As usual I will try to do well but due to the short preparation time it will be more of an event to gauge my current fitness level and unlike Tokyo Marathon it is not really a prestigious running event, guess the only attraction will be it is held in the well known Sepang F1 circuit. I guess a target of 1:45hrs finish will be good although it seems humble as it will be of the same pace for Tokyo Marathon but this time under a totally different climate I expect more effort and with slower finishing time.
It was a crowded queue to the start line and soon after the full-marathoner sets off, the half-marathoners were expected to occupy only one quarter of the F1 track, and at 8pm upon the start of the race there was still a massive jam at walking pace at the start line. I felt this was very bad organizing on the part of the organizer, my only thought then was not to jeopardize my race and I was anxious to run faster to make up time loss while walking. I ended up waving in and out finding space to run and overtake others. Felt so glad as I soon reached the more spacious main road along Jalan Kuarters Klia which was a slight uphill run, doing well and still energetic at least no more cutting left and right.
I was glad as I managed to keep my pace at an average of just below 5:00min pace, with my first 5k below 25mins despite that I finish kilometer 5 at 5:15 pace. At around 8km marked the completion of the first outer loop and soon the start of 2 small inner loops and at 9km I passed the Start line again after doing a little u-turn. This is where I was suppose to pass the Start line again for another two times to complete the race. It was at this point that I started to feel tired and needed more effort to push on but glad that I was still within 25mins from 6k to 10k. At 11km I decide to stop at the water point so that I can hydrate myself properly, very soon within 10 seconds I was off running again. I was tired and running hard, slowed down at about 13km at the water point but was surprised that there were no water left. I had to continue running while needed to lookout for space to do so as there were so many people walking, wonder what was going on, were they 5.5l and 11k runners? Soon I finally crosses the Start line again at about 15km for the final loop. I was not too pleased with my timing as I knew I was too slow from 11k to 15k.
The final loop was a challenge as I tried to concentrate on my running form, avoiding crowds by running on the outer loop of the track, at around 18.4km there were no water left as it was the same one at the 13km mark. Despite of all that, somehow I was doing fine and felt less tired, perhaps it helps running "alone". As I continue to run I finally see the finish line, a check on my Garmin I was surprised that it was not 21km, my thoughts then was am I running on the correct route? At that moment I decide to cross the Finishing line and continue my run and to stop once my Garmin hit 21.2km.
Despite meeting my target of 1:45hrs finish I felt that I could have do better, it seems like this was more of a training run then a race, the over crowded tracks and the need to run two smaller loops (F1 tracks) were misleading, more importantly the distance were inaccurate. Lastly without the missing water stations in the loop it actually mean that for the second half of the race, I only managed to hydrate myself at about 11km and again at around 16.5km. With an average pace of 4:56, it was the same pace that I run for Tokyo Marathon, and it was with comparable hard effort but with only half the distance covered. For 21.2km at Tokyo Marathon, my timing was 1:42hrs while at Taroko half marathon I complete at 1:43:35hrs. The weather certainly plays a big part for running performances.
5k Splits
| Lap (5k) | Time (min) | Avg Pace (min/km) |
| 0 - 5 | 24:19 | 4:52 |
| 6 - 10 | 24:12 | 4:50 |
| 11 - 15 | 25:24 | 5:05 |
| 16 - 20 | 24:46 | 4:57 |
| 21 | | 4:50 |
Split | Time | Distance | Avg Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | 01:44:36 | 21.20 | 04:56 |
| 1 | 00:04:38 | 1.00 | 04:38 |
| 2 | 00:04:46 | 1.00 | 04:46 |
| 3 | 00:04:51 | 1.00 | 04:51 |
| 4 | 00:04:49 | 1.00 | 04:49 |
| 5 | 00:05:15 | 1.00 | 05:15 |
| 6 | 00:05:01 | 1.00 | 05:01 |
| 7 | 00:04:54 | 1.00 | 04:54 |
| 8 | 00:04:45 | 1.00 | 04:45 |
| 9 | 00:04:44 | 1.00 | 04:44 |
| 10 | 00:04:48 | 1.00 | 04:48 |
| 11 | 00:05:04 | 1.00 | 05:04 |
| 12 | 00:05:00 | 1.00 | 05:00 |
| 13 | 00:05:01 | 1.00 | 05:01 |
| 14 | 00:05:19 | 1.00 | 05:19 |
| 15 | 00:05:00 | 1.00 | 05:00 |
| 16 | 00:04:55 | 1.00 | 04:55 |
| 17 | 00:05:04 | 1.00 | 05:04 |
| 18 | 00:05:00 | 1.00 | 05:00 |
| 19 | 00:04:57 | 1.00 | 04:57 |
| 20 | 00:04:50 | 1.00 | 04:50 |
| 21 | 00:04:50 | 1.00 | 04:50 |
| 22 | 00:00:54 | 0.20 | 04:34 |
