By Yoke Peng
Having heard so much about this reputable event, I decided to run my second marathon in Singapore on 4 December 05. My first marathon at KLIM '05 was completed with a timing of 5 hours 45 minutes and I had a faint hope to PR over this time though I did not have high expectations.
The airhorn sounded at 6:00 am signaling the start of the full marathon. It felt good to run among such a big contingent of marathon runners (6,500 as per statistic). Following the advice from friends, I started off slowly. About 6 km into the race, I felt the need to answer nature's call but I hanged on. Later I saw only one portable toilet but there were three runners in queue. After a few seconds of waiting, I decided that nature's call can wait a bit longer and carried on running.
At about 7 km, I saw some runners detouring to a food-court area supposedly looking for toilets and I followed suit. The floor area was a bit wet and oily and I had to walk gingerly to look for the toilet. That took up at least 3 minutes. After feeling at ease, I ran at a comfortable pace all the way till I reached 30 km.
Fatigue was setting in and I was plagued by my coughing which I had not fully recovered. I was eagerly looking forward to approaching each additional kilometer signboard. At this point too, I keep on reminding myself:"Mind over matter!"
After the 35 km mark, my calf muscles were feeling tight with intermittent cramps and I had to stop a few times to do some stretching. I made a mental comparison of my time splits with that of KLIM '05 performance and I knew that I was below target. Suffice to say, I also did not push myself as my objective was to just complete the race within 6 hours which I did in 5 hours 51 minutes.
Post race analysis:
1) Spend too much time locating the toilet. They should provide more portable toilets at each spot, not just one.
2) Not enough training resulting in muscle cramps.
Overall, I'm satisfied with my performance, considering the fact that I only achieved 80% of my planned training schedule (bronze standard). My advice to non marathon runners – You will not be satisfied till you have done one. It is something not impossible. All you need is lots of time in training.
After indulging in so many races since 2002, my plan for the future is to only take part in selected races and doing more of half or full marathons which are much more challenging.
Yoke Peng
Running Is Life
Having heard so much about this reputable event, I decided to run my second marathon in Singapore on 4 December 05. My first marathon at KLIM '05 was completed with a timing of 5 hours 45 minutes and I had a faint hope to PR over this time though I did not have high expectations.
The airhorn sounded at 6:00 am signaling the start of the full marathon. It felt good to run among such a big contingent of marathon runners (6,500 as per statistic). Following the advice from friends, I started off slowly. About 6 km into the race, I felt the need to answer nature's call but I hanged on. Later I saw only one portable toilet but there were three runners in queue. After a few seconds of waiting, I decided that nature's call can wait a bit longer and carried on running.
At about 7 km, I saw some runners detouring to a food-court area supposedly looking for toilets and I followed suit. The floor area was a bit wet and oily and I had to walk gingerly to look for the toilet. That took up at least 3 minutes. After feeling at ease, I ran at a comfortable pace all the way till I reached 30 km.
Fatigue was setting in and I was plagued by my coughing which I had not fully recovered. I was eagerly looking forward to approaching each additional kilometer signboard. At this point too, I keep on reminding myself:"Mind over matter!"
After the 35 km mark, my calf muscles were feeling tight with intermittent cramps and I had to stop a few times to do some stretching. I made a mental comparison of my time splits with that of KLIM '05 performance and I knew that I was below target. Suffice to say, I also did not push myself as my objective was to just complete the race within 6 hours which I did in 5 hours 51 minutes.
Post race analysis:
1) Spend too much time locating the toilet. They should provide more portable toilets at each spot, not just one.
2) Not enough training resulting in muscle cramps.
Overall, I'm satisfied with my performance, considering the fact that I only achieved 80% of my planned training schedule (bronze standard). My advice to non marathon runners – You will not be satisfied till you have done one. It is something not impossible. All you need is lots of time in training.
After indulging in so many races since 2002, my plan for the future is to only take part in selected races and doing more of half or full marathons which are much more challenging.
Yoke Peng
Running Is Life
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