Things have been quiet lately on the running front due to the haze situation affecting Malaysia. Many outdoor events were canceled due to poor air quality. One of the casualties was the SCKLM 2015 which was to have taken place on 4 October 2015 leaving around 30,000 registrants disappointed and frustrated. I struggled to write about the events leading to the cancellation and the event after (collection of race entitlements) as it was too painful for me to think about the event which I had looked forward to all year only to have been called off due to the never-ending haze problem.
With the cancellation of SCKLM, I don't have any race to report in October. However, I was lucky to have attended my very first running clinic organised by the 2XU Runners Malaysia, a group that organizes regular running/training sessions in the Klang Valley.
Last Saturday, KL had a reprieve in the weather from weeks of being shrouded in smog so I grabbed the opportunity to drive to Bandar Kinrara Puchong to join the running group. I normally do not fancy getting up early in the morning except for race events, but this opportunity to run outdoors was too great to slip so I woke up at 5:45 am, laced up and set off to Bandar Kinrara.
I was greeted warmly by the coach, Karsten Korbel with whom I have been in contact for months. It was he who encouraged me to join running clinics in and around KL if I wanted to get motivation for running. His text message that said I would learn a lot from the clinic rang through my head all day on Friday as I was still undecided if running in a group was for me. But whatever misgivings I had about the running clinic vanished when Karsten took his position as lead coach and got the attendees to get down to business.
We started off with a 5km jog. It was heartening to see about forty runners of various shapes and sizes and fitness level come together early in the morning on a Saturday with the common goal of improving their running technique under the guidance of the dedicated team of coaches from 2XU Runners Malaysia. Karsten ran alongside us, motivating those who were lagging behind to stay in the pack.
After that warm up session, we were served with the "main course" of the day - Fartlek training. I learned that Fartlek which means "speed play" in Swedish, is a training method that blends continuous training with interval training. Karsten whipped up a whiteboard to illustrate the workout that he had planned for us: Alternate between a fast segment (stride hard) for 15 secs and slow jog for one minute for recovery. The stride hard/fast segment goes on an increment of 15 secs each time (15s,30s, 45s, 60s, 75, 90, 105s) before gradually descending to 15s in similar progression.
The Fartlek training was fun and challenging at the same time. I might have switched gear to high pace too soon in the session, so that by the time I had to maintain the fast pace for 95s, I could feel that my heart-rate climbed to near maximum level - it left me with no choice but to drop my pace.
After the training, we jogged twice around a Futsal court, followed by a stretching session to cool down. And of course, a group photo session to make it a memorable event.
The clinic was fun and refreshing and I certainly gained some pearls...
Hope to see the guys and girls again the future running clinics..
With the cancellation of SCKLM, I don't have any race to report in October. However, I was lucky to have attended my very first running clinic organised by the 2XU Runners Malaysia, a group that organizes regular running/training sessions in the Klang Valley.
Last Saturday, KL had a reprieve in the weather from weeks of being shrouded in smog so I grabbed the opportunity to drive to Bandar Kinrara Puchong to join the running group. I normally do not fancy getting up early in the morning except for race events, but this opportunity to run outdoors was too great to slip so I woke up at 5:45 am, laced up and set off to Bandar Kinrara.
 |
| Karsten and I meeting for the first time |
I was greeted warmly by the coach, Karsten Korbel with whom I have been in contact for months. It was he who encouraged me to join running clinics in and around KL if I wanted to get motivation for running. His text message that said I would learn a lot from the clinic rang through my head all day on Friday as I was still undecided if running in a group was for me. But whatever misgivings I had about the running clinic vanished when Karsten took his position as lead coach and got the attendees to get down to business.
 |
| Explaining how the pyramid system works in the Fartlek training |
We started off with a 5km jog. It was heartening to see about forty runners of various shapes and sizes and fitness level come together early in the morning on a Saturday with the common goal of improving their running technique under the guidance of the dedicated team of coaches from 2XU Runners Malaysia. Karsten ran alongside us, motivating those who were lagging behind to stay in the pack.
 |
| Run.... baby run.... |
After that warm up session, we were served with the "main course" of the day - Fartlek training. I learned that Fartlek which means "speed play" in Swedish, is a training method that blends continuous training with interval training. Karsten whipped up a whiteboard to illustrate the workout that he had planned for us: Alternate between a fast segment (stride hard) for 15 secs and slow jog for one minute for recovery. The stride hard/fast segment goes on an increment of 15 secs each time (15s,30s, 45s, 60s, 75, 90, 105s) before gradually descending to 15s in similar progression.
 |
| Practice for the speed segment of Fartlek training |
The Fartlek training was fun and challenging at the same time. I might have switched gear to high pace too soon in the session, so that by the time I had to maintain the fast pace for 95s, I could feel that my heart-rate climbed to near maximum level - it left me with no choice but to drop my pace.
After the training, we jogged twice around a Futsal court, followed by a stretching session to cool down. And of course, a group photo session to make it a memorable event.
 |
| Group photo just before the end of the session |
The clinic was fun and refreshing and I certainly gained some pearls...
Hope to see the guys and girls again the future running clinics..
