At 39km mark, I closed my eyes, kissed the ring on my finger, took a deep breath and when I opened my eyes again, I 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 when I opened my eyes again, I 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...)
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