DAY 781-788

Oct 23-29

1) So this Sunday I took part in the 2018 SSE Dublin Marathon. It was meant to be my final swan song before returning to Malaysia, but it didn't go according to plan. If there's one thing I've made clear that I wasn't a big fan of here in Dublin, it's the weather. Particularly the perishingly cold weather that we were subjected to today.

2) Anyway, things kicked off relatively well - we took a nice group photo in front of the college, and then got ready to run in our own waves. I thought that I had accounted for the weather by suiting up with thermal wear underneath the singlet and shorts, but evidently I was wrong. I started off happy, running on the spirit and atmosphere of a fantastic crowd.

3) We had a couple of tough slopes to overcome, but in the end - that wasn't the deciding factor in my unimpressive DNF today. Yes, I did not finish the marathon today. Everything was going fine for the first 10km. I met a couple of doctors and we had a lovely chat. The Sun was out for some time, and my prospects were looking quite good at the moment.

4) Then, after the halfway mark (which is 21km by the way), my calves started cramping. Common sense dictates that you stop and rest, but at the same time, I'm well aware that stopping completely only makes things worse. So onwards till mile 16 it was, when the temptation to have a little rest by the pavement got the better of me. Depending on how you look at it, it was either the best or worse decision I made.

5) For the next fifteen minutes my calves and ankles spasmed uncontrollably, and any sort of movement (flexing, extending, adducting or abducting) would trigger a spasm of some sort. I was literally hunched over, a mixture of disappointment and anger as I knew a) the race was practically over for me, b) I might have averted this if I had layered up more and rehydrated a lot more. Ankle spasms are completely new to me, and they felt a lot worse than the usual ones I get in my calves.

6) An EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) came to assist me, and when I first tried, I couldn't stand up. After some time, I could stand up and hobbled my way to the medical tent - which was thankfully only 20 paces away. The sight of rain and a gloomy sky seemed to be giving me all the signs to stop and call it a day. So they called a van to pick me (and some other runners) up and bring us back to Merrion Square - the starting point.

7) Along the way, I had plenty of time to reminisce about the situation. On one hand, bitterly disappointed that it had to end this way, considering I wouldn't be returning for the next iteration of the marathon. But on the other - perhaps it had all been for the better that I did listen to my body. If I had successfully finished the marathon but at the expense of my health, would it have been worth it? But it's easy to think clearly when it's all over, not so when you see waves of runners finishing up and start thinking "why did I stop?"

8) Finally, some of you (or let's be honest, maybe none of you XD) may have been wondering why on earth I would take part in this gruelling event in the first place? With little training, a lesion in my lung, absolutely nothing to gain as I've done the marathon before and finished in time, why would I even bother? To be honest, the main reason is much more personal than all that. I'll leave it at that. But after more than a half marathon, what gave way was my legs, not my lungs.

Thus, the moral victory is mine...

That's basically it from my blog, thanks very much for visiting. Have a nice week ahead, cheers! :)

The RCSI Running Team for the SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon 2018

The night before the run :))

From l-r: Shwe, Areen, Myself, Jane

(just before the starting gun went off)

DAY 424

Oct 29

1) 42km (26mi). 7 hours given to finish. I had signed up for the SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon 2017 a while back, and this would be my first marathon here. Any sane person would have trained rigorously for the event, but unfortunately I wasn't. Bar a 15km slow jog/walk at St. Stephen's Green a few MONTHS ago, I had not trained at all for the marathon. Literally zero/zilch. My reason for not training was very simple - I simply could not stand the cold! Every time I stepped out of the door with my winter jacket, I could hardly wait to step back inside again, much less forgo the jacket to go for a run. But boy was I going to regret my decision not to train...

2) This morning we had daylight saving time, and all clocks were rewound an hour earlier. That gave me an extra hour in bed, which was awesome. I reached RCSI before 8.00am to meet the RCSI Running Club for a group photo. Afterwards, we went to our respective waves; runners were categorised into waves depending on their projected finishing time. There were 4 waves and I was in the fourth. My friend Jesse and I went over to the starting line, and at 9.30am our wave started! Very early on I retreated back and ran at a pace that I was comfortable with. We ran past Lesson Street :'( (my old house) and continued downwards.

3) From the outset my legs felt cold and tired. I was fine for the first six miles, then it got progressively more difficult for me. As we entered Phoenix Park - all I could think was there was no way we're going to exit at the other end (Phoenix Park - home of the Dublin Zoo; is HUGE!) And yet I eventually found myself at the other end of the iconic white gate at the exit. At mile 6, I was fine but I knew I wanted to stop at mile 13.1 (the half way point). At mile 7, I knew I was NOT going to make it to the half way point. At mile 8 I had already stopped running and was brisk walking.

4) At this point, every fibre in my being was begging me to stop. I contemplated pulling out from the race more than a hundred times. I didn't think I would even make the finish line and be eligible for the finisher's T and medal. Then I remembered if I quit I would have to take public transport or even a cab back, which would cost money - so that kept me going for a bit XD We reached the next village -  Chapelizod, and things took a turn for the better. Subsequently, every town/village we went to was accompanied by loads of cheering and sweet treats by the locals. As I was wearing my RCSI jersey with my name on it, the chants of "Go Kevin" and "You've got this. Fair play" were instrumental in boosting my morale. Children were everywhere, some holding cardboard messages which I found really witty, and some others just there for a high five or to cheer us on.

5) To cut a long story short, the last time around I encountered cramps in both calves. This time, I had no cramps in my calves, but in my thighs instead. So I did a cycle of walking and running for the duration of the race, the running sections becoming increasingly shorter until I was virtually walking the last bits of the race. At mile 24, we had passed UCD with two more miles to go. I ran a bit too long here and paid the price. My thighs felt so tight and sore, which made me grimace through the last mile. As the finishing line came into view, and spurred on by the vocal crowd, I made a final ~600m dash to the end. In the end, my grunts and heaves became as loud as their cheering XD. Nevertheless, I crossed the line, with an hour an a half to spare. My legs were like jelly, my toes were swollen and blistered, my whole body ached, but I felt like a million bucks.

6) Took my finisher's medal and finisher's T-shirt, before literally limping back to the library. For the next couple of days prepare to see me walk awkward and grimace as I ascend or descend the stairs XD. At the very least tomorrow is a holiday, so I can rest and recuperate. That has been my day, and hopefully you can appreciate my hard work and effort. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the pics. Cheers!

FYI - THESE ARE THE INTERESTING PLACES WE PASSED EN ROUTE TO COMPLETING THE MARATHON

Georgian Dublin (Fitzwilliam Square) --> Fitzwilliam Street --> Dublin Castle --> 15 Ushers Island --> James Joyce Bridge --> Stoneybatter --> North Circular Road --> Phoenix Park --> Dublin Zoo (parameter) --> Chesterfield Avenue --> Castleknock --> Castleknock College --> Phoenix Park (cont'd) --> Chapelizod Village --> St Laurence Rd --> Inchicore --> Kilmainham Gaol --> Irish Museum of Modern Art --> South Circular Road --> Dolphin's Barn --> Crumlin Rd (HALFWAY THERE!) --> Walkinstown --> Kimmage-Crumlin Crossroads (KCR) --> Templeogue --> Terenure Village --> Rathgar --> Orwell Park --> Clonskeagh --> Roebuck Rd --> Islamic Cultural Centre --> Roebuck Mountain (incline) --> Fosters Ave --> Nutley Lane --> RTÉ Entrance --> Merrion Rd (Dublin's Embassy belt) --> AIB Headquarters --> Royal Dublin Society (Race EXPO here) --> US Embassy --> Northumberland Rd --> Grand Canal --> Merrion Square (Georgian Dublin) --> FINISH!

RCSI Dublin Marathon Team 2017 :))

The smile belies the agony and pain I went through to get the job done...

Shiny new medal

Group pic ^^

Group pic #2

In front of the New Academic Building

Finisher's Goodie Bag

In the New Academic Building post-run...

PC: Shahmina Ashiqin :))

Will I do it again?

In a heartbeat.

Something resembling the Last Supper

(Boojum lunch with the fellow RCSI Running Club members)

Oh-so-scary Halloween costume at Boojum yesterday :)

Extra photos XD

DAY 284

Jun 12

1) So today there are three important things for me to write about. The first, as you may expect if you've been following my previous updates, is of course on my research. I met up with Dr. Griffith (my Principal Investigator) at around 11am, and it was there that I met Ali, who is also undertaking summer research (albeit under a different project title)

2) Dr. Griffith took us on a tour of all three floors of the Department of Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Chemistry. There, we met the PhD students who would be guiding us with our research. After that , we went over to York House where Dr. Griffith showed us the NMR instrument, used to determine the physical and chemical properties of atoms or the molecules in which they are contained. He also showed us a slew of different apparatus and lab equipment, from HPLCs (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) to THF (tetrahydrofuran). It really was a completely new experience for me.

3) We spent some time outlining exactly my aim of conducting this research, as well as set the list of things I would be required to carry out for this week. For today, he sent some research papers over for me to read, mostly on bismuth and its various potential applications in antimicrobial, antileishmanial, and anticancer therapy. Bismuth is frequently used in quadruple therapy (two antibiotics, a proton-pump inhibitor, and bismuth) for the treatment of helicobacter pylori infections. So the objective of my research is to develop novel bismuth complexes which are effective in these areas of treatment.

4) After the allotted time, I went over to the library. As I've written previously, today is the last day that Mercer Library will be open. After 11pm, it will be shut down for good, and library operations will continue 3rd July at the new academic building. This old building will then be converted for pharmacy students to use. As such, I spent my afternoon there, reading up on the research material that I'd been given to read, as well as taking a nice nap for old time's sake.

5) In the evening, I went for my usual run at St. Stephen's Green. It took a lot of effort to complete 10km (something that I used to do with little effort during my younger years haha), but at least I'm making progress. At least I've the next four and a half months or so to train properly before the SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon 2017. I for one, cannot wait.

6) Bought my dinner from Subway, before returning home for the rest of the night. That has been my day, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks and hope you have a great day. Cheers!

I wonder which "JC2 Student" wrote this? ^^

I've done this before, but which one is mine?? XD

Friendly desk staff

Look forward to meeting everyone again in the new building!!

DAY 274

Jun 2

1) These few days are going to be the most relaxing days for me in a long time. Waking up super late, plus having virtually nothing to do the whole day. Of course, when there's nothing to do, it's only natural to find something to do haha. So I've been cleaning up some of the mess in my room, in preparation for my shifting houses come next month.

2) Not much else to mention for the rest of the day. I was preoccupied catching up with YouTube videos for the most part. Finished watching the two big Tekken 7 competitions (Combo Breaker and Collision) on YouTube. For the uninitiated, Tekken is a fighting game series which I've taken a lot of interest in, and have been an active player back when I was younger (and addicted to gaming XD).

3) In the evening, Zi Yan came over to copy some of my phone camera pics into his Hard Drive. Shortly after he left, I decided I'd begin training for my marathon this October. Did an easy 4km this evening, and here's hoping I'll have enough reserve to complete the full 42km when the time comes. Bought dinner at Subway after the run, and took it back home to enjoy. The rest of the night I've just been listening to nice songs, and reading up a bit on the research project. That's all for my day, and hope you enjoyed reading. Have a great day, cheers!

My cluttered bedside:

(that's my Ventolin inhaler on the left, and a Kawaski rose on the right, sitting on top of my Dublin Marathon acceptance slip)

I was cooking yesterday ^^

A nice meal after my run

DAY 224

Apr 13

1) Today has been a rather boring day for me in the library. For the most part of the day, I was trying my best to focus on my studies. Sometimes, my mind would just wander off and refuse to absorb anything, so I knew I needed a break. Then, I would just listen to the Headspace app which I got free access to, after signing up as a volunteer for the programme. It basically teaches the mind to relax, and each session lasts only about 10 minutes.

2) The one exciting thing I managed to do today was to set up a page for raising money for charity. I recently signed up for the SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon, which takes place somewhere in October this year. Along with that, I chose to raise funds for the Irish Cancer Society. They sent me an info pack, with information on how to set up a website, and how to ask for donations. I think it's a very worthy cause, as all the proceeds would help fund cancer research.

3) If anyone is willing to donate, I'll attach the link to the website, and just click on the Green button that says "Give Now". The sum you donate is inconsequential; what matters most is the thought that goes behind it. Anyway, back to the day's activities. In the evening, my friends and I met up at the Mercer Cafe, where we booked the accommodation for our summer trip. Hopefully things go smoothly, and we'll have a very enjoyable and well-deserved vacation.

4) The rest of the night was, as you may already have guessed, spent on studying. I'm careful to know my own limits - and I'm only pushing as far as I can. As long as I don't have to repeat any module, I'll be satisfied. Anyway, that's my whole day summed up. Thanks for reading as always, and have a great day. Cheers!

P.S. Here's the link: https://sse-airtricity-dublin-marathon-2017.everydayhero.com/ie/irish-cancer-society-fundraiser

Back to the bones then XD

Lunch

DAY 59

Oct 30

1) Today was officially the most boring day of my time here, but also absolutely necessary for me. Woke up, had breakfast (tried out the new cornflakes I bought at Tesco), before going upstairs to study for a while.

2) Lunch time, and I decided to heat up the leftover samosas, onion and vegetable bhajis (fritters). Tasted really good, but wasn't very filling, so I had some cookies soon after. Then it was back to my room to prepare for the debate at UCC soon.

3) For dinner, I tried to make a tomato sauce to accompany the Scotch egg I had, and it turned out just fine! Accompanied by some veggies and it was a very hearty meal indeed. With dinner taken care of, it was back (for the THIRD time) to study and prepare for my Principal Seminars. Finally managed to cover most of it.

4) That is essentially all I did today. It wasn't fun I admit, but it was important that I finished off the outlying work I had, so that I was prepared for the upcoming lectures. I'll end on this note, and am looking forward to taking the rest of the night easy. Thank you for reading, and have a great night!

Runners taking part in the SSE Airtricity Marathon,

 which flagged off today at 9.00 a.m.

Lunch was simple and delicious!

Dinner :)

Scotch egg