35th Annual Penang Round Island Relay

Now, Pink is not a color that works for me, some guys can pull it off...i am not one of them. That being said, when I arrived at this event at 4:30AM and was presented with my Pink singlet...i though..."ok, maybe this is some sorta Karma moment...I missed this race last year, could not wait till it came around again, hoped i would be picked for a team, and I am here, I got picked for a team and now I'm wearing pink...somehow this has to work out in a positive way!

There are moments in life that stand out, that become etched in your conscious mind, there have been a few of those moments this year, Australia (Positive) SCKL (Not) Penang Bridge (50/50)...This will go down as a positive. I truly had a great time and you know what...."Pink, its my favorite color".... This race is fun for so many reasons...first of all its a team experience, which offers a challenge, unlike other races, yes there is the course, the weather and your own internal voice (for me anyway). Mostly though those things drive the individual to perform...Having been a guy who played team sports my whole life the concept of individual goals has always been a work in progress. My goals were always directed towards the team, sometimes (as a goalie) you have a bad night and the team picks you up...some nights you dominate and the other guys don't have to be at their best...some nights I wish that this all would end...ooops sorry, drifted off there...Anyway, with running its just you and the course really...if you have a bad race there could be a zillion reasons why, at the end of it all though it comes down to you, period. With a relay, the team concept comes back into play and even if you run a bad leg, someone can run a better one and pick you up. The other thing that a race like this does though that is perhaps something that is not often seen as a part of running (except by runners), that is that running is a fellowship of athletes who generally have a great deal of respect for one another, and will cheer just as hard for the first guy to cross the tape as they will the last!

So, anyway, the team i was a part of had no one that i really knew, mostly facebook folks and guys I had never met, but seen at the local events. That was a cool part of the experience, as I am always intrigued to meet knew people. I was supposed to run the 8th leg of the 12 leg event, 7.something KM...There were some changes made during the week by Captain Andrew "Damn he fast" Loh, and I ended up running the 3rd leg a 6.4 KM trot. 3:00 is freakin early, and I met up with Sunny Ng Adeline Tan (driver) Vincent Teoh, and another young woman I did not know. we arrived at City Hall in Georgetown, got our kits.
Oh, time out for a moment...i am very happy to announce that i have fallen in love...with my T7's (again), i forgot how much i love to race in this shoe, i had been using the green silences as a race shoe and sometimes training shoe, but no more...the GS's will go back on the training shoe shelf along with the Pure Flow. The T7 is now my go to race shoe, she is sexy and fit and man I love her in red (going to try the Pure Drift as a racer, not sure if anything could be better than my T7 though...love ya baby) ok, back to our regularly scheduled program...

  ...and then loaded on buses by our wave # (2-3 were together). the bus dropped us at our start point and then it was just a matter of waiting for our runner to come by. Baton in hand i headed off into the steamy thunder and lightning spotted Penang morning...It was a pretty easy beginning, but it got tough towards the end with some steeper sections and it was a bit long..6.4KM is about 3.9 miles, by the watch I ran 4.3 miles 6.9KM...Does not matter though, it was my first time in Penang, in any race no matter the distance, that I was under 7:00/mile, I did the 4.3 miles in 30:00 flat and that works out at 6:59...I am significantly proud of that, especially since i did have to stop 3 times and get my breath back. As a team (with no name) we came in 3rd and the guys all ran phenomenal...i mean these were some tough tracks and they were awesome...We came in 3rd place, and yes that is out of three teams, but we did great and to be honest, i still have no clue when the Y team passed us...I saw the X team go ahead during my lap, Our Z team was next, and when I left the Y team was still waiting...So I have no idea when they made the pass. I does not matter though because on this day we were great! I cannot think of a better way to wrap up 2012 here in Penang...i had a blast and met some new folks....a better day, I could not have asked for . So my last post for 2012 will be a wrap up of what was a very busy year, that really began for me in February...I have had a blast sharing my experience with all of you, and I really hope you have enjoyed the ride in 2012 and will come along with me in 2013 while i try to tackle "The Great Wall" 1/2 marathon, and hopefully revisit some races, see if I can better some times and check out some new races!! Loyal reader, my deepest thanks, and as always Run Happy!