More Running Gears for Marathon

With the marathon event pushing nearer at 39 days and counting down, I do the final preparation. Training is always on-going and last weekend I manage to pick up some running gears for myself. Check it out.

2XU Men's Elite Run Top



This shirt is one of the casual running shirt from 2XU, a famous brand for extreme sports. For the expensive price tag, of course there are bunch of technologies that they are showcasing like below:
SMD COOL - With the added comfort of a jersey finish and high UV performance, SMD Cool comes with all the benefits of the SMD family of fabrics.
SMD SILVER - Engineered with the latest generation nano-silver particles embedded
into the yarn for permanent anti-bacterial, thermo-regulation properties.
SMD MESH - Advanced SMD MESH knit construction for increased airflow and
lightweight for optimal moisture transfer.
SMD 3D MESH - Added to the benefits of the SMD fabric is the use of a 3D mesh structure,
allowing ultimate airflow, moisture management and stops cling to the body.

I tried it out yesterday for a short run and indeed it's very good. People will ask why not I buy the compression shirt? With my body shape, it won't look good! Simple answer, so something loose is more suitable for me. The shirt is very well ventilated and absorb / disperse the sweat very effective. My main purpose for this shirt is to keep my body temperature right, and it did just that. For runners, they will always complain either they are too cold or too hot. This piece of shirt here will solve the problem and you won't feel the sweat even if the whole shirt is wet. That good, but is it necessary? I've ran 2x10km and 2x21km, I think it's important. The sleeveless singlet that's provided by the organiser is in good quality, but it's a singlet. It does not cover my body properly and the heat dispersion is not as good and I felt cold sometimes. Not something I would want to wear for a 6 hours run, so this shirt that hug my body well is what I would want to wear for long endurance run.

Tunebelt Sport Armband for Smartphone



My plan earlier is to find a waist pouch and put everything into it, but coudn't find any bigger waist pouch, so grab this one instead. It's designed for running and the material is built in neoprene with cushion to protect the device and also to disperse sweat quickly. It fits most major smartphones nicely and with its elastic form, the phone is hold tight without any movement, as if it's part of your body. I tried it yesterday and the sweat from my arm didn't manage to reach the iPhone. However, it's not weatherproof though, so I plan to wrap my iPhone with plastic bag before keeping it there. Although iPhone is quite light, but the weight adds-up when I hit 7-8km.


Injinji Performance Midweight / Mini-Crew Toesock



Injinji is a US renowed brand in providing high performance toesocks and their design is patented. This pair of Injinji is engineered with patented AIS technology from Injinji and constructed of 60% Coolmax, 35% Nylon and 5% Lycra. Midweight is designed for padded interface with any running shoes, and also feature honeycomb design for breathability. The main purpose is to reduce chaffing and blister, which is common for all long distance runners. It is light weight and very good in moisture control to give best comfort to long distance running.


Hold Tube Waist Pouch (Snow Camo)



Hold Tube Waist Pouch is built in microfiber material of 83% polyester and 17% polyurethane. The whole pouch is stretchable and it can fit a lot of small items, up to size of smartphone. The waist pouch itself is very thin and all items stored within is wrapped within its microfiber material that will prevent movement. Length adjustable to suit waist size and I tried it up, it's indeed very good. I kept my iPhone and keys within the pouch and I dont feel it there at all, except the additional weight of course. It does not bounce around and it hold the items within very well. Its microfiber material also disperse sweat pretty efficient. My earlier plan is to get a bigger pouch so I can fit everything in, but this seems to be a good buy, that's why I get the additional armband for my iPhone. This pouch is meant for my medication & power gel =)

Register for New Baby!

Since the arrival of our lovely baby Cedric, everyday is a new challenge and I'm going through new experience again today. Upon birthing of a new baby, parents are given 14 days to register their baby, or else a penalty fine of RM5 will be impose. Quite cheap, but why wait? It's something new and always the question is, how?!

For new parents, I'm here to help. Hoping by documenting the experience, I will be able to remind myself to be grateful of the gift of life and at the same time able to help you all out there. In Malaysia, basically you will need to go to Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara for registration. For branches around the state, please refer to this website.

Before you go over to the JPN, here are some documents that you need to prepare:
1. Marriage Certificate (original & photostat copy)
2. Declaration Letter from Hospital with Doctor's verification (you should receive this when you discharge)
3. MyKad for both parents and a photostat copy of the MyKad
4. Finally, fill up the form JPN.LM01 (you should get this from Hospital when you discharge)

Most of the JPN office open from 8.00am till 5.00pm, so when you got there, take a queue number and wait for your turn. Once you are called, submit all the documents above and you will be issue another number while they process your documents. Voila, then you will be call again within minutes to collect the birth certificate. At the same time, you will be notify to collect the MyKid card after a month duration. That's pretty efficient and a good praise all around for government body, thumbs up.

A big size birth certificate comparing to old times like mine. Why need so big??
It's not that hard to be a daddy afterall, right?

No, it's not that simple, when things like below picture happened =P


My cute little devil + angel. Cute adorable but also bullying us at the same time, phew.

All about Calories

New year resolution, lots of people prepare it. 99% included losing weight as one of their must-achieve near year resolution, but not many able to do it, that's why they keep putting it back and snowballing the percentage to 99%, amazing. Shame that I'm also contribute to the statistics.

Why people fail to lose weight? Reason is very simple. Consider this.
1kg of fat that you are carrying is equivalent to 7,700 calories.

It doesn't mean anything if you don't know what you are eating. Just to quote an example, I ran 8.24km yesterday within 56 minutes and I burned 612 calories. That's almost 1 hour of running workout and I need 10 hours to burn 1kg of fat in my body! That's scary if you ask me.

Burning it is damn hard, but gaining it is simple as ABC. A large fries from McDonald got 500 calories! That's 50 minutes of running. How to lose weight? Too bad our body is so efficient. Good news is, the more you know about your enemy, the easier it is to fight them. It's all about numbers, so let's go and kick the calories' ass.

Your body is what you eat minus what you work out for. You eat more than you work, weight gain. You eat less than you work, reduce weight. Simple philosophy. First step is to know how much you are allow to eat so can find a strategy to fight it.
How to calculate how much calories you need daily?
Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm) - (6.8 x age in years)
Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) - (4.7 x age in years)

Sedentary (little or no exercise) - your AMR = BMR x 1.2

Lightly active (light exercise/work 1-3 days per week) - your AMR = BMR x 1.375

Moderately active (moderate exercise/work 3-5 days per week) - your AMR = BMR x 1.55

Very active (hard exercise/work 6-7 days a week) - your AMR = BMR x 1.725

Extra active (very hard exercise/work 6-7 days a week) - your AMR = BMR x 1.9

For myself, my BMR calculation as following:

BMR = 66 + 1,260.4 + 895 - 197.2 = 2,024.20 calories
AMR = 2,024.20 x 1.2 = 2,429 calories

My dream ideal weight is 75kg and I'm currently 92kg. I need to lost 17kg, that's 130,900 calories. Scary number but let's break it down. I plan to lose 2kg each month and achieve my dream weight within 8.5 months.

In a month, lose 2kg = 15,400 calories
In a week, need to reduce 3,850 calories

With my AMR of 2,429calories, say I control my eating at 2,000 calories, I reduce 429 calories each day. Within a week, I lose 3,003 calories. I need to burn another 847 calories and that's approximately 1 hour & 30 minutes running, easily achievable! Problem is, how I control my eating to 2,000 calories per day??

Marvel of internet, check out the Cekodek. Special Malaysian portal for food calories counter. Nasi lemak, roti canai, teh tarik, fast food, and all kind of stuff. There are lots of function there and be a conscious eater from today onwards. That's what I plan to do.

With a game plan lay properly here, I will probably know what to do. Strategy is to minimize breakfast by drinking oat & bread, a proper lunch and a controlled dinner without carbs. and of course, occasional good lunch / dinner to continue to write food blog for you guys. Wish me luck =)

PS: another strategy recommended is by eating at your ideal weight calories. For my case, 2,196 calories but problem is, there is no timeline for me to track. So I prefer my way, your choice =)