Great Eastern 30K ( we did only the 20 though)

After getting over the dissapointment from Adidas , ( remember the running shoes promotion .. tak dilayan.. takpe..takpe..mentang mentanglah kami pelari overweight.. hahahaha ) we were all eager to start 2009 with the GE 20K run. We registered for the 20K instead of the 30K because it was a step up from our previous runs. First time for Azad , Edrin and Mafiz. Kamal joined us but he registered for the 30K. We aim to improve and promoting ourselves to a longer distance is the first step ! I was also trying out my new Brooks.. ( nak promote untuk Brooks la !! hahaha ) I decided to be a part of the history because this will be my second competitive 20K ; My first 21K was last years KLIM. My time then ( officially ) was 3 hr 13 minutes.. lousy huh.. hahaha
I picked up the number and bibs on Saturday.. maakk aii..Tapak A was no joke to walk to ! I guess everybody was surprised that they had to walk the distance before collecting. Hmm.. should have gone to their Jugra office !

Mafiz unfortunately could not make it as he was having a bad gastritis. This time around the run will be longer and more taxing , therefore to know our limits is more important than belasah and suffer later ! I picked up Edrin at 530am and we were off ! Azad arrived earlier and parked at the Tugu Negara. Luckily there was a surau there ; therefore the earlier plan to pray at the starting point was abandoned. We were only to begin at 630 am but the distance from where we parked our car and the starting point was seriously far !
As expected by any pacesetters standard , the route was hilly. Never would I imagine them giving us the luxury of a flat track ! The Bukit Tunku hills is always their favourite and I am glad we did the NB 15K last year.. so the surprise was not unexpected.

I saw Stupe along the way as he was going opposite , and when he was done with his loop he was beside me ! I guess he was training for his IM and he was doing the usual TTDI - HArtamas- Bukit Aman route. We managed to run and talk together for a while , me puffing on trying to catch him ! Hahahaha He was already on his 15K and he was going strong.. Maakk aii.. hahaha.. sorry bro..kena bagi you lari dulu la !
I was pacing myself to my speed and not bad i thought ! The hills was OK and I was not tired. Good old Kiara Hills !! Hahahaha We were reaching MITI when i passed the 10KM board and i looked at my watch.. waahh...56 minutes best 10K lah since forever !! but then.. ALAMAK !!!! I was carried away with the crowd and probably too fast for my pace and muscles !!
I spoke too soon as after the MITI loop when we turned back my legs started cramping. I consumed my powergel but the muscle fatigue went from bad to worse. At the 13K point , I had to stop and walk ; and the pain..was PAIN !!! maakk aiii... I just walked slowly because I wanted to avoid major cramp that would just floor me down !! They say , you must stop before you know you're getting injured .


I managed to recover about 2km later after the agonizing walk. I was trying to use my physiological knowledge to assist the anaerobic activity in my muscles. IT was trying to use your mind controlling the pain which is the hardest. I guess , as we were running downhill , i paced myself slowly because i wanna finish this race running and not walking. The pain slowly dissapeared but I controlled myself not to over do it. I was pacing slowly and the motivation became stronger upon seeing the 28K point !
And Yes !! Crossing the finishing line was an achievement and all the adrenaline threw the pain away immediately ! I looked at my hp and woohooo.. not bad ! My time ? well , not as great as the seasoned runners but a definite improvement as compared to my KLIM 21K last year ! Almost 1 hour better.. hehehe 2hr 17 minutes.. ok la tu ! I was a happy boy ! I am happier though seeing both Edrin and Azad arriving within 3 hours ! Impressive ! Nothing is Impossible lah ... :) We waited for Kamal but he was nowhere to be seen until we were walking back to our car . Congratulations to all ! A definitely good start for this new season .. :) Carpe Diem !!