Mizuno Wave Run 2010 - My third wave run

Thanks Tey for the pia photo on top of the last hill climb.

This October marks my second anniversary in road running. Mizuno Wave Run has been special for me. It was my maiden road race back in 2008. We always remember our first time, good or bad, don't we?

This year, the event was again held in Kompleks Sukan UPM. The route was slightly different compared to last year, but I would say, easier too. Nonetheless, it was still a hilly course.

Coming to this race without much training, my expectation was to use this race as my training run to rack up mileage. Usually, Sunday is my rest day. Since June, I had not been doing any speed training and my mileage was low (as low as less than 20km per week at one point). My wife joined me for this run. It was her second Mizuno run. Most of my usual (Mizuno Wave Run) runner friends like BP and William were absent from this year event. Anyway, good to see Pang was there. Also, I met Paul at end of my run.

Photo with Paul. (Courtesy of Paul Liong)

I got a small scare during earlier part of the race as I felt a little discomfort on my right knee. Luckily it was not a big problem. Kwang Leng overtook me at around 1.5km mark. I tried to follow his pace but it was not to be. I managed to catch up with my wife (who started 10 minutes earlier) at the first water station (around 4km mark).

Anyway, I was glad to finish the run in 53:14 gun time. It was my best time for this 11km race. Split time at 10km was less than 48 minutes, it was my best time for 10km as well. I could have done better with more training, but this was a training run anyway. Although I got my PB, but I didn't feel really excited or thrilled about it. I didn't know why, maybe it was not that important as I thought it would be.

After finished my run, I quickly ate some watermelons and drink a few cups of water. Then I got a cup of ice Milo for my wife and waited for her at the finish line. She came back after 1 hour 25 minutes after the start of the women race. Good effort by her.

Overall this year run was a bit more crowded than last year. I felt the crowd control was not so good this time. This year the event registration was through online portal and with addition of timing chip system for 11km categories. Other than that, I didn't really feel the improvement overall. The medical support or response was a bit reactive. I saw there was a runner collapsing at the finish line and no medical support around immediately. There were some people helping him already when I saw him. Rustam, the PACM President was nearby and he called for medic after being alerted of the situation and soon there were some St. John ambulance personnel came to help. He was helped on to a stretcher later. Hope he has recovered now.

My advice to all runners is, please go for your yearly medical check-up and know your physical condition. Until the next run, do stay healthy and know your condition early. That's the least you can do for yourself and your family.