Beautiful.Mind.Life

The previous teambuilding was rough, and my running shoes worn out badly. My bad, should have use a trail shoes instead of a pair of running shoes.

A bit about my running shoes. I bought it (well, my wife bought it for me actually) about three years ago. The design is undoubtedly horrible, but the cushioning was extremely excellent. It took the load of almost 100kgs, thumping and jumping and running and yet, the cushion stayed like new. It even has a Nike+ mount, where you can attach a transmitter (sold separately) and connect the wireless receiver to your iPod and it will track your running distance, average calorie burn and many more (Sadly, I had a Classic 160GB iPod. It only works with iPod Nano 3rd gen above, iPod Touch and iPhone). I must say that this pair of Nike Air Pegasus 10+ Bowerman Series (10+ is obsolete, so the link will take you to 26+, similar though) were one of my best buy, ever. Served me well, never disappoint me in any possible way. I sprained my ankle once on that shoes, but that was not because of the shoes itself. The stupid pothole should take that credit.

But now, my best running buddy is completely destroyed.

Thank you, babe.

Now, as my department’s Biggest Loser contest starts today, I obviously need a new pair of running shoes. Nike Lunarelite+ and Asics Gel Kayano 16 were the pairs in my mind, as they offer best cushioning without compromising stability. But these pairs are hard to find in Kemaman, so I opted for similar option, Mizuno Wave Elixir 4. I was skeptical with Mizuno’s comfort and performance, but when I tried it on, it was far from bad. In fact, the “hugging” feeling on my foot was far better than the previous Nike I had. Of course, it’s cushion isn’t as good as the previous, but should be good enough. It costs RM419.00, but after a 20% + 10% discount (I got an additional discount as a World Of Sports member), it actually costs lesser than the Air Pegasus I bought three years ago at RM399.00.

Hope this won’t disappoint me, at least for the first 2 years. It’s an award winner in runnersworld.com, one of the biggest runners community online. Should be good, I guess. Haven’t really tested it yet, but will do, soon. I’ll update on that.

Notice Imran’s hand. You’ll get yours, soon.

Running nose. Bloody cough. Deadly headache.

Aah, couldn’t get a better Sunday could I?

November. 1st of November. I did this before, but i stopped for some reasons. Now I’m starting all over again. Beginning today, 1st of November, for at least a solid one month. Half an hour after breakfast, half an hour after lunch, and half an hour after dinner (if any).

Let see whether this time it works. Goal? Close to losing 10kg this month? Actual number targeted is 5.

With a RM1100, I can buy a Playstation3, or a pair of TEIN adjustable racing suspensions for my GT, or a custom-made carbon fiber engine hood (again, for my GT of course), or a Coach for my wife, or a lot of Baby GAP for my son, or two pairs (for me and my wife) of the arguably high performance Nike+ LunarGlide, or a lot of other things.

But I chose to buy a bike. A good one.

Decision made (after a long talk with a couple bike-freak friends), I went to the shop they recommended. Too many options though, and they all look awesome. After an hour, I finally reduced the number of options to two. A Scott Crasher and a Giant Innova. The Innova is lighter and a bit more expensive. But too girly though, or it would’ve been my first choice (and probably start to arrange the lines to explain why I choose a bloody two-grand bike).

“Basikal aa… lagi lingan aa… lagi mahal lo…” said Ah Hui, the friendly and warmhearted owner of the shop.

So I bought the Crasher. Complete with SR Suntour V2 front adjustable fork and Shimano Acera derailleurs, it’s actually a good buy.  Braking system? Winzip-CE disc brakes they are, which explains a significant weight difference from the Innova which uses the conventional V-brakes (the one you can find on most bikes, even for kids), makes the bike much lighter.

I started riding it on October 9 2009. Everyday till today. My butt hurts as hell, so I bought the 3/4 elastic-nylon-butt-padded cycling pants. Felt much better this morning for a half hour ride.

Total distance up to today is 49.68 km, accurately countered by the CatEye Velo 8. There’s even an average calorie burned counter (which I doubt the accuracy of it). Not too bad. Not too good either (my performance, I mean). Need to ride longer. Faster. Further.

PS: Next upgrade. Garmin EDGE 705.