Belly of the Beast

My 3 days stay at KL, was a short but memorable one. A good race, with great company! :-)
Many who went there achieved their PBs, despite the many steep climbs in the race.

"Don't try anything new on race day that you haven't tried in training before." I defied that saying on race day.  As I had just lost by Bikilas the week before, Ezan lent me his Nike Air Shoes before the race. It was quite flexible too, I just feared that I will not experience cramping again, like what happened when I wore my Asics during the 15km Progressive Series Run. His shoe was quite flexible and had minimal cushioning too.
The full marathon was flagged off at 4.30am, my 21km started at 6.00am sharp. I figured that if I stuck to a 5.30 pace, I will be able to get a timing of 1:50 or lower.

At the start line, I met a couple of familiar faces like Qi Hui and Ivan, along with many other F1 Runners. Even at the start line, my tummy was already making lots of noise which only I could here despite the loud head-banging dub-step music being played. The stomach pains, was most probably due to the 100PLUS I drank earlier, they both don't exactly get along well.

At the start line in Dataran Merdeka

I ran the first 5km of the race in about 23:40, way too fast, guess the pre-race excitement got the better of me once again, I slowed down to avoid a poor finish, and to go back on pace. Reached the 10k mark at about 51 minutes. The pace seemed relatively comfortable, and a sub 1:50 finish looked achievable. That was when the belly of the beast awakened.

For the next 10km, I slowed down my pace a lot, but I did not stop. I didn't consume any gels or bananas as I was afraid it will worsen my stomachache. I even thought of sitting on the portable thrones, but I told myself that I could hold it off till the end.I didn't drink any isotonic drinks along the route either. Where are non-carbonated drinks when you needed them? It was a truly tough mental battle, but nothing was going to stop me. 


Arafat was tracking me using a mobile app, and according to the app, I passed the 15.5km mark at 1:20:18 with a pace of 05:11min/km. 


I did experience some signs of cramping, so at around the 16km, I alllowed the volunteers to spray some Salonpas at my legs. I didn't experience any cramps for the run, and my post-race recovery was much quicker compared to the Sundown Marathon. 




So, after a hard fought battle with the belly of the beast, I manage to cross the finishing line with a PB of 01:52:25, knowing that my next target would be a sub 1:50. Despite the hills and the boring views, it was a good run and a great learning experience for me. Many fellow Singaporeans were present at the race too, most of them nailing their PBs due to the good weather conditions.There were many familiar faces from IMD and of course the Freaks too. 

My Dad ran the 10.6km run in 01:14, despite a injury. 

At the end of the race, while we were waiting for Shariff to finish, one of the runners slipped near the finish line and suffered a injury above his right eye, it swelled up immediately and most of us runners rushed to his aid. He was an elderly Japanese Man, thankfully there was a lady who could speak Japanese nearby. We elevated his legs, and formed a human wall to shade him. Once again, we see the unity that sports brings about. Although there was an ambulance nearby, it took more than 10 minutes for it to arrive. The Policeman there was very unprofessional and asked runners to carry the man to the side of the road, when clearly the man was shaking violently, carrying him would only further aggravate his possible injuries. We took instructions from a lady who had some medical knowledge. She advised us to elevate his legs and another man was constantly keeping track of his pulse. While the Japanese Lady constantly encouraged him and was speaking to him. A couple of runners started to fan him too. The ambulance arrived soon after, I hope he had a speedy recovery. 

Shariff arrived at about 06:08, his fastest in 2012 thus far. We all finished together.

















Well, my next overseas run will be the PBIM in November where I will be running the 10km Junior Category. This time, all of Team Maverickz will be participating, so we will surely have great fun. 

Punggol Active Passion Run

The Punggol Active Passion Run, or Punggol Waterway as it is more commonly known, was held successfully this morning. With a affordable registration fee of $25 for the 10km competitive run and $20 for the 5km run, runners turned up in big numbers to pound the pavement while enjoying the breeze of Punggol Waterway.

There was a late change to the route for the 10km run, with the organizers heeding advice from the Land Transport Authority and Traffic Police. Some members of the forum on sgrunners.com welcomed this new change as they found the new map easier to understand in comparison to the older one.

Personally it didn't matter much to me as I have not ran at punggol before, so I was looking forward to running in a new location.













For this run, there were about 8 freaks attending it, a small but strong force of demons!

The early birds

The run flagged off at 7.30am sharp, near the start line, I saw many familiar faces like Ganesh from Sundown and Vasant from IMD, just to name a few. Halim advised me to start off slightly faster than targeted pace as the running route would get quite narrow after the first 1km or so. And so we both started off at a fast pace, then once we were in Punggol Waterway, we settled in at our target pace. My goal was to get a Sub 50, my first Sub 50, and I wanted to do this run for Nur. 

Halim and Me at the start of the race

The first 3km or so, I was maintaining a steady 5.00 pace, only off by a few seconds. Around the 3km mark, I got a shock. They were giving out bottled unchilled NeWater at the Hydration Points. I didn't take it as I knew it would be time consuming to actually open up the bottles and stop running to drink from it. Halim running fast and soon he was out of my sight, I was sure he could get a Sub 50 if he maintained that pace. 

At the U Turn Point, Hamrit overtook me. Although he was still nursing his injuries, he was flying. He picked up his pace at about the 4.8km mark for a strong finish. He even overtook Halim with 2km to go! Way to go bro Hamrit! 

As for myself it was a mental struggle, as each distance marker passed by, my pace was decreasing. I didn't stop running for the first 8km, but I could feel some muscle fatigue in my legs, I didn't bring my legs up towards my butt to get a proper stride, was landing heavily too. Have to work on that, it always happens when I feel tired. But of course, all I needed was a look at my right wrist.. seeing the three letter word there kept me going.

The last hydration served HTWO. HTWO in bottles which were not chilled. What was the point of serving HTWO at almost the end of the race? You won't be able to replenish the sodium and carbohydrates in time, at there was less than 2km to go. I ended up only drinking 1/3 of the bottle. I remember I threw away the bottle just in time when I saw the lens of this photographer, Mr. Low Khia Khing. 

The familiar expression

At the 8km mark, checking against my watch, I lost hopes of doing a Sub 50. I passed the 8km marker at around 42 minutes, I just picked up the pace for a strong finish. When we exited from Punggol Waterway, a short but winding uphill stretch awaited us. After emerging, I saw the finish line up ahead. It seemed too near. I checked against my watch and it showed 49 minutes, I thought to myself that there was still a chance, so I sprinted towards the end, clocking an unofficial time of about 49:46. I looked up to the sky and smiled.

Halim's Garmin showed that the distance was about 9.8km, not a full 10km, didn't exactly feel like one either but it's alright. I know where I must work on to improve for the next run! Hamrit and Halim both got Sub 50 timings. All the freaks who attended the event broke their Personal Best timings. My Dad also got a personal best of 1:09:36! Kudos to all!

We just PB-ed!

The event in general was decent, they handled the narrow running route and late change of route well. They could have improved on the hydration points, which I hope they will change next year. Well done Punggol Runners for organizing the first ever Punggol Waterway Run! 

Tomorrow, I will be leaving to Kuala Lumpur for a retreat with my mates, will try to hit the gym and at least go for a short run when I'm there. 

My next run will be the Half Marathon at Standard Chartered KL Marathon on 24th June. 

Kick ASSphalt!

MR25 Progressive Series 15km Results

MR25 just probably set the record for the longest time taken for race results to be posted online, almost one month. Just saying.

But personally, I'm fine with it, although I was a little impatient, but most of us knew our timings already, and the official results won't turn out much different. Maybe for those who want to check on their ranking, it had been a long wait, but nontheless, relying on it's kampung human 'timing chip' system which I have to admit is highly reliable, here are the results!

Allow me to list out the freaks in our Hall of Fame!

Saifu                          - Bib Number: 12, Timing: 2:02:49, Rank: 71
Ariffin Iskandar Sha   - Bib Number: 22, Timing: 1:27:26, Rank: 49
Lenney Leong            - Bib Number: 72, Timing: 2:21:13, Rank: 77
Tan Yew Meng          - Bib Number: 111, Timing: 1:06:33, Rank: 7
Asry Bin Kasim          - Bib Number: 112, Timing: 1:11:44, Rank: 20
Izhar Bin Mohamed    - Bib Number: 113, Timing: 1:37:19, Rank: 60
Rukhaizat Bin Rapsan - Bib Number: 114, Timing: 1:03:57, Rank: 4
Norhalim Bin Nordin  - Bib Number: 115, Timing: 1:40:55, Rank: 65
Abdul Halim               - Bib Number: 116, Timing: 1:46:44, Rank: 67
Chiang Meng Chai      - Bib Number: 208, Timing: 1:09:43. Rank: 14

That's all for results, give yourselves a big pat on the back! Many Freaks were not present that day, but they will make their comeback soon at the remaining two races.

The Freaks are giving all other runners a very good run for their money, both in the individual and team category.

The official pictures will be released on either the MR25 Website or Facebook Group soon. For now, we'll use a picture by Mr Ultraboy 315!

Lari Sama Demons

Sundown Marathon 2012 (Halfway through)

As the air horn sounded off, we took off at almost a 4 minute pace for the first 500 meters, as we were sucked in by the elites near the start line, then me and the 2:00HM Pacer and new friend, Ganesh, slowed down and re-grouped with the rest of the group's pacers.

Looking at the HM 2:00 Pacers at the start of the race, I was doubting if I could keep up with them till the end.

The HM 2:00 Pacers

Front Row: Eddy Teo, Benjamin Chan, Roy Foo

Back Row: Patrick Koh, Ganesh Sivaraj

2km

So we settled in at a 5.30 pace, I looked at my left hand, my first 2km was dedicated to my Father, who was a very fast runner himself. He got back to pavement pounding when I started running too, and he has come a long way, one of the biggest support since I started running, and it was apt as it was the start of the Half Marathon too. Saw many familiar faces whiz pass me, including Mr Poon and his Wife, wished him all the very best for his run. It was very motivating to see Mr Poon as it was because of his advice to 'run off'my asthma that I took up running in the first place. My legs were in sync with Ganesh, matching his every stride. I focused on my breathing to not dehydrate myself this early in the race, breathing in and out through the nose.

4km

The pacers were constantly checking their watches and shouting out the current pace, we were doing slightly below 5.30, still cruising along comfortably. Ganesh constantly checked on me to see if I was fine. The pacers were doing a very fine job on their part, alerting runners about upcoming water points and turns so that they could prepare early, in terms of position or fueling. This 4km was for my family, particularly to my grandmother who has been in and out of hospital very often recently, although most of them don't know much about my running, I hope to one day make them proud. 

All smiles at the start, with Ganesh to my left!

6km

For the great one, Allah. I first started running in May 2011, I started praying at that time too. And my whole life has come such a long way from then, many things have changed for the better and countless new doors have opened. And it was all due to him. Around this time, I started feeling great pain in my shoulders, maybe it was due to stiffness, wrong body posture or not warming up. I tried to troubleshoot the problem by swinging my arms but it seem to worsen the problem, maybe I was swinging my arms too much, so I focused on minimizing my shoulder movement during running and it seemed to do the trick! 

8km

The Freedom Freaks, since my first run with them during Chinese New Year (From Woodlands to East Coast Park), I met many great running friends, they are a great bunch to be with, always learning from one another and sharing great moments together. It has been a great honor to know them, they are a bunch of fun-loving speedy demons, and I'm sure you'll see the freaks on podiums really soon. (Some of them already are!) So this 8km, I ran with them in mind, 5 months of great fun with them. I love their motto which they adhere to sincerely, Leave No One Behind, the Sundown Pacers seemed to be following that motto too.

The Freedom Freaks @ Sundown Marathon 2012

10km 

My goal was to break the 50 minute barrier for my 10km, I hope to achieve the goal soon, perhaps at the upcoming Punggol Waterway Run? I have a good feeling about it. Well a quick check on my watch, we passed the 11km mark at exactly 1 hour, going strong and I was more than halfway there. I ate my Shotz Wild Berry Gel there too, it was pretty cool to be ripping off the gel with my teeth, first timer. 10km for the ever expanding Team SBR. We started off with only 4 members, now we have expanded to more than 10 members with a huge fan base, and under the leadership of Sir Arafat, have been learning many new things, making great progress and insipiring the world too. I hope Shariff and Hafsah were doing well after their run too. Viva La Team SBR! 

12km

For my fellow brother who was probably sleeping comfortably in a farm in Taiwan as I was runninng. He has been with me since May 2011 and has been running with me too, he has came a long way. We used to be the worst enemies, but I guess it help us understand one another better. He has lost a shitload of weight too, but that's not the only thing, it was a bonus in addition to his new found positiveness and joy too. More than halfway through now, I was going to give my best. I am sure Lenney would want me to do my best too.

Sundown Marathon 2012 (Pre- Race)

Lenney and I signed up for the Sundown Marathon in the first few days of the new year, catching the early bird before it flew off. It was going to be our virgin half-marathon, and it was going to mark my first year of running too. But in February, Lenney's parents had made plans to go on a family vacation to Taiwan, and the date of the vacation unfortunately clashes with Sundown, so he handed his bib over to my Dad, who will be running his first half marathon too.


The Race Pack Entry Collection was held at the RunBikeSwim Expo from 11 - 13 May, there were many great deals there too. After collecting our race bibs, and stocking up on race fuel, we were ready to go!

The Sundown Running Singlet and my Race Bib

Following their 21km fueling strategy, I got this from Shanmugam!

26 MAY 2012 - Race Day!

For the first time in any race, I was pretty nervous. It was going to be my first time at a big scale running event, and I wasn't sure what to expect. In terms of training, I have not been doing too well either as I didn't watch my diet and train regularly. The last time I ran was during MR25's Tuesday Track Session. I told myself that as soon as I am over with this race, I would start doing proper training, with things like long runs at race pace. But first, I had to clear my virgin half-marathon.

I made my way to the race village 4 hours before flag off, in the bus and along the route, I focused myself and tried to visualize my experience. Confusion got the better off me, in the end I decided that I would follow the 2:00 HM Pacers all the way and maintain an easy pace, this decision was probably due to my lack of confidence in maintaining a faster pace as I didn't train at a targeted race pace. And anyway, since it was going to mark my plus/minus one year of running, I wanted to dedicate this run, or rather parts of the run to some very special people. This was also a form of motivation for myself to keep me motivated through the race. I wrote the dedications on my hand. 

2km - Dad

4km - Family

6km - Allah

8km - The Freedom Freaks

10km - Team SBR (Shariff Blade Runner)

12km - Lenney Leong

14km - Student Council EXCO

16km - Eagle

20km - Sundown Crew (Anyone who made Sundown possible)

I was quite nervous so I might have left out some people who played a great role in my running journey, I didn't mean to do that.

Well, at about 9pm, the extended Team SBR (Now known as Shariff Blade Runner) arrived at the Race Village, we got ourselves a table near the photo booth, enjoyed the movie Tower Heist together for about 30 minutes, then Shariff and Hafsah who were doing the 10km which begun at 2230 headed out to do their warm-ups and secure a good starting position. We snapped a picture of Team SBR before heading out! 

Shariff will be running with his new Ossur Flex Run with Nike sole and the Nike Lunarglide+3 on the good leg. He is capable of running at a sub 1:05 pace as he had done in his training run, but due to poor race management by HiVelocity, he was denied a PB, but nontheless his spirit spurred many runners on!

Soon it was time for me and my Dad to go for our race, I met up with the 2:00 HM Pacers and we made our way to the starting line, the Freedom Freaks and I we were just in front of the start line, as we had about one hour to go, we sat down and shared tips and also took some photos! I forgot the fueling strategy provided by Maxifuel, so I made out what I did remember, 60 minutes before the start I ate the ViperBoost Bar and 30 minutes from the start I ate the ViperBoost Gel. Checking against the strategy now, it was actually wrong. I also had a last minute change as I noticed that the ViperActive Gels were too big to fit into the back pocket of my shorts, so I used my shots gel instead, will get a fuel belt before the SCKLM! 

T-minus 10 minutes to flag off, the star-studded front line was filled with elite runners. I got up and did some loosening up, not much space for warming up. I had a chat with Ganesh Sivaraj, one of the HM 2:00 pacers, will be seeing him again soon at the Punggol Waterway Run in about 14 days time. With a couple of minutes to go, I took my place beside the pacers and wished the Freaks and other familiar faces the best of luck! 

Took a quick check on my hand, first two 2km was going to be for my Dad. He was probably with the second or third wave, after snapping pictures of the 10km runners and cheering them on together with Arafat. Well, as the MC counted down the last 10 seconds, and the air horns sounded off, all of our engines took off at full speed, it was time to light up the city!

Zombie Running

Last night, I joined the freedom freaks for a 25km slow and easy run at East Coast Park! It was my first time running at about 12am, I had doubts whether I would be able to fight the Z Monster, as I dozed off in the bus before the run. To my surprise, I wasn't so sleepy during the run and managed to stay awake, but my sleep couldn't wait much more once the run was over.






Yesterday, See Too (First from the left, back row) joined the Freaks for the first time since he started running in February this year! I accompanied him from start to finish and we enjoyed each other's company greatly along the way! ;-) For a person who has only started running recently, he was able to run 17km non-stop, a great job. Your target to run the Full Marathon at SCMS this year, you will achieve it bro! He is also on the Atkin's Diet, a zero-card diet from July 2011, he has lost almost 25kg so far, a very significant loss. It was an awesome run with the freaks! I look forward to more LSDs with them!

Leave No One Behind!

MR25 Progressive Run Series 2012 - 15km

Last sunday which is 6 May, the MR25 Runners organized held the second run in series of four progressive runs. The total distance was 15km, which consists of route through Macritchie Reservoir and along the Lornie Road. Me and my friend Ariffin Sha, which is one of the contributors to this blog, ran 15km along with me too. He did not achieve his target timing, but I believe one day he could make it as he is a determined guy.

(The route)

The flag-off was held at 7am sharp. Everyone was anxious to run except for me. I didn't had a good time since that following morning, as I had a bad stomachache and things did not go as well as expected even after I reach  Macritchie. However, that did not stop me. I told myself to run and complete the race even if my timing was bad.

Everyone started to run fast after the word 'go', but I told myself not to run the same pace as them as I might end up dying since the whole route is 15km and it is not a simple task for someone who is having a bad stomachache. I died out during the first 3km even though I did warm-ups the night before and before the flag-off. I guess the warm-ups weren't a solid one for me.

I stopped at a Ranger station at the 2.5km mark and went to drink some water. I was almost going to give up and is aware of my timing as I was walking instead of running at some places. However, I always tell myself one thing which is to continue and don't give up. As long as I reach the finish line, even if I am the last, I still completed something a young 14 years old cannot do.

So I started running and when I reach the 3km mark, I started to enjoy running. I enjoyed the breeze, nature and trail. I managed to maintain a steady pace until 12.5km, which is the last water checkpoint for this run.

The adult volunteer shouted at me: 'Young man, cmon!'. I went to drink 3 cups of water to quench my thirst after 6km+ without drinking any water. The guy then talk to me, saying that I am really slow at this age and that I was the last runner. I felt sad and demoralized at that point of time because everyone will definitely feel the same way like me if they are called last. I told myself not to listen to his nonsense and start running like a real man, a hero. I brought my feet up and start running again. 

Along the last 2.5km, I had muscle cramps and fell down in the middle of the trail. All in my mind was to complete the run but still, I got to run slow and steady to prevent often cramps. And finally, I completed the race with a timing of 2:20. Like what I've said, it did not turn out as expected because my timing could have been lesser than that and might be because of the slopes that caused me to be tired.

The moment I crossed the finish line, I told myself that I did it. That's why we should never underestimate or look down on anyone who tries to give their best because those who are willingly to cross the starting point already won compared to those who do not even wants to try at all.

I am a winner.

MR25 Progressive Run Series 2012 - 15km

This morning, the MR25 Runners held the second run in the series of four progressive runs. The 15km ran began at 7am sharp.

I joined the progressive run series as the Freedom Freaks were sending two teams in and also the race had a small number of participants. Creating a friendly 'kampung' spirit without compromising a well organized race. There were many elites in the race, like Gen Lim, Renuka and also some of our own very own elite demons. Anyway it was free for MR25 members, so why not? It was going to be a fun race, although I did not train up properly before this run, I still went ahead. A 1h 25mins finish would be good enough, although I was secretly hoping for a 1h 20 finish. The previous 10km, I finished with a time of 53minutes, still waiting to break that 50min barrier! Lenney joined the run this morning too, his first progressive series run, he signed up on the spot.

The pre-race brefing, the two demons in the center of the picture in blue. ('Chong' Izat and the Unicorn Yao Ming!)

I tried to split the race into two portions, 10km and 5km and was gunning for a strong finish. But my plans backfired within the first 5km, I started to walk, was feeling immense pains in my thighs. I guess it's because it was the first time I wore heavily cushioned shoes again after almost 3 months. I am trying to transition to barefoot running, switching between my Bikilas and naked feet. I wanted to wear Bikilas this morning, but I haven't tried running with them in the trails before, I didn't want to try something out on race day that I haven't tried during training. My muscles really cramped up big time after all that heel striking during the run. I will start hitting the trails with Bikilas soon. Okay, now back to the race!

There was a whole lot of walking for me, at least 1km of walking I think. A few short seconds of walking then I'll be back running, but this happened too often and affected my tempo. I told myself, to enjoy the race and aim for a strong finish. The race had 3 water-points (we passed by the second one twice) which was sufficient. At the 7km point, it was Dejavu as I met the roots again, and struggled up them. A check on my watch, 42 minutes at 7km, a slow 6 mins pace. I tried to pick up the pace but always ended up slowing down. A 1.25 finish didn't seem possible, well it's okay, I pressed on. At the 12km point I me Lance Sum, who encouraged me and said 'Let's Go!', I drafted him for about 1.5km. Along Lornie Road, there was a fallen tree and runners had to bend under it, was kinda unique, although I am sure I did affect some runner's performances, no biggie. So with 1km left, I picked up the pace. I managed to get a quick look at the stopwatch, it showed 1.26 I think. Not exactly satisfied, but I did have fun and learn some things during this run! ;-) I will start training at the sacred training ground (MacRitchie Reservoir) more often now, those slopes can help can help me to become a stronger and faster runner, in VFFs of course. 

The Freaks after the Run! They all did well and ripped up the trails of MR.

Here are some of their results! :-)

1. Izat (1.04)
2. Yao Ming (1.06)
3. Meng Chai (1.09)
4. Asree (1.11)

I'll post up the rest of  the results after the official results have been released! Well done to all today, we certainly made our mark at the MR25 and the two teams are faring well in the Teams category. They are giving the MR25 Runners a good run for their money, literally. ;-)

After completing my run, I went back up to the zig-zag bridge to cheer the runners on and wait for Lenney, he arrived at about 2.15. He had an unfortunate fall as he muscles cramped up, but he soldiered on and finished the race at 2.20!

I am proud of him, although he wasn't feeling that good after the run, he should be very proud of himself for finishing the run, despite the circumstances. He is a champion, we all are champions. Well done buddy! And I'm sure he will come back stronger next time around, nonetheless a tough but good race experience for us.

He did have an unpleasant experience with the person who was manning the second water-point. It was a hot morning and the man was probably standing there for an hour or two, maybe he might have not been in the right mood. Let's forget about it bro.

Let me share something with you guys that Arafat (Singapore Blade Runner's Manager) said once.
Many times I have been doubted, but I believe proving those who have doubted you wrong is very satisfying! ;-)

small words never hurt a big dream or idea. Let those people say whatever they want.. Cos it won't do them any good anyway. It is only that they need to be careful on whose toes their stepping on today because they might be connected to the foot that kicks their own ass tomorrow.

Well at the end point, we met a familiar face! The man with the ever-present smile and camera, Tan Tick Hock.

Chatted with him and he told me that he had three marathons coming up in the next three months. Sundown, SCKLM and the Pattaya Marathon, then after that it would be the Craze Ultra! ;-)

My Dad who is getting back into running, made friends with Mr. Tan too.

It was a good end to a great day, and I look forward to the 20km Progessive Run on the 1st July, gotta train up for it too! 

Run Free! :-)