Par XII Series 1 and 2 - Race Report

I'm not sure why I joined this relay again and moreover I joined both series. I actually told everyone I was not going to run this relay after participating the 2014 one. That was also why I skipped it last year. 3km kinda race is not my cup of tea. I regretted immediately after I promised Teck Wai to join. At first I actually just promised to run series 1 but not sure why after running series 1, I asked the team if they still wanted me to run series 2. I regretted immediately after I asked! LOL. WTF was I thinking?

As usual, I planned to take these relays easy. They were just part of the training for my SCKLM which was my goal race. But again, I knew I was lying to myself. I would never take them easy, in the end I would still run my 100%. My kinda take it easy was just merely I won't specifically train for them. Haha!

Let's start with our series 1 podium photo

Series 1

This time I teamed up with Angel, Guo Shen, William and Teck Wai. Wil, TW and I were kinda similar standard while GS had improved a lot since last year. He was already few leagues above us as our ace runner. Our strategy was fairly simple: Angel and GS to pull the gap for us while 3 of us just hold as much as possible not to be overtaken by others too much. As simple as ABC, also the most brilliant strategy! LOL! Our goal was to podium and of course to get a better ranking, as better as possible!

I ran 2nd leg in Series 1 as I had to rush home for my son's sports day. Race started. Angel was not well during that day. She kept saying she didn't perform well but I thought that was good enough as she finished 9th which was better than our overall ranking. We were still well within podium position. She then passed me the baton. Audrey, Suit Mei and Bee Hoon were just few secs ahead or behind Angel so that means a few of us actually exchanged the batons at almost the same time. In particular, Shu Wei, Hoo Yeen and Lionel! Lionel as a faster runner sped off and slowly disappeared from our sight. This left 3 of us fighting each others.

1 sec behind Audrey and Lionel! So intense!

GSW had overtook me and HYH grabbing the baton

I was the first to run. GSW was 1 sec behind and HYH 7 secs behind. I always started slow as I afraid of going out too fast and puncture. GSW cut me right after grabbing the baton. HYH cut me too after few hundred meters. LOL! After the flat road at the uphill, I overtook both of them and leading. I was slightly ahead, like few meters ahead. LOL, this was the only time I ahead of them so please let me syok sendiri! It's actually more appropriate to say we were running neck and neck. LOL! It didn't last long as expected. After the stairs at the downhill, HYH overtook me. WTF! My heart, lung and legs were already at the max! LOL! HYH led until the last 300m then GSW suddenly sprinted, cut both of us and finished first! What a race! That's his strategy as usual. They both had so much left! I was actually sprinting too but that was the max I could give. HYH finished 2 secs behind and I was 8 secs behind! I passed the baton to GS and stood aside to pant.

Last 500m to go, I was still leading!

Last 400m to go, overtook by HYH! GSW was chasing!

Such a close fight and so intense! LOL! HYH clocked 12:59, GSW 13:03 and me as the slowest clocked 13:12! KNS! Lost to both of them but it was expected as I was not as good as these 2 fellows, my ex-teammates! Haha!

As what we expected, GS didn't let us down. He overtook 5 runners and came back as 7th! Wah lao! Then Wil turn to run, he was overtaken by 2 runners and finished 9th. Then TW as our last runner overtaken by 3 runners and finished 12th! LOL! As what we planned, 3 of us tried to hold as much as possible and we did it! What a hard earn podium!

Pacing TW to the finish line!

Unfortunately I had to rush home immediately after the run and didn't get to receive the prize. After my son's sports day only I went to Runners Café to have lunch and take the group photo with them! Haha!

Team: 12th, 1:07:04
Angel: 14:43
Zi Shen: 13:12
Guo Shen: 12:17
William: 13:20
Teck Wai: 13:29

Series 2

Now come to this series 2. It was 2 weeks after the series 1. I was still having the phobia! LOL! Kevin Chu was supposed to replace me but he gave his spot to me! Thanks for that and sorry for all the hassle! We also let go GS for him to join a faster team, he deserved a better team! It was quite wasted for him to stay with us. We had Chris to join us though!

This time Angel wasn't sick! She finished 6th and this gave me a little bit of pressure! LOL! The faster she finished, the higher the chances of me being overtaken by other runners! KNS! And some said series 2 route was easier but to me it was as tough as series 1! It was just 50 to 100m shorter than series 1. This didn't make it the easier! The stairs, the roller coaster hills and a lot of sharp turning made it almost as tough as series 1.

Angel pulled a very large gap for me! After 1km which was after the stairs only I saw Lionel and Wen Shan trailing behind. They two overtook me and disappeared from my sight. Sigh, too imba! After they cut me, I ran alone and couldn't see anyone in front or behind! Because of that, I slow down a little and reserved quite a bit! At the last 300m only I let go what I had, sprinted and finished. William took the baton and continued. I thought I finished 8th until I saw Lionel finished behind me, only I realized he ran wrongly! So unfortunate for them!

Passing baton

Still fresh at the beginning

WTF, what a face! Last 50m to go, giving it all! LOL!

William came back as 8th and TW 9th then our last leg the secret weapon Chris overtook 1 guy and ended with 8th! We got much better ranking in this series 2 as some of the faster teams didn't join this time! Everyone fought well!

This time I didn't have to rush home so I could stay till the end to receive the prize myself and took a lot of photos. I meant a lot! LOL! I was glad that 4 of us finished sub-13 together. We won the PJ half marathon podium last year together (read here) then we made the same team and podium again this year in this relay! So freaking awesome!

The fate since PJ Half Marathon!

We won 8th position! Better than expected!

Team: 8th, 1:05:04
Angel: 13:59
Zi Shen: 12:47
William: 12:59
Teck Wai: 12:58
Chris: 12:20

Cari and Puma group photo

Men in black

The winners

ROFL, we were supposed to pose like Michelle
but I didn't know how so... cin cai la...

The best photobomb ever. :P

Girls power! Eh, wait!

Team work! Team spirit!

As usual, I'm telling you guys I'm not going to join this relay again next year! LOL! But I know it's probably going to be a lie again! Let's see what happen next year! :P Kudos to Ronnie and Pacemakers for holding such a wonderful relay! This is one of the most successful relay events in Malaysia. I still don't understand why this relay could attract so many elites to join, it didn't give cash prize! LOL! So this is why I think Ronnie and Pacemakers are so successful! I'm sure I will still be back again next year even if I'm not running I will still join as a volunteer if Ronnie wants me! Haha!

Race ended very well but I didn't end up well. Later that night I suddenly got a high fever and diagnosed with dengue few days later! So unfortunate! Luckily it happened after the race!

Dengue sucks! I will come back stronger! XD