Before the Marathon
I considered myself ill prepared for this marathon. Why? During the period of my marathon schedule when I was supposed to be doing the bulk of my training (especially long runs), a great haze came over Singapore. The haze was caused by illegal burning of forests in neighboring Indonesia just south of Singapore.
With my pre-existing respiratory problems (during childhood, for example, a physician told me I had �weak lungs�), running in the haze would be particularly bad for my health. The official health warning from the authorities was to stay indoors as much as possible. The haze lasted for about 3 months and ended about 3 weeks before the marathon, when it was already too late for any serious training. In fact, it was supposed to be the start of �tapering�. During this time, training was supposed to decrease in volume so as to rest and conserve energy for the marathon race.
The bulk of the training should have been done by then. But in my case, it wasn't.
My main worry was the lack of long runs. I had done only one long run of 21 km, and that was 4 months before the marathon. I did several semi-long runs of about 13 to 17 km, but these were not enough training for a 42 km race.
However, as slight compensation, I did some stair climbing. This exercise was fairly new to me; I had just started less than a year ago. And just two weeks before the marathon, I participated in my first stair-climbing race. It was a 73-storey climb that took me 13 mins 25 secs. It left me breathless. And it was during my tapering period. (My tapering period was 3 weeks prior to the marathon). To me, it was a too close to the marathon, which left little time for general recovery or recovery from any injury.
I also did some calisthenics and high reps weight training for my legs. For example, I did lots of squats (either with light dumbells or just bodyweight, reps of 25 to 60) and lunges (just bodyweight, reps of about 75 for each leg). As I could not run outdoors because of the haze, I used a treadmill at the gym. The gym had a regulation that runners could use the treadmill for only 30 mins max because of availability issues. So I did several short tempo runs, mostly about 20 mins, with a low incline.
To summarize, in preparation for this marathon, I did almost no long runs. Instead, I did stair climbing, calisthenics/weight training, and tempo runs.
For the first time, I decided to wear a cap while running the marathon. The searing torturous heat of the previous year's marathon weighed heavily on my mind. And the weeks before this marathon were hot and sunny.
The Marathon
At 5:40 am, just 20 minutes before the start of the race, I visited the nearby Lim Boo Seng Memorial. (Sometime ago, I had taken a picture of the memorial with my camera and posted it on Wikipedia, see the picture at Wikipedia: Lim Boo Seng). It was an impromptu decision to seek inspiration and motivation. I was a firm believer that the mind was as important as the body for the marathon. I had always idolized Lim Boo Seng, a World War Two Singapore hero. He endured torture by Japanese captors till death. (Like me, he was also a Christian and a Baba). I approached his memorial with reverence, as I had always done. I read the entire inscription summarizing his background and wartime heroism. I prayed to God that, for the marathon, I would also have the endurance and courage as displayed by Lim Boo Seng.
After paying homage, I carried on my way to rendevous with my cousin Peter, who would be my running partner. It was only his second marathon. His first marathon was also with me two years ago. He suggested that we try to finish the race in under six hours. Because of my lack of long runs, I was doubtful. My only goal was to finish the race. But since he was so eager and optimistic, I figured there was no harm vying for that goal.
The race was crowded, with over 30,000 runners (a record number for this event), out of which 10,000 were taking part in the full marathon. The 20,000 ran half-marathons or 10 km or the kids' fun run.
One bright spark was that the weather was exceptionally good. Singapore�s weather is usually hot and humid. But that day was cloudy and cool. It even rained for a while towards the end of the race.
Oh yes, just when I wore a cap for the very first time in a marathon to protect myself from the heat, it rained. Smart aleck weather! This turned out to be the coolest Singapore Marathon I had ever run, the marathon in which I least needed a cap.
I am becoming more and more clumsy with each marathon. (Just a few days ago, I teased a good friend of mine who walked into a glass wall, injuring herself slightly. I said she reminded me of Ally McBeal - cute and clumsy. But now I would discover that I am even clumsier than her.) Last year, I tripped just 400 meters from the starting line, almost spraining my ankle. I vowed that I would be more careful this time round. Yeah right. This year, I tripped twice and actually fell once.
First, at about the 25 km mark, I tripped over a small rock unexpectedly. The rock seem to come out of nowhere. My body lunged forward, and my right arm instinctively thrust forward. I felt that my right lat muscle might have been slightly pulled, and my right big toe that struck the rock was hurt slightly.
At the 38 km mark, I tripped just as I was running past a stationary tractor. Probably some construction material. Fortunately, I wasn�t hurt � just shaken.
And with just about 300 meters to the finish line, I actually fell. Because of the rain, that part of the ground was slippery. It was sudden. One moment I was running steadily (sort of), and before I knew it, I found myself totally collapsed on the ground. I had fallen hard. Fortunately, I wasn't injured. I could easily have twisted my ankle. Two kind men (most probably runners), one on each side of me, helped me up. I thanked them and continued running to the finish line. If I had been injured, I might have had to crawl to the finish line. I wasn't about to quit a 42 km race with only about 300 meters more to go.
Up to the 36 km mark, I was running alongside my cousin. From the 20 km mark onwards, he had tightness in his quads, which was bothering him. So I stayed with him. But at the 36 km mark, I was sure that he could by then finish the race by himself. So I surged ahead to try to beat the 6-hour barrier. I did so with about 7 mins to spare.
About 6 mins later, my determined cousin crossed the finish line. He did it in a time of 5 hours 59 mins and several secs. He really used the six hours to the maximum.
Smart guy.
All in all, I was quite happy with this marathon, my 11th. Both my cousin and I had finished the race under six hours, achieving our ambitious goal. I was happy with the weather. I was grateful to God that I wasn�t seriously hurt although I tripped and fell. The race was actually easier than I had expected. I was expecting my legs to have a tough time because of the lack of long runs during training. But I guess that the stair climbing, calisthenics, and tempo runs were more compensation than I had thought. However, I must caution that there is absolutely no substitute for the long runs when training for the marathon.
"Flying Pig" Socks
One silly note: I wore the great "Flying Pig" socks for this marathon. I was hoping that I could fly like a pig, though I hadn't the faintest idea how a pig flies. Anyway, I bought this pair of socks because of a cute, sweet and pretty salesgirl. I was at the marathon expo where running gear were sold. I told her that I was looking for a pink pair of socks because pink was my favorite color. Somehow, she found that amusing and started giggling as she searched for a pink pair of socks. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a pink pair that fits my size. All were too small.
But her diligent search did produce the "Flying Pig" socks which fit me. Although the pair were not entirely pink as I had hoped, the pigs were pink. The cardboard paper attached to the socks listed the socks theme as the "Flying Pigs". The pigs had wings. I appreciated her effort and friendliness. And I thought that the pink pigs were rather cute. So I bought a pair. And the "Flying Pigs" helped me finish the marathon in under six hours. Thank you, pigs! |
