore and pushed my body further.
Reach Greenlane and couldn’t get over to Island Glades. Stopped at opposite Shell Island Glades and carried my bike up the pedestrian bridge across to Island Glades.
Pedalled again and stopped to push my bike uphill at Bukit Gambir. Cramp kicked in even when I was walking and pushing the bike. Had to even start to manage my walk to avoid cramps.
DOWNHILL at Bukit Gambir.. (short-lived fun)
Reached home and carried my bike up to the apartment.
1 500ml 100plus + 4 250ml cans of 100plus consumed. (Had to manage fluid to avoid de-hydration)
2 kgs of body fluid loss total (weigh in after shower).
Butt hurts more than I can describe.. (even now)
Pain in both palms due to handling the handle for too long duration. (Gloves helped)
Could feel my individual thigh muscles due to the strain (this feeling is impressive/SHITTY!)
Sunburnt my neck/shoulder.
Radiating heat from my hands and palm (Ash could verify this)
Went home to say hi to mom and have some soup. She called me nuts. (hehe..)
Went out for the first meal of the day with Ashwin at 10.40pm.
9 hours of pedalling inclusive of breaks from rain and cramps

Thoughts of giving up kicked in when my legs gave way with the cramps occasionally. The pain was bad. Having Ashwin to come pick me up and my bike would certainly mean I screwed up. My cardio/heart condition was stable. I couldn’t feel that I was tired in my body except my legs. Oh ya.. Ash told me he was on standby to pick me up.. hehe.. Thanks man! I made it! I still can’t believe I made it…

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:going up Balik Pulau Hill:

:highest point in Balik Pulau before descending:

:view of the descend:

:Balik Pulau mosque. The hills in the picture await my conquer:

:milestone check:

:the roundabout at Balik Pulau:

:somewhere after Balik Pulau:

:climbing to Teluk Bahang:

:still climbing to Teluk Bahang:

:a nice downhill:

:entrance to Tropical Fruit Farm, the other side of the Island:

:my fans/supporters at the Tropical Fruit Farm:

:Teluk Bahang Dam, the never ending cramp starts:

:the dam and distance check:

:End of The World roundabout:

Ok.. I’m waiting for my batteries to charge and I’m taking off at 1.00pm. I’m not sure if I will survive this trip. I’m making a round Penang Island cycling on my bike. I’ve never done this before in my life and I think this is one hell of a thing I can brag about should I complete it. I know chances of me screwing up is so damn high… because I first have to survive the Balik Pulau hills. So.. I’m going to do this no matter what.

My mental prep for trip just started at 11.00am. Other preparation includes some medication, a couple of chocolate bars for energy replenishment and water. I’m even prepared for Ash to pick me up on the way if I screw up. So.. await my good news!

It was the earlier part of the year probably in Q2 when I actually put my heart to losing weight. Dieting was seriously tough at first but once you get it going, it’s not that difficult. The trend of weight-loss is similar to the S-curve where initially, you’ll tend to lose real fast and then slows down when you come to a point. That point is when your body adjust to your dieting and work out intensity.

Ken Mun, whom I consider my PFT (Personal Free Trainer) is the major contributor to guiding me on the weight loss program. Another on the list would be my cuzzy from Australia, Andrew… a recent yearly Sydney 14k runner. Ken was the guy who I climbed Penang Hill with during a team building with my previous company, and all he does is always stay about 10 feet in front of you and then looks at down at you and looks up on the path.. kind of the impatient drill seargant minus the profanity. A real bugger when he does that too often (the whole trip) and you already feel dead in your legs… hehe.. thanks brother. Some top grade “sei chai bao” he is… (thanks for the book for my bday bro)

My exercise regime was something like the below.. spanned out in a few months.

Dieting & Exercising (especially jogging and weight training on major muscle groups)
Warmdown mainly consists of stretching similar to Aikido warmups.

Note: Coming from someone who hasn’t really ran in his life, I think I did pretty well. It was at first around 3 mins.. then 5 then.. 8 then 10.. then now i’m able to do 18 on the road and about 23 on the treadmill.

I have stopped running at home recently due to the unpredictable weather and have started working out at the gym at the company during my lunch time. Alternating my training with 1 day of rest on the weekdays. My target routine.. given by Ken as a “definitely weight loss routine for anyone is”

30 minutes treadmill
30 minutes cross trainers (the ski-like machine)
30 minutes bike ride

I’ve done 26 minutes treadmill at 7.0kph with breaks/slowdown in between and 30 minutes cross trainers. I’m almost dead before I reach the 30 minutes bike ride. I still can’t reach the 30 minutes bike ride after the first 2 sets.

My next target to achieve no matter if i achieve the 30/30/30 or not is a 40/40/20

40 flips & 40 rolls in 20 minutes. Objective is to meet 100/100.

Ok ok.. shall update my blog with the pictures taken of ProjectJD (Daniel & Jane’s Wedding) before the pig gnaws me to death hehehe.. It was a hectic 2 months with skipping a lot of training. Got to get back…