Sunday, October 17, 2010

Mizuno Wave Run 2010...

Event: Mizuno Wave Run 2010
Venue: Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang
Date: 17 October 2010
Time: 7.25am
Distance: 10KM
Shoe: K-Swiss K-Ona
By Frank

I did not sign up for this event. However, I was tempted to run it when Michelle and Raymond told me to tag along with them during our duathlon brick session yesterday. Since missing Nike's KL City Run last weekend due to fatigue, and after some hesitation, I finally agreed. Besides, some good news from Michelle is that Lynn has an extra bib from a friend who decided not to run. That will make me a legal runner! Thanks Lynn and your friend.

Woke up feeling really sluggish due to insufficient sleep from the night before. Right knee was also feeling weird from the knock I had from the careless fall yesterday. Besides, tummy was feeling "fiery" from the effect of tom yam at yesterday's night farewell dinner for my cousin, Diana who is leaving for Melbourne in about an hour's time at the time I'm typing this. Good luck Diana! Since I'm joining this race as part of my training for my upcoming Powerman 2010, I decided to run at a steady pace of nothing faster than 6 minutes per kilometer or slower than 6 minutes half per kilometer. And only to push at the last kilometer. Pretty simple and similar training runs I have during regular days.

Went to Raymond's house at 6am to meet up with him and Michelle as we are car pooling together to the venue. Thanks Raymond! Always nice to travel to race site with fellow running friends.

Arrived early at the race site, and secured an illegal parking lot. Most cars were parked illegally as there is just insufficient parking area at the venue. Anyway, did our necessities and proceeded to the start to look for Lynn which we had trouble finding. Took a while just before the women's race was flagged off at 7.15am that Michelle managed to find her and pass the bib to me. Phew...

The men's event is to be started 10 minutes later and I had time to bump around with Lawrence, Uncle Yee Choi and Kwan Weng. Once the race started, I found myself sandwiched at the rear pack and facing difficulty maneuvering through the other runners. The path was really narrow and the first climb which appear really soon didn't make things easier.

The climb was long and pretty steep at certain areas, but those who did last weekend's TNF 2010 will find it nothing compared to those they experienced. However, the run was nice as it takes runners into the surrounding and within the area of the university. Running path remains narrow and I had to run on the grass at certain point just to maintain my planned pace. It was like about 4KM later that the road widen and some other runners slowed down. Managed to break free here and started to make lost ground, but most important, my pace began to remain constant here.

There are a lot of climbs in this race route. I attack most the climbs using fast and short strides and it does the trick. Getting over with it fast and still feeling good at the top. As for down hills, I played around with my stride and gait hoping to find a solution to my weak point here. I have never like running down hill but I must do something to make sure I won't injure myself in the future.

I skipped the refreshment station but stop for a drink at the second at around 7KM I think. The final stretch to the finishing is a long steep climb. However similar to the earlier climb, it's nothing compared to those at TNF 2010 and I managed it pretty well. At the top of the climb, I saw the race finish site and began to hasten up.

It's the final kilometer and I push here, to finish a race strong. Towards the last bend which I nearly out run the running line cause of the sharp turn, Lynn called me out. Thanks Lynn. And from there, it's all the way to the finish line though I reduced myself to my normal pace just before crossing it, just to make sure my heart rate drops back normally. I completed this race in 1 hour on the dot, 01:00:00.

Continued running for a while as part of my warm down before proceeding to collect the goodies bag, rehydrate myself and to meet up with Michelle and Raymond. Hung out for a while, meeting up with friends before adjourning for breakfast.

All in all, a productive training run for me. No regrets taking up Lynn's friend bib to run this and also thanks to Michelle and Raymond for the brainwashing. I did have fun!

* I've heard the passing of a runner at approximately 3KM into the race. May he Rest In Peace and condolences to his family and loved ones.

1 comment:

Nick Phillips said...

I didn't even know a runner collapsed and died till after the race ... sad thing though.