Penang Bridge International Marathon 2013 (PBIM 2013)

Thanks to Kho Kwang Leng for the photo.

The original attraction of the event this year was running the new bridge. However, due to an accident the completion of the new bridge was delayed. This leaves us having to run on the old bridge again for another year. It really demotivated us who has ran a full marathon at the old bridge before. Although I ran my virgin full marathon at PBIM 2012, the route and the start time makes it one of the most difficult marathons to run. As I can only do a limited number of full marathons in a year, currently I have limited to 3, I would have done another marathon if I knew earlier we will be running the old bridge.

Due to the downhill running at Penang Run 3rd Series, I was having pain at my knee area after my every run. It gets worse after I did a 30km run a week after the Penang Run 3rd Series.  So I have to cut down the mileage tremendously and hope it will recover on time. Unfortunately I have a Rock To Rock Run two weeks after the Penang Run 3rd Series. The pain at the knee never gets better. I start dropping the mileage further and cutting off the LSD. I substituted running on the road or treadmill to running on a cross trainer. It helps to maintain my fitness level but definitely it will not be having a good finishing time entering a race.

So 10 days before the race, I did a 20km run to see if the knee pain will be bearable. Fortunately, it is bearable to run, although the after run is still painful. This last 20km will just have to suffice. Then two days before the race, I got fever ! This race is really the most demotivating one to run. How to recover from a fever in two days. Even then your body will be weaker as I have a lost of appetite when I am having fever. The choice is should I skip the race since it is running on the old bridge?

After a day taking the fever medications, the fever has subside substantially but I could feel a slight fever. So in the evening I decided to take 2 Panadols and go for the race. Doing the best I can and hopefully I won't collapsed along the course.

The weather was perfect for the run as it was raining before the start of the race and it stopped. A perfect cooling weather. I managed to overrtake the 5:30 pacer at the 8km mark and was happy that I may still be able to run despite the lack of training plus the fever. But when I was on the bridge at 14km mark, I felt that I wanted to vomit. My body signaling me that it can't take the pace no more. The energy level in my body just could not sustained the pace. That's when my pace has to drop significantly and the 5:30 pacer finally caught up with me at the 19km mark. And I was running just to complete the race. I have to run by the feel of my body and not pushing it too hard, fearing that I may just collapsed and I have still a long way to run. I decided to walk a minute or two if I feel that my body is feeling too tired.

Reaching the 27km down at the Jelutong Expressway and I knew this is will be the real test. This is when your body and legs start to feel really fatigue and it is straight road with three slopes and making a U-turn at 33km back to E gate at 38km. I always felt that PBIM is over distance since my run last year. This stretch of the route is no longer just physical but mentally tough. Surprisingly, I could endure this stretch better than I expected although I did take a few brisk walks but the body is holding up. The legs is starting to get really painful at this point. And I have to really focus on the run and ignore the pain to finish the race. It was a relived when I saw the sign "1 km to go". I just try to push harder from there to the finishing line and finished at 6:05 which is only 2 minutes faster than my last year record. My only disappointment is not being to finish under 6 hours. Looking back at the lack of LSD and running a marathon with fever I am glad I could complete it at a slightly better time and not collapsed on the course. Since we have an experience pacer collapsing at the recent SCKLM,  this "pengsan"(fainting) incident can really happened.

The medals and finisher T.

With Andrew, Debbie and Shannon after the race

Yeah ! Time for recovery. No more races for the rest of the year. What is the best thing to do post-marathon ? Go for a holiday and only eat, sleep and enjoy the scenery. Osaka, Kyoto and Nara, here I come !


This post has been updated and edited as I was writing most of it while I was waiting for the plane to Osaka at LCCT Terminal. 

Rock to Rock Run 2013

That's the way to dress if you are running Rock to Rock Run.

Race : Rock to Rock Run 2013

Organised by : Hard Rock Hotel, Penang

Distance : 10.2km

Finishing time : 66 mins

Pace : 6:30min/km

A race that I have entered for the running vest and the medal. And I have enjoyed the after race more than race itself due to the carnival atmosphere and rock bands after the run. We have runners come in different costumes since there is a best dressed costume contest. So we have Spiderman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Halloween costumes, Police Woman, Jungle Woman, and many others. And the first song played by the rock band that day is "The Best" sung by Tina Turner.  So let's rock on !

Hard Rock Hotel, Penang

View of Hard Rock Cafe and Hotel, Penang

Zumba Dance Performance

Rock Band Performance

Stalls at the Race

Running Vest of Rock to Rock Run 2013

Running bib and the medal

Penang Run 2013 - 2014 3rd Series - Race Recap

Photo taken at the stage of the 3rd Series.

I would describe this race as a "Real Fun Race". How can I describe a race as fun when there it has the longest climb, ie 5 km run up the hill of Balik Pulau and a heavy downpour just before the start of the race? And it was raining from the start to the end of the race !

Runners waiting outside the school before the heavy downpour

Reaching the finishing point at SMK Teluk Bahang earlier than the required time of 4:30 am for the bus transport to the starting point. The drive along the winding roads from Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang is more stressful than running to Teluk Bahang. Took the first bus that shuttle us to the starting point. The school gate of the starting point was still not opened at that point. After a few buses arrived, we were just crowding around the main gate of the school with the starting arch right in front. Then, a heavy downpour came. I was lucky to be under the shelter outside the school. Some runners are already drenched wet. There was just a misunderstanding with the school and the main gate was opened about a few minutes later. After a while, the rain stops.

Running vest and the elevation of the climb

We were waiting for the starting time at 6am. About 10 minutes before time, we were just standing in front of the arch waiting for the flag off. And a minute just before we were flagged off, the rain started again. And it was not a drizzle. It was raining cats and dogs. The runners were all wet before we even step on the timing mat. Immediately, out of the school we are supposed to run to Pantai Aceh and u-turn back which is about 7.5km before running up the hill of Balik Pulau. The run to Pantai Aceh was also hilly at certain stretches but it is the heavy rain all along this stretch that I can remember. I also brought my headlamp as I knew certain sections are pretty dark.

Great Job Andrew ! The organising chairman of Penang Run 2013 - 2014

I have studied the route for this series and I am prepared for the uphill run from 7.5km to 12.5km and then it will be downhill all the way to the Teluk Bahang Dam. The hill training which I did at Mengkuang Dam and Botanical Garden really help. I finally realised you can't run races without training for hills after my bad experience in Langkawi. Most races will have hilly patches. But this race has the longest climb. Fortunately, the climb is less steep than I anticipated. The slope at Mengkuang Dam has a steeper gradient. I could run up the 5km climb without walking. The views running up the hill and from the top of hill is just awesome ! But another heavy downpour as I was close to the top of the hill. The rain, the views, the hills and the cooler weather really makes this run enjoyable and memorable.

Dr Mok Ying Ren who ran with the Kenyans for the 3rd Series and finished third clocking a finishing time of 1:13. He also conducted a running clinic for this series a day before the race. 

It was another 6km downhill run to the Teluk Bahang Dam. I have to run faster to catch up for the lost time during the climb. And make sure that I land lightly on my foot so as not to injure my knee. As we were about to run into the dam, there is a sign that say 2 km to go. A flat road leading into the dam and another u-turn from inside the Dam. The views from the Dam is another awesome sight. As I was running out of the dam, you can really see who is behind you. Another 1km to go. It will be an all out effort to the finishing point. May have to slow down a bit for the photographers at the finishing point so that they won't miss me. I was really speeeding at the last 400m to overtake a lady runner just in front of me. But I saw quite a few runners walking at the last km. It was only 1 km left, why walk. You should run. Finally, finishing at 2:23 net time. My best time for all the 3 series. Slashing 10 minutes from my previous series. A PB for a half marathon. So it is a real fun race. Not so much on the PB but the rain, hills and the views along the route. The rain bring out the child in us that we are allowed to have fun in the rain.

The 3rd puzzle medal collected

To the orgainiser, the volunteers, the marshalls, the cyclist and many others getting drenched in the heavy rain and the pounding of the strong wind, a big word of "Thank you". You guys or gals are just great ! Making this race my most memorable race. Not only to me but to many runners in this series who have posted comments on Facebook.

West Lake, Hangzhou, China. A morning run.

West Lake 西湖 (Xi Hu), Hangzhou, China.

After a run at The Bund, Shanghai, I was tempted to do a similar run at the West Lake  西湖 (Xi Hu),  Hangzhou since our hotel is very near to the lake.  West Lake was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011. So I woke up early in the morning and started my run at 6am. It is less than 10 mins run to the lake. The first thing I noticed is the misty surrounding around the lake. A nice and serene atmosphere. The second thing I noticed is the huge numbers of senior citizens exercising around the lake.

Since I did not carry any water bottle, so my run has to be less than 80 mins and have to be back for the breakfast at the hotel. Comparing the run at The Bund, Shanghai, the run at West Lake, Hangzhou was a better place to run. The atmosphere and the scenery were just fantastic. In addition, I noticed that they are a lot of senior citizens running along the lake. And they are much older than me. The only reason they are drawing attention to me is I was wearing my Vibrams Five Fingers. They keep looking at my feet.

Views along the lake

The surprising part of the run is that some of these senior citizens run in groups and there were 20 to 30 of them in a group. And some of them is in their 70s. And they run with a flag and whistle just like in army training. So if there are so many senior citizens that can run of course we have to keep up. But the most interesting part of the run was that they are many interesting places along the lake. I could have keep on running watching the buildings and structures along the lake. Since I have did not bring any hydration and have to be back for the hotel breakfast, I just to control my urge of running further. I later found out that about the place that I stopped before running back to the hotel was called 楼外楼 Lou Wai Lou (Tower Beyond Tower). A place where they served the most expensive cuisine in Hangzhou by the West Lake.

Runners at West Lake, Hangzhou

We joined a day tour in Hangzhou for this trip which I don't really like because they waste a lot of time taking you to shops to buy stuffs that you don't want. And if you don't buy any stuffs, you can see the sour face of the tourist guide. However, there are more than 20 of us, a day tour with proper transport and a tour guide will be a better option. If they are only a few of us, the best option will be to rent a bicycle and cycle around Hangzhou. Since they are a lot of stations for bicycle rental.

Words of wisdom from Hangzhou, China

A Run at The Bund, Shanghai

View from The Bund, Shanghai when I did my morning run.

The trip to Shanghai and Hangzhou was planned more than 10 months ago. And I have also promised myself no races for September. As I have been running non-stop from January until end of August. Training for one race to another. But when we planned for the trip Air Asia only offered flights from KL to Hangzhou and not to Shanghai. After we have booked the flights a few months later then they have flights to Shanghai.

Anyway, we have to travel by flight from Penang to KL and then from KL to Hangzhou. We decided to try out the new high speed train from Hangzhou to Shanghai. The problem is that it is a big group of us. 21 people to be exact. After arriving at Hangzhou airport, we have to take a bus to the railway station and take the high speed train to Shanghai. And then the subway to nearest subway station and walk to the hotel near to Nanjing Road. One of the guy who join us for the trip the first time, he commented our trip is like The Amazing Race. Well, that's the best way to get to know the place better.

I woke up at 5:30am the next day to go for my run at The Bund (外滩), Shanghai which is very near to the hotel. I have planned for 60 mins to 70 mins run without any hydration. Bring my handphone along for taking pictures and emergency. The Bund (外滩) is a waterfront area in central Shanghai. The area centres on a section of Zhongshan Road within the former Shanghai International Settlement, which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River, facing Pudong, in the eastern part of Huangpu District. The Bund usually refers to the buildings and wharves on this section of the road, as well as some adjacent areas. The Bund is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai and is a must visit place for day and night.

Photo taken by Teik Sun. The background of the photo with the historical buildings is just awesome. 

View from The Bund, Shanghai at night

Runners at The Bund, Shanghai

This is a morning run where I get to run in one of the famous places in the world. And you just don't care about the distance you covered or the pace you are running. You just want to soaked into the magnificent views of the places that you will be running. Just ensuring myself that I can have energy to run back to the hotel. I am just thankful that I get to run in a famous place like this.

Another landmark, Nanjing Road in Shanghai which I have to run through from the hotel

Borneo International Marathon 2013 (BIM 2013)

Photo taken at Race Pack Collection.

Time for 3rd full marathon. Although the 2nd marathon at Langkawi was a disaster in term of finishing time. But I was thankful that I finished and have a good time. The half an hour of walking, facebooking and photography adds to the finishing time.

BIM Full Marathon Route

This is the first time that I actually plan my finishing time and determined my splits for the event. Andrew told me that this used to be a flat course. But that was in previous years. It was no longer a flat course this year. Fortunately, the experience in Langkawi has taught me well. Never expect a flat course when you run a marathon. The never-ending rolling hills in Langkawi is a real torture. The other experience I took away from Langkawi is that never keep walking even if it is uphill or when there is no cut-off time. When you keep walking and walking, you never want to run even when the route becomes flat.

Before the start of the race

So how I did I predict my marathon finishing time and pace for this event ? I used the MacMillian Running Calculator based on my latest half marathon time. It actually calculate your marathon finishing time based on your current time and goal time. I was targeting to finish at 5:15 and the calculated finishing time based on my half marathon time is 5:15:41 at a pace of 7:29min/km. Which is pretty close. That will be the ideal time. My next target time is if my pace drop really slow which I can feel from my long runs is to finish in 5:30. It will still be a big leap considering my first marathon is 6:07 and 6:37 for the second. After that, I used Runner's World Pace Wristband Creator to calculate the splits. But I only recorded the splits at 10K, 20K, 30K, 35K and 40K on a piece paper. So I finally figured out that I don't have to run with no direction not knowing my time targets.

The full marathon starts early at 3am and my transport comes at 2am. You can actually take the shuttle bus transport arranged by the organiser which cost you RM15. But I was lucky that Andrew's friend has transport and was also going for the marathon. After two days in Kota Kinabalu, my first experience with Kota Kinabalu is that the sun can be really hot when it comes out. Due to the postponement of the run from 5 May 2013, the number of runners must have drop quite significantly.

Flagging off at 3am starting from Likas Stadium, Kota Kinabalu with a pace of 7:04 for the first km which is actually too fast at the beginning. At 10K, I did 1:13 and the 10K split is 1:14. So I am within time. Next will be 20K. At 20K the split is 2:29. The pace started to drop after 18km mainly due to elevation gain inside University Malaysia Sabah. At 22km, it was flat but again gain elevation from 23 to 24km and another elevation gain at 28km. This is when I have a short walk and took a banana. So did I meet my 20km split of 2:29? Yup, I managed to make it at 2:29. The problem is the pace is starting to slow. The hilliest part of the route is inside University Malaysia Sabah.

The most boring part of the route is the U-turn at 29km at Jalan UMS, where we be will running back to the stadium. Basically, we are running the same route. And you can actually see who is ahead of you and who is behind you. And when I reach the 30km and looking at my time, I know I can't made it at 3:44 because my time then is 3:54 already and my pace is slowing significantly. But for once running in this third FM i can actually still run. Usually after 26km, I am just dragging myself to run. Although my pace has drop I can still run comfortably. And at 40km, my split is 5:06 and I am about 10 mins behind at 5:16. But I am hoping to hit the second target of 5:30. So I try to hold my pace steady and hope that I can speed up at the last few km of the race.

After the finishing the marathon, with a group of friends. Me, Andrew, Ngu and Ewe Jin

Finally, saw the sign, 1km to go. And it is a really long last km to run. I was surprised that my legs could still speed up at the last km which I am usually extremely tired by then. Just no more energy to run. Don't talk about speeding. This last km seem to be very never ending. Running into the stadium and just trying to hold my running posture so that I can have a good photograph. That's what most runners do at the finishing. At last, realising a nice finishing photo is important.  Finishing at 5:31:58 according to my Garmin. Only almost 2 mins off from second target of 5:30. Still very happy slashing 35mins off my first marathon is an achievement. And I really find myself finishing strong. Pacing myself conversatively in the first 20km helps without burning off all my energy early. So I could still run comfortably at 30km. Not to be overly ambitious on the finishing time ensure that I still have a good time. Fueling regularly at every hour also help, a gel every hour except on the 3rd hour which I fueled with a banana. Never hitting the wall in a marathon is really good plus a PB becomes really great ! Going for island hopping tomorrow. A running holiday in Kota Kinabalu is just awesome !

Last but not least, this marathon is well-organised race. Water stations with water and 100 plus. Also one water station with bananas and another with power bar. And the organiser really took the effort to get quite a lot of supporters for the whole route. Although the race starts at 3 am in the morning. So far, this race is the one that I ran with the most supporters and it helps. So weave a holiday in and run this race. It is worth the effort.

At the finishing lap

I like this medal !

The Finisher T shirt

It's time for recovery after BIM and preparing for the Penang Run 3rd Series, Rock to Rock Run and of course another Penang Bridge International Marathon. My virgin marathon. Running it for the 2nd time.