MWM 2015
So what has been up? Many has been up. I was consumed with trying to update the 2 months back Mount K Mission, that I have put everything else aside. So, let's do some line-up (literally reaching out the phone to see my schedules. But I have just switched to Iphone6 plus, and no longer have my event countdown on my phone main page. It's ok, I'll manage). But I think the MWM 2015 still deserve its own update. So here's the update.
The race would be a special one. Here's how special it is:
5th preggy halfie
5th month
Halfie finale in this pregnancy
An all women halfie race
The time that I will announce my pregnancy to the public
How much more special can it get? It definitely was to me. And made even more special considering that I would have to learn to let go upon this one. I would have to admit that I would need to finally retire from long distance upon that. I would finally need to give my body the kind of rest that it deserves and stop it from further torture. As hard as the runs had become as I progressed further in my pregnancy, the joy of running has never left me. So that has made leaving running even more difficult and made the race even more special.
So how did the run go? I need to scratch my head a little, as it's been 1 month now.
I was on my solo mission as always. Got the hubs to send me over, so I would just reach in time and not have to be bothered with the parking. It was such a relief that I didn't have to wake up as early like last time and having to spend some time sorting the pumping schedule and warm up routine like I did for my Full Marathon attempt the year before. Halfie is such a comfortable distance for. Was now, as I'm sure I will need sometime before to get back to my pre-pregnancy halfie form. The night before the race I had prepared my recovery drink (after my Full Marathon injury, I have paid closer attention to strength and nutrition, remember). I tried in a previous long run, and gosh it felt so good. My recovery run the next day totally felt effortless, unlike the normal recovery run, where the legs always felt heavy and I would always have to struggle with one. So I totally attribute it to this homemade recovery drink. Totally ditch my Amino Protein drink with this. At least until after I'm done with pregnancy. The caffeine content in the Amino drink just kills you and my own protein mix just don't have all that. I came across this article on protein content for post run recovery. Of course, much has been said about the importance of protein for recovery. But what we have always known were mostly the 3:1 or 4:1 ratio. But I never knew exactly the gram amount. So from that link, I calculated the amount that I actually need, and compared it against the whole mix. This is an example:
USING THE 4:1 RATIO:
WEIGHT DIVIDED BY 2 = CARBS DIVIDED BY 4 = PROTEIN
125 pounds 63 grams carbohydrates 15 grams protein
170 pounds 85 grams carbohydrates 21 grams protein
So for my current weight, I should need around 56 grams of carbo and 14 grams of protein. This mix, allow me to be very accurate in the amount. And the recovery effect really works.
The race pack collection was nice. Slight disappointment, the ID tag supposed to have a customised message. I had planned on the following to be engraved there: 5th preggie halfie. But somehow it didn't go as planned, it can only fit the blood type info and.
Few interesting things were sold there. I was kind of looking for a new shoe, since my main shoe is already more than 500 km mileage. And so I did. I'm a Newton convert now. Had the shakeout, maiden run in it the day after.
My race plan to just take it slow and cruise throughout the race. Would only exert a slight push once I reached the 1 hour or 10 km mark. And cruise I did. Overall the run felt so good and enjoyable. I remember that it did feel hard at the beginning. Heart rate and effort level was my guidance and it served really well. I felt good almost throughout the race. I'm a very conservative person when it come to race's pace. Too conservative it might have been. The last race that I had not been conservative that I had pushed more than I should has only been 2 races; the Cyberjaya Night Marathon 2014 and Nike We Run KL 2015. So with me being conservative, I was completely fine for almost 3 quarter of the race. My pace was almost exactly like my full marathon pace. How slow was that. But the final mile were quite unpleasant. I still have some energy stored. But the distance markers already indicated that it was very near to finish. And the volunteers said it was only 500m more. So I didn't know whether to push or to still reserve. Crowd was getting more especially. But I did manage to reserve well until the end. In fact I could have pushed a bit more. But my watch still screamed as I had reached 180 bpm (my max is 186 bpm).
I especially enjoyed the race setup. Everything was just in order. I cannot find any area where an improvement is required. But maybe I'm just biased myself. I especially like the race routes. Shah Alam route is very dear to me, I knew every route like the back of my hand. Water stations were consistently setup with sufficient and consistent water and revive. Some WS were also equipped with salt water, which is totally new to me. As I don't actually need one, I didn't actually consume but I'm sure it would have benefited others a lot. I was prepared with my pouch and telekung on my waist, and all set to solat by the road side. But they somehow prepared a mobile surau, which is very unique and especially handy. But I was done with my own prayer that time but I was glad that it had indeed helped the others. The organisers tried so hard to provide some decent amount of entertainment along the route. Although there were some unlit areas, volunteers were sufficiently placed and I felt safe throughout. It's an all woman halfie remember, hence number of runners is less compared to other big events, and volunteers may be your only reliance.
There were other good things from the race, so much that I couldn't recall. And 1 thing for sure, you left the race feeling good, accomplished and well treated.
As for the result,it's a bit off than I hoped for. I had hoped for the We run KL kind of timing. But it went way off to 6:45 average pace. But the Overall timing was good. Official was 2:20, but that is with prayer. Without prayer my time was 2:16. I take it. I've highlighted my maximum heart rate there, in my race result. I was still fine after that, no dizziness no nothing. But of course, this is only the race day stats. I don't suggest having this level on a constant basis, no matter how much I'd like to push myself beyond limits. ACOG's Clinical guideline used to state that the advisable heart should be 140 bpm. But the later changed that, and it's totally up to the mother. You need to be able to gauge yourself well.
I saw a few familiar faces, which I was faster before, went way ahead of me. But I have to learn to accept the fact that I'm pregnant. I always thought that I can maintain the same level as before, when I should be thankful to even be able to run. Other experienced runners also had their downtime during pregnancy. So I am just so blessed and should fee more than grateful. It was such a sweet memory, one that I will cherish and repeat myself to other aspiring running mothers out there.
Nike We Run KL 2015
Date: 14 March 2015
Venue: Dataran Shah Alam
Pregnancy Progress: 20 weeks
Distance: 20.23 km
Duration: 2:22:50 hours
Pace: 6:45/km
The race would be a special one. Here's how special it is:
5th preggy halfie
5th month
Halfie finale in this pregnancy
An all women halfie race
The time that I will announce my pregnancy to the public
How much more special can it get? It definitely was to me. And made even more special considering that I would have to learn to let go upon this one. I would have to admit that I would need to finally retire from long distance upon that. I would finally need to give my body the kind of rest that it deserves and stop it from further torture. As hard as the runs had become as I progressed further in my pregnancy, the joy of running has never left me. So that has made leaving running even more difficult and made the race even more special.
So how did the run go? I need to scratch my head a little, as it's been 1 month now.
I was on my solo mission as always. Got the hubs to send me over, so I would just reach in time and not have to be bothered with the parking. It was such a relief that I didn't have to wake up as early like last time and having to spend some time sorting the pumping schedule and warm up routine like I did for my Full Marathon attempt the year before. Halfie is such a comfortable distance for. Was now, as I'm sure I will need sometime before to get back to my pre-pregnancy halfie form. The night before the race I had prepared my recovery drink (after my Full Marathon injury, I have paid closer attention to strength and nutrition, remember). I tried in a previous long run, and gosh it felt so good. My recovery run the next day totally felt effortless, unlike the normal recovery run, where the legs always felt heavy and I would always have to struggle with one. So I totally attribute it to this homemade recovery drink. Totally ditch my Amino Protein drink with this. At least until after I'm done with pregnancy. The caffeine content in the Amino drink just kills you and my own protein mix just don't have all that. I came across this article on protein content for post run recovery. Of course, much has been said about the importance of protein for recovery. But what we have always known were mostly the 3:1 or 4:1 ratio. But I never knew exactly the gram amount. So from that link, I calculated the amount that I actually need, and compared it against the whole mix. This is an example:
USING THE 4:1 RATIO:
WEIGHT DIVIDED BY 2 = CARBS DIVIDED BY 4 = PROTEIN
125 pounds 63 grams carbohydrates 15 grams protein
170 pounds 85 grams carbohydrates 21 grams protein
So for my current weight, I should need around 56 grams of carbo and 14 grams of protein. This mix, allow me to be very accurate in the amount. And the recovery effect really works.
 |
| Being pregnant, breakfast prior to long run is utmost importance. Inside there are my wholemeal bread and kurma. |
Few interesting things were sold there. I was kind of looking for a new shoe, since my main shoe is already more than 500 km mileage. And so I did. I'm a Newton convert now. Had the shakeout, maiden run in it the day after.
My race plan to just take it slow and cruise throughout the race. Would only exert a slight push once I reached the 1 hour or 10 km mark. And cruise I did. Overall the run felt so good and enjoyable. I remember that it did feel hard at the beginning. Heart rate and effort level was my guidance and it served really well. I felt good almost throughout the race. I'm a very conservative person when it come to race's pace. Too conservative it might have been. The last race that I had not been conservative that I had pushed more than I should has only been 2 races; the Cyberjaya Night Marathon 2014 and Nike We Run KL 2015. So with me being conservative, I was completely fine for almost 3 quarter of the race. My pace was almost exactly like my full marathon pace. How slow was that. But the final mile were quite unpleasant. I still have some energy stored. But the distance markers already indicated that it was very near to finish. And the volunteers said it was only 500m more. So I didn't know whether to push or to still reserve. Crowd was getting more especially. But I did manage to reserve well until the end. In fact I could have pushed a bit more. But my watch still screamed as I had reached 180 bpm (my max is 186 bpm).
I especially enjoyed the race setup. Everything was just in order. I cannot find any area where an improvement is required. But maybe I'm just biased myself. I especially like the race routes. Shah Alam route is very dear to me, I knew every route like the back of my hand. Water stations were consistently setup with sufficient and consistent water and revive. Some WS were also equipped with salt water, which is totally new to me. As I don't actually need one, I didn't actually consume but I'm sure it would have benefited others a lot. I was prepared with my pouch and telekung on my waist, and all set to solat by the road side. But they somehow prepared a mobile surau, which is very unique and especially handy. But I was done with my own prayer that time but I was glad that it had indeed helped the others. The organisers tried so hard to provide some decent amount of entertainment along the route. Although there were some unlit areas, volunteers were sufficiently placed and I felt safe throughout. It's an all woman halfie remember, hence number of runners is less compared to other big events, and volunteers may be your only reliance.
There were other good things from the race, so much that I couldn't recall. And 1 thing for sure, you left the race feeling good, accomplished and well treated.
As for the result,it's a bit off than I hoped for. I had hoped for the We run KL kind of timing. But it went way off to 6:45 average pace. But the Overall timing was good. Official was 2:20, but that is with prayer. Without prayer my time was 2:16. I take it. I've highlighted my maximum heart rate there, in my race result. I was still fine after that, no dizziness no nothing. But of course, this is only the race day stats. I don't suggest having this level on a constant basis, no matter how much I'd like to push myself beyond limits. ACOG's Clinical guideline used to state that the advisable heart should be 140 bpm. But the later changed that, and it's totally up to the mother. You need to be able to gauge yourself well.
I saw a few familiar faces, which I was faster before, went way ahead of me. But I have to learn to accept the fact that I'm pregnant. I always thought that I can maintain the same level as before, when I should be thankful to even be able to run. Other experienced runners also had their downtime during pregnancy. So I am just so blessed and should fee more than grateful. It was such a sweet memory, one that I will cherish and repeat myself to other aspiring running mothers out there.
Nike We Run KL 2015
Date: 14 March 2015
Venue: Dataran Shah Alam
Pregnancy Progress: 20 weeks
Distance: 20.23 km
Duration: 2:22:50 hours
Pace: 6:45/km
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