I participated in a 10km race organised by Al-Khor Community 2 weeks ago. I was not very keen to participate in this race because I had a 30km long run a day before the event. I only submited the race form at the very last minute in support of local races and motivation to my wife and 2 other friends (Lolyta and Nani) from my newly formed running club of which i am the captain (Pelari Stylo Yo!) to run their maiden 5km race. So my plan was to treat this race as a recovery run.
Come race day, I just could not hold on to my initial plan. It was a 2 laps race, I was driven by the pace of other runners and ran the first lap fast. My first 5 km was in fact is my new Personal Best (23:41). I started to get tired by KM6 and slowed down well inside the 5km/min pace. I was so fatigued from the long run I did yesterday plus I have not had any breakfast yet (read excuses excuses). My energy level was so low that if I was an Ultraman, the indicator light on my chest would started to blink in red. It was a hot and windy too. I really wanted to stop and taking walk breaks but I prevailed. It would be embarrasing for the Captain of PSY! to walk on a 10km race. I pushed the last KM with whatever strength I have left. The distance on my Garmin showed 9.75km as I passed the finished line, I thought it would be a waste of my effort if I cannot keep the time in my record as it is not quite 10km, so I continued until my Garmin read 10KM. My extra effort was paid off. It was my new PB for 10KM with a time of 48:56.
Hani had stomach cramp and it was too painful for her to run. But she still finished the 5km race albeit walking in 44:32. I was so proud of her 'never give up' spirit. That's what running is about. Its not all about winning, but about giving out your best shot. Loly had a great run by finishing 10th in the 5km Women Open category and Nani did equally good by finishing 2 rungs below. It was a great outing for DBRC as well, as we had 5 or 6 runners finishing in the top 3 in all categories.
On a personal note; I think 10km is my least favourite event. It is too long for a sprint and too short for a relax comfortable run. All in all it was a nice small race. Well organised and the best part was the post race breakfast.
|
On your mark, get set, go (Picture courtesy of AKC) |
|
I continued running for another 250m after the finish line to complete the 10KM distance (Picture courtesy of AKC) |
|
Some of the DBRC Runners (Picture courtesy of AKC) |
|
PSY Runners at Al-Khor Community Mini Marathon 2013 (Picture courtesy of Loly) |
Race Statistics:Nett Time: 47:53 (9.75km)
Rank Total: 21/61 Finisher
Rank Male: 18/46 Finisher
Rank Category: 10/28 Finisher
Comments
TQ bro.. mmg best lari event kecik2 ni, good for PB haha.. Brooks mmg crowded , pastu pengguna jalan raya lain mmg tak reti bahasa n tak ada sivik.
Zaffril;
TQ bro, ni mmg event kecik2 je.. yg ramai masuk 5km n 3km