Activity 14/2010 - 30 August - Penang Merdeka Fun Run 2010

What : Penang Merdeka Fun Run 2010
Organised by : Belleview Group, Prangin Mall JMB, Prangin Mall Merchants Association, and PDC Setia Urus,
When : 30 August 7:00pm to 12:00 midnight, Flag-off at 10:00pm
Where : Lebuh Lintang between Prangin Mall n 1st Avenue Mall
Distance : 2.5km

This was one of the events held in the state in conjunction with the Merdeka celebrations. More than 50 runners from our Group participated in this event which coincidentally also set an ideal occasion to hold birthday celebrations for SK and Jen whose birthdays fall on Merdeka Day.

By 6:30pm Cupido Kelvin, Adrian Ho, James Lee and later Jen were kind enough to give their helping hands to collect the T-shirts for all the participants at the Start, our thanks to them. This event must be well sponsored as only a token of RM2.00 of registration fee was collected from each participant.

I arrived at the Start at 8:30pm but there was already a carnival atmosphere with noises, photo taking sessions and loud music played over the speakers on a specially built stage. The run was scheduled to start at 10:00pm and 10m minutes before that the organisers did a perfect arrangement by having a warming up dance-exercise performance led by 3 instructors on stage with hot music and the crowd enjoyed it.

The race was horned off sharply at 10:00pm by YB Tuan Ng Wei Aik in the direction of Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong, Lebuh Carnovan, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, Lebuh Chulia, Penang Road, Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong, Jalan Ria, Lebuh Lintang for a distance of 2.5km. It was an unique fun run under street lights and moon light with most runners holding a Merdeka flag each and we could hear some shouts of "Merdeka", "Merdeka" along the streets.

Upon arrival at the Finish it was the climax of the carnival with cultural dances and performances by various ethnic groups followed by lucky draw prize presentations of very attractive including sports bicycles and hampers

Meanwhile our Group had our birthday celebrations for SK and Jen and thanks to MLing who prepared a yummy Merdeka cake to bring this occasion more joy.

Wish to express our thanks and appreciations to all those who had contributed their kind assistance in the participation of this event, especially to Andrew, Jin, MLing, Gan and to our photographers Adrain, Leng Hin, SK and all others

Our runners were surprised that prizes were in fact awarded to the top 5 finishers when the announcement made by the MCee was that all prizes were allocated for lucky draws only, anyway this event was well organised and we thank the organisers.

click here for an album of photos courtesy of Mei Ling

click here for an album of photos courtesy of Adrian Ho

Berlin..Berlin...Berlin......

Berlin..Berlin...Berlin......

RICE - Treatmet Tips for Sports Injury

If you suffer an injury such as a sprain, strain, muscle pull, or tear, immediate first aid can prevent complications and help you heal faster. One of the most important acronyms to remember if you get a sports injury is R.I.C.E.
R.I.C.E. stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Using these 4 immediate first aid measures can relieve pain, limit swelling and protect the injured tissues, all of which help speed healing.

When an injury occurs the damaged area may bruise, swell or bleed (externally or internally) and become inflamed. Healing occurs as the damaged tissue is replaced by collagen, perhaps better known as scar tissue. In most cases the tissue needs complete repair before you should return to sports.
The R.I.C.E. Method of Acute Injury Treatment

* Rest: Resting is important immediately after injury for two reasons. First, rest is vital to protect the injured muscle, tendon, ligament or other tissue from further injury. Second, your body needs to rest so it has the energy it needs to heal itself most effectively.
* Ice: Use ice bags, cold packs or even a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a thin towel to provide cold to the injured area. Cold can provide short-term pain relief. It also limits swelling by reducing blood flow to the injured area. Keep in mind, though, that you should never leave ice on an injury for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. Longer exposure can damage your skin. The best rule is to apply cold compresses for 15 minutes and then leave them off for at least 20 minutes.
* Compression: Compression limits swelling, which slows down healing. Some people notice pain relief from compression as well. An easy way to compress the area of the injury is to wrap an ACE bandage over it. If you feel throbbing, or if the wrap just feels too tight, remove the bandage and re-wrap the area so the bandage is a little looser.
* Elevation: Elevating an injury reduces swelling. It's most effective when the injured area is raised above the level of the heart. For example, if you injure an ankle, try lying on your bed with your foot propped on one or two pillows.

Excerpt from about.com

Preparing for the Long Run

While completing long runs can be sometimes difficult, preparing properly for these training sessions will make this important workout much easier to accomplish. Listed below are areas of concern that require your careful preparation prior to, and during your long run. Let's assume that your long run is scheduled for Sunday morning.
Rest

* Get lots of rest Saturday night, aiming for 8 hours sleep.

* Make either Friday or Saturday a complete rest day for the legs.

* If you do train on Saturday, make it a very light workout on the legs.

Nutrition

* Drink lots of water all day Saturday.

* Eat meals high in carbohydrates for lunch and dinner Saturday. Selecting the "right" foods is an important area of experimentation.

* Avoid foods high in salt and excessive protein and/or fat all day Saturday.

* Drink about 16 ounces of water Sunday morning prior to your long run.

* Eat a light snack Sunday morning prior to your long run. This is also an important experimentation area in regard to food selection.

* Drink lots of fluids while running. Be sure to stop for water frequently throughout the run. For runs longer than 90 minutes, you MUST drink sports beverages (such as Gatorade, PowerAde, etc.) at every two to three mile interval. Drinking on the run requires careful planning of the route (making sure there is water frequently available along with places to stash sports drinks).

* Consider trying gel carbohydrate replacement products. Be sure to chase these supplements down with water to avoid stomach cramps and insure absorption. A final thought: Please dispose of gel and energy product wrappers properly by throwing them away in trash receptacles or placing them in your fanny pack. Let's all work together to keep the environment clean!

* After the run is over, continue to drink fluids (water, sports drinks, and/or juice products are all great choices).

* As soon as possible (ideally within 15 minutes), grab something nutritious to eat to replace your depleted glycogen stores. Research indicates that to avoid muscle fatigue the next day, carbohydrates should be eaten as soon as possible following long duration exercise

Excerpt from: Marathon Pal

2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon approaches - Athens Classic Marathon 2010

Every time someone runs a marathon, they metaphorically retrace steps taken during one of the most momentous events in world history, the Battle of Marathon in 490BC. A few thousand Athenian and Parthian soldiers, led by the warrior Miltiades destroyed a huge force of invading Persians on the plain of Marathon, a victory widely acknowledged to have ensured the democratic legacy of Western culture.

The tale that most people know about events in 490BC is that a messenger named Phillipides or Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory, then collapsed and died. Out of that legend, the marathon race was born.

But the original legend, whose first report was 600 years after the battle (thus highly questionable) was that the messenger first went to Sparta to ask for help, was rebuffed, and ran back to Marathon, before going to Athens to announce victory.

2010 is the 2500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon. And the organisers of the Athens Classic Marathon are preparing for another invasion.

Excerpt: iaaf

The Above event will be held on 31 Oct

Highlights of The History of Athens Marathon

The modern Athens Marathon commemorates the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield at the site of the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C., bringing news of a Greek victory over the Persians. Legend has it that Pheidippides delivered the momentous message "Niki!" ("victory"), then collapsed and died, thereby setting a precedent for dramatic conclusions to the marathon.

When the modern Olympic games were inaugurated in 1896 in Greece, the legend of Pheidippides was revived by a 24.85 mile (40,000 meters) run from Marathon Bridge to Olympic stadium in Athens
At the 1908 Olympic Games in London, the marathon distance was changed to 26.2 miles to cover the ground from Windsor Castle to White City stadium, with the 2.2 miles added on so the race could finish in front of royal family's viewing box. This added two miles to the course, and is the origin of the Marathon tradition of shouting "God save the Queen!" (or other words relating to the Queen) as mile post 24 is passed. After 16 years of extremely heated discussion, this 26.2 mile distance was established at the 1924 Olympics in Paris as the official marathon distance

Excerpt from : http://www.athensmarathon.com/marathon/history.html

Things To Consider While Running Long

# Run at a conversational pace by starting out slowly to conserve glycogen.
# Running at an easy pace reduces the possibility of incurring an injury.
# Stay loose by shaking out your arms and shoulders regularly.
# Carry your arms close to your waist or hips to conserve energy. Also avoid unnecessary arm swing, particularly laterally across the body.
# Realize that long runs will sometimes be difficult to complete and that you may experience some "bad patches" in the later miles. Persevering through these stretches will develop mental toughness, an essential skill that will be needed during the marathon.
# Use imagery, mental rehearsal/visualization, and self-talk to develop mental toughness. Mentally break the course into sections.

Excerpt from:www.marathontraining.com