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.

A Saturday to remember

When I was in form 4, I went to a boarding school, considered one of the premier boarding school at the time, Maktab Rendah Sains MARA or MRSM in short. There were 11 MRSMs in Malaysia at that time, I went to the one in Jasin, Melaka. Going to a boarding school was some sort of a break from my family for me, as I was somewhat free to play whatever sport I wanted & even play football for my school, something that won't be possible if I'd stayed home. So I played football, ping-pong, sepaktakraw & tennis. I didn't play basketball at that time. 

The alumni of these MRSMs is called Ansara. Ansara is quite an active movement, with regular activities for it's members. This will culminate in an annual dinner. 

Last Saturday there was this sports carnival organized by Ansara. I was asked by one of my friends from Ansara Terendak (also in Melaka), to play basketball for them. As I didn't play basketball when I was in Jasin & it's been quite sometime since I last played tournament basketball, I happily obliged. It was held in German-Malaysian Institute Bangi campus. The only issue was that I had a race that morning, albeit a non-competitive race. My car was blocked by another car & it was a good 20 minutes before the owner came. But luckily I made it before our 1st game. 

 

It was a really, really hot day. & the game was on an outdoor court! We had 4 games to play. My teammates were a lot younger than I was. The atmosphere was festive, right next to the basketball court was the volleyball tournament & a little bit further was the rugby game. Football was played on a different location. For the basketball tourney, only Kuantan had players as old as I was, or maybe much older. I contributed quite a number of points & we won all 4 prelim games & made it to the semis. 

In the semis the team was much younger than us & we were all over the place. In the end we lost by quite a narrow margin. 

Overall it wasn't really that tiring for me, but the heat made it harder. & I was satisfied with the way I played, although there was always room for improvement. I get to taste one of the best burgers from one of the food truck. & I get to meet some old friends, who knew me from my days playing in Sri Hartamas & UKM. I had a great time.

Livestrong, run stronger.

Race review : Natura Run for Hope 2016 10K (?)

It's only February & we've already have the candidate for the worst event of the year!

Actually I wasn't supposed to run this event. I didn't even know there was an event in Putrajaya this week, I did register for the Shamrock 10K next week (27/2). But a friend of mine couldn't run it so she gave me her 10K bib. I agreed to take it as I've no event this week. 

The FB page was filled with negative comments right after the race pack collection started. Apparently there wasn't enuff tshirt & the ones that got theirs found that the size was too small. I went to pick up my friend's bib at the Pusat Akuatik Putrajaya on Friday. I was pretty shocked looking at the race pack. For RM65, there wasn't any electronic timing & the shirt was what runners would call tshirt "cap ayam". They did gave a 50g tube of Voltex cream, some sort of analgesic cream.

Pre-race

I really didn't know this event was a non-competitive event (that explains the lack of timing chip) until when I get to the line this morning. My start was supposed to be at 0645. As subuh is a bit late these days, I decided to go to the start earlier & perform my subuh prayers there. I got to the Pusat Akuatik at about 0620 & I immediately went & performed my subuh prayers. After I finished I was quite puzzled that nobody was at the 15K start which was supposed to be at 0630. Then I heard the announcer called for runners to get to the start for the warm up session. I put my shoes on (Mizuno Wave Hitogami 2nd pair) & proceeded with my warm up. The 15K didn't start until about 0650! I finished my warm up & stretching & changed into my race vest. After the 15K crowd went off I went to the start.

Start line
As this was a 10K event, I didn't take anything before the start. I did have some chocolate cake at home before I went off. I couldn't find anybody I know at the start, proly they did the 15K. 

The race

We were flagged off at about 0710. As there was no electronic timing, I went off running on the kerb, so I started off pretty close to the front. My race plan was to do tempo 5:15-5:45 for the first 5K. I managed to hold a pretty high tempo & with a high cadence of 88-90, I was cruising. Right at the 2nd junction came my 1st confusion of the day. I'd studied the course map & we were supposed to turn left at the PICC, but we were directed to the right side. Well I thought I'd read the map in reverse!

We hit the 2nd 5K at the bridge just before MOT. I was running with a couple of guys. One of them was wearing this "Anonymous Runner" tshirt & he kept on taking selfies very frequently. He was also wearing sandals. I was struggling a bit to up the speed in the 2nd 5K as I'd targeted for a negative split. So I just tried to maintain my rhythm.

As we went down Jambatan Seri Gemilang, we were directed to go into Taman Empangan. I thought we will turn right after the bridge. & with this, I hit 10K just under the bridge. & the distance marker indicated there was still 2km to go! By that time I'd known that the race will be OD (over distance). The sandal guy's GPS went off right after mine & I told him we're gonna be OD. He nodded in agreement & began talking to a Kenyan woman right next to us. Well, I think she's Kenyan... She said she only prepared to run 10K & her body had shut down after that. I couldn't agree more. My legs were really hurting by this time & I was really struggling. Mentally I came for 10K, prepped for a 10K. I was about to bonk. But I managed to hang on & hit the finish in 1:05:17, a new 12K PB. 

Post race
The sandal guy earlier told me that the organier sent emails telling runners about the changes in distance & course. Well, as I was running someone else's bib obviously I didn't get the email. There was nothing on the FB either. I was pretty much spent by the time I finished. They gave the medals, which was quite nice. The Lucozade wasn't a cold one & they only gave out 1 cup, so much for sponsorship. I made a few Milo rounds though. The course was good, really, but I really wished I'd prepped better for the new distance. The 12K PB was just a high point among a lots of lows. 

Ratings

Route (Challenging, unique) : 5/5

Organizer (Overall organization of race) : 2/5

Runners welfare (Water station, pre & post race facilities) : 3/5

Goodie bag (Content) : None

Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 2/5

Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 5/5

My performance (execution of race plan, finishing time) : 3.5/5 (10K) 4.5/5 (12K)

Race review : Melawati 10K

A bit late this race review is, but not too late (sounds like Yoda isn't it?). 

I first did the Melawati 10K back in 2014. At that time the race was only RM45 I think & it was the challenging route that attracted me to it. The race route was hilly, there was a long section of uphill, followed by a long, gradual downhill. & there's a couple of sharp rises, one of them was near the house of Malaysia's most renowned film maker, Dato' Yusof Haslam. Nevertheless, with this kinda route, surprisingly I clocked my 10K PB (road) of 48:32.85 (9.27km on GPS). I chose not to go in 2015 bcoz the fees had suddenly shot up to RM70. 

Well this year I've decided to make a comeback. The route was just too good to miss & the fact that I did my PB there made it a natural choice. 

Pre race

I chose to go to the start from Serendah. It was closer anyway. I got to the start pretty early, performed my Subuh prayers at the Taman Melawati mosque, along with some other runners. Then I went to the start & found a parking space pretty close to the start. I had my breakfast, a 2-finger Kit Kat. Normally for 10K races I dun really have any bfast, just some chocolate will do. For 12-15K races I'd take one energy gel right before the start. I went through my pre-race warm up, a short jog, drills & lower body stretches. For HM I'd include upper body stretches as well. Then I put on my race vest, have a sip of water & off to the starting line. 

Start line

The announcer decided to delay the start a bit to allow some of the late comers to get to the start. While I dun really like this, but it wasn't my call. The race was supposed to start at 7.00 am but we went off at 7:10. Serious runners would be at the start before the designated flag off time, but it's the casual runners who usually fail to respect this. But I guess they're the majority, so... I saw one of my friends, Rudy at the start. He'd run a 21km just a few hours before at Shah Alam. This guy is a crazy mileage-gobbler.

The race

The start was into a downhill, so naturally it was very fast. I tried to stay with the front runners & take advantage of the downhill. After less than 1km I passed Rudy who told me he was still very tired from the 21km. Understandably. After about 2km the road gradually went up & the 1st selection was made there. My target had been to go tempo for the 1st 5km & up the pace in the 2nd 5km. After about 3.5km we reached the gradual uphill I was talking about earlier. I've been doing hill tempos at PICC to prepare for my 1st two races of 2016, the MPI which was in Lake Gardens & this. So I didn't really have much problem going uphill.

I was okay until the last sharp ascent about 2km from the finish. The organizers decided to put the last water station in the middle of the ascent, bad idea. The ideal position would be just before the uphill section or at the top of the hill, not in the middle of it. Stopping for water would disrupt my rhythm, so I decided to skip the last water station. After all I was okay. 

The last kilometer is gradual downhill, but we had to make a U-turn to get to the finish line. I really hammered the last kilometer & when I get to the end there was only a few ppl there. I clocked a time of 52:28, good enuff for 30th place in the open category. Bcoz I'd got to the finish early, I had the Milo van for myself. Hanged around with Rudy & his friends, before going home. Job well done. 

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) : None

Race tee (Quality, aesthetics) : 5/5

Medal (Quality, aesthetics) : 5/5

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

Livestrong, run stronger. 

Training while on the road

I just came back from a south-north tour that took me to 4 states in 4 days. I went to Johor on Saturday, Melaka on Sunday, back to KL on Monday & off to Penang on Tuesday. Bcoz I was on a working trip & bcoz I had to pay for the hotels myself, I had no choice but to stay in budget hotels. & in that 4 days, I only managed to workout once, an easy run in Melaka. 

Back in 2013-2014 when I was constantly on the road, I made sure the hotels I'm staying have either a swimming pool or a gym. If the hotels have none of those facilities, using Google Maps I'd search for running routes close to the hotel. If I was just there for an overnighter, I'd proly just do simple bodyweight exercises in my hotel room, with my TRX Suspension Trainer. 

In short, I've never really give any excuse for skipping training. People often say they can't find the time to workout. Me, I make time. Sometimes I make adjustments to my usual routine to accomodate the amount of time I have. I can squeeze in a treadmill run in as little as 30 mins. I can do weight training circuits in 45 mins. I've come to a stage where I can adjust my workouts accordingly & still get the most out of it. 

Throughout my service in the government I've had the opportunity to stay in great hotels that provides great exercise facilities. Here are some of my favorites.

The Westin Langkawi

I was here when I served as Liaison Officer during the 2015 Asean Summit. The hotel provides running gear at a reasonable price. For RM50 you can get a New Balance technical tee & shorts, NB shoes & socks. Or you can get just the shoes & socks for RM15. Turned out to be they provide the same shoe model I was using at the time, NB890, albeit the older version, V2. 

Fresh shoes & socks!

The gym was new & complete with the latest equipment from Technogym. The house headset was Beats! Although I didn't really like Beats bcoz it's heavy, but what the heck!

Horizon Spa Kota Kinabalu

The hotel's gym was one of the most complete I've seen & the infinity pool was just right next to the gym. They have a high/low pulley station, something very rare to find in a hotel gym.

Honorable mentions:

Mandarin Oriental KL

The gym was at a temporary location the last time I stayed there. But with KLCC park just nearby, running inside was out of the question. Unfortunately part of the park was closed due to some construction work, so you'd have to do more laps than usual. 

Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu

The gym was well-equipped, they have a fitness floor with the spa, gym & swimming pool facilities. 

With facilities like these, it's hard to find any excuse not to workout, even on a road trip.

Livestrong, run stronger.