One after another

Fuhh!. What a weekend! My weekends had never been this hectic  before but it was all worth it by end of the day. 

Saturday:

KL HERITAGE EXPLORACE

I teamed up with my sahabat 8 tahun, Zalekha Yazid to participate in this event. Since I’ve never tried out this type of event so i guess why not just give it a shot. 200 hundred teams were involved in this event.  Even members from the Chap Ayam Community were also there to enjoy the fun. The Explorace kicked-start at the KL Tower.  15 check-points and only 5 hours to finish the race.  We were required to complete the task given at every check points and each task done were given points and a PASS chop to indicate that we’ve successfully completed it and the next clue will be given out.  Check-points were from KL Tower- TM Muzium- Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad (here we were required to the lion dance, kelakar sangat)-Bangunan Dayabumi (complete the puzzle task, this one so kacang haha)- Dataran Merdeka (task failed as we were required to balance up a kayu bendera on our forehead)- Bangunan DBKL (pop quiz)- Jalan Masjid India ( this task susah gila ok, kena ikat bunga melur kat tali. Serious stress. Nasib baik uncle florist tu bagi 8 markah. Hehe)- Wisma Yakin (had to dress up in Baju Melayu complete with sampan and songkok ok!)-Heritage Row (ni senang jer, angkat kacang tanah guna chopstick)-MATTIC (pop quiz and buat tarian ngajat) and FINALLY back to KL Tower for the bonus round which was to do the Abseiling. Nevertheless, our team managed to finish the race before the qualifying time. Tapi macam tak puas hati gak la as i think ramai yang main tipu kot. Haha. Biasa la kan bila dah banyak team yang berkeliaran kat KL tu macam anak2 ayam. Dah ler pakai baju oren kan? Hahah. Pastu dah la start lambat and the weather was REALLY HOT! Anyway, the winning price was RM1000 cash, IPAD and hamper kalau tak silap i. Congrats to Shahrul and Mahirah for getting 7^th place. Hebat betul team ni!. Diorang dapat hamper and RM200 cash. Duit diorang menang tu diorang belanja we all (ruby, sab, kak lily, kak ida, aini, Miss E, Wan and team mate (tak ingat nama) and Fairul makan kat Ampang Yong Tau Foo.  Thanks korang! . Semoga murah rezeki. AMIN.

Hm, lepas ni nak try masuk AMAZING RACE ASIA plak la. HAHAHA ;)

Sunday

ZIGTECH 48-hour TREADMILL CHALLENGE

Supertired with the explorace event but i had to drag my body out of bed this morning to get ready for the next challenge.  2 hari berturut-turut kot bangun super awal. Mana la taknya kan. Siap2 je, nk start kereta my dad Tanya “ha nk pegi mana plak lagi tu”. “Oh ada treadmill challenge kat OU pa”. Jawabnya “ok, take care”. Ha, tak banyak citer. Sgt supportive papaku. Haha. So sampai sana pun awal although my slot was at 9am. Pegi awal sikit pun sebab nak tengok participant sorang ni. I heard he was really good. DAMN ! he was. He was running at the constant pace of 14.8km/hour for the 1^st 45minutes pastu dia paced-up till the end. A friend of mine was already in the lead but unfortunately he lost the challenge to this guy. Didn’t get his name though. Tapi dia memang FIT tahap max. I spoke to his dad and his dad told me this was his 1^st time competing on a treadmill. Kalau dah on treadmill laju, kalau on road? Memang macam road-runner la kan? Ala..speedy Gonzalez tu. Hahah

OK. I started 9am sharp. Oh, lupa plak nak cakap, challengers had to wear the zigtech shoes provided by Reebok. I tk berapa suka la. Kinda berat plus the its more suitable for runner with normal to high arched feet. I have flat foot. Flat macam kaki itik. So tak sesuai. Tapi nak tak nak, kena la also follow their rule. Started the run with a 7.0km/hour pace. Pastu naik gradually. Rasa penat. Slowkan sikit. Tak sampai 5 minutes dan berpeluh macam ntah pape. Panas kot. Management OU tak pasang aircond. Memang mental kena kuat. Yela, lari at one place kot. Memang bosan. Dalam my mind dok fikir pasal benda2 and makanan2 best je. Hahaha. 10 minutes left i increased my pace to 8.8km/hour then the final 3 minutes I increased it till 9.8/km hour. That was the maximum speed i went. It was my FIRST time running on a treadmill ½ hour straight. I think I did pretty well.  Oh Zal Yazid was also in this challenge. She did well herself. Congrats bibik!

Pretty tired right now. But the runs/trainings doesn’t stop here. I’m on the runner’s HIGH right now. Haha.Looking forward for next Sunday’s Adination Breakfast run.  But I guess I'll take a day off from running tomorrow. Jangan marah ok D1! hehe ;)

Will upload pics later. Lembab plak internet connection malam ni

1km further

Ok, a friend of mine BBM-ed me yesterday and told me that the visit to PERNIM was canceled due to certain circumstances and he asked me if i would like to join a 7.5km run organized by PTPL KL SENTRAL. So i said yes I've not kick start the year with any running events. It was a last minute invitation and I knew that I'm not so well prepared for this as the last time i trained was on Wednesday and no running since then. But i told myself to just give it a shot.

Seven of my SUPERJUNIORS from MSU also registered themselves for this run. All pun hebat ni. Basically all of them were in the TOP 10. Hebat tak?. D1, kalau you masuk event ni confirm la dapat 1st ;). So yea, my run started pretty fine but sayang la i didn't start running way front. Haih, lesson learnt!. Next time kena stand depan-depan. Oh lupa pulak nak cakap, route running adalah from *dewan DBKL mana entah* kat Little India (Brickfields)- Taman Seputeh and back to the starting point.

Anyway, first 4.5km was fine although kena run hill route. Started feeling dehydrated reaching 5.5km. Weather was already hot and the sun was "smiling" brightly already at that time. Kept running till i reached the 2nd last check point. I was thrilled. I know that 2nd place would be mine. But unfortunately. i got lost along the way, i ran the wrong route. I was frustrated at the point. I realized that i ran 1km more then i was supposed to.  *mungkin terlalu terpesona dengan keadaan kat Little India yang meriah tu kot sampai sesat route. haha * Eventually, i managed to get 4th place due to the confusion. I was really upset.

Anyhow, i took it at the positive side. Takde rezeki dapat 2nd prize money tu and my running mileage was increased by 1km more this week. Haha. *nak sedapkan hati*. But overall, i was happy with my running performance today. Alhamdulillah. Reebok Threadmill Challenge up next!

The RUNNERS and the PRINCESS. ;)

UPM- Alamanda- Shah Alam

UPM

Went to Uni today. Had a 1 hour meeting/ discussion with the supervisor. It went well. I was kinda relieved when he said " Your chapter 4 is well written just that you've got to add on some more important info". Ha biasa la tu kan. No such thing as kurang kan info malah kena LEBIH kan ada la. But takpela, dengar jela pada yang pakar. Rasa motivated again to finish up my thesis. Hopefully the motivation stays till the day i officially submit my thesis. Insya-Allah. Amin

ALAMANDA

Happy birthday Mysara!. I wish you all the best in whatever you do. I and the other "trolls" (that's what we called ourselves) had KFC for lunch. Though it was just a short lunch. But I was just happy to be around them. Love you my TROLLS ;). To Suri if you are reading this, wished you were here to celebrate My's 26th birthday. Balik KL cepat please? Rindu sangat 

SHAH ALAM

Left Uni for Shah Alam at 4.30pm for the Adination program. Drove all the way from Uni to Section 7 Shah Alam for training. Sanggup betul kan?. Even some was also surprised that i drove the distance just for it . It's a once a week training with the best, so i guess tak rugi la kalau join. Besides, since I still have the time to be doing all this. Why not kan?. Nanti when dah start keje nanti, it will be kinda difficult plak kan? Unless i get a job nearby Shah Alam. Heheh. Lots to learn. Lots to observe. More practice to be done as well.

Today went fine. No complaints. Till next post!

To D1, since you are going for a short vacation, have fun! You deserve a break. Jgn lupa ole2 for me kay? ;) . Oh, kasut running jangan lupa bawak! Lain padang lain feeling dia berlari. Hehe.

15th Feb

I'm well now. Got up this morning with no body aches headaches dan segala sakit la. Alhamdulillah. Today seems peaceful. Lepak kat rumah je. Listening and singing to the songs on my ipod. Cotton fabric hunting. *my mom and I sekarang jual kain cotton untuk baju kurung, handpicked. jangan marah dek non, kalau berminat nak tengok kain2 we all handpicked tu, sila email saya yer affira.khusani@gmail.com* ceh ceh sempat promote. 

I was supposed to go running petang tadi. Hajat di hati nak run 10km la konon2nya. Tapi hujan lebat plak. Blessing in disguise la kot. I just got better kan. Kang kalau pegi "merempit" (tu perkataan fav kakirunner, haha) 10km kang KONG balik. Sepatutnya juga pagi tadi Ruby and the geng pegi hiking kat Gunung Angsi. Tu pun frust tak dapat join sebab i just got better. Kalau i ikut gak diorang this morning , mau i kena marah ngan bonda tercinta. So basically the whole of today menjadi anak dara yang baik duduk rumah je sambil surf internet, stalk fb and blogs orang sket, layan youtube sket, layan kerenah my mom yang nak try dengar lagu from my ipod, kasi dia belek2 barang online sket. That's about it la.  Just felt so good duduk rumah je. Rilex je. Kalau rumah ni depan pantai lagi best kot. Feeling sket. Wow, that would be my dream house. Rumah near the sea.

Gonna just enjoy the final hours of 15th of February ;)

p/s: i was wondering about something today. perlu ker bercinta lama?

Hope all is well

I'm still feeling unwell. I can still feel the pain on my chest when i breathe. Still feeling the joint pains too. No fever tho and i still refuse to go to the clinic. Been taking the normal meds like panadol/panadol extent and such. Ikutkan hati memang la nak tido lagi but I still unfinished business to deal with. However challenging and frustrating this thing (thesis sebenarnya) is, I so have to deal with it. LIKE it or NOT. 

This week has been very emotional for me. Been thinking a lot mainly about my future. Looking at friends who have good job with good pay, dining at fancy restaurants, going to places and driving fancy cars does make me envy sometimes (well in a good way of course). I've also been thinking where will i end up (work related) once I'm done with my masters. Sometimes i feel that i'm going somewhere with no objective. Macam takde haluan je (hm, perasaan je la). 

But this morning i got up real early as i was feeling uncomfortable. Read someone's blog and i was intrigued by this. 

"Bila ALLAH makbulkan d0amu, maka DIA menyayangimu, 

bila DIA lambat makbulkan d0amu, maka DIA ingin mengujimu, 

bila DIA tidak makbulkan d0amu, maka DIA merancang sesuatu yang terbaik untukmu.

0leh itu, sentiasalah bersangka baik pada ALLAH dalam apa jua keadaan...

kerana kasih sayang ALLAH itu mendahului kemurkaanNya" Wallahua'lam.

I'm gonna keep this in mind every single time from now on. Mudah-mudahan all is well for me. Insya-Allah. Amin

unwell

as the title speaks for itself. cik fira is feeling unwell. I'm feeling a sudden pain at my chest. like a muscle pull. sakit sendi also. hopefully is not dengue. gonna hibernate and see how I will feel by tonight

Dissapointment

I just received a call from my friend. My dream to work at Majlis Sukan Negara as a Sports Nutritionist has been rejected. I was told that my background in Food Tech (altho i'm finishing my masters in nutrition) wasn't to their expectation. No words could describe how sad i am right now. 

To D1, if you are reading this. I'm feeling really down right now. I called you earlier just now to tell you this. But I guess you will get the message if you happen to read this.

Yesterday's run

Yesterday's weather was kinda hot. I almost changed my mind to not go out and run but I told myself that i should so i decided to go out lambat sikit. Did my warm up first while waiting for the sun to go mellow. I started off with a 5 minutes brisk walk before taking my first stride of running. My first 1.5km went smooth. I was surprise to see myself running with no stop for a quick breath, So i continued running till my Nike+ sportsband indicated that I've ran 5.5km. I was really excited about my performance yesterday as not only i managed to run 5.5km without stopping but I also managed to run up a hill with no stop as well. I managed to run 6.12km and it has been a while since i could run that far without giving up early.

I believe that  my running form has been improved (i think). Been watching a lot of videos regarding running methods (pose method especially) lately. Been practicing on the method too as well. Well, I know that i won't be as great as Kara Goucher or Craig Alexander but I guess that with more consistent training I could pick up some of their traits of running. I've also noticed that since I've been practicing the right way of running, i noticed that my calves are less painful that it was before. Maybe because due to the forefoot running method I've been following and less of the heel strike. It does make a huge difference. My breathing, arms and hip movement has been modified accordingly. Not everyone is the same. I've experimented a lot and i guess i know how to control it already. I hope that they way I'm running right now will be maintained or to be improved from time to time.

I've also experimented on my dietary intake yesterday. I think bananas did wonders for me because bananas are packed with potassium, magnesium and minerals which helps prevent fatigue. This is a wonder a food for me as i often get leg cramps really fast while running. I'm the type who sweats a lot. So that explains why the important minerals are loss that fast. Oh, it is also loaded with vitamins B which is good to release energy. I had some as post-run snack yesterday and it worked. So gonna stock up with bananas from now and include them in my daily diet.

Lets see if today's run will be the same as yesterday's. Hope to go 1-2km further. Wish me luck!

P/s: 

1) Having a GOOD pair of running shoe helps too. Make sure you are wearing a pair the best suit your pretty feet ;)

2) Make sure that eat your normal meals. Bananas can be included as a healthy snack/post work run or workout snack. Try banana smoothies ( chopped bananas+ soy milk/ milk+ a bit of brown sugar or honey) ;)

My first Half Marathon Attempt

I'm very nervous about this. My very 1st 1/2 marathon

Energizer Night Run

I'm not following my training schedules well. (Waking up late in the morning/ Weather issues/ Stopped going to the gym)

The race is in April and I'm freaking out already. See how paranoid i can be?. I just hope that I'll be in a good physical (no sprained ankles or watsoever) and mental (i hope i don't back out the very last minute) state. I guess i should just run happily and not think too much about anyone else. So yea, have to indoctrinate my mind to just have fun and be happy while running for my first half :) and most importantly NOT to compare myself with others while running as everyone is different and so am I ;)

 

Got Tagged

I should be sleeping at this very time. Tapi tak kenapa la melotot lagi biji mata ni. So dari tadi dok baca2 blog orang. So ter-baca plak blog seseorang jejaka ni. He wrote 25 facts about him.  Pastu dia tag plak kat i. Tapi yang peliknya lepas dah baca 25 fakta pasal dia tu. Ada plak macam sama2 sket. Kebetulan kot. Well, life is full of surprises kan?. So here here goes the 25 facts of me.

1) I'm very emotional. Serious di luar tapi berbunga2 di dalam. kkdg diri ni boleh jadi complicated and complexed

2) I am outgoing and adventurous, suka travel. Sampai my mom suruh i slow down sikit. 

3) I like art and photography. Tak pandai nak lukis tak boleh express kan pendapat dan idea. 

4) I like people who shares the same interest and passion i have. best tau

5) I love the nature. Laut,pantai and pulau2 yang cantek adalah paling favourite

6) My real name is Siti Affira not Fira Tirona. Tapi ramai igt nama betul saya Fira Tirona. Tapi mmg betul la nama Tirona tu. Sebab Tirona tu nama family nenek saya. Her name is Aurora Tirona. She is a Filipino convert

7) I can be paranoid at times. Yes, i can worry too much over unnecessary things

8) Health and nutrition is a my forte. Tapi badan tak hot macam Fergie Black Eyed Peas pun. Tkpela, janji sihat

9) I used to hate running when i was small. But now kalau tak pegi run beberapa hari pun rasa macam dah tak best.

8) Saya suka maka best ;)

9) I love shoes and bags more then i love clothes sebab "with shoes we travel the world"

10) Saya suka bagi kata2 motivasi kat orang. Tapi kekadang diri sendiri tak motivated langsung. Ntah pape

11) I can play the piano. Tapi skill ni perlu diasah semula sebab dah berkarat. 7 tahun tak petik piano tu. Tapi the last time main. Ok la lg. Masih boleh membaca note music dalam buku. 

12). Saya diajar untuk menjadi independent. My dad selalu pesan altho ada pasangan hidup tetap perlu berdikari

13) I like guys yang ada self-vision and motivation. I rasa that traits membuatkan diorang nampak confident. I think that's sexy. haha

14) Tak suka lelaki poyo yang ingat dia yang hebat. 

15) Secretly having a crush on someone (lol)

16) Saya minum 2 liter air sehari. Sihat bukan? Haha

17) Always tell myself that fast food is bad. Tapi kekadang aku bedal gak. Moderation is the key *ceh ceh nk sedapkan hati*

18) Saya nak buka running camp/school in future kalau ada rezeki. Nak educate the young ones on starting to be healthy at a very young age :)

19). Kereta idaman adalah VW Golf GTI. Kalau tak dapat tu, pakai jela kereta CLK purple saya (cute little kelisa) yang dah umo nak masuk 8 tahun dah. 

20) Cakap pasal purple. Purple is my fav color

21) Saya suka observe orang. especially bila duduk dalam bus/ train or mana2 yang ada ramai orang

22) Saya sedang menghabiskan masters. Tapi tak habis2 lagi. Insya-allah it end. Dah tak larat dah ni. Nak kena cari keje. Umo pun dah makin meningkat.

23) Kekadang saya suka buat hal sendiri. Contoh: keluar sendiri, tgk wayang sendiri

24) Oh, i love fashion and styles. Tapi diri sendiri tak la stylo sgt pun. biasa2 je. kkdg cm selekeh pun ada. haha

25) Saya tak suka bau asap rokok. benci. Habis baju semua melekat kat baju/tudung. Katakan tak nak pada rokok ok?

OK, there you go. 25 random facts about me. Personally i think i'm just a simple person je. Nothing special pun. Tapi mungkin special pada mata orang lain kot? Haha. Have a good weekend everyone!

words to ponder and (wonder)

Kata ratu hatiku

"You can't have it all in life and you've got to learn how to accommodate with the people or situation around you sebab kakak ni (refer pada diri saya) have a very strong/hard character"

Oh. Tak perasan plak. Baiklah. Akan ku renung-renungkan kata-kata mu wahai ratu hatiku

Yes, sgt strong sampai my arms are sore sebab pegi hiking kat bukit tabur yesterday. Challenging gak la, terasa macam spidergirl la gak bila kena panjat batu2 *sakit woo tangan* to complete the hike. Macam mana pun, I've managed to conquer Bukit Tabur West!

 Time ni serious happy sebab dapat lepas panjat batu yang sgt susah tu

 Ha, masa  attempt to panjat batu yang sgt challenging for me. The picture above nampak muka dah happy kan sebab dah lepas the attemp. Muka i dah cuak gila time kata my friend Ruby. Haha. Ok, lepas ni kena pegi register-kan diri kat shah alam extreme park buat wall climbing

Team wanita-wanita gagah ;)

 Banyak lagi pics sebenarnya. But the rest have not uploaded them up on Facebook yet. So kena la tunggu. 

Oh, total hiking time is about 3 jam i think. 2 hrs and 15mins up and 45mins down. Nak turun tak sesusah nak naik (of course la kan?) Hahah. Bukit Tabur East shall be in the my next to do list!

  

 

Phuket Trip- The long awaited post

The long awaited post

4 days 3 nights stay at Novotel, Patong Beach Phuket.

A celebration of 8 years of friendship/sisterhood with my very good friend. Someone i trust, love and confide. To Zalekha Yazid, this blogpost is for you.

Courtesy of SHAPE magazine

 The fantastic view from the hotel lobby

 Another fantastic view- Near the pool side

 AWESOMENESS

 The cruise to phi Phi Phi Island

Amazing view from the top of the cruise. LAWA GILA Ok!.. Pardon the mamat salleh in the pic*. p/s: badan dia cam fit siot. ahah

Clear blue waters at phi phi island beach

Meet Jan. The solo traveler from Germany. Only 20 yrs old and so very adventurous.

Ehems

Blue sky, blue sea. Breathtaking

A memorable trip. I hope to come here again ;)