A Not-So-Satisfied Personal Best

Race: Penang Bridge International Marathon 2010
Date: 22nd November 2009 (Sunday)
Venue: Queensbay Mall, Penang
Distance: 21km
Website: http://www.penangmarathon.gov.my/portal/
Why this race: Well, they have improved a lot, but...

I decided to take a rest after Borneo Marathon, so I only signed up the Half Marathon category. Another reason was the bad water supply experience last year didn't give me enough confidence to go full distance in this event too. Another not so convincing reason was, I would be driving to Penang with my family, I wanted to conserve energy in order to do sight-seeings and have a food feast in Penang until next Tuesday...

Last year I ran the whole bridge in the "Ultra 25K Half Marathon" category. This year, they decided to follow the actual distance of half marathon, so the U-turn was made some where after half of the bridge. Probably because of Penang Bridge could not be closed for too long, I had started the earliest half marathon ever at 3.45am! The full marathon even started at 2.30am! Why not they changed the name to Penang Bridge Mid-Night International Marathon? LOL

I didn't have much to describe about the run, it was still the same bridge and the same breeze that I enjoyed. This year I didn't have the "lausai" (stomach) problem, but the two cold cup of 100plus at around 16KM nearly got me developed the side stitch. The finishing line was so far away, it was the other end of Queensbay Mall, really a mind torture to finally see the finishing line and cross it...

Last year the Organizer got bombarded due to lack of water supply. This year they decided to show us the "color" by giving everyone a bottle of 500ml mineral water at each water station. I know a bottle of water won't cost too much these days, but it was a huge waste of disposing so many plastic bottles, and most of the bottles were only taken a few sips because we runners did not like to carry bottles while running (especially racing) and obviously we couldn't drink the whole bottle too. I thought the State Government would like to build Penang city to become more environmental friendly by banning plastic bags on every Monday, but look how much waste they have generated in this event! In addtion, some participants didn't throw the bottles properly, the runners from the back might got tripped by the bottles, or wet the shoes if the bottles were not closed tightly.

By the way, why I titled this post as "not-so-satisfied" PB? Although I had done 3 full marathons, I actually didn't run many half marathons, especially in the exact distance of 21K.
My half marathon records:

1. 10/8/2008, Adidas King of the Road
22.7km, 2:48:10
"Ultra" distance

2. 19/10/2008, Denver Marathon (Half)
21.1km, 2:27:18
A PB as the result of very flat route and perfect weather

3. 16/11/2008, Penang Bridge International Marathon (Half)
25km, 3:08:10
Another "ultra" again

4. 26/4/2009, Bidor Half Marathon
21.1km, 2:33:51
Although 6.5 min longer than previous PB, felt satisfied as I really put effort to run after getting back on track from the "down" moment

At first I didn't have a real target in this race. If I didn't feel good, I would take it as a fun run, after all, I was more interested in the food marathon instead LOL. I did feel quite OK when the race was started, so I decided to try my best and let see whether I could make it below 2:20 after considering my performance in Borneo Marathon.

It was about 1:03+ when I made the U-turn at about 10K mark (1:03:55 according to offical result which was taken after I slowed down to grab a bottle of water). I did some math...
1:04 - First 10K
1:04 - Second 10K
0:07 - 21st K
0:05 - Slow down in second 10K
------
2:20 ==> should be achievable!

Unfortunately, the actual outcome is always different from the ideal calculation. I probably slowed down tremendously in the second half, even though I was trying very hard to keep up. I took more time passing the water stations. I felt the last few kms had no end. I guessed I could push a little more but I didn't, or couldn't. At the end I only made 2:24:16. A personal best, but not the truly satisfied one.

Alright, never mind. I had enough food feast in Penang. and binge at home last couple of days. Will focus on running and losing weight again, hopefully to beat 2:20, or even 2:15 soon...

p.s. I saw a very old grandpa, probably 70+ or even 80 years old running half marathon. I passed him not long after entering the bridge. When I was waiting for CW at the finishing line to complete the full marathon, I saw the grandpa finally finished the run for about 4:15. Unlike some youngsters who signed up half marathon just for the sake of hanging around at Penang Bridge or got conned by the schools, I could feel that he put the efforts to complete the distance. Unfortunately the official cut-off time for half marathon is 3.5 hrs, so he didn't get the medal (why the Organizer so rigid one?!). I tried to look for him after meeting CW, I wanna give him my medal, I believed it would be more meaningful to him. I couldn't find him and I felt so regret of not doing this right after he crossed the finishing line. May he be blessed and hopefully to see him next year.