Power Run 2006

Almost skip this run as 2 days earlier I had a suspicious mild sore throat infection. Ganesh my colleague was already on MC with the same ailment. Drank heaps of water and a whole pot of barley. On Sat I stayed indoors and try to keep my body cool and hydrated. Times like this the choice of food is important because it can trigger the virus to overrun the immune system.

Sunday morning

I woke up at 6am and the throat felt much better. The night before I told myself if the throat deteriorates in the morning I will just continue with my sleep. Took a leisurely drive to Dataran. Downed a packet of PowerGel.

While entering the barricade I wished Penguin Meng good morning. He looks much slimmer than the time I last saw him. Tey who is now becoming a fulltime cameraman shook my hand to wish me luck. Looked around for Ben and CS but couldn’t find them. I spent the next few minutes stretching my legs. Couldn’t see any familiar faces in the pen, probably they were early and have moved to the front line.

Start off

Not many runners. The weather was good. I ran the first km in 5.5 mins. I made a mental note to reach the National Monument bus stop within 60mins. Stomach cramps in 10km races are expected so I remind myself. All the pacers that I tried to follow eventually fade away. I didn’t have the sub 6min/km pace.

Arrived Jln Duta junction in 26:17. “Is the time ok?” I asked myself. I don’t know. I didn’t check my previous race timing on this checkpoint. After the Orange Run last Sunday, the Duta Hill seems easier! Coming downhill my strides were not in full extension unlike last year, I remember.

Tugu Peringatan

At the Jln Parlimen flyover I kept looking at my stopwatch, can I reach the bus stop in time? 59.17 that was my time, 40 seconds slower than last year. Ok, now it is the last stretch, I’ve ran this stretch many times already but wait my right tight seems to be cramping. No speed training surfacing? I ignored the pain.
Penguin KC who is now probably well known for his interesting photos taken with the Nikon D50 DSLR was standing in front of the Clock Tower snapping the finishers.

Finishing line

I am lucky to finish in 67:31. While walking towards the drinks tent, Choi (ccube) called me and we both joked Machine Man’s no show was probably because he had a late alcoholic night (which proved to be true!).

Overall, it was a good hard run. It would be interesting to see if the sub 70 time could be maintained or improved for the years to come, something which I thought was not possible 2 years ago.