New Balance Half Marathon - race report

It's the second half of the year where most running events will be staged. I only check those with at least 21km distances. Got to be selective or else I will drain my wallet if I enter them all. I got the SCKLM, BSN Putrajaya Night marathon and 2XU run coming up in the next 3 months. Unfortunately, unable to run Penang bridge this year due to school obligation during November. That would be my first DNS. I wasn't so bummed up though as it was announced that the run will be staged at the old bridge instead of the new bridge as how it was originally planned by the organizer.

For my preparation this time around, I was more concerned towards getting back my running mojo rather than losing the extra weight gained from the lemang, ketupat and rendang during the Raya season. Ran short distances and managed to get about 19km in total between all those raya open houses. 

As the run was held at Setia Alam City Mall which was a quick 20 minutes drive from where I live, I didn't care to pack the night before. Decided to leave home after Subuh pray. The half marathon category starts at 6.15am and I left home at 6.00am. At that moment, I realized I was going to miss the flag-off. 

One thing I fear the most about arriving late to running events is that the road closures to make way for runners. Thankfully, I didn't encounter such detour. Quickly make my way towards the starting line which was already packed with 10k runners getting ready to be flagged-off at 6.45am. Notified one of the committee just to let them know that I ain't a 10k runner being released early. Given the green light, a quick stretches to wake those sleepy legs, jumped to the front line and started running at 6.40am.


Ran alone about 10 minutes before the 10k front runners caught up and flew passed me. Even my friend, Epit running in the 10k category caught up with me. Snapped picture with him and off he went chasing some runner dude where he was keeping pace with.

With Epit "The Flash"

About 30 minutes into the run, I finally caught up with the 21k runners and felt right where I belong. You know it can demoralizing when everybody is running passed you. Now it's time to get my spirit up as it was my turn to fly pass runners. I was aiming for a sub-2 hour finish. Reached KM10 around 56 minutes and I was still feeling good, but then around KM13 onward my left hip started to feel a sharp pain followed by my left knee.

Almost there...

All good at KM18 with my awesome shoulder pads =P
[photo by WaiHong Hoo]

The route was relatively flat. No insane climbs. Managed to check out some properties as we ran through lovely housing area around Setia Eco Park. Nothing beats an easy route combined with the beautiful morning weather. When we were heading back towards the mall I tried to speed up a bit, but when the time reached the 2-hour mark on my stopwatch, I slowed down a bit. I crossed the finish line at 2:02"53'. Collected my finisher medal and tee, head straight for the refreshment booth for some watermelons, 100plus and VICO !!! Snapped pictures with friends and chilled on the open field next to the mall under nice morning sun.

Here I was busy capturing a video crossing the finish line
[photo by WaiHong Hoo]

With Puteri, Zul, and my homeboy Dinie

Pace 5:51

Seremban Half Marathon - my first sub-2 hour :)

Will definitely run next year. Hopefully with my cousins!

What do you know? Malaysia's biggest marathon SCKLM was postponed last weekend due to improving haze condition in the country. Bummer to all overseas participants and local participants outside Selangor who had made flight bookings and train for this event. Well for me, good thing I got a back up plan! I went to Kuang for Bash#225. So, KLMBH 1 - 0 SCKLM


Last run before Ramadhan. Destination Negeri Sembilan, for the 26th Seremban Half Marathon. Would have taken the bus but I was too lazy to go and buy the bus ticket because I didn't want to fix myself on when to leave for Seremban. Took the KTM instead from Shah Alam at 8.30pm and arrived at 11pm. One advantage you can take from taking the train is that you can read a book. Eat and Run by Scott Jurek was my companion. Stayed at my Aunt's place in the city and by 12am I'd already hit the sack. 

Got my aunt to drop me off at N.S padang with a couple of minutes to spare before the flag-off. There were no baggage counter to leave your belongings, so I went up to one of the organizers' booth and asked them if I could leave my stuff (only dry clothes) there. They were reluctant at first but I was willing to leave it at my own risk anyway. 

With that covered, camera in one hand and my water bottle strapped around my waist, I headed straight to the starting line. No steel barriers, so it was easy to get to the front of the starting line. Then I thought to myself that I got a good chance to be in the top 200 finishers (later found out that 21km men's open only had 152 participants) with a cut off time of 2:30' to receive the finisher medal, being able to be in such a good position to start from (second row from the starting line).  

0630. When the gunshot was fired, my hope of collecting the finisher medal went out the window. Everybody was running on 5th gear! My body had not yet warmed up and was still on neutral. Everybody ran passed me and it took me around 30 minutes into the run before I could run passed someone, and the dude was walking.

The route lead the runners straight out of the city and into Senawang. I have to say, I really enjoy the run which was mostly on 1 lane of 2 way roads. It was very cooling with lots of trees. No major climbs. I only stopped at water station that provided Gatorade and soaked sponges which was at the latter stage on the run. 

Somewhere in Senawang.

Around KM15, I looked at my watch and realised that there was a possibility of finishing a PB and record a sub 2-hour finish which was greater than any finisher medal in my opinion. Legs still feel good and only need to keep a 6:00 pace. KM19, heading back to the city from Lake Garden and we bummed into a little traffic. Here's where the  21k runners converged with the 10k runners which consists mostly of school kids. They were running, walking, laughing, and talking about their homework and there I was, who just wants his sub-2 hour half marathon and had to cut through every one of them.

As I was running back to N.S padang, I couldn't see where the finish line was at. No sight of 21k runners in front of me. Only groups of school kids in their white tees. Should I follow them? I had to ask one of the spectators on the side where the finish line was. He pointed at the N.S padang along with the rest of the school kids and I think I lost a good few seconds there because my watch stopped at 2:00'14". Nevertheless, I was elated! PB baby!

Only 1 second to spare!

Then the official results came out, I was delighted that I made the sub-2 hour with 1:59'59". I have this goal where if I can run a sub-1 hour 10k, then I'm ready for a half marathon. If I can run a sub-2 hour half marathon, then I'm ready for a full marathon. If I can run a sub-4 hour marathon, perhaps ultra or triathlon?! Okay, let's take it one step at a time.

What's the point of a finisher medal without a lanyard?! I can't it show off. Bummer!

Standard Chartered 8k Fun Run

At the starting line

This year's Standard Chartered Fun Run was on a smaller scale compared to last year's. It was no longer FOC. RM15 registration fee was charged which was for the event t-shirt. Also limited slots available which made the crowd and number of participants smaller. Fewer sponsored booth. Only 100 plus was to offer.

 

I have to say that I love the route though. It was different from last year's. The route took us into a housing area before finishing it off with a long stretch along the river. I'd noticed many runners taking their time strolling along the river enjoying the view. A very family atmosphere with many runners bringing out their young ones, and those runners who dressed up getting into the fun run spirit. Big up to you!

Finished the run at 52'59" and it's a debut for my Merrell Road Glove in a running event. Faiz crossed the finish line shortly after. Snapped few more photos before heading back home. My next run will be a half marathon at SCKLM this June. See you guys there!

Let's get inspired!

By the way, I just got this book before BB1M expired by end of this month. Looking forward for the RUN part but not so for the EAT part. How could I be when he's a vegan =P 

Bash#222 Bandar Tasik Puteri

 Hares: Kapten Zainol and Yaafur Cycling Club


Another short ride this time around because my cousin Awanis is treating the family for lunch. So frb for the short ride it is, well sorta. It's my first time cycling here and damn, I'm impressed with the cycling community. From roadie to mtbers. You can see them everywhere as you entered the town. There is even a restaurant that provide a bike rack for the convenience of the riders to park their bikes. The bash has added a kiddie ride, so the crowd was larger than usual. You can guess from the kids and the local riders joining in. 

On on!

Short tarmac ride into a palm oil plantation. It gets pretty congested at first with everyone just warming up their legs. Then come the first check which defined bash#222. There were like 4-5 crossroads and the frbs were doing the checking but no papers found. The back riders and even the kids had caught up with the front pack. Now we got the whole bash at check point one. 

Hold up at the first check

One heck of a ride!

More checking being done but still no papers. Then down came the one of the hares, but he also didn't know the where the papers at. We spent about 30 minutes at the first check, where finally the hare led us the way where the ride supposed to end up anyway regardless the papers. So screw the first check.

Then we reached a town, Batu Arang, where many riders stopped by at the various shops to replenish their supplies. Continued back into the trail. The trail was muddy and soggy. After a few more tarmac and trail combined I reached back at the car. At the registration booth there was a discussion about what went wrong with the first check. Apparently, the papers for the short and the long ride got mixed up because the route for each ride crisscrossed each other. Riders got confused and so on..

To my surprised Pak Mat was already back at the car waiting for me. Apparently, he went for the kiddie ride cause he didn't want to be late for lunch. He got back by 11 and I arrived an hour later, and yes we were late for our lunch with the family. Cleaned ourselves up at R & R Sungai Buloh before joining the family at Las Vacas for steak which was the real workout of the day. The bash was just to workout our appetite =D

You can't go wrong with a rib eye steak

Brooks Half Marathon 2013

First run of the year

I have to wait till March to get my running year started because there weren't many runs that attracts me. Lately I've been doing my run just by myself. This event will always have a special place in my heart because it was my first half marathon event I'd ran back in 2012. Last year, I finished with a time of 3:42'08". It felt right to come back this year and set the record straight. I did indeed with a time of 2:27'54" (excluding Subuh break time).  For half marathons I always put 2:30'00" as my benchmark. Anything below it I knew I had a good run.

This year, the starting line was held at Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil car park. Arrived at the race site with 10 minutes to spare before the flag off at 5.30am. Same route but different direction. So when the climbs came, instead of a what-the-fuck-look, I had a bring-it-on-look on my face because this time I didn't walk. Again, in the first 10k when we running around the residential area of Bukit Jalil, some impatient drivers acted like morons honking non-stop in the wee hours and even drove out ignoring the traffic marshals that had been holding them off. Many runners showed their discontentment to those idiots.

At KM11, stopped by at D'santai Station near Bukit Komanwel for subuh where I'd been running for 1:26'00". There I realized I had a slow 10k. Probably because of runners congestion plus with some poor lit roads which had many runners running slower than usual. If you guys want to stop to tie your shoe lace or walk to take a breather, please proceed to the left. This to avoid  anyone crashing into you which could bring unpleasant injuries to both.

With friends and foos

Only at the last water station that they served 100plus but I didn't stop because there were too many runners crowding the table. Didn't see any powergel booth. Probably they had ran out by the time I arrived. Crossed the finish line, collected my medal and finisher t-shirt, and went straight to get some food at the race village. I had  milo, 100 plus, watermelon and taufufa =) Snapped pictures and cheered few runners on.

A perfect egg cup holder

I would like to offer my condolences to family and friends of the veteran runner who passed away during the run on Sunday.

Newton Challenge 25k

What better way to end 2012 with other than a 25k run which is the longest distance I've run so far. Funny thing is, I started the year with a 12k run at this very same event (New Year Newton Challenge), and now a year later to run in the 25k category feels so surreal. Not just the distance had changed, but also the faces I'm running with. No matter who I'm running with, I'm just happy I could share the passion and enthusiasm with them.

I'm not familiar with the area, so I did what everyone would do, googled map. Disappointingly on the morning of the race day I still got lost. Somehow, I ended up at Puchong IOI Mall. Turned back, and looked up for Bandar Kinrara signboards. After few turns, I arrived at the race venue with few minutes to spare before the run starts.

The flagged-off was at 5.30 a.m for the 25k category. Stopped for subuh prayer at surau Pangsapuri Enggang which was along the route 5k into the run. Honestly, I'd almost fall asleep while praying. From middle pack runners straight into last pack runners. A bit heavy to continue running because my body had already cool down and I was pretty sleeeeeeppy *yawn

From the previous newton challenge run here earlier this year, I knew what to expect, there will be climb, climb and MORE climbs =( but I welcomed the challenge with open arms. Not even one hill climb did I stop to walk. I kept running and maintained a steady pace, and on the descents I just let my body momentum carried me down the hill. The usual knee pain did come in the middle of my run, but it was bearable and by now I know that it is part of the struggles in my long runs that I need to endure.

So, basically, it's up and down and repeat it for another 20 times, and you'd reached the finish line. I had a bad sore throat the night before the run. Thankfully, the morning weather was cool and cloudy, so I can enjoy and focus on my run. 

Overall a great event. Got the opportunity to volunteer at the race pack collection. That was cool. The only downside was I didn't get my share of watermelons which I assumed the 12k runners already finished them up, and there were no milo booth which what the last event had.

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my family, friends, and the running and cycling community who supported and joined me on my running and cycling journey this year, directly or indirectly. Also, not forgetting my readers which I know I don't have many because my blog ain't that sort after, but still thank you for the 2 minutes of your time.

Photo by Lim Soon Chung

The run was dedicated to the Palestinian people. The struggles and sacrifices that the Palestinians are going through are never forgotten and always in our hearts and prayers.

The best way to sign off 2012 =D