Sundown Marathon was my first run requiring a(n almost dead) passport. My friends and I were really excited for it. It was the most I’ve ever paid for a race (for I am a cheapskate), so I was looking forward to get the most out of it, hehe.

The flagoff time for half marathon was at 12:30 after midnight. Kurang pasti sebenarnya konsep marathon ni ialah Sundown or Sunup.

I was intrigued to see if race organisation outside Malaysia would be better than what we’re used to having. At first I was impressed with the race village setup and how they split the runners by speed categories. There was a reaaaaaalllyyy long line to the portaloos though, so I didn’t go. (thought of going to the portaloos in the race course, but turned out there was a long line for those too. this is the first ever race that I’d managed to hold my pee throughout the entire race, I was surprised that that was doable! Although not very comfortably.)

I guess I expected too much from my first international race. Some of the factors were out of the organizer’s hands (weather played a BIG part on this night), but there were also other things that I thought could’ve been done better.

Fun points

• i really like the running vest. V-neck bergaya.
• impressive race village and pre-flagoff/flagoff
• they were gonna have an open air movie screening after the run! Was kinda looking forward to that
• running along the Marina Bay area was pretty cool. I loved the view.

Not so fun points

• I think the organizer went a bit overboard with the volume of runners vs the amount of road space they could provide for us. Most of the race was spent running very congestedly in a small emergency or side lanes. When someone at the front stopped for a walk, it basically forced everyone behind to slow down and had to struggle to navigate past. A lot of brushing against sweaty strangers and feeling like cattle. And given the really humid weather early during the race, that was a really uncomfortable experience.
• some of the lanes were dark. Like really, really dark. Some of the areas were only lit by glo-sticks!
• water stations weren’t fully equipped to deal with the volume of runners. Whenever we got to a water station it was either utter chaos or there was not water at all.
• it started to pour in the last 3-4km of the race. I’ve never run in THAT much rain! The rain did motivate me to go faster though. (I kept thinking I needed to run faster to save my shoes, even though they were already soaking wet. Whatever works to keep you going.) This wasn’t the organizer’s fault, though.
• because of the heavy rain, there was no movie. Kesian gak lah to the organizer, they had to bungkus everything. It wasn’t possible to do anything but huddle uncomfortably under whatever shelter that was available. Me and my friends dragged ourselves, limping wet and all, back to our hotel.

So yeah, it was, well, one-of-a-kind experience.

I ran the entire race with Moon, Sundown being her first half-marathon. My target for this race was just to survive it, at whatever time, because it was my first 21k in the Newton and at the time I was entirely unprepared for that distance. True enough I ended finishing the race in 3:01, my PW, but it really helped to have a partner to run with throughout the whole thing. Kalau lari sorang tu confirm akan berjalan every 10 minutes!

And my legs the next day! I was like a wet rag (a very slow one, too) all over Orchard Road.

Pre-buy

I’ve had my Nike Free 7.0 for about two years now, having logged more than 2000km on them. I love my Frees but some of the rubber parts on the outsole have fallen off, so I started tinkering with the thought of getting a new pair of running shoes.

Initially I thought I’d go for the new Nike Free 3.0/4.0/5.0. I tested the 5.0s and found the sole too soft and absorb-y (not a real word, I know) for my liking, and the upper mesh is not soft enough to allow me to wear it sockless. Perfunctorily tried 3.0 and 4.0s too, but I found myself still favouring my current 7.0. Upper mesh not soft enough.

My criterias for the new shoes are

• MUST be able to run sockless in it. (this is not due for some ergonomic reason, it’s just that I’m too lazy and disorganized to deal with socks)
• perhaps something a bit sturdier than the Nike Free, for the one magical and foolhardy day I sign up for a full marathon in the unkown future
• light, cannot be heavier than my current shoes
• will improve my midfoot/forefoot strike

At RM349, my Nike Free was probably the most I’ve ever spent on a pair of shoes. Before the Nike Free I ran in my sister’s running shoes (she was a track runner at school/college) until they completely fell apart. The thought of having to spend close to RM400 for some shoes petrifies me. So I can’t simply go around buying running shoes just to ‘try’. It has to last another 2000km! Careful consideration and extensive research must apply to this decision.

I asked around and some friends are recommending Brooks, NB and OnGo, among others. I was also curious about Saucony Kinvara. Research! Research!

Cue my impulsive nature.

Buy

Yesterday I was at Gardens, meeting with a client. After the meeting (and spending unsupposed amount of time at the Art Friend shop buying pens and sketchbooks) I thought I’d try on some running shoes. They have 2xU, Nike, NB, Adidas and World of Outdoors on one stretch. Excellent.

I decided I’d try with 2xU first, since they have some Brooks shoes I’ve been meaning to try.

RM410 later.

I never made it to the other shops.

In my defense

• I tried most of the Brooks shoes, they are generally light and low, which I liked, but the fit was a bit off. I think my feet are too broad for Brooks shoes (and I’ve tried the mens ones too!)
• the Newton Universal Racer seemed comfy enough to be worn without socks
• I was curious about the lugs and how it will correct my running form
• also light
• also on 30% discount (original price RM599)

First run

Took the Newtons to the gym for its first run today. The Newtons have these curious things called lugs, located under your midfoot area. It raises your midfoot area higher than your heel area (at least it felt that way) and walking in it made me feel like a duck. Definitely a shoe made for running only.

The idea of the lugs is to force you to hit the ground with your forefoot/midfoot. It is IMPOSSIBLE to heel strike in these shoes, without feeling like a sloppy marauding giant. All this while with my Nike Free, I’ve always thought of myself as a midfoot striker, and I’ve prided myself for being able to run quietly on the treadmill, with efficient smallish strides.

After today’s run in the Newtons, I will have to admit that I might’ve been over-generous with that assumption. Today I felt like a giant clumsy oaf, and it shocked me how loud my steps were on the treadmill. It felt like learning how to run all over again, and actually landing on your forefoot (as the Newtons will force you to do) was not a smooth transition from my current running style, which I (wrongly) thought was forefoot-ly enough. It was night and day.

I was basically tiptoeing the whole 6km. Another way to describe this is like you’re running over hot coals. What I noticed is that my form automatically corrected itself, running this way, because it’s not possible to hunch or slouch when you’re running over hot coals. I also noticed that I’m relying more on my calf muscles, instead of the knees and thighs. That slight strain on my upper thigh dissapeared running this way, although I’m not sure it’s because of the form or the strain has healed.

I was limping after 6.8km. And I’m pretty sure my calves will let me have it tomorrow.

I’m pretty determined to run the Sundown Marathon in these loud pink shoes, so hopefully one month is sufficient time to adapt to this new running style.

Will let you know how it goes!

Some other minor things

• had a bit of a blister on my toe (I run sockless), but I’m hoping this is due to the ‘new shoe’ feeling
• the shoelaces can be a bit annoying, whipping around your feet if you don’t tuck it inside
• Newton suggests that you go one /.5 size up from your normal size with their shoes, so that your toes won’t hit the front part of the shoe while forefoot-striking. At first I worried that my shoes might come off or chafe while running, turned out to be just fine. Only when walking you may feel a bit funny.
• love the upper mesh, which is basically all holes. feet feels properly ventilated and airy.

I was really looking forward to this event, partly excited and partly curious. The excited bit was that I was looking forward to redeem myself after the soul-crushing Mizuno 10K and the almost-PW Brooks 21. Familiar route, not too many hills (or so I thought), running at night and a 15.5K distance, which is my fave distance. (10K is too fast for me, and I get bored/lazy in the last 5K of 21Ks.) So 15-16K has always been my favourite events (KOTR, Dragonback) and I usually do quite well at them (by my measly standards that is).

The curious bit was that I wanted to see if ENR was going to redeem themselves too, after their infamous setup last year. Kept telling myself there’s no way it can be worse than last year, and if anything this would be the year that ENR will try to do it well.

And boy they did. ENR2012 is a great example of the great things one can achieve if one is willing to consider and fix one’s mistakes. And the people will love you for it. All over FB and Twitter I only saw satisfied and happy comments from the participants. I was hard-pressed this time around to find a single fault with the event and its logistics. Nothing (aside from the running) took more than 5 minutes. It seemed to me that the organizer took great pains of going through the long list of complaints from last year, and making sure ALL of it is improved upon. In bullet points:

• parking – FREE and near to the venue
• SO many volunteers at the welcome area, no chance you’d get lost
• headlight collection is the first thing you see, and that took like 1 minute to settle, very little queue, and each runner can only take one
• still have to go through tunnel, but with limited number of participants, traffic is acceptable, and they put big standing fans throughout (nice touch)
• no chaos at starting line, because they segregate the different categories
• MCs did well with the (happy) crowd
• volunteers at EVERY corner of route
• 8 water stations. EIGHT!
• post-run almost no queue to pickup goodie bag

So yeah, I was very much impressed with ENR this year. I think I’d even go as far as saying it’s the best-organized running event I’ve been to.

Now, about the run. This time I tried running without the stopwatch and fuel belt. Instead I relied on the miCoach app on my phone and handheld water bottle. No stopwatch meant I don’t look at the time so much, so I mostly just ran the whole thing by feel (which is very vague, most of the time). And with the water bottle I didn’t need to stop at so many water stations, only the few towards the end.

I think I’ll write the rest in bullet points as well.

• started the race with Acap, Yoes, Jo and Zhariff. Of course 1 minute into the race everyone disappeared.
• decided to stick to my negative split plan – run comfortable first half, go to work 2nd half. have not done this in a while (refer my last two horrible races) so I wasn’t certain if I’d actually be up to it.
• decided either way, I would enjoy my first half of the run. I did, the route was mostly flat and the air was breezy. All my psycho-somatic injuries disappeared. Good music, good vibes.
• skipped the first 4-5 water stations, but it was really comforting to see them around (last year trauma)
• there were some challenging hills on the route! took them on with running small short steps instead of walking (okay not all of them)
• I loved that LED board and mist archway that they built on the service road. lights. nice. I. like. Lights. for some reason it inspired me to run a bit faster
• checked my phone after close to an hour and saw that I’ve ran close to 8km, 2nd half time. took my powergel and started pushing the pace a bit. this took some convincing of the (lazy) self.
• so glad to be done with the hilly and narrow (runner etiquette – please keep to the left if you’re walking) service road and back on the track! aaaaah so much (flat) space!
• I knew I could push the pace a bit more, but didn’t really manage to convince myself to really get out of the comfortable zone. This part needs a bit of work.
• saw finishing line, ran a bit straighter in case there are cameras, haha! Saw the clock nearing two hours, so I did what I can to make sure I finish under two hours.

Official net time was 1:58:34 (gun time 2:00:02) and I ranked 96/613 in my category. My average pace is around 7:30. Really happy with that result, I think it’s the first time I managed a two-digit rank in a major event. I ran pretty comfortably throughout the whole thing, and I enjoyed the run, my only grief is that I could’ve pushed myself a bit more and I didn’t. Maybe I feared crashing and burning like I did at Mizuno, and the mind refused to let go of that. Something to work on, then.

Regrouped with friends post-run. Goodie bag collection a breeze. Managed to bump into some old and new friends at the event (hello Kayla and Millie!). Afni, Ayu and Has have also finished their first running event, so welcome to this (expensive, I warn you) running gig!

Thank you, ENR!

The most difficult half-marathon course I’ve ever done. (I’ve only done three, though). Brooks was generous to afford us for a route familiarisation run last month, I went and wished I didn’t, haha. Ignorance should be bliss and all that.

Pre-race

Slept probably only an hour before raceday. Got up at 3am. (need that extra time for coffee). At Acap’s house by 4am. We planned to get to the venue by 430am. Made a toilet stop at Petronas Sg Besi (kerana toilet Stadium Bukit Jalil adalah mengerikan).

Got to the stadium vicinity around 430am to face a MASSIVE jam. Turned out Parking Bay B was closed for another event and everyone had to go to Parking Bay C, and everyone had to pay RM2 for parking. I don’t mind so much the RM2 for parking, but organizer should have made that clear beforehand, because runners (by runners I mean me) usually don’t carry small change in their tiny fuelbelts. Seb baik Acap ada duit kecik dalam kereta. Also, there were only two guys manning the parking counter. Apekah moment #1.

All parked and walked to the stadium gate. Jam lagi. Everyone was made to go through the tiny gate. People were getting pretty anxious because flagoff time was near, but traffic was moving really slowly. The first MC kept announcing that flagoff time is soon, causing the crowd to get more anxious, I was glad for the second MC who spoke Malay, who told everyone to relax and they’ll delay the flagoff time if need be, safety first. Not sure if this was the same person.

Had to climb the fencing in order to get to on the correct aisle leading to the race area. Quite a challenge when there were people from all directions. Apekah moment #2. I did not sign up for a hurdle event!

Pre-race was a bit of a logistical nightmare basically. Hopefully the organizer can identify these bottleneck points and improve next year.

Race

Ran with Acap pretty much the whole way. Knowing how difficult the route will be, I just ran a relaxed, comfortable pace, pretty much the whole way through (mentaliti atlet Malaysia). There was no way I was gonna crack a PB here, so might as well use it to learn some new strategies. This new strategy is called running very slowly and hope it will not be your PW, haha.

What I learnt was that if I ran the whole thing at a comfortable pace:

• I wouldn’t need to stop for a walk so much
• learnt to climb the hills by running very slowly in short small steps. It’s less tiring than trying to walk fast uphill
• in the last 5km, I wasn’t really tired yet, lung-wise, but the legs weren’t as cooperative. What I need to train for is time on feet, so the legs will not get sore over long distances

Free Powergel at KM14! Generous of the organizer. Was losing steam a bit then perked right back with the caffeine nudge.

The last 5K has always been a mental problem for me. Usually I ran this bit alone (and stopping to walk a lot). This time Acap and I paced each other (basically her stopping for a walk and me running very slowly to catch up), so mentally it was easier. Instead of all kinds of lazifying negative thoughts, you just focus on keeping your running partner in sight.

Finished the race a bit confusedly (thought I was entering the wrong finishing lane, doubled back, then told it was the right lane, doubled back again). My time was 2:55:26, only mere 13 seconds away from my PW. Not great time but I enjoyed the run overall and learnt some new things.

Also turned out the run was over-distanced! (mode berkira).

Post-race

As per standard requirement, goodie bag, photo op and carbo-refueling with murtabak. With all the carbo preloading, loading and reloading, I tell you running races is most probably not going to make me lose weight!

I lasted no more than 3 minutes before Acap was completely out of sight. And after that I was mentally destroyed. The thought that really did it for me at the time was “there’s no way in hell I can even get close and stick to Acap’s pace over 10k, no matter how hard I trained, so there’s no way I can ever get my time under 65mins. Ever. So what’s the point? Just give up now.”

So I did. I just ran half-heartedly throughout the whole thing, stopping for a walk even when I didn’t really have to. And even running at a languid pace, I didn’t enjoy it. My mind was simply not there. I just wanted it to be over with, right from the beginning. And never ever run a 10K again.

I hope I never feel like that again during a run.

It all comes down to, wrong strategy, wrong strategy, wrong strategy.

I know that I’m not a naturally fast person, but that lesson hit home hardest that Sunday. What I should’ve done was ease into the run and pick up the pace later, instead of flooring it at flag-off. I thought of my Otto Hutt 15K, which I ran at my own pace instead of trying to hang on to someone else’s, the route was much more difficult and longer, but I feel like I ran that one better than Mizuno. I think my average pace was better, given that it had 10 hills and 5K longer. At the very least, I got to enjoy the first half of the race before going to work on the 2nd half.

So yes, lesson learned the hard way: run your own pace!

Official time – 1:10:20
Ranking – 136/615

The race was run efficiently and I would’ve enjoyed the route (except for that last super-murderous hill). There was a long queue to pick up your medal and goodie bag, but the line moved quick enough. Overall no complaints on how the event was run.

I contracted a fever the day after the run, that makes it three times this year. Maybe my body is telling me I need to rest, or just the unavoidable fact that no matter how much fitter you get, as you age the recovery takes longer and longer.

Oh well, I think I’m gonna stay away from 10Ks for awhile, it is my ego that can’t take it! Heh.

So, the raceday in point form:

• couldn’t tell where was the starting and check-in point. Apparently we had to ‘check-in’ first, if not it will result in disqualification.
• turned out check-in point was about 400-500m away from starting line, and the small path that led to it was pitch black. Braved the path feeling all hardcore and adventuresome. Borak2 with an otai uncle who’d done ultramarathons. When I told him I’d be running Sundown HM, he said “no sweat”.  Hardcore crowd, this.
• started the race relaxed, wasn’t going to kill myself trying to keep with Jo’s pace over 15K, ran my own pace this time. Jo out of my sight within minutes
• a really great ‘kampung’ morning ambience at the start of the run, with roosters going cock-a-doodle-dooing and all that. I tried to trick myself into thinking that I’m running in Bali.
• then I saw the first hill. Steep, but manageable early during the race. I thought to myself “ooo maybe this is the camelback that uncle’s been talking about”
• THEN I got to the top of the first hill and saw an entire road stretched upon me, looking like…a dragon’s back.

• my first WTF moment for 2012. The view was breathtaking, on so many levels, haha.
• as I ran, realized something worse as I start to see the really fast runners on the other side of the road – I WILL HAVE TO U-TURN AND RUN THESE HILLS ALL OVER AGAIN. Oh well, too late to back out now. I started counting the girls who were running the opposite way. As long as they look fitter than me I’m okay. But then I saw an auntie. Felt a little demoralized, haha.
• looked out for Jo too, so I can gauge how far I was from the u-turn point. Turned out Jo had his own set of problems during the race, haha, but that’s his story to tell.
• I managed all the hills in the first half without walking (I think), keeping it at a comfortable pace
• I carried a small water bottle in my hand this time, so I don’t have to stop at water stations. I find this a more pleasant solution than carrying it on the fuel belt.
• the water station aunties were so nice, even when I didn’t stop. One of them said to me ‘sayang, berusahalah!’ (or something along that line), that was super-sweet of her.
• reached u-turn point at around 1hr, slowed to a walk climbing the first hill of 2nd round, tore open my powergel. Part ni je yang kecoh sikit with carrying water bottle by hand. You don’t have enough hands and they’re all sweaty.
• picked up pace in the 2nd half, walked some of the last few hills and making up for it downhill and the flat stretches. Started to pass people. SO glad I didn’t push myself too hard the 1st half.
• the last few KMs (after all the hills) it seemed possible that I could do this under 1:50, so I pushed myself to make that time
• reached (what I thought to be) the finishing line – which was our starting line this morning, all happy and satisfied and stopped the stopwatch clocking around 1:48…
• until the Rela brader said to me “adik, 200 meters more to go!”
• “HOOOHHH?” was the only reply I could muster.
• turned out the finishing line was where we ‘checked-in’ this morning,  And it was more like 400-500 meters away!
• berlari dengan penuh ketidakrelaan. probably the longest 400m of my life.
• time: 1:53:15
• HOH!

NOW I know what dragonback means. 10 killer hills over the distance of 15K. And here I thought it was some Chinese New Year thing.

A great running experience. Also, the ambience was refreshingly different than the usual big-name runs in the city. Idyllic is the word I’m looking for, running through the countryside. The race had a very homely-neighbourly feeling to it, everyone was friendly and seemed to know each other. Me and Jo made friends with some very otai uncles and aunties.

Hope to see you again next year, and better prepared for you, now I know what you are, Mr. Dragonback!

The run seemed to be run by MMU students, and it was better organized than some of the races I’ve been to. (Somewhat) punctual flag off, plenty water stations, plenty of marshals making sure runners’ safety, ample mile markers (not too few that you don’t know at what point of the race you are, and not too many that you get demoralized) and a no-hassle post-race.

The run in bullet points:

• tried to follow Jo’s pace again, only to blow out at minute 25. Probably the earliest I’ve been reduced to a walk in any race.
• I started too fast and too gung-ho I think, as the early part of the race started with a lot of downhills.
• saw the 4.5KM marker when I slowed down to a walk at min25, probably my fastest race start ever. (Usually on the treadmill I will take about 40mins to do 5K at a comfortable pace).
• have trained myself to rest for no more than 2 minutes each time, so ran the next part at a more comfortable pace by myself.
• extra fun adventure time – after this one hill, there was a fogging session going on, so we had to run through that thick nasty fogging smoke. Apekah! Hari ni ke jugak kena buat fogging?! (setiap race pasti mempunyai cabaran unik masing-masing)
• after the early blowout I tried to break down the race into 3 parts, part 1: start fast at Jo’s pace, part 2: recover at my comfortable pace, part 3: pick up pace to attack the finish.
• didn’t quite manage to execute part 3 as well as I hoped, as it turned out that part of the race was all uphills. I just tried to hang on mostly.
• my new sunglasses (hehe) helped. Dunia berasa kurang panas dan lebih bergaya. Although it will get foggy if I stop running, so extra motivation not to walk.

My time was 1:06:05, a 10K PB (there was a 10K race that I managed to get a sub-1hr finish, but I think the actual distance was less than 10K). Great way to end my 2011 racing calendar. Very happy with the time, but I will need to train to get it to under 65 minutes.

p.s. went for a recovery run earlier today and it seemed that my left calf has gotten worse. So gonna take it easy for the rest of the year, probably do some more strength training instead. Hopefully I’ll come back all fixed and fresh for 2012!

I have been whining realized lately that running has become a pretty expensive activity for me. Racing fees (which isn’t getting any cheaper these days. Whine!), fancy-drifit running pants, fuel belt(s), gels, running sunglasses (hehe), fancy-astronautworthy-gps watch (want!)…the list goes on. I guess it’s an inevitable progression of a hobby/addiction.

But before we make it a hobby, turn it into an addiction, temper it into a habit, we had to start somewhere. It’s that pair of running shoes, now battered and all squishy. The one you bought in spite of so many broken New Year resolutions. Only it turned out you managed to stick to it this time, and in the process discovered the many little joys/epiphanies/lessons that the pair of shoes have taught you.

Running is mostly a solitary activity (for me at least), but I always found my steps lighter when I run next to someone, our paces matching. A nod of encouragement, or a sense of competition, will spur you further. So running is also essentially a collaborative effort.

I want to make a collaborative document of our running shoes, in doodles. And how far those shoes have taken us.

This project is open to anyone who’s into running (or trying to get into running), regardless of your level. Here’s how to participate in this little art project:

1. Send me a clear photo of your running shoes. The photo must be taken by yourself (as in don’t send me photo from shoe website catalogue, where’s the fun in that, right?)
2. Your name, and your shoes’ model and make.
3. Tell me the proudest moment you had when you were in those exact shoes (personal best in a 10K, finished a full marathon, finished your first race ever, realized you’re no longer gasping on the treadmill the first 5 minutes, anything.).
4. Email me at mimi.mashud@gmail.com with the subject ‘JUST FOR KICKS Project – (Your Name)’.

That’s all.

I will be posting the doodles on Facebook and Tumblr once they’re done. Who knows, if the response is really good, perhaps I’ll compile them into some sort of e-Book, we’ll wing it as we go along.

Let’s run together!

I decided to do a few things differently this time around:

Replenishments

• brought my own water for the first time ever. Turned out to be a lifesaving decision since there was only ONE water station for this scorchingly hot day at KM8.
• learnt to drink while running. Rule is to just take a couple of sips each time.
• took powergel for 10K.

Pacing

• asked Jo to pace me, which meant I had to go to work immediately after flag-off, instead of my usual strategy (enjoy the scenery first half, go to work 2nd half).
• struggled to keep up with Jo, but managed to hang on for around 20 minutes. The route started with an incline, adding to the challenge. Next time will try to hang on for longer.
• by the time Jo dissapeared, there wasn’t many girls my category in the pack. So I tuned it down to a slower pace I was more comfortable with and hung on.
• strategy this time was attack first, hang on later.
• had trouble in the last kms to stay focused and not be reduced to walking (as always), luckily there was a guy who paced me until the end of the race. Still need to figure out a way to stay focused at the end of races.

Route was more like a crosscountry slash obstacle course, with uneven pavements, scary traffic, akar2 kayu pokok to maneuver through. Also there was no mile markers at all, so I couldn’t tell at what point was I in the race. All that said, it WAS an RM10 race, so I guess it was to be expected.

When I got to the finish line the crew said I ranked 13th in my category (it has to be noted that this was a small race and all the otais were most probably at Standchart Singapore or MPSJ). Was the fastest I ran ever, so I guess the new way works!

Time was 1:15:20 and the distance was probably closer to 12km. Yeay!