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

March 2012 Races - Teluk Kumbar + Malakoff

Feels like eternity.. Last race was Jan 1st week's MPIR.. so that's almost 2 months without any races.. Good thing is I am still keeping up with some training mileage..

So for Mar'2012.. 2 races:

1) Mar 18 - Teluk Kumbar cross-country run.. Did that in 2010.. 6km, running on the road-beach-kampung road-hill and then back to the school.. Will just enjoy the run. Race starts at 7:30am.

2) Mar 25 - Malakoff 17km.. Starting at 7am. Hope the sun will be kinder to us (some clouds please !).. The routre are familiar ones : Esplanade-Tower-Penang Road-Burmah Road-Kelawai Road-Gurney-Straits Quay-back to Gurney-Jln Sultan Ahmad Shah-Esplanade..
==> Audaious target ? 1:30, that means a pace of 5:17.. Maybe the more realistic one is 1:35 -1:40 which means a pace of ~5:38 - 5:58.. We shall see...

Malakoff Penang 26km - Official results

So the official results are out.. >800 participants took part in the race despite the persistent rainy weather.. My time was captured as 3:08.38.9 according to the chip..

Malakoff Penang 26KM - Mar'27, my first race for 2011

I completed my first race of the year @ Malakoff Penang 26KM 2011. This is my 2^nd time participating in the race, my first being 2010. The 20+ hr rain nearly put a damper into the participation. It has been raining & pouring since 26^th March 8am and was still having occasional pour as of 3.30am. Thank God it stopped around 4am and stayed away until the very tail end of the race ! Amazing but true, sounds like bomoh at work. Hehe.

My time = 3 hr 08 min 41 s, with pace of 7.23min/km, and speed 8.30km/hr. This is much better compared to last year’s time of 3:31, so that’s an improvement of 23mins. My 5km splits : 5km/35min (35mins), 10km/1:06 (31mins), 15km/1:46 (40mins), 20km/2:22 (36mins), 25km/3:00 (38mins), 26km/3:08. I had blistered feet and calf muscle cramp (both calves) at around the clock tower turn (18^th km). Anyway, I managed to hold on to that until the finishing line. Overall, the event were well organized, Kudos to Malakoff and the sponsors, except for 2 observations : #1) Lack of isotonic drinks along the run. We were mainly provided with Spritzer mineral water and even Revive cups were filled with mineral water. It’s towards the 2^nd half drink stations that we have 50/50 split of isotonic drinks. #2) St John Ambulance presence were scarce. I recalled only seeing 1 along the way, ie near the clock tower. I saw 2 guys grimacing in pain due to the cramps. The only way the St john Ambulance people could help was to provide a towel as cold compress and a pail of water ! They did not even have the simple muscle ache spray ! Gosh.. luckily I carried with me to last me through the run.. So, Yoko Yoko – never run without it.. My new tagline.. LOL !

The drink station locations : 5^th km @ Lembah Permai, right after the Vale of Temp winding roads, 10^th KM right after Tanjung Bungah Hotel, 15^th KM @ tail end of Gurney, 20^th KM @ half way of Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, 24^th KM @ Jalan Sepoy Line

The medal - 2011 (L) vs 2010's (R)

March & April 2011 Races

So I have signed up for 4 races in Mar & April to kick-start 2011 runs :-)

1. Larian Perpaduan on Mar 20th, 6km..

2. Malakoff Penang 26KM on March 27th, 26km..

3. Energizer Night Race on April 16th, 21km..

4. Bidor Half-Marathon on April 24th.. but I will only run 10km.. Too hilly at Bidor, no way I
can complete a 21km !! My maiden run @ Bidor, so we shall see..

Malakoff Penang 26km on Mar 27

LATEST NEWS!

MALAKOFF 26km, Penang on 27 March 2011 will be the perfect destination for those looking to peak at upcoming marathons this 2011. Look out for Online Registration coming soon!

Remember to keep your running diary free for MALAKOFF 12km, Kuala Lumpur on 18 December 2011 to keep running blues at bay before the parties and holidays at the year end.

http://www.malakoffrun.com.my/v10/