Standard Chartered KL Marathon

Race kit collections was in Dataran Merdeka and it was for two days (Fri and Sat). Having run in several runs before this, I have secretly telling myself and thinking that this is 'the' marathon of the year since Standard Chartered is the main sponsor and (Octagon-organiser) it has good reputations in other Countries like Singapore, Hong Kong and the UAE. But they failed to prove their worth this time around since the distribution of the numbers and kits were not done systematically. I can safely say that AmBank KL (FTAA) marathon is a much better organiser compared to Standard Chartered KL Marathon. It took me almost 2 hours to collect the 3rd and final Bib numbers for the Fun Run category.

They kept mentioning that 12,000 runners are to run in the Marathon but they failed to divide their volunteers according to categories which has most participants as oppose to the number of booths and computers. They cannot expect the number of Full marathon runners to equal the number of 10K runners. Because of this fundamental mistake, a lot of people got stucked queuing in long lines that barely moved.


Saturday was spent with family and friends and managed to squeeze in some cycling on the trainers to keep the muscles loose. And of course I had plenty of food the whole day. But tried to cut off the intake by 1800. It was not going to be possible since we had a wedding to attend later in the evening. So I limited myself to only eating as little as I can with hope that I can empty my bowel before the run.

I have no problems when it comes to emptying them before a workout. But it seems to be different this time. It doesn't work. And before I left to fetch Ayman, I gave him a quick call and he only got up to that phone call as he was sleeping in. Already a sign that this is the most ill prepared and unorganised race. Ayman even left his wallet behind! It was that chaotic.

We were at the starting area by 0600 and headed towards the end of the line and did our stretching. It was gun off at 0615 and we slowly ran our race. The route was nice and steady for the first 15km i supposed. It started to get though along Jalan Istana as fatigue has set in and the route was uphill. It seems that ALL the climbs were reserved in the last 5km which is double the pain when your legs are wobbly. I resorted to brisk walking during the last climb near Wisma Pertanian in an effort to save some legs for the last 3km.

Ayman and I managed to run the entire 21km within cut off and without any cramps. Alhamdulillah. During the run I took one ORS and 2 powergels to keep those cramps and fatigue at bay. This is only my 3rd half marathon and I am looking forward to more and hopefully of doing the Full marahon one day. But until that day comes I shall make myself more comfortable with the half marathon.

The run was alrite I suppose. But quite a number of runners in the full marathon suffered in the last 2 hours of their runs since the water stations were out of water. This is very demoralising to runners to know that they have to run without water. Which is why quite a number of them bring their own water or extra cash to buy their own drinks.

Here's the run summary;
Name: MUHAMAD SHAZALI BIN SHAIRUDIN (MAS)
Net Start: 06:15:28 Category: Half Marathon 21km
Net Time: 02:48:01 Position: 1376
Finish Timing: 02:50:28.96

Larian KL Marathon

Ini kisah seorang lelaki yang hatinya sangat kental. Very determined. And I admire him for that. Not because he is someone special. But because he’s a true sportsman.

I am writing this, while he is sleeping. Berdengkur-dengkur macam tak tidur 7 hari.

He has not been constantly training for the run.

The day before the run:

He was supposed to at least run in the morning, just to warm up a little bit.

Instead, he had nasi lemak for breakfast, lepak a little while, and cycled for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

We went to Subang Parade to buy some stuff, later in the evening; we went to his cousin’s house to celebrate a little kid’s birthday.

He was really doing his carbo-loading.

He had don’t-know-how-many of the sandwiches, 2 plates of pasta, and 2 plates of nasi goreng.

Malam, we attended a friend’s wedding reception. This is what he had to eat last night.

“Oh shit. What if I can’t shit tomorrow morning? I’ll be running with shit in my tummy”

I was quite certain that that won’t happen. I know because he has never had problems with poo-ing before. To make him more confident, I gave him 4 tablets of fibre pills to get it worked after 8 hours of consuming.

Reached home from the wedding, it was nearly 1 in the morning. I told him to sleep and wake up at 4.30 in the morning. Bukan nak mandi pon :p Buat coffee, hoping that he would be able untuk mengosongkan perut.

Funny he couldn’t do it. Kenapa dalam time-time macam ni, tak boleh pulak nak membuang?

Selalunya senang. Dugaan…..

Dia teruskan niat untuk berlari 21km dengan perut yang penuh, rasa tak sedap.

9.23am, he texted me, “Alhamdulillah, habis! With 15 minutes to spare”.
After the run, tak sempat-sempat nak balik, terpaksa singgah di toilet sebelah Radzuan Radziwil’s boutique dalam Dayabumi untuk meninggalkan “hadiah”.

Memang sengaja Tuhan menguji kekuatan dan semangat dia.

I can still remember the first time he attempted PD tri, with no training at all, he officially became a triathlete. And today, without training, lack of sleep, very exhaustive, tummy full shit, he was still able to finish it within the qualifying time. That’s why I am so proud of him.

Tidur dulu, petang karang main bola pulak!

I am supposed to study

Yes, but I just can't do it.
It is Saturday, and I have lots of other things lingering in my mind.

Just looking at the books already demotivates me.


And look at the pile of books that I have yet to open. Hmm.. Funny they are still nicely wrapped up with tali rafia.

How am I supposed to revise all these in less than a month? Don't you think it is very demotivating?

So instead of studying today, I have been occupied with blogs, facebooks and photos. While I do that, Mr Ali is doing this.......

Preparing for his half marathon tomorrow morning.

So after this, I have to get ready to be forced to do the same. Hehe...

If a man wants you

Posted by a friend of mine in facebook notes. I kinda like it and I think they are very true.

If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away.
If he doesn't want you, nothing can make him stay.
Stop making excuses for a man and his behavior.
Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.
Stop trying to change yourselves for a relationship that's not meant to be.
Slower is better.
Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.
If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve then heck no, you can't "be friends."
A friend wouldn't mistreat a friend.
Don't settle.
If you feel like he is stringing you along, then he probably is.
Don't stay because you think "it will get better."
You'll be mad at yourselfa year later for staying when things are not better.
The only person you can control in a relationship is you.
Avoid men who've got a bunch of children by a bunch of different women.
He didn't marry them when he got them pregnant, Why would he treat you any differently?Always have your own set of friends separate from his.
Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you.
If something bothers you, speak up.
Never let a man know everything.
He will use it against you later.
You cannot change a man's behavior.
Change comes from within.
Don't EVER make him feel he is more important than you are...even if he has more education or in a better job.
Do not make him into a quasi-god.
He is a man, nothing more nothing less.
Never let a man define who you are.
Never borrow someone else's man.
Oh Lord! If he cheated with you, he'll cheat on you.
A man will only treat you the way you ALLOW him to treat you.
All men are NOT dogs.
You should not be the one doing all the bending...compromise is a two-way street.
You need time to heal between relationships...there is nothing cute about baggage... deal with your issues before pursuing a new relationship
You should never look for someone to COMPLETE you...a relationship consistsof two WHOLE individuals...look for someone complimentary...not supplementary.
Dating is fun...even if he doesn't turn out to be Mr. Right.
Make him miss you sometimes...when a man always know where you are, and your always readily available to him- he takes it for granted.
Don't fully commit to a man who doesn't give you everything that you need.
Keep him in your radar but get to know others.


For the past few weeks or so I have been exposed with stories of my girlfriends on relationships.

Stuck in a relationship that is no where near love. Only pity has been saving the relationship.
The guy that has been holding you near is not really the Mr Right you’ve been looking for.
He’s nice and he’s all that, but he’s just not the one.
You don’t feel the chemistry.
You don’t feel the connection.
But you can’t leave him because he’s too nice.
And you don’t want to hurt him.
So you stay, thinking that you can somehow work this out.
Because you are afraid that no one will ever love you the way he does.

I had once been in this kind of relationship.

I was too stupid, thinking that I could try to love him.

I never did.

When I finally made the decision to leave, I realized I had wasted my good 4 years stuck in a relationship that I knew was not ever going to go anywhere.

Thanks to someone who had saved me from this nightmare.

Who made me realized what falling in love could possibly mean.

We were accidentally in love.

We thought that it was love, but that relationship was a bridge for us to get to where we are today.

To find the true love. And now I am happier than I have ever did.

So girlfriends, don’t ever think that there’s no other person in this world for you. Always believe that, everybody is made for someone.

You will not find it, if you let yourself stuck in a relationship that is just not meant to be.

My mother always says “Find a man that loves you, not the one that you love, because women can learn to love”.

But learning to love someone is not easy. It applies to the olden days when marriage was an arrangement.

At the present time, women with profession and own aspiration will look for love that could satisfies them.

Quoting from a friend’s theory:

“I still however believe that I must only invest in a shoe that fits me perfectly and comfortably. If the shoe feels even slightly uncomfortable, no harm in trying other shoes until you have no doubt that the shoe is meant for you! Imagine that you have to walk with that shoe for a long distance, would you really want to settle for a shoe that is an inch smaller?”

Another friend quoted:

“I feel comfortable when I walk alone.. but when I see more gorgeous shoes or more expensive ones or more comfy shoes.. I start to think the shoe I’m wearing isn’t so comfortable after all. However, the shoe I’m wearing is like stuck to my foot! Sometimes I love them, sometimes they hurt me”.

Haih, this is a never ending issue.

You can have someone that’s ok, but you can’t settle with him, because he’s not your Mr Right, so you go and look for others. Or you can just settle with him, and learn to love him; after all, nobody is perfect!

Just follow your instinct but have some values and follow the love rule.

Never settle with a guy if:

a) He hits you and emotionally abuse you and your self esteem
b) He cheats on you
c) He is obsessive and excessively jealous than ordinary boyfriends
d) He lies and live off your money

Girls, the ball is in your court!

Father's Day

Orang kata, when it’s your day, you are supposed to enjoy the day. Do the things you like, eat the things you enjoy with the people you love.

On Mother’s day for example, for that one day, we’d normally tell our mom to rest, tak payah buat kerja, tak payah masak. Then kita bawak pergi makan best-best, whatever she likes. Thai, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese all other expensive reataurants.

We should do the same to our father. Cuma, my father is so much easier.

Tak payah nak suruh dia rest, sebab memang hari-hari dia rest. He works less than 5 hours a day, 5 days a week.

He loves to sleep. And that’s what he does everyday. He sleeps more than 10 hours a day, 7 days a week.

So I guess everyday IS his day.

My father loves rice. He doesn’t really eat other fancy stuff. Hanya nasi yang boleh buat dia happy. Hari-hari dia makan nasi.

So hari-hari IS his day.

So what makes the day special to him?

Of course because he doesn’t have to pay for dinner. That’s something nice.

Memandangkan dia suka makan nasi, memang senang lah kami anak beranak.

Tahun lepas, we brought him to Nasi kandar Pelita.

Tahun ni, we brought him to J.M Bariani, makan nasi beriani.

Dia sangat happy.

Third day in class

My third day in class. I was initially excited. The thought of taking days off from work, the thought of going for revision classes during the holiday, really makes me feel keyed up.

However, towards the end of the session, they get boring and dreary.

Financial Instruments. Yes. Ask any accountants about Financial Instruments, they would definitely show the same expression.

A quote from my lecturer:

Do not read the whole topic on Financial Instruments as you will never understand it. Even the examiners don’t.

A quote from the examiner:

A person, who reads through the text book on Financial Instruments and claims he understands the topic, has clearly not read the topic at all.

It is THAT boring. And its not easy to understand too..

As my lecturer was talking at the front, my mind went all the way to Cardiff, reminiscing those days when I only went for short 50 minutes classes, and then I started to swear why the hell am I attending this 9 hour class.

My thoughts travel quite far thereafter. I started to think of the things that I can do to lose 5kg in a month. Bicycle, run, diet, slimming spa, badminton. Arghhh Jiwa kacau.

Then I began to think of what type of baju raya shall I make this year. Kebaya, Kurung modern, Kurung biasa.

Suddenly, the class went quiet. I realized that my lecturer was asking whether or not we understood what he had illustrated. So I konon-konon looked at the book and pura-pura baca and I gave an expression yang memang telah mengkantoi kan diri ini.

“Ooooo”.. saya mengangguk sambil pandang the opened book dengan muka puas seolah-olah sudah paham apa yang diajarkan.

“Okay, let me remind you, looking at the notes again, I am actually referring to page 16 now,….” OMG, he deliberately said the page number. That’s because I was left far behind at page 13 and he NOTICED that.

Sorry Tim, I lost you at “Now we’re gonna look at financial instruments…..” which was about an hour ago before I realized that I was actually sleeping with my eyes open.

KL Marathon 2009

Run Category
Name: MUHAMAD SHAZALI BIN SHAIRUDIN
Category: Half Marathon
Amount: MYR40.00
Date: 2009-03-19 19:49:37

Participant Information
NRIC/Passport: 83051414**** Birth Date: 14/05/1983
EMail: mdshazali@gmail.com
Full Name: MUHAMAD SHAZALI BIN SHAIRUDIN
Gender: M
Nationality: Malaysian
Shirt Size: L
Country: Malaysia

Participant Medical Information
Blood Type: O+
Allergies: N/A
Medical:
Conditions Migraine
Emergency Contact
Name: Shairudin Relationship: Dad
Phone: 019 334 8677


Time to kick some A**

Dera lagi

Lagi-lagi cerita tentang pembantu didera majikan. Majikan tak bagi makan, tak bagi gaji berbulan-bulan..

BOSAN!

Takder ke cerita pasal majikan kasi pembantu holiday pergi US ke, kasi satu rumah banglow untuk pembantu dan keluarga ke, kasi sponsor anak pembantu study ke overseas ke.

TAKDER?

Came across a poll yang bertanya kan manakah yang lebih wajar untuk pembantu rumah. Bagi cuti seminggu sekali atau tak bagi cuti. Lebih kurang macam tu la soalannya…

Surprisingly, 85% opted for the latter. I wonder manakah perginya perikemanusiaan dalam diri orang-orang yang menggelarkan diri mereka ‘civilized people’.

Sedangkan big bosses in multinationals yang kerja hanya duduk sign documents pun perlukan cuti sekurang-kurangnya once a week.

Sedangkan auditors yang generally won’t be a surprise kalau kene kerja weekends, pun bising kalau tak dapat off on Sundays.

Sedangkan office boy yang kerja duduk office main facebook pun perlukan cuti dua hari seminggu.

Inikan pembatu rumah yang kerja naik tangga turun tangga, cuci toilet, masak, basuh baju, tak diberi cuti walaupun selang seminggu?

Tak bagi gaji, walaupun mereka kerja UNTUK DAPAT GAJI.

Tak bagi makan, walaupun mereka makan UNTUK BUAT KERJA RUMAH.

Tak bagi pakai handphone, takut menggatal and cari boyfriend, walaupun mereka adalah INSAN BIASA yang perlukan teman hidup. Sedangkan ANJING pun perlukan pasangan.

You don’t have to take them as family.

But they are definitely NOT A SLAVE.

Happy Anniversary Irina

I love you and that's the beginning of everything

BPL Fixtures 2009-10

August

15 Tottenham (A)

19 Stoke (H)

22 Aston Villa (H)

29 Bolton (A)

September

12 Burnley (H)

19 West Ham (A)

26 Hull (H)

October

3 Chelsea (A)

17 Sunderland (A)

24 Man Utd (H)

31 Fulham (A)

November

7 Birmingham (H)

21 Man City (H)

28 Everton (A)

December

5 Blackburn (A)

12 Arsenal (H)

16 Wigan (H)

19 Portsmouth (A)

26 Wolverhampton (H)

28 Aston Villa (A)

January

9 Tottenham (H)

16 Stoke (A)

26 Wolverhampton (A)

30 Bolton (H)

February

6 Everton (H)

9 Arsenal (A)

20 Man City (A)

27 Blackburn (H)

March

6 Wigan (A)

13 Portsmouth (H)

20 Man Utd (A)

27 Sunderland (H)

April

3 Birmingham (A)

10 Fulham (H)

17 West Ham (H)

24 Burnley (A)

May

1 Chelsea (H)

9 Hull (A)

I'm off

I was reviewing my client's Death Claim Files (my client is an Insurance company) that was lodged by their policyholders' beneficiaries.

I was stunned to have gone through a number of files that illustrated the reason for death was mostly heart attack, and almost 60% of the samples I chose were files belong to policemen. And most of them were in between 51 to 60 years old. So young, I know. But I think there's nothing bizarre in this kind of environment.

However this one, has really caught my attention.


At the age of 51, he died because of 'Penat'. This is definitely not normal to me.

And I thought to myself "What am I still doing at my client's office at 2.30 am in the morning reviewing Death Claim Files, where I should be home, resting. I am definitely tired now and I don't want to die because of tireness".

So took 3 days off from work.

Happy Birthday Izrin Irina

May you have a great year ahead with reduced amount of stress.
I love you more.

Angan-angan disiang hari

Minggu ni masuk new client, not to say new client la, but new period. I was here at the same period last year.

When I went in yesterday, terasa malas nak jumpa client-client yang telah saya kenal last year. Ini kerana kegemukkan yang telah melanda malampaui batas, I didn’t think they even recognize me.

Today, I met one of my client in the washroom. Normal la, “Hey, glad to see you here again” (berlakon jer tuh). Aand I said “Yea, glad to be back again” (Sandiwara semata-mata).

Yang paling best, dia kata, “Sama la you, maintain.. tak berubah”.

Apakah benar apa yang ku dengar?

Benar.

Dia berkata lagi, “ Tak gemuk pun…”

Memang, ini bukan mimpi. Memang betul dia kata macam tu….

Mungkin jua kerana rambut baru saya telah menutupi pipi yang tembam ini.

Mungkin jua, hari ini dia tidak pakai specs atau pun contact lense.

Mungkin jua kerana saya memakai baju gelap.

Mungkin jua kerana saya memakai baju kurung yang menutupi lemak-lemak.

Mungkin jua….

Ok!

Saya akan pakai baju kurung hari-hari sampai hilang 20 kg!

Thank you.

Dirk Kuyt on LFC players

Ever wanted to know what Dirk Kuyt thinks of his teammates? Well wonder no more after the Dutchman revealed all about the Reds' squad in an exclusive chat with Match Magazine.

Who is the loudest in the squad?

I think that's Jamie Carragher! He's always shouting at people and telling them what to do on the pitch – it seems like you can hear him from everywhere. Sometimes he's so loud you just have to laugh about it.

Who has got the hardest shot?

When Riise was here it was definitely him, but now it must be Stevie Gerrard! Daniel Agger can really hit the ball hard and has scored some great goals for us, but I think Stevie just has more power.

Who is the best at FIFA 09?

Fernando Torres and Javier Mascherano play the FIFA games a lot on away trips, but I'm not sure who is the best! Hopefully they'll both let me get involved soon because I know I would be better than them!

Who's the cleverest?

Most people say footballers aren't very intelligent! It's hard to tell because we spend most of our time talking football, but I think Xabi Alonso is quite clever – at least he thinks he's clever anyway!

Who is the strongest?

The whole squad does weights a few times a week after training and Pepe Reina is the strongest. If there was a competition to see who could lift the most weights or do the most squats, Pepe would definitely win!

Who is your best mate?

I get on with all the lads, but I play golf with Pepe Reina and Albert Riera whenever I get the chance. Yossi Benayoun plays poker with us sometimes as well, so I probably spend the most time with them.

Who's the club DJ?

I don't want to big myself up but the lads always ask me to put my iPod on before games. It's probably because I'm the only one who has an iPod with me! I try to get a good mix of songs to keep everyone happy.

Who's the fastest?

We always do sprint tests at Liverpool so that's an easy one. We did the tests a couple of weeks ago and Ryan Babel was easily the fastest – even quicker than Fernando. I think he did athletics when he was younger.

Who is Mr Liverpool?

I think Carra knows everything – not only about Liverpool but about football in general. He eats and sleeps football and watches it every day, so he knows everything about the club. Steven Gerrard knows a lot about Liverpool too.

source LFC's webpage