New Balance 2013 Run: Disaster Level Dragon Averted
Getting back in shape after the fasting month had been disastrous for me. What made it even more problematic for me was that I had enrolled to participate the New Balance 2013 Run which was only one week away after the Raya.
It was a bad decision on my side. The only reason that I had made the decision was because of my experience of joining the Adidas KOTR just after Raya in 2012. The timing for the KOTR run was above my expectation because just like the New Balance Run, it was just after the Raya. That gave me confidence that I could repeat the same feat this year. How wrong I am.
The main mistake was that I didn't consider the gap between the Raya & the date of the run was too short. With only 10 days gap, not much preparation can be done. That being said, coming up for work after Raya was hectic. The weather also wasn't cooperative with most of the evening were raining.
The 1st time that I tried to run 3km after the Raya I was left chugging for air. I didn't even finished the run. It was like I was trying to learn how to run for the 1st time. The 2nd time was better, but not exactly a game changer. I still didn't finish the run even though I could breath more easily. With the date was in mere days, I pushed the panic button.
It may be the worst run that I will run. Disaster Level Dragon was looming....
The New Balance 2013 Run had being organized in Setia Alam, Shah Alam. I'm quite fortunate that both my brothers also decided joined the run. Plus with Firdaus, it was 4 of us. Truth to be told, I think all of us were not in our best shape for the run.
The run will start at the Setia Alam lake/park. So as usual early in the morning the 4 of us drove from Iqbal's house to the site. But since the destination is about 30 minutes drive, when we arrived it was quite late. The half marathon runners already off the starting line. It was only about 15 minutes before the 10km event will start.
It was worse for me though. Before started running, I went to the toilet. And when I arrived at the starting line, the other guys were nowhere to be found. The counting had already started.
5....4....3....2...1
I conceded & quietly start the run from the last line of the race. This is the worst start that I have ever done. No warm up, only be able to do some stretching. Ah, whatever la....
Usually, I will put myself in the middle of the pack of the runners. If possible, in the front. Not that I expect that running in the last of the pack will lift the run's pressure off my shoulder. This is the first time that I run without any expectation or target. Because of my lack of preparation, I just want to finish the run without injury.
One by one of the runners I passed. Most of the runners that stay at the back were aware of their conditions that will not be able to catch up with the rest. Some of them just want to run for fun with their friends/couple. Not that I expect that I will catch up with one of my group just before 1km in the race.
The rest of the guys - Iqbal, Rosman, & Firdaus had started the run in the middle of the pack. So, I only expect to catch up with them (if it ever so) when we reach at least 5km in the race. But when I meet up with Rosman just before 1km, I was kind of surprise. And guess what, he was walking. It was just at the start of the run & he already walking?! And I thought my condition was bad.
I have to say that I was quite surprised when the 1st drink stop had being put just after 3 km in the run. I quickly get the 100 Plus to refresh myself. Even though at the start of the run, the organizer announced that there will be 3 drink stops - actually at the end of the run I counted 4. Kudos to the organizer. Another plus point is that at all the stop, there were 100 Plus drinks.
For the rest of the run I was barely keeping my breath to continue running. With the songs blaring through the earphones, I kept stringing some words inside my head. Various things playing into my head. Thinking on how I want to start this posting. Planning about the personal project of my car. Thinking other posts that I may want to write in the future. All for the sake of taking my mind off from the run.
Finally at 7km, I managed to caught up with Iqbal. Surprisingly, even at this stage of the run I still didn't stop for a rest even though my timing is waaay off. It seems he also having some difficulty with his rhythm for the run. Since he stops several times, my diligence does paid off.
From the start, I didn't put much expectation or effort to the run. It was at the minimum that I should finish the run without having any taking too long or worse - an injury. After the last run in April, I have this fear of injuring my left foot during running. It was during the KL Road Race that I had injured my left foot. The pain was not so severe, but after some consultation with a physio - she points out that my left leg muscle was smaller that my right one. That is why the left side was always prone to pain after some runs that I had did last time.
But catching up with Iqbal does have some effect on me. It dawn to me that I may end up finishing the run faster than him. Nothing feels like winning. I start assessing my body. My breathing was quite OK. A little bit heavy but not so bad. Leg? No pain or stiff feeling what so ever. Hmmm, now it is time to get serious....
From then onwards, Iqbal & myself kept passing each other. Iqbal was quite fast by the way even though he looks heavier than me. That is the most mysterious puzzle that I still can't comprehend. Once, during the Penang Bridge Run 2012, he ran faster than me & Firdaus while leisurely running at his pace - taking some photos with his iPhone along the way, while myself having a very hard time completing the run.
By 8.5km, the conclusion from the run seems to be clearer. Iqbal didn't seem to have much steam anymore. With a last push, I ran to the finish line with all energy that I have left. I just hope that my leg won't injured in the process.
And surprisingly, even though this was my worst start ever, I still managed to beat Iqbal by a mere 2 minutes.
The fastest among our group - Firdaus, who finished at 1hr 15 minutes.
Me - 1hr 19 minutes
Iqbal - 1hr 21 minutes
Rosman - lost in time (We actually managed to eat some breakfast provided by the organizer before he arrived. But yea!!! At least he didn't picked up by the emergency van at the end)
RUN RATINGS - NEW BALANCE RUN 2013
Organizer - 5/5
The event had been organized perfectly. 4 drink stops - Check. A lot of foods & drinks at the end of the race - Check. Experienced Rela manning the road - Check. Kudos to New Balance.
Kit & Goodies - 4.5/5
I just have one grouse about the kit. I got an L shirt instead of my usual size M. When I ran, it looked awkward when the sleeve start sliding down my shoulder.
Route - 5/5
There are no hilly area along the route. Less risk for injury. Even though my shape was off, I didn't have to rest & there are no injury.
Overall Experience - 4.5/5
It should be 5. I managed to ran continuously without resting. No pain to the left leg. But I got an L shirt yo. Now I can only use this shirt as my sleeping shirt when the weather is hot at night.
A nice surprise at the end of the race. I met up with my fellow SDARians - Norhisham (Wak Tong) who came all the way from Kuantan to join the run. Guess Malaysia is not so big after all....
It was a bad decision on my side. The only reason that I had made the decision was because of my experience of joining the Adidas KOTR just after Raya in 2012. The timing for the KOTR run was above my expectation because just like the New Balance Run, it was just after the Raya. That gave me confidence that I could repeat the same feat this year. How wrong I am.
The main mistake was that I didn't consider the gap between the Raya & the date of the run was too short. With only 10 days gap, not much preparation can be done. That being said, coming up for work after Raya was hectic. The weather also wasn't cooperative with most of the evening were raining.
The 1st time that I tried to run 3km after the Raya I was left chugging for air. I didn't even finished the run. It was like I was trying to learn how to run for the 1st time. The 2nd time was better, but not exactly a game changer. I still didn't finish the run even though I could breath more easily. With the date was in mere days, I pushed the panic button.
It may be the worst run that I will run. Disaster Level Dragon was looming....
The New Balance 2013 Run had being organized in Setia Alam, Shah Alam. I'm quite fortunate that both my brothers also decided joined the run. Plus with Firdaus, it was 4 of us. Truth to be told, I think all of us were not in our best shape for the run.
The run will start at the Setia Alam lake/park. So as usual early in the morning the 4 of us drove from Iqbal's house to the site. But since the destination is about 30 minutes drive, when we arrived it was quite late. The half marathon runners already off the starting line. It was only about 15 minutes before the 10km event will start.
It was worse for me though. Before started running, I went to the toilet. And when I arrived at the starting line, the other guys were nowhere to be found. The counting had already started.
5....4....3....2...1
I conceded & quietly start the run from the last line of the race. This is the worst start that I have ever done. No warm up, only be able to do some stretching. Ah, whatever la....
 |
| Start at the back of the pack |
Usually, I will put myself in the middle of the pack of the runners. If possible, in the front. Not that I expect that running in the last of the pack will lift the run's pressure off my shoulder. This is the first time that I run without any expectation or target. Because of my lack of preparation, I just want to finish the run without injury.
One by one of the runners I passed. Most of the runners that stay at the back were aware of their conditions that will not be able to catch up with the rest. Some of them just want to run for fun with their friends/couple. Not that I expect that I will catch up with one of my group just before 1km in the race.
 |
| Not many people at the back. No pressure... |
The rest of the guys - Iqbal, Rosman, & Firdaus had started the run in the middle of the pack. So, I only expect to catch up with them (if it ever so) when we reach at least 5km in the race. But when I meet up with Rosman just before 1km, I was kind of surprise. And guess what, he was walking. It was just at the start of the run & he already walking?! And I thought my condition was bad.
 |
| Catching up with Rosman at 1km - walking leisurely at his pace.... |
I have to say that I was quite surprised when the 1st drink stop had being put just after 3 km in the run. I quickly get the 100 Plus to refresh myself. Even though at the start of the run, the organizer announced that there will be 3 drink stops - actually at the end of the run I counted 4. Kudos to the organizer. Another plus point is that at all the stop, there were 100 Plus drinks.
For the rest of the run I was barely keeping my breath to continue running. With the songs blaring through the earphones, I kept stringing some words inside my head. Various things playing into my head. Thinking on how I want to start this posting. Planning about the personal project of my car. Thinking other posts that I may want to write in the future. All for the sake of taking my mind off from the run.
 |
| Runners at 5km |
Finally at 7km, I managed to caught up with Iqbal. Surprisingly, even at this stage of the run I still didn't stop for a rest even though my timing is waaay off. It seems he also having some difficulty with his rhythm for the run. Since he stops several times, my diligence does paid off.
 |
| Sunrise at Setia Alam |
But catching up with Iqbal does have some effect on me. It dawn to me that I may end up finishing the run faster than him. Nothing feels like winning. I start assessing my body. My breathing was quite OK. A little bit heavy but not so bad. Leg? No pain or stiff feeling what so ever. Hmmm, now it is time to get serious....
 |
| I guess that guy had a harder time than me.... |
By 8.5km, the conclusion from the run seems to be clearer. Iqbal didn't seem to have much steam anymore. With a last push, I ran to the finish line with all energy that I have left. I just hope that my leg won't injured in the process.
And surprisingly, even though this was my worst start ever, I still managed to beat Iqbal by a mere 2 minutes.
The fastest among our group - Firdaus, who finished at 1hr 15 minutes.
 |
| The fittest of us all... |
Me - 1hr 19 minutes
Iqbal - 1hr 21 minutes
Rosman - lost in time (We actually managed to eat some breakfast provided by the organizer before he arrived. But yea!!! At least he didn't picked up by the emergency van at the end)
RUN RATINGS - NEW BALANCE RUN 2013
Organizer - 5/5
The event had been organized perfectly. 4 drink stops - Check. A lot of foods & drinks at the end of the race - Check. Experienced Rela manning the road - Check. Kudos to New Balance.
Kit & Goodies - 4.5/5
I just have one grouse about the kit. I got an L shirt instead of my usual size M. When I ran, it looked awkward when the sleeve start sliding down my shoulder.
Route - 5/5
There are no hilly area along the route. Less risk for injury. Even though my shape was off, I didn't have to rest & there are no injury.
Overall Experience - 4.5/5
It should be 5. I managed to ran continuously without resting. No pain to the left leg. But I got an L shirt yo. Now I can only use this shirt as my sleeping shirt when the weather is hot at night.
A nice surprise at the end of the race. I met up with my fellow SDARians - Norhisham (Wak Tong) who came all the way from Kuantan to join the run. Guess Malaysia is not so big after all....
 |
| Meeting up after 15 years... |
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