Singapore Marathon 2012 – Sub 4:30 also CAN!

I think I’ve finally matured as a runner and learnt the biggest, most obvious and yet hard to accept secrets of long distance running – consistency. Team Fatbird’s Operation Sunbird weekend long runs training ensured I was consistent and was a really enjoyable way of getting the long runs done with like minded runners. It's also helped me in looking lesser and lesser like a 'fat' bird and more and more like a runner :)
Thanks to this consistent trianing and some weight loss, my goal at the time of signing up for the marathon of 4:45 was now going to be my worst case scenario. Sub 4:30 looked comfortable and I could even visualize chasing down the sub 4:15 pacers towards the end of the marathon if the weather was pleasant. Considering my finish time at the Singapore marathon last year was 5:54 and Sydney marathon PB was 4:34, it felt awesome to even think such finish times might be achievable in a city with an average temperature of about 28-30 degrees throughout the year (race day was going to be no exception!)
Race Day
Unlike last year, I caught one of the first trains to orchard, got to the start line and placed myself about 200 meters away from the start chute. I’ve never really been concerned about the ‘gun time’ and figured the pacers will spread themselves out based on their estimated finish times and I should be close to the 4:15-4:30 if I’m about 200 meters from the start line and will be able to start together with them.
I then saw all the pacers right under the start chute lining up with the Kenyans and other elite athletes!! WHAT?!?!?! I’m not sure why any pacers (let alone the sub 5 / 5hr30) pacers will line up with the elite runners. It was clear that they were planning to run based on the gun time but it really doesn’t serve the purpose as most people hoping to achieve a sub 4:30 (or 5/5:30) do it for their own achievement and don’t really care about what the gun time might be! Most other big cities marathon (and the sundown marathon) get their pacers to start at various intervals after the race start and that works really well but that wasn’t the case for SCMS 2012. That was Singapore Marathon fail #1 (of just 2) for me. I only crossed the start line about 2 minutes after the gun went off and pacers started. That meant I had about 2 minutes to get to the finish line after the 4:30 pacing group if I was to achieve a personal/net time of sub 4:30.
Unlike most of my races where I deliberately slow down and step back in the initial stages, I decided to go with the flow and keep up with the people around me. As we passed the first couple of KM’s I began to slowly pass each of the pacing groups. I saw the 4:30 group and passed them and placed myself between 4:15 and 4:30 group. At the half way turnaround at East Coast Park, you could see the runners ahead of you and once you turn around, the runners behind you. I was happy to be exactly where I wanted to be – about 5 minutes behind the 4:15 group and about 10-12 minutes ahead of the 4:30 group. That meant I was on track for about 4:20 finish if I could maintain the same pace. I knew maintaining that pace was going to be next to impossible and was really hoping for that second wind AND a flatter second half course AND slightly cooler temperature as I completed the return trip on ECP and headed towards the 30KM point at Gardens by the Bay. I tried to step up the pace after 29KM but a 4:20 finish became even harder when I ran past the 32Kms point in 3:20mins.
I had 60 minutes to complete 10 KMs. That is tempo run pace for me in Singapore weather and on top of that I had that extra agonizing .195kms at the end to run too (Marathon is 42.195kms – not 42km! - easy to forget it when calculating your pace but you feel every step of it at the end). I was slowing down but I didn’t want to give in. The water stops were longer and I could feel the temperature had risen by a few degrees in the last hour.
My next checkpoint was at 37kms. Despite having nothing left in my tank, I managed to pass it in just under 3hr50mins. Another 5Kms to go in 30mins to get there in 4:20 – that’s still tempo pace but strangely, it looked I might just do that?

Then came the exit from gardens by the bay, the gravel road, the heat and a bridge that felt like I was climbing forever!! With all that came the reality of a marathon and the feeling of hitting the wall. Within few 100 meters, I was struggling to run and felt like my calves and thighs were locking. Each step was hurting and I truly felt like I could fall over at any point. I was sucking down any water and drink I had left and was trying to survive the last few Ks. If I had any doubt that 4:20/4:25 was not achievable, it was made clear as I came off the bridge and the marathon runners merged with the wall of 10K runners and had to make our way through kids and families in the back of the pack in the 10K run. That was the last thing you want after about 39Kms of running. That was Singapore Marathon fail #2 (of 2) for me.

I passed 40Kms in about 4:15. A 4:20 finish or anything close to it was nowhere possible and in the state I was in, sub 4:30 finish was proving to be almost impossible too.. this was confirmed when the 4:30 pacing group passed me at the 40kms point and I couldn’t keep up with them at all and felt like I was going to fall over at any time. Only thing that kept me going was the fact that I had 2 minutes from the time they cross the finish line to get there so I finish under 4:30 too. The most sensible thing to do at that point would’ve been to give up on my sub 4:30 dream and aim to finish under 4:34. I would've enjoyed the last KM, Hi-5'd few spectators and still would’ve beaten my Sydney PB be happy with that. I know that is what I would’ve definitely done in the past. But this time was different - This race had already challenged me to the core and I had absolutely nothing left, but I decided that I had it in me to not up give in and I was determined to get to that finish in under 4hr30mins. I've had enough of dreaming and talking about finishing a marathon in under 4hr30mins. Shyamala has had enough of listeining to my constant blabbering on how I could achieve that (and has put up with all of that for too long!) - This was my opportunity to not give up and achieve that goal..It truly felt like a defining moment in becoming a new ‘me’!

The willingness to push that extra bit and not give up at the end paid off as I crossed the finish line in 4:28:58! :) That was a new PB for me. I had beaten my Sydney PB by about 6 minutes in a much tough course and climate!! My ranking has never looked this good! - For the first time EVER I've made it to the first 10%!!!

I’ve now earned the right to dream a sub 4:15 marathon one day hopefully soon and I think I now know what it will take to achieve my goal of a sub 4hr marathon one day. It's going to take a lot more than just luck to achive that. It'll need a lot more consistency, harder workouts and a more optimum race weight. A race in cooler climate will make it definitely easier but I'm not going let the Singapore heat get in the way of my goal..
Onwards and upwards! :)





My race data - http://bit.ly/TUcDaY
Team Fatbird - Operation Sunbird (SCMS2012 training) summary blog - http://www.teamfatbird.com/2012/12/standard-chartered-marathon-singapore.html

Canberra Half Ironman – My first Half Ironman race report

Date – 12/12/10

Why Canberra? Checked the Australian Half Ironman series dates. Narrowed it down to Port Macquarie or Canberra – They were the closest to Sydney and didn't fancy travelling too far for my first half ironman race (Yes – this story does have a happy ending and there could be more races J ). Port Macquarie was few weeks after the Sydney Marathon. Canberra suited me well as it gave me enough time to prepare for it and more time to ride.

My garmin watch doesn't lie..since 1^st July, approximately 780KM running, 1520KM cycling and 70km of swimming was done. That's about 175 hours of training and I was ready for the Canberra Half Ironman on 12^th Dec 2010..

Training and tapering went to plan until the weather gods got it mixed up & decided to take away the summer weather and dumped ACT with rains and floods. Lake Burley Griffin, where the swim was to be held was flooded and the bike course was flooded.. It was time to panic – I didn't need any training to panic, it came naturally! Despite the uncertainty with the weather, the organisers finally decided that the race will still go ahead but the swim will be replaced by a 4k run. I am not a fast swimmer but fast enough to come out of the water quicker than most of my fellow back of the packers.

Got to registration early on Saturday and found out that the bike course has also been changed from a 3x30k loop to a 5x17k loop as Coppins crossing was still underwater. So it was going to be a 4k run followed by a flat(ish) 90k bike course and a 21k run... The 'hardest half ironman course in Australia' had now become a super fast half ironman course with less than 24 hrs to go. I wasn't complaining about it, but with no swimming and a flat course, I knew everyone will be going a lot harder – atleast on the bike course.

I couldn't help but think of a quote from one of my idols and favourite author – Professor. Randy Pausch.

We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.

He lost his life to Pancreas cancer few years ago but just before he passed away, he used the quote in his 'Last Lecture' on "Really achieving your childhood dreams". Half Ironman or triathlons (or sports or fitness or being healthy or dieting) wasn't a big part of my childhood and half ironman was definitely not a childhood dream – I only dreamt it about 8 months ago! But somehow that quote made all the sense to me as I lined up for registration – I decided I was going to play the hand as best as I could and enjoy my race!

Registration was quick (Probably because I was one of the excited few to line up just when the registrations opened!).. checked in the bike. Did all my Christmas shopping at the event expo – I think I now have enough Canberra half ironman clothing to last me a while! Came back in the evening for the compulsory race briefing. It was easy to pick the newbies from the regulars. The regulars did not have the slightest interest to be at the compulsory race briefing at all..Us newbies were way too excited to be there and was getting a bit annoyed when others in the crowd started talking amongst themselves. I also felt like the odd one out with hairy legs – I should've waxed ! Or atleast should've worn pants!!

Went to an Italian restaurant with Shyamala for Dinner and loaded on Pasta and bread and off to the room for an early night. Alarm goes off at 4am. Woke up and treated the morning like I'm preparing for a (very) early ride.. Had cereals, honey and banana for brekki and followed usual routine and out of the room by 5am. Got to start/transition area by 5.20..

Getting into the transition area was like trying to get into the Establishment bar in Sydney. It took me a few attempts to enter the transition area! – Now I know, I need to:

1. Wear the helmet
   
2. Wear the wrist band
   
3. Apply the small sticker on the helmet!
   

Was finally let in...I set up my transition and pretended to do a final check of my bike like my neighbours at transition. I had no idea what to look for, so spun the wheel and checked if the brakes work. Final check – Pass! Now it's go time!

Transition closed at 6am. Official race start was at 6.30am and they had wave starts based on the age group. My age group – Males 25-29 started 20 minutes later.

Leg 1 – 4k run

6.50 am – I start my first ever half ironman race along with about another 100 guys in my age group.

Unlike a swim leg, where you could only see faces floating out of the water with goggles on, in this run start, all of my age groupers were clearly visible. I could see who they are and their race numbers. This wasn't really a good thing as my race plan of taking it easy was not in my mind anymore – The combination of adrenalin and maybe a bit of pride forced me to keep up with the group atleast until about 1.5ks which was done at 5:29/k pace. Once the initial thrill was over and I was away from all the cameras and spectators, I decided to do my own pace and so did most of the group. I placed myself in front of a couple of guys and behind most of the group.

Time: 22:03

Garmin link - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/59572292

Rank: 82 out of 142

Quicker than planned and a good steady pace for my standards but was still at the tail end of the group.

Transition 1

Running shoes off, bike shoes on. Slow walk / steady jog to the bike mount line. There were only 2 bikes left (in my row) waiting for their owners to finish the run leg and there was another two guys in my row exiting with me – rest of the group decided not to wait for us!!

Out of T1 in 02:46

Bike Leg – 18k x 5 loops

Lap 1 – Got on the bike, quick drink and settled into aero position. Never felt so comfortable on the aero bars – it took me almost a year of tinkering to find a good position! Had my first GU gel about 10 mins after starting the bike leg. Despite the plan to take it easy earlier on, I was still peddling hard but the bike seemed to move quicker than the effort was putting in! I was averaging 33-35km/h. This half ironman thing looks easy!

The bike loop was a nice 18k undulating loop with the biggest incline at the lady Denham Dr turn to Cotter Rd. The support at the end of the lap (at the start line) was tremendous. I had 3 different cheer groups - My parents, bro and Shyamala, then the Hills Tri club crew and then Nikki from the Tri club who had her own beach chair and was enjoying the race go past – I heard a 'GO DINEISH' chant from all 3 groups.

Lap 2,3 – Nothing much to report. Gel on each lap, continuous hydration, getting off the aero bars occasionally to rest and stretch my back – But always on Aeros when I saw the official photographers and at the start area where most spectators were – As you do!

Started seeing athletes withdrawing from the race and/or giving up. Felt terribly bad for them to have trained so hard only to withdraw at that point..

Lap 4 – Heading out from Commonwealth Park, the head wind was noticeable but yet manageable. But the cross winds on Lady Denham Drive was strong. The Aussie flag on top of the parliament was flying strong and high thanks to the strong wind. For the first time, I was not looking forward to the long and fast downhill to the bridge. The strong winds were pushing me to the side and I honestly thought my day could end here with a bad crash. The aero bars felt so uncomfortable and painful!

Saw more and more athletes off the bike and withdrawing.. Most of them looked like they've had enough for the day and given up! I don't think I was too far from them at that point. Lap 4 was more of a planning lap for me to pick the strategic spots where I could withdraw in Lap 5 if the need arises. I had specific some criteria for the spot – Had to be well away from the spectators and photographers but not too far from an aid station or support vehicles..

This planning helped me get through lap 4 and finished it with a quick toilet break – Still haven't learnt the art of 'doing it on the go', so made use of the toilet at the aid station.

Lap 5 – Most fast cyclists had already finished their 5 laps. The pros were almost on the second lap of the run. The spectators had already moved to the run leg area. The volunteers assumed you've done your 5 laps and get ready to guide you through to transition, only to realise that you've got one more to go. The start of lap 5 was both tough mentally and physically. I headed out for my last lap on the bike. Didn't have much left in the tank and started wondering how I could run a half marathon after this and I may end up withdrawing at one of the planned spots and promised myself that I would train harder next time!...

Throughout the race I didn't notice too many draft cheats except for some of the fast guys hanging onto each other. But I saw the most obvious and strangest draft cheat of the race on this lap. It was obvious, because she was drafting off another guy all the way on Lady Denham Dr. There was probably only a few cms gap between them. Strangest, because the guy didn't have a race number and was wearing a fluro hi-vis top – It almost looked like she's hired a guy to help her cheat!! It was also strange because the ladies started almost 10-15minutes before my start and she was still out on the course despite the drafting and averaging atleast 35km/hr on the last lap.. On the positive note, my curiosity kept me distracted for a while and before I knew it I was heading into transition. One more gel and more energy drink and then a flying dismount off the bike while trying to make sure I don't fall off the bike right at the bike dismount line. This certainly did not add any time but definitely felt and looked good – just what I needed before I headed out to do a half marathon!!

Split	Leg Time	Time of Day	Time Taken	Average Speed	Pos	Cat Pos	Gen Pos
Bike-18k	0:37:55	7:49:58	0:35:59	30.01	822	81	662
Bike-36k	1:13:54	8:25:57	0:37:25	28.86	816	80	657
Bike-54	1:51:18	9:03:22	0:39:46	27.16	816	79	657
Bike-72k	2:31:05	9:43:08	0:41:03	26.31	814	80	658
Cycle	3:12:08	10:24:11	3:12:08	28.2 km/h	810	81	656

Garmin link - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/59572294

Transition 2

Prior to the race, my aim was to 'beat' the first guy to T2 – i.e. I wanted to be out of T2 before the first PRO athlete finishes his whole race. Unfortunately, the first guy had finished his race already and so did a few others. They were being interviewed as I tried to get my socks and shoes on and resisted temptation to sit down and relax for a bit.

In my row, most bikes were racked already – This meant that most athletes are already out on the run. This was not the best place to be and I'd be lying if I said that all of this doesn't play with your mind. Quick look at my watch and it was only 3:34:11. I also saw and knew there were many others still on the bike leg. I realised I had about another 3hr30mins to run the 21kms before hitting the cut off point. Provided I get my running legs back, I knew I would be able to do it.

As a form of last minute impulse buy, I had bought a hydration belt with 4 bottles at the race expo the day before. They had 2 bottles of V for the caffeine and some high salt drink in the other two. For some reason, I felt really good and decided I didn't want to carry around that extra weight anymore, so took it off and ran out of transition wondering if I would regret not carrying any V or salt with me.

Time in transition: 02:09

Run: 10.5km x 2 loops

Felt surprisingly fresh and good. Did the first KM in 5:17. I knew this wasn't going to last, so decided to slow down and kept going. Ran past the aid station 1 and only grabbed some water to pour it on my head and cool me down. I was surprisingly still feeling good and kept running a constant pace and started to pass people who were walking or doing a walk/run combo – I knew I could pace a lot better on the run than the bike leg! It is always a nice feeling to pass people towards the end of an endurance race as it shows that you've paced well.. It was even better to pass my own age group athletes who had sprinted away in the first run leg and then the bike leg. I also got passed numerous times too..

Finished the first loop and was expecting to hit the wall any time now. But didn't see the point in slowing down even more or loading myself on gels or energy drinks to avoid it – So decided to run based on how I feel and I was feeling real good..

Rest of the run was a mixture of, getting passed by some runners, passing more runners, coke, water, jelly beans, energy drinks and chatting to various athletes on the way.

Top of Form Split Bottom of Form	Leg Time	Time of Day	Time Taken	Average pace (mins/k)	Pos	Cat Pos	Gen Pos
Run2.7k	0:16:30	10:40:41	0:16:30	0:06:07	721	74	589
Run-10.5k	1:08:35	11:32:46	0:52:05	0:06:41	763	75	617
Run-13k	1:27:07	11:51:18	0:18:32	0:07:25	760	73	615
Run21k	2:23:22	12:47:33	0:56:15	0:07:02	758	75	607 Bottom of Form

Garmin link - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/59572298

My rank in the age group for Run leg 1 was 82. The bike leg was 81 and this run leg was 75. My overall position on the bike leg was 810 and the run leg was 758. I was definitely passing many runners!

The home stretch back from the Museum was getting tougher and hotter. The course also looked like it doubled in length since the first lap!! But things certainly did change when I came under the bridge for the last time. This was the point of realisation that all the hard work and the long training hours had paid off - the finish area of my first half ironman journey was visible! It was about a KM away but the sight was definitely a memorable one - My 'running partner' (some random bloke I ran with for the last few Ks) and I stopped briefly to enjoy the view (and take a quick rest)! – After about 110kms of cycling and running and almost 6 hours of constant movement, it was a great feeling to know that the finish line was now in sight and less than a KM away. It was a quick pause, a quick smile, a quick adjustment of my visor and race number (so I can be spotted easily in the finish line photo) and off for the last KM. The support at the Hills Tri Club tent was so loud that I almost thought I still had a shot at a podium finish!

Crossed the finish line at 5:57:33!!

Overall category position - 80

Will post the photos and videos from the finish line soon.

Overall, had a great day and definitely pushed my boundary even further... Couldn't have done it without the support of the coaching from Pete Goldie and the rest of the tri club crew – Great guidance from the experienced clan and some fun rivalry amongst us newbies got me there..

My parents – You've questioned my intentions and plans..but never stopped my journey – you always supported and guided me instead!

Shyamala – Thanks for putting up with my crazy training hours. When I woke up at 5/5.30 on most mornings, I was heading out to do what I enjoyed... you..well, i never gave you an option other than to wake up and have brekki by yourself and worry if I was ok.. and congrats, now you know most Triathlon terms including T1, T2, taper & bonking (and you don't even find that funny anymore!)!

Thanks also to everyone who wished me luck and kept track of my (sometimes useless?) facebook and twitter updates! J

Looking forward to faster times next year! J

Sydney Marathon - Race day – Before the race

The Sydney marathon was on 20th Sunday September 2009 and was scheduled to start at 7.15am. I managed to get as much sleep as possible in the nights leading up to it except the night before – I expected this anyway. I woke up at 3.30am to have my brekkie – Had a few wholemeal bread rolls with honey and a banana. I decided to skip all dairy products as instructed in most training programs.
After my brekkie I decided to get back into bed and watch the last lecture by Dr. Randy Pausch - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo
I have always been a fan of him and inspired by his ‘Last lecture’ (Hypothetically if you were dying, what would you say in your last lecture? For Randy Pausch, that wasn’t a hypothetical. He was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and the doctors only gave him a few more months to live – He passed away few months later).
In the lead up to the marathon I was trying to remember his line about ‘brick walls’. So I decided to watch it to find that line:
“Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.”

I also came across another quote from him – “Experience is what you get, when you didn’t get what you want”. I knew this was going to be so true, even if I couldn’t get to the finish line in a couple of hours.
We arrived in Milsons Point at about 6 AM - After a drive from Quakers hill (via Cherrybrook) to Strathfield and a train ride to Milsons Point. My ‘support crew’ consisted of a very excited and nervous mum, dad and Shyamala!! I had another banana around 6.30 and was ready for the run after some warm up and stretching..

Head Fakes

I learnt the term 'head fake' from one of the best books I've ever read - The last lecture by Dr.Randy Pausch.
http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/beyond/2008/summer/an-enduring-legacy.shtml

Hypothetically if you were dying, what would you say in your last lecture? For Randy Pausch, that isn't a hypothetical. He was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and the doctors only gave him a few more months to live.
If you haven't read it, I strongly recommend it no matter who you are and what you do.. You may want to check out his video first on youtube -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

In his lecture Dr Randy explains head fakes as 'Indirect learnings'..

"And the other thing about football is we send our kids out to play football or
soccer or swimming or whatever it is, and it's the first example of what I'm
going to call a head fake, or indirect learning. We actually don't want our kids
to learn football. ... we send our kids out to learn much more important things.
Teamwork, sportsmanship, perseverance, et cetera, et cetera."

It's amazing to think how much the 'head fake' theory applies to us.. It is not the most obvious outcome of a certain activity that may benefit and define us, but the indirect learning from an sports or activity that ends up benefitting us a lot more..

This is mainly true with Muay Thai (or any martial arts). Your primary aim maybe to get fitter or to be able to defend yourself, but the number of indirect learnings can range from respect for each other, self-respect, time-management etc and ofcourse value of time - 3 minutes in the ring can be a very long time when you are getting beaten the crap out by someone!