Penang Bridge Marathon race report + Brooks T6 debut

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiise...

Ok, for now my blog is still breathing, but from now on I will probably only update it when I have race reports or new shoe reviews. Oh guess what, look what I have here, a report on the Penang Bridge Run which also happens to be the baptism of fire for my new Brooks T6! Just brilliant timing. Right then, let's get straight to the goods.

***

This year's Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) as usual has 3 competitive distances, the full, half and quarter marathons, and as usual I will be running in the half. What is unusual this time around and I think for a local race, is that all the distances are properly measured and recognised by the Association of International Marathons and Distances Races (AIMS), which means that the distances will be accurate. So for the first time, a PBIM 'half' will not be any funky distance like 22k or 25k. Hooray! Of course, this means that there will be a serious change in the course, mainly the turnaround will be somewhere before the mainland. Besides the course, the ChampionChip system was also implemented, which IMHO was a really good move. Other welcome changes came in the form of a proper race vest instead of an el cheapo white tee and online registration. Alright, that is it for the pre-race improvements.

I had planned to wake up at about 1am to get to Queensbay, the race venue, before all the access roads are closed. Unfortunately, that did not quite work out as planned as I accidentally set my phone for 1pm. I have my instincts to thank, as I somehow woke up at 1.30 feeling something was wrong. The roads were scheduled to be closed at 2, and I needed about 30 minutes to reach Queensbay. Let's just say I had to draw some inspiration from Initial D ;).

Alas, my efforts were in vain, as the entrances to the parking bays at Queensbay were blocked when I arrived. In the end, I was forced to park far away at a housing area near Krystal Point. It was quite secluded at that hour, so I was a bit wary of being mugged. The start time for the half was at 3.30 so I actually still had a lot of time to stroll over. The starting area was already milling with people and I also took note that the start line was actually moved back a few dozen metres. About 30 minutes before the starting time, the announcer started calling for people to assemble. The good thing with the chip system is that the kandang or cow-pen of past PBIMs are long gone, however I feel the organisers could have widened the start a bit. Ok, sorry, I might not have made myself clear, "THERE ARE SO MANY BLARDY PLACES WHERE THE ROAD IS WIDE ALONG THAT WHOLE STREET, WTF DID YOU GUYS HAVE TO CHOOSE THE NARROWEST PART???". Alright, maybe the AIMS people said you had to start there, but why the hell must they erect such a huge ass starting gantry and block a quarter of the already narrow road with advertising hoarding?

Anyway, we were soon started off by the Penang CM, YB Lim, (or so they say, cos I was stuck behind the huge ass starting gantry) and I had a relatively smooth getaway. I resisted following when I saw many of my rivals zooming past. One of my friends, Wei Xiang, who is also sure to be a huge rival in MASUM, was going at a furious pace. I was really tempted to mix it up with those guys, but I had to remind myself to be patient. Instead I focused on running straight and relaxed. Knowing my training leading to the race, or rather lack of, it was important to use my energy as efficiently as possible. There was another factor too. This was also the first time that my T6 will be used for such a long distance. I was only able to wear it for some short 10 minute runs and drills, so it was really an unknown quantity. My previous experience with the T series in races at about 20k have also been a mixed bag, yet somehow I had a feeling my T6 will not let me down.

15 minutes or so into the race, I felt I was getting into my comfort zone and pushed accordingly. At around this time, I was passed by Ronnie See from the Pacemakers, and I decided to respond. I hung behind him, while still breathing comfortably. This lasted until we finally got onto the bridge, which is at about the 5k mark. The first part of the bridge was a gentle incline, so I figured it was a good time to attack while not getting too tired. The long and straight bridge really played games with the mind, but I just focused on my running form and just told myself to run tall. At this point I was passing people left and right, and I started looking out for the rivals who passed me at the start.

I was approaching the turnaround when I finally spotted Wei Xiang coming by on the other side, his stride rate noticeably slowed. I really stepped on the gas after that as I knew he was not far ahead. Nevertheless, it took me nearly 3 more km before I finally overtook him. Not long after that, I overtook another MASUM rival, this time from UiTM, and that really boosted my spirits. However, I was not safe yet as I still had about 7k to go. Fear took over as my motivation, as the hunter became the hunted.

Looking back, I really pushed hard while I was on the bridge. I still had some left in the tank, but I was beginning to really hope the race will finish. My anxiety heightened once I got off the bridge as the route here was unfamiliar and I had no idea how far I am from the finish. In other words, I got scared to push any more in case I blow up. At about the last 5k there was another turnaround, and when I was heading back I saw Wei Xiang was just behind, still within striking distance. That dispelled any doubts I had for the moment. The road back was really dark and lonely and the only race markers were vague and few and far between. Mentally I took a dive, and thoughts about walking or easing up entered my mind frequently. Fortunately, I feared fear more than pain. Besides, the only pain came from fatigue. That's right, my T6 held up fine.

Pretty soon, I reached the roundabout which signalled the last few hundred metres to the finish line. At this point, the guy in front was too far to be chased down and the road behind me was clear. I really did not know what to use to motivate myself, but I kicked hard anyway. My muscles were really screaming, but I ignored them. Seemingly ages later, I finally heard the "beep" that marked the end of my agony. My racing mentality immediately drained out, and I staggered around to find somewhere to sit. Turning back, I found out that I really did not have much of a cushion to the next finisher. I was surprised once more when I found out that Siao Tieh, one of the top guys for my running team, was 2 places behind me. After getting trashed so many times, I finally managed to beat him.

I was brought back to earth when my feet started screaming. While I did not really cramp, I can feel them swelling up. Ah well, as good as the T6 is, there is still a price to pay for running this kind of distance in this kind of flats. Still, I have experienced worse.

All in all, it was a good race, except for the issues highlighted above, and also the use of bottled water in some of the stops, which was not only wasteful but also inconvenient. I also did 1.31:53, which was a PR. While I cannot compare this to all my previous races as the distances might not be uniform, this will still rank among my best performances. My run-up to this race was less than stellar, with only a 40 minute run and a few 20+ minute runs to go with my track workouts, so I could draw some encouragement from that too. But I really, really need to start putting in the effort.

PS: The full cost of my laziness became apparent later that night when I checked the official results. It turns out that I finished 16th, with the top 15 winning cash! Granted, the guy ahead had a 47 second lead, but still major AMKAN!!! Arghhhhh, c'est la vie...

Very very very brief running update

Went to Shah Alam. Ran about 22km. Greeted with good news at finish line. Good news turned out to be false. Crushed.

After race, decided that current A-game running vest is too worn out. Promised to retire them from front line use. Remembered that new training shoes are needed.

Bought new shoes and running vest and shorts. Still look like pre-vest change, except for the absence of the team logo.

Runs race today. Did ok. Get ass kicked by a few. Kicked a few asses too.

Will see if the situation changes in the coming months. Road to the Bridge does not seem to get shorter.

From the ashes

As stated in my last post, I will have finished my 26k race by now. Finishing is one thing, but more important is that I survived it, and glad to say, compared to last year, I survived quite well.

My race prep got off to a rocky start where I was in of a bit of a rush. My preferred type of racing socks were nowhere to be found, and I had to make do with a different type. I ended up having to run from my house to the starting venue, instead of a relaxed jog. Still, it was a good warmup. In fact, I would say this is the first time in many races that I am properly warmed up yet not strained. Due to my lack of doing any long run whatsoever, and with 2 half marathons coming up within the next month, my initial plan was to survive a good pace for at least 1 hour and if possible take it to the 21k mark. Endurance wise, I was not optimistic of really 'running' the whole 26k, but I wanted to not crash as bad as last year. Of course, all these are secondary to actually surviving the race with no ill effects.

The 'BANG!' of the starter's pistol sounded and off we were. I was just behind the starting line and got off to a good start. The favourites were already away, but I just kept focused on starting fast yet staying relaxed. Less than 1 km into the race and I was already running pretty much alone. There were just a handful of runners around me, while the leaders were fast disappearing over the horizon. The first stretch out of Youth Park and turning into Gottlied Road was pretty flat and straight, but it was quite important to stay relaxed as some torturous terrain is literally just around the corner. At this point some of the runners around me tried to make a move, but I bided my time. I did increase my pace a bit, since having someone to tag along is useful and less stressful on the mind. Still, I was careful not to press too hard. The race soon winded into the snaking roads of Mt. Erskine and this is where I feel the race truly starts. It might still be too early for the winners to be decided here, but how one runs this part will have a huge bearing on their race. Also if you are weak in heart, you may be slightly unsettled by running on a road straddled by a huge Chinese cemetary! Fortunately I was already 'in the zone', so to speak, by this point since I was trying to use the runners in front of me as a motivation to overcome the rolling terrain and pocky road. The going uphill was tough, but the downhill parts meant I was able to just open my stride and just fly down. I used this approach to crest the numerous inclines here. At the end of the Mt. Erskine stretch I was already able to leave my erstwhile running partners behind.

Next up is the famous winding roads leading to Vale of Temp. Now, driving in daylight here would be quite harrowing since this road is narrow and twisting. At 6am or so, cars won't be a factor, but the darkness is simply unnerving. The only illumination was just a stray streetlight every now and then. In fact, some parts were totally pitch black! I can't even imagine driving through at this time. Good thing though, I am only using my legs. Thankfully, I also managed to latch on to the next guy in front of me. While the distance was still substantial, it was comforting to know I am not totally alone.

Up till that point, the weather factor was not on the runners' side. In fact, it's almost the same as last year, warm, windless and a bit stifling. I just cannot fathom what it's like to start the race at a later time. The parts after the winding roads were mostly uneventful, and I was settled into the rhythm of chasing the runners ahead. I kept telling myself to keep my footstrikes aligned and lessen any wasteful movements.The hills and slopes here were actually higher than the previous parts and the road was straight, so it could actually be quite daunting looking up from the bottom of the ascents. Approaching the 10k, I was feeling as if I was running out of gas, but I managed to down a packet of Powergel I was carrying along with me. Still, when I got to the hour mark, I was starting to tire. I could still carry on, but it was starting to strain.

While I was glad to be able to last this long, I still wanted to see how far my body would go. My motivation would ebb and flow, but the positive side managed to hold on until the last K or so. But there was no resisting the devil when one of my teammates overtook me just before the last hill. I survived potential cramp, exhaustion, low prep, but in the end it was the sight of another runner leaving me in the dust that did me in. Despite exhorting myself to fight on for the last 5 minutes or so, my legs just automatically quit flailing and slowed down to a walk. Usually stopping and walking would be really, really bad, bad enough to wreck a race and, despite opinions to the contrary, make you feel worse physically. Fortunately, I did not suffer more and I was quite near to the finish anyway. I managed to hold myself together enough to run-walk until the end.

After I finished I was quite pleased to note that I didn't seem to be injured, though my legs were tight as hell! I couldn't even bend them, and taking off the timing chip turned into a comedy of me trying to squat down, struggle to untie my laces, fail, stand up and then repeat the whole process. For what seemed like a dozen times. Finally I just pulled off the shoe in hopes of loosening the laces. All this while balancing on one leg. So who says running does not need skill?

P.S. The tightening only got tighter the very next day, and even persisted for the next 2 days after. SO DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!

26ks of Hell

I have been slacking a lot, in terms of both blogging and running. Come tomorrow, I will have to face the consequences of doing so in running. While you can argue there's nothing special in that, since I have been slacking for quite some time, this is no ordinary race. This 26k monster over rolling and often poorly maintained roads is not to be trifled with. I learned that the hard way last year, when I headed in also in quite a poor state. I was then rewarded with the most painful run of my life, suffering from cramps (a first while running), painful feet, and most frighteningly a chilly feeling throughout my body. At that time, I seriously thought I was going to be in serious trouble.

Less than a year on, I hope things won't turn out that bad again. Fitness-wise, I think I am ok. Unfortunately, endurance is my main worry this time around. This might not make sense since I said I am fitter, but the fact is I have not done any sufficiently long runs, with the longest clocking in at around 30mins on the treadmill a few days ago. For a race expected to last about 2 hours, that is woefully inadequate.

Having said all that, all I am hoping for is just to come back in one piece. Hopefully, my knees, and shins and feet will hold up. If I come through ok, then I will be satisfied as this race is only a prep of sorts for the upcoming battles...

Oblivion

I am now at the edge of a mile-high cliff, staring down the precipice, into oblivion... My target is just as far away, and even further. As hard as I try, my efforts have only led me here. One more step, and it's a point of no return. I yearn to go the other way, to make some headway towards my dream, but every time I do it's like swimming in mud, in tandem with strong currents pushing me back. Back until this point...

I have just returned from the Kedah meet, and all I can say to describe it is "total failure". My personal target was not met, modest though it may be. Even worse, I failed to finish 2 out of the 3 events that I signed up for. While I was confident of dipping below 5 minutes for the 1500, the actual race didn't quite turn out the way I envisioned. I felt lethargic from the gun, and I was dropped even before the 300 mark. The rest of the race was a long struggle and I basically ended up where I was 2 years ago. Right after I finished, I ran over to start the 10000. As expected, I dropped out after 2 laps, due to the proximity of these events in the schedule. No complaints about this. I can still reasonably justify my poor results in the 1500 by blaming fatigue, since I had been up for nearly the whole day before.

Unfortunately, I had no excuse whatsoever for the 5000 on the second day. It only served to pooh-pooh that theory and highlight my abysmal physical condition. For a start, I was struggling throughout the race, but quitting the race 4 laps from the end was what made this an unmitigated disaster. For the life of me, I can't remember a track race which I have never finished, the previous 10000 notwithstanding since I already planned it as a glorified cool down. Even in races where I have been stricken with problems, like the 5k in Form 5 and this year's Masum 10k where I suffered from stitch, or the hot and humid 5k in TOT this year, I had always found the will to finish. Says a lot about the lack of hunger and fight in me now.

Comparing myself to 3 years ago, the old me always had the determination and perhaps a little anger to prove something. Ah well, I really need to have a long hard look at myself. It's back to the drawing board...

Semester Break = TRAINING TIME!!!

To the readers, however little left there are, I am truly sorry at the sorry state of my blog. Yeah, that's the most overused line in blogdom ever in its many forms, and one that I am guilty of overusing even in this blog. Still doesn't make it any less apt to preface a recall to blogging arms though, so it stays.

Anyway, I have a few really good reasons for my absence from the blogosphere (really!). Mainly, my lackadaisical approach to my studies caught with me right after my last post and I was forced to focus my waning energies on the most hectic period of the semester. So there I was, desperately fending off datelines while the almighty threat of the final exams looms high over the horizon. The fact that I was on a steep downhill immediately after MASUM didn't exactly help. All the races subsequently were nothing to write about and I was trying my best to forget them.

All that's in the past though. Luckily for me, my running has not mirrored my lack of blogging activity, and I have continued training, albeit not at full intensity, through my finals. This block of training is geared towards the many big races coming up in the latter half of the year. Thankfully, my performances have started to pick up a bit, and not a moment too soon as I have a meet this weekend to help me get a feel of where I am fitness-wise. Fingers crossed, I will be running in the 1500 and 10000(or 5000) races at the Kedah Open. I am not hoping for much, as I will be using this meet as race exposure cum training cum cheapskate holiday, but a personal best or two would be nice ;).

As stated in the title, I will be going full blast from here on out!

Harvest

The time has finally come. After training for so long with no chance, namely races, to validate my efforts, and get a feel for my current level, competition season is finally here. I had my first race last weekend, too bad this first competition happens to be the national university track meet (MASUM). Timing regardless, it is still good to race. While my performances did not exactly hit my targets, I still ran personal bests, so I can't really complain. On the other hand, the officials as usual were their petty and haughty selves. Besides being major pains in the ass, their gross incompetence cost me a place on the official standings of the 5ooo. I was not the only victim as my own teammate, Ivan, was just one of those mistakenly made to run extra laps. While I still had the consolation of knowing what time I ran, these guys did not even get the comfort of recording the time that they worked for. Among the other fuck-ups made by the Selangor AAA: setting the hurdle height for the 400m men's hurdles at 42 inches, which is the height for the 110, no officials around the track after the first 4 laps or so of the women's 5ooo walk, which somehow happens to be just after our captain who was leading the race got DQed, hmmmm.

Still, no point wasting any more words on such scum. On the the positives, I managed to beat my 10000 and 5000 personal bests, which have been a long time coming. In fact both were set during my first races at both distances waaaaay back in 2005. I would like to say I could have beaten both ages ago, but for some ridiculous to the point of comedy series of factors, still it feels good to finally do it. I can also say that these were my best runs since nearly 1 year ago. While I only finished 6th overall for the 10k and should have been in 6th for the 5k, I finished ahead of my teammates in both the races so that's another bonus.

Anyway, it's all in the past, especially since there's another meet this weekend, this time USM's very own track meet. Hopefully there will be more updates to my personal bests!

P.S.: Some final thoughts to take away from MASUM. USM definitely >>>>> UPM when it comes to chicks :P. I will win next year for my final year teammates who will not have the chance to win!

Flash and Dash

With the conclusion of the past weekend, I will only have less than 4 weeks time left until my first competition of the year, which is the MASUM championships. What's so special about this competition besides it being the first of the year? Nothing much except that it's the Malaysian university championships. For this simple reason, it's actually my biggest target for the university track season. Certainly the timing is not optimum, with it being my opener for the year, but nothing that can be changed. What I can change though is my training and ability.

Lately, my performances in training have been somewhat better, as I feel some gradual improvement. On the other hand, I am still getting sent to the cleaners by Prakash, my training mate. So obviously it's still a work in progress. Most of the stuff we are doing now in the workouts have been intervals that are more on the short side, except for some pyramids consisting of 400, 800 and 1200, and the beloved 'last runs' that usually cap off a workout session.

As for the long-ish stuff, I am still struggling a bit but not as bad as before. Hell, a half marathon might be beyond me for now, but at least I can still pull through a 40 minute run, even if I have to run ugly to do it. Add that to the fact that the longest race coming up will probably be 10000m on the track, things don't look that bad after all.

P/S While I already had a full semester of lifesaving lessons before me and am doing the second level already, lifesaving classes still hurt like a bitch.

Track athlete

As I mentioned before, I will be focusing more on the track this year. Well this is mainly because I have access to a track now at uni and also a coach. Needless to say, being a track athlete entails stepping on to a track for training, and this is what I have been doing for the past 2 weeks or so. However, my performances in these sessions have been, to put it gently, underwhelming. At first the transition was literally very painful. After I went through my first proper session on the track, which were 20x200m intervals finished off with a 1000m run, I legs were really banged up. They stayed banged up enough that I had to walk like I had walking sticks for legs for the next 3 or 4 days. Nevertheless, the poison worked. It inoculated me from being crippled by the subsequent workouts. Still, it didn't cure the other problem. I was still being dusted by my training partner Prakash. Sure this guy is no slouch, being last year's Penang Open champ in the steeplechase, but still... Basically it sucks. The last thing you want as an athlete is to see the back of somebody else pulling ever further ahead. I guess things are not quite on track after all...

Resolutions(again)

It's that time of the year again. Yep, after all the food has been devoured and the confetti thrown, it's time to get down to the nitty-gritty of, you guessed it, making resolutions. Hmm, on second thought, before I make some impossibly unattainable target for the year, I think I should compare last year's resolutions to what I actually did achieve.

*The following style of writing might be unpalatable for certain segments of humanity. Reader discretion strongly advised.*

Before any of you slate me for posting about my resolutions this late in the year, let me remind you that it's only 9 days since 2008 existed. Anyway, I do have a reasonably good excuse for this. You see, for daring to spend the first few hours of the new year at a ramshackle bus stop chatting with friends instead of getting drunk and fighting at some nightclub, the ghost of 2007 decided to haunt me, presumably to teach me a lesson. So this ghost proceeds to mess up my internal calendar, leaving me 1 week late in writing what should have been written as soon as the new year starts. Not buying it? Well, me too, but at least I gotta make a shot at making a lame excuse.

Anyway, back on topic. Ah, resolutions, the mere thought of it alternatively bolsters the spirit or sends shivers down the spine, depending on what stuff you are made of. Despite all the hoopla (Who the hell uses 'hoopla' anymore?) surrounding it, I mean the first thing most people say after greeting each other happy new year is 'Got any resolution or not ah?', I have never felt compelled to put my resolutions down in writing. I do have some hope for the coming year, sure, but most of them are kinda vague and subjective in nature, which kinda explains why most of my achievements are kinda vague and subjective, go figure.

Ok crapping aside, here are my resolutions.
1) I want to master driving. (Done) As lame as this sounds, this is probably the numero uno skill I need to have now, because no driving, no 'paktor' (Not done. Not listed as a resolution, but still...), no 'kaului'.
2) I want to be a faster runner. Fast enough to get among the top placings in road races. If you insist on being more specific, I hope to run faster than 38 minutes for 10000 meters (Failed), 17 minutes for 5000m(Failed), 80 minutes for the half marathon(Failed). (okay, I added all those numbers to make my blog sound more sophisticated so fire away) My running actually sucked and I might even have regressed. The first half of the year was going great, but ever since I entered uni in June/July, everything went off the boil. Proof = my last race came 1 week after entering uni in the Ipoh Half where I did 1:27+ for my current PR. Of course, that course was pancake flat and possibly short, if you insist on taking away what little ray of sunshine I have left.
3) I want to get my target. Mega epicly failed. Even switched targets a few times and epicly failed each and every time. 4) I want to sleep earlier. Too many late nights means too many wasted hours, definitely not good if I am to achieve resolution number 2. I am up here at 2.30am typing this, so what do you think?

Phew, that sure was stressful. Now you know why I don't really like to do relections on semesters/years/whatever lengths of time. So the numbers say it all, 1 out of 4. Damn, even blind people can hit the target more often. Still, me being me, I am still gonna go forward and come up with a newer, more unattainable list.

1)Become an awesome runner. How awesome? I want to win some road races. As for the track, maybe go under 4 mins for the 1500, 17 minutes for the 5k and 37 minutes for the 10k. Attainable? Only time will tell.

2)Train harder. No more being a chicken. I want to achieve my targets, I must welcome hard training. I am relishing the pain already.

3)Sleep early. After writing this I am off to bed. Promise.

4)Study harder. Or more specifically get better grades. If this can be attained without studying harder, yahoo. Unfortunately, I doubt the world works that way...

5)Update blog more. I will not go on an extended hiatus from my blog like last year, but please forgive me-lah if I don't update everyday. I got the other 4 resolutions to take care of too.

So there you have it, my little list of resolutions.