Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Gonna Miss It

Year 2009 so far was quite a meaningful year in my little athletic history as I expanded my fitness envelop further. The main two big ones I did was the KL International Marathon and Desaru Long Distance Triathlon.

As for the triathlon, yes I did a few Olympic distance triathlons before setting my legs into the “long distance” (or some say the half-Ironman distance) league. So, I pretty much know how much more I have to put up with the training and roughly what to expect during the race, as compared relatively to the Olympic distances.

However, a totally different story was for my maiden marathon attempt. I never joined any run races (other than those that I had to run during triathlon races) before, and I was never a good runner either, short or long distance. But, for the sake of wanting to experience it by myself, I signed up and trained as much as I could for it.

Come race day, I crossed the finished line. I’m not sure whether the knee and foot pain I get during the race can be considered as injury. I hope not, because it subsided after few days. So, I was happy to say I finished the marathon, injury free.

I still remember that right after that KL marathon, some of us were already planning to do another marathon this year and it would be the one organized at Singapore by Standard Chartered. I was also eager to do another marathon (at that time lah). It gives a sense of accomplishment that is indescribable. You have to run it (the marathon), to know it.

And this coming Sunday morning, thousands and thousands of people from many countries around the world will flood Singapore in their running attires, to run another marathon (or half-marathon) in their life.

Me? Nah, I’m gonna miss it this time.

Initially it was due to limited funding situation I had. Hence, with the decision of not attempting the Singapore marathon, I did not train for it.

Just two weeks ago, a friend offered me a free race bib to run the marathon, and all the goodies and medal will be mine. For free!!! Yeah, I’m not kidding. I still remember a little bit the SMS to me:

“Nik, the race bib is yours if you want it. You can keep the medal and everything else. Let me know if you are interested. Come run with us!”

(Note: To my friend, thanks so much for the offer. I really appreciate it)

But, I turned the offer down.

Why?

Even for such an offer that might be the one and only chance in my lifetime to run the well organized Singapore marathon without the need to pay the registration fee, I still opted not to risk having a bad legs injury if I attempt to run and walk the 42km distance.

Knowing myself very well, I know I will push myself for a new marathon Personal Best (PB) timing.

And knowing how less I run nowadays, I WILL have some kind of injury if I attempt it.

Yes, I race only for fun. But fun for me here means to be able to cross the finish line with the best effort I could put, upon clocking enough training mileage.

I don’t want to get injured now (and ever), as I have a big plans in 2010, and even a bigger plan in February 2011, InsyaAllah.

So, missing out Singapore marathon is not a big deal for me, as there will be another one next year (hopefully). Plus, I got this Salomon x-trail run on the same day. I’m gonna have fun!

To all friends and readers who will be doing Singapore marathon or half-marathon runs this weekend;

Be safe while travelling,
Enjoy the race
Good Luck and All The Best!

Just to share few photos that I took when I joined some friends doing their 16km LSD run, two weeks ago. I was quite busy last week to write much, so, just photos this time around.

13 sizer Vs. 8 sizer

Starting out from Kiara Park at around 7.20am.

The first long gradient we had to climb, just besides the entrance of Kiara Hill which is on the left side. To the right is the KLGCC.

Patriotic graffiti.

Time to kill time.

Just after passing the equestrian club, we passed the National Science Center with its unique architecture.

The sweaty mister cameraman.

Now I’m not sure whether Ian is training for marathon or training for photography.

Taking a break at Petronas Hartamas. This is our standard leak-and-refill station. Kash first decided to just u-turn here, but she changed her mind and we all went running further up until the Hartamas condominium area for the u-turn. Making the initial plan of 13km LSD into 16km LSD.

On our way back, we chose to run through the equestrian club, where there was a passage to get back into Kiara Hill.

I think it was a 2hrs run for me (including the warm up run time in the park). Another great LSD workout, especially for three of them who will be running 42km in Singapore this weekend. I just ran it for my endurance fitness maintenance.
All the best for Singapore marathon guys!

13 comments:

Che said...

see u this Sunday bro! :) (bawak kamera juga ke?) hehe..

EnAikAY said...

Daud, if u want to have many photos, stick with me ok!
hehehehe...
C ya this Sunday.

Diket said...

See u guys in Kiara this Sunday & all the best for those doing SCSM. Perhaps we can do Sundown Marathon 2010 together. Jom2.

EnAikAY said...

OK Shakhir,
Nanti bila lu overtake wa, jgn lupa tegur ye supaya wa boleh snap snap your photos in action.

Just pray it won't rain or my camera will have to stay inside a ziploc bag.

iamsyah said...

big plans for 2010 and 2011? waa, Ironman, maa...

Have fun running X-Trail, and good luck bro!

p.s : gambar kaki tu kalau terbalik jadi ON-ON! ok jugak tu hehhe

EnAikAY said...

Thanks Syah,
Enjoy your second marathon ya!

About the plan, itu cuma plan aje.
It all depends on how i will go through 2010 (preparation wise).
Doa2kan lah ye..

Diket said...

Waaa...Nik, aku overtake? kilometer berapa la agaknya aku dapat overtake raja tangga ni :)

Shaqee said...

Congrats abg Nik, sudah wat malathon, triathlon sudah...biler ler i could do that

zulhassan said...

Feb 2011 ... eheheh.. harap2 kita jumpa disana, kalau betul itulah acaranya hehehe...

shuklazim said...

takpe nik, tak kan lari singapore dikejar

kita kasi gegar itu bukit kiara

kookykash said...

memang tak fair both runs which I want to run falls on the same day.

Good luck and have fun on Kiara trail run to NIk, Shuk, Diket, Shaqi, Che, Doris, Ming dan lain2 nya. We swap stories next week OK.

BIla nak buat next group run ni?

Diket, Sundown lari 84KM aaa…tengah carik partner(s) ni.

Diket said...

Kash, no-no. Not the 84k! Aiyo! Only 42k. My marathon chapter belum boleh buat buku nak buat 84 :)

EnAikAY said...

Shakhir,
Hahaha.. mana ada raja tangga. Tukang cuci tangga ada la...

Thanks Shaqi,
Your moments will come too. Just keep that vision in your head and work towards it. One step at a time.
And once you know how to swim, we'll do triathlon together ok.

Bro Zul,
InsyaAllah... (lu macam tau2 je apa dlm kepala wa ye).

Shuk,
Singapore mmg tak lari, tapi kau tu lari laju sangat susah aku nak kejar.
Sukacita saya ingin membuat pesanan yg sama seperti pesanan saya kepada saudara Shakir.. jgn lupa tegur aku bila korang potong aku ye.
Jom kita main2 kejar di dalam rimba Kiara!!!

Kash,
Takpe Kash, tahun depan masih ada. Your 'retirement' (in endurance sports) can always be extended right? Hihihi.

Next group run is next weekend, right?