Siemens Run 2011

I have to admit that I am in a bit of a fitness fad phase at the moment and in the same time I have been looking out for something new to get into ass a new hobby, seeing that my everyday routine seems kinda boring these days.  So with the persuasion of some of my work colleagues, they suggested that I should run in the Siemens Run for this year!

If you guys don't know what this is all about, basically its an annual event that the company that I work for organizes and sponsors and it is actually open to the public. Since that I just recently started training again after so many years, I figured it wouldn't hurt to give this run a go with some of my office mates. The run itself consist of an uphill run for 10 km starting from Dataran Merdeka and finally back at the same spot, around the KL town.

This is where it gets fun.

I suddenly realized AFTER agreeing to run in this race that the last time I actually ran was a 6km run more than 12 years ago, the fact that I am now more than 8kg overweight and only recently stopped smoking which kinda  explains my stamina at the moment. Not to mention that I am now 28 years old. Then again I figured if Kenny Sia can run a full marathon and he's my age, I got no excuses no more.

[Doing full stretching before start]

[Team Siemens Management!]

So we made our way bright and early for the race. Of course I was joined by my two German colleagues (same guys from that football post) representing the few Siemens staff members that are running for the full 10km of the race. Also with us were TeamTehTarik members Miss Ave T and CerealCheryl  who came as the camera person and cheerleaders respectively for the race!

[Strategy discussion before race]

Once we were all geared up to go, we started to discuss techniques and strategies for the race. Truth be told it might look unnecessary but I was having butterflies in my stomach and was nervous about the race. My major concern was I won't have the mental strength to finish the race, let alone reaching our target of finishing 10km within 1 hour. So the talk was crucial for me to be honest.

[Last photo op before we took our position]

[AND WE'RE OFF!]

[HERE WE GO!]

[Why come for the race only to stop and play with your phone?]

And so I started my first road race in more than 10 years with a bang. The start of the race was excellent, despite having more than 3 thousand people running for this category there weren't much obstructions in front of us which gave us a good run start. 

Passing the the first km mark I was pumped and kept on going

The 3rd km mark I started to feel the cramps on my calves. Yet the guys kept pushing me on.

The 5km was a treacherous uphill run going towards the KL Sentral which gave me the challenge. I was starting to lose my breathing rhythm.

The 7km I was completely exhausted and was mentally and physically drained. The guys however was nice enough to wait up for me and kept pushing me on. I decided to run.

What was interesting was the final kilometer for the run. By this time I was completely out of gas and had nothing left in the tank to run. I was losing my stride many times and was in the verge of quitting. But they had these people playing drums, cheering us on and even had a few people from the office who saw us kept cheering us to keep going. That gave me my second wind to finish one more kilometer.

And I did!

[We did it!]

I never thought I would actually finish the run but I end up doing it! The biggest feeling was listening to the final beep of the checkpoint at the finishing line which by the time I passed through it, my entire legs collapsed and that was it. My concern now was our timing.

Official Siemens Run 2011 results, I am ranked 795 out of 3515 at 1:15:58 for 10km.

Disappointed that I couldn't reach my target for the run but nevertheless I suddenly now have the urge to keep trying for the race. In the end, my mind did forget about the fact I didn't finish the race my target time but come at least now I know I can push on for more.

I might have a new hobby now! :D

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