9 hours before the race, before I went to bed, I surfed the Pacesetters and http://www.runnersmalaysia.com.my/ website to obtain more information about the route, qualifying time and articles related to cramps.
Race Day
To ensure full nourishment I overdose myself with Cordyceps, multi-vitamins, spirulina, 2 teaspoonful of Nestum, a banana and a PowerBar. Luckily the self-formulated and tested nutrient loading didn’t cause any stomach upset.
The response to this event was tremendous judging from the good turn up. My strategy was to run as defensively as possible. You can say it’s a chicken’s run. To slow down whenever there is a slightest hint of leg sprain. I will not force or ignore the signs unlike in shorter distance races. To survive I have to conserve.
I recollect the words of wisdom from some of my fellow runners as an assurance I do not panic at the starting line:
“ Break and tackle 10kms at a time. Once you finish 10 kms, go for the next 10kms” - Machine Man a.k.a. Ben Lim, a sub-4 Marathoner.
“Carbo load and hydrate well” - Jamie, my sifu.
“Walk if you cannot run“ - TM Wong and Francis Toh both veteran Marathoners.
“The important thing is just to finish it. Forget the timing” said Newton especially those doing their first Marathon (though this is not a Full but the same principle applies). These are not just words because he once completed a half-marathon despite suffering injury from the very start, by walking in pain right up to the finishing line, no matter how long it takes. That is pure courage.
Follow the Leader
TM Wong, an experienced veteran runner seemed to have the ideal pace so I followed him as far as I could. We started off together. Wong asked me to go ahead but I told him I would not be going any faster.
After completing the double hill at Tugu Peringatan, the first 10kms with a time of 1:14, my legs felt fine. We ran back to Bank Negara and on the uphill while chatting with Wong about Mt. Kinabalu, my thighs began to stiffen. I told Wong I would be dropping off pace of which he said he would wait for me in front. I told him it was ok to go ahead without me.
The stopwatch showed past 1:30 hrs and I knew I had run past my maximum weekend run duration threshold. I have only covered 12+ kms.
In Hartamas, an Indian man probably in his late 20s muttered some encouraging words “a little more and it is downhill”. Then it was Mr. Singh a tall regular senior veteran runner of which I greeted him “Hello Uncle”.
Bare-footed lady is back displaying superior pace consistency regardless of the terrain.
Towards the end of Hartamas, Francis Toh was manning the PowerBar station distributing Power Gel. I had just consumed the gel I brought myself so the freshly opened pack had to be tucked into my back pocket. The time was 2:27.
After the U-turn, I pretended I had not covered 20kms and tried to run my usual pace. Tried to forget the conservative measures and go into race mode.
For the next km, I was overtaking a number of runners but as soon as the next incline came I fizzle out to a walk. Reality is slowly setting in. There were a couple of tail end runners coming from the opposite direction, who I believe missed the flag-off time. I cheered them up by saying “Alright! You can do it!” Perhaps I was also reminding myself.
Approaching the steep Mosque, super fit Tey came from behind sporting his new Nikon D40 DSLR camera. He said he has already snapped 700+ photos. Tey took several shots of me.
By now, my legs were beginning to falter. For the first time in a race, I asked the Red Crescent volunteer to give me some analgesic cream. I rubbed them on both my knees and thighs.
It felt nothing. 3 minutes later I had a shock. My right thigh seems to be having a seizure! Muscle contraction and twitching as if there were worms inside. I could still walk. The analgesic cream had an effect on it, something I had feared all long because when I apply Deep Heat at home, it had similar but lesser reaction. I took a gamble.
Thankfully, the spasms slowly wore off about 10 minutes and the cream actually had a therapeutic and painkilling properties. At this stage, Tey who was aware of my condition and predicament comforted me by advising me to walk and run only when I feel like it. Tey is a good man. I felt I had a guardian at that time.
After crossing Jln Duta and back to Kenny Hills, my thirst grew. I prayed let there be water available at the water stations since I was the tail end batch of runners. My wish was granted. Not only water was available but Powerbar Endurance drink as well. Yahoooo!!!
I drank 3 cups of Endurance and 1 cup of water. Thank you PaceSetters! You are the only club that ensures all water stations are well stocked unlike some other organizers.
9 out of 10 runners resorted to walking mix with short slow runs especially uphill. We looked like a bunch of refugees seeking divine help to zap us with that one last burst of energy and stamina.
What I did not expect out of myself was that I had to resort to walking despite going on a downhill! The fear lingered on my legs, as I had no control or idea when it would strike with a full-blown cramp. The signs were all there. I had to manage it. An ambulance stopped to give aid to 2 runners who sat next to a drain, one of them shrieking in pain from a severe cramp.
The Last Kilometer
The last stretch, Jln Parlimen uphill back to Lake Garden stimulates euphoria of finishing strongly. I tried to imagine I was doing the start of Rover Track in FRIM. It worked for about a minute or 2, I walked and pick up again. Finally, I ran non-stop from the Lake Club entrance to the finishing line with fellow Pacemaker Tan Boon Seng cheering by the side.
Right after the finish line, I kept walking because I could feel, had I stopped abruptly the cramps would hit me immediately. My thighs were quivering like electrocuted jelly. Fortunately, the convulsions subsided after the warm-down.
It was all over. I survived. I have done it in 3:54:40 well over the qualifying time of 3:45. The last 10km took 1:27. Collected the goodie bag, met up with Choi, Dinesh and Francis. I congratulated Francis for yet another well-organized Pacesetter race.
The first thing I told Mee Peng after the race was that it was “Lor Mang” (Forsake Life). In retrospect, it was exaggerated, but it was a worthy challenge. It opened up a new frontier in running and mind management.
The discovery continues.
