Malakoff Penang 17km - my best middle distance performance

I don’t have a packed race schedule for 2012 so this Malakoff 17km was a welcoming run, especially it’s held in Penang. Having back-to-back runs on 2 consecutive weekends make it a challenge although the “Merentas Desa” was only a 6.5km cross-country run for most seasoned runners ! I did a trial run on the same route the Saturday before together with Chris & Jin Xiang, clocking 1:30 @ 1.62km. The Malakoff 17km was slated to start at 7am. I arrived at slightly after 6am, ample parking spaces, not a problem since it’s a Sunday morning. Met a familiar face, WC Yip. Had a quick chat then decided to walk around. Then people started to trickle in. Chris was there, and that would have been his 2nd coming-back race. He eventually did 36min for the 7km @ 5:08’/km pace, a very respectable time. Of course Chris is capable of much better time, just give him another month or two. I then met up fellow colleagues who are also taking up running more seriously – Jin Xiang, JS Chew, Yong Foo, and Eng Hong (I met HH Lim after the race). The overall crowd was not that huge, maybe <1000 runners though the report says 1,500. But then, it was a bit dark, so you may not know for sure.

The race got off at almost 7am sharp. I made a mistake of starting up at the back pack and had to zig-zag pass some runners which almost made me trip. The same happened during Merentas Desa. I must remind myself to stay closer to the front in future races. The first 5km was a breeze, yeah.. enjoyed the sea breeze and the morning silky breeze. It was such a an enjoyable run. Clocked in @ 5.01’/km for the first 5km. Not bad, my PB at last. From 5th – 10th km, I started to get lazy and had to rely on some good runners as pacers. I found a Triathlete Malaysia running-vest runner who was running at 5:00-5:05’/km pacing and I followed him throughout until I reached Tesco Tanjung Sri Pinang. That is also the place I lost sight of Jin Xiang whom I used as benchmark. I slowed down considerably along the Straits Quay area, my typical Achilles’ Heel even during my LSD. I still cannot figure out why. The water stations were pretty well spaced out every 5-6km serving water and Gatorade, Thank God not 100Plus. Ah, I must mention that I saw the 3 Kenyans (yes, they have Kenyans running in this small event !) running in front of Island Plaza as I was running towards Tesco on the opposite side of the road. So they must have been a good 3km in front of me !

The 3rd 5km split brought me into Gurney Drive and I enjoyed the run with the sun well blocked by the clouds. This is the familiar route I used to run on weekends, so I have no trouble zig-zagging and avoiding the traffic. As I turned into Jalan Ahmad Shah, my right knee had some funny sensation and I could feel my pressure going up, that is where I decided to slow down to a complete stop and just walk. Listen to my body.. I will not want to jeopardize my health for PBs. A Caucasia n runner came up and asked me the distance. 14.5km… So 2+km to go ! I decided to jog and run alongside him. A short while later, he sped ahead and I kept my running at a constant pace. Moving into Green Hall and into the Padang Kota Lama, I could see photographers clicking away. I must say I do respect them for their time and nice shots of runners. I clocked in at 1:28.53, a pace of 5:19’/km (my PB for >10km run) @ a distance of 16.7km. The closest distance I could compare is the KOTR 2011 @ Sunway Pyramid which I clocked 1:37 but that is a much tougher route with so many inclines along the highway. Overall, a great race, well-organized by PACM. Moving on to my next race – Dnonce Hiking Challenge on 22 April 2012... and I decided to move a notch up to Competitive instead of Fun Hike... We shall see.. and then there’s the LKHSAS a week later @ Kuala Kangsar.

Distance: 16.7km (not exactly 17km)
Time : 1:28.53
Avg pace : 5:19'/km (a PB for >10km run)
Calories burnt : 1312 cal

Breakdown:
1st 5km - 5:01'/km, 25:05
2nd 5km - 5:18'/km, 26:28
3rd 5km - 5:38'/km, 28:08
Last 1.7km - 5:25'/km