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.
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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...
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...
