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.

Race review : Road2Marathon 14km

This was a strange race. I almost didn't get to run this race bcoz I had to go for a working trip to Kuching. But in the end my boss decided that I could stay, so that settles it. A couple of weeks before the race the organizer announced that the venue needs to be changed bcoz of the annual Putrajaya Hot Air Balloon Fest. What the heck?! The balloon fest is an annual affair, which means it was planned months before..don't tell me the Perbadanan Putrajaya didn't warn the organizers about the possible clash of events. So the venue was changed to a Rumah PPTD start, the 1st time a race would start there, as far as I can remember. 

Racepack collection

Due to the venue switch, the racepack collection was at Rumah PPTD. Nothing much in the pack, a neon yellow race T & a can of Gorilla vitaminized energy drink. This energy drink tastes like Livita, but carbonated. There wasn't that many people at the venue, despite my coming there at noon. 

Pre-race

2 days before the race I had a very good track session. I did 3x2000m at target race pace, in preparation for the 10,000m event this week. I managed to hold my pace & recovered sufficiently (7 mins), but somehow my Polar screw up the readings & I couldn't analyze the session. I felt good after the training, however, the next day (Friday) I was beginning to feel drowsy. Even when I went to bed the night before the race I wasn't feeling okay. I told myself, I've felt this kinda situation before & decided to go ahead & run. I didn't have a good sleep, waking up almost every 2 hrs, heck, maybe every hour! & my waking heart rate wasn't good, it was in the low 60s, which was high for me. Still, I was determined to go ahead.

I got to the start pretty early & went through my normal warm up routine. I knew there was something not right, I didn't feel comfortable. I took a new gel before the start, Hammer's Espresso gel with 50mg of caffeine. I guess that helped somewhat. I decided to take my fuel belt with a single bottle, bcoz I dun trust the organizers. Also a spare gel, just in case. 

The start line

When I got to the start line, I thought I was in the wrong venue. Bcoz there wasn't that many people there. I didn't feel like a race start..felt more like a family day of a small division. The race atmosphere just wasn't there & the mood of the announcer certainly didn't help at all. In Malay we'd call him "bidan terjun". 

The race

We had to do 2 laps of 7km each. The 1st part was pretty easy bcoz it was all downhill. As expected, race routes in this area would be hilly, no matter which course the organizer takes. There WILL be some climbing involved. So it's the same case here. I've gone through Rumah PPTD area in most races before, but usually towards the end. This is the 1st time I've started the race here. Immediately I was in the front group of about 10-15 runners. & tht's where I'll finish the race. As soon as we hit the 5K mark I was really in trouble. I couldn't get any sort of rhythm going, I didn't have the energy to push. The downhill section after the U-turn for the 2nd lap was a welcomed relief, but still, no rhythm was established. 

Nevertheless I hit the 5K mark at 26mins, faster than Natura Run. The 2nd 5K was 30mins. Still, with all my problems, my 10K was still at under an hour. This was the advantage of running this kinda course, U get to make up for lost time during the downhill sections. This was one of the reasons my 10K PB of 48:30 was clocked in Melawati, a course with similar uphill sections as this. 

There was only 2 water stations in the course. & I didn't have to take my spare gel. I guess the Hammer Espresso gel is my new secret weapon. 

Post race

I was one of the early finishers for 14K I guess, judging from the reception I received. At least the organizer got the distance right, it was 14.08km. They gave me the medal, another can of the Gorilla drink & a banana at the finish. I went straight to my ride, changed to dry clothing, gobbled down the banana & the Gorilla & went straight home. I was feeling really sick. As soon as I got home, I was shivering & breathing heavily. Despite all this, I still managed to clock 1:23:14, a personal best for a 14K race. I was really grateful that nothing bad happened to me during the race. Just to finish in that condition was a miracle I guess. 

Ratings

Route (Challenging, unique) : 4/5

Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 2/5

Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 2/5

Goodie bag (Content) : 3.5/5

Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 3/5

Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 3/5

My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 3.5/5 

Livestrong, run stronger.

Race review : Shamrock Run 2016

There is no prizes being offered for the running event as it is a leisurely running event with friends and family

However there are generous prizes for best-dressed runners which embodies the spirit of the Shamrock and the Irish Malaysian culture

I really can't remember how I missed the statement above in the race's website. I only realized it after I paid & viewed the racepack collection page. Oh well, whatever, nevermind.

Racepack collection

The race was held at Taman Botani Putrajaya. I can't think of other events that used this route or started in there. The racepack was quite okay, with a neon green shirt by 2ndSkins. There was a few supplements sampler from Appeton & the bib. There was no electronic timing, as expected for a non-competitive race. I went to collect my racepack after the Friday prayers & I was the only one there. 

Pre-race

I decided to drive to the start as I'ma have to play in a basketball tournament straightaway after the race. I left home right after the subuh prayers & I got to the start quite early. Early enuff that I can park quite close to the starting point. I didn't think anybody would double park bcoz it was a main road. I was wrong.

I started my warm up & stretching, but I didn't quite feel as light as before. Proly the effects of the previous day's weight session. But I was pretty tired. & I didn't want to push too much to save myself for the basketball games afterwards. I had a couple of Choki2 as breakfast.

Start line

There wasn't that many people at the start & the atmosphere was relaxed. The starting point was at a slight downhill & there was no barrier on the sides. 

The race

As the entire course was ran inside the Taman Botani, the surface was concrete with pebbles sticking out of the surface. That gave us a nice accupuncture treatment...hahah. I decided to use my Wave Hitogami race shoes although I was starting to move back to Newton MV2. & I was glad I made that choice. I would've been in trouble if I'd worn the Newtons. 

We hit our 1st climb at KM4 & what a climb it was! I didn't know there was such climb inside Taman Botani. It was long & gradual. At KM6 there was another long climb & I was really struggling at that time. We would go through another couple of climbs before we get to the finish. I was running off the front as I wanted to finish early so that I could leave early. But the climbs was hard, even for me. There wasn't that much flats as the route was rolling up & down. 

By the time we hit the last climb I knew this race would be under-distance. It was only 8.56km & I hit the line at 49 mins. 

Post race

There was the obligatory Milo van but I decided to skip it bcoz the line was too long. They were handing out Guinness Malta at the end but I didn't take it. I went back to my car only to find out it was blocked. So I had time to change & do my warm down. I tried to relax as much as I can, munching down on the apple they gave right after the finish. 

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) : 3.5/5

Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5

Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 4/5

My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : No rating

Livestrong, run stronger.