Pacesetters 20k - Race Report

Up at 5am, handful of raisins for brekkie. Arrived, still in darkness, at 5.45am. Watched the 30k race set-off and then bumped into my trusty running companion Joel. Saw Arif & May Sen arrive 5 minutes late for their race!

We set-off at 6.30am and I was pleased that as I seem to be a bit more relaxed at these events than I used to be, my HR was hovering around 100bpm.

The first minute or so was walking due to the crowd, but I soon settled into a deliberately slow pace. The first 40 minutes were in darkness, which made the route seem different and adding to the interest.

At the 5km mark I headed into unfamiliar territory and was surpsised at how hilly the route was (see below)...

It was nice doing an out-and-back course as you could see the front-runners and those behind along the way. I picked out Wong Ah Thiam, Dino, Shahrom and Marianna Mohd amongst the front runners as I approched 10km. Joel and I reached the turn in a bit under 1h 10m - good considering my target of 2:20:00.

On the way back I finally saw Arif & later May Sen, and was overtaken by fellow cyclist from last week, and Bukit Gasing Green Challenge winner Ashley Lim, as we past Tijana 2 estate. I was quite amazed that even after 1h 40m my HR was recovering (on downhills) to as low as 141bpm.

My legs began to feel a bit heavy on the uphill at about 18km, but I still managed a fast descent to the final hill of Jalan Parlimen. I struggled up that one and sped up down to the tape to finish in a very pleasing 2:11:42! The second 10k was about 4 minutes faster than the first, as it was more downhill. Average HR = 150bpm = good!

I got a nice big medal for my efforts...


After copious amounts of Milo, PowerBar drink, tau foo fah, cereal and water to recover, I hung around to see who I could see and watch the awards ceremony. Azman introduced himself to me, and later I bumped into Ashley Lim and chums, and did some PCC TT promotion work. I then discovered that Ashley won the Womens category - wow! I also said hi to Azwar, who I hope to cycle with again soon. Although I've never met him, it was good to see Simon Cross running again after his near-death experience a few months ago.

I left at about 10.30am. Hungry and a bit lazy, I didn't go for a bike ride! I went home, relaxed for a while and then took Lucas and newly 6 year old Mihir to the playground in BSC, and for a whiz around the Scalextric track there.

Bike ride on Tuesday night, run on Thursday night and then FRIM to Ulu Yam and back next Sunday.