Event: Larian Bersama Bomba 2009
Venue: Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur
Date: 10 May 2009
Time: 7.30am
Distance: 10KM (10.93KM by Choi's Garmin Forerunner 205 - Year 2008 reading)
Shoe: adidas adizero Tempo
By Frank
2 years down the road, the Larian Bersama Bomba (National Firefighter's Day Run) left me with bad experiences. Not on the quality of the run but emotional reasons. Year 2007, though I registered for the run, I did not turn up at all as I went down with a boil. With that, I registered my first even DNS (Did Not Show) in my running career. Year 2008, despite clocking a personal best timing for the race route, I was left humiliated when I got insulted by a fellow runner as I missed out on the medal position by 2 placings. That left me with a "scar" even up till today.
Not sure if it's deja-vu, but I was faced by another problem this year, my migraine. I woke up in the morning feeling an attack was just around the corner. Took down extra dosage of the Ponstan painkillers to keep it at bay and it helped after a minor attack. But still, I waited till the very last minute before I decided to race. Yes, I can be pretty stubborn at times. I arrived at the venue and rested in my car while I made up my decision.
And so, my migraine did not come and I put on my race vest. However, another problem soon came. The extra high dosage of Ponstan left me pretty stoned and my stomach a little problematic. Kept myself occupied by chatting with Loke to forget about it. And just before entering the starting pent, I met up with Keat Seong who was there supporting Jennifer and also as a photographer. With our usual self of playing a prank and pressuring each other, he pressured me to run a sub-48 minutes on this course, which is super tough. But I knew he was joking as he was aware of my current health problem. Therefore, did not take it to heart as I know myself that I'm not fit to race this event. I'm just here to run, and to take it as part of my training regime.
In I went to the starting pent and chatted away with Loke till the clock tower showed 7.30am and off I went. Started at the rear end and had trouble navigating through the sea of runners. Only managed to break free upon entering Kenny Hills. Half way through Kenny Hills, my right shoe lace came loose. Sigh... Wasted a couple of minutes tying them back. Lost my running momentum and soon, side stitch found its way on to my right side.
Slowed down to tackle the side stitch and it slowly went away. As I approach Jalan Tungku, I spotted Adam and Pui San approximately 50M ahead of me, I decided to use them to be my marker. "Just keep them in sight", I told myself. At the exit of Jalan Tungku, a refreshment station was there. Though the marshal were giving out bottles of water, he was really slow. Wasted a few seconds there to grab one as the weather was hot and humid. Gurgled my throat before I pour some water over me.
Then came the dreaded Duta Highway. The usual traffic and fumes problem coupled with the weather did not help at all. I gurgled and spitted numerous times to keep my throat clear of what ever particles I may have breathed in. I was just relieved when I got to the Parliament stretch. With another kilometer to go, just after the Bukit Aman traffic light junction, I finally turned on my race pace and slowly creep into Adam and Pui San. But then, my right shoe lace came loose again. It was too late to tie them back so I ran with it, the shoe slowly loosening up. It was only at the final stretch just in front of the clock tower that I finally made my move on Adam and Pui San and eventually passed them. I finally crossed the finish line in 00:53:48 with my right shoe still attached. Haha... And as expected, all 75 finisher's medals were already snatched up. Though no finisher's medal nor personal best timing for me, I was not disappointed at all as in fact, I was pretty pleased with how I did. And most importantly, no emotional heartbreak this time unlike the previous 2 years.
Spent some quality time with Keat Seong, Loke, Tony, Jennifer, Pui San, Shih Ming and some others before leaving for home. Though no longer feeling stoned or any stomach discomfort, I knew I was a walking "time bomb" as the migraine will soon come. I just need a cool dark room to rest in and I will be in it (my bedroom, haha...) after publishing this.
Venue: Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur
Date: 10 May 2009
Time: 7.30am
Distance: 10KM (10.93KM by Choi's Garmin Forerunner 205 - Year 2008 reading)
Shoe: adidas adizero Tempo
By Frank
2 years down the road, the Larian Bersama Bomba (National Firefighter's Day Run) left me with bad experiences. Not on the quality of the run but emotional reasons. Year 2007, though I registered for the run, I did not turn up at all as I went down with a boil. With that, I registered my first even DNS (Did Not Show) in my running career. Year 2008, despite clocking a personal best timing for the race route, I was left humiliated when I got insulted by a fellow runner as I missed out on the medal position by 2 placings. That left me with a "scar" even up till today.
Not sure if it's deja-vu, but I was faced by another problem this year, my migraine. I woke up in the morning feeling an attack was just around the corner. Took down extra dosage of the Ponstan painkillers to keep it at bay and it helped after a minor attack. But still, I waited till the very last minute before I decided to race. Yes, I can be pretty stubborn at times. I arrived at the venue and rested in my car while I made up my decision.
And so, my migraine did not come and I put on my race vest. However, another problem soon came. The extra high dosage of Ponstan left me pretty stoned and my stomach a little problematic. Kept myself occupied by chatting with Loke to forget about it. And just before entering the starting pent, I met up with Keat Seong who was there supporting Jennifer and also as a photographer. With our usual self of playing a prank and pressuring each other, he pressured me to run a sub-48 minutes on this course, which is super tough. But I knew he was joking as he was aware of my current health problem. Therefore, did not take it to heart as I know myself that I'm not fit to race this event. I'm just here to run, and to take it as part of my training regime.
In I went to the starting pent and chatted away with Loke till the clock tower showed 7.30am and off I went. Started at the rear end and had trouble navigating through the sea of runners. Only managed to break free upon entering Kenny Hills. Half way through Kenny Hills, my right shoe lace came loose. Sigh... Wasted a couple of minutes tying them back. Lost my running momentum and soon, side stitch found its way on to my right side.
Slowed down to tackle the side stitch and it slowly went away. As I approach Jalan Tungku, I spotted Adam and Pui San approximately 50M ahead of me, I decided to use them to be my marker. "Just keep them in sight", I told myself. At the exit of Jalan Tungku, a refreshment station was there. Though the marshal were giving out bottles of water, he was really slow. Wasted a few seconds there to grab one as the weather was hot and humid. Gurgled my throat before I pour some water over me.
Then came the dreaded Duta Highway. The usual traffic and fumes problem coupled with the weather did not help at all. I gurgled and spitted numerous times to keep my throat clear of what ever particles I may have breathed in. I was just relieved when I got to the Parliament stretch. With another kilometer to go, just after the Bukit Aman traffic light junction, I finally turned on my race pace and slowly creep into Adam and Pui San. But then, my right shoe lace came loose again. It was too late to tie them back so I ran with it, the shoe slowly loosening up. It was only at the final stretch just in front of the clock tower that I finally made my move on Adam and Pui San and eventually passed them. I finally crossed the finish line in 00:53:48 with my right shoe still attached. Haha... And as expected, all 75 finisher's medals were already snatched up. Though no finisher's medal nor personal best timing for me, I was not disappointed at all as in fact, I was pretty pleased with how I did. And most importantly, no emotional heartbreak this time unlike the previous 2 years.
Spent some quality time with Keat Seong, Loke, Tony, Jennifer, Pui San, Shih Ming and some others before leaving for home. Though no longer feeling stoned or any stomach discomfort, I knew I was a walking "time bomb" as the migraine will soon come. I just need a cool dark room to rest in and I will be in it (my bedroom, haha...) after publishing this.
4 comments:
Hi Frank, it was nice to get to meet up with you this morning. I hope you have speedy recovery before your big race.
Is this route 11km in distance? My friend's Polar trekker said so...I finished my run in 59min 24sec. Am happy with my result.
Look forward to catch up with you on future run...
Yeah, no medal no problem. As long as we enjoyed the run, that's how it should be.
Good to know no "bong bong" pounding for you. Hope it stay that way.
Henry: Indeed it was great to meet you in person. And yeah, this race route as measured by my friend's GPS system last year was at 10.93KM. It's about there.
Tomatoman: I agree with you that enjoyment is the best we can get. Medals are just a bonus. Besides, I'm not a competitive runner.
Now we have a new term.....the "Gong Gong charge" Whether you are running or trekking up Mt Kinabalu.
No medal no problem, just run with your guts and pride. Thats probably more valuable than a medal.
On a more serious note, rest well & take care. As I said go whack some Wong Low Kat with Xtra powder. Tell those fellars you have serious headache.
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