I’m gonna spare you the details of my training mode, just for a record I trained twice to thrice a week, usually one or two short 5km run and one long 10km. The race was scheduled at 8.20pm for the 15.5km run. Having said that it’s at night, all of us were given a headlight, now you can imagine a cyborg with a glowing eye running at night.

Rich, Daniel (not to be confused as me) and I reached the venue at 7.00 pm and we were greeted with a magnificent sunset view. Finding parking wasn’t a hassle as the parking attendants were very helpful in directing traffic.

Upon arrival we see thousands of orange clad runners from all walks of life – children to old men. The Energizer ads were seen everywhere, from the entrance up to the track.

We collected our free headlights. Collection was pretty quick and the organizer was efficient and polite. I’ve heard that the past event was organized badly, but this year we were spared from the unimaginable ‘catatrosphic’ encounter.

The marathon runners were the first to start followed by the 15.5km and 5.5km groups. It was rather windy on the night itself. You can see a lot of eager first timers and seasoned runners at the starting line.

It felt good to share the track used by the F1 drivers. The first one third of the run was on the 5.5km track after which we ran outside of the slip road for another 6.5km before completing the race on the track again. The slip road was a challenge as I have to push through a series of hilly terrain, some steep some gentle. Along the run, drink stations were setup at every 2km for runners to get themselves hydrated from the heavy perspiration.

I enjoyed the part where we were given wet sponges, I just squeezed out the water to cool my head and face. I started to get tired during the 10km-12km stretch, the hills weren’t doing any good even though I’ve incorporated uphill training. Managed to pull through the tough part before entering the track again. With perseverance and determination, the finish line was the light at the end of the ‘tunnel’.

I clocked a timing of 1:52:47. Being my very first attempt of 15.5km run, I think I did great, well below 2 hours. Nonetheless, I could improve my timing with more trainings. The Standard Chartered half-marathon this coming June shall be my next challenge and I’m going to test my limit.

That’s our medal! I got myself a running tea, certificate and also snacks in my goodie bag.

Overall, my verdict is the race was well organized and the timing was punctual. The volunteers, first-aid providers and helpers deserved a credit here. Yeah, I might join the next Energizer run again next year.

There’s a saying “when life gives you lemon, make some lemonade”. Well, I don’t like lemonade, the icy cold sour drink always send spikes of chill when I slurp it down my throat. Having said that, I’m not going to make lemonade out of lemons.

This year, life is kinda tough. My initial dateline was being pushed from July to May which is kinda impossibruuu to achieve considering the amount of design and drawings that needs to be done. It’s not a hundred thousand dollar project which can be solved easily.

But oh well, being an engineer, we are expected to solve problems. The only problem is when certain quarters want the problems to be solved FAST, without giving much time for the engineers/planners to plan his work thoroughly.

I am going to say thank you for the lemons! I’m sending a thank you note to the lemon senders. Thank you. I will survive this lemon squash and become stronger and better in the future.

It was a day of fasting and abstinence. Having fasted for the whole morning, Rich and I drove down to Melaka at noon. We reached there just in time for the Good Friday service which starts at 4 o’clock. The service started off with the Station of the Cross where we ‘walk’ with Christ in his journey till darkest hour of his death. After which the reading of the Passion of Christ was read by Monsignor and the veneration of the cross.

The church was solemn. All the statues were covered in purple colour robe. During the candlelight procession, the once a year display of the “Dead Lord” statue was taken out on a wooden bier. The Our Lady of Sorrows donned in black too was taken out for the procession. It was a big crowd, and the view of devotees walking along the 2.5km route with candles is beyond expressions. The Star wrote a coverage of the Good Friday service.

The procession ended at 8 o’clock. By then hunger and tiredness crept in having drove for three hours, stand throughout the service for two hours and walking for more than one hour. It was all worth it to commemorate the Lord’s Passion.

We went to makan ikan asam pedas at Hup B Kopitiam at Jalan Ujong Pasir. It certainly feels good to break from fast with awesome ikan pari in asam pedas gravy. Shaun’s parents were very kind as they ordered a huge portion that night. The spiciness and sourness of the dish was simply salivating and I was covered with sweat after dinner.

After dinner, the Melaka stay now becomes our makan excursion. We went to Jonker Walk for the cendol durian but was closed. Spotted a huge water spurting dragon at the entrance of Jonker Walk. Something that caught my eyes is the Hard Rock Cafe. They are constructing a cafe at the river bank now, would be a happening place to chill when the outlet is ready sometime end of this year or early next year.

Shaun suggested we go to the back lane of Jalan Bunga Raya/Jalan Munshi Abdullah for it’s famous kerang, lala and sotong kankong. The cockles were a bit raw and the fugly presentation of the chili sauce were a bit to my dislike, somehow seeing the two friends eating until sucking their hands I swallowed my first bloody cockles. One must dip with the sauce if not it’s gonna stink of rawness. The sotong kankung was nice too!

Full from dinner and supper, we decided to go home and take a good bath. One hour later, one fella complained that he was already feeling hungry and wanted to eat something. So we went to the wantan mee stall at Jalan Bukit China. It’s touted as one of the best wantan mee and they only sell at night. No photos taken because I was already sleepy and tired.

The next morning Shaun brought us to try the curry laksa at Yung Lai Siang, it’s situated opposite St Peter’s Church. They also sell very nice curry puff there, a must try.

I remember my last cendol durian was at Jeta Grooves at Melaka Raya. So this time I went to Jonker 88 for its cendol durian. I still prefer the one in Jeta Grooves as the portion is bigger, tastier and it comes with yellow flesh durian hence giving it a strong durian scent.

As for tea time, coconut shake at Klebang was our next target. Melaka is relatively hotter and sunnier than KL, a cooling and refreshing coconut shake would simply cool you off on a hot day. Something special I would say, the drink is made of blended ice and coconut flesh which makes every sip and every bite counts. Topping the shake is vanilla ice cream. A packet of nasi lemak comes along quite well for tea break as the portion is just about the right size. On our way to get our car, we saw this uncle coming in with packets of nasi lemak in a Proton Perdana! (Hawkers are rich people!)

Ever since I got hooked up with mille crepe, my every visit to Melaka is not complete without one. If you ask me, I still prefer the ambiance at Plaza Mahkota instead of the one at Dataran Pahlawan mainly because it was my ‘first love’ there. What’s mille crepe? It’s a popular French cake made of many layers of very thin pancakes sandwiching a sweet cream concoction. There are many flavours to choose from but we ordered only the berry-berry strawberry and coffee mocha.

That’s the end of my ‘pilgrimage’ and ‘makan excursion’ in Melaka. A worthwhile stay with great food and good accompanies especially to Shaun’s parents who treat us bak kut teh before we headed back to Kuala Lumpur.

There are two books which I really want to read; the first being Love and Responsibility and the second being Theology of the Body. Now that I got the first, you’ll see me with a book in hand most of the time.

Giving myself a month to read this book and in the meantime ordering the second book from eBay.