Subang Jaya 10KM Run - 1 Hour 1 Minute and 12 Seconds.
I got up at 4 a.m. (my usual time when it comes to running races) and it was raining. By the time I left home at 5.45 a.m. I was wearing a jacket driving the car to MPSJ.
The turn out to the run was pretty good. There were people parking cars in the residential areas surrounding MPSJ and also in front of the HSBC building. As it was still very cold, I ran up and down a portion of the stadium's track before stretching. No point stretching cold muscles, yes?
Out of the 6 entrees that I submitted, 4 of us showed up. It was a pretty good turn-out considering the two that didn't turn up had an interview and class respectively.
The race started somewhat on time, and suprisingly there wasn't any enclosure for us to enter, we just needed to stand at the starting point on the road in front of MPSJ. The start was okay in my book. The narrow road made for a bit of jostling around for some clear space to run in but after several minutes things did clear up.
The track..or circuit as my friend called it, that we were running on was a very fast one. Consisting of long stretches, the roads were generally flat, and I ran the first 3 km without before slowing down to take a Power Bal gel. By the time I reached the half-way point, I was already proceeding at a better than normal pace...but where was the drink station?
Come to think of it, the race details didn't mention anything about a drinks station. Shocking eh? It might be trivial to some but I think most people would appreciate the sight of a drinks station during a run. No matter, I proceeded with the 2nd half of the run with a even better pace.
The only problem I had during this run was the big left hand curve in the second half. I'm pretty wary of these kind of road conditions as they only serve to aggreviate my left knee. But the good thing is, the knee didn't act up during the run, although now I'm sitting with it bent..straightening it will only cause pain.. a lot of pain.
One of my church members is aware of my knee problem from the previous race and asked me this morning about it. I told him I just ran another race this very morning. Hehe.
During the final stretch nearing MPSJ, passing the HSBC building, I lost abit of focus as I thought, the end was near and I already been expanding my energy to finish off the race (my watch showed 52 minutes), but I forgot that the 10 km runners have to run pass the MPSJ building before making a U-turn back!
Brr. So much for thinking that I managed to dip under an hour for this run...I'll get that in the next run. Anyways, I arrived at the finish line at 1 hour 1 minute and 12 seconds. Which is not bad, an improvement actually over the previous one. My friends came in a little later.
---
Some people ask me why do I run? My answers usually would be to get a better time, and to enjoy the scenery. Actually is more of the former than the latter, since the focus is on the road and on my pace and staying out of other people's way.
And there's a bonus of the camaderie among participants. I find it easier to say hi and pick up a conversation with a stranger during or post-run, rather than someone on the street. I spoke to one uncle at the parking lot, and he commented that the competition was tough this year. Apparently the last person to receive a medal ran a 48 minute race!
This uncle ran a 50 minute race..and was abit disappointed for not getting a medal this year, unlike previous years. No problem uncle, there's always next year to prepare for :).
The turn out to the run was pretty good. There were people parking cars in the residential areas surrounding MPSJ and also in front of the HSBC building. As it was still very cold, I ran up and down a portion of the stadium's track before stretching. No point stretching cold muscles, yes?
Out of the 6 entrees that I submitted, 4 of us showed up. It was a pretty good turn-out considering the two that didn't turn up had an interview and class respectively.
The race started somewhat on time, and suprisingly there wasn't any enclosure for us to enter, we just needed to stand at the starting point on the road in front of MPSJ. The start was okay in my book. The narrow road made for a bit of jostling around for some clear space to run in but after several minutes things did clear up.
The track..or circuit as my friend called it, that we were running on was a very fast one. Consisting of long stretches, the roads were generally flat, and I ran the first 3 km without before slowing down to take a Power Bal gel. By the time I reached the half-way point, I was already proceeding at a better than normal pace...but where was the drink station?
Come to think of it, the race details didn't mention anything about a drinks station. Shocking eh? It might be trivial to some but I think most people would appreciate the sight of a drinks station during a run. No matter, I proceeded with the 2nd half of the run with a even better pace.
The only problem I had during this run was the big left hand curve in the second half. I'm pretty wary of these kind of road conditions as they only serve to aggreviate my left knee. But the good thing is, the knee didn't act up during the run, although now I'm sitting with it bent..straightening it will only cause pain.. a lot of pain.
One of my church members is aware of my knee problem from the previous race and asked me this morning about it. I told him I just ran another race this very morning. Hehe.
During the final stretch nearing MPSJ, passing the HSBC building, I lost abit of focus as I thought, the end was near and I already been expanding my energy to finish off the race (my watch showed 52 minutes), but I forgot that the 10 km runners have to run pass the MPSJ building before making a U-turn back!
Brr. So much for thinking that I managed to dip under an hour for this run...I'll get that in the next run. Anyways, I arrived at the finish line at 1 hour 1 minute and 12 seconds. Which is not bad, an improvement actually over the previous one. My friends came in a little later.
---
Some people ask me why do I run? My answers usually would be to get a better time, and to enjoy the scenery. Actually is more of the former than the latter, since the focus is on the road and on my pace and staying out of other people's way.
And there's a bonus of the camaderie among participants. I find it easier to say hi and pick up a conversation with a stranger during or post-run, rather than someone on the street. I spoke to one uncle at the parking lot, and he commented that the competition was tough this year. Apparently the last person to receive a medal ran a 48 minute race!
This uncle ran a 50 minute race..and was abit disappointed for not getting a medal this year, unlike previous years. No problem uncle, there's always next year to prepare for :).
