MPIB Run 2013: Race Review

Disappointing. Lacking. Painful.

That clearly sums up my horrible race start at the MPIB Run for the new year. I'm not going to beat myself over it though and will just move on and work on improving what I've lost. The past four weeks has seen me doing very laughable mileage, not intentional but due to injuries and it clearly showed in my fitness level which was also laughable.

The wife and me got to the race location early cos with the closure of the Bukit Aman car park, we knew parking was going to be a hot commodity. In fact we were a little late cos the moment we got a parking bay at the Lake Gardens car park, the place filled up instantly. Another 5 minutes too late and we would have been in trouble.

What?!! You took how long to finish a 12K?!!
Took a short warm up run at Lake Gardens and headed to the race start location with the wife who was there to lend support cos she opted out of this run. The race started on time and I opted to go into a conservative pace and pick up later on in the race. Save the energy for the hills, that was my plan but fate had other plans.

Right from the start I knew my race was in trouble when I couldn't even get up to speed. Trying to maintain my regular start pace was an effort and I wasn't even 2km into the race! By the time we hit the first set of hills, I was panting like a pervert on steroids! Damn, I've still got 9 freaking kilometers or so to go, with a lot more inclines thrown in and I was in trouble already.

I had little choice but to push on. The pace was all over the place and it was basically like that for the entire race. By that time, all I wanted to was to finish the race, to hell with timing, not that I had any choice in that matter. Though suffering, things were going okay until around the 8km mark when I was struck by cramps in my right thigh! I was flabbergasted, I'm getting cramps at the 8k mark of a 12k race and I knew at that point my race was officially ruined. No way in hell could I salvage any semblance of a decent race time.

I just struggled along with the run/walk method for the last 3km and prayed that the finish line would appear soon. And after 1:12:41, a whole 7 minutes off last year's timing, I finally crossed the finish and hobbled over to collect my medal.

The pain is clearly evident on my face ... pix courtesy of Lina.
A lot of work needs to be done to make up for loss training time and this drop in fitness level. I don't have any races signed up till March and I'm going to use the time to get back to proper speed and fitness. The training proper restarts from next week and I'm going to put my entire being into it but of course not to the point of getting injured again, something that happens easily to me. Getting injured was the culprit for this dip in form in the first place.

After the race, I met up with Ivan and Adeline of Skechers Malaysia, together with Yvonne and chit chatted about, what else, but running shoes ... LOL! A congrats goes out to Yvonne for 4th placing in her category.

I also gave the Skechers GOrun 2 its first race test and while my race outcome wasn't so good, the shoe on the other hand worked well. Though a tad bit narrower in fit and I had to lace them a little looser to cater for feet expansion, I hardly felt the shoe on my feet. For a lightweight shoe the cushioning was awesome and the grip on the downhill stretches, some of which were pretty steep, was excellent. Now if only my results had done justice to the shoe.

Took some photos with Lina before taking the long walk back to Lake Gardens to meet the wife who was doing her training over there while waiting for me to finish.

Comments

  1. It was a well organised run...fun too. I had my lil mishap of falling after being elbowed (I believe it was strictly an accident) and earning my first battle scar:P

    Happy running for the rest of 2013. Adorable furkid there!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, it was well organized race and kudos to the organizers for a job well done.

      Hope your elbow isn't too serious.

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  2. That's a fast race review!

    Good job despite the not so perfect run, Nick!

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    Replies
    1. Better to get it out before I forget what to say ... LOL!

      Thanks, you did a good job too despite not switching on your watch.

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  3. There's always another race. Now have a good rest. KY

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    1. I agree :D Good to catch up with you for a bit during the run. Hope to see more of you at races.

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  4. Still a great run on your condition. Great job!

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  5. don't be so hard on yourself. we all have days like that.

    sometimes, a bad day is a bad day, no matter what. but don't let one negative experience cause you to react by pushing yourself too hard and ending up with more injuries.

    Choose your race. (I can see why it is so hard in KL b'cos there's literally a race EVERY weekend!!) If you are not on form for that race, be mentally prepared for a training run, rather than beating yourself up over it.

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    1. I've already put it behind me and am moving on :D

      Yeah, too many races over here but I've already targeted the races that will benefit me the most and will spend the rest of the time for more training rather than running every single race around.

      Thanks for the advise though, much appreciated.

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  6. *pat pat*
    there there, just think of it as another lesson learnt and just, well, clocking up a bit of mileage, despite the shape you were in. hope your injury has/does not get worse.

    take care, and see you again soon! :)

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    Replies
    1. A lesson painfully learnt is more like it ... LOL!

      The legs are fine now and with some rest I'll be up and about by next week.

      Congrats on your 4th placing!

      Delete
  7. Congrats Nick..PB on rece report :)

    Not to worry nick, we all been there. You will get better, there will be more races to improve.

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  8. Rest up bro. The battle may be over, but the year's war is still ahead. ;)

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  9. Good job Nick for finishing your MPIB Run despite all the mishaps along the way. Chill bro.. dun b so hard on yourself... Maintain some positive vibes and learn from the painful experience the hard way.. =)

    There'll always another race to outdo ourselves hehee.. a very good mantra i guess.. =D

    I had the same cramp incident to for my kidney run back in 2012, around KM4 or 5... Really struggling with my pace too... Perhaps proper warm ups and sufficient trainings is a must... =D

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    1. Thanks. Other than the horrible performance, I did enjoy myself, as much as one can enjoy with cramps that is ... LOL!

      It was a tough and challenging route, so I did the best I could.

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  10. Shamed that I couldn't find you for photos post run.My run was a mess! haha..took off too fast and by 6k split, got nothing left in the tank..it was all walk/jog until the finishing line..anyway, congrats and good job. Hope to see u in the next event!!

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