My Running Chronicle: 21 km on the 21st day of November 2010 at PBIM

21st November – My late mother’s birthday

Penang – My late mother’s birthplace

21 – my age when my mom passed away

2010 – marked the 10th year anniversary since my mom’s demise.

Hence, on 21st November 2010 I ran my first maiden half marathon (21 km) at the Penang Bridge International Marathon (PBIM) partly to kick start my training for a full marathon and mainly to commemorate my late mother. It would also be a running fiesta where many of my friends would take part in – Mike would be running his first 21km along with Jeffrey John (JJ), Chris, Zack (who ffked or chickened out last minute). So it would indeed be a meaningful run for all after all. Not to mention that many bootcampers – Rose, Nana, Ded, Armin, Nawal, Liza, Ryan, Joe, Badariah, Ody and Sarge would be running as well!!! Oh, and let’s not forget my cousin – Jeff Liew – someone who never even attempted a 10km run before but had the courage (and foolishness?) to sign up for his first 21km run. Last but not least – my running upline – Ms. Tai Ching would be running too….and also Tyng Chong, a Ms. Kiasu. In short, it is THE RUNNING CLIMAX of the year….for me at least.

On 19th November 2010, the first convoy to Penang consisted of Joe, Gan (my primary classmate), Mike and myself in my car. Mike and Joe had alternated the task of driving. Not that I refused to drive but I was actually detained and prohibited to take charge of the wheels due to my alleged speeding(?). We made the first pit stop at Ipoh to begin our food marathon, which commenced even before the real marathon began and which lasted even after the PBIM). The second convoy consisted of Sarge and Ody, who sped to Penang in Sarge’s new Sirocco 1234! Joe and Mike would be sharing a room together with Jeff while Sarge, Ody and me squeezed into our room for a rumoured threesome (;p).

JJ was supposed to fly from Brunei and scheduled to arrive at Penang airport in the evening to join us. However, being a smart ass he is, he didn’t book the connecting flight from KLIA to Penang and he had the audacity to tell me that “Babe, I couldn’t believe the flights were all fully booked”. I had to arrange alternative transportation for him to travel with Liza and Ryan the following day.

Being a kiasu bunch of runners, we went for our ‘warm up’ run in the evening around Hotel Equatorial. According to Sarge, we need to get used to the 'air' in Penang. It was merely a 3.6 km run with lots of dramatic camwhoring moments. Thereafter, with the kind guidance of David (another primary classmate who is currently working in Penang and who would also be participating in the half marathon), we continued our food exploration in Penang. First, it was the Nasi Kandar Beratur next to Masjid Kapitan, followed by some Tandoori Chicken and Naan and Pasembur. The night ended with a stroll around Batu Ferringhi to burn off the calories (to no avail whatsoever).

The next day the remaining troops arrived. Everyone was out somewhere hunting for food. It appeared that PBIM was actually the sidelight while to revel in the food hunting/marathon was the real agenda. As far as the Equatorial group was concerned, we started out with some sinful nasi briyani etc etc, more sinful brownies, the not to be missed Cendol, Assam Laksa….I was not sure whether we were carbo loading correctly in preparation for the run but I was confident that we did our fat and weight loading in an overwhelming manner. With the arrival of Liza, Ryan, Liza’s two princesses and JJ, we proceeded to Nasi Kandar again as dinner before we retired for the night.

I had been feeling nervous the whole day about the run which was coming up anon. The issue was not so much about finishing the run. The issue was whether I could finish the run in my targeted time of 2:30…and preferably 2:21.

I only managed to doze off for maybe about 30 minutes the entire night. At around 1 a.m we departed to Queensbay Mall. Cladded in my 2XU compression pants, Addidas performance top, Saucony shoes and other gadgets, I looked like a ninja in black. Ody and Sarge were also cladded in all black and the sight of three of us walking side by side was simply – eccentric!

The flag off time for men half marathon was 3 a.m while for the women was 3.15 a.m. It was pit dark everywhere and I was at the brink of suffering a nervous breakdown. In fact, I went to the toilet twice before the run was flagged off. Be it as it may, I was ready when the horn was blown. I was pacing (trying to pace) behind Nawal at the beginning. I was feeling hyper-energetic with the full blast from my iphone. After a while, I lost sight of Nawal when she sped away like a bird. My mind was very focused – i.e. to pass as many male friends of mine as possible, and this thought really kept my spirit high as I had targets to chase after. To my amazement, I didn’t stop or even walk at all. Though my breathing was still heavy, I could actually breathe without much difficulty for the first time (thanks to the last minute & temporary quit smoking measures adopted just two weeks before the run). The ascending route up the Penang Bridge was not as intimidating as I thought. Despite the initial pain I felt on both shins, my legs were pretty numb after the 8th km and I mentally made a note to turn my legs on auto pilot mode. My main task was just to monitor my breathing, my heart rate and my willpower. I didn’t look at the time as I didn’t want any further pressure.

Then, it started to pour. The wind was so strong that I felt that I needed to fight against the wind in order to tread forward. I was extremely worried about my iphone and then I saw my cousin Jeff. I passed my phone to him (as he was carrying a big pouch) and continued running. The rain was perhaps a blessing in disguise as it cooled my body temperature down. Nevertheless, there were extra weights on the body as well as on the feet. At that moment, I felt thankful to Sarge for making us run with sandbags, rifles and weight backpacks at OBC. It all made sense suddenly. Then I caught up with Ded and started running with him. It was nice to pace with someone I know especially when there was no music. Then I passed David, and then Mike, and I was feeling extremely good!!! I just kept on running without the desire to find out about the distance. I was so high on endorphins that I didn’t even bothered to stop at two drinking stations and just continued to speed. At one point, Ody, Ded and I were pacing together but we lost each other at the last water station when Ody went for the medical hut while I slowed down for water and Ded sped away. My feet hurt terribly by then while my shins were completely numb. I kept on telling myself that I must do this and mummy was watching, I have to reach the finishing line with pride. That was the last thought and element that kept me going and kept me running without stopping or walking at all. When I reached the roundabout which was approximately 500 meters away from the finishing line, I felt an inexplicable urge to cry but I managed to suppress and push back my tears because my kiasuness overcame my sensitivity. Instead of crying, I sprinted…unfortunately only for about 300 meters before I slowed down fearing that my heart was going to quit on me. I reached the finish line. Net time: 2:20:52. I made it!!!! I was in great pain, wet, exhausted, cold, exhilarated, and high at the same time. Joe, Nawal and Sarge were already waiting at the finish line.