Friday, December 31, 2010

2010, Another Year Gone...

By Frank

365 days seems to pass by so quickly nowadays. And in a blink on an eye, year 2010 is history. Wonder if has anything with age? Hmmm...

Anyway, being a running blog, my mention about my yearly running distance is not to be miss here although it's a tad poor this year round with only 1549.75KM. That's close to 700KM lesser compared to 2009's distance. I guess being lazy isn't an excuse so therefore I'm blaming purely on injuries and also the setting up of the Runnerz Circle store. Besides, after running a sub 4 hour marathon for the first time late last year, I do think I deserve a break.

If I have complain I have race lesser in year 2009, year 2010 will be even lesser! But boy the major races I covered has been truly enjoyable. Enjoyable to have done it with friends and not from the results. In fact, results has been really poor this year. If you are guessing, it's 3 ultra marathons, 4 marathons and 1 Powerman duathlon were the major ones.

Looking on the brighter side of things, I think I have done acceptably well in my ultra marathons. But the most important thing about ultra marathon besides being painful, is that it must be fun. It was a blessing in disguise by not qualifying for the 100KM solo race in The North Face 100 as I seriously did not have the time to train for it. Besides, I was given the chance to partner Jamie in the 100KM duo race instead which was one event I truly enjoyed. I'm pretty sure Jamie enjoyed too as it was his first ultra distance. Not forgetting Chin Chin and Poh Seng too whom I've ran together with during almost half the race.

Then came triathlon. Though I can't swim, I still made my debut in it by doing the relay at the Port Dickson Triathlon. I thank Raymond Hee a lot for this for he is trying to motivate me to take up swimming. He partnered me and while he did the swim, I was suppose to bike and run. Sadly, it was a race to be forgotten as I suffered a puncture on my bike with just less than 10KM into the race. Then came my main race of the year, Powerman Malaysia 2010 duathlon. Though I did well improving my time, I was left disappointed as the chance to race a proper race faded away during the bike leg as I suffered cramps on my weaker left leg. Guess no one I can blame except for myself as training is certainly lacking.

The setting up of the Runnerz Circle retail store has taken up most of my time this year. It certainly wasn't easy and I hit many bumpy roads which I still am today. The first step in setting up is done, but now am fighting for survival. It's certainly not easy to sustain in the sports industry. Like a friend say, passion may not be the breadwinner. But anyhow, I'm glad that I'm able to bring in the products sought by athletes and to offer my services to them. And it's through this, I managed to feel pampered by getting sponsored.


Runnerz Circle's success isn't complete without a team...

(Taken at our year end dinner)

Personal training too came to a halt at the of June 2010. I just couldn't find enough time for myself, and not to mention my clients. But before I left the scene, I was really happy that I managed to train 14 of my clients in becoming first time marathoners! The feeling is certainly something money can't buy. However, come January 2011, I'm once again accepting clients to offer my services. This is one job that I really enjoy doing so I'm just glad to be back.

Every year, I made new friends in the running scene. Im sure the year won't be completed without this aspect. This year round, I made many crazy yet humble new friends from Karen, Cynthia, Alexis, Ian, Khairul, Yim, Hong Soon, Sallehan and so many more that if I continued listing, this entry will be flooded! Anyway, it's been fun knowing all of them and the road will be more fun with them now.

Year 2011 will once again be a quiet year in terms of racing. However, I have done my homework and have short listed down the major races I'm doing next year. And yeah, it's going be an ultra year! I hope a friend (who drives a black hatchback car - pun intended) will read this and jump into the ultra wagon too next year. Hehehe...

Before signing off the year, I'm not setting any resolutions for the following year. As I aged, my personal opinion on resolution has changed. Don't get me wrong. It's still a good way to motivate one self but right now, I guess I just let things go their way. However, the most important thing of all is hoping everyone to stay healthy, remain positive and race well. Here's cheers to everyone, HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011!

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