HDR:? think again.

Vibram Five Fingers fakes

The other day I purchased from a friend these Vibram Five Fingers (VFF), they are rubber stuck to finger socks, no protections, no cushion, thus simulating barefoot running.

When I posted these photos, someone mentioned that these were fake vibrams. OK, so, now I have fake rubber slapped to my feet. Fake rubber? what's that? Fake branding -I know.

It's nice to learn that whatever it was, I still needed to run and no amount of branding in this case particularly, will change my required efforts. That's running! always you vs you.

Mazda-8 in HDR

Mazda-8, originally uploaded by Kokenko.

Mazda 8

Mazda 8

Publish Post

Shoe modifications and run preparations

One more run to go, then it's resting time until we do 42.xxx River Jungle Marathon.
- we need a slow run to keep our blood running and muscle toned.
- Also, with some carbo-loading, we must trip off the excess glycogen/fat, hence a slow run.

-I'm experimenting with my gears for the actual run.

-I've pushed hard yesterday in the all men run, so today will run for fun.
-I've managed to trip 40g off my shoes (with the removal of insole, and adding a thinner insole, now it's 340g from 380g. Will see if it helps or I will get into some problem later in the run. I may have to replace the laces if it is still "heavy".
-I'm still stingy when it comes to buying new running shoes, i think I have too many pairs.

-after today, I need to clear off the work loads, so that I can focus on the River Jungle run.

feedback:| The replacement insoles (thinner) works well reducing the cushion but giving better shoe (toe-ball of foot) flexibility. I can bend the shoes at the front better than before.

The lighter weight is noticeable and even adding an ankle guard does not feel too "heavy".

Perhaps the laces can be replaced to lighter ones as well.

Shoe responsiveness has not changed. I do feel my Nike Air Alaris +3 needs better responsiveness.

Testing new flickr link,, I love it.

Photo taken in WUXI, China, last autumn. (2010)

Photo of the day!

Shape and Men's Health run 2010

Shape & Men's Health run 2010 @ Putrajaya, Malaysia, Total distance=12.3 km
Putrajaya- The run flagged off at 8pm and my wife and I were in the "cage" at 7:45 pm waiting. It was humid and stuffy but since we were not in the front line, it was still bearable.
The first 2km to nearest water station.- Everyone was running fast right after the "gun" . I was really slow, plodding at a mere slow pace. Yet, I had to slow down even more to conserve energy. Skipped the first water station (I'm getting less dependent on water now).
3km to 10 km- Here's where the mid-race fun starts, runners that passed me earlier were now facing massive 35m elevations (not much) because of Wawasan bridge and Perdana Bridge, Putrajaya is relatively flat so it's still not as bad as other races. I kept pacing but by this time the other DJ runners were out of view. I had increased speed by 5 km mark. However, I felt the distance markers were 200m off-target. Left and right were runners and some heavy breathing veteran runners (uncle). I tried to make sure he is ok before running a little faster. By 7km, I found a lady pacer that had wonderful speeds, I decided to follow her. She gave me 1km of pacing and then stopped to walk. I had to leave to find another runner because it is now difficult to maintain pace, I was 10% off the target pace but I could recapture lost time at down-hills. @ 8km, I took my first drink, i was already thirsty then, but I lost 2 mins. The water helped. I got back into running, I passed some muscular guys that slowed at 9km, by 10km, I had to increase speed once again to meet my target time of 74 mins.
10km to finish: As much as I wanted to slow down, my time did not allow me, so I've not stopped so far, I did not want to destroy that. Skipped my last water station as well (that took a lot of calculations in my head). Surrounding me are mostly guy runners, many are now walking. I tapped one dude, to encourage him to move on. He gave me a smile. No pretty ladies runner to help pace me back, means no adrenaline feed. I tried to listen to any form of drums or music (normally signalling the race is ending) but today all was quiet. The race organizers should had made more noise. I'm now at maximum pace, but not sprinting. I can see the finish line and the bright lights. I pushed a little more like a crazy runner. Lots of people were at the sides looking, perhaps waiting for their friends/family. I clocked my time at 75 mins (1 min off target).
No medals (75 limited medals) but got a cert. Average pace was 6.05 mins/km. Distance was a bit longer at 12.4km (I can accept that). Met other DJ runners and they all did well. My wife did well too. Congratulations. Then, we went to take photos and big smiles were etched on our faces. It was a rewarding run. Aim for medal next year instead.

River Jungle

River Jungle 42.xxx km Marathon !
Sunday, August 15 from 4:30 am to 12:30 pm
Intro: | After a month of active running (4 weekends of events), it is time to change the running pace. This time, some of us will be running our first full 42.xxx km (proudly called a marathon). We were assured that it could be more than 42.xxx km but lets say this, a few km here and there will be good training for all of us mentally and physically for future marathons. I had participated in "runs" 10km, 12km, 15 km, 21km, etc, these were never once called "marathon". So, when I tell others I'm running, they always think it's a marathon, I need to correct them and explain the differences. This time, I do not need to correct anyone. Also, knowing the difference,"running a 10km marathon", always put a cheeky smile to my face.
Preparation:| When I sms-ed my coach, GOH, he said to me run it at a pace of 8 min ++ per km. That's a slow pace. Ideally we hope to maintain slow pace for 6 hours. Yes, 6 hours of running/jogging. Sometimes, we think we are crazy runners. A few things keeps coming to my mind;30km barriers and cramps. OK,firstly at such slow paces, I don't think a heart attack will sneak up on us. Cramps on the other hand will be tough to combat. So I'll have lots of pottasium (Kalium,K) and sodium,( Na). I think the molar ratio is 3 K :2 Na. I'll get this from bananas and ORS (oral re-hydrating salt). I got those from a clinic but it's available at pharmacies. 30km barrier is when legs turns to lead and it's hard to run anymore. I'm hoping to use mental strength and re-filling my glycogens using GU-gels/powergels so that it remains in carbo fuelled rather than protein/fat fuelled. If that fails, then plan B is to decrease speed and walk. I'll push it after 2 km, and let it move on fat/protein fuel for some time, I'll replenish that protein after the marathon.
Water is mandatory, I'll need that with my ORS, but won't be carrying a hydration belt. I'll use the mobile water station instead.Blocking out the sun after the 25km (should be 8 am then) will be very important. Heat makes running hard to do. Heat and humidity takes out water and overheats the body. So, I'll have to rely on two things, clothes and sun block SPF 50. (Not extreme heat). A hat will be good for protection since the head gains the most heat, i,e potential for heat-stroke, (this is so true for 11am-noon time) . We expect to finish in 5.7 until 6 hours, (with pacer).
Training:| We hope to do some easy runs for millage and muscle conditioning soon. Two weeks to go, but remember we need rest as well.

Nike Air Alanis 3 Plus REVIEW

I have one pair, it's comfy, suitable for over-pronation
For better respond, I had to tighten the laces, using all the holes.
I found it good for flat grounds but not as responsive on hills. (I've also tried hill runs with NIKE Elite 4)

The full NIKE air support gives a good comfy cushion. It's not extra heavy, 9 oz (six 6) , estimated 10 oz (286grams) for size US10 fit.

I like the colors, and the shoe supports/materials.

Used them a lot, running almost 200km so far on road.