Putrajaya Night Run 2011

Last weekend was the Putrajaya Night Run 2011, in which I participated in the Half Marathon category. This would be my fourth half marathon since I started running early this year. I was quite apprehensive before the run as I was not able to clock enough miles as I would like in practice runs. Although I did do more cardio in the gym by using the cross trainer, in the hopes of tackling hills better. I must say cross trainer did give my legs a couple of good workouts similar to tough hills.

Anyways, I was talking to some other veteran runners getting some information on the Putrajaya Night Run. Those who did run in the previous year's run all said it had killer gradients and was very humid as it was city running (although it was a night). Well, there was only one way to find out, so sign up I did!

The journey getting to the venue was nightmarish as I was caught in a bad jam, really unnecessary stress before a race and I got there only about 15 minutes before the race. Note to self: ensure early arrival at race venue. As a result, I was quite flustered arriving at Putrajaya. I don't know about other runners, but I like to reach the venue early just to calm my nerves and do some self prep-talk :p So if you do see me muttering to myself with a very determined look on my face, just ignore it as my game face. Hahaha

The race started at 8.20pm and the journey was peppered with water and hydration every 3km. I must say, there were many entertainers to cheer us runners, from cheerleaders, a marching band, costumed superheros, musicians, etc along the way. That was something different and kudos to the organisers for keeping us runners motivated.

Throughout the race, I did not really notice the hills but what really got to me was the extreme heat and humidity. I was sweating buckets by the 3 km mark, which rarely happens to me because I do not break a sweat easily. When I do have practise runs at night in KL, I find the weather very cooling, but this was horrible, and worse than a morning run! I was doing good for the first half with an average pace of about 6 minutes per km, but felt really exhausted around the 12km mark. I think it was around the 14km that I got the feeling of a second wind coming around and I felt better and managed to pick up the pace a little bit. 

By then the heat was really getting to me and with the last 3km to go, I was just dying to end the race and get out of my sweaty and stuffy clothes. The last km sorta felt never ending. Unfortunately, although I felt throughout the race that I was doing it at a good pace, I only finished at 2:28, 3 minutes short of my intended goal. My overall position was number 55 out of 264 runners in my category. I am quite disappointed of not achieving my intended pace, but I suppose I only have myself to blame for not being committed enough in training. 

I guess it was a lesson well learnt, my next Half Marathon is on the 30th October, hopefully 2 weeks is sufficient for me to record a better time!