Breaking my personal best

I was not confident in breaking my own record before I started the SCKLM 2012 run. I may have trained more than I did 3 years back but the furthest that I did throughout my training was only 6km.

So I went ahead with a brave heart and....I made it!

Rank	BIB No	Name & Category	Gun Time	Chip Time	Split 5km	Split 10km	Split 21km	Split 30km
339	N1-17354	WOO YI LEI 10KM WOMEN'S OPEN -		01:12:38	00:35:37

YAYYYYY!!! I broke my 2010 10km record by a good 6.33 minutes.

Rank	BIB No	Name & Category	Gun Time	Net Time	Split 1	Split 2	Split 3
539	21104	Woo Yi Lei 10KM (Women - Open)	01:23:51	01:19:01	00:33:41

I also shot up 200places in terms of ranking. :D (That could also mean that there were less women who participated in this year's 10.6km run....Ooooopppss!)

Anyhow, I'm just glad that I was determined enough to push myself to run faster.

Hubby's close friend, Fok, me and hubby!

Hubby's colleagues also participated. Here are the girls that we went to Bandung with.

My 3rd Standard Chartered KL Marathon Finisher Medal.

If you wonder which run would be next on my list...

None other than the Adidas King of The Road 16.8km run.

Cikumuffin's hubby did well in his first SCKLM run. Finished the race at 1:04:11 hours. Told you longer legs and feet has its advantage! :P

Race Entry Pack- SCKLM 2012

For those who have not participated in any runs, here's what you get in your race entry packs. (if you are ever interested in joining a run after reading this post- Hahaha! If only I can be so influential.) Of course, every run's race packs has different goodies inside and even though it's the same run that you go for every year, the goodies are not the same.

But the one thing that you'll surely get is your running bib....(if you are a hardcore lottery ticket buyer, you can start buying new numbers too.:P)

and a running jersey..

 (Jerseys are not given in every run. So if you want to collect running jerseys, pick the right runs!)

So what did we get in our Race Entry Pack for SCKLM 2012 besides the two items above?

An Event Bag

(which I'll usually end up using it later as my grocery bag.)

We get a sample Colgate Toothpaste and Colgate Plax.

So that we can all run with a fresh smelling breath on race day. :P

And if you feel like completing the set, they gave us a voucher to purchase Colgate toothbrush at Tesco.

Yogood Cereal Bars for us to have it before & after the race.

After the race, we can use this Protex sample pack to clean our sticky sweaty body.

And after 24hours or less for some, DOMS will kick in. So you'll need Salonpas.

It has been extremely warm these days. So this is an amazing gift! 

We get a Runner's Guide Book.

Which I find very useful for first time participants. Even for me as I need to refresh my memory.

After the run, you'll definitely be addicted to running.  Once you are addicted, you'll need a good pair of  running shoes. So this voucher comes in really handy!

The race will start in less than 24 hours. If you wish to wake up at 630am tomorrow (Malaysian time) and see how well/bad I'm doing in the run (cos I'm just so fun to follow.. haha..), you can track me and your friends who are also participating here.

Just click on the link and enter my bib no.: N1-17354 or my full name: WOO YI LEI.

Here's to my first 10km for the year! Cheers!

All sorts of excuses

My hubby and I never did a run together. Yup, I've known him for 9 years and I haven't gone for a run with him. I picked up running before marriage but the running bug did not bite hubby (then boyfriend).  When the running bug actually bit him, our child was already 2 years old and we can't possibly leave him alone at home. Of course my son is superbly sticky to me, so I can't leave him before he wakes up. The person who he sees once he's awake will suffer. 

One fine evening, we manage to steal some time and do a run together. Decided to run at the TTDI Park. (I honestly dislike running in circles but going out for a road run in the evening, ain't that safe cause of the heavy KL traffic.)

I gave up after 3 rounds (this is how weak my mind can be when running around the park) and I knew my hubby would ask.. "Why did you stop so fast?" and "How come you don't push yourself to run faster?".

So I prepared myself and answered:

Excuse #1: Aiya.. not used to running the evening. SO HOT!!!

 Can't you tell how hot it was by the picture? No? 

Anyway, I actually prefer doing runs in the morning. I'm an early bird so I really don't mind pulling myself out of bed just to clock in a run.

Excuse #2: I didn't wear a lighter top. Should have worn my favourite running jersey.

This excuse would have my hubby go .. YAA!

 because he wasn't wearing a light top too.

WHHOOOOPPSS!

Excuse #3: His feet are at least 4 sizes bigger than mine!

So every step he takes is actually a slight second faster and every hundred steps will make him a whole lot faster. I know, I can hear you shouting...SO LAME!!

 Excuse #4: His legs are at least a quarter longer than mine. He is after all 21cm taller than me!

Of course he can beat me by a good minute per km. 

Excuse #5: I did 3km in 21minutes and burnt 320kcal.

Ok what. I kept my time at 7 minutes per km and burnt my breakfast. 

( I ate two slices of plain wholemeal bread for breakfast.)

After runs, people would usually go for Isotonic drinks. I would always prefer water but hubby would always need "salt". So he gets Gatorade.

 Here's a fact.. after burning 320kcal. you can have about 13 bottles of these..

but of course, who on earth would drink 13 bottles of Gatorade just because they did a run right? One bottle would have quenched your thirst.

We are going to do our first road run together at Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2012. I won't be expecting hubby to keep me company throughout the run. Men can always do faster and better. I'm only hoping to be able to beat my own record that is to complete 10km in less than 1:19hours.

Wish me GOOD LUCK!

Cikumuffin is concern that she hasn't done more than 5km before the run and it's only 5 days away. YIKES!

The man of the family..

Fathers don't get mentioned much when it comes to parenting.

For example:
1) When a child misbehaves, people will say "Your mother never teach you ar?"
2) When a child does something good, people will say "Wahh, your mother taught you well."

I can understand why because in previous generations, most mothers stay home and take care of their children, nurture them, guide them whilst fathers have to focus on their career and bring in moolah to feed the family.

I think this has got to change since most of the couples in my generation have both parents striving hard in the work force. Mummy and daddy share the same amount of responsibility in bringing in the money and bringing up their child.

Nevertheless, fathers should get some credit too.

My daddy
My late father was not just a father to me. Yes, he was the sole bread winner in our family but he was more than just that. He was my mentor when I entered into the corporate world and my mum would always say, he's the one who's superbly willing to piggy back me til I was at the age of 6. (I really hope my son don't expect me to piggy back him til the age of 6.. he's already 16kgs now!)

My dad was also my friend. I talk to him about things ,almost everything except for stuff like the birds and the bees. ( We are after all of the opposite sex and Asian. So he educated us about sex by getting us a book to read once my sister & I hit puberty.)

He was of course the pillar of our family.Losing him was tough but he did an amazing job by planting his wise words and mentality in me before he joined God up in Heaven.

Our boy's Dada
My hubby became a father 2.5years ago. He's a "weekend father" as most people say due to work commitment but he still does his best whenever he's home. My son now relates him as the one who brings him for a swim, a ride on the bicycle.. anything that has got to do with climbing, running, jumping, building equates to Dada!
(Yayy! Mummy gets a break.. finally!)

There are many more years to go for him to be able to be our son's mentor.It is very important for every child to have a father figure in their life.

My hubby's the pillar of our little family as he is emotionally a lot more stable and stronger than I am, he earns more (naturally), he can help us out with a lot more things when he's around. I don't think it's that easy to be the rock of the family because no matter what happens, you have to be strong, stay strong and lead the whole family through tough times.

Our Father in Heaven
The strongest pillar in my life is our Father in Heaven. God has made his mark in my life and He has endlessly guided me through good times and tough times. I wouldn't have gone this far if it was not for Him. One thing is for sure, my faith in Him will never die.

To the man and pillar of every family..

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Cikumuffin's late father has no interest in celebrating Father's Day because he thinks it's just another day, just like how he thinks of his own birthday. Men! *rolls eyes* :P

How many pairs of shoes/sandals does a growing child need?

We bought James' first pair of shoes when he could stand up on his own and take a few steps while holding on to something/someone.

My mum would always warn us to buy a size bigger cause these lil ones grow out of it superbly fast. Well, she's right and it's so fast that after a month, a size bigger became a size too small.

So I decided to line up all of James' shoes/sandals together...

These are just some of it. He has 2-3 more pairs at my mum's place.

So..if you ask any parent, how many pairs of shoes/sandals does a growing child need? They can't give you an exact answer because the number just keeps increasing!

Cikumuffin's collection of shoes is less than her son's. Time to shop for shoes for my own? :P

I'm an addict

Gone were the days where I can survive without coffee. I need it to go on with my day especially when mid-day arrives (the 2-3pm sleepy spell). Just a cup will do. It has become so bad that when I don't have it, by evening, my brain is in a blur til bedtime.

So yes, one hot/iced latte with low fat milk, double shot please!

(I watch what I drink. No sugar, no creamer in my drinks.)

If not, you may speak to my hand after 6pm.

(Hahaha.. ok... I'm not that scary. You just won't get much response from me.)

Cikumuffin is not ashamed to admit that she needs a latte a day to keep her body and mind energetic. Oh, if no caffeine, then I must exercise! They work just the same. :D

What keeps you going?

The nature of my job can be extremely testing.With the scorching heat and horrible traffic + difficulty in searching for a parking space, one wonders how to keep themselves motivated.

I find myself talking to myself more ever since I joined the sales force.Soon I'll be extremely professional in psyching my mind in doing things that I can't do. I've even consoled myself when I lose cases and it made losing become part of winning. Confused already?

Everyone has something/someone to keep them going.

What keeps me going everyday ? (besides God)

This lil boy who breaks my heart every time I leave him for work and puts a huge smile on my face when I return home from a tiring day.<3

Yummy Cissy

I was brought back to memory lane when a colleague found some yummy crackers during our training session.(Well, we were hungry and lunch came late.)

Cissy Crackers! 

Where have you been?I haven't seen you in years!

 Who cares if it's made of potatoes..

 It's yummy and superbly thin, just so crispy and addictive!

For those who watch what they eat..

..treat yourself to a packet of Cissy Crackers for tea on your "cheat days". 

Cikumuffin was not paid for writing this post. Purely how excited she is about re-discovering such yummy crackers.

Painting

I had some vouchers from Isetan. Decided to use them to get something for my son . Bought some paint made by Crayola.

It's WASHABLE! It's a must in every mummy's dictionary. 

When I showed it to my hubby, he commented how lucky James is. Paint also expensive paint. Well, I only paid RM12 for expensive paint and the word "Washable" attracted me since I know there will be mess involved.

My son was extremely excited when I told him we need to go to a shop to buy brushes, art block and colour palette. Even more excited when I showed him the box of paint that I bought.

 He gets to select 6 out of 10 colours each time he wants to paint.

 He's just too happy that I couldn't get his attention to pose with his paintbrush.

And here it is..his first masterpiece!

Not much of a masterpiece but it keeps him entertained for a good 15-20minutes.

Cikumuffin is glad that once the whole art block is filled with paint, her boy is willing to clean up and wait until the next day for his next painting session. :D