I went to run Iskandar City half marathon with the training plan of a lazy uncle yesterday.

Once upon a time, I was actually quite a decent runner. Not elite. But by uncle standard, not bad already.

Half marathon PB: 2:01.
Half Ironman run? 2:15 for 21km, after 1.8km swim and 90km cycling under the hot afternoon sun.

So yes, running and I really had history.

Then MCO came. And I slowly became lazy.
Not suddenly lazy.
Slowly. Quietly. Professionally lazy.

My running got quietly demoted to hash trail twice a week.
No speed work.
No hill repeats.
No weekend long run.
No half marathon plan.
Lazy old China Ah Pek version.

Don’t get me wrong, I still exercise a lot. In 2026, cycling became my focus.
Smart trainer. Power meter. Hill repeats. Two to three rides a week.
Last week alone, 100km on the bicycle.
Sounds fit, right?

Don’t be cheated.
Cycling and running are two different animals.

So why did I register for this half marathon?
One reason only. JB event. Local mah. Hard to find excuse not to support.

I told myself I would treat it as LSD (Long Slow Distance).
Honestly… that was just an excuse.

The tidak-apa-lazy-uncle attitude already activated.
The night before the race
Friday 5:30pm, one day before the event, I still went for Hash. Walking only, not running, to “save energy.” Then 8:30pm, joined a Pickleball social game. Sound stupid!

A complete list of race day mistakes make me a newbie runner.

1. Brand new carbon shoes, bought one year ago, never broken in. First wear on race day.
2. Forgot my salt pills.
3. Wore office socks. Assumed my car had spare sports socks. It did not.
4. Skipped dinner. Ate 4 bananas like monkey.

Before flag-off, I told myself, “Today, treat it as LSD. No need to be hero.”

First 10km went better than I deserved. Pace 7:00 to 7:30. Lap 4 even dropped to 6:39.

Then km 11 happened.
Pace jumped from 7:00 to 8 & 9. No warning. No gradual fade. Just a sudden downgrade with leg muscle breakdown.

By km 16, both calves seized up. I stood by the road, mourning like a spoiled kid in shopping kid

A kind lady stopped, tapped my calves, helped straighten my legs. That lap clocked 13:11/km. No longer running. Just stretching, walking, and quietly suffering for the next 5km.

Final result: 20.66km in 2:58:43.

Technically within target sub 3. But not the race I wanted. I wished to run continuously until at least 15km.

The final tidak apa moment?
My e-certificate showed NO RESULT.
Garmin clearly recorded 2:58. The system disagreed.
I tidak apa already. Don’t care.

Hopefully I can sub-2:30 at the next event without much training.
or my running prime is over?
Who know?