Malakoff Run 2012 - KL 16.12.2012

Hoho..at last, my last race event for the year 2012 - the Malakoff Run.

Was it the best ever run for me? Not really..Did I ended the year with a bang thru this 'M' run? Again..not really..the reason being, entahlah. My feeling was not quite right by the time I stepped on that finishing line. Nak kata tak best, tak jugak sebab dah dapat that finishing medal (berat gila plak tuh!) Nak kata best, tak jugak sebab my overall expectation was far below from the actual happening.

The sight at the starting point. It's still dark!

To be honest, when I was at the starting point that 16/12 morning, there was really nothing in my mind. Fighting spirit pun macam kureng jer the whole morning. Nak kata dah ready physical dan mental, rasa2nya seminggu sebelum the actual event, dah abih dah duk men'derem' mental and prepare the physical-me to face the very demanding rolling terrains of Bukit Damansara. The key phrase in my mind were always - 'You'll survive the hills punya..'.'if others can do, why not me?'..' ala, biler dah naik bukit, mestilah lepas tuh turun bukit'..'just treat the run like your hill work-out'..

until I met the actual nemesis...

The 'sperm-head' route. Ran the same route, twice!

The terrains via my Nike+ GPS. Berbonjol2 gitu~~

If you guys look at the pic above, all the 12k runners had to go thru those 3 hills (elevation at almost 358ft) in the middle, twice!. So, the first loop I managed to 'complete it 'almost' non-stop until I saw the sight of that first hill and the first sign-board of Jalan Beringin, again. This time, my mind already went somewhere else and the one and only objective in my mind (at that time) was to finish the race, with honor and also, in one-piece.

And so I did, with the run towards the finishing, I was being overtaken by bro 'Eezad_Vazz' when I suddenly recognized the pink colored cap and his ever 'classic' stubble. Baru jer nak tegur, kaki dia terus berdesup..haha..jangan mare..

Anyway, there were many people that I met in this event..my seniors, juniors, fellow bloggers and sememangnya tidak dilupakan, bro Najmi yang setakat nih dah kira jadi buddy official untuk semua race event. Congrats bro on the timing!

Me and Najmi

The senior yang sememangnya super-pantas. Penipu sungguh bila declare this Bukit Damansara punya hills susah giler. His timing was 1:08 kot!..haha..Dang!!

Akhirnya bertemu jua, Helmi Osman @Helos

And of course, last but not the least, the hero himself, selepas bergelumang dengan larian ala2 'kukus, grill, panggang..kukus, grill, panggang..kukus'..and terus hangus.

Me with the medal

The bib plus the finisher medal..

Race Lesson Learnt

1. Perhaps my body was still 'tired' and worn-out (but didn't realized!) after few weeks of traveling here and there plus working the night-shifts non-stop. The body's endurance has taken its toll.
2. Running up and down the hill is an art. You have to learn and practice to master it.
3. Need to do more tempo run to improve stamina and endurance. 
4. Always and always respect the distance and any elevation, even if it's only just a few hundred meters or 5 to 10ft high.
5. Do not skip your sleep because that few hours of having it will really help your body to recuperate and re-energize, before and after any intensive work-out.
6. Always listen and trust your body especially when you feel something is not right.
7. Eat and hydrate your body well.

Last but not the least, my race result summary..ta daa!!.

Larian semput..haha..credit to ET Tey and Syafiq Chapx

Now, move on to our next journey!