Adidas King Of The Road 2013 Race Report

This is my first Adidas King Of The Road race. I've never ran here before even though the race has been happening the past few years. Me and wifey signed up when it was at 95% full and we could potentially be amongst the very last to sign up. Over the years, it has been known to be a well organised race and there was no reason for me and wifey to miss it this year - more so with so little races nowadays.

So, on Friday, October 17, i headed over to Sunway Pyramid Blue Zone to collect the race kits. I rode my motorbike there and the lack of signage at Sunway Pyramid to inform motorbikers where the parking was a pain. I went up the wrong parking and had no help other than backtracking against the traffic to the main road. I later found it to be at the side entrance at level B3. Parking was RM1/motorbike/day. It was guarded. Adidas setup the race collection to be centric around their products. Fair enough as it is their event anyway. Other sponsors such as Sennheiser and Powerbar were observed at the race kit collection.

not many people came to collect

Race Day

Me and wifey left home about 5.00am to reach Sunway Mentari at about 5.15am. By then, the car park surrounding the area was slowly being filled up. One thing I noticed was that many Malaysians would try to park as close to their destination as possible and little do they know the time spent going around being indecisive actually adds more stress as you may start finding less space to fill up. Noticed a few reckless driving there as they were zooming in and out looking for that perfect spot (according to their logic). 

JVC Adixxion XA1

As we parked our car, we noticed that Sunway Mentari area were still buzzing with night activities. We spotted a group of working girls hanging around where we parked and they started moving away as they noticed more people started to come in. In the darkness and in those sexy dresses, one could not really tell if it was a he. We walked towards the start line and bumped into many friends along the way. As most of us racers know, NPE was close that day from 3am to 11am. Staggered closing near the starting starts at 5am where no vehicles will be allowed onto NPE into Sunway except from the back road.

Thank you KK!

Nearer to the starting line, we bumped into more friends. Most of them did Putrajaya Night Marathon the hours before coming over for KOTR. Kin Kok was in his usual element when he came with a heart shape balloon to be used as his "pacing tool". And of course, we all managed to take photo with the balloon with KK snapping photos of us!

For this race, me and wifey decided that I should just go at my usual training pace. She will run at her own and I will run at mine. Deal is for whoever that finishes first to wait at the end/finishing so we can then go home to get the kiddos from their grandparents. Running in many ways has been involving the family, directly or indirectly. For this race, i ran with the Nite Owl, 2ndSkin running vest in Vaporlite, Kraftfit thighs and with the JVC Adixxion camera. For nutrition, me and wifey had 1 Perpetuem each and I used this opportunity to teach wifey to "run on empty". We took 4 Endurolytes and 2 Anti-Fatigue tablets before the run as a buffer for electrolyte losses. With a water station every 3km, we don't need to bring any bottles and I plan to stop only at 2 of the 5 planned along the course; 6km and 12km. 

6:45am - GoRUN!

With a last good luck kiss and a reminder to race safe with wifey, I started to make my way to the front of the pack to clear the human-traffic that is coming right up behind. 

Starting at about the 5th or 6th row, it was pretty difficult to get upfront and I only managed to do so after the first 1km - right out of the underpass with a short climb. That was where i bumped into my running neighbour Voon Leong. On training days, we do run together when the opportunity arise. A quick tap on his back to signal him to follow and i steadily increased my pace heading towards KM2, the Taman Medan toll. 2km in 8mins 20secs. 

Thank you Rashid!

I was moving at my anaerobic Zone 5c with HR hitting past my theoretical max HR at 187bpm. Racing smart, I know I can sustain this for up to 10km and get a personal best; NPE was alien to me and I do not want to take the risk burning out after 10km. I told myself to slow down to my LTpace of between 4:15 to 4:24. At that point, I do not know how far behind I was from the front pack. I slowly started to over take more runners and making mental notes of those passing as to catch onto their pace. 

2-years ago, never had I imagine to be running at the front with faster runners. I am enjoying this as it comes. More so with much improved fitness and better power-to-weight ratio, I would continue to train smart to stave off injuries and be better.


It was fun chasing the runners in front and it wasn't until KM8 that I saw the top runner on the opposite side of the road. I knew the U-turn point (Lembah Pantai Toll) is near. Not too bad. I am about 5minutes away from the top group! At KM10, past the U-turn, I clocked close to my PB for the distance. Looked like my threshold training was on the dot having ran the first 10km within Zone 5a (super threshold). I was at my 70% effort and much can be pushed still. The last 6.8km was spent running at the same zone and capturing photos of runners from the opposite direction.

Bengy. Know him for years. He stopped to cheer me on

Mawar

Isaac

Stupe Fan Club. (???)

Hatta!!!

Happy!

As I ran past the final 2.5km passing the Taman Medan toll plaza, more 10km runners were catching up with me as they overtake me one by one. 

Their pace were easily 10-15seconds faster than me, and that is pretty consistent with my own 10km pace. 

What I've taken notice at the same time was how other fast runners run. A general observation shows most run midfoot and forefoot strike. Their kickback are high (almost to the butt) and their strides consistent. Most importantly, I noticed all of them were strong on the slopes - a reaffirmation that hill work and speedwork should always be a part of training if you want to improve. 

10km runner overtaking me 

Rashid (Yellow) and Aizat (Black) Cheering me on. They did PNM a few hours before

The Cari Runner that encouraged me to speed along

Final 500m!

Tey (middle) and other photogs. Thank you!

Thank you Tey gor!

Last photo (before battery finish) with 100m to finish

5km : 21:28 (PB 20:20)

10km : 44:33 (PB 44:05)

12km : 53:52  (PB 53:10)

15km : PB 1:08:10 (Previous 1:14:00)

16.68km : PB 1:15:38 (Previous 1:20:15)

Ave HR : 164bpm
Max : 187bpm

Shoe : Skechers GoRunRide2 Nite Owl
Top : 2ndSkin Team Edition Running Vest in VaporLite

Bottom : Kraftfit Compression

Tracking : Garmin Fenix

Nutrition : 1 x Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem Solid before run. Endurolytes and Anti-Fatigue pre-run.

Video/Photos : JVC Adixxion XA1

Well done to all. Photos at www.facebook.com/tristupesbr

Race Pro
1. Route totally closed off to traffic. Been a long while since I ran a race with NO traffic.
2. Great support station. 3km interval. All has water and 100Plus, both cold. Portable toilets and a sponging station at KM 12. 
3. Great supporters along the route cheering you on - and they look happy cheering.
4. At least 6 scramblers (Kawa150) with portable AED. It's about time these are made standard for races!
5. Good crowd control and systematic medals/refreshment give out. I was actually questioned "Where is your bib, SIR?". They were so polite and I had to apologise for covering my bib under my vest.
6. Pacers for a 16.8km race? That's new!
7. Two video cameras set at finish to catch cheaters. Awesome.

Race Con
1. Noticed a few race official stopping runners as they crossed the line to record their number. Could had been better way. A few runners were confused why they were stopped. One almost collapsed due to fatigue but the official did not bother and continue to stop to see the bib number.
2.  Anymore to share, dear readers?

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