My feet were sure sore from the NTV7 Feel Good Run 2011 which I participated yesterday. Nevertheless it was good and one of the simpler runs which I tried. I have not gone for many runs since my plantar fasciitis injury, though now I have recovered but not wholly 100%, I am able to do my weekly 20 minutes running exercise.
To get myself back on the running challenge, I decided to start off smaller this time round. Most races are 10 km distances. However off and on I do see shorter ones like this NTV7 Feel Good Run which was only 7 km. This distance is just nice, not too long and not too short. After all my usual weekly exercise was already about 3 km. A 5 km run isn’t much of a challenge. 7km would be just about right. If my feet are not too sore I may look out for 10 km run in future. For now 7 km it is.
The morning started with the usual pre-race blues. Due to the anticipation, I had trouble sleeping. So did one of my 70+ year old uncle. Both of them arrived at my house while I was having my breakfast. Well there are 2 ways to go about breakfast before race, carbo loading or keeping it light with just a snack and a drink. I figure my stomach got enough time to digest so I just have 4 slices of bread and a cup of tea to settle my stomach.
The race was just around my house, so we just walked over to Dataran Utama where the organizers arranged shuttle van service to sent participants to Sri Pentas TV3 Building. Not too bad. Saves about 15 minutes of walking, but would mean more warm up later.
A crowd of 5,000 participants were already at the starting gate when we arrived. As usual we took up the last position and avoid the crowd. For long distance running it makes no difference if you are in the front or at the back if your main objective is to complete the running course. Besides those who ran too fast would burn out their stamina. And those who did the rabbit dash would soon end up walking and then dashing again would also be in the same predicament. Slow and steady but not so much like the tortoise would take you further and all the way to the finishing line.
The race started off with congestion as the road couldn’t handle the large turnout of participants. With my 2 uncles side by side we started off really slow, which is a good warm up before moving up the pace. About 1 km one of my uncle took off leaving me with my senior uncle. We ran side by side till the housing area where I decided to speed up the pace a little leaving him behind.
The weather was cool with clouds all around making the run rather enjoyable. In fact this was one of the easiest run I have ever participated. I think many of participants were rather fit as it felt crowded running on the street with them. Some brought along their baby riding in a stroller. They would need a good strong stroller to do that. Strollers not meant for running speed will have the wheel wobbling away sapping your running energy. It was interesting to see the parents giving the children a young start about keeping fit and taking on running races challenge!
The race route actually took me past my house! From there to Jalan Tingkat Bandar Utama, then to Persiaran Utama, turn out at the junction opposite Centre Point to Lebuh Bandar Utama and all the way straight back to 1 Utama Shopping area before ending back at the starting point of TV3 Sri Pentas.
The 7 km run took me about 52 minutes to complete if include the congestion time during flag off, otherwise it would be about 50 minutes for the entire run. This run was purely for fun as there was no prize for winners and everybody gets a certificate for participating in this charity run. It seems they raise quite a handy sum which is good.
There was also carnival fair with clowns and game booths which we are free to participate to win some foodie goodies. The only dampeners was the unexpected rain. It came crashing down after I have completed the run. Met up with the younger uncle and took us a long while to find the senior uncle. Had to wait out the rain under the canopy. Well rain in Malaysia don’t last very long. If you can wait it out for 30 minutes it will soon blow over and it sure did.
My uncles said this was a very easy run as the route was rather flat. Much easier than in Subang Jaya where the incline really take up your energy. Yep, I have very tough runs too especially those route that took me through the hills of Bukit Tungku and Lake Gardens. Those were very tough when I started participating in runs and marathons.
Now I need to take it easy as my plantar fasciitis has slowed me down. But it felt good to start running again. And this NTV7 Feel Good Run 2011 sure feels great for me!