Flagrante Delicto – The Comedy Drama

Other than running, trekking, swimming, scuba diving, what else can a runner do to live life? Well, to engage in a project for comedy drama – that is what I am doing. Interwoven with training runs and other races, the rehearsals for the comedy drama have been intensified too. This is to ensure that the cast, comprising of 20 members of the Toastmasters Club, would give our best to entertain you.

We are lucky to have Loghandran, a distinguished speaker from our Toastmasters Club, to be the director for this comedy drama. He is an educational trainer and also a stand-up comedian. He has performed 10 shows so far in the Actors Studio. Much like producing a movie, we too, have a Producer, Ong Siew Chien, another distinguished speaker, to ensure the necessary activities are being done according to schedule.

One the theory side, I just learned it last Sunday during rehearsal, a drama contains series of events with vivid, emotional and conflicting acts. And a comedy has the same elements of a drama. In the acts, characters (acted by actors) are defined and the audiences are watching the characters. Interestingly, there are speech assignments from Toastmasters manuals where speeches are focused on plays.

From the bunting, you would deduce that the comedy drama is about Money, Money and Money. What make it interesting are the abundance of plots and sub-plots. I assure you that it would be funny and full of laughter.

Dear fellow runners and friends, please come and support me, will ya? The proceeds will go to the Toastmasters Club.

For booking of ticket before 9 July, you pay RM 33 only for a RM 45 tickets (for Wedn, Thursday and Sunday). So, Hurry!

Date: 26 – 30 July 2006

Time: 8.30pm (26 – 29 July); 3pm (30 July)

Venue: The Actors Studio, Bangsar Shopping Complex, Kuala Lumpur.

My Contact Number: 012- 266 8166, kcle3@streamyx.com

By KC

LSD of 20km

Note: photos were not successfully attached in this posting despite numerous attempts.

It was a good weather this Sunday, 25 June, at 6am. You might ask how I knew that it would be good weather. After half a year of concurrent training on intuitive weather forecasting amid training runs, my primitive or instinct capability was to look at the sky and gauge the amount of cloud visible from the faint tint of light. So, in the absence of cloud, it should be a good weather.

Does it occur to you that it was cool yesterday evening caused by cloudy weather in the morning and raining in the afternoon? I was like “hate it or later love it” with the weather. When it rained during training runs, it caused inconveniences. On the other hand, I would have more things to write. After all, blame it on the weather would be quite a safe topic to write.

The Pack

This morning, joining us in the run was Jason Chin. He is tall, handsome and not dark. He has done five marathons and he is preparing for the Penang Marathon on 30 July. He intended to run 30km today while the rest of us ran only 20km.

Leading the pack was Patrick, who clocked in 1 hour 44 minutes in last week’s PJ Half Marathon to earn him the Distinction Finishing status in that race. Having him as the pacer would mean we have to run very fast. According to his standard, running fairly slowly by him was considered fast to us.

Following his pace, he has us panting and puffing for the first five kilometers. Yes, since it was a training run, we chatted while we ran. Since the conversation must go on – much like running even in the rain – the verbal communication was affected. Many a times, we have to repeat what we said in order for the messages to be understood.

It was quite a big pack: Meng, Weng, Jason Chin, Lim and Chong, a few other runners and yours truly. We were still running in a closely knitted pack while we tackled the uphill run near Bank Negara LRT station. That reminded me of the New York marathon race where the elite runners would run in a group testing one another’s capabilities. Or possibly, get the drafting advantage (as in cycling race) to reduce the air resistance.

Returning from Sri Hartamas, I saw Vivian Law was running alone and turning into Double-hill route at around 7.30am. I could have gone straight and returned from the way we came. However, I decided to return via Double-hill route to accompany her.

From the conversation, she sustained injury at the sole since the Kuching full marathon in March 2006. She has to cancel the participation of other races until there is improvement in recovery.

By the way, LSD is an acronym for Long Slow Distance in running. I do not know who coined that acronym. I would think SLD – Slow, Long Distance – would sound better.

Back at Bukit Aman Car Park

There was an extraordinary level of activities at the car park this morning – noticeably an increased in number. I saw groups of runners excitedly conversed with one another. A few were showing excitement of the number of events that will take place in the next few months. At the same time, they showed disbelief that four events were clashing with one another.

There were quite a number of forms been distributed at the car park this morning. Other than the booth manned by Jenny Lim, there was another booth promoting Chicken Run. I heard one of the guys said, “… after you have completed your registration form, we can even go to your house to collect it.” That was excellent service. Please do not interpret the implied message which I did not mention here.

Here are the running events for the month of July:

2 July – Ipoh Half Marathon

16 July – Seremban Half Marathon (good news – the Malaka Marathon has been postponed to a later date. Please refer to Pacesetters web site, click Events Calendar for more details)

23 July – 6th Pacesetters Track Meet at Selayang Stadium

23 July – Klang 10km and 7km Run

23 July – Port Dickson International Triathlon (22 July is for Sprint Event)

23 July – Chicken Run 3.5 km at Bukit Jalil Golf & Country Resort, Kuala Lumpur

30 July – Penang Bridge International Marathon

30 July – Duathlon Series #2 at Putrajaya.

So, on 23rd of July, a runner is torn between more than two (lovers) running events.

Conversation with Lim and Chong

I have a chat with Mr. Lim and Ms Chong. Mr. Lim was the lucky guy in the lucky draw who won an apartment in the PJ Half Marathon two years ago. Talking to me made me feel lucky too.

Ms. Chong showed admiration as to how I could manage so many activities in Pacesetters and Toastmasters. Among other things, she commented that the performers in my upcoming comedy drama are above 30 years of age. So I said that while we were in the twenties, we were focused in our career and looking for girlfriend (or boyfriend). When we were in the thirties, we realized that certain statistics should not have been increased was shot up – high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hyper-tension, etc. That prompted us to join Pacesetters Club. On the other hand, we should be shooting up the corporate ladder but that was slow in forthcoming. That prompted us to joint Toastmasters Club to improve the communication or public speaking skills.

Lunch

It was most satisfying to be able to complete the 20km training run. With that, I rewarded myself to a hearty lunch of nasi kandar at the Di Kayu Penang Nasi Kandar at USJ with added rice, together with a big glass of teh tarik. Yeah, this is life.

By KC

Flagrante Delicto Rehearsal

To view other photos taken by KC, please click here.

This is one of the photos taken by me during the rehearsal for this comedy skit. The progress of this endeavor by Speakers’ Dream Toastmasters Club members is progressing well. The 11 scenes were mapped out and re-arranged by the director, Logi; the scripts were improved and printed; the last rehearsal was done with 17 cast members doing the preliminary reading of the scripts. With the big number of cast, it is considered as a mega production that can rival Hong Kong movies.

During the rehearsal, certain acts were so funny that we could not contain our laughter. Taking part in this comedy skit is also about fun and camaraderie. The next rehearsal would be this Sunday afternoon, 25 June. Since I would be taking part in the acting and running (Powerman Duathlon) events where both are happening in end July, I would have to do a 20km training run from Bukit Aman – Sri Hartamas on the same Sunday morning too.

As you can see, I spend most of my leisure times with the two “…ters”. That would be Pacesetters in the morning with all the running and the recent new task – webmaster for Pacesetters Club; Toastmasters in the afternoon or evening for improving public speaking skill. With Pacesetters runners, I would introduce Toastmasters, and vice versa. There are not many who embrace the two “… ters” and I am one of the rare type.

According to Chee Wee, he said: "So your morning is running, afternoon is acting, evening is eating and night is sleeping, in between is talking; very busy schedule, hahaha! too many '...ING' lah, the name of my insurance company."

So fellow runners and friends please come and support me for my performance in this comedy skit.

Show Time:
Date: 26 – 30 July (Wedn to Sunday)

Time: 8.30pm (only Sunday is 3pm)

Venue: The Actors Studio, Level 3, Bangsar Shopping Complex, Kuala Lumpur.

By KC

New Kid on the Block

Please click here to view photos taken by P5 (Steven).

Geraldine is a regular visitor to this weblog. For a runner who trains up to 10km, it was a brave move (or run?) to upgrade to half marathon on race day. Read her brief story on PJ Half Marathon.

I reached Kelana Stadium before 6am and warmed up near the starting area. Predictably, there were many male runners in the 21km. When I collected the bib the day before, the total number of bibs for women was probably below 200. That was a big number relative to the number of medals awarded – 30 only. I was afraid I might not make it to 30th. Too many uncertainties ran across my mind… Wow, more than 100 runners vying for that all-important validation.

It was a refreshing change to hear a male announcer for the race at the starting line. He was good though not much of a 'ra ra' person. It drew some smiles and laughter when he mentioned that due to some road works and the barricaded narrow lanes, runners should not rush but to be careful and safe. The irony of it was all in the word 'rush'. Runners did bolt out like wild horses upon the firing of gunshot. Yes, where were we all rushing to and rushing for? Casting aside the obvious, there were going to be so many kilometres to outrun others and there was no need to jostle and push and get hurt. This is a good reminder to have for each run.

I think I did well on first 10k. As I have not trained to run more than that, a good number of ladies overtook me on the second half. I dropped my little precious (the drinking straw) while fiddling my watch after the first refreshment station. Boo hoo! I skipped that stop. At the next stop, I managed to get some water into my mouth (an art of delivery) though I had to walk a bit. At the next two sponging stations, I just took the sponges and quench my thirst. It did not matter to me whether the water is potable as I was ready to get a tummy upset later but I really did need the hydration. Desperation calls more desperate measures! I always envy runners who carry a small water bottle. That'll really helps.

The route is boring. Thankfully the weather was great and the traffic was light so the runners did not get choked on fumes. I did not bother to catch up with those lady runners and that was not like me. My legs were quite weak, so my then aspiration was just to complete the seemingly unending route. When I saw Kelana Business Centre from afar, my heart leaped with joy as the end was near (sounded like Frank Sinatra's My Way). I was still not properly fueled to do the dash. One achilles tendon was giving me slight discomfort. Luckily that went away soon after the race. The surprising outcome: ta da … I did better than my first attempt at KLIM 06 – 1hr 57mins. That was 17th position.

My friend did not do well and while he was on the opposite side, he counted the lady runners and I was the 8th runner after the U-turn at the Subang airport road. I guess it was downhill for me soon after. There were numerous times that I was ever to tempted to walk especially seeing a couple of male runners walk/run. On hindsight, I would have and could have done better by not letting runners overtake me if I had more fuel to burn. That would take many training hours which I am lacking in this area. Considering that I doubled the distance only on race day and still managed sub 2, I am indeed happy that my body is decently strong and resilient. Also thankful that I bagged my 2nd Half Marathon medal.

By Geraldine

PJ Half Marathon

Click here for photos taken by Chan Wing Kai.

Note: Looks like posting of photos in this free web site is having a lot of problems recently. Not able to post even a photo.

Dragon Dance & Cheerleading
Standing at the starting line with Weng, Chee Wee and Jason, we were pleasantly treated with performance of dragon dance. It was then followed by a team of teenage girls performing the cheerleading stances. With the synchronized action and voices, the cheering sound was loud and crisp that could rival the battery-operated hailer used by one of the Selangor AAA officials.

Jason said he could only see the cheerleading girls when the three leaders were pushed up into the air. Though he is 5 feet 10 inches of height, his view was blocked by a few lines of runners standing in front of him. There was huge crowd and the responses for the PJ Half Marathon were good. Jokingly, I said that he was not standing on the pole position as he was just standing next to a stub of two feet tall right in the middle of the road as road divider.
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While playing badminton on Friday evening (two days before race day), Meng was telling us that since there would not be any Champion Chip, it would be better to stand close to the starting line. Otherwise, valuable seconds would be lost just to inch to the starting line when clock had started ticking. I was laughing and commenting since when he thought like elite runners.

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Just a minute or two before the race was flagged off, a very serious and senior Selangor AAA official gave a final briefing. Among other instructions, he said, “… there is lots of time; so, please don’t rush. Safety is important.” Undeniably, 21km is quite a distance and we need quite a lot of time to run too.

Under Construction
At 6.30am, the race was started. There wasn’t much cheers and all runners dutifully moved forward and later changing gear into running motion. Running into Jalan Subang, a long stretch of road construction greeted the runners. The 200-meter stretch connecting with Federal Highway was heavily under construction and there was no light to pace the way. Luckily, there were no vehicles at that moment.

The construction of flyover at Federal Highway somewhere near Motorola area was miraculously completed on time. Two weeks before that, there were still lots of metal supporting structures lining along the highway.

The last competition that I took part was on 26 March for the Kuching Marathon. Though there were occasional Sunday morning training runs at Bukit Aman, nothing compares to a real competitive race. At the initial stage of this race, possibly I was running slightly too fast trying to follow Chee Wee’s and Jason’s paces, I felt the non-coordination between legs movements and breathing rhythms. I slowed down a little and I felt better; slowing down a little meant I was way behind them.

The Unwanted Noise
The entire course was the same as last year. One good thing about the looping back at the furthest point was that we could see who were the running friends in front of us, and how far away. It was a sunny weather this morning as compared to last year which was raining heavily.

I do not quite like the course of PJ Half Marathon. Most of the distances were run on highways. Twenty years ago, the only busy highway was Federal Highway. Today, Jalan Subang has evolved into 6-lane dual carriageway. When cars traveling at fast speed, the sound generated was quite deafening.

All runners actually got the full impact when we were only about ten feet away running abreast with the speeding vehicles. I believe every runner would have to endure the noise and pollution. Somewhere near Subang Terminal 2 area, one bus in blue ferrying factory workers just came into the road discharging heavy cloud of dark exhaust fume. I saw a lady runner in front of me fanning away the smoke with her right hand in somewhat a futile attempt.

Returning to Stadium
While returning at the stretch of road leading to the stadium, I saw Jasion Thiang. He said, “Wah, running in a so relaxing manner.” Within minutes, I entered the stadium; immediately, I saw a few familiar faces calling my name – KC, KC… I saw Chan Wing Kai, photographer of Pacesetters Club, aiming his camera at me with the “bazooka” like lens. Immediately, Steven and Agnes Chin greeted me. I put on my best smiles continuously, raised my right hand to acknowledge the pleasantry. The last 400 meters were run on the track of Kelana Jaya Stadium. Every runner seemed running in good form despite the earlier tiredness and pain, if any.

I completed the run in 1 hour 54 minutes – one minute ahead of my target. I got 58th position and a medal. When I was with Chan Wing Kai, at one time, I was like a movie director: “take the photo of this runner, take that runner that I know.”

Just next to the track was a radio station having great fun with the runners. I saw one blind-folded fat runner was dancing furiously pointing his fingers up and down, jumping here and there almost in comical stance. I presumed he was emulating John Travolta in his Sunday Morning Fever.

In the main block of the stadium, there were many booths have been set up to promote their products. I saw there were long queues for the Fitness First booth where the two beautifully lady promoters have to attend to the overwhelming crowd.

The medal flew off when I was driving home. I put the medal together with a few pamphlets on the windscreen while removing my running shoes at the car park. I totally forget about the medal until I saw the pamphlets were flying off at the highway. So, I returned home empty handed. Tony suggested that I could take a photo of the medal and keep the virtual version.

Post Race Assessment
Overall, PJ Half Marathon was a well-organized race. All volunteers and Selangor AAA officials performed their expected duty well. The water and sponges stations were set up according to claims and were well managed. I saw the teenagers scouts manning the sponging station were having good times too splashing water among them. Before the race, I was impressed with the number of freebies in the goody bags. The T-shirt is of good quality type and the design is attractive.

One set back: the course is too heavily laden with traffic. As advertised in the Star newspaper on Thursday 15 June: “run in Malaysia’s latest city – from town to city. Held in conjunction with the declaration of Petaling Jaya as a City.” It is the price we have to pay. Come with the title, it also comes with the worrying expansion in traffic volume. Let us hope that the organizer would devise another new route in next year’s PJ Half.

By KC

The Incredible Logi and Monti

I was looking forward to an event on Wednesday, 14 June. It was not about which team was playing in the World Cup. I was referring to watching the comedy skit performed by Monti and Logi, both distinguished speakers graduated from Toastmasters Club.

Together with 12 other Toastmasters members, we met at Bangsar Shopping Complex, Level 3 Food Court for dinner before the show started at 8.30pm.

The turnout was not predictable. It was mainly influenced by the World Cup when Brazil team was playing against Crotia on wee hours of Wednesday. Most people would find time to rest whenever possible. One thing for sure, the audience was well dressed.

Other than Monti and Logi, there was a supporting live band consisting of two guitarists. They sang a few songs and provide backup music too. Monti and Logi not only were good at telling jokes, they sang and danced too. They even dressed up as women! All were having non-stop laughter throughout the show. There was one girl in the audience who laughed very loud and I have “side laugh” because of her laughter.

After many performances, Logi (an Indian) has perfected the act of emulating Datuk SV. When he answered a reporter's questions (acted by Monti), he would fold his arms, face slightly upward and gave snobbish expression. In one of their comedy skits, part of the hilarious conversion was as follows:

Reporter: What is your Ministry's vision?
Datuk SV: (in SV’s accent) Just like the Vision 2020, we also have our vision. We intended to build 2,000 toll-booths by 2020.
Reporter: Is that possible, Yang Berhormat?
Datuk SV: When there is a will, there is a highway (way) …

I was really having a good time and submerged myself in the laughter. I was expecting for more until I was jostled back to reality when they say "good night" – it was already 10pm and I did not realize that I was there for 1.5 hours.

Verdict: Recommended; have lots of good laugh.

Details:
Date: 14 to 18 June (Wednesday to Sunday)

Time: 14 to 17June @ 8.30pm, 18 June at 3pm.

Venue: The Actors Studio, Level 3, Bangsar Shopping Complex, Kuala Lumpur.

For Reservation: 03- 2094 0400 or 03- 2094 1400

By KC

Note: I have tried numerous times to upload two photos for this posting but fail.

Please click here to view photos on preparatory work for the next comedy skit. Yours truly would be acting in this skit too. Showtime: 26 - 30July.

Weather Forecasting Stone

Thanks to a running friend who sent me a photo showing a weather forecasting stone. For non-runners, this photo would never attract any attention. However, it has entirely different meaning to us – the runners. Able to forecast changing weather condition is important so that one is well prepared, at least mentally.

I think the locals would be more efficient in forecasting weather, and external aids are not necessary. When we grow old, our joints would act as our radar. Before it rains, the joints would start to ache due to arthritis. The more severe the pain, the more serious is the rain.

These are my interpretation of the weather forecasting stone:

Stone is wet – Rain (It could also mean the kids are using it as target for practising their shooting skills with their water guns.)

Can’t see stone – Foggy (It is also true in USJ 11, Subang Jaya – this is where I live. Apparently, it is reported as one of the highest incidence of dengue fever. At times, when Subang Jaya Municipality does the fogging, it is really foggy. Not only the mosquitoes will suffocate and die, anyone who goes into the “cloud” would suffer the same fate. So, whenever the residents heard the sound of fogging machine drawing near in the evening, the residents would dash to close all windows and doors – that includes me – leaving the Aedes mosquitoes still in the house, if any, unscatched.)

Swinging stone – Windy (Runners could accidentally hit the stone, which is a prelude to “hitting the wall”.)

Stone jumping up & down – Earthquake (The dogs would jump and pull the stone thinking that it is the potato.)

Stone gone – Tornado (In local context, most likely, the stone is gone because someone has stolen it thinking that it is a magical stone that brings good luck.)

By KC