It has now been more than 17 hours since the end of my race in PJ Dawn and I still can't get no sleep. Still feeling the adrenaline rush perhaps?
The event
I have to admit I'm pretty new to the running scene in Malaysia, this being only my fourth race so far. Having said that, I would like to point out that I enjoyed this event the most as compared to the rest. From registration, publicity to communication to race pack collection right down to race day arrangements, one could sense that the organizer went out of their way to ensure a smooth running of the event. For instance, one of the perennial problem faced by by any local event organizers is parking and ensuring a proper control of the traffic flow in and out of the event venue. A measure of how this organizer managed to get things right was when I arrived like 5mins before the half marathon flag off, yet parking was a hassle-free exercise and there was no jam at all! I know perhaps the choice of location might have a bearing on that - never the less kudos to Outbox Productions & Pacesetters Athletics Club Malaysia for making this a truly enjoyable and memorable event for the runners. Most of the runnners I'd met there or on Facebook has nothing but positive comments about the organization of this race.
My race
Now I'd signed up for the 12km race (there were only 2 categories, the other being the half marathon, which brings me to the only grouse - having to wait another hour after the start of that race; wait...the so called breakfast was also "minimalistic".....). I've also come to realize this week that I've reached a Catch-22 situation where I'm making a conscious effort not to over train - meaning not to run too far and too often as I have to participate in a number of races since last month (8 in 2 1/2 months). However by not training often enough (as I need to conserve energy for the actual races), my furthest distance had been stuck at 13km since 3 weeks ago. The target on my Dailymile profile reads "to run 15km by May 2012, Half Marathon by Nov 2012 and Full Marathon in 2013"; sure I've still got time to fulfill that but the point is perhaps I should have been more selective in the races I enter, in order not to jeopardize my own training plan. Will make a mental note to self on this now.
Other than that I've got very little to say about this race other than it was a good race personally for me, which also happened to be my inaugural night race. My Polar distance reader calculated the distance as 12.47km and I managed to finished the race in 1:16:36, which was within my target of below 80 mins but slightly above my stretch taget of 75 mins. I even managed to stay within the pace of 5:50m/km for the first 6km before slowing down to 6:00 - 6.10m/km in the final 3-4km. The fact the roads involved are mostly closed or diverted during the race made it easier for us runners to just concentrate on the race. Lighting was not an issue except for certain stretch near Ara Damansara where perhaps more marshall should have been stationed. The fact that the route was pretty much flat from start to finish was a blessing and most of the fast runners would have appreciated this.
I felt much better after this race than the last 2 races, and will have no qualms participating again next year. Putrajaya will be the venue next year - I can already foresee that traffic is not an issue, but let's wait and and hear from the organizers.
Here are some snapshots of the race:
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