I thought I would have missed this run since it clashed with our company's department trip to Penang. Luckily, Jamie told us that there would be a replacement run organized for Pacesetter volunteers the following weekend.
The double-hill route is one my favourites as it covers almost every aspect one can expect in road running; uphill, downhill, zigzags, long straights and best of all the greens provide healthy levels of oxygen minus the highway carbon-monoxide.
Gurney Drive
In all my holiday outings, no matter where, I will make it a point to jog around the area or hotel where I am staying. Apart from the exercise, I gain to sightsee and explore the area. In fact, I have been doing this way before I started regular running/racing.
For the department trip, we stayed in Evergreen Laurel Hotel just along Gurney Drive. Since the trip is a free and easy one, I thought I should do some training. On Sat, I started my run at 7:30 a.m, to my surprise it was already hot since it was next to the sea, the sun had already risen from the horizon. Ran back and forth Gurney Drive, probably end to end approximately 1.8-2km. This was also the first time I ran with my colleague, Ganesh. Ganesh has recently picked up running.
The following day, I started at 6:40 am and the walkway was already packed with elderly people doing their morning walks. There was a very fast Japanese runner who looked like a seasoned Marathoner doing lap after lap carrying a water bottle, smiling and enjoying the endorphins. He was there for hours!
Newton and Ben
Newton SMS to wallop more bananas to ensure maximum carbo and potassium loading. Ben Lim also missed the original run as he was caught up with work in Penang. Ben Lim told me "this time you can beat me because I haven't run in 2 weeks". At the back of my mind I say to myself..."even if you haven't run for 2 years, you will still beat me hands down". I mean how can you beat a person who runs like a machine.
I woke up 4:15 am before the alarm clock rang as my throat was dry and needed a drink.
It’s being a while since I parked my car at Bukit Aman. The last time I ran the double-hill was at least 9 months ago.
Hello Double-Hill
The NB vest was very tight fitting to the point my nipples protrude. Newton suggested I wear the Nike vest instead which I did bring along but I thought since this was an NB sponsored run, I am in a way obliged to wear it. No problems with the vest throughout the race.
Runners start and time themselves. Jamie took off like a rocket. I followed Newton from behind. Ben Lim was behind running with his camera. Just after the tunnel, I was panting....lack of training? My last run was 6 days ago. At the BNM KTM station my left knee for the first time in a race showed signs of sprain (?). My plan was to conserve stamina for the impending steep hill at Laman Tunku.
Shortly after entering Langgak Tunku, Ben caught up and started taking new angles with his camera. As soon as he finished taking the rear shots, he took off like a diesel powered locomotive. This man can run.
Did not feel I was in a race, was overtaken by at least 10 runners. At one point there was nobody in front or behind me as far as I can see.
Water Station
Somehow I was not thirsty when I took 2 cups of water from a water station setup strategically under the bus stop. Thank you Pacesetter volunteers! It was here that my race started. I overtook 2-3 runners and increase downhill pace. Coming down to National Monument I was clocking 69min-ish. I learnt from last year's run where I suffered in the Carcosa stretch because I did not foresee more hills.
Carcosa
Ran past a number of morning strollers and a few runners, I was now focusing to finish within 100 minutes. Entered Lake Gardens with increased pace. Bear in mind, there was a final long uphill ahead. Before the race started, I was informed to run straight up the hill, which means it is a shorter path than taking the deer/bird park route.
I finished in 93 mins. Met Newton and Ben who had taken the longer way but still finished way ahead.
Met friendly Penguin-2 in the washroom where he told me he was pacing with Ben. I told him I thought he was much faster of which he humbly said, "Penguins cannot run fast". I replied, "Turbo-Penguin can...".
My thoughts
I am happy with the outcome of this run not because I ran well but because despite of my incurable Tinnitus (ear-ringing) condition I was still able to sustain a 90+ min run. Dr.Sangara the ENT Specialist at Pantai Medical Center has twice reassured me I can continue with the distance running. I had my doubts. He was right.
29 May 2005
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Tinnitus
After 3 months and 2 ENT Specialists, my head is still ringing from the medical condition Tinnitus - ringing in the inner ear. Both specialists have indicated the condition may be permanent and there is no cure , I believe them. Will have to wait another 2 weeks before I go for an MRI head scan just to ensure nothing else grows inside my head.
It has affected my long distance running ability. More prone to nausea. I have also noticed I am more vocal than before during meetings.
It has affected my long distance running ability. More prone to nausea. I have also noticed I am more vocal than before during meetings.
Sunday, March 06, 2005
KL International Marathon 2005
After more than 3 months absence in racing, I was rather pleased to register for the KLIM 2005 half-marathon category. It is easy to say there was ample time to prepare for this race but it was not the case as Feb was a busy month – festival and office work. Weekly 8-10 lap run at the KLCC was absolutely boring because I hate running in circles! Had I not participated in this race, I would have settled for a 5km run at home.
Was advised by the seniors mileage is important. I try to sustain a 90 min run without water but after the 10th lap at KLCC, I hit the WALL. Later, I tried drinking after lap 8 but somehow it made it worse. Without fail, my upper right calf will tense up after lap 10. The furthest I have gone was lap 12, which is equivalent to 15.6kms. How did I finish the PJ Half-Marathon? Was it the PowerBar/Gel, racing adrenalin....?
Calm before the storm
I consumed more than 20 bananas a week before the race. I stopped running 5 days before the race but yet the right calf was showing signs of discomfort. I popped multi-vitamins,
spirulina, vitamin B-complex, vitamin E, fish oil, garlic, ginseng and eat catfish (ikan keli) with the hope it will expedite recovery of the muscles or tendon. Applied 3 types of analgesic: Sloans, Deep Heat and Counterpain. Yes, I was in a state of panic.
The night before the race, I went to bed at 10:30 pm but could only sleep past midnight. Mee Peng teased me and said “Kan Cheong ah?” (Translated from Cantonese “Excited ah?”)
Race Day
Woke up at 4:15 am, throat was dry after taking so many supplements. Drank a can of Gatorade. Once again, have to eat the super sweet Oatmeal Raisin PowerBar. Took me less than 20 mins to reach Dataran car park. Was glad to meet my training mates Newton and Ben Lim –their presence gave me a sense of tranquility. Met Kwok Foo who flew all the way from Switzerland, for the first time. Later met up with the regular KLCC kakis: Kenneth Teh, Rohaizad, Ronnie and CS.
With the Champion Chip, there were no worries of screw-up timing (unless the chip system is screwed). All runners will be running on an entirely new refreshing route.
The Storm
Not sure how it started but the moment we saw the crowd storming forward, it was the start already. As usual, Newton and I paced together. Just 2 mins into the run, a few runners were already pissing beside the Dayabumi tunnel. At the KTM roundabout, I saw quite a number of runners rushing into the KTM building (?). Are they going to take a train to town? It is possible to catch the KTM Komuter to Sentral, hop into the Monorail and get down at Jln Sultan Ismail’s Medan Tuanku station – the last leg of the race!
Reached Mid-Valley Megamall in 36:41, there was a chalked marker on the road that says 6km. Newton took off from here onwards. The organizers have improved tremendously by providing close intervals of sponge and water stations. Somewhere along the 9th km, I received a Lime Lemon Powergel. How generous! I swapped the gel with my own (expiring soon) and slurped the Tropical Fruit gel. Took 2 cups of water, drank the first one and as I was rinsing my hands with the second one, somebody shouted….
Ooi! Don’t waste the water!
It was Kenneth! Pacing with Rohaizad. I thought they would have been way ahead since they are much faster runners. Continued running the road that veered downhill to the left, joining the TUDM road leading back to the city. I could see the Petronas Twin Towers. Thank god there was no haze.
I heard a familiar voice from behind; it was Rohaizad. Ken asked me to pace with them, of which I replied I don’t think I could follow their pacing. There was the champion chip mat (10km?) again we saw at the start, I made sure I stepped on it twice, timing at this juncture was 1:03. After pacing with them for about 7 mins, I realized I was going too fast for my comfort. …when my greatest fear enveloped – my right calf began to show signs of distress.
Leg preservation
Running the flyover that connects to the Dewan Bahasa road, self-prognosis told me that my right leg is going to deteriorate if I do not slow down. (In PJ half last year, the same part of the leg muscle contracted after kilometer 17). The 10km category runners converged at Jln Imbi. Psychologically, the crowd gave me a sense of acceleration as most of them were walking. There were several runners whom I have treaded leads with since the Mid-valley Megamall section. They were also struggling to maintain pace.
Marriot Hotel
After taking the refreshments at Jln Imbi, I felt energized and started speeding towards Jln Bukit Bintang. I hallucinated Jln Sultan Ismail would be the home run. For the first time, I skipped the drink station here thinking I could save a couple of seconds since it could be just 2-3kms away from the finish line. It was such a long stretch; any small incline was an agony. At the end of Jln Sultan Ismail, turning left to Jln TAR, many runners were looking for second wind: to squeeze the last calorie, oxygen, that remained in their body. I was grunting openly “Argh! Urgh!”. Time: 1:55.
Dying of Thirst
From Sogo, I paid the price for not drinking at the last water station because by now my lips and throat were so dry that I could literally drink anything that was passed to me. I looked around and saw a sexy girl holding an Ambank water bottle. I was tempted to ask if she could let me drink a few gulps but was afraid she might misperceive me as “ham sap” (dirty guy). Embarrassment overcame dehydration.
Just before Dataran, I was overjoyed to see another table setup but my joy was short-lived because the folks told me the supply of water “sudah habis”. Desperation, at this point my focus was not about finishing but where to get WATER WATER WATER! I thought about scavenging the heaps of used/thrown water bottles. Another wacko idea that crossed my mind due to fatigue, was to grab/steal a bottled water from the mamak shop and tell them “Nanti saya bayar!”.
In the end, I grabbed 3 sponges from the pail, squeezed them above my head and drank whatever that dripped into my mouth. A bystander who was watching laughed at my antics. I almost wanted to put the whole sponge into my mouth.
The officials were vigilant to ensure the Half-Marathoners do the loop at the Jln Raja Laut junction and not head straight to Dataran. Good work.
Pertama Complex
I was going around Pertama Complex and had to slow to a walk for a few seconds to catch a breather. Time: 2:16. As I regain my jog, I was surprised to find Newton walking in front of me. Newton had earlier suffered cramps. He asked me to go ahead. At the back of my mind I was confident he would not have trouble finishing within qualifying time.
Last 200 meters
There was this lady runner with the yellow vest “PJ KU” doing a walk-run to the finishing line. I have been trailing her since the start of the race and at some stage lost sight of her. She was, like me facing exhaustion and probably thirst as well.
As I sprinted to the end, saw Ronnie aka PM1 with his friends sitting on the road, having finished much earlier despite injury. Waved at him and ran to the finish. Collected the larger than normal Finisher medal and almost forgot to stop my stopwatch. Finished in 2:24:02.
My thoughts
After the race, met up with Ben, Justin, Ken, Rohaizad, Kwok Foo, CS, Newton, Jamie and Linda. Ben Lim finished 1:57 and according to Mee Peng his effort looked like “21k is nothing for me”. Linda again triumphantly finished with a medal in the 10km category. Only managed a few photos as the camera ran out of battery. Damn!
My salutation goes to CS: for having the heart to compete the 21km distance after 18 years of absence; Newton: for his never die attitude to complete the race despite all odds and the maestro, Jamie for nailing the full marathon in sub-5 hours (sub-4 next?).
Congratulations to Ken too on his first half-marathon debut with an impressive timing.
Lastly, I must commend the organizers: Ambank and FTAAA for doing a good job this time as compared to last year. Significant improvements: Sound system, luggage area, massage, food, free flow of drinks, distinguishable finishing line and diligent officials.
Keep it up and WELL DONE!
Was advised by the seniors mileage is important. I try to sustain a 90 min run without water but after the 10th lap at KLCC, I hit the WALL. Later, I tried drinking after lap 8 but somehow it made it worse. Without fail, my upper right calf will tense up after lap 10. The furthest I have gone was lap 12, which is equivalent to 15.6kms. How did I finish the PJ Half-Marathon? Was it the PowerBar/Gel, racing adrenalin....?
Calm before the storm
I consumed more than 20 bananas a week before the race. I stopped running 5 days before the race but yet the right calf was showing signs of discomfort. I popped multi-vitamins,
spirulina, vitamin B-complex, vitamin E, fish oil, garlic, ginseng and eat catfish (ikan keli) with the hope it will expedite recovery of the muscles or tendon. Applied 3 types of analgesic: Sloans, Deep Heat and Counterpain. Yes, I was in a state of panic.
The night before the race, I went to bed at 10:30 pm but could only sleep past midnight. Mee Peng teased me and said “Kan Cheong ah?” (Translated from Cantonese “Excited ah?”)
Race Day
Woke up at 4:15 am, throat was dry after taking so many supplements. Drank a can of Gatorade. Once again, have to eat the super sweet Oatmeal Raisin PowerBar. Took me less than 20 mins to reach Dataran car park. Was glad to meet my training mates Newton and Ben Lim –their presence gave me a sense of tranquility. Met Kwok Foo who flew all the way from Switzerland, for the first time. Later met up with the regular KLCC kakis: Kenneth Teh, Rohaizad, Ronnie and CS.
With the Champion Chip, there were no worries of screw-up timing (unless the chip system is screwed). All runners will be running on an entirely new refreshing route.
The Storm
Not sure how it started but the moment we saw the crowd storming forward, it was the start already. As usual, Newton and I paced together. Just 2 mins into the run, a few runners were already pissing beside the Dayabumi tunnel. At the KTM roundabout, I saw quite a number of runners rushing into the KTM building (?). Are they going to take a train to town? It is possible to catch the KTM Komuter to Sentral, hop into the Monorail and get down at Jln Sultan Ismail’s Medan Tuanku station – the last leg of the race!
Reached Mid-Valley Megamall in 36:41, there was a chalked marker on the road that says 6km. Newton took off from here onwards. The organizers have improved tremendously by providing close intervals of sponge and water stations. Somewhere along the 9th km, I received a Lime Lemon Powergel. How generous! I swapped the gel with my own (expiring soon) and slurped the Tropical Fruit gel. Took 2 cups of water, drank the first one and as I was rinsing my hands with the second one, somebody shouted….
Ooi! Don’t waste the water!
It was Kenneth! Pacing with Rohaizad. I thought they would have been way ahead since they are much faster runners. Continued running the road that veered downhill to the left, joining the TUDM road leading back to the city. I could see the Petronas Twin Towers. Thank god there was no haze.
I heard a familiar voice from behind; it was Rohaizad. Ken asked me to pace with them, of which I replied I don’t think I could follow their pacing. There was the champion chip mat (10km?) again we saw at the start, I made sure I stepped on it twice, timing at this juncture was 1:03. After pacing with them for about 7 mins, I realized I was going too fast for my comfort. …when my greatest fear enveloped – my right calf began to show signs of distress.
Leg preservation
Running the flyover that connects to the Dewan Bahasa road, self-prognosis told me that my right leg is going to deteriorate if I do not slow down. (In PJ half last year, the same part of the leg muscle contracted after kilometer 17). The 10km category runners converged at Jln Imbi. Psychologically, the crowd gave me a sense of acceleration as most of them were walking. There were several runners whom I have treaded leads with since the Mid-valley Megamall section. They were also struggling to maintain pace.
Marriot Hotel
After taking the refreshments at Jln Imbi, I felt energized and started speeding towards Jln Bukit Bintang. I hallucinated Jln Sultan Ismail would be the home run. For the first time, I skipped the drink station here thinking I could save a couple of seconds since it could be just 2-3kms away from the finish line. It was such a long stretch; any small incline was an agony. At the end of Jln Sultan Ismail, turning left to Jln TAR, many runners were looking for second wind: to squeeze the last calorie, oxygen, that remained in their body. I was grunting openly “Argh! Urgh!”. Time: 1:55.
Dying of Thirst
From Sogo, I paid the price for not drinking at the last water station because by now my lips and throat were so dry that I could literally drink anything that was passed to me. I looked around and saw a sexy girl holding an Ambank water bottle. I was tempted to ask if she could let me drink a few gulps but was afraid she might misperceive me as “ham sap” (dirty guy). Embarrassment overcame dehydration.
Just before Dataran, I was overjoyed to see another table setup but my joy was short-lived because the folks told me the supply of water “sudah habis”. Desperation, at this point my focus was not about finishing but where to get WATER WATER WATER! I thought about scavenging the heaps of used/thrown water bottles. Another wacko idea that crossed my mind due to fatigue, was to grab/steal a bottled water from the mamak shop and tell them “Nanti saya bayar!”.
In the end, I grabbed 3 sponges from the pail, squeezed them above my head and drank whatever that dripped into my mouth. A bystander who was watching laughed at my antics. I almost wanted to put the whole sponge into my mouth.
The officials were vigilant to ensure the Half-Marathoners do the loop at the Jln Raja Laut junction and not head straight to Dataran. Good work.
Pertama Complex
I was going around Pertama Complex and had to slow to a walk for a few seconds to catch a breather. Time: 2:16. As I regain my jog, I was surprised to find Newton walking in front of me. Newton had earlier suffered cramps. He asked me to go ahead. At the back of my mind I was confident he would not have trouble finishing within qualifying time.
Last 200 meters
There was this lady runner with the yellow vest “PJ KU” doing a walk-run to the finishing line. I have been trailing her since the start of the race and at some stage lost sight of her. She was, like me facing exhaustion and probably thirst as well.
As I sprinted to the end, saw Ronnie aka PM1 with his friends sitting on the road, having finished much earlier despite injury. Waved at him and ran to the finish. Collected the larger than normal Finisher medal and almost forgot to stop my stopwatch. Finished in 2:24:02.
My thoughts
After the race, met up with Ben, Justin, Ken, Rohaizad, Kwok Foo, CS, Newton, Jamie and Linda. Ben Lim finished 1:57 and according to Mee Peng his effort looked like “21k is nothing for me”. Linda again triumphantly finished with a medal in the 10km category. Only managed a few photos as the camera ran out of battery. Damn!
My salutation goes to CS: for having the heart to compete the 21km distance after 18 years of absence; Newton: for his never die attitude to complete the race despite all odds and the maestro, Jamie for nailing the full marathon in sub-5 hours (sub-4 next?).
Congratulations to Ken too on his first half-marathon debut with an impressive timing.
Lastly, I must commend the organizers: Ambank and FTAAA for doing a good job this time as compared to last year. Significant improvements: Sound system, luggage area, massage, food, free flow of drinks, distinguishable finishing line and diligent officials.
Keep it up and WELL DONE!
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