Borneo Marathon—Running On Empty Tank

Before I embarked on my marathon training almost 2 months ago, I did some thorough research on the internet. I read widely on marathon training. I sought practical advice from friends who I know are experienced runners. I researched on diet and other beneficial habits of the marathon runners. It all culminated in a training schedule which I have been keeping up up to now. But the one thing that I overlooked was the fact the I would fall sick during those weeks leading up to the marathon day.

On Tuesday, as I had planned, I ran 10 km on the treadmill. It was an hour's run and wasn't as punishing. I was supposed to run another 10 km to 12 km on Thursday before doing the long run—18 km or about 19 laps of the Likas jogging track—on Saturday. But by about 3 pm on Thursday afternoon, I began to feel a bit dizzy. And then later I felt nauseous. It all happened so suddenly and I was worried. I left the office shortly after 5 pm, and all the way home I was fighting to control from vomitting in the car. Upon reaching home, I couldn't hold any longer; I rushed to the toilet and I vomitted out everything I had for lunch that day. It was horrible; it was just bad timing. I had been looking forward to my run that evening.

After that I suddenly felt weak—extremely weak. I remained calm, had a quick warm shower, and then went to bed, intending to rest for a while. But I wasn't meant to run that evening. The moment I hit the bed, my whole body seemed to shut down. I went into a deep sleep. I heard Mia and JJ arrived home later. Very briefly, I told Mia what had happened. She brought me some panadols, but they didn't really help. Throughout the night I suffered some more; it was like hell.

Early the next morning, I called up my staff to inform her that I won't be coming in to work that day. Then I continued to sleep. I woke up again at around noon. I felt so tired, but a little stronger than the day before. Then I drove out to a nearby clinic to see a doctor. The diagnosis was quick: dehydration.

As a habit, I would normally have a cup of coffee at the office every morning. And of course coffee contains caffeine. Caffeine is within a group of substances known as diuretics. All diuretics increase the excretion of water from the body. Coffee has a very major effect on me—one cup can make me visit the toilet every 15 minutes for hours. Sometimes, during a busy day, it is just so easy to forget to replenish the body liquid by drinking sufficient water. Anyway, that is one lesson learnt the hard way.

The process of rehydration is not as simple as one might think. To start with, it is not just about gulping up gallons of water. Trust me, when you are feeling nauseous you are unable to drink big quantities of water anyway—at least not at one go. Dehydration can also cause loss of appetite. But again it's not easy to eat when you feel like throwing out all the time.

Well, I spent most of Friday in bed feeling very impatient. But I had to wait for my body to gradually rehydrate. By yesterday (Saturday), I was feeling much better, although I haven't regained my appetite to eat. Mia, JJ and I went to Lintas Plaza for my favourite fried mee hoon, but even that didn't help. Half a plate was all that I could force into my stomach. Later in the afternoon, I had some canned peaches. That was all I could eat for the whole of Saturday, although I kept drinking small amounts of plain water at regular intervals.

Then first thing this morning, when my alarm clock rang at 5 am, I forced myself out of bed to go for my long run. Little did I know that it was to be my most challenging run so far. I arrived at the jogging track shortly before 6 am. The weather was perfect. A little bit of warming up, stretching, and then I was off.

18 km is about 19 laps (each lap is 950m). I had planned to have 2 "pit-stops" in between for drinking, i.e. after the 6th and 12th laps. Let me tell you running on empty tank is different; you just don't have the energy. By the time I completed the 6th lap, I was already panting and sweating profusely. But I dragged on for the following 6 laps, and each lap decreasing in speed. By the time I completed my 12th lap, I was already seriously entertaining the idea of giving up. That few seconds I stood there drinking my 100PLUS, I considered what to do.

The long runs are one of the most important elements of marathon training. Unless it's a matter of life and death, I must complete it, even if I'm unable to run all the way. So I decided to brisk-walk for a bit. "A bit" eventually became one full lap. After that I thought I might as well push myself by running just one more lap. That became 2 laps; and three; and four...and I finally ran the remaining laps, thus completing the entire workout in 1hr 56m 5s. Not an impressive time if I want to keep up my dream of running the half marathon in under 2 hours.

Looking at the bright side, however, this morning was the first time, ever, I ran for almost 2 hours. It is just amazing that my body can keep going for that duration. I really don't know what to expect for the 22 laps next weekend. But even if I can't achieve it in under 2 hours, I guess I still have a few more weeks to work on my pace. All this hardwork better be worth it!