First thing first.
This so called 10K run was a misnomer. Last check with other runners, most of them clogged in the distance of at more than 10.8km, my GPS map showed it was at least 10.97km, so this was actually closer to a 11K run rather than a 10K run.
2nd observation - the venue.
After all the commotion the previous week where absolutely nobody was allowed to breach the barbed fencing, (hell no, just being in the vicinity could get you tear-gassed, bludgeoned and arrested - "Welcome to Tel Aviv"....) ironically everybody just sauntered in to Dataran Merdeka that Sunday morning. Even the traffic cops were kinda friendly that day, doing what they were supposed to be doing all this while - directing traffic. They even let some of the runners got away with simply parking their vehicles beside the Dataran (in front of the Bar Council building) - something which was unthinkable a week ago. To top it all off, many runners turn up in the not so fashionable "yellow" colour and they did not even got harassed.....How things have changed......Alas I digress.....let us get to the main point - the race itself.
The race:
This race was organized by the Federal Territory Fire Department in conjunction with World Firefighter Day which was on...I forgot the date. This was my first time participating and I'd heard during the kit collection day that the response was pretty good at close to 10,000 runners. A friend forewarned me that the Bkt Tunku & Jln Duta stretch would not be easy and so it proved. Not offering any excuses here but I came in to this run still suffering from a bout of flu - in fact the night before I was still on medication. Plus the fact that I did not really train on err...slightly elevated inclination, I was actually expecting the worst prior to the start of this race. The sight of so many runners (whom I think was better prepared than me) during the warm up did not help matters.
During the first 10-15 minutes, I was actually feeling kinda good as we approached the Bkt Tunku (hill). The lush scenery (one of the few remaining green lungs right smack in the KL city centre) coupled with the relatively bearable morning sun made for a rather comfortable start. I was doing my normal pace at 6:20-6:30/km until I was almost up the hill when suddenly I could sense some problem in maintaining my regular breathing pattern; as the nose block returned with a vengeance. That was when things took a turn for the worse when I began to gradually and completely loose my rhythm and pace. Tried to pace along with 2 serious looking girls less than 3m in front of me but they were soon out of sight in less than 5 mins. By the time, I got to the 5km mark (I guess, there were no distance markers) which was also the location of the first water station, I could feel my body was demanding me to stop as the breathing became truly erratic and I was literally gasping for air. At the same time, I could feel some strain on my right thigh as well - perhaps one of the after effects of the flu medicine. Defying all that, I pushed on for another few hundred meters or so but then came that long steady increasing elevation near the Jalan Duta National Hockey stadium (if I'm not mistaken) where I finally gave up and began walking. I walked for close to 3 minutes, all the time telling (no, more like reciting to) myself - I have to finish this within the stipulated time (80 mins) and I would not finish if I'm walking like this! However it was a physical and mental struggle - try to imagine the disappointment when you couldn't even outran an old lady (experienced runner never the less, she came with a 30km Pacesetter vest!) who zoomed past me around the 8/9km mark.
Turning to the final km near the Jalan Parlimen/Tugu Negara (National Monument) stretch, I was basically running on empty and I was half running, half walking. At that very moment too, I was thinking to myself, what the hell, do you really want to WALK past the finishing line? Taking into consideration the stipulated time will be over soon, I gave it a final push, even gently brushing aside a teenage boy whom was enjoying his stroll to the finishing line and clocked in at 1:13:46. A poor time, way beyond the timing required for a Top 150 placing and medal list for the Men's Open Category! If there is any consolation, I am safe in the knowledge that I would have finished in the Top 50 - that is if I'd entered the Women's Open Category instead, LOL!!!
For an event organized by a government department, things ran pretty smoothly and kudos to the organizers for starting on time, at 7.30am sharp (yup, even the VVIP turned up on time this time). Credit perhaps must also be extended to the FTAA for their successful collaboration with the firefighters in ensuring everything went well. It was a good day to bring the family out too to enjoy the sights and sounds - I've got Cheryl (and tiger cub), plus mother and mum to support and encouraged me to the finishing line. Truly a marked contrast from the week before. There were some demos by the firefighters around the square but I was too hungry and tired to bother so it was straight to the breakfast for me.
In conclusion I should have done better but given the circumstances, that was the best that I could do. I just have to make do by redeeming myself in the next run - PJ Dawn 2012.
The following are some of the sights of Larian Bersama Bomba 2012:
