Borneo Marathon—Surviving Fourth Week

How time flies— it's been 4 weeks since I started training seriously for the half marathon. Another 7 weeks plus to the Borneo International Marathon on 12 October. Over the last couple of weeks, I've been gradually building up my distance, especially during my "long runs" (usually on Saturdays).

I have since bought a new pair of adidas running shoes—the adizero (see above picture). Not exactly a very high-tech looking pair of shoes, but I find them very suitable for my purpose. They are very light for the long torture; and also enough cushion for those hard impacts.

I ran 15 km during last Saturday's long run, a distance I never knew that I could conquer. At first I wanted to run at the marathon clinic at the Likas Sports Complex jogging track. But that Saturday afternoon, the sky was cloudy and appeared like it was going to rain heavily. So I went to the gym to run on the treadmill instead. It took me 1 hour and 40 minutes to complete that run. Not a very impressive time, and it obviously doesn't support my ambition of completing that 21 km under 2 hours. Hopefully I can still improve on my speed and endurance within the next couple of weeks.

I foresee doing most of my long runs on the treadmill. Actually, it would be good if I can somehow do at least one long run at the jogging track. But I can't stand running for more than an hour without rehydrating my body. I hate the idea of carrying a water bottle with me during my runs. Running at the gym solves that problem. I can have my water bottle right there on the treadmill, and I can drink whenever I like.

The treadmill can do a lot for me. Some people have told me that running on the track is tougher, but I don't really think so. Running on the treadmill will force me to keep up with the pace, but running outdoor will teach my body to initiate the pace. So I suppose there is a difference from the psychological point of view. Then of course there's the weather and also the hard surface. However, after several weeks of running on the track as well as on the treadmill, I found that after several sessions on the treadmill, somehow I can run faster on the track. I don't know why that is so.

I'm glad that this week will be my "step-down"; which means I will run only 12 km this Saturday. But over the next 3 Saturdays I will have to run 15 km, 18 km and 21 km respectively, before "tapering" gradually by 20% to 30% per week up to the marathon day. I really dread all those long runs, but I suppose since I've managed to reach this far, I should just keep going to explore new frontiers. I just hope my legs will cooperate with me until the marathon day.

Incidentally, while I am still going through this torture, a friend sent me an invitation to join him in the Penang Bridge International Marathon, scheduled for 16 November. Right now I have not even reached the 21 km point, so the 25 km sounds extremely far-fetched to me. But I am tempted to go for the adventure anyway. Perhaps I can also beg Master Jayaram Menon to set a hunt the day before the marathon. That would really make the trip worth it. Besides, I've also asked Mia if she'd like to go for a short holiday in Penang. She said that sounds like a good idea, although we don't know what Penang has to offer.

But I am not going to commit so soon. I want to see how I am doing with the 21 km first. I should be able to know in a few weeks' time. Just a few months ago, it's beyond my wildest imagination that I'd be going all the way to Penang to run. I guess there's always a first time for everything.