Fifa World Cup South Africa 2010

Now that my marathon is over, my next personal milestone will be going to the South Africa 2010 next year for Fifa Soccer World Cup. I managed to purchase match tickets through the Fifa online ballot in October. I will be watching the last match of group D, Ghana vs Germany and the first match of round 2 which will be the winner of group B vs runner-up of group A. I have started another site as a guide for soccer fanatics who will be visiting south africa next year.
South Africa World Cup 2010 Fifa soccer! Lets Go!

Running is a Science

6hours and 19 mins and that is the time for my first ever marathon. I have never felt so good after a run, a great run. I am proud to tell people that I have completed 42km running feat.

That morning was great and I felt in good condition in the first half of the run. I hydrate myself constantly to prevent heat exhaustion but I must admit the heaven was being mercy to the runners that morning. At the 21km turning point, I can feel my muscles tightening and began to stretch intermittently.

Eventually at the 25km mark, I decided to alternate between walking and running. I will walk for 1km before jogging for 2-3km. It was only until the 35km mark that I had to slow down and walk most of the time. Unexpectedly, my knees held on and did not experience any pain or strain. It was my muscles that were the culprits. I guess the glucosamine pills and knee exercises do work its magic.

I saw the FINISH line and sprinted for it, raising my arms to signal a personal victory and another milestone in my life. 6 hrs 19 mins. I will return next year and my time will definitely be better than this.

Day before Marathon

THIS IS IT! D-DAY! After months of training, I have finally arrived at the starting line for the stanchart marathon.
Running belt - checked
Powergel - checked
Knee support - checked
Money - checked
Transport - checked

I am so excited now that I am not sure if i will fall asleep. I have to wake up at 3am to catch the 4am shuttle. It is advisable that a runner examines his running route the night before to know the major landmarks that mark the distance ran. You do not want to feel like you are running to nowhere. Lastly, keep yourself hydrated the day before as well as before you sleep so as to remove excess body excretions by tomorrow morning.
Visualise the route, Visualise success! 42.195km HERE I COME!!!

1 more week to marthon

It is now one more week to the Singapore marathon and most runners must be in anticipation of this event, especially for first timers like myself. I will be running 42km for the first time in my life and after a few months of training, this is it! It is important to watch a few things in this week so as to enter the race in tip top form. First is your diet, try to load up on carbo heavy diet as this provides energy required for this grueling race. Pastas and bananas will help. Remember to drink lots of water to keep your body fully hydrated. Second will be the sleep, and it is important to clock enough sleeping hours this whole week so the tiredness will not be carried over to the race day. Lastly is training, light to medium training is advised as you do not wish to sustain any injuries and fall at the last hurdle. Lets countdown to the race of our lives!

New attire

I just bought a new set of jogging shorts to prepare for the marathon which is in a month's time. It is actually a pair of nike shorts with compression tights inside. It looks just like normal shorts from the outside. More importantly, it has zip pocket at the back which is useful to keep money and keys while running. I just tried the tights yesterday in my weekly run and it felt good. I am wondering if there is a need to wear underwear because of the tights. It is not advisable to wear so many layers inside while running. It generates a lot of heat and sweats easily.

Evening primrose oil

Perhaps I am running too often nowadays, the sweat is causing my face to be very oily and sticky. Hence, I am facing an outbreak of acne recently. I guess the best remedy for this is to apply the primrose oil acne. My skin is getting better now but the best way to prevent acne outbreak is to drink a lot of water and hydrate yourself and your skin. Good luck to all runners' skin!

Conserving energy for marathon

A mistake runners always make is to exhaust their energy very early in the marathon race. It could be the euphoria that comes with overtaking many people at the beginning. But the key is to maintain a steady pace very early on to last the race. You have to manage your strides according to the terrain. It is always good to take big strides but you will notice that you seem to be running faster.
When running up a slope, it is important to open your strides so you can cover more ground. It is tedious to run on a slope so big strides will get you up the slope faster and not prolong the agony. Learning how to conserve energy in such situation can contribute towards other parts of the race.

Electric powered wheelchairs

Besides the standard marathon for able bodied people. There are also marathons for the physically disabled. The participants are usually wheelchair users. The distance covered in wheelchair marathon is the same as any other competitions, that is 42km. The participants are not allowed to compete in electric powered wheelchairs as the spirit of marathon is to push your body to the limit and beyond. Therefore, only manual wheelchairs are allowed. Athletes are advised to buy wheelchairs that are lower than usual as it keeps the system stable at high speeds. There are a few well known international wheelchair marathons such as the Oita International Wheelchair marathon.
There are few important rules that are different from the usual marathons. A helmet is important. Only race officials can assist the athlete if he were to fall during the race. This is the same if the athlete wishes to repair his wheelchair.
Participants are subjected to classifications based on the degrees of disability. The system classifies them into T51, T52, T53 and T54. They are created using the strength athletes have in their elbows and arms. This will determine what type of wheelchairs should they use for the race to maximum efficiency.

Training in hot weather for marathon

Yesterday I tried running with wider footsteps at the park where my family had a chalet. It was a very hot in the afternoon at around 4pm. I jogged in the searing heat on my body. It is important to keep yourself well hydrated when jogging under the sun as your body loses water at double the usual rate. Before running, you will need to drink 500ml of water and warm up well. This is to avoid heat exhaustion and in worst cases, heat stroke which may kill or damage your body organs as the brain stops functioning for awhile. I completed around 7km yesterday which is not a very long distance but considering the heat,the exhaustion rate is comparable to that of running 10km.
Immediately after the jog, I dipped into the swimming pool and it felt so great. This must be the best feeling on earth. Besides jogging, there should be a mix of other exercises to build up your body. Swimming is another very useful exercise as it builds up the stamina in your body and strengthens most muscles.

New training regime and sprint training

This week I did more than jogging, I increased my speed of jogging to train stamina. On Tues, I ran a rapid 5 rounds. I maintained a fast pace and kept wide strides throughout 5 rounds. As I was tired after this rapid training, I did not practice short distance sprinting.
On Thurs, I ran for 3 rounds in rapid pace and had sprints of 100m.
For marathon training, it is advisable to train jogging in wide strides as this will cover more distance and contribute significantly to your time. I find that with wider strides, I can feel the difference in timing. Short strides also tend to consume more of your energy.
From now on, my weekly training will consist of a long distance run, increasing to 10 rounds next week, followed by sprint sessions where I will run with big strides.

First 11km run

Past week's training has been tough. I ran my first 11km for training on Saturday. I was pacing my brother until the last 2km where he increased the pace. There should be a mix of normal jogging and sprint trainings. The latter helps to improve stamina. I intend to start my first sprint training tonight.
I realized that it took me 1hr 15 mins to complete 11km, that is slightly more than what I run usually. I am also increasing the number of rounds I run every week to 10.
A marathon runner also needs to be well equipped and attired. A pair of tights will be useful to keep your thigh muscles from moving too much while running as this may sap energy.

Ramped up my training

The past week has been quite a good training routine for myself. I ran 7 rounds 3 times and increased to 9 rounds this week. I managed to finish each time without panting or feeling too tired. I guess my legs must have gotten used to the distance I am clocking every week. The only downside is that I can feel the strain on my right knee immediately after I stop running. I am afraid if I were to carry on running for the full marathon, it will be worse at the end of it.
I have to continue the knee strengthening exercise every day, rotating knees and squats can help to strengthen your knees as it use your body weight to exercise your knees.
Lastly, sigh, I did not catch sight of the korean girl this week, I had already planned my script. Nevermind. Next week.

Lazing off

Last week I only ran for one day! I do feel the pain at my feet after a running session. I suspect the problem lies with the shoes but they are by Saucony. Well I will be running again tonight and will keep a lookout if the problem persists. Instead of running 5 rounds, I will up it to 7 rounds tonight, should not be an issue. Really want to go Macritchie to run but somehow, I do not have the time in the morning and also because I am quite busy with my other tasks.

Long weekend but no training

The past weekend was a long holiday for many people because of the Hari Raya festival. Well considering that this is a stretch of 3 free days, one who is preparing for marathon should be training but not for me :( I was busy...or rather distracted doing other things and did not really train. Only managed a pathetic 3 rounds of my usual jogging route. I can feel the fatigue setting in after a few rounds, looks like I have to buck up and be more disciplined.

I aim to run 5 rounds today and build up to 10 rounds next week though I do not know the distance I will cover.

First week of training

I have started my training this week. It is a 3 month regime building up to the actual marathon!
An important part of preparing for the marathon is the running shoes. It is to your advantage that you buy a pair of good marathon shoes cause over the duration of 42 km. The difference between a good and bad marathon shoes, despite the brands, will show. Marathon shoes I will recommend for runners are Asics, Saucony and Mizuno. These are not your usual jogging shoes but they are built for marathons. To know your exact fit, you have to go try it yourself at the stores and get some advice i.e. whether you are flat or arch feet. This determines the shoes you should purchase.

I had run two days this week, each lasting around 1 hour. I will have to run for this rate for another 2 weeks before I can up the running time to 2 hours. I prefer running at night as it is more cooling but towards the actual date, I will have to adjust to the morning run mood.
Keep yourself updated!

Signed up for marathon!

After so many years of seeing people participating in marathon, I finally signed up for the stanchart marathon this december. It will be a vigorous 42km run in from downtown to the eastern part of singapore. Well 42km sounds like alot! But I believe I have the ability to complete this grueling race. As the saying goes, AIM TO COMPLETE NOT COMPETE. The race will start at 6am and will take between 2 to 6 hours to complete.
The cost of signing up....$52 including a very nice goodie bag which has to be collected the weekend before. The date is 6 dec. From now till 6 dec, I will document my training regime here and track my progress. I aim to run at least twice a week and build up to at least a 21km run before the actual day itself.

A standard training regime to build up to 42km should be 10km x 4, 15 km x 4, 21km x 1 before the marathon. It is important that I watch my diet and instill discipline so I will complete the race with honor. As this is my first race, I am targeting to complete it below 6 hours, that is 7km/hour. Seems little isnt it, but when the race drags towards the end, runners will feel the heat and slow down by more than half.

I look forward to the race as I prepare myself for it and this will be first of many marathons I will take part around the world and part of things to push myself to the limit. I encourage everyone out there to try out new things because life is short and we wont know what will happen next. It is best that we do what we can presently than dream about the future.