Exactly a year ago, I pondered if I could survive my first 21km race, the PJ Half-Marathon. Coming into the same race this year, I wondered if I could repeat the feat by qualifying this time since the PJ Half is not full 21kms but 19.5km. I also wanted to erase the disappointment of being mistimed last year despite finishing 2:13.
After PutraJaya run, I took it easy to rest the legs and did only one 15-min light running. A blogger called the back-to-back Putrajaya and PJ half-marathon run “The double Jaya Run”. Indeed it was a double “jaya” and double happiness run for this blogger.
Carbo overload
The night before the race, it was again my niece birthday held in the afternoon. Unlike last year, this time I took the greasy cake, fried chicken, fried sotong, chips, noodles etc.... I made sure I was stuffed by eating Hor Fun (noodles) at 9 p.m.
Woke up at 4:30 a.m with a headache. Took half powerbar, 2 bananas, cereal drink and 2 vitamin pills. I am still keeping the opened Putrajaya powergel in the fridge! Consumed it once I reached the Stadium carpark.
Met Kenneth Teh (PM20) at the road junction. Haven't seen him for quite awhile. Incidentally, he was also the first person I met last year. We met our opposite neighbour, Mrs. Su who was running the 5km category. She finished the Putrajaya 21km in 2:15 in the senior category a remarkable timing considering she is a busy mother with 4 children.
Off we go...
I started off quickly with no feet problems experienced in Putrajaya but had an unexpected urge to urinate despite visiting the washroom just 15 minutes ago (prostate gland enlargement?). Maybe it is due to anxiety but I did drink quite a fair bit of water in the morning.
I reached the first waterstation right before the Motorola flyover in 22+ mins, which was 2 mins faster than last year. U turn back on the other side, there were many familiar runners from the Putrajaya run. I recognized them from the rear and side profile but not the face. This is because during a run, one normally doesn’t get to see the runner face to face!
Ponytail girl, Adidas man, Bidor Kaki and Slim Orange Lady were all there and we seem to share the same pace. After I overtook Ponytail girl, it began to drizzle. Alamak! Would this be my first time racing under the rain? It was almost 7a.m and chilly.
Raindrops keep falling on my head…
Just as I approached the Subang airport flyover, the rain got heavier. I ran a little faster to induce more body heat negating the coldness. By now, my hair was dripping and shoes soaked. I decided not to lap (press buttons) on my Timex watch as it had a problem of hanging/reseting under wet conditions.
12 km
The distance markers were completely missing until km 12. Time was 77 mins. No race plan no target checkpoints just run to the best of my ability so I told myself. The new flyover under construction last year was ready this year for the runners to tackle its gradient.
After passing the Subang roundabout, I saw Kenneth on the opposite road, it was the same place I saw Newton last year. I waved and gave him a thumbs-up. I should be making a U-turn soon at the Aerobridge so I thought but to my chagrin, the U-turn was right at the end of Terminal 3 roundabout! The route is now at least 1.5km longer!
Habis, habis my 2-3 minute gain is completely wiped out by this longer route.
16 km
Reached the km 16 marker in 1:45+. I did a quick arithmetic; to finish 2:15 I need to run the last 5kms within 30mins i.e. 6mins/km. It was mission impossible and my only hope was the distance marker was inaccurate.
I put up a challenge and increased pace. Then I saw the new daunting flyover again and people walking on it. This was the turning point of the race.
At the crest of the flyover, I gazed far ahead to locate the final left junction turn to Kelana Jaya. When I could not see it, I lost hope.
Chopsticks
My stamina was dead.
Though my legs had no muscle pull or cramps, they were as stiff as chopsticks. Out of the blue, an orange angel appeared. It was Slim Orange Lady (SOL), she had been following or pacing behind me for the last 8-10kms! SOL seemed to adopt the Galloway’s walk-run strategy. In the last 3 kms, we exchanged leads 6-7 times until it became embarrassing. I almost wanted to chat with her since we were running side by side. I wanted to tell her I wasn’t competing with her but merely trying to survive. Maybe she thinks the same?
I was running so slowly until a smart Mat Salleh’s fast walking equaled my slow run. (Perhaps I should walk more often but Ben says, “It is a sin”.)
Angel speed
Finally, we came to the Kelana Jaya junction, from here onwards SOL took off. I started walking too after observing the Mat Salleh’s speed walking.
Coming into the stadium, it was rather quiet, overtook one runner and sprinted the last 100 meters.
Wan the ex-Pacesetter President waiting at the finishing line whom at first I thought was a race official, handed me a 30km Pacesetter race application form which initially I thought was some certificate!
There was no official to take my position. According to Mee Peng, the moment the 2:15 qualifying time ended, the race officials just left the finishing line. I completed the race in 2:26:49.
Traffic control could be improved with road closure as 99 percent of the time we were running along with the traffic. I fear somebody may get hurt one day.
Keep trying
This is my 4th Half-Marathon. For the 2nd year running, I failed to qualify for the PJ Half. This is the only race event I fail to meet the qualifying mark. Regardless of age group, the PJ Half-Marathon organizers fix the qualifying time of 2:15 for all categories.
On the positive side, my legs were stronger this time and perhaps with higher mileage I may one day conquer the 2:15 barrier.
