Tag Archives: iman hijab

Park Marathon 2015

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This is it. The only thing that stands between me and the recognition of being called a ‘marathoner’ is 2.7km, to be repeated for 16 loops around Bukit Jalil Park. So that will be 2.7km x 16 = 43.2km. In order for me to survive those 16 loops, it was important to have: an experienced friend who acted as a pacer, and an updated playlist on my phone. Ears plugged, we did not make a single sound, except the constant rhythm of our shoes hitting the pavement, with some inhaling and exhaling. I did not mind the silence, it helped me keep my focus. The only time we talked was when “I think we are going too fast/ too slow”, or “Hey, I need to go for a toilet break”, or some words of encouragement. It was too early in the morning for conversations anyways.

IMG_2261One foot in front of the next with the pacer (photo credits to Distance Force)

Suddenly, at close to KM21, there was an outburst of laughter. Has my pacer gone mad for running in loops? “Sorry, I just remembered something funny that my cousin did yesterday”. And then I realised what he was doing. He’s taking his mind off the pain which was slowly setting in, and the thought of repeating 400 meters of gain in elevation for 16 times was slowly eating away my positive motivation.

 

IMG_2272“One 400 meter of hill is ok. I can do this” was slowly turning into “I have to do this again? And again? And again??!!” (photo credits to Seven Chiam)

 

Close to KM30 I was dizzy. I thought that I no longer needed a pacer since I was more than halfway in the race anyways, so I allowed my friend to speed ahead. I tried not to think about it, but my head was spinning and I was starting to lose my balance, so I leaned in the shade of a tree for a few minutes. Thankfully, when I completed that loop there was ice cream waiting at the aid station. I even splashed a few cups of cold water onto my head to cool myself down. The quick-dry Iman hijab I was wearing helped evaporate the water quickly, so my head felt instantly refreshed. I will finish this race!

 

IMG_2269Can you tell how much we love the Iman hijab? High five, ladies! (Photo credits to Intan Suraya)

IMG_2252Is this a run or a feast? Kudos to the organizer for the sweet and salty spread to keep us fueled. Coca-cola, mineral water, and isotonic drinks were aplenty.

Halfway at the 15th loop I realised it was already 10 minutes until the cut off time. Upon reaching the aid station, the organizers handed me my finisher tee and medal, saying that I should stop since I have exceeded 7 hours. I was frustrated since I had just one more loop to complete the race, but at 1pm the park was deserted and it was too hot to continue running without supervision. As much as I wanted to complete the course, I decided it was best to listen and stop. I left the race feeling disappointed and I don’t think I will ever do another race in loops, but I’ll do 42km or more all over again at a different event.

IMG_2268It was so hot, I think I finished at least half bottle of that isotonic drink. (Photo credits to Distance Force)

IMG_2263I am so over. with. running. in. loops…. (Photo credits to Distance Force)

IMG_2257But I’ll gladly do 42km all over again in a normal course.

Until next week,

The Weekend Runner.

The Weekend Runner: Newton Challenge 30KM 2015

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I know that everyone can get a little bit emotional at finishing lines. The welcoming sight of the “FINISH” arch can make you suddenly sprint while smiling and laughing even though your feet hurt, or you may be overwhelmed with thankfulness that you makes you want to cry. In my case my emotions were really messed up; I really wanted to cry because even walking was painful, yet I was so happy because it was finally over that I wanted to shed tears of joy. I bet my tear ducts were really confused that morning.

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This was me at today’s finishing line.(Picture credit: Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon instagram)

When I registered for this race, I plan to treat it as a last minute training for next week’s full marathon debut. The race was 30km, at 70% of a full marathon length it will give me a taste of what is about to come running for 42km. Part of the training also involved a 30km test run last week, however things did not go as planned. Realising that I was low in my mileage, I hastily agreed to a 10km LSD run on the day before the race (Warning: Bad idea, do not try this at home).

To ensure that I made full use of this 30km run as a training session, I deviced a plan to challenge myself to complete in 4 hours. However, it turns out that the race had pacers. I started off by keeping up with the 3:45 hour pacer. They were running at around pace 7:00 to 7:15 minutes/km, which was fine by me since it was still early in the race and I was feeling fresh. However, I lost them at the KM8 water station because I took a longer break to pray Fajr (morning prayers).

I finished praying just in time to keep up with the 4:00 hour pacer. They were cruising at a pretty easy pace of 7:50 to 8:00 minutes/km, so I thought I could cope with that…until I bumped into more hills. My pace slowed significantly by one minute, I can no longer keep up with them at the KM23 marker. By the last 5km, I was seriously contemplating if I should just DNF the race and hitch a ride from the patrolling ambulance because it hurts to even walk. But there was a stronger voice in my head saying “You are so close to finishing! You will finish this, even if you end up crawling!”. So I practically dragged myself to complete at approximately 4 hours and 20 minutes, which was way off target.

 

IMG_2115‘The Plan’ to complete within 4 hours. Does it makes sense to you? Seems pretty straightforward, except for one major flaw: I did not take into account that the route is notoriously hilly, resulting in a significantly reduced pace.

 

IMG_2170Besides running skills, an important characteristic that every pacer should have is being friendly. These two were really helpful and encouraging.

 

No smiling finisher picture from me this time. I was pretty disappointed with myself since I did not complete as planned. On the other hand, I felt accomplished because the hilly route will prove to be useful as part of preparing for next week’s full marathon.

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Until next week,

The Weekend Runner.

The Weekend Runner: Vinyasa Yoga

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I’ve been on a yoga roll lately. I think I was drawn to it because it has principles so different from running – non-competitive, heart-pumping without the adrenaline rush, and taking your time to focus on progress instead of perfection. Yet I think it complements my running routine really well – I learn to listen to my inner-self, build strength and flexibility, and helping me to breathe better.

 

Contrary to popular belief, yoga is not all about meditation, chanting, and relaxing poses. Thanks to Fit Muslim Girl’s blog post on Which Type of Yogi are You?, and my previous experience with Hot Yoga, (now I know it’s called Bikram Yoga), I never knew there were so many different types of yoga to explore! So this week, I decided to try a different type of yoga called Vinyasa Yoga by YogaOneThatIWant (YOTIW). As usual, I booked this class through KFit.

 

According to KFit, Vinyasa Yoga is described as:

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Isn’t KFit awesome? Such a nifty and useful little app because I can continue to explore different types of work out without having to commit to a hefty gym membership.

 

Based on that description, I knew this time around I was not expecting anything relaxing or stretches to straighten any kinks in my muscles. I was prepared for a challenging work out, and it will be a good thing because I really needed to work on toning, strengthening, and balancing. Vinyasa is also great for people with joint problems because they can get some cardio work out, minus the high-impact.

Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset As usual, I like to keep things simple when it comes to yoga. Nothing like a good Nashata Azeeza Zip Up top and my favourite Iman hijab so I can focus more on my poses, not my outfit. Plus this outfit hugs the body at all the right places, so your top won’t slide down in downward dog pose or other inverted poses.

IMG_1559Love the small class. Since there were not many participants, the instructor could go to everyone and check on their poses. We were closely guided to turn or stretch the right muscles first instead of just rushing to get a pose perfectly done. 

 

At the end of the 1 hour session, I got more than just toned muscles; I was also more aware of my posture when I sit or stand, and I was mentally recharged too. I guess Vinyasa yoga helped me more than just finding my balance physically – it also helped me to balance my mind to simply live in the moment.

For more info, head to YogaOneThatIWant’s website (http://yogaonethatiwant.com/yogaone/)

 

 

Until next week,

The Weekend Runner.