McDonald's Olympic Day Run 2009

1. Photos by Tey http://www.pmtey2.multiply.com/
   
   I actually registered in Women open category for Olympic Day run 2009 because our initial plan was I run 7km and Ben accompany them to run 3km. However the plan was changed after I decided to run with my kids in 3km category on that morning because – 1) My stomach didn’t feel well after the wedding dinner the night before, 2) the weather was so good! Windy + Cloudy. 3) There are not many races that my kids can participate, 4) my kids’ facial expression was telling me they are excited to run……so the whole plan changed and we have no regrets for that.
   
   I met with so many kids that are so cute! I can’t stop blaming myself for not bringing my camera with me. So kids are very determined to finish the whole run without assistance from parents. Some started to walk after a short while and their parents have to keep motivating them by telling them good food and games are waiting for them at the finishing line. Just a short while….you are very near to the finishing line, after the downhill you will see the field already can be heard throughout the whole route….
   
   My mum met with a father who looks like a regular runner) who was motivating his son with Bak Kut Teh and Chicken rice! He told his son who apparently loves to eat Bak Kut Teh and Chicken Rice to run / walk faster so that they could reach the shop before the food is sold out! Haha….
   
   Another pair of kids was a brother of 9 years old and a sister of 6 years old. They said their mum wanted them to be the first hence they were so worry that they were the last to finish the race and they keep asking my mum to wait for them, “Aunty don’t run so fast (although my mum did was walking only!) , please wait for us”. They run away happily when they finally met up with the main stream at Padang Merbok.
   
   As for my kids, they were quite good yesterday. Good in the sense that they run 90% of the route not in terms of timing. They only training they have were (500m run + 500 walk) X4 the week before this run. They were happy to see their swimming coach (who helped as traffic controller) half way through the race. Cheers from their coach and other runners also help to keep them running yesterday. It was a small surprise to us when they got the finisher medal as I didn’t notice it was mentioned on the registration form. They know this is their second medal, they remember their first medal was from Trikidz. They wore their medal to McDonalds for breakfast just like when they got their first medal, they wore it to the Italian restaurant and show the waiter!
   
   I hope there will be more races for kids so that they can live a healthy life instead of playing computer game at home only!

Recovery from SCKLM 2009

Monday - I wanted to do some recovery run but my legs had called for a strike when my brain was asking them to run. My thigh is not cooperative and they did not want to lift at all. So I give up and I walked.

Tuesday - I decided to show my legs some power. This time I won and I managed to do some slow jog for 1km and I walked again. My thigh lost the battle and they are not so tight anymore. I feel great as I don't have to walk like a crab anymore when I am coming down from staircase.

Wednesday - I have got full control of my legs again. 3km slow jog was just nice and I am encouraged to run again!

Thursday - Rest, no time to run today! I think it is ok, I deserved that :-P!

Friday - I want to swim!

SCKLM 2009 finishing photos

OK lah, some credits to the organizer lah..... I think this is interesting.


some simple analysis of my run.
This is not from Octagon, it is from a good runner cum photographer - Tey.
www.pmtey2.multiply.com

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009

4Hrs 57 mins, yes I did it, I achieved my target of below 5 hours in Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2009.

I am happy, but also disappointed because I hit the wall after 35Km, and I did not actually run the whole route and finished the race strong, so I felt something was missing – I did not complete this full marathon! I walked a bit from 36km and I walked again at 40km when I know I could do a sub 5. It was not a very satisfactory run for me and I dare not say I enjoyed the run this time,:-P.

Weather was superb, it drizzled a bit at beginning of the run but it was ok, the whole morning was not hot. I was glad that I did not bring my cap a long, it not it will be a burden to me…..

I was on doubt if I could finish the run when I was walking towards the starting point. After almost zero mileage for 2 weeks, I really worry that my leg have forgotten how to run. Instead of targeting for sub 5 hours, I change my strategy to achieve short term goal of 1 hr 10 mins for 10K, 2hr 15mins for 20K and 3hrs 30mins for 30K. The rest of the run would really depend on my luck……

The route was not as easy as I thought, may be because I was not in a good form also. First 10k was ok, I did it 1Hr 8mins. Felt more confident after first 10K, I increased my speed a little bit from 10K onwards, and I completed 20K in 2hrs 14mins plus and 30K 3 hrs 23mins. I felt relieved after 30K.

Paced with Uncle Hooi from 28Km to 30km, wanted to pace longer distance but his speed is obviously faster than what I could do, so I slow down after the water station at 30Km. I was given a Powergel at 30km, chocolate flavour but I don’t like it, it’s too thick. So I went to change for Strawberry Banana flavor, not my preference either but I have no choice. I don’t understand why they want to phase out those flavors that are good like green apple.

30Km to 35km was critical for me; I must complete it within 4 hrs in order to achieve my target of sub 5. I was quite pressured at this point of time, my legs are tired but I have to continue running. My watch clock 4 hrs when I cross the 35km distance marker. But I was really tired!

I was looking forward to 36km distance marker after that but I couldn’t see it after 8mins, this made me worry and I thought I was too slow. Glad to know later that it was not because I was too slow; it was simply because I have missed the marker. I crossed 37km at 4hrs 15mins, slowing down, but my hope was still there. Subsequently, 39km at about 4 hrs 31 mins……and 42.195km at 4 hrs 57 mins (+?? Second). I was expecting some cheer leaders from 35km onwards, but there was none (maybe I expectation was too high, haha!) so I have to talked to myself and cheer myself up, the first time I felt lonely on the road! Everyone was so serious in running and no one seems to be interested to start a conversation, the only person that I managed to talk to was probably Uncle Hooi who still looked fresh at 30km!…..

In terms of organization of the race, it was a total disappointment! I could not accept the fact that there was no more water at the last few water stations towards the end! I learned my lesson in KOTR last year, so I always brought my small water bottle no matter what race I am running. Although I have expected this when I was studying the route map before the race and I was not really affected this time but I was angry too! I stopped at the water station and joined the group of runners to express our disappointment towards the organizer. The water station was so close to finishing line, they could have just made a call and asks them to send water as soon as possible but those volunteers just look at us, doing nothing at all! As a runner, what we want is simply enough water supply throughout the whole journey, is it so difficult to fulfill that?

Another thing I was disappointed with was the finisher T-shirt! Size S and M finished when I went to collect my medal. What?? Again?? I thought we have submitted the vest and T-shirt size during registration?? Common sense tells us, most of the runners are not very big size. I really don’t understand why the organizer like to print a lot of vest or T-shirt for size L and XL when it is very obvious that the popular size is S and M?? And they claim they are experience event organizer……shame of them! (FTAAA must be laughing if they see this!). By the way, the design of the finisher T-shirt was lousy…..I don’t see the sincerity in the design.

Also, I think the organizer is too confident that they will receive good feedback from all runners, they printed “ I’ll be back in 2010” at the back of the finisher T-shirt, but I doubt it…….unless they really show they can improve next year…..

Leaving soon....

I have finished my summary report to my company and I am doing my summary for Pakistan trip now

The food: I love the food especially Nari Brianyani! I can't find any better brianyani in Malaysia. I had a dinner at one of the Italian restaurant here and I have the best Cream of Chicken soup ever (it's really unexpectedly good!). My luggage is getting heavier and I am getting heavier too! By the way, I have cultural shock when I first arrive here - local people normally have dinner at 10pm!

The people: Generally friendly although working with them is a bit tough. I think it is quite safe over here despite a number of bombing reported lately.

The Game: Cricket is the game for Pakistanist. During my stay, I witness how Pakistan team has won the world champion title on 21.6.2009. This is their second world champion after year 1992 (if not mistaken). They celebrate with fire crackers. And the traffic on the next morning was so smooth because every one was late for work after the celebration.

The transportation system: Traffic jam is common. Yes, there are a lot of cars in Lahore, really a lot! I saw almost all kind of transport in Lahore, car, motorcycle, bicycle, tractor with overloaded cart, "tot-tot" (similiar to those in Thailand), horse, donkey, mule, cow pulling cart. People here love to honk when they drive.

The weather: Extremely hot! The highest temperature that I have experienced is 44C with humidity 11%. It is burning if we walk under the sun in the afternoon. he car seat is like a frying pan in the afternoon. I experienced mini sand storm in a night when we were out for dinner. Lahore is basically a very flat city, I did not see any hill even a small one. Sand storm is common here.

The fruits: Mango, fresh apricot, lychee, watermelon.....because it is summer now, plenty of fruits is available and I enjoy it a lot!

I have not travel much in Lahore except for Pakistan-India border, Liberty Market where we can shop for clothing, Gulberg which is a posh area in the city and Burki which is a more rural area in the city. I saw the rich people whom can buy bungalow with cash and poor people bathing with water from "longkang". I saw lots of buffalo, they rear them for milk.

It is a unique experience living / working here. I don't mind to come here again for their food, haha!

Preparation for SCKLM 2009 (4)

I was watching the video for SCKLM route downloaded from www.kl-marathon.com just now, trying to get myself mentally prepared.

The video made me dizzy.......keep turning left and right. The route seems to be quite flat and it looks like it will be an interesting route. It covers the new and old part of KL. Almost all major landmark of KL is included.

When I saw the mileage indicator in the video, I was trying to imagine how my legs and body will react when I have reached there. Quite fun to have preview like this.

One more day closer to the race.......

Preparation for SCKLM 2009 (3)

7 more days to go before my run and I am doing nothing in my final week.

As mentioned earlier I was not allow to run outside of the guest house, so the only thing I can do is running on the spot in my room. But this is definitely not enough. My last LSD was Circuit run 3 organised by Pacemakers. It was a very well organized run and the route is tough. I think I would have given up if I were to run the 8th circuit. The route was so hilly that I felt my legs didn't belong to me anymore after the 7th circuit! A big tree near the lake felt down during the first circuit and I was the last person who run through before the tree felt. So scary, the tree was jsut about 5 meter behind me. When we heard the sound, everyone felt so frightend and we kept running because we couldn't see where the sound was coming from. I felt so lucky after that! I official time is 2 hr 20mins 35 second for 22.4km ( but I think the distance should be around 21K only since we have cut short the distance due to the fallen tree). Anyway, it was really a good run because most of my friends were there including puppet who has been dissapeared from road race for quite some time!

I have been eating well (carbo loading is not an issue I eat lots of rice . everyday) and rest well for the past few days. Sometimes I think I eat too much and rest too much. No choice, I have no freedom to run over here. I hope I can cover 10~15Km after I have reached Malaysia on Thursday to get my legs prepared for long run again.

So what I can do now is, continue to rest more, drink more water and make sure I don't fall sick under hot temperature.

I think I should be ok.