Putrajaya Night Marathon
UPDATE: OMG. My training just told me I AM THE FIRST SINGAPOREAN FEMALE FOR THE HALF MARATHON AND THAT I CAME IN 17TH OVERALL IN THE WOMEN'S OPEN CATEGORY AND WON RM200!!!
So I did my first race of 2010 and it was a first on many fronts - the first overseas race for me (Putrajaya Night Marathon), first night marathon in Malaysia, first half marathon of the year...
I flew into KL on Friday afternoon and checked into the chic boutique Piccolo Hotel where I was given an upgrade to an executive King room. Woot! I scored a king sized bed, living area and a room so big I could do cartwheels (assuming I knew how to do them).
Friday evening was spent wandering around Bukit Bintang and shopping at Pavilion. Sat I moseyed over to KLCC where I had a leisurely brunch at Dome before more shopping. Pasta and bread for lunch (yes last minute carbo loading!), a nana nap, and I was off to Putrajaya for the race.
All I can say is that the terrain for this race is not for amateurs. I'd planned to maintain 5:20 per km and for the first three kms I was on target. Then the first slope came into view. And I thought, ok, one slope, I can do this. But no sooner had we finished the first slope when more slopes came into view. The entire route probably had 5-6 slopes? Some were not very steep in incline but they were LOOONG. Coupled with running on the expressway, the glare of the streetlights, the extreme humidity, the heat from the tarmac, the stillness of the air, it was a very tedious, physically and mentally challenging route. Thank goodness for my ipod or I would have gone insane!
The slopes killed it for me as all that bending forward to go upwards resulted in my ab muscles cramping up in the last two kms. Nonetheless, I gave it my all and ran hard and fast towards the finishing line. Time? 2:08. Worst ever timing for a half marathon. But frankly, I don't feel bad about it given the terrain. It makes Standard Chartered look like a walk in the park! As my trainer said, this is not the race for a personal best but it is good training. I couldn't agree more.
So now I'm all psyched and pumped to have cleared a half marathon for my first race of 2010 and looking forward to the rest!
So I did my first race of 2010 and it was a first on many fronts - the first overseas race for me (Putrajaya Night Marathon), first night marathon in Malaysia, first half marathon of the year...
I flew into KL on Friday afternoon and checked into the chic boutique Piccolo Hotel where I was given an upgrade to an executive King room. Woot! I scored a king sized bed, living area and a room so big I could do cartwheels (assuming I knew how to do them).
Friday evening was spent wandering around Bukit Bintang and shopping at Pavilion. Sat I moseyed over to KLCC where I had a leisurely brunch at Dome before more shopping. Pasta and bread for lunch (yes last minute carbo loading!), a nana nap, and I was off to Putrajaya for the race.
All I can say is that the terrain for this race is not for amateurs. I'd planned to maintain 5:20 per km and for the first three kms I was on target. Then the first slope came into view. And I thought, ok, one slope, I can do this. But no sooner had we finished the first slope when more slopes came into view. The entire route probably had 5-6 slopes? Some were not very steep in incline but they were LOOONG. Coupled with running on the expressway, the glare of the streetlights, the extreme humidity, the heat from the tarmac, the stillness of the air, it was a very tedious, physically and mentally challenging route. Thank goodness for my ipod or I would have gone insane!
The slopes killed it for me as all that bending forward to go upwards resulted in my ab muscles cramping up in the last two kms. Nonetheless, I gave it my all and ran hard and fast towards the finishing line. Time? 2:08. Worst ever timing for a half marathon. But frankly, I don't feel bad about it given the terrain. It makes Standard Chartered look like a walk in the park! As my trainer said, this is not the race for a personal best but it is good training. I couldn't agree more.
So now I'm all psyched and pumped to have cleared a half marathon for my first race of 2010 and looking forward to the rest!