The Full Marathon - Singapore Marathon 2010

My first full marathon happened last December 05, 2010 at the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.  I was ready to call it quits as early as September since I haven't been able to follow my training plan due to various reasons. But then, running has taught me to be gutsy so I did it anyways.  I did it without a long run beyond 16K.  My 16K run was sometime August.. Can you imagine that?! No long run for four months and have the balls to do the full marathon.  :)

Anyway,  my goal then was just to reach 21Kms and stop. I will not put my body under so much pressure and stress knowing that I lacked the training.  And so I went to Singapore with my son two days before the Marathon. Checked in at the Orchard Hotel which was about 500meters from the starting line.  Ate carefully before the day of the marathon... No laksa, no spicy noodles, no nasi lemak.. Picked up my race kit somewhere near Marina Bay Sands.  As usual, the pick up venue was so efficient.  But there was no running expo! I was so looking forward to that.  Me and my son started to look for Hammer Gels which are normally available in any sports shop here in the Philippines.  Well, I looked at all the sports shop in almost all the malls near the hotel but no Hammer Gel. Realized a day after the marathon that Hammer Gels in SG are only available in 

Come race day,  I woke up at 5:00 am with the race starting at 6:00 am.. Unfortunately, my support team consisting of my sister and my son were in deep slumber so I decided to just go to the starting line by myself.  Well, actually that was really the plan.  The plan was for me to run upto 21kms only, afterwhich I will call them to pick me up somewhere along East Coast Park where the 21km mark is.

Gun start... what's so noticeable in Singapore is the tremendous amount of participants for the full marathon.. there were a lot... some even looked like it was their first time to run!  But, how would I know. I'm sure they had some sort of training before doing the full right? I was somewhere in the middle of the pack.  The pace was actually very comfortable not that fast and not that slow.. give and take about 8mins per km which was ok for me.. passed by Chinatown and reached East Coast Park in two hours.  Having no Hammer Gels with me, I opted to buy chocolates instead for my energy replenishment.  I had this in between km 15 to km 21.. Reached km 21 in 3 hours.. not bad.. Remember the plan? I was supposed to stop at km 21.. call my sister to pick me up and go home... Well, that didn't happen.. I opted to continue running because I felt alright until km 27.. my right foot starting hurting again.. I figured I can still run through the pain so I did until km 30... then  I actually called it quits..  I figured running 30 kms without training was already good for me. Called my sister to pick me up and gave her a landmark where I was at along East Coast Park. What happened next is a stroke of good luck..

(1) My sister and son took such a long time to get to East Coast Park that I hopped on the sweeper bus (bus came about 45 minutes after I stopped) which I thought will take me to the finish line;

(2) The sweeper bus moved VERY SLOWLY at SNAIL PACE staying at the back of the last runner. Didn't know that the driver was trying to fill up the bus. I go "Sheez, should have stayed where I was and waited for my son to pick me up."  I actually texted them to wait for me at the finish line.  They were already there at 11:00am.

(3)  When the bus was filled, it started moving faster.. I was happy thinking that I will be seeing the finish line and my son soon UNTIL... one of the race coordinators hopped on the bus and told everybody inside that they want US to finish the race. So, they will drop us off somewhere along the route wherein we need to RUN/WALK going to the finish line. I go "What?!! I have no intention of finishing the race... Di nila ma-gets.."

(4)   Had enough of a break (about an hour) that when the bus came to a stop to drop us off, I felt refreshed. Went down and decided to just walk to the finish line  (maybe about 5 kms more). I can actually run it but I felt embarrassed since most of the runners inside the bus were injured and wasted.  I, on the other hand, felt ok but just really decided to stop. And then I realized I left my Sony MP3 player in the bus.  That's not mine! That's my son's so I ran towards the bus ( a good 300 meters). I ran as fast as I could and luckily the bus stopped. Driver gave me the MP3 and again off I went to the finish line.

(5)  To cut the long story short, I crossed the finish line in over 7 hours. I got my 42km finisher's medal and my finisher's shirt. I didn't run the entire 42km.. I ran about 35 kms in total.. my longest run ever.. I wasn't wasted... I just felt I had a VERY HARD MASSAGE.

I think what made me run longer than what I was supposed to is the people in the SCSM.. There were so many participants of so many levels that I felt that it was really a RUN YOUR OWN RACE Marathon. Unlike here in the Philippines, those joining the 42Km are well-trained to run it.  In SG, it's not like that.  

I am thankful to all those who entered SCSM 2010. It was a race I will not forget. Though I didn't get to run the entire route,  I still felt accomplished with that 35 km run.  You may be asking if I will do it again.  Maybe.. not sure yet .. but for now I'm sticking to 10Ks first.. maybe do a 10-miler soon and join two half marathons .. but a full marathon?  I need to have TIME to do my long runs.. something that unfortunately I really do not have too many of.

2011.. My son's advise.. "Why do you keep on joining races Mom?  Why don't you enjoy yourself for the year by just running without the pressure of races?"   My son has a point there. I will be running for two years now come March 2011.   I decided to take my son's advise and just enjoy running.  It feels really good. I am now running every Sunday along my Filinvest Route. I run until I want to stop already. I stopped wearing my Garmin which is actually Freedom for me. I run with Rafael's Sony MP3 and honestly, it feels wonderful....

I do 3 workouts a week .. 2 days of run/bike/run regimen at 1.5km / 10 km / 1.5 km with a speed of 8.9km/hour - 68 - 70 rpm - 9.8km 5x200 speedwork... Planning to do my first duathlon this year, that's why. There's one coming up in July in Tagaytay Highlands... Buying my bike next week - a hybrid one.  My legs feel fresh when I do my Sunday runs.. and I love it..

No matter where my regimen takes me... I will always be a runner at heart... 

Doing the Full Marathon

The dilemma whether to enter a full marathon or not is starting to nag at me. I didn't think that it was going to be this hard to decide to do the full mary. I'm eyeing the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon this December to do my first ever 42K but then I'm very very scared to do it. The more I think about it, the more butterflies I get in my stomach.  I really want to do it but I chicken out with the monstrosity of the distance.

The training plan is already with me.  It's a 16-week training plan which means I need to start this coming August 07 to be ready for the December 05 road race.  The training plan spells total commitment. It involves not just running but cross-training 2x a week.  The biggest challenge of it all is fitting this plan with work & family schedules. I am lucky to have a very supportive family when it comes to my running. They all gave me a go to do this which means being out almost every night starting August to do my daily runs.  Good thing that my son is already in Grade 5 and totally independent when it comes to school stuff.   Aside from the daily exercise, I will still have to incorporate the training to proper marathon diet. I hate dieting! :) 

To date, I have done 8 half marathons. I have decided to stop stressing myself out joining weekly road races and focus on plain running for now. The popularity of the running sport here in the Philippines is starting to put additional pressure on me when it comes to keeping up with registration schedules.  I started increasing my running speed in the gym which I think is long overdue and I enjoy it tremendously. I've committed to run not less than 3x a week at a comfortable hard effort. I will definitely do speedwork once a week at minimum of 9.7km/hour at 5x400 and yes I will start doing my long runs every Sunday.  This in preparation for the formal training in August.

I do not have a running coach.  The training is going to be a self-training plan with no running group.  I treasure my running hours where I can just keep quiet, hear my breathing & footsteps and listen to music.  These are moments when my mind feels light and fresh. I'm one of those runners who prefer running alone than with a group. 

I have two days before I give my final instruction to my sister to register me for the 42K.  And yes, I WILL DO IT. Let's not talk of target time but I hope I can finish in 6 hours.  Finishing though will be enough.  After almost two years of running, I will do the full marathon.  It's the scariest thing I will be doing so far but then again it will put so much excitement in my life.  I know that if I get to finish one, I will do another and another and another.  Is ultramarathon next in line?  Wahahaha.. Ambisyosa talaga!!

Revival of the Running Blog

Didn't realize that my last entry was October of last year, after my first half marathon..  Updates since then are as follows:

(1)  Yes, I did run Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon last December at a dismal time of 3 hours and 16 minutes. I cried when I crossed the finish line. Leg cramps killed me starting km. 10 so I had to walk more than half of  the route.  Even a jog was impossible.  Ang yabang ko kasi!!! Couldn't resist the temptation of running a half marathon in Laoag a week before the SCSM.  So, I did.  Though I had a great time running that race,  it took a toll on my legs. The route was almost 22 kms and the amateur runner that I am,  my legs didn't have time to fully recover.  I went into the SCSM run with aches on my legs.  I tried to relieve them temporarily by putting tons of Bengay & other mentholated patches... didn't work. In any case,  it was a lesson learned (haha.. later on you will say na matigas talaga ulo ko).  If there's anything I'm proud of with that race, I didn't stop. I still finished.  Come to think of it, it will be difficult to stop as well dahil sobrang daming runners.  It was something like 40,000 plus runners. The street was filled with people. You can't just stop otherwise runners will run over you.  Haha. Blessing in disguise for me. That prompted me to keep on moving until the finish line at Aberdeen Court. But of course,  I will come back with a vengeance...  SCSM di pa tayo tapos... :)

(2)  To date, I have ran 7 half marathons... I will be running my 8th half marathon this coming April 24 at Greenfield  Sta. Rosa. Unfortunately, I  haven't been achieving PRs because of the simple reason that I'm not training for it. After the SCSM,  work got stressful. Didn't have that much time to run long on weekdays. My usual 30 km mileage per week went down to 10km per week.  The half marathons I've been joining are more of LSDs.  If there's anything though,  I am no longer scared of the distance. In fact, it's becoming normal for me to register at 21km. During race day, I feel it's my dose of weekly caloric burn.  I've been doing my 21kms at an average of 3 hours per race.  Completed half-marathons as follows:

        (a)  Condura Run - February 2010 

        (b)  Century Superbods 

        (c)   Unilab Run

        (d)  Globe Run for Home

All happened two weeks after  the other (See, I didn't learn anything from the SCSM experience).   Condura Run went well.  Route was longer than 21.20 km.   Running the Skyway was one beautiful experience! Except for the nail that pierced my right shoe over the Kalayaan Flyover, the entire race was comfortable.

Felt some pain on my right foot "talampakan" during the Century Superbods run starting km 14.. eventually did a slow jog with gait change.. Ok naman...Unilab was the worst... Pain on the right foot went back with a vengeance starting km 12.. couldn't run anymore because it felt like there was something stuck on my right foot.. wanted to quit the race but then again I figured I already paid for it so I decided to walk until the finish line.. For two weeks after that, I didn't run. I became a gym biker .. Came into the Globe Run with only one goal in my mind.. to finish comfortably without pain... and I did... :) with the help of new running shoes from Nike+. Nag-plug pa ano?  My NBs 1225 are just too heavy. Now the Nike LunarGlide is a better fit for me.. It's very light and stable. Of course it pretty pricey but choosing between comfort or being thrifty .. I will go for the first anytime...

(3)   Two weeks ago I started going back to my 30km mileage in the gym.  Makes me happy to say that I can now run for 5 kms straight with a speed of 8.80 km/hr.   That's about 34 minutes for a 5k.

(4)    Goal is to run a 32K this year (November 2010) during the 3rd leg of Runrio Trilogy and do the full marathon February next year at the Condura Skyway Run.  Things may still change because I still have the SCSM run in mind.  Maybe do the full at SG, I'm still not sure.

I've been running regularly at least 3x a week.  I won't consider myself a running addict yet but I can't go through the week without a run.   YES, I LOVE RUNNING AND I THINK IT LOVES ME BACK... :)

The Half Marathon

All these past running events I've been joining was really meant for the eventual half-marathon that I plan to join this year. That half-marathon happened yesterday...

I went into it with only two 15Km races and one 16Km race in my belt.  I also haven't been doing consistent LSDs due to schedule constraints.  But, I was religiously running 3x a week in the gym consisting of tempo runs and speedwork.   Statistically, I don't get to finish a 16km run without walking. Somehow my legs get tired at the tail end and my mind somehow doesn't compensate for my physical weakness. Ergo, I was expecting that I'd be walking a significant portion of the 21K. But I don't mind. I wanted to experience the distance.  This is actually a pre-run to my real run in December in Singapore for the half-marathon.

I started to get anxious a week before yesterday. The plan was to taper so I'd go into the race fresh and well-rested.  I ran last Wednesday for 8 km.  I got a side-stitch which never happens to me.  I guess I was so jittery that my muscles were so stiff. I had to stop after 30 minutes and walk for 5 minutes before resuming the run.  Within that 5 minutes I kept repeating to myself to relax...relax... relax...

Left for Subic Saturday morning. I chose to commute from Manila to Subic so I don't have the added burden of driving. I got to Subic Bay at 2:30 pm, checked in the hotel and went to the starting line to have a preview of the next day's event.  Remy field was filled with runners and spectators.  The Nike Human Race was happening at 5:30pm and the full marathoners are expected to cross the finish line sometime 7:30pm. I was so tempted to run the Nike Human Race. It was a 10km run but then my running bud said no to that.. It's not advisable for me to do a run a few hours before a half marathon.

 

We ate dinner at Aristocrat at about 9:00 pm. Didn't have the ideal pre-run dinner .. I had chicken barbeque when I should be having pasta.  Checked out the field again until 10:30pm before retiring for the night.  Woke up at 4:30am and was in the starting line by 5:00am. Good thing I chose a hotel that was just beside the starting line... Hehe.. Tsamba yun...

The race started late.. 6:00 am when the gun start should be at 5:30am.  A lot of the runners were getting impatient and were complaining.  But, I tried not to listen because I was nervous as it is.. Adding negative vibes to what I'm feeling will definitely not help. 

Gun Start at 6:00am... So many runners because it was a mass start for the 21K, 10K, 5K and 3K. It was pretty fun with all the participants. There were a lot of army people and policemen.  They actually entertained me for the first 5K with their witty chants.  The running crowd started to dwindle after the 5K mark..  Now, it's just the 21kers.  

My plan is to run without ipod music for the first 10k.  Run at a pace of 7.5km per hour. Start my ipod at km 11 to keep the momentum going. I followed that plan and it worked.  I started my ipod after km11.  Kept my pacing consistent and steady. I felt really good. I didn't eat anything solid the entire morning so my tummy felt light.  My caloric supply was given by my gatorade which I drank every km starting from km10.  It was really a good run for me... No pains along the way.. The route was likewise challenging with so many uphills.  But I didn't walk.. I ran until km18... Can you imagine that??? I was passing by a lot of other runners... left my benchmark runner maybe 2 kms behind.. I was even passing by policemen along the route.. walking!!!!

The scene was amazing.  The route took us to El Kabayo road and farther than Subic Bay International Airport.. The weather was also  not that bad although the sun was shining brightly along numerous parts of the route. I guess that's one of the major reasons why a lot of runners ended up walking.  There were really hilly parts but I actually trained for that adding gradient to my treadmill run to simulate hilly routes.

I decided to walk at km18 but only for 300 meters just to make sure I don't to have any pain. At that point, I have passed a lot of runners.  Good thing though that two takbo.ph runners passed by me and said "3 kilometers na lang."  So I ran again until kilometer 19.50.. I told Chris (my ever faithful running buddy), I might as well walk this for awhile to make sure I cross that coveted finish line.  But then again, takbo.ph guys inside their SUV passed me by and shouted go go go... which again gave me the boost to run until km 20.50.. Remy field then was already in view and the adrenaline is just too much to handle.

I felt like crying.. I had jitters going up and down my back... This is what I've been training for .. to finish the half... It was not even a scheduled run!! I just wanted to see if i can do it before running the SG marathon. But it was there.  I can't help it so I shouted my lungs off.  I was cheering myself and smiling ear to ear.  Chris entered the field earlier than I did. He can run really fast and wanted to make sure I have a picture when I cross the finish line. As I entered the field, there were spectators shouting  "Go, go, go" "Konti na lang" "Go Sis" etc. etc. which added to the hype I was feeling...

I crossed the finish line in 2 hours and 54 minutes. I was smiling.. Chris gave me a big hug and I felt like I was floating... I did it!!!  To top it all off, I passed a lot of police runners and other runners as well. My benchmark runner was way behind me.. It was great!!!! Greater than I expected.

Running Disaster

It's been 15 days since the Kenny Urbanite Run.  Up to now I still feel very disappointed with what happened to me in that run.  To think that it was my first 15K race.  I imagined my self blogging about the run the minute I get home. But instead, it took me 15 days to finally log on to my blogsite and create a record of that run.  Haay...

I finished the 15K run in 2 hours and 18 minutes. I was included in the last 30 finishers when my goal was to finish it in 2 hours.  Not that I didn't prepare for it because I did.  I had my trial 15Ks twice before the run. But the thing is, I made a very bad mistake of drinking Mocha Java before the run with whip cream and all!!  I'm sure you guys can already guess what happened. :)

That was really bad judgement on my part.  I got to the venue by 7:30 pm I think.  The last food intake I had was lunch time.  I thought that I might run out of energy during the run with the gun starting at 8:15 pm so I decided to grab something before the run. I can't remember what made me get that Mocha Java.. the Php 50.00 discount??? Hehe.. the price I had to pay for that Php 50.00 off..  Here's what happened:

(1)  I started off anxious and nervous because it was my first 15K;

(2)  I ran with a buddy to whom I'm very thankful.  We had an agreement that he will pace me for this race.  He did more than that,  he kept the sanity I had left for the last 3kms of the race. If not for him,  I would have taken a cab to the finish line;

(3)  Started the race with a pace of 8 minutes per kilometer.  The idea is to conserve my energy and finish the race strong;

(4)  0 km to 12 km went a-ok...  although I can really feel the distance of the 15K... when I saw that we were going inside McKinley Hill my jaw literally dropped but then I really felt I won't have any major problem with it except that I will have to slacken the pace even more..

(5)  12.1 km I felt my tummy started to grumble and eventually it started to ache pretty bad.  I knew I had to go to the restroom to relieve myself but  I just couldn't. I wanted to finish the race first otherwise I will finish last.

(6)  Boy, it was really hard to run when your tummy is aching so I had to walk 2km or so.  My running bud was nice enough to get the hydration belt from me just to lessen the pressure..

(7)   I ran the remaining 1 km to the finish line.  And..... as if I didn't have enough running I ran all the way  to the restroom.. I picked the restroom of the joint where I bought the drink from because I felt they deserved it...no offense really... I was just grouchy that time..

(8)  Relieved I went back to the finish line, apologized to my running bud cum running coach and scowled all the way home..

I was embarassed and disappointed.   I regret having that Mocha Java.  I felt that all the preparations I did went to waste because of that drink.  My running bud tried to lift my spirits up saying that there are other races but I wanted to do a 2-hour on this particular race.  I felt like not running anymore.. but then after two days I ran again... Hehe...

I registered again for the 15K today for the Rotarun.  Next time I know better.  Lessons learned:

(1) Mocha Java and Gatorade don't mix;

(2) Don't get too excited along the run because it will upset your stomach.  Relax and just enjoy the run ( I think I got too excited when I saw the 12km mark );

(3)  Not all runs will be good ones... there will be bad runs ... don't scowl but just run again...

(4)  From my running bud:  The important thing is I finished... not a DNF...

Looking forward to Rotarun.. and then Octoberun for 16K and a half by November... I'm registered for the half in Singapore for which I am preparing... 

Outdoor running vs. Treadmill Run

Having been running for 4 months and having participated in road races, I have likewise developed the guts to do outdoor runs by myself. I started running via the Treadmill. Now I make it a point to do an outdoor run at least once for the entire week. If the weather permits, I'd prefer to do at least 2 outdoor runs in a week.

The route I take is within the Filinvest Alabang Area. I actually love the route. Starting from Parque Espana passing the driving range.. right going to the Palms around RITM exiting near the Filinvest Toll going back... that's 3.5km for one loop. I do 3 loops = 10km. The best part of that route is the back of RITM which is sooooo quiet. At night, it's so much better... the lights create a beautiful silhouette... picture perfect if someone is available to take your picture while running.

Since I have no plans of joining any race on the 26th.. I'm planning to do 4 loops along this route and maybe extend it along commerce avenue for a full 15k. I will be registering for the Kenny Urbanite Run for 15k - my first 15K run. Ergo, I need to train.

The uncooperative weather yesterday forced me to run the Treadmill. Honestly, I missed my reliable treadmill in the gym. I always take the 2nd to the last Treadmill on the 2nd row :) I ran for 1:15 minutes for the entire 10K and walked for a km. I realized that personally, the exhiliration of running is the same whether it's outside or not. BUT, running outdoors has its added perks. I've been thinking of giving up my gym membership and focus on outdoor running but after yesterday......... Naaah... the Treadmill was where it all started.. I'd keep it for sentiments sake. Besides, what will I do if it rains? The Treadmill is my best friend. Even if you leave it for awhile, it's just there when you need it :)

PTAA Charity Run - Running with a Bud

What I like most about running is that it's an individual sport. I can do it alone. When you've been tied up with work for a number of years (like 14 years! :) and taking care of a kiddo single-handedly , you rarely have time to mingle with friends ... and so little by little you step out of that social circle and realize after awhile that you don't get invited to parties and get togethers anymore... haha.. I've been trying to encourage my colleagues to run with me but wala pa eh.. Too busy with work and family .. I understand completely... Felt the same way.. It takes a lot of willpower to allot more than an hour to run... I always tell them though that once they start, they will get hooked because the possibilities are endless. The distance range goes on and on and on..........

Running alone though is always worth it but running with a buddy ........ now that's different... It's a different kind of fun... I was lucky enough to have a running buddy during the PTAA Charity Run in UP. He had to sacrifice his time though to pace with me. And true enough, he got his PR for his slowest 10K :) while I did better at 1:19:07.. Hahaha... But, I kind of felt dependent on him because I knew he runs a lot faster than me and has a lot more experience... I had this feeling that at any point in time I have somebody to get encouragement from because I'm sure he will always be running strong even if I'm feeling wary already... But the reality is you don't always get to run with a buddy right? New as I am to running (4 months) I don't really know if it's better to self-train or run with a group/with a buddy... hmmmm