Once I broke the sub 70 minutes barrier, the challenge was not merely to improve further but maintaining it at this level was itself a difficult feat! This is proven in the Siemens run.
Where the hell are the mobile toilets?
5 days before the race, I felt I was going to get a mild sore throat and adopted my usual remedy of drinking cups and cups of water. It worked (again). On Saturday night and race morning, I made sure I was well hydrated by taking more drinks than I would usually consume prior to a race.
Reached Dataran and parked at the usual underground car park. The basement washroom was not opened yet. I took Ben's bibs and went to the Clock Tower area to wait. After a quick scan around the area, I realized there were no mobile toilets onsite and decided to check the basement again. To my disappointment it has yet to open. There were numerous runners searching desperately in the basement looking for a place to let-go. Some had to let-go in a corner and I followed suit! Don't blame the runners if the car park stinks, blame the management who don't open such facilities early to cater for nature calls.
Quick StartBen Lim turned up to collect his bibs. Ben as I know him is a rugged runner: runs with his old 4-year-old Nike "detached sole" shoes, no Powerbar/gel in half-marathons, appears to be unperturbed if there is no water and have never complained about stomach or muscle cramps in all his runs. Is this a man or a machine?
Inside the barricade, met CS, Jamie, Newton, Rohaizad and others. Was glad to see CS back in action. The last time we ran together was in April in Singapore. Datuk Ong Tee Keat was the guest of honour to flag-off the race. Notice there were unusually a high number of Mat Salleh runners, probably working for Siemens.
Bang! Off we go. Sifu (Jamie) told me he would be taking it easy since the Singapore Marathon is next week. I tried to follow Ben and Newton's pace, well at least for the first few kilometers, but was unable to keep up. I was completely outpaced after the 1st kilometer. Newton has improved tremendously. I used to be able to follow him for at least the first 2-3 kilometers but not this time. Ben was probably going at a fast 5-5.5mins/km pace (During our double-hill route training, I normally would be able to keep up with him for the first 4 kms - his warm-up.)
Benchmark
I memorized the Adidas KOTR run times at the 5km and 9.5km mark. To equal or better the times, I must reach the Duta Stadium in 27.5mins. Managed to reach this mark in 27mins but my legs felt so heavy. I soon realized I started off too fast and was beginning to feel the stomach cramps building up. I still have the Duta hill in front of me! This will be my toughest 10km race!
I toiled the Duta Hill with all the mental strength I had. Coming downhill was a bit dangerous, as the road construction had narrowed the road. Was trading leads with this male runner, he was sort of using the Galloway technique. Just before the Jln Semantan flyover, a male Caucasian (imitating a Malaysian slang) runner came up to me and said "It's pretty boring lah. There is nothing to see! ". I couldn't agree more. This has to be the most boring 10km run. The female runners are nowhere to be seen. Either I am running so well that they are behind me or they are well ahead.
Approaching the Jln Parlimen flyover, I looked at my watch to see if I was within target of reaching the 2nd checkpoint in time. I need to run within 4 mins to reach the Bkt Aman traffic lights. Overtook a number of walkers including the Gallo runner. Clocked 1:00:57 at the 2nd checkpoint (KOTR was 59.5mins). I was lagging behind by 1.5 mins from my previous race time.
Last Hurrah
Towards the end, the last km I did not know what to expect. Normally, I would focus on a strong finish but this time I was in a daze. I have pushed myself too hard by trying to meet the checkpoint times. Every step I took I wanted to stop. Legs felt dead heavy. The moment I stopped at the finishing line, my sigh of relief ran from my head down to my toes. The body can finally stop what the mind won’t allow. Stopwatch displayed 1:09:17. Just over a minute from PR.
Later met up with CS, Jamie, Newton, Rohaizad, Ben, Kenny, Mee Peng and her friend Lynda.Ben finished a fast 56 mins. Newton homed in a record time of 60mins. Lynda got a medal and was the top 40 finishers in the 7km Women Veteran category. Mee Peng clocked 56mins and had minor cramps. Kenny probably finished around 76 mins.
This had to be mentally the most tormenting 10km race. I had thoughts of stopping and walk right from the 5th kilometer mark but refused to give in. Tried hard to close my mind off the heavy legs and shortness of breath. The race certainly proves that if I were to maintain a below 70mins performance, I have to run with all guns blazing! I feel I may have reached my maximum potential. I would be very surprised if I could improve further by even 5% in the near future. Let’s see…
Lesson learnt: Running too fast at the beginning is not the right way to a good start.
2004 Review:
I have done 11 races in 2004. Here are my thoughts of them:
- KLIM 2004 (10km) : Eye opener, as a first-timer completing the race within qualifying time was an accomplishment and it conquered my fear of running long distances.
- Power Run (10km): Running with a pacer, Newton made the race less boring.
- Hong Leong Charity Run (5km): It is short but can you sustain the speed? Discovered 5km is tougher than 10km. Short distance racing can be stressful.
- JP Morgan Corporate Challenge (5.6km): The best-organized race I have ever experienced. First class!
- Nike Pacesetter (15km): First encounter with the Double Hill. Learnt why pacing is important.
- Penchala Tunnel Run (10km): Tunnel looks like Monte Carlo F1 race. Air quality was excellent with surrounding greenery and kampung serenity.
- Olympic Run (7km): Running alone. Comrades didn’t turn-up
- Amway Health Jog (5km): First time running with Mee Peng.
- Adidas KOTR (10km): Top form. Ran a comfortable PR of 68mins.
- PJ Half-Marathon (21km): Feels great to finally tackle this distance but was cheated by mistimed qualifying time.
- Siemens Run (10km): Mentally most challenged 10km run.
