Borneo International Marathon 2014 - my first marathon race report

42.195km marathon checked =)

Finally I've ran a marathon! I could not imagined this happening when I first started running in my local 6k back in 2011. Progressing from 10k runs to half-marathons, I really took my time. Trying to enjoy all there is to be offered in shorter races with my friends. It's been a long time coming. Running in a marathon seems to be the obvious next step in my little running adventure. 

WHY SABAH?

Since last year I've already decided that 2014 would be the year I would be running in full-marathon. No more delaying it. I originally planned to run my maiden marathon at SCKLM simply because it's the biggest marathon stage in the country with big crowds and even bigger number of participants. Unfortunately SCKLM changed their usual marathon date from June to October. I believed it's because it clashes with Ramadhan which this year starts at the end of June. I didn't want to wait that long, so Borneo Marathon got the pick. 

TRAINING

By the end of March, I injured my right ankle while out running with my friend. I was running in my minimal shoes(Merrell Roadglove) which is my training shoes and I usually run hard in them. I twitched a muscle and could felt a sharp pain every time I put pressure on my right leg. With that said, my marathon training for the month of April were shorten to only 10km runs as I didn't want to further aggravate the injury. I got in more miles as my ankle were getting better and stronger. I did 10km, 20km, 30km and 40km cumulatively for the first, second, third and fourth week respectively.   

Do or do not, there is no try - Yoda

The run was on Sunday and I arrived in Sabah on Thursday night. I was joined by Faiz on this trip. He ran in the half-marathon category. On Friday, I went to Pulau Manukan for a quick getaway to get some island feel and collected my race kit afterwards at Suria Sabah Shopping Mall which is just beside Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal. We stayed at Iskandar Sinsuran Guesthouse right in front of Filipino Market. Nothing fancy just enough to accommodate two low-budget runners.

Taxi charges in Kota Kinabalu are known to be expensive so we decided to rent a motorbike for rm45 per day to get around and to the race venue at Stadium Likas. With a motorbike on deck, we decided to grab chicken wings or as the locals called it sayap for dinner and checked out the sunset at Tanjung Aru. After that, we headed back to our room to grab some shut eyes as the full-marathon category starts at 3.00 am.    

Sunset at Tanjung Aru before race day

RACE DAY



I think I had about an hour of sleep. Then I went to watch Manchester United's match alone that night and grab some supper while I'm at it. If you've been living under a rock the past year or do not follow football, you would not know that United had a torrid season and they lost yet another game that night. Not a vibe that I was looking for. Went back to the room, woke Faiz up who was sleeping like a baby. His run starts at 5.00 a.m but he had to follow me because he doesn't know how to ride the motorbike. Stadium Likas is only a 15 minutes ride from the city center. Reached the stadium around 2.00 a.m, left our bags at the bag drop counter and chilled at the track area to snap some pre-run pictures and did some stretches.

With Tey Eng Tiong before the run

You can say that I was damn nervous. Anxious of what would happen to my body. Could my legs hold up? When would my newly healed ankle give in and starts causing discomfort? I've read books about running. I watched Youtube videos on everything running related. I watched movies about marathons. I heard people's stories running marathons. All those have inspired and motivated me to be where I was right then, at the back of the starting line of my maiden marathon run. I gave my shoe laces a last tie and exactly 3.00 a.m we were flagged-off. 

In the first 10km, the course took us to a loop towards the city center and back to Stadium Likas via an alternative route. I made a friend along the way. I noticed this Chinese boy was following my pace beside me for while. Then we started chatting. He goes by the name Chan Zen and it was his first marathon too. He said his mom is also running in the marathon and pointed at her who's not quite far in front of us. The first 10k as expected, felt great. Even confidently told Chan Zen that I aimed to finish within 5-5:30 hours much to his surprise. Little that I knew what was coming for me later on. After passing Stadium Likas then we head north pass Likas Bay towards Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Here was where I wished I had enough sleep because I felt I need a bed with a comfy pillow to rest my head on.   

 The next half was the hardest under the blazing hot sun

We had to run the loop in UMS where there were two hill climbs. Ran the first one. Walked the second one. After passing the half way mark I felt my legs were fast starting to give out on me. Exited UMS and continued further North towards Sepangar. The morning sun already up and bright by then and it was a good thing I brought along my 4 bucks shades with me. At KM26 I caught up with Chan Zen's mother and started chatting with her. Along that mark too, little Ben slowly like a turtle ran passed me. 

Tks to that note behind me, I got a lot support from other runners
Tks everybody for the encouragement
I managed to get 2.5 seconds of sleep there =P
[Photos by Tey Eng Tiong] 

I looked at the faces of the runners that had made the U-turn far far ahead. Few had smiles on their faces but relieved nonetheless knowing that they're heading back towards the stadium. Beyond KM26, all I did was walk, and walk and walk. Every time I felt like I had walked long enough, I would try to run and managed to get as far as 10-20 meters. Every thing hurts. My knees, the bottom of my feet and every single muscles on my legs, all screaming STOP!!! I had my hands on my knees countless times. I was mad and frustrated with myself. Perplexed on why my legs couldn't run even at a snail pace. After I got my head cleared up, I finally realized that I hit The Wall or rather it hits me and it hits me hard!! The Wall is something I heard before but never took it seriously. Basically I felt like shit.

Almost at the KM29.5 U-turn =)
[photos by Tey Eng Tiong]

After reaching the U-turn at KM29.5, I would pour cups of water on my head at every water station to cool myself off from the hot sun. I saw some runners grabbing refreshments at the road side stalls. I wished I had brought along some cash with me. At KM38 water station there were cut oranges and watermelons which put a smile on my face. At KM40 I started looking at my watch and picking up my pace. The cut-off time is 6:30 hours and I was already 6 hours in. Caught back with Chan Zen and his mom where we pushed each other to run the last km. All three of us ran, giving all that was left in our legs trying to make it within the cut-off time. When I entered the stadium the crowd weren't as many as when I started the run. All the 10k, half and most full-marathon runners had already gone back. I kept running and said to myself "just don't collapse now". Crossed the finish line with a time of 6:32'55" (unofficial) on my stopwatch. I was greeted by Ben, Faiz, Chan Zen and his mom. Those who ran it totally understands it. They say a marathon can humble you. For me it definitely did.

The last 10km was the hardest.. look at that time.. I was totally surprised =0  

With Chan Zen and his mom after the run. Both helped me a lot =)

We are officially marathoners!!! With Ben after the run =)

Malaysia Women Marathon 2014 - haze report

The FM gold finisher dog tag is damn nice! Next year FM it is! Any takers? =P 

Malaysia Women Marathon was the first run that I registered this year. It's a women only running event with exception if male runners wanted to join they can only joined as pacers for half and full marathon categories. With that said, my first problem was that I did not know any female friends that run half or full marathon distances. Rather than looking for one, I had to persuade runners and non runners alike to run their first HM. Most of my female friend runners were not ready to take on such distance, and for my non female friend runners, they just gave me the Death Stare. I never ask again...

Preparation

Luckily, Rayhan hit me back and was interested to run the HM category and wanted me to become her pacer. Her longest distance that she'd run was 8km but she was up the challenge. Gotta love that kind of spirit! My game plan in order to get her ready for the big day was to get as many mileage as possible from December till March and at the same time instilling proper running techniques during runs. We even put our pacer pacee partnership to the test at a 8km Milo Run held at Padang Merbok back in January. 

Race day

The weather for the pass month had been so dry with no rain resulting in peat fires throughout the country. With that said the infamous haze came and suffocated every outdoor lovers. Good news; the day before race day it rained heavily and rarely seen blue sky were visible. Bad news; unfortunately, the morning of race day the situation turned for the worst. I believed that the heavy rain from the day before had brought up all the smoke from peat fires. Although the air pollution index that morning stated that it was below 100 but that burning smell were very strong and can be clearly seen.   

As safety of runners are top priority, the organizers decided to changed the event into a non-competitive run where the cash prizes were donated to charities and the sponsorship prizes were converted into lucky draws. They still flagged off runners in their respective categories. Most that were there at the race venue went on and run, there were some who decided to go back to their cars, while others collected their finisher goodies and chilled at the race venue. I followed the latter. Rayhan wasn't into the idea of running in the hazy condition. I tried talking her into running the 10km category. She wasn't down either. Finally, she said yes to the 5km category and I'm back on my feet.     

5km category had the most joyful crowd. Everybody was smiling and enjoying each others company. Nobody took the distance seriously neither do I. Before we could reach the half way mark they already told us to cut across the route and turned back as the run has been cancelled. Apparently every categories were cut short. FM to 35km, HM to 18km, 10km to ??, and 5km to 4km (information based on runners I had asked in their respective categories).

Oh yeah, I ran in my mom's jammies or baju kelawar in support of event being a women marathon. Always love when runners are not wearing their usual running clothes and I decided to join in the fun. I got my critics but damn I think I pulled off. Till next time. Keep running =)

With Rayhan running towards the finishing line =)

[photos by Enaikay]

No haze can stop us from turning up =)

KLMBH #233 Kuang

Date: 23 February 2014

Distance: 26km (long ride)

Hares: Ying How, Mike Kwan, Rebecca Thomason, Ai Ling Kevin Vincent Phang, Albert Chua and Mark Lim

For this trip, I was joined by my friend, first timer hasher Zahid along with veteran hashers Johan and Jazlan. As we were cycling towards the bash tent for registration, everybody was already cycling the other way. ON ON!

As I brought someone new to the bash, I felt that it was my duty to make sure he survive the torture that bash ride could bring. I strongly advised him to bring two bottles of 1.5 liters drinking water and snacks for the ride which he reluctantly obliged. First, we were riding on tarmacs through industrial factories before we got into super dried palm oil estate. 30 minutes into the ride, we reached a crossroad where the long and short ride parted ways. By this time I already lost sight of Johan and Jazlan. 

After passing the first tunnel, we enjoyed a long downhill only to realized that there were no papers the entire way. We stopped after reaching the very bottom and made the cycled back up. Went back to the tunnel where 3 other riders were looking for paper trail. We looked everywhere but couldn't find it. Finally one of the rider decided to call the number behind the KLMBH tag. Someone picked up, got directions, and off we go. End up the paper trail continued before the tunnel and on towards the highway.

The Newbie

When I'm not riding, pushing, crossing rivers, peeing, vomiting, or dying...
I sit

After another hour of smooth rolling ride in the palm oil estate, we reached another crossroad whereby Reza was stationed to cut off any riders who would want to opt the chicken loop rather than towards the only major climb that the ride had to offer. After the ride I heard there was another cut off to another major climb where Ying How was stationed. So, we rode our bicycle up and pushed when our legs gave up. Then, we did some hiking down on the other side of the hill. After that, we reached a rubber estate area which I failed to conquer. So more hiking for me -_-"

Found out who had been holding the traffic up... MR. KELOLO 

How riders read this - "Danger to walk, safe to ride"

Reached back at the car after 3 hours of riding. Collected last year's KLMBH "Spiderman" jersey. Great job hares! It was a really enjoyable route. Good way to attract and motivate riders into riding bashes early in the year before the tough ones comes later.  

Newton Challenge 2013 - race report

So just like that 2013 came to an end. Newton Challenge had been my year end run for the past 3 years. It was held at Bandar Kinrara, Puchong. The weather that morning was perfect. It didn't rain the night before and it was a cool and dry morning. Left the house around 4.30 am. Arrived at the race venue with couple of minutes to spare before the flag off. Park my car inside the mosque parking area which is beside the race venue and quickly hustled my way towards the starting line. I was joined by Faiz who was doing his first 25km run cum half marathon distance. 

I thought I was still in bed dreaming when I saw a unicorn.
A girl in a unicorn suit and she did 25km. Kudos!

The 25km run was flagged off at 5.30 am. The route was the same as last year's. Bumped into a fellow triathlon friend Amir who is planning to join next year's Malaysia half and full Ironman. Chatted with him until we reach a surau at a nearby apartment complex around KM4 for our subuh prayer. After done with prayer, I continued running and there were only several runners spotted in sight. I liked it for change as it was way quieter and more peaceful compared to being in the middle of the pack with thousands of runners where it is hard to get a clear run ahead.

The 3:00 hour pacer

The climbs that this place is famous (that's why they called it Newton Challenge and not Newton Run) for has now turned into a joyful ride for me. The climbs uphill were not so bad now compared to what I had described 2 years back when I first started here. I'm still slow on the ascends but man do I love the descends that comes afterwards. Thank you strong knees!

Spotted several familiar faces along the way. There was Izzati who was also doing her first 25km run cum half marathon distance. Only drinking water was provided at all water stations. At about KM21 the 15km runners converged with the rest of the 25km runners to run the final stretch back towards the finish line. Crossed the finish line at 2:49'38"(official) and 2:35'17"(stopwatch: excluding prayer break). Collected my finisher medal. There was queue building up for at the watermelon booth, so I skipped that and went straight for the 100 plus booth. Chilled out at the finish line to cheer runners on and snapped few photos. Later I had breakfast at a Terengganu restaurant located inside the mosque premise where the rice for the nasi lemak was in green in color.

With Nasrul, Rifdi, Amir and Faiz after our run.
Thanks Amir and Faiz for bending down. Now I'm the tallest!

That is all from me for 2013. It's been an incredible ride. Alhamdullilah for the good health and friends I've made during the year. My highlight of the year got to be the Seremban Half Marathon where I clocked my first sub-2 hour half marathon. Plus that was the only run I ran outside of Selangor this year. I got one DNS which was the Penang Bridge Marathon. Last but not least, thank you all that have taken their time to read my blog. I appreciate it greatly. May 2014 be another great running adventure for all of us. Happy new year everybody  (=

Bash#231 Taman Wetland, Putrajaya

Date: 15 December 2013
Distance: 16km (short ride)
Hares: Geoff Foote, Mike Grover, Riza Shaharudin



My last bash was back in June and finally got the chance to ride the last bash of the year. I didn't have any time on my bike between that period. With that said, I was not "bash-fit". I always thought that it's going to be easy and relaxing. But the reality was, it's always hard. Even waking up on a Sunday morning was already a challenge for me.

This time around the bash was held at Taman Wetland, Putrajaya. Riding with Johan and took the truck out for the first time to carry our bikes. We got lost to find the place. We circled Persiaran Sultan Sallahudin Abdul Aziz Shah like three times. As we arrived at the bash site the ride had already started. We registered quickly and off we went.

At first, we were riding on pavement in Taman Wetland. It's good to get the legs warmed up when you got no time to do pre-stretching which nobody in the bash does anyway. Then we got onto the tracks in the area. Then there was a nice detour to Taman Saujana Hijau which is a well managed public park. Here I took lots of photos of the park when all of the sudden mother nature called, and that's the last thing you want when you're out riding. Good thing there was a public toilet on top of the hill. If it was one of the other bash rides, I would most probably gone Tarzan.

Scenic view at Taman Saujana Hijau

One of the many hurdles that day

So I was among the last riders if not the last one that made it out of the park. There was like no way I could catch up with the FRBs now. So I was riding alone until I reached a ditch. Here I managed to catch up with several riders and some riders caught up with me too. Then continued riding through a palm oil plantation. After all that, I thought the ride was about to end much to my delight. But then when I was riding into the MARDI gate entrance I saw Riza was waiting. He told me that I had just completed the short ride route and I still have half way to go to finish the long ride. It took me 2 hours to complete a simple 16KM short ride and I got another 16KM MARDI tracks which will just get harder from there on. So I decided to chicken out and returned back to the car knowing that I was already a bit worn out and my upset tummy wasn't helping at all.

Riza laying out what's to be expected ahead

Only managed to join 4 bash rides this year where I did only 2 long rides. Hopefully next year would be a better cycling year for me. Till then happy new year everybody!

2XU Compression Run - race report

I really like the 2xu race vest because it's in black(predominantly)! Rarely will you see running organizer donning the color black as their race vest. Last time was last year's Nike Run, and the design was ugly and the material was horrible. I like the 2xu vest so much that I wore it straight away after collecting it and put my Man Utd jersey away. Went about my day and had a quick workout session at Taman Tasik Shah Alam donning the new vest with pride. 

The run was held at Padang Merbok, and the flag off for the 15km category was at 6 a.m. It's been raining every evening since the monsoon season arrived. We were welcomed with more rain in the morning of the run. There was a slight delay on the flag off. At first, I thought the starting line was going to be along Jalan Parlimen where most 10k runs that I had joined always held at. However, for this run it was held behind Padang Merbok along a much narrowed Jalan Berjasa. 

THE CHALLENGE

One thing I know from running 10k runs that starts from Padang Merbok that there is going to be a lot of hills. There were two notable hills that stand out and makes you want to stop and walk. I would totally do exactly that if its a really long run to conserve energy, but given that this is a 15k short run, so I took up the challenge. I just slowly paced myself up those hills. Well most would struggled on the ascends, I on the other hand, struggled on the descends. Those steep downhills can really put your calf to work. As my footwear of choice for this run was Vibram FiveFingers, I could not descend as fast as I wanted to.

THE IDIOTS

As bad as the hills and the weather were, what ticked me off the most was irresponsible runners throwing cups and energy gels into the greens. Why the hell did you do that!! Bad enough that we are littering at every water stations(at least volunteers going to pick those empty cups up), and now you have to throw yours at the forest. Who's going to pick your shit up?? The monkeys!?!? STUPID!!! 

THE VIEW

With every climb, we were rewarded with awesome views of the KL skyline especially at the top of Bukit Tunku. Found out later that this hill is HAUNTED!!! This was where runners had to make a U-turn and run down the same road they ran up. I like the scene where descending runners gave words of encouragement and high fives to runners ascending. This was where I saw most of my friends.

Petronas Twin Towers on the horizon

The view of KL skyline from the top of Bukit Tunku 

Crossed the finish line at 1:36'43". I was surprised that it was a small scale event given that the brand sponsor was big. There were no other sponsors, so the likes of milo and other additional refreshments were not provided. Thus, leaving me to make an early exit as I was starting to get hungry.