The Aspiring Marathon Runner

Written by MMR

Last last long run of 32 km on Saturday 10 November 2007: I was kinda hoping for rain this morning as my lazy bone streak was mounting its ugly head – 32 km Woh! Who would not be protesting even just thinking about it? But nope, the skies were cloudy but not a single drop of rain fell from the skies so off I went to the gardens.

The "Power" of group support – my regular friends and kakis were all running that morning so that was enough to kick start the long run. After a while, my kakis of different pace either started to overtake me or fall behind but I know that they were never too far away. I readily gulped my sports drink and snack at the appropriate intervals which gave me much needed energy.
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The gardens were quite quiet today – perhaps the threat of the impending rains had put some of the regulars off. I have planned to chalk up about 30 km (if I could!) as a final preparation for the Singapore marathon on 2 December.

After the 20 km mark, I was feeling good and this was a boost as I recalled some 8 weeks before that it was at this stage that I was beginning to feel fatigued and questioned my sanity as to what the heck I was doing.

Several kilometers later, I met a group of German tourists who seemed amused that I was (by this time) running alone and at a time when many had left (around 11 am) the gardens. They gave me the thumbs up and this further boosted my morale as my body was beginning to feel the heat, both from the sun and from the many miles of running.
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At around 34 km, another couple who regularly exercise also gave me the thumbs up and asked me how long I had been running that morning. I finally finished the run at around 35.5 km with the thought that I could still go on and I was still feeling good and strong. This has brought me much confidence that I can and will complete the Singapore marathon.

P.S. Tuesday 13th November 2007 With only 18 days to SIM, I am cautious with food and physical well-being. Whenever I see someone coughing, I literally run away as I am very worried to catch their germs… :-) But cautious as I am, me being the klutz that I am tripped on my own trousers when the tip of my (right) high heeled shoe caught the inside of my left pants and BANG! I fell down the stairs. Thankfully I suffered only a sharp hard knock on the knees that delivered a sharp acute pain and a little sprained ankle. Lesson of the day- ONLY wear running shoes and throw away the high heels!!

Written by MMR

Note by KC: Glad to hear that you clocked in 35.5km for your final long run. That was very impressive for a maiden record. You did the right thing to stop at 35.5km even though you can go further. Otherwise, you are running a few marathons (even in your training runs) before your maiden marathon. BRAVO to our aspiring marathon runner MMR!
. I hope the fall did not cause much hurt to you. Not only that you have to be cautious on food, you have to be conscious of the environment, sleep early, (much like a purist), you also have to walk slower a bit. After all the training runs, we could be feeling very light and walk swiftly. Be careful of the glass panel (with non-glare type) and don't walk right into it… just like what I did last time. And they said I was looking at leng lui … :-)

As to the gender of the writer, MMR has given the clue. Found it?
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