Dragon Back Run 2014 : Race Report

Welcome to the Dragon's Den!

That was what I have been hearing for days leading towards the event day.

Having registered earlier on to as a tune up race a week before 2XU SG, it was meant to be a slow and easy run. Conquering Dragon Back is not an easy task. Talk about 16 rolling hills in the 15KM stretch! Decided not to take up the 23KM category as it defeated my purpose in my 2XU Half Marathon plans.

The morning started extremely early for me. Woke at 3am so that I just could be at the race site by 5am. Klang is really far from where I stay and I needed at least an hour to get there. But it's worthwhile as I love the Dragon Back route; having done it once back in 2012 with the Klang runners. If the hills doesn't kill you, it will still reward you with breathtaking sceneries. Here is the link to my previous experience at Dragon Back.

Met many running kakis; most of them were doing the 23K (smart move!). 15K is way harder anyways. We had to do the dragon twice! Gun off was slightly a bit late due to some technical issues. When it was our turn; we were 3 minutes behind schedule.

I just remained calm and stayed at the back of the pack cause I didn't want to burst my heart rate before I hit the hills.

The first 1.5K was generally flat and saw many started to sprint ahead. And in true fashion of chiongsters, most of them went flat in less than 2km. I kept a steady pace following my usual marathon pace and made sure my heart rate was not more than Zone 3. I started over taking many quite effortlessly due to the fact majority of the runners didn't have headlights! Yerp.... some part of the road were pitch black and you definitely need a light source and a blinker. I learned from my previous mistake. And I was enjoying my new Black Diamond Storm headlight.

Some areas were pitch black! Photo taken just right after the Dragon's Head (U-turn)

After the 1.5K, we turned left and we met the dragon.

The first hill itself presented the first handful of walkers as the hill itself is between a 25-35 degree angle climb. I swear some might be even close to 40! I steadily climbed it reminding myself not to push too soon. The 200m climb was a struggle but it was a good motivational push. I was aiming to finish the dragon to and fro before the sun rises. I just didn't want to visibly see the road later and see how many more hills I have to go!

The journey to the head of the dragon was pretty straight forward. I over took as many runners as I possibly can and soon enough I was quietly running with just a few others who were pacing along. Closing towards the U-turn point (about 2 hills away) , started seeing the leaders heading back in blazing pace. Feeling a bit motivated, I picked up the pace a bit.

The crack of dawn and the last hill!

From the way back from the Dragon's head (U-turn point), I reminded myself about sunrise. I blasted my music through and sped up again wherever possible. A small dim light started to rise and I could see the sky appearing. Around this time, I mentally calculated I should have 3 more hills to go. Not too long after, the leaders from the 23K started passing by and I tried to follow suit as much as I can. Alas the last hill was a killer but I kept pushing and not wanting to stop so I wouldn't break momentum. A few of the photographers were stationed here and I jokingly ask them if they wanted to take pictures of runners suffering at this part of the hill. We shared a short laugh and soon I was on top of the last hill!

I carefully ran downhill and knowing the way back is a flat road. I tried to maintain a 4:30-5:30 pace whenever possible. Traffic was getting a bit heavy and I tried to avoid them as much as I can. In less than 1 km from the finishing, the traffic might had lost a bit of control as there was a "cluttered" jam. I did whatever I could to sway away from cars who were impatient and I saw Julie from a distance. I just sped from there onwards knowing the finishing is just around the corner. Crossed the finishing at a decent time of 1:37 but I secretly would had love a 1:30 but nonetheless I was still satisfied and happy. I previously did a miserable 2+ hours.

Here is a quick summary of the event:

Great things :
1. Excellent route. Dragon Back has always been a favourite for runners looking to do some speed training, hill training or looking to do a scenic weekend LSD.
2. Sufficient water station and well planned. Water and isotonics well spread out.
3. Race site is big and enough to accommodate. (But not so on the car park management)
4. Runners were treated to sufficient food and water after finishing.

Room for improvement :
1. Runners should at least be informed to bring their own headlight and blinker for own safety. Majority of the roads are really dark and no street lights.
2. Great to have race pack collection on the race day itself to accommodate runners who couldn't pick it up during REPC but could at least managed the counter better when the queue got tremendously long.
3. 15K route was slightly under distanced (about 300m) but I think I understand why judging from traffic conditions. Perhaps the organizers decided to make the U-turn earlier instead at the usual traffic light at the end of the Dragon's Head; probably due to the heavy traffic on the connecting main road.

Overall the race was a success and hearing the feedback from many; it was very satisfying.

Definitely would give Dragon Back Run a go again next year. Perhaps try the Viking would like to try 23K? ;)

 For more photos taken at the event + photos of the prize giving ceremony, click on here and here.

Nathan VaporCloud Men's Liter Race Vest "Unboxing" Review

This year is REALLY the year for Ultra-marathons as we see many of these races booming up.

Nathan VaporCloud Men's Liter Race Vest. Back View

And at this time, I had the honour and privilege to review and use the new Nathan VaporCloud Men's Liter Race Vest aka. Hydration bag.

First and foremost, a great big thank you to Key Power Malaysia letting me review this new product.

This blog entry is just the "Unboxing" review and in-depth review will follow once I've given a few good use on this baby.

Nathan's NEW Running Vest/Hydration bag is used for long distance running, trail running and etc. This vest is claimed to be UTMB capable as well.Here are some brief looks of the hydration bag up close.

2L Hydration bladder made by Hydrapack.
If you know your stuff well, they are the same makers of Salomon and Columbia products as well.

Front View

Back View

Storage - front

Emergency Whistle

Rear View - Grey Edition

Front View - Grey Edition

Brief Specs and technical details:

- 11 liter storage capacity with 2 liter water bladder.

- 360 Degree Reflectivity 

- Bounce Free

- Vented Mesh

- Large Side Pockets that holds up to 0.75L

- Rear External shock cords for increased capacity

- Equipped with Trekking Pole Clips

- Insulated Bladder Pocket to block transfer of body heat to liquid content

- Dual Stabilization system compresses bladder and load

- Multiple zip compartments

- Two front bottle pockets compatible with 22oz/650ml bottle. (Nathan Tru-Flex bottles recommended)

- Hidden internal back pocket for optional ice pack. Amazing for those hot, humid runs!

- Draw cords to Bladder Control System to minimize sloshing of overactive bladders.

- 3D cooling channels.

Currently available for sale at Key Power Malaysia (2XU Gardens, Mid Valley) & Athlete's Circle Malaysia, Jaya One.

Available in both Electric Blue and Grey. 
Size : S/M or L/XL

For more images, click on to this link.

For more info on Nathan products, do click on this link.

And now, let me just seasoned this baby out and I'm gonna grind it for Xterra next February!

What is your Stride Signature?

So, what is your stride signature?

We all know what are strides (as in for running) but do you know what is your own personal signature style of running?

Well. As for me, I used to be a underpronator when I started running. But with consistent training and guides, I've been able to improve my running style to a more natural stride and to run more efficiently. And once in a blue moon, I'll actually record myself to see whether I'm improving. When I invested in my Nikon AW100 Tough Camera (which has an amazing slow motion video feature), it has helped me to understand my running style better.

Below is a video taken back in March 2013 and December 2013 (from ACEndurance Training Programme) to analyse my running form. The test is done using my own Brooks Ghost 4 (which is a pair trainers I often trained with). So far so good but I still need to improve on my arm swings and strengthen more core to keep my upper body more stabilized. That is my signature stride.

Everyone's running style is different and the body will find a motion to adapt. Our bones, joints and soft tissue align to work together as one to suit our very own style of running; so to achieve a more comfortable and smooth run. 

So when Brooks unveiled it's new line to us; the new Brooks Transcend, we were pretty excited and impressed with its technology. It's a shoe definitely suited to adapt every runner's own personal signature stride. More to come on this on the next blog post but to wet your appetite, here is a brief teaser video to know what this new shoe is all about.

For more detailed information, do also check out Brooks Malaysia.  

Brooks Transcend unveiling & Blog with Brooks Contest

Well, we finally got our chance to touch and feel the new Brooks Transcend!

After months of teasing us with adverts and news through social media to the viewing of the actual shoe during this year's Putrajaya Night Marathon; the selected few of us got a chance to finally see what is the fuss is all about.

For all Brooks fans and users,the new Brooks Transcend is supposedly a new category in between a support/cushioning shoe. More news about the shoe in later write ups but at the moment we could tell you that it's going to replace the Trance Series in the future.

Bloggers were invited to the event to touch, feel and try the shoes and also announce this year's Blog with Brooks Contest. Similar to the contest last year, bloggers are required to write up about the new Transcend leading to its official launch in Feb 2014.

So far on testing the Transcends on site, the shoes are slightly bigger than the usual Brooks. Comfort wise is pretty good and its definitely plushier than usual.

More about the Transcends in later write ups but what we can divulge now is that this is probably going to be a "Limited Edition" shoe cause there is going to be ONLY 360 pairs of them in Malaysia. Yes, that's right. All sizes , all colours and gender combined. The retail price is RM759 a pair and be launching on February 2014.

Just in time for Valentine's or Ironman perhaps?

For more news and information, do check out Brooks Malaysia for more info.
For more photos from the event do click on to this link.

MWM 2014 Get Together Session & Running Clinic with Katherine Switzer

The lovely Power Women of MWM.
Mentor Trainers Sweeney Chong, Lini "Iron Mama" Kasim, Sheela, Lorna Wong together with Katherine Switzer and Race Director of MWM, Karen Loh.

Ladies.... it's back!

Yes, Malaysia Women Marathon (MWM) is coming back next year. Locked in your dates for 16th March 2014!

To get things started, MWM will be organizing a series of upcoming running clinics for registered participants. This year's theme is DREAM, BELIEVE, BECOME. A mentoring system and 16 week program is introduced to help the lovely participants be physically and mentally prepared heading towards the event.

Last Sunday, we were invited to it's first running clinic and we weren't disappointed. Me, of course "special guest" lar..... :P

Even Katherine Switzer specially flew in to Malaysia just to meet us again!

For those of you who missed it, here are the recorded highlights and talks given by our lovely ladies on that day.

Race Director of MWM, Karen Loh giving her introductory speech. Goofy, light-hearted and hilarious. Then pops out Katherine, who just ran to the venue cause she got lost earlier. Bless her!

Next up was Katherine Switzer with her inspiring story of the year she ran Boston and what happened on that day lead to many great things for women; not only just in running and sports but also the empowerment and enrichment of life for women in general.



A thank you note to YB Elizabeth Wong and her hilarious yet bold comment to beat KJ in the race if he runs. That's the spirit! Also a thank you note to Avon Malaysia with a note from Elaine Aisyah (Senior Manager Avon) and also to Noorul Ashikin (GM Selangor Tourism).



Last but not least, the mentors are introduced. Namely Sweeney Chong, Lini "Iron Mama" Kasim, Sheela & Lorna Wong. Son't play play. They run faster than I do in a race! I salute them.



After all the talk was done, participants are lead to a warm up by Mentor Lorna and a short 5K run around the park. As for the remaining of us, we stayed around trying to grab as much pictures and advices from other mentors and Katherine.

Warm up session with Mentor Lorna.

Of course, I must have a shot with the legend herself

A group photo with all the ladies. Well, at least the ones who stayed till the end.

Not forgetting the gentlemen too. 

For more photos taken by yours truly, click here.

Registration is still open and for those who signed up for Full Marathon; they will receive a one of a kind Finisher Running Skirt! (Pacers included). Head here for registration and info. 

And now as for me, I'm still hobbling around with an idea of pacing someone. Anyone keen? ;)

Let the music play! Review : JABRA Sports Wireless+

No too long ago, the good people at Jabra Malaysia has asked me to review one of their latest Bluetooth wireless sports earphones. Of course I was excited about it; especially when it came to gadgets. I was loaned one set to be tested and generally I was quite pleased with the results.

This review is going to be general and it  at least covers on general usage like using it during workouts and other normal day usage.

The day when I received the package,I was pretty excited. Basically because I was eager to try it with my new tablet/phone(or what most refer to as a phablet). Yes,the big chunky thing of a phone that some of you are still laughing about. Long story short; had to get this since previous phone decided to take a"swim"during the last Great Eastern Live Great Run.

Let's cut to the chase and see the unboxing.

The Unboxing

The Jabra Sport Wireless+ comes in this lovely hard box; featuring Ironman Champion Craig Alexander. Now if you have Crowie endorsing this product, you know this is some tough, durable device. More on that later on. And no, you won't be like Crowie after wearing this. You still need hard work to train to be a top triathlete. At least it's not Justin (Beaver) endorsing it. That would be a HUGE turn off.

 

On the side of the box, it quickly states the features of the device (as you can read above) and the it's contents.

Opening the box reveals a message from Crowie himself. Listen to the man. PERFORMANCE.

The moment I read rain, dust, shock protection, performance ; it's sorta like telling me "Andrew, this is SERIOUSLY for you".

Well, I'm very accident prone. I always have a tendency to abuse my electronic devices or even lose it. Getting things wet is another. Recall my wet phone story?

What's Inside?

Inside the box reveals the sexy looking ear piece. Also in it is a 3 month Endomondo Premium access. Not going to elaborate much on this but I personally use Endomondo for tracking my cycling activities and it's wonderful. Endomondo also allows you to connect with the Polar Bluetooth Wearlink to track your heart rate. This exist for the free version and the premium version would have a more elaborated summary including HR Sports Zone.

Included in the box as well are the accessories to compliment the device. A quick start guide book, and armband, Micro USB cable (not pictured) and a set of 7 pieces of ear gels are included. The ear gels (or ear buds) are customizable to fit your ears; there is bound to be one that fits you! This is definitely a plus point as we would want a fit that fits perfectly for us. With that said, the down side is that too. Once you have to many to choose from, you start to contradict.  Nonetheless, I found my perfect fit. I chose the one that directly transfer the sound to the ear canal; similarly like the IRONMAN Yurbuds that I'm using. 

A Closer Look.

The first moment you touch and feel this Jabra unit, you will notice it's durable and robust build. It's certified weather and shock proof by US Military standards. I've abused my unit quite a bit from all the running. Sweat is definitely not an issue and can be just easily wipe clean with a cloth after use. However, do bear in mind that this is NOT waterproof; so please don't go swimming with it. ;)

Don't just take my word for it. Here is a video to get you convinced.

The device uses a ear lock-in system that doesn't fall out. It hugs snugly behind the ear for a comfort yet sturdy fit.

The overall outlook is simple and has quite a minimalist approach. Buttons are easy to access and you don't need to be a genius to operate it. On both sides of the device are the Omni-directional microphone. This is to ensure that it picks up your voice during voice calls and reduces the environmental sound to a minimal. Next to the microphone is the PLAY button that functions as an ON/OFF & Play Button.

On the right ear piece, there are 3 buttons. 2 mainly for volume and the FM  button is to listen to the radio. The Volume buttons speaks for themselves but it also doubles as a track skip on a long press. The FM function is quite a miss. I wasn't able to receive any radio stations even if I tried it at different locations. It's mostly a hit or miss thing as it randomly seeks a radio frequency. The most I got was some station speaking some gibberish I couldn't understand. Alien frequency perhaps?

Above the volume button is a small LED light indicator to indicate charging, battery life and charging.

There are no buttons or functions on the left ear piece.

The next highlight is the connecting cables between the ear pieces. It utilizes a thin nano cable that won't tangle and can be adjusted with a provided adjuster for an optimum fit. Be sure not to tightened it too tight as it will pop open the adjuster.

Charging the device is a breeze! It utilizes a Micro USB port (which is very common in current Android devices). I'm glad that it doesn't use a proprietary charger cause usually those things cause a massive headache when travelling. A Full charge takes approximately 2 hours and it would last up to 4.5 hours of talk time, 4 hours of music and 5 days of standby time. This is pretty much accurate during my usage. I'm able to manage a whole movie that would last at about 3-4 hours which I would say it's fair.


The Wear-ability and Fit. 

Wearing the ear pieces is easy. It's pretty similar to the Sony W-Series Walkman I have been using for years minus the rigid connecting band in between. The fit is pretty much perfect and not too tight into the ear canal. I've let a few of my lady friends try it and the results vary. If you have smaller ears, the grip may not be as optimal but easily solved with a different ear gel or adjusting the cable in between. Be patient as it may take some getting use to at the beginning.

Once the fitting is correctly done, you still should be able to hear the environment around you. This is not a noise cancelling device so you won't find the ear gels too tightly sealed into the ear canal. This is only fair and safe for workout outdoors. You need to be aware of traffic around you as well, right?

Use the adjuster to adjust the tightness behind your ears. This to ensure you have a more optimal fit and it wouldn't wobble around when working out.

Pretty simple, right? :)

Connectivity 

Connection to any Bluetooth devices is simple as long the device supports BT3.0 onwards. In my case, I've used my smartphone (BT 3.0) and phablet (BT 4.0). Connection is easily established (a bit more quicker with BT 4.0). In case you are clueless on this, worry not. The device actually has a special lovely lady's VOICE OVER feature that will explain to you each step of the way. This is excellent for those who are lazy to read through the guide book (like me). It will also speak out commands for every button that you've pressed like ON/OFF, Play and etc. This pretty much mimics the pre-Siri Apple days of the Ipod Shuffles; minus of course the horrendous robotic voice.

















The REAL Test (How does it REALLY Sound?)

Close, long time friends would know I'm quite a music lover. In my days, I had a fair share of Walkmans, Discmans and MP3 players. One would agree that I had loads of earphones and headphones to compare sound quality with. Although I ain't a professional audiophile but I could still tell what a good sounding earphones are like.

The first try is always dance music with loads of deep bass. Although I'm initially excited of it's advertised "Powerful Bass" feature; sadly I was underwhelmed by it's performance in this department. I wouldn't say it was bad either but the driver could had pushed a bit more rather than sounding a bit flat.

However it worked well with acoustics. Any song played with mid bass like RnB, Jazz, Pop (or music of that sort) fared better. Voices could be heard clearly and has a subtle bass lingering.

Justin Timberlake sounds good and sharp as long as you don't crank the volume to the max. Doing so would distort the sound higher notes and it's seriously bad for the ears.

Watching movies is equally awesome especially it involves a lot of talking. I've watched a few long episodes of IRONMAN TV when I was on my treadmill workout days and voice overs could be heard clearly without sounding too like a "deep voice radio DJ". Thumbs up on this! :)

As for voice calls, it's pretty much do what it says it do. However, periodically it would sometime have some interruption like the recipient not able to hear your voice or disconnecting. Something that could be solved by just reconnecting the Bluetooth device again. Sound clarity is good but could be better.


The Conclusion

The JABRA Sports Wireless+ is definitely something worth thinking about especially for rugged use and sports enthusiast like many of us. Despite it's shortcomings on the bass performance, it's won't deter you from looking away. It makes up in it's finishing, durability and performance. The sound performance is good to keep you motivated in your workouts. Definitely worth the consideration if you are looking for something that gives you more freedom in your workouts.

The JABRA Sports Wireless+ is available at all Authorized Jabra Malaysia Resellers. and retails at RM499.

Note : Jabra Malaysia has loaned this unit to me for a month to review.


Good News Everyone! (2XU Compression Run Malaysia 2013 Participants)

If you had signed up for the upcoming 2XU Compression Run Malaysia 2013, you should had received a special offer from Jabra Malaysia to purchase this lovely babies for a special price of RM350! Follow the instructions on the email and confirmation of transaction shall be sent to you once firmed. Participants with successful paid transactions for item would be able to collect the during the race pack collection. Don't miss it out!