2nd Putrajaya International 12 Hour Walk 2009...

Event: 2nd Putrajaya International 12 Hour Walk 2009
Venue: Dataran Putrajaya, Putrajaya
Date: 12 December 2009
Time: 8.00pm
Distance: 1KM per loop in 12 hours
Shoe: Nike LunarTrainer+
By Frank

After getting so wasted at last year's edition, I really do not know why did I even bother to sign up this year. And knowing that it's just a week after running the Macau Marathon 2009 and a few days after returning from Macau, I know for sure it's going to be tough.

Though this year's edition attracted more participants, familiar faces were lesser. Some friends who came are Cheang, Choi, Lawrence, Pueh Tian, Terence, Haza, Wai Mun and Yen Erl. Not too bad I guess. The walk started sharp at 8pm. I started with Choi followed by Terence chatting along the way for about 4KM before they both went on a faster pace. Lawrence, being a first timer has already zoomed ahead. With every loops I made, John who came to support Wai Mun was cheering along the side. Really appreciate it.

Along the way, I was glad I was exchanging SMSes with a dear friend of mine. It really kept me entertained with laughter till about midnight before I thought it was getting late to actually disturb someone. Not to mention 2 very "sinful" photos I received. Hahaha... Made me drooled along the walk.

The first meal was served at 10pm and I think I have walked about 8KM. As I did not have dinner earlier due to rushing from places to places, I forced myself to eat whatever that was served. The first meal was acceptable, probably because I was hungry. There were rice, sauteed yet salty vegetables, boiled eggs and nuggets. As for drinks, plenty of Yeo's H-Two-O isotonic drinks were served.

Hungry walkers queuing up for food...

Eat...

Kept walking later with the help of my mp3 player to keep entertain as I was all alone. And as it was late, I did not want to disturb my friends by sending SMSes though I was really tempted to. Fingers and palm were already swollen here. Even I felt my shoes started to tighten. Started to move my arms around flexing my fingers hoping the blood will start flowing again. It did help a little but it did get tired after while.

Before 1am when the second meal was served, I was already tired. Legs were starting to hurt and I was already yawning. The earlier day for me was without any nap at all, and I guess this contributed to the sleepiness. And there is still about 7 hours to go. Oh my...

I started walking really slow, even taking breaks at the sidewalk hanging out with Pueh Tian at times. By 2am, legs were hurting really badly and a huge blister the size of a 20 cents coin started to form on my left foot sole. Decided to take a break by sitting on the bench and taking out my socks to relieve the spot. And I was glad Raymond Ng who came to support and run a 10KM was there to keep me company. We chatted till almost 3am before he called it a night and return to his comfy bed. I wish I could do the same.

My poor legs with a blister on my left foot sole...

Continuing on, I just limped slowly. I know I have already hit my targeted 30KM but even if I quit, I had to wait till 8am to receive my medal. Therefore, I decided to take it real slow, doing a lap or 2 before resting and so on. And at 5am, the final meal was served. Just ate whatever was served as I know I will just collapsed on to bed later without breakfast.

And at about 6am, a very welcomed announcement was made. Walkers that decided to call it quits is allowed to receive their medals. With no hesitation at all after walking 2 more loops with Lawrence, I decided to end my walk at 6.30am with a time of 10:32:14 with 40KM walked.

I'm not upset at all for not walking throughout the 12 hours and also walking a 5KM lesser compared to last year. I am still kind of wobbly actually and legs were still pretty stiff especially my hamstring. I can't even flex properly and at times, I was walking sideways. So why not end it before some damage was done? I'm glad I did just that.

Front view of the finisher's medal...

Rear view of the finisher's medal...

Felt really wasted, probably even worst than last year. I even had problems driving back as the eyes were already shutting. And back home, after a cool shower, it's a short trip to dreamland as it was just too hot to sleep.

Last year, I told myself that I won't be doing this anymore but yet I still did it. Next year, if the company of friends are there, I might consider again though I know it's really painful. It's fun in a way actually. However, this year's quality took a dip especially on the food serving. Food was either too salty or too plain. No or shall I say very limited coffee and tea was served. And not forgetting how rude the meal servers was. Other than that, it's probably the case of the missing 8 hour results update which everyone was anxiously waiting for.