KL International Marathon

I somehow overslept this morning. I don't know if i forgot to push the alarm button, or I slammed it when it went off and just went back to sleep. All i know is at 4.45 am, my dad was knocking rather urgently on the door saying it's time to go! I scrambled out of bed, but my brother got to the toilet before me. So i changed into my running attire while waiting and brushed my hair up in a ponytail through squinted eyes (haven't put on contacts, couldn't find my glasses).

Sam, Jon and Tsong weren't here yet, so that bought me a little time. I was getting paranoid. My dad asked me to eat some fibre plus solution yesterday evening and until this morning i did not have the urge to pass motion. I didn't want a repitition of SJ10K, especially since there are no mamaks along the highways of KL. I was feeling rather agitated, but there wasn't much i could do.

At 5.10 am the boys came and off we went. We reached at about 5.20 am, but the carpark at Bt Aman was full. So the 4 of us half marathoners went off first. Sam and I started running to Dataran while the other 2 seemed to have disappeared behind us. We checked in at about 5.35 am, all warmed up from the short run. Lucky for us Mori was manning the Adidas counter so we passed him out bags instead of checking them into the baggage check in. The flag off, i think, was at 6 am sharp. Shortly after Jon and Tsong caught up with us and we were running together-gether :)

5 km
I dont know when Jon and Tsong stopped running alongside Sam and I. Then i can't remember when Sam said "see you Karen" also. For some reason, i was extremely blur for this race. What i remember was sweating excessively and feeling all icky and hot. What is wrong with our weather? The first water station, i decided to skip. I figured I was still doing alright. In fact ever since runnign with Kit Mun in the Smart tunnel, I've been daring enough to try a faster pace than usual. And it's amazing. :)

10km
In my too-early-in-the-morning-kelam-kabut-ness I ate my Gel a bit too early. Thinking the 1st Sponging station was the 10km 2nd Water station was the silliest thing i've ever done in a race. The fact that my stopwatch wasn't even showing anywhere near 1 hour had no impact on my blurness whatsoever. Only when i came to the actual 10km water station did i realise how stupid i was. I think i literally smacked my forehead, causing some people to frown at me. haha...running by the buzzing mat at the 10km mark felt good. Half way, Karen!

15km
Shortly after the 10km mark, air visibility seemed to have dropped and the air smelt musky and thick. It was bad enough that i was coughing, the hazy atmosphere caused more phelgm to build up around my throat. I felt like throwing up. Struggling to maintain my pace, i felt my spirits draining too. Not a very happy runner this morning. Everything wasn't right. I was feeling demotivated. I searched around for someone to pace with, hopefully to make conversation so that i can keep myself motivated but to no avail. Out of no where Zailan shows up and greets me good morning. When he said "Don't worry, I'm only doing 10km, that's why i'm with you" i started laughing. Haha thanks Z, you made things a little better for me today. ahaha...

18km
I felt my chest burn somwhere before the 18 km water station. When the shadows of Sogo loomed over my head, I knew the infamous devil of a U-Turn was coming up. Up until now i still don't get why they have to torture us runners this way. If they can't cover enough distance than turn us off somewhere else, don't make us U-turn when we're SO CLOSE TO THE FINISHING. My chest burned pretty badly and my cough wasn't getting any better, so i slowed to a walk. I didn't want to, but it just happened. I walked and watched the other runners run by me. I walked for a minute or so. Then I saw refreshments again so I picked up my speed again. Just a little bit more. I decided to give it my all. After the U-turn, Alan came and said Hi. I focused my attention about 7 steps in front of me, kept my shoulders relaxed and steady, and pummeled all the way to the finish.

By my own timing, i did 2:14.18. I initially aimed for 2:15, which is 3 minutes more than my personal record for 21 km. I clocked 2:12 at last year's Putrajaya Half. But i havent been well, and i havent been training, so 2:15 would be a reasonable target. By right, i should be happy. But deep inside i harbour the disappointment of not making 2:12.

However, i forgot that there is a small difference between the recorded time and the actual time by the chip. And since KLIM organizers are pretty efficient, the results are up already.

click image for larger view

Looks like i didnt disappoint myself afterall. :)