Great run past weekend

Past weekend, CA’s very own thewildgym coordinator, Cheramiche (Che), organized a Trail Running cum PotLuck at Kiara Park. Twelve weekend warriors were there to take up the challenge. Che planned the route in such a way that it resembled the Salomon Trail Run, scheduled on 6th December 2009.

We covered about 14km of trail (based on Shuk’s odometer) and it was really a fun run with a really fun crowd. Here are some of the photos taken using my Olympus miu Tough.

We had a ‘buffet’ spread right after the run. Unfortunately, Syukran & wife Nazlee, and Doris & partner could not join us the potluck. For the rest of us,  we grabbed the opportunity to replenish what were lost during the run (well, based on Shaq’s HR monitor, he lost approximately 1,400 kilocalories). I prepared a do-it-yourself Salad SpringRoll. Big thanks to Kash and hubby for the one-inch thick watermelon slices (really sweet and juicy!), Syah for the jemput-jemput udang (springyly-soft prawn balls – with bite-size prawns in it), and Shuk for the freeflowing icy-cool 100+ and mineral water.

p/s – do check out these guys’ blogs too for more interesting stories.

KASH – http://run-kooky-run.blogspot.com/2009/11/kiara-trail-run-report.html

ENAIKAY – http://enaikay.blogspot.com/2009/11/sneak-preview-kiara-trail-run.html

SYAH - http://iamsyah.blogspot.com/2009/11/salomons-x-trail-and-janda-baik-weekend.html

SHAQ - http://lifeashaq.blogspot.com/2009/11/gbss-kiara-trail-run.html

CHERAMICHE - http://cheramiche.blogspot.com/2009/11/kiara-trail-run-14-nov-09.html

DORIS – http://doriscbwong.blogspot.com/2009/11/kiara-trail-run.html

SHUK – http://runningandsome.blogspot.com/2009/11/thingsof-trail-and-klang.html

SHAKHIR – http://wcr1414.blogspot.com/2009/11/trails-trails-trails.html

Progressive Outdoor Run III

I am glad that  two PORs have been carried out in last 2 consecutive sundays – POR I at Gunung Nuang (until Lolo Camp only) for 8kms and POR II at FRIM Kepong for a good 11-12kms. To ensure that there’s progress in the running distance, I am planning for the Peak of Nuang, the highest in the state of Selangor @ 1498m, for this Sunday’s POR III.

As usual, Corporate Athletes are inviting friends and athletes out there to trail-run together. There are no charges/fees for this run, and please bring your own hydration belt or bag, preferably with the capacity of 2-3 litres. Please pack along some candies, ORS and food-gels too as we will be covering appproximately 17km of trail running/hiking for an approximate duration of 5-6 hours. 

Please find below the details about CA’s Progressive Outdoor Run III :

Date : 11 October 2009 (Sunday).

Meeting place : Gunung Nuang Park Headquarters. Look out for Corporate Athletes bunting near the carpark.

Registration : 6.45 am

Start : 0700 hr (with 10.30am turn-back time)

Finish : 1300 hr

Distance : 17+ kms

Some food and refreshments will be served after the run, courtesy of Fitness Kitchen. See you there!

p/s – This will be the last POR for the season. The following week is a tapering week before the TNF in Singapore.

For those who are new to trail running, you can check out my previous post here. 

POR II – FRIM Exposed

We just completed the Progress Outdoor Run (POR) 2nd Series at Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) yesterday. Total of five runners turned up that morning. We had a great Sunday run and managed to cover a distance of 10-11km. 

After the run, we had a quick breakfast of eggwhite bruschetta with lettuce brought from home, and loaded further with FRIM’s cafeteria nasi lemak. As we burned more than 1,000 kilocalories that morning, we could still manage to spare few more calories for other open-houses that day. Well, this is what exercise can do to you – consume food without guilt! 

p/s – Since POR I and II covered 8km and 11km respectively, I’m seriously thinking of doing Nuang Peak for POR III. It will be a good 17-18km of trail running. It will be this Sunday and expect the run to be abt 3-4 hrs long. Any takers?

of birthday cakes and male cooks

The male engineers at my workplace are good cooks. SS is really good in making cheese cakes (definitely better than the Secret Recipe’s). TA is famous for his italian food – he makes wonderful pastas. FY is our local food’s expert. Myself is a bit rojak -  I’ve contributed the Moroccan harira, Chicken Pies, sandwiches etc. Whenever there’s an occasion, we never fail to contribute some of our home-cooked food. Even a simple department meeting can turn into an expansive buffet spread. I guess gone are the days where the kitchen is strictly the woman’s playground.

Since it was my birthday yesterday, I ordered another 32 cupcakes from my dear friend Syah, also a Corporate Athlete. He’s a very good cupcake decorater, while his wife is a fantastic baker. Just look at these beautiful cuppies 

For those who wish to order their beautiful and delicious cupcakes, you can log on to their website at www.bakenbites.blogspot.com The cuppies come in various designs. Best of all, he delivers the cakes too.

behind the scene – Awani Pagi

Yesterday, I was invited again by Astro Awani for my 4th show, but this time around as a Fitness Chef, my very first too (my other apperances were as Fitness Trainer). But mannn, it wasn’t easy to cook and talk at the same time.  

I brought along the whole kitchen lot with me to the studio – bowls, knive, chopping boards, ingredients  etc all neatly kept in the box. I pushed off from home at 7.30am as I need to be there by 9am – only to know that the entire surrounding roads/highways were jammed up. I made few attempts to try different routes but almost impossible to even get my car to move an inch. Thanks to the rain for the crazy traffic. It was already 8.30am and I was nowhere close. I decided to take the LRT at Sri Petaling instead and hurriedly got myself until Plaza Rakyat station – the closest ever station to Astro Awani’s studio located in Bursa Malaysia building. Unfortunately, it was too close for a cab to ferry me there ….  

I arrived at the studio, not only soaked wet but just had enough time to lay the ingredients and kitchen utensils, did a very brief touch-up and off we went live on-air. Darn! With all the rushings and with too many things to do, I think my performance wasn’t that great. However, I was happy that I managed to show viewers how to make two of my favourite dishes; Prawn Mango salad (where both the hosts, Azean and Dang Suria cleaned up the plates well…hehheh)  and White Egg Bruschetta, an italian finger food using my version of healthy ‘mayonnaise’, white eggs and corn.

Here are some behind-the-scene pics. Enjoy.

That was one good experience and definitely a good learning curve for me. I even landed a sale on my Fitness Kitchen’s Healthy Lifestyle Program after the show. I also managed to get another client for my Personal Training package, from a presentation done at KLCC on later part of yesterday. Alhamdullilah. 

p/s – Other media appearances can be found in the Media folder. Click here.

Progressive Outdoor Run II (POR)

POR I at Gunung Nuang went well last Sunday. We managed to trail-run for a total distance of 8km. This Sunday, CA will be organising POR II,  hoping to cover a good distance of 10-12km.

Corporate Athletes are inviting friends and athletes out there to trail-run together. There are no charges/fees for this run, and please bring your own hydration belt or bag (also as part of the training).

Since we are still in the raya mood for open houses, expect the run to be abt 3-4 hrs long only, and we should be back to homes by 11am-11.30am, just in-time to prepare for any Raya Open House at noon …. )

Please find below the details about CA’s progressive run :

Date : 04 October 2009 (Sunday).

Meeting place : Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) in Kepong. Look out for Corporate Athletes bunting near the mosque’s carpark.

Registration : 6.45 am

Start : 0700 hr (with 9.00am turn-back time)

Finish : 1030 hr

Distance : 10-12 km

Some food and refreshments will be served after the run, courtesy of Fitness Kitchen. See you there.

For those who are new to trail running, you can check out my previous post here. 

Certified Personal Fitness Chef

October 1st this year has been a special day for me - it was the first time that I celebrated my birthday on the auspicious first syawal. I also wish to share my latest achievement with my clients, friends and family members, as a certified PERSONAL FITNESS CHEF, a certification program made possible by the National Endurance and Sports Training Association, U.States.

Although this chef certification may sound abit abrupt, but my ‘cooking’ history has dated way back in the early 90s. I’ve been cooking religiously for the past 15 years and have been entertaining family and friends (they are my ‘guinea pigs’….heheh… ) with “ain’t heard-off” dishes that I personally created using solely my culinary instincts……I never use cookbooks (not patient enough to go through the entire recipe and instructions) – blame it on the gender thingy! Having a rather sensitive tastebud helps me to invent dishes. A trip to a restaurant never comes complete without  having my mind bogged down with details of the ingredient that they put in. And normally once back at the comfort of my tiny little kitchen, I will re-surrect those meals.

Being an athlete too has made me to pay extra attention to the things that I put into my mouth. As most  of my competitions and adventure races are long (some exceed beyond 24hrs), the food that I consume prior to the event really ’shows’ in my performance. After trying out different f&b, I now pretty much know the food to consume (or to avoid), in preparing myself for competitive events.

While trying to shy away from the ‘normal’ chef status, a combination of passion + trial&error + fitness&health has urged myself to get more professional education and training in becoming a Fitness Chef. Unlike a ‘normal’ chef whom I have upmost respect, a Fitness Chef  prepares very simple and straight forward dishes, uses the simplest and freshest ingredients (preferably in the rawrest form). Basically, a Fitness Chef prepares dishes that requires very minimal cooking (this is so me…hehheh) while locking in as much nutrients as possible in its food. 

In trying to educate and train people to cook and eat healthily, I am in the midst of establishing FITNESS KTCHEN, our F&B arm of Corporate Athletes. There will be list of activities that FITNESS KITCHEN will be offering including demo cooking, cooking party etc. More of these will be detailed out in the Corporate Athletes’ website soon. In the meantime, cook & stay healthy. 

p/s – I cook fast and hate to spend too much time in the kitchen. I can cook 3 dishes and a dessert within an hour…who can beat that? …. hehheheh