So, I did another run today – in fact it was my very first Full Marathon this year. I could only be grateful that I did Kemensah Krazy Run a week earlier so I could tell myself that I wasn’t entirely unprepared. 3R International Marathon as it was called, although I’m still not sure what exactly it was about. I do know that it had something to do with recycling and saving the environment and so forth so I was actually running for a good cause – a cause that was quite close to my heart. Heh.
So, after eating half a bowl of brown rice and sardine, we drove over to Putrajaya expecting a smooth kick-off. What we did not know was that the organizer had dragged the flag off time to 4.30am, half hour earlier than what was announced on the website. I was in the toilet when I heard the 3 bangs that marked the flagging off and we had to run to the starting point together with some others. I had to run like hell before I could catch up with the pack. Damn. LOL.
I would say it wasn’t an easy run. Putrajaya has always been hilly and we are talking about a run that takes runners from one corner to the other and everywhere in between to meet the distance requirement. My main problem this time is the lack of sleep. I went to bed at about 11.30 and it must be almost midnight when I managed to put myself to sleep.
Then I had to wake up about 2.45pm and readied myself up before my running buddy KJH came to pick me up at about 3.15pm. Bottom line is, I only had about 3 hours and it was far from enough to be fresh enough to do such a long run. I was so sleepy that I’d doze off several times while running – I kid not! I thought it was gonna go away after awhile but when it wouldn’t go I was beginning to contemplate a DNF.
But then, as I was looking for the right place to make a silent retreat I noticed that I had actually run quite a distance off and it wasn’t long before I made it past the half way mark. I knew then that I was not going to quit that easily. It was actually my first time of running a full marathon without an MP3 player so I was not sure if running without music on my ears (and head) would sustain me.
Somehow it did, in fact running without earphones made me feel more connected to the surrounding because I could hear everything within my earshot – the conversations by other runners which made me laugh at times – because seriously, runners have some of the greatest sense of humor – and the footsteps, the heavy breathing whether it was from other runners or from within me, the words of encouragement from the bystanders and volunteers and all.
Another challenge came in the form of heat. Putrajaya is said to be one of the hottest places in Malaysia so running any time after 8.30 am on a clear shiny day can be quite challenging. The heat really got to me when I was in the last 10 km so I was very thankful that there were sufficient drink stations. Some of the volunteers were so cheerful and they’d cheer me on and even gave me a high-five. I used to dislike it may be because I looked at it as more of a distraction but of course that has long changed now. I mean, running is all about having fun so I shouldn’t take things too seriously. In fact, that was all part of the fun kan. 😛
The number of participants was just nice – not too many not too few. I remember how I had to squeeze into the crowds while running at the Penang Bridge International Run last year – also at Singapore Standard Chartered Marathon a few years before – and it really was such a turn-off. This time, everybody had more than enough space for his/herself so there was no excuse of slowing down. Heh.
All in all, it was a great run. It had a beautiful Finisher T-shirt with a great combination of colors and the medal was cool too. As it had always been in other runs before, my problem was more on my leg muscles – on the Achilles tendons especially – and not so much on my stamina. I think my training of running uphill did the magic for me that I was better in running uphill than downhill.
I have not registered for any other running events yet but I foresee more marathons in the near future. There are just so many runs nowadays and I have learned to be more selective now. We’ll see how 🙂