Part 3, the last part, is still in progress. Click here for Part 1.
The four photos below are by courtesy of Tey Eng Tiong's from his photo album of GE30k Run taken on 21 January.
Strangely, it was a little quiet at the Bukit Aman car park that morning, Sunday 28 January 2007. When I arrived there at 5:40 a.m., I did not see any runners gathered at The Retaining Wall – the starting area. Quite surprisingly, there were less than 20 cars at the car park. I presume that most runners must be resting after last Sunday’s GE30k Run.
That morning, other than Lim FW and Chin YH, the other new runners in the pack were Christopher, Siok Bee and Mr. Chan.
The other two Penguin Runners, Jason Chin (P12) and Chee Wee (P11) were running the day before, 27 January.
Chan, a slightly overweight thirty-something’s who attributed that the extras is due to numerous supper, is actually a chef with a leading 5-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur. He said that his fried kueh teow is sold at RM 30 per plate in the hotel. So I jokingly said that next time, when we have outings, he can demonstrate his superb culinary skill to us.
Heel Pain
My left knee was almost fully healed since I slipped on 12 January. However, I have another bigger problem – pain at my right heel (commonly called Plantar Fasciitis). I did feel discomfort when running the 20km training run that morning. The pain started when I trained and ran in the EDGE Kuala Lumpur Executive Rat Race in September 2006. I must have run too fast and too hard.
Back at Bukit Aman car park, I chatted with Eric Teo (Penguin-10). He suggested that I can try cycling as a mean to avoid the impact at the heel that aggravates the problem. Pacesetters Club photographer, Chan Wing Kai, was in the conversation, and he said, “You can take photos.”
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Weather
I joined in the conversation with SK Goh and Daniel where their topic was on Daniel’s macho moustache. Among other things, they mentioned that the air was slightly cooler. That reminded me that Chinese New Year is only three weeks away. With wind direction blowing from north (cold front of Siberia), the wind is cool and dry when arriving here. It also means that the wet season is almost over.
Nestle 5km All Ladies’ Walk
That morning, there was a Nestle 5km All Ladies’ Walk where all participants passed by Bukit Aman car park. We started cheering the walkers when they walked pass us. Though Pacesetters runners were at ease in running, I saw that walking fast was not easy for them.
I could hear following remarks:
“Walk faster!”
“Run faster!” (But it is a walking event)
“Yeah, you are looking good!”
“Come on, Pacesetters runners!”
Standing there cheering the walkers, it reminded me when I first cheered cyclists in the Duathlon race in early 2005 where they passed by Bukit Aman car park. That was when I started to take part in Duathlon races. Shall I take part in big walk since there is pain in my heel now? I started to consider this option too.
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Adidas
The Adidas team, led by Mr. Krishnan, Head of Running of adidas, set up a booth just next to the public toilet of Bukit Aman car park. They were promoting the latest range of adidas running shoes. There was a computerized foot-scanning device that can measure a runner's feet pronation complete with coloured printout to determine the best fit model.
It may sound funny to set up a booth next to a toilet but that was a strategic location as almost all runners would go to toilet after the run, and would not miss it.
Flu and Marathon
I chatted with another runner who ran in the recent Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon on 3 Dec 2006. He contracted flu prior to the event. He encountered difficulty at 27km mark but he persevered – as all marathon runners do – and managed to complete the race with run/walk technique.
He was later admitted into hospital for almost one week due to water retention in the upper lung and swollen in the kidney. He is advised by doctor to stop running full marathon for one year though he can run shorter distance.
So, for those marathon runners, it is indeed an incredible feat to complete a full marathon as it is a sign that all systems in our bodies are working seamlessly to pull us through the finishing line.
By KC
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