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2 Days Before the Race
My flight was scheduled on 24 Mar 2006 at 5.35 pm, but due to some unknown reason, it was delayed for more than 1 hour. My kids got excited during the flight took-off, as this was their first time flying.
Reached Kuching airport around 9 pm, then took a taxi to the Harbour View Hotel. After checked-in, went for dinner at Water Front’s food stalls. Slept around 1 am that night.
1 Day Before the Race (Pre-Half Marathon Walk)
After the hotel breakfast, we went to the Sarawak clay vase factory outlet. Spent quite some time there & bought quite a number of small2 vases as souvenirs.
Next destination was the Water Front souvenir shops. We bought some t-shirts, bags, table cloths & small2 souvenirs, like key chain, pencil holder, etc.
After having our dinner at Sugar Bun (not as tasty as KFC/McD) around 7 pm, we rushed to Petra Jaya to collect my Bib No. The stuffs inside the goddie beg were quite impressive, i.e. Saberkas t-shirt, Sarawak cap, shoes beg, power bar & vouchers/coupons.
After collecting the Bib No, we went to my wife’s friend’s (Amy) house, quite near to Petra Jaya, about 2-3 km. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Satok market to buy some ‘ikan terubuk masin’.
Reached the hotel around 11.15 pm & I felt very2 exhausted. Pinned the Bib No, packed all the things (running gear, power bar, drink, etc.) needed for the race tomorrow & then slept around 1 am.
Race Day
Woke-up at 3.30 am, felt tired coz I didn’t have enough sleep (only slept 2+ hrs) + tiredness of the yesterday’s activities. At 4 am, went for hotel breakfast, had 2 half cooked eggs, one slice of bread & a glass of fresh milk. Then, went back to the hotel room to pick-up all the things required for the race.
Bus arrived (provided by the organizer) around 4.40 am & within minutes all seats were filled up. I took my PowerBar and Endurance drink while the bus headed to the race compound. Reached there around 5 am & then, went to the Baitul Makmur building to locate the surau.
Time shown 6 am & I was ready for the race. Kept my beg at the baggage save area. Then, started to warming-up at the nearby area for about 15 minutes. After finished the warming-up session, I took my first power gel with the endurance drink.
First 10 km. Sharp at 6.30 am. Bang!! The race started & most of the runners ran quite fast at the beginning. I ran at a comfortable pace around 6.00 & slowly passed many slow runners. My breathing was smooth and my legs were ok.
The running route was quite flat, only had a few small hills. I just maintained the pace & enjoyed the scenery. When reached water station no. 2, I took my second power gel.
For this race, my primary goal was to complete the race without stopping/walking & my secondary goal was to get the medal & to renew my PR.
Second 10 km. Then, the challenge came, the blister developed on one of my toe. I had to stop at the first aid station, asking for the handyplus or any kind. I sat down, put off my shoe & then wraped the affected toe with 2 handyplus. After that continued running & bore the pain. I thought, after this race, I should get a new pair of shoes.
This time my breathing was still good but my legs felt a bit tired. However, I managed to maintain my pace around 6.00. Around km 12, the rain started to fall down. What a blessing!
Picture from RunWitMe
Saw Ronnie running opposite of the road & I shouted at him. He ran damn fast! At water station no. 3, I stopped for a while & drank 2 cups of water. Then, continued running about the same pace. Reached the U-turn & check point, then after that I increases a bit of my pace, I thought this must be not far from the finishing line.
The rain stopped & the sun started to shine. That time, I could smell the challenge in front of me, a very hot morning. I just continued running & running, trying to catch up with the hot morning. The heat started to build up & I had to slow down a bit (pace around 6.30) to cope with the heat.
Not far in front, I saw water station no. 4. Reached there, took my third power gel & drank 2 cup of water. What a relieved!! Took one bottle of mineral water & then continued running. Due to the hot morning, I poured half of the mineral water on my head to keep it cooling & another half reserved for drinking later on.
Last 2 km. At this time, my breathing was still ok, but my leg felt heavy and tired. Luckily, I still can maintain the pace until the finishing line. My half marathon time was 2:17:18.
 
Very tired face!!
After crossing the finishing line, something unusual happened. Nobody attended me there; no timing, no certificate & medal hand over, what was going on?? I looked around, then I saw one guy (same category with me) with a medal around his neck & I asked him, “Maner nak ambik medal??”. He answered, “Ambik kat bawah tu”. I had to walk about 40 meter to reach the medal distribution tent. Really surprised me, everybody ‘berebut’ to get the medal, even the school children, amazing!! The person in-charge just released the medal without any verification. Thank god, at last, I managed to grab my hard earned medal & certificate.
Then, proceed to the baggage save area to collect my belonging. Changed my shoes to slippers & then drank a bottle of recovery drink. My toe was really in pain, especially when walking. After that rushed back to the hotel coz my flight was scheduled that evening at 1 pm.
Conclusion
I was quite happy with my running performance & my timing this time. The entire mission was accomplished. After the race, I heard that the distance for the half marathon was more than 22 km.
Overall, the organiser did good jobs, except for the hand over of the medal. Definitely, I will come again next year to participate in the same competition.
Lastly, special thanks to my wife (Ina) & all my kids (Ashraff, Ashmann, Ashryll & Ashrynn) for all their understanding & support, TQ.
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