In the first place, this is the first ever event i have taken part in on an international standard. Really glad and excited that i am part of something BIG. The KL International Marathon kicks of my list of events this year. I have lots of other goodies coming. SO lets take it 1 by 1.
The RUN (30/3/2008) day began at 4am......and like any other sleepless nights, i got only 3hrs of sleep the night before despite my best efforts to tell my mind to shut up and go to bed.
Slept over at Vincents house since we will carpool together and it wont be too rushing for him to come all the way to my place just to fetch me. I must say, he has a nice home with 6 cool bikes. But then the guest room i was sleeping in well..........the mothballs just overwhelmed me..........to say the least.
Got ready and we were off with his brother, uncle, another friend and me. We reached Dataran Merdeka around 5.15am. Parked the car and dressed up. Well i took part in the 21km category which starts at 6am. But at 4.30 am the full marathon runners (42km) were already on their way around the streets and highways of KL. We all went to report......did my warm up. Oh yeah, chowed down my Powerbar. These carbo energy pack athletes food comes handy for long endurance races. I had another 2 PowerGels in my arm pouch for revitalizing later on. Aint cheap though........3 of these babies cost me RM15.
So i we got ready near the starting line. And this is the first time im using the ChampionChip as given to all marathon n half marathon runners to clock their times accurately. At its used world wide in any major event tat required accurate timing.
This is how u should wear it. Looks cool too huh? ^^Initially i didnt know how many ppl joined my category. And to make matters worse, i was at the back end of the starting pack. Usually id prefer middle n front to get good placings.......but oh well........
As Dataran Merdeka Clock tower rang exactly 6am.......the gun went off........and we were off too.
Would you believe it that it had to take me 1min 26sec to get from my spot to cross the starting line? That was how many ppl were there. As i was still jostling to move........and get a nice running spot.......we went over the magnetic mats at the starting line. They will pick up the chip signal and begin your time.
*Phew* so much for JUST STARTING A RACE!
And as i got into my jog pace i saw faaaaaaaarrrrrr in the distance.......a huge sea or heads. I could see till the end and there were still heads. Behind me........even more heads. And im sure there are at least 4000 of us.........its just so many people. And i was going "This is going to be a LOOONG day......"
"Die lah......no need think for good placings now. Too many ppl.........". That was literally playing in my mind all the time.
So here i am 6am in the morning running 21km with thousands of people. Cool huh? Every corner i take which i can see to the front........the heads bobbing up and down still scares me. How was i going to make up to all these places?
So many people from all nations and backgrounds. The Kenyans will be at the front as always. Then the europeans, asia pacific, US, and other countries all running WITH ME! And then there always the local runners. I love over hearing what they are chatting. NO its not ease dropping. But u cant help when they talk abt something funny. Then theres always the cute girls. Pretty ones, aunties, even there was one lady with tatoos.......intimidating?
Btw even the clown and Spiderman ran the half marathon. They got lots of attention. "Hah! Spiderman! Spiderman dah datang! Lari Lari!" - Policeman
I began running fast to gain some places.........just in case anything happens to me later i have somewhere to fall back on. We made 1 short loop to the starting line again before heading for open roads. And i didnt realize.......how quickly 10 minits had gone by. It felt 5-ish to me. By the time we got out to the highways.
And before i can just start to kick to my cruising gear.........my tummy just had to give me a hard time. No its not those sharp pains at the side when u do sports. Those i can handle. But this is more like a washing machine inside. And i have a long way to go!!! Why at this time??? Why now? It was really distracting and preventing me from going faster. And it made me think alot to stop......but i didnt. I just went on but i had to slow my pace significantly...........and then.........people start overtaking me. everyone did...........I couldnt do anything except pray to God for a healing and give me the strength to go on.
For 30 minits i battled this darn pain. Trust me, u duwana go tru wat i have gone, especially running 21km at the same time. Outside i was really calm.......hardly breathing hard actually........sweating profusely though. But inside i wanted to explode. I just kept going. I think its similar to wat i went through on my first half marathon. Hmm......
Saw some billboards along the way. One was advertising chicken nuggets. Food.......yummy.....
"DARN IT DARREN! Run the race, this aint no time for food!"
The first drink station at KM5 was a welcome sight. Took some water to see if it helped with the pain....it did a tiny bit......but most was still present. And after the drink i had to take a leak.........and like all the other men runners..........just find some bushes or a tree. Well thank God DBKL keeps the bushes by the highways nice and green and leafy and thick and alive! You never know when u need to go.
went back on the road......with the pain. And i checked my time........first 5km in 30minits......this was abit slow (thanks to Mr Pain) or else i would have done in 20-25. So im on the back foot. And being on the highway (with 1 lane graciously reserved for us) i still saw tat long winding sea of heads in front of me. It was daunting. Scary. And i wonder where i will be ending up?
I manage to catch vincent........overtook him. The thing with running on highways is that it is never flat all the way. There are constantly rises and falls. Which also slowed me down. "Knock knock....." , "Whose there?" , "PAIN!".............."ARRRRGGGGHHH!!!"
I was getting irritated i cant run my normal pace. And more ppl overtook me. Sheesh. I bore with the pain for another 30 minits. We had passed Mid Valley along the Federal highway. At 1hr we were at the RMAF Airstrip. By this time, thank God, the pain go lesser. And i could notch up a gear to go ahead. The sea of heads in one long line fanned out across the road. And guess what? I started to overtake ppl. HOORAY! Something i missed for the last hour. I saw drink station 2 coming up so u gulped down my apple flavoured PowerGel. And as i reached for water....dumping cups on me and downing another one.......my good frend returned : "HI! ITs me! Pain!"
Darn it........
BUt this time it was tolerable and i kept my steady pace. And to my relief the halfway point was approaching. We stepped on the magnet mat again so the computer checks with our times. And at this point my time was 1hr 22minits.......which is slow compared to before. Previously i caould do the first 10km in under 1hr or at 1hr+ . But well..........things happen on the road. A european gentlemen came and asked me something abt "What KM is this". LOL. It was funny the way he put it but i understood he wasnt good in English. I just show him my 10 fingers and said "10km, 10." HE nodded.
So i was on track at least to take the finish is 2hrs 30minits. i just had to keep moving. One girl kinda followed me for a bit. Probably just tagging behind me. Then theres this little thing i noticed. Everytime i come behind a person who was walking to overtake.......they always suddenly start running again. Argh.........more frust.
I forgot its Cheng Meng season and its a sunday............so........some roads were clogged with cars........our route. And we had to negotiate traffic jams. But thanks to the police personnel, things were in control. Then theres this long jam where we, thousands of runners, just run pass. And i really saw the looks on the kids, teens, grannies, uncles, husband wife as we were running. Talk abt getting attention. Who says running doesnt pay off?
As we headed back towards city center........i finally........FINALLY.........got into a rhythm that i was fast yet not overdoing. And i overtook more and more runners.
And we entered the streets of KL again.......after almost 2hrs on the road. But now we were on the same path as the 7 and 10km runners. And this is mostly school and college students category. So there were lots of........err......hmm......no no not kids.........erm.......TEENS! on the road with us seasoned runners (Cheh...........bangga nye.....). Well they still yet to learn pace running coz many of them sprinted so fast oni to walk again. Key is to be steady. But well........teens will be teens. So i had a lot of overtaking work to do. I can be running on one side to the other side of the road just to overtake........
And most probably they be laughing at the sponge i put in my shirt on the back to cool myself. Got it at the first sponge station since km 7. Im in the city......should be a few km left to go. I have crossed 2hrs. And now i wana know how far left i had to run. SAdly the signboards oni appeared at the drink stations , not on course. And it would have been better if it was on course. Its good for the runners so we know how to pace. First i heard some one shouted "2km!!!! 2 km!!!" i was like ok.......so i dashed abit..........mind u 2km for me would take 10minits.......and at 2hr 10mins........i was still on the road.........then we came to the last sponge and cooling zone......got a nice bath.......then the marshall pointed out 3km to go...........zzzzz
Buat konfius saje........
But i had my own idea.........i just see the signboard. At this point in time, my legs were already beginning to fell the strain and the pain and tiredness. The knees especially. And my shoes n feet were all soggy from my constant cooling with water.
By now its almost 2hrs 20minits. And to my huge relief..........i saw the dataran merdeka flag pole which tells me it is near. Really near.........then i saw the last signboard saying Dataran Merdeka 500m. The minit i saw that.......i stepped into overdrive. I looked at my watch......2hrs 17.......i was going to make it under 2hrs 30 and that gave me more motivation to run faster. Sprinting for the clock towards the finish line, and being cheered on by the hundreds of ppl there. I lashed out my tongue and i clenched a fist of victory. Man........been a while since i did that. And officially i crossed the line in 2hrs 23minits. And i got within the qualifying time of 3hrs 30mints........so...........i get something! A goodie bag and this :
Just lovely! I found vincent. He overtook me since the beginning. So he came in at 2hrs 09mins. Well.......i did better to beat my target by didnt equal or better my previous best of 2hrs 10mins at last years PJ Half Marathon. Well i gave myself a good pat on the head. And with only so little training done (thanks to Mrs ThunderStorm). But all in all..........like any other half marathon i ran, its an experience of what the human body can do. Endure pain. Suffer tough mental torture. And come back alive. Oh yes, and the full marathoners still kept coming in. They have been on the road nearly 4 -5 hours now.
My next target............hehehehe.
For now, gona bear with the sore legs for a few days..........and get some more sleep!
Thats all for KLIM 08.
Be there again next year.
*Additional note : Got my official time and position from the KLIM webbie.
For Category F (men Open) : 220
Overall Mens category : 537
Official time : 2hrs 23mins 41secs
Chip time : 2hrs 21mins 39 secs
1st KM time : 11mins 58 secs
10km time : 1hr 22mins 19secs
As Dataran Merdeka Clock tower rang exactly 6am.......the gun went off........and we were off too.
Would you believe it that it had to take me 1min 26sec to get from my spot to cross the starting line? That was how many ppl were there. As i was still jostling to move........and get a nice running spot.......we went over the magnetic mats at the starting line. They will pick up the chip signal and begin your time.
*Phew* so much for JUST STARTING A RACE!
And as i got into my jog pace i saw faaaaaaaarrrrrr in the distance.......a huge sea or heads. I could see till the end and there were still heads. Behind me........even more heads. And im sure there are at least 4000 of us.........its just so many people. And i was going "This is going to be a LOOONG day......"
"Die lah......no need think for good placings now. Too many ppl.........". That was literally playing in my mind all the time.
So here i am 6am in the morning running 21km with thousands of people. Cool huh? Every corner i take which i can see to the front........the heads bobbing up and down still scares me. How was i going to make up to all these places?
So many people from all nations and backgrounds. The Kenyans will be at the front as always. Then the europeans, asia pacific, US, and other countries all running WITH ME! And then there always the local runners. I love over hearing what they are chatting. NO its not ease dropping. But u cant help when they talk abt something funny. Then theres always the cute girls. Pretty ones, aunties, even there was one lady with tatoos.......intimidating?
Btw even the clown and Spiderman ran the half marathon. They got lots of attention. "Hah! Spiderman! Spiderman dah datang! Lari Lari!" - Policeman
I began running fast to gain some places.........just in case anything happens to me later i have somewhere to fall back on. We made 1 short loop to the starting line again before heading for open roads. And i didnt realize.......how quickly 10 minits had gone by. It felt 5-ish to me. By the time we got out to the highways.
And before i can just start to kick to my cruising gear.........my tummy just had to give me a hard time. No its not those sharp pains at the side when u do sports. Those i can handle. But this is more like a washing machine inside. And i have a long way to go!!! Why at this time??? Why now? It was really distracting and preventing me from going faster. And it made me think alot to stop......but i didnt. I just went on but i had to slow my pace significantly...........and then.........people start overtaking me. everyone did...........I couldnt do anything except pray to God for a healing and give me the strength to go on.
For 30 minits i battled this darn pain. Trust me, u duwana go tru wat i have gone, especially running 21km at the same time. Outside i was really calm.......hardly breathing hard actually........sweating profusely though. But inside i wanted to explode. I just kept going. I think its similar to wat i went through on my first half marathon. Hmm......
Saw some billboards along the way. One was advertising chicken nuggets. Food.......yummy.....
"DARN IT DARREN! Run the race, this aint no time for food!"
The first drink station at KM5 was a welcome sight. Took some water to see if it helped with the pain....it did a tiny bit......but most was still present. And after the drink i had to take a leak.........and like all the other men runners..........just find some bushes or a tree. Well thank God DBKL keeps the bushes by the highways nice and green and leafy and thick and alive! You never know when u need to go.
went back on the road......with the pain. And i checked my time........first 5km in 30minits......this was abit slow (thanks to Mr Pain) or else i would have done in 20-25. So im on the back foot. And being on the highway (with 1 lane graciously reserved for us) i still saw tat long winding sea of heads in front of me. It was daunting. Scary. And i wonder where i will be ending up?
I manage to catch vincent........overtook him. The thing with running on highways is that it is never flat all the way. There are constantly rises and falls. Which also slowed me down. "Knock knock....." , "Whose there?" , "PAIN!".............."ARRRRGGGGHHH!!!"
I was getting irritated i cant run my normal pace. And more ppl overtook me. Sheesh. I bore with the pain for another 30 minits. We had passed Mid Valley along the Federal highway. At 1hr we were at the RMAF Airstrip. By this time, thank God, the pain go lesser. And i could notch up a gear to go ahead. The sea of heads in one long line fanned out across the road. And guess what? I started to overtake ppl. HOORAY! Something i missed for the last hour. I saw drink station 2 coming up so u gulped down my apple flavoured PowerGel. And as i reached for water....dumping cups on me and downing another one.......my good frend returned : "HI! ITs me! Pain!"
Darn it........
BUt this time it was tolerable and i kept my steady pace. And to my relief the halfway point was approaching. We stepped on the magnet mat again so the computer checks with our times. And at this point my time was 1hr 22minits.......which is slow compared to before. Previously i caould do the first 10km in under 1hr or at 1hr+ . But well..........things happen on the road. A european gentlemen came and asked me something abt "What KM is this". LOL. It was funny the way he put it but i understood he wasnt good in English. I just show him my 10 fingers and said "10km, 10." HE nodded.
So i was on track at least to take the finish is 2hrs 30minits. i just had to keep moving. One girl kinda followed me for a bit. Probably just tagging behind me. Then theres this little thing i noticed. Everytime i come behind a person who was walking to overtake.......they always suddenly start running again. Argh.........more frust.
I forgot its Cheng Meng season and its a sunday............so........some roads were clogged with cars........our route. And we had to negotiate traffic jams. But thanks to the police personnel, things were in control. Then theres this long jam where we, thousands of runners, just run pass. And i really saw the looks on the kids, teens, grannies, uncles, husband wife as we were running. Talk abt getting attention. Who says running doesnt pay off?
As we headed back towards city center........i finally........FINALLY.........got into a rhythm that i was fast yet not overdoing. And i overtook more and more runners.
And we entered the streets of KL again.......after almost 2hrs on the road. But now we were on the same path as the 7 and 10km runners. And this is mostly school and college students category. So there were lots of........err......hmm......no no not kids.........erm.......TEENS! on the road with us seasoned runners (Cheh...........bangga nye.....). Well they still yet to learn pace running coz many of them sprinted so fast oni to walk again. Key is to be steady. But well........teens will be teens. So i had a lot of overtaking work to do. I can be running on one side to the other side of the road just to overtake........
And most probably they be laughing at the sponge i put in my shirt on the back to cool myself. Got it at the first sponge station since km 7. Im in the city......should be a few km left to go. I have crossed 2hrs. And now i wana know how far left i had to run. SAdly the signboards oni appeared at the drink stations , not on course. And it would have been better if it was on course. Its good for the runners so we know how to pace. First i heard some one shouted "2km!!!! 2 km!!!" i was like ok.......so i dashed abit..........mind u 2km for me would take 10minits.......and at 2hr 10mins........i was still on the road.........then we came to the last sponge and cooling zone......got a nice bath.......then the marshall pointed out 3km to go...........zzzzz
Buat konfius saje........
But i had my own idea.........i just see the signboard. At this point in time, my legs were already beginning to fell the strain and the pain and tiredness. The knees especially. And my shoes n feet were all soggy from my constant cooling with water.
By now its almost 2hrs 20minits. And to my huge relief..........i saw the dataran merdeka flag pole which tells me it is near. Really near.........then i saw the last signboard saying Dataran Merdeka 500m. The minit i saw that.......i stepped into overdrive. I looked at my watch......2hrs 17.......i was going to make it under 2hrs 30 and that gave me more motivation to run faster. Sprinting for the clock towards the finish line, and being cheered on by the hundreds of ppl there. I lashed out my tongue and i clenched a fist of victory. Man........been a while since i did that. And officially i crossed the line in 2hrs 23minits. And i got within the qualifying time of 3hrs 30mints........so...........i get something! A goodie bag and this :
Just lovely! I found vincent. He overtook me since the beginning. So he came in at 2hrs 09mins. Well.......i did better to beat my target by didnt equal or better my previous best of 2hrs 10mins at last years PJ Half Marathon. Well i gave myself a good pat on the head. And with only so little training done (thanks to Mrs ThunderStorm). But all in all..........like any other half marathon i ran, its an experience of what the human body can do. Endure pain. Suffer tough mental torture. And come back alive. Oh yes, and the full marathoners still kept coming in. They have been on the road nearly 4 -5 hours now.
My next target............hehehehe.
For now, gona bear with the sore legs for a few days..........and get some more sleep!
Thats all for KLIM 08.
Be there again next year.
*Additional note : Got my official time and position from the KLIM webbie.
For Category F (men Open) : 220
Overall Mens category : 537
Official time : 2hrs 23mins 41secs
Chip time : 2hrs 21mins 39 secs
1st KM time : 11mins 58 secs
10km time : 1hr 22mins 19secs
1 comment:
My mum and dad when to participate, i was lack of time, if not sure will go to snap some picture...lol
Post a Comment