PBIM 2010- Blood, Tears and Joy ( macam bagus je)

Hi kids..
My legs hurt and I think I'll develop a couple of black toes but otherwise I'm super.
I had a great morning running in Penang and I love almost every moment of it.
I have to get this written down ASAP because I'll be a wee bit busy this week and the longer I put it off, I might end up not writing this at all..heh heh.

Macam biasa le ekk? Point form is fine kan?

Pre Race

• We spent most of the time trying to get some sleep in the car. I got 1 hour. Hub got none.
• Went to the starting line at about 15 minutes before gun off. Chatted a bit with Ijam. Couldn't locate KakJune and the gang,
• Starting was quite slow as there is an increase of full marathon participants ( >1000) this year. Had to pujuk myself not to weave in and out to conserve energy. Cheyy. 

 Totally misjudged the bib. I thought it would be lunyai at the end of the whole 42K but it survived even the heavy downpour

 Mile 1-10

• I always have problems with stiffness of my left leg in the beginning of runs. This went on for like 4 miles and almost felt painful but luckily it went away.
• Saw Pui San and said hi. She was running with Mo Maniac and some other friend I don't know.
• When we got on the bridge, I was hoping it would be windy like last year but it was freaking hot, man. And it was worser on the first incline. That stretch seem to go on forever. Got my first gel out, my first experience with the apple flavoured kind. Tasted like medicine-yuck. Telan je la.
• At the middle of the bridge we went downhill. At first I soared down, but after a bit my legs got tired and I couldn't wait for the route to get flat again.
• To get me through to the first end of the bridge, I paced with this crazy guy wearing a baju melayu. Didn't get to catch his face though as he was in front of me all along. But we managed to exchange some remarks. He commented my red shoes and I commented his attire. Funny guy even farted and hooted about it. But I lost him at the turn around. 

Mile 11-15

• While running back on the bridge after the toll area, I saw a distance marker stating that it was already 20.3 K and I glanced at my watch and saw my timing was 2:03. Aik, biar betul. Laju la pulak. Just as I was about to go to perasan mode, I noticed Lillac showed that it was only just 11 something miles which is about  only 18 K.. Cis, penipu punya marker.
• I commented to a Sabahan girl that it's unusually hot that morning and that it's supposed to be cool and windy on the bridge. Me and my big fat mouth. Right after the 13th mile, it started to rain- HARD. It pelted heavily on my face and I was like, " Ouch, ouch, ouch" but shut up when people around me looked weirdly at me. 
• Only after a few seconds, I was drenched inside out. My whole attire felt heavy, my shoes were like blocks and I couldn't see a thing in front of me. Plus the wind was blowing hard against us runners. And the fact that at exactly that time, the FM route merged with the HM route didn't help either. 
• I trudged ahead with poor vision, but then suddenly I saw pacer balloon floating in front of me so I followed the balloon to get through the crowd. But that wasn't long because it was a 4.5 pacer baloon. Tak larat aku nak ikut all the way.

Mile 16-20 

• Turun je jambatan, I naively thought that the worse was over. I hastened my pace because seriously I thought the turning point would be at Tesco. Boy was I wrong.
• I've written down some posts ago that PBIM is a flat route kan? Well, I take that back. We had to go through 3 flyovers before the turning point tau. And we had to go over the same flyovers on our way back.With fatigued legs!.
• Saw hub as he was running the opposite direction. " Jauh lagi ke turning point?" I shouted from across the road. " Jauuuhhhh lagi". I thought he was kidding. Argh.
• Saw Kak June from across the street and managed to croak a hi. I planned to singgah at her kedai runcit on the way back but mysteriously, on the way back, I couldn't see her or her car. Pelik kan? And she SMSed me afterwards and told me she was there all along and missed me on my turning point jugak. Aik?

 Mile 20-26.2 

• On the turning point, I pujuk-ed myself, " Okay, only 6 miles to go ". It's so easy thinking in miles cause 6 miles seems so much less intimidating than saying " 10 K to go".
• I ran almost all the way from here with this boy from Ipoh. He told his friends I was his motivator. I kept him as a pacer. But it was nice to have someone to talk to , to get the miles go by.
• Sedor tak sedor, we only got 4 miles to go. I told Ipoh Boy, " Ok, 4 je lagi", kunun I was encouraging him la padehal tengah psaiko diri. At this time, I had to practically pujuk myself not to walk.
• Wei, the last 3 miles seem to go on forever. Tambah bila bertembung the 10K runners. Some were inconsiderate enough to go into our lane and made  us stop abruptly a few times to avoid a crash. Hey, I was tired, I got crancky, so I shouted " Tepi la!" at a few boys. Heh heh.
•  Ipoh Boy made a sudden surge at the last 1 K. Siot je. Haha. Tetiba je ada power to give a final kick.
• Last 1 K was pure torture, I was like " Where the hell is the finishing line?!". My tudung all kelepet from the rain, my attire drenched and I didn't care to smile or pose to any photographers because I know I look like a nightmare. 
• Finally crossed the finishing line at 4:51:52. Ni ikut Lillac la. Alhamdulillah.

Post-Race

• Spotted hub at the medal tent. Told me he had severe stomach and leg cramps and had to alternate walking and running right after the 18th mile. But against all odds, he was still able to complete his marathon in 4:40. So proud of him. He'll tell his side of the story afterwards in this blog. Tengok tahap kerajinan, katanya.
• I learned something new today. I never knew that rib muscles could get cramps. I coughed out loud to clear my chest and suddenly I felt cramps in my ribs and the pain was excruciating. 
• We lepaked and ate the post run meal in the car as it was still raining and our feet were still wobbly.
• Met Shahnaz. Cute gal. She's what I'll call a pocket rocket woman, so small but so fast.  
• Mom called to inform that the kids are having a tantrum so we had to head back early so tak sempat jugak meet the rest of RBUs and FMV. Next time , Gadget, next time. 

 The parking lot sudah macam bendang daa

 The jam to the ferry terminal.

 The medal. I wish it had a nicer color.

The finisher's tee. Kuning pun kuning la.

Damage done.

If you think this looks bad, try smelling it.

So all in all, PBIM 2010 was still a great race despite the weather. I had loads of fun but if you ask me, I don't feel like doing another marathon in a long time.Or is that the muscle soreness talking?
I'd like to thank hub/coach who endlessly encouraged me to train even on days I felt too tired for any letihan and to my parents for willingly taking care of the kids on my LSD days even though they don't get our craze for long distance running.

Congrats Ijam ,Yim  and others ( sape-sape saje la) for their sub 5 or any other personal achievements and thanks Zaki for cheering me on ( 2 times!) and bringing up my spirits while I was feeling a bit crummy at the time. You had no idea kan?
You guys exude awesomeness!

Sekianlah.