Run for .... myself!

Like a goose forced fed for the liver to prepare foie gras or like a wharf labourer diet, the preceding days before the full marathon was high carbohydrate intake to build up the glycogen storage. Our parents educated us as not to end up as labourers but we have end up eating like them at least before a run! This would mark the lull period after 6 months of intensive training which was sometimes ridiculed by non runners. Remarks like "you know mortality during marathon is a concern, you know", "I offer my services to anaesthetise you when you undergo total knee replacement", " you are trying to act like a young chap", "midlife crisis" were hurled left, right and centre all the time and seem like the only thing coming out from the orifices of naysayers.
After setting out the regalia of armamentarium the night before, I hardly could catch any sleep. The sheeep just kept jumping over the fence and they just kept on coming and coming. With so much of adrenalin floating around, sleep was so elusive. I could sense myself slipping into superficial sleep but that was it, no Stage IV or REM sleep. Firecrackers also went off as it was the Chang festival. All in all, I only caught an hour's snooze!Again, in the fourth year in succession, I was gathered with running junkies, at a time when most 'normal' KLites were asleep, at the ever familiar Merdeka square, from P. Ramlee's 'Labu dan Labi' to Bersih 3.0 gathering. This time around my partner in crime (SK) decided to be deflowered as a 'Full Marathon Virgin'.
The threat of haze looming over the skies, which was a great concern one week before the race, thankfully it kind of cleared off after the recent light showers.
The starting gun for the full marathon was fired at sharp 4.30am to the start of a long journey for an estimated 1,100 FM runners. The temperature was moderate by Malaysian standards - 23 degrees Celsius but slightly humid. From Merdeka Square, we ran along Jln Travers pass the Old Railway Station to Brickfields and then to the Federal Highway. From the onset, I planned to set my pace at 7min/km so as to complete the race at 5 hours. With the adrenaline rush and the energy of the other runners seem so infectious that I actually went at around 6.20 to 6.30!
As we were sliding down towards the Sg Besi airport, God showered his blessings in a light misty rain and a zephyr to cool the soon to be weary bodies. Apparently, He had cool the roads further earlier as the roads appeared wet (but not too wet and slippery).
The journey continued to Dewan Bahasa Pustaka and Jln Cheras. The organisation and crowd control were excellent this time around as the organizers had deployed many helping hands and reserve police units. Kudos. The water stations, I felt was too many. Many runners avoided many stations.
I took my first power gel at 12km mark.
The sun was kind and did not show its hot face until I passed 30km mark. As the motto of the annual run was 'Run for a cause', participants displayed their creative reasons for running. Beside reasons like 'Running for Orang Asli', 'Running for Bersih 3.0', some strongly displayed their political frustrations boldly. A chap attached a placard at his back reading, 'RM20million for NFC? 1Lembu can run marathon!'. A bull head picture and a rope signifying tail was attached to this picture. A lady was attired in songket skirt and a 'kuda kepang' head gear.
From Jln Cheras, we entered Jln Tun Razak seamlessly in spite of the chaotic road repairs. Entrance to the Bukit Bintang and the financial capitalistic hub of KL marked the half marathon mark. This time around (as compared to last year's) I was strong and was able to maintain my intended pace.
The trail continued back to Jln Tun Razak, IJN and into Jln Ipoh. This is the stretch I hit the brick wall last year and was the psychological barrier I had to overcome. All the countless early morning weekend and treadmill thrashing endeavours proved its mantle. I cruised through the 30km mark into Jln Kuching. Here the restless KL motorists reared their ugly heads but we soldiered on. Then on it was the familiar territory of Bukit Tunku hills which gave us the renewed energy and vision. Near the Bank Negara area, we were caught in a bottleneck with obviously McDonald fed Y-generations hogging the road engaging in talks on how far they had run with their colleagues, also walking at snail's pace.
By this time, my mojo was dwindling and my pace was taking its toll but still managed to hit the finish line in 4h57m13s. Mission accomplished - a sub-5 full marathon.
SK - 4h45m28s! Jack another accomplice did his Half in 1h57m!Raj DNS due to a bug.
http://runkeeper.com/user/asokan63/activity/97195755

Happy faces -SK, FG and Taufik Mghazali (FB friend)