Was it too easy?

Penang Eco 100k, 104km total distance, 3900m total cumulative altitude gain. I finished the run just within 24 hours, placing 34th overall over 130 finishers, while more than 200 started. This is not the first time I take part in Penang Eco: 160k 2017 and 160k 2018 but I DNF both. That's why I had decided to step down the challenge and took on the 100k this year. 

"Was it too easy?"

Am I too cocky to think this? Although it sounds like I'm bragging myself, for a long time after I finished the run I am genuinely feeling disturbed by this thought. Unlike all my ultra attempts prior to this, finished or not (Ut4M 2015, Ut4M 2016 : Second Chance), where I was always half dead at the end, I was still feeling fresh and strong after completing the 100km surprisingly. This feeling was totally new to me.

The course can be divided into 2 distinct stages: first 50k is almost all flat, while second 50k is all the ups and downs. I remember I went through the first 50k with relative ease. I can't say that I flied through it, I had some run and some fast walking, keeping the myself away from hitting the red zone as usual. I reached back at Sungai Lembu the 50k point at around 20h30, with 3 hours and a half margin gained from the COT. The major challenge of the first 50k was the heat because it took place during the intense heat of the afternoon. I saw some were having troubles with the heat, but I was not. I guess my intentional training run under the hot afternoon sun had paid off.

Although the second half with all the ups and downs was where people said the harder half, I was surprised that I was able to keep the same pace throughout. No matter how steep the up or how gnarly the down, I was always on the same pace and without stopping. My mom and my sister who visited me at CP6 were also amazed and said that I was looking really fresh when they saw me. When I reached CP7 Berapit at 3am, I was already pretty sure that I could finish the race already, which again this feeling shouldn't happen this soon according to my previous experience. I was feeling good and at the same time very scared because the feeling was something unfamiliar, just as a huge thunder cloud was approaching.

A storm started as soon as I left CP7. On the super exposed paddy fields, the angry thunder lighting got me worry. It took no time before I got soaking wet and cold. I was planning to walk fast only until the end, but the cold forced me back to running pace just to keep myself warm. At CP8 I didn't stay too long either, because it was just so cold and I had to keep moving. With the heavy rain, the route between CP8 and CP9 became very muddy and sometimes dangerous. I was in a group, all with the same pace, went through this route together. I did slip and fall a few times, got a few scratches here and there but luckily nothing serious.

At CP9, the sky cleared up. It was 7am. I could almost feel the finish line. At this point, I figured that I must have some blisters under my feet because I could feel the pain already. The blisters may be due to the wet shoes and socks. And also, I just wished that I had gaiters because little rocks and sand kept going into my shoes and socks, and rubbing my feet, worsen the blisters even more. "Let's just forget about it and keep going", I thought.

Soon enough CP10 was behind me. Reaching CP11 at around 11am, the last CP before finish line, I just decided to make the finish line before 1pm. So I did, reaching at exactly 12.43pm, 23 hours and 43 mins. Done! 

Beside a few blisters and scratches, upon finishing the run, my legs were strong, my spirit was still high, and I felt like I could still going further on. So was the run too easy for me? Or I had trained myself very well this round? I'm not sure. What I am sure is my limits were not reached. 

Will I come back to challenge the 160k? I reckon not because the most interesting parts of Penang Eco are all explored in the 100k category. The extra 60k from the 160k category is very flat, mainly on tar road and too often running side by side with other vehicles on the road. Time to aim for the other ultra. 

All the Raptors needed was the Klaw

OMG! The Raptors has won the NBA title! After days have passed, I still cannot believe that this is true. Raptors' title run cannot be better described than as a Hollywood movie:

1st round: Losing their first game against Orlando Magic but the Raptors prevailed;

2nd round: Kawhi's ridiculous game 7 buzzer-beater, which bounced around the rim 4-times before sinking in, to close out the series with 76ers;

Conference Finals: Losing the first 2 games to the Bucks leading by the Greek Freak Giannis himself only to come back by winning the next 4 games straight, and Raptors going to the Finals for the first time the franchise history;

NBA Finals: Ending the Warriors dynasty and preventing them from 3-peat, and bringing the first NBA title to Canada!

At the beginning of the season, with all the circumstances, nobody in the right mind would have predicted this. I mean the fact that Demarcus Cousins joining the already stupidly strong Warriors, it just seemed like the unstoppable Warriors was going to 3-peat.

This Raptors squad is something special. You just cannot hate them. The leading man himself, Kawhi "The Klaw", the Finals MVP and the superstar of the team, is just a very humble guy and you just want to root for him. The same goes for all the team members too. Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Danny Green, Norman Powell, etc.. And also not to forget Jeremy Lin too!

I haven't felt so emotional following the NBA playoffs for a long time already. Not every title run has the same value. This Raptors' NBA title run is definitely historic. Ever since I started to follow NBA, there are just a few NBA titles that I classified as unforgettable: 2004 Pistons, 2010 Lakers, 2011 Mavericks, and 2016 Cavaliers. And now adding 2019 Raptors to the list.

晨雨登高

吾独雨登将军山
想方涉险路难攀
彩云艳阳远初照
欣逢美景使心欢

Blade Runner 2049

I regret that I didn't go to watch it on the big screen in cinema while I could. Blade Runner 2049 by Denis Villeneuve, premiere in Malaysia at the beginning of October 2017 and it was in cinema for less than 3 weeks! It just got off the "Now Showing" list so unexpectedly fast! Then I was waiting for it to be shown on Astro, waiting for almost 18 months, but to no end. Finally I watch the pirated version last week and it is beyond my expectations.

To be honest I am not one of those hardcore fan of the original Blade Runner. To me, it is just "meh". My first encounter with the original Blade Runner was for a school project. As one of the courses during my uni years, I was required to do a film analysis and Blade Runner was the film to be analyzed. Although it is philosophical and stylized, my general feeling towards Blade Runner was and is still the same - so boring... Without a doubt the film is highly influential, culturally. So when I heard about the 2049, I was expecting the more or less same slow pace as the original, the same philosophical storyline, the same style, etc.. With all said, the actual reason I wanted to watch it is because I just admired the audacity of the director to pick up this project - to make a sequel to a cult classic.

Blade Runner 2049 is everything like the original and more. It is B-E-A-U-tiful and it should only to be watched on the biggest screen you have. It won the best cinematography in Oscar for a reason but it should have won more than just that. I complain about the boring storyline in the original, and 2049 remedies it. I have been trying to avoid spoilers before my first viewing because I want an Experience watching the movie. It is not that hard to avoid spoilers though since nobody has watched it and talking about it. Anyway, during my first viewing, I can say that I totally get the story - every ups and downs, every emotion felt by K the main character. The feelings really hit me especially hard during the final scene - a medley of melancholy and bliss, even a drop of tear...

All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.

Besides 2049, I had also recently watched the Annihilation by Alex Garland and it is equally good. I'm just sad that great hard sci-fi, or in general, great films like these aren't getting much attention as they should. The fact that nobody in my circle is talking about these movies is just outrageous. For a moment, I hated the society for going only for movies like MCU and countless obvious cash-grab of remakes and reboots, while ignoring great movies. But again, I can understand that these movies are not for everyone. Hard sci-fi is just not something you can sit down and have a good easy time watching. It is usually thought-provoking and demands some brain power.

I am not a big fan of the original Blade Runner, but to me, Blade Runner 2049 is truly a masterpiece. Sigh... I just hope that people pays more attention to it.

The Bat

A song, any song, when played at the right moment can be truly magical. In a previous blog about Memories, I wrote: "Often, the most intense, the most important, emotional memories are not photographed... Some of my memories, ... are captured through songs." Die Fledermaus Overture by Johann Strauss II is one of these songs. 

Listening to this piece by Johann is not only able to bring back my memory, instead, just like Auguste Gusteau first tastes the ratatouille by Remy, it instantly teleports me back to the Vienna State Opera where I first heard this song. The grandeur of the opera, the majestic entrance hallway, the live orchestra that was better than any Dolby surround sound, and there I was, at the top storey, miles away from the stage, and worrying how underdress and out of place I was. If you are wondering whether you've known this place, yes of course, Vienna State Opera is where the assassination scene in MI5: Ghost Protocol is shot. 

Die Fledermaus, also known as The Bat, by Johann Strauss II is an operetta combining ballet and orchestra. There is no dialogue, just an amalgamation of classical music and body movement. That was the reason why I chose to watch this show among others during the time I was in Vienna. That time I was traveling solo from Bratislava to Prague while stopping by Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich. I knew I wanted to watch a classical show in Vienna just like any tourist would, but I knew nothing on the list of choices. The only one that didn't involve knowing the language was Die Fledermaus.

So I went into the show with no knowledge and no expectation. But once the overture hit, I was stunned, goosebumps to say the least. Time passes, and if you would have asked me about the story now, what is it about, I totally forget already. I don't think I can say that I understand the whole story either. What's left of the show is just a feel, more precisely a Disney feel. To describe the show, it would be wise to compare it to a classic Disney film like Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. Now I can see where these classic Disney films gets inspiration from.

What else is left in me of the show is the overture song. Probably the setting, or probably I heard it live, the biased me still think this is one of the best classical musics ever. In fact, listening to this song, it not only teleports me back to the Vienna time, it also reminds me of the amusement rides in Genting Highland during those rare times my parents brought me there when I was small. Rare because we were poor. I got older now and I now understand the sacrifice of parenthood. We were poor but they still squeezed out whatever they had to bring my siblings and me there.