Powerman Malaysia 2010

The most anticipated event of the year. I've been waiting for this event since the previous event in 2009. Doing the full distance,long individual event 11k run - 64k ride - 10k run. Looking at sub-5 finishing time. Start cranking the engine at 12.30pm. Took PLUS highway until Taiping exit. Had yong tau fu (ytf) for lunch. Bring back the memory during my school days. It tasted the same even after 7 years. Took Taiping - Simpang - Terong - Setiawan - Manjung route. Having a blast with this route. Should be driving the hot hatch. SGTI would love to smack all the curvy-knee-touching-corner. Put it on the stiffest setting, for sure it will shine. Reached Kompleks Sukan Manjung around 4pm. Collected all the stuff. Then straight away went to Hotel Putra,Lumut. Took out the bike for a quick spin to look around the small Lumut town. Had dinner. Snooze off around 10pm.

At the start line

Woke up kinda early at 4.45am. It's raining. Thank god. It wont be as hot as last year. Looking at doing a great run, talking to myself. Took shower, had a light breakfast, waited for azan and I'm off after Subuh prayer. The transition area is still closed. 15 minutes before 7 only they open to rack in the bike. Lay down all the equipment. Off for a quick warm up session. This is the best part, I rub shoulder with Joerie Vansteelant. Jason Spong, Shahrom...etc. Proud to be in the same battlefield with the elitist.

The goodies

Flag off at 7.30am on the dot. Start my run with an easy run. Not pushing it too hard. Done 11k in 1:02 with a pace of 5:40. That's a good run for my standard. Didn't expect to dip below 6 min/km. A good numbers of drink stations. I'm well hydrated throughout the run.

Entering T1, a quick one. I'm sockless this time around. It seems to work well even during training. Pull out the bike, push it. Bike on. Last year, i did poorly on bike leg. So many people passed me. But not this year, i thought. Doing really good on the 1st loop. Coming into 2nd loop, here where it got really interesting. I'm getting really hungry. I'm starving for food. Now i know what binge is all about. Only a 2 small box of raisins with me. No Powerbar gel or bar. Should have bought them. I'm been training to gain energy by consuming raisins and dates. It doesnt work like how i expected it to be. Speed drop tremendously. My cadence drop from average 85rpm to just around 70-75rpm. 24km/h. Couldnt believe it. Outrageous. Going into the U turn after the last bridge, I can feel the cramp around the lower part of my thigh. Keep on pedalling. People passing me like there's no tomorrow. I'm totally demoralized. 64k done in 2 hours 34 minutes.

Entering T2. Racked the bike. Took off the bike shoes. Put on one foot at a time. Bang! I snapped. Left calf cramped! It was hurting me real bad. Trying to call some of the guys around me, words ust not coming out. Waving my hand like crazy. One guy helped me out. Thanks a lot mate. I'm limping out. Step by step. Took 2 cups of Powerbar drink. And a banana. Move on. Step by step. As soon as i got out into the running route, the cramp came back. Barely can move. The St John ambulance attendant came to rescue. Perskindol spray on both calves and thigh. He asked me either I want to quit or to finish it off. The answer is a definate YES. Thumbs up given. Start moving again for another 50 meter. Snapped! Cant move. Totally cramped out. Now I'm wishing the ambulance would come and get me. I dont even want to suffer this anymore. This is just too much for me to handle. I'm cursing myself for doing this race. I should just stay at home. Why am I doing this. I'm not gaining anything by doing this. Cursing and cursing and cursing. Sat at the bust stop. Watched how others are keep on running, walking and limping. These guys are awesome. Most of them were cheering me up. All i can do is just smile and wave back at them.. Looking at the time, it's already 4 hours. I'm on my 1st running loop. I wont make it for the stipulated 5 hours. I wont be getting the Powerman title. Feels like crying. Seriously.

Second loop bike leg - Snap Attack

And when all hopes are lost, one guy sat beside me. He said, "Bang, jom jalan. Tak larat dah ka? Saya tunggu bang la macam ni.". It means " Let's just walk. Are you tired? I'll wait for you then." He waited for me for almost 10 minutes. We spoke of nothing throughout the 10 minutes or so. Then i stood up. "Let's go!" I dint even get the guy's name. Luckily I've thanked him. I'm still strolling and limping. That guy was already 100 meter in front of me. i stopped at all water station. The St John's volunteer helped me out a lot too. Give me a quick but effective massage on my calf. Thanks.

Raja Permaisuri Bainun Bridge - photo by Cycling Asia

Done with the 1st 5k loop in almost an hour. I can see the finishing gantry, all the finishers with the watermelons and orange. I was thinking that I should just take the turn and finish my race there, come back next year and finish it off strong. I've come so far, I'm so not going to retired that easily. My legs are cursing me for not stopping the race. As I get closer to water station, i took the water scoop and poured it over. It's refreshing. I'm revitalized. I'm going for my last 5k. One of the spectator ask me, why am I still running, the rest are all finished. I just smile and said "Ada 5 kilo lagi, last round dah ni.". He give me a pat on the back. It's like he transfer a small energy into my body. My pace is getting a little bit faster. This last 5k is the most toughest run. More about your mental rather that your physical condition. All i can see is just one runner few hundred meters away from me. Mind over matter. I must finish this. I do not want to quit. Thumbs up to the volunteer at the drink stations. Thanks a lot for the encouragement words. It helps a lot. Thanks to all the small kids too, I'm well entertained with your spontaneous acts and jokes. As I'm closing the gap to the finishing line, I can see that my bike is not there anymore. The organizer has put all the late finisher's stuff to another spot. Now I know how it feel to finish as the top 10 last finisher. An amazing feeling. Stepping across the finishing line made me realized how great it was. It took me 45 minutes to nail the last 5k.

11k run - Snap Attack

I crossed the finishing line at 5 hours 42 minutes. Salute to the emcee for still calling out my name as I'm crossing the finishing line. Never expect there are still people waiting for us, the last finishers.

Pick up the bike. Put it to rest into the car. Off to makan makan time. The foods are great. The organizer do live up to their name. This race is even better than last year. Adequate hydrating stations. Traffic management is good too. Hoping for a better race next year. I would like to thanks everyone involved in this event. Thank you! I'll be back next year to redeem myself. Come to think of it, I still have Penang Bridge International Marathon to at least finish it within the stipulated time of 7 hours.

Update: My official timing. 26/11/2010