.... the jackal rides and run....

I started training for the Marathon using the above 12-week plan in March, right after doing a 42km Feeler Run (which took me a good 5hrs 30mins to complete, including stops). The initial goals were pretty high. Marathon pace was set at 6:00min/km, probably a bit too high as a first Marathon goal. I followed through until week 5 were the training took its toll on the knees (probably coupled with the fact that I was concurrently preparing myself for the Kuantan Century ride as well...) and at least 1+ week of slow running down time. After that I concluded that I should shoot for Marathon pace of 6:15min/km. Things started to look ok but still deep within I was a bit skeptical if that could even be achieved over such a long distance. A good thing that came out from the training was that I was able to hit consistently below 6:00min/km pace for 21km towards the 2nd half of the training plan. A realistic target for me in the end was to try to hit 6:30min/km. The reality : 6:44min/km ...

After 3 months of preparation, starting from that 42km feeler run back in March, the moment came ..... and went. The week leading to this has been a little bit repressive. I had to restrained myself both mentally and physically in order not to do too much activity and this was rather unpleasant. Very weird. It was in the end, more of a good thing than bad as I entered race day with the least pain and aches I've ever had going into any activity for the past 3 months. That was not to say that I was going to do extremely well but its at least a bit more comforting to know that I will probably endure much less over the mammoth distance. So I had my stuff all packed prior. I had a lot of time thinking about what to wear for the event and settled on the provided singlet, my sexy FBT plenty short shorts and Puma H-Streets. Strange to think that after spending quite a fair bit on shorts, I settled with the first few shorts which I bought for 10SGD. Same goes for the shoes! I spent on Me...

I'm changing my runs to the evenings at the moment, in preparation for the Sundown Marathon in slightly more than a weeks time. The Marathon event starts at an ungodly 12.30am so I better get used to some late runs prior. Started out at about 7:15pm and did the ECP loop. I wanted to try to break 2hrs in this run but failed! I started out with a fast pace and was actually softly challenging a lady who was running quite fast! I passed her at lagoon area but she came back sprinting ala interval style after Bedok Jetty. Passed her again soon after as I help my pace but then again at the 6km point, my pace dropped and she beat me straight up. Respect! From there on no way of catching her.....Did a decent 10km (56mins) so I was on track but I was wrong. Although its still a PB at 15km (1hr 26mins), I was fast faltering in speed and could not even do 6min/km after that point. The last 6km was just pure torture and defeat. HR refused to get up at all (and it was pretty high during this ...

The plan was to do 36km at my usual time of 5.30am on Saturday but on Friday night, I had problems getting to sleep. After rolling about the bed for about 1.5hrs and feeling pretty frustrated not being able to sleep (I could end up not sleeping till 2am and hence there goes my plan), I popped out of bed and got ready for the run. I was pretty sure it was going to rain but went anyway and hoped for the best. Started at 12.20am with just modest pace. In the beginning, I felt quite good actually and the legs went smooth. It was my first experience running at ECP at this time and I was pleasantly surprised with so many people still at ECP going about there relaxation activities. Macs was full and the lagoon still looked pack at 1am in the morning. The coastline was basically filled with people having their BBQ and tents set up. Looks like some carnival at ECP past midnight! Pass SAFRA, I turned into the Park Connector road next to Outward Bound....now that's like the creepiest p...

I decided to take it easy these few weekdays. Basically just to let my body recover a bit from the punishment I handed to it the past 2 months. Last month's running mileage was a bit much. March was already high but I had a crazy 42km outing in that month whereas in April, I did not. With only 5 days of rest, I survived April with 260+km on the foot and 430+km on the pedal. Originally wanted to take on the 36km MTP distance on Monday but it was a bad day (woke up with some diarrhea). Within 2 mins of starting; heavy rains. Had to stop for another toilet session at 6km point then I conceded that I can do not much more and completed just 15km, more than half of which was in the rain. Pace was a paltry 6:14 min/km. I just did not want to do anything on Tuesday , just rest in and eat. Had the best sleep in months....basically slept at 10pm and woke at 8+am. Wow, for the first time in a long time I woke up not feeling groggy....so this is how waking up feeling fresh is like...

First and foremost. Right after today's 10km run....post recovery drink and some ~900ml of hydration. I will be back to ~80kg by the end of the day. It has been more than six months since I got back into running. I really re-started around August when I found the Eureka! moment with minimalist/barefoot approach to running but at the time I was not really that much into it as I was cycling my hearts out for Tour de Bintan in November. So really, my journey shot up (plus my weight dropped like a rock) since mid/end November onwards. Below is a plot generated using Endomondo ... Weight : from 86kg in mid Nov to slightly below 80kg now Mileage : increased tremendously from 80+km to 250+km per month (I expect this to go down to 150+ level after the marathon!) Heart Rate : average has been dropping, mostly also because I've been pulling in more sedate long runs for endurance and much less speedwork Average Pace : surprisingly, despite not doing much speedwork the past...

21km Run Monday's run was good and rather 'fulfilling' as its a PB and by over a minute so leaves me with a very positive vibe. Now the mind was elated and pumped and it deceived me on the bodily condition. Well, this deception came with a price as I tried to achieve another PB on Tuesday with the 21km. I even employed the help of Ryo to come in at km11 to supplement my pain with inspiration and correct pace. It was not to be. Started out quite promisingly for the first 2km but really that was it. Pace began to falter, HR refused to get pumped up. What started out at a "go for under 2hrs" went gradually to "go for 2hr 2mins" and then to "go for 2hr 4mins" and by the time I reached the meeting point where Ryo was waiting eagerly....it was "Ryo, can't make it....just try for my PB". He pushed at 5:40 pace for a while but it was killing me already and as we passed my underpass area at 16km, I really wanted to give up (I think...

Completed the highlight of this week today. Took the opportunity as I was clearing my leave anyway and went out for my 33km run on Friday. Started out mundane...the plan was to run around ECP to get the 33km done but approaching Fort Road, I was thinking if there was anyway I could do this more interestingly since I've been looping ECP all this while. Right before the u-turn at the end of ECP, I decided that I should run to Mt.Faber, following my usual cycling route. Pace was decent in the beginning but I was getting annoyed by the music skipping on the MotoACTV which started along Nicoll Hway. I gave up on the music and just kept the phones. Legs were feeling strained already and it was only about 10km going into Shenton Way. The streets of Shenton Way, as expected, were deserted. Running along the streets there, I could smell and feel the air conditioning, escaped from all the crevices of tall buildings. I also notice that the streets were strewn with coffee shops....the arom...

Nothing out of the ordinary this weekend. Decided to put my legs to some good rest and went for riding on both days. A good 50km ride out with KL and Ben on Saturday, solo 30km on Sunday and got back into my 12km MTP for this week today. All three workouts were using the Motoactv. Saturday : 50km West Hills I took the guys on this route. Ben wanted to do some hills and this is the best route I know off. Started off tame but on the Viaduct, I took the lead up and managed to push above 40km/h throughout. About 41km/h average speed over 7km which the fastest I've been on that road. Also of course thanks to some tail wind and passing trucks! Started up NUS via the admin entrance route quite a steep section going towards my ex-hall, passing through the sports centre (memories of my rugby and TOW days in school!), science faculty and NUH. It was pleasant coasting downhill South Buona Vista road....until of course the entrance to KR park via Vigilante drive. This short 300-400m clim...

It started out with a 42km Marathon 'Feeler' run where I did the entire PCN of the East including ECP. It was really tough but I completed it nevertheless, never once stopped to walk because I was tired. I just pushed on in my Puma H-Streets. It was quite a feat for me! Then I embarked on my 12-week Marathon Training Program. 2 key exercise per week for 12 weeks. Its beginning to heat up now as I am hitting the 25km workouts. The next few weeks this will progress to 30km, 33km up till 36km, as lead-up to the Sundown Marathon in May. Then there was the issue of getting ready for the inaugural 1st ever Kuantan Century ride, covering 160km on a bike under the baking hot 35+deg celsius sun. I made myself do a long solo 115km ride a week prior just to get my ass ready. I survived this ride and in pretty decent time as well (finishing around the top 30% of participants), considering I waited a few times for me mate and also had to deal with a rear tire puncture halfway throug...

The 12 week MTP has been quite challenging the past 3 weeks, especially in anticipation of the Kuantan ride this weekend as well. I've not been putting much saddle time since Bike Rally and only managed 3 rides since then, 2 of which are 30km Coastal rides and 1 long solo 115km ride last weekend. I guess I'll survive the Kuantan Century...just not hopeful for a good timing like what I got from Ipoh Century last year (under 5hrs). Anyway, any ride taking place outside of Singapore is fun. Cycling over here on this tiny island has grown laborious and painfully boring over the past years....not to mention more dangerous as well with the increased traffic these days and more people thinking they have the right to run you over just because they pay road tax for their cars. Just finished my last cycling prep for Kuantan this morning. Basically a 30km ride....started off lazy but in the end pushed a bit on the 2nd half. Decent speed and the bike is in good condition. I just remedied...

Saturday : 112km Ride I was tad under-confident for this one. 112km Singapore Clockwise non-stop is no easy loop though I've done more than 14 times (most of it solo) and the last time I did this was with Ryo, one of our last rides prior to TDB2011. I had not been riding much since Bike Rally last month....just put in 30km on my SS since then. The cycling legs have degraded a bit! But I'm much lighter than before though. Started out at 9am and was quietly trying my best to do a "back by nine ride" which was a last year favourite whenever I did this route. Started off quite well....hitting 29km/h average speed upon entering the West Coast viaduct. Reached my top 31km/h average speed after Jalan Buroh. This promptly became increasingly difficult to keep at Boon Lay but managed to get back to form at LCK straight which is really a slight downslope. Legs still good at 50km after Kranji but quickly deteriorated from then on. Did respectably at Mandai (did not lose spee...

Actually, this was quite irrelevant to me since I already did 42km on my own prior to this training. The goal of this training is then of course to see if I could do it at a considerably faster pace than my 'feeler' run earlier this month. I target the marathon pace of 6:00min/km, which will give me roughly, a 4hr 15min Marathon. This is going to be tough and truthfully, I'm not gonna make it! Still, aiming high is good. I wanted a training programme that is more flexible and not something which is regimented day by day. This 12 week program was from Runner's World (I think) and I converted it to metric to suit my metric-trained-mind. The programme basically covers 12 weeks (just nice till Sundown) and defines 2 key workouts for each and every week. It also defines how much these workouts should account for, in terms of mileage percentage, for your weekly mileage target. So the extra runs apart from these 2 workouts can be simple, easy runs, I decide! So far, I...

I was meaning to do my key run #1 (3.5km x 2 at Tempo with 1km Recovery in between) on Wednesday morning. Woke up early, got 'dressed' and as I was heading out, the drizzle got heavier (and heavier....basically rained the whole day). Damn. God's will I guess. Anyway, that was Wednesday's story. Thank goodness the next day was ok. Clouds and a bit of faint drizzle. I did key run #2 (25km at easy long run pace with last 30mins increasing to marathon pace). Started out with a pace of 6:30min/km. Well, for an easy pace, it was defined as the speed where I could just be able to comfortably sing "happy birthday to you" and guess what, I did that check a couple of times along the way, except that the pace was ~6:40min/km. The route is the 'extended ECP 21km route' with the extended parts being coming back into ECP via the Coastal road link and one extra round of the lagoon. This gave a flat 25km distance. I was thinking that it would be easy to run at this ...

I just had to know. How does 42km feel like? So I set out at 5am, on my "Marathon Feeler Route" (I have 3, by the way), with the intention of finishing at 10am, with a pace of 7:00min/km. 'Modest' I thought. Oh how wrong I was! The route basically covers the Park Connectors. It was pretty interesting on paper but in reality, one can get confused, like I did as at times the PC do not really 'connect' that well. I entered the Siglap PC near my place. This brought me through Teluk Kurau, Kembangan over the PIE and into Bedok North. Made a wrong turn over here but luckily I stopped to check my GPS and u-turned back towards the correct route. At Bedok Reservoir......the usual dump-attack came....so had to stop at a coffee shop to do my business. I was running on the pathway here until Tampines ave 1 junction where I connected in the Tampines PC. This brought me towards Tampines Mall, Sun Plaza park etc and finally into Pasir Ris PC at Downtown East. At this poi...

Preparation for Sundown Marathon cannot be complete without a feeler route. I need to know my capacity for suffering and manage it myself, especially for this distance. ECP - Changi Village - ECP (42km) Hope to do this soon, just to get a feel of the pain expected. At this point, I'm just going to go easy on the NTU Bike Rally Event! EDIT : Ryo has offered water support for this grand effort. I will probably need him to run alongside be for the last 10km!!

I have been planning this for the past couple of days. The early plan was to complete 34km which is a loop covering ECP - Coastal - Changi - Loyang - Bedok Reservoir and back via the park connector. The thought of going up Loyang on foot at the 24km point was pretty much unbearable since I felt that I have not fully recovered from the previous day ride yet! Even so, the show must go on; I had to feel a true long distance run. So finally on Sunday morning, I decided to go for my usual ECP - Coastal - ECP 30km bike route -- on foot. Started with a slow pace.....my initial target was to complete the 30km NOT WALKING at any point but later changed my mind and set a target pace of 7min/km (which I failed, of course). Upon reaching the East Coast Sailing club I was already doing 7+min/km pace......and my bowels were moving. There was a toilet there but I decided that I was ok to go and could control it. It was a mistake as it came in on and off for the next 8km! Fortunately for me, at the ...