July 25th 2010 Run: Three Ponds

Ran around three markham ponds today. And finished the 17K run in 1hr 40min. I went at a slow and easy pace this morning, largely due to tight leg muscles from the badminton workout the night before. Running on this side of markham was much more enjoyable, with three different park areas to delight in. 7:00am was also a good starting time, with the sun far enough to provide light, without the heat.

Badminton Training 3 & 4

Badminton Training 3

- Warm up
- Worked on an attack clear footwork.
- Worked on the whip shot.

Nb. At times, instead of thinking of footwork, I was more concerned with learning the shots. That is notably because I find my grip of the racquet to be very off, and even though I have been able to gain control of the birdie still, I wouldn't be able to learn advance moves unless I can change that.

- One of the coaches gave me a foil racquet to test if my swing was correct, and the amount of air resistance I felt signified the wrong grip/swing.

Badminton Training 4

- Warm up
- Feather pick-up x 800? (lunging and net footwork)
- Bungee cord drop shots
- bungee cord net finishes.

Nb. When playing with Andy, remember footwork for receiving serves. ready to pounce back , leaning forward on to the left leg. Focus on beating others with speed, and drives rather than shot placement, and change of pace. (not skilled enough yet)!

Also, when lunging forward, lunge aggressively, with racquet up, then relaxingly bounce back.

Cooking: Roti Canai + Chicken Potato Curry

I attempted to make my favorite malaysian appetizer. The Roti took over two days to make, allowing the dough to stretch and gain elasticitiy with gluten formation. However, the recipe I tried, and the final product didn't yielf the flaky, soft texture that we desired.

The curry was excellent however, and is not difficult to make at all. Will have to try the roti again later on, with pictures to come.

July 18th, Run

I started the run at 8:30am. Expecting a longer run, I brought a bottle of water with me as well, carrying it along the way. I put on music at the same time. Although music helps keep the run fun, the unexpecting slow popular music songs seem to lull my pace down, and a number of times, I had to either skip songs, or remind myself, to push it.

The route was refreshing at the start, amazingly fun in the middle, but a dry and slow lurch back home. At the beginning, when I found the brief route surrounded by trees, there was ample greenery and breeze to keep me pounding the pavement.

Crossing the industrial/commercial areas wasn't that fun. Especially since I noticed a preponderance of Canadian goose fecal matter, without having saw a single bird, or runner on site. Their "defense mechanisms" seemed to work in warding off human traffic.

When I reached the Leslie/407 pathway, it was like a renewal of energy surged through my legs. I found the rocky path and went ahead around the forest. I kept peering into the forest believing that there must be a pathway inside, and sure enough I came across one. I entered, and immediately gallanted ahead up and down the forest terrain. Trail running is like no other. Dodging branches, avoiding rocks, and tree roots.

The path followed a stream, meaning occasionally there were muddy steps. The only problem with this path were the unkempt connecting routes between patches of forest. IN those route, you couldn't see what you were stepping on, and all of a sudden, a giant ditch/hole with a shovel inside came out of nowhere!! Yikes! I exited through someone's backyard shortly after, and returned to the pavement.

The route towards the forest was mainly downhill, so I was able to finish the run in about an 1hr 50min

Sprint #1

Ran around Queen's Circle Park in Toronto last night for a sprint run.

5 x 0.8K with a 150m walk for rest in between.
By the 4th and 5th time around, the pace had already dropped significantly. It definitely wasn't easy to run in the dark either, as the group was uneven, and the smeel from car exhaust and smokers inhabited portions of the track.

Malaysian Cookies

Over the weekend I made these peanut based treats with my mother. In honor of the fact that she was born in malaysia! Not too sweet, they are gems!

recipe taken from healthy kitchen:

Biskut Mazola ( Makes 2 dozen (24 pieces) medium size cookies)

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup finely grounded toasted peanuts
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
½ cup white sugar ( preferably icing (superfine) sugar)
¼ cup nonfat milk powder (optional)
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
200 L canola oil, extra 2-3 tablespoons if needed
For topping:

Egg wash (1 large egg yolk + 1 teaspoon fresh milk or water )
Toasted sesame seeds , for sprinkling (optional)
Methods:

1- Preheat the oven to 300 F / 150 Celcius. Grease a cookie baking sheet with oil or line parchment paper or silicon mate on.
2- In a large mixing bowl, stir together grounded peanut, all purpose flour, cornstarch , milk powder ( if using) ,sugar, baking soda, baking powder. Mix to well combine.
3- Gradually stir the oil in bit by bit until a firm glossy dough is formed. If the dough is crumbly ( when packed in palm and it falls apart) , add more oil 1 teaspoon at a time.
4- Scope out 1 Tablespoon of the dough, roll into a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place on a prepared baking sheet. You should get 20 – 24 balls . A dough ball should be 1 inch apart from the other balls, the cookie spread slightly.
5- Brush each top with egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds on it, just before baking.
6- Bake them for 8- 10 minutes or until browned but not burned. The cookie will be slightly fragile to touch right after baked, that’s ok. It gets hardened as cooled completely. Enjoy with your tea or coffee.

Hi-Intensity Summer Badminton Training Day 1 & 2

I should also mention that aside from the runs, playing basketball, and general crossfit workouts, I have also been attending a badminton training club. It is the first group badminton training program I have tried, and unusually, it comprises of mostly younger players. The coaches in fact seem to be my age. Not having had a real solid formal training before, I am relishing the opportunity to train for 4 hrs a week.

Warmups are usually close to an hour long, and consist of a lot of lunging, and "chinese foot-work". I am mentioning the key points of each week, in hopes that I will be able to confidently say I improved in those areas.

Day 1:

Introduction to "Split-step" footwork.
-> split-step to both sides
-> split step for 5 minutes. x3.
-> Smashing drill.

-nb. Footwork is still very heavy. buns and hamstrings were sore for the next 5 days.

Day 2:

Continuing split-step footwork. with
-> split step to net shots.
-> hopping warmup 4 times around the gym. (plyometric)

- nb. footwork is still very very heavy. Need to work on lightening the steps, and moving around the court more fluidly. Played one-on-one with the better players, and was destroyed from lack of side to side movement and recovery.

July 11th Run

With two hills in the middle of the run, the run took longer than I thought: 57min. Also, with record heat the past week, I wasn't able to fit in a run. Today, at 9-10, it was already warming up quite a bit. What I liked about this route was the section around too good pond, the shade makes a huge difference! and is entertaining enough by weaving in and out.

Saturday Light Run

Here was a really quick run (20-30min) under sweltering weather conditions. (I thought 10:00am would be fine, but not in the summer apparently!) The route did have two minor hills, which were proved to be a fun climb. Hopefully I will find more hills in the neighborhood.