OF AD AND KL MARATHON 2018

Of AD/PD and KL MARATHON

(Warning on a long post)

Objective of this post is not on a review of the KL Marathon, but a recollection of the struggles 3 weeks prior, to i) as a guide to whoever have friends struggling the same, ii) as a motivator to friends who are sufferers.
This post is only visible to selected few, mostly very close friends, runner friends and MADC, as I have never been open about this except to very very very selected few. I've decided to be open today to allow people to understand the struggle this thing brings. 
If you want to go straight to the KL Marathon phase, go to THE KL MARATHON sub-chapter. 

BACKGROUND

I have an Anxiety Disorder (AD) under the category of "Cyclic Anxiety Disorder". This was diagnosed not by a psychiatrist, but by agreement between two cardiologists and myself. I have my reasons for now why I don't want to meet a psychiatrist, as those I know who have met them are always prescribed drugs (long-term) and I for one don't want to be dependant.
My AD comes once every three months or so in the past one year (was slower previous years) and when it comes, I'll be suffering from heightened and elevated heart rate, many panic attacks (sometimes three times a day) for at least 7-15 days depending on how long my episode takes. If you want to know how a panic attack feels like, I wrote an FB post earlier describing it.... here.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10155420531691149

After facing 7-15 days of constant Panic Attacks, the body will usually be quite weak and exhausted for the next two weeks after, and thus disrupt my ability to train properly for my runs.
Why I'm writing what I'm writing today is because, I belong to an online community "Malaysia Anxiety Disorder Community" and have seen TOO MANY sufferers having to stop their favourite and passionate sports because they fear the anxiety gets the best of them during these activity. Because the activity involves sweating and elevated heart rate, it is scary. Panic attack makes you live and experience your greatest fear, and for most, it's a heart attack situation.  

TRAINING FOR KL MARATHON

I train for KL Marathon for 10 weeks, but already upped the weekly mileage 4 weeks prior to that.

• Week -6 = 30km (Start of Dec AD episode)
• Week -5 = 10km (Ongoing AD episode)
• Week -4 = 43km (Recovered but weak)
• Week -3 = 44km (Feel better)
• Week -2 = 49km
• Week -1 = 56km (Twincity Marathon)
• Week 0 = 29km
• Week 1 = 57km
• Week 2 = 61km
• Week 3 = 74km
• Week 4 = 55km
• Week 5 = 65km
• Week 6 = 77km
• Week 7 = 57km (Start of March AD episode)
• Week 8 = 44km (Ongoing AD episode, lots of walking)
• Week 9 = ZERO km (Failure to Recover)
• Week 10 = 5km + KL Marathon

THE DRUG CALLED LEXAPRO

During the December episode, my doctor gave me an option to go on a calming drug called Lexapro throughout the duration of my episode. Due to it being an option, I didn't take it and went through my episode like a man. Haha...

At the end of Week 7 of training, when I was doing my treadmill suddenly my head feels funny. Like a migraine about to come but didn't throughout the run. Was supposed to do 7km but I stopped at 2.4km. Then I realised my heart rate refused to go down. From 145bpm after the run, it goes to 110bpm during sitting, but as long as I stand or walk, I feel woozy and it elevates around 122bpm - 136bpm. I knew the next episode is coming.

The next few days are pure torture with panic attacks two to three times a day. I try to find time to train in between the attacks, which is not good as heart rate remains elevated. I went to see my cardiologist again, and for the 3rd time in three months another EKG (he just layan so that I feel better) and several other check-ups. As usual, all clear. He then asked me what's coming up, I said I have a marathon in 3 weeks.

This time, he asked me to start the Lexapro. A calming drug, with many many many side effects that I may have. I'm to take it at 10pm nightly. Side effects that have been reported includes drowsiness, dizziness; sleep problems (insomnia);

mild nausea, gas, heartburn, upset stomach, constipation;

weight changes; decreased sex drive, impotence, or difficulty having an orgasm; or dry mouth, yawning, ringing in your ears.

The first night was ok, but second to fifth night I wake up without fail at 1am, 3:30am and 5am with panic attacks. Throughout most morning, I feel vomit-ty and dizzy, only to be ok in the noon till evening and start again late evening. I updated the doc on my condition and he said the dizziness will subside. I read about other people's experiences, some improved within 3 days, while others takes weeks to adapt. But I listened to my doc.

To cut the story short, I continued Lexapro with no more panic attacks (perhaps episode ended), but doctor said to take it all the way till marathon day, so I followed. However, the dizziness never went away, which is why my two weeks before marathon I couldn't even train. Two days before the marathon I ran 5km with elevated heart rate and funny feeling in my head. Doc told me to eat the meds earlier before marathon day, and I took it at 8pm.

THE KL MARATHON

I started in Pen 5, alongside good running buddies Rezduan Bakar, Reza Akmal, Azariah Hapadz, and captain Hakim Raj. Heart rate looks ok. The gun fires, we walked to the start arch and started running.

Within less than 200m, I felt faint, dizzy, and then my vision blacked out. I totally stopped running and went to the left side and squatted. Heart rate soared to 153bpm (85% MHR) from 110bpm. I wanted to just walk back and DNF. I remembered, when we train, we must stop if we feel faint or dizzy. I stayed put for a while and contemplated my next decision. I tried to run again, but everytime I float (running where both legs don't touch the ground), I start getting blacked out again.

Seeing that the heart rate regulated down to 120bpm when I'm just standing, I decided to just walk and see what happens. I have to accept, the Lexapro side-effect is causing this. So I walked, at 82%-85% of my maximum heart rate which I feel so ridiculous. It doesn't come down. So I ended up walking for an entire 8km before I started seeing the MHR going down below 75%. I believe then the body has flushed out some of yesterday's drugs.

Now I can finally run, and run I did. Despite the sudden soar of HR again but this time no dizziness. I decided to maintain a walk-run, just to get the marathon done. My 5hr 20min target I throw out the window already by now. I ran till the heart rate reaches 89%, then walk till 86% and repeat. Later stages I let it go to 92% and then walk till 86% and repeat.

At km40, the dizziness came again full swing. I went to the side of the road, leaned against the fence. Rested for about 3-5 mins, and then decided to just walk it home. Don't want to DNF just 2km from finish. Alhamdulillah, despite the constant walking, I finished at a better time than my Twincity Marathon. Completed at 5hr:59m:37s.

After the finish line and collecting my finishers, I sat at the side of the road and then lied down. I left after half an hours rest.

THE AFTERMATH

I stopped taking Lexapro as doc asked only to take till Saturday. My next challenge is that "withdrawal syndrome" of stopping the drug. Luckily, no effect.

IN FACT, I slept like a baby last three days. Last night I didn't wake up in the middle of the night at all.

MOVING FORWARD

I have decided to just mentally and spiritually solve my quarterly episodes, just live through it, and recover. It seems that the drug caused more harm than good on me. There's always that "What-if". What if I didn't start the Lexapro, I might have been weaker, but perhaps do a much better timing. Lesson learned. My mind is stronger right now than needing to rely on any drugs.

ABOUT ANXIETY DISORDER / PANIC DISORDER

There is always a root cause for ADPD, usually for those who don't know, a psychiatrist will assist to find it and assist us to solve it. On my case, this disorder started ever since I had the accident in 2011 where I smashed my head at two different areas of the windscreen, even seat-belted and air-bag deployed. At about 90kmh to a suddenly stop, it affected my body quite badly. I couldn't walk for two weeks, and can't get up from a squat for 4 years.

Now the docs are saying that I have a "hormonal secretion" in my head that reaches its peak every few months that causes the episodes. It is not a Generalized AD where sufferers go through it 24/7.

I do hope sufferers reading this will attempt to go back to their hobbies and sports, but restart slow. Accept the panic attack when it comes. It will come, we have no choice but to go through it, and then recover and come back to the sport. We really cannot, and must not lose to this mental challenge.

Running Shoes Mileage (11 May 2014)

First Running Shoes - Blue Adidas Adizero

I can't remember who bought this shoes, but it was in early 2012, before I even started running that I got this shoes. It was used primarily on treadmill.

Amazingly, this shoes have hit the mileage of 956.75km. Way past it's intended mileage of about 700-800kms, but since it is used on treadmill, the wear and tear is hardly there. I used it once for Penang Bridge International Marathon, and it killed my feet since it hardly has any cushion. It's a block of near solid one-inch sole at the bottom. I guess that it why it still wears well. Will continue wearing this until it really need to expire.

Second Running Shoes - Yellow Adidas Adizero Feather 2

My wife bought this on my birthday in 2013. It was supposed to debut in the Dragonback Run 2013 but I didn't have enough time to warm-up in it that I didn't risk bringing it out for that race. The first race it debutted was for Melawati Run (after taking it out three times for training) and did quite well at an average pace of 6:34min/km.

This in the end becomes my main race shoes due to its lightness. Total mileage on the shoes right now is 453.43km. I was thinking of retiring it last year after I had it running in the rain for a whole 21km, but after drying it and testing it out for BSN Putrajaya Night Run 2013 and it held well, I decided against retiring it till probably hitting 600-700km. 

Third Running Shoes - Blue Sketchers GoRun 2

This pair of running shoes is supposed to be a mid-landing shoe, means to promote me from landing on my heels which I don't generally do at all unless totally exhausted. My dad bought this for me early May 2013. It is a minimalist shoe in my opinion, except for the extra padded center sole. 

I used it to train for my first Marathon, doing 24km and then 30km and developed a bad plantar faciitis on both times. This is probably due to the constant landing on the padded center sole. Due to that, I decided to only to run in this shoes for a maximum of 21km at one go. The mileage I collected thus far on this shoes are 320.36km. It is still a good shoe to use for perhaps another 200++ km.

Fourth Running Shoes - Green Adidas Sonic Boost

This shoes was bought by my wife on 27th October 2013. This ended up to be my first cushioned shoes. It was challenging at first due to the hardness of the shoe. I can't easily flex it to how my feet wants it to be while running and landed hard each time.

After several weeks I was able to find the sweet spot for how to land properly using this shoes. Due to that, this became my main outdoor road training shoes and even used it for the difficult Nuang Ultra which i didn't qualify for the distance to considered a finisher. Total mileage on this shoes so far is 236.83km and funnily, the areas beside the shoe-tongue has gotten some wear and tear. Fastest of all my shoes so far. However this shoes have got at least another 400km++ before it is retired.

Fifth Running Shoes - Blue Brooks Pure Cadence

This shoes was bought from Running Lab, Tropicana City Mall, by my sister who bought it for me as a birthday present for 2014. 

I've only taken it out once for a 5.04km run. It hurts my plantar but I guess, similar to the Sonic Boost, I will need to program my feet on how to properly utilise this shoes. Will start using it this week during training runs. 

Towards a sub-60 mins 10km

Background

Penang Bridge International Marathon 2013 has got to be the worst race I ever endured. It was my third full marathon, whereby 4 weeks prior it was the BSN Night Marathon 2013 and three weeks prior to that was my maiden marathon, the KL Marathon 2013.

If I wanted to blame it on fatigue, I cannot. It was not fatigue, it was going out too fast int he first half of the marathon. You see, the first two marathons, I had a running buddy till 24km and a running buddy till the end of the race respectively. It kept me good during the first half for "conversational pace". I had thought that going on a 3-mins run and 1-min walk would simulate a "conversation pace" but as I reached 21km within 2h:45m, I was certain I will get in trouble. My last two marathon, I reached half-way point at about 3h:10m and 3h:08m respectively. By 23rd km, I was reduced to walking from muscle fatigue and dehydration from salty air.

So, I had a full 19km of walking to re-evaluate my run for 2013. I started running my first non-stop 1min in April 2012, entered my first 10km race end Oct 2012 finishing at 1h:13m and have achieved a Personal Best in 10km just a week after the KL Marathon. I managed that because I put on 3kg for KL Marathon in full preparation for it, both in nutrition and mileage and finished rather strongly, having the muscle sore kept to a minimum. The next day, I woke up with sores similar to running a 10km race. I wasn't fatigue entering the 10km IJM Run to make my PB.

I am also a follower of several amateur blogs, and one of it is a Malaysian Blogger who started out like me one year before me. And his progress is tremendous. Of course, he has a running club he joins that pushes him a lot, but, to see him moving from a 1h:16m to a 54min runner in less than a year motivates me.

The Plan

So there I was, contemplating my run. I'm not yet a two-years runner, so my running base is not established. Research shows that a runner needs two years of constant running to build a strong base. Heck, even now I'm still 3 months short of my running base target. 

What I discovered and accepted was that, in my rush to run a Full Marathon, I concentrated on endurance and totally neglected improving my speed. My speed improved on its own due to muscle building from hill repeats on treadmill, and enduring tempo run within races. But it wasn't enough. 

So I made a plan to myself. I want to concentrate on speed building for 10km and achieve a sub-60mins by 30 April. Following that, I will go back to endurance training to complete my BSN Marathon within 6 hours, hopefully sub 5h:45m.

I scoured the Internet for teaining schedules, and actually settled for Endomondo's training program.

The Schedule (Started 29th November)

The training schedule, to put it simply, is a speedwork on Tuesdays, tempo on Saturdays and LSD on Sundays. My usual 10km speed is 6:50mins/km. In short it looked like this: -

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - 8 sets 400m repeats at 5:05min/km (400m recover at 6:55min/km)

Wednesday - Easy Run 5km

Thursday - Easy Run 6km

Friday - Rest

Saturday - 2-3 sets 1.2km repeats at 5:20min/km and after a few weeks,....

                     10mins at 6:55min/km, 40mins at 6:05min/km and 10mins at 6:55min/km

Sunday - 13km at 6:55min/km

Now, I am not a super training man. I have my laziness issues as well, but I always try my best to meet the 3 main runs per week, and so I did. I did my speedwork and tempo on treadmill where I can easily monitor my speed and distance on the machine. However, I'm always a set short, or a 10mins tempo short due to tiredness. But then, I'm happy to note that I am being trained to run at a speed that is not too crazy but will eventually make my legs, muscles, lungs and heart adapt.

Reaching the Target

I wanted to test my 10km during the KL Road Race 2014, but it doesn't seem that it will be on this year. Seeing Larian Gegar UM 10km early May, I signed up for that instead as my 10km trial.

On 18th January, which is exactly 50 days after I started speed improvement training, I was pleasantly surprised during my Sunday LSD at the park, when my first km was below 6:20/km and the following km was the same. The effort I placed when running was similar to an effort of an easy run. So I thought to myself, let's push it.

At his time, I have also bought myself a Garmin Watch that has many alerts, so I placed an alert to tell me if my pace is faster than 5:50min/km so that I don't go too fast. 

To put it simply, I stopped for water at 3km and 6km and finished a 9.97km (yes, 30 meters short) at 1h:01m:52s, beating my previous PB by nearly two minutes. I shared my glee with Doc Jef, a running friend. He said that I could easily break my sub-60 as long as I pushed myself harder.

On 30th January, I was at MMU Track and Field alone, without any of my colleague runners, so I gunned it. I maintained as much as possible to keep a 6-minuter, and by the last two km, I pushed harder to end my first sub-60 at 59m:13s. 

As this is a flat course, I won't consider it official. It will remain a personal PB, but we will see the real test in May. By then I hope it will be a sub-58.

My Race Routine

I am documenting this now, for friend's references and my own future reference how much I would change from this routine once I'm more experienced in Full Marathons. For now, this is my race routine since I started my half marathon until my 5th marathon which didn't change. Those that change I will note in the blog.


One Week Prior to Run
If I am running a 10km race, I will go on my usual weekly routine, which is to run on a Tuesday, optional Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. If I am running a 21km race, it is still the same except that my Saturday run will just be a 3km to get my engines moving.

Hydration will be important, to keep hydrated throughout the week and on Saturday is heavier hydration especially for 21km.


A Day Prior to Run
Early in the morning, will do a treadmill of 3km at a pace I would want to use in the 21km. For a 10km race, I will still do my usual Saturday run of between 6km-8km.

Zero changes to diet, except for 21km I'd go on a pasta lunch and down a bottle of 100 Plus.

At night, the following routine: -

1. Pin my bib on my race attire, place the timing chip on my shoes (if needed)
2. Place my running clothes, shorts on a hanger outside my cupboard
3. Place my heart-rate monitor and SPI Belt containing one Energy Gel (for 10km) or three Energy Gels (for 21km)
   
   SPI Belt
   
   
   
   Polar Heart-Rate Monitor
   
   
4. Sleep as early as I can

Morning of Run
For both 10km and 21km, my morning routine is same. I will wake up and have myself breakfast shake of a meal replacement (for me is Nutrilite Positrim) and two scoops of protein (Nutrilite All Plant protein powder).

First meal of the day

Then will make my Milo 3-in-1 in the same shaker bottle and have a bath.

My energy for the first few km

I will wear ALL my runnings clothes except for running shoes and head out the door. My target will always to reach the starting line half hour or more from race time. Will take my ablution if the race starts prior to Subuh.

Arrival at the parking, I will down my Milo. Change to my running shoes. Head to the starting line and start warm-ups and stretching. Since I'm not heading for top ten position, I will be one of the last in the crowd during start off. Once I am crossing the start line, my endomondo (gps tracking of my run) gets switched on and my heart-rate switched on.


First 2km of Run
I go into "pilot in a mech" mode. I will do a slow jog until my heart rate reaches 120bpm and then will push to my usual pace. I will check on the following in these exact order: -

1. Running Form Check - Landing on mid-foot, proper lean and posture, bent knees.
2. Cadence Check - Count every right-foot steps for a minute and double it. Should be between 170-190 steps per minute.
3. Tension Check - Shoulders relaxed, fist not clenching too hard (I recheck after every water stop)
4. Breathing Check - For now it's three steps of breath-in and two steps of breath-out (I re-check after every water stop)
5. Heart Rate Check - I try to maintain a heart-rate of 162-168bpm throughout my run, which is 85% to 90% of my maximum heart rate.

Throughout the Run

My first energy gel is usually consumed at the second water station (6th km) whereby the energy should kick in by the 8th km onwards.

The earlier km energies are all supplied from the Milo I drank earlier. If I'm running a 10km, I would decide whether I really need the energy or not. Usually I don't take any energy gel for a 10km nowadays. My second energy gel is consumed at the fifth water station for 21km, which is usually on the 15th km.

For 10km, I double check on my time every 5th km to decide if I should increase my pace or not. For 21km, I will double check on my time every 7th km to ensure that I'm still on a correct pace. So there are 3 sets of 7km to finish a 21km. For now the 3rd set of a 21km is always a lot slower than the first two sets.

I will usually pick a pacer early in the run. If a pacer is too fast that makes me want to go for a walk break, I will slow down and find another pacer. If a pacer is too slow, I will know it myself because I will actually have to slow down my pace and my heart-rate goes below 162bpm. I will sometimes walk at the water station and wait for the pacer to start running again before following him/her again.

If I'm on a run-walk strategy, then I will not pick a pacer and instead run according to heart-rate.

For now, I stop at every water station.


Ending the Run
I will always try to finish the race strong, that is, on a sprint with head held high. Once I cross the finish line, I will switch off my endomondo and heart-rate monitor, then proceed to get my drink and breakfast and head to some location where I will place all my items on the ground/seat and do my stretching.

I don't end my runs with hands up since I won't hit a ribbon. :D

After the stretching, I will sit down and have my breakfast. Within half an hour, if I'm not waiting for runner friends, I will drive off to go home.

New Balance HM - My Race Report

 

Back when I registered for this race, it was just another 'feather in the cap' for a 21km race for 2013. However, as the time nears, I was certain that I was under-prepared. This is because my last "above 10km" run was the Penang Series #2 on 7th July, and only have had one 10km run and four 5km runs since then.

Therefore, I gave myself a modest target of 2hrs 45mins to complete the race, but what turned out was a great run. The only sad thing is that it's short of the complete HM distance by 500metres, therefore I cannot claim a new PB.

In short, I completed 20.62km in 2hrs 27mins 13 secs. Which in terms of pace, it's a 7.08min/km compared to my 7.30min/km and above pace for my other four HMs. Nevertheless, I will still maintain my old PB for now.

The Start

I arrived Setia Alam Convention Centre at 5:45am to have the race commence at 6:15am. First place to head to is the surau for Subuh prayers. Had to wait for the first batch to complete their prayers as the surau was full. Made it to the starting line at 6:10am.

There were about 1,700 runners for the HM. As usual, I decided to start somewhere at the back of the pack. I was so sure that my body is not ready for the HM that I walked, skipped (if I had a basket of flower petals, I'd be tossing them to my sides) and jogged as if I was trying to keep my feet dry from a wet floor.

I kept my heart rate between 158-162bpm during my first 5km on purpose to save energy. I took my first energy gel, a Chocolate x1 PowerGel after the 2nd water station. I always seem to favor the thickness of this

flavor for my first energy consumption.

The Middle

In my previous HMs, I've came to a conclusion that to do a sub 2:30, all I needed to do was to maintain a 7km every 50mins. As I knew that my km's have been above 7km, I didn't care much for this until my endomondo told me that my time was 49mins at 7th km. Hey, that's not so much of a speed being under prepared. I was on track. So, I decided to find a pacer to follow.

I found an uncle in yellow, he was too fast that I felt I wanted to do a walk break quite early. In short, I settled for a friends couple. They were doing a steady 7min/km and chit-chatting. So, from 7th km till 12thkm, I didn't stop (except for water) and I was quite pleased at that. I would have gone for walk-run tactic after the 6th km if it was any other race (even the 16km Mizuno Wave!). At the 3rd water station, I downed a x2 caffeine PowerGel. That's it. Two gels for 21km. I wonder how many I would need for an FM.

After the 12th km, the guy of the couple went ahead, and the lady of the couple started to slow down. I took a photo of her right before I passed her by. Incidentally, the other lady at the front ended up being another pacer in the near future. We'll call her "pink right-leg girl".

After I passed the lady on the right (in the photo), I followed two dudes in blue but soon enough they slowed down. Then I followed another uncle, and he too started to slow down. I saw a guy ran in the opposite directly to have the pink right-leg girl hold his hands and they sped off. I continued another 2km following a bald older man till the man slowed down and I arrived at the couple of the pink right-leg girl and her bf. 

At 14th km, the time was 1hr 39mins. That's keeping to my 7km/50mins which translate to 21km = 2:30 so I saw that suddenly I was on target to complete a sub 2:30. But easier said than done since I always faced cramps at my 18th km onwards.

The Finishing

At about the 18th km, my pacer broke off, with the guy going in front and the girl got left behind and I ran passed her trying to follow in the steps of the guy. By the 19th km, he turned back, I guess to get back to his girlfriend and lo and behold, in front of me I saw the one-armed guy who I was running alongside throughout most of my Mizuno Wave. While I passed him during the last 200m of the Mizuno Wave, I lost sight of him in the last km when he sped off.

The route turned into the park of Setia Alam mall and the finishing was on the grassy path. The time on the clock stated 1:29:?? when I crossed and I was elated! Except, I knew, it wasn't 21km yet. It's ok.

Every improvement, no matter how slight, is still an improvement.

Summary

I didn't arrive at any cramping symptom until I finished the race. Previous attack and a full cramp hit me at 18th or 19th km. So I guess I did something right. The only NEW THING I introduced to myself in this race is the breathing technique I started to use during Ramadhan. To take three steps to inhale, and two steps to exhale. Previously, it was two steps inhale and a looong continuous exhale in a few steps. I guess the higher intake of oxygen helped the muscles. I don't know. I'm just guessing.

This is the first time that: -

1. I did not fall into a walk-run routine until the 19th km when I really started to tire. It was a nice 3-4km non-stop run before every water stop.
2. None of my pace was above 8min/km. The last time I achieved this was 26th January for 13km.

Complete Runs for 2013

Back in 1992 and in 1994 (Form 2 and Form 4), I ran for Merdeka Run. Then in 2002 I ran for a Subang Jaya 10km which I finished last after I decided just to walk it from 3rd km onwards. I have always been a sprinter 100m and 200m back in school days, but running a mere 400m makes me vomit afterwards.

Fast forward to 2012, as I started losing weight from 93.6kg to 73.6kg from April 2012 to August 2012, I took up a "Couch to 5km" which I completed in September 2012, and started to try registering for a run. My first run ended up being the Desa Parkcity Run 2012. Logically, I should be doing this as an annual run for a "check-up on my performance", but seeing that it's one week AFTER the Penang Bridge Run, I'd decided to skip it. I was too late to register for any other races in 2012 at that time.

Now in 2013, I joined nearly all the races I can. Yeah, a new runner's fallacy. Too caught up in the excitement of running. However, I made sure of the following.... priority is injury-free first and foremost, and proper running form and economics second, personal bests can come later. That's why my target has been a slight improvement every time.

Few more things I need to achieve before I can put all out on improvement. I'm very very scientific in my approach. I'm like those people... heck, it even shows in my cooking. I prefer to prepare ALL the necessary ingredients in respective bowls before I start to light the fire. In running it seems to be the same. Few other areas I need to improve is my breathing (I'm going for 3-steps of breath-in and 2-steps of breath-out) and finding a speed that will enable me to run non-stop 10km on road. I have done it on treadmill, but still can't find the proper pace on road.

Anyway, here are my races for 2013.

I decided to run with someone else's bib for Standard Chartered KL Marathon. I consider it a 42km LSD. I don't consider this my maiden Full Marathon.

Here's to a crazy time after my Hari Raya. 2014 I will try my best to only go for those above 10km only, with maybe one or two 10km just to see if I can go sub-60.


Summary of Things to Improve:
1. Breathing while running (taking a 3-steps breath-in and 2-steps breath-out)
2. Constant forefoot strike or mid-strike even when tired, since I always go heelstrike when tired.
3. Slow-down on pace for a 10km. I will still keep to my run-walk-run for 21km.

Penang Run 2013 - 2014 Series #2/#4 (Teluk Kumbar - Balik Pulau) Race Report

There will be no photos in this report as compared to the first serie. The night before I drove through the first 10km of the race and found that from 3rd to 5th km, it is a slow incline up to 180meters, and it does look as if we're going to start running up Cameron Highlands.

The Start
At first I wanted to get to the finishing line by 4:00pm to utilize their shuttle bus back to the start line, however when I woke up at 3:30am, I had a massive headache. I didn't sleep though, just rested, took a bath and then by 4:30am I'm out of the homestay at Kampung Titi Teras, Balik Pulau.

Arrived at 5:00am, I waited a bit before walking to the start line. Met an old friend there, I had already taken my ablution but I shook her hand anyway. The start was quiet. No shouting of rules and regulation, no music, just a countdown and we're off.

I ran on the average of below 6min/km till the hill started, and I decided to do something I've never done in a race before. Walk for 3km. And so I did. Runners ran passed me, but I still maintain the walk and ended up having about 8++min/km on that 3kms. As it turns to downhill, I sped up and had about 5:30min/km on the next two kms after that.


The Middle
The route is, how I would say, boring. The scenic part is only at the first 6km but at 5:30am to 6:00am, there's hardly any view to enjoy. I had a stop to pray Subuh at a mosque, then I had my first energy gel at km6 and another one at km15. I was not really ready for this distance this time because it's been two weeks since I did any LSD due to the haze, so at that km15 water-stop, I requested for muscle spray but all the guy had was just Yoko-Yoko. I had that applied and continued on the race, but it didn't help.

In terms of my "similar time mates", I was running with a group of two guys and three girls who kept cutting each other over the kms. What I noticed is that while the two guys were like me, whereby we take walk breaks, two of the girls didn't seem to stop except at the water station.


The Finishing
Right after I crossed the 20km mark, I had my cramps. Had to hobble all the way to finish the 22km race, however I still manage to create a new PB of 2hours 35mins and 21secs, beating about 2 minutes from my previous Half Marathon PB. However, due to the walk, it actually took me more than 9 mins to finish km22.

I walked passed the finish line, took my medal, nasi lemak, bread, drink and placed them on the field while I stretched to cool down. Then I sat and ate, and later.... as expected, there were no taxi. Ended up walking about 2km towards Balik Pulau town and luckily a good samaritan sent me to my car and I insisted on paying him a token of a sum of money.


Summary
This race has nothing to shout about. Finished the race at 50% bottom percentile again. I hope to buck up as I do more half marathons.