It's finally a PB again for my half marathon!
It's been a while since i last clocked a PB for a 21km distance, so i was quite pleased with the results at the SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2017 last Sunday.
In the lead-up to the race, i was quietly confident of breaking my previous timings. I took part in 2 of the lead-run runs with Running Department pacers for this event, and followed the 01:50 pacers in the first week (18km), and then 02:00 pacers for the second week (15km). In that first week, I truly felt that the pace was too fast for me, and i eventually lost them. In the 2nd week, I joined the 02:00 pacers and felt that the pace was surprisingly comfortable for most part of the journey. That was when I decided that I had to locate the 02:00 pacers on actual race day no matter what, as they would be key to my target.
Actual race day was a pleasant day. Everything felt right from the moment I reached the venue. The AHM has always been one of the biggest races in Singapore, and once again, I applaud the organisers for being one of the best in organising running events in Singapore. It felt like everything was well-thought out and executed. Even queueing for portable loos was a breeze -- there were just so many of them. Then the baggage deposit had an added security scanning procedure, but it didn't add too much to the waiting time -- it was a pretty efficient process! Inside the baggage deposit area, the queues were relatively short too, and I didn't even wait 5 minutes before I could pass my belongings to the staff.
The race pen (esplanade bridge) wasn't even opened to the public when I was done, so I joined the crowd in a packed sardine while waiting for the bridge to be fully opened at around 4:20am. Once opened, everyone seemed to want to rush to get to the start line. I did so too, hoping i could start my race as near to the 02:00 pacers as possible.
According to the Runpix statistics, my start delay was about 1 min 18 secs after the gun, so that was probably the time that I had to accelerate to get close to my pacers. I managed to keep sight of them after probably more than 1km, and only managed to be right next to them probably close to 3km. I loved following their consistent pace, as it ensured that I would not run overly fast, because at this point of the race, I felt really energetic and had the urge to want to overtake them. Luckily I didn't, having learnt recently that it would be a very bad strategy. "Consistency is key", as I learnt, and that all successful runners actually keep to a specific pace right down to the seconds.
Things I really loved during this edition of AHM 2017:
1. NO bottlenecks AT ALL! The roads were wide, especially at the earlier part of the race. The route did narrow after nicoll highway, but it was fine because it was in the later part of the route and bottlenecks would be unlikely then.
2. Ample water points! I like how the water points were sufficient, and i never felt thirsty or dehydrated.
3. Strategically placed water points! The water point locations were well thought out, and some were strategically placed at bends so as to minimise occurrence of drinkers hogging one side of a straight route. Kudos to the planners -- I hope all other race planners will learn from this.
4. Great flat route! The route was flat and relatively easy and I enjoyed it totally. Gone are the various bridges (like Sheares Bridge) or the slopes that would pose additional challenges to the run. This definitely helped in my PB.
5. Post-run activities. Ok, I really must mention the very shiok massage I got at the massage tent. The NYP student that I was assigned to, really helped to soothe all my tight muscles, which I was sure helped in my recovery, because i did not feel ANY muscle soreness after the run.
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Some statistics for this run:
1. 13,251 people finished the race, of which 12,225 were men, 1,026 were women.
2. I was ranked 952nd overall, top 7%. 12,299 finishers were behind.
3. I was ranked 904th among men, top 7%. 11,321 finishers were behind.
4. I was ranked 215th among 30-39 year old men, top 8%. 2,453 finishers were behind.
5. I was ahead of 95% of women runners.
6. In the first half of the race, I overtook 1,089 runners, but was overtaken by 15.
7. In the second half of the race, I overtook 376 runners, but was overtaken by 238.
8. My average pace was 5 min 38 sec per km.
9. My average speed was 10.6 km/h.
10. I finished in 1:59. The median finisher's time was 2:44.
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Past Races at a glance:
My past 15 Full 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
12. 2016阿猴國興盃公益路跑：4:41:13
13. Maybank Bali Marathon 2016: 5:04:35
14. Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2016: 4:30:15
15. Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon 2017: 4:26:56 (Best!)
My past 10 Half Marathon at a glance:
1. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2007 timing -- 2:14:29
2. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2008 timing -- 2:21:02
3. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2009 timing -- 2:17:38
4. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2010 timing -- 2:04:18
5. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2011 timing -- 2:07:33
6. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2012 timing -- 2:15:18
7. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2013 timing -- 2:24:41 (Huge bottleneck)
8. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2014 timing -- 2:14:44
9. OSIM Sundown Half Marathon 2016 -- 3:24:05 (With WL)
10. SAFRA Army Half Marathon 2017 timing -- 1:59:00 (Best!)
