Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2010

Let me start by saying that for my 9th marathon, I achieved my worst timing for a day time marathon! I completed it in 5:10. Am I upset? No. This is because I sort of expected it. No, I am not trying to give excuses for my "bad" timing but as I complete more and more marathons, perspectives start to change.

When I did my first marathon, my objective was to complete it. I did it in 5:45. After knowing that I could complete a marathon, timing became important. I put my mind to training, adhering to a strict training regime. My timings improved tremendously and I achieved my best timing of 4:25 in 2009. One year after my first marathon.

As I "progressed", timing became less important. What became more important for me in marathoning was to enjoy the whole experience, enjoy the company of fellow runners and to complete it injury free so that life can go on as normal the next day.

Well, I achieved exactly that. The interesting thing was I started the race with pain at my left hamstring and calf which was bugging me for a few months. However, by the end of 5 hours, I completed the marathon with these pains disappearing. It was unreal. Throughout the marathon, I was focusing on running in such a way that the pain was not aggravated and I could finish the race. The unintended outcome was that marathon turned out to be a 5 hour physiotherapy session for my left hamstring and calf and I was healed by the end of the marathon!

In short, I completed the race in a better state than I began!

My perspective in marathoning is mirrored in my perspective of life. Having achieved a certain degree of stability and success in my career, it is no longer about outdoing myself. It is more about completing every day, week, month and year well so that I can face another day, week, month and year well....

Life is indeed a marathon. Some people achieve great success at the cost of permanent injuries to self and others. I choose to complete each mile in a marathon well and live to run many more :-)

Well the best part for me in this year's marathon occurred after the race. My wife surprised me with a post marathon treat. She got me Cakes, Coffee, Flower and even a voucher for a session of sports massage. Now that is better than a personal best :-)

Next Race: Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon! This is going to be a challenging one. My objective is not to be picked up by the sweeper bus!

Real Run 2010

Just completed my 4th RealRun. As usual, it was done with great friends. Everything was pretty much the same as previous years in terms of location and route. The only change was the swap of start times for the 10 and 15km categories. This year, the organisers decided start 15km race (7am) before the 10 km race (7.30am). I guess they had intended for the runners of the longer distance to avoid the sun as much as possible.

I did not manage a PB this year completing the race in 1:27. Initially, I thought I was on my way for a PB having clocked around 51 min at the 10km mark. However, somehow, I started to slack at the beach. It did not help that for the first time in 4 years that I could not avoid the incoming wave and got both shoes wet.

On the whole, I found this run a well-organised and enjoyable one.

RealRun has always been special to me as this was the first ever organised race that I participated when I took up running in 2007 and have not missed one ever since.

Next Race: Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore.

Looking Forward

The best way to overcome post-race depression is to have something big to look forward to.

Other than RealRun 2010 which will happen this coming Sunday, I have 2 big races that I really look forward to.

The first would be the "new" Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore. The start point is suppose to be Orchard Road and the end point the Padang. This is the first time that a marathon in Singapore has a different start and end point (similar to HK marathon).

The other race that I am really really looking forward to would be my first race in 2011. That is the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon to be held on 20 Feb 2010. This will be my second attempt at the most painful full marathon I have ever participated.

What makes this race sweeter is the fact that there was overwhelming response and registration was closed as soon as it was open. I was indeed fortunate to a get a race slot.

Now I feel so much better..... haha....

Post-Race Depression

Two days after having a blast at TNF100 and I am feeling depressed. I have always wondered if a condition as "Post-Race Depression" existed.

Usually, after a race (especially a tough one) that I have thoroughly enjoyed, I will feel pretty high. I guess this is what the literature calls the "Runners' High". However, the day after, I will feel lost and empty.

I did some online search and realised this is quite a common phenomenon and it is really called Post-race depression! Exact same words!

According to some online forums, running and completing a race boost one's endomorphins and makes one feel good. However, in the next couple of days, the endomorphins dissipate and makes one feel down.

Maybe this explains why I am always looking forward to challenging yet achievable races to join, so that I can experience the "high". I remember writing in an earlier blog entry I don't understand why I keep signing up for marathons and races (especially overseas ones) incurring the costs (regstration fees, flights, hotels) along the way, when I know that I will end up being in pain for the next couple of days.

Well, I guess the answer is obvious now. I have been chasing after the high at the end of every race.... only to feel the low at the end of it.

Hmmm... can this be liken to a drug addiction?

I take comfort in the fact that this "addiction" is relatively a good one as it keeps me fit and healthy. I guess it becomes bad when I become obsessed with it. As the saying goes, maintaining moderation and balance is key!

Found some interesting resources to deal with the issue:

http://www.runtheplanet.com/trainingracing/marathon/recovery.asp

http://blog.foodservicewarehouse.com/pursuing-the-dream/tag/post-race-depression/

SAFRA Bay Run & Army Half-Marathon 2010

It has been a year since the last AHM. I remember writing last year about my disappointment of not achieving a sub-2 hr timing for the half-marathon. Deep down inside, I really wanted to achieve this target, although the odds were really against me.

For one thing, I was not getting any younger. As each year passes, I could feel the ravages of time working against me (sound so drama... haha).

I also did not do well at an earlier 21km race in July, clocking my worst ever timing.

Days leading up to this year's event were also fraught with challenges. Not to mention stress from work, I also sprained my left ankle last week while running at Macritchie Reservoir. Associated with that injury, I also pulled a muscle at somewhere that I could not say in this blog.

Therefore, I did not have high hopes of achieving my target of a sub-2 hr run today. I decided to simply enjoy the run and enjoy the company of my friends.

However, everything seemed to go right this morning. For one thing, my ride to the race came super early and we were there well ahead of the flag-off time (last year, we were late by 6 minutes). Even my GPS watch worked without fuss. When the race started, I felt relax and did not feel any pain at the various places. As a result, I could maintain a good pace. According to my GPS watch, I was averaging a pace of 5:30/km. I started to feel ambitious sensing that I might be able to hit my target today. I came up with the strategy of trying to hit sub-hr at the 11km mark thinking that if I could hit 1 hr at the 11km mark, I would be able to hit sub-2 so long as I maintain the pace (with some allowance for slacking...). Well, this strategy worked very well. At the 11km mark, I was exactly at 1 hr. This raised my morale and meeting a friend at this point also helped as he paced me for the rest of the race.

To cut the story short, today, I achieved my target and I finished the race in 1:56:56!

I was ecstatic!

Above is a picture of my GPS watch capturing the time, distance and pace for today's race. As you can sense, I am still basking in the joy of achieving my target!

This bag of old bones still have what it takes... haha...

Next Race: North Face 100 (50km Duo). This is going to be a painful one!

*****

The official race results are out!

TIMEX TRI-RUN 2010 (21km)

Achieved my personal worst in a 21km race. But enjoyed every moment of it nonetheless :-)

This is a new race to me and I completed it in 2hr 9mins. The race format was interesting. Held at Punggol (which is a nice change from ECP), runners had to complete 3 loops of 7km. Initially, I thought this would be a good opportunity to achieve my personal best as the route was very flat and 3 loops of 7km would mean that I could pace myself better, thinking that I would be on track for a personal best so long as I keep under 40 mins per loop. Things went well for the first 1.75 loops. However, the legs chose not to cooperate with the plan after that...

Personally, I liked this race. This was because it was not crowded, with amply stocked water points and if you really trained and put your mind to it, a personal best was highly possible. The winner, Mok Ying Ren who completed the race just over 1 hr, went on to encourage runners along the route giving high fives by doing an extra lap (even his warm down lap was fast...). Well, he high-fived me no less than 3 times at 3 separate locations along the route! See how slow I was going? haha...

So what excuses could I give myself now for achieving my personal worst? Well, I could say that I was still recovering from KL Marathon which happened 2 weeks ago. I could also say that I have not been feeling fantastically well since KL and only did one 8km run the week prior to the race. And of course, I am not getting any younger. Excuses, excuses... Whatever it was, I was glad that I did the run, and had a good experience. More importantly, I also completed the race injury-free :-)

Not achieving my personal best in this race also cast a shadow on the possibility of achieving a personal best this coming AHM for the simple reason that AHM tended to be a very congested race... I just have to wait and see how AHM turns out.

Now looking forward to AHM :-)

Next race: AHM

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2010 (27 June)

Back from my 8th Full Marathon, 3rd overseas Marathon and 2nd KL Marathon.

Having done a number of marathons, I begin to ask myself why do I want to subject myself to such pain and torture. It is no longer about proving to myself that I could complete one, nor achieving personal best timings (because personal best timings are getting harder and harder to come by as I age and as work pressures mount).

On the night before each marathon, I would always ask myself why am I doing this? When it comes to overseas marathons, I would also ask myself why do I bother to incur the cost and trouble only to be in pain for the next couple of days.

So why do I bother? Honestly, I do not really have an answer. All I know is that when registration opens for a marathon that I could possibly participate in, I would automatically sign up...

I guess one of the reasons why I am doing this is that it makes me feel very alive. Appreciating how blessed I am to be able to participate and complete them. Another reason could be to be part of a fraternity of like-minded friends who enjoy similar pain. Whatever the reason might be, I do not foresee myself stopping.

This year's KL marathon was a vast improvement from last year's. The whole organisation of the race went pretty much without a hitch for me. The route was pleasant enough and water stations were well stocked. There was also minimal overlapping of routes with the other categories. The race was also not congested and runners did not need to navigate through a maze of people right from the beginning. My only gripe was the course elevation.

I was doing pretty well, on target for a PB when I hit the incline at 37km and another one at 39km. It floored me completely and I literally ran out of steam. At 41km, my legs almost gave up and I thought they were going to play me out for good. The last km was indeed the longest km of the race. I cannot imagine how could anyone attempt and complete 84km at Sundown. Respect!

Managed to complete the race in 4 hours 35 mins. 5 mins worse than last year's KL marathon and 10 mins off my PB.

I have complete respect for Malaysian runners. My sense is that runners in Malaysia take their marathons seriously and would only sign up when they are really ready for it. This is evidenced by the perceived lack of 'walkers'. Also, I would usually come in top 10% of the field in Singapore races. However, in Malaysia, I will usually come in the middle of the field.

Again wondering if I will repeat this marathon next year. Well, I will know when registration opens. Haha.

Next race: HP Tri-Factor Series: Timex TRI-Run

Adidas Sundown Marathon 2010

Another marathon done, another marathon under my belt. This year's adidas Sundown Marathon marked the completion of my 7th marathon. This was also the first marathon that I finished relatively well. Well, not in terms of timing (I was more than 15 minutes off my personal best timing) but in terms of the state that I was in when I completed the race. When I crossed the finishing mat at 4:43, I was surprised that I was left relatively unscathed. There was minimal pain and I could move about quite normally. This was good :-)

This year's Sundown featured a new race venue/start point and a new route. Personally, I liked the new race venue as it offered plenty of parking. Concerning the route, it was completely flat. Gone were

the days when runners had to risk life and limp to cross roads and climb over pedestrian bridges. However, this year's route was a relatively boring one as it was up and down Changi Coastal Road and East Coast Park as compared to the old route which allowed runners to break up the whole route into chunks (Changi Coastal Road, ECP, Siglap, Bedok, Tampines, Pasir Ris, Loyang and finally Changi Village) so that the race seemed more interesting. Personally, I found the new route ok as it was my regular LSD route anyway. The only problem was I lost motivation from 27km onwards. This was made worse by the monotony of the Changi Coast Road park connector and fatigue due to sleepiness. This might explain my worse than expected timing. However, this (as well as the flat route) might also explain why I came out of this marathon relatively well as I did not really push myself for the PB.

This marathon also helped me realize that I might have reached my potential in terms of performance. I have not been able to achieve any breakthroughs since last year's SCSM. Well, I guess from now onwards, I shall focus on finishing marathons well in a healthy and pain-free state so that I can go waddling on for many more years of my life.

I also take my hat off to all who attempted and completed the 84km Ultra-Marathon! These people have my utmost RESPECT! I really cannot imagine how can anyone go through the torture of a full marathon not once but twice consecutively!

Next race: Standard Chartered KL Marathon

Passion Run 2010

This year's Passion Run was an interesting one. It has adopted a new format. It was held on a Saturday afternoon at 4.30pm instead of the usual Sunday morning race. The race has also included a new distance category 25km. I signed up for the 50km duo category with a good friend each having to complete 25km. I liked the timing of the race as by the time we were finishing, it was already past 7pm and the weather was nice and cool.

This proved to be an enjoyable outing as personally I saw it as preparatory run for next week's Adidas Sundown Marathon. Therefore, there was no stress of setting personal best timings. I just wanted to clock the milage and to have a good run with my duo partner. Honestly, I did not even know how well we fared as we started off in the 3rd wave (late as usual) and I actually forgot to start my stop watch!

The route was a familiar one. Up and down east coast park... nothing unpredictable.

Another bonus for this run was a finisher T-Shirt for those who attempted the 25km race and it was of good quality (dri-fit). Somehow, I am still a sucker for finisher Ts :-)

Overall it was a positive experience made better by good company. It would have been boring otherwise...

The result is just out! Not bad actually for a leisurely run... haha.

Next Race: Adidas Sundown Marathon (Next Week!)

My Hong Kong Marathon Certificate Arrived!

My Hong Kong Marathon Certificate finally arrived. This certificate is more detailed than the ones we are used to in Singapore.

Although I was off my personal best by more than half an hour for this marathon, this is one marathon that I am most proud of. This is because of the sheer difficulty of the course (at least to me). I have already written about the route/course in my earlier post. Well, now we have the statistics to illustrate what I mean.

My 10km and 21km timings were decent. Comparable to my usual timings. Things became more interesting in the 3rd and 4th quarter of the race. I really slowed down starting from the 3rd quarter as I was plagued by cramps due to the numerous slopes I had to overcome. I took 1 hr 44 mins to complete my last 12.195km using the run-walk method. I am glad that I am not alone thinking that this course was a killer. This review from Marathonguide.com shared the same view.

Nonetheless, it was truly a memorable (albeit painful) race, something that I will seriously consider attempting again.

Next Race: Passion Run 25km, followed by Sundown Marathon (FM) and SCKLM (FM)

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2010

I have just registered for Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2010 which will take place on 27 June 2010. If things work out and I manage to go, this will be my second go at this marathon. Last year's race was a memorable one being my first overseas marathon. I hope the kinks such as the lack of water at water stations which occurred at last year's episode will be ironed out and this year's race will prove to be an even more enjoyable one! Looking forward to this one :-)

NE Run (14 March 2010)

This is actually my first local race in 2010. This year, I decided to be more selective and discriminating when signing up for local races. This is because there are more and more races coming up and I do not want to end up signing up for every single race. I also want to sign up for races that offers unique and interesting experiences. To limit the number of races that I sign up for, the new 'policy' would be I will only sign up for races with distances that are longer than 15km. I figured that these races can also help me to train in terms of speed work for my upcoming marathon races. Well, the NE Run being a 16Km run fits perfectly with my new policy for local races in 2010.

The run itself was alright for me. I was mentally prepared not to have high expectations in terms of setting a PB for this run. This was because there would be at least 6 bridges (as in pedestrian bridges) along the route. I had mentally prepared myself for congestions at the bridges as well as the park connectors. Therefore, I psyched myself to simply enjoy the run and experience and not be too stressed about the run itself. My mental preparation proved to be very helpful. I actually enjoyed myself at the run. At the foot of every bridge, I would tell myself that was an opportunity for 'enforced rest' and to take a breather. Of course, there were really serious runners who actually took the race seriously and ran up and down the bridges shouting at others to make way for them. Well, I hope they achieved what they set out to achieve in terms of their PB.

The route itself was quite flat (minus the bridges) and I did not have to stop for traffic. While running, it felt like doing the Sundown Marathon in daylight... interesting. What inspired me was seeing the Singapore Blade Runner (a local runner with a prosthetic leg) as well as the 1ArmRunner (another local runner who only has 1 arm) at the race. Their pressence at the race really gave runners a real good reason to run. That is to celebrate life and living no matter what our life circumstances might be.

Well, I guess thats why runners sign up for races instead of simply doing the usual morning jogs or LSD (Long Slow Distance). Seeing other like-minded people of every ability participating in an organised race is both energising and inspiring.

At the end of the race, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the finisher medal (shown above) and amazingly, despite not stressing myself, I clocked in at 1:31 which was way better than my only other 16km race (Mizuno Wave Run 2009). I actually achieved a PB for a 16km race!

Next race: Passion Run 25km

Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2010 (28 Feb 2010)

This is my first post for 2010 and it is about my second overseas marathon!

This must have been the toughest marathon I have ever done!

According to HK local papers more than 55 people were hospitalized for heat related injuries with 3 people in critical condition. Personally, I saw a Caucasian man lying on the street side with medics attending to him using a defibrillator. Scary!

Throughout the course, it was slopes galore! Well, the picture (left) from a local HK newspaper aptly showed what I meant. This picture was taken near the end of the course.

The elevation of the course was crazy! The chart below shows the Course Elevation.

The course climbed up to over 80m above sea level at Stonecutters Bridge and Ting Kau Bridge and went below 30m below sea level at the Western Harbour Tunnel near the finishing point. Therefore, throughout the course, I would have climbed up and down over 100m! Unlike Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon which might have been one of the flattest marathon courses in the world.

Climbing up and down slopes along the course caused me to cramp as early as 25km into the marathon. I had to resort to run-walk method to complete the race. The weather and pollution was something that I needed to get used to too. There was also an added pressure from the race organizers imposing cut-off timings at various points of the course and those not meeting the cut-off time will be ushered up double-decker buses awaiting at the various points. There were plenty of double-decker buses and I was determined not to board them!

I also chanced upon this review of the marathon from marathonguide.com that echoes the same view as I concerning the course.

Another thing that upset me at the beginning of the race was that my GPS watch failed to function. Therefore, I could not get readings of the pace I was doing and the distance I have covered. This affected my pacing as I needed depend on intuition.

I was very happy that my friend and I completed the race before the official cut-off of 5:30. I completed the course in about 5:03 (Net Time).

 

I wonder if I have to courage to come back next year... We'll see...

Next Race: NE Run