PJ Half Marathon 2005 by Petalingrunner@PM25

Hi guys,

I am not sure how to begin my report. It is difficult for me to swallow as this is my worst finishing in all my running years. 2hrs 33mins 29Secs for the 21K. I will not give an excuse as to why my performance is so bad except to blame myself for all these crap things which had been happening.

Actually everything went well for my race during the 1st half. I created a mental picture on the strategy that I am going to employ to run a sub 1hr50mins and this is the first time I am strategizing. The plan was to conserve energy for the first three overhead bridges with the pace of 5min50secs. At this pace it should be fine for me and energy should be available after the three overhead bridges to push harder. What I worried about that morning would be the prevailing tempreature and fortunately, there were breeze and it is an added bonus to my plan. After the three overhead bridges, my second plan was to increase pace to 5mins20sec and I believe this pace should be maintained up to the turning point and hold it until after the U turn. For the final 5K I should be doing some serious pushing. I don't know what the outcome would be but I figured out that my legs will have the juice.

On the morning itself, things really went fine. I was running at around 6min pace and I figure that I will push very hard at the finishing. I survived the first two overheads and felt fresh on the way to the third overhead bridge. Although I was tempted to push at this time but I held my horses back and maintained the pace. Many people overtook me at this juncture but I figured they would have broke by the time they reach the U turn. What I didn't expected that morning was the heavy rain and this is one thing that really helped my running. While a lot of people hated running in the rain but to me, it is a blessing. Why? Because we are 'sponging' ourselves all the way and the rain will keep our body cool. When the rain fell, I knew this was my best chance to PR and started pushing upon reaching the BP station. The legs felt good and my strategy worked well.

All the necessary preparations had been made but sometimes, it just isn't our day. While running, the outer soles of my shoe came off. TNMCH!!! I was forced to stop and attend to this crap. Judging from the condition, there is no way I can run with the sole flapping at my left feet so I decided to peeled it off and ran on the midsole. As a result? My landing and propulsion were inconsistent between the legs where I landed heavily on my left while pushing myself forward using the right. The pain on my knee was the byproduct and I kept on cursing. I didn't care and kept on running because I want to finish within time.

This was when god decided to give it all it had. I suffered diarrhea. Nothing in this world can be compared to having diarrhea while running where the pain was excruciating. Again, I was forced to stop halfway during my run. My heart was shattered and very angry. I had to look for a bush to relieve myself and the unfortunate thing is that, there aren't any 'suitable' ones which I can be covered completely. To me, doing some serious business in full view of people running beside the highway is not my exact cup of tea. By the time I had found one, I had spent a good 15mins walking and trying to contain the shit in my butt. After relieving myself I tried to continue but it seemed that my legs felt like they were broken. The ITB was flaring and it was giving me a warning message that 'if you decide to pursue, i'll give you a nice time icing this area'. I walked and run, carrying regrets that I should have relieved myself before I race.

While walking and running, cramps and pain became my enemy but I told myself " I am not going to be DNF anymore". I kept uttering those words even though my heart was heavy from the suffering I experienced. Upon entering the stadium and seeing the finishing line, I knew my job was completed. I will not mind finishing late but at least, I finished. I pressed my stopwatch upon crossing the line and looking it, 2hr33mins29secs kept flashing. I told myself that let this timing be a reminder where all aspects had to be considered and prepared before embarking on a race seriously even something as trivial as going to the loo and clear your bowels. The worst thing from my mistake is that I knew the soles of my racing flats were giving way but decided to do nothing about it. I deserved this.

I learned my lesson on that day and now know that preparations are important if we want to PR. Everything must be in good condition including the mind. This race taught me that although I have done the necessary but it is still insufficient. We cannot assume that everything will be fine when many things can go wrong during a race such as those I have experienced. I have came to the conclusion that it is not the question that how fast can we run, but how prepared we are that will dictate the outcome of the finishing. Ha Ha! What a good race!