A review of the Penang Bridge Half Marathon is in order as I just did it yesterday! I am still on a highhhh :)
(so you can tell the race went well for me)
The weekend was turned into a roadtrip with my girlfriend, Esther Bester. And for those who don't know, Penang is well known as a foodie state in Malaysia! Good thing I don't live there, because I would probably pack on the pounds there!
Anyways, we left KL at 7a.m. and arrived at our hotel at 11.30am, after much turning around as we had no GPS. (Google maps is horrible btw). And two women with no map... oh boy :p But we found Georgetown Hotel finally and checked in, it was cheap, RM130 per night for both of us. The room was decently sized and furnished, so no complaints there. Only this was that the walls were pretty thin. So yes, lots of cardio activity could be heard, and also babies crying. We made equal amounts of noise, no, not what you are thinking, but merely laughing at our stupid jokes and insults at each other (winning insult was "Oi can you get your head out of your ass and not get lost")
At noon we went looking for lunch. Carbo-loading, yay! This has got to be the best nasi kandar I have had in a while.
I am not a big fan of rice, but wow, this was awesome (pics don't do justice) Please visit Restoran Hameediyah. (erm dunno which street, we were lost). After getting some cendol, we went back to the room to catch some snooze. Dinner was another awesome chinese meal. This time we went walking, for fear of getting lost again.
As the race will start at 3.15am, I went to bed about 8 and woke up at 11pm. We left the hotel before midnight as the roads leading to the venue will be closed by 1a.m.
Personally, I was quite disappointed with the organisation of the event. Coming from KL and thinking that this was an international event, I thought it would be a huge thing and professionally executed. Unfortunately, the organisers seemed a tad bit disjointed. They played techno for an hour before the flag off of the full marathon! At 1a.m., techno when you are about to run 42km, is not that inspiring really, imho. And, the MC was not very good at her job. Quite a bore actually and her English wasn't good, which again, if you claim to host an international event, it should be organised to international standards.
So anyways, I just plugged in my music and tried to sleep before 3a.m. We also went around taking pictures, as this was Esther's first time at a marathon. That lasted 15 minutes before the horrible music got to us and we just kinda zoned out.
Fast forward to the flag off at 3.15am and I was feeling pumped up. I started off at a good pace of below 6 minutes and after I think about 2 miles, we got to the bridge! I refused to look at the bridge sloping upwards. (for fear of losing heart at the hill). Instead I used 2 good tips I learnt from another seasoned runner:
1. Pick a person 20 -30 feet in front of you and pace that person and if you can, pass the person by. Continuously pick 'targets' along the way; and
2. Move your arms faster and your legs will follow. I did this on all the slopes :) really worked for me.
Based on my Nike run app, I did the first half below an hour! Out of the entire route, my pace was above 6 mins on average for 2kms, that is definitely a first for me!
After the turn on one side of the bridge, I caught up with the male runners from the HM category as they were flagged of 15 minutes earlier. Huaaahhhh I was so happy, I started picking more 'targets', then after the bridge, I noticed there were so few women, so the men were turning into 'boring targets'. Then I started picking out 'female targets'. This was harder as most of the women were faster than the men. I was in good spirits and did not slow down except for all the water breaks. I had one power gel at the 5km mark and another at the last 5km.
The last 1.5km was tiring but I still kept a pace of below 6 mins. This is by far, the strongest I felt in a race. Previously, I would be slowing down and going above 6 mins at the final few kilometres. I am not sure what is the reason for this newfound strength. Perhaps it is a combination of the tips, eating well and strength training :)
I passed the finishing line at 2:20:41 based on my Nike timing! Almost 5 minutes faster than my previous half marathon! A new personal best for my half marathon! All in all, I am so happy and pleased with my performance. This definitely makes me want to work out and train harder for 2012!
I was singing in the car on the way home, due to my runner's high, and Esther Bester drove us back to the hotel (took us 45 minutes as we got lost too). I slept for 2 hours and I remember dreaming of the race :)
Can't wait for my next half marathon in 2012! Until then, train hard!!
(so you can tell the race went well for me)
The weekend was turned into a roadtrip with my girlfriend, Esther Bester. And for those who don't know, Penang is well known as a foodie state in Malaysia! Good thing I don't live there, because I would probably pack on the pounds there!
Anyways, we left KL at 7a.m. and arrived at our hotel at 11.30am, after much turning around as we had no GPS. (Google maps is horrible btw). And two women with no map... oh boy :p But we found Georgetown Hotel finally and checked in, it was cheap, RM130 per night for both of us. The room was decently sized and furnished, so no complaints there. Only this was that the walls were pretty thin. So yes, lots of cardio activity could be heard, and also babies crying. We made equal amounts of noise, no, not what you are thinking, but merely laughing at our stupid jokes and insults at each other (winning insult was "Oi can you get your head out of your ass and not get lost")
At noon we went looking for lunch. Carbo-loading, yay! This has got to be the best nasi kandar I have had in a while.
As the race will start at 3.15am, I went to bed about 8 and woke up at 11pm. We left the hotel before midnight as the roads leading to the venue will be closed by 1a.m.
Personally, I was quite disappointed with the organisation of the event. Coming from KL and thinking that this was an international event, I thought it would be a huge thing and professionally executed. Unfortunately, the organisers seemed a tad bit disjointed. They played techno for an hour before the flag off of the full marathon! At 1a.m., techno when you are about to run 42km, is not that inspiring really, imho. And, the MC was not very good at her job. Quite a bore actually and her English wasn't good, which again, if you claim to host an international event, it should be organised to international standards.
Fast forward to the flag off at 3.15am and I was feeling pumped up. I started off at a good pace of below 6 minutes and after I think about 2 miles, we got to the bridge! I refused to look at the bridge sloping upwards. (for fear of losing heart at the hill). Instead I used 2 good tips I learnt from another seasoned runner:
1. Pick a person 20 -30 feet in front of you and pace that person and if you can, pass the person by. Continuously pick 'targets' along the way; and
2. Move your arms faster and your legs will follow. I did this on all the slopes :) really worked for me.
Based on my Nike run app, I did the first half below an hour! Out of the entire route, my pace was above 6 mins on average for 2kms, that is definitely a first for me!
After the turn on one side of the bridge, I caught up with the male runners from the HM category as they were flagged of 15 minutes earlier. Huaaahhhh I was so happy, I started picking more 'targets', then after the bridge, I noticed there were so few women, so the men were turning into 'boring targets'. Then I started picking out 'female targets'. This was harder as most of the women were faster than the men. I was in good spirits and did not slow down except for all the water breaks. I had one power gel at the 5km mark and another at the last 5km.
The last 1.5km was tiring but I still kept a pace of below 6 mins. This is by far, the strongest I felt in a race. Previously, I would be slowing down and going above 6 mins at the final few kilometres. I am not sure what is the reason for this newfound strength. Perhaps it is a combination of the tips, eating well and strength training :)
I passed the finishing line at 2:20:41 based on my Nike timing! Almost 5 minutes faster than my previous half marathon! A new personal best for my half marathon! All in all, I am so happy and pleased with my performance. This definitely makes me want to work out and train harder for 2012!
I was singing in the car on the way home, due to my runner's high, and Esther Bester drove us back to the hotel (took us 45 minutes as we got lost too). I slept for 2 hours and I remember dreaming of the race :)
Can't wait for my next half marathon in 2012! Until then, train hard!!
It seems that you both have enjoyed your journey very much.You look very beautiful in the above pic.I have gone through your blog and i liked it very much.
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Thanks Mike :)It was indeed a very fun trip :)
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