Finally I was able to go for this race. In 2008 I missed it becoz I only got to know about the race AFTER it was over.. then last year I was in Sabah (or Sarawak) for a meeting, so I couldn't enter. Anyway, there was nothing much about this race, just that it was organized by a magazine I read & the goodie bag was better than most other races. Actually the goodie bag was enuff motivation for most ppl to enter. This year it was held in Putrajaya again, at nite & the distance was 12.3km. Well, under normal circumstances tht wouldn't really trouble me. The distance I mean.
I wasn't in a really good form before the race. I haven't had any long distance training since the end of PSP & PSKK, I was focusing much on weights & short sprints. So I was carrying a bigger than normal bulk in my body, result of all those weight work at the gym. The only real distance training was about 3 days before the race, where I ran a 10.3km midtempo. I even had to skip my normal pre-race tune up (testing the shoes & all) becoz I didn't have time. So running it was just a gamble & I'd planned to take it easy, it was to be my last race before puasa anyway.
I'd planned to meet up with Azam before the race. I went there quite early with my wife & we parked next to BPP as I wanted to be as close as possible to the start, becoz I'ma have to perform the Maghrib prayers just 30 mins before the start. I did my prayers near the lobby of KPDNKK, & by doing that I had plenty of time to get to the start. I couldn't find Azam, so I just walked to the start while doing some warm-ups. Suddenly he appeared out of nowhere. I told him since I wasn't really prepared to race, he could just drop me if I was going too slow or whatever. He had a new shoes on, the Kswiss, & he wasn't feeling comfy with the shoes.
So, how did the race went for me ? Better than expected. I was able to run at my target pace (5:30-6:30) thruout, & even faster in some sections. I was feeling surprisingly good. I even managed to run a faster second 5K, & at the end I finished the race with an average pace of 5:57. This year I ran faster only at the Larian Bomba. I was able to accelerate after the 1st 5K, so I was happy with that. & I didn't really feel heavy at all.
I lost Azam after the 1st water station, near PICC. Afterwards he told me he was having probs with his shoes. Well, I told him at the start he shudn't race with new shoes. He finished 3 mins down, a 1:16. I placed 329 out of some 1300 runners, so I managed to stay within the top 30% in every race so far, which is good. The medals was only for the top 75 runners, the only minus point of this race actually. There was also lotsa complaints from the road users due to inefficient road closure. U could hear ppl arguing with traffic police at almost every junction. Funny, since it wasn't the 1st time Putrajaya was having a nite race. Well, U can't really pls everybody.
European Athletics Championship
Last week I was going to bed late to catch the European Athletics Championships. I didn't really watch every event, since the live shows was like from midnite to 4.00 am. I was focusing much on the field event of course, javelin, other throwing & jumping events. On the last day, on Monday morning I stayed up to catch Blanka Vlasic in action. Unfortunately, since it was the last day of the championships, they didn't really focus on the women's high jump. Rather they showed it in segments. But the much anticipated duel between Blanka & Arianne Friedrich, her German rival didn't materialize. Arianne was only able to put pressure on Blanka until the 2.01 mark. Even she had to take 3 attempts to clear that height. Blanka only took 2 attempts & she cleared 2.03m in 2 as well, which turned out to be the winning height. I thought she was going to attempt to break the world record, 2.09m. But she wasn't feeling good, so I guess it was good to stop while Ur leading. Nevertheless I went to bed at 4.00am & was late for work.
The javelin event was a couple of days earlier. Andreas Thorkildsen was the favorite, but he had problems clearing the qualification minimum of 70m. So everybody thought he would have some problems.
In the final the German World Junior Champion De Zordo was bettering Thor's mark at every throw until the 3rd attempt. Even Tero Pitkamaki only came to life after the 4th attempt. But Thor was just amazing. The way he threw the spear.. I mean javelin... was so relaxed U'd wonder where he got the power to throw that thing over 80m. The effort wasn't visible at all... not in the run-in, not in the shuffle.. I guess it was the powerful arm, core & shoulder.
Pitkamaki's style was a stark contrast to Thor's. He would fell off just before the foul line after the release.. in the 3rd attempt he fouled. U could really see the effort. Well, it was only good enuff for the bronze. I guess he's got some ways off now that De Zordo has emerged as the new force in pro javelin.
Other events, well, Lemaitre won both sprints plus the 4x100, although he wasn't the reason France won it. The Italians almost won it as they were leading in the final leg, but Mbanjock's fighting spirit was just incredible. He didn't give up at all.
All said, in the track events, I'd say the Europeans have beginning to show signs of catching up to their African (long & middle distance) & American (sprints) counterparts. But they still got some ways to go... Lemaitre for example, was way behind in most Diamond League meetings. No question about their authority in field events though...
Now.. to the weekend's Diamond League Final in London...
Livestrong.
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