Recap: Salomon Rail Forest Run 25km run

I participated in the Salomon Rail Forest Run on November 5th, 2020 as a lead-up training to better prepare myself for the Singapore Marathon, which will be held on the first Sunday of December 2022. I underestimated the run, as the weather and terrain were tough, especially since I had not logged enough running mileage in the past few months. Additionally, I was unfamiliar with the route as it was the first time I had ever run on the entire rail corridor. Despite these challenges, I managed to complete the 25km run, although I had an embarrassing positioning of 80 percentile (188 out of 237 participants, and 148 out of 185 males).

I have to give a shout out to the volunteers who were very supportive and helpful throughout the run! When I spoke to some of them, they had been there as early as 3:30am and their spirits were not broken by the weather! Ultimately, this run did prepare me better for the Singapore Marathon in 2022, rain or shine. 

You can watch the video to get a feel for my running experience on that day (pun intended).

References:

http://railforestrun.com/

https://time.raceya.fit/leaderboard/salomonrailforestrun2/25km-Challenge

Recap: Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2022

I participated in the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2022 (SCSM 2022) on 4 December 2022. This is my longest run since the start of the pandemic in 2020 and I was very excited to participate in the event. But my target was to complete the run by 6:30 hour. I have never been a good runner and the longest distance I had ran this year was 25 km only. 

Race Entry Pack Collection (REPC) from 1 to 3 Dec 22

I visited REPC on the first day and collected my race entry pack without any fuss. i.e. to say, the collection process were simple and smooth!  It has been some time I have visited REPC/Race Expo. I took the opportunity to shop for sports apparels to replace my ageing items. I was tempted to purchase other merchandise/gadgets but I only purchased a pair of tights that I needed. 

Preparations on 3 Dec (Sat)

It is common ritual for runners to carbo load and lay our their running equipment a day before an event. I am not indifferent and did the same ritual. i.e. All my items were laid out, and I had pizzas for dinner. Also I went to bed at 9 pm but spend a few hours tossing before I manage to catch some sleep.

 

Singapore Marathon 2022 on 4 Dec 2022 (Sun)

My phone was set to wake me up at 2am on Sunday, but I manage to wake up by myself at 1:50am. I went for a quick shower, prepared myself and kissed my wife goodbye before I make my way to the race village. 

I arrived at race village at at 3:30am, went for a final pee and went to the starting point (Pen G)

The run was delayed due to the sudden downpour just when we were about to flag off. The flag time was delayed for several times. Thankfully, the event organiser decided to proceed on with the event after an hour. Pen A was flagged off at 5:30am, Pen B at 5:31, Pen C onwards was a "rolling flag off". 

  

Besides the rain, there were nothing unexpected from running a Singapore Marathon. i.e. overcrowding due to sharing of route for marathoners and half-marathoners, hot weather in the late morning and the run up Benjamín shears bridge. Somehow, I was feeling kinda happy as I was able to run alongside with other runners, enjoying the street performers/cheer groups and was soaked in positivity from the volunteers. 

I was happy that I completed the run before 6 hour net timing. This was despite the fact that I was suffering from a dizzy spell due to the heat after 30km mark but I managed to recover from it. 

After thoughts  

Looking back, my stats for this run was rather unimpressive and my placing for this event was 3,649 out of 5,771. 

I am an untalented runner who could never run any faster, but I love to run. So, if my time permits, I will still sign up and go for the next marathon run again. 

So I would like to wish you to have a great running journey ahead, and always remember my mantra - "To Complete, and not Compete!"

See you in my next blog posting! :)

References:
1. https://singaporemarathon.com/
2. https://www.sportsplits.com/races/singapore-marathon-2022/events/1/results/individuals/13054/

Signing Up for Singpaore Marathon 2022

After 2.5 years of pandemic, the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (also know as the Singapore Marathon 2022) is finally back. This will be the first marathon to be held locally and I have already signed up for the marathon event.

With less than 6 months to the event, it is probably time to recover from the persistent C+ cough and then put on my training gears and start to warm up my rusty engine for this event.  I hope I can be present for the event and complete the entire race on 4 Dec 2022. Targeting a 6 hours completion time should be decent since I have not be running such long distance for many years.

Stay tune for more updates on my preparations and training for SCMS.  

Source : https://singaporemarathon.com/

Struggled to Pass Annual Fitness Test 2022

Passing fitness test this year was indeed not an easy feat. This is especially so when I was infected with the COVID virus on 23 May 2022, It took me 10 days to recover, but the recovery after that was not as smooth as many have claimed to be. 

On 2 Jun 2022, I ran a 2.4km run to assess the damage done to my physical condition. Horror to say, I immediately felt breathless and was coughing right at the start of the run. I clocked an embarrassing timing 15:12min.  

I knew that am not definitely not in the right condition to participate in a test in the near future. This left me with no choice but to postpone my fitness test from mid Jun to end Jun. 

Meanwhile, I trained almost daily in hope to regain my endurance and speed. The effort put in did not commensurate with the gain. 

End June came with a blink of an eye and the day to take my fitness test arrived. I remembered vividly that it was a sunny morning and I knew that I was still not ready for the test. I told myself that I should pass the test first and then tried for a better result in the future. But I was rather stubborn and overzealous and went all out. The run was painful as I was literally breathless at the mid distance and had to walk for a lap or two to catch my breath, I ended up clocking 12:32min but I obtained a marginal gold award . I was contended with the results but I was totally exhausted from the test. A day after the test, I remembered that I was so exhausted that I was unable to wake up on time to  go for work. This was something rare was I have a habit to wake up very early in the morning. 

3 days after my fitness test on 1 July 2022, I fell ill for Fever, Headache and Sore throat one more time. It is as if some virus is still residing in my body and took the opportunity to attack me when overly exerted my body. Thankfully that I was AG- this time round.

Thinking back, trying for the fitness test was totally not worth it as the recovery process from COVID for every individual are different. I guess I probably belong to the minority group who have difficulty getting back to their active life. Even till date, I can still feel that I have difficulty inhaling fully and my left chest seems to be tighter than usual. If I would give myself a score from 1 to 10 on my stamina before and after COVID, it should be a 3 or 4.

Enough excuses and I probably should do my rehab to regain my endurance back soon. 

To those active runners out there, do cater sufficient time to regain your health before trying out something strenuous. Take care and stay safe. 

Goodbye Nike Infinity FlyKnit and Welcome Saucony Endorphin Speed 2

I had to replace my shoes as they are getting uncomfortable. 

They lasted for 1.5years and accumulated a total of 1,400km.

Gotten a pair of Saucony Endorphin Speed 2 and hope it can last me for 1,500km. :)

 

IPPT Training in Progress (Live Document)

70 points [Pass] for 1st Fitness Gauge on 26 Apr 22= 38PU (21pt)+ 40SU (22pt) + 14:20min (27pt)

79 points [Silver] for 2nd Fitness Gauge on 16 May 22= 44PU (23pt) + 47SU (24pt) + 13:35min (32 pts)

81 points [Silver] for 3rd Fitness Gauge on 19 May 22 = 44PU (23pt) + 45SU (23pt) + 12:53min (35 pts)

1 day after recovering from AG+... 

2 Jun 22 = 44PU + 44 SU + 15:13min

Improving Fitness during Endemic 2022

It has been more than two years that I had live a more sedentary life. This was largely due to the change in work environment and also trying to be extremely safe during the recent pandemic. 

For the first year, I was able to maintain a not-too-bad fitness. Instead of taking part in actual races, I turned to virtual race events to maintain my fitness. My fitness for the second year was much of a struggle as my lifestyle has been confined to my work station. Also, I am no longer excited in virtual races and stopped participating in them.

2022 will be the year whereby the pandemic would become endemic and we would be expected to return back to normalcy. At this moment, there is still no sign of any physical races to be organized in the near future. So my focus for now is to clear my annual fitness test first. 

Also, I discovered that I have gained much weigh and my fitness level is not as good as I used to be. I aim to clear my fitness test by mid Jun. I plan to concentrate on physical training for the next 2 months. I am targeting to obtain minimally 85 points - i.e. 47 push up (24 points), 47 sit up (24 points) and 12:30min run  (37 points).  Importantly, I need to remind myself that I am not younger anymore and i cant afford to get myself injured until I have cleared my test.

So I wish myself all the best.  

p/s - this website has a good wallet size score card according to your age group. Else, you can refer to the official website for the actual scorings.