Walkin' Like A Crab!

I didn't want to blog about this until I'm sure that I've done it...
COMPLETED IT.

Do what?

The Penang Bridge International Marathon

Believe it or not, I was one of the 10 of thousands participants running on Penang bridge yesterday morning.
I was never a long distant runner and endurance has never been my asset but since I knew it was something that would definitely challenge me mentality, I decided to go for it.

It was my first Penang Bridge run and my first 25km run.
I missed the one two years back.
And hearing from people who've participated before, the run sounded almost impossible.
I was both fearful and excited.

The race was scheduled on EARLY Sunday morning (the time differs according to the race event).
I wanted to have a good rest on Saturday to keep my body fatigue-free for the run but unfortunately, of all weekends, I just had to work on this particular Saturday.
What luck.
In any case, tried sleeping after work but couldn't.
Too excited kot.
Brain was actively visualising the route and terrain..
Queensbay... Bridge... Toll... Bridge.. Queensbay.. Slope.. Downhil.. Slope...
Tension? Excitement? Adrenaline?
Whatever it is, it kept me awake until 2.30am and by then, we had to leave for the run already.
Matilahhh..

Kuan Yang and I decided to run together so that we can motivate each other by taking turns to lead one another.
And of course, to make sure we balik in one piece lar..
Our primary objectives?

1. Run non-stop until the other end of the bridge
2. Finish the race within the time limit
3. Don't kena panggil to masuk the ambulance or the "sweeper" bus

Those were our personal objectives.
The task or the mission handed to us by our coach, however, was to finish the race within 2 1/2 hours.
Feasible?
Well, let me take you through the course of the run.

The starting point

Our race - the men's open 25km half-marathon - started at 4.30am sharp.
The gun went off but people were still taking their own sweet time to wave at the cameras' and all.
Cis.
After about 5mins or so, baru the mass cleared up and we could start our run.
For the first 1 hour plus, we were doing great, as expected.
My strategy was to maintain a constant pace from Queensbay to the bridge as a "warm-up" and that's about 2-3km I think.
Once I hit the bridge, I alternate my pace between fast and slow.
I did this right up until just before we hit the slope on the bridge.
At the slope, we went constant.

On the slope

That whole stretch on the slope was about a good 10-15 minutes run.
Contrary to what most would think, for me, the coming down was actually worst than the going up.
The coming down was the starting point that killed my right ankle and knees.
Anyway, we breezed through the downhill at a faster pace and by the time we reached the other end and U-turned back at the toll plaza, it was about 1 hour 15 minutes or so.
And then the pain started to escalate.
First, it was my right ankle that gave way.
So Kuan Yang and I decided to do the walk-run-walk-run technique.

BAD IDEA.

The moment we stopped, the pain just came swarming in, breaking me down mentally.
Then I thought of Lance Armstrong.. Haha.

"Pain is temporary... Quitting lasts forever..."

And with that, I pushed myself a bit more.
What I decided to do was to put my weight more on my left leg since my right ankle was about to give way.
It worked for a good 10-15 minutes with our walk-run pace.
Then the second problem came.
Since I was putting most of my weight on my left leg, I started to feel the cramp busting my left calf.

Crap.

This time, even I can't fool myself with Lance Armstrong's inspiring quote.
So we decided, to walk all the way up the slope on the bridge and only start walk-run again once we hit downhill.
But by then, it was really hard to pick up again.
We still did manage to walk-run a little but whenever I felt my left leg jolted with the sudden tightening of muscle, I had to walk again.
Just before we turned off from the bridge, it was Kuan Yang's turn to feel the cramp
In the end, we decided to "speed" walk back.
Sigh.
We just made sure we both mati-mati got to crawl back also must finish the race.

And yea,
WE DID IT!

Though not in the best possible time but still, we accomplished it.
We completed the race within the time limit but we failed to meet the time challenged to us by our coach, which I must say, was more disappointing.
Personally, I am not satisfied at all.
Super super not satisfied... Grrrrr...
My time was bad.
Wayyyy off what I aimed for.
Sigh.
29th November 2009, you can be sure to see me on the bridge again.
In any case, I'm glad I did the run.
No regrets. Somehow it was rather therapeutic.

The moment we ran past the finishing line, KY and I headed straight for the free cold Milo.
Ahhhhh.. Milo has never tasted so good before.
After gulping down uncountable cups of Milo, we headed back to my place to have our much earned rest.

The winners?

The winner of the half-marathon (25km) men's open finished in 1hour 30mins.
You think that's crazy?

The winner of the full marathon (42km) men's veteran did it in 2 hours 30mins!!!
Insane!

I still cannot fathom the motion of finishing a race in that kind of time.
It's just mad.
Anyway, KY and I decided to reward ourselves...
With this....

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Subway!
Oh yea, mate! ;)

Now, my legs macam taufu.
I usually take about 5 minutes to walk to work.
Today it took me a whooping 15 minutes man!!!
Walkin' like a crab across the road.

Note:
A special thanks to Captain KY for the motivation and for running alongside me! That treadmill of yours really made you stronger wei. Haha. Thanks man! 10km, here we come!