The Asics Penang Bridge International Marathon 2016 was the last race I ran for this year. As PBIM is one of my favourite events, I registered and secured a place back in April. With the experience of running 21km on both the Penang Bridge and the Second Bridge in the past two years, I signed up for the 10km this year as most of my running teammates preferred the distance (blog post of PBIM 2015) Looking back at my running journey thus far this year, I noticed that the individual 10km distance is missing in logs (the only other time I ran a 10k was in the Asics Relay the Night.)
One may be tempted to ask, "Is 10k a downgrade from the FM, HM and 12k?"
Not. At. All.
Not. At. All.
In fact, I like doing the 10km distance for these reasons:
- it holds a special place in my heart as my first race back in January 2014 was the 10km in the Marina Run, Singapore
- training for the 10k is less demanding compared to the HM or FM (let's face it - there are times when one doesn't train as hard due to circumstances or lack of motivation)
- I can run faster!!!
- I would not need to wake up at ungodly hours for the race (FM flag off at 1:30 a.m.)
- I can recover quicker after the race
- it is more social and less competitive for the average runner
Driving to Penang from Kuala Lumpur on the evening before the race was a nightmare. There was standstill traffic along the Tapah-Gopeng stretch for two hours which I found out was due to a major accident. The weather didn't help either as there were intermittent showers along the way. Setting off my journey at 6 pm, the journey took eight hours to complete. The Penang Bridge was closed at midnight (which I was aware of but did not think I would not arrive in Penang by then) so I used the Second Bridge, namely the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge.
On arriving on the island city, I was unable to get on the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway as it was closed for the race. Soon I learned that I was haplessly going around in circles as Waze kept re-directing me to use the closed roads, not offering any alternate routes. Exhausted and losing the will to carry on, I pulled over at the Lim Chong Eu expressway and asked the traffic police officer to direct me to the city centre. The man in uniform was polite and he gave me clear instructions to get to the hotel. Surprisingly it was as simple as following the signs to Pusat Bandaraya (City Centre).
I arrived at the hotel at 3:10 a.m only to find out that the hotel car park was full to the brim. I maneuvered my car around the choc-a-bloc with vehicles parked in front of, behind and around the designated lots. It was a total chaos. I drove out of the parking lot disappointed, but was greeted by an attendant who asked if I was a guest at the hotel. I answered in the affirmative and he said he would take care of my parking problem if I just left my car key with him. I duly complied.
I woke up at 4:10 a.m fuzzy headed and made my way to Komtar by foot. I was lucky that there was a bus already waiting when I arrived so swiftly boarded the bus and off I went with the other enthusiastic runners to get to the race village.
I don't remember much about the what happened before the race flag off due to the brain fog I was experiencing. Breakfast came in the form of a banana and a bun, though I can't tell you what filling was is it. I faintly recall a friend saying hi to me and I greeted him in return. He later reported that I came across to him and his teammates as cold and somewhat standoffish. Well, all I hope this post explains why I gave a less-than-enthusiastic peer recognition to his friends. Runners aren't immune to bad days.
The announcer praised the weather. The rain earlier had subsided and the cool weather set the perfect conditions for 14,000 runners gathered at the race corral in the 10k event. At 6:30 a.m. the race began.
The announcer praised the weather. The rain earlier had subsided and the cool weather set the perfect conditions for 14,000 runners gathered at the race corral in the 10k event. At 6:30 a.m. the race began.
Race:
I ran a comfortable pace for most of the course. The course was mostly flat except for the incline on the pathway to get on the bridge. Around 7 a.m., I was greeted with a beautiful sunrise view from the bridge and I slowed down to take it in. Many runners around me whipped out their camera phones to catch selfies. At the half-way point U-turn, I started to feel a strain in my legs and was worried with the knowledge that I would struggle to maintain my pace of 5:30. Nonetheless, I pushed myself further in spite of niggles in my legs. At a water stations later, I received a much needed break and a boost when a young male volunteer when collecting my paper cup into the bin he was carrying said "Thank you, 加 油！" That was the fuel I needed to get back on track to the finish line.
Not long after I approached the Queensbay Mall area and I was excited in the knowledge that the finish line was within reach. Spurred on by the sight of many happy finishers around me, I pushed myself for one last time to counter my gradually decreasing pace. I ran, putting one foot in front of the other. And ran... It was a long, hard slog.. and finally, I crossed the finish line in under one hour. I was both happy and relieved that I completed the race.
 |
| This shot does not do justice to the beautiful scenery I witnessed |
Not long after I approached the Queensbay Mall area and I was excited in the knowledge that the finish line was within reach. Spurred on by the sight of many happy finishers around me, I pushed myself for one last time to counter my gradually decreasing pace. I ran, putting one foot in front of the other. And ran... It was a long, hard slog.. and finally, I crossed the finish line in under one hour. I was both happy and relieved that I completed the race.
 |
| Cheng Yee back in action |
 |
| Team Amos, Danny, CY and CK |
 |
| A hard fought victory for this year's PBIM |
Official results:
Clock time: 1:02:11
Nett time: 59:17
5km point: 32:50
Category Rank: 181/3975
