SP Half Marathon - a sub-2 hours but not a smooth race

Sungai Petani Half-Marathon. This is the 2^nd 21km that came 6 days right after my Larian Hijau 21km last Sunday. I have never run such long distance so close to one another, coupled with the 8km Eco Run in between.. That makes it 3 runs within 6 days.. SP HM is the inaugural event, organized by a national runner, Ganesan, as stated. It’s also the first time SP has a race of that nature, I was told. The starting point was Dataran Zero (Ground Zero), Jam Besar SP. I am not familiar at all with SP and it did not help when multiple request to the SP Half-Marathon facebook page did not yield any result. Many were asking about the nearby landmarks, and no response too. And seriously, that is bordering on being rude (issue #1).

I car-pooled with WeeLeong and KeeMeng to SP on Saturday morning. The original start-time for the HM was 6am, then changed to 6.45am a few days before the race, announced via facebook. I know this did not go down well with many runners who are not willing to run at such late in the morning and running in the morning sun. This is the first time I have seen the starting time changed so late into the game and not officially announced (issue #2).  Met many running friends in SP.. besides the usual suspects of i-Run and Forward group, I met fellow colleague JinXiang, Gus Ghani who’s in his 2^nd leg of race up north, Uncle Alex (the well-known volunteer photographer), Sean Wong, Kelvin, Rahim, Ramlan and many more.. Ah, yes, also the KL gang of Yim, Julie Wong, Max etc. Not forgetting Fadil and wife.. Saw them  when I was running back.

At 6.15am, we were told no need to lapor diri (though the small slip said need to “melapor diri” at 6.15am, and we were told to do so in facebook as well !). There were no mobile toilets, so the KFC toilet came in handy for peeing.. But pity the ladies/girls.. So long queue. And the single toilet for men’s ‘big business’ didn’t help either (issue #3).

Approaching 6.30am, we were then asked to get our wrist band, which turned out to be a ribbon (can be hung around the neck but I made into wrist band). Pity the poor lady who was swarmed with runners all eager to get hold of the ribbon. Very chaotic. Approaching 6.45am, it was apparent that the crowd (whether it’2 21km, 10km or others) were crowding at the starting point, and the speaker is so far away that’s it was only blaring towards the stage/VIP stand. I think the VIPs were late, and it turned out right as at about 6.50am, a group of so-called VIPs slowly walked towards the front of crowd and started taking photos. Duh !  The runners were already impatient with the delayed start and they had the cheek to be late and take photos some-more. All politicians are the same, no matter which divide they come from ! and without any warning, or even count-down, the gun went-off. Very chaotic indeed (issue #4) but what the heck. Start running !

This also marks the 3^rd time I run without my GPS watch and in that messy start-up, I forgot to switch on my Runkeeper in my iPhone. So I decided to do what I have done when I started running – enjoy run and not worried about pacing, run blind ! The route took us through the town and into the country side, going through the paddy field and vegetable farm, then into some of the housing areas. One thing I must commend is the route is really well-chosen, and the traffic control/management were handled very well by the police and staff. Alas, the main thing of a long-distance run, eg 21km, is the water station. That is one of the most important area, if not THE most important. We only have 3 water stations, at 7^th km, 12^th km and then 20^th km. Isn’t that crazy !? So, the main grudges did not stop here.. 1) Some were told that there will be 4 water stations when asked on Friday during bib collection. So what went wrong ?, 2) 2^nd station ran out of water, and for late comers, they were out of water from 7^th km to 20^th km !! This is insane and irresponsible of runner’s safety (issue #5)!  In this aspect, Larian Hijau was well planned out, with 4 stations placed at 5^th km, 10^th km, 14^th and 18^th km. Good thing I ran with my Gatorade (as I always train with it too), and by the time I hit the first station, I hv taken half of my Gatorade. Thank God !  As we turned into the paddy field area, we converged with the 3km and 5km runners, well.. they were all walking leisurely instead of running ! apa lah.. I actually encouraged them to run but they chose to walk slowly, some even playing smartphone as they walked along. Sigh..

This was not an enjoyable run for me, mainly because of:

1)      I was not well prepared.. Coming off the flu, I have zero training the last 1+ week. And doing 2 halves in a week is a first for me..

2)      Running in the morning is not my cup of tea. I always feel I wilted away when the sun comes out.. LOL ! I just cannot stand the heat and sunlight.. Period..

3)      I hit the wall early.. Hit the wall ! One must wonder.. It refers to mostly marathons. I had to stop at 5^th km to catch my breath. And throughout the run, I had to deploy the brisk walk-run fast strategy to keep me going. Obviously, it’s another mind over body challenge.

Overall, I am happy with the time but not the performance.. Not exactly a PB but doing a sub-2 in 2 both races within a week, I would not trade anything for that !

Distance : 20.8km

Time : 1:53:20

Pace : 5:26min/km

Placing : #21 in Men’s 40-49 category

Next race : Larian Merdeka on 9/9 @ Esplanade, and then Starwalk on 9/17..

Photo courtesy of Sean Wong

Near finishing line

Finishing Line, photo courtesy of Uncle Alex

With Choo Cheng Liang & Sam Khong

Starting Point @ Jam Besar Dataran Zero, Sungai Petani

With Kee Meng and Wee Leong

Larian Hijau - a nice run, boosted by Panadol !

This is my 2^nd 21km this year, the first being the Sundown Singapore (2:04) in May’12. I am into the 8^th week of my marathon training but the last 3 days, I was down with fever. Blame it on the long Raya holidays and the non-stop eating and enjoying ! I Popped in Panadol to keep the fever in check and I was still in 2 minds if I should start the Larian Hijau on Sunday. It is going to be hectic week ahead with the Larian Hijau on 8/26, followed by Eco Night Run 8km @ Botanical Garden on 8/30, then followed on with the SP Half marathon on 9/1. Then in between, there’s 2 days mini-MBA that I am starting off !

Defying my own body’s signal, I decided to run @ Larian Hijau. This is supposed to be the first ever 21km run in Penang in years as most races are shorter ones (8km, 10km) even with the longest being Malakoff 17km. The race started at 5am in Bandar Perda, Bukit Mertajam. Waking up at 3.15am, got myself a light breakfast, I made my way to the destination. Since this is pretty much a local event, I could see many familiar faces. The event was organized by Andrew Loh, Alvin and with many volunteers, aptly themed “Green”.

This is also the first time I run a race without my GPS watch (I lost it, remember !?). I decided to use my watch’s stopwatch and bring along my iPhone to track the mileage. I was soon to find out that running ‘blind’ is actually not a bad thing as I won’t have to be limited by the pacing and keep checking if I am too fast or too slow. I just ran to my body’s capability, listen to the signals and just using the water stations as a measurement for my pace. I started strongly but after 6-7km or so, I started to feel the pressure rising and bodyheat started to rise. Oh No, I was telling myself.. I ain’t going to be hit the wall that early and DNF ! I decided to do the run fast-brisk walk strategy.. Run for 6-7mins, then brisk walk for 30s. I think I did that for 4-5 times, and it was useful for me to recover my strength. When I passed thru the 2^nd water station @ 10km, the clock showed 57:30mins. Not bad ! I was pleasantly surprise as I have no idea at all how was my pacing running in the dark. By then, I think the Panadol started to kick-in and I could feel the 2^nd wind coming. I picked up my pace, though I still deploy the run fast-brisk walk strategy for a few more times. I was running 5:15-5:20 pace in my last 2km and it felt good. Overall, I love the route, flat and a nice long stretch of road, although some stretches were really dark. No stray dogs, thank God !  I am glad I carried along my bike Cateye as a guide for motorists coming from behind, as well as fellow runners.The fact we passed through so many mosques during the run and it co-incide with the Solat Subuh makes it a run with the ‘kampong’ feelings.

Distance : 20.8km

Time : 1:54:31

Pace : 5:29’/km

Not exactly 21km, so not exactly a PB though I am very pleased for a sub-2 (I nearly gave up at mid-point), and a sub-5:30 pacing.

Now, as I write, I am recovering from my sore throat and fever. Had to take sick leave on Monday to recover.. Pay-back time ! :(

Hopefully I will be fit to run on Thursday night and Saturday morning.. The SP HM will start off at 7am, so it’ll be expected to be a hot run, not to my liking though !!



The MPSP Tower - Start and Finishing Point

Photo courtesy of Yu Quan. I think this was at 5-6km

Pic courtesy of Sean Wong - @ 20th km, before the McD

The medal - small but quite creative (can be used as key chain)

flip side of medal

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

A PB - my first sub-2 for a half marathon !!!

L : The runnig tee (another Brooks for me !!) : R : Panorama Hotel where I stayed, just right next to the Clock Tower

L : The Finishing Point ; R : My Men's Junior Veteran category

Yahooooo !! I hit one of my 2011 targets - to run a sub-2 hours for a 21k and what best to do it @ Taiping Tourism Run !!! Well, it nearly didn't go on as planned.. It started pouring at 4am and slowed to a drizzle at around 5am then picked up again.. Race started at 6.15am and by the time we started the race, I was already drenched and soaked to the skin !!

After around 1+km run, I started to have a funny feeling in my stomach.. In fact, I had some diarrahoea the early morning itself.. Must be the curry mee I took the night before as part of carbo loading. One key learning - watch what you eat and don't simply eat !! I nearly gave up as I was disturbed by the heavy rain and weak stomach.. But I guess it was a mind over body challenge and I kept going. As the race went on, things got better. I like the stretch between 7k - 12k where there's a long stretch of straight flat road and there's where I got my pace back. The Lake Garden and town side is a bit hilly to my liking.

One good thing is this is the very first time in any race that I did not walk.. I ran throughout the race ! Legs were OK (although I lose 2 toenails on my right foot !) , and heart was willing.. So I kept going. The few pacers that ran around me also allowed me to keep a constant pace of around 5:40 throughout...

The icing on the cake was to have Chris (still in crutches)/Rox/Brenna cheering me at the finishing point.. Kinda cool actually :-) Of course that's the first time the Nielsons left the island !!
and Yes ! I got 58th position in my Men's Junior Veteran category :) Not bad for a rainy Sunday.. Now, I need to take a couple of days off and resume my PBIM training...

Summary:
Time : 1:58:25
Pace : 5:38 mins/km
Distance : 21.04km
Calories burned : 1692 cal

Split:
0km - 5km @ 27:18 mins @ 5:28 mins/km
5km - 10km @ 28:07 mins @ 5:37 mins/km
10km - 15km @ 28:13 mins @ 5:39 mins/km
Last km (16-21km) @ 28:42 mins @ 5:44 mins/km

Love the medals, nice shape too !

and that's me.. It's super ugly ! Hahahaaa.. Must be struggling hard in the last few meters towards finishing line !!! Photo taken courtesy of Tey Eng Tiong !