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

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 :)