Mizuno Mount Faber Run 2010

After skipping this run 2 years in a row, I have decided to take part this year. I have not been doing any serious running after Marathon Hamburg last April, I didn't set any target but just thinking of pushing myself all the way. I did 56 mins in year 2007. The route hasn't changed, so I think I should have a good shot of improving my time.

I reached the race site quite early and somehow I bumped into a guy that go to the same gym as I do. We chatted a little and then we were flagged off at 0730 sharp. To avoid the huge crowd, I push myself ahead at an incredible pace, in fact I think I cover 2.5km in 10 mins. I finally slowed down after I secure myself from the crowd and was trying to preserve some energy for the incoming hill since I knew it will be a continuous 2km climb to Mount Faber. Finally I reached the bottom of the hill, most of the runners in front of me were already slowing down but I maintain my pace all the way for 2km. It wasn't easy but I managed to do it, overtaking quite a number of runners. However, after the long ascent, there comes the long descent as well. That was also the time when I was overtaken by many runners as they started switching to free gear mode. Me, on the other hand, was trying not to do that as I afraid it may "crush" my knees later on.

The descent part was easy for most of us, but I started to feel tired already. There were still some small slopes after we came down from Mount Faber but I'm surprised I can still take it despite the fatigue. All is well until I was stopped by the traffic marshall at the junction. He has decided to let the vehicles go first as I as cursing and swearing in four letter word. It kinda break my momentum and half a minute gone for the waiting time. When we were finally allowed to cross the road, my legs felt heavy, my pace was a bit slow and again, I was overtaken by many runners who managed to catch up due to the traffic interruption. Well, I tried not to stop as there's only 2km to go. I looked at my watch and I can still make it. I tried my best to finish within 50 minutes and finally I crossed the finishing line in 49mins 4secs. It was way better than my first one. Despite some time wasted at the junction, I must admit that I'm very happy with my time and I just found out that I ranked 66th among all the runners in men's open.