29 June 2010

Full Marathon : Checked!


I was very ambitious enough to aim a sub-5 finish as i learned most newbies finish more than 5 hours on their 1st full marathon attempt. Despite that, instead of following the 5 hours pacer, i followed the 4 hours pacer so if i fall behind, it would be still within sub 5 hours time. It's more like a safety net mechanism for me to materialise my goal. But if it is more than  5 hours i would still be more than contented completing it. After all, it's my maiden full marathon, finishing it alone, regardless of time clocked,  would still make me feel like a million buck..

It rained for the 1st 10km. Quite hard but not torrential. Something that i have always wondered how does it feel like running in the rain on a race day. I found it very relaxing and chilling. At the initial phase of the course, i feel like i have run an indefinite eternity only to discover that i have only covered 5km! dang! It meant that i had to cover 8 more eternities to complete the whole course. Double dang!

1st half of the course was ran good. My limbs were doing great and energy level was still good (thanx to 5 bananas that i walloped before the race) and there were no signs of cramps as yet. I ran the normal pace that i used to run during LSDs. Not too pushing and not too laid back. 

The 21km marker was at Jalan Bukit Bintang where it came with a digital timer. It indicated 2hours and 8minutes the moment i passed the marker. I quickly made a mental calculation that if i could maintain current (at that time) stride and pace, i could clock a sub 4.30 hours timing. i restrategized. i made it a point that i must run between 4 hours pacers and 4.30 hours pacers in order to finish below 4.30 hours. Taking into accounts potential cramps, lethargy and time taken at every water station breaks, i had a leeway of 2 hours of 22 minutes to achieve my new target time.

It was at kilometer 27  that i felt presence of cramps on my both legs. It was mild ones on right limb and hard ones on my left achille's heel, calf and thigh. I never experienced cramps before, not even during LSDs, probably because my LSD never passed the 25km wall. The cramps were kinda throbbing and at the same time jolting and stretching the muscle hard. Thank god, they were not acute that i have to completely stop running and nurse them.

From there onwards, i ran cautiously. I couldnt stretch my legs for bigger stride to reduce the frequency of cramps. I made it mandatory to stop at every water station to replenish the lost electrolyte with 100 plus drinks and at medical aid team to apply ointments on my cramped limbs. It was indeed a run driven by mental strength the moment the cramps reared its ugly heads.

As my mental strength was at its lowest along the tijani stretch, the sight of julie wong, kash and rais at KM36 really gave me a mental boost. These people are  angels  in disguise. They cheered, they came out with motivational placards, they even distributed drinks and foods to runner friends. All in the name of love and passion for running. God bless them!

KM 35 till KM 40 is the playground of RBUs where we used to happily frolicking and gallivanting while exchanging anecdotes and jokes in our LSD session. But this time around, the stretch was passed by rather strugglingly with mental mantra i.e, u can do it, bring it on, sikit je lagi, relentless forward motion etc. By this time the sun has risen, the heat has depleted the energy level tremendously and occurrence of cramps has become more often. All i wanted at that time was to see the finishing arch.

But not so fast, it is not over until it is really over, the finishing arch would have to wait . At KM 40, runners were made to run uphill into Kementerian Kerja Raya only to do a u-turn at the mid-climb. It was totally a mental torture, why oh why must the organizer do this to us? why? jerit hati kecilku.LOL! i plodded on. i dared not to take walk-breaks as i was afraid that i would surpass 4.30hrs time. 

The turning to Jalan TAR was somehow a breath of fresh air. the  physical lethargy, the mental exhaustion and the cramps strangely disappeared. The turning converged all runner from all categories. Suddenly there was merriment in the air. An atmosphere so festive that triggered me to run with head held up high towards the finishing line as if my limbs were as good as new.

i lost my full marathon cherry the moment i crossed the finish line. I did it!. It was an epic run for me. Epic enough for a john doe like  me. It was indeed an episode to remember in my life. An achievement that i would never thought of earning before.


I thank Allah for giving me good health that has enabled me to complete this epic race injury free. I would like to attribute this personal achievement of mine to the  support systems (RBUs, FMVs, Kaki Lariks, AdiNation Runners) that has strengthened my belief that full marathon is doable. You guys are the coolest! I am also thankful to myself for having the bravado to take this marathon challenge as i badly need something to be proud of myself. Here's to many FM races to come, insyaAllah!

verdict : 42.195km - 4 hours and 27 mins (PB @ PW)
ranking : 344

23 comments:

  1. First!!!! And then good job syed! Proud of your achievement. You sure you lost a cherry and no a banana? lol ... see you around more full marathons ya

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  2. Ahh Yim! u beat me .. Syed, kak june so proud of you, its a great achievement, trust me you sudah sayur some of strong runners I know with your new pb/pw nih .. walk proud (tempang tak??) hope our next gathering u can make it !

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  3. No #2 pun pun not bad actually !

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  4. alamak, if only I didn't stop at Giant just now, I wuld have ben first heheh

    CONGRATS Syed! and blardy well timed too!

    Here's toasting to more super marathons! clapclap!

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  5. bravo bravo orang kampong. makang mende gok buleh laghi lagu tuh?

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  6. Fuh! Ex-virgin now become champion already. Applause. Well done bro. You completed the journey with a blast.

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  7. Congrats bro! Kau dulu rumah Leman ke? Sure Leman House proud to have alum like you... heheheh...

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  8. congrats!! and with awesome timing too... sighs... why am I not a guy?? you look very happy and you deserve it... i dont know what else to write but yeah!

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  9. See, I knew you'd be fast just like Nasi Ayam boy.. haha..but you're faster!!
    So happy for you :)

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  10. yim - TQ bro! i lost a cherry and 6 bananas in effort to finish my maiden FM. LOL!

    june - i am superproud of u too kak june!u are the solid core of FMVs in braving the challenge. InsyaAllah kita jumpa masa makan-makann anti

    diket&syah - TQ to the support system which consisted of u and fellow RBUs!

    shuk - TQ shuk! makang singgang ikang aye cicoh budu khenyek lade kechik before race..itu lah rahsianya.. LOL!

    deo - a'ah aku dulu leman house. eh kau pun leman house gak kan?

    nadia - thanks nadia! yeah, i am so happy that i want to wear finisher's tee 7 days straight.LOL!

    doc - TQ doc! i am happy on ur PB too!

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  11. Syed, bravo bravo! That's super fast for a 1st timer. More fm ahead of you, all the best bro! :)

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  12. Syed, you are my man! Putrajaya is proud of u :P Congrats on your first FM, with PB lah tu.. (pst, next your kena buat better than that eh?)

    See u around during next Adination training. This week malas nak pegi :P

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  13. Tahniah!! Truly powered by pisang. Will change from karipap to banana as my pre-meal run hehehe. That was an awesome timing bro. C u in other runs :)

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  14. wahh!! congratulations!!! bila lah i boleh run my first marathon? 5 km pun dah tercungap-cungap mcm ikan yg dah keluar dari air...

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  15. zaki - TQ zaki! i am impressed with your training regime

    ziff71 - TQ ziff! i've been an advocator of pisang as pre-race meal long ago.. vote pisang over power bar! *tetibe!

    che - TQ che. Putrajaya is equally proud of you too bro! good luck this weekend eh?

    kakmimi - it is actually doable. i masa start dulu pun rasa nak lari 5km tuh macam impossible sangat..u can do it kak!

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  16. Syed, aku pung make budu khenyek cili padi jugok, tapi takdok jadi kuak beghungga serupo mung pung... mung penyek lima nipih banyok ko sikik?

    gapo2 pung, i tabik spring to you bro... sub 4:30 for a first time marathon is a brave effort.

    Congrats! Dikaulah harapan RBU!

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  17. @Syed: fuiyo!! betul ke FMV ni? hehehehe. congrats! tahniah!

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  18. Tepuk tangan banyak2! Congrats. Sangat laju. Here's to more full marathons!

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  19. nik - owh, it doesnt stop at makang singgang and budu khenyek lade peroh lima, kena makang makjong gok sblm beghungga.. LOL! bro! u are equally good lah, had it not because of the loo-break, 4.30 pasti dalam genggaman!

    tsar - guilty as charged! sadly dah takleh claim FMV dah pasnih.. hehe.. will say hi to you if we bump into each other lepas ni

    khairul - khairul is KA rite? mana ada laju.. sub 4 baru lah laju bro.. heheh..nway thanks bro! u doing full at PBIM and SCMS gak ke?

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  20. yep, that's me. that's laju for me. haha. great job man. SCKLM was my 10th. doing shorter races until November. i'll be doing bangkok (sama time dengan PBIM), SCSM (boleh join dua kaki) and chiengmai on 26/12. total 9 FM this year. tapi x lah laju pun. more of a social and fitness type :)

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  21. hebak mung nih! tabek spring sket... zasss!

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  22. gila la lu syed!! laju!! berdesup!! power!!
    i need to train more, more, more..and more...nah...no time lah..

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  23. nije - takdelah hebat. selalu berlatih je. syukur kepada Allah yang memberikan kudrat. :)

    ijam- yeah! lets train more and more and more. nanti LSD sama-sama eh!

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