Energizer Night Race—Tapering

I have begun to taper for the half marathon next Saturday, 27 March, i.e. Energizer Night Race in Cyberjaya. Last Sunday, I did a mild 20km run at Likas jogging track. This week I have done 8km, 7km and 6km on Tuesday, Wednesday and this evening respectively. Then a scheduled 12km this Sunday morning to be followed by a leisurely 5km, 3km and 3km next week. I hope to have fully replenished my energy by next Saturday evening.

Teo and Kevin will also be there for the half marathon. I heard that Kevin is trying to achieve a 1:45, and I think he will be able to do it. As for Teo... oh well, what can I say about Teo—I just hope to see him at the starting line next week! He's been complaining about his knees all the while, and it's a bit difficult not to notice his heavily-strapped knees when we met him in Likas last Sunday. But the week before that, I heard he joined the rest of our running buddies for the so-called Sunset Run in Tanjung Aru, of which they retired to a beer-drinking session immediately after the run. Andrew came up with the novel idea of "alcoholic rehydration", you see. According to Kevin who was also there, Teo drank much faster than he ran. So I told Kevin to ask his mother to wait for Teo at the finish line in Cyberjaya next week, dangling a Chivas. Maybe that can sort of motivate Teo to finish his race.

Unfortunately, Teo has now readjusted his target. He said because of his condition, he's now targeting a 2:59 for the half marathon. I think that's a bit of an exageration, but for the moment we would be happy if he could just get his butt to the starting line.

I'm afraid we won't be running abreast in Cyberjaya. Kevin runs too fast. I'll be struggling to achieve a sub 2-hour half marathon. And Teo... well, let's just hope he will be there.

This lately I get to run together with Dr Peter in Likas, usually in the evenings. But I find that he runs a bit faster than me, and quite often I have to struggle to keep up with him. Maybe that is not such a bad thing. It's kinda force me to run faster, which is just what I need for the Cyberjaya race.

I was asked by a friend if running a marathon is boring. That is of course a logical question, especially for me, because I need between 4.5hours to 5 hours to complete a marathon. That's a long time to run. But quite frankly, I do not feel the boredom at all when I run marathons. In fact, I usually feel excited since I always try very hard to improve on my time.

That said, however, running during training sessions can be quite a different story. Boredom can very quickly set in after only several kilometres, and sometimes it's the boredom that will make me stop running sooner than planned, as opposed to the exhaustion.

And so one will have to be creative in overcoming the boredom. At times, when I'm lucky, I would find a friend or two at the track. For example, if I can run together with Dr Peter, that's great. We can chit-chat while we run, and the kilometres can quickly pass. But when I can find no running buddies, then how would I kill the boredom?

Luckily I have an imaginative mind, and I can always use the time to think. Yes, just think—some of the things that I see or read from the papers. It pays to have a curious mind, you know. In fact, that's how I can end up writing a hell lot of rubbish in this blog!

And so, I would run, and in my mind, I would think of something like "Am I the only one noticing the First Lady growing fat by the day?"—or something like that. And I just build from there. A bit about treasure hunts; a bit about work; a bit about religions, and all the little mysteries of this world. And the next thing I know, the run is over!

Thankfully, my runs between now and the Cyberjaya race would be short ones, so no need to think so much. Ultimately, the excitement is mounting; I hope to achieve my target. My personal best for the half marathon so far is 2:03. Hopefully, if I can't go below 2 hours, I can at least improve on that 2:03. One thing is certain—I will have many pacers in Cyberjaya, so I don't have to keep my mind occupied with the First Lady.