Whew, a big big week for me last week! I have many posts to put up, but haven't gotten the chance to do so yet so let me (hopefully) do a quick one on the (sort of) latest fun day that I had *grins* Okay..one of my favorite days just happened yesterday (check out the post at my other blog if you're interested), and I guess that's what pushed me to want to blog more =P 

Anyhoot, this post is not about that but about my second run! Yeah, I've kind of been a little addicted to running lately...so I've signed up for quite a few more runs thanks to a bunch of running buddies that I've met and trained with! Stay tuned for more run posts in the future *wink* My second run is at the Standard Chartered KL Marathon...yes,the ever famous marathon in Malaysia. I've always wanted to try it out, and got the chance to do it this year with my friends, which is always so fun!

I signed up for the 10km leisure run. There were 3 different categories in the 10km block - speed (cut off time: 75 mins), cruise (cut off time: 90 mins), and leisure (cut off time: 120 mins). Actually this run was the very first one that I signed up for back in February (and I haven't exactly trained for a run yet), so I was very skeptical of my own timing...seeing that I want to finish on time, I signed up for the longest timed run so I have a better chance. Heh! Funny how I did the PJ Dawn race earlier and I did a 12km run right? Surprised me too =P

My day started off early...I caught the first LRT from Bukit Jalil with already quite a lot of runners also headed the same way. You can tell from the running shirts we're wearing...in an odd way, it kinda felt like the Bersih rally thing that happened in April, only this was a marathon, and not that kind of assembly. Not that I've been to the Bersih rally myself, but I've read quite a few accounts on it and that day, it kind of felt like that to me. *shrugs* I digress...

Alighting from the Masjid Jamek LRT station, I began walking towards the starting line, following the other runners with the same categories printed on their bibs. It was a very peaceful time...the sky was still dark but streets were quiet (due to the road blocks) and there was a sense of excitement coming from everyone walking towards the starting line, which is always a good thing. The full marathon and half marathon had already started so the rest of us were just waiting to start the 10km and 5km runs. I had plenty of time since my category only starts at 8am, and I was already there by 7am so I took my time walking and enjoying the sight of thousands of people milling about on the road. Also a great time to be able to walk in the middle of a road without being run over by a vehicle. LOL!

When I reached the starting line, it was a bit stifling but exciting to see everyone geared up and ready to go on their runs. I tried to call my friends to see if I can spot them...and finally managed to find Vivien and her gang. She joined the cruise category so she'll be starting earlier than me. I wished her luck and waited for my turn, as well as Afidah who will be joining the same category as me. Poor Afidah got lost on her way walking towards the start line...so I didn't get to see her until after the run! 

8am came and we took our places...I had my Endomondo app ready, with some songs already playing on my iPhone. The gun went off and we started our run! I have to say this was a very intimidating race in the beginning, looking at the sheer number of participants. I had a hard time finding a good place to start running until like 400m away o.O" But eventually, everyone started dispersing as they found their comfortable pace to go on (as did I)..and it was quite an experience. Not as cool as PJ Dawn in terms of the weather (the sun has already started to rise quite high), but the terrain was interesting. Who knew that one could enjoy the sights of KL while you're running right? Only in an event like this I guess...haha! 

I was keeping track of my pace with the Endomondo app, and was pleased to note that my pace was getting better compared to the PJ Dawn run. I averaged a 6-8+ min/km pace compared to my 7-9+ min/km pace previously. I'm guessing it's all the boot camp sessions that helped, as I've not been running as much compared to previously. Leg exercises really made a difference =) Anyways, I managed to finish within my targeted time (I hoped to do better than the 1 hour 30 mins I clocked previously in my trainings)...YAY! My official time is 1:19:48 hours and my average pace was about 7:32 min/km. My friends all did much better than me of course, but I guess for a second run it was an okay result for me. I'm content. Will aim to do better in my future runs!

My friends and I after the race! So tiring, but awesome!

My finisher medals! I forgot to take a photo of my PJ Dawn one previously, so I'm putting it here as a commemoration of my 'collection'. Hoping to collect more of these throughout the year...yay!