Puchong IOI Run
When: 12 November 2006
Distance- 7.3km
Timing- 31:31.65
Position- 9th.
For a 2nd week in a row, I've had a less than fitful sleep on Saturday. This time though, I can attribute it to the fact that all I did was practically sleep the whole Saturday away, as I was really tired from last week. I woke up at about 11:30pm, went to a colleague's house for a Raya do, went home, and with the 2nd downpour of the day which cooled the temperature considerably, I fell into a beautiful, blissful 2 hour session of forty winks. I woke up feeling over-ly energised, I think. Headed to parents for dinner, before watching some footy on tv and going to bed at about 12am. All in all, very lazy Saturday. At any rate, Saturday is the only day that I can sleep-in, and who knows who many more sleep-ins I may have in the future?
Back to race. Like I mentioned, I had a less than fitful sleep the night before, and I woke up even before the alarm rang, which was set for 6am. Strangely, I was up by 5am, feeling fresh. Must've been the extra sleep from Saturday. Had ample time to have my cup of java, sit on the throne, do my business, change, and take a nice, leisurely drive to Puchong. I used the NPE to Puchong, and at certain stretches of the highway, you could see Sunway/Old Klang Road from a distance, and at sunrise, the orange light across the skies and onto the buildings were quite a sight to see. I should drive at sunrise more often!
Arrived at Puchong (thanks to Dr for the directions) and walked towards the start/finish line. Saw a few faces I recognised. Among others- Ronnie, Rachel, Dr, DK, Lai, Naresh, Guna, William, SJ and sis. After giving in my reporting card, I did some warm-ups. From the looks of it, everyone seemed to be up for it- if looks could kill, it appeared that there will be many fast runners in the race, and finishing within the top 20 positions (and thus within the medals) will be difficult. Everyone "looked" the part- lean, skinny fellas with the outfits to boot. For a moment there, I thought it would be difficult for me to finish within the top 20 (and thus get a medal) but quickly reminded myself that looks are one thing; performance is another.
With Ronnie at the starting line, the gun goes off! It was quite a fast start- Ronnie and I were neck to neck, and this goes on for the next 4 kms, with Ronnie no further from me by more than 5-10 meters. We took turns at exchanging leads before the pace finally caught up with me after the u-turn. The route had a number of subtle inclines that don't you don't really notice until it hits you- right in your heart, when you feel it almost palpitating, you're painfully short on breath and entering the anaerobic stage. I was suffering at that point as Ronnie slowly pulled away from me. Dr (who was yet to make the u-turn and was on the other side of the road)shouted across and mentioned that we were in 6th and 7th position. Moments later, a powerfully built, tall Chinese dude overtook me and I offered no resistance, as he chased after Ronnie. A few minutes later, with Ronnie almost 100 meters ahead of me, I saw him overtaking Ronnie.
I got my 2nd wind as the route de-clined again, towards the finish line, and I ran as hard as I could. There were some silly teenagers in a completely different category (and distance) trying to race and out-run me. Please, go ahead! I'm only trying to run my pace, man! Anyway I was in serious oxygen debt in the last 300 meters, and crossed the finish line in a relieved 31:31.65. I was given a card, and saw that I was placed 9th. Looks aren't everything, indeed! I realised that from the 2nd km onwards, our positions more or less remained, apart from that tall powerfully built Chinese dude who overtook us.
Later, we cheered the remaining runners in and hung around, took some photos. I signed up for the Selayang 10k as well, which will be the coming Sunday.
Post-mortem- The Puchong race was part of my speed work for the upcoming Singapore Marathon, and like every training/race, I used it to determine my level of fitness, and also to identify any weaknesses that needs to be worked on. I am quite satisfied with my performance, but I still need to work on it. To summarise- more Max V02 sessions and tempos! More speed needed!
Anyway some photos:-
Distance- 7.3km
Timing- 31:31.65
Position- 9th.
For a 2nd week in a row, I've had a less than fitful sleep on Saturday. This time though, I can attribute it to the fact that all I did was practically sleep the whole Saturday away, as I was really tired from last week. I woke up at about 11:30pm, went to a colleague's house for a Raya do, went home, and with the 2nd downpour of the day which cooled the temperature considerably, I fell into a beautiful, blissful 2 hour session of forty winks. I woke up feeling over-ly energised, I think. Headed to parents for dinner, before watching some footy on tv and going to bed at about 12am. All in all, very lazy Saturday. At any rate, Saturday is the only day that I can sleep-in, and who knows who many more sleep-ins I may have in the future?
Back to race. Like I mentioned, I had a less than fitful sleep the night before, and I woke up even before the alarm rang, which was set for 6am. Strangely, I was up by 5am, feeling fresh. Must've been the extra sleep from Saturday. Had ample time to have my cup of java, sit on the throne, do my business, change, and take a nice, leisurely drive to Puchong. I used the NPE to Puchong, and at certain stretches of the highway, you could see Sunway/Old Klang Road from a distance, and at sunrise, the orange light across the skies and onto the buildings were quite a sight to see. I should drive at sunrise more often!
Arrived at Puchong (thanks to Dr for the directions) and walked towards the start/finish line. Saw a few faces I recognised. Among others- Ronnie, Rachel, Dr, DK, Lai, Naresh, Guna, William, SJ and sis. After giving in my reporting card, I did some warm-ups. From the looks of it, everyone seemed to be up for it- if looks could kill, it appeared that there will be many fast runners in the race, and finishing within the top 20 positions (and thus within the medals) will be difficult. Everyone "looked" the part- lean, skinny fellas with the outfits to boot. For a moment there, I thought it would be difficult for me to finish within the top 20 (and thus get a medal) but quickly reminded myself that looks are one thing; performance is another.
With Ronnie at the starting line, the gun goes off! It was quite a fast start- Ronnie and I were neck to neck, and this goes on for the next 4 kms, with Ronnie no further from me by more than 5-10 meters. We took turns at exchanging leads before the pace finally caught up with me after the u-turn. The route had a number of subtle inclines that don't you don't really notice until it hits you- right in your heart, when you feel it almost palpitating, you're painfully short on breath and entering the anaerobic stage. I was suffering at that point as Ronnie slowly pulled away from me. Dr (who was yet to make the u-turn and was on the other side of the road)shouted across and mentioned that we were in 6th and 7th position. Moments later, a powerfully built, tall Chinese dude overtook me and I offered no resistance, as he chased after Ronnie. A few minutes later, with Ronnie almost 100 meters ahead of me, I saw him overtaking Ronnie.
I got my 2nd wind as the route de-clined again, towards the finish line, and I ran as hard as I could. There were some silly teenagers in a completely different category (and distance) trying to race and out-run me. Please, go ahead! I'm only trying to run my pace, man! Anyway I was in serious oxygen debt in the last 300 meters, and crossed the finish line in a relieved 31:31.65. I was given a card, and saw that I was placed 9th. Looks aren't everything, indeed! I realised that from the 2nd km onwards, our positions more or less remained, apart from that tall powerfully built Chinese dude who overtook us.
Later, we cheered the remaining runners in and hung around, took some photos. I signed up for the Selayang 10k as well, which will be the coming Sunday.
Post-mortem- The Puchong race was part of my speed work for the upcoming Singapore Marathon, and like every training/race, I used it to determine my level of fitness, and also to identify any weaknesses that needs to be worked on. I am quite satisfied with my performance, but I still need to work on it. To summarise- more Max V02 sessions and tempos! More speed needed!
Anyway some photos:-
>Before the start of the race, all of us ready to smoke everyone, although it was only Lai and me who were holding a Walther PPK each, ala James Bond. Speaking of which, I think everyone should give Daniel Craig a chance. His portrayal of James Bond may turn out to be better than expected. So, save your brickbats (if any) or compliments after watching Casino Royale.
Next race- SELAYANG 10k
posted by pm19 at
9:27 am
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