This is the furthest run that I joined since I started running, around 90km away from my house. So, I stayed overnight at my hometown, which is 50km away from Taiping, and it took me 45 mins to drive to the starting line. In terms of traveling time, it is about the same as I drive to Rock to Rock Run from my house.
Also, this is the race that joined while I have not fully recovered from flue, which I had 2 weeks ago.
Because of flue (and raining in the afternoon that prevented me from running), I haven't been running consistently. My weekly mileage was around 5~10km for the last 2~3 weeks since Penang Bridge Half Marathon in mid of Nov. So, for this run, my plan was to run slowly and not to have high target for finishing time. But... I know myself that I might be pushing myself too hard during the run. So, I had to constantly remind myself to listen to my body during the run.
Before the race, I checked out the route to know that there were 2 hills for the 12km route in the 1st 4~5km. I knew that I had to conserve energy for the hills and for the rest of the route.
As usual, I started in the middle of the crowd. So, as expected, I can only walk at the beginning. However, since not that many participants (several hundreds I guess), I managed to run slowly just a few steps after the starting line.
Running at slow pace (I didn't even check my watch), I was able to handle the 1st hill without problem. However, at almost the peak of the 2nd hill, I decided to slow down by walking. With this, not too hard for me to handle the two hills.
After the hills, I just ran at conservative pace. At certain points when I felt that I ran too fast, I actually had to slow down. When I checked my watch occasionally, I noticed that I was running at pace of 5:50min/km, which I think was a bit fast. Anyway, since I felt that I could still handle it, I just kept going.
Probably around 10km, I really felt tired and I slowed down a bit. However, I picked up the pace again when close to the finish line.
Surprisingly, I finished the run with just slightly over 70 mins (70 mins and 13 seconds to be exact). My target before the run was to finish around 80mins due to the 2 hills and flue. So, at least, with this finishing time, I think my stamina haven't been dropping too much. Most importantly, I don't feel any serious pain whatsoever on my legs after the run.
Well, this is the last race for this year. Overall, my running time improves from previous year. However, I joined too many race (total to 9) this year. I will need to cut it down next year!
A good concluding run for the year to me!
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Sub-2 in HM??!! Maybe...
1:57:18 was the time I read from my Garmin watch when I reached the HM finish line of 2014 APBIM. This is an amazing time to me. My target for this year APBIM HM was 2:06. However, when I checked the distant from the watch, it only showed 20.06km! More than 1km short from standard HM distant of 21.095km. Yes, that's more likely the case from how I feel during the run.
My friend's Garmin also showed 20.06km on his watch. Other HM runners also commented on this distant of slightly more than 20km only.
However, I stopped several times during this run. I woke up 12:30am and started my hydration plan of drinking 1.5L of water before the run. My last drink was at 1:40am and I went to toilet at 2:30am. After 5~6km of run, I felt like I need to go to toilet again. I hold on to it until I reached the toilet with no queue, which was around 11km.
Another 2 stops was at the beginning due to large group of runners. The stop-walk-run situation continued for around 0.5km. At around 15km, a runner (full marathon I guess) felt in front of me due to muscle clamp. I stopped and stood by him for a couple of seconds until another runner stop to help him.
So, here's how I can do the math. If I continue my last km with the pace of 5:51km, I would have finished the 21.095km in 2:03::21. Minus out all the 3 stoppages which total up to 2:54 mins and I should be less than 30 seconds to achieve the sub-2 in HM. If I improve the walk-run pace from 8min/km to at least 6min/km, I can take, maybe, a minute from there and really meet the sub-2 in my HM time!
After all, I shouldn't just do the math as above because I might have too tired and run with slower pace without all the stoppages!
Anyway, quite a good run and I shall wait to see how the organizer respond to the shorter HM distant!
My friend's Garmin also showed 20.06km on his watch. Other HM runners also commented on this distant of slightly more than 20km only.
However, I stopped several times during this run. I woke up 12:30am and started my hydration plan of drinking 1.5L of water before the run. My last drink was at 1:40am and I went to toilet at 2:30am. After 5~6km of run, I felt like I need to go to toilet again. I hold on to it until I reached the toilet with no queue, which was around 11km.
Another 2 stops was at the beginning due to large group of runners. The stop-walk-run situation continued for around 0.5km. At around 15km, a runner (full marathon I guess) felt in front of me due to muscle clamp. I stopped and stood by him for a couple of seconds until another runner stop to help him.
So, here's how I can do the math. If I continue my last km with the pace of 5:51km, I would have finished the 21.095km in 2:03::21. Minus out all the 3 stoppages which total up to 2:54 mins and I should be less than 30 seconds to achieve the sub-2 in HM. If I improve the walk-run pace from 8min/km to at least 6min/km, I can take, maybe, a minute from there and really meet the sub-2 in my HM time!
After all, I shouldn't just do the math as above because I might have too tired and run with slower pace without all the stoppages!
Anyway, quite a good run and I shall wait to see how the organizer respond to the shorter HM distant!
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Tanjung 10km Run 2014
This is the 2nd year I joined this run. It is so far the cheapest run that I joined, ie. RM20 for 10km. For last year, the race kit was just a normal T-shirt and BIB. For this year, I was hoping the same but I was surprise when what I got inside the race kit.
The race kit collection was very smooth. Not much waiting. What more is the content of the race kit. With RM20 in 2014, this is what you get:
You get a dry fit T-shirt as well.
Comparing to last year where I noticed a few buses carrying runners to the starting line, the participants for this year is relatively fewer. I still remember seeing a few groups of foreign workers joining the race last year. But not this year. It could be because the registration was done online and the short duration between the registration to the actual race day.
Anyway, the main reason for me to join the race is to be able to gauge if there's any improvement in my running speed since a year before after putting so much hard work and time for training. The target that I set to myself is to be able to finish faster than last year finishing time of 57mins. The route is relatively flat which I can also use this race result to predict my APBIM half marathon time in the coming 2 weeks.
There's no surprises before and during the run. The route is the same as last year but with less runners. As usual, I started in the middle of the pack. Only after 2km I started to feel like pulling myself away from the crowd.
I tried to control myself for not checking my Garmin watch for the speed. Instead, I wanted to train myself to run by feel. So, the 1st time I looked at my watch for speed was after 5km. I was running at 5:10min/km, which is a bit faster than I wanted to. However, since I thought I could keep this pace moving forward, I just kept running at the same speed. Unfortunately, I started to feel tired around 7km. I actually needed to push myself for the last 3km.
In order to push myself forward, I was checking at my watch quite often and try to keep to at least 5:30min/km pace until the end of the race.
With the help of my Garmin watch for checking my pace, I eventually finished the race at 52mins (for 9.8km according to my watch) . I was very please with the finishing time and most importantly, I don't feel too exhausted with this finishing time. My legs feel good as well with the Brooks PureFlow 2. I think I really like this low drop shoes.
I still think I need to improve my control over my pace. I was actually wanted to be slightly slower at the beginning of the race. To run slower at the beginning of the race is especially important for the half marathon race.
A pretty satisfying race after all...
The race kit collection was very smooth. Not much waiting. What more is the content of the race kit. With RM20 in 2014, this is what you get:
You get a dry fit T-shirt as well.
Comparing to last year where I noticed a few buses carrying runners to the starting line, the participants for this year is relatively fewer. I still remember seeing a few groups of foreign workers joining the race last year. But not this year. It could be because the registration was done online and the short duration between the registration to the actual race day.
Anyway, the main reason for me to join the race is to be able to gauge if there's any improvement in my running speed since a year before after putting so much hard work and time for training. The target that I set to myself is to be able to finish faster than last year finishing time of 57mins. The route is relatively flat which I can also use this race result to predict my APBIM half marathon time in the coming 2 weeks.
There's no surprises before and during the run. The route is the same as last year but with less runners. As usual, I started in the middle of the pack. Only after 2km I started to feel like pulling myself away from the crowd.
I tried to control myself for not checking my Garmin watch for the speed. Instead, I wanted to train myself to run by feel. So, the 1st time I looked at my watch for speed was after 5km. I was running at 5:10min/km, which is a bit faster than I wanted to. However, since I thought I could keep this pace moving forward, I just kept running at the same speed. Unfortunately, I started to feel tired around 7km. I actually needed to push myself for the last 3km.
In order to push myself forward, I was checking at my watch quite often and try to keep to at least 5:30min/km pace until the end of the race.
With the help of my Garmin watch for checking my pace, I eventually finished the race at 52mins (for 9.8km according to my watch) . I was very please with the finishing time and most importantly, I don't feel too exhausted with this finishing time. My legs feel good as well with the Brooks PureFlow 2. I think I really like this low drop shoes.
I still think I need to improve my control over my pace. I was actually wanted to be slightly slower at the beginning of the race. To run slower at the beginning of the race is especially important for the half marathon race.
A pretty satisfying race after all...
Monday, October 27, 2014
My First Race
This is certainly not my first race, instead, this is my first race for others. A friend of mine was not able to participate in this Rock to Rock Run that he signed up awhile ago. However, he really likes the finishing medal. Thus, I was asked to run for the medal for him!
After reviewing my training plan, I changed my weekend long run of 18km to one easy run on Saturday and then the 10km race on Sunday. This could make up to the total weekly mileage that I planned for. So, I agreed to do that for him.
The arrangement was to have another friend to pass me the BIB on the race day. As usual, I reached the race venue around 1 hour before the race started. After warm up and a few rounds of slow run, the friend had not shown up.
It was 6:52am (race start at 7am) and I still didn't had my BIB yet. I was struggling to myself if I should run without BIB or go home. I was biased towards the 2nd options. After walking the last round at hotel lobby (where I planned to meet up with my friend for the BIB), I decided to go home. As I walked outside the lobby, I met a few other friends. So, we just talked had a quick talk. Just after a few sentences, the friend just brought the BIB in.
We quickly registered ourselves (to get the coloured rubber band) and went to the starting line. I stopped beside the road to pin my BIB on. Since the race had not started and I didn't want to run with my handphone on my hand, I decided to jog to my car around 500m away to put my handphone in my car.
While half way jogging back to the starting line, I heard the starting whistle. Trying to control my pace, I just kept to jog at slower pace until I reach the starting line. Before reaching the starting line, I had to make my way through the fun run crowd in which their run was to start at 7:15am.
Finally, I reached the starting line and started my Garmin watch for the run. I could be the last runner to cross the starting line. It took me some efforts to run pass slower runner at the start. This disturb my tempo and breathing a bit. However, I managed to keep my breathing back in a short while.
For last year, I participated in this run a few days after I recovered from my back pain. So, I was running very slow and careful last year. This time though, I was able to run at my regular pace on this route.
As what I intended before the run, I finished the race with slightly less than 1 hour time. I was then waited for the friend to pass the medal and just leave for subsequent event.
This is my first time running for others. With this experience, I will not allow myself to collect my race BIB on the race day!
After reviewing my training plan, I changed my weekend long run of 18km to one easy run on Saturday and then the 10km race on Sunday. This could make up to the total weekly mileage that I planned for. So, I agreed to do that for him.
The arrangement was to have another friend to pass me the BIB on the race day. As usual, I reached the race venue around 1 hour before the race started. After warm up and a few rounds of slow run, the friend had not shown up.
It was 6:52am (race start at 7am) and I still didn't had my BIB yet. I was struggling to myself if I should run without BIB or go home. I was biased towards the 2nd options. After walking the last round at hotel lobby (where I planned to meet up with my friend for the BIB), I decided to go home. As I walked outside the lobby, I met a few other friends. So, we just talked had a quick talk. Just after a few sentences, the friend just brought the BIB in.
We quickly registered ourselves (to get the coloured rubber band) and went to the starting line. I stopped beside the road to pin my BIB on. Since the race had not started and I didn't want to run with my handphone on my hand, I decided to jog to my car around 500m away to put my handphone in my car.
While half way jogging back to the starting line, I heard the starting whistle. Trying to control my pace, I just kept to jog at slower pace until I reach the starting line. Before reaching the starting line, I had to make my way through the fun run crowd in which their run was to start at 7:15am.
Finally, I reached the starting line and started my Garmin watch for the run. I could be the last runner to cross the starting line. It took me some efforts to run pass slower runner at the start. This disturb my tempo and breathing a bit. However, I managed to keep my breathing back in a short while.
For last year, I participated in this run a few days after I recovered from my back pain. So, I was running very slow and careful last year. This time though, I was able to run at my regular pace on this route.
As what I intended before the run, I finished the race with slightly less than 1 hour time. I was then waited for the friend to pass the medal and just leave for subsequent event.
This is my first time running for others. With this experience, I will not allow myself to collect my race BIB on the race day!
Sunday, September 14, 2014
My Running Cadence
I just bought myself a Garmin Foot Pod a few days ago. Today is the first time I used it for my run. I used it in my weekly long run (last ~2hours or 18km) with phone's metronome on, and set at 180 beats per minute.
After the run, I looked at the run cadence data and found several interesting findings:-
1. For the first 20 mins, I was running at 182 spm.
2. Eventually, my run cadence dropped to 180 spm.
3. When I tried to speed up for 2 mins right after 1 hour of running, my run cadence further dropped to 176 spm.
4. When I ran back at my original targeted speed of ~6:45 min/km, my run cadence increased back to 178 spm.
5. The run cadence of 178 spm only last for another 20 mins before it dropped back to 176 spm.
6. At close to 2 hour of run, I again increased my speed. This time, my run cadence increased back to 178 spm for only around 5 mins before it dropped back to 176 spm.
7. At the end my long run, where I was getting real tired, my run cadence varied from 176 spm to even 172 spm.
From the data, two areas that I need to focus on in order to maintain my run cadence of 180 spm, ie. when I increases my speed and when I get tired. Apparently, I didn't respond well with my phone's metronome. Or, I could be even worse without the metronome on. I will try out one day to find out.
After the run, I looked at the run cadence data and found several interesting findings:-
1. For the first 20 mins, I was running at 182 spm.
2. Eventually, my run cadence dropped to 180 spm.
3. When I tried to speed up for 2 mins right after 1 hour of running, my run cadence further dropped to 176 spm.
4. When I ran back at my original targeted speed of ~6:45 min/km, my run cadence increased back to 178 spm.
5. The run cadence of 178 spm only last for another 20 mins before it dropped back to 176 spm.
6. At close to 2 hour of run, I again increased my speed. This time, my run cadence increased back to 178 spm for only around 5 mins before it dropped back to 176 spm.
7. At the end my long run, where I was getting real tired, my run cadence varied from 176 spm to even 172 spm.
From the data, two areas that I need to focus on in order to maintain my run cadence of 180 spm, ie. when I increases my speed and when I get tired. Apparently, I didn't respond well with my phone's metronome. Or, I could be even worse without the metronome on. I will try out one day to find out.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
New Chaprter
After started running consistently for probably 3.5 years, I finally managed to log > 80km/month, ie. more than 20km/week, continuously for the last 5 months. While I have to stop or slow down my progress due to injury (and surgery) last year, this kind of mileage is considered a big achievement. The drawback is, my training pace is a lot slower (10%) than when I initially started. This is mainly due to the fact that I am more careful after the 1st injury that I have back in 2012. Since then, I have been paying attention to my running form, stay slow, and carefully increasing my mileage.
I kind of decided that this is my target for now while I will be working to improve my speed slowly from now onwards. From what I read so far, tempo run and interval run are what I need to include in my training routine. I just need to figure out how to put in.
Inspired by these 2 videos regarding marathon training (Part 1, Part 2), as a new chapter in my running life, I have decided to try out barefoot running. As mentioned in the videos, I will only do that for my training on the familiar route, ie. running track. I just started with 400m last weekend and the feel is totally different. I can really feel the hardness of the track on every step of my run. I plan to keep to that distance until I am very comfortable with the distance and pace, before I add in a little bit more. No timeline, no target for this barefoot training and I just hope to have a stronger feet as time goes by.
I kind of decided that this is my target for now while I will be working to improve my speed slowly from now onwards. From what I read so far, tempo run and interval run are what I need to include in my training routine. I just need to figure out how to put in.
Inspired by these 2 videos regarding marathon training (Part 1, Part 2), as a new chapter in my running life, I have decided to try out barefoot running. As mentioned in the videos, I will only do that for my training on the familiar route, ie. running track. I just started with 400m last weekend and the feel is totally different. I can really feel the hardness of the track on every step of my run. I plan to keep to that distance until I am very comfortable with the distance and pace, before I add in a little bit more. No timeline, no target for this barefoot training and I just hope to have a stronger feet as time goes by.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Brooks Pureflow 2
The Brooks Ghost 6 doesn't really give me good mileage. I finally switched to forefoot landing with the hope of no injury from running and my running shoes can last longer.
This time, I decided to try out minimalist shoes, Brooks Pureflow 2. Due to the old model, I got the shoes for RM170, which is quite a discount from what I normally pay for new a pair of shoes. However, since the outsole is thinner, I don't expect it to last longer than my previous shoes. But, my target is to get it works for 170km, which will be similar to or better than what I am paying for previously. I'll see.
These are the specification of the shoes:-
This time, I decided to try out minimalist shoes, Brooks Pureflow 2. Due to the old model, I got the shoes for RM170, which is quite a discount from what I normally pay for new a pair of shoes. However, since the outsole is thinner, I don't expect it to last longer than my previous shoes. But, my target is to get it works for 170km, which will be similar to or better than what I am paying for previously. I'll see.
These are the specification of the shoes:-
Specifications
Weight: 8.8 oz.
Profile (Heel): 28 mm
Profile (Forefoot): 24.5 mm
Drop from heel to forefoot: 3.5 mm
NTCRC Run 2014
This is my first run out of the island. Before joining this run, I have read quite a lot of good comments on the run especially the food provided after the run. It is true.
In this year, when all the registration fees for joining a race are all increasing, I really feel that I should be paying more for the run. For a RM20 run, we were given a dry fit singlet. The singlet distribution is so well prepared that it had the BIB and singlet put inside the same packing bag with your name written outside the bag. Despite good food provided after the run, there are 3 drum teams close to the end of the finish line to cheer you up. This is the first run that I experience something like that. Would that make any different? I guess so, I was kind of tired at the end of 1~2km but the running spirit kicked when I heard the drum beat from the 1st drum group. That kept me moving on with steady pace until the end of the run. Although the finishing medal size is slightly small, but it is gold platted. Without a detail look to those never join this kind of race, it looks like a gold medal of the champion!
A very fulfilling run that I would certainly join next year if the timing is right.
In this year, when all the registration fees for joining a race are all increasing, I really feel that I should be paying more for the run. For a RM20 run, we were given a dry fit singlet. The singlet distribution is so well prepared that it had the BIB and singlet put inside the same packing bag with your name written outside the bag. Despite good food provided after the run, there are 3 drum teams close to the end of the finish line to cheer you up. This is the first run that I experience something like that. Would that make any different? I guess so, I was kind of tired at the end of 1~2km but the running spirit kicked when I heard the drum beat from the 1st drum group. That kept me moving on with steady pace until the end of the run. Although the finishing medal size is slightly small, but it is gold platted. Without a detail look to those never join this kind of race, it looks like a gold medal of the champion!
A very fulfilling run that I would certainly join next year if the timing is right.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Newton Challenge Penag 2014 (7km)
It seems like less and less bloggers are publishing race report. However, reading race reports from others helps me to prepare for the race that I am unfamiliar with,or to decide if I want to join that particular race.
Newton Challenge Penang 2014 is the first race that I joined this year. To me, this is a badly organized race with respect to the fees paid.
First of all, when the 7km race starting time had pull in from 6:45am to 6:00am, the information wasn't updated in web-site or having a note in racing kit. The information was only made available in their facebook page. I understand that quite a few runners missed out the information and were only arrived after the race started.
Secondly, the turning junction for 7km race wasn't clearly labeled. No sign board or any physical indication of turning junction. The "volunteers" at the junction instructed the front runners to go further straight up to the hill before another "volunteer" on bicycle coming from behind asking them to turn back.
Moreover, it was really a mess at the finish line that quite a lot of runners doesn't know where to get the medal.
For the 17km race, I heard that the race started ~10 mins late due to runners crowded after the starting line. Upon finishing 17km, the runners was given just a bottle of 500ml drinking water without any food.
Lastly, no one controlled the traffic after the event finished. People experienced stuck in the traffic jam for ~2 hours. Luckily, since I left earlier, I was only stuck in the jam for half an hour.
However, the plus points for the event is to have a pair of socks as well as timing chip was used (although I read comments that the time was not recorded for some runners at the front).
Overall, this race is worse than the RM20 10km race that I participated last year, while I have to pay RM58 just to have a pair of socks and timing chip.
Newton Challenge Penang 2014 is the first race that I joined this year. To me, this is a badly organized race with respect to the fees paid.
First of all, when the 7km race starting time had pull in from 6:45am to 6:00am, the information wasn't updated in web-site or having a note in racing kit. The information was only made available in their facebook page. I understand that quite a few runners missed out the information and were only arrived after the race started.
Secondly, the turning junction for 7km race wasn't clearly labeled. No sign board or any physical indication of turning junction. The "volunteers" at the junction instructed the front runners to go further straight up to the hill before another "volunteer" on bicycle coming from behind asking them to turn back.
Moreover, it was really a mess at the finish line that quite a lot of runners doesn't know where to get the medal.
For the 17km race, I heard that the race started ~10 mins late due to runners crowded after the starting line. Upon finishing 17km, the runners was given just a bottle of 500ml drinking water without any food.
Lastly, no one controlled the traffic after the event finished. People experienced stuck in the traffic jam for ~2 hours. Luckily, since I left earlier, I was only stuck in the jam for half an hour.
However, the plus points for the event is to have a pair of socks as well as timing chip was used (although I read comments that the time was not recorded for some runners at the front).
Overall, this race is worse than the RM20 10km race that I participated last year, while I have to pay RM58 just to have a pair of socks and timing chip.
Goal Achieved (70km/month)
Despite the fact that I had to stop my training due to flu, I still managed to meet my target of 70km per month of mileage in Feb.
I think 2 factors that made this possible, ie. carefully drafting out my plan to include all holidays and possible races; and leaving some breathing space for sudden event. Although in the beginning, it looks like I should be able to achieve this target earlier, but because of flu, the plan is not as easy as it seems.
Anyway, feel real great for having able to achieve what I initially targeted. With this, this is the 7th consecutive month that I hit more than 60km per month in terms of running mileage. Something that I really feel proud of..
My next goal is getting myself to 17km LSD weekly. My plan is to be able to reach there early July or end of July. After that, I will have plan to increase my speed.
I think 2 factors that made this possible, ie. carefully drafting out my plan to include all holidays and possible races; and leaving some breathing space for sudden event. Although in the beginning, it looks like I should be able to achieve this target earlier, but because of flu, the plan is not as easy as it seems.
Anyway, feel real great for having able to achieve what I initially targeted. With this, this is the 7th consecutive month that I hit more than 60km per month in terms of running mileage. Something that I really feel proud of..
My next goal is getting myself to 17km LSD weekly. My plan is to be able to reach there early July or end of July. After that, I will have plan to increase my speed.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Hitting 20km per week
Coming to the end of the 1st month in 2014, I am following well with my training plan. By this time, I should be logging 20km per week and I did. 20km/week is a special number to me. I guess it was the target that I had since I started running seriously.
Since I started to run ~2+ years ago, out of 80 weeks that I recorded my mileage, only 16 weeks were with weekly mileage of more than 20km excluding the weeks with race. Nothing magic, but this is a good start for the year.
As I read somewhere that optimum running mileage per week is between 10miles to 20 miles, my long term target is to run 30km/week while keeping 20km/week as minimum. While achieving 30km/week, I am targeting to run 17km in the long run. The 17km is chosen because I think it takes me 2 hours to run 17km. Again, I read somewhere that running more than 2 hours continuously has no significant benefits in improving endurance. Thus, 17km is my target now.
From my planning of 3 runs a week, achieving 17km will also bring me to 30km per week and then 80km per month. Thus, all the goals aligned! Amazing.
As I can achieve those target (probably end of June this year), I will consider myself to have the base of running and will work on improving my speed. Once I can improve my speed, I will slowly increase my mileage to keep to 30mins run during weekday and 2 hours of long run during weekend.
Since I started to run ~2+ years ago, out of 80 weeks that I recorded my mileage, only 16 weeks were with weekly mileage of more than 20km excluding the weeks with race. Nothing magic, but this is a good start for the year.
As I read somewhere that optimum running mileage per week is between 10miles to 20 miles, my long term target is to run 30km/week while keeping 20km/week as minimum. While achieving 30km/week, I am targeting to run 17km in the long run. The 17km is chosen because I think it takes me 2 hours to run 17km. Again, I read somewhere that running more than 2 hours continuously has no significant benefits in improving endurance. Thus, 17km is my target now.
From my planning of 3 runs a week, achieving 17km will also bring me to 30km per week and then 80km per month. Thus, all the goals aligned! Amazing.
As I can achieve those target (probably end of June this year), I will consider myself to have the base of running and will work on improving my speed. Once I can improve my speed, I will slowly increase my mileage to keep to 30mins run during weekday and 2 hours of long run during weekend.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Concluding 2013
2013 was not a smooth year for me in running. At the beginning of the year, I was forced to slow down and stop running for 1 or 2 weeks due to "injury". Then, in April, I was again not able to run for 1 week+ due to surgery. However, I managed to join more races (short races thou) in 2013 than 2012 and able to improve my half marathon time very slightly in APBIM at the end of the year.
The "injury" that I experienced could be due to the fact that I keep pushing myself for speed on every run after I had the Garmin watch. I kept on looking at my pace during the run and forcing myself to run faster. Moreover, when I first felt pain, I continued to run in believing that running will make the pain go away! After forcing myself to run even with pain, I was eventually not able to walk! Because of that, I put focus on injury prevention instead of running with faster pace.
2. Focus on running form. Instead of heavy heel stride, I am now practicing forefoot stride and doing running drill.
3. Taking core exercise more seriously. Focusing on back muscle and glute muscle.
4. Warm up and cool down properly. By doing cool down properly after every run, I can really see the impact.
5. Listen to my body. I stop listening to music during the run and pay attention to my running form and my breathing. I don't push myself on every run but want to run very comfortable and feel great after the run.
2. Be able to have long run of at least 17km every week (almost) starting 2nd half of 2014.
3. Increase 5% of speed. After achieving the above 2 goals, I will target to increase 5% of my speed by end of the year, which should be around 6:30/km averagely in last few weeks of the year.
My long term goal is to be able to run at very old age and thus I will have to keep it slow and safe throughout the years.
I will still participate in local races whenever possible and might be joining 2 HM if possible.
The "injury" that I experienced could be due to the fact that I keep pushing myself for speed on every run after I had the Garmin watch. I kept on looking at my pace during the run and forcing myself to run faster. Moreover, when I first felt pain, I continued to run in believing that running will make the pain go away! After forcing myself to run even with pain, I was eventually not able to walk! Because of that, I put focus on injury prevention instead of running with faster pace.
Changes that I have made throughout the year:-
1. Keep to the 10% rule (almost).2. Focus on running form. Instead of heavy heel stride, I am now practicing forefoot stride and doing running drill.
3. Taking core exercise more seriously. Focusing on back muscle and glute muscle.
4. Warm up and cool down properly. By doing cool down properly after every run, I can really see the impact.
5. Listen to my body. I stop listening to music during the run and pay attention to my running form and my breathing. I don't push myself on every run but want to run very comfortable and feel great after the run.
My target for 2014:-
1. Slowly increase my mileage to 80km per month for 5~6 months. In 2012, I managed to have 5 months logging more than 60km/month and out of that the 4 months actually logging more than 80km/month; in 2013, I managed to have 5 months logging more than 60km/month but with only 2 months for more than 80km/month. So, my running mileage is more inconsistent in 2012 than 2013. So, I plan myself to be more consistent in 2014 with more months above 80km/month.2. Be able to have long run of at least 17km every week (almost) starting 2nd half of 2014.
3. Increase 5% of speed. After achieving the above 2 goals, I will target to increase 5% of my speed by end of the year, which should be around 6:30/km averagely in last few weeks of the year.
My long term goal is to be able to run at very old age and thus I will have to keep it slow and safe throughout the years.
I will still participate in local races whenever possible and might be joining 2 HM if possible.
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