As the skies growled and lashed down that afternoon, I pondered whether I would still have the energy to run in the evening.
Having ran an easy 6.5km that morning during the MPIB clinic, I was still contemplating whether to take it easy with some of us from Dutamas Runners or do I have the energy to go all out during the Decanter's Bukit Damansara Fun Run that evening. I was pretty exhausted due to lack of sleep and with only a 15-minute nap, I wasn't too sure what my plan was.
the reps from DR. :D
Dutamas Runners with Madam SH Tan :)
I arrived at Jalan Setiabakti's Decanter at about 530pm to a festive atmosphere. 98% of the crowd was dressed in orange, families gathered around, and friends yakked until it was time for the warm up before the race.
Yes, race.
Did you think there'd be no serious runners at a fun run?
Jamie, Kenny, Ashe Ek, me & Kah Wai
(photo belongs to KYK)
I decided that I was going to go for it because I was curious to know whether I was still as fast as I was during the KL Rat Race in September. As mentioned before, my GPS went wonky so I have doubts on the accuracy of its reading.
(photo belongs to Kenny)
As the horn blasted, a few of us at the front of the line made a mad dash. It was my first time being at the front of the start line and boy, I wasn't used to be shoved aside (by men!) within seconds into the race!
The first 200m or so was pretty amusing. The boy on my right wasn't seem to be running in a straight line. He kept veering towards me and to avoid him knocking into me, I kept moving to the left. Yet he would still veer towards me. Aiks. So I had to speed up to shake him off.
KYK ran by from the back and shoved his camera into my face (it was on video) and I went, "ehhh please!" as I covered my face - which proved difficult to do so while running.
As we headed towards Plaza Damansara, we turned right at Menara Southern Bank Berhad and up onto Medan Setia 1. I tried to slow down as I didn't want to go too fast and go flat in the middle of the route. James of The Marathon Shop overtook me at this point. I could still spot KYK at a distance but lost sight of him as we reached the traffic lights to turn right onto Jalan Beringin.
As we were approaching Decanter at Jalan Setiakasih, the volunteers at the water station offered us water but no one stopped. I apologetically declined (not sure if they were miffed that the front runners weren't interested in water!) and as I puffed up the gentle slope, the waiters cheered us on and I gave them a wave.
Anyway, Jalan Setiakasih felt very long and with the gentle incline, I was ready to stop and walk. Which I eventually did, by the way. (At this point, I'd like to say that the route map provided did not reflect the entire Jalan Setiakasih as part of the route.)
Had to catch my breath in 5 seconds before I continued running up the freaking slope.
At this point (3km), I think 2 or 3 guys overtook me.
It was a huge relief to get out of Jalan Setiakasih and back onto Jalan Beringin. I joked with a marshal at the Jalan Bruas junction whether I could just take the shortcut back to the finish line.
There was another slope (but a shorter one) that greeted me at Jalan Bruas and man, I had to stop to catch my breath again. (Just 5 seconds!)
This time, one guy and another called Lee, overtook me with a pat on the back and told me to keep going.
Then I noticed that Kah Wai was at the top of the road with his camera. I had no choice but to move on as I didn't want to be caught on camera walking when I should be running! :D
With just 1km left to go, I was wondering if any ladies would suddenly zoom past me.
Snuck a peek to the back and couldn't figure out whether it was a guy or a lady hot on my heels. (Sorry!)
Back out onto Jalan Beringin and as we headed back towards Jalan Setiabakti, I saw that the runners at the back were just turning into Jalan Bruas.
So close to the finish line ...
I knew I had to step it up again and pushed forward.
Why do I always end up sprinting like crazy during the final 300m of a run is beyond me.
I only managed to catch up with Lee at the finish line.
Mr Wan stopped me to offer me his notepad, and with a shaky hand, I wrote my name and time down.
24:35!
Not too shabby, I think.
Damn the hills!
Yin Yin's mum was so sweet as she congratulated me on the spot and offered her cup of 100plus. I refused and told her it was OK, I'll help myself, but she insisted that I needed it. It was a very funny dance of hands and arms as we kept pushing the cup towards each other. I eventually relented because it felt so silly. :) (Still, very nice of Madam SH Tan! Thank you!)
Food and beer was abundant. There had sandwiches (I had one), fried spring rolls (I had 2), fried meehoon, fried rice, chicken, mini fried curry puffs (I had 2), 100plus stall and a Tiger beer stall to cater the event.
I could only manage 2 1/4 cups of beer, which I think is equivalent to only 1 1/4 pint. Tsk! How disappointing.
(photo belongs to Vivien Tay)
Besides prizes for the first male and female runners who completed the run, they also had lucky draws. Everyone was eagerly waiting for their names to be called but no one from DR won anything.
(photo belongs to Vivien Tay)
Overall, I think small events like these are cosy set ups which makes an event more manageable and provides a better opportunity for familes to gather together and enjoy themselves, inviting the neighbours along.
Just like a weekend barbeque. :D
A job WELL DONE to the organisers and their technical support. The event wouldn't have been successful without you. Many thanks to the marshals who were rooting for me as I ran past them. :)
To Madam SH Tan and Jamie Pang, thank you so much for the encouragement. It was very amusing and sweet, I appreciate it. :)
To the boys from Dutamas Runners, thanks for being there, too. It wouldn't have been fun accepting my prize without a support crew. And standing out in our blue tshirts! :)
To my Skechers GObionic, thank you for the ride. :D
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Note: The slopes killed me in the end. I was running a sub 5min pace during the first 2km but during the 3rd and 4th km, I had slowed down to about 5:40 pace (must be my 5 second break!). I only managed to snap out of it and sped up during the final 1km. Overall, Garmin says my average pace was 5:10 min/km. Phbbbbt!
The intended route was supposed to be this:
Turned out to be this:
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