Running 101 for Newbies Part 2

Continuing from previous post

The competitive world of running is divided into 3 main type of races - track & field, road runs and trail running. As the name implies, track & field refers to events that are held on a track, more specifically a stadium running track. Events are mainly the shorter distances like the 100 metres to 800 metres race, relays like the 4 x 100 metres or 4 x 400 metres or hurdles and decathlon. These sort of events are held at competitive level in schools and for major meets like SEA Games, Asian Games and Olympics Games. Generally, here in Singapore, it is generally safe to say that once out of school, people do not participate in such races unless they are elites and representing running clubs and country. Most recreational runners will not be able to meet the qualifying times to even get on the starting block.

The most popular type of running races is the road race. These are generally held in public areas like parks and public roads and distances varies from 5 km to a full marathon. Generally the most common distances for a road race are

5 Km Race - Locally there are very few 5 km road races. Most are fun events as the logistical cost of organising a short race is equal to that of a longer distance races so I figure organiser probably find it more beneficial to their pockets to have 5 km races as fun events where every Ah Ter and Ah Kor can take part. Some clubs do organise occasional 5 km time trials for their members but if you are wondering how to take part in such time trials, likely you have not acquire enough running experience and contacts to qualify for one.

10 Km Race - First thing first. A 10 Km race is not a 1/4 marathon! A marathon is 42.195 km. 4 quarters of a 10 Km race is 40 Km. 2.195 km short of a full marathon. So please do not go round saying you ran a 1/4 marathon. There is no such thing.  10 km road race is the most common road race here and dare I say the whole world. In term of challenge, the distance is sufficiently long enough to make it a good workout and yet short enough for almost every runner wannabe to take part in. A person can walk the whole 10 km and still finish in a decent time of say 2 hours. So if you are a new running convert, this should be the first race distance for you to try before stepping up to the next level.

Half Marathon - A half marathon is half the distance of a full marathon i.e. 21.0975 km. In term of level of difficulty, it is consider an endurance race but it is an achievable distance for most runners. Running a half marathon takes an average runner about 2 hours or so. Walking a half marathon (not encouraged) will probably take 5 hours. So take part in this only if you has sufficient training and is able to run 10 km or more distances comfortably. People have died from trying too hard in a half marathon even here in Singapore so do not do this unless you have trained sufficiently and got used to our hot and humid weather.

Full Marathon - A full marathon of 42.195 km is the ultimate road race for most runner. It is the holy grail of running something to check off the bucket list. The average runner in Singapore will takes more than 5 hours to run/jog/walk the full distance. A full marathon is not for newbie. It is an endurance race and only those who have trained sufficiently should do this. In theory, a runner needs to do an average weekly mileage of 60 km with long runs of up to 30 km before he/she can do a full marathon. People who thinks it is a walk in the park as in, that they can simply walk the full distance will be in for a rude shock. Walking 42.195 km is not akin to walking 8 hours in the shopping mall where you have air condition, coffee breaks. In our hot humid weather, walking the full marathon 100% of the way will most likely take more than 10 hours. Those who do a slow jog/walk will need to take at least 7 - 8 hours if not more by which time, the water station may have ran out of water, the sun is high up in the sky and one can easily get cramps, dehydration and heat stroke. Do this only if you have at least 1 year of running experience and is able to complete a half marathon comfortably in under 3 hours. Most prudent and responsible race organisers will set qualifying time, checkpoint and race cut off times to weed out the unfit and reduce their logistic nightmare of catering to the mass of marathon souvenir collectors wannabes.

Ultra Marathon -  Officially, any distance that is more than a full marathon is considered an Ultra marathon but most people recognise ultras event at certain regular distances like 50 km, 84 km, 100 km, 100 miles, 160 miles and so on. Ultras are not for the faint hearted. It can take anything from 5 hours to complete a 50 km ultra to more than 36 hours or even days to complete longer distances. For this reason, most ultra organiser will require participants to provide evidence that they have completed certain distances in a certified race before they can sign up. So if you have never run a half or a full marathon, don't even dream of doing an ultra. 

Of course in between all the above, there are the quirky distances like 15 km, 32 km and so on. These distances races are good and useful for those training for the half and full marathon and can serve as good training races.

Trail Races - Trail races are the equivalent of road races except that it is held mainly on trails in forests and jungles. Here the level of difficulty rises due to the different terrains, ground surface, inevitable hills and climbs. Special equipment like trail shoes, hydration bags, torches, headlamps will be required for longer distances. For those who are new to running, trail races should only be done after familiarising oneself with the trail and getting the feel and hang of it. If you do not like mud, uneven surfaces and is worried about snakes bites, bees and other creepy crawlies, trail running is not for you. And if running in the dark alone in the forest at night is not your idea of a night out, forget about running a 50 km or even a 42 km trail race. 

There you have it. Running 101 for the newbies. See where you fit in and join the correct races. That will help you to improve your running competency, reduce your chances of getting injury and provide a good experience and a chance to shout out that you ran all the way without walking!

An Apology - Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2014

In my previous post, I made a claim that some people were taking a shorter route during the SCMS and included in the post were photographs of some individuals and their timing results. That post has attracted a lot of attention including calls from reporter and even a lawyer purporting to act for one of the individual in the post.

Since then, it has came to light that these individuals may have been diverted by the race organiser to take the shorter route. Below is the full statement from the SCMS. The link can be found here.

Public announcement about SCMS 2014 results

Spectrum Worldwide is aware of the online article referencing marathon (42.195km) runners who were photographed at Gardens By The Bay East during Sunday’s Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore.

To clarify, a number of diversion points were positioned along the marathon route. If any runners had not passed a diversion point by a specified time, they were diverted on to a shorter route towards the finish line. The diversion points were planned with the safety of runners in mind, as the closed roads had to be re-opened at a specific time in accordance with the requests of the authorities.

One of these diversion points was located at approximately the 13km mark of the marathon. From 7.30am, all marathon runners who had not crossed this point were diverted (removing the entire stretch of East Coast Park) and had their race distance reduced by approximately 17km. This diversion allowed them to comfortably reach Marina Barrage (35km) by about 8.15am where some may have been photographed in the referenced online article.

As highlighted on the official event website and handbook prior to the event, all participants who were diverted are still entitled to receive the Finisher’s T-shirt and Finisher’s Medal upon crossing the finish line. However, they will not receive the Finisher’s Certificate and their official race timings will not be recorded.

One of the reason why I wrote the earlier post is that as a regular runner in the local running scene, it irk me a lot to see runners who are totally not prepared attempting the full marathon. And everywhere there will be many people who do so just for the finisher tee and medal like the infamous incident last year. My intention was to highlight these incidents and hope that the running community as a whole can come together to condemn such behaviour and build a better running environment and community. In penning the post, never in my wildest dream would I ever think that the SCMS itself, the organiser of a Gold Label race will actually ask participants to take a "shorter" route. The correct practice adopted internationally I believe, is for participants who failed to meet the cut off to board the sweeper bus and not be allowed to take a shorter route to the finish line! I will address this again in a separate more detailed post in due course.

In any event, it appears that because of this, I have jumped to the wrong conclusion and wrongly accused these people. I know no words can take back what has been done but still I would like to offer my sincere apologies if the post has caused any one of these individuals any embarrassment. Nevertheless I have decided that the original post shall remain but with some amendments and the deletion of the photos and names. Hopefully, the post will generate more discussion on this issue and if it serves as a wake up call to running community at large to tackle this problem, the post will not be in vain.

Tips No 3 for Marathoner Wannabes - Distract

Down to 1 and a half week. So exciting! Got sleepless night or not?

Okay you are running running running and tired as hell. When is this race going to end? “Why”, you asked yourself, “did I sign up for this torture”; “how am I going to finish this?”

When you are physically drained, when all the gels and salt and isotonic drinks doesn’t work and all you want to do is to lie down and sleep, how do you keep yourself focused and continue to run? This is what you need to do - Distract Yourself. Yes contrary to all the other experts’ advices out there to focus on the race, I am telling you – distract yourself. Guess that’s why I am not an expertJ

Distract yourself. Look at the other participants. Look at the hot bod in front of you or the sexy bum. Read the captions on the bibs. Get inspirations from them. Look at everybody just don’t look at yourself.  Look at the old fogey in front. If he can do it, so can you.

Distract yourself. Look at the scenery/surroundings. Hopefully the lights will still be on in Orchard Road but once past that place, look at the sea, the surf, and the people lining the streets. Look at the impatient guy in the car stuck in the traffic jam because of all these crazy runners and laugh at him. Look up, look down, look left, look right anything and anywhere just to take your mind off the agony of the run.

Distract yourself. Listen to music. Get a MP3 player. The Walkman 252 is great for this. Power it up with some real macho songs, not Jay Chou(I learnt my lesson!). And make sure there is enough juice to last the number of hours you expect to run. Dance to the music and you find your feet gliding so smoothly through the kilometers.

Distract yourself. Got no MP3 player? Sing out loud. Er a caveat here. If your singing is that sort that will wake the dead or give goosebumps to everybody, maybe better to hum silently in your head. Sing those silly songs like Lemon Tree, Mice love Rice, Umbrella Song you know those types that have the silly and catchy chorus that keeps you singing them over and over again.

Distract yourself. Visualise the char kway teow; swee char-boh; ice cream waiting for you at the finishing line. Visualise the sensual massage you going to get at the Thai massage bar in Geylang. Visualise the pride you going to feel when you recall every single step of the race to your children, colleagues and family. Visualise yourself crossing the finishing line – hands held up in pride!

Yes you did it! You are a marathoner!

Tips for Marathon Wannabe - Don't

3 more weeks to go before the SCMS.

At this point in time, to make sure that you can get to the start line in one piece

Don't sit next to anybody who looks even remotely like he/she has the cold, flu or even cough. Change place if you on the train or bus. Wear a mask if it is a colleague. Report him/her to the communicable disease centre and get him/her quarantine! Better still, take sick leave yourself and stay at home for the next few weeks until the race. That way, you be sure you won't catch any nasty bugs from anybody.

Don't do all other sports especially soccer and badminton. Many runners have had to abort their race even before the start after injuring their ligament or spraining an ankle while playing soccer or badminton. Maybe shouldn't even cycle. You won't want to be hit by a car or fall or something like that. If you must cycle, do it in the gym and make sure don't fall off. Swimming is okay but just don't drown okay?

Don't run ~ if the only interval you know is the break during performances at the Esplanade or you think fartlek is what comes out between your leg, don't try any new fanciful training no matter who recommends them. If you haven't done your long runs, it is too late to start now. Just like exam, if you have not been studying diligently throughout the year, last minute revision ain't going to help much so save your energy for the race and don't put in any last minute extra or special training. Just continue with your normal runs and pray for divine intervention.

Don't be a hero.  There has been a lot of news about gangster fighting and so on. So if you see a gang fight or a damsel in distress, don't be a hero and wade into the fight. Hero dies young. And dead hero don't get to run. Just be a good citizen and use your phone to call the cops and then get out of the way first. You also don't want to be injure by any flying objects.

Tip for Marathoner Wannabes - Drink

4 weeks more to go to the big day for all Singapore marathoner wannabes and I am back with another series of posts for marathoner wannabes. But you gonna take these with a pinch of salt. Hmmm actually you should. Take the salt that is. It will come in useful when you run the final 10km of the marathon. For the other pro marathoners, the seasoned marathoners, the atas marathoners, you can read, you can dissect, you can criticize, you can add your comments, your advices, in fact you can do anything you want including go away but if you really 吃饱没事做, by all means, carry on reading.

This 1st post shall be about drink - what to drink during the run up to the marathon other than your usual coffee, tea, milk, isotonic drink and sky juice.

Vitamin C. You trained and trained and 1 week before the big day, you catch the damned bug from some idiot standing in front of you in the train and who sneezed big time into your face! And there goes your race. So what to do? Load up on vitamin C now. Build up your immunity. Eat fruits rich in vitamin C. Better still, pop a tablet of soluble C into your pre-run/post-run water and drink it. And don’t worry about Vit C overload. Our body will know how to flush away the excess (smell your pee if you don’t believe me).

Honey. You see bees flying around non stop the whole day? Guess where they get all the energy from? From the honey of course! Studies have shown that honey builds up energy and helps wounds recovery. All the better to help you recover quickly from all the running.What more do you need? But wait, Like Vitamin C, honey helps build up immunity. It contains anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal substances. So what are you waiting for? Go get one bottle now. Better still get Royal Jelly if you can afford it!

How much Carbo?

Last Saturday I did my longest run since December 2008. Distance of 28km. It started off well and I was able to catch up with the front runners in my group even though I started about 5 minutes later than them. However, on the return leg, by the 22km along Changi Coastal Road, the energy level begun to drop and the pace became slower and slower.  I could see M about 50m in front of me but I couldn’t summon the energy to catch up with her. At the 25km outside NSRCC when she stopped for a drink at the choked water cooler, I ran past her but within 2 minutes she overtook me again and that was the way the run continued till the end with her finishing a good 5 minutes in front of me.

Fortunately for me, the run had come to an end. I knew if I had continued, I will hit the wall and come to a complete stop. I surmised what had happened was I had ran out of fuel or in cheem technical terms, depleted the load of glycogen stored in my body. How did that happened?

Let me see, firstly no carbo loading. In fact the day before, my entire day meal consists of a mishmash of junk starting with a small portion of fried beehoon, followed by another teeny weeny portion of abacus seeds for lunch, 2 slice of kaya toast and 4 tang yuen for tea and 1 bowl of laksa for dinner before wrapping up with a slice of peanut pancake for supper. How much calories are there in these foods? Personally I don’t think it was sufficient for me. According to HPB’s website, somebody like me need something like 2800 calories a day to maintain my weight so I figure best case scenario I took in enough calories to maintain my weight with no excess for the next day run. But this is at most guesswork.

Now some runner scientist in the US has come up with a specific formula to calculate the amount of carbohydrates required to run a marathon. To cut a long story short (you can read the summarized version here or the full paper here), one need to know his VO2 max (I don’t know mine which is a problem right?), expected pace; leg muscle mass and voila, take in the calculated amount carbohydrates and who knows you might be on your way to Boston!

For me, I think I stick to my short runs. It is so less complicated.

Running the Marathon for Plodders Part 6 The Final Chapter

By the time you read this, you will either
1) be walking like a duck or
2) celebrating your achievement or
3) doing both the above

But whatever it is, congratulations on completion of the full/half marathon. Maybe you did much better, got a PB, maybe you didn't do so well and really ended up walking the main bulk of the race - but whatever it is - you completed and you survived to read this crap. And if you are really reading this - please do share some of your feelings during the race.

Look back - what went well. Think of everything that you did right and consistently apply them to the next races.

And those things that went wrong? What are they? What caused them? And more importantly how to overcome them in future.

Did you get cramps? If so, at what distance? Getting cramps too early may imply you were running too fast, much faster than your normal training pace. Getting cramps after the 30km is fairly usual. But it should not be so. Likely cause is insufficient mileage. The legs just couldn't take the constant pounding. Need to run longer distance in future training lor.

Hit the wall. Ah the dread wall. How to describe it? It is like you have totally no strength to even walk. You simply can't move. Does this sound familiar. I hope not. But if it did happened, it is usually because of insufficient training. Mileage as well as time. How to train for this? I like to think that you need to run for hours and hours just so that the body can get accustomed to being out in the sun and pounding away for 4 - 5 hours. Distance is not so important here. More the amount of time spent.

Walking around in circle or like a drunk. Did you see anybody doing that or maybe you yourself was doing it? This is a classic sign of dehydration and impending heatstroke. Remedy is simple - drink water consistently.

Anything else that happened to cause you to not do so well or have a bad experience? Come forth and share.

Running the Marathon for Plodders Part 5

It's finally here. You are raring to go and move from being a plodder to a runner. But first some things to bear in mind.

Day before the race:

Make sure you have your timing chip and bib. Secure them the night before the race. Put all your race attire aside and get everything ready. No need to kalakabo in the morning.

Do not wear anything new. If you have been thinking that 2XU is a math formula, Skins is what you have on your body, don't try them out during the race if you have never worn them before. Likewise that sports bra or nice singlet that you bought from the Race Expo. New apparels need to be seasoned or rather your body need to be seasoned to them so don't wear anything that is brand new.

Stop eating anything that will give you the runs. That means, no spicy Mala hot pot or Samy curry fish head. Clear your stomach as much as you can.

Carboload? What's that? Unless you are from a country that do not eat rice or noodle daily, there is really no need to have a night of gorging on pasta, bread and rice. All that food will just cause a stomach upset.

Plan your transport so that you can reach the race site at least 1 hour before the start time.

In the morning

Set your alarm clock to wake up at least 3 hours before the race to give you sufficient time to eat, get ready and travel down to the race site.

Eat a light meal at home. Good food to eat are bread - get the Gardenia or Sunshine roll; a cup of Milo and a banana.

Clear your stomach before you leave the house.

Bring along a small bottle of water and a banana. Eat the banana while waiting for the race to start. Take small sip of water. Discard the bottle when the race start. No need to carry it along.

Finally the Race

Stay within your desired timing pen. Don't go to the front where you will be trampled upon by the elites.

There is no need to do any hard run to warm up. You are not the elites. Starting off slowly will do for the warm up. However, you may want to do some light dynamic stretching to warm up and loosen the joints and body.

The need to pee is more in your mind than in your "uhem". Ignore it or wait until you reach the first proper toilet. It is not very glam to pee in the open.

Don't follow the crowd and charge from the beginning. Be discipline and stick to your run strategy.

Drink at every water point. Okay you can skip the very first water point if you don't feel thirsty but otherwise drink even if you don't feel thirsty. It will keep your body hydrated. There is no worry of getting hyponatremia, at least not in our weather. But if you are scare of losing too much salt (is it even possible with our local diet?), that's where the salt tablet come in. Don't drink isotonic drink only. Alternate the isotonic drink with plain water.

Keep left when you run to allow the faster runners to overtake. And don't run hand in hand or side by side with your darling. Wait until the finish line for that photo taking opportunity.

Take a packet of gel every 10km. Sucks your energy chews when you hit 35km and the heat is getting to you and you are totally drained.

Keep track of your pace and slow down or speed up if necessary but do not get carried away if you are ahead of schedule. Be discipline and stick to your game plan. Otherwise the damage later on can be unimaginable.

Cramps? Hopefully won't get but if do, slow down and walk if you feel the cramps coming. Get assistance from the first aid stations along the way. And the lamp posts and trees don't need you to prod them up. Stretching may make the cramp worse.

Smile and raise your hands in triumph for the camera when you cross the finish line.

Good luck and God speed.

Running the Marathon for Plodders Part 4

Just a few more days to go. Are you ready? Here are some pointers for this week.

1) Some people said hor, no sex. Sex will affect your performance. But then, some other people believe it will help morale. Er I think unless you are looking at a podium finish, why not? The least it will do is keep your mind off the race and settle the butterflies in your stomach. And also how to pass the time from going to bed till waking up for the race? Read more here

2) Stay healthy. Eat more fruits. Take your Vitamin B. Keep away from everybody who sneezes, cough and got H1N1. Avoid fried and heaty food. You don't want to waste all your efforts to only go down sick at the last minutes.

3) Go for runs. Yes continue running. Just don't run too far too hard. Keep the legs fresh with short runs.

4) Don't go for a massage. Massage can leave your legs especially the calf sore. Wait until after the race. But a nice body scrub to keep you relax might be helpful.

5) Cut out the marathon shopping sessions these few days and especially on Saturday. Go home and rest.

6) Sleep early the night before the race. And if you cannot sleep, refer to No 1.

Running the Marathon for Plodders Part 3

Part 3 What you need and more importantly what you don't need

Start with the basic. What you need:

1) A running tee or singlet. Yes silly of me to remind you of that but I've seen people who wore buttoned shirt; sweat absorbing cheap cotton t-shirt; long sleeve shirt etc. It's going to be hot enough especially if you are going to run 5 - 6 hours so you want to be at the most comfortable. Those nice cotton tees with the fancy slogans or nice logo will absorb sweat and make it heavy. Oh and leave the clown costumes to the clowns.

2) A proper pair of running shorts. No bermuda, no long pants, no cut off jeans and for the ladies no micro jean shorts. I know those micro shorts look sexy on you ladies but the only people who will feel sexy will be the guys running behind you and oogling away while you struggle with abrasions around your nether area. Ditto the bermudas. Leave that for the beach.

3) A proper pair of running shoes. No slippers, flip flops, sneakers or basketball shoes. Need I say why? Also, don't try barefoot or use any fancy footwear unless you have run in it before and is comfortable with it. Believe me, getting blisters all over your foot is no joke especially after 20km of pounding.

4) Gel. So that your hair will look nice when you crossed the finish line when the official photographer takes a picture of you. Ha ha I am only joking although it might not be such a bad idea. I know a lady whose hair looks like a lion mane when she runs. But seriously, gel as in those jelly like thingy that comes in small satchet and you gulp them down during your run.

5) Your Bib and timing chip. These should need no reminder but somehow every year I hear of one or 2 friends who forget them. No bib no race. No timing chip - no time recorded - no finisher tee, no certificate. This one very critical you know.

6) A watch. Otherwise how you going to keep track of the time and pace? No need those fancy GPS watch. Just a simple Casio/Timex watch with a stop watch function will do.

7) A pace band if you are the forgetful sort. A pace band is a simple make it yourself wrist band where you can mark out the timing you expected to achieve at specific distance and you can use it as a guide during the run and make the necessary adjustment to slow down or speed up. You can make your pace band from these websites:

Marathon Guide, Runners World,

Just key in your desired finishing time and viola. Print it out and copy the tiiming onto a strip of cloth using a waterproof fabric pen. Don't use paper cos once sweat get on to it, it will just crumple up. Don't be a smart aleck and laminate either. The plastic will stick to the skin and cause abrasion.

8) A cap or something (like maybe the Buff) to protect your head from the heat. Not absolutey necessary but can come in useful.

9) PJ(dont't think naughty thoughts here), vaseline or those expensive abrasion cream like Neat, Sportshield, Bodyglide. Absolutely essential. The sight of blood streaking down the front of your tee isn't very nice.

10) Sweets. I swear by them. Not Mentos or Fruittella but powerpack energy loaded energy chews. Get them from Running Lab or at the Race Expo. Keep your mind off the distance and give you energy. Alternate with the gel.

11) Salt Tablet. Not abosultely necessary but some people thinks it will help to ward off cramps. No harm trying. Oh forget to add - don't be too smart and use cooking salt!

What you don't need. Actually very simple - anything that will weight you down. Every little items will seem to weight a ton after you ran for over 3 hours. Even the shirt you are wearing. But specifically:

1) Hydration Bag/Fuel Belt - If you don't know what these are, you can skip this paragraph otherwise there is no need to carry 1.5ltr of water on you. There will be ample water points including isotonic drinks along the route. Unless you only drink Evian in which case I have nothing to say.

2) Towel. For what? Maybe good to flick at people blocking your way but otherwise its going to absorb sweat and become heavier and heavier as you go along. Use a sweat band or wrist band if you absolutely need to clean away the sweat

3) Energy Bar. Most of them will melt halfway and become a sticky gooey mess. Stick to the gel and sweets.

4) A pouch or bag to carry all the aforesaid stuff. Stuff them into your short's pocket, pin to your shirt will do. A pouch bouncing away at your waist or a bag banging your back over 42 km is not gonna be nice.

Did I forget anything?

Running the Marathon for Plodders Part 2

Is there such a thing as a 'sure can' strategy to complete the marathon? Actually no. So sorry to disappoint you guys. That last line in the previous post was a marketing gimmick. You know keep the suspense going, get more eyeballs, get more advertising income. Ha ha ha.

But anyway seriously I think most people will be able to complete the marathon; maybe not in 3 hours, not 4 hours but maybe and that is a big maybe; depending on the amount of training or lack of; in say 5 or more hours.

But before I go on, STOP reading if you are able to run the marathon without walking (okay maybe can walk a teeny little bit at the various water points), this is not for you. This is for the plodders. (But if you die die must read, don't come and suan me when you see me okay?)

Firstly, some preliminaries. If you do not have the mileage i.e. have not consistently chalked up total weekly runs of at least 40km and a few long runs of 20km and above over the past 3 months, I can assure you - you are not going to be able to run the 42km non stop. Along the way, your legs will start to feel heavier and heavier, your heart starts to beat faster and your brain starts frying and you gonna have to walk. Everyone of us can run a little bit but walk a lot. So we gonna make use of what we know best and use it to our advantage to conquer the FM. All of these strategies that I am going to list below will involve walking. A lot. Easy right? Especially since most of us are capable of walking all day in the malls so what is 5 - 6 hours of walking for the FM?

1) Weaning Plodders

Once a plodder always a plodder. No not true lah. Can graduate but first do it one baby step at a time. So if you have been clocking 6+ hours or more previously, wean yourself off with this strategy.

Run 10 mins Walk 10 mins Repeat. Check point: 3:03 hours at the half way mark (21km)

i.e. Run 10 minutes and aim to cover 1.5km. After that walk 10 minutes covering 800 metres each time. Repeat. So for every 20 minutes you will cover 2.3km. Chicken feed right? Keep to this throughout and you are on the way to weaning yourself off from being a plodder.

Total time taken to complete the FM: 6:06 hours. Pace 8.41min/km.

2) Graduation

Break through the 6 hours barrier. If you have done some training and maybe in the run up have done up to 20km, this is for you.

Run 20 mins Walk 5 mins Repeat. Check point: approximately 1 hour 21 mins every 10km

i.e. Run 2.5km in 20 mins and then take another 4 mins to walk another 500 metres. Repeat. That will means 3km for every 25 mins. Not very difficult right? Use the 5 mins walk to relax and catch your breath. Get into the rhythm and pretty soon you see the finish line. Hurray you graduated no more a plodder!

Total time taken to complete the FM: 5:45 Pace 8:10min/km

3) High 5

Actually it is mid 5 but high 5 sounds better. Yes you can do 5:30 and below if you have some experience in running short distances but have not done too many long runs.

Run 5 mins Walk 5 mins Repeat. Check point: approximately 7.5 km every 1 hour or 2:45 at half way

This one is more 'shiong' although it sounds easy. But hor you kena have to run 800 metres in 5 mins which is like 6:15min/km. Easy for most seasoned runners but may not be easy for us plodders. Use that 5 mins walk to breathe. Yeah you probably forgot to breath while chionging the 5 mins. You know who is good at this? Those young school kids you see so often at races. They run like hell and then suddenly stop and walk and then run like hell again. Yeah we follow them but follow smart not like a headless chicken.

Total time taken to complete the FM: 5:30 Pace 7:50min/km

4) A little bit more

This one a bit more tough - need to be able to run non stop for at least half an hour but hey after that get to walk for half an hour as well. Not too bad a bargain right?

Run 30 mins Walk 30 mins Repeat. Check point: approximately 8 km every 1 hour

Basically, run 30 mins - 6 km and walk 30 mins - 2 km. Or just cover 8 km in 1 hour. How difficult can that be? Seriously if you are fairly fit and have been running consistently, this is gonna be a piece of cake.

Total time taken to complete the FM: 5:16 Pace 7:30min/km

5) Supersub 5

Congratulations and celebration when you tell everyone that you've completed under 5! (sing to the tune of Congratulations and celebration) Okay lah doesn't rhythm so well but hey I'm a runner not a singer

Run 4km in 25 mins Walk 500 metres in 5 mins. Repeat. Check point: approximately 9 km every 1 hour

And if you can pull this off, give yourself a big hug (better still hug the fella next to you) as you cross the finish line because its a 4:45 finish! Pace 6:40min/km

Cheem or not? Difficult or not? Impossible? Nothing is impossible. Just do it!

Er okay question time. How to know how far you've run? Well there are distance markers along the route and together with this little thingy which you wear on your wrist you can do the maths. And of course you can use a Pace Band. Pace Band? What is that?

That, we'll leave for the next post where I shall talk about the things you need or don't need to have for the race itself. Until then cheers and happy running.

Running the Marathon for Plodders Part 1

Nowadays with so much information on the net, everybody seems or claim to be an expert in all sort of things dishing out free advice even if it was not asked for. Like in the forum. And of course this Uncle here is no exception.

So let see. What advice shall I dole out today? Okay this being the final run up to the biggest race in this year race schedule, let's talk about the full marathon. Or more precisely, how to complete the full marathon. Wah damn like real lidat. Like I machiam expert... Ha ha but do read the following with a pinch of salt (you will need it for the marathon by the way... I mean the salt)

First of all, some basic terminology in lay man terms:

Pace - this mean how fast you run. It is often mentioned in relation to how many minutes per kilometre as is 6min/km i.e a runner takes 6 mins to run 1 km. So when someone said he ran a 5 mins pace, he is saying he run the race at an average of 5 minutes every 1 km.

Negative Split - That refers to running the second half of a race faster than the first half. Actually if you know this, you shouldn't be reading this crap but then curiosity......

Of course, the opposite of negative split is the positive split where the first half of the race is ran faster than the 2nd half. This is very normal for most people. You know, somebody actually asked me once why he ran slower and slower as he ran further and further. That - my boy - is a positive split and it's because, tired lah so naturally the further you go, the slower you become. And if you don't understand this simple logic, you are likely not ready for the full marathon.

Last but not least, we got the even split. That simply means running a constant pace throughout the whole race. Like Uncle here during the FM in 2007.

Okay, so we got pace, we got splits so how does that helps you to run the FM?

Oh by the way, if you are capable of doing 4:30 (that is for the uninitiated, 4 hours 30 minutes for the FM), this article is not for you. Please go and read some other people's advice on how to achieve sub 4 or better.

Oh yeah sub means below (like submarine) so if someone says sub 4, he or she means running below 4 hours. Usually refer to a few minutes below the hour and not say 15 - 30 mins below like 3:30 or 3:15.

Here ends Part 1. In Part 2, I will talk about 'sure can' strategy to do the FM. Can wait or not?

Mileage Game

A friend asked me how much mileage is considered enough to run a full marathon.

I remembered when I did my first FM in 2004, I was doing an average of about 40km per week. I choked miserably in that FM. Later on when I asked the seniors in SGrunners, I was told my mileage should be around 60km per week. So one year later, with 60km weekly mileage and 1 more year of experience, I reckoned I could hit a reasonable target of 4.30 - 4.45. How wrong I was. Not only did I failed to hit the target, I ended up worse off than the previous year!

So it couldn't be the mileage right? But after trawling the net, talking to some more seniors, it was still mileage, mileage and mileage. Some running magazines advocate 100km of running a week which was like crazy. Unless we are our own boss, where do we find the time to do that sort of running? With our studies, work, family most of us will be hard press to even find time to do a 60km week let alone 100km.

So back to the question - how much? Seriously, I wish I have the magic figure but I don't. I suppose one will only really know the answer when he/she completes the FM.

I have a neighbour who runs 7km 3 times a week. His longest run prior to any marathon is the AHM yet without fail he will finish around 4:30 in each FM! Me on the other hand faithfully clocked up some 40km - 60km weekly mileage prior to every FM yet I have never been able to run faster than him. So it does not seem like a mileage game is it? You go figure - is it mileage or something else?

Marathon Training?

Over the course of the past few years since I have been involved with the RL TNR, on and off I met people who have signed up for a full marathon and who do not have any inkling of how to go about training for it. In fact some of these people do not even intend to train for it. When they told me they were just going to run the full marathon and with only a longest run of 10km (1 guy didn't even do up to 5km), my jaw dropped. I have always been a advocate of mileage training for running a marathon and I couldn't see how these people can possibly do it!

Of course, these people did eventually finished the full marathon which they signed up for but with timing ranging from 6 hours to 8 hours. These people - I am sure they felt proud that they have managed to complete a marathon, some even more than 1 - but I wonder - is there any glory in walking 3/4 of the marathon?

Last week, Tigger uploaded a link to the reality show, the Biggest Loser where they featured some contestants who were required to complete a marathon without proper training in 26 days. Again, these people did it with 1 even finishing under less than 5 hours.

So the 42km question? Is it possible to complete a marathon without going through all those hours and hours of pounding on the streets? Answer is yes yes yes. Yes if you are a natural born runner or a supremely fit athlete; yes if you intend to walk half or 3/4 of the way and finish in more than 6 hours; and finally yes if you do not mind walking like this

But for the rest of us who intend to do have fun, do a good run and complete in reasonable time, nothing beats good old fashion hours and hours of pounding. Good luck and enjoy.

Mileage

My friend Ben, wrote about mileage training for the marathon in his blog and of course he being the ironman that he is, he only needs a weekly milege of not more than 30km to do a marathon!

Now me, being a mere mortal have always subscribe to the belief that mileage is key to doing a good marathon. And that means doing at least 60km a week. Unfortunately, for this year, a lot of things seem to be conspiring against me to keep me from doing a proper mileage training.

Take the leadup to the Borneo marathon, total monthly mileage for June, July, August was 171, 189, 183 and September was a miserable 99 no thanks to the ankle sprain sustained during the Swing KPE run. This means assuming a 4 week month, the weekly mileage was 42, 47, 45 and 24! October itself was not much better. After taking out the marathon itself, the weekly mileage was only 35! Now into the first week of November, with a 30k race last weekend, this should be the week for me to boost the mileage but instead out of the blue, I am down sick and 2 days of training is gone. So this week mileage is unlikely to hit 40 after which it will be too late to increase any more

Compare this to last year when weekly mileage for the month of October to mid November was at least 55k a week! And those were with higher intensity training thrown in compared to this year just running at slower than race speed.

Looks like I going to suffer this time round:(