It’s a long story but this event was a personal disaster for me in many ways…!
This event was the second “Challenge” of the Duo. The first was back in April 2018. This event was a 21km race and also a 10km race as well. Continue reading “RACE REPORT – IJM DUO HIGHWAY CHALLENGE 21km”
The lead up to this weekend run was problematic for sure.
Since Boston I have had intermittent problems with my calf muscles. Firstly the right calf and then the left calf. Not bad enough injuries to stop running but certainly it has hampered my training.
On the Saturday we had to collect the race kit. I did this after the Saucony Run in Gurney. It was great to have a warm up 4km jog with fellow runners and then listen to Choo Hooi Lim talk about his path to becoming a 6 star finisher. To see all the medals lying there was another form of motivation. The Abbots World Marathon Majors 6Star Finisher medal is huge and fantastic recognition for those who aspire to complete the 6 races. Continue reading “RACE REPORT – PENANG RUN 32km”
Another weekend another race 🙂
The lead up to this race was quite eventful – Thursday during a normal training run I fell and ended up with a slight sprain to the right ankle as well as several cuts and grazes to my hands and knee. Not ideal preparation and I was considering not running…..
There was still bruising and swelling to the knee and ankle on the morning of the event so I was always going to relax more on this race. That, and the fact that the start was from 7:00 with the heat and humidity left me with a target time of around 2hours 30 minutes.
Pasar Salak is approximately a 2.5 hour drive from Penang. So we drove down with the family on Saturday morning, collected the race kit and then headed to a local hotel in Iskandar. Still about 40 minutes drive from the race.
So on race morning I left the hotel around 05:30 and headed for the course. As one of the first to arrive I was able to park very close to the start location. The course was along Sungai Perak and through paddy fields, so very different to every other race that I have participated within Malaysia.
Judging by my race number of C022 in the Male veterans category I assumed that there were not many runners. There were a few more than expected but certainly a smaller field than the events in Penang and KL.
So at the flag off I set to run and stay steady. The first 1.0km along the river was a bit tighter to run due to the narrow road, but as we continued through the first 5 km the runners began to spread out. It was very peaceful running along the river (although with the sun rising it was considerably hotter).
I tried to remain as much as possible in the shade. The first 5km was all high knees at a pace that surprised me a little (5km @ 29mins 31secs). I wasn’t in pain but I could feel the strapping on my right ankle a bit. I did loosen my shoe a little and retied it but it was still noticeable. Fastest 1km was 5:39 which is too fast for my Marathon pace for sure.
The first 12 km was through the Kampung and along the river. It was different. Very little noise – peace was only broken by the sound of feet and heavy breathing. 10km in 1 hour 14 seconds based on garmin. Again this was at a good pace compared to my marathon pace and was even inside the time I had the previous week in Taiping.
As we turned away from the river and headed through the paddy fields it was very noticeable that that shade had gone and as such the heat greatly increased. I did drop the pace and I did notice that the right ankle was aching a little (too tight strapping and shoes).
The pace slowing and drinking more to compensate for the heat meant that my time was dropping back quite a bit.
Noticed that @FIZ SAID was there taking the photos. Thanks Fiz for providing permission to use some of the shots in the website/blog..!
The last 5 km I did feel that I was struggling with the heat and there was no shelter for a lot of the road.
I was able to speed up and give a little more for the last 2km and finish inside the target time (just…). Although this course also measured long with Garmin measuring 21.9km
So final stats – official were 2 hours 26mins 12 seconds (net) which was good enough to be 18th of 50 in the veteran category and 92nd of 319 overall. Interestingly if I was able to replicate my time from Taiping the week before I would have been in the top 10…! Something to aim for next time.
So ending in a little discomfort was the only downside to a very well marshalled course with plenty of drink stations (luckily).
My only comment would be that for a half marathon the start was at least 30 minutes later than it could have been. Starting earlier would have made it a lot more comfortable and maybe that is something that the organisers can consider for next year.
The medal was very unusual in the shape of a bull.
I wasn’t able to collect the “finishers T-shirt” as I was not informed that this was at a different location. I went to collect the medal, drink and some food but was not informed by the organisers about the shirt. After discussion with them by email they have agreed to send to me which is another positive sign of a good organiser – compared to some I have seen in Malaysia.
Thanks @TeamPacat
4th March 2018:
This was the first event that I have ran in Perak and also the first one that flagged off at 01:30 in the morning for the 21km event.
I wasn’t sure whether the start time was either too early in the morning or too late at night….. we stayed in Taiping and tried to sleep in the hotel around 22:00 for a couple of hours. Not really successfully however when I woke by the alarm around midnight I felt ok. The conditions were perfect thanks to the late night rain which brought the temperatures down.
Our hotel was around 2 km from the start so Martin & myself decided to walk/jog to the start to warm up.
At the start line we were able to meet up with Kevin. Although there are always pre-race nerves (anxiety) I felt good and believed I could run well. The support from Glenn at Asia Physio and the advice from him, coupled with the “runFASTER” program from Mark & Jeff at “TheRunningPlan” had given me renewed confidence to at least put in a fair performance. With the overnight rain I felt like the conditions (cooler) would also be very supportive too. I had set myself a target of 2:20 originally and then adjusted this to 2:15 due to the favourable conditions in the morning.
The race started on time and off we set – it was a first for me to run with a headlight and the GoPro strapped to my hand, I was also kitted out in my new sponsored kit from BROOKS RUNNING MALAYSIA.
Everything felt right……
The 4th KM was my fastest at 05:59 minutes.
The first 5-6 km I quickly got into a rhythm and the “high knees” strategy from Glenn felt positive. Still not 100% natural but certainly not as awkward as I felt in his Physio when he original gave me the advice…!
The km’s Continued to click by and reached the halfway stage in around 1:02 which was probably the fastest I have been in 2018. Still a long way off my PB but I am 20 plus years older now 🙂
I did develop a couple of twinges in the quads (which is probably due to the new running style) so switched to alternating the high knees with my normal strides.
At the 19km I had my slowest split (7:00min).
As I reached the last 500m I decided to start the GoPro to run a commentary over the last stretch (please watch the video LINK)
I could finally see the finish in sight and I was inside my 2:15 target for the day…!
As per the above video, I did not push the last 200m – finishing without an injury was the most important.
Finishing in 2hours 12 minutes and 12 seconds (net) for my fastest 21km of the year. I was well pleased and also a little emotional as this seemed a good improvement on previous times. Finished in the top 20% of the overall field.
With thanks to (in no particular order):
Brooks Running Malaysia (kit sponsors)
The Running Plan (Coach & Running Adviser)
Asia Physio (Glenn Favers)
Howei Events (Ambassador Program)
Martin Cartwright (Running Partner)
Kevin Kamal (Running Partner)
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As part of my preparation for Boston in April I committed to run the KL URBAN Run 2018. It was well organised and as we live in Penang we decided to head down for the weekend to include the run and do some things as a family.
The KL Urban Run consisted of three options – a 5km walk, a 10km run and a 15km run. I selected the 15km race.
My hotel was approximately 3km from the start so I left the hotel and jogged to the starting area as part of my warm up. It was ideal as I could then have time to stretch the warmed up muscles and also relax before the start. The conditions were warm but not too bad. I felt good and was looking for a gear 2 run (as per the Running Plan) at around a pace of 6:18-6:35 per km.
The flag off was on time and I set out away from Merdeka Square. The start as with all races in Malaysia was a little cluttered as all the 15km competitors were moving to get as close to the start as possible.
As soon as the flag was raised there was a bit of pushing to create some space and tried to keep the pace slow a little at the start. The first KM (6:09minutes) away from Merdeka Square was fairly flat and did not really give you any idea of the climbs that were to come in the 15km ahead.
Along Jalan Parliament and
into Lake Gardens – it was very dark in places with zero street lights. Runners were using their cell phones to like the way ahead. The Lake Gardens is a great location to run if you are looking for some hill training. The climbs can be quite steep.
After winding our way through the first 5km (32’16 mins) we began to head out passed the Lebuhraya Sultan Iskandar. The climbs just kept coming, followed by steep downhills and then another climb.
I was surprised that I was able to maintain a relatively steady pace throughout the first 10 km (65’48mins)
Heading back we had the very steep and winding road towards the Memorial Tuanku Abdul Rahman. It was about 500m of steep uphill road running (with curves) to then do a uturn at the top and head back down again. Trying to control speed on the downhill was also a challenge.
With just 1km to go I felt like I had a real workout and the heat was beginning to rise for sure.
I was able to finish with a time of 1:32:56 and an average of 6:27 which was perfect inside my target.
After spending a few minutes collecting the medal and certificate etc it was a 3km run back to the hotel and my shower. Total distance covered 20.2 km.
A good run – a tough run – one for the hill enthusiasts….!
This was race number 5 in preparation for the Boston Marathon in April 2018. The distance was a little light at just 10km but felt that it would give me the opportunity to run in race mode. Continue reading “The 2nd Penang Christmas Run (10km)”
My personal preparation for the Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM2017) was not the best to be honest. Lack of sleep over the previous 48 hours led to a rather lethargic end to the race. This was my longest run since the Tokyo Marathon in February 2017 and is only part of the preparation for Boston so not too disappointed overall. Continue reading “Penang Bridge International Marathon – Race 4 in #PrepForBOSTON.”
Would you like to join group training in Penang?
Are you available from 18:30 on a Monday evening?
Please come along to Persiaran Karpal Singh (opposite Starbucks) on the promenade. You will meet other keen runners and have some fun at the KSD RUNNING CLINIC.
These are just casual runs of 3-6km (although you can run a lot more if you wish?).
Free “Team Howei” t-shirt for first time runners.
If you want further information on this please email – [email protected]
The vest is prepared…. 8 days until we have the very early start for my first Penang Bridge Marathon.
Continue reading “Just one week to go…… Penang Bridge International Marathon.”
Official race 3 in preparation for the
BOSTON MARATHON and the start of the “runRICKYrun Project”.
It was an early start and as normal was one of the first runners to arrive at the start. As always needed to find a restroom whilst waiting for the race to begin. This event had several races that had different start times – 17km, 10km, 5 km fun run. I entered the 17km race. Race maybe not the right word in my case as I was looking to just have a longer run at this stage of my preparation.
Continue reading “AMAZING PENANG RUN 2017 – 15th October 2017”
