*Music playing*... the mobile phone cum alarm clock has sung.
With barely 5 hours of sleep, Norm surprisingly jumped out of bed pretty quickly. It took me awhile before I could pull myself together to get out of the comfort of the duvet that has accompanied me all night.
Where ever did he get the energy from? Ah.. perhaps my constant reminder to him of the time plan for this morning got him moving. He understood how I wouldn't want us to end up rushing for this crazy event that I have signed us up for.
A fortnight ago, I came to know of the Malakoff Run to be held on 20th December. There were 2 categories: -
1. 12km run
2. 6km run (later revised to 7km)
Now, why would I want to sign up for a 6km run when we both have done a 10km run before? If something were to summon me out of bed this early, it had better be worthy! 12km run would be an exciting challenge. It was not until a week before, that I found out that it was going to be a very very hilly route.
Why didn't I sign up for the 6km run instead?
Memories of the last Shah Alam 10km run that I did 2 years back came flashing back. Ouch Ouch Ouch! I remembered that I swore never to join another run again for fear of the immense muscle sore and pain that followed over the next few subsequent days.
I hear the kettle boiling and the sound of cutleries from the kitchen. Sounds you don't normally hear at God forsaken hour 5am! I trudged towards the kitchen and found Norm preparing a little breakfast for us. Ahh.. he takes care of me well :)
Breakfast cereal to give a healthy fuel to the run!
I took the warm cup with both my cold hands (it was a really breezy, cooling night) and sipped it slowly with much gratitude. He has never failed to be the earlier one to prepare our first feed, be it at a ridiculous hour. 5am is ridiculous.
Carbo Fuel - Pandan Kaya Buns
"Here. Have some." He pushed it to me.
"I don't think I want any". It was still too early and I didn't want to work my bowel system too early on this particular day.
"But you should have something. You're going to need the energy".
Sigh.. he was right. I should have something. It doesn't pay to end up fainting halfway, which eventually will mean more hassle and trouble for him! Hmm.. perhaps that was his inner unsaid reason :)
By 6.15am, we arrived at Bukit Kiara Equesterian Club, the start of the run. Familiarising ourselves to the place and after lots of stretches and warming up exercises, we flagged off at 7am!
77 minutes later, I came back with a victorious finisher's medal. Not bad for someone who hasn't trained for this. We both relied only on our regular exercises to complete this race. I saw the beam on his face, and I knew that he was just as satisfactorily proud of this 'achievement'.
We Did It! :)
Breakfast was served at the grounds. The choices were: -
A. Mee Mamak + Taufu Far
B. Roti Jala + Taufu Far
C. Mee Mamak + Cendol
D. Roti Jala + Cendol
Bewildered. I stood looking at the options with raised eyebrows. Not exactly an ideal post-run meal.
What the heck?! It was free. (Well, technically we have paid RM40 each to enter this run which included the 'free' t-shirt). I chose option B.
He had option A. I watched him gobble down his food.
"Aren't you going to have yours?" he asked.
"I don't really have the appetite for this now".
Really, my heartbeat was still in the process of slowing down to a resting heart rate and I could still feel my muscles warm and tensed.
"Can we have eggs instead?" I shot him a sheepish smile.
Old Town Kopitiam
Traditional Kaya + Butter Toasts
Eggs on Toasts
We each had 1L of water earlier at the grounds but that wasn't enough. Between two of us, we had four glasses of "rojak mix" of drinks :p
Fresh Honey Lemon Juice, Iced Lemon Tea, Iced Chocolate, Iced White Coffee
Replenishing fluids
Ah.. finally satisfied! Time to head back for a good shower and rest our aching limbs.
But not before we unpacked and dealt with the anciliaries.
Hanging the t-shirts out to dry
Might as well take the opportunity to take photos of it
Our t-shirts with the well-earned finishers' medals
Goofing around :p
And then it's finally time to sleep! Snuggled up with a book and pillow, I jumped back under the covers and read. And slept. Woke up. Toilet. Read. Slept. And the cycle repeated a couple of times. Aahhh... such rare luxury to have - to live at an unhurried pace in today's urban lifestyle.
Resting
A few hours later, I heard noises in the kitchen. Curosity got the better out of me and look what I found!
Norman in the kitchen!
Hunger pangs got him out of the comfort of his sofa and drove him towards the kitchen.
*Growls*... yeah, I think I am a bit too..
It dawned on me that this would be the first time he 'cooks' me a meal from his kitchen! I was visibly excited :p
5 minutes later...
Tomyam Instant Noodles!
OJ (with saps ;))
The meal prepared
But he wasn't happy. Too plain. Let's see what else we can find here in a bachelor's kitchen.
Tasty Pork!
Struggling Hard
It was amusing to find him struggle to have it opened. The ring was broken on his first attempt, hence the difficulty. Ahh.. he'll do whatever it takes to get his pork!
His efforts eventually paid off
And now we have Tasty Pork with Tomyam Noodles!
I have to say... it was.... strange :)
But wait! There are more ways to eating the pork.
"Adik-adik sekalian. There are many ways to makan babi. One way is to makan dengan ban. Bukan ban sebarangan, tapi pandan kaya ban! Mmm... sedap sekali. Sweet and Salty. Masam dan manis." His hands gestured in tune with his sudden impersonation of a TV-host of a food programme.
That drove me into fits of laughter :D
And for the record, it isn't "masam". It's "masin". Masin dan manis ;)
Babi + Kaya Ban
Proudly showing off his creation
I began to understand that... pork went with anything and everything in his context.
We cleared the table and headed back to the sofa. Snuggled up to watch one of the many many dvds that we have bought earlier and laughed our heads silly at a chic flick movie 'Sex in the City'.
The night ended with dinner at McD's and a truly appreciated foot and back massage session.
So much for a 'healthy' Sunday. The 'health' part ended in the morning. :) But nothing beats the feeling of having shared a satisfactory day together.
21st May 2010 - 5 months later, I received this in my mailbox!! Initially thought that my certificate was lost in the mail until I found it at my doorstep today. Pretty nice with a coloured picture of me too, ya? ;)
