SCKLM Honda Half Marathon

Let's go straight to the good news! I set a new PB! I didn't realize until I'd reached home and check my PJ Dawn finished time. I'd finished in 2:22'32" a whopping 5 minutes off my previous PB. Initially my goal was to finish within 2.5 hour, but setting a PB in the process was an awesome added bonus =) 

This would be my 3rd half marathon for the year. Super pumped up as I ran the 10k category last year. Lots of good memories here. It was at SCKLM where I got my first taste of a major running event. I was glad that I could step up a notch this year and run in the half marathon. Full marathon for next year?! Well that's the plan. We'll see =)

It was really hard to get to Dataran Merdeka with many main roads closed. The detour cost me some time. Twist and turned my way into KL and luckily I arrived near Masjid Jamek. Stopped by for Subuh prayer then head straight to Dataran Merdeka where the half marathon category had already started. Thankfully being the category with the most participation with 5500+ runners, there were still a good 2000+ runners slowly making their way to cross the starting line. 

Here's the bad news. I thought I could avoid cramps and muscle stiffness during the run by rubbing on a hot cream/analgesic on my legs and thighs before I left the house. It turned out to be the biggest mistake ever! At first, I felt fine. Then all of a sudden, after the 10km mark, my legs started to feel the heat. Such unbearable discomfort was really distracting me. I tried spraying cool muscle reliever offered by volunteers at the water stations to put down the heat. Well, it didn't work and now my legs felt hot and cold at the same time. To make matter worst, the knee pains and heavy legs starting to kick in. It was surely by far the worst ever feeling to have while running that I've experienced. That was my lowest point in the run =(

The sun was about to make its mark on the run, but I was already heading back towards the city center. So the KL skyscrapers provided much shade from the sun. I kept myself cool with soaked sponges handed out by the volunteers. I was relieved to see the 20km sign and never thought I could bear through the pain all this way. The last km was the most fun as the crowd grow larger cheering runners on heading towards Dataran Merdeka. Funny thing was, at this point I'd enjoyed the atmosphere so much that I wanted the run to go for another km. Hence, the next photo.

A clear reflection of how my run went 
(photos by Tey Eng Tiong)

I can still feel the heat on my legs after I collected my medal. Waited agonizingly for Faiz to finish his 10k run. NEVER EVER try something different or new on race day if you never try it before. Lesson learned -_-"

pause pain, SMILE, pain resume