PJ Half Marathon

I have heard so much about the PJ Half-Marathon from people who had completed it many years ago way before I started running. Kenny, my brother had done it 17 years ago. He reminisced the kind of disciplined training; running almost daily at Lake Gardens sometimes with veteran Pacesetters members.


Others have warned: “You MUST train for this distance, it is not like 10k” – Suresh my colleague pointed. None of my practice runs have gone beyond 13kms. The last long run was the Nike 15km back in April. The night before the race was also my niece’s birthday – Kenny’s daughter. While doing my routine photographing, Kenny again proudly pointed his framed and famed 1987 PJ Half-Marathon certificate with a timing of 2:17 (literally asking me to match his timing). I got worried when he said, “ Watch out after the 18th km because that is when you start to dehydrate.” Even Mee Peng questioned my readiness “Do you have enough training or not? I notice you hardly run “

On the positive side my 2 mentors: Jamie and Newton have full confidence in me. “…you will do 2:15 come race day. mark my words!” says Jamie. “You did Nike 15km and that was running on hills..” says Newton. Deep inside, I dread the thought of not finishing.

Went to bed around 10:30p.m after a hefty birthday meal of fettuccini, meehoon, half-burger and fried drumsticks (chicken feet power). I skipped the greasy birthday cake.

It's time…


Woke up at 3:30 a.m. Breakfast: Oatmeal PowerBar, self-formulated cereal drink and 2 bananas. Stomach felt a bit bloated up – took a heavier dose of cereal drink than normal. Packed 600ml of Gatorade for pre-race consumption and 2 packets of PowerGel.

It was easy to spot the PJ Stadium as the floodlights were brightly lit. Reached the car park around 5:50 a.m. The stadium was spacious and unlike Dataran there were proper free toilets and no smelly mobile units. Pre-race drinking water was available – a first! Good job sponsors! Later, met Cheah and Newton’s brother Chee Hwa. I decided not to carry the water bottle pouch after talking to Chee Hwa who is a seasoned half-marathoner. I forgot to thank Chee Hwa for helping me with the bibs collection earlier.


The 2 officials who manned the Registration card counter gave the wrong info by stating the race starts from inside the stadium. Later, there was an announcement to assemble outside the stadium. As I moved towards the road, Newton called me. Newton introduced me to Justin. Also met Kenneth and his wife, Yen-Nee. Justin advised us of the long incline at the start. While waiting, suddenly we saw people running perpendicular to the road where we were standing. We thought it was the start of the race! To everyone’s relieve it was a false start.

The Challenge Begins…


I started my stopwatch at the sound of the gunfire. Here I am… finally doing the 21km run. As usual Newton ran along side. Everybody seemed to take it easy, no rushing. Around the first kilometer, Jamie came up on our left flank. Called him and 3 of us chatted for a minute before Jamie went ahead. Later somebody greeted us from behind; it was Sivapalan our ex-secondary-schoolmate. Reached the 1st water station, supposedly the 4th km mark in 24:48. We didn’t feel we were running fast and suspect the distance markers may be inaccurate.

Very organized water station and option of drinks; first group served isotonic drinks and the second group drinking water, distinguishable by the cup design. Good job Water Station organizers! I grabbed 2 cups of water. Took my time to gulp the first one down. I used the second cup to rinse my hands and wipe my face.

Motorola Interchange


Told Newton to go ahead. U turned at the bridge, ran on the pavement and back on the other side of the Federal Highway. Cars and buses were all over the place. Somehow I was unperturbed by the presence of these vehicles since I am used to running on the road shoulder (sometimes at night) at home. Skipped the first sponge station.

In the next 2 kms, I was trading leads with a lady runner. Her footsteps were dead silent. Cannot hear her breathing or movement. At the start of the Subang flyover, her agility pulled her uphill ahead of me. I took my time to neutralize the hill and sped downhill. Managed to overtake the feather light runner. Cannot really see her face because normally when I overtake I don’t turn my head to look at the person but when being overtaken I will occasionally look. Since she moved like a ninja, I have no way of knowing when she will next overtake.

From afar, I could see the 100 Plus umbrellas, which means it’s the second 8km water station. I had planned to take the PowerGel at this stop but changed my mind. The feeling was like “I’d rather breathe than eat”. Did not have the appetite. The water was rejuvenating and energizing. Next came the sponge station. This is the first time I took the sponge. It was ice-cold water!

At the 11km mark a Caucasian lady runner (dyed blonde hair) slowly overtook me. This spurred me to follow her pace. She may not have the perfect body but her skin completion was excellent - like porcelain. I just followed her closely and soon realized a lot of cars were slowing down to look at her! Including a TNB truck loaded with uniformed staff moving along with us at jogging speed! Opposites attract – she must be some kind of magnet.


As I was approaching the 12km water station, it was time to slurp the caffeinated strawberry flavoured PowerGel. Took my time to drink 1.5 cups of water. By this time, Porcelain Runner was ahead by about 10 meters. I caught up with her and hesitated whether I should overtake or just follow from behind since our pace was almost identical. In the end, I overtook her and a few other male runners who seemed to be tailing her :)


From the opposite road, I could see the leaders heading back to the stadium. Admired their athleticism. On the other hand, I saw a runner sitting by the cement walkway massaging his toes, not sure if it was cramps or blisters. I pity him because he looked kind of sad.

Subang Roundabout


After the Subang roundabout I was able to see closely the runners who had already U-turned back at the Aerobridge. Saw Newton on the other side taking a sponge and gave him a yell. Took about 5mins before it was my turn to take a sponge. At this point I saw Ninja girl in the opposite direction running with her eyes almost closed. While running back to the roundabout, images of “2:15” and “2:17” begin to cloud my mind. Kenny and Jamie’s expectations were haunting me.

Beyond 15km


I was looking forward to the 4th and last water station. Next to it was a big “15KM” signboard. I reached here at 1:38:20. My tongue was dancing with joy when I drowned my dry throat with water. No intention of taking the 2nd Gel. Here onwards I started concentrating on the route; keeping a look out on loose gravels leftover from the construction and using the shortest possible path when tackling a bend. At one long right turning stretch, instead of running to the left most lane which was cordoned by cones, I choose to run just outside the cones to shave off a few meters. I was running with my head down and did not even notice Porcelain lady had accelerated way ahead – she had turned on her afterburners!

Twilight Zone


Somewhere at the 17 or 18th km right after the Subang NKVE flyover, my left calf muscle twitched. The spasms were intermittent and it got me worried. It was a sign of a mild cramp that could develop into something, which I was afraid I could not control (had I taken the 2nd gel would it make a difference? I wondered).

Initially, I was comfortably tailing two runners and when it happened I immediately dropped off. Since the contraction was on the left leg, I used my right leg to push forward and the left one to limp. This technique seemed to work albeit at a reduced speed but at least I did not have to walk or stop. This is what happens when one has never tested the distance – it was exactly what I feared and what Kenny had warned.

20km Signboard


I was excited when I approached the left turning, the signboard states “20km”. I looked at my watch it was 2:01:51. It was back to the MAS building road. I should have no problems covering the last kilometer in 13 minutes! Flashes of glory and jubilation tingled my spine. As I was sprinting pass the traffic lights in one of the junctions, my right calf had a sudden attack! The split second feeling was as if the muscle behind my knee had momentarily lost contact with the bone. I was over-abusing my right leg due to the earlier situation. This is where teamwork comes into play; it is now the left leg that would take the lead and the right one dragging along.

Another Gunshot


I ran and kept wondering where the hell is the stadium entrance. Followed the runner in front of me and pray he knows the way. A group of runners probably the leaders who had finished much earlier cheered us on. I smiled and acknowledged their support. There onwards, I dare not look at the stopwatch as now every second counts. Finally I entered the stadium, the comfy track cushioning was so nice to run on. About 150 meters from the finishing line, I heard a gun shot “BANG!!!”. Something told me it was bad news and indeed it was. Jamie and Newton were cheering me on. I queued up at the finishing line in front of another “A” group runner and stopped my Timex watch. It showed 2:13:10.

Disappointment


I waited for awhile while the officials were not recording any of our bibs. Then one of them broke the bad news “The official time is over”. One of the runners who was just behind me questioned the official and said his stopwatch showed it was before 2:15 of which the official replied “You cannot follow your time, you have to follow our official time”. I felt shortchanged and flabbergasted. So near yet so far but that is how it is.



Group Photo


While I was digesting the situation, Newton came up to me to join in a group photo. I was the last runner. Mee Peng jested and told me she had earlier requested Cheah (Cheah did a fantastic 1:50) to run back and look for me…just in case I pengsan (fainted). Kenneth and Yen-Nee had finished an hour earlier and were waiting for the rest. This would motivate me to run faster next time, as I do not want to keep the good people waiting too long for the last man. Thanks to all the comrades!



Retrospective


Prior to this race, I had 2 fears. One was that I might not be physically strong enough to withstand the 2+ hours of continuous pounding (did not adopt Galloway). The second was the water station: should I carry the water bottle as insurance for a “no water” scenario? I honestly believe I cannot possibly finish within 2:15 and had hoped no injuries would hamper my aim to just complete the race. It’s a miracle.

Adidas King of the Road

This race attracted a number of participants probably because of the Adidas T-shirt. On race day, at least 5 of the runners whom I’ve helped to register did not turn-up. Reasons cited were illness, out of town and work commitment. I was looking forward to this run because I wanted to gauge my fitness level since it will be the same route as the KLIM and Power Run 2004.

Jln Duta Revisited

Woke up real early, 3:50 a.m. Ate 3/4 of PowerBar and gave the other quarter to Mee Peng. Mee Peng will be running her first 7km distance under the Women Veteran category. Contemplated whether I should wear my contact lenses* or stick to my glasses. Decided to try something different and went for the contacts.

While driving, I had an unexplained mild chest discomfort but luckily it disappeared during the race. Reached Dataran at 6:30 a.m and met up with Cheah. I have photographed every running event but this time I do not have a photographer since Mee Peng was running as well. Determined to photograph somehow, decided to take the camera first for some pre-race shots. Since I had to rush back to the Dataran basement car park after the shooting, I made sure I observe the time by looking at the Clock Tower. To my chagrin, the Clock Tower was dead! Bad feng shui!

After struggling with the camera's aperture and some insignificant shots, I left the Ixus back in the car. Entered the barricade and met up with Jaime, Newton, Kenneth and the rest.

Flag-Off

Bang! Off we go. This is probably one of the biggest 10km group. I thought I was starting-off rather conservatively until I suddenly realized I was about to overtake Sifu (Jamie)! Immediately, I joked "Eh! How can I overtake Sifu?" and decided to fallback. Sifu quipped, "It's not me but it’s you going fast!" 3 of us, Newton, Kenneth and myself were running closely together. We were also secretly chasing a Cutie. Just before the Bank Negara tunnel, Cheah called me from behind. 4 of us were pacing rather well. In the midst of running the BNM hill, Newton introduced me to Kenneth and likewise I introduced Cheah to both of them.

Shortly after the 2nd kilometer, Cheah switched to his normal pace and went ahead. Newton and I bumped into an ex-La Sallian schoolmate, Sivapalan. At the 3rd kilometer, Kenneth and Newton surged ahead. Was able to tail them until the water station. Thereafter I lost sight of the pair.

Took only a sip of the 100 Plus. Did not drink the whole cup, as I do not know the effects of the gas and risk tummy ache.

Duta Hill

Ah, the Duta Hill again. In the previous 2 races, I had to walk. In fact, the last occasion, Power Run I overexerted and suffered stomach cramps. Normally at this section, runners will take a breather and walk. Fewer runners were seen walking. The KOTR runners are a determined bunch. I planned not to walk too and succeeded. Endured the very slow non-stop uphill jog to the top - no more over optimistic “Hamburger Hill” style of charging.

Downhill speed

After conquering the hill, it was downhill speeding. Ran with long strides - felt like an Olympian! Overtook quite a number of runners. At 7.5 kilometer, I began to slow down. I could hear groups of runners stomping from behind. In the span of 20 seconds, at least 10 runners whizzed past me like wild horses galloping. They probably thought this runner lack endurance! These runners appeared to have conserved their energy for the final kill, the attack of the last few kms. I did not have the ammunition to join in the foray.

Only 10 minutes

Just as I was approaching the Parlimen flyover, a lady Caucasian runner in her 20s shouted "Only 10 minutes! Only 10 minutes! Come on!" She was running high on MP3 and urging the walkers to run. All the walkers followed her encouragement and started running! I followed her closely. At the start of the uphill flyover I put in a little more pace and it was enough to overtake her. The next checkpoint was important, the National Monument bus stop. Stopwatch displayed 59:27 mins. To break into sub-70, I must run the last leg in less than 10 minutes. Normally at this downhill stretch I would be able to do short sprints but not this time. I was out of gas. The best I could do is to maintain a steady run to the finish.

Approaching the clock tower, I saw a familiar figure. It was Mee Peng running. I ran along side and said "Kum Garm Kaer" (What a coincidence) and zoom off. At the finishing line, my stopwatch clocked 1:07:52. Yes, I had done it in 68 minutes - an improvement of 4+ minutes from the last Power Run.Mee Peng was right behind, finishing 76th just one short of the medal position. She clocked 55 mins.

The Milo drink station was miles long. Went back to the car to get water and camera. Met up with Newton, Kenneth and Jamie's mates for a group photo. Took a picture of Mee Peng's colleagues Cheah, Alice and Ong. We waited for the lucky draw but no luck. The lucky draw was poorly conducted. Our minds were now craving for food. Felt so hungry. Later, whacked a big packet of Jinjang Nasi Lemak sotong, ayam etc. Food never tasted so good and justified.

That was it. Another Run, another healthy day fulfilled.

Footnote: Contact lenses
With the contact lenses I was able to run with my head down! Something I could not do with glasses on. I did this each time I struggle uphill or need a boost. The head down ritual has 2 functions: first it allows the sweat to drip straight from the face to the ground and second it was like a silent prayer "i am exhausted…please let me have the inner strength to continue please..." Lasik surgery next?

JP Morgan Corporate Challenge

The JPMCC run generated a sense of excitement, it was an opportunity to run in Singapore and it’s my first Team event, representing Citigroup. It was very kind of CitiClub Singapore to accommodate and sponsor our participation. 3 of us, Jamie, CS and myself drove across the Straits of Johor on April 28 to be part of the 6700+ runners in 210 companies competing in the inaugural JPMCC.

At the Padang

We parked at Suntec Tower and had a rather late lunch at 2:45 p.m. Earlier, I made the mistake of missing the Food and Rest area prior to entering Tuas Customs. The Padang was next to the beautiful Esplanade Theatres On the Bay. Overlooking the Marina Bay is the Merlion, the famous Lion Head fountain landmark.

We were early; the weather was hot and humid. After scouting the area, we easily found the Citigroup tent. Met up with Jessie Toh, the friendly CitiClub coordinator who had been so helpful in getting us into this event. Mee Peng’s cousin, John came right after work to meet me. John was also a photo enthusiast. He helped us took numerous shots of the event with CS’s Nikon D100. In fact, he was literally the “official” Citigroup photographer!Jamie had the honor of conducting the stretching exercises for the Citigroup runners!

At 5:45 pm, Jamie and I moved to the narrow barricade. I could see the twin 2-sided Digital Stopwatch above the Starting/Finishing line, a sight I have never observed in all my previous runs. After speeches from the officials and a Lion Dance performance, the countdown begins. It was not the usual gunfire but the blare of a horn. The Run has begun!

5.6 kms

This was the first time I felt being pushed and brushed aside from behind. This could be due to the narrow road. I deployed the same strategy i.e. to start-off strongly since it was a short run. After the 9th minute, I felt pain on both sides of my abdomen. “ Not again “, I told myself because once this happens, I will be sure of not doing an above average timing. Common sense told me to walk but that would affect my pacing. I continued to run at a slower but steady pace. Experience told me the pain will ease away later in the run but it did not happen! At one point, I felt my nose was watery and it may have been a mild nosebleed but thank god no blood oozed out. It was humid. This was also my first race ran on an afternoon.

Towards the end of Republic Avenue, the route U-turned and took us to the costal Marina Promenade tarmac. This appeared to be the home run. There were overhead signboards indicating the 4th and 5th kilometer mark. Many runners increased their pace. I was slowing down! The lingering stomach pain did not go away. My body felt like an overheated engine. It can do no more. I thought the Hong Leong Run was hectic but this was worse.

Last 100 meters

After passing the Esplanade Theatres, I could hear cheers and music from the finishing line area, probably another 300 meters to go. I line myself for the one and only “acceleration”. As I turned towards the right, pom-pom girls, photographers, supporters were cheering the runners on both sides; this inspired me to sprint the last 100 meters, zigzagging and overtaking everybody in my path.

This has to be my fastest last 100 meters in a Run! “Why couldn’t I do this in the last 1000 meters?” a question I posed myself. I guess I was afraid of the consequences of going beyond the limits of my stamina and endurance.

I crossed the finishing line in 37:27 mins. Each individual runner has to self-record his official time on a sheet.

Fruits, Oats and Buffet

Ample food and drinks were laid on the table for the runners. There was no rationing of food and drinks. There were apples, bananas, oats bars, mineral water, fruit juices and chilled canned drinks. CitiClub even organized a mini-buffet for us. I must have drunk at least 7 cups of 100ml apple and orange juices! (Wished they had chilled beer!)

World Class

I went back to the finishing line to look for John and it was there I saw the spirit of comradeship and sportsmanship. In KL, immediately after the Run, there is practically nothing to do unless you are the top runners awaiting the immediate prize presentation and that happens when the rest of the runners are still struggling to finish the run.
In this race, the JPMCC organizers waited until the LAST runner crosses the finishing line before any prizes were presented. After the 60th minute, the pom-pom girls, supporters and organizers were still there to cheer and applaud the last batch of runners/walkers. Who says you can’t Walk the entire course in a Run?

This was the best-organized and most generous sports event, any sports event that I have ever participated. The organizers must be highly commended for setting such high standards and professionalism in this world-class event.

Goodbye

We thanked and bid Jessie and her teammates goodbye and started our long journey home. I drove John back to Woodlands and crossed the JB border just after 11 p.m. From JB, CS drove all the way to KL. He was the most alert amongst the 3 of us. I tried to keep CS company but when Jamie started snoring, I started to fall asleep as well. We stopped at the Ayer Keroh Rest area around 1:30a.m for teh tarik and had a quick preview of the photos. Although it was just a few hours ago, we still had fond memories of the event and the friendship made.