SCKLM 2012

This is my 3rd SCKLM run, having joint the 2011 and 2010 edition of the run previously. I am still doing the 10km category, partially because of my laziness in running any race that will span more than 70 mins and because I still have not reached my target PB (personal best) time for a 10km run.

The route this year is exactly the same as last year. As the 10km category has the most runners (was told ard 12K), the organisers split the runners into 3 different groups based on their average running time. You can choose the group when you register and all the 3 groups starts at different time. The aim is to manage the runners at the ending as there won't be a sudden surge of runners ending the race at the same time and causing all sorts of problems, especially the long queue to collect your baggage. I was in the 1st group, starting at 6.30am.....1/2 hour earlier than last year.

Started the race with the intention to set a PB as this race is ran over a fairly flat route. As usual, the first 2km is crowded and keeping up with a consistent pace is not easy as there are a lot of overtaking and slowing down to avoid other runners. After 2.5km, the crowd clears a bit and I try to push for a consistent pace and try to cover as much ground as possible in the 1st 6km. What caught me be surprise was that I felt no energy in my thighs to push. I was thinking that maybe I haven't really warm up yet, however that could not be the case as its already 2.5km into the race. Tried pushing all the way till the 4km mark and still I can't feel the strength coming, so lastly I decide to just cruise and try again from the 6km mark onwards.

The 6km mark is the start of the slightly hilly area. I tried to push here and I nearly cramped !!! That really caught me by surprise as this is only at 6km and I am used to pushing all 10km. From here onwards, I know that PB is definitely out of the question. I am just going to cruise myself throughout the race and finish with a 6min/km pace. Its better to finish the race with no injury then to retire it with an injury.

Lastly finish with a time of 63 mins. Its actually worst than last year by 3 mins. As I was waiting for my friends at the finishing line, I started to ponder what went wrong. Could it be the company's inter-department badminton game I played the day before ? or was it lack of training ? As I am pondering, soon I saw my friends finishing their races and that took the attention away from the post-mortem. Chatted with a few friends before I left Dataran Merdeka about 9am.

Overall was happy to be able to do the race again. Despite the time, was glad to finish and meet so many friends at the finishing line. Next up will be the NTV7 Feel Good Run on 8th July.