Daily Life: Post Borneo Marathon results

Yesterday the results for the Borneo Marathon 2013 was released. I did not have time to go in take a look until today. To my pleasure surprise, i broke my own PB again. for 42K I did a 5hrs 26mins vs my previous PB of 5hrs 31mins done during SCMS 2012. Its a small step towards my goal of 5hrs.

I should continue to enjoy my runs n less focus on the PB. :)

Daily Life: Borneo Marathon 2013

Time really flies and its been a while since i updated my blog. Its understanding since i spend much of my time updating my facebook.

Just yesterday i came back from Kota Kinabalu for the Borneo marathon 2013. It was supposed to be in May but as there was the election, the run has to be postponed. I flew from SG to KK on thursday n was on the same flight with fellow runner, Linclon. We stayed at different hotel but we went exploring the town together while waiting for the rest of the group to arrive on Friday night. The town is very small n can be completed by walking. Going out to other parts of KK will require taxi but still manageable

I went to collect the race pack on Friday n met with Paul Lee who is the secretary of the Borneo Marathon committee. Linclon did raise the concern of the raising airport fees to Paul. He also mentioned to tied with the rest of the Singapore key running group like Team Fatbird so to promote the event even better in SG.Looks like a win-win situation between both side

The whole of Sat was spend exploring other parts of the town like the Signal hill, backpacker area and managed to catch a movie. After that is sleep time to prepare for the Sunday morning run. The run was from 3am with a cut-off timing of 6 1/2 hours. The route was changed from last year and we are expected to see hills with various degree during the run. The run in the beginning was mostly flat with only the up to expressway got a little slope. Then from city mosque onwards, there are small slopes with the more steeper ones at the Universiti Malaysia Sabah roundabout. I have to slow down as don't want to waste too much energy running up slopes with still another 20 odd km to run. By the time I went out of the loop, its 24K. Then one more slope from 1 Borneo shopping mall to BCCM Sepangar Church which is the 30K turnabout. There I saw many fellow runners both from SG to MY running back. I too pick up my pace and run all the way back pass Menara tun Mustapha. There i saw a fellow barefoot runner and we have a good pacing session until I overtook her n she wish me luck to carry on.

I only managed a 5hrs 27mins run n with the excellent weather, was looking for under 5hrs. Looks like i have more training with hills for the upcoming Chiang Mai marathon. Think i met more runners during this run than others. Mike from HK, Oliver from Sabah (He is a 70 year old n is walking instead of running but don't be fooled by his walk. he can walk much faster than most of us running. He is also taking part in the Craze Ultra later in Sept 2013). Linclon, Doris Teo, Eric Tee, Kim Lai, Teck Hock are fellow runners from I.M.D running but i never got a chance to catch up with their until during the marathon. Also saw fellow barefoot runners from Ipoh n KL.

I did not have much cramps unlike previous 42K runs as on friday n sat mornings i was having running session with Linclon.Not much long distance but it helps to keep the body adjusted to the running tempo. Think i will attempt the same for the AHM. short distance with slow speed. Who knows, maybe i will get a PB for 21K. I also takes more bananas before, during n after the marathon which may have allowed my body to react better n prevent buildup of the acid during the run.

One funny thing is many people including fellow runners and helpers are surprised that people can run in sandals. Earlier in the race I thought i am the only runner running in sandals then as the run progressed then i saw other barefoot runners running. Fellow runners are more supportive n respect that I am running in sandals. Looks like i have something more to prove n if i can run as fast as one in shoes, then it proves that barefoot running at least in Asia will continue to grow. :)

Daily Life: 2XU Compression Run 2013

Today is the 2XU compression Run 2013 and I took part in the 21K category. As focus for this year is on 21K and above, i trained running fast on my 8-9k runs on daily basis. I also focus more on eating right the night before the race n on the day of the race itself.

My diet will include a banana, a cup of yoghurt and a glass of plain water after dinner on the night before race and same items for the race itself with the additional of bread since i need some cabo to fuel my run.

I prepared all my items the day before the race and its the first time i running with the Nathan hydration bag. I did not fill in any water as i still got some water left over from the previous week trail run. As the distance is 21K, i packed only 1 sports gel for the 15k mark. I managed to wake up early today with enough sleep the night before. The booking of the taxi is also fast and i reach the start point at around 4am. I have lots of time to do my warm-up and do my warm-up runs around the start point. its part of my focus to run better this year also.

The run started on time at 5.30am from the F1 race track and takes us around the stadium walk, tanjong rhu park connector and marina barrage before ending back at the F1 race track. During the 15k mark, there was banana and sports gel provided so i decided to grab some instead of using my own. bad mistake. The gel is covered with gel (it's not torn but suspected got another packet leaked). i was also unable to tear the package due to the gel and my wet hands. its only until i reach the 16k water point did i manage to clean the gel package of its gel and tear it open to consume the much needed gel inside.

I have my thanks to my hydration bag as i did not stop for any drinking station except for the 15k & 16k ones to do the above. I didn't put any sports drink into the hydration bag: only plain water mixed with the elete electrolyte i bought in Jan. it has no taste beyond water taste and did not stain my hydration bag which is important.

Another important news is the timing i got is 2:23 when i cross the finish line. Little did i realize that is my PB as my last 21k was at 2:40 which means i improved another 17mins. its not a lot but its a step closer of realizing my goal of 2hrs for 21K runs.