New York City Virtual Run 2023

A virtual run is not always the easiest. Moreso done on a full marathon distance of 42km. But this virtual run was great fun and with the support of buddies to run with. 

The New York City Virtual Run (Guaranteed Entry) was a lucky get for me. At the stroke of midnight, logged in and registered. Both Jeremy (my run buddy) and I got the draw to register and so we did. Some paid USD later, entry accepted and here we are to complete this run on 29 October 2023. The run needs to be completed within the same day but no time limit. 

This is my 2nd marathon within a span of a month and this actually turned out much better than the recent KL Standard Chartered Marathon (KLSCM - Painful Run). With this completed, both Jeremy and I got a guaranteed (non-complimentary) entry to the TCS New York City Marathon in 2024! This upcoming run will mark our 2nd Abbott World Marathon Major (1st was Tokyo Marathon for both of us, 2017 and 2023 respectively). 

Catch us in the video of our run!

See the route we took on Strava  Essentially from Saujana to Ara Damansara to Tropicana to Kota Damansara and back, then 2 loops of Ara Damansara and completed the run by repeating the loops in Saujana.

See you soon NYC!

KLSCM 2023 - Painful Run

It has been 4 years since my last full marathon. This Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon 2023 just ended on 1 October 2023 and reminded me of how much I hated running 42km and the pain that goes with it. No matter how hard you train, it still hurts. Maybe I did not train enough. Maybe I did not fuel enough. But it does remind me of what I need to do to make sure the next one won't be as painful.

The 6th Full Marathon (42km) was completed today at the Standard Chartered KL Marathon. What started as pace management became pain management at 30km onwards till the end. Off-target time by 25 minutes. But the journey here made it all worthwhile.

Notable note: A man passed us at the 30+km, looked over, smiled, and said, "I'm 77". Well, that was inspiring, and hopefully will still be able to do marathons in the 70s.

Time: 5:37:22

I will be back at month's end to do this again. We shall see! Stay Tuned.

I'm back! Stronger!

I'm back, stronger! Woohoo!

More updates to come. But since the last post, I have done lots of events!

SCKLM VR HM	Virtual	13-Dec-19	HM	2:03:43
Twincity Marathon	Putrajaya	24-Jul-22	HM	2:11:48
Powerman Asia Championship	Putrajaya	30-Oct-22	5-30-5	2:01:09
Standard Chartered KL Marathon	KL	13-Nov-22	HM	2:12:26
PD Tri	PD	19-Mar-23	OD	3:08:17
Malaysia Women Marathon	PJ State	14-May-23	HM	2:12:36
Powerman Asia Championship	Putrajaya	18-Jun-23	5-30-5	2:08:28
NPE Highway Challenge	NPE	09-Jul-23	HM	2:11:25
Score Run	Putrajaya	13-Aug-23	HM	2:06:50

#StevoRacese #RunWithMe #CycleWithMe #TriWithMe #RaceWithMe

First Run of 2017 - Twincity Marathon at Cyberjaya

Of all the races I plan for this year, the very first race to be the Twincity Marathon. Yes, a full marathon between the township of Cyberjaya and Putrajaya. This also helps to get myself back in after the 2016 year end binging and also to prepare for the upcoming marathon in February (more to come on this when the race comes).

The Twincity Marathon starts from Persiaran Flora in Cyberjaya on 15 January 2017. As for all marathons, got up very early at 2am to prepare for the race start at 4am. Got to the race site early enough to park and warm up for the race.

Wasn't expecting much from this race as it is sort of a "warm up" race for me before the big race. The crowd was pretty good at about 7500 participants in total for 42km, 21km and 10km. Nothing close to the Penang Bridge Marathons or the Standard Chartered Marathons but still have a good crowd. Most would have planned for this to be the first race of the year and a warm-up to the year of races.

Started of a steady pace and the plan was to hold this for a longer period of time. The cool morning (which is rare in Cyberjaya or Putrajaya) was a welcome. Also, made me drink too much water which ended up having to make 2 pitstop for the little boys room, which wasn't sufficient. Only 2 stalls in each water stations, and a fairly long queue (guess most overestimated the fluids intake)

I was also nursing an injury to the back of my knee and hence continue to maintain pace. The day started to get warmer at 7am and the pain returned at about 15km and was mainly walking then. Did a steady brisk walk and occasional run then. Concluded the race better than I expected but 50 minutes slower than my personal best at Penang Bridge Marathon. Had to resist the need to push on the run to prevent further injuries before the big race next month.

Time to get the pain looked into and strengthen the legs, which I felt was the biggest setback for me. Not much time left to the next big race, which I plan to surpass my personal best in the cold weather.

Overall, the race was fantastic. Lots of water station and enough of different scenery to keep on company throughout the 42km. Not many races you will find that they serve nasi lemak mid-course (not recommended to eat if you are going for a Personal Best)! Check out my race on Strava.

Till the next big race!

* Photos are borrowed from dedicated professional photographers and all rights and credit respectively belongs to them.

Penang Bridge International Marathon 2016

First ever Full Marathon done! 😃 at the Asics Penang Bridge International Marathon on 27th November 2016.

One word regarding this race, it was a torture. Maybe because I did a 30km run just a week before and couldn't recover in time. During the beginning of the run, I could still feel the strain of the leg muscles and joints from last week's 30km! Should have given a 2 weeks recovery.

Since we were in Penang Island, we had to do hawker food carbo loading. Plenty of choices of hawker food in Penang and reviews can be easily found online. We pretty much had everything we could order within reach!

The race started on time at the road in front of Queensbay Mall. After walking through the starting crowds, I started running at a very comfortable pace, keeping heart rates down. Maintain that pace and only walked the water stations. It was a long route on the island with humid still ait before finally reaching the bridge.

Once on the bridge, the wind blew and finally cooled down and sweat a lot less. But at 28km, I hit the dreaded wall. Had major pain at the back of my right knee reaching to the calf too. I thought it was cramp and just continue one but at a slower pace. Along the way, got ice to ice the back of the knee and also some counterpain. Was doing an average 9-10 mins/km.

Kept trying to run in between walks making sure that I kept to the targeted sub-6 hours run. At about 37km, the 6 hours pacer caught up with me! Had to start to pick up the pace and keep running to ensure I finish within 6 hours. As I kept pushing it, the pain started to go away. Must have been the adrenaline of chasing them. Slowly, I picked up the pace to catch up with the 6 hours pacer by 39km doing low 7 mins/km pace.

Kept the head up and pushing as I saw the last 2 km sign and nearing back to the Queensbay Mall area. By now, I am doing a low 6 mins/km pace to the finishing line.

The feeling was amazing. Never have I thought I could do a full marathon and with all that pain, yet finish within the targeted time of 5 hours 56 minutes.

So what does a recently accomplished full marathoner do? He went ahead and sign up for another marathon in 2 months time!

Check out my race on Strava.