Race review: NBOS Run & Ride 11K

SCKLM on the 7th of August was the start of 4 races that I'ma do in 3 weeks, the 1st time I'm doing this kinda thing. Not that it was planned or I did it on purpose though. This week's NBOS Run & Ride 11K was sponsored by Persatuan Pegawai Tadbir dan Diplomatik (PPTD) for our group of runners. They paid for our fees & tshirts. I didn't plan to go, but since it was free & it was only 11K, what the heck!

I was still recovering from SCKLM, so on Monday after SCKLM I took a day's leave & went for a recovery run in the morning. Then the day after I did 30 mins tempo. I've decided to use my Newton Tri racer for all short distance races, so I trained in that shoes. On Thursday I was supposed to do short intervals, but I guess I was just too tired & decided to take the day off. 

Racepack collection

Becoz of the separate arrangements that PPTD had with the organizers, we were able to collect the racekit in Putrajaya instead of having to go to Cheras the week before. I went to Menara KBS at about noon to collect my racekit. There was about 100 people that was registered under the PPTD flag for this race. I collected the racekit for one of my friends as well. Becoz the event was free for us, we didn't get anything else besides the bib, tshirt & the obligatory Brooks discount voucher. That is to be expected. I decided to wear the Adidas vest that I got from SCKLM last week, the color matches the event tshirt nicely. There was electronic timing, which was nice for an event like this. 

After collecting the racekit I went to PICC to have a look at the race venue. Quite a number of us was quite worried becoz if the race start is at the PICC, then there's gonna be quite a hill to climb! Well, when I got to PICC I saw some setting up work was being done just before the guard house leading up to the climb up PICC. Well then, we still had to climb to get to the finish (the start will be downhill), but it wasn't really that bad. I updated the PPTD Runners group & everybody was relieved. 

Start line

The flag off was at 7:10, so I decided to leave home after my Subuh prayers. There was still not many people when I got there. I did my usual warm up & headed to the start line. As this event mixes run & ride, the runners will be flagged off first. There was only 2 categories, the 11K & the 5K fun run. There wasn't that many participants as it turned out to be, there was less than 1000 runners. They even had to rope in the PTD cadets from Intan to make up the numbers. Maybe becoz this event clashed with quite a number of other events as well. 

The race

I made my way to the start line & managed to squeeze in quite close to the start line. The sun was already shining when we were flagged off. It was a downhill start so everybody started fast, obviously. I made my way to the front group. My target for this race was to get a sub-hour timing. I've raced through this course quite a number of times already this year, so I knew the spots where I can push & where to hold pace. We had to make a turn-around at about KM6 & stitches hit me hard again just before the turn-around. Again I had to stop awhile to make it go away. As this is a short event, I didn't bring any water with me. 

After turning around I felt okay & began to push the pace up again. As we got to the final kilometers I saw my friend Jeff on the other side of the road, I was about 20 secs behind him. He was quite a fast runner so I thought I had a shot at top 10. The finish was of course up the hill we went down at the start earlier. A lot of people was walking up the hill & it was pretty crowded with the fun runners. I stopped the clock at 1:00:09, a PB for 11K actually. & later I learned that I got the 12th spot for the veteran category, missed the prize money by about 2 minutes and 22 secs. 

Post race

After changing to dry clothes I went around looking for my friends. As this is a government-organized event, a lot of my friends took part, some were running for the 1st time. It was good atmosphere. 

Lessons learned

Again I was hit with stitches. I don't really know how it happened, but I was running pretty fast. Stopping becoz of the stitches had probably caused my a few seconds. 

Ratings

Route (Challenging, unique) : 3.5/5

Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 4/5 

Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 3.5/5 

Goodie bag (Content) : 3.5/5

Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5 

Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5 (really, really big medal)

My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 4/5 

Livestrong, run stronger.

Race review : Standard Chartered KL Marathon HM

Every year, I focus on 2 races : the SCKLM & Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM). Why? Becoz these 2 races are the only AIMS-certified race course in Malaysia. Plus these are the biggest races in the country, with a minimum of 35000 participants in all category. Since this year I'm gonna do full marathon in Penang, SCKLM becomes my main focus for half marathon distance. I've been training for this race since Ramadhan & I've had 2 prep races before the SCKLM, the TM 21km & Reachout run 15km. My performances in those races suggested that I was on the right track to break my PB during the SCKLM. 

Race build-up

Reachout run was on the 24th of July. After that race I began tapering for SCKLM. The timing of both prep races means that I was able to do a full 2 weeks of tapering, something that I wasn't able to do in the past. I was quite worried becoz my recovery period after TM & Reachout was longer than usual & I had to do recovery runs the day after those races. But I guess it was for the better, as I was feeling fresh after that. The recovery runs really helped. I was also clocking pretty good times at both races (2:05 for TM & 1:28 for Reachout). I ran both races at about 30-60 secs off my target race pace. 

I was also quite happy with my running technique. I've taken into account my previous injuries & decided to run with shorter strides, with more backlift, something like the POSE method. & I've been running injury-free since I recovered from my last injury at Larian Bomba. With the new technique, I was more relaxed but I was able to run at the same speed or slightly faster than with my previous style. With this new technique there was less stress on my calf, but my hamstring got worked a bit more than usual, becoz of the backlift. & I was able to keep my cadence high, around 90 spm.  

In the week before SCKLM, I scaled down my training even further & made sure I went to bed early every night to ensure that I've got enuff rest. I also keep myself hydrated & eat enuff carbo. I think this is the best race build-up I've ever had for any race that I've prepared for. 

Racepack collection

The nicest vest I've ever received from an REPC so far

Left: 2016 battery. Right : 2015 battery

If there was one thing I dun like about SCKLM this year it's the REPC location. For years the REPC was at the Dataran Merdeka, along with the Run Expo. But this year, for whatever reason, they moved it to Kenanga Wholesale City, one of the last places I would go in KL. At first I was positive about the location, & since Imran's birthday is on Sunday as well, I decided to go there with my family. Bad decision. It seemed like everybody was collecting their racekits on Saturday & the traffic was unbelievable. It took me 90 mins to get there. 

Once we got there, there was congestion at the elevators as well. The REPC was at their exhibition hall, accessible only through elevators or stairs. But since there was so many people, it was so slow getting there. 

The racekit itself was standard SCKLM. A drawstring bag, the bib, vouchers & Salonpas sampler kit. There was also batteries from GP, they've been giving out these batteries since 2013 I think. & then the Adidas vest. This year's vest was simply the best event vest I've ever got. Almost like a race vest. I wouldn't hesitate to race in them. & the sizing was spot on, at least for me. Kudos to Adidas.

The Run Expo was the usual feast of running equipment & also sponsor goodies. The biggest booths of course are main sponsors' booth : Standard Chartered & Adidas. Standard Chartered gave away free running pouch for those who applied for their credit card & savings account. Adidas also had special offer on the official SCKLM merchandise. I bought the running tee + cap for RM99, quite a bargain. 

I spend quite sometime going through the booths, but I didn't buy anything else other than the Adidas products. Wasn't really looking for anything anyway. There was Hoka shoes on sale, but the offer wasn't attractive enough for me. Plus, after trying out Hoka Tracer, I think I'd go for the NB Fresh Foam Boracay for my marathon shoes. 

Prepped my stuff early

My standard race uniform

Start line

I registered for a start in the front pen, pen 2 to be exact. Pen 2 is for runners who's targeted finish time is 2 hours & below. The start is at 5:30am. So I prepped my stuff early the day before & went to bed by 10pm. I wanted to be at the start by 4:45am at the latest, so I left home at around 4am. 

When I got to Dataran the roads were already closed, but I managed to sneak to my usual parking spots for races that starts at Dataran Merdeka. I managed to do a full warm up, along with a couple of other runners. So after I was done with my warm ups, I changed into my race uniform & headed for the start with about 5 mins to spare. Pen 2 is pretty close to the start line, so that gives me the opportunity to start with the fast runners. 

The race

This is the 1st time I run the new route, which they started using since 2014. I didn't take part that year due to injury & last year the race was cancelled due to the haze. As I ran the 1st couple of kms I glanced at my Polar & I was surprised to see the pace at around 4:30. Surprised becoz I was feeling good. That's the advantage of starting with a fast group I guess. My race plan was to race an even 55mins for both 10Ks. For half marathons, I usually split my race into 3 parts, the 1st & 2nd 10K & the last 1.2 km. 2 55-min 10Ks will give me a 20K time of 1 hour 50 mins, & I have another 10 mins to run the last 1.2K, which shud be no problem for me. Of course, to break my PB of 1:58 I'd have to run faster than that. 

I managed to maintain a high tempo for the 1st part & at 10km my time was 55 mins; right on target. Just before the water station at 12km I had to pause to tie my shoelace. My shoelace wud give me more problems later as my shoes became wet. I took my gel at 12km continued to press on. My shoelaces kept coming undone another 3 times & I began to get annoyed by that. 

We had to run about 5km on AKLEH & that was when I had the most problems. The course went up & down & I had some problems dealing with that. I tried to up the pace on the descent & limit my losses during the ascent. 

At KM15 I started to suffer from stitches. I managed to shake it off at first but it came back with a vengeance at KM18. To make matters worse, I can't seem to get hold of isotonic drinks at the water stations. I had hoped that isotonic drinks could help with the stitches. Finally I had to stop at KM18 as the stitches got so bad I couldn't breathe. After taking deep breaths & drinking some water, it went away & immediately upped as I knew there was still time to achieve a sub-2hr time. The last 500m felt so long, probably the longest 500m in any race I've been to. At about 200m out I saw the official clock already showing 2:00:00, but I sprinted anyway. I crossed the line at 2:01:00. 

Post race

My official net finishing time was 2:00:36.54. I missed getting sub-2hr time by 37 secs. If I add up the time I had to stop to tie my shoelaces & recovering from the stitches, I could've clocked 1:55-1:56 thus breaking my PB. I'd thought that the course was slightly longer & my Polar registered a distance of 21.46km. For a race that is AIMS-certified, I certainly didn't expect that to happen. Not that I'm blaming the over-distanced course. 2 hour flat was still a pretty good performance. The only other time I managed a 2-hour flat was in Penang in 2013. That year I clocked 2:00:33, with an average pace of 5:41. So I guess this is my 3rd fastest time ever for a HM. 

Lessons learned

Starting with a fast group can be advantageous. I was really grateful I started with Pen 2. Becoz everybody in the group started equally fast, I was able to settle into a rhythm from very early on. That helped me with the pacing.

Stitches are real. I really can't think how I got those. Becoz I've never really had to worry about stitches before. But it can happen to even the most trained athletes. I guess the best way is to learn how to deal with it. & dun panic. 

I can only get better. I went into this race without knowing what to expect, really. There's been a lots of firsts this year. I had to change my training, my stride, running style. & to top it all off, I turned 40 this year. I'm not quite sure how age affected my performance, but so far, I feel the effects only on shorter distance races, like 10K. It's true that distance runners get better with age. 

Ratings

Route (Challenging, unique) : 4.5/5

Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 4.5/5 

Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 4.5/5 

Goodie bag (Content) : 4/5 (same old contents)

Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 5/5 (one of the best, if not THE best)

Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5

My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 4/5 

Livestrong, run stronger.

Race review : TM Fan Run 2016 21km & Reach Out run 15km

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, maaf zahir & batin!!!

Alhamdulillah, looks like I managed to make it through the 1st 2 weeks of the festive season without much impact on my physique & performance. In fact, my body weight has been lower than during the fasting month! I've started training during the 3rd raya, & managed to do 3 training sessions in my wife's hometown of Kg Amer. So all is well. Bcoz of the lateness of these race reviews, I'll put reviews for both TM Fan Run & Reach Out run in this posting.

TM FAN RUN 21K

My first race, 10 days after raya is 21km. Usually I will stay away from this kinda distance, this early after raya. Why? Bcoz normally fasting month is my rest period. Well, as I've stated in my previous post, this year's Ramadhan was different. But alhamdulillah, although I continued training at normal intensity, I didn't miss my terawikh & managed to khatam my recital of Al-Quran. 

I had to collect the racekit at TM's office in Bangsar. The racekit itself was very plain, with just the tshirt & the bib. The tshirt design itself was pretty much the same as previous years, I've ran this race since 2012. Well, it's not like I'm gonna wear it in the race anyway...

My performance

I've always planned to treat this race as training. I was pretty late to the line as me & a bunch of other runners did our solat Subuh which was just 15 mins from the designated start time of 6:00 am. I took it real easy in the 1st 12 km or so & my plan was to do tempo in the last 9km. 

So after I got to the water station at KM12, had my gel, I began to press a bit harder. Shortly after that the course became crowded with the slower 10K runners, so I had to run in the outside lane. 

I couldn't really push the speed up & by the time we hit the bridge before Galeria I was already in trouble. So much trouble in fact that I had to stop to catch my breath. This is not normal for me, to stop in a race. After a short breather I continued running & hit the line in 2:06, good enuff for no 66 in my category. 

This race showed that I've yet to hit my form period. I still have problems holding pace faster than 5:40 for longer than 5km. The course was also a bit under distance at 20..8km. Nevertheless, 2:06 was a pretty good time, given the way I ran. There's another race in a week's time, the 15km Reach Out Run & after that I'll begin my tapering period. 

Ratings

Route (Challenging, unique) : 4/5

Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 3.5/5

Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 4/5

Goodie bag (Content) : 3/5

Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 3/5

Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5

My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 4/5 


REACH OUT RUN 15K

The reason I went for this event was that I missed the registration for Newton's 30K. But come to think of it, it was probably a good thing bcoz I dun think I can recover on time for SCKLM had I ran 30K just 2 weeks prior. 

The racekit collection was at IM4U Sentral in Puchong. It used to be known as 3R complex & way before that there was a football field & a hindu temple at the site. I was quite impressed with the facilities at this place, there was even a hostel & quite a number of indoor courts. But the place was very quiet. Quite a waste really. With the new LRT station just next to it, this could really be a focal point for youth activities it was meant to be. 



I was quite disappointed with the quality of the race tshirt. Well, first of all, I dun think the tshirt was even a genuine New Balance tshirt. I know how a genuine NB tshirt looks like & this is not it. I know that with a fee of RM50, I can't really expect much, but I've been to cheaper races that gave out better quality tshirts. Better still, just take out the NB stamp from it & it would be just fine. 

Since this is just a 15K race (which will be my last prep race before SCKLM), I decided to wear my other Mizuno vest, bcoz it matches my shoes. For shorter races, I can go with just about any vests. 

My performance

It rained before the race. & it was still raining when I got to the start. I did my warm ups on the corridors for Perbadanan Putrajaya building. & I decided to put my arm sleeves on, a decision that I will regret later. 

There wasn't that many people at the race, probably bcoz there was 3-4 other races on the same date. But there was a problem before I even started running: my Polar wasn't working. I had some problems syncing it the day before, it got mixed up with my friend's Polar which I was helping to setup. My sports profile didn't show up. Even the default running profile was missing! That cost me some time. I just settled for elapsed time recording & it couldn't even do that! The GPS didn't work either. So I had to rely on the official timing. 

I started off the back & settled into a pretty fast rhythm. The wet road was quite slippery & my Hitogami 2 was struggling to find some traction. Bcoz of the problems with my Polar, I didn't know exactly how fast I was running. But I knew I couldn't get near 1:25. The course was similar to TM's run, only shorter. The rain had stopped, but it was still quite cold. 

At the end, my time was 1:28:55, good enuff for no 26. None of my splits was registered, I was really running blindly. & to make it worse, I suffered quite a bad burn on my ribs bcoz of my arm warmers. On a positive note, I was able to hold a faster pace for longer & I was focusing on my backlift. I was really grateful that my decision to revert to shorter strides has yield excellent results & I was able to run injury-free.

Ratings

Route (Challenging, unique) : 4/5

Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 3.5/5

Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 4/5

Goodie bag (Content) : 3/5

Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 2/5

Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5

My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 4/5

Livestrong, run stronger.

Ramadhan 2016

Ramadhan Kareem !!!

Alhamdulillah, aku masih diberikan peluang untuk menyambut bulan yang mulia ini pada tahun ni. Disebabkan bulan posa, aku nk tulis entry kali ni dalam bahasa Melayu lah. Seperti yang aku penah mention sebelum2 ni, ramadhan kali ini mmg akan berbeza sikit daripada ramadhan2 yang sebelum ni, dari segi aktiviti fizikal aku & training lah khususnya. Sebabnya, semua race besar2 dan race2 yang aku target hampir semuanya lepas raya. Raya kali ni jugak akan agak mencabar lh, sebab kalu aku tak kontrol betul2, habis lh segala training teruk2 yang aku buat masa bulan posa ni. 

Training di bulan posa

Training dalam bulan posa bkn lh sesuatu yg baru bg aku. Sejak aku kayuh dulu, mmg setiap kali bulan posa pon aku akan teruskan dgn training. Cumanya, biasanya aku akan scale-down intensity training masa bulan posa ni. Mana lh larat nk buat training cam hari biasa kan. Bulan posa biasanya adalah bulan aku rest, buat light, easy runs. Kalu pegi gym pon akan buat light, full body workouts untuk maintain jer. & ada pendapat mengatakan yang buat weight training dalam bulan posa sebenarnya adalah counter-productive, maknanya lebih mendatangkan keburukan daripada kebaikan. Sebabnya, bila muscle kita dikerah tanpa ada protein tambahan untuk support, muscle kita akan kehilangan saiz & jisimnya..maknanya akan jadi kecik lh.

So untuk mengelakkan menda ni berlaku, aku training malam, lepas settle terawikh. Begitu jugak dgn interval training yg teruk & LSDs, aku buat malam. Tp training malam ni, cabarannya ialah pada mental lh. Lps pukul 10 tu mata ni mmg ssh nak bukak. Mental kna kuat. & aku dh try buat interval masa sebelum buka..mmg seksa. So, utk compensate, kena kurgkn sikit jumlah reps & pjgkn masa recovery tu. Kalu biasa 1km x 6 reps, rest 90 saat, bulan posa ni buat 1km x 4, rest 2 minit stengah. Intensity interval tu maintain. & sbb bulan posa ni aku hanya bole g gym 2 kali je, aku kena buat 3 body part per session. Aku br buat 1st workout kelmarin...pengsan wooo...

Makanan buka

Bulan posa ni biasanya mmg wife aku x masak makanan untuk buka. Hari biasa pon dia jarang masak sebenarnya, tp aku yang x bagi, bukan dia tak nak masak. So untuk juadah berbuka, bazar ramadhan lh tempatnya. Bazar ramadhan (atau baram) Putrajaya thn ni adalah di tempat parking Palace of Justice. Makanan wajib untuk kami sekeluarga masa buka ye lh martabak. Martabak pilihan thn ni ye lh martabak Keramat. Sedap, RM3 je sekeping. 2 keping je dh cukup utk aku dgn wife. Pastu biasa ade kuih manis sejenis & kuih pedas sejenis. Thn ni kuih akok nampaknya naik harga dasat gak. Thn lepas 40 sen je satu..thn ni 70 sen. Saiz sama je. Sedap belum tentu.

Minggu pertama biasanya aku akan beli dari tempat2 berbeza untuk test yg mana sedap. Masuk minggu kedua da xde test2 da, aku boleh straight tuju ke gerai yang berkenaan lh. Sejak 2 tahun lepas aku da start bawak bekas sendrik untuk isi makanan yang aku beli, go green katanya. Menda simple je, tp kalu suma org boleh buat, bape banyak plastik, bekas polisterin & kertas yang kita da bole jimatkan. & ade gerai yang bg aku diskaun lg sbb aku bwk bekas sendrik. 

Biasa aku mmg pegi baram da lewat, sbb aku training dulu seblom tu. So biasanya xyah nak beratur2 lh. Tp martabak Keramat ni, pegi kol 6:30 pon still kena beratur. Rezeki diorg lh. 

Race lepas raya

Race yang pertama lepas raya ni ye lh TM Fan Run, dlm 10 hari je lps raya. Bagusnye timing diorg. Aku lari HM lh. Tp bgs gak, sbb Standard Chartered KL Marathon, race target aku ye lh pada 7/8 (birthday Imran), exactly sebulan lps raya. So aku akan ade 2 race utk prepare utk SCKLM, satu lg Reach out run (15km). Lepas raya ni sampai hujung thn aku ade 12 race, menjadikan total race utk thn ni 21, paling byk sejak aku start masuk2 race ni. Daripada 12 tu, 6 HM, 1 FM. Yg lain2 tu 15km atau kurang lh. Kalu seblom posa aritu suma race short distances, lps raya ni kita balik ke asal lh. & aku akan buat FM aku yg 1st kat Penang, insha Allah. 

Isu aku skg kasut. Aku start 2016 dgn 3 pasang kasut yg masih bole dipakai, skg 2 da hampir tahap lunyai. Kasut race aku skg da jadi kasut training. Newton Tri Racer yg aku beli aritu mmg xleh lh untuk race2 lebih dari 12km. Seblom SCKLM nnt aku rasa cam kena beli kasut lagi, most likely Mizuno gak. Utk FM nnt pon aku nk kena beli sepasang lagi, sbb Mizuno Wave Hitogami aku ni xleh nk bwk ke FM, x cukup cushioning. Utk HM mmg oke lh. Aku cadang nk try Hoka One One Tracer atau NB Fresh Foam Zante. Tgk lh nnt caner...tgk keadaan kewangan..

Selamat berpuasa. 

Livestrong, run stronger. 

  

Race review : Larian Bersama Bomba

The pic above was from my 1st ever Larian Bomba back in 2009. That race was the 1st event I did when I decided to go competitive. & for that reason, Larian Bomba was always in my list of must-do races every year. I only missed this race twice in 7 years, once becoz it clashed with Pesta Sukan Treasury, & last year when I completely missed the registration date.

Unfortunately, this year's event was my worst ever experience since I took up running. My calf got injured again & I only managed to run half the distance. I walked the rest of the way, with a swollen right calf & as a result I crossed the finish line after the cut off time, the first time I failed to finish a race within the cut off time. & of coz with that, no medal for me this year. I was so embarrassed that it took me 12 days to write this entry.

Racepack collection

Larian Bomba is unique becoz of a few things. The fee is the cheapest for a 10K (well, 10.8 actually) event : RM30. U can register at any firestation or U can register directly at Bomba's KL HQ in Jln Hang Tuah. I dunno of any other races in recent memory which offers on-site registration. U can even select the tshirt color & size on the spot. Even though the tshirt is just a normal cotton shirt, basically U get what U pay for. 

At RM30 of coz we couldn't expect a goodie bag of any sort. & after registering U will get something U will never see at any other races : a reporting card. This is perhaps the only event where this card is still used. What's it for? Well, to report Ur presence at the start line of coz!  

Pre-race


I didn't get to do a pre-race run bcoz of the weather. I only managed to do a short 20 minute tempo on the treadmill the day before the race. I felt okay at that time, although my calf felt a bit tight afterwards. I tried to shake it off with stretching & foam rolling. & I decided to use my Newtons again for this race.  

Start line

The 10km flag off was at 7:30am, very, very late by today's standards. So I went to the start line after Subuh prayers. I got to the start pretty early & did my usual warm-up. As soon as I began my warm-up I learned that the tightness in my calf didn't go away. I began to worry & did a longer stretching than usual. I went inside the start area & met my LYNR friends, Jimmy & YK. I went out again & did more warm up, trying to shake the tightness off.  

The race

By the time I hit the 1st climb, which was about 2km from the start, I knew I was in trouble already. I felt really heavy. & right at that 1st climb my right calf twitched, it was almost as if the calf muscle shifted sideways. But I kept on running & when the road went downhill shortly after, I tried to stretch it off. Going downhill seemed to help a bit. But at 5km my calf twitched again & this time I couldn't run. I tried to get down to do the calf stretch, but I couldn't bend my knees becoz the calf was super-tight. I knew then that my race was over.  

I couldn't even do a light-jog becoz the calf was swollen to almost twice the size. So I just walked the rest of the way. 

It was an unreal experience, being at the back end of the field. A lot of runners who went pass me gave me words of encouragement, I thanked them for that. I saw that the mid-pack & tail-end runners offers more support to others than the front runners would. It was an eye-opening experience. 

Post race

I hit the finish line in 1:34:17. I didn't even make the cut-off time! A lot of firsts in this race, none of them good ones. I was off the road for 16 days due to this injury. Now I'm back on the road again, I hope I can avoid getting injured again, becoz there's gonna be a lot of good races after raya. 

Ratings

Route (Challenging, unique) : 4/5

Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 3/5 

Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 3/5 (only 2 water stations instead of the promised 3)

Goodie bag (Content) : None

Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 1/5

Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : Dunno. Didn't get any...

My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 0/5 

Livestrong, run stronger.

Race review : Compressport Road 12km

I was not keen to join this run at first. Why? Becoz of the very high fees (RM89 for 12km). I know that the high fees comes with a free sock (worth RM89), but then again, I think there should be an option for runners who don't want the free socks. I've got tons of socks & I guess I just don't need another one, no matter what brand. 

But Rudy was selling his bib (again) & I told him I just want the bib & I'll pass the rest of the racekit to him. We agreed on a price, so I guess I'm running this race after all. Compressport is another of those compression wear brands, from Switzerland. Perhaps that was why their products are very, very expensive. They focus on the triathlon market. Their running shirt was often used by Mynic in their runs like Sehati Sejiwa & MyBuddies run. This year Mynic's gonna use Compressport again.

Racepack collection

The racepack collection was at DPulze Cyberjaya. After receiving the confirmation email from Rudy, I went to collect the kit on Friday. 1st of all I was quite surprised to see there was no timing chip on the bib. For a race this expensive, the absence of a timing chip is quite puzzling. If it was just some run by a charity organization then maybe we can accept. But this is a running event organized by runners & sponsored by a running product! I'm quite sure a lot of runners would agree with me.

We were given a Compressport string bag, the running vest & the socks. After seeing the goodies, I've to say that it was quite impressive. & I was already telling Rudy that I wanted to keep the whole kit! It turned out that the vest fits me although it was a size S! Not for running though, maybe for weight training. 

The socks is pretty similar to Nike's run socks, but it was thicker. I tried it on during my tempo run on Friday & I liked it!. It matches my Newton Triracer, the shoes I was gonna use for this race. 

Pre-race

This week I was already starting the heavy phase of my weight training. This phase, while the exercise is the same as my endurance phase, takes more time becoz of the heavy weights used & I don't do it in supersets. Each session takes about 90 mins including warm up. So this week I was pretty tired. & I had to do a session on Saturday, the day before the race. 

I decided to use Newton Triracer for this race, the 1st time I'ma use this shoes for racing. I'd intended to use the shoes as my short distance race shoes (12km or less). I'd wanted to use it during the 100 Plus last week, but I guess 15km is a bit too much for this shoes. & to compliment the color of the shoes, I decided to use my green Mizuno vest. Mean, green machine... 

Start line

The 12km flag off was at 7:10am, quite late. So I went to the start line after Subuh prayers. I got to the start at 6:35 & I did my usual warm-up. I felt pretty heavy during the warm-up, I guess I was still pretty tired from yesterday's weight training. My right leg also was pretty sore. My target for this race was to clock sub-hour. But I guess with the way I felt, matching my PB of 1:05 would be good enough. I've studied the course & there's a long climb just 2km from the finish, right in front of MCMC's office.  

The race

Flag off was right on time. The first 3km was downhill & I settled into a pretty fast tempo of 5:05. The 1st 5K was done in 26 mins, I was quite disappointed. I had targeted 25 mins. That means I had to push it up a bit in the 2nd 5K, if I were to achieve my target. But after the 2nd water station (6K) it was rolling up & down with 1 pretty difficult climb. I did the 2nd 5K in 27 mins. 

By now I knew I can't get a sub-hour finish. So I just pushed as hard as I can, even on the long climb behind Shaftsbury Square. I did the last 2.2km in 5:13 average. Faster than my 1st 5K pace, but it wasn't enuff. I finished in 1:05:33 with an average pace of 5:22. Faster than my Natura Run. But this time I was prepared for a 12km race. I had this thought of not pushing hard enuff during the race. I guess I was just too careful in the 2nd 5km. My tempo was okay, but I was afraid to push. I've got to address this in training. I can't be afraid in racing. Being afraid shows that I didn't know my limits. My the kind of experience I had, this can't be the case. 

I was too occupied in finding a rhythm, forgetting to push harder in later stages of the race. For 3-4 races already, I can't seem to break 25 mins for 5K. I dunno why. Maybe my speedwork needs to be faster. The way I was holding the pace, it was as if I was running 21K, instead of whatever distance I was racing. 10,12 or 15K should be faster than this. Although I was doing PB in those distances, I'm not happy. 

Post race

There was so much goodies handed to runners at the finish line, my hands were full!. We were given a bottle of water, a bottle of Lucozade, coconut water, choice of nasi lemak or bun (I took the nasi lemak) & best of all: ice-cream cones! It was like shopping at a mini market!

I met my friends from RTM, who finished earlier than I did. Then I went to change my clothes & went back to the start & found Cikgu Syed Syco. I sat down & chat with him for quite a while. He was running after a long lay off due to a back injury. 

My next race is gonna be the Larian Bomba. This is a compulsory event for me, annually. & this year I'ma run as veteran. I'ma take it easy next week & hope to be fresh for Larian Bomba. 

Ratings

Route (Challenging, unique) : 5/5

Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 4/5

Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 4/5

Goodie bag (Content) : 5/5

Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 4.5/5

Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5

My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 3.5/5 (new 12K PB)

Livestrong, run stronger.

Race review : 100 Plus Outrunner 15km

It's been 2 weeks since my last race, the RCBB 15K. I've recovered fully from my calf injury, but in the 2-week void in between races I discovered that since I was doing a lot of short speedwork & tempo training, I was lacking the endurance needed for races longer than 12 km. Why? Becoz I wasn't doing any LSD. So I tried to fix it by doing a couple of long runs. I got it fixed somehow. 100Plus was going to be the longest race for me before fasting month & there ain't gonna be any HMs for me before that. 

Racepack collection

Racepack collection was at the location I hate most : OCM building. I really think organizers should move away from this location & always have racepack collection at the race venue itself. We were given a can of 100 Plus with the racepack & it was there that I found out that the start has been moved again. Originally it was at the Palace of Justice. Then they moved it to the Presint 5 airfield. & now it was at the Monumen Alaf Baru. This has become quite a ...let's say habit, of the organizers to keep relocating the race start area. This shouldn't happen, especially for a race that has been announced months ahead. One of the races that suffered from the same fate was the Superheroes Run. The event was supposed to be in the Sunday morning after the 100 Plus, but the organizers kept changing the start until at the very last moment, it was postponed. There was an uproar of course. Organizers should be more accountable. Thousands of people have planned their run with friends, arranged for accomodations & to simply postpone an event like this, totally unacceptable. 

Pre-race

Becoz this race was on a Saturday night (16/4), I couldn't do a pre-race run in the morning. I did weight training on Friday, so I decided to just take a rest on Saturday morning. A night race presents it own challenges, the most important thing is timing your meals. This is my 1st night race after quite sometime..I can't remember when was the last time I even train at night! It was that long ago. I delayed my lunch quite a bit & about 3 hours before that start I took a nap. I decided not to take my fuel belt, so I stuffed my gel into a very small Adidas arm wallet I got a long while ago, along with my car keys. 

Start line

I decided to go to the start a bit early, since I had to drive becoz my bike had some problems. I parked about 700-800m from the start village, in front of the old pasar tani location. There was some concern of rain, but my friend told me that the rain had stopped. Once I park my car I went searching for a place to take my wudhu'. In doing this, I realized that there was no public toilet along the Persiaran Perdana, apart from the one right in front of Palace of Justice. & to make things worse, none of the government offices along that stretch allow public to use their facilities. This is something that Perbadanan Putrajaya need to look at. No point complaining now. After I performed my Maghrib prayers, I did my warm up & off to the start. I got to the start soaking wet.. 

The race

The 15km flag off was at 8pm. The flag off was accompanied by a fireworks show, which was something new. Of course, races in Putrajaya almost always uses the same course. Although I've studies the course map quite a number of times, I still got some locations wrong. This is something I need to work on. 

I did the 1st 5K in 26 mins, not the fastest but a solid base. I skipped the 1st water station as usual, as I didn't wanna disrupt my rhythm. I settled into a comfortable tempo & pushed myself so that I can keep up with the main group. Oh, this is my 1st race in the veterans category, so I hoped to achieve something, at least a PB. 

The 2nd 5K was mostly downhill. As usual when I got so focused on the run, I felt like was running in a tunnel. I maintained my tempo & tried to avoid the 10K runners when our route merged somewhere after PICC. The 3rd 5K was the hardest as there was a few uphills & a gradual uphill about 3 km before the finish. I knew this & I also knew the last kilometer was downhill & I did the last kilo in 4:30 pace. I hit the line in a new PB of 1:25. 

Post race

The race was over-distanced by 400m, not something I wanna complain about. Right at the finish the volunteers handed out water & then there was quite a long walk to the food pack, where they gave us fried meehoon & banana. I was actually looking for a toilet!. I went back straight to my car to change, then I headed back to the start village bcoz I wanted to buy the Brooks long tights which was going at 50% off. After I made the purchase I went around looking for a toilet again, but couldn't find any, so I went back to my car. I heard the announcer calling out the winners & the winner for the veterans category actually ran faster than the open category! I realized that I have a long way to go. But I'm getting there, slowly but surely. I finished in 58th in my category.

Ratings

Route (Challenging, unique) : 5/5

Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 4/5

Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 4/5

Goodie bag (Content) : 4/5

Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 4.5/5

Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4.5/5

My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 4.5/5 (new 15K PB)

Livestrong, run stronger.

Race review : RCBB 15km - running on one leg

This is another race in which I bought the bib from Rudy. He recently moved up to the ultra distance, so he was selling all his short-distance races registrations. I've got a couple more bibs from him, for upcoming races in April.

Racepack collection

Racepack collection was at Key Power's Kiara Plaza branch. I went there right after the Makswip track selection & it was our first time there. The racepack was quite generous, providing participants with both vest & finishers-T (for 15km participants). I tried to have the size changed to M from S, but the organizers were having none of it. I tried the vest (Newton) & of course it was too small. So I had to pass it to Rudy then. There was no electronic timing for this race. Other than that there was nothing else in the pack. 

Pre-race

On Tuesday, 5 days before the race I did kilo repeats, I always do intervals on Tuesday. I did 6 reps & on the 5th rep began to experience tightness on the right calf, my vulnerable spot. But I still finished the workout without it becoming worse & I was able to continue with my basketball game afterwards. On Thursday I had to take an emergency leave becoz Imran Haris was having a slight fever. So I went for a run at home, the plan was for an-8km tempo, to prepare for this race. As soon as I start running the right calf started to tighten, but I carried on with my warm up & stretching, hoping for it to go away. But as soon I started the tempo, it became more painful. I stopped running after 4km. 

I've had this injury on my right gastrocnemueus, right at the point where it becomes Achilles tendon. It was a recurring injury & no matter what I do, it just won't go away. This year I've warmed up more diligently, stretching before & after, making sure I stretch that part. Still, it comes back. 

So I took a rest on Friday, no running I mean, but I still went to the gym. After the Thursday session I immediately put ice on the calf & continued right until Saturday. On Saturday evening I tried to run, just to see how it feel & if it's possible for me to even start the race. It still felt painful. After considering other options, I decided to tape the calf & still start the race. 

Start line

As soon as I got up at about 5:15 am on Sunday, I stood up & it was still painful, but tolerable. I went off before the Subuh azan as I wanted to perform my Subuh prayers at the Damansara Petronas, my usual pitstop for a race starting at Padang Merbok. To my surprise, the Petronas have closed down. That's put me in a fix, becoz AFAIK there was no other place from there until Padang Merbok. As soon as I got to the start there was still not that many people around, it was about 6:15 am. Then I saw several pargolas across the road, near the fountain. So I performed my subuh there. 

Right after that I started my warm up. Surprisingly my legs felt runable. Still painful & tight, but tolerable. I took another Hammer Espresso gel right before the start & off I went. 

The race

This course is another new course for me. The thing is, in this part of KL, the Lake Gardens, there was so many course to chose from. This course (for the 15km) runs up to the KL Courts Complex in Jln Duta. I was okay on the flats, but when the road goes up, I had to run with a limp. I can't really put pressure on the right leg as I don't wanna risk aggravating the already fragile leg. I was basically running on one leg. 

Right after the old government office opposite Masjid Wilayah I saw a familiar face running: abg Fuad. He asked my why was I running so slow. I just smiled & said that I was injured. He said no wonder he saw me running with a limp. It was good to see him. 

I was taking the race one water stop at a time. I've told myself if the calf becomes to painful, I would stop at the next water station. At the last water station with less than 4km to go, I was able to put some pressure on the leg. The taping really helped I guess. I hit the line at 1:32, a respectable time, considering I was running on one leg.   

Post race

The race was under-distanced, but not by a lot. & the time I posted was quite surprising. I wonder what kinda time I could've pulled off if I was 100% fit. The organizer did a good job, but traffic management could've been better. There was some confusing route directions, especially after the KL Court Complex coz the racers went back the same way we came in. Other than that, there were both Lucozade & 100 Plus at the water stations, I guess both came from the same distributor.

I received the 2XU finishers-T, & surprisingly the size S tshirt fits me just fine! Sorry Rudy..

They gave us a bottle of Lucozade & Herbal tea at the end, another good thing. One thing that was missing was the Milo van. I limped back to my bike & after a short breather & changed to dry clothes, I went home. 

Ratings

Route (Challenging, unique) : 5/5

Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 4/5

Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 4/5

Goodie bag (Content) : 5/5

Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 4.5/5

Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4.5/5

My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 4.5/5 (considering my injury)

Livestrong, run stronger.