Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 10k race

December 7, 2014 at 6:11 am · Filed under Running, Singapore

I ran the 10k race at the StandChart Marathon in Singapore today. It has been quite a while since I last ran a race in the tropics. Over this period of time, the body has also accumulated various overuse ailments. I made it a point to train for today’s race for over a month and put in the best that I could.

It was a tough but good run today. Notes from today’s run:

1. Heat and humidity – Very important factor. The body could not be cooled quickly enough and every bit of effort exerted felt strenuous. Always remember to listen to the body.
2. Mid-foot strike – This was my first time running a race after I changed to mid-foot strike. However, I couldn’t maintain my mid-foot strike after 5 to 6 km and had to fall back on heel strike from time to time. Perhaps I didn’t train properly to engage the right muscles. I must find out how to.
3. Interval training – Only managed to do one session this time, on a synthetic track. During that session, I didn’t how to run fast using my new foot strike. I should give myself more time to learn it. Maybe try it out on a harder track first.
4. Breathing – During my evening training runs, I felt stronger taking long, deep breaths, breathing in over 3 strides and breathing out over the next 3. Couldn’t keep up with this rhythm today. Had to take shorter and more frequent breaths. It could be because of the heat and humidity. The body did not feel strong enough to carry myself forward.
5. Plantar fasciitis – Had this nagging problem for about 3 months. Other than that, my left foot and knee have also been feeling “weak” for a long while. Now that the race is over, it’s time to get more RICE.

I’m happy with my results today. I did not know how much the weather was going to affect me and I was just aiming for a sub-hour run. It turned out that I did my 2nd personal best time for a 10k.

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