Klang 21km

Sorry to say it, but this was the least pleasant half-marathon I've done. Partly due to the nature of the route & traffic, and partly due to my well-being.

The first 5km was ok and I felt like I was going quite fast. I don't usually start picking off the runners ahead quite as early in a race as I did in this one. So I was a bit disappointed not to get to the 5km drink station until 33mins+. I then began to tire and slow down a bit, and didn't feel that great. Also, the route consisted of many long straight flat roads with the odd bridge, at some points allowing me to see the route 1-2km ahead. I don't like routes like that - give me Double Hill any day!

Despite 500ml of Isostar before the race my mouth felt dry. The 10km drink station was welcomed, and came after 1h03m. Until then my HR had been a consistent 82%. Downed a rather disgusting "caffe latte" gel. So it would appear that my pace had improved (or km markers were inaccurate). Despite this I was feeling more fatigued and really struggled over the next 5km. HR dropped to 79%.

However this 3rd 5km took me only 23mins (confirming the inaccuracy of the km markers) and my gel began to take effect. Morale was lifted as this meant I'd done 15km in under 1h28m. So from about 16-17km I went into boost mode and managed to pull away from the nearby runners.

As the finish line came into view I pushed a bit harder and "potong sayur-ed" my final victim, but the route kept on going on & on & on and I eventually discovered that my final sprint, supposed to be about 400m, ended up being about 800m and I was "potong sayur-ed" myself by one guy. The last 6km took me 39mins and I finished in 2:07:18 - a very similar time to a couple of 21km's I did last year.

THANKS to Abu for noticing that I left my medal behind!

THANKS to KPAC for the run, and I'm delighted to see they're happy to have foreigners in the race. Shame about the traffic on the route!