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.
