Malakoff 26K Penang Done!

I hafta post this race report real quick as hub wants to pack up the computer ASAP. Those TM people didn't cut the line yet so I betcha we will be internetless in our new home for about a week.

Anyway, we just got back from Malakoff 26K Penang at 10 just now. After bathing, we packed up the things to be hauled in the moving truck tomorrow so you can guess we're pretty tired. Dah la tak makan lagi.
Okla, enough babling. Let's get on with the report.

We arrived in Penang this morning at 5.10 am. The race starts at 5.30. So we were quite in a kalut state as the race bibs weren't pinned on yet , and we still haven't had our pre race roti. Kaki pun pakai slipar lagi. Kedebuk kedebak, we managed to arrived at the starting point in time and after like 5 minutes we were gunned off.
I had to wear my longest sleeves shirt ( usually I would wear  3 quarter sleeves) as we planned to do our subuh somewhere in the middle of the run. And as we were all running so close by especially at the start and I was in Wudu', I had to hide my hands in my sleeves and hope nobody accidentally  socks me in  the face. Hehe. I was a warm morning and I was getting hot hiding my hands in my sleeves, I kept asking my partner in crime, " When are we gonna stop?"
We ran uphill and downhill to a route that reminded me of the hills of NB 30K, but not quite as treacherous and long. It was like we were heading to Balik Pulau. Interesting to say, I quite enjoyed going up those hills this morning and going downhill without no brakes was super!
As there was no surau/masjid in sight, we first decided to pray off pavement in a secluded area. But we heard dogs barking left and right so we decided to stop and do our Subuh under a street lamp. Orang tengok pun tengokla, bukan buat benda salah ye tak?
After our salam, dengan segeranya I rolled up my sleeves. It was so hot!
So we continued. The weather got better once we hit Gurney Drive. The sea breeze accompanied our run and it was a reminiscence of running on the Penang Bridge.  Things got back hotter when we ran into the middle of GeorgeTown. Every time I reached a water station, I gulped down two cups of water. And each time after leaving a water station, i almost immediately anticipated the next water station.
By the time I got to the 22K mark, it was so hot, my mind screamed " Whyyyyyy? Why do you like to torture yourself?".
By this time, I let hub run at his own pace after being my pacer all this time. So off he went ahead. I noticed 4 women overtaking me . I didn't care anymore. I cared only to finish. I wanted to get it over and done with the heat. And did I mention I had a stomach ache throughout the run? Whateverla.
At the final turn into Taman Perbandaran, I know we had to climb a last hill to get to the finish line. I looked at my watch. I had 4 minuted to get up the hill before my target time ( I plan to finish sub 3 hours) . And although by this time many runners were walking up the hill, I stubbornly wogged on.
Persistence pays as I clocked 2:59:30 (unofficial time). Haha. Takpe la, still sub 3 what.

 tu diaaa, tangannnn

What peeved me the most is that as I was about to cross the finishing line, a Rela guy said to me " Alah, akak lari lambat la" . Eleh, dia tu laju sangat ke ?. Nak je aku kata " Kuangggg ajaaqqqqq" but I sangat malas berdrama hari ini.
Anyway here's  goodie bag (or should I say, plastic bag). Kelakar pun ada kan?

                                                        Seriously

But I did it. I vowed last year that I would come back and finish the 26K and I got it done, despite all odds.

  The medal and the innocent and un-intimidating looking dreadmill at the background ( sila jgn tertipu)

Best of all, I got Milo at the end of the race.
" Ya Allah, sedapnya" I sighed much to an Indian uncle's amusement who laughed at my remark.

Ok, I guess for real I'll be back blogging after a week. I'll be reading the Sundown race reports at my new work place, so get up and write real soon, guys.
And I will be oncall next weekend! Horrors! Please  Mat/Minah Rempitans, stay home and duduk diam-diam okay?