Bryna’s journey to We Run KL 21k 2015.
Challenging Malaysians to run faster an further, Nike returned with Nike We Run KL 21k 2015, which is set to take place on 1st Feb 2015. Part of Nike’s global We Run series, the 21k run aims to inspire athletes to achieve their personal best, which began in Prague.
Apart from Kuala Lumpur being one of 14 cities to be part of the series, the run this 1st Feb also marks for the inaugural of Nike We Run KL. Given that this is the first time for this 21K race in Nike Malaysia, the Hype.My team, yes that’s us, figured we’d be part of it.
If you’re following Hype.My on Instagram, you’d know that I’ve been training for We Run KL 21k 2015 since November. To date, I’ve been sharing pictures of my progress on Hype.My’s social media platforms and now, it’s time for me to share a more in depth view of my training with everyone. I did my first 20k last September and to my very own surprise, I completed it.
Now, if you know me well enough or if you were a friend of mine, you’d know that completing my first ever 20k is a big deal. If you’re wondering why, it’s because I’m not someone who works out in general, so completing that 20k was not something anyone expected of me.
Anyway, fast forward to two months later (November), I decided to join the upcoming We Run KL 21k 2015 and I’ve been training ever since. I went for my first training run with Nike’s Country Manager, Robin Kok, and Bryan Lim from Nike Malaysia on 11th Nov 2014. Using the Nike+ app on my iPhone, I’ve managed to track my running distance and average speed of my run.
Apart from running on my own and running with the good people from Nike Malaysia, I’ve also partook in some of the training events organised by Nike. These training sessions included the Nike Training Club (NTC) as well as expert advice from veteran marathon runners.
One of the training sessions that I will highlight today is the Regional Running Event. The Nike Regional Running Event which took place from 8th – 10th Dec featured a “Zoom Challenge”, expert advice from French marathon runner and coach Jean-Pierre Lautredoux, scientific tests that help measure and analyse a person’s running technique, recovery rate, and VO2 max, NTC as well as a trail run at Bukit Kiara.
The “Zoom Challenge” which took place in Sepang was done to test a runner’s speed. During the “Zoom Challenge”, I was required to run do a series of 6o0m runs as fast as I could. Despite running on my own time during my own training sessions, this challenge proved to be extremely difficult as I am not a fast runner.
However, it did make me realise that there is more to running than a casual jog around the park every evening. With that in mind, I made it a point to train harder and run a little faster whenever I trained on my own. After the “Zoom Challenge”, Nike organised for rench marathon runner and coach Jean-Pierre Lautredoux (JP), to give me as well as the other runners present for the event, advice as well as tips on how we could improve our running techniques.
The next day, which was the second and last day of the Regional Running Event, started off with a trip to University Malaya.
At the university, I had the chance to take part in Gait Analysis, which is a systematic study of animal locomotion to measure body movements, mechanics as well as activity of the muscles. Through the report from the Gait Analysis, I got to further understand how my movements when running and how to improve on my technique.
Then day continued with a trip to a studio in Petaling Jaya, where I partook in exercise training in the form of NTC. I honestly couldn’t feel my legs after the quick NTC workout but I was not done for the day, as we then headed to Bukit Kiara for a trail run.
Unfortunately, due to weather conditions, we only managed to do a 15-minute trail run along the hills at Bukit Kiara.
The trail run marked the end to the Regional Running Event. That of course was not the end of my own personal training. I must admit that I slacked off a little during the Christmas and New Year period but I got back to training right after the celebrations were over.
For someone who does not exercise regularly, running on a daily basis proved to be a challenge. In the beginning, I made a lot of excuses to not run, a lot of excuses to get out of training but I knew that I had to train and I did. Even on days that I really didn’t want to, I convinced myself to run. Also, the need that I have to prove to myself that I can do this, helped in giving me motivation to train.
Now, with only 12 days to We Run KL 21 2015, I can say that I am ready for it. I’m nervous, yes, but I’m ready and I think I would be able to complete the run in a decent time. That’s all from me for now, stay tuned as I have more updates from the Nike LSD run as well as the pre-race expo coming soon! 😉
Check out the gallery below for more pictures from the Regional Running Event.
