PJ Half Marathon 2007

I did it!
And I did it in 2:38, under my target time of 2:45.
Feeling good as I'm typing this while icing my ankles and feet in a pail of water and ice cubes. Haha!

I woke up at 4.15am, had a pre-race breakfast of soft boiled eggs, a granola bar and Milo. Packed my 3-bottle Nike Hydration Pack - filled two of the small bottles with Gatorade, and one with plain water (to be taken with my Powergel). Took a warm shower to wake my body up and finally left my house at about 5am. Found YL at the stadium and we sat at the curb, observing other people doing their 'warm up' laps around the stadium. Round after round after round. Gosh. Nuts.

Guzzled my bottle of Gatorade slowly until flag off time at 6.30am. I was quite happy to start at the back of the pack, and went slow and steady. I didn't stop to walk except for that one crazy steep slope from Federal Highway to the Old Airport Road.

By around the 10th km near Hyatt Saujana, I ate my Powergel. Tangerine flavour (2x Caffeine!). It is said to be the nicest flavour of the lot, but... bleaarggh. A weird, sweet and salty paste with an artificial fruity flavour. I imagine it'd be more palatable if it was peanut butter flavoured. But that's just me. And oh, the texture. It's almost like cow gum. Not that I've tasted cow gum. But you know what I mean!

I must say the run was quite well-organised, with drink stations every 4km, and sponging stations in between. But I'm so glad I bought my hydration pack. The little sips of Gatorade in between stations really helped. And of course, I had to wash down the pasty bleaarggh-tasting Powergel with some water.

I was still feeling good when we made the U-turn at Terminal 2 Airport (13th km). It was only from the 17th - 18th km onwards that I felt my knees and ankles go wobbly. It felt so good to finally reach the stadium again and make the final lap around the track. I didn't qualify for a certificate (only for those who complete under 2:15), but I'm happy. I finished faster than my target time with an average speed of 7.5 mins per km. Not bad for a virgin half marathon lah!

YL did pretty good too in her 10km category. But we'll wait for her to tell her story :)

Now to rest my weary legs and catch up on some sleep.

*All photos taken by JL of Pacesetters

Heart rate rising...

It's just a day and a half away to my first half marathon. I feel bloody excited and anxious at the same time. Hope I can finish within 3 hours, though I wonder if hoping for 2:45 would be asking for too much. Heh.

It's taper week this week, so I've been taking it easy.
No long runs, except on Tuesday when I pushed myself to do an interval 9km to make up for the long run I missed the week before (no thanks to the flu). Feels strange to run for less than half an hour now. Such a far cry from 3 months ago when I would've called it a day after 4km.

Told myself to get used to sleeping early this week.
But it's been futile. I can't seem to fall asleep until it's way past midnight. I need to get used to this cos I must wake up at 4am on race day, have a light brekky, then be at the venue by 5am! Race starts at 6am I think. How to get used to sleeping early like that!

Collected the PJ Half Marathon goodie bag yesterday. Pretty decent, considering the really cheap entry fee of RM10. A pack of pasta. A bottle of multi-purpose cleanser (HUH?). Vouchers to a free meal at KFC and a free can of Malta. Some chocolate bars. And a contact lens voucher as well. The t-shirt's not too hot though. Not like the cool yellow Adidas Climacool vest that was given out for the Adidas King of the Road run last week. Oh, and my bib number is C0022. How cool is that! Now go buy number!

Consciously eating more carbo this week. Though I think I overdid it today. I had a roti tampal (roti canai with a fried egg pasted on it) for breakfast. Then while at work at the post-production house, I kept stuffing my face with their cheese toasties (they were so good, and the clients were stressing me out!). Then there was satay for dinner. With those yummy rice cubes (nasi impit). Now I feel too bloated to sleep. Ugh. And it's past midnight! And there's SW's birthday dinner tomorrow night.

Must sleep. Must cover my last easy run (3.5km) when I get up. Must sleep. Must sleep. Must sl...

Training for the PJ Half Marathon

Yes! I've decided to do it.

Adapted an 8-week plan into a 6-week plan, and half way into Week 2, so far so good. I'm feeling great, and apart from the occasional laziness while lugging my ass to the gym, I've been running according to plan.

An average 8km run takes me about an hour (plus minus), and that's about the distance I used to run in a week before I made up my mind to do this. Getting through even half an hour used to be such a chore. But now with this goal in my head, it's getting surprisingly a little easier each time. Once I push myself past the first few sluggish minutes, I can complete the mileage with energy to spare.


AI (Aerobic Intensity) - Push the pace to increase heart rate
GP (Gentle Pick-Up) - Slow down to walk 20m, then pick up pace again

From what I read online, clocking the mileage, not speed, is what matters to build the stamina. I just need to push myself a little more along the way, increasing resistance and distance until the final week, when I'm supposed to slow down and let my body recuperate in time for 21km on race day. Gulp. I just hope to finish under 3 hours. If MT's 66 year-old mom-in-law can do it in slightly over 2, I should be very ashamed if I can't do it in 3.

You see it as torture?
I see it as a "now you can eat all you want" pass. Hahahaha! Hope I don't break anything, pull a muscle or sprain something over the next few weeks. Wish me luck!