The long awaited Mizuno 10K report

Hi guys, this is my report for the Mizuno 10K..yea, I know, it's way past overdue and I should have had i put onto the internet on Monday itself. Again, please blame everything on the work. It's killing me and my running. I was still at office even sometimes past midnight and for this week alone, I had not gone back earlier than 9pm. Shit....

Anyway, for this year, I ran 2 Mizuno event. The first being in Singapore Kovan Hub while the other would be in KL. Apart from the name of the sponsor i.e. Mizuno, this is where all the similarities end. By far, I still felt that the event in KL is the best in terms of organisation the reason being, it has a much more friendlier atmosphere compared to the Singapore run. At the same time, there is also finishers medal and not to mention, the hellish route that the runners would have to go through! I am not so sure whether it was because there weren't any friends running with me for the Mizuno event in Singapore but then, it's always comfortable seeing familiar faces.

My preparations for this 10K had not been as good as the Mizuno Singapore due to the fact that the route is especially hilly not to mention, during the past few weeks, there had been a lot of disruptions to my running. I never loved hill runs, most probably due to the fact that I had never trained on a hilly course. However, on Saturday, I was determined enough that I should run the way I always wanted to.

It was a fine morning. Jason picked me up at around 5am and already, I was waiting for him. This time, I was more than ready having all the light stretches done beforehand. At the same time, I had everything prepared in advance and after picking up Phyllis we were on the way to KL. Upon reaching, I had contacted CM to see where he had parked his car so that I can have my bags deposited. One thing, I still think that the organisers should have prepared the baggage deposit area as I am sure, there were others would have thought the same.

After doing some serious business, it was time for warm up where I did some light strides through and forth the starting line. I manage to meet up with KNN, Carboman, Fook & Grace, Janggut Man, DK, and many more. We were a bunch of havoc makers....I guess this is what we are! Anyway, in a short time, the air horn sounded. Everybody rushed down the street but then, I was stuck in the middle of the slower runners. I knew I had to make up for the lost time but then, in my mind, I kept myself cool headed as I did not want to commit the mistake of starting too fast. It was only at the Bank Negara that the field started opening up. I took the outer lane where there were less runners and started my engines. I felt good....there is not much of struggle that I was expecting to experience. Slowly I eased into my pace while relaxing my body. Before long, the first incline came. Again, I took the outer lane because I was overtaking runners and after that, I still felt good. Adam was just in front of me and I knew I need to follow him as my pace was somewhat similar to his. I manage to keep my distance behind him and then, came the dreaded first major incline. In all my races, I had always harboured this phsycological fear for this hill. It is darn steep and my lungs always burst because of it. However, this time I just told myself to do the best I can. It was two thirds after the hill that my lungs were blown and I was suffering from side stiches. I walked....for around 30secs or so. I picked myself up again and ran. After a steep downhill, the second incline came and this time, i pushed. I was quite fast and at last, manage to reach the top of it although I was already tired. Next, I knew it was time for me to turn on turbos but then I wasn't really sure if there is anything left for me. So I did. I 'ran'. The feeling was somewhat familiar to the Singapore Mizuno where I ran my heart out. But this time, my heart is somewhat near my throat as I was running too fast. It felt like exploding but I didn't gave a damn. I just pushed. Before long, I was reaching the finishing line and my timing was 52mins 20secs. If I am not mistaken this is my second fastest timing for double hill and I was more than satisfied that I had done what I had set myself to complete.

After the race, I was mingling around with the gang and after that, headed towards the Lake together with Carboman to join in the Terry Fox run. Instead of running, we were having a coffee by the lake. It was nice...right carboman!?

Anyway, I am still a long way from having to achive my running target and right now, I am concentrating on my running mechanics and focus. I will run faster next year. This is my target that I had set myself to achieve and I know.....I CAN.