Wet wet wet.....flat flat flat!

Today was the unofficial "Puisan's Anniversary Run".

It was today a year ago, that I ran my very first official road race that then lead me to the obsessive running person that I am today!

Yup folks...it was the Ipoh Half Marathon...(see, I'm trying to avoid using the word 'International')

Woke up at 5.15am to prepare for this race.

Flag off time for 21km was supposed to be 6.30am...but judging from last year, the flag off for the half would be the same as the 10km which is scheduled at 6.45am.....but throw in the component of Malaysian sense of time and the "official" flag off time would be 7am!

5.30am.......the sky opened up and let it pour like there's no tomorrow!!! 

Hmm.....dear Lord, I know I prayed for rain.....but at this hour and day?!

6.00am.......our unofficial "scheduled" time to leave the apartment.

Visibility due to rain....almost nil.

Temperature....freakin chilly!

6.15am......we've reached the stadium. Still raining cats and dogs.

6.30am.....FINE! We'll stop being wimps and hide in the car. We (me, Lynette, Dorcus) finally ran out of car looking for shelter!

6.45am...... have to HAVE TO go "register" ourselves and stay in the waiting area.....(although I personally think it was pointless....and you're getting more people in the rain.....I'm sensing a sudden spike in URTI cases in the nearby clinics)

6.50am......race officially postponed until 7am.

7.00am......according to the announcer, the race shall be starting shortly. For all runners in the 21km and 10km division to head to starting line. I've lost Lynette and Dorcus amongst the crowd.

7.15am......it is STILL raining.....I've found Wendy (it would be difficult to miss the brightly dressed runner) and we're shivering in the crowd.

7.20am......the MB of the moment (who knows...maybe next week it will be the PKR guy again!) starts giving some speech. Nobody pays any attention. Crowd growing unruly and restless. When are we gonna start running?!

7.25am......it is STILL raining AND the MB of the moment is still chattering away with pleasantries of sort. My shoes are completely soaked. So is my shirt, running bra, skirt....EVERYTHING!!! Wondering if iPod will survive the ordeal.

7.30am......finally MB of the moment fires the gun and the crowd went wild!!!!

Off they went onto the running route. Yes...amazingly, still raining.

The route differed from the previous year...(I did the 10km then...I was a running newbie this time last year.....oh, the nostalgia!!)

The previous year, the 21-ers and the 10-ers ran together pass Casuarina Hotel and until the 10-ers turn off to Polo Ground half way while the 21-ers trudged on.

This year......right at Greentown Mall, the split took place. This leaves us 21-ers to run pass Ipoh Parade and onto the previous year's route.

During the start of the race....I could feel shinsplints coming on...OUCH!

It was cold....my socks were WET....my shoes felt heavy.....my legs felt like lead...my right hip hurts.

It was difficult to keep steady pace and I felt myself slowing down significantly to ease the pain.

I think it only got better at around the 5km mark...I finally found my steady pace and the pain of EVERYTHING eased tremendously.

What helped?

Finding someone to pace me!!!

As I was running past Casuarina Hotel, I strike up a conversation with this Indian uncle (well, maybe NOT uncle coz I'm pretty sure he was in his thirties......) and we ran together for a few more kilometers until the turn off into Ampang area.

Then I felt that he was trailing behind.....

I then tagged Chinese uncle....

Each time he slowed down and just as I was about to overtake him, he'd suddenly speed up, probably sensing my urge to run a little faster.

We did this process over and over until after 10km mark.

Then followed this really tiny Chinese uncle because I FINALLY overtook the first Chinese uncle!

That was when I took my GU.....(which by the way tasted a whole lot better than Powergel)

* these were my saviours today!!

I think I lost the tiny uncle as we were crossing the road and there weren't many people in front of me so I had to run a little faster to trail someone else.

Finally found good pace with this youngster and his dad (I'm assuming...) for another km or so.

Again I lost them as I was crossing the road....(you need to cross a lot of roads in Ipoh)

This was when the race sped up for me.

I couldn't find someone who was at good pace for me.

The subsequent people running in front of me, I could easily outrun......so for the next couple of km was running alone looking for someone to trail...(I know...I'm PATHETIC!!!)

So I just picked up pace and ran faster....because.....I dunno....it was weird to not see anyone running infront of me.....I ran fast to find someone else running infront of me.

Does that make sense to you?!

(who cares..it make sense to me and that is all that matters!)

Finally I found this Malay running uncle and we chatted for the next few km.....

I think this uncle was the most forthcoming in conversations other than the "Are you from Ipoh, girl?" and the "Is this your first half marathon?"

Uncle is from Terengganu and he too, like me, completed the half marathon at SCKLM the week before....AND....he started running 5 years ago!!!

At 45 years of age....uncle is going STRONG!!!

And....this actually made me feel better.....he has NEVER run a full before!!! Not even after 5 years! 

After the turning at the traffic light, I felt uncle slowing down and he told me to carry on.

I made a mental note (after I left the Malay uncle) to ask them their names next time....as opposed to calling them uncles based on their ethnicities on the blog!

Then another few more km of running alone.....I down the second Powergel just before turning into Kampung Simee area.

At that point, probably with 3-4km more to go....I just wanted this race to be OVER and DONE with. The sun was coming up and it was getting hot. My soggy socks and shoes were annoying me. I wanted isotonic drinks very badly...(unfortunately through out the whole course, they only served plain H2O!!)

This was when I picked up pace as well.....(probably the Powergel was kicking in!)

You know....I was SO ABSOLUTELY freakin GLAD to see the stadium!!!!

I glanced down at my wristwatch and it was showing 1:59:10.......

Almost 500m more to go......

Then about 200m ahead......

I can see the finish line already......

My legs aren't functioning......why are they slowing down?!

Guys....the finish line is in view.....for crying out loud, perk up!!!

Give me all you've got!!!

* my timing!!!

Then......I pass the finish....I look down....2:01:50!

I was no. 31 in Women's Open.

Sigh...will do!

(then someone told me later that their GPS recorded the route as 19.19km.........kill joy!!)

Oh well......I have KOTR Shah Alam 2nd August to try and officiate that timing on a real 21km route.....(although I HATE that race route)

* my soggy, yucky shoes......now enjoying a bit of sunbathing!!

Anyway.....it was fun in retrospect.

The route was flat throughout!!!! 

I haven't run around in the rain for the longest time......(it's the drought season, guys!)

And I proved to myself (and skeptics out there) that my running skirt did not slip off eventhough pelted by rain!! In fact the running skirt proved to be as tough as any good ol' running shorts.....plus, it kept my GU and Powergel in place!

* Dorcus, Lynette...yours truly!

Oh....and thankfully, the iPod survived!!!!

* My post-race meal....did I ever mention that I grew up on McDs?! (like, literally!!)

Now if you will, excuse me and my achy right hip.

Later!!!