Adidas Sundown 2010 - Some Report and Pics

Adidas Sundown 2010 is my second attempt at 1/2 marathon race. There are 4 principal reasons why I wanted to run in this event:

(i) quite a number of runner/blogger friends will participate in the run including those who would attempt the 84Km Ultra Marathon;

(ii) I have heard about how our neighbour down there organized running events and hence wanted to experience in one;

(iii) except a couple of day trip for meetings at the Lion City (i.e. Airport - Meeting -Airport), I had never actually seen Singapore much closer; and

(iv) [Note - This is not in the original list] since my wife is doing her post grad study in heritage building conservation, I may add the itinerary to include: (a) visiting heritage conservation sites/buildings in Singapore; and (b) do some sight seeing and checking out the Singapore sales.

The Trip

The cab picked us up just after I finished subuh prayer and off we went to KLIA. First time flying with Jetstar Airways (a subsidiary of Qantas Air) and KLIA is much more condusive place compared to LCCT as far as playing the waiting game is concerned . Reached Terminal 2 Changi Airport around 9.45 am. As planned, since check in time would be after 2pm, we proceeded with the visit of heritage buildings, covering Kg Glam, North Bridge Road, Bugis Square and Arab Street. My carbo loading session was at Zam-Zam Restaurant in front of Masjid Sultan. Menu was lamb bryani.

[Zam-Zam Ala Kazammmm]

It was really hot that afternoon but we continued walking around that area before checking in at the hotel around 2.30pm. Tried to have a nap but just could not doze off.

At 4.30pm, left the hotel to MRT Bugis with the intent to reach the race venue by 5.30pm to wish off Kash and Haza. Arrived at MRT Pasir Ris around 5.10pm. Saw a crowd of Sundown runners and just followed them to the shuttle bus pick up point. Reached CEC around 5.40pm. Still got time to catch the flaging off of the Ultra runners.

[In the Shuttle Bus. See that Mat Salleh in the Adidas Shirt. He appeared again in the pic below]

[The brave hearts were in the gantry]

[Top Pic - Our Ultra Moms/Queens, ready to start the 84km journey]

[Below pic - The Journey has begun. Can you spot Haza? Tried to snap Kash's pic but couldn't spot her]

[Below Pic - Another shot at the Ultras making their earlier steps to many,many, many more through out the night till the next morning]

The Waiting

After the Ultras were flagged off, the waiting game has begun for us in the 1/2 marathon category as well as the full marathon group. Fortunately with friends around, the boredom and restlessness were kept in check. Below are few of the moments captured in camera.

[Posing dulu, nanti dah gelap x nampak. From left: Ijam, me and Zaki]

[Top pic at the left - Yim (in black) : "kau nak sgt karipap, nah aku beli the best karipap in Singapore". Det & Diket: "Kasi kenduri itu karipap sekarang, ada bran?"]

[Top pic at the right - Yim: "Satu ketul makan, kene reduce 5 minit korang punya PB, ada bran?" Me: "Yim, the girl behind got karipap as well lah". Det/Diket - "Eleh, mana main 5 minit, up terus 10 minit lah"]

[We have marked our territory for the entire night. In the pic, clock wise from yours truly: Det, Diket, Alwin, Zaki, Syah, Nadia (in black -sorry x nampak muka) and Yim]

The Run

About 15 minutes to the gun off time, me, Yim and Ijam went into the gantry and wahlau, we were already at the back with thousands in front. I guessed there were around 6000-7000 runners in the 1/2 marathon category. Diket and Alwin at that time were rushing to put on their running gear after just got back from MRT Station Pasir Ris searching for dinner. I was told later that they started way at the back pack.

Since this would be my 2nd attempt at 1/2 marathon race, the only benchmark is my Energizer 1/2 Marathon finishing time of 2hr 45min. The condition was humid, at a high side. We were already sweating profusely in the sea of runners waiting to be released from the kandang. Since I am a heavy sweater by nature, frequent re-hydration is key to my run that night and I made the correct decision to run with the re-hydration belt.

We were gun off at 9 pm and on hidsight I did place myself correctly at the back since my strategy was to go on a slow pace all the way. I pity Yim, Diket, Alwin and Ijam since all of them are strong runners and by starting at the back, they would need to do a lot of zig zaging,and we are talking about at least 5000 runners in front of us.

In the first 15 minutes after the gun off, I was pacing behind a group of 3 college looking guys who ran at an easy pace ("the 3 Musketeers"). I know they were running easy since they were chatting among themselves. On the spot I knew these boys were not newbies and may just put the target of finishing around 2hr 30min-ish. Following them did help me from being sucked up by the pace of a lot of other runners whom, by looking at their strides and breathings, were going just too fast for their level. "Never mind guys, you can overtake me now since we have another 18-19km to finish", I comforted myself. The 3 Musketeers then upped their pace and I decided to maintain my current pace and those boys slowly disappeared from my sight.

Things were not as smooth as I thought for the first 7km. Though the pace felt right, the body didnt seem to respond as good. Eyes were feeling heavy. Damn. I didnt reach a quarter of the entire distance and I already felt sleepy. I should have taken coffee or nescafe at least 40 minutes before the flag off. Only one solution before things going from bad to worst. I consumed my power gel at that point though I planned to reserve it at KM10 onwards. With frequent re-hydration plus a couple of stops at Water Stations, I had successfully kept the problem at bay and continued the run with a more consistent pace.

By Km10, I managed to catch up with the 3 Musketeers. They still run easy and I decided to follow them for few minutes before increasing my pace and left them behind. The course is flat all the way and I told myself there is no reason why I cannot beat my timing in Energizer 1/2. I already expecting that the other RBUs would all finished in sub 2 hr.

Though I felt i ran better compared to Energizer 1/2, my watch didnt show any much improvement based on my mental calculation each time I reached the distance marker after KM12. To keep the initial target intact, I could either up my pace but may end up wasting the precious time by taking walk breaks by Km17 OR just continue with the current snail pace all the way. I opted for the latter. That means i could not take any walk breaks (excluding the time spent at the Water Station). Once decided, there was nothing more to do other than executing the plan. It was a boring affairs at certain time and sleepiness did visit once in a while and the only medication available was simply pouring the water over my head at every Water Stations. The plodding continued until KM 18 where at that point, it would be simply foolish for me to stop and taking walk breaks with 3km left. Told myself, "aiyoo, 21k distance also wanna stop haaaa. Dah ler slow. Kash and haza buat 84km lagi, the other RBUs buat full. Yim, Diket ngan Ijam dah melepak makan karipap kat CEC time ni". OK, not exactly verbatim but more to the same effect. So i just continue plodding till i crossed the finishing line. Final result, I did the Sundown 1/2 Marathon in 2hr 40min 16 second. Alhamdulillah i safely finished the run.

I managed to wish off Ian, Zaki, Nadia and Det for their full marathon. Syah I believed already in the starting gantry. Cooled off, talk "male chicken" with Diket and Alwin before decided to leave CEC for my hotel slightly before 1 am.

Adidas Sundown was clearly the biggest running event I ever attended so far. With the number of runners involved, I think it was properlyorganized, especially when you are talking about logistics. I still cant imagine how a local organizer could tackle the challenge of handling a 15,000 runners' event. Lets see whether Galazo could pass the test in the coming SCKLIM. I was particularly happy with the water and isotonic provided at the water stations. I can't take isotonic all the way as proven in Energizer. It could not quench my thirst, may be due to the sugar content.

The set back for Sundown i think is the location and it did give us outstation runners a bit of head ache to plan for our meals/dinner and pre-flag off prep. On a personal issue, the run did reveal that the pain in my left calve (think it is a mucles related) would not go away unless I get proper consultation. This issue has bugged me for nearly 2 months. It is mild enough for me to do a slow 21km distance but thing may be different if I want to do more than 25km. i could not do a tempo run as well without aggravating the pain.

Will i come back next year? Yes, I plan to, God willing. Will try to entice my office colleague to come as well. I know some of you guys out there will come back to do Ultra. Go for it guys! Who knows we could bump into each other in your second loop ;-)

A Night in Changi

Me and wife reached Subang Airport about ten minutes before 8pm today. It has been a great weekend, spending time in the City State down south. More so because of the achievement of those persons that share the same passion as mine (if not I don't think we were willing to spend our time and money to be in a place called Changi yesterday night).

The ultimate congratulatory wishes of course would go to Kash, Haza and NIK, for showing how determination, steely resolves and sacrifices along the way could turn a dream into a sweet reality. When I managed to catch both of them on their way to the starting line, I could not help from wondering what was really in their mind at that very moment. I was excited but at the same time humbled with the guts of those people who were waiting to be released to commence one of their greatest journey in life. [Note: I knew Nik started with the ultra runners and I am very-very sure he would at least finished the 42km distance in sub 5) [Note 2 - Nik finished the entire 84km!!! This is the biggest heist in pirating history].

Secondly a thundering applause to the full marathoners, Syah, Ian, Zaki, Dett and I have to give Nadia a special standing ovation with her courage of accepting the challenge of doing full marathon without having prepared to run in one! I did wish that one day I could start along side you guys in future full marathon event.

Last but not least the guys who run in the half marathon category that night just for the fun of it (since they are all a class or two above me and being full marathoners as well), Diket (King Mambo), Yim, Ijam and Alwin. We could not run side by side but the thought of letting you guys waited all night long for me to come back from a mere 21km run did push me to tell the body not to stop from my snail pace stride (of course I did stop to drink at some water stations ok :).

All in all, it was not about my run that made me remember "Adidas Sundown Marathon 2010 - Let's Beat the Sun Rise" but the opportunity to witness mere mortals conquering their own fear and pains to live their respective dreams.

Congratulations again to all!

Pre-evening Run Snack

Can this be my pre-run snack, taken 1 to 1 1/2 hours before an evening run? Technically I don't think it falls in the healthy category since it is a deep fried food (i.e. oily). However it tastes good, easily available and aint it supposed to provide carbohydrate with its potato fillings? Had them before one evening run (due to the time constraint of having a proper meal) and I felt (this can be psychological only) the body responded better.

Where can i find a nice potato fillings karipap in Singapore?

Your Own Wish

When Syah/Kash hollered the plan for a Friday night LSD at Putrajaya last week, I straight away decided to join in, with a target of doing more than 20km. Though I was having a pre-ITB like pain at my left knee, the mind had set its focus of doing the run. That also mean that I will stay back at my office until 8pm before proceeding to PoJ since it would be just ridiculous to get stuck in the notoriuos Friday's evening traffic jam on the way back to Shah Alam. The earliest that I could reach home would be around 7.45pm and no way I would be just as excited to go out again in the interval of 5-10 minutes, driving all the way to Putrajaya.

A focused mind, though faced with minor setbacks would lead you to achieve what you have planned for. The distance of 24km done that night is nothing to shout about at all but I could easily threw in the towel at around KM17 (behind PICC) when sleepiness came to attack without any warning at all. Honestly I never imagined before that one can be sleepy whilst running but there I was, trying to continue plodding with a heavy, very heavy eyes. Luckily I ran with Kash and she kindly offered me her power gel. Rais was also there ready to provide water and accompanied me when I was reduced to walking while trying to reach the center of the bridge in front of PICC. Thanks again guys! Once the grogginess left my body, I was ready to go, with a re-set mind to complete the entire loop, whats more when Kash said, "No discount". The last KM was when Kash pushed me to give whatever I had left in me to finish strong.

At the opposite side of the spectrum, I just lost focus and interest when I did my morning run yesterday. I didn't even plan to run in the first place since the itenary was to be at the Section 6 wet market by 8am. I woke up a bit late, no thanks to the late night sleep. Told wife that I could do the shopping alone but I might do a couple of loops at Tasik Shah Alam first before proceeding to the wet market. I half heartedly stopped at the lake and told myself to try to run 3 loops (around 11. 5km). With such non-committal mind set at work, I easily raised the white flag just after 1 1/2 loops done.

The real battle after all is all within the mind. The better one will subscribe to the taglines of "Dare to Dream", "Never Say Never", "Tak Cuba Tak Tahu Lagi" and their equivalents and I am fortunate to know many of those souls around. At the end of the day, it started with your own wish.

Best Wishes to All runners out there! :)

Sundown Race Kit Collection

I got the written email confirmation from the Sundown Organizer that we can collect our race kit on the day of the race itself, i.e. 29 May 2010 at the race venue from 5.00pm onwards. Just proceed to the Information booth for such collection.

Now with those issue settled, I am planning to fly down and reach Singapore by noon 29 May 2010. Will try to check in early, if possible. Understand that some of us doing FM and 1/2 M will be there before 6 pm to wish off the ultra marathoners. I hope this information could help u guys planning for your travel down south for the run.

Cheers!

The Missing Link

Bkt Aman - Hartamas. I have done that route, COUNTLESS times. True. No kidding. OK, not really from Bkt Aman but going through Jalan Sultan Salahuddin, Lenggok Tuanku, Government Complex and Taman Sri Hartamas. That was about 9 years ago when I was a young 3o years old guy, with a slim, slender body and calves like Avatar. Ok, OK, I didnt lie about the age but weight wise, that was when I seriously starting to accumulate the Kilograms, in tandem with the accumulation of my credit cards' points and by the way I done that route on wheels, 4 wheels to be exact.

Though I first came aware of this LSD route quite sometimes ago after digging in the other runners' blogs, it was of no significance to me since at that time running non stop for more than 10km (regardless of how slow that run was) would remain as an unthinkable feat. After I started increasing my LSD mileage, I started imagining myself doing the route, for experience sake but I never done that route, not a single attempt.

Because of that, it is only natural to expect that when Syah arranged for the Bkt Aman - Hartamas LSD, to take place this morning, I was eager and excited to join. Though I know that tagging along with them all the way would be impossible, still it would be fun to run together at least up to the first 3km. Since the rolling time is 6.15am, part of the plan is to reach Bkt Aman in time for the fajr prayer, i.e. 5.50 am. But the question is where was I at that time this morning? It is so easy to guess right. Yes, in my bed. Having my wet, oppsss...sweet dream (kidding jer...actually no dream lah). I was pretty sure that I had set the alarm at 4.50 am, knowing that I would push the snooze key at least 3 times (at 5 minutes intervals) before I would drag my bum out from the bed. I was also pretty sure that I only pushed the snooze key twice, so I should be up by the 3rd alarm sound, i.e. at 5 am. But no, the wall clock didnt show 5 am but 6 am instead. Damn! Unless i am a Superman which can change cloth by just making a spin (may be thats why he wears his underwear outside his pant), I would never ever made it to Bukit Aman by 6.30am. So the very least that I could do was to send sms text to Syah telling him that I couldnt join the gang today. Frust giler!

I tried to figure out what went wrong. Was it my HP's system turned hire wire (this can also double up as an excuse to change my HP to the latest Berry-berry or iPhone 3Gs) or was it due to human error (read- my own #%*#@@ up)? I picked the later as the answer. Thinking back, I should have mistakenly set the alarm at 5.50 am rather than 4.50 am. That is the only logical explanation that I could offer.

What is done is done. Sh** happens. So I had the option whether (i) to continue my wet, opssss..sweet dream or (ii) do some running. In the end, I applied the battle cry of "Lari tetap Lari". LSD still need to be done today, with my usual Shah Alam LSD's route (17km++ without tweaking). At least it will be a consolation to my frustration for not doing the Bkt Aman-Hartamas LSD.

I was determined to complete 20km LSD today. Timing is not relevant. The distance is. I am severely lacking now in my weekly mileage. Sundown is fast approaching. I run super duper slow, knowing that the 3 long climb that I need to endure in the first 10km would easily exhaust me for the second 10k. I keep reminding myself, go the distance dude, just go the distance. You are not competing with others and just accept the kind of runner you are (mean: snail pace runner lah, apa lagik kan hehehe). In my mind I just don't want to repeat last weekend bonker LSD. After a lot of huffing and puffing (with one walk break) and a period seems like forever, I safely reached my Taman with a distance of 20.5km done. 20.5km of a long SLOWWWWWWWWW run but in the end it feels a lot better than last week.

Tomorrow morning I need to add a 8-10km more to my weekly mileage. In the afternoon, will bring the family to watch Iron Man 2. At least I will not feel so left out as in the case of Avatar :)

Good luck for you guys in the Bomba Run!

p/s - As i write this post, those brave souls are doing their ultra training rounds in Putrajaya. I wish Haza/Kash (and others) all the best.