2011 Sundown marathon

Sundown marathon: Fourth year running, and for me, it was back to the 42km event after last year's ultra. The route waas the same as for last year's, so there were no surprises other than the earlier start time (10 pm).

Highlights and lowlights:

Being stuck in traffic for 1.5 hours in spite of boarding the shuttle bus at 8:20pm. I had never missed a start before and it was a strange feeling seeing the competitors running while sitting idly in the bus.

At least, I didn't have to deal with the crowd and could go at my own pace.

Saw SC at the start line, but he was faster. Managed to catch up with him only after 2 km or so. We ran together for a while but lost him after the water station. I usually went for the third or fourth table as there were too many runners.

Managed to maintain my marathon pace of 6:45 to 7:00, with walk breaks at every water station. They were spaced 2 km apart (more or less). My HRM went haywire as usual (note to change), and my plan to run at 145 - 150 bpm had to be replaced by pace.

At the half way point, my garmin registered 2:33 hours, slightly behind target. Managed to hold pace for another 4 km, and then it starting going downhill. I gave up looking at my watch and just going by perceived exertion.

It was 32km when we turned into CCR, the so-called dreaded stretch. Time to pick up the pace, and I managed to go back to race pace albeit at much elevated HR. All those training runs with hard endings allowed me to sustain a second wind.

Started counting runners (IN's strategy) between water points. First it was 100+ runners and then it was 200+ runners (nett). Runpix showed that over the last 11km, I overtook 499 runners and 41 overtook me. The fun ended when we turned into Aviation Road. It was getting hard for me to maintain, and I guessed I started too soon.

Managed to finish at 5:16:07. No PB but third best timing overall. Actually this was my best timing for SDM. Overall, I am pretty satisfied given the limited training I put in and that my last marathon was almost 18 months ago.

For the record, my position overall was 1654 (22% ahead), men - 1460 (23% ahead), division - 52 (26% ahead).

Did a post race evaluation with coach today, and the next focus would be to run off the bike. Back to training. :)

MBH did her third half marathon, with a time of 3:41:09, a respectable time given even more limited training. Well done!

Truth be told, we are gettting a little bored with the route and the traffic jams to and from the race venue. So this year would likely be our last SDM for a while.

But then, who knows?

Desaru May 2011: Back to basics

Over the past two over months the focus is on running (back to basics) in preparation for the Sundown marathon. Nonethelss, the rides were getting fewer but longer. Running mileage back to over 100km per month (164km for March and 156km for April). Would have been more had I not fallen ill in early May. So far 171km for May.

Sufficient training for SDM? We'll see.

Last monday, we had another FOTR ride to Desaru (aiming for one every quarter). Comprising BnB veterans and first timers, it was a good ride albeit a very hot one.

It was certainly tougher than our last 100km Desaru ride. Compared to my maiden Desaru ride last August, this ride was a lot more fun. At least I wasn't so intimidated by the climbs now.

Everyone did well - especially our first timers who braved the heat and pain. Looking forward to the next Desaru ride. Maybe 160km?

Oh, I forgot to mention that our ladies outdid us again. They rode to and from the ferry terminal, clocking a total of 180km. Wow.

Another tragic loss

Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt was killed in the third stage crash of Giro d'Italia. Weylandt was in his fifth year as a professional cyclist, was looking forward to becoming the father of his first child and was racing this season for the newly formed Luxembourg-based Leopard Trek team.

He last year won the third stage of the Giro d'Italia, where he bested the top sprinters in the peloton after a marathon stage to Middelburg.

Tragic indeed.

A tragic loss

Read this post about the loss of a fellow cyclist, Paul.

My initial reaction was anger at the attitudes of the young driver and his parents. Then JN reminded me that we met Paul many months ago when we first started out. We were cycling along YCK with our pride and joy (Trek, Specialized and Wilier), and lo and behold, two cyclists on foldable bike (Dahon) overtook us effortlessly on an upslope. We met up with them later at the roti prata shop at Jln Kayu and chatted some.

Paul was quiet and encouraging. He was passionate about cycling. He is a victim of drunk driving.