Malakoff KL 12km/7km run 2009 - My race report

The Malakoff KL 12km/7km run 2009 was held in Bukit Kiara Equestrian & Country Club. I was there today with my wife to run in the 12km run. Last year, I didn't join this race so I was not sure what to expect actually.

We arrived early at about 5:40am and parked at Security Commission car park. Then we just walked a few hundred metres to the Start/Finish line. This time, I didn't really know what target to set since I didn't run a 12km race before. But I wanted to try to do a sub-hour run, although the race course was very hilly. The 12km runners were to run the Jalan Beringin loop in Bukit Damansara twice. I told my wife of the hilly course and she dreaded it.

The race started on time and I was running at 5:00 minutes/km pace initially. The first steep hill was just near the road from Securities Commission to Bukit Damansara. This place was familiar to me as I had joined some treasure hunts which started from here.

There were more hills to come. Each loop got 3 hills if I remembered correctly. If I add the first one, then the 12km run got total of 7 hills for the runners to conquer.

It was the most challenging run I had ever participated. I did a long run of 16.5km a day earlier and I guessed I still recovering from it. Nevertheless, I offered no excuse because I didn't think it mattered much anyway. I am still improving myself to be a better runner.

In the end, I came back to the finishing straight and crossed the line with an unofficial time of 1:01:10. So my target was not achieved. A bit disappointed I felt but overall I was positive about it. The weather condition was kind (cloudy and cool) and the run was organised very well. I enjoyed the run although it was the most challenging for me.

My wife came back around 1 hour 25 minutes and I showed her where to get the breakfast and goody bag. I was shooting photos then. I realised also, being a runner and photographer at the same event was really difficult to focus (to do both roles well). I didn't manage to shoot the finishing photos of most of my friends.

The best moment that I captured was a male runner (with bib number A0171) wearing a suit jacket with running vest and long slack pant (with running shoes of course) carrying a bouquet of red roses to the finish line and then proposed to his girlfriend on his knees. It was a romantic moment. I guessed the girl was very touched and the guy happily put the ring on her finger. See photos below. Anyone knows the couple, please drop a line here. I wish to send them the original photos. More photos can be found at my Multiply site here.

"Will you marry me?"

The ring is on the finger, the love is in the air.

The proposal struck and reminded me again that running was not all about getting better result or setting faster time. In this case, at least it was about changing the life of a couple, forever.

Until next run, do train hard and stay healthy.

Malakoff 12km/7km run 2009 - Important notice

The bib collection booth is opposite of the Pacesetters office.

Look for this booth.

The 12km male runners will be given the white dry-fit vest. Female 12km runners the bottom orange dry-fit vest. 7km runners cotton T-shirt only.

I just came back from the bib collection for Malakoff 12km/7km run 2009. The bib collection today 12 Dec 2009, 9:00am-5:00pm is at the Pacesetters office in Lorong Jugra, off Jalan Klang Lama.

I met follow Pacesetters there, setting up the booth for the bib collection. I saw SH (Yin's mom), Kenny Tan, Marianne and Sook Ying. The bib collection is a breeze for me. Thanks!

Important notice:

1. Due to the change in Start/Finish location within the Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club, the 6km run now is a 7km run.

2. Runners are NOT allowed to park inside the Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club. Parking recommendations:
-Security Commission (~500m)
-National Science Centre (~600m)
-Sime Darby Convention Centre (2km)
-Desa Seri Hartamas shoplot area (3km)

PLEASE DO NOT park along the roads entering and exiting the Bukit Kiara Equestrian Club or along the race course because this will make it unsafe for the runners and inconvenience to the public.

3. Shuttle bus service available from Desa Seri Hartamas (Kiwi Xpress Bistro) to Race Start. Time: 5:40am, 5:50am, 6:00am, 6:10am, 6:20am, 6:30am

4. Shuttle bus service available from Race Finish to Desa Seri Hartamas (Kiwi Xpress Bistro) Time: 10:00am, 10:10am, 10:20am, 10:30am, 10:40am, 10:50am.

5. Please bring along your receipts for the collection and a refundable RM10 deposit for the timing chip for those taking part in the 12km distance.

6. Next bib collection is on 19 Dec 2009, 9:00am-5:00pm, at Kiwi Xpress Bistro Garden.

7. Race Schedule:
20 Dec 2009 (Sun)
5:30am arrival of runners
6:30am 12km runners collect start ribbon at starting line
7:00am 12km race starts
7:01am 7km runners collect start ribbon
7:15am 7km race starts
8:00am breakfast @ cark park 2
9:30am prize @ car park 2

8. Things to do after race:
- return start ribbon and get one bottle of water @ car park 3
- follow lane to car park 2
- remove your timing chip (12km) as you lining up
- collect finished medal, goody bag and breakfast voucher (entitle you to one main meal & one dessert only)
- return timing chip for 12km runners and collect RM10 in return @ car park 2
- get your light breakfast @ car park 2

Running the race of my life (2) - PBIM09

Photo taken near the finish line with BP in PBIM09.

(This article is a continuation from this post.)

After I crossed the finish line and got my goody bag, I saw Andre. He is my ex-colleague, a friend and runner too. He finished his half-marathon and was waiting for his friend.

When I stopped running, my calf muscles tightened up. Andre helped me to stretch my calf muscles and I felt very grateful to him.

Then I quickly drank more water given to me at the finish line. I also ate a banana with isotonic drinks before I went to the baggage deposit centre to reclaim my baggage.

There were many people already waiting there to claim their belongings. It took me almost 15-20 minutes to get my stuffs. In it, my D40 DSLR camera, a PowerBar Protein Plus and some other small things.

I called my wife and told her about my finishing time. She was very happy for me. At that time, she was waiting near Eastin Hotel (a few hundred metres away) for the start of the Fun Run.

When I started shooting at the finish line, it was already 7:14am. I had promised BP to snap his finishing photo. He targeted to finish in sub-5 hours. While I was shooting other runners, I have to move my legs constantly to stretch and ease the soreness in my leg muscles.

BP finally came in at around 5:08 (after the start), just outside the 5-hour mark. I quickly put away my camera and looked for him. Due to many people around, I lost sight of him while I was putting my camera back into my bag. It was drizzling then, and holding a DSLR in the rain was not a good idea.

I finally saw him near the medical tent and I asked him if his knee was ok. He said it was ok but his leg muscles were very sore. Since his knee was injured, I felt worried and concerned when he ran in any race. Before the injury he could run faster than me. He finished in front of me in GE20km in January and Bidor Half Marathon in April.

I told him that I ran a sub-4 finish and share my happy feeling (that haven't sunk in yet) with him. He was the one that brought up the possibility of a sub-4 finish to me. And I didn't think I could do it then.

I showed him where to get some isotonic drinks and food. I continued to shoot some more photos and waited for my wife to finish her race.

I saw her coming in after 1 hour 8 minutes. She did well for the 10km run. I quickly met up with her and called BP. Then we shot some photos before we left Queensbay at around 9:00am to have our breakfast in Island Glades.

Looking back, I have exceeded my own expectation and target in the race. I felt it was a combination of factors such as encouragement from family and friends, consistent/persistent training, race strategy, home ground advantage, conditions on race day and mental strength.

There were some learnings from this race that I can improve on in the future. I need to learn to run an equal or negative split race. For many races, I had run positive split, i.e. first half of the race faster than the second half of the race. So I need to figure out something to address this.

Until the next run, stay healthy and train hard.

My official PBIM09 results

Based on the result in the zip file on the official website, my official result for PBIM 2009:

Official (gun) time: 03:57:20

Net (chip) time: 03:57:09

Position: 42nd (Men Open Full Marathon)

Running the race of my life - Penang Bridge International Marathon 2009

At 39km mark, I closed my eyes, kissed the ring on my finger, took a deep breath and ran all out to finish the race of my life.

The morning started when BP picked me up at about 12:20am. We headed to Queensbay Mall together. I knew very well before I step out of the house, if I were to do well today, I would need to run with the support and belief given by my loved one.

We reached the starting point at 12:50am. There were already many people there. We were surprised to find so many young runners (teenagers) already there. The quarter marathon and 10km Fun Run would not start until 6:15am and 7:30am! The quarter marathon was only open to teenagers and the Fun Run for general public.

Some of the booths were still being set up and there was a band playing some rock/pop music. It was a carnival-like atmosphere.

We put our baggage in the baggage deposit centre and rested in the runners' tent to wait for the race to start. I took a PowerBar and drank some water, then we took turn to the toilet before we went to the starting area.

We met Mr Jordan Lee at the starting line. He is a senior veteran runner well-known in the Penang running community. He is such a jovial person and we chatted near the starting line. I also saw Chuah (Seih Seng) and wished him good luck.

Then I got a pat on my shoulder. It was Kwang Leng. He wished me luck and I thanked him. He would run in the half-marathon one hour later. This year, the full marathon, according to the organiser drew about 900 runners and the half marathon, 6000.

Then, the MC announced the arrival of the Chief Minister of Penang. He came in a car from the back of the starting line and was driven right through the runners to the front of the starting line.

We were flagged off with the sound of the gun. There were lion dance troupe performing at the starting line and cheering the runners on.

I started besides BP and pulled ahead and ran at 5 minutes per km pace. I started very near the front and I knew some good runners were still behind me. We were directed away from Queensbay towards the Free Industrial Zone. We passed by Intel and then made an U-turn near Seagate. This was the 4km mark. Lionel overtook me a few hundred metres before the turn. He is a very strong runner. I guessed he was aiming for his personal best. Anyway, I couldn't follow his pace and had no intention to. I just have to focus on my own race.

After the turning, I saw Choo Cheng Liang and called out his name. I guessed he didn't really recognise me but he shouted back "Jia you!" (Words of encouragement in Mandarin, translated literally to "add oil").

I was still pacing at around 5 min/km with an ironman on my side, but then I dropped back a little. I figured pacing with an ironman was not a good idea. I realised he was pacing faster than 5 min/km, when I check my speed reading from my Suunto timer.

About 2km before we were on the bridge, an elite lady runner passed me. Then Kenny Tan also overtook me. He didn't noticed me but I said hello to him. He asked me to go with him, but in my heart, I knew then it was not a good idea to pace with him at early of the race because the strong runner he was. His last marathon was BIM09 where he set his personal best of 3 hrs 38 minutes.

When I was finally on the bridge, I guessed that was around the 9.5km mark. This was where I dropped my pace down to 5:30min/km. At 10km mark, now that I look back at my timer, it showed 00:50:19. A blistering pace for me, good enough for top-100 or better placing in any 10km race.

At around 11km mark, Eugene Chan overtook me. I said hi to him and asked him if he was aiming for sub-4. He said, "Maybe." and then ran ahead of me. I took out my PowerGel and emptied the content. Then I took water in the next water station to wash it down. On the bridge, a few more runners passed me before the gradual climb to the centre of the bridge.

From the start, the condition has been good. With moderate to strong breeze and cool weather, it was really nice to run. I continued my run and eventually reached the other end of the bridge. I overtook Eugene before the U-turn. I was surprised to pass him, but I was feeling good that time so I continued on.

The run back the bridge was a bit crowded by the time I reached the 21km mark. This was where the half-marathoners made U-turn. So I had to thread myself among them. Then at 25km mark, I was surprised to find Kenny Tan was just in front of me. He overtook me before we headed on the bridge. I called out his name and said to him, "Pace me, Kenny." He said that was his speed then and maybe he could pick up later. Then I said to him, "Ok, pace me when you can." I was hoping an experienced runner could pace me to a good finish but at that point I knew I was on my own.

I continued on and got off the bridge heading away from Queensbay. This was the psychological challenge for all full marathoners. After got off the bridge, the runners were directed to Georgetown instead of Queensbay. I was hoping to see the 30km sign, but it didn't appear. It was a difficult run to Lebuh MaCallum as we need to climb three flyovers before reaching the U-turn point. I saw Lionel headed back to Queensbay on the first flyover. Just before the U-turn, I thought I overtook another elite runner, Bong.

At the U-turn, the sign read 35km. I checked my timer and it showed 3:00:12. I could hardly believe it. If it was true, I have another 7.195km to go with about an hour to spare to hit sub-4. This was when I realised the sub-4 was within grasp.

Then, the worse fear struck, I began to feel the pull on both calf muscles. I could sense the cramp on my legs developing slowly but surely. I quickly took the PowerGel that was given to me just before the U-turn and drank more from my Gatorade that I brought along on my waist water pouch. I was sensing the elusive target slowly going away from me.

After the 1km from U-turn, I saw Kenny and Eugene heading to the U-turn and I urged them on. From here, I paced at 6:30 to 7:00 minutes per km hoping to prevent the cramp. I overtook the elite lady runner (who passed me 2 hours earlier) and continued my run. On the way back to Queensbay, I saw many other experienced runners like Jessica, Frank, Choi CC, were on their way to the U-turn. BP saw me and cheered me on. I saw Lawrence and "hi-fived" him.

I slowed and stopped a few times when I felt the pull again. It was agonising, I thought to myself, so near but yet so far away. I had run a perfect first 35km and it meant little if I didn't make full use of this opportunity to try to hit sub-4.

Then I thought of the support given by my wife and best friends including BP and William so far. I thought to myself, "I really need to have a go in this. Leave no regret."

At around 39km, my timer read around 3:42:00, I closed my eyes, kissed the ring on my finger, took a deep breath and ran all out. I shouted "Excuse me, let me pass." all the way, as the lanes were crowded by half-marathoners and most of them were walking.

I was running with all my heart out with the 2XU long compression pants given by best friends on my birthday recently. When I reached Eastin Hotel just a few hundred metres from the finish, I was still running as fast as I could as I couldn't see the finish line yet. Then the tall gate that read "FINISH" appeared. I was so happy to see that. At the finish line, Kwang Leng snapped a photo of me.

I crossed the line with an unofficial time 3:57:29. It was unbelievable. I did it! It was the race of my life.

(To be continued...)

The Compass and Timer for PBIM 09

On Friday, I took a day off from my busy schedule and travel with my family to Penang. We plan a birthday party on Saturday for Ashley in Penang with her grandparents. On Sunday, I will run in the PBIM 09.

On the PLUS highway, it was raining quite heavily in most stretches. I also checked the weather forecast for the next few days and it seemed like Sunday will be a wet day as well in Penang.

We arrived on Friday afternoon, and I quickly did a 3km run near Jalan Delima. This was to get my body and mind into running in Penang on Sunday.

On Friday night, we went out for a nice dinner in Gurney with my in-laws. Good place to be to carbo-load my body. Plenty of good food in Penang.

Saturday will be a rest day. I still need to prepare something for Ashley's small birthday party tonight. BP will be arriving later today and he will join me. We will depart together after mid-night to the starting point for our first PBIM.

Initial target is 4:15:00 to 4:30:00. Not sure if I want to push hard for 4:15:00. I think I will try my best. Well, that's just me, I'm sort of a guy who gives his best and not to leave any regret behind. Sometimes, well, most of the time, I give myself much pressure in doing so.

But this time, like many runs before, there is no pressure. Like always, I will run with the compass in my heart, then only look at the timer on my wrist.

(Weather report 11:14am, 21 Nov 2009, raining in Penang).

Last long run before PBIM 09

I did my last long run this morning. I covered 27.4km in 2 hours 38 minutes 53 seconds. The average pace was 5'47" per km. This was outside the average pace needed for a sub-4 hours finish in a full marathon distance of 42.195km.

Realistically, the sub-4 target is still beyond me now. I will just try my best and see if I can run an average pace of below 6 minutes per km for the race next Sunday.