The Energizer Half (Sufferding!)

Event : Inaugural Energizer Marathon (Half)
Date : 26 March 2010
Time : 8.00pm
Climate : Very warm!
Course : Quite hilly.
Time : 2:00:40 (PW)

It seems these night runs in Putrajaya have some things in common. Warm roads due to the wide exposed roads and a lot of irate motorists!

The race for me was okay, and I didn't set any particular targets. I hadn't been doing distances beyond 10k for the last 2 months, so I was half expecting the going to be pretty hard in the 2nd half.

Although the achilles issue has elevated quite a bit with the orthotic that I bought from a pharmacy in Subang (RM89- cheap and good?), I doubted that the heel had recovered sufficiently to last the 21k distance.

I was a pretty good pace up to km5. But after I went for a short toilet break, everything seem to go downhill pretty fast. Mainting a 11.5kph pace was a struggle, and when I reach the 13k, I was really demotivated and had walked a good part of that and the next 3k.

After a nice cool sponging at km15, I felt the inspiration coming back and when I joined the 10k group, it became easier to continue running. I even quite a bit left in the tank to do the last 3k in a sub 6 minute pace, so I guess it might be something to do with my head, rather than my body.

With a time of 2:00:40 at a distance of 20.99km, this is my worst time for the 4 marathons. It was 8 minutes off my Putrajaya half. I guess the lack of mileage also shows. Hmmm, no wonder my water belt felt tight. Less mileage = more waist!

On the organization, following are my thoughts.

The good parts;
1. The route had pretty wide roads, and most of the part pretty quiet.
2. The goodie bag for half marathoners was definitely interesting;
a. 1 medal
b. 1 shaver
c. 1 tube of salon spray.
d. 1 button badge from the 'fish oil' sponsor
e. 1 sachet of men facial wash
f. 1 small strip of salon pas
g. 5 tablets of multivitamins
h. And not to forget - a nice looking headlight which has a pretty bright white
and red lights.

As the venue seems pretty new to the Pacesetters, there were several big hiccups;

1. Ample parking space within the campus, but everybody who wasn't a student was made to park a distance away and use the shuttle bus.
2. The start line and the end was not at the same spot. As there were no clear indications or signs where the start line was, even on the arches themselves, I would guess there were quite a few who missed the starting time. Yes, it is noted in their mail and yes, there were quite a few reminders online to those internet savvy participants.
3. The route, although indicating the direction, did not clearly note which distance nor direction for whom, so further confusion for some people.
4. The long queue for the 10k would have been a big issue with those participants in that category. I guess it would take a good 30 minutes just to pick up their goodie bag.

Hopefully, the Pacesetters will use this lesson to improve their next event.

If my heel condition improves, I guess this will be the start of my marathon training for the KL marathon come June 27.

Putrajaya Night Marathon - The Half

Date : 6 February 2010
Time : 8:30pm
Place : Precinct 3, Putrajaya
Weather : Warm and Humid
Terrain : Some undulation, but not extreme.
Course : A bit of loop the loop, but fine for most of the way.
Organizing : Five star! Value for money! Thumbs up!
Distance (GPS) : 21.28km
Time : 1:52:15 (1min 25sec off PB)

This event was very thinly veiled as the substitute for the "KL marathon" which was normally held in February before 2009.

With new sponsors and organizers, with the race being supported by FTAA, it seems that they have hit off on the right note, with all the right priorities in mind and addressed.

The race started on time and minimum fuss. This time they did a count down, lol!

As we headed off towards PICC the crowd thinned pretty quickly after the first 500m. It was great to see Putrajaya at night. There were many 'jewels' of the night, with beautiful lighting in some of the key buildings in Putrajaya. PICC looked like a space ship which just landed, lol!

By the time we finished the loop around PICC, we started to catch up with the tail end of the full marathon runners at the 4km mark. We ran the next 12km together, and it really helped as there were many 'rabbits' to chase.

2 unusual things about this race; One was the pace of the normal running kaki. It seemed slower than normal. Secondly, because this wasn't the main event, competition was much thinner at the top 10%, hence it was a good ego booster for me, haha.

The first 11k went on a pretty even pace. It was on the 2nd 10k, where I started to feel the strain. With the lack of some quality mileage, I could feel my pace drop off and the strain on my right heel bursitis acting up.

Moving into the last 3km, I felt like I was doing a 5:10 pace but it was more of a 5:25 pace. It really shows that there is a difference when you run alone and when you're chasing down somebody in front of you.

I did multiple 'drink walks' at km8, 14 and 18. I gulped down a powergel at km14. Did it help? I think so, but I can't say for sure.

In short, was I happy with race? At RM35 for a nice vest, medal, bun, multiple drink and sponge stops, chip timing, free powerbar snack, good traffic control and "FREE PARKING", what more can you ask?

Was I happy with my time. I have to say yes, with the mileage that I've been doing.

The only not so good thing I'm taking away from this race is the recurring bursitis in my heel. The muscle may have shortened to the point that there has been additonal strain on the tendons. Guess I have to make it a point to ice and stretch more often after runs.

With the Energizer run coming up in Cyberjaya next month, I hope that the experience will just be as enjoyable.

Malathion training Wk5/14 - 25km LSD cum Half Marathon for WWFOR

Place : Putrajaya Precinct 2-3...thereabouts
Time : 6.50am
Weather : Nice and cloudy...
Slope : Moderate

I started off the run with a couple of friends. Why Putrajaya? With very low traffic and nice buildings, infrastructure and convenient access to toilets, this place is pretty ideal to do not only running and cycling.

With most of my runs done in my neighbourhood, doing a LSD in Putrajaya, and it was more for a change of the scenery.

I was targeting to do 25km within 2:25, about a 10.5km/hr pace. Also, I wanted to fulfill my commitment to do the WWFOR Half marathon which I was one of the first to register (http://worldwidefestivalofraces.com).

The route was to run from the big mosque in Precinct 2 to PICC and then to Pullman hotel, get across the bridge, and loop back to the mosque. I was expecting that a 2nd loop to PICC was required, and it would be easy to adjust the distance accordingly.

So, there were 2 runs in one. 25km in 2:25 and 21km within 2 hours.

I started the pace at about 10k/hr and by the 2nd km, it was going up to 10.7k/hr. By the 10km, I was averaging 10.7k/hr.

Took my first sip of the double dose of Accelerade, and was feeling pretty good. Most of the kinks were worked out by the 3rd km. No problems with the hamstring and hip adductor.

At 17km mark, the energy levels were still pretty good. I started the 2nd loop and tried maintain a nice steady pace of 5:35 to 5:40 per km.

I finished strong for the first run of the half marathon and completed 21.1km in 1hour 58min 46 seconds, my PB for a half marathon distance non race run.

After finishing this first part, I took a "evacuation" break and continued the run. However, things were going downhill from that point.

I was running at a much slower pace for the last 4 km. Based on my target pace, I had quite a lot of time to spare to cover the last leg.

I did a couple of walk breaks. I was imbibing quite a bit too much water too quickly, and ended up having with a side stitch.

I guess I made finishing the last leg a bit more difficult by thinking too much about it, rather than zoning out and control the water intake.

I finished the 25.24km in 2:24:42, which I was pretty happy with.

Post Race :
I was feeling better than I've felt after other 25k runs or more, so it was a pretty wise choice not to run yesterday. Also the recovery from the muscle injuries almost completed, it was a sweet run all in all.

I will be taking part in the 6km Centro Run in Klang tomorrow. Depending how I crawl out of bed, I'm hoping to be looking at a sub 30min run.

Shah Alam KOTR..should be King of the Hills!

Place : Stadium Shah Alam
Distance : 21.7km
Weather : Cloudy with some haze
Terrain : Hilly! (470m)
Route : Busy, with a lot of traffic as route along main roads.
Goodie Bag : 1 T-Shirt...that's all.
Cost : RM35 Early Bird for 22km, RM25km for 8km.
Prizes : Certificate, and medal for top 100 finisher for Men Jr Veteran and Women
Pros : Many many water stops and sponge stations.
Cons : Goodie bag? What goodie Bag? & no mileage markers.

This was the first half marathon I would take part after the SCKLM and was really looking forward to running around Shah Alam for a change.

However, the last 2 weeks had been pretty slow, as far as my running was concerned. Last Sunday's planned long run was washed out, and my weekly mileage was at a record low 20k.

As I was outstation the whole week, running was limited to the treadmill (BOOORINGG!) because of bad road and traffic conditions outside.

After all the excuses above, you can pretty much guess that I expected not to get another PR for this run. As the saying goes "If you think you can't, you definitely can, not!".

The race participation number was announced at about 9k plus, a pretty good level of participation. With prize money offered, the Kenyans were there again, with a good number of participants from Singapore and some from Thailand. Our regular PR runners were also there.

The race started off without delay, WHICH WAS GREAT! My fellow runner, Lee, made a passing comment on the punctuality by our opposition leader against the race in Ipoh. "Leadership by example! That's the way!" How true, and I couldn't agree more.

From the first km, the hills were rolling up and down, up and down. I was relatively familiar with Shah Alam, but it never occurred to me that it was that hilly when I was driving around...

This is definitely not a race for "Hill Phobics", as it was the main challenge factor.

Moving through the heart of Shah Alam got "difficult", as the volume of traffic was building up quickly. The wonderful vehicle emissions was the 2nd challenge factor, especially for those doing the 22k.

Through out the race, I was doubting myself, more because of the lack of miles in the weeks after the marathon. My body was actually doing quite ok, it was more on my Heart Rate, which was hitting 180-188. This was quite similar to the Siemens Run, but I did slow down, to ensure I didn't keel over going into the 2nd half (LOL!).



This race probably represents the biggest positive split I have ran in a race (as you can see above), percentage wise, excluding the marathon.

As we closed in the final 2k, the route joined up with the other categories and I had to zig zag through.

The final 300m was quite enjoyable, running to the stadium through the underground tunnel, and finally exiting at the finishing line.

I was relieved to collect my medal, as I though I would not have finished within the top 100 for the Men's veteran category.

There were Milo and 100 plus, but we didn't see any food...how sad!!

As there was no other reason to hang about, we made a quick exit and left by 9.10am.

It was a pretty OK race all in all, but I really hope the route would be towards the more scenic parts of Shah Alam for years to come.

KPAC Half Marathon Run (Murphy's law?)

Place : Setia Alam, Klang?
Time : 0630
Date : 7 June 2009
Race distance : 21.41km
Target time : sub 1hr 50min for 21km.
Weather : Pleasant due to early start.
Terrain : Not too undulating, less than Bidor half marathon route.
Attendance :1,500? So so lah...Due to many distances and categories, I don't think my cat (Veteran Men) had more than 200 participants.
Organization : Good

Pros : Plenty of water stations (5), 1 power gel station.
Plenty of portable toilets! A must have for such events.
Punctual!
Wide open roads and less participants, allowing a quick getaway!
Timing - Earlier better, with weather being cool.
Many categories, prizes and lucky draw...better chances for everyone to take home something else other from a medal.
Cons : Couldn't find registration counter (too dark and no signage, or I didn't see one at least)
No mileage markers...(if you don't have a GPS watch, you would be cursing)
No goodie bag after the run, so sad.
No makan, like hot dog or sandwiches, or nasi lemak...only tauhu.
Lights for the portable toilets. Didn't know whether you were hitting the target, except by listening to the sound. Also, I wasn't sure how to flush as I couldn't find the lever. I only found out that you can step on a pump which releases the water into the bowl, after the event...

You know, sometimes your mind plays tricks on you, especially when you've had a few hours sleep and you're awake at 4.30am.

You know what they say, "what can go wrong, will go wrong". I was packing up everything into the car and mentally going through the must take items. Somehow, taping up, applying vaseline and "CHECKING WHETHER I WAS BRINGING THE RIGHT SHOES" didn't occur to me this morning.

We reached the Welcome center at 6.05am with 25minutes to spare. As I opened the boot, to my surprise, I brought the right shoe of my Asics and the left shoe of my son's New Balance. I couldn't help but laugh at the situation. A friend later remarked to me when I told him this "better to half 1 left and 1 right, rather than both left or right". How true!

Anyway, knowing that the shoe will fit, it was just a matter of any discomfort, or blisters forming towards the end of the race.

They were giving away half cut Power bars and some other stuff. Most of the runners were milling around, looking for free makan, minum and anything else free...hmmm maybe it was just me.

Anyway, my wife wandered off to look at the stalls as her event started 45 minutes later (at 7.15am). I did my 1km warm up run, some stretches and lined up at the starting line with 5 minutes to spare. No pushing or shoving as the starting area was wide and the participants were not that many.

3,2,1 Bang! Off we went. I managed to work through the crowd with minimum fuss and completed the first 2km at 11.8km/hr.

I knew I was going too fast but I was somehow sucked into the "racing with others" mode, with guys passing me left and right...

By 5km, I was more settled down. I still felt pretty strong with my pace settling down at 11.6km/hr. I wanted to get to the half way mark at about 55min to at least have a negative split.

By 11km, I was bang on target and was starting to pass quite a number of runners. I checked my times and it definitely wasn't me speeding up.

By 15km, I knew I was where I need to be to meet my target time. The pack was thinning out, until we joined the 4.5k and 11k runners on the route. At that time, I was using the runners in front to keep pace and held on pretty strong until 19km.

For some reason or another, my pace for 20 and 21km dropped off by 7 seconds. Maybe, at the back of my mind, I knew I had the time in the bag and there was no close competitors to chase.

I was also aware that the total race distance would be more than 21km as we had to loop back across the flyover. Coming down the last 800meters, I caught with another guy who was slowing down to a jog and told him "Just a bit more! Time to push for it!" He smiled at me and said "OK, let's go!" He definitely had a lot of acceleration in him as he shot off at had gained about 10m in a 100m distance. He, however, slowed down again towards the last 200m and again, I caught up to him.

"Last 100meters! Come On!". He happily picked up the pace and I gave chase. I think I need to do more speed work if I want to catch up with this guy. He finished about 5m in front of me but both of us were happy that we finished the race in style. We patted each other on the back and went our separate ways.

Looking at the time, 1:50:48, I was a bit deflated, but checking the distance, I knew I managed to do what I set out to accomplish. I was 1min 54sec better than my previous run in Bidor for the same distance of 21km.

My wife was waiting at the finish line with tau foo fah in hand, and surprise surprise! She was 2nd in the fun run.

I do all the training and she wins all the prizes!!

Anyway, we ended hanging around until the prize giving ceremony and the 2nd prize in the the fun run was..... a bicycle!

Well, looks like the investment paid off. With my daughter's birthday being tomorrow, looks like there's an extra present for her.

All in all, it was good run and it's a taper period from here on out until the Biggie! on 28 June 2009.

Bidor Half Marathon Prologue

Leaving this afternoon, we plan to take a walkabout in Bidor, maybe go to Kellie's castle for another walkabout, or head on directly to MY Gopeng Resort and check in and enjoy the natural surroundings.

For somebody who spent so much time in the jungle during my younger days, I have not really taken the time to spend some time these days. Maybe golfing has become the interim antidote for my passion for nature.

Hopefully get some nice photos by end of the day and hit the sack by 1030pm latest. We plan to leave the resort at 6am as it will take approximately half an hour to get to Bidor from here.

I have in mind a time of sub 2 hours as my primary goal, 1:55 as great! and 1:50 as my "going for broke" target...

Lost my elastic strap for my HRT in the hotel room in Sg -BUMMER! Probably will cost about RM50 for a replacement.

After the run, we need to go hunting for the duck leg noodles at Pun Chun and local favourite snacks for our friends, neighbours and colleagues.

We should be back in the evening to unwind by then.