KL roads will never look the same again to me :-)Today I was driving to KLCC from Technology Park Malaysia, using Sg Besi route. I passed by TUDM and this flash of deja-vu struck me - it was about the 10km mark and the detector.
Last Sunday, March 5th was my first KLIM event (Participant number G1123! wearing the stupid organiser t-shirt because I followed instructions in the info sheet!).
In fact, to put simply, I have mixed 'feelings'. I am glad I finished my half marathon, but at the same time, I felt I did extremely poorly. It is a great lesson learnt for me, because I was courting disaster, did not have time to train, did not even had time to do short training sessions. It was the first time I had competed in an event I did not have time to train for, and worse was that it was not just the distance I did not have time to train for, it was even basic time spent in the gym was not in existence. This is the story of a virgin "half-marathoner" and how I saw my "first" experience.
In the Beginning
After a sudden interest in running starting from the Rat Race last year (2005), I ran 3 other races in the closing months of 2005, and in 2006, started off with the Pacesetters 20km run (held together with the trademark 30km run), in January. My plan was to do this 20km run as a preparation to see if I could take the KLIM half-marathon. I intended to do 3 half marathons and at least 3 10km or sub-10km events for 2006, and then aim for marathon in KLIM 2007. A pretty simple plan.
The prep race and prep before the race
I did a good time and effort for the pacesetter 20km in Jan. It was the first time I almost ran continuously for 20km, and therefore I was quite euphoric about KLIM. Then came CNY, went to London, came back, and went to San Diego, and came back with a continuous jet lag feeling, plus no time even to run in sunny San Diego. In US I had little sleep and even on Friday/sat I had only 3-4 hrs sleep as we were doing a trial system migration.
Race Day
Although I slept early for the race, when I got up I did not have enough to eat. , and when during the race, from KM5 to KM15+ they ran out of drinks so was pretty dehydrated. So I did a good time for 10km split, but after 12+km, I lost focus, my mind was on water!!!! Last km lap around Jln Raja Laut I even felt dizzy because of lack of energy...! I just wanted to finish, and I did that, but definitely next time can put in a much better time, with lesson learnt on preparation and enough sleep/nutrients before race!
Gadgets and Nutritions
The most interesting thing was the Championship Chip. The half-marathoners and marathoners were given a championship chip on loan. When we were let out of the "bull-pen" for runners, the beeping sound of the RFID CChip was quite interesting - it beeped continuously like a chirping alarm (because so many runners were running on the mat!).
I was first exposed to Powergel on the Pacesetters 20km race. I ate one pack as a reward for reaching 10km without stopping, but along the way, the race organisers gave many power-drink supplements at drinks stations. For KLIM, the reverse happened. I brought along one powergel to repeat my strategy, but when we reached 10km, they handed out Chocalate flavored ones, hence I took it and ate it, only to find out 10 paces later that there was no water in the water station. So, I was dehydrated and had "ate" a powergel stuck in my throat for a good 5km!!! Lesson learnt - do not be too greedy :-)
After the race
People I worked with when they heard about the race thought I was mad as they saw the hours I put in during the week. Even the client bosses thought I was joking when I told them I was running on Sunday. Sigh... Good lesson learnt, body is not made of steel...!!!! For those who think their mind can overtake, when the body is weak/tired, don’t push yourself....
Nevertheless, I am still quite satisfied I had achieved what I wanted to do - to complete the race. Next time, do it well!
No comments:
Post a Comment