Where : Queensbay Mall, Penang
When : 20/11/2011, 2am
What : Full Marathon (42.195km)

Race pack collection

Lack of LSD (long slow distance) training, plus just did Powerman 2011 last week, fear of not enuff recovery, so i planned to just run my own pace here, as the cut-off time for full marathon is 7hrs, its doable.

It started at 2am, its like running the Singapore Sundown already. At 3-4am, started to feel sleepy & dizzy. After 4am, the dizziness went away completely.

At the 3rd km, met with Jaja, she told me that she had gastric a day before. I told her to go slow, & listen to the body. Later got to know that she decided to DNF at 4th km. Good for u Jaja to take that step. THere’s always another race. Get well soon.

Met with Aini near 10th km mark. She paced with me till the finishing line. Good run girl! Thanks for pacing with me too, helping me focus more and maintain my run. Congrats to Aini for her PB, she did 5:55 along with me. Improved 37mins! Thats a huge PB for her!!!

What has been the turn down of APBIM was, the failure of the organizer to manage the water station well. There was no water left at at least 2 water stations in a row. That’s running more than 10km without water yawww!!! They repeated their 2008 mistake again where i did my 1st full marathon here.

Desperate for water, i have to search for leftover water inside water bottles thrown beside the road, hoping to collect much water to get a full bottle. Damnnnn.. its like a rubbish collector, but we have to do it or else risking my life or get dehydrated!

The last 3km was a challenging moment for me. I have to weave through thousands of fun runners walking. Feared my calf to get cramp, have to run & weave cautiously, what an experience! Love it when i did it without any single cramp

Official time was 5:55, a PB by 7 mins. Alhamdulillah!

Finished strong this time, no more being carried by medics.. LOL

Went jalan2 at Georgetown after checked out, stumbled upon this ol skool Aliph sign board!

Tonite (15/10/2011), i will be running half-marathon in Putrajaya Night Marathon, in tribute to a running friend, Allahyarham Kharis Idris a.k.a. Tuan Senang Besar(TSB), who passed away last Thursday 13/10/2011.

Although i dunno much abt him, but i tribute this run for him, as a fellow runner, with same hobby n passion in running. Respect for him.

Al-Fatihah…

Running a marathon tests your mental strength as much as it does your physical fitness. Each segment of the marathon has it own mental challenges. Here are some tips on how to win the mental battles throughout the marathon:

First 10 Miles:

Start out slow. When you start your marathon, you’ll feel strong and confident, but you must keep telling yourself to hold back. Running your first half slower than the second half (called a negative split) is the key to running a smart and enjoyable marathon. Take it slow. Your body will thank you during the second half of your marathon.

Run your own marathon. Don’t be worried if you see a lot of people passing you. Remember the tortoise and the hare? They may be starting out way too fast, so you’ll catch them later — at your own pace.

Don’t get too emotional. Try to stay as calm as possible for the first 10 miles. You’ll need to conserve your mental energy for the rest of the marathon.

Miles 11-20:

Break up the marathon. Start breaking up the race into smaller segments. It will make the distance feel more manageable. At mile 17, for example, think, “One six mile race, then it’s just about a 5K to go.”

Stay mentally tough. Your mental toughness will really start to be tested during these miles. Don’t give into periods of self-doubt and discomfort. Remember all the training that you have done and have faith in it. Think about how hard you have worked and how rewarding it will be to complete your marathon.

Beat boredom. Here’s when you really get to use all those boredom-battling tricks you tried out during your long runs. Do whatever it takes to keep your mind occupied: Sing songs, play mental games, count people, talk to other runners.

Miles 21-26.2:

Think outside the body. Chances are you will be feeling a little bit of pain during these miles. You will certainly feel tired. Let your mind take over from your body and try to focus on the outside — the spectators, the signs, the other runners, the scenery.

Set small milestones. Continue to break up the course, mile by mile. Start counting down the miles and the minutes.

Talk to yourself. At this point in the race, you need to dig down deep for extra strength. Use your running mantras. Remind yourself what you’ve sacrificed to get to this point. Remember how you’ve worked through fatigue during your training runs and how you can do it again.

Source: about.com

p/s: thanks Kak June for sharing this tips, in conjunction to the upcoming Stan Chart KL Marathon 2011. Though i’ll not be running marathon, this tips will be useful at all time.

The race certificate downloaded online from the official website

Completed my 2011 Sundown Marathon successfully! Yeah!! Another marathon in hands. That was my 7th marathon. Report will come later.

This time i did a solo trip here, by the ktm senandung malam nite train. Didnt book any accommodation, just gamble it, go backpackers. Did a quick survey on the internet, found a hostel very near to the mrt, that is very convenience for me. The name, Wow Hostel Went there n lucky me to get a bed there for two nite

Woke up early this morning, did a short warm up run n stretching. Gotta get ready physically n mentally for tonite’s run. Wish me luck

Venue : Palace of Justice, Putrajaya
Date : 29/01/2011
Time : 19:45

It was raining drizzly 1 hr before the run started. The surrounding was so cold that evening. It’s gonna be a cold run for me this time. The ultra-marathon category started at 7pm, while the rest started at 7.45pm. There are not many runners. It’s gonna be like free and easy run for me doing the 44km! Hahaha… will take it slowly, easily, no rush, as this is not a race, just like a normal weekend LSD Saw Zulhassan, he’s running Ultra!

As the time goes, i found myself running alone as the gap between runners build up. At certain spot, there’s even no people  at all. It’s drizzling & cold, misty, quiet.. scary too. Feels like something gonna pop up out of the dark roadside Hehehe.. what a feeling. Just dont wanna think abt it too much, concentrate on my run & listen to my ipod

Met Sabri, Ruby, Aini & Shahrul in front of PoJ, they just arrived. They did 1 & half loop, that was abt 15-16km something. Saw Det, Shakhir, Nik & the gang running on the other side. Nice to saw u guys running here too. Ah Tey was there as well to take our photos. Thanks Tey for covering this event!

Crossing the Seri Gemilang bridge (photo by Leong Kwan Weng)

The water station served Gatorade, Revive, 100Plus, plain water, bananas & GU gels. Wow!! That’s quite variety of choices for a small running events. Great!!! The water supply was sufficient.

The cute bunny girl manning the water station (photo by Tey Eng Tiong)

Finally, finished the longgggg run at 2.30am (photo by Tey Eng Tiong)

Nice to meet some new friends here. Wow!! My arm band shines!!! (photo by Mohan of Singapore)

Overall, it was a nice small & simple events. A well done job by Irwan & friends organizing this events. There’s a Red Crescent ambulance on standby and patrolling along the run route. There’s a group of traffic police on duty also. I enjoyed the 44km run very much! This was the most relaxing run i ever did. Did 4 loops, finished my run at 2.30am the next morning, clocking 6 hrs, 35mins. A huge satisfaction! 1 more full marathon added in my list

Finisher's Medal & bib aku 0353

Marathon ke-2 aku kali ni, aku berjaya tamatkan dlm masa 6:12. Alhamdulillah! Dan kali ni aku nak tulis simple report jer. Frustrated! Nak tau citer, baca kat bawah…

Race start pukul 5.00am dlm keadaan hujan renyai. Tak sempat aku nak warm-up, badan dah sejuk balik kene air hujan.

Hujan renyai berhenti setelah sampai di Brickfields. Teruskan larian. Di KM-15 depan Tabung Haji, diorang kasi pisang. Belasah pisang sebijik. Dpt ler instant energy boost sket.

Sampai di water station Jln Raja Muda, aku mkn Power Gel & minum air sekali. Tu lah last water station yg aku jumpa, yg masih ada air. Lepas2 tu, KLCC, Jln Pinang… bla2 sumer dah takde air. Yillek.. nadaaa.. podah cittt!!! Sumer pelari bising. Ada pelari Singapore ni saun brader jaga air tu, “You should come to our country, see how they manage the marathon”. Aku malas menyampuk, aku teruskan usaha cari air. Kot terjumpa botol air mineral yg dibuang oleh pelari2 di water station, yg air masih tinggal sket tu pon bleh kaut minum. Desperate for water!!!

Bila sampai depan Wisma Genting, ada sorang brader ni offer aku air mineral dia, aku minum sket. Thanks bro, tp aku tak ingat nama ko.

Depan Pavillion, aku tak larat dah nak berlari mendaki Bukit Bintang tu. Berjalan jer. Tengok pelari2 lain singgah 7-Eleven beli air. Aisehhhh, tak teringat plak aku nak bawak duit. Sekali ada this one young chinese guy(bib no 478 kot) beli beberapa botol air mineral. Dia offer aku sebotol. Thanks man!!! Di sini kita boleh melihat sifat tolong-menolong sesama peserta, tak kira bangsa, umur. Tu yg bagus tu. Aku harap aku boleh tolong ko pulak satu hari nnti bro.

Sampai kat Jln Bandar(KM-30) aku diberikan Power Gel. Bro yg jaga Power Gel tu(aku tak ingat nama nya) kata 300m ahead ada water station. Aku dah belajar dr kesilapan lalu, selagi aku tak nampak water station yg ada air, aku takkan makan Power Gel nih. Kalu mkn jugak, kering lah mulut aku. Huhuhu… Tengok2, water station lepas tu mmg takde air, aku dah agak. Hampa lagi aku. Berjalan ler aku mendaki bukit Jln Hang Jebat tu.

Jln punya jln, aku nampak ramai runners masuk ke satu tempat ni (JPWKL kot). Diorang kata ada air kat dlm. Water cooler rupanya. Aku pon masuk & queue nak amik air water cooler tu. Kat sini lah silapnya aku. Aku tak sepatutnya berhenti static lama2. Lepas amik air & isi dlm botol2 fuel belt aku, aku teruskan larian. Dah rasa semangat sket dah ada air. Tp tiba2 betis & peha aku rasa mcm kene cucuk2, mcm ada alien kat dlm. Adehhhh.. aku rasa asid laktik dah menguasai kaki aku ni. Silap aaa aku berenti lama tadi.. huhuhuhu.. Kaki aku dah mula nak cramp. Otot betis kaki aku dah tertarik ke dalam dah, bleh nampak tuuu otot termasuk. Perghhh ngeri, aku mampu menahan sakit sambil mengurut2 betis aku. arghhh… ada runner yg offer pertolongan, aku kata takpe, sket jer, konon.

Lepas tu, lari sket jer dah rasa nak cramp. Iskkk.. tak bleh jadi nih. terpaksa laa aku berjalan jer. Jalan pon dah mcm robot. Turun bukit bleh laa aku cuba berlari sket2. Naik bukit jgn harap nak lari, sia2 kene cramp kang.

Tgh aku berjalan kat depan Istana Negara, ada plak mamat ni bawak kete Satria, jerit kat aku “Woiii!!! Lari lah!!!” Aku pon angkat balik tangan kat dia “Woiiii!!!!” Hampeh… sepontan jer reaksi aku. Dah ler takde air. Kaki cramp. Fuhhh, masa ni tak bleh sapa2 tegur. Pantang…

Depan Muzium Negara baru ler jumpa satu water station yg masih ada air. Lega kejap. Tp dah terlambat utk hilangkan cramp kaki aku. Minum puas2 & refill fuel belt aku. Lepas2 tu, semua water station yg aku jumpa ada air.

Ni citer best nih. Kat trafik light sblm Dataran Merdeka tu, terjadi laa satu drama yg tak ble aku lupa. Trafik tgh tunggu lampu hijau, aku berlari antara trafik. Tiba2 jer dua2 kaki aku cramp, sakit tak hingat punya! Menjerit aku. Tersungkur aku antara teksi & bas. Kebetulan masa tu lampu trafik light dah hijau, kenderaan nak start jalan, semua berhenti serentak sbb ternampak aku tersungkur kat situ. Sib baik dtg Pegawai Trafik DBKL ni tahan sumer kenderaan jgn kasi jalan. Terus dia turun dari motor dia kasi pertolongan kat aku. Dtg lagi sorang pejalan kaki ni tolong luruskan kaki aku yg belah kiri plak. Dua2 kaki aku cramp. Terima kasih kalian sbb tolong aku. Bila dah ok, aku berdiri & jln mcm robot ke garisan penamat, sambil menahan sakit nak cramp. Huhuuuu… Nampak Nik, Kash, Stupe & Mr. Tey kat finishing, cheering utk aku. Naik sket semangat aku, lari sket2 ke garisan penamat.

Akhirnya aku tamat dlm masa 6:12. Ambik luggage aku, finisher’s medal & finisher’s ‘night gown’. Punya lah besar, aku saiz S, yg ada saiz XL. So jadi night gown jer lah.

Lepas tu lepak medic tent, utk meredakan cramp aku & free massage.

Eh.. panjang plak karangan aku nih. Td kata nak simple jer. Ni tgh byk idea lah ni.
Ok lah.. next year KL Marathon, better improve lah. Kalau tak, takde org nak lari full marathon dah.

Finishing...

...

Group photos bersama geng2 triathletes

Baju tidur utk penamat2 marathon

p/s: some photos are credit of Stupe.

No aku 0353

Kali ni aku memakai bibs bernombor 0353. Mereka menggunakan sistem cip yg agak baru bg aku, yg dikenali sbg DAG Bib. Ia mempunyai radio transponder pasif yg akan memancarkan frekuensi 13.56MHz apabila melalui gantri atas mats.

DAG Bib, a disposable electronic radio frequency tag

Power Gel aku dah beli 4 biji kat Watson, harga RM5.50 satu, murah nih. Sure muak punyer lah mkn mende ni esok. Tak lupa juga ORS(Oral redhydration salt) utk elak cramp.

Power Gel & ORS

Okeh.. Hari ni masa utk tapering. So aku nak rest cukup2 sblm berjuang menentang diri aku sendiri esok.

WISMILAK!!!

Sit back and enjoy the ride.

Penang Bridge International Marathon 2008
Venue : Queensbay Mall
Date : 16 Nov. 2008

FYI, this is my 1st ever attempt to do a full 42.2km marathon run. So I took it seriously, very serious until i had the worst nervous i have ever feel. Want to eat, cannot eat much. Want to drink, cannot drink much also. Feel like wanna vomit when eat so much. I need to eat much for carbo loading & hydration.

Me & my wife arrived early, 2 days before the race day, just to relax & jalan2 as that was my 1st time in Penang also. hahaha… Went “jalan2″ to Batu Feringhi and Tanjung Bungah. Makan2 & buy some clothing at the famous stalls, similar to Petaling Street in KL.

The night before the marathon, we went eating near our hotel with Chan & the rest, for final carbo-loading dinner. Went back early to hotel for final preparation of my running stuff. Sleep early that night(2100hrs).

Wake up at 0030hrs, wowww.. so early. After having a hot shower, apply the petroleum jelly to the chafe prone areas, wear running clothes & watch tv before going out.

0130hrs. Called Alang(my brother-in-law) room, out we go. Took the 2km walk to Queensbay Mall. Saw some participants camping overnight just for the race. Great effort there guys! Did some stretching & warm-up until sweat. Just enough for me to loosen-up my muscles.

Registered at the race marshal, they gave me 1 band & 1 glowing band (to make us runners visible). From what i can see, the full marathon participants are not more than 500.

At 0300hrs the full marathon started. I started with slow pace. Alang paced behind me. Just maintained my pace. Reached the first water station at km 5. Sipped a cup of 100plus. Then, continued my run with the same pace.

At km 7.5, there was a sponging station. Took a couple of ice cold sponge and pour them onto my head, body & both legs. After a while, saw the front runners passing by at the opposite of the road. There was about 5 Kenyan runners. Wow.. so fast laa them. Saw other trailing runners passed by. My gap with other runners about 100m front & back. Sometime i feel very quiet & creepy running on that road. The wind blows slowly. Sometimes heard noise like someone wanna come out of the bush at the side of the road, but no one there. Just ignore it & continue my run.

Reached the 10km mark at the Air Cargo Terminal. Sipped my 1st Power Gel. YUCK!!! There’s a water station there, given the second band & we have to make a u-turn heading back to Queensbay Mall. 1km after the u-turn, i passed Alang which was on the other side of the road. Shout to each other & continue our run.

Reach the next water station, drank 2 cup of water, pour some water to head & body, & go. Right after the water station, there’s an Indian guy sitting beside the road rubbing his leg. “Bro, are you ok?” He showed me a thumb-up. I smile & said “Just go easy, ok!” Then i continue. The nice thing about this run, each runners care about each other. This will make us not feel down & discourage about the pain we feel.

Ran pass the Queensbay Mall on my right. Sipped another PowerGel before reaching the next water station. Saw 2 Kenyan runners on the other side of the road, escourted by a car with timing LCD on top of it. “2:20:xx”. So fast. But far from the world record. They’re about 2km to finishing line. Saw another 2 Kenyans. Met a fellow runner, did a  quick chit chat. He ran faster than me. Asked me to join, i said nevermind, i’m running my own race.

Not far after that, i saw him again sitting beside the road. “Are you ok bro?”. “Nevermind, you go first”, he replied. Arghh… another men down. I must keep my mental strong. Maintain my pace. Concentrate on my main mission.

Reached the PowerBar station. They handed me a Green Apple flavoured PowerGel and said there was a water station 1km ahead. I saw lotsa empty PowerGel packs on the road. Seemed that people very sure there are water station nearby. I’m not gonna sip my PowerGel yet, until i saw myself the water station with water available. Lesson learned from previous experience(ADIDAS KOTR 2008).

Started to run on the bridge. My knees & ankle started to feel the pain. I slowed my pace. Saw so many school students walking, not running. I think they all “kena paksa” run this 25km half marathon. Pity them.

Ran & ran, as i thought, no water station insight. Hahaha.. i know already. These people can’t be trust. The next water station was at the middle of the bridge, which i think about 4km after the PowerBar station.

Sipped the given PowerGel, and drink 2 cup of plain water. Saw Chan at the other side & waved him. “Keep up man!!”, he shouted. My leg feel so pain. Nearly cramped. Reach a medic tent, asked them to spray my leg with the cold & numbing spray. They asked me to take a rest first. I said nevermind, the long journey must continue. I don’t have much time.

Saw so many amateur radio station on the roadside. Looked around for their callsign. There you go. 9W2CMT, 9W2LAW, 9W2ONG… they are all from MARTS group. “Hi, I’m 9W2FER. Base at Kilo Lima”, i talked to myself. Hahaha… no time to greet them. It will be a long chit chat if we radio people meet each other.

Continue my journey. Sometimes run, sometimes walk. Every step was a pain now. Have to spare my energy left to endure this pain. Arghhhhh….!!! Several times, my leg feel like wanna cramp. So i went to the roadside and stretch my legs to avoid cramp.

Finally reached the toll plaza u-turn. Sipped another PowerGel & drank some water. Grabbed the third band & stop a while at at the medic to pour some ice on my pain knees & ankle. Continued my run. From the toll plaza, I can see Pulau Jerejak so far away. Queensbay Mall is behind Pulau Jerejak, so can’t see it from there. Arghhh.. my destination still so far away. Nevermind, keep my mental strong. I must do it. No matter how hard & pain it was. Looked around for any remaining full marathoners, but found nobody. Still could see Alang also. Thinking whether he’s still running or gave up already. Keep on going Alang. May the force be with you.

Run & walk, slowly. Reach the mid of the bridge. Another water station there. Surprisingly, they still have much water. Grab some cups & go. Dont wanna eat anymore PowerGel. “Muak” already. Not far away, met a full marathon runner sitting on the roadside. “Are you ok, bro? Let’s keep on going”. I grabbed his hand and he tried to run with me, but he can’t forced himself anymore. “You go first bro, i can’t take it anymore”, he said. Waved to him and I continued my run. Another man down.

The time was 9:xx am. Sweeper buses keep passing by, full with back markers inside. I hope i will not be swept by them. So i have to keep running & ingoring the pain. Right after the bridge end, met Along. Her legs cramped. I continued my run. Walk. Run. Walk. Run. Until the 1km to go mark, i ran non-stop. Suddenly my energy went up. The determination to finish the run has overcome the pain. With all the remaining energy, I ran to the finishing line. 500m to go, 300m to go, 100m to go… FINISH!!!

Greeted & hugged my wife. Izzat took my finishing photo. My time was 6:43. The medal & cert counter was not there anymore. A huge frustration there. Walk straight to the medic. They put ice to my legs & did some massage. Sooo pain. Legs pain, heart also pain.

A view on both side of the bridge.

I’m finally arrived clocking 6:43

Can’t walk, legs so pain

Treated by the medic

Saw Alang & Along. They were forced to board the sweeper bus by police. What? Just let them make it to the finish line. It’s 2km more to go. They has gone this far, just let them go. Their effort just gone like that. The police just don’t have any idea about how important it is to finish the run on foot.

That’s my story. My 1st attempt in doing full marathon. It’s great to experience it. The run was enjoyable. The pain was just a part of the experience. Love the environment, the ambience, the windy road, the people around me, love the quiet & calm road.

But i have bad things to say about the event. I was told that the organiser has packed up all the remaining medals & cert. They wont give it to the remaining race finisher. What do you think they gonna do with all the medals & cert. Maybe they will distribute them to their family and friends. Hahaha… As a result, I’m a marathon finisher with no reward. Even they dont have any record of me as a full marathon finisher. They dont even care to whoever finish the race more than 6hrs time. Where’s the sport spirit of the organiser? This is not the first time Penang Bridge Marathon was held. I was told, it was organised by the state government itself. Ohhh.. No wonder. That’s why laa it sucks!!! I’ll never run anymore full marathon in Penang, untill the organiser changed. But, i’m looking forward for another full marathon. Yehaaa!!! ADIEU…