Shape Men's Health Night Run 2013: Race Report

It was a wet, wet and really wet affair at the Shape Men's Health Night Run 2013 this year. The entire day leading up to the race was cloudy, hinting of wet race conditions, something I was actually looking forward to, what with the humid night conditions of Putrajaya.

The last day leading up to the race had me stressed big time with work related issues for the event that saw me driving up to the race location on Friday to troubleshoot the backdrop set up which forced an emergency reprint due to some technical glitches that were entirely not my fault. We just couldn't have a race without a backdrop now, could we? Managed to get that issue sorted by working through the night.

My customary medal model posing with my limited medal ...

The wife and me left for the race location a little earlier than we normally would. The skies were already turning a darker shade of black. It opened up just as we left the house and I knew it was going to be a wet race. I was relishing it but was a little concerned about lightning cos I knew for a fact the race organizers would have cancelled the start if there was a electrical storm. Thank god the lightning was kept in check.

It was drizzling on and off at the race location as I made my way to the Skechers tent, which was the GCAM group's planned rendezvous point. The rest of the gang weren't there yet and Jamie had already gone for his pre-run session. I hung around the Skechers tent and chatted up with Ivan and Adeline and soon enough I saw Calvin and the rest of the gang started trickling in slowly.

The GCAM group with Foo's famous Ah Teng :D
Pic courtesy of Jamie Pang.

The usual jokes and photo sessions were in place and then we all headed to the start pen to await the race. With the limited number of medals for my category and judging by  the likes of the heavyweight runners of same category surrounding me, I knew it was going to be tough fighting for a medal. The skies looked promising for more rain but the conditions were already excellent for a night race.

The start was without any fanfare, at least not from where I was. The first 2k was going to be choked with traffic so I took off at an easy pace of 5:30 just going with the crowd and waiting for the Seri Gemilang bridge section which I knew would open up the crowd a little. Once pass the bridge, I took the opportunity to increase the pace a little to make up for the lost time. My entire strategy was to keep to an even and very manageable pace.

Seeing as how I was feeling totally in the zone, I slowly upped the pace a lot more and was pleasantly (okay, ecstatically is more like it) surprised to see that I could ramp up the pace to 4:45-5:00 with not too much effort. The breathing was fine, the legs were good, the mind was sharp. Even the undulating terrain of the route didn't faze me and I was bounding up the hills like a mountain goat (Jamie's term) and having such a great time in the light drizzle of the night.

Finally got to meet Moey in person.
Pic courtesy of Best of Running.

With the weather being was it was, I skipped the first water station and took a few sips at the next three. Knowing the conditions of the route was also a big plus since I knew exactly where the inclines would be. Before I knew it, I was at 12k mark and the finish was clearly in sight. Sprinted the last 200 metres and gratefully accepted the hard earned limited medal.

I crossed the finish with personal best of 1:02, taking off 5 minutes from last year's time and I am happy with the effort. All that sacrifices, training and mileage I've been putting in, getting my lazy butt forced off the bed by the wife in the mornings with threats of bodily harm if I didn't get up to run seems to be bearing a little fruit. She's been a great pillar of support and inspiration. I went to bed with a smile on my face last night :D

A big congrats goes out to the wife who attempted this race again coming back from a knee injury and was in all honesty under trained for it. She did a good job in completing it. Kudos babe. Congratulations also go out to the GCAM guys and gals too. It was a good meet up again with loads of fun and laughter, as always. Catch you guys in the next race or for an LSD session soon.

Overall, the race was nicely organized, rain and all. I could hardly find fault with it, not that I was looking for any. A big thank you goes out to Skechers Malaysia, one of the main sponsors for the event  for putting a great show. I had a blast. The wife went away with an even bigger smile on her face and lugging a new Skechers GObionic Trail which has me looking at her in envy! Now she's hounding me for a trail run session soon ... LOL! I'm so tempted to put it on and run, pink or not, unfortunately (or thankfully) we're different shoe sizes.

Pretty in pink, the Skechers GObionic Trail ...