GCAM16 - See Ya Real Soon!!

My first blog post was about Gold Coast Airport Marathon 2015 and here I am now, a year later preparing to race in Gold Coast 2016

This would be my 5th marathon proper (excluding a run under influence race lol.. don't ask), lots has changed since I took my first step. Over the 3+ years of running I've been improving and scored a personal best (PB) for the past 4 races, not bad huh? Deep down in me I wish for the streak to continue for a 5th PB in a row, but it would be no easy task this time.

Few #nonamesmentioned (you know who you are) had been telling me with my current fitness level drastically improved, it wouldn't be a problem to continue with another PB. I hope they are right... Well things aren't always straight forward... the fact is I have not been very focus on a marathon training. I strayed away from running for a bit into cycling since Kyoto Marathon (Race Report) and raced in 5 separate events between March and May missing a few key long weekend runs. You may think the crossed training in cycling would help my running.. maybe... but truth is there is no short cut in running unless you are talented which I'm not, missing key runs means PB slipping away bit by bit.

On top of that (drama), both my calves kind of froze up in the early June simulation run planned for 32km but had to cut short to 21km, giving a big blow in the confidence department. Since then, the whole month of June hasn't been very kind to me, and as if finishing a marathon is not challenging enough, it decided to flared up my left plantar fasciitis considerably, forcing me to switch two gears down on my training and I'm still nursing my left leg. That said, I'm not complaining or banging my fist on the table as I know, I will still be toeing the start line in a week time with my head held high and will not be forced to downgrade my race to 21km or a DNS.

With days left before raceday, I am doubtful my left leg will be 100% fit. Running a race without my body 100% with me would be like hanging on to a battered machine, one can only hope everything will held up nicely  during the race and give myself a best shot with whatever may come. Experience counts I hoped and I have not forgotten the electrifying atmosphere of GCAM for the past 2 years. The support and cheers from the locals and kids in their pajamas giving me countless high fives will definitely be my source of motivation and power me to the finishing line.

Ready or not, I am looking forward and will once again enjoy the race which brought me ample sweet memories. Wish me luck!! Remember to cheer for Ah Onz!!

Gold Coast Airport Marathon 2016, I'll see ya in 6 days time mate!!

Perak Century Ride - Race Report

Sometimes I think I may have gone too far for something that I'm not ready for.. 166km of bike ride with a bigger one to come

May 2016 was a pretty busy month for me when it comes to weekend events. It all started with 120km Shah Alam Enduride followed by the Watermelon Relay Run and 166km Perak Century Ride all within the span of 3 weeks. I signed up for this event to have one main goal to achieve, that is to find out if I can still run after cycling for 160km. Wondering why? the biggest race for this year has yet to come and I'm doing this to find out if I could possibly do it before deciding whether if I will be racing it.

Photo by Cyclng Plus Malaysia

Prior to this, I have only cycled 3 events 108km, 78km and 120km respectively building up to this 166km and nope I hardly trained on the bike and that makes me a little bit too Gang-Ho leaping to the century ride. Riding 120km (race report here) for the first time ever) 2 weeks before the century ride gave me a pretty good idea the challenges that I'll have deal with especially on the fueling and cramp management. So the going into the race apart from the main goal, is also to work on the fueling strategy to avoid late race cramp

Race required me to travel up north and my ever supporting wife agreed to drive up with me also to be the driver going home after the race ( I would have been too beaten up to drive back). We drove in the afternoon together with a few friends reaching Ipoh in the late afternoon, checked in the bike and hotel room quickly we all head out for a nice dinner before calling it a day preparing for the long race the next morning. 

With the sky still dark, my phone alarm rang and is race day. Putting up race gear and I quickly head down for a breakfast after all, it is going to be a long hard race for a newbie like me going into a territory of distance that I'm not familiar of and not prepare nor trained for. After a quick bite with a few Nick & Sons and Fan, we all head to the bike checked-in area and realized it was raining. It wasn't a storm  but heavy enough to put a thought of DNS for safety reason. Nevertheless, I decided to do a final check on the bike and waited out to see if the rain will stop before deciding. Not long after, the marshal came and signaled the race will go ahead and thank god the rain is slightly lighter now but still a receipt for disaster if one does not respect the nature.

All of us line up at the starting line together, after a few picture taken by Fan, off we go. As this was the first time I ride in wet and rainy condition, I wasn't going to take anything for granted so I started really slow just to get myself comfortable with the ride condition avoiding any early incident. My utmost respect goes to those who sped off and the group of riders I was riding along not giving each other troubles and allow me apologize if I have committed any rookie mistakes.

The first 10km of the ride was on really wet road, I didn't know what to expect and certainly not sure how to handle the situation. Water was splashing all over from the wheels from fellow participants and the same goes to my own. Visibility was not ideal to say the least but every one ride on with a lower speed with safety in mind. Speed was between 23-25km/hr on my bike computer far from the ideal speed I was hoping for.

20-30km into the race, rain got slightly heavier and riding on slick tires are like skating on ice. However, it did not dampen my spirit and as the distance goes I got more comfortable with the riding condition and started picking up some speed hoping to catch up the lost time from the early stage of the race. Had my first energy gel at about 30km mark and there was no problem.

Up to this stage the route are mostly flat and I was able to climb up to 30km/hr with the leg still fresh. Race condition starts get better as the rain cloud was moving away from us and only light drizzles were accompanying us going into the next stage. I was able to keep and and ride along with a peloton or two closely pulling me though the winding roads. Albeit, the road is still damp, but the riding condition at this stage between 40-60km mark has improved tremendously. The peloton was riding at about 35km/hr and I happily tagged along.

The route was still fairly flat with a few minor ups, but nothing that was jaw dropping. Took my second energy gel and a water station later, we are into the half way mark. The nightmare has come... With a pair of used legs, the race route brought us to places that I started to see "walls" yes for the lack of better words. walls.. It was hilly as hell and big climbs were there to greet the riders one after another. Some riders came down to push their bike up and some struggled to keep the bike moving upwards and I was huffing and puffing squeezing ounces of energy determined not to push the bike up, peddling hard up those blardy "walls". After at least 5 or 6 of those "walls", a volunteer on bike at the road side was shouting "enam lagi" (six more) and I was like WHAT?? Six more "Walls"??? this is sick.. really sick.

Really there was no point crying but to peddle on, pull out my third gel but due to my silly way of tearing of the gel, at least half of it splashed out on the bike and jersey leaving maybe a quarter of the pack. I consume what's left and wanted to whip out my fourth pack, then I realized one pack of gel was missing, I must have dropped it while pulling one of the gel out... drama!! Left with one pack of gel and 70km more to go, I have decided to keep it for later stage and will have to survived with only 3 1/4 pack of gel for the whole distance... drama!!!

I started counting down the six "walls" as the legs get more tired with the distance and climb. At this stage there were no peloton to be seen and you are pretty much on your own doing all the climb. Rain stopped and the sun coming out to play. The condition turned from wet and cold to hot and humid. In this part of the world, this is not uncommon and I can only hoped that it doesn't wear me down too fast on this old and used body. Yayyy I have conquered the remaining 6 "walls", now I'm looking forward for some downhill to rest up the legs, but where are those down hills? There wasn't any, but instead I was greeted with some flat route, well everything is FLAT after those 10 or 11 walls (lost count), oh well,  I have no complains there as long as no more climb.

110-120km... things were still pretty cool, avg speed was within the acceptable range that I have put a targeted on but still a snail pace compare to many of you elite out there. I was telling myself, looks like I will make it to the century mark if I keep at the pace and riding consistently for the remaining distance. Things doesn't always turned out the way you want it to be... 118km King of Mountain (KOM) speechless!!! after those blardy "walls" now KOM??? I know I'm going to struggle up like a snail for the next 500m, organizer put up sign-board counting down the distance before reaching the top of the hill... 500m butt glued on the saddle paddle, 400m butt still glued on the saddle, 300m shit the bike is not moving and almost coming to a stand still... time for some hill dancing. Butt off the saddle, throwing the bike left and right, left and right, 200m can't dance anymore butt back the the saddle put my head down and full focus only on the paddle stroke. 100m huff huff huff huff huff huff huff huff.. this is the longest 100m I have traveled. Reaching the top drained!!!

50km or so to go. Legs are busted and only thing I look forward to is the water station up ahead for some cold liquid. Reaching the water station I quickly grab a bottle of water expecting it to be cold but it was warm and the sun was the culprit. There was no ice box to chill the water, boxes of water was left under the sun and the sun duly warmed it all up for us. It really doesn't help, pouring down from the head to toe doesn't help much, so I quickly fill up my bottles , consumed my last pack of gel and move out. Oh yes no power drinks for all the water station too!! Arghhh

The wasn't any more hill on the remaining route, but instead it was full of rolling hills. Along the way I had to come down from the bike to manage the cramp and stretch a little bit before moving on. As the rain has completely stopped, kids started coming out and play cheering all the riders that zooming past their house. Some even carry the Jalur Gemilang (Malaysia Flag) waving showing their support for the struggling me. It 12pm noon by now and the weather became very hot, with 20km or so to the finishing line, I tried to pick up some speed but really I was too wasted to do anything apart from just staying on the bike without falling lol. Then I decided to stopped at the patrol station along the way, quickly pay for bottle of energy drinks and gulp in down within a blink of an eye. Gatorade has never taste this good before hahaha., I can feel the chill flow from my thirsty throat all the way down to my stomach. It was super refreshing, did some more stretching and get back on the bike and ride away.

A few minor cramps snucked up on me with a few more quick stops, finally I'm back into places where I starts to see building from a far where the start/finishing line was. Can't describe the feelings for my virgin century ride, whole body was aching, legs were tired and at the verge of more cramps. I slowed down and reflect why I started all this... it was a promised to a #nonamesmentioned, a dear friend, a promise to complete an Ironman race for him and I had to ride the distance as part of the journey delivering the promise, delivering a dream.. it was really emotional for me as I crossed the finishing line.  

Crossing the finishing line over 6hrs to me was a big mile stone. Need to rework on the fueling strategy again but glad to find out albeit tired the legs were able to start a run. Doesn't matter how far I can go, but if I started it, I will complete it even if I have to crawl.  Race organizer did a good job, overall, 2nd half of the route was extreme challenging and my only complain would be the lack of any energy drinks and cold drinks at all the water stations. With the Malaysia weather, cold drinks is very important for participants and organizer should reflect on this short coming to improve on their future events.

Something Fun with the Watermelon Relay

I wouldn't call this post a race report but since there is a lot of fun in it, I'll just call it something fun

It is still a race, but not the ordinary Half Marathon or Marathon that I usually put up. In this case, a relay race of 3 in a team with a minimum of one female runner and and and... you carry a watermelon as the team's relay baton :D

Story started with Nick receiving one complimentary slot for the race  and asked within the usual suspects forming a team. Race day is right smack at the height of our training for Gold Coast Airport Marathon and running a 3.4 KM loop with a watermelon would really throw a spanner into the training program. Being a good spot (actually being lazy), I thought running a 3.4 KM escaping from what would be a 16KM - 20KM training day wasn't a bad idea and so I told Nick "Onz". Since we need a female runner Yan Leng (YL) being a lazy bum, raised her hand too joining the bandwagon for some fun, after all is just 3.4KM how hard would it be? Boy I was dead wrong!!!

We met up early on race day and had planned for a pre-run around the race course just to warm up the legs, checking out the route as well as clocking in some important mileage. As we did the pre-run, we checked ourselves in without knowing the team name and which race category hahaha.. collected our "baton" which feels like a 2.5kg - 3 kg watermelon, put it back in the car and continue with the pre-run. Not until we run the route, little did we realize the first KM was actually quite hilly and definitely not going to be an easy one especially carrying the "baton". After the pre-run, we got back to our car and get ourselves ready for the race.

There were 2 categories of the race one being the Challenge category which would start 15mins earlier than the Fun category which we are racing in. As Nick was just recovering from a knee injury and would like to take things a littler easier and run the first leg leaving YL (2nd) and Me (last) doing the catching up on his deficits..so he says.  With a not so shabby plan, Nick quickly line up at the start line with other Fun category participants while we take a few vain shots of him at the start line. Ready, set, go!!! Nick was speeding like a bullet.. and he says wanted to take it easy

15 to 16 mins later by my account, Nick completed the loop leading the pack (heck why am I not surprised) passing the "baton" to YL and she did the same stunt speeding like a bullet. Nick catching his breath complaining about how heavy the "baton" became as the distance goes and there were no one best way to carry the melon, one would simply have to keep switching from arm to arm, position to position to carry on. Nevertheless, it was still a solid run from him considering his recovery.. oh wait did I tell you he ran an easy 4:30 min hilly section, yes he did!!

With around the same amount of time taken, YL came back fast still leading the pack and looking fresh wanting for more haha. I wasn't going to let her do that, before the organizer DQ us, I quickly snatched the " baton" away from her and trying to mimic the speeding bullet of Nick and YL. The first KM was really hard not just because of the hilly section, it is also because how slippery the melon was and making sure it doesn't drop itself is challenging. With the weight and alternating ways of carrying the melon, it actually restrained me from swing my arm in my usual running form. As a result of that, my running rhythm went  down south quickly and started catching my breath heavily even before finishing the first KM. I then realized, it is not easy and not the fun run that I was expecting for. Don't get me wrong, the race is still fun just that you need to work hard for 3.4 km to extract the fun out of the race :D

Luckily, soon enough for me the watch beeped completing the first km and I'm done with the hilly section and now to run the remaining distance consistently. Nahhh... I walked, yes was forced to walk a bit due to the lack of upper body strength carrying the melon running the whole course. At times, I had to hold it on top of my head to relief some pressure off the arms and let the head do the work. At that point of time, I lost count of how many runners I overtook and which leg they were running, but one thing I'm sure of, is no one has overtook me which mean I'm leading the pack thanks to Nick "recovery" run and YL speeding bullet

After running the last turn, I can see from afar both of them waiting for me at the pit stop. Pit stop? Pit stop = You stop at a designated section of the race course, cut the melon into half and team would need to finish the melon before allow to cross the finishing line. I knew the second team wasn't too far behind, quickly I ran into the pit stop and the 3 of us start eating the melon like we have been starved for weeks. With me still catching my breath, Nick and YL had to do the heavy duty work eating most of the melon while I only took a few spoonful, but no complaints there the melon was juicy, sweet and delicious to say the least. Finally, we excavated the whole melon and did out final 50m dash, crossing the finishing line 1st !!!!

It was my first podium since 23 years ago and my first for anything more than 200m :D. The race was fun and you do need to do a little bit of work to extract it out and enjoy. Now when's the Durian relay race??? Thanks to Nick and YL as usual putting up their best performance to put me back into the podium albeit a fun run, but it is still a podium :D 

   

Photo courtesy by Jeanie, Foo and Nick

Shah Alam Enduride 2016 - Race Report

Inching closer to the century mark.. a taste of what lies ahead

Those who know me personally or follow me knows it has been running since all this while or rather since I started a running about three and a half years ago. Riding was something an occasional affair and not very serious about in the discipline. I rode only during triathlon or duathlon race, but not so on a cycling event. Hence, the longest I've ride was 90km during a race and a 50km ride as a training. Yes not ideal but that's me with cycling.

This year sees a different approach with cycling, and it is no longer an affair as I'm working towards a big race some time in Q4 of the year and require me to cycle a lot. Sold off the previous road bike and got a new race ready bike, sign-up a couple of races and here I go...

Shah Alam Enduride 2016 is by far the longest ride I have done, a 120 KM road race. There were 2 categories for the race, the Race and Enduride with the formal being race proper with trophies and prices money. I have sign-up for the Race categoty not because I stand a chance stepping up to the podium, but because it has a 10 mins earlier starts which I prefer so I can finish up early and go home for a beauty sleep :)

Not riding regularly with a cycling group meant I went to the races alone without knowing any other participants but that's cool for me since the objective is to build up to the century mark and taking it as a hard training session. I had a small friendly chat before race start with 2 of the EZ Riders team cyclists (Bear and Andrew), they told me there were only 3 tough climb over the dragon back. I was like DRAGON BACK??? Although I have never run there before but I have heard enough elevation stories to stay away from it, looks like I have to face the horror after all and to make it worse on a bike which is a lot harder on the climb compare to running. Bear also asked me to be careful on the ride as there were many potholes and bumpy sections. For that I am greatful to the EZ Riders for the valuable advice going to into the race.

Race started on time with a rolling starts mean no overtaking of the lead car until a certain pre-determined distance and  within the couple of hundred meters Andrew and Bear was gone.. fast to say the least. As this is a new distance that I'm doing, I wasn't going to push for the entire race, as there are a couple of things I was set to test e.g. fueling, avg speed and threshold, so I started with a reasonable speed and gradually picking up my pace with the hope of sticking to a peloton that I can ride with as long as possible.

It was rather uneventful for the 1st 20 KM apart from a narrow hard right where riders slow down considerably and clogged up the narrow junction. Nevertheless, most of the participants were seasoned riders and gave enough signals and space for everyone to negotiate through the turn. There were some rolling hills but because the legs were still fresh, it didn't give much of a problem for me riding into the 30km+/hr zone tailing a peloton.

Photo Credit to event photographer

At KM 26, I saw the first big elevation climb and believe me it was very steep in my dictionary. Turns out, that was the 1st of the 3 big climb of the dragon back. Gear shifting was constantly at played, I was shifting no less than 10 - 15 gears from outer chainring to inner ones and rear cassette working hard to cope, balancing cadence and power along the steep albeit short climb. Clanging sounds was the only music heard from every riders' bike with such a climb. Luckily for me my quads were holding up to the challenge and managed to survived it.  Being a runner instead of a seasoned cyclist, I was reasonably happy with my climb. Peloton breaks with climbs and after 2nd and 3rd, only a small group of riders were still sticking together and ride on.

As the race unfold, at about KM 35 the first peloton from the Euduride caught up with me and zoomed past in a blink of an eye. I hope and tried to tail them but they were all too fast and I don't stand a chance. Not too long after, the road condition was deteriorating, what Bear has warned me earlier was really what it is. The road we rode turns into a bumpy ride and riders would occasionally weave in and out avoiding potholes that could send a rider up in the air or hitting the ground hard. It was dangerous to say the least, patch work can be seen every where and it wasn't fun especially on the down hill run. I had a near crash here on a down hill run at a speed of above 35km/hr into sandy patched due to construction work and uneven re-tarred sections. I had to hit the brakes hard and at the same time adrenaline rushing through my vain, I kept telling myself "please don't crash , please don't crash" and I was lucky enough to survived it. Seriously, I would not be surprised if someone crash. Although the organizer has the responsible to ensure the road are safe to ride, but I blame the city council even more for not using our tax money to make sure the roads are maintained well for any road users.

The ride continue into the trunk roads with 2 or 3 peloton passing me at ease without me being able to response even I was averaging at about 30km/hr. Not all are bad, going over 30km/hr average was not part of the plan for my first race into this distance. Anyway, there were some welcoming sight along this stretch of the ride with kids from the villages coming out to cheer on the fast passing riders. That reminds me of overseas marathon races where the locals are really coming all out to give their best support, it is really a rare sight at home... a failure for not integrating sports into our country's culture, a RM30 mock cheque for the winner just don't cut it!!!

Photo credit to event photographer

Apart from the 3 climbs on the dragon back earlier, the race course was actually very hilly and I started to struggle with the hills past 70km that sees me dropping on my average speed, stopped briefly at the water/aid station and moved on. At 80km, it was another up hill battle, I had to un-cleats, off the bike and push up the bike for about 100m before hopping on the bike again. Yes I'm not ashamed to admit it hahaha

At 90km final stop. My upper body starts to break down after battling tonnes of hill climb, I stopped briefly at the water/aid station and again at the road side just to do some stretching on the upper body.  Soon enough another peloton ride past me and finally I was able to hang on into the 110km. I was damn glad the peloton came and pull me along for more than 15km into the last stretch of the race. At KM 114,  my left quad had a small cramp but wasn't bad enough to stop, however it forced me to slow down for the next 2km just to nurse the left leg. At KM 118, a 2km before the finishing line going up a slight climb to a the final roundabout before home straight, my right quad froze up like a metal rod. Luckily, I managed to un-cleats the pedal before it locked up otherwise it would have been an embarrassing fall LOL. A young rider stopped and helped me with a massage and stretch and I'm greatful for his kindness and sportsmanship helping other fellow participant.

Train insane or remain the same - Anonymous

After all the dramas, I picked up the bike and rode slowly for the remaining distance. Crossing the finishing line was a big relief for me, albeit not meeting my target time, but I wasn't too far off. Without the bad cramp I'm pretty sure I will finished bang on the target. It was a good experience for me, I learnt that my fueling strategy didn't work out for me and the threshold was not too far off from what I have been anticipating, still there are lots of work to do for the century mark.

Race was generally well organized, traffic control was reasonably okay apart from the town of Shah Alam itself otherwise it was fine. Water/aid stations were also spaced out pretty evenly at every 30km which works pretty well for me. The race course was a tough hilly ride, can't say I loved it to bits but it does give me a taste what lies ahead and how much I need to work on. Road condition, I'd give it a B- and a big D in caps for the bumpy and patchy section where I nearly crash. Saying that, to be fair to the organizer, it would be extremely difficult to find a smooth road for the whole 120km, so kudos to the organizer.


    

Product Review - Saucony Kinvara 7

I would usually write about a shoe after clocking a certain mileage, but not this. To be absolutely honest, I have only clocked less than 50 KM on this pair, saying that the mileages done includes the recent personal best half marathon time a couple of weeks back. So this pair deserved an exception with an early review write up

Never have I run in the famous Saucony Kinvara series before, when I was preparing for my recent Kyoto Marathon (report here) my training shoes (Nike Lunar Tempo) was already in the 500 KM and the Asics Gel Super J33 would be the race shoe to go with. At about the same time, Saucony announced their latest version of the Kinvara series the Kinvara7 (K7) with EVERUN and that makes me very excited after hearing so many good things about it and secretly hoping the latest iteration of the Kinvara series would come to our shore soon enough for me to put in some miles and maybe to race it in Kyoto

As the race drew closer, Frank informed the K7 would only arrived at our shore somewhere in Q2 2016...oh well!!! That means no K7 for Kyoto. Nevertheless, the shoe finally arrived end March/early April, I quickly texted Frank to keep a pair for me and would picked it up over the weekend and put in a 11 KM run the next day with the usual suspects.

The shoe weights at 7.8 oz for a US size9 with a stack height of 22mm (heel) and 18mm (forefoot) give the shoes a 4 mm heel to toe offset. Unlike the Triumph ISO 2, the EVERUN technology is only inserted at the heel section over the EVA midsole. The outsole sees a complete new layout compare the the earlier versions but continue to use xt900 carbon rubber at the heel area and some high wear and tear sections for durability over the iBR+ material. The combination of the outsole materials are proven across the range of shoes produced by the company.

4 mm Offset it says

xt900 over iBR+ outsole

The upper, although without running in the previous version, I can't tell you the differences / improvements over the earlier version, but really there are no big surprises on the material used for the upper. The breathable mesh used on the upper is well executed with strips of flexfilm overlays just enough to make the shoe looks cool and it also help wraps your feet snugly. Aesthetically, with the logo placed slightly to the front of the shoe helps to create a "moving forward" impression stamping Saucony tag line of "Find Your Strong" which is brilliant. With a wide forefoot, my feet felt comfortably at home even on my first run as the material used meant it is expandable and doesn't create the pressing feel on both side of my feet laterally.

FLEXFLIM

"Moving Forward" with EVERUN

With little less than 50 KM, I would describe the shoe's ride as responsive, firm and stable. The ride is not hard as it has the right amount of cushioning feels from the forefoot to the heel at the same time giving you a stable stride. The running experience is quite pleasant especially when you put the shoes into pace, it was evidenced during my HM race recently as I would be able to hold my stride form for a longer period of time than any pair of shoes I have ran in before. The forefoot area is flexible, giving the toe off performance a big plus while the heel counter offers further stability to keep the feet happy. I would not hesitate one bit training and racing with this ride

My feet doesn't go crazy over shoes that comes with 4mm heel offset, but this one is special, it has all the right recipe to pleased my fussy feet. The slight firmness feel, the cushion and the stability seems to have all the right balance for me at this phase of my running. It will definitely make it to the list of shoe choices for the next marathon, and in fact this is now at pole position!! Yes I'm bias to this one for an obvious reason and yes I paid with my hard earned cash for this pair.

Overall the K7 is a great shoes, the shoe can double up as a trainer as well as your racing shoes. With the light weight and performance, is hard not to put it as a contender for any one of you there when you are shopping for a new pair of running shoes for that even a walking shoes. Now, I can vouch that the K7 does live up to the expectation of the goods that Kinvara series has made famous for.

It is retailing at RM429 and can be found at your local Royal Sporting House. Go grab one, you will not regret investing in this one.

Nike We Run KL 2016 Half Marathon Race Report

A fast shoes and a new personal best for the race

Nike We Run KL has been around this part of the town for a few years now, strangely this is my first time running in this race. Although is a half marathon race, however a race under the famous sports brand banner from Oregon would be everyone race to go to and therefore the race's slots were selling like a hot cake limiting to the number of running tee allocated for each shirt sizes. Assumption taken based on the fee structure of the race, the race is aiming towards the younger generation instead of the old folks like me, encouraging the youngster to engage into taking up sports. Run clinics were also organized by Nike weeks before the race led by Nike certified Coach Din and Coach Sue building up to race day. There were a lot of hype for this race, but is it really worth the hype?

Received a Whatsapp message from Yan Leng on the race registration opening informing me to quickly sign-up before it was snapped up. As usual on a weekend morning, I was out having some quality family time and wasn't accessible to a home computer. Knowing that, she quickly ask me to reach out to Choo for help and I did. Minutes later, I received an email on my mobile from the race organizer stating that "You are in". Fact is, I have been running more than 3 years now, but this would be my second race on the half marathon distance. First being New Balance Half Marathon years ago and this would be my second.

I've been in the rut since Kyoto Marathon (race report here), losing motivation and training mileage were in the low 40 KM/week at max without a reason. For some time now,  I have always been talking about recording a sub 2 hours half marathon (HM) timing but I have never recorded one. I wondered with all the marathons and multisports races that I've done, do I really have what it takes, and with the lost of motivation to train, can I really nail it? I have doubts in my training and I have doubt on how to race a HM being a relatively newbie on that distance.

Fast forward to race day, Jeanie, Sue Jean and Me would meet up at the Light Rail Transit (LRT) station before heading off to race side. However, 10 mins before reaching the station, I've got a text from Sue Jean informing that Jeanie was already 20 mins late and has not pick up her phone. As she was usually very punctual on our training run, I was wondering if she has overslept and start calling her frantically. After a few attempts, I finally managed to get though and rearranged the meeting time. No damage done as we have agreed to meet up early so even if she was late for the meet up, we still have spare time on hand. Reaching the race site, we quickly wade though the crowd to the baggage area and a quick toilet break, we then head to our designated "Sub2" pen. We met up with the rest of the gang (Piew, Yan Leng, Zijill, Selin and Choo) at the pen all ready for race start. The weather was very humid and hot, I started to sweat profusely standing without doing any warm up except for taking a few pictures that is hehe. Knowing a fact that day was hot, I kept wondering if it was because I was nervous for finally putting myself up to the test and I so wanted badly to nail it for good. Anyway, I was going blame Jeanie for being late if I didn't made it :p

With some ra ra, the race finally got underway on time. Piew being the fastest among us was telling me that he is going to start slow and picking up pace along the way and 5:40 min pace would be a no prob for a sub2 race. I was running along Piew for the 100m - 200m and within the next 500m he was gone like a speeding bullet and I was like " Blardy hell, what about the starting slow that we talked about?" Anyway, Piew is of a different league to me and would not be able to keep up with him anyway, so I kept going and doing my own race, my own pace.

Not a big problem wading through the crowd and manage to create some space between me and runners around me as we ran into the first 5 km with some rolling ups and downs. The ups are not big but with the kind of humidity and temperature that we were running in, the heart had to worked extra time supplying the O2 meeting the high demand from the legs. My pace was good, in fact it was 20 sec under the target sub2 pace, but I wasn't going to take any chances and kept going just in case I needed to walk later part of the race

Oh I forgot to talk about the race shoes!!! Ahem, my weapon of choice for the race was none other than the new Saucony Kinvara 7  (K7) in Red/Yellow (Chili Padi as I would call it). I bought the shoes about a week ago before race day and had only run about 11 KM in it. Is always a risk to run a new pair of shoes in a big race especially one that you are chasing for a goal time. Nevertheless, my first impression on the shoes was very positive, very stable and was able to comfortably put in a good pace during the first run. The K7 was a tad firmer than my recent marathon shoes but in return it gives the much needed stability stride after stride running a good race. For a fast comparison, it is definitely softer than the like of Adidas Adios Boost, Salomon X-series and New Balance Zante that were more unforgiving to my weak legs, but they are still fast racing shoes

Back to the race... 1st half of the race, we ran past a few KL city landmarks namely the formal Pudu Jail, Time Square then to the ups along the stretch of Lot 10 shopping mall, followed by Pavilion and the Prince Court Hospital. Running with a small softflask, meant that I skipped the 1st 3 water stations (3km, 5km, and 7km) so that I don't need to break my rhythm and keep going. On the 4th station at the KM 9, which was supposed to be my planned first stop, but seeing I haven't run out of juice I decided to skip the forth and made sure I finished up my flask heading to the 5th which incidentally was at the half way mark of the race slightly after the KLCC tower. A quick stop and go at the water station and a peeped at the watch for average pace,  it was all good at 5:16 min/km. I'm not surprise with that average, but can I hold on to it for the second half? The race starts here!!

At KM 14, I found my second wind and felt really strong pushing for pace going down below 5:15 min/pace and I told myself to capitalize on it and don't let go of the feeling. It felt really great for the next 2 KM then I developed a side stitch at KM 16, was forced to slow down managing the pain. I was determine not to let the sub 2 race slips away this time, with the pain I kept pushing finding the limit without letting the pain slowing me down too much.

I could really use a stretch at KM 16 

With 5 KM remaining, I wasn't going to throw my race away, so I chuffed and puffed to the ups and downs towards and past Lake Garden down heading towards Jalan Mahameru. With tired legs and lungs working on a double shift, the next 2 ups had the better of me and I started walking on both the ups. I made sure I took not more than 20 secs on each of the walk and forced myself to go back into running and not letting up. Then after a left down, The Majestic Hotel was a welcomed sight as it means the finishing line is just a striking distance and the watch says an average of 5:25 min/km. This is it, today is the day... today is my day!!

I remember sprinting down on the last straight, over taking a few more runners, the crowds were cheering and the straight felt forever reaching the finishing chute. I finally saw the finishing chute along with the clock, with meters left I could see the timing and it was under 2 hours sprinting across the finishing line. With my head held high, I gave myself a pat on the shoulder whispering "well done and thank you legs" to myself.. Yes I finally walked the talk and recorded an official sub 2 hours HM race!!

Ice on the head cooling down on a hot hot day

Good to see our brother Zane back in action

The rest of the group did well too. With Piew finishing way ahead of me which is expected, Selin and Yan Leng came back walking with wind beneath their wings (armpit..LOL) with a cards that has the word " Potential Podium Winner" on them.. Brovo ladies!!! With the rest of them running a good race respectively, it was a good race day for all. Good job team

two hot mamas

The 2 potential podium winners

The race was good with plenty of water/aid stations along the race route, oh they has sponge soaked with cold water too. The route was challenging with a few steep and gradual ups passing KL city landmarks and traffic police did a good job controlling traffics at any given busy intersection. Apart from the race pack collection and the absence of a race expo expected out of a big brand name race, it was an overall well organized race event. However we have much to learn from the overseas race organizer, this is true for all races held in MY and not specifically to Nike We Run KL. Yes they hype was real and it was worth the hype