Putrajaya
F555. That's my bib number for the Putrajaya International Marathon. I ran the half-marathon event. Position- 55th. That is alot of 5s. Maybe I should buy lottery?
The Putrajaya International Marathon wasn't my "goal" race. I'm focusing and training towards the Singapore Marathon. That being so, there was no tapering of any kind-I was running my normal mileage leading up to 8th September. I had run an energy- sapping 15km (at 85% effort, with some surges thrown in along the way) the day before the race (at about 5pm) and was still tired when I woke up at 4:50am on race day. I had stayed in Subang instead of at my apartment, because Putrajaya is closer to Subang.
Kenneth had arranged to meet me at my Subang house around 530am. He arrived on the dot but had to make an urgent visit to the loo. Lawrence (who barely recovered from a bout of flu) dropped by my house too, and we decided to go together in one car. We left my house around 545am. Arrived at Putrajaya some 25 minutes later. First impression of the event- they had changed the location of the Start/Finish, some 1km away from previous year's. We managed to find a parking spot very near the Start/Finish. After relieveing ourselves at the nearby shrubs located by a government building we proceeded to the "kandang" and saw alot of familiar faces-the pacemakers and other friends too.
The race started on time. What I noticed about this year's event is that the route has changed somewhat. There were some familiar landmarks (similar to the one we took last year), but there were some changes as well. Overall the route was undulating and challenging.
At the start, Adam was running the same pace as me. Then I lost him for a while but later in the race we were back together again. He was running at a very good pace.
At around the halfway mark, I noticed someone passing me on my right, running on his forefoot as well! There I was wondering who this fella is. I didn't know his name at the time, but he was in the H category and running a very strong pace. And so began the battle of the forefoot runners. Everytime he surged I caught up with him, and I overtook him moments later. He would then catch up with me and surged and overtake me, only for me to catch up with him again. In the midst of all this Adam was loping comfortably also trading surges. But I lost him again at around the 16km mark, if I'm not mistaken. I later found out that Adam had some stomach pains. Pity, because it would've been nice to push each other all the way to the end!
This surging and counter-surging went on all the way to the end of the race. When I overtook him near the Shangri-La loop, he cayght up with me, whereupon I turned to him and said, "come on bro! Let's go!" to which he replied "Wah very strong oace you're running!" In that instance I felt we became friends- friends in sharing the pain and the pace. He then surged some 25 meters ahead and my thighs, starting to feel the effects of my previous day's 15k, began to ache. As he headed towards mosque and roundabout, his lead was 50 meters, and I had all but given up hope of catching him. At the roundabout I could see the finishing line...which was about 1km plus away, and with a straight road ahead, I thought- "wow! I'm pretty close to the end...maybe I'll be able to run a season best for the half!" Forefoot Dude was running even faster. I turned around and saw no one behind me. Thinking that my place was more or less secure, I decided to maintain an even pace all the way to end.
Then, came the painful part...as we thought of heading towards the finishing line the traffic warden directed us to turn left, and run behind the government buildings. I think that took the wind out of many runners when they saw that, myself included. But I noticed that Forefoot Dude has slowed down considerably and I overtook him shortly after. As I passed him, I told him to join me but he told me that he had nothing left. I decided to press ahead, and when I turned around I was already some 50 meters ahead!
The final kilometer was painful and I was just waiting to see the finishing line. Finally, after making that large loop I saw the finihsing line. I maintained my even pace (no final sprinting/mad kicking to the finihsing line) and finished in 1:41.29.
After the run, I hung around and saw my other friends finishing the race as well. Chatted with Ryan for a while, took some photos with Ronnie and the PM gang and headed back home.
And I found the name of the Forefoot Dude- Oon. He's a regular Pacesetters and apparently has trained under the venerable coach Chan Chee Seng. Thanks for sharing and making the pace with me, Oon.
Overall, the Putrajaya International Marathon isn't my goal race the event is one of the better organised races in the country. The distance markers were inaccurate but apart from that I can't really complain. There was even an ice pool for the runners to soak their feet in. Obviously the food and drinks were free, for the participants. And there was also a massage tent. Aesthetically, the arch was very nice, almost Singapore Marathon-like. I now wonder why I didn't choose to sign up for this run earlier, when it was actually cheaper to sign up. This year's event was better than last years, in my opinion. I would definitely run again next year. It would be a good tune up for those running in Singapore as well.
I didn't run yesterday (Monday). A combination of factors prevented me from running- my thighs were sore, it took me ages to get out of the office (even though I left on the dot)- the rain had slowed traffic down considerably and it took me 20 minutes to get out of the carpark alone, and after leaving the carpark, I was stuck in another jam at the junction immediately after the car park. Then it started raining, and traffic was just getting worse. So, it was a rest day for me.
Today I plan to run of course. Anyway care to join me at Lake Gardens? I hope traffic is ok. Hopefully then I can start at 630pm.
The Putrajaya International Marathon wasn't my "goal" race. I'm focusing and training towards the Singapore Marathon. That being so, there was no tapering of any kind-I was running my normal mileage leading up to 8th September. I had run an energy- sapping 15km (at 85% effort, with some surges thrown in along the way) the day before the race (at about 5pm) and was still tired when I woke up at 4:50am on race day. I had stayed in Subang instead of at my apartment, because Putrajaya is closer to Subang.
Kenneth had arranged to meet me at my Subang house around 530am. He arrived on the dot but had to make an urgent visit to the loo. Lawrence (who barely recovered from a bout of flu) dropped by my house too, and we decided to go together in one car. We left my house around 545am. Arrived at Putrajaya some 25 minutes later. First impression of the event- they had changed the location of the Start/Finish, some 1km away from previous year's. We managed to find a parking spot very near the Start/Finish. After relieveing ourselves at the nearby shrubs located by a government building we proceeded to the "kandang" and saw alot of familiar faces-the pacemakers and other friends too.
The race started on time. What I noticed about this year's event is that the route has changed somewhat. There were some familiar landmarks (similar to the one we took last year), but there were some changes as well. Overall the route was undulating and challenging.
At the start, Adam was running the same pace as me. Then I lost him for a while but later in the race we were back together again. He was running at a very good pace.
At around the halfway mark, I noticed someone passing me on my right, running on his forefoot as well! There I was wondering who this fella is. I didn't know his name at the time, but he was in the H category and running a very strong pace. And so began the battle of the forefoot runners. Everytime he surged I caught up with him, and I overtook him moments later. He would then catch up with me and surged and overtake me, only for me to catch up with him again. In the midst of all this Adam was loping comfortably also trading surges. But I lost him again at around the 16km mark, if I'm not mistaken. I later found out that Adam had some stomach pains. Pity, because it would've been nice to push each other all the way to the end!
This surging and counter-surging went on all the way to the end of the race. When I overtook him near the Shangri-La loop, he cayght up with me, whereupon I turned to him and said, "come on bro! Let's go!" to which he replied "Wah very strong oace you're running!" In that instance I felt we became friends- friends in sharing the pain and the pace. He then surged some 25 meters ahead and my thighs, starting to feel the effects of my previous day's 15k, began to ache. As he headed towards mosque and roundabout, his lead was 50 meters, and I had all but given up hope of catching him. At the roundabout I could see the finishing line...which was about 1km plus away, and with a straight road ahead, I thought- "wow! I'm pretty close to the end...maybe I'll be able to run a season best for the half!" Forefoot Dude was running even faster. I turned around and saw no one behind me. Thinking that my place was more or less secure, I decided to maintain an even pace all the way to end.
Then, came the painful part...as we thought of heading towards the finishing line the traffic warden directed us to turn left, and run behind the government buildings. I think that took the wind out of many runners when they saw that, myself included. But I noticed that Forefoot Dude has slowed down considerably and I overtook him shortly after. As I passed him, I told him to join me but he told me that he had nothing left. I decided to press ahead, and when I turned around I was already some 50 meters ahead!
The final kilometer was painful and I was just waiting to see the finishing line. Finally, after making that large loop I saw the finihsing line. I maintained my even pace (no final sprinting/mad kicking to the finihsing line) and finished in 1:41.29.
After the run, I hung around and saw my other friends finishing the race as well. Chatted with Ryan for a while, took some photos with Ronnie and the PM gang and headed back home.
And I found the name of the Forefoot Dude- Oon. He's a regular Pacesetters and apparently has trained under the venerable coach Chan Chee Seng. Thanks for sharing and making the pace with me, Oon.
Overall, the Putrajaya International Marathon isn't my goal race the event is one of the better organised races in the country. The distance markers were inaccurate but apart from that I can't really complain. There was even an ice pool for the runners to soak their feet in. Obviously the food and drinks were free, for the participants. And there was also a massage tent. Aesthetically, the arch was very nice, almost Singapore Marathon-like. I now wonder why I didn't choose to sign up for this run earlier, when it was actually cheaper to sign up. This year's event was better than last years, in my opinion. I would definitely run again next year. It would be a good tune up for those running in Singapore as well.
I didn't run yesterday (Monday). A combination of factors prevented me from running- my thighs were sore, it took me ages to get out of the office (even though I left on the dot)- the rain had slowed traffic down considerably and it took me 20 minutes to get out of the carpark alone, and after leaving the carpark, I was stuck in another jam at the junction immediately after the car park. Then it started raining, and traffic was just getting worse. So, it was a rest day for me.
Today I plan to run of course. Anyway care to join me at Lake Gardens? I hope traffic is ok. Hopefully then I can start at 630pm.
posted by pm19 at
10:16 am
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