Training for a Half Marathon (Again)

So, I signed up for the Standard Chartered Half Marathon, in June, after almost a year of not joining any races. So far I can still maintain running up to 10k without a problem, so yay for that. I would have thought that my stamina would be worse. But I suppose, insanity workouts help and I have been poling anyways.

Next step, to build up my stamina for 15k runs. I don't specifically research on training methods (like I used to maniacally do before). I guess now I am more accepting of my limitations and just strive to make each run better than the last :) So much less stress that way. Besides, stressing out about runs is just counter intuitive!

Oh well, my current fave songs to run to (in no particular order):

1. Madness by Muse
2. Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys
3. Spirit Indestructible by Nelly Furtado
4. Die Young by Kesha
5. Anything by Ne-yo.
6. Anything by Kelly Clarkson
7. Nothing compares to you by Sinnead O'Connor (ok this may sound to slow but I swear the tempo is perfect for my pace).

Okay, I need more songs!

Allianz Penang Bridge International Marathon 2011

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!!

International Penang Bridge Half Marathon T-1

Okay I am too nervous to do anything today as tomorrow I will be going to Penang for the Penang Bridge International Half Marathon. This will be my last half marathon run for the year 2011 and I am determined to do well! 

I will be driving down with my Bestie, Esther, tomorrow morning, and I told her to plan our itinerary for Penang. I also specifically mentioned that she must take pictures of me at the end of the race. Just for laughs, this is the itinerary Bestie came up with:

"Dear runner,

Please find the itinerary below:

Saturday, 19.11.2011
7am: Head to North South Highway. Get onto Jln Duta, and use DUKE highway to go to North South Highway.
12pm: Reach Penang
12.30pm: Lunch - Nasi Kandar Line Clear
2pm - check into Georgetown hotel (near the Penang Royal Hotel),   3 Jalan Larut, Penang, 10050, Malaysia.
http://www.hotelroyalpenang.com/location.asp
2.30pm - Visit to Fort Cornwallis, Lebuh Light (near Padang Esplanade)
4pm-7pm - free time, shopping, rest
7.30pm - Penang road, Chowrasta market
11pm - marathon starting line, Queensbay mall. Starts at 2am. Pat to warm-up

Sunday, 20.11.2011
12am - Esther in search of more food. Taking of random pictures. eg random asses
3am - Pat to run away
7am - Esther heads back to the hotel to sleep
10am - Pat finds her own way back/crawls to the hotel
12pm - Esther wakes up for food.
2pm - Farewell Penang. Forever
3pm - Esther picks a fight with Pat. Pat's driving is lousy
3.10pm - Esther brings out her chapati pan. Pat sees stars without being in Hollywood
7pm - ETA at KL, drop Esther (with fleas) back at Air Panas
8pm - Esther breathes a sigh of relief.

Must have food:
1. Rojak Pasembur - New Gurney Drive Food Court, Gurney Drive
2. Nasi kandar Line Clear- An alley at the junction of Lebuh Chulia and Jalan Penang (same side of Jalan Penang as Chowrasta Bazaar)
3. Tau Sar Peah/Nutmeg - buy back from Ghee Hiang, No. 95 Lebuh Pantai, 216 Jalan Macalister or Him Heang, 162-A, Jln Burma
4. Penang prawn noodles
5. Curry mee
6. Chee Cheong Fun
7. Asam laksa
8. Nyonya kuih - Ah Kheng's nyonya kuih- Batu Lancang Market, off Green Lane, Stall at Hawker Center, Bayan Baru market,
4. Anywhere - roadstalls near HSBC"

P/s: Come on Esther, I know I am not that fast, but I won't get back to the hotel at 10am, 8 hours after flag off!

Half the excitement for me is the journey there, love outstation runs! This is only my 2nd, with Seremban Half Marathon being my first. Hopefully, next year I get to travel further for runs, like Melbourne Half Marathon :)

I am sure the other runners are excited too, here's to a good race!

PJ Half Marathon 2011

Last Sunday, 30th October 2011, was the PJ Half Marathon sponsored by The Star, a local newspaper. This is my 5th half marathon, so far since I started running this year. Since it has only been two weeks since the Putrajaya Half Marathon, I did not do much running in between. Just a couple 10k easy runs in between the two runs. I was more worried of injuring myself than anything, so I did more strength training workouts. And lots of stretching. To be honest, I felt quite lazy a few days before this race. Maybe I was just tired from all the preparation and also work has been quite hectic of late. I knew then I had to psyche myself up and be mentally prepared for the race. I find that nerves and determination are equally important to "train" as well as the physical aspect of running. In fact, long runs alone are best for me to mentally prepare myself for the actual race day itself.

Anyway, reporting time at the stadium was at 6am so I woke up just before 5am to get ready. I had a small serving of cereal and got ready with the usual gear (clean clothes, towels and power gels). I got to the stadium on time but traffic was really bad. In the stadium, it was not really properly indicated where the starting line was because I couldn't see the banner up. So naturally, I just followed the crowd and got in line when I heard the organisers on the loudspeaker. Oddly enough, this is the only race I have been to with no proper announcement. There was just one really soft "get ready" and a few seconds later the shot was fired! I could hear gasps of confusion around me but then I was just laughing to myself.

So off everyone went, I am not sure how many runners there were. It was a humid morning and the weather just got even hotter. We were running along the Federal Highway and over flyovers headed to the airport in Subang Jaya. I swear when I saw those flyovers, my heart skipped a couple of beats and a group sigh could be heard. Hahahaha in hindsight, I can laugh now, but back then, I was thinking "Oh boy, this will definitely test me". I think the heat in this run was worse than the Putrajaya run 2 weeks ago. It was good that we had 5 sponge stations because every 3 - 4 km I would feel really dehydrated and unmotivated. When I was in the race, I felt like I was performing my lousiest ever as I was walking a few times in between (20 feet or so) after the 14km mark. It really felt never ending and it was so hot. Running against the sun the last 6km did not help and my eyes were practically shut! I thought for sure my timing will be really bad. The last 3km I was on my own most of the time. That looked really bad. All I wanted to do then was finish the race, get a shower and sleep! I think I went a bit off because I somehow had Christmas carols stuck in my head and I started humming "the little drummer boy". Oh well, its almost December anyway :p

I finally saw the stadium in sight after what seemed like eternity. As all typical runners, upon seeing the finish line, everyone will just give it their all and dash. So dash I did. I was given a finisher medal and checked my time, 2:24! My best time so far for a Half Marathon! I was so surprised, I couldn't believe it :)

Unfortunately, there was no goodie bag or food/fruits at the finish line, which I find unusual. There was a milo stand and 100 plus. So off I went, feeling happy and sunburnt. I'm happy with my result, and will definitely train harder and smarter for my next run :)

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!

Seremban Half Marathon 2011 Jitters

So tomorrow, 24th July is the Seremban Half Marathon, and I can't sleep. As I have expected this to happen, I slept early the night before and managed to clock in 10 hours of sleep. So now I am just packing my bag and double, triple checking that I have not forgotten anything. Unfortunately, the drive to Seremban will only start at 11 as I have to wait for the convoy. But knowing me, I might get lost, so its best to wait for the group to assemble!

I managed to squeeze in a quick Bodyrock workout :) This is by far the toughest workout I have done, and Single Knee Tuck is the hardest ab/core exercise I have done! My score (for me to beat next round):

Commando Push Up: 9, 9, 7, 8, 8, 7

Squat Push Kick: 6, 6, 8, 6, 7, 7

Single Knee Tuck: 14, 12, 12, 15, 10, 10

Killer workout, I will definitely do this again. Good luck to all those running tomorrow!

Seremban Half Marathon 2011

So, my next race is the Seremban Half Marathon on 24th July 2011. It is going to be my first out-station run! Err..pardon the excitement if you don't understand or get it. Hopefully, it is going to be the first of many outstation runs!

Unfortunately, the website for Seremban Half Marathon is quite disappointing as it lacks information. It does not even mention anything about water stations or what else is provided throughout the run. I find this pretty disturbing since the run is in memory of the late king. But, oh well, I guess the organisers should know what they are doing. But I would most definitely prepare for the worse and bring my own drinks or power gels. Moreover, the registration fee is the cheapest I've seen for a half marathon, only RM15. 

Not surprisingly, there is no timing chip. So I would have to rely on my own timing. Anyways, I am treating this as a practice run and also to maintain my Standard Chartered HM time. If I do manage to cut down my time, it would be awesome! I will do my best in any event!

Post mortem - Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur Half Marathon 2011

Work has been so crazy busy the past week, that I have not had the time to write on this. Alas, the euphoria from the Standard Chartered Half Marathon on 26.06.2011 has died down. But I was on cloud 9 for a good 2 days after though.

Well I have to hand it to the organisers, the run was really well managed! I was impressed! The atmosphere in the morning before the flag off was pure excitement coming off from everyone else. Although it was still very dark and you could barely see the person's face next to you. As I anticipated the massive crowd there, I took a taxi at 5am instead of driving there.

It was an early wake up call for me at 3am and breakfast at a mamak at 4am. What else is open at that hour right. So there I was in my running tights and green SC shirt surrounded by clubbers from the night before sobering up at the mamak. I was laughing inwardly as they probably thought I was nuts or something, in running gear at 4am :p

I got to Dataran Merdeka before 5.30a.m and wow it was so exciting to see so many people! Granted it was still pretty quiet. I think most people were half asleep. So I proceeded with some light warm up and managed to catch the flag off for the full marathon. Full marathoners, wow, that's a whole different class, really respect those runners *hats off* Hopefully soon, I can be strong enough to do a FM.

Anyways, next was the Ekiden flag off. This was, I think a team relay for HM. And 5 minutes later, off we go, the Half Marathoners! There were so many people running that it was quite stuffy and no room to branch out for the first 4km, I think. But that was fine with me, since I start out slower anyways. 

I loved the route! It was fairly even for me, with not much hills, except I think up one flyover or two. There were water/iso drink stations every 2km after the first 4km. And not forgetting sponges too. The first 15km was okay for me, and I had a good pace on me. I took my power gel at the 12km mark. My iPod stopped working after the halfway mark. But that didn't stop me. In fact, I realised it is much more enjoyable for me to run without music. I can easily listen to my own breathing and check if I am dragging my feet, which I tend to after a while. 

The 16km - 18km was killer for me as I felt most tired then. But the crowd was getting more excited. We were already near Pavilion then. I think everyone just couldn't wait to finish! I pushed through for the last 3km. But alas, the last one or 2km, we merged with the 5km group category. There were so many of them! And most of them were walking in groups on the street, blocking those running. I could hear the cheers of the crowd from the finishing line! I was adamant not to be slower than my Energizer run which was 2.30 so I picked up my pace then, bumping into a few 5km walking people. (I did say sorry, coming through!)

Pushing past the finish line, I felt a surge of happiness! Definitely happy with my performance, I did not stop throughout the race (which I did in energizer, walking at parts, boo) and I felt good! Not wiped out as I thought I would be. My official time? 2:27:27! 2 minutes faster than my first HM in April! And I ranked 169 out of 955 runners in my category, which was the women's open. 

This run has definitely given me the inspiration to train harder! I want to complete a HM below 2:15. How was your run?