Wednesday, December 09, 2015
Long time no see! I owe a hell lot of updates, and I will do it soon. But today I'm just going to blog about running.
It's been a spectacular year in running. I started the year with the resolution to do 400km over the year, but till date, I'm almost doubling that mileage. It's really because I've decided to do some serious training for the 2 marathons I signed up this year - one in Bali, one in Singapore.
The Bali Marathon in August was great, and I trained for it. Though I missed the PB by 5 minutes, it still was one of my most enjoyable events.
And then between September and the subsequent Marathon last Sunday, I put in intensive runs. Never had I put in training runs 3 days a week, with a weekly mileage of a marathon distance. I did my share of research online, and knew that serious marathon runners train up to 6 days a week, sometimes even twice a day! With a busy schedule, I could only manage 2 weekday evenings and 1 weekend morning, which worked out fine because I would always have a day of rest in between.
So I felt so much more prepared for this year's Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore. In fact, I was pretty excited in the run-up to the event. I knew, based on my training runs' paces, it would easily be the fastest result I would achieve on home soil, but I wasn't confident of a PB yet. As you know, a PB in Singapore is elusive -- the huge crowds are obstructive; the routes are not perfect; the refreshments stations are few; and the sun's always scorching. I expected to get close to a PB, but not exactly there. But try, I would.
I woke up at 2:40am in the morning after 3 hours of sleep, but I was refreshed. With a dose of caffeine and breakfast, I set out to the Starting point at Orchard Road. Vincent and I met and started the race together, but I guiltily jetted off on my own right from the start. My strategy was to cover the first half marathon in a quicker pace, before the sun was out and before I started to get into exhaustion.
So the first 21km was rather normal. I took slightly more than 2 hours for this distance, which was slightly slower than my target. Between 20km and 25km, I took occasional breaks and did some alternate brisk-walking and jogging.
I felt like I hit the wall between 25km and 30km. During this stretch in ECP, I wanted to run, but my legs would not carry me. My mental will was still strong for a while, before gradually sliding into a 'Just Walk lah!' mentality.
Then all of a sudden, between 30km and 35km, I felt energy coming back. It COULD be the Power Gel that I took shortly before that, but honestly, I've never felt the (possible) effects of an Energy Gel pack as much as this race. I almost jogged the entire 5km, only pausing to sip water. It felt good when I reached the 35km mark at Marina Barrage.
The 35km to 40km-mark, was the most dreaded stretch. The sun was out in full blast, and part of the route was the punishing Sheares Bridge, which has a loooooong up-slope. I mustered enough energy to jog through the entire Sheares Bridge, not without repeatedly telling myself "You can do it! You can do it!". Yes, these simple self-encouragement can really push you through that extra mile, literally.
At 40km, I knew I was in good time. With just 2km to go, it looked set to be my fastest SCMS result. Whether or not a PB was achieved, I wasn't too sure. Already in an exhausted mode, I alternated between jogs and walks. At the final 100m, I sprinted and dashed through the Finish Line.
I quickly took out my phone and opened the SCMS2015 app. (By the way, it's a very good stalking app that shows all runners' results.)
"4:43:41". WHAT. That's a PB!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh my, that's unbelievable. I knew I would be close, but to achieve a PB in Singapore was a real bonus.
And at my 11th Full Marathon, no less. This certainly capped the entire year of awesome running.
Here're the statistics:
This also means that I was overtaking people throughout the race, so my overall position went from 5000 plus to 1000 plus.
And for record purposes, here's all the past 11 Marathons at a glance:
1. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2007 : 5:06:14
2. adidas Sundown Marathon 2008 : 5:07:58
3. Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2009 : 5:01:04
4. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2010 : 5:13:35
5. Volkswagen Prague International Marathon 2012 : 4:53:22
6. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2012 : 4:59:49
7. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2013 : 5:17:47
8. Maybank Bali Marathon 2014 : 4:48:08
9. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2014 : 5:14:22
10. Maybank Bali Marathon 2015: 4:52:39
11. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2015: 4:43:41 (Best!)
人生是黑白的.
11:54 PM <3
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