I swam, I conquered. [Kapas Marang Swimathon '14]

Let me begin by saying that I was once an overweight, failed, rejected and confused guy. And the peak was at last Raya. The momentum I gained today started from that point onward.

Despite the effort I took to become better before, somehow it's like it keeps yo-yoing around. Just like my weight. My maximum weight was 118.5 kilograms to be exact on the digital scale. Everything was up and down. However, I find new strength and hope. God disconnects to connect. Alhamdulillah. :)







Identity
I know, in order to really improve my life, I have to form a new identity. Apart from inside change in terms of perspective and principle, I also wished to reform my physique. Identity is important. Your behavior is governed by your identity. Just like men won't wear women's cloth, so does fit and strong guys don't eat carelessly at KFC and drink 100Plus.

So, I make the change. I learned what was necessary in healthy body, and I put my aim in becoming at most like Hugh Jackman. Perhaps in another two or three years. Even though when I express my wish, my mother said she doesn't like man with big traps. For me his traps is OKAY.

Training and Nutrition
To swim efficiently, you need strong muscle, good stamina and correct technique. So, I asked for my friend's help who was a regular gym-goer. I learned from him what exercises were needed to stimulate muscle growth in some parts - in the end - I obtained an arsenal of BASIC knowledge on how to make almost every part strong. From biceps, triceps, deltoids, lats, hamstring, core, quad, calves, traps and glutes. It was amazing, by the end of some even-you-don't-realize period, you know a whole lot of thing that people don't know.

So, I went to the gym, I learned the proper technique, and I went swimming, I learned the correct technique. Although it was obvious for me to keep polishing my technique, I was amazed by how much I've progressed. :3

Butterfly!

The training wasn't easy. Vomits and tears were occasional companies. Sometimes, you got angry and frustrated, and that when you performed your first 50 meters butterfly with perfect form. Sometimes, you remembered your past failures, you felt so remorseful and suddenly you were able to deadlift 100 kilograms. That's channeling energy.

Basically, I went jogging almost every morning after Subuh, and 3 weeks before the competition I stopped. I focused on maintaining my muscle and compensated my cardio and endurance in water. I lifted four to five times a week, focusing full body transformation and stressing more on deltoids, triceps, core and legs - the ones that would be used the most during the competition.

My meals then were consisted basically of chicken breast, lot of eggs, pasta, brown rice (I learned to cook them too!), countless veggies (half of them were unsuccessful experiments), and spices and whey protein supply. I learned what types of foods that were needed to support my healthy initiatives, what to avoid and many more. Surprisingly, the budget was low and the nutrition was enough.

During my training, my lifestyle also changed. In order to maximize hypertrophy and recovery, I slept early. I made sure I got enough rest. Stress-free life. I varied my training. I did research, extensive research about division in lifting - powerlifting, bodybuilding, Crossfit and PX90.

Live well
However, I didn't let this health initiative consumed my life. I hanged out with my friends, and I planned my cheat days so that it could be accommodated with my usrah - in which usually we would eat a lot!

I also took note of Arnold's advice - build your body and give back to community. I taught my overweight friends and housemates how to live healthily. My room mate loss 5 kg in two weeks :) I tried to educate my family about good foods and bad foods.

We stayed away from oily foods, excessive carbs, and we bought a lot of fruits and experimented with various veggies (most of the time haha!)


Kapas Marang Swimathon
At last, the awaited moment came. One week before competition, I virtually didn't do anything. Just maintained my healthy foods and toured KL with my siblings.

Kapas Marang Swimathon was a race - long distance from Kapas Island to Mainland Pantai Kelulut. Around 6.5 kilometers shortest distance. This year, the participants were around 530++ from all around the world including USA, Belgium, France, South Africa and many more. About 60 kayaks, 4 jet skis, and two big maritime boat were placed for safety.

My plan was just me going bringing a tent so I could sleep near the beach. But, fortunately, my parents wanted to come along (I was so happy!). They rented a home stay, and we had a lot of fun the day before. My siblings went to the beach where I would be swimming and they played around. Me? I just watched the choppy and big waves come and go. I enjoyed the moment. The happiness. The near-accomplishment feeling.

Three days prior, I have started my carb loading phase to increase my glycogen store. So, yeah, I ate a lot. Alhamdulillah.

That day, I woke at 4.30 in the morning. Did my qiam, kissed my sleeping mom and siblings and went to the jetty at 5.30 am with my dad. I felt proud - seeing so many Muslims did stop at the surau to pray just before the ferry took off at 6.00 am. Muslim swimmer!

On board of the ferry, I met two new friends. We talked about how we trained and what foods we ate and many more. At 7.30 am, the body marking started. A 228 digits were marked at my lengan. I ate my power bar. Just so that I would not exhaust myself too much during the swim. Funny, some pakciks went to mark their numbers on their bellies. It was cute though.

We had around 30 minutes to warm up. I jogged a little, do some push ups and stretching, just to get my blood pumping.

There was something I wanna search during the swim. I don't know. What I knew was I just needed to complete the swim. I prayed to Allah before the gun was shot - so that I found what I was searching for.

During a warm up session. You see all those boats. That's security. 

We had a little bit briefing. And we were informed that that day current was a bit strong and we need to see the direction the boat was anchored to figure out the strong current. Mr Chan, who was the director said the shortest distance was 6.5 kilometers but the total distance we might swim due to the strong current probably about to 8- 10 kilometers - unless our stroke was strong and steady, we would be surely pushed aside a little bit time to time.

Some of us wanted to race and finish the swimathon as soon as possible. But there people like me, who were just there to enjoy the view and cruise peacefully through the beautiful vast ocean.

Bamm! The gun was shot. I quickly started my freestyle. Not too slow, but not too fast. Relaxing and keeping pace with the main crowd. It was so enjoying and relieving. I felt so free. Some of us started to do strokes for fun - butterfly and breast stroke. I was too. It was so fun, I waited for the big wave to come then splash I stormed out from the water with my butterfly stroke. It felt so majestic! I saw a few pakciks in front of me also were doing the same thing.

In the middle, I started feeling disoriented. About 1 hour 45 minutes after the release. I had my watch. So I watched my time closely to track my course. A kayak called me out, saying that I was so far from the main course. The current pushed many of the swimmers aside. The current was strong. I needed to learn to use my front hand during the freestyle to 'feel' whether the wave would be up or down so that I could catch my breath properly. If not, when my face emerged, it would be covered in water then I would lose my chance to breath properly. Breathing needed to be kept steady. I didn't want any accumulation of lactic acid to interrupt the swim.


There was a time when I lifted my head to relax - I saw nothing in front of me, behind, left and right. No kayaks, no main land, no pulau, nothing. Perhaps the waves were too high I couldn't see anything. I felt afraid. But then, I felt thrilled. Still, in the midst of the swim, I couldn't help but to feel we humans are incomparably small. So small, tiny, and helpless. That's the way I felt during the swim. To Allah, the Lord of the seven seas I praised. Subhanallah. In the middle of that swim, I felt the loneliness. Only Allah and me. It felt romantic though.

I slowed my pace a while. My watch showed 2 hours 30 minutes had elapsed. The fatigue just started to kick in. I stopped at a kayak for one minute to drink water. In that condition, water was essential. I swam and accidentally gulped a lot of sea water. So, I was dehydrated. Then, Alhamdulillah, I saw the balloon arc finishing gate at far sight.

"At last" I sighed. The sun started to glare already. I did not apply any lotion or sunblock cream. At that time, there were three swimmers with me. And we seemed to struggle to set the direction of our swim because the current kept pushing us away. We needed to do sighting every few and then to really optimize our remaining energy. I felt so exhausted. My deltoids and triceps started to burn.

The last phase seemed the longest. The water kept pushing me back. Felt tired of sighting, I just counted until 200 strokes every time to sight.

At last! I arrived. I saw my brothers Ayaz dan Saif were jumping excitedly seeing me out of the water. Other swimmers also beside me, three of them. All of us somehow a bit disoriented. We could not stand properly and walked like a drunk person. We were greeted by a government official. He gave me the shirt and congratulated me with the finisher medal.

Somewhere I belong
I searched for my mum and dad quickly after that. I found my mum and I hugged her very very closely. Tears escaped my eyes. Thank you mama. I hugged my dad. He gave me a manly pat behind my back and said, "Mama cakap menyesal lepaskan Asif dalam laut tadi. Ingatkan asif tak sampai-sampai mama takut asif lemas" and he laughed. My mum laughed also. Well, that was happiness. And my brothers all came to me to peluk-peluk. Haha geli. Tak pernah nak peluk sebelum ini pun, tetiba.

Still disoriented!

I found what I searched. Alhamdulillah. It's a secret. But, trust me, the swim was worthy. Definitely.

I shut down during the trip back home, and my deltoids and traps were sore as bad as they could be. I could not even lift my hands to drive. Imagine!

And the sijil!

One day, I will compete in a triathlon event. Aim set. Let us execute.

Cinta di mana?

Sebelum cuti bermula, kami meluangkan masa bersama seorang ustaz yang sangat dihormati di Penang. Seorang lulusan Yaman, dia banyak membuka minda kami mengenai dunia. Aku mengaguminya dengan rapat kerana beliau telah menjelaskan Usul Isyrin kepadaku dengan begitu jelas sekali, bagaimana pada hari ini aku menggunakan prinsip-prinsip tersebut dalam melihat dunia. Beliau juga seorang yang sangat mendalam ilmunya di dalam sirah. Bagaimana beliau menggariskan panduan sirah dan mengaitkannya dengan kehidupan sangat aku kagumi.

Perancangan asalnya ialah untuk kami bersama beliau sehari suntuk untuk belajar dengan beliau (rancangan murabbi kami). Setibanya di rumah beliau, beliau mengajak kami keluar jalan-jalan. Pergi makan sana sini (I was forced to declare that day my cheat day). Sepanjang jaulah kami ke sekeliling Penang, ada beberapa perkongsian yang beliau ceritakan pada kami, untuk pengajaran bersama. Aku merasakan ini sangat perlu untuk aku nukilkan di sini, untuk manfaat bersama dan juga untuk nota pada diriku masa hadapan.

Lafaz yang umum tidaklah dimaksudkan untuk generalization. Frasa umum dikhususkan maksudnya pada yang terlibat.

1. Ukhuwwah
Betapa ukhuwwah itu asas kegemilangan. Seperti sudah menjadi tradisi hari ini untuk yang mengikuti dakwah ini melalui bahan-bahan dengan intense dan padat, sampai lelah dibuatnya. Sekejap program sana, sekejap program sini. Mutabaah yang ketat, rigid, dan bi'ah yang sangat serius. Tiada santainya, tiada relaksnya, tiada rehatnya. Yang ingin berehat, santai dan berhenti sebentar seperti tidak mengambil urusan dakwah dengan serius..

"Mana nta kenal akh ni?", "Oh ana kenal dia dari program".. Ustaz mengungkap seperti sesetengah ukhuwwah yang lahir pada hari ini datangnya dari program-program.

Sedang pakcik makcik dulu-dulu membinanya dengan penuh kehangatan, gelak ketawa, kemesraan, kepercayaan, yang lahir semulajadi tanpa dipaksa dan bukannya plastik. Sebab itu dengan izin Allah kebanyakan mereka masih bersama di dalam gerabak dakwah.

Apa yang ustaz nak sampaikan pada kami ialah supaya kami bersama-sama mad'u kami, untuk ukhuwwah yang sebenarnya. Bukan ukhuwwah program. Ukhuwwah yang kekal, walau selepas mereka memilih untuk tak ikut tarbiyah, kita teruskan. Biar cinta yang lahir itu tidak didasarkan pada apa-apa, kecuali Allah. Walau agamanya sudah kurang, kita hulurkan tangan. Walau tarbiyah tidak terjaga, kita tetap hulurkan tangan. Moga-moga dengan izin Allah dia kembali bersama gerabak dakwah. Kerana jika cinta kerana Allah, walau apa yang terjadi, kita tetap akan ada untuknya.

Kadang-kadang aku tak boleh comprehend siapa yang kata tak boleh nak kawan sebab dia dah berubah, agama tak jaga, hubungan dengan Allah tak jaga, tinggalkan yang memperlahankan dakwah dan sebagainya. Kita berkawan atas dasar kerana Allah atau dia? Maksud aku, kita selalu kata, rupa dan populariti akan pudar, harta akan kurang, tapi agama kekal. Kalau agama dia berubah, kita tinggalkan dia. Aku tak boleh comprehend. Aku tak faham. Agama juga manipulated variable, Allah yang constant. Andai dia hanyut, tugas kita genggam dan pegang. Apa-apa yang terjadi, kita setia. Kita tetap di sisi, berdoa, bertahan. Kalau dia putus asa pada Tuhan, tugas kita sambungkan kembali. Entah. Aku tak subscribe pada idea macam itu.

Ustaz bercerita kisah-kisah bagaiman ikhwah akhawat yang hari ini padu dan laju di dalam dakwah walau telah berkeluarga, kerana masing-masing ada kenangan hangatnya ukhuwwah. Dan yang laju, rigid, keras, dan 'mee segera', kebanyakannya hilang sama ada ditelan zaman atau dilanda konflik. Tiada lagi yang mengikat.

Moga ukhuwwah terus mengikat..




2. Keluarga
Ustaz juga bercerita betapa hari ini banyak masalah rumahtangga terjadi dalam kalangan ikhwah akhawat muda. Bukan dalam jemaah ini sahaja, tapi masalah ini masalah nasional. Macam mana keluarga dakwah, atau al Bait al Muslim yang difahami sangat ideal. Isteri yang mengutamakan program berbanding suami, suami isteri yang hilang nilai romantiknya, yang sanggup pergi program walaupun anak adam. Ayat Al Quran mengutamakan Allah berbanding keluarga, ibu bapa, dan anak-anak telah disalahfahami konteksnya, kerna ayat itu merujuk kepada konteks aqidah.

Sehingga ada yang ingin berhenti usrah kerana terasa hati pada pasangan yang lebih mengutamakan jemaah berbanding pasangan. Terlalu ideal, rigid, dan serius. Mujahadah telah disalahfahami dengan rigidity dan keseriusan. Pasangan menganggap nikah ini hanya untuk dakwah, tiada usaha untuk memurnikan keluarga itu sendiri, hanya platform. Lupa. Mereka lupa. Marhalah kedua selepas individu muslim adalah keluarga muslim.

Kenapa bersusah membina individu muslim kemudian membiarkan keluarga muslim begitu? Keluarga adalah lapangan dakwah. Usaha harus dilakukan. Bukan sekadar bernikah, beranak, tapi membiarkan anak-anak kerana sibuk dengan kerja dakwah. Ustaz mengingatkan andai berlaku seperti itu, tak mustahil anak-anak akan menjadi musuh dakwah pada masa hadapan.

Nasihat ustaz, be romantic. Bawa pasangan pergi dating, jalan-jalan, bagi hadiah. Keep it alive. (Ustaz dah 8 tahun kahwin pun kalau jalan pegang tangan dengan isteri lagi, di rumah ustaz ada couple mug, makan pun suap menyuap lagi..)

Insya Allah, tak plan untuk menjadi anak, abang, suami, dan ayah yang membelakangkan keluarga kerana dakwah. The option is not mutually exclusive. It's not either family or dakwah. It is both and that's life. It's about how you manage.


3. Akhlaq
Di akhir sekali, akhlaq. Akhlaq yang baik, indah, mudah didekati, mesra adalah buah dari tarbiah dan ibadah. Hasil ketaatan pada Allah akan terzahir pada akhlaq yang baik. Perkara-perkara yang dianggap kecil seperti melayan haiwan, melayan warga asing sehingga perkara yang besar - semuanya indah andai disandarkan akhlaq yang baik.

Pengikat jiwa itu adalah akhlaq yang indah. Seorang kawan yang mengambil berat, abang yang penyayang, pelajar yang menghormati, ayah yang menyayangi, suami yang romantik, pekerja yang amanah, da'i yang mencintai dan menyeru kepada kecintaan kepada Allah, ummat nabi yang mencontohi nabi, dan akhir sekali sebaik akhlaq adalah akhlaq yang merendah diri dihadapan Rabbnya. Mengagungkan perintah Tuhannya dan berkasih sayang dengan makhluqnya - dua prinsip pengabdian dan khalifah [Qawaid Dakwah, Qaidah 1 - Hammam Said]

Kalau sudah kasih sayang itu buahnya, mengapa tidak ternampak? Adakah ianya tidak berbuah?

Wallahu a'lam, sekadar catatan dan perkongsian. Moga-moga ada manfaat.


p/s - Sedih sebenarnya course mate ramai pindah kampus ke Pasir Gudang. Gambar di bawah adalah gambar bersama classmates merangkap bekas anak usrah - malam terakhir kami bersama. 90% memori aku di Penang adalah dengan depa ni. Gambar lain unavailable.

p/s 2 - lagi tiga hari saya akan bertanding di International Kapas-Marang Swimathon 2014. Open water competition. Track 6.5 kilometers crossing the sea from Pulau Kapas to Marang. Doakan saya selamat sampai :) Nanti saya post di sini pengalaman sepanjang renang across the sea. Tak sabar nak tengok Nemo berenang-renang di bawah kaki. Harap tak ada ikan jos.

Thanks, Pakcik!

On Sunday, I usually don't do any heavy lifting. It is because my leg day is on Friday, so my legs will sore for the next two days. And to do any running or compound exercise is strictly limited. Therefore the only possible choice left is to go swimming.

FYI, leg day is the day where you work out your leg at the gym or anywhere. Leg day may comprise of heavy squat, Romanian dead lift, lounges, leg press, and leg extension. Usually, if you do right and you push yourself, you will be almost unable to walk the day after. Pain everywhere throughout your leg. It is one of the hardest days, and for that reason many people skip leg day.

Today, I went to swim early. After Subuh I made my breakfast, finished up all my chores, and prepared my swimming accessories. Sharp on 9, I went to the pool. Usually, on Sunday, I will swim in the morning and evening. Two sessions. Because swimming is a form of recovery exercise, I need to hit all my muscles before I am ready to work them out the next week.

However, today is my unusual day. After I did my warmup, I went straight into the pool. There was a pakcik beside me. He was overweight, perhaps obese. I guess he just made up his mind to live healthily because I could see the determination on his face. I was just like him 6 months ago. Exactly. He was just beside me. I did not talk or anything, I just smiled to him and started my swim. My routine is I will swim at least one kilometer easy swim before I decided to do sprint swim or practice my backstroke and butterfly.

When I started my breast stroke, I noticed he was beside me doing freestyle. In my mind, I thought "Takpelah, nanti pakcik ni letih lepas dua tiga lap berhenti lah tu..". His swimming actually interrupted my swim a little bit. He was zigzagging between my lane and his lane. I was not sure why, in my mind perhaps because his eyes were not very good although he was wearing a pair of goggles. Or because he could not really balance. So, I just let him be.

To my surprise, after 500(5 laps) meters, he did not stop. He did not pause. I was alternating my breast stroke and freestyle, therefore he would always catch me up because breast stroke is slower than freestyle. We kept catching up to each other. We both did not stop along the way. Up until one kilometer the pakcik was still swimming gracefully. And he was still zigzagging! I needed to do my sight every few strokes and then.

At last, that pakcik stopped at my 1.5 kilometers mark. I did not know how much that pakcik covered. I finished the non-stop swim to 2 kilometers. After the swim, I went to meet the pakcik.

"Kuat pakcik, tak sangka lama betul pakcik tahan.." I said, and laughed. I was really astonished.

"Anak pun kuat juga, pakcik nak cuba lawan, tapi tak boleh..." he replied.

And after that, my guess was right. He was having his health resolution in action. He wanted to live healthily. And I've got great advice about taking care of my body from the pakcik. 'Badan ini amanah Allah!'.

Thank you pakcik! His smile was a remedy for my sore eyes (you know what people wear at public pool).

And Alhamdulillah, new record. 2 kilometers non-stop! :D Alhamdulillah.

Swimmer's ear - a gift on the first night of Ramadhan

Before Ramadhan, two weeks to be exact, I got an ear infection due to my frequent swimming workout. Funny thing is, the infection I was getting in the outer ear was known as 'Swimmer's ear'. Or scientifically, otitis externa.

The first days were very painful. I couldn't dive deeper because my right ear felt so painful, it sounded like it was cracking inside. I went to buy earplugs, but kept losing it in the pool whenever I did my flip turn. But the ear became worse. Eventually, in two days, I lost almost 70% of my hearing on the right ear. It was my habit to clean up my ear after a swimming session, but obviously it was not enough. My sleep was interrupted due to sudden surge of pain and constant ringing in my right ear.

I went to the doctor. I took the ear drops and oral antibiotics. What happened was, some water was left near my eardrum, it clogged and made surrounding area suitable for bacteria, hence the infection. My ear canal was swelling, and also my eardrum didn't vibrate the way it should. Even the otoscope almost did not fit into my ear.

So, the days of misery began. I valued music. I listened to the Quran, songs, and music, and I often wondered how beautiful music would be in the Heaven. I was specifically grateful for the hearing that Allah had bestowed upon me, more than any other parts of my body. Then, when my right ear failed to function properly, I somehow freaked out.

My hearing became muffled, I failed to detect where the sound was coming from. And I could hear the sound next to my ear like it was 2 meters away. The ringing was somehow constant and it made me a bit off balanced. The ringing sounded like after you hear the flash bang. The ringing felt so close to my ear. My balance was off. Suddenly, I valued my hearing more than I had ever imagined.

I read the story of Urwah bin Zubair. How when his leg was amputated, his friend said 'Bergembiralah, kerana anggotamu itu telah mendahuluimu ke syurga..'. The last word my right ear listened to was al Mishary just before I went to sleep. So, as to calm myself, I also told myself the same thing. Getting myself prepared just in case I lost my right ear. Allah wanted to test me I thought, and I was going to be ready. To some people, it might not be important. But to me, my hearing is important. Especially when it comes to listening to music. How I appreciate details in the piece. Still, my hearing was from Allah.

I kept snapping and clapping slowly beside my right ear just to know when will my hearing come back. I went to the doctor twice, and the doctor told me that the infection still didn't go away. I got two kinds of ear drops later. More intensive. In one week, if I hadn't got better, he would refer me to an ear specialist. It was very tense. My right ear felt right it got a veil that blocked my hearing. A veil so close to my ear.

I told my mum about it. And I got a lecture on not-to-swim-again. I understood how she felt. Sometimes, when you get older, it was good to hear your mum's lecture. Missing those old days haha. My friends and lecturers were so supportive.

During the last evening of Syaaban, just before Ramadhan, I was at the mosque. Getting ready for the azan of the first night of Ramadhan. I was at the first saf, tilawah. Felt so pumped up. Although my right ear failed to function, it failed to stop my surge of excitement for the Ramadhan. Getting my FB and Twitter deactivated few days prior, I was sure to get a good warm up.

Like a novel, when the digital clock was beeping for Maghrib, I saw the bilal went to the mike. I stood up and felt very excited. 'Allah, here I come' I said. Then, miraculously, when the azan started 'Allahu Akbar!', masya Allah, the veil that had been blocking my right ear seemed to be gone. The hearing was still muffled, but my hearing was coming back! If before I could only hear 20-30%, it became up to 50-70%. I could really feel the difference. My tears broke out, and there I sujud syukur for my hearing in the middle of the azan. It was no coincidence. It was amazing. It felt amazing. It was like the bubble that had been blocking my right ear popped. And then suddenly the sound became much clearer.

Alhamdulillah, I thank Allah for my both ears. For all my parts of body, and family.

Now, I can hear up to 90% Alhamdulillah, no more pain, fever, ringing and off-balance.

1. I learned how to speak more slowly. Try closing both your ears with your fingers, and speak very slowly. You could hear it clearly. When my right ear failed to function properly, I hear what I said louder than normal. So I began to speak more slowly.

2. I couldn't wait to get back into the swimming pool. Missing swimming so much. My doctor refrained me from swimming till the ear infection had gone.

3. Syukur itu lebih tinggi martabatnya dari sabar.

4. Swimmers! Always be ready for this. Get yourself an ear drop to clean your ear after swimming. Maintain the pH of your ear, and avoid over-cleaning.

5. Some of you might wonder how I know that percentage of hearing. Hoho. I test it with my left ear and check the clarity over distance times 100.

6. Our hearing is one of the most amazing mechanism ever existed. It worked simultaneously with our brain. One of it is positioning. Good hearing works with our brain to position and trace where the sound comes from just from its amplitude and frequency. Try this 3d sound, barbershop, and say Alhamdulillah :) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDTlvagjJA)

Happy Ramadhan guys!