Weather Forecast Says Evening Rain

Good morning!

I have holiday weight to lose but my muscles are still sore from goodness knows what, and it keeps pouring in the evening, thus making me hungry all the time, and I'm bored with work but I have to work, anyway, and I'm tired, I need sleep, when will I find the time to workout again? Gah!

Anyway, it was a great break away from the usual routine, albeit only for a week. Spent the week in Melbourne and out of Melbourne, nothing fancy, just some running and loads of eating. Shopping was dismal (too expensive!) and looks like I won't be thinking twice when I shop here in Malaysia now.

Cough.

I mean, for necessary items, of course.

Like new trail shoes, long running pants, new shoes, new working clothes, new shades, new glasses, ...

Phase 2 of Transition is in motion.

I am currently serving my notice and will officially be unemployed next month. It would be great if some of you could spare me a free meal and coffee every now and then ... doesn't have to be much, 2 capatis will do. :D

Just kidding.

I can make my own capati, if I wanted to, but I would be deprived of your lovely company!

Many thanks for the birthday greetings and well wishes. I loved the unexpected messages I received from friends and family. They made me smile wide (despite my chubby cheeks being in the way) and I was happily reporting to the hubby about them. My mum was the FIRST to wish me on Labour Day (she is very competitive!), love her to bits for it.

Upon arriving from Melbourne at KLIA on Sunday morning, I hopped onto another flight to KK to cast my vote for the General Elections. My station was my old high school and as it was on the way home, it took about 10 minutes for everything to be done.

I was quite nervous, in fact, and stared hard at the ballot papers. Being a first time voter, I didn't want to mess things up!

It was EXTREMELY hot and humid in KK and you would have wanted to spend the entire day in an air-conditioned room if you could. Poor little munchkin of a niece was equally sticky from the heat but regardless, play time continued for her. :)

With less than 8 weeks to go, I have not started on my half marathon training for Standard Chartered KL Marathon. I don't know where to start! So I'm going to do my best to try and follow an intermediate plan and hope I will improve when the time comes.

I also contemplated being vegetarian during the weekdays and go back to being a carnivore on weekends but ... it is still in contemplation.

I finally finished reading Scott Jurek's Eat & Run book and I must say, if I may, that I was horrified with how competitive he is (or 'was'). I don't know. I read about the first few races he participated and lost or won and I was in awe. I respected the hunger and craze he had to push and pull through. I wanted to feel what he felt too, as he ran through the trails (not bitumen, mind you). But as he won race after race, years of constant practice and determination to always be a winner, I gradually got fed up.

It's like how we average runners wish we had the chance to excel, to occasionally be recognised for our efforts, despite not being identified as an 'elite', Race after race (I'm referring to our events here in Malaysia), we see the same people on the podium, treating prize monies as their extra income. Every race, I see their face and name appear.

Is competition the only thing that drives them? Is that how they enjoy their runs? When was the last time they had an easy run with their regular friends, chit chatting along the way?

Anyway, back to the book. I was relieved to find out in the end that there were occasions where he let go of the competitive streak in him to enjoy some of the runs. Thank goodness and thank you! He reminds us all what running is about, that is to take your time* and enjoy your surroundings because it's not always about winning.

(*But I'd like to impress that you should also take your training seriously. Just because you take 7 hours to complete a marathon does not mean that you should continue with this track record. If an event provides for a cut off time, do your best to train towards it or faster.)

*throws up hands in the air*

Alright, I'm not a professional runner so you don't have to listen to me. :)

Rain.

Expect it to rain elephants and hippos every evening until next Tuesday. That's what the weather forecast said. Boo!

I was on the verge of a panic attack last night as my car pushed through puddles of rain together with plenty of other cars on the road. The lights on my dashboard were growing faint and flickered (I was staring at the digital clock) and I prayed like crazy that the engine wouldn't die! I didn't want to be part of the statistics of car breakdowns and contributing to the massive traffic pile up during a thunderstorm. :D

Thank goodness I arrived home more than an hour later. Phew.