Back from Shenzhen and running!

Hey all..

Got back from Shenzhen two days ago. I totally didn't run or do any workouts in Shenzhen, at all. There was no gym, no pool, and it was too dangerous to go out and run alone. So in that sense, I probably didn't enjoy Shenzhen that much. Luckily it was a short trip of four days.

Anyway, I was dying for a run, so I managed to do one today at Lake Gardens. It didn't last too long, about 36 minutes, and even then it was a run-walk situation. Not less than 10 minutes, my heart rate spiked up so high to about over 85% of max. So this is how my fitness level is at the moment. Sigh.. it's like going back to square one. But my next overseas trip won't be until early July, so I'll be training or at least working out a little more. Maybe might join the PJ Half 10K or something... haven't decided yet.

I also met Justin and Kenneth the KNN man when I finished my workout, and they were about to start theirs. It was such a nice feeling to see them again, it was such a long time ago since I last saw them. Their work-places have changed, so KLCC park won't be a regular visit for them anymore. But as they told me, the situation is a little different now, work has a little more priority these days, and they don't train as much as they used to in the ol' days... and they only can fit in whatever workout they can. I can relate.

I definitely miss the KLCC sessions (not to say I was there as often as they were), but it was definitely a nice feeling of communion when I was running there a lot more then. I guess nothing good will last forever. Things will change, people will change, but for us, one thing will not change: Our desire to RUN!

Go Pacemakers!

Decent run

I only managed to do a decent run at Lake Gardens three days ago (13 May). It was alright, but I have no idea why my heart rate spiked up pretty high, until about 177 bpm (approx 90% of maxHR). So instead of pushing on (even though it didn't feel like it), I just decided to slow down and walk just to keep the heart rate down. And so, I only ran for about 45 minutes only.

Stats:

Time: 45 minutes
Distance: Didn't really count, but should be approximately 5.5km based on 8.00min/km pace.
Average HR: 157bpm
Max HR: 177bpm
General feeling: it was okay, nice and easy.

So much for getting back into running after Taiwan.

I also won't be joining the New Balance Pacesetters 15K race, as I'll be heading to Shenzhen for the Jonathan Lee concert as well. Too bad.. would've love to join it. Hopefully Shenzhen got nice gym, or maybe a park! That'll be cool.

Running in Taiwan..

The last couple of days have been pretty great.. the gig went very well, it was very exhilirating to say the least. And we got to meet some cool celebrities like Jeff Chang, Sylvia Chang, Emil Chau, Fish Leung and some others.

After my last post, I retired to the fact that the treadmill in the Sheraton gym will be my only source of workout, so I decided to go with it. But since I am still unable to hold my attention on it for a long time, I decided to go with a training tip I got once from Runners' World (or at least I think I got it from there!). It's basically training to burn fat. To run for 30 minutes (or if that's the only time you have to work out), run the first 10 minutes easy, and the remaining 20 at up to 85% of maximum heart rate. So, with that I managed to do that for three consecutive days even up to the concert. And it was probably one of the best things to have done at the moment, as it definitely kicked up a lot of endorphins to get me to play my best during the gig, and get some workout in the process!

Anyway, now that I'm out of Sheraton (everyone's left early this morning back to KL), we're moved to a less luxurious hotel at our own expense, so that we could hang around Taiwan for the next three days. It doesn't have a gym, so walking around town will be my exercise now.

Oh well, can't wait to get back to KL to do some decent workout. I'm dying to go cycling, again. I haven't touched my bike in probably over a month now.

Later...

Greetings from Taiwan!

Taiwan's been great! I'm really enjoying myself here!

My running and workouts, however, are less something to be joyful about. Being in a city area, it's not very conducive to run for a distance. The only thing I could really hit is the gym, but being a small gym, it's a bit claustrophobic. And treadmills are a bane for me. So for most part it's just short runs on the 'mill, and some on the stationary bike. I just can't run long on a treadmill.. I know it's psychological, but I can't help it. I just hate running on one.

Anyway, can read a bit about Taiwan on my other blog!

Till then, take care y'all.