Treading in the path of extremism

‘The purpose of a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.’ Proverbs 20:5

'A man’s steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way?' Proverbs 20:24

             The following post is not meant for runners and it’s mainly a sharing of what i am going through spiritually. It may confound Christians and make it seem like I am straying away from God but trust me, this is not the case.

  

              Lately I have been doing a lot of thinking during my run. Is the way I train healthy? Is there a place for competitive running for Christians? Or am I merely striving after wind or chasing my own goals apart from what Christ has for me?  Have I been too extreme in my pursuit of my own hobby? There are no easy answers to these. As there are always two sides to a coin, I can also argue in two different ways. But that’s not really what I am getting at.  I think what I am really asking is: Is God pleased with me and what I am doing? 

              I think about the hours that I put into running and the amount of discipline and sacrifice required.  They are massive. What would God say about them all? If I were to speak liberal, high-achieving modern day Christians, they would probably assure me it’s fine to pursue my own dream, that God gave me this talent for it to be nurtured, that I should do my best to glorify Him (these are the same group of Christians that you see in Australian idol or the X-factor). If I speak to the opposite camp – the conservative, dogmatic group of evangelical Christians, many would undoubtedly comment on how pointless it is to do what I am doing and how my time could have been better spent in reading the bible, praying, being involved in ministry and God’s work (as if running and ministering to fellow runners is not a form of God’s work). In their minds, running, like many other worldly passions, is to be avoided if one is to be serious about his discipleship in Christ.

                If the latter were right, how then would the world know about godly characters such as Eric Liddel (400m Olympic Gold medallist in 1924) and Ryan Hall (current American marathon record-holder), who spent countless hours training in the track and on the road and who, in my knowledge, are both furiously in love with God and His Kingdom’s purpose? How else would the world ever witness the intelligent, genius works of Galileo, Pascal, Newton, Faraday, Paul Brand who also spent numerous hours in their own field of work, studying, experimenting, observing, deducing etc.? Are they guilty of serving two masters – Christ and science, or sport, or medicine? 

Ryan Hall

Eric Liddell

Paul Brand (a missionary doctor who, despite multiple invitations to lead orthopaedic departments or research centres of some of the world's renowned hospitals, decided to spend a third of his career in India working with patients with leprosy)

                If ‘Seek ye first the Kindgom of God and His righteousness’ is strictly interpreted as reading the bible and Christian literature only and doing God’s work in the most traditional sense (i.e serving one another in church, or evangelising to strangers on the street), then many other sincere Christians would be discounted in their service to Christ in their workplace. It is true that if you have interest elsewhere, you may not have as much time reading His Word as compared to say, a person who is a full-time bible college student (a person can only do that much). I will also admit that because of the time I spend in work, studying and running, I don’t have as much time in reading the bible as I would like. But, that doesn’t mean I don’t love God as much, or these things (medicine and running) are more important than God.

              Somehow, it seems like our interpretation of the type of godly activity/work is very much limited to our narrow worldview. If we don’t like music or charismatic worship, we question why other churches are having worship like that of a rock concert with so much noise and lighting. If we don’t appreciate art, we would undermine the Catholic’s emphasis on expression of art in their church architecture. The truth is, God gives each of us a special element of Himself for us to bring it to full expression. Be it art, science, sport, music, they are all special and should be redeemed for His purpose.

               If only you could sneak a peak into the lives of these successful, outstanding folks, to see how they think, to understand what makes them so different from you, and to see that through all of it, they are still very much in love with God. They all work extremely hard, sometimes to the point of obsession (or else how can they be top leaders of their field?), but always guided by biblical principles, as they try their best to balance time between work and spending devoted time with God, though very imperfectly. They are nurturing the gift that God has given them in the most spectacular way, so that the world may see and be amazed by the extraordinariness of God’s people.

                The thing is, if you are only average at your work (I am not saying this in an arrogant or derogatory sense but as matter-of-factly), it will be hard for you to appreciate the heart behind these geniuses. After all, you probably think that it’s good enough for you to be able to recite bible verses and discuss some abstract topics like God’s omnipotence and omniscience, or the subject of free will or salvation on a table with other theologians. Or to end or begin all your conversation with ‘praise God’, ‘thank God’, ‘God will look after you’. Or to cling around Christians only in your holy huddle-muddle and be proud of your Christian accomplishment or service.

              Spiritual maturity is not measured in theological scholarlistic achievement, though meditating God’s Word does play a huge role in keeping you in line with God’s purpose and statutes. It’s the way you live your life, the motivation behind the things that you do, the purpose which you wake up for, how deeply you’d loved, how bravely you’d fought, that you will be judged for when Christ comes again.

  

               Coming back to why I wrote this post… To be very honest, i am not 100% sure if God is pleased with what i am doing. I don't want to be presumptive over this issue and think that my pursuit of this hobby can somehow be 'justified' because i make it sound like it is for God's glory. I fully understand that the heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9), and often times i can't even discern my own motives. There are only three things i can be sure. 1) I love running, 2) I want to do well in it, and 3) I want to do it God's ways and with His strength and wisdom. The challenge then, is for me to remain God-centred and constantly be abiding in Him.

                I know I don’t have a lot of time left in competitive running. Competitive running is taking a lot of hours from my life such that I won’t be able to sustain for a long time (During peak season, I train on average 8-10 hours a week). Next year will probably be my last. Raymun and I still have the massive project of running across Malaysia at the end of next year, which at this point I am not sure if it will come to past. If we are doing the project for self-centred reasons - to fulfil our desire and love for running, then we might as well forget it. We can run in our backyard for this. The only reason big enough for us to pour in our time and effort in planning the entire project is if we could use it to invest into the lives of our fellow countrymen, in helping them understand more about their health.

                My wife and I will have kids one day. When that day comes, I want to focus my time on being a father to them. When Rachel is cooking, instead heading out for a run, I want to sit with them to look after them and sing songs with them. When they are old enough, I want to bring them out for camping and hiking, and to show them a glimpse of God’s glorious creations, to tell them beautiful bible stories and make it real and applicable to them. If they are keen to pick up running, then perhaps we have some common ground to work on!

                Dear Father, bring me to my knees. Bring me back to You when i have strayed away. Hide me in Your love. Preserve me in the midst of trials and temptations. I want to run in the path of Your command, for you have set me free. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

Pinnacle Classic

This is my first official race of the season and I was very excited to see where i stand amongst a field of talented and experienced runners. Pinnacle Classic is extremely intense race with 18 hills to tackle in the course of 18km, hence before the race i have been logging a lot of miles in hilly terrain to prepare my legs for the uphill onslaught.

Prior  to the race, i knew the big three would be there: Ben Duffus (a young 20 year-old guy who has been winning all the races he joined and breaking course records at the same time. His PB for 5000m is 15:35), Caine Warburton (PB of 16:01 in 5000m who has been winning multiple ultra and middle distance races in the last 2 years), and Dave Coombs (the winner of Pinnacle Classic in 2011).

All of these did not matter when the whistle went off, when i led the charge to attack the first hill. I decided that i was going to run with them for as long as i could possibly sustain. I was able to run the first 4-5km next to them, but after that I started to feel I was not able to power up the hills the same way they did. At that time, my heart rate was sitting dangerously high at 171-180. Fearing that i might bonk in the second half, i decided to let them go and i would focus on running my own race. There were lots of cyclists then, and though they blazed past us with their road bike in the downhill, I was able to wheel them in, and even overtake them during the uphill.

I passed the half way point (9km) at 42 minutes. I thought the worst was over, and from then on it would be mostly downhill all the way. I could not have been more wrong. It was downhill for 500m, and then uphill for 200m, down for 600m and up for another 300m. So we continued on in this undulating terrain. Some of the uphills in the second half were extremely steep, and i had to switch on hands-on-knee hiking posture in a couple of occasions.

Unfortunately, going out too fast in the first half meant that my mental and psychological reserve were running low in the second half. I was overtaken by 2 guys in the last 5km (one at approx 13km mark and the other at 16km mark) and i just had no extra energy left to chase them. I mustered whatever i had left to ensure i finish hard and well, in 6th place, with a time of 1:27:27, and a total elevation gain of 790m according to my Suunto Ambit watch. (See the move here). The top three finished in 1:17, 1:19 and 1:21 accordingly.

All in all, it has been a great day out in the trail. Though I think i may have done better in my pacing and uphill running, I am pleased with the performance and i look forward to running with these guys again.

ME leading the charge in the beginning

The top three runners - who are all part of the Kokoda Racing Spirit team

2km more to go (i was eventually overtaken by the topless guy behind)

Male (Ben Duffus) and female winner

A new beginning and a new season (part 2)

For the past 2 months i have remained largely inactive in blogging, my apology for that. This is mainly because i am now a married man, which means i don't have the luxury of time as i would when i was single. Here is just an update of what has been going on lately.

Last month Rachel finally arrived in Australia, and we have moved to a 30-acre farm house in Mt Mee. The owner of the house is paediatric neurologist from the Royal Children Hospital who loves animals. She suffered a silent subdural haemorrhage (bleeding in the brain) which has taken her off work for the rest of the year, so she is spending most of her time here in Mt Mee building a hospice for the really ill children and their families. There are all kinds of animals in this house - Chickens, Guinea Fell (a type of bird), horses, cattles, piglets (to arrive soon), dogs etc. And each morning and evening, Rachel and i had to take turn to feed them. Coming from a nice, comfortable, clean and cosy home in KL, it was a big change for Rachel. Adjusting to a completely foreign environment with a completely different culture has not been easy. She had to spend most her time cleaning up the house, sweeping and mopping the floor, cleaning the kitchen, the bathroom, cooking etc (which again is something that she is not used to). I feel really really sorry for all that she has to go through, and i am really proud that she has been doing her best to stay strong in this period, despite being far away from home and needing to deal with all the household chores.

So what's my current routine like with this new life? I go off to work at 6.25am, come home at around 4pm, spend time with Rachel till around 5.30-6pm, and then i would head for a run (usually an hour) in the dark whilst Rachel prepares dinner, have dinner at 7pm, and then we would spend the rest of the night together. Now that I am in a different phase of life, marriage obviously takes priority over work and running so i only head off for a run if it doesn't eat into our time together (like when she is cooking or sleeping). This means doing most of my run in the evening on week days (in the dark), or early in the morning on weekends whilst she is still sleeping.

I have always dreaded running in the dark. My head-torch went out of battery in a number of occasions such that i had to rely on moonlight to provide me with some lighting on the road. Living in this part of the country also means that there is hardly any street light at all. Hence it has been a eerie and chilly experience, especially when i run past cemetery. Given that I don't have much of a choice, I really have to adjust to being comfortable running in the dark. There were times where i felt a deep sense of peace and calmness, like God is watching over my every footstep and lighting up the way with the stars and moon when my torch has gone off, and those were rare moments. Most times, i am at the edge of my nerve and is hypersensitive to every kind of noise i hear along the way. :( 

Work-wise, i am almost coming to the end of my surgical rotation. This surgical rotation has truly been phenomenal! I have been able to do a lot more in the ward, outpatient and theatre. My bosses and registrars have trusted me enough to allow me to assume responsibility that is beyond my current level of expertise, and this has given me a lot of confidence in tackling more difficult tasks and complicated cases. More than that, it also gave me a strong affirmation that i am on a correct training path, that Surgery is the way to go for me (considering the fact that i have always wanted to be a physician as a student). I have also finished writing up a paper on a case of bilateral obturator hernia and it's now pending publication. I am very grateful to all my colleagues, especially my registrars for teaching me and guiding me in this career pathway. Though there is a hiccup recently in my work, which resulted in me being reprimanded publicly and unfairly by a senior colleague (who himself has demeaning attitude and questionable work ethic), i am thankful for the support that all the other colleagues have shown me. On my personal level, I had learned that there are bitter people in every Specialty (esp in surgery) who are jealous of the progress that others are making, and are out to create obstacles and make life difficult for everyone. God, please give me the strength to forgive him, and the wisdom to learn to deal with difficult colleagues in the future. 

That's all for now. :)

At Pittstop (overlooking Dayboro)

Celebrating Rachel's 27th birthday in Sunshine Coast

Went for a bicycle ride together

Aster (Rachel's sister) came up for a vist

Don't they look alike?

Rachel's new friend - Adena who is a horse-lover

Louise and i

Horse-riding!

Welcome a new member of Tee family - Emin *Dong dong dong*

Best mates - Eli and Joel (my nephews)

Saying Bye to Rachel. She has left for home for a month :(

A new beginning and a new season

Avillion, Port Dickson

The wedding aisle

The lovely bride and her father

Exchange of vows

Marching out in PD, we are officially Mr and Mrs Tee!

The March-in in Bukit Jalil dinner ceremony

Chatting with Seow Kong and Allan before the ceremony

Popping champagne

That's a fake cake by the way :D

The speech stressed me out!

With two bestmen and bridesmaids !

With my parents-in-law, it's a blessing indeed to have such wonderful in-laws

Last day of internship

Finally together with all my friends, i have completed my internship. This means i am a qualified, registered junior doctor now! Looking back at the day when we started, there is definitely a big change in all of us. I think i am more matured and less scared as compared to our first day. Surprisingly it has not been all that stressful as TV series eg Scrubs or Grey's made it out to be. There were definitely stressful days, especially when i was doing emergency medicine (such that i still have palpitations whenever i walk by ED), but as a whole, i thought it was pretty manageable.

Now i am looking forward to my next term - General Surgery. Being the only 'more senior' resident amongst all the new interns, I am sure there would be expectations placed on my performance. I have a few goals in this new rotation. In order of priority, they are 1) complete my daily task as a resident to the best of my ability such that patient care will be a quality one, 2) spend as much time in the theatre as my work allows without compromising 1) and hone my surgical skill, 3) brush up my surgical anatomy 4) complete an audit project or write up a paper to be published in a journal.

Just to recap what i have done in the week, Sebastian - a friend from Holland that Raymun and I made when we were in Blue Mountains, decided to give me a surprise visit. He stayed over at my place for about a week, and though i was busy at my work, we managed to make time for good conversation. We talked about everything from creation to evolution, aliens, God, the exclusive nature of truth, morality in the face of utter human corruption, the meaning of marriage, the meaning of sex, the hypocrisy and failure of christians and the church etc. Sebastian definitely has shown a lot of maturity for someone his age (he is only 19). He believes that the earth was created (rather than evolved), just that he doesn't think the creator is the God of the bible. I am just glad to have the opportunity to speak to him. On the last night, when we were both tired and spent from talking, i offered to pray for him. He agreed. At our prayer, I asked God to make Himself known to him.

Another highlight of the week is,  for the first time of my life, I completed the grand slams in Glasshouse Mountains. Having lived here for almost a year now, I have never attempted more than one mountain at a given time. On Friday, Sebastian and i attempted all four on the same day. Mt B (556m), Mt Tibrogargan (364m), Mt Ngungun (253m) and Mt Beerburrum (280m). It was extremely hot that day, so getting from one mountain to another was a challenge. But we managed to complete three (Mt B, Ngungun and Beerburrum) before lunch time, and i went on my own to tackle Tibrogargan in the evening to round up the Grand Slam.

I learned something about this expedition. Running uphill and hiking uphill are two different exercises which recruit slightly different muscles. I don't really know how to explain this in a simple way. Running uphill requires fast turnover of the feet, thereby ensuring efficient release of stored energy in the muscles each time you land and push off. Hiking uphill, on the other hand, requires your feet to be on the ground much longer (i.e slower turnover), and such action not only slows you down naturally, it also requires more power on the part of your feet to move the feet up steeper gradient. When running uphill, the gradient of the slope is usually gentler (otherwise if the gradient is too steep, you won't be to run up). Hence it doesn't require so much energy to push off, especially when you have a quick feet turnover. However when you hike up hill, due to the fact that your feet stays longer on the ground before push off (longer ground contact time), the energy transfer isn't as efficient so you require more energy to complete the task.

If you can run uphill well, it does not mean you can hike steeper hills just as well. In my opinion, they are both different exercises which need to be trained for any serious athlete wanting to do well in mountain races.

Hmm.. My fiance and I really want to go for mission revival prayer meet in Gunung Murud in Sarawak, Borneo in July next year. But i am doubtful of my ability to take leave at that period. Sigh.. Dear Father, if You want me to go, You will make it happen. I just have to surrender, trust and obey.

Now I am going to sleep soon so i can wake up early to reach work by 6.45am. Good night!

Total distance: 47km

Total elevation: 2264m 

Total time: 6hrs41mins

Ascent in Mt B

View from Mt B

Yes you pretty much have to be on all fours when coming down

Peak of Mt B - Seb and I

Running across Malaysia 2014

Sometime in the beginning of last year, I chanced upon Raymun's post on facebook regarding Dean Karnazes' latest solo 354km run in under 2-3 days. Almost instinctively, I made a random comment about us running from Perlis (the most northern state in Malaysia) to Johor (the most southern state in Malaysia) together sometime in the future. Raymun, being child-like and enthusiastic at heart, responded immediately with a resounding YES! Other friends who saw our post also joined in the madness thinking that we were just joking; one of them whose hometown is Taiping offered us Chee Cheong Fun (literally translated as pig's intestine) if we make it past his hometown. It's one of those times when you don't think too much about what's being said and you just go with the flow of the conversation. But when all the fun eventually settled, the reality of what was said was beginning to sink in and it's time to get serious and think about what we just said. Later that day, Raymun sent me a message asking: 'Bro, are you really serious about this?'

Ideas, they say, are a dangerous thing. They are more stubborn and resistant than the most fulminant disease. In this case, i cannot agree more.

We did not talk much over the next few months. I think we both kinda know that this project has struck a very deep cord in our hearts, such that it almost felt like a life mandate that we have to fulfil. It's as if we were summoned to carry this out, entrusted with the gift of running to bring this to completion. In the meantime, we just let the idea slowly gain more strength and form in our hearts and minds as we carry about our daily business. 

But, what purpose is big enough for us to do this? Surely it's not about setting records, nor is it about being the first persons to do this and the kind of bull-crap. I was just reading Roe Grant's book recently (Ron was the first person to run around Australia,  he completed the circumnavigation of 13,383 km in 217 days for an overall daily average of 61.67km), and i noticed how self-centred and individualistic his goals were. Yes he said he was doing it for charity and ya-da ya-da, but it seemed clear from his writing that his deepest motivating factor is he wanted to be the first person to do this, he wanted finish everything in the fastest time, he wanted to set national and world record, he wanted the significance that comes from accomplishing a major feat. His ambition was governing him like a ravenous beast, making him go from a feat to another, to the point where he neglected and lost his wife and family in the process. Later on, there were other similar individuals such as Gary Parson and Pat Farmer who also arrived at the ultra-running scene and attempted similar crazy feats. You would have thought that they would be good friends, since they shared such similar passions. But no. They are not. There is too much ego and rivalry involved such that they can't see eye to eye. 

Personally, I don't think there is anything glorious in accumulating accolade or achievement. Life is not measured by what you could do for yourself. Whether you can run 10km, or 42km, or 100km, or 100 miles, or beyond 100 miles in a single day, really has no bearing whatsoever to the person sitting next to you. Yes there is nothing wrong in doing these things, but if that's all you are all about, then you are a sad person who has nothing else important in life. 

So come back to our story, we thought hard about why we wanted to do this. Or more like - what do we really want to accomplish out of this? To raise fund for refugees so they can continue to pay their rent for an educational centre? Or for orphanage for the kids to buy some food and stationery for their daily needs? Or to raise fund for other charitable organisations or cancer foundation?

From 30 Nov to 3 December 2012, we both decided to take a short 3-day retreat to the Blue Mountains, Sydney, to discuss about this. We spent our day discussing the objectives, mapping out the route, plotting the time line etc. Every now and again, we would head for a leisure run in the trails, exploring the mountains around. I wish we could do this for a living!

At Three Sisters

Mt Solitary from a distance

Brain-storming activity

As you might have guessed, our education and involvement with patients in the hospital on a daily basis have a huge influence on everything that we do. As such, we both contemplated on the subject of health of our fellow countrymen. We both know that when a patient ends up in the hospital with heart attack, it's usually not because he was 'unlucky' or have bad family genes or this is just an accident. He lands himself in the hospital because he decided to, i.e all the past 30-40 years of his life, he had made decisions which he thought were seemingly trivial eg adding extra sugar to his teh-tarik, eating nasi lemak or roti canai or bak-kuk-teh frequently for breakfast, smoking, leading sedentary lifestyle and not getting his bum up to do exercise. These decisions ultimately result in him having a heart attack, or having a diabetic foot, or having kidney failure, or losing his visions, or having a major stroke. For some, it cost them their lives or results in permanent disability. Not to mention heaps of other problems such as obesity, chronic joint pain, lung disease, depression, insomnia, all of which are easily preventable if you pay attention to your lifestyle. 

Hence, we thought this is what we are going to do: We are going to run from one town to the other, starting from Kangsar in Perlis, and educate the local people on how to lead healthy lifestyles. More than that, we want to radically define meaning of health to the people. We will focus on children, housewives, families, or anyone who is willing to listen to us, and give them easily digestible tips, practical advice and resources on health. As such, we are not in the rush to finish the whole project in the fastest time possible. We need to make sure we still have energy left at the end of the run to talk to the people in the town that we pass by.

Recently we read of a Malaysian doctor - Dr Ghantan, who walked over 1000km from Bukit Kayu Hitam to Johor Bharu to raise awareness on organ donation. The newspaper article of his feat is available here. He battled adverse weather conditions, blisters in both his legs, and sometimes he even had to sleep in bus stations, just to collect pledges for organ donation from the people that he met along the way. We were really encouraged by his sheer determination and courage, and we know we are not alone in this. There are doctors out there who, despite the apparent flaws in our national health care system, believe in playing a part at contributing to the health of our nation. 

As you can see, the focus is not really so much about the run. 'Running' is sort of like our means of transport to get from one point to another. Of course, if a kid sees us running and wants to pick up running as a hobby, we will be more than happy to run with him or her. Running also shows to people that we humans need to always be on the move, to allow better blood circulation and cardiovascular health, brings down your blood sugar level and blood pressure, and elevate your mood at the same time (the best cure for depression!). 

So what transpired from our discussion in Blue mountains are the following,

The primary purpose of the run is simple: We want to go around peninsular Malaysia and radically define health to our fellow countrymen. To educate, raise awareness on this topic of HEALTH in general. 

This will take place in December 2014, across 40 days, covering approximately 1400km. We will run anywhere between 30-50km in a day, and we will finish each day in either a major landmark or smaller towns to bring to people the message of HEALTH. 

We will both take 2-3 months off our work to run around peninsular Malaysia. 

The tentative route is as shown in the map. (See below).

With regards to fund-raising, we are still undecided. We have given a lot of thoughts to this topic of charity fund-raising, and recent examples of misuse of fund has not been very encouraging. I will write more about this in future post when i have time what i think about charity bodies like cancer research foundation, non-profitable organisations etc. For now, we don't see the dire need to raise fund as yet. We may change our mind later on. 

We need a crew of members. For now, we already have a sport nutritionist, a free-lance professional photographer, a videographer, and three ladies capable in administrative matters. We still need two more persons. First is someone who catches the essence of this project, who will be our leader and oversee the entire project from head to tail. The next person is someone who is skilled in IT and internet website designing. Anything related to social media and publicity will be handled by this person. If you think you have what it takes, please contact me at tee_jimmy@hotmail.com, and i will explain to you more. 

We want to make a video documentary out of this project, detailing the entire journey from the beginning to the end. 

My dream (i am not sure if this is possible) - is to write a book with Raymun on this project as well. I just want to share a little on who we are, why we want to do this, and the people that we have met in this journey.

Let me reiterate that there is no tangible (eg financial) reward for anyone who wishes to join us. The only reward is knowing that you have made an effort to touch the soul of another human being, and potentially save the life of another person because the person heeds your advice on looking after his or her own health. 

As i said before, and i will say it again, the focus on this project is not the run. The run is merely a tool, a method to attract people's attention to the true message that we carry in our hearts, i.e. we want to bring across the message of HEALTH to anyone who is willing to listen! What better way to do this than to run from one town to another from north to south and back to north again in our own country! :D

Now let's hope everything come to pass!

Dear heavenly Father, You know our heart desires. You know our dreams, as well as our selfish motives - nothing can hide from You. If there is something displeasing to You, please make it clear to us. Break us Lord, if necessary, that we may not persist in our foolishness. Otherwise, grant us the strength and the wisdom to do this, and do it well, to the glory of Your name. In Jesus' name I pray and ask of You, Amen. 

Planning our route

An overview - the first draft

The route across different states

TOYing with speed

For the past few weeks I have been playing with speed in running. I have never really considered speed an important factor in ultra-running all these while as i have always thought that the fast ones will die fast too. Not until in recent times when you keep seeing ultra-running records come tumbling down. These records in 50 miles, 100km, 100 miles weren't just broken; they were smashed! A big reason to this is runners, athletes alike are paying more and more attention to speed work. Gone are the days where ultra-running is just about running really really long hours covering really really distance. Now the competitive scene in ultra-running is about covering really really long distance in the shortest time possible.

In my personal journey as a runner, i have never been fast. Prior to completing my 100km this year, i have never ran 10km under 40 mins. My best half marathon time so far is still 1 hour 29 mins and marathon time is 3 hrs 21 mins. Speed has never been my trump card in any race; my strengths are in my ability to last really long without fading, and in climbing hills.

So in this period when i don't have the time to run long hours due to work commitment and marriage preparation, i decided to cover all my running in as quick a time as my body allows. Of course i listen to my body very carefully. If i had a really hard run yesterday, today i may go semi-hard, or i might rest to run hard the following day. Another thing i try to do is to add as much hills and elevation as possible in my running, and i thoroughly enjoy the process of treading up steep hills (slowly but never slowed to a hike), and blasting downhill afterwards.

So i have seen my timing go down in a variety of distances and my ability in holding a good speed for a long time improved. A few notable achievements in the past few weeks were,

I managed to cover 12km in 47 mins

A week later, i managed to cover 15km in 59 mins.

My best 3km time is 10m42s and 4km time is 14m20s.

Last week I managed to break a long-standing course record in an extremely hilly road run in Mt Mee. I did 12.9km with a total elevation of 300m in a time of 53m33s. The previous record was held by Ian Kent, current Towoomba Marathon record holder (2hr22m) in a time of 54m43s set about 10 years ago. Ian Kent set this record 3 years after setting the record in Towoomba marathon, when he was still running 35 mins for 10km. (unfortunately a poisonous fume accident released by an agricultural farm while Ian was out running resulted in his lungs being severely damaged and he was not able to run anymore after that).

I have been pleasantly surprised by what the body could do. Previously speed training has never been an area that i wanted to go near, simply because of its high intensity nature and that fact that it results in injuries easily. I dislike slogging out in the trail whilst i was supposed to take easy and enjoy my surrounding. Now that i am doing that quite often, i realised that it is not that difficult after all to run at a reasonably fast pace in a long time, so long as your body is conditioned to do it. I am curious to know how i would fare in 21km and 42km now that i have a lot more speed training under my belt.

Finally just some updates on the statistics for the past two weeks.


10-16 Dec 2012

Total distance: 48.5km
Total elevation: 1161m
Total time: 3hr52min
Average speed: 4.80 min/km
Speed work (Thursday): 2 X (5x400m). Each 400m around 1m 10-15s

17-23 Dec 2012

Total distance: 71.3km
Total elevation: 1547m
Total time: 5hr46min
Average speed: 4.85 min/km
Speed work (Thursday) : 5 X 800m. 2:40, 2:40, 2:38, 2:36, 2:33

My cute little nephew. I hope he is ready to be our wedding page boy next year! 

Photo present from my fiancee!  

Post-run treat. What a way to quench thirst!

I went to learn cooking in a Thai Restaurant so that i can cook for my future wife one day. :)

My first Thai Special Fried Rice! :D

Visiting my neighbour who breeds beagles! Beagles and retrievers are two of our favourite dogs!

Breast-feeding the pups!

Mt Mee. Stunning scenery. Planning to move here next year!

Winery in Mt Mee

Visiting Mt Mee Community Mountain-top Church