TRISTUPE.COM: The 12km Men's Health Shape Run 2013 Race Report

It has been a while that I wrote a race report. With the fasting month and Raya just over, racing scene is getting back to full swing again. The Shape Run or Men's Health Run 2013 was the first competitive run I took part in for the past two months. Many people join this run for the goodie bags. I ran this because I believe the best way to improve your running fitness is to race a "training"
The race was a sold off and I did not managed to sign wifey up for the run. For this race, she ran as a non-competitor and brought her own hydration. She ran at her own risk and we both know and were fully aware of the risk.
T-20minutes to Start
The sky opened up at 4.30pm in Petaling Jaya and it gets heavier as the minute passed. Our Saturday are usually packed and the arrangement to get babysitter came at very last minute. The initial plan is for me to get to Putrajaya by 6.30pm was pushed back as we need to get the kids ready to be sent to my mum-in-law (thank you mum!). Me and wifey only left for Putrajaya at 6.30pm and the rain fizzled to a drizzle. Traffic however, were heavy and I know it will take at least an hour to get to Putrajaya. I've decided to run this race with as minimal gears as possible, so yes, this will be void of photos.

The Calm Before the Rain Started Pouring again

As expected, me and wifey arrived at starting line an hour after we left home. With about 20minutes to gun-off, I walked into the holding pent and was a bit confused. As everyone were moving fast to the front, I thought the race has started (earlier). Then I saw the Skechers booth and saw my 2ndSkin teammates. For the first time this year, I was officially introduced to the good people at Skechers. Hello Ivan and Adeline!
T-5mins
I move myself closer to the front to avoid the crowd in the middle and back. Found myself a relatively good corner and was called out by Yip, my other teammate. He is a fast runner and I've learnt a lot from him. I decided that I not only going to push in this race, but I will try to follow Yip as long as possible, if that is even possible. The race were off in a few moments after that and I started picking up speed. I glanced over my Garmin Fenix and saw that I was charging down at sub 3:30 pace and Yip were already pulling away 50m of me. This will be a tough one. I let it slip a little as I know my heartrate were racing up way high. As I tried chasing him, all I can see is he pulling further and further away. I was then running with the eventual top women open runners.

Into my KM3, Yip and the top runners were already out of my sight. A quick glance at the Fenix recorded another good average KM. I know I am on the way towards my 5km PB if i continue to push harder.

Alas, the route was not flat, with some elevation here and there. I skipped the water station at KM3 and continued to push. I know my own limits and I know how close I was to my VO2max. Slowed down a tad little - i will need the reserves. 5km 20:50. 30 seconds off my 5km PB.
Feeling good, I found myself now pacing the the woman that overtook me. She is very strong and was obviously pushing too. The drizzle started to get heavier by KM7 and a glance at the watch confirm that I have slowed down to my Tempo Basic pace of 4:30. I was in a situation that my legs could not keep up with my heart - a sure sign I need more footwork to gain stronger legs.
I remembered shouting out to myself every time I come close or better my own benchmark timing. I know I am en route to score a PB for 10km when i clocked a 39:24 for KM9. Pushing it a little, the 10km PB should be attainable. 10KM 44:08. Missed the 10km PB by 3 seconds. But judging from the elevation, I would consider the Men's Health to be a better PB (quality) than the 44:05.
Bringing The PB Home
The last 2KM was a mental game for me. I picked up the speed again and went back to my Tempo Basic (4:30) pace. The benefit of running Tempo has again manifested itself as I ran to the finish strongly.

Perfectly mid-striking with GoMeb. Thanks Leong Kwan Weng for the photo!

My last run of this 12km distance competitively was the Malakoff 12KM at Bukit Damansara area (under distanced course at 11.31km). Surprisingly, the Putrajaya route has higher elevation compared to Bukit Damansara in total. 211m vs 192m! I wrapped up this 12km in 53:09. Definite improvement on overall distance fitness. The official timing put me at 54:00 flat. Not entirely sure why the big 1-min differences.

A0580 - 55:09. Position 28 Men Open. Thank you Mrs. Moey for the awesome smiling photo

I came in position 28th in my category (Men Open), 45 (Mix) and 51(Overall). A total of 3743 runners did the 12km loop. Not a bad result but definitely can be better. No complains here as it was a Level-5 at Zone 5B effort.

Wifey though not officially racing came in about 1:06 to 1:10 timing. It is her best 12KM results yet. With no timing (I forgot to charge the 910XT), she approximate based on the people that were right behind her as she ran off to the side at the finishing gantry as she is not a registered runner. Most surprising was that she brought along a 100ml water and did not even finish 1/4.

Wifey with Cynthia, our ex-neighbor

Her fitness level definitely improved. More so, she is now a Skechers GoBionicRide convert. Minimalist is the way to go for her.

After The Race
1. I ran this race with the KraftFit compression tights that I recieved a day before. I came out impressed with this locally designed compression wear that has a kinder pricing compared to the more expensive "imports". Wait up for my review on this soon.

2. The JVC Adixxion XA1 was strapped onto my running visor and I did not felt it to be there during the run. It secured rather nicely and I captured the whole run on one battery charge (1:08 mins) Full HD 1080p resolution.

3. I ran on empty. Last meal was lunch. Wifey too ran on empty. No issue. We replenished with Hammer Nutrition Recoverite after the run.

4. In the spirit of proper record keeping, my official timing of 54:00 is considered to me the PB for 12KM. I will need to work harder to justify the 53:09. A quick check on other's result noted that the total distance was actually 12.2km, which could had contributed to the additional 1-min. Either that or i started the Fenix later....hmmm...

Here are some photos that I managed to snap.