KLIM 08

Considering training has been almost zero I badly needed a mental boost to help me finish the run. It was a big help that I am probably going to do the whole course with Ayman. But on Saturday evening, just a day before the race Izrin informed me that she signed up for 10km run for KLIM 08. I got really excited to know that she did that only to realise that that could either be really sweet or dumb of her to do it. Somehow I always believe it is the former.

And I was right to think of it that way simply because she did finish her run with actual zero training. All she needed was a mental preparation for the race. I kept telling her the night before that she is doing it for herself and no matter how slow she fares the next day, never to let anyone else's thought bothers her. I can tell that she was a bit nervous because she will be doing it alone since I am running in the earlier start for 21km. But I told her that Azman is also doing the 10km, so there should be at least one or two familiar faces throughout the run.

All 4 of us reached Dataran Merdeka at approximately 0510. They were already quite a number of runners. I started to feel like a stranger surrounded by serious looking runners. And I was quite nervous down to the fact that I can't even pee after going through 5 minutes of queue to use the toilet. At 0530 the gates were open for 21km participants.

The start was slow since it was a mass start but it does not make any difference since I am gonna be doing a slow run anyway. The first water station was only 5km away but Ayman and I kept asking each other 'weh, mana water station ni wei?' just to show how unfit we are that we cannot even last 5km without feeling thirsty. After the first water station we managed to up our pace. As we headed towards Seputeh the pack of runners got stretched but Ayman and I were still running together. As we headed towards Jalan Hang Tuah, I told Ayman to go ahead and not wait for me as i was reduced to fast walking pace. I continued walking at that pace until I had my second gel in front of Pavilion. It was a funny and weird feeling to be sucking that gel in front of such a posh place, in my mind I told myself 'nasib baik aku telan powergel, kalau aku bukak roti canai bungkus cicah dhal sambil hilang langsung ke 'posh'an bangungan ni, takde makna punya nk taruk designer label kiri kanan kalau bangku2 kt luar bangunan ni aku buat port belasah roti canai'. After about 10 minutes, I managed to continue to jog until the finish.
After passing the famous nasi kandar shop at Jalan TAR i suddenly felt my lugs expanded and was literally sprinting towards the finish with an unofficial time of 03h 10m 12s. Although it was really slow I am happy that I managed to finish my first half marathon.

After catching up with the rest I started to feel the ill effect of that last 'sprint' towards the finish. My face turned pale and I puked 4 times. After the final one then only I could get hold of myself. Indeed it was painful but it is all worth it because all of us enjoyed the race.

I am so proud of Izrin that she finished her run. 10km is a no joke if you have not run further than 5km all your life. And for that I dedicate my finishing medal to her.




Before the start:






Ayman and Azman:




The crowd for half marathon:






Harun = Rudy Hitz.Fm
Johan Jochean = JJ Hitz.Fm
Fauzan = Member Ayman