Full Cycle

It was a year ago that I signed up for Putrajaya Night Marathon, doing a 10K. It was the first road-race I signed up, ever.

This time, I did a 21K. Plus, I'm not doing it alone. Hubby was there too. Despite telling me that he doesn't want to start with me, we ran together for a bit. Happy. ^^
Some points :
  • I braced for rain. Heavy rain. It never did rain in Putrajaya that night. WOW! The bomoh hujan the organizer hired must be very good. It rained every night for the past week and yet... not a single drop on Saturday. Humid, humid night. *Blerk*
  • Race volunteers and marshalls were awesome! Excellent support. Met with Darth Vader, Batman, Superman... Super FUN!  Super NOISY! Hi-fived random people and thumbs-upping them too.
  • The soap bubbles at one of the bridges was a nice touch. I spent time popping them acting like giddy little girl. It make me forget the suffering and just ran. wakaka
  • Plenty of water stations and sponges. Friendly people there too. Always thank them, runners!
  • Ambulances were pretty busy on race night. Seems like quite a number of runners needed help and were taken on ambulances.
We stayed at Pullman Putrajaya for the night and walked to the starting line. Yeah, walked about 3K for warm-up. But we only left the hotel at 7.40pm and by the time we reached the Kementerian Belia & Sukan, it was already 8.00pm and the full marathoners were already flagged-off. 

We whooped and hooted and clapped at the full marathoners as they passed us, going the opposite direction. Saw Neoh waving at us and Nick too!

Then, the volunteers and marshalls kept on hollering at us to get to the starting line faster because half-marathoners were going to be flagged-off soon! We were about 1K away. I ran a bit when we were almost at PoJ but not to the starting line. When half-marathoners were flagged-off, I was running to the toilet! Pee is important!
The starting line, when we finally walked towards it. 

Almost empty. We finally stepped on the mat at the start 4 minutes after flag-off. Muahaha!!! 

Of course, starting waaaaay at the back meant that there were 3,490 other runners in front of us. I ran with Zaini and we took our time. No point zig-zagging and waste energy trying to overtake so many runners. So we ran, we talked, we "kutuk" people. heh heh

The route was incliney... and we took it slow. This was my 3rd half-marathon, and it seems to be just my luck to run all three half-marathons during "the time of the month!". Girls, remember to slather Vaseline or Body Glide or whatever on your nether region. I did, but I still yelped with pain from the chafing on my butt!

Zaini and I parted company afterwards, but not before "gambateh"ing each other.

I make a point to stop at all water stations to make sure I was properly hydrated. Use the sponges too. It wasn't nice to run with my sweat forming into icky salt on my arms so the wet sponges were marvelous.

Sure, this was my slowest half-marathon I did out of three but I don't mind. I had fun. I ran; albeit slowly on all those inclines littered along the route. AND hubby was with me. Not all the way but he was there part of it with me. He started with me and when he was approaching the finish line, I ran alongside him towards the finish line. SUPER HAPPY!
 
SUPER HAPPY!
Super happy to be finally meeting Kak June! She was at  about a 100m before the finish line, giving support and encouragement to runners and heard her hollering my name. I ran towards her, we hi-fived, she gave me a hug and kiss, despite being sweaty, stinky and generally icky. I approached the finish line with a bounce in my steps and a big grin. Thank you Kak June! Great to finally meet you. Met with Kak Justiffa there too. ^^
Then, time to head back to our hotel. This is going to be a habit for me, it seems. I really like walking barefooted after doing my long run and I did that night. Walked 3K barefooted. While walking, going the opposite direction from runners approaching the finish line; we clapped, gave thumbs-up and whooped at passing 3hours full marathoners.
A view of the Seri Gemilang bridge, after we walked pass it to our hotel. ^^

What a great way to spend a Saturday night. :)

But I guess some Putrajaya residents must be so MAD at us runners. The honking and cursing I heard when passing a junction; from some vehicles there made irate KL drivers (when I did SCKLM 2012) seems tame. Bravo Putrajaya residents.

Anyway, total run & walk distance (plus the walk to&fro hotel) we did that night = 27K. Macam buat LSD for a marathon training! wakaka

Comments

  1. I love Putrajaya by night - such a beautiful place. Congrats to you two...keep running! LOL!!!

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    1. Putrajaya can be rather nice at night with bridges illuminated. :)

      Thanks Arthur oppa.^_~

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  2. Replies
    1. Thank you podium ultra-marathon man. :-)

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  3. Congratulation!
    wow, the view of the bridge is simply beautiful!

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    1. thanks.

      Other bridges there were nicely lit-up too. :)

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    2. i must go to putrajaya one of these days at night

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    3. Go lah. Stay at Pullman also. Nice. :)

      But Putrajaya can be rather boring if there are no events. Unless you like to just drive around and see scenery. :)

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  4. Congrats Lina! Walked from and to Pullman? Wow. Oh I pun dengar honking & such, hmm.
    My timing was 3 hours, would love to do sub-3 (seminit pun jadi lah hehe) but cramps masa nak dekat habis & it took me 45 minutes to finish off the final 5km. Takpe, sebab mula2 kan nak jual je bib I tu kan :P. Like you, I had fun too. Sempat jugak kemho dgn Nannoor & Darth Vader haha.

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    1. CONGRATS!!!!! 1st HM done. Lepas ni pukul @ PBIM!!! How's your foot? A 3 hr HM with injured foot - RESPECT!

      Awat la I tak nmpk/jumpa you all. Huhuhu....

      PNM was fun right? I enjoyed the run A LOT! Siap lari kejar n pecah buih lg. Kekeke...

      Supporters were awesome. Tak kemho dgn Superman? :-D

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    2. Wooo! Wooo! Wooo! You did it!

      Sub3 HM! Pat on shoulder! TERBAEK! Yeay! Congrats!

      Jom LSD jom.... hehehe

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    3. Lina, lari kejar buih best haha...hilang jap rasa mental. Ke makin mental sebab kejar buih hahaha...
      I mengharapkan iPhone Nannoor nak kemho2 ni..my BB tak se-best dia punya phone :P. Masa lalu Batman & Superman, Nannoor dah ke depan kot. So no pic. Tengok gambar dia baru perasan Superman tu kiut rupanya. Masa I lalu tu tak sempat nak meneliti heheheee
      Oh thanks for the pat on shoulder :D

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    4. Biar mental, janji habis lari! muahahaha!!!

      Ye ye ye. SUperman sangatlah cute. Masa I lalu, ramai peminat stop. hehehe

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  5. fuyoh, cannot believe i finished reading the entire post from the first word to the last word, yes, every word!! see how i sayang Mak Rempit~~

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    1. LOL.....long story but fun leh

      I didnt know that they have things like bubbles to distract the runners. Thought people go tere to run aje.

      Had to laugh when Lina said she run to the toilet :p

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    2. There are lots of things to distract runners from their "pain". Got rebana ubi lah, those India drums la, brass band la, apa mascot pun ada and even a clown right in the middle of nowhere waiting & cheering for runners.

      hahaha... yalah, I always have running event to toilet one. Important mah! kakaka

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  6. looks like a fun run instead huh.. i wonder why zaini parted and then joined you again at the finishing line?? he slowed down and waited for you??

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    1. oh, how nice ah.. i think this is better, feel more like "lost and found".. started off together, and then ended together again.. how sweet~~

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    2. remind me of the story of Yan and Jin Jin.. met in the school bus, then after so many years, met again and get married.. exactly the same story here!!! :p

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    3. Zaini and I have different race strategy mah. I plan to run slowly but run all the way. Zaini's plan was run/walk.

      After I finished, I waited for him about a few hundred metres from the finish line and annoy people (and him) by running alongside until he stepped on the finishing mat for his timing, then I double back, sped off and try to take his photo while he got his medal and stuff since I can't re-enter the finishing chute. ^^

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    4. ooo....i pun tak faham why wait near finish line till you explain.

      ahem...mana raime? he in hotel?

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    5. hotel lah. Got internet free. Got snacks. Apa lagi mau? Free from parents for a few hours some more.

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  7. how come this time no cosplay?? your petai costume mana?? not even wearing any catchy hairband at all but just that white cap?? ish~~

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    1. i suggest you to wear those artcraft tiara than the two princesses of Mak Yan did, awesome and sure you steal the limelight from all the superman, batman and wonderwoman~~ :D

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    2. Hahaha... Didn;t wear anything fancy that night because I thought it would rain that night. Dun wan to overdress for rain. But turned out, it was a hot, hot night.

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    3. must mintak tok bomoh punya number dah :p

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  8. aiyoh, walking barefooted for 3km ah?? later stepped on rocks or shattered glass or any sharp objects then will get hurt lah.. so dangerous~~

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    1. Walking barefoot makes you alert about where you put your feet. And it actually helps me with the soreness. I like the free feeling of walking barefoot.

      You know there are a lot of barefoot runners here too?

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  9. bunking in a hotel again.. no wonder i saw that photo on facebook.. but how come only two sets of dinner?? how to share among three person??

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    1. Raimie ate the burger.

      We shared the sandwich. Nothing heavy for us before the run lah. After run, we ate briyani. ;p

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  10. Congrats to the both of you! What was the kiddo doing back at the hotel?

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    1. Happily playing computer games using the free wi-fi in the hotel.

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  11. the second photo why so blur and shaken one?? like watching 3D horror movie like that.. wakakakaka!!

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    1. i just realised you did not take photo together with zaini!! you were separated lah.. should pose together with that V-sign and then showing off the finisher medal mah.. then can print that photo and hang it on the wall~~

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    2. Kokak punya camera mah... and I was walking backwards to get to the starting line while taking that photo. LOL

      Couple shot? Have to ask strangers to take pulak. Malu lah. kakaka

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    3. no member ke to help you snap photo

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    4. Lone ranger.

      Takde kawan. ;p

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  12. so does that mean there will be more than one run in a single month with zaini started joining you?? hehehe.. see, i told you, that's perseverance.. slowly psycho and persuading sure will influence somebody..

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    1. just like HHBC -> Lina -> SMARTPHONE.. hahahaha!!

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    2. He said he just want to test whether he can do it. He "assured" me he won't run at all the races I will be joining because then, who's gonna take my photo? bwahaha!!!!

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  13. hi Lina, i think i ran behind you for the last 6,7 km. But u were too fast la. Last2 i cannot keep up with u anymore hehe. Congrats anyway!

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    1. Anon,
      Sapa ni? :)

      Hehehe congrats to you too.

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  14. Congrats to the both of you. Not an easy route to run, especially for a first time runner like you hubby. Awesome job he did there!

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    1. I agree and he did awesome! He's so gonna leave me in the dust soon. ^^

      Hear that hubby?

      Despite the tougher 42K route, you were awesome too, Nick! Congrats!!!!

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  15. Zaini's smile at the end of the race is the awesomest happiest smile I've seen in a very long time. You can't look at that and not start grinning like a maniac, too! :D

    Congratulations, Zaini! Yoku dekimashita! Good job! ^^

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    1. Yup, he did great, didn't he? And to think that he only started running regularly since last month. ^^

      It's HUGE achievement for someone who prefers to cycle than run before. :)

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  16. Bomoh hujan??? Translation, please! :D

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  17. Kutuk? Curse?! Translation, please :D

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    1. In this context, we mean - dissing. Who cares how we look, we diss other runners and laughed at/with them, especially those who look way too serious doing it. Bwahaha!!!!!!!

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    2. This Ruousha is so adventurous and willing to learn every word to understand other cultures! Bagus!!

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    3. Bagus?! I had to Google that too. :) I'm just a sucker for words, and I've realized that you guys in Malaysia have some pretty darned lekker ones. ^^

      I like "kutuk"! It's something I do fairly often. Muekeke! ^^

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    4. Ru is a lekker student of Lina! Ru boleh!!

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    5. Pity me no good student of Afrikaans or any other language. Yvonne, you're a lekker student of Ru's. :)

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  18. Congrats Lina.
    Especially on conquering PNM's rolling hills!
    I hated the rolling hills last year and vowed never to do this race again. Haha

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    1. Doc,
      huhuhu timing hampes... 5min slower than Taiping. Boohooohoooo!!!!

      For the first time in a looooong looooong time, my thighs are hurting. Adeh mak... I vow to forget the pain and inflict more pain to myself next year. Yahahaha!!!!!

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  19. Good job on both of you!

    Look at both you and Nick have so much fun to run with the perfect half, me too thinking of dragging my wife to join me for running. Any tips?

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    1. Tip = no forceful dragging. Just let her tag along w/o running. Take photos or cheer for the kiddos when they run, etc. Then maybe somehow the bug will bit her. kekeke

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    2. hmmm... may be can try it out when my daughter running the Desa ParkCity... let see :)

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    3. bringing the whole family to give support there? Good luck to your daughter, Neoh! :)

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    4. @Neoh - or you can promise her loads and loads and loads of new running gear ... LOL!

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    5. That works. I bought hubby his Asics shoes that he wore that night at PNM. :-D

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  20. Bravo Lina and Zaini!! Both of you Macam love birds and ran together! This is essential for a long lasting and happy marriage!

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    1. Yalah... cannot just do horizontal activities only what. Vertical activities also must do together. wakaka

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  21. I am also impressed by this Bomoh Hujan!! Got his contact number? Wanna ask him make STP jatuh from top chart! Kakakakakakaka

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    1. The bomoh hujan so terer one! Putrajaya was sunny all day long. Hot night too! o.O

      I bet one "pooh" from him, STP will sprawl down! wakaka

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    2. STP besar Macam Gajah Afrika liar. One pooh sure tak cukup la. He got to summon the kilat to strike too! Kakakakakakaka

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    3. Kakakaka, TM come here to complain about the Sibu Mayor - cannot complain direct at his face because he'll surely machine-gun TM non-stop.

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    4. Hahaha yalah Yvonne,
      He doesn't want to kena rapid fire shots if tembak STP direct at STP's blog one. wakaka

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    5. else TM will be drown by the saliva :P

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  22. I wonder why this SP always makan, tidur and ahem saja...... He also ran at Kiara Park just to tengok pompuan only. Lina should make him join the runs!

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    1. Aiye... itu SP. After run also, must eat so much one! Better don't! Later calorie masuk more than calorie burned pulak!

      Kiara Park got lots of leng lui ke? You always go there to ogle them, izit? *wink wink*

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    2. Let him exercise his thigh muscle and back muscle ahem ahem la... Also burn lots of calories, right? muahaha

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  23. It's not difficult to recognise you Kak Lina, we were at KM 3 when I saw your red vest and shoes- wanted to say hi and ask where ur bunny?, but of course i was 'saving' my energy haha. Did some 'imaginary fishing' on you but you slowly ran so far ahead of me.Saw you again at the 10km turning point, you were running super steady while i was panting walking the incline. Totally lost the sight of you after that, and the rest was history. :)

    Still so shy to say hi to you, even if I see you again next time (hopefully!), but thanks for inspiring me to endure the long run Lina. I had so much fun 'fishing' you, kept me going for a few kms, so thank you!! :)

    Erma

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    1. Hiya Erma!!! Wave wave!!!
      Buat HM jugak? Cool!

      But la.... apsal tak holler?

      OK OK When is your next run. Kalau sama, I make sure I will be more visible (didn't realise I am easily spotted but that night, got spotted a few times because of the red baju. kekeke) than usual. Headgear will be ON!

      Psssstt.... which Erma are you. Couldn't resist and checking - Erma S ke Erma W? ;p

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  24. Congratz to kak lina`s hubby, Zaini for completing his 1st HM ever with an awesome PB, Mine 1st HM was PNM 2011 with a 3hr and 11min, I think so... He`s a natural born runner, juz like U, kak lina... Give him some time n proper training, he`ll definitely outrun us, kan Kak Lina... I`m sure u r sooo proud of him... hehe

    I was looking for your eerie Bat Girl headgear b4 and along the route but your are nowhere to b found.. It`s ok, your blog inspired me more to run n pushing my limit... hehe...

    After run, hornymoon moment at the Pullman Hotel by the lake I bet... Starfishing pose some more... wakakaa... =D

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    1. I takmo lari dgn dia lepas ni. I'm a sore loser. Tak suka kalau kalah dgn hubby. kekeke

      Ingatkan mlm tu hujan, so the bat ears got left behind in the hotel room. Nyesal tak bawak though.

      Anyways, congrats and job well done on your 2:30 timing! Super hebat! :)

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    2. hahaa kak lina saja je bagi chance kat abg zaini nih, your PB is better than last Sunday night PNM right? hehee...

      Barula neck to neck fight with hubby dearest at the finishing line in your next HM run... huhuu...

      Xpela, that Bat ears will have to wait your next run then... DesaPark city run, right? hehee...

      Wish to make a PB but cant afford to do it due to both of legs mula meragam, buat hal nak cramp n pretty down at the last 3km felt like forever to end... Hahaha... Cant wait to do Pacesetter Back to Basic 30km this SUN... Super jittery nih...

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    3. Takde maknanya bagi can. hehehe

      Nope, tak buat Desa Parkcity. Just CICM HM & World Diabetes 10K fun run for Nov.

      Good luck and don't forget to enjoy yourself at PACM 30K. :)

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    4. Best of luck for your 2 running events too... Zaini pon join lari HM dgn akak Lina nanti yer? Awesome... I'm having 2 events too, Live Great n PBIM *goosebumps* must train harder... Ho yeahhh

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    5. You doing Live Great? Wow... fun tu. :)

      Again, have fun. Buat apa nak neves, kan? We run for fun and to be fit. ^^

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  25. Where's Darth Vader, Batman, Superman photo??

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    1. You and your photographer both did the running... so no one to take the photo? Sigh, you should have appointed his young apprentice (adik Raimie) to take over the job.

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    2. No photo. As you can see in the first photo, I suck at night photos. Also, I was prepared for rain so I balut my camera in plastic. Lazy to take out. HP also balut plastik one. Muahaha

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    3. not suck at night time photo la....some camera like that one. not good with night shoots. mine too same. Not matter wat...using the night setting also will come out not nice

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    4. Wish can afford to buy new camera. But not rich like the Kucing. Cannot simply go and buy expensive stuff! Muahaha

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  26. So lovey dovey to run together in the run. Kudos to Zaini and also lina.

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  27. It is good to have common interest for husband and wife. My common interest with husband is working out in the gym, and now you can run together with Zaini. Feel so good isn't it.

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    1. Don't forget he always accompany me on my weekend long runs too... Cycling side by side slowly for two hours. ^_^

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  28. Somemore it is so healthy to run and do sport together.

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  29. Zaini and I parted company afterwards, but not before "gambateh"ing each other

    so romantic la

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    1. Probably we annoy people with it that time. hahaha

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  30. huh, putra jaya night run eh lol
    (didnt heard of this before dunno why, maybe I too outdated lol)

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    1. It's not your thing what... so why should you know about it... right?

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  31. I saw you that night babe, but tak sempat nak tegur cause I was dizzy hehe (HM virgin lah katakan). Here's my recap (baru siap hari ni). Good luck at APBIM!

    http://fairym.com/run/index.php/2012/11/bsnpnm-my-1st-half-marathon/

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