Always create your own dreams

Dreams can come true if you take time to think about what you want in your life.
Get to know yourself.
Choose your goals carefully.
Find out what is important to you.
Don't be afraid to make mistakes.
Laugh and have a good time.
Open yourself up.
Live life to the fullest.
Create your own dreams and follow them until they are a reality.

You See Impossible, I Saw Finish Line – Flora London Marathon 2007

Yes, I make it. Due to the crazy idea from my colleague, I have taken part Flora London Marathon 2007 as one of the 'feel the route' runner. I was struggling last few days and wondering is that really works. In fact, nobody will spot me as there are around 30,000 runners in this race. Besides, this is not an offence but more like a challenge. I never expect I am in UK this year and it was too late for me to register the run too.

Flora London marathon has been held each year in London since 1981, usually in April. It was held on 22^nd April this year. It kicks off at Greenwich Park and Blackheath, continues through Surrey Quays, Brunel Road, Tooley Street, Canary Wharf, the Tower of London, Embankment, Parliament Square and Birdcage Walk, with a royal finish on The Mall by Buckingham Palace. The run started at 9am (elite runners) and 9.45am (mass runners). I expected to complete the run before 3pm. Gosh, I will be burned like roasted chicken by the time I came back.

I woke up about 5:15am to take the 6:52 train to Maze Hill. The weather was cloudy, fairly warm. I know I am on the correct train when more and more runners get into the train after half an hour. The station was crowded with marathon runners when I reached there around 8am. I followed the runners who were going to the red start.

I took a new flavour Powerbar but the taste still the same. One word for it ‘yuck’. That’s all I have for my whole marathon journey.

By taking a loophole from the barrier, I manage to go into the crowd before the starting point. It took me 10 minutes by walking to the starting line after the gun went off.

The crowds that turn out along the 26.2 mile route of the Flora London Marathon really impressed me. Thousands turn up to cheer on friends, family and colleagues as they put themselves through a huge mental and physical challenge. This is a race that I could not take my eyes off all the way till finish. There are band performance, motivation music from the shops and funny costume worn by some of the runners. The support from the crowds is phenomenal. I never feel alone by running on my own. The wonderful atmosphere and crowds inspiring marathon sights has distracted my mind from thinking whether I can finish the run or not.

It is getting hotter when I pass through 15km mark. I was pleased to reach the Tower Bridge and the crowds are rousing when passing over the bridge, which mean I’m also close to the half way point. The photographers on Tower Bridge were taking photos to runners who pass through. I might be on the video too. :P

A lot of runners having a hard time with the sun shining and the temperature set to rise above 21C as the day wore on. I saw a lot of runners were suffering and walking with cramps. I manage to survive as I was bought up in a 34C whole year country. However I can’t run away from sun burn on my face and hands.

There are four run-through showers installed along the route to refresh the runners. I really enjoy that. The use of bottles rather than cups for water is convenient for runners to grab the water from volunteers. However it also meant that the later runners were unable to have water to drink. The water had simply run out once. Anyway the organiser added an extra 2,600 bottles of water to the normal stock of 25,000 bottles at each station to help runners deal with the high temperatures.

Time flies, it was few miles left when I ran through Big Ben. London Eyes was across the Thames River. It was magnificent. There is 1 mile to go when I turned the corner at Westminster. The crowd was fantastic. I am so excited and all I had was the anticipation of finishing. The countdown markers came rapidly now. 800m left, 400m left… less than 1 minute to go. Suddenly I was stopped by the organizer from the side saying that I can’t go through the finishing line without a number. :-( Even though it is as expected, I still feel very happy and without any regret.

This is an incredible and memorable event I have taken part and very well organised.

The front and back of London Marathon 2007 medal. Is it nice?

Geneva, Switzerland

Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland after Zurich. Geneva is widely regarded as a global city, mainly due to the presence of numerous international organizationsincluding the European headquarters of the United Nations.

What’s officially still known as “The Republic and Canton of Geneva” is only nominally within Switzerland’s borders, squeezed into a bulge of land that shares just 4km of internal border with its Swiss neighbour but 108km with France all around. Some French frontaliers commute daily to their workplaces in Geneva from dormitory towns just over the border, benefiting from both a high Swiss salary and relatively low French living expenses.

It is a very nice and clean city. The public transport is very well accessible. The people are friendly. Overall, the people here can speak English even though French is still their mother tongue. This make London looks bad. Sorry if I really say so.

With more than a thousand restaurants in the city, you can eat and drink your way around the world in Geneva – at a price. You can get the first grade Dairy products like cheese and chocolates here. Les Arcades du Molard in Geneva is the place to go for people who looking for high-end products and who like to shop in a picturesque atmosphere that changes style from stand to stand. Watches and jewellries shops are at your reach.

Travel on a business trip might be tiring sometimes. Anyway, this is a good opportunity for some visiting.

Spring has sprung

Adidas Seeding Program 2007

What an honour to be chosen as one of the candidate for the Adidas Seeding program. It is like winning the lottery. I never expect I can get the bid among all the competitors as I don't want to miss a chance. Never try never know.

The Adidas Seeding program is a wear test program initiated regionally for runners to try out their latest shoes before they hit the market. This program was opened to Pacesetter members only.

I managed to drop by Adidas headquarter in Plaza Damansara during my trip back to Malaysia on March for the shoes testing. I was given a chance to try out different pairs of adidas shoes which were adiZero LT, Supernova Control and adiStar cushion with the help of Mr Mori.

If you are out to win a marathon, adiStar cushion shoe has all the smooth stability you will ever need. Its ProModerator provides lightweight stability while ForMotion technology adjust to your running style to make every step smoother and more balanced than ever before. The shock absorption is good as well as their cushioning.

However, for Supernova control shoe, it is a light weight running shoe with smooth cushioned ride great for long training runs and for runner who want high comfort and high performance. The Road-smoothing ForMotion technology combined with adiPRENE cushioning and a No Seam upper provides a comfy snug fit ride.

For AdiZero LT, it is a lean and athletic shoes which designed for runners who are seeking for a lightweight. With a lighter weight and new climate-managing materials, this nimble flat is ideal for everything from speed training to marathon racing. The perforated upper and midsole provides excellent ventilation. Even though I hardly wear it for any race, it gives me a feeling that it has no single gram of extra fat which you can fly with it.

March - End of Winter

On Wednesday 20th, the Vernal Equinox will officially mark the beginning of Spring. It is the time at which the sun crosses the celestial equator. On that day the sun will rise directly in the east and set directly in the west. Everywhere on the Earth will experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. This mean UK is 7 hours behind Malaysia now. The weather turn to be a bit shiny and mild. It will be quite nice for me to jog and I can't find any excuse to be lazy now.

KLIM 2007

I just managed to take part KL International Marathon 2007 (18th March) in conjunction with my return to Malaysia last 2 weeks. Without much expectation nor any target for myself, I was enjoying myself in this run. It is great to see that more participants have taken part this year.
The run started at 4.30am which is 1 hour earlier than previous year. This is good for runners who will suffer under the hot sun if they took longer time to complete the run. I woke up 1am in the early morning not because of I'm excited for the run however I am still haven't recovered from the jetlag. I thought I should be quite tired after a long hour flight and fall asleep like a pig. By the time I feel sleepy it is about 6-7am where I am struggling hard toward 30km mark. The sun is so kind to me as it is a mild and pleasant day. Anyway, I don't want to take it for granted as I know the sun will never be mercy to us in Malaysia. I know I am getting closer to the finishing point when some of the pacesetter members cheering for us at the 40km mark. Finally, the finishing point is within my eyesight. Althought it is not a great achievement in term of timing, I have make it again.