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

Sundown Marathon 2012 Race Report - It's a 32KM warmup run for a 10KM race

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 12^th 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...

Singapore Marathon 2011 - CAN!

With the preparation and training I’ve had in the lead up to this marathon, I almost felt like I shouldn’t have been there at the start line on the Singapore Marathon 2011 on 4^th December, but having crossed the marathon finish line thrice, it was going to take a lot for me to turn down the opportunity to miss this wonderful experience.

Timeline of event leading upto this was:

Jan to Jun 11 – I had the best (half) year of running. I was constantly seeing sub 5min pace on my garmin. I was very much on track for a sub 4:15 Sydney Marathon & eventually to run one sub 4hr marathon in my life!

Jun 11 – Was offered a role in Singapore. Decided to accept it and move to Singapore with Shyamala.

First week of work in Jun – Got a corporate ‘invitation’ to run the Singapore marathon 2011. Shift + Deleted it and assumed I would never receive such junk mails anymore.

July-August – Learned some basics of living in Singapore. I now know:

*It is normal to look like you came from the Sauna after a 5 minute walk to the station

*At some point, you need to start pushing into the busy train if you ever wanted to get home on time.

* The STOP sign and pedestrian crossing are more of an optional sign for the drivers - If you request them to stop and if they can be bothered, they’ll stop

* CAN is the national phrase. It indicates “it can be done”

* Pack of tissues on an empty table in a busy food court means that the table is reserved by someone. Substitutes for pack of tissues are – umbrellas, wallets and hand bags!

Late August – Got a ‘reminder’ for the Singapore Marathon registration. Couldn’t resist it this time – I decided to sign up for it and ‘forget about it’.

August – October – Very stringent carb-loading regiment has already commenced thanks to East coast fresh seafood, Lau pa sat satays and little India curries of Singapore. Every now and then, a few runs were also done, along with (a more frequent and structured) muay thai training.

Early November – GAME FACE ON! I have a marathon to run in about 5 weeks. Plan was simple, I continue my muay thai training 2-3 times a week and fit in a long run in the weekends. This worked well for the first two weeks.

Third week, November – This was supposed to be my longest run weekend. Instead I was at Koh Lanta, Thailand with Shyamala. That was the beginning of my tapering. There was no running there at all.. not even to get to the room (we had golf buggies for it) or to walk to the seafood restaurant on the beach (why walk when we have our own scooter!). Only interval training that was done was the naps between the meals, pool, beach, bars and snorkeling :)

4^th Dec - “While Singapore is sleeping…”

The race start was at 5am. I got there around 4.40am hoping to get to the “sub 6 hours” starter group. My goal time was 5:15 with a dream time of 5 hours. A sub 6 hour starter group and/or the pacers were nowhere to be seen. I was confident that as the race progresses I would either catch the pacers and they’d catch me. (Lesson learnt – Plan to get to the start atleast an hour earlier. Singapore marathon has about 10 times more runners than Sydney runners – approx. 20000+ runners)

The start and the first few KMs were fairly uneventful with runners everywhere, very active water stations and active bands. The stand out was the enthusiastic families and supporters at that time of the day and the magnificent sights of Singapore’s China town, the esplanade, marina bay sands and Singapore flyer. We continued our run on the F1 race circuit and headed out towards the East Coast Park.

East Coast park is about 1.5 KMs from our house. It’s my training ground and known territory for me. This “popular beach” is a lot different to what most would expect – it takes a few months to get used to the sights of large containers ships few hundred meters off the beach and the lights from some island in Indonesia. I really surprised myself as I ran to the half-way turnaround point and continued running all the way down east coast.

“Respect the Distance”

The trick to run all 42.2kms in a marathon is simple – You need to do your long runs! There really are no short-cuts. Short runs, cross-training, weights training, muay thai, soccer, reading books, watching marathon videos on youtube, talking about running a marathon on facebook, may help you get to about the 28-33km point if you are reasonably prepared but ‘the wall’ will get to you at some point if you’d skipped the long runs. This time, I was one of many who had not done enough long runs in the lead up. By the 30^th KM, I’d well and truly hit the wall. The sun was out and the heat was unbearable. There were no KM markers, there were no pacers in and my garmin wasn’t getting good satellite signals!! I had no idea where I was on the course.

With some running and a lot of walking and almost feel like passing out, I finally got to Padang to cross the finish line of my 4^th Marathon. As always, Shyamala was there to receive me. Being there for almost an hour longer (thanks to her husband being over-enthusiastic about his goal time) might not have been much fun, but she certainly did not show it as she continued cheering me on as I ran towards the finish line.

I don’t usually don’t bother joining the post-race bandwagon of people complaining about the race. This marathon had a lot of complaints and most of them did not bother me. I wasn’t concerned about not having the right finisher t-shirt size (luckily I had my size this time!) or not getting a printed certificate or the recovery area being muddy! I almost don’t even mind the long gaps between the water stations in the final 10kms or them being really muddy and was a DIY station! But not having KM markers or properly organized pacers on an iconic race like the Singapore marathon is ridiculous. The heat may still have got to me – But I would have definitely tried my best to keep up with a pacer and/or keep a steady pace as I ran past KM markers to achieve a faster time.

It was interesting to note that my PB at Sydney marathon 2010 (4:34) still had me at the back of the pack with only 18% behind me.This marathon had a whopping 59% runners still behind me - despite the slower time of 5:54. I wonder how much of that relates to the sweltering Singapore heat.

That was my 4^th marathon done ! :) I’ve now done at least one marathon a year, since my first marathon in 2009.

A sub 4:15 (and eventually a sub 4hr marathon) is still on my bucket list.. but as my priority have temporarily changed, I don’t planning on waiting for the “perfect buildup” before lining up for the next marathon or half marathon. I hope to continue racing for fun. If work, studies, Singapore and the sights and beaches of Asia don’t get in the way at some point, I hope to train harder to achieve a much faster time :-)

The post half-ironman hangover and plans for 2011

"Its important to have specific dreams. Dream Big. Dream without fear."
- Randy Pausch

Just like my running and training, my blogging took a long holiday since Canberra half ironman. Now that I'm finally back in some kind of training, I think it only makes sense to plan ahead.

In the last two years or so, I've had a good, solid plan to tick off my goals from my ever growing bucket list. The plan is simple – I assess my situation, plan my goals, put in the long hard yards, achieve the goal (or get very close it), Celebrate!
This plan has been working quite well and over time I've learnt that the 'celebrate' part of my plan is usually my strongest J The post-Canberra half ironman celebration kicked of with Christmas and New year lunch/dinners/parties, a great trip to Malaysia and Singapore with Shyamala and a lazy January which included one too many dinners and numerous days of zero training.
The 'celebrate' part was well executed and was fun. But the flipside was, when I started training at the end of Jan, I realised my fitness counter had been reset to zero and I am still lugging around a few of those dinners. At this point, you usually are not mentally motivated either and try to find excuses not to train. Some of my popular excuses were "I'll train when I get a faster bike", "I'll start training in Feb", "MX paper article says Running is not good", "I need a new shoes", "Got work tomorrow" (popular one on Sunday), "It's been a long week" etc. Etc.
In the rare occasion I did go for a run, I felt extremely unfit, my heart rate was high and it made absolutely perfect sense to walk for the next 2 minutes, then 3 mins, 4, 5 and eventually convert it to a casual walk in the park. Strangely, during that phase, it also makes perfect sense to eat whatever "because I'll start training soon anyway". In a nutshell, it is usually a downward spiral many of us experience at times..
Fortunately, I've been in the position many times in the past and know what it takes to push through and to get the engine started. Consistency is the key .. I had to force myself to get out for a run and stick to the training plan.. I had to keep track of each workout and realise the slow and steady progress and use that as motivation. I've started doing that since late Jan and I think I have already managed to get through the initial mental barrier of not wanting to train and I'm looking forward to tough training sessions already! I've also done my first race and have finally managed to plan out my race calendar for the year.
My only A Grade race for the year will be the Sydney marathon. But after 3 marathons and a couple of half marathons, I've now decided to shift my focus to shorter events and hope to aim for faster times which hopefully in return will help me with the longer races. My race plan for the year is:

This plan will obviously change along the way depending on injuries and other commitments but I'm relieved I've got my year planned out.. Now I'll just have to start training harder and work on having a fast(er) year! J

"You can always change your plan, but only if you have one."
— Randy Pausch (The Last Lecture)

Wall? What Wall? - Sydney Marathon 2010

The build up
It was exactly a year ago, that I did my first marathon - the Sydney marathon 2009.
One of the first things I realised was that my plans to do a marathon to ‘just finish’ had suddenly changed - I wanted to be back for the Sydney Marathon in 2010. My official time in last year’s Sydney marathon was 5:14:33. I would always cherish that day as a very special one and have fond memories of it. I would like to think that was the day I learnt and proved (to myself) that boundaries do not exist – if they do (more like, if you think they do) and if you do want to break them out of passion, they can be broken with determination, self belief and of course, a good solid plan. I remember every emotion and action that happened on that day, almost to the minute!! I don’t regret anything about that day and definitely not ashamed of the slow time – It is very obvious that marathon is one of the toughest races you can do and I respect every marathon finisher! But when I did come back to run the Sydney marathon, I wanted to be much faster. By ‘Faster’ I only mean……
I wanted to run it fast enough to atleast keep up with the pacers..
I wanted to run past all water/aid stations (specially towards the end), when the volunteers were still in full swing and not shutting up
I wanted to run it fast enough to see and cheer the leading wheelchair athlete and the lead pack of the marathoners
I wanted to run it fast enough for work mates and friends to stop saying ‘ahh atleast you finished it’
I wanted to run past most cheering spectators before they start thinking ‘ohh there is more of these runners coming?’
Most importantly, I wanted to run the final stretch to opera house when both sides are packed with people cheering you on !!!!
I also wanted to get to the end to have the finisher’s t-shirt in my size and not just get one of the few remaining ones!!!

I think these are all only a natural progression of any athlete and after 2 marathons prior to it (Sydney 2009 and M7 2010), I think I had the right to expect it. This was my only A grade race this year – I was hoping to train specifically for it, have a good build up and achieve a really fast time. When I planned my races earlier in the year, I was hoping I would be at a sub 4:15 marathon fitness in time for the Sydney Marathon. However, my first obstacle (more a learning experience) came when I did the M7 marathon. With only about 8 weeks separating that marathon and the Sydney marathon, I was hoping to write off only a week of training after M7 and slowly start training again for the Sydney marathon for at least 4-5 weeks before I taper for Sydney marathon. However, the complete recovery from the M7 marathon took about 3-4 weeks. I was able to swim and cycle but my running legs simply weren’t ready!
The other obstacle was when I decided that I would be ready to do the Canberra Half Ironman in December this year and may not have to wait another whole year to attempt one. Once I signed up for it, without even realising it my mind decided to get excited more about that and get distracted from the Sydney marathon.
I did do my regular short/lunch time runs, however, as a result of both of the above, I didn’t do many long runs as I would’ve liked to until about 2-3 weeks ago. I opted to cycle more and do some long brick sessions, hoping that fitness will help me with the marathon. As I didn’t feel I had the speed to finish the marathon in 4:15, I was planning to hang around about 5 minutes ahead of the 4:30 pacer. As always, my wishful thinking was that if I hung around the 4:25 equivalent pace until about 30-32kms, I can then step it up gradually and hope for a finish about 4:15 or thereabouts.
Race day:
The marathon was scheduled to start at 7.30am. The runners were divided into 3 self seeded groups. I was in the last group – C. We started about 5 mins after the ‘A’ group. The 4:15 pacers and 4:30 pacers (2 of each), were in the C group. When they started running, both the 4:30 pacers instantly had about 30-40 runners around them – some of them were running so close to the pacers that they looked like they were attached at the hips to the pacers.
I decided to take my time to catch up to the 4:30 pacer and was running about 300 meters behind the 4:30 pacers after my plan to place myself in between the 4:30 pacer and 4:15 pacer was almost instantly scrapped when I realised I had to make my way through the whole 4:30 bus! I decided on tagging behind the 4:30 bus for about 30-32ks and then ‘beat’ the 4:30 bus and get as close as possible to a 4:20 finish. This would mean I would do a ‘negative split’ (Second half of the marathon will be quicker than the first) or very close an even split – This usually requires trusting in your ability and pace a lot and stopping yourself from going too fast too quick. Flipside of starting off slower than the 4:30 bus for me was, if I do hit the wall or tire myself too early, then I could potentially finish around 4:45 or even 5! I made my decision to stick to a slower pace and was hoping to run it all the way to the end.
I got to the half way point (21.1kms) in 02:10:53. At this point, I was only about 100-200mts behind the 4:30 bus and was still feeling fine so decided to continue at my same pace. The 4:30 pacers had the plan of running slightly faster than the planned pace and then slowed down and walked through the water stations. As a result, I was almost 300-500 meters away at times but caught up to them at the drinks stations. This pattern continued almost until about 35kms. I was really happy to have stuck to my plan and pace. I got to the 35kms in about 3hr 45mins. After my brief toilet and water stop, the 4:30 pacers increased their gap with me and were almost about 700-800 meters away from me. I had to do another 7kms in 45mins to finish it in less than 4hr 30mins. On my lunch time runs I usually do about a 6min/km pace and it usually takes about 42 mins to do 7kms. I had another extra 3 minutes buffer and most importantly I was still running and still feeling fit(ish). So I thought even with occasional brief walks, I might just make it under or right on 4:30. I stuck to my pace and continued running. I passed many runners including some ‘A’ group runners (i.e. Self seeded fast runners who are possibly having a bad day) and many ‘B’ group runners – Some of whom I’d seen earlier with the 4:15 and 4:30 bus. In a way, It almost felt like I was passing my old self from the M7 marathon at this point – At the M7 marathon, I stuck to the 4:15 pacer until 32kms and then suffered bad cramps and hit the wall pretty bad and resorted to walking and took many stops after about 36kms. It was a great feeling to ‘pass my old self’ and continue running!!!!
It was only after about 39kms and when I got back to Sussex st, I started feeling sore and tired – but this was the ‘general fatigue’- not the expected ‘hitting the wall’ feeling like my system was going to shut down. I decided to not try to chase a 4:30 finish. Maybe it was the bad experiences from the last two marathons, but I simply did not want to hit the wall at this point and possibly lose a lot more time and finish a lot slower. I decided the next best plan will be to slow down (but still run) and try to finish it under 4:36 (my current PB from M7). This worked well as I ran under the bridge and got to circular quay in about 4:31ish. I had to do about another 200 meters and had about five minutes to get there for a new PB. When I got to this final stretch last year, most people had already left and most others were walking towards circular quay – I also recall, some of the marathon runners seemed like they’d already finished brekkie/lunch and heading home by the time I was finishing . This year – this felt a lot different! I knew I was still in the back of the pack, BUT I’d obviously got there a lot quicker than last time. Both sides of the path to the finish line was absolutely packed with almost all of them cheering the runners on – I almost felt like a celebrity on a red carpet.. I was acknowledging the cheering (as if they were all cheering ONLY for me) and I also decided to high-five almost every kid/man/girl/volunteer/cop who had their hands out !!! – Some of them were forced to because they realised I was on a high five’ing spree !!!
My official time was 4:34:37. A Sub 4:30 wasn’t meant to be.. But I think my highlight of this marathon was I DID NOT CRAMP AT ALL!!! I DID NOT HIT THE WALL!! Most importantly, I had run an almost even pace, throughout!! Maybe it is the experience, maybe it was my diet in the lead-up week, maybe it was my nutrition plan during the marathon, maybe it was the decisions I made during the race in regards to my pace or maybe it is a sign that I should try an ultra marathon :p.. Whatever it is, I am quite happy with the PB and not hitting the wall!!! :)

My garmin output for Sydney marathon 2010

M7 Westlink Marathon - 25th July 2010

My goal for this race had 3 finish times :

Plan A - Sub 4hr16 - This would mean I would have smashed my first marathon time by an hour! I couldn't ask for anything better..

Plan B - Sub 4hr30 - A great finish time and gives a realistic goal of 4hr 15 for my next marathon

Plan C - Sub 5hr 16 - This would be a PB and would mean I've improved since last September

Training in preparation to this race went to plan with a strong sub 2hr half marathon PB two weeks ago and constant hard training. I was well aware that I haven't done as many long runs as I would've liked to but didn't mind testing and risking out to see if this would have an impact on the race and if so, how bad it would impact me.

My longest run to date was only 25KM! This was the longest I've run since my first Marathon last year (Sydney - 5:16)

Tapering was going to plan until a minor last minute sore throat / cold scare 2 days before the race. I managed to sort it out and I was ready for the race. Having done one marathon already, you would think I was confident to atleast finish the race.. But I had the same nerves, same butterflies, same doubts, same 'what-ifs' in the days leading upto this..
Afterall, it was going to be 42.2kms of road running - it is a long time to be out there maintaining high motivation levels and listening to your body and catering to its needs and convincing it to do things which is out of the norm! The marathon has no short cuts.. The new shoes, compression clothing or a flashy watch was not going to get me to the finish line!

I thought I would have a challenge bigger than the marathon itself first thing in the morning - waking up Shyamala at 4.30am to drop me off at the start line :) However, she was up and more than willing to drop me off and was excited :)
The start at Ash Rd, Prestons was a very casual affair unlike the Sydney Marathon - There were no road closures, no overcrowded trains, no police, no PA announcements.. just a bunch of about 200-300 runners and a bunch of great volunteers.

My plan was to do my own pace for the first 10ish Ks, then either drop back or catch the 4:15 bus (the 4:15 pacer + runners hoping to do 4hr 15) and hope to hang on to them until about 30-35ks. At that point, I was going to reasses myself and either pick up the speed (wishful thinking that was!) or drop back and hope to finish as close as possible to 4:15.
The race started shortly after 7am. The weather was wonderful - no rain, not much of a wind but still nice and cool! I started doing my own pace and constantly monitoring my heart rate. After a K or so, I was around the 4:15 pacer and a group of about 15 runners! Being a narrow bike path, I couldn't run next to (or close to) the 4:15 pacer. But I wasn't too concerned and stepped back and made sure I kept those runners within about a 20m reach. This was my first ever experience running with a pacer! At the Sydney marathon - I only saw the pacers at the start line and in the photos few days later :)
btw - the 4:15pacer was a bare foot runner!!!!

After about 10ks, few of the runners in the 4:15 bus dropped off and few others from the 4hr group dropped back to join the 4:15 group. I was still hanging on the group and was feeling quite good..
Around the 15k point, 4:15 group had lost most of its runners and it was just me and Nat from the hills tri club keeping the pacer company. The pacer did a great job of (obviously) pacing well and keeping us distracted and chatting about everything else but the race and how long we've got left. He was an IT consultant working in the city.. (Out of all places) we had a good chat about IT and the GFC while running the marathon :) He was also telling us that he used to be a triathlete and was invited to Hawaii for the Ironman championships!

At the half way mark, we were about 30 seconds faster than our pace but this was part of the pacer's plan to 'put some time in the bank' for the second half. Nat and I continued to run with him.. I was still feeling good and was secretly beginning to think that I maybe able to tag along with them until the finish line. Especially because all the big uphills climbs were supposed to be in the first half and the second half was supposed to be "nice rolling hills with only one steep hill at the turnaround point at 32.5kms" (source: m7 marathon website)
My parents were there to cheer me on at the 27km mark. I was beginning to feel the fatigue and soreness at this point but was able to still hang on to the other two until 30ks... At this point, the "Nice rolling hills" weren't nice and definitely weren't rolling!!
I managed to keep up with the pacer for another KM thanks to his encouraging words.. But it was becoming very clear that 4hr 15 marathon was not going to be obtainable today. I decided to let them go and aim for a 4:20ish time.. This was working well until the steep hill at Quakers Hill to the Warrimoo drive turnaround point. This was a slow gradual uphill climb immediately followed by a short steep hill!
At the 32.5km turnaround..It did feel like a great achievement to have stuck to a good pace until then but it was time for another re-assessment and I slowed down further and was happy to aim for a 4:25ish finish time.
I managed to walk/run for another KM or two until I started cramping badly in my quads and calves, could not control my heart rate anymore and was feeling a sharp starving pinch in my stomach - I had officially run out of gas and hit the wall.

My parents and Dhilip was at the 37km point. I managed to run about 200 m to 'smile for the camera' :) and had to stop shortly after that!
It was time for yet another reassessment - This time the goal was visible. I saw the 4:30 pacer's flag about 300 meters behind me and plan was to not let him beat me!!
I managed to stay away from him until about 39ks. My legs were cramping, by body was sore and couldn't run anymore..
With much pain, I managed to do a combo of run/walk to the finish line at Blacktown Olympic Park!!
Official time was 4:36.. A sub 4:30 would've been much nicer but neverthless, it is a PB and I've smashed my PB by about 40 mins!

Being actively invovled in forums and training with a tri club, it is sometimes easy to get carried away, get competitive (not a bad thing at times) and forget why I got into it in the first place - To get/stay fit and have a bit of fun.. I'll keep reminding myself of it and look forward to my next race :)

Sydney Marathon - The Race – Step-by-step account of my first marathon

Date – 20th September 2009 (Sunday)
Weather - Sunny
High - 26 degrees
Low - 15 degrees
Wind - 7KPH (W)
Humidity - 66%

Time – 7.05am
This was it. All the early morning runs, the weekend long runs, 3 months of preparation.. Everything came down to this. I was lining up for my first ever Marathon. At this point, I was so glad and relieved I made it to the start line. This was a challenge in itself as I had to survive a back pain/disc flare (1st week of July), a weeklong flu (1st week of August), Lower back ligament damage (3rd week of August). Along with all those physical obstacles, I also had passed the mental obstacle of simply wanting to give up!
After a quick good luck to my friend Mark (who was also running the marathon), we decided to split and find our own starting position and run our own race. We had a fair idea of each other’s fitness but we decided that we will not be keeping pace with each other as we didn’t train together.
I positioned myself almost in the middle of the pack.


Time – 7.10am – The wheelchair race commenced. I could not see the competitors but cheered for them.
Time – 7.15am – Sydney marathon commences. All of us started off walking a few meters to avoid congestion and then started running slowly. There were a lot of supporters cheering us on.

1 KM
This was the climb from Milsons Point to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I saw many of the pace keepers / markers (Runners designated to run the marathon in a specified time) run past me. They all had a small flag with their designated time. I recall seeing the 3:30, 3:45, and 4hr markers at this time. These runners always had about another 20-30 runners closely following them hoping to keep pace with him and finish the marathon around the same time as them.

2 KM
This was the end of the harbour bridge. By this point, I also noticed many runners running past me and settling into their pace. I also saw some of the others stopping to take photos of them and other runners.
The final pace-keeper (4hr15mins) ran past me, about another 30-40 runners ran closely around him and tried to keep pace with him. I was settling into my own planned pace – 6:38km/ minute. At this pace, I would get cross the finish line in 4hr: 40mins. I did not check my pace calculator wrist band or watch at this point as it was too early.

3.6 KM – First water stop
I wasn’t thirsty, but decided to have about half a cup of water. I felt like I was still warming up and just beginning to sweat.

4.5 KM – Royal Botanic Garden entry
I saw many runners exiting the Royal Botanic Gardens loop (around 7Kms) when I was just entering (4.5kms). At this point, it was clear that all runners have begun running their own pace. I saw the 3:45 and 4 hour markers running in the opposite direction and exiting the gardens.

5.8 KM
This was the first water and sports drink stop. I had about 2 (small) cups of water. I didn’t notice any sports drinks but wasn’t too concerned as I didn’t want one anyway.

8KM – Royal Botanic Gardens exit – 50 mins
I’ve exited the royal botanic gardens and was running along college st. I knew I wasn’t the last runner as I saw runners just passing the 5-6KM mark in the opposite direction. There were more supporters cheering us on. This was the first point I checked my pace calculator. Based on it, I should have been around the 53 mins point at 8KM. However, I was running faster and was there at 50 mins. I knew this would affect me later in the race. So I decided to slow down gradually.

10.4KM – Oxford St Water station – 1hr: 06mins
We ran on Oxford st and entered Anzac Parade. People on Oxford st had a mixed reaction. There were a few people cheering us on. However, most of them looked surprise and confused (AND Hung-over!) as they walked home after a big Saturday night!
I stopped at this drink station. This was my first brief stop. At this water and sports drink stop, I decided to have the Powerade which was in my personal refreshment pack. I was surprised to notice that there was only about 10-15 bags of personal refreshment – Most runners must have been relying on water and sports drinks provided at the stops.
At this point I was still about 2 mins ahead of my planned time – I should have been around 1:08 but I was just less than 1hr 6mins. However, I did not want to stop for too long so I started running again but slowed my pace even further.

11KM - Centennial Park Entrance
This was the second of the many loops in the Marathon route. I saw runners exiting the park. I saw the 4hr and 4:15 pace keepers – I must have missed the faster guys by the time I got there.

16.4 Km – Centennial Park Exit – 01hr: 50mins
This was the exit at Centennial Park. It took me approximately 40 mins to complete the track in the park. I decided to have more Powerade and my first energy gel. At this point, I had slowed down enough (as per my plan) to match my planned phase. After 1hr:50 mins of running, I was still feeling good and felt like I will make it to the finish line on time (4hr:40mins) or even earlier and without any real trouble. That was wishful thinking :)

18.4 KM – Alison Road – 2hr: 03mins
This was the third loop! I saw the runners who have already completed this loop, while I was just entering it. The volunteers at this water station were extremely cheerful. They also had a hose connected to the tap and were spraying water at us as we ran past. I was concerned about my MP3 player but couldn’t refuse being sprayed by water!


21 KM – Anzac Parade – Half way – 02hr: 20mins

There was an official time recorded at this point :
SPLIT TIMES - First Half
split time - 02:20:43
s/rank - 2349
race time - 02:22:39
r/rank - 2361
activity - RUN
distance - 21.10
pace - 06:40
speed - 9.00

Based on my pace calculator, I should have been at the half way point at 2:19. I was a minute slower – This wasn’t planned. I wasn’t too concerned as I was still feeling good and injury free. I must have lost that minute during my stops to get my drinks. I decided I wasn’t going to try to catch up on the time. If I was feeling fresh and fit after the 38-39 km point, I was going to catch up on time…..

22KM – Dacey Avenue
Yet another loop!.. This was the first point in the marathon where I felt a light pain in the middle part of the right foot. I decided to stop at and stretch for a few minutes. At this point, this was only a precautionary measure. Mark ran past me asking if I was ok and I responded saying that I was fine.

25KM – Entering City – 02hr:52mins
We’ve returned to the city. Despite it being beyond the half way point, it was only at this point that it felt like half way! I felt like I’ve completed the east side of the marathon and entered the city again. My pace calculator had 2:45 at this point. I reached here around 2:52. At this point, I was still able to feel some pain and discomfort in the right foot and I was really tired and exhausted. 25.8 KM water station seems like it was going to take forever!

25.8KM
Finally managed to get to this water station. Stopped a few extra minutes while I had my Powerade and second energy gel.

26.2KM - Cnr Pitt St / Park St
As planned, my parents and my ‘support crew’ were anxiously waiting to cheer me on. I was extremely tired but I felt the adrenaline rush. It was a great to see everyone in the city cheer you on. I began to enjoy the run more – and of course, the support!

28KM – Darling harbour turn – 03hr: 15mins
This was basically the start of the second half/ west side of the marathon. My pace calculator indicated that I should have been here approximately 10 minutes earlier. I reached that point around 3:15. I knew my target time (04:40mins) was slowly getting out of my reach.
THIS WAS ANOTHER LOOP!!! At this point I was sick of the loops. It felt like for every easy downhill run, I had to run uphill back again as I saw runners in the opposite direction.

30.5 KM – Entering CityWest link
Besides stopping for drinks, I was still running. I managed not to lose any more time and was only about 10 minutes off my time. The drink stations did not have any sports drinks left as the faster runners had used it up. I was so glad I had my personal refreshment packs. I felt like I was beginning to lose energy rapidly, so I decided to take energy gels at every stop from now to the finish line.

33KM – Norton St Turn
This was an important point in my marathon. I’ve reached the distance that I’ve run the most prior to the marathon. While I was hoping that I may push myself at the same pace all the way to the finish line or maybe only add another few mins – I knew anything and everything can happen!!
The run from Leichardt back into the city was probably the most boring and motivating run at the same time.
It was boring because, it was a lonely stretch with not many cross roads or spectators –I must admit, I was loving the support and cheering by then and was missing it as there were hardly any spectators :)
It was motivating and memorable because it felt like all runners in that stretch was equally determined to make it to the finish line. At this point of the race, the body didn’t contribute much to that cause – it was completely a mental challenge. You start thinking of the reason you are doing it, the charity you are supporting and the feeling you will experience for the first time ever when you cross the finish line.
Despite all the pain each runner was experiencing at this point and our legs almost refusing to work, all of us felt extremely motivated. This felt like the ultimate test!

My whole body was in pain at this point but I felt like this was expected and nothing out of the ordinary – I was running a marathon after all. I thought, I had hit the wall by then and it couldn’t get any worse….!

34KM – 04hr:00 mins
After about 4 hours of running, I was only about 12 minutes off my planned time. I expected to lose a few more minutes. So I thought I’ll still be able to cross the finish line under the 5 hour mark.
After a quick toilet break, I resumed running slowly. I felt a cramp in my left hamstring but was able to ‘stretch it out’ and kept running. I felt similar minor cramps in various parts of my body (especially legs) during the last few KMs – So I wasn’t too concerned.
50 meters later, I felt the same cramp. This did not feel normal. I was hoping to stretch it and massage it. But every small movement was extremely painful – I couldn’t even move myself to the side of the road or even bend too much to sit! It felt like my hamstring muscles had locked. This was an extremely scary feeling. I knew I had officially hit the wall by then and I was struggling.
I also knew I couldn’t do anything else other than ‘freeze’ at that point and hope the muscles loosen up.
Around 5 minutes later, I was able to slowly move my legs. I spent about another 5 minutes massaging my legs and then started walking slowly. This was the first time in the course that I started walking instead of running.
At this point, I was around 20 minutes slower than my planned finish time. If I ran the rest of way at my pace, I would cross the finish line in about 5 hours. However, I decided that I was not going to try to keep the same pace – I don’t think legs could’ve even if I wanted to.
I was officially in survival mode now and started thinking of the official cut off time. I could afford to lose another half an hour and still finish within the 5hr 30 mins official cut-off.

38.7KM – KPMG – 04hr:40mins
I’ve recovered from my cramp (at least temporarily) and started running again. I was back in the city and in familiar area just outside KPMG – I used to work here. The time was 4hr: 40mins. This was the time I was hoping to finish my marathon!!
All I could think was the number of times we’ve taken a quick 5 minute cab ride from KPMG to Circular quay on Friday nights!!! :)

40.2KM – 05hr:00mins
I’ve officially been on the road for 5 hours now! This was the last water station and was located just before running under the bridge and seeing the finish line. My legs felt extremely heavy and painful. I was running – but at an extremely slow pace!

40.5KM
The volunteers and supporters were cheering us on and it was “not long to go now”. I ran under the bridge and could see circular quay and hear announcements and music from the finish line.
This is the point I was warned by many and told not to get too excited or emotional just yet as there is another ‘long’ 1.7 KMS to go. But I couldn’t help myself and started running faster and acknowledge everyone who was cheering. This was my first marathon after all.. :)

41.2KM
This was the final left turn from under circular quay to Opera house. Both sides were packed with people cheering you on. I pulled out my ear phones and acknowledged the cheering and support. I don’t remember any pain or cramps at this point.

42.195 KM – Finish line – An official Marathon Finisher!!
I reached the finish line!! It was the best feeling ever. I couldn’t think of anything else or remember anything other than fact that I just achieved something that I never thought I would!!

SPLIT TIMES - First Half
split time - 02:20:43
s/rank - 2349
race time - 02:22:39
r/rank - 2361
activity - RUN
distance - 21.10
pace - 06:40
speed - 9.00


SPLIT TIMES - Second Half
split time - 02:53:50
s/rank - 2219
race time - 05:16:29
r/rank - 2285
activity - RUN
distance - 21.10
pace - 08:14
speed - 7.28

Sydney Marathon – One week countdown

When I reached the one week countdown, I decided that I’m going to cut down my mileage and start saving my energy for the marathon (usually referred to as ‘tapering’). I spent and focussed my time on the following:

· Carb loading – This basically means eating more carbs and ensure my body is able to load up on crabs so I avoid HITTING THE WALL
"Carbohydrates that a person eats are converted by the liver and muscles into glycogen for storage. Glycogen burns quickly to provide quick energy. Runners can store about 8 MJ or 2,000 kcal worth of glycogen in their bodies, enough for about 30 km/18–20 miles of running. Many runners report that running becomes noticeably more difficult at that point. When glycogen runs low, the body must then burn stored fat for energy, which does not burn as readily. When this happens, the runner will experience dramatic fatigue and is said to "hit the wall" (Source - Wiki)

· More rest – I rested and slept as much as possible

· Designed my race day plan – including pace calculator (http://www.marathonguide.com/fitnesscalcs/PaceBandCreator.cfm)

· Dropped off my personal refreshment – Runners had the option to drop off personal refreshment in 8 drink stops in the course – 5.8km, 10.4km, 16.4km, 20.8km, 25.8km, 30.5km, 35,3km and 38.7km. I decided to drop off my personal refreshment ‘as a backup’ in 7 stops (I skipped the 5.8km stop).
I dropped off a bottle of Powerade, Banana, Energy Gel and a mars bar

· Familiarize myself with the intermediate cut-off times. These were the point in the course where runners were stopped and taken off, if you didn’t pass it within a certain time.