3r international run 10km

this would make my third race in 3 weeks, making it 3 weekends in a row. 

i was out the entire day on saturday supporting my amazing friends at the juggernaut event, and boy can supporting be tiring i tell you! i got home, and really wanted to crash at 7. but the fear of waking up at 10pm with my eyes wide open, stopped me! so i crashed about 8, and my frustration when i got up at 220am. i rolled in bed and looked at my phone again, 320am! sighs! i was tossing and turning, and before i knew it my alarm rang 5 in the morning. 

this paragraph probably has the word shit one too many times. i got changed, grabbed my bfast, tried to shit, but couldn't shit so i got in the car and took off. i think i tried to shit for way too long, so i only got to the venue around 6, whilst flagoff was at 630am. i had to try to shit again, get myself warmed up, put my stuffs in luggage storage, and make my way to the front of the starting line in a mere less than 30 minutes. fortunately, i finally managed to shit. one of runners major worries, crossed off my worry list. then i warmed myself up with a quick run and stretch and made it to the front of the startline, for the first time in my life. 

upon flagoff, when my watched beeped and i saw 3m 50s i knew my first km was way too fast. at the 5th km onwards, i had the 2nd biggest runner worry - a side stitch! i had a pretty bad run honestly. i think i gassed out. and i really wanted to push, but i felt like i could not push on. 200m from the finishing line, i could feel the urge to throw up. i was really gassed out. even my final kick was so slow. it was a really bad run for me. managed a 48 minutes plus timing and placed 6th place. thing is, i don't know how i could have done better today because i really could not push which made me feel, in general, lousy! 

but it's okay, i will mope around and be a slob for today, and train harder, and come back faster than yesterday. 

on a side note, congratulations to kak syaz for her 10th place in the 21km and kak hani for her 8th place in the 10km. also major congratulations to kimball for completing his very first marathon =) 

so this is how i cheer myself up, i eat. 

of course, thanks to my coach for the neverending support and thanks to moolabar for my pre-race breakfasts and also post race recovery breakfast. 

kemensah krazy 30km trail run

saturday evening, i wasn't too sure whether i'd be showing up to race. 

first of all, i felt i was under-prepared. i wasn't too sure whether my body was recovered from the half ironman the previous week. also, i didn't run the entire week after ironman 70.3 save some short recovery runs. and yeah i had many reasons not to go. after much contemplation, i thought, i paid 160 bucks for this, i better damn well go. and i ain't no quitter. how can i give up without even trying. so off i went to the pharmacy to get some basic first aid stuffs. 

i'm not a fan of plain white rice. i'm the fried rice, chicken rice kinda person. normally before a race, if i eat dinner at home, i would pack a packet of rice to eat with the dishes that grandmother cooks. this time, i didn't. so dinner for me was only egg wine soup and vegetables. and this was one of my thoughts during the race. i should have eaten more. 

got up around 4, and went to zoo negara together with coach. he was joining the 45km category whereas harjinder, kak hani, kak syaz, guzzy, dave and myself were joining the 30km category. i watched him prep and watched his flagoff. then it was my turn to prep. met harjinder and dave and we had breakfast whilst prepping. the whole race is about the both of them, harjinder and dave. they are epic. so i passed them some ORS to take. but they didn't have water, nor could they find water. so they decided to drink the ORS with teh-o. epic i tell u. 

anyways, upon flagoff, i did pretty well for the first 10km. until, a dude fell on me. it was a steep area and he slid and fell. i grab hold of his bag and pulled him. i thought i was going to roll down the hill with him. luckily the girl behind me also grabbed hold of him and he really was there hanging with the 2 of us pulling him. that almost gave me a heart attack. after the incident, i felt my heartbeat shot through the roof. i went slower and was extremely cautious and sections. 

the entire run, i was thinking, i should never join a trail run more than 20km, ever. and also thought of how i should have eaten more the dinner before. and thought to myself i was insane when i signed up for this. 

also, after the 10km point i had a stitch which made it difficult for me to run. i had to run, walk, run walk. the frustrating part was running towards cp7. checkpoint 7 seemed like a world away. it was like a never-ending trail to cp7. whenever i passed oncoming marshalls, they would tell me, really near. but, the really near turns out to be, i still don't see anything 30 minutes later. my joy when i saw cp7. the trail after cp7, is what the organizers would term technical and what i would term walking through a jungle not a trail. 

another drama was when i saw my watch hit 30km. but, i was still in the middle of nowhere. i asked oncoming runners whether there was a junction that turned off nearby but they said no and they said the checkpoint was pretty far away. i majorly panic-ed. i thought i was lost. my energy levels stooped major low. i had zero energy levels. i was frustrated by the over distance. and i just wanted to sit there and not move. i turned back, and i saw coach. if not for him, i don't know how i would complete the over distance. he motioned for me to keep walking and keep moving. there were no distance markers so we didn't know how far along we were and how much more we had to cover. 

the finishing line was a whole over 3km away. the joy when we crossed it. i managed with a time of 5h 50 minutes. 

but the highlight of this race was not my experience. the highlight of the race was watching harjinder complete a 30km trail run. and hear his epic stories after his run. his experience was definitely gold i'm sure. he was very semangat throughout the entire run and that spirit is super admirable. congratulations harjinder on your accomplishment. you did amazing. congratulations to dave as well who was harjinder's partner in crime in this entire thing. you both just have that extra something special in you that is worth admiring. 

congratulations everybody on finishing the race. and congratulations coach on his 2nd place finish. 

the thanks for ironman putrajaya 70.3

i would like to thank the people who supported me throughout my entire journey. thanks for the kind words, the words of encouragement, the guidance and also the support. thanks for the tips. thanks for training with me. thanks for pushing me. and thanks to all that came to putrajaya to support me. i am deeply grateful for that and i am forever in your debt. you all were my pillars of strength and you all made my day. 

post-race, i received alot of messages from friends all over. they all read along the lines of being inspired to join a race, from a marathon, to a triathlon and also doing the half ironman next year. i'm deeply honored to have triggered the fire in you to challenge something new. to those who said to me, i am their inspiration, know that you guys continue to inspire me everyday. everyday you guys come to me and tell me your new story of attempting something new and having the courage to attempt something challenging, you guys put a smile on my face and you guys inspire me with your courage. 

train hard, train smart, and i hope each and everyone of you attain your dreams. i'll be back, faster and stronger. and so will every single one of you. 

ironman putrajaya 70.3

my alarm rang at 440am, and i sprang out of bed. it's here. it was today. i washed up, pulled on my swimsuit, went to the fridge to put my cold drinks into a bag, loaded everything into my car, and off i went to fetch zane. i'm thankful i had zane to follow me, talking to him in the car, kinda toned down the nerves i had. i ate a moolabar in the car just to fill my stomach. 

we got to the race site about 540am ish. carrying lots of bags, i looked like one of those aunties who went shopping on a no plastic bag day. i kid you not. i went into transition to lay down my stuffs, and my neighbour was staring at me. i said 'hi, yeah i have lots of stuff.' and she just went 'yeah i can see that.' after laying out my bike gear and run gear i realized i left my speedometer in the car. so i had turned to my neighbour and said be right back, i forgot some stuff. and she went like 'what you have more stuff?' with the how is that even possible look on her face haha. 

so after laying out everything, i went to meet zane and andy. aprreciate them both for being there at the start. i was way too nervous. had another bar whilst walking from transition area to the swim start. i get hungry really easily, so, thought it be best to fill my stomach. i have always had a problem wearing swimcaps. maybe my head is just too big. last week when i went for the tadonamo swim, karen helped my put on my swim cap. lucky this week i had andy to help me, if not, need to go up to a random stranger and ask for help. 

okay so at 715 i went into the cage. i decided to go in the 46m - 55m time frame as coach had estimated me to finish my swim in a time of 47-48 minutes. it was a rolling start. i saw everyone dive off the platform, and thought to myself, i can't do that. so when it came to my turn, i sat down on the platform and pushed myself into the water. i just kept swimming. oh i swam breaststroke. 2 minutes into the swim, i felt like my timing chip was coming off. so i stopped to re-strap it into position. then i continued swimming. the best part of my swim was passing freestylers with my breaststroke hahahaa. i just swam and swam and i was so happy when i finished the swim. i came out of the water and glanced at my watch. 43 minutes. wow. i was really happy with my time. that was almost 4 minutes better than expected. then i heard coach. was really happy to see him there at the swim end. 

transition was long for me. because i decided to change. i decided comfort over everything else, especially if i'm going to be on the bike for long hours. so i had to run to my bike, grab my clothes and run to the changing room to change. and then run back from the changing room to my bike. no. 165. put on my socks, my shoes, helmet sunglasses, and off i went.caught a glimpse of andy and zane before i went off on my bike. 

biking is not my strong suit. i was aiming for a time of 3h 45 minutes ideally and in the less than ideal situation, 4 hours 5 minutes. my first loop, i went pretty strong. i took sips of water every 10km, and i had one gummy every 10km. i felt hungry, but i didn't feel like eating at all. so i just took istonic at every aid station and had one gummy every 10km followed by a few sips of water. i was so happy when i came back into transition. i was looking around for coach and zane but they were not there. think they went for breakfast. then i saw guzzy and amir and all. i was glad to see some familiar faces. really being on the bike for so long, not being able to talk to anyone, is torture. i even started talking to myself i kid you not. on the second loop, it was rough for me. the climbs were all tough on me. i kept telling myself, make it back to transition before 12. about 10km before heading back into transition, kuojian, karen and really i have no idea who was in the car because my mind was so blank, drove past me. that was good because at that point it had been 3 hours into the bike and 3 hours of not speaking to anyone. i went back into transition, clocking a bike time of 3h 29 minutes. i was more than pleased. it was better than expected. 

it was good to see vinesh and kaycee when i dismounted my bike. they were saying c'mon run like a pro but all i could feel was my wobbly legs and i felt like my legs were energy-less. i changed into my running shorts. saw coach on the other end of transition. took off my helmet and sunnies, put on my cap, running shoes and race bib, and off i went. coach said, take it slow for the first 5km. and i did. i went more than slow for the whole 21km. i had to stop in the beginning because i was having a stitch and i could feel contractions on the left and right muscles next to my knee. it was a really weird feeling i have never felt before. i stopped massaged it a little and went on. after 6km, it got slightly better. stitch was still there though. 

at the end of the  first loop, i saw people. i heard my name, but all i saw was just a big blur of people. i caught a glimpse of kuojian and kaxin, but that was all. my mind was just blank. one more loop to go. i met someone and ran on with him for a few km before he stopped to walk. i went on. the heat was really killing. 2km before the finishing line, when i stopped to walk, i saw coach. he gave me a bottle, and told me to put the pain aside, and just continue running. concentrate on my strides. i was almost there. he ran alongside me. and i tried to keep up. 

and when i saw the finishing line. that rush of emotion. that tiredness. i was so happy and overjoyed. i was happy to see everyone;s faces. karen, brian, hanyang, xx, kaxin, vinesh, kaycee, fong, amir, luke, felix, aaron, kuojian, zane, and of course coach. i was really touched by everyone's presence to show support. i sincerely thank every single one of you from the bottom of my heart. u guys made the experience one hell of a ride and it really it is an unforgettable experience. thanks you everybody, without which, the experience would have been lacking. it wasn't the race that made my day, but every single person that came out to support me. 

ironman 70.3 putrajaya

it's tomorrow! to all those racing, enjoy the race, savour the moment and live the emotions.