Week Summary log (19-25 September)

19 Sept (Mon)

Pm – 10km (48 mins)

20 Sept (Tues)

Am – 10km (47 mins) at MacRitchie

21 Sept (Wed)

Pm – 2 x Bukit Jugra and 4.8km tempo run

1km uphill challenge (10m30s), downhill (5m22s) ~257m elevation

1km uphill challenge (9m22s), downhill (4m27s) ~257m elevation

4.8km jog (20 mins)

22 Sept (Thurs)

Pm - 4.8km jog (18m30s)

23 Sept (Fri)

Rest

24 Sept (Sat)

Rest

25 Sept (Sun)

42.195km (Taiping International Marathon) – 3hr21m39s

Total – 71.8km (5:35:9)

Average speed – 4.67 min/km or 7.47min/mile 

This week’s highlight is definitely Bukit Jugra hill challenge and Taiping International Marathon.

On Wednesday, Harn and I went to his usual training ground - Bukit Jugra hill, located at our childhood ‘kampung’. It stood at approximately 257m from sea level. I definitely remembered climbing Bukit Jugra numerous times as a child as it is not only a place for exercise, but it’s where our grandparents were buried so we have to return every year to clean their graveyard. As a child, I normally walked up the hill because of its steep gradient so to imagine running up the hill is something new to me. Nonetheless, Harn and I were there to ascend the hill as fast as we can, either we run or hike.

Before we started, Harn warned me that my calves would totally be incapacitated if I tried to go too fast. I told him that I have already trained my calves to withstand vigorous uphill running so I would be fine. So after we pressed the button on our timers, I set up at a good speed, widening my gap with Harn each step I took. About half way up, true enough, my calves started to stiffen and scream out. My pace slowed down considerably, and it felt like it was going to cramp anytime. Then, of course, Harn started to close down the gap, and overtook me before we reached the peak. In coming down, I just followed his pace and it took over 5 minutes plus for us to reach the bottom, about half the time it took to reach the peak.

The second time round, I decided to play smart. I did not go too fast this time, but maintained a steady pace with good hands-on-knees posture to aid running up. I had the lead all the way, reaching the peak in 9 minutes plus, more than a minute faster than my first attempt. (Harn said he has never done it under 10 minutes before). This time in coming down, Harn asked me if I was interested to break his record, which was 5min11s. I agreed immediately and started sprinting down, focusing on shorter stride rate and extreme fast cadence. Harn followed behind. I reached the bottom in 4m22s, completely shattered his previous record. He also reached the bottom in 4m47s, and he could not believe that he could lower his old record by that much. That’s the thing about record. It has a mental barrier  to it which sometimes requires external help to overcome.

My own mental barriers include running under 40 minutes for 10km, 1hr30min for 21km and sub-3 hr for a full marathon. I hope I can achieve all of them this year. (Maybe except running a sub-3 marathon coz it takes a lot of time to do it whereas I only really started running marathon this year).

From the peak of Bukit Jugra

Training in Jugra in 2007 with friends from infinity milers

Taiping International Marathon was fun. During the race pack collection, I found out that there is only over 50 plus runners joining the full marathon distance. Of course there were some big names – Kenyans and Malaysians alike. Since I ran a 2hr22mins for the Glasshouse 30km trail run, I was aiming for a sub-3hr20min timing. At first, I sticked with the top pack of Malaysian runners.  I could see the Kenyan runners in front of us for about the first 10 minutes before they disappeared into oblivion. I kept up with the front pack of Malaysian runners for about the first 7.5km before they slowly pulled away from me. There were four of them in total. After the first 10km, I was alone. There was no one in front or behind me. I ran the rest of the marathon alone. The course was relatively flat, and I did the first 25-30km in the dark. What a cool experience. There were no major hiccups in the run. I consumed my GU gels at 12km, 22km and 30km, which was a right thing to do to ensure I have sufficient fuels in my tank to run consistently. The only problem in the race is that the distance markers were inaccurate. The distance markers were longer than the actual distance, hence giving me the false impression that I had much longer to go. I felt quite discouraged that I still had much distance to cover, and my target of a sub-3hr20min time was slipping away. However toward the end, I saw that there was 5km more to go at slightly less than 3hr. My motivation returned and I tried to increase my pace, finally finishing at a time of 3:21:39, with some reserve left in my body. I came in 5^th place. The first and second Malaysians finished at 2hr50min, and 3^rd guy finished at 2hr58min and the fourth guy finished at 3hr. So there was a big gap between them and me.

Overall, I felt good about the run. It was my fourth marathon, shaving about 24 minutes off my previous effort. The run was relatively pain-free, barring some minor aches in my upper chest and back that were due to muscle fatigue. My aim is to go under 3 hours in Gold Coast Marathon next year. If I can continue running and training, the goal should not be too difficult to achieve.

My gf has been with me throughout the run. I told her to return to the resort to rest after the flag-off coz I was worried about her safety but she refused. She waited for me to return and gave me a big hug after I completed the marathon. I am really happy and grateful for her love and support. :)

Crossing the finish line

Mission accomplished!

Getting to know a Kenyan runner - Richard. He did 2hr23min (5th place) in this marathon.

Receiving price. I know I could have a podium finish this time because there were not many fast runners.

My beautiful gf who waited anxiously for my return. Thank God for her. :)

 

Week Summary Log (12-18 Sept)

Monday
Am - 9.8 km (46:14) ~235' gain
Pm - 6.6 km (28:35) ~225'

Tuesday
Pm - 18.5 km (1:31:20) ~935'

Wednesday
Pm - 14 km (1:01:45) ~143'

Thursday
Pm - 13 km (58:30) ~123'

Friday
Pm - 10.5 km (43:30) ~97'

Saturday
Am - 35 km (2:55:30) ~463'

Total: 107.4km
Total time: 8 :25:24
Average speed: 4.71 min/km or 7.58min/mile

This is the longest distance i have done in a week. Even in my most intensive training period in the past, I have never exceeded 100km a week before. So i am really grateful to God that i could achieve this mileage this time. 

I ran 35km today - my long run at the end of the week, in preparation for the Taiping Marathon next Sunday. I was enjoying myself in the first half of the run, just running at an easy pace so that i won't burn out in the second half. I started at 6.45am, and the weather was still quite cool then. But on my way back, it became much hotter and i was definitely straining under the hot glaring sun. I started to feel pain in both knees, and that made me worry that my knees are still not able to handle long distance despite all the distance that i have done in the past 7 weeks. I was quite discouraged then. My bottles were empty and my pace decreased significantly. I had to stop by a stop to top up with some catarade before I could carry on. Finally I arrived at the destination at a time of 2:55:30. Surprisingly after I reached home, the pain had disappeared.

A few experienced runners have been telling me that the most important aspect of marathon training is the long run at the end of the week. And the key is to be comfortable in the long run. However, i was clearly not comfortable in the long run today. Why? was it boredom? or the sun? or too many cars on the road at that time? or maybe I was dehydrated? I am not sure. If I can't run a simple 35km with ease, what more can i think of doing a 100km one day, or even 100 miles? Hmm.. Maybe I am still a very young runner. It takes years to build a runner, or a champion. I just have to be patient.

Running is something to ease into, not something we can muscle our way through. It is important to feel comfortable on the run. That means - enjoying the process of exertion within the aerobic threshold, at the same time emptying the mind of all distractions and stress. Some days you have to push yourself beyond your limits. But in between of these 'hard' trainings, one cannot emphasise more the importance of just spending time at the feet, easing through and being lost in the realm of running.  What's then left is just you, your heartbeat, sometimes the surrounding nature, and God.

It's such an authentic experience.

Week Summary Log (5-11 Sept)

Monday - 9km (48 mins) - Trail running
Tuesday - 6.5km (30 mins) + 500 x skipping
Wednesday - 10km (55 mins) - Trail running
Thursday - 11km (52mins30sec)
Saturday - 30km (142mins30sec)
Total - 66.5km (328mins)
Average speed - 4.93 min/km or 7.89 min/mile

Training at Parkland with Jeremy Boy.

Running buddies in Parkland

This week I participated in Glasshouse 30km run. This event is held annually, with distances ranging from 10km to 100miles (ie 160km). I wanted to be comfortable in doing trail running so most of my trainings this week were done in Parkland Bushland Forest Park. There are some challenging hills there which require good technical skills and endurance.

I must say because of the difficulty in trail running, my legs were more sore and tired than usual, esp my quads and calves. I should have tapered earlier as well but i gave in to the urge of running on Thursday, doing 11km in my VFF. So I did not recover on time to be in prime condition to run the Glasshouse 30km. However, I felt I did well on that day, clocking a time of 2 hours 22 mins 27 sec in 5th position. The first guy finished in 2hrs10mins, and the runner first did a time of 2hrs14 mins. Third and fourth did a time of 2hrs20mins.

At the end of the race. From left, Dave (he could do a sub-3hr marathon and 77 mins for half marathon), Diane (Martin's wife), Martin (the winner of Glasshouse 100 miles in 2008 and finisher of western state 100 in 2007) and me. 

Winner of 50km run - Caine. He did a time of 4 hours 19 mins.

Week 6 - Summary log

Monday - Am, 6.5 km (31 mins). Pm, 11 km (53 mins) over 512' elevation
Tuesday - 6.5 km (30 mins) - Flat
Wednesday - 10 km (53 mins) over 700' elevation
Thursday - 22 km (115 mins) over 1327' elevation
Sunday - 26 km (126 mins) - Flat
Total - 82 km (408 mins)
Average speed - 4.98 min/km or 7.96 min/mile

Events for 2011

These are the races that I am taking part/have taken part in 2011. Most of the races are part of the training races for the major races I am joining. Major races are highlighted in bold.

2011

23 January - Bothas Hill 10 km run, South Africa
13 February - Hillcrest Marathon, South Africa
23 April - Two Oceans 56 km Ultramarathon, South Africa
3 July - Gold Coast 21 km Half Marathon, Australia
10 September - Glasshouse Mountain 30 km Trail run, Australia
25 September - Taiping International Marathon 42km, Malaysia
2 October - Adidas King of the Road, 16.8km, Malaysia
9 October - Larian Amal Kebangsaan Half Marathon, Muar, Malaysia

15 October - The Northface (TNF) 100km duo, Singapore

30 October - Petaling Jaya Half Marathon, Malaysia

5 November - Ultra-Trail Marathon 50km , Borneo, Malaysia

These should be all. If everything goes according to plan, ie. if i don't bugger up my knees during training/racing and no terrorists decide to attack any of the locations i am racing,  I would have raced in four countries and three continents by the end of the year. This is really exciting, and I am hoping to gradually improve on my timing for all distances (10km, 21km and 42km). Being injured for the first half of the year has pretty much reduced my running down to the minimum and drastically affected my timing. However, I am thankful for the experience (though it's pain-stakingly frustrating) during the time of injury because it taught me to always rely on God for all seasons of life. During my time-out, I have also learned valuable lessons on training, pacing, injuries prevention, shoes selection, dietary intake, and have come to know some of the greatest runners of all times in the world through books and blogs. Three of my top favourites are,

Scott Jurek
Anton Krupicka 
Kilian Jornet

All three of them have certain unique characteristics that made them different from most of the other runners I know.  For a more in-depth understanding of their lives, you should read their blogs and writings. For me, I constantly find new inspiration from their running ethos and personal lives. It's important to have role models when it comes to running so that you don't only focus on yourself and be obsessed with it, but rather, to find the common bonds that link all of us together as runners and to share experiences with one another.