Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Singapore Marathon—Tapering

Well, it's less than 3 weeks to the Singapore Marathon. Last Sunday, I ran my peak long run of 35km. I ran much slower than all the other long runs before that, and I finished those 35km within 0:04:10. I am quite pleased with myself, but what's bothering me now is that even at such a slow pace, my legs were still sore for 2 days after that. Obviously that's not a good sign, and I'm running out of ideas on how else to run the 42.2km under 0:04:30.

The good news, however, is that my short runs during the weekdays are still holding steady at the usual pace, i.e. about 6 minutes or less per kilometre. And earlier this evening, I ran the scheduled 9km within 54 minutes even though my legs were still a bit sore. I have no idea how I'm gonna do the 6.5km pace run tomorrow, but hopefully after tonight's rest, my legs will be better tomorrow. Then another 8km on Thursday. This Sunday, I'm so glad that the long run will be reduced to 20km only, so I should be able to survive that quite comfortably. Besides, I don't have to wake up a 4am.

The tapering process is such a relief! Next week, I will cut down my distances even further to 6.5km, 5km, 6.5km and 13km (Sunday). But as I get closer to the actual marathon, there is that anxiety again. I had intended to improve on the 0:04:40 I achieved during the recent Borneo International Marathon (BIM) in October. But from my runs this last week or so, I did not feel that I have it in me to do any better in Singapore. For one thing, I have a feeling the weather in Singapore will be much hotter than what we had in KK during the BIM. And in terms of speed and stamina, I can't say that I have improved since October. So in all likelihood, I will be struggling even to maintain that 0:04:40!

Several of us from KK will be there in Singapore. Dr Helen and Dr Liaw will be there, the latter apparently all set to achieve 0:04:15 this time. Dr Helen, as usual, will be running for the sake of running and not for the time. Judy Liew will be there too, and I hope she'll give me face by not beating me too badly. Johan Amilin will be there for the half marathon, and so will Claire Andrew and Mia. Oh! and Dr Felice Huang will also be running the 42km, though I really can't imagine how she's gonna complete it. I hardly ever see her doing her long runs. She turned up last Sunday for her long run, but had to leave after only 20km because she had a scheduled C-section on her patient that morning. So quite a number of us freak runners from the East.

Now the next thing to do is to find out where we should go and celebrate after the marathon. That should be exciting to look forward to. Johan, I think this is where you come in!


5 comments:

Cornelius said...

Received a text message from Claire today. She's assigned to her KL office up till the end of December, and is supposed to train for her half marathon. She wrote:

"It's been raining everyday in KL. I hope the long walks in Mid Valley can help a lot..."

I replied to her that if that can work, I'd like to train that way too! But I haven't actually tried it myself. Can anyone who've tried that and found it to work tell us about it? I'd gladly do without the long runs on Sundays if I can help it... hehehe.

Unknown said...

Well thank you Cornelius for putting my name on your blog and i am sure (as was with BIM) our finishing times might also be displayed on your blog soon.
FYI, this will be my first marathon and from an initial target of finishing within 2:45, knee injuries and back strains have now pushed that to about 3:00. My aim is actually just to finish and collect a medal.
Regarding a place to celebrate after, i have suggested somewhere along clarke quay as most of us are staying in that area or close to it.
However, i also mentioned to you that it may be more financially prudent to hold our celebrations until we get back to KK. This way we can save on currency exchange, 7% gst and spend on 3 10 instead.

Cornelius said...

Hahaha! journeyman, it will pressure you to try your best in Singapore!

But seriously, as long as we are able to complete the race, that in itself is already an achievement we can be proud of. I read somewhere that only about 1% of the human race have actually run the marathon. So it's quite a big thing to be within that 1%!

Maybe you are right, perhaps celebrating in KK is much cheaper. Only that maybe by then the excitement have died down a bit... hehehe. We'll see if we still have the energy to celebrate immediately after the race in Singapore. We can decide there and then.

teo said...

Hi Corny,

I am relaxing myself at Starbucks Sunway now .... after the Penang Bridge International Marathon. Of course I did the Half and I somehow regreted it!!!

Should have do the Full 42km coz from start to end, we are running under the moon. So cooling and refreshing even after my 21km. As usual, my initial target was below 2:45 but instead I finished at 2:24(unofficial). Running along so many other runners somehow or rather was easier...especially when I started to pick up my pace only after 15KM, overtaking one by one haha.... started quite slow (6.5-7min/km) as to make sure I wont use up my energy and suffer later but....regreted it coz i might still have at least 25% more in me after I crossed the finshing line.

Good luck to you all in the Singapore Marathon. Really wanted to join in but there is no room for me. May be next year then. By the way, Andrew suggested to do the Gold Coast Marathon and another one (Half) in Angkor, Seam Reap next year after BIM'10. I would be glad to do the Gold Coast Marathon.....

Cornelius said...

teo,

Sounds like a lot of fun. Since you seem to be happy with the event, I suppose the organiser didn't mess up with the water station this year.

Last year I finished the half marathon in 0:02:45, but instead of 21km, we had to run 25km. It seems they've shortened the distance back to 21km again this year (turning somewhere in the middle of the bridge). Maybe some people must have complained against the misleading "Half Marathon" tag for the 25km distance.

Yes, I don't mind trying out foreign marathons next year. But the timing has to be right. I have travelled north several times, so maybe this is a good excuse to travel south for a change. You have any idea when's the Gold Coast Marathon? If it's near to the school holidays, I might be able to arrange for a short holiday.

That half marathon in Angkor sounds interesting too. Must make it a point to convince the doctors to come along if we go, huh?