The Longest Run - How Far Will You Go?

So, what is the longest distance you have run so far? Will you be running further than your longest distance to challenge yourself?

For us - Simon has run 8 full marathons (42km) since 2007 while Rachel has merely accomplished 2 half-marathons (and 2 more coming up in August and November 2014 respectively) todate ever since her cancer treatments. 

Gearing up to high mileages are no easy tasks. It takes many weeks and months of trainings to complete these amazing distances. However, trainings may become easier once we complete our first long distance, in particular, crossing the mental and physical hurdles that hindered us before.

Having said so, it also means that running long distances would likely result in boredom. To kill such boredom, runners would normally choose to challenge themselves to either a faster timing or longer distance. Faster timing means more speed works while longer distance would mean more endurance trainings.

To challenge ourselves on how far we can run, both of us have signed up for a longer distance that are out of our comfort zones. Simon has recently signed up for Ultra Craze 78km (that will be taking place in September 2014) and Rachel is challenging the full marathon in December 2014.

Stay tune to our subsequent posts on Simon's ultra-marathon and Rachel's full marathon trainings and preparations.

Introduction

I love to run but I am not built to run. I had dreamt of participating in overseas road run events despite my usual lousy timings. I started my first Full Marathon race in year 2007 and had "attained" timings ranging from 5:24hr to 6:45hr. With such timings, I would have difficulties passing the more stringent cut-off times in overseas races. I could only dream....

As I watched my wife deteriorating with her illness, it taught me one important lesson - that we should accomplish dreams when we are still able and fit. Hence, I decided to start chasing my dream. The first step - by participating in the Gold Coast Airport Marathon (GCAM) 2014!

Objectives

I had set 2 objectives for GCAM 2014. These objectives governed my training/game plan for the marathon. My objectives were :

1. To better my Personal Best timing by 30 mins (i.e. 5hr completion).
2. To enjoy a cooling 42km route that's supposed to be relatively flat and scenic.

Accomplishments

At the end of the marathon, I was happy to have achieved the 2 objectives that I set before the run.

1. I completed the run with a net timing of 4:17h. Comparing this to my PB attained in Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2013 (5:24h), I had bettered it by a good 1hr 7mins!!! This result actually exceeded my targeted 30 minutes....phew!
   
   
2. The weather was generally COLD-COOL-CHILL during the different phases of the run. The Full Marathon race started off at an estimated 6 degree celsius in the early morning and progressed to about 18 degree celsius by noon. This cool temperature was perfect for running as I need not waste too much energy to cool my body during the run. The volunteers and race marshals were very friendly and enthusiastic. Many were serving drinks and cheering us at the same time. As we were running through the residential estates, we saw many residents lining along the roadsides to cheer passionately for the runners (the kids even lined up by the side to give us High-5s !). It was a total family affair to not only participate, but to cheer! This was extremely exhilarating and motivating! I was recharged every time I ran past these enthusiastic supporters....and Yes! I achieved my objective to enjoy the race! 

Of course my finishing net time of 4:17:10hr was still a far cry compared to the many faster runners. I deem it a successful run so long as my 2 objectives were met.

Succes Factor 1 - Conditioning

I did a total of 5 condition runs through out our stay in Australia. Two runs were done in Sydney which was super windy and much colder than in Gold Coast. 3 were done in Gold Coast : 

• A reconnaissance walk from Surfers Paradise to race start point at BroadWater Parkland (9km). 
• A 10km run along the beach at Surfers Paradise 3 days before race. 
• The last one was the 10km Southern Cross University 10km Run that I accompanied my wife a day before the Full Marathon. 

All these runs helped me to condition myself against the terrain and weather for the actual Full Marathon race.

Succes Factor 2 - Dedicated On-site Support

There are always uncertainties when running in a foreign land. My uncertainties were minimised as my sidekick a.k.a wife was on-site to provide me with seamless logistics support despite the fact that she was feeling unwell after her own 10km run. She had a swollen arm (swelled so badly that she could not even remove her watch from her wrist) and running fever that morning. 

Upon her insistence, we went to the race precinct together. The temperature was a tad too cold that morning. The event emcee was announcing that it was at 6 degree celsius feeling like 2 degree celsius over the PA system. 

As my wife was my mobile porter for the day, I was able to wear my windbreaker and gloves to block the wind chill till the last minute before I deposited them with her (instead of baggage deposit counters). Also, I was able to change my running gear from minimalist mode to 'warm' mode at the very last moment. 

(Left: Before Race, Center: Minimalist Mode, Right:Warm Mode)

Personal Race Data

Conclusion

It had been a satisfying and fulfilling experience to run the Gold Coast Airport Marathon 2014. I will definitely miss the generally flat and scenic terrain, coupled with a positive running ambience aroused by the organiser, runners, volunteers and cheer groups. And, the crazy cheers coming from my wife at few distance markers. I had to admire her stamina to catch me at different points of the route!

Would I join GCAM 2015? Who knows? I am certainly tempted....

GCAM 14 (Part 7A) : Technical Analysis for the Full Marathon Run - 9 Jul 14

Source :

• http://tiktok.biz/goldcoastmarathon/2014
• http://goldcoastmarathon.com.au/enter/

Background

The 36th Gold Coast Airport Marathon (42km) 2014 was held on 6 Jul (Sunday). It claims to have a route that is fast, flat, scenic and with technical excellence. With such claims, it attracts increasing interests amongst Singaporeans year after year, making it one of the most popular runs away from home.

Team Singapore taking a finishing shot after the Full Marathon (Source : RunSociety Facebook Page)

Statistics by Gun Times

5,617 people participated in the full marathon with a total of 4,924 participants having completed the race within the cut-off time of 6:30 min. 

A total of 3,247 (out of 3,709) male runners and 1,677 (out of 1908) female runners completed. Unfortunately,  693 runners (462 male & 231 female) were disqualified due to DNS( Did Not Start) / DNF (Did Not Finish). 

The average finisher time range was in the range of 4:00h to 4:30h ( i.e. Average Finish Times is 4:17:43 h).

 

Statistics by Age Groups

Categorising the race results using age group reveals the following findings :

 

• Oldest age group completing the race was M75-79 and F65-69 (Note: 2 Male Runners in Age Group M75-79 were disqualified).
• Despite the cut-off timing of 6:30 (+10 min start line allowance), the total disqualification for the race was 12%. Majority of disqualifications came from M30-M34 (75 pax), M35-M39 (91 pax), M40-M44 (92 pax), F30-F34 (48 pax), F35-F39 (54 pax) and F40-F44 (39 pax).

 

 

 

I shared the technical data In this Part A of my post, stay tune for Part B on my personal account on the Full Marathon run and then Part C - my wife's perspective as a supporter and spectator. I hope this Part A to C coverage would give you more insights from this wonderful experience we had.

 

GCAM 14 (Part 5): Race Number Collection + Sports & Leisure Expo Shopping

A race would be incomplete without a good race expo. Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (See Map) is where the participants would collect their race tags and also do some final shopping before their runs on Saturday/Sunday.

 

Few things to do at the expo and conventions :

• Shop for GCAM 2014 Shirts (from ASICs Booth).

 

 

 

 

 

• Sampling the GCAM isotonic drinks  (from Endura Booth).

 

• Last minute shopping for the race supplements and gears (Energy gels, Running Belts, Sunglasses etc).

• Attend the AirAsia Legends Lunch (on 5 July 12 noon). It is priced at A$50. This lunch features a sumptuous carbohydrate rich menu (i.e. assortment of international dishes, pasta, salad, breads and desserts) and one can expect motivational/educational presentations by  legendary runners (Singapore's legend - Dr. Mok Ying Ren will also be attending this session). We have to skip this lunch as we have a prior lunch appointment with a visiting friend.

Click here for the GCAM 2014 Race Guide and all the best to those who are running!

GCAM 14 (Part 4) - Gold Coast Weather

 

It is now 3 days before the Gold Coast Airport Marathon 2014! As part of my running rituals, I went for a 10 km condition run this morning with the actual gears I intended to wear on race day. Upon  completing my run, I  concluded that my gears would be appropriate for GCAM this Sunday. 

The only consideration that might impact my run would be the 1-2 hours wait at the start line (hoping that wind breeze would not impact core temperature too much before the run). I concur that we should prepare disposable poncho and gloves during the early morning wait in the wind chill.

Anyway, see below for some data/information :

Weather

<7am - it felt like 12-13 degree celsius but wind chill made it felt like 10-12 degree celsius.

>7am - it felt like 15-17 degree celsius but the sun made it felt like 17-19 degree celsuis.

 

My Tested and Proven Running Gears

 

• Nike Running Shirt + 2XU Compression Top (as base layer)
• Heads Shorts + Skins Compression Shorts (as base layer)
• Nike Visor
• SpiBelt
• Garmin GPS Watch
• Newton Gravity Running Shoes + SAF Socks

 

 

 

My Running Data

 

"Shoot & Run" Photos

 

I hope this will be a meaningful share with fellow runners. Feeling excited to meet you all this weekend.

 

 

 

GCAM 14 (Part 2) : Arrival at Gold Coast, Australia

Having chilled in super windy Sydney for the past 4 days, it was welcoming to arrive in the warm sunlight of Gold Coast! 

We arrived at Gold Coast Airport via their domestic flight (JetStar) on 1 July. The temperature was a pleasant 20-25 degree celsius (at around 3 p.m.). We actually felt warm due to the very sunny weather.

 

 

To ease our commuting within Gold Coast, we decided to rent a car at the airport. It was a breeze and we were in our small Toyota Yaris a mere 10 minutes after making payments at the car rental counter at the airport. It was an easy drive from the airport to our hotel at Surfers Paradise (located approximately 30km away from the airport).

 

 

 

We checked-in at Outrigger Surfers Paradise. This will be our home for the next 6 nights. The hotel room is spacious and has a balcony facing the city (with partial sea view).

Hotel room for our stay in Gold Coast. Spacious enough for 4 persons.

View from our room balcony

After settling down, we decided to take a slow walk around the hotel. The beach is nearer than we expected.  We love the beautiful sights at the beach and were happily snapping photos again!

Beautiful...beautiful beach

We walked along the esplanade street and found several restaurants and cafes. There is a nice mix of retail stores for those who like to shop too. As we were famished, we decided on a 100% Aussie meal at Hogs Breath Cafe (I had eaten once in CHIJMES, their Singapore outlet). It was a nice treat for ourselves before ending our day back to the hotel. 

 

We have planned to visit various places of interests in the next few days. Do stay tune for our Rest & Recreation update before GCAM 2014!