The Long Run

I know it has been *far too long* since I’ve updated this blog. Oh well. Guess my life is not as exciting as I thought it would be?

Suddenly felt like writing some thoughts about my running in 2016, so here it goes.

I just completed my 1,000th mile this year in a morning run at Marina Bay today. In some ways, completing it (unknowingly then) at Marina Bay was quite apt. Many of my running memories this year were formed in Marina Bay. After joining Running Department for realz after the Run 350 pacing project, I found myself running more (with buddies), running longer and loving it. (And also eating more, oops)

I have never hit 1,600 km in a year before. In fact, last year when I broke 1,000km it was such a big thing. And now I’m on track to hit 2,016km in 2016.

Right now, however, I find myself facing the difficulties of marathon running. As some of my friends may know I got a free slot for the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore at the end of the year, and after many inspiring stories of RD people completing the marathon in awesome timings, I decided to take on the challenge. If there’s going to be a year at a clear attempt at the marathon, it will be this year – my last year as a full-time student.

So a few weeks ago I started on a marathon training plan on Strava, that I try to stick to as closely as possible.

Some of my friends may find the marathon simple for me – they probably see that I can run 10km and perhaps 21km pretty easily. But frankly it’s unchartered territory. My 23km run three weeks ago was my longest run since my first marathon attempt in December 2011. And despite starting the run at 5:30am, and ending 2 hours later (before the heating up of the land), I was thoroughly exhausted and dehydrated. I did bring a 500ml bottle of water that I finished faster than I had expected. According to plan, I was to do a 1 hr 45 mins run on Tuesday, which I did – running almost to Tengah and back – and without the coconut water break at a petrol station at Cashew, I may not have been able to finish it.

I respect people who do real long distance running. Like my friend You Liang, who seems to be able to do a 100km any time. He does not seem to have trained for his ultramarathon attempts and yet he finishes strong.

I think one problem with me is the lack of patience. I just want to get to the end – pronto. Which is why it’s great to have had the Run 350 experience, to remind me that the journey is more important than the destination. And the fact that the Strava plan classifies workouts by duration rather than distance is pretty awesome too.

More long runs in the pipeline. After skipping one long run last weekend to run a 10km at the Performance Series (with Fadzly, Cher and Rui Feng… and getting 3rd in the team category on paper), a 2 hrs 30 mins long run beckons this weekend.

Nobody said marathon training was easy!

 

Running through March

I look back at my first running-related blog post this year (about running goals) and think how much has changed since that post. In fact, the first quarter of 2016 has been an personal process of rediscovery into my decade-long hobby.

Back in 2015, runs for me were quite utilitarian. Sure, I enjoyed most runs, but if almost every run was a tempo workout, burnout can occur – and quite quickly. I guess overdoing tempo workouts have improved my pace, but also potentially led to my injury (the inflamed tendon of 2015) and a slight burnout from running.

It was only after a lacklustre January that I realised that I was seeking something more – and that went beyond perfect vision during my runs thanks to Lasik. After the high of getting a 10km PB on a free SCMS 10k run, it was no wonder why I wondered what I wanted from running in 2016. A new year, a new beginning, right?

On hindsight, I’m so glad I found the pacer selection website for the NTUC Income Run 350 half marathon. It gave me a reason to run that goes beyond the 6.2km route and just improving those numbers. In fact, the pacer selection run itself – 18km on a 5:41/km pace –  was such a welcome change from my usual short tempo runs. I enjoyed the entire run and was even happier that I was selected.

Getting selected also meant that I started to join Running Department for their runs, starting off from runs around Hillview to the weekly Wednesday runs. It helped tremendously that my bro, sisters and Danny joined in those RD runs too. Meeting other runners such as my fellow pacers helped in boosting my desire for running, because as much as I enjoy solo runs, I quite like running with friends too (Like how I ran with friends back in Tembusu College).

Through them I have slowed down and enjoyed the run. Sure, there are times I wish I can go faster, and there are also times I fear my normal pace would dissipate after many slower (though longer) runs. Turns out quite the opposite has happened… I’m doing runs at MacRitchie, being able to cover 15km at 4:30/km comfortably (outside MacRitchie of course) and in fact just this morning I hit a new (unofficial) PB for my 10km at 42 minutes 3 seconds, almost a full minute off my previous PB (and I did a RD run yesterday evening too).

And I have found new plans for the year. Signed up for a few races this year, including Sundown half marathon (ripe for a new PB) and the Straits Times 18.45km run, and intending to join the Mizuno Ekiden, RunNUS and the full marathon at the SCMS this year.

So it has been a fruitful first quarter of the year for my favourite hobby. I’m running more than I did on a weekly and monthly basis (hitting 200km this month for the first time ever) and more importantly, enjoying the runs too.

The next three months should be fun. Pacing Run 350, and doing two races in May before internship starts (and I’ll have to find time for the runs).

May my legs stay strong and the haze stay away!

 

 

 

Running Goals

It’s been a while since I did a blog post about running – think the last one was on the Standard Chartered 10km race that I took part in December last year.

So it’s a new year (and also going to be Chinese New Year) and I haven’t really thought of what I wanted to do in terms of running this year. Wait, I actually I do. I wanted to sign up as a pacer for some race in Singapore for quite some time now, and a bit of Google search led me to sign up to be a pacer for Young NTUC’s Run 350 in April. After a 18km selection run at East Coast Park – the longest distance I’ve ran since the Army Half Marathon in 2014, what a joke – I made the cut.

So I’m going to be a pacer for Run 350 in the half marathon!

Pretty exciting. I’ve always been quite a lone runner (with the exception of great runs with friends when I was staying in Tembusu College) so it’ll be nice to meet new people and do some runs together, and motivate others along the way to hit their running goals. I’m going to be pacing 2 hours, which is a big target for many half marathon runners, which makes my pacing even more awesome.

There’s a very structured training programme for pacers – a ten week one, to be exact – designed by the folks at Running Department, a cool little free running club. Today’s day one of that programme, a simple 7.5km run in Marina Bay to meet other pacers and say hi. A welcome run, basically.

During the run I realise just about every pacer I talk to is like a running junkie. Many have run multiple full marathons and they do it in times like 3 to 4 hours. My pathetic first attempt in 2011 was (a little) more than 5 hours.  They were talking about pacing full marathons, and how they have paced timings like 3:45 for the full marathon. I mean – 3:45 for a full marathon for them must have felt as relaxed as a 2:00 half marathon is to me. That is NUTS! I can’t imagine doing it.

Yet at the same time, I feel like I yearn a challenge this year. It has been five years since the terrible first full marathon. Half a decade later, maybe another attempt will not be ridiculous?

There’s also a lot of effort and training put into a full marathon too, if you want to complete it decently (below 5 hours). Many long hours on the road, many long runs. My first attempt was a result of under-training and lack of preparation. If I were to do a second full marathon, I must not make the same mistakes.

Oh well… see how first. I still have a half marathon to pace in April!

Boston

I’m pretty sure many people have heard of the recent bomb tragedy at the Boston Marathon that happened on 15 April (U.S. time) that left at least three dead and many injured.

This tragedy is so, so sad. I felt somehow sadder learning about this incident compared to other incidents like the Connecticut shootings a few months back. While I felt disgusted and disappointment at those events, today’s tragedy hit me on a more personal note.

I am, after all, a runner. Not a serious runner, but a runner no less. And I’ve heard of the Boston Marathon before, through books like this. It’s a marathon where one has to qualify before being eligible to participate. And the standards are difficult – 3 hrs 5 mins for males aged between 18 and 34. Anyone who has run a marathon before knows how difficult it is to hit that time.

For many, qualifying for Boston is a lifetime goal. A lifetime achievement. Finishing a race, any race, is supposed to be the celebration and the high point after years and years of training and hard work. No wonder news agencies called it a ‘celebration‘ marred by disaster.

For me, the most disturbing fact is many had their limbs amputated by the bombs. Such sad irony, that they lost their legs after a long, hard-earned finish to arguably the world’s most elite marathon. Those legs that brought them to Boston.

My deepest sympathies for the athletes, and their families and friends, whose lives have been changed by this tragedy.