I'm back* - Eminem

I was really late in registering for the run. Procrastination at its best!!!! I missed the early bird registration by just a few minutes - but after discovering it (when i was at their web page!!!), i din bother to register at that time. So i missed it too - and finally had to register as "Late" and the fees i have to pay was really high!

So why bother signing up then? Was it really worth it? Well, yes. The KL International Marathon will always have a special place in my heart for me. It was the first ever competitive run i ever took part in - that was 2 years ago. And i'll try to always run it every year.

This year's run was also special for me - it is my first competitive run after my major surgery in January this year. It is also my first run since King of the Road last year (Terry Fox run not counted). So my target was small. I just want to finish the race. That's all. On top of that, i wanted to push myself to run non-stop for at least 45 mins to an hour. And at the back of my mind, if possible, i would want to better the embarrassing time i made for last year's run.

Well, i did it! =) Yes, i finished all 10 plus km of it.

My finishers' medal - dun really like Stan Chart logo shape

It looks nicer on the other side!

But what really made it sweet was that i managed to run the entire 10 km!!!! Last year, i couldn't even do that for the 5 km Terry Fox Run! So i ran much longer (in terms of time) as i had planned to. Yes, it was slow - excruciatingly slow at times. You know how slow? People were walking pass me!!!!! But i was glad i din really come against any wall - is this runners' high?

One of the highlights - being able to run on quite a long stretch on the Federal Highway!

And yes, i improved on my last year's time. Again, it wasn't fast - and a fren who recently injured himself managed to finish ahead of me altho he walked for quite a long while.

But i was glad after the race. I felt fine. I felt good. I looked up and quietly said "I'm back". Here's to more runs this year - ending with the Penang Bridge Run!

p/s - on the whole, i thought the organisation this year was way much better. the collection of the race kit went smoothly for me, the bib was the best bib i've ever had in all my races, there seemed to be enuf toilets b4 the race cuz there were no long queues, there were 2 water stations and all had more than enuf water, there was no congestion at the finish line and after the race when collecting my finishers' medal. however, the passing away of a runner cast a dark cloud over the proceedings.

*Taken from The Marshall Mathers LP album, it had some lines from it censored as it said.... i can't tell u!