SCKLM 2013 is postponed & thoughts about it.

Well, it's official. After a week of speculation, it has finally been announced that the Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2013 is going to be postponed to 29th September 2013.

More info could be found here for the organizers.
http://www.kl-marathon.com/

Despite the mixed reactions from the public, honestly I think it was a wise decision. Personally, I am recovering from viral fever and I am not at my peak. And I slowly see friends and love ones getting sick or admitted to hospital closer to the event date. Yes, in a way I was sad and disappointed when I got ill. I was off training for 10 days during my tapering weeks and I had a tough time trying to get back my momentum. The announcement of the postponement couldn't come at a better time.

So let's analyse the whole situation:

1. The Haze - Despite being almost cleared, it still pose a health threat. You will never know what will happen on Sunday. Of course, I did say that I was going to pretend that I was running the "Marathon Des Sables" aka The Dessert Marathon. But jokes aside, it does pose a health threat especially when you are doing a full marathon. Imagine all the dirty air you are sucking in. It's like stuffing your face in a vacuum cleaner bag!

2. The "3 Month" bonus - I'm looking at the situation positively. To some who said that they trained hard and they weren't able to run is a bunch of "bull". I wouldn't believe that one just train for just this ONE event and do not do other runs the rest of the year. AS of now, we have an extra 3 months before SCKLM. So for those who fell sick; this is some payback time. And in between, there are so many competitive races. Just re-direct your priorities and don't have to be unhappy of the whole situation.

3. Make your current goals into better ones! - I personally was aiming that SCKLM would be my race to beat my PB. But now I have more time to better improve myself and probably I could do better in September.

4. Satisfying everyone (or maybe not) - Well, it's hard to satisfy everyone but we have to count our blessings that the event is NOT cancelled. There has been many international events that has met with challenges and was postponed/cancelled and whatever. The organizers made the call and we have to respect the decision made. No offence, but seriously you want to run in the haze? I want to feel a great sense of achievement after my run; not be rewarded with an asthma attack (God forbid).

5. Keep Calm and Keep Training - As runners, our trainings will always go on. So don't be sad and hold your head up high! Keep a positive mind and take this as an opportunity to further improve yourself. Who knows that by September; you will be able to do better than your initially would.

So there you have it. I hope my thoughts make sense and I believe many would agree. Whatever it is, we would still continue to run. Make the best of the situation and let's just concentrate for whatever races that you will be doing next week 7th July before the fasting season.

Gambateh everyone! :)

Race Report : Mizuno Wave Run 2013 + my last weekend LSD.

The finisher medal

Yes. It has been that long since my last blog entry. I’ve meant to write something; especially on how I was training up for SCKLM. But then I realised, I’m just gonna stress myself out and putting my expectations too high. Instead, I’ve opted a more realistic goal this time and not beat myself up.

Besides that, I had things to take care of. And it was all for the best. J

So back to the topic!

Mizuno Wave Run (for the first time) is being held at Putrajaya with a distance of both 16km and 7 km category. At first I was surprised; being that it was usually done at UPM with the usual 10km route. But I’m always open for changes.

However this time (because of training plan as well), I’ve opted this race to be my LSD + extra mileage to make up at least 32km. So there was no racing for time.

The start line

 My morning started at 4am at Palace of Justice. Made prior arrangements with Hui and Tilak to do 16km first before race started. But my morning started badly with tummy upsets. Blame it on the swimming I did the day before when I swallowed (TWICE!) a mouthful of pool water.

The portaloos were still locked. Maybank toilets were shut. I ran around like crazy until I found one that was hidden away from view. Thank goodness. I quickly did whatever I needed to do and met up with the guys.  Chatter was to a minimal and we started with our run. The first 10km was pretty good and I manage to keep my marathon pace with Speedy Hui; whom just finished Sundown the week before and he still looks fresh. Gotta salute the fellow.

Then, it happened again......

Dammit! I was in agony. I slowly let the guys head on as I didn’t want to hold them up. To cut the story short, I had a few options:

1.       Stand and wait for help. Flag any passing vehicle down.

2.       Take a chance; look for public loo. In pain.

3.       Be daring; Do the bushes.

Bullocks, I almost did option 3. Really desperate.

Finally I did find one loo at Dataran Gemilang and I couldn’t be any happier. But I was all too exhausted to carry anything on after that.  I slowly jog towards my car and heard the emcee announcing that they will start soon. At this point, I was contemplating if I could still go on. I gulped down a bottle of water, downed a pack of gel, headed towards the starting line and see how things went.

Met a few buddies and the gun was off. I treaded along the crowd and my mood was slightly lifted when some showed support and encouragement. Petronas was just in sight in less than 1.5km and I quickly bought a bottle of Gatorade to keep myself hydrated. Everything went smooth from thereafter.

Although I wasn’t able to keep my expected marathon pace constantly, I still kept going and the tummy behaved. Fortunately the weather was fine as the day progressed.

The route was generally flat with gradual rolling hills. It was a breeze for regulars as it’s reminisces MH & PNM race routes.  I had a good time running alongside friends I met along the way. Most were just curious why I’m on a slow pace.

It’s good to be just enjoying the race instead of racing for a new PB. It was all the joy that made me forget all the pain. Not of course until the last 2 water stations ran out of water! Not wanting to break momentum, I just went on.

I came back at the finish line and clocked 28km total at that point. I need another 4kms to make up the 32. Queued to get my hydration and goodie bag, say hi to few of the guys and I went on to continued my run. It was a lonely run again as I was alone again on the long winding road. I decided to join back the route somewhere around PICC and saw the remaining last runners making through the final 2 km. I slowly joined them, quick nod and moved on. One of the bike marshals kept encouraging me to push on. I slowly smiled back and politely told him that I’ve already finished my race and I’m just doing the extra. He chucked a laugh and told me to carry on; nodding the same time in acknowledgement. Yes, we runners are crazy sometimes. Oh.... the things we do.

500m more to the finish line but I decided since that I’m on a roll; let’s just roll out another km or so just to rill up 33-34km.

All in all, it was a great race and to double up as my LSD. If only that I didn’t had that tummy ache attack; everything was fine.

The organization of race was good and the organizing team were great. Except for the minor hiccup on the last 2 water stations. Route wise is great with gradual rolling hills.

And now let’s hope all my hard work wouldn’t go to waste; especially now that the haze is terrible.

Crossing fingers the weather will clear up by SCKLM. 

What weather is this?

3H = Hot, Humid, HAZE.

I can't explain what kind of weather is this and it's seriously driving me nuts.

It is my tapering week and I so happened to be sick. I hardly get sick (the most is just a small flu or fever) but the haze is taking a toll on me. 

Now that the McD Olympic Run has been postponed due to the haze (or so they say); I hope that SCKLM won't be affected by it. I pray the weather is clear and I hope my body can recover soon. 

So to all my fellow friends prepping for SCKLM next week :

1. Drink loads of water. And I mean loads and loads of it. It's recommended that you take at least 2 liters a day. Toilet breaks will happen frequently too.

2. Take supplements; especially Vitamin C to boost your immune system.

3. Watch your diet. Although it's a little too early for carbo loading now; it's not a time to chow down on our hawker delicacies. Especially fried food. 

4.  Get enough sleep. None of us wants to look like a zombie on race day.

5. Be positive and always keep happy thoughts. :)

Someone is turning me into an internet MEME?

Hi all!

First and foremost it has really been some time since my last blog update. Thousand apologies.
Been very busy with things (sorting things out) and I have been training for the upcoming Standard Chartered KL Marathon. Hope that everyone is doing the same and everyone's training plan is going accordingly well.

So why the sudden blog post? Well, initially I was planning to write something but this came out instead.

Let's start with this picture.

This my dear friends; is a picture taken by the amazing running couple Ashe & Vivian at the recent Mizuno Wave Run 2013 at Putrajaya. This is the usual me doing my silly poses in front of cameras during races. Some how this particular one took a life of it's own today.

I have "unwillingly" turned into a Kamen Rider. It was just so plain hilarious that I almost did fell off my chair when I saw it. I'm sure many has; judging from all the Facebook "Likes" & comments in Ashe's FB page.

And then, this next picture took life.

This one probably sealed the deal cause I almost laughed till I had stomach cramps!

Thanks to Ashe and Vivian for the brilliant photo and captions. I did my part to be silly (as usual) ;)

(Latest update as of 11/06/13 @ 12.15am)
Lina tagged me in another pic where another fellow runner "photoshop-ed" me into something more "appropriate" looking.

Cukup Kamen-Rider for ya? Somehow I feel more like Speed Racer in this leh... Lolx!
Thanks for the incredible edit from YeeHoo Leong. It was indeed a good one! :)

This was probably what I need after a long LSD run. I was at 28km in the midst of a 33km run; so the quirkiness was a good push through. Thanks again for immortalizing the photo.

That is why I often say that the strong support of friends during a run (irregardless of training or competition) is important. You can always count on someone to cheer you up and motivate you.

THANKS AGAIN ALL!

AS for now, I'll continue reading all the funny comments and YES, please someone find me a Kamen Rider suit (cause that's what you all requested, right?)