I had no specific plan of attack
for the build-up at the time of signing up. All signs pointed to my regular DIY training program which
includes few good weeks of running, few bad weeks (to undo all the hard work
from the good weeks), a couple of unjustifiable purchases of running gear (to
make me go faster! – ofcourse), a ridiculously long or short taper. All in all,
it was leading towards a race day plan to run 28-32km and switch the survival
mode for the last 10KMs. I didn’t know what I could do differently..
ENTER “Operation Nighthawk” by Team FatBird. Some googling
had got me to the Team FatBird and their link to the Sundown marathon training
program – “Operation Nighthawk”. I registered and joined their weekend long
runs. The group 3 (the 5hr marathon group) had runners of similar ability and
fitness level ,which certainly made the Friday night and Sunday morning 30+km
long runs much more enjoyable and bearable.
Race Day
After what seemed like a long wait, the gun finally went off
at 12.30AM. I was with the sub 5hr pacers and we started in the second wave.
I’ve never really cared about gun time and was going to base my race on my
net/bib time. I was happy to avoid the initial rush and let all the sprinters
go past in the first few KMs. I had the pacers in sight about 200-300 meters
ahead of me and made the decision to not catch up with them yet. After keeping them in sight for about 8KMs
they continued to increase their lead on me and I eventually lost them. I
thought I was running a steady sub 5hr equivalent pace. So I was surprised and
saddened to see my sub-5hr dream vanish away so quickly... By then I knew how
this story was going to unfold – A continuous battle to run upto about 32-35kms
followed by long walks, hating yourself for repeatedly registering for
marathons, promising yourself to train harder before you sign up for the next
one, thinking of alternate passions and hobbies and then to forget it all for a
few minutes and sprint to the finish line holding the world’s best running
posture and enjoy another marathon finish despite the slow time. I’ve mastered
this in the Singapore
marathon 2011 and was already thinking of my list of excuses by the
12th KM.. The sundown race organizers had done a tremendous job with
the logistics, water stations, KM markers and the very enjoyable route for us
to light up the city of Singapore at night – So all of that was ruled out from
the usual excuse list! However, Singapore weather didn’t let me down.. a balmy
28 degree with 85% humidity at that time of the night seemed like a valid
excuse for another slow race.
I decided to forego my sub 5hr goal and run my own race with
the much wishful plan of “catching up with the pacers (and going under 5hrs) in
the latter part of the race” – Ahh! This is runners’ answer to the pyramid
scheme!! You agree to not see any results in the short term and expect to get
all you wanted and more by running faster towards the end of the race! I’ve
never even thought that’s possible in a marathon! This is always a trick I usually
use to fool myself temporarily so I don’t run too fast too soon and to save
enough energy to run as long as possible before the painful home stretch.
Few minutes before entering East Coast park, I saw the 35KM
marker on the opposite side of the road for the return trip. I promised myself
that I’d run until that before my first stop. That itself was going to be a
battle in itself considering I was soaked in sweat already even before the half
marathon point. I wasn’t even how that was possible but it certainly got even
warmer and more humid! There was no breeze either.. It certainly seemed like it
was going to be a very long night and if I ran all the way to the 35KM marker,
I was going to be very satisfied and thought the last 7 Kms will be my victory
walk/run!
I’ve been in Singapore for a year now.. I’ve had to adapt in
many ways to suit the Singaporean lifestyle. Most changes, I love: About 15%
max tax-rate (hell yes!)!! $10 cab ride
from town or to work! Quick 1-2 hr flight to some of the many exotic locations
in Asia! 1% crime rate! And the list goes on..
Some, you struggle to adapt to - Durian (One day I will try
it… no hurry though!)
And then there are others that you were never given an
option but to accept – One of them was reclassifying what “perfect running
weather” is.
In Sydney, a 18-20 degree sunny day is my perfect running
weather – It’s nice, cool and the sun is out to keep you warm. You’ve done
about 5 KMs before you break a sweat and you never bother carrying any water
when you head out on a 10KM run. Singapore’s “perfect running weather” made an appearance
about 2 hours after the marathon started. It was a nice cool breeze with a
light drizzle and the temperature dropped a few degrees. That was the best any
runner could ask for!
I crossed the half-way point (21.1kms) in 2hr25mins. In the past, I’ve faded quite badly in the second half of the marathon. Even
in Sydney
Marathon 2010 (My 4:34 PB), I was about 15 minutes slower in the second
half. So I decided to be sensible and wanted to get to the finish line in less than 5hr 10mins.
The 5 hour pacers were long gone and setting 5:10 as the goal with a 5 minute
buffer will get me to the finish by 5:15 – Perfect logic! :)
..and so the return trip began..
About half an hour after “perfect running weather”, in true
Singapore fashion, the weather decided to change again! – The cool breezes
turned into very strong winds and the light drizzle was now a heavy downpour
with thunder and lightning. Few minutes later I was running in water logged
shoes and stepping on big puddles of water! I found out later that it was a Category
1 storm.
The quickest way to end all this was to get to the finish
line, so I kept plodding along. Strangely, I was feeling very good even after
25Kms of running. About a KM later, I decided I was going to pick up my pace.
It was a big gamble but I was ready for my mind to take over proceedings from
my body for the rest of the race!
It is always a great feeling to be running strong and
feeling good in the second half of the marathon. I was running and passing
runners as if it was the first KM of the marathon! I knew this feeling may not
last and things could turn ugly within few 100 meters but I was enjoying it too
much to stop. The faster I ran, the more runners I was passing. I'd later find out that I passed about 175 runners in the last 10KMs and only 15 passed me. My goal of 35KM
was in sight and I was still feeling good.
It was time to distract my body with a new
game – chasing moving targets! The rule of the game is simple.. Pick the next
street light, next turn, next KM marker, the water station or whatever you can
see in the next 500-600meterss and plan to run that far.. When you are almost
there, forget about that target and aim for the next one. Point of this game is
to ‘eat the elephant, one chunk at a time’ and it worked well with distracting
me from the throbbing legs and upper body pains!
By 40KMs my mind and body had enough of games and tricks..
Each step hurt much more than the previous one. I could’ve walked for a minute
or two and still got to the finish line in well under 5 hours.. but I knew I
would regret it forever if I stopped running, that close to the finish line. Couldn’t
stop thinking of a quote I saw few days before and that kept me going :
I was determined to keep running despite my body running on
an empty tank and every bit of it hurting. Running past 41KM market was a huge
relief and excitement. There was no stopping now. I decided to pick up the pace
and pass as many runners as possible and finally got to the finish line in
4hr:51mins!!
I had ran all the way in marathon for the first time ever! I’d
run an almost even split and the last KM was my fastest KM of the whole race! I wasn't even close to breaking a PB (17 mins off) but this will be one I'll be proud of for a very long time to come...
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