Rop's Reflections

Heading into last week of the year, I’m feeling well. Got my morning run in again today after a good night’s sleep. Temperature started off cool (22-23c) but got warm quickly as the sun came up, as usual.

Felt tired but ended up with a good pace. Pretty busy day at work tomorrow, not sure if I will have time for a run. If there is one, it will be easy and short.

Ate small shrimps at breakfast. Didn’t feel the effect of urticaria during or after the run. So I am probably only allergic to normal-size shrimps.

Had good lunch today. Boat noodle (ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเรือ) near Kaset. Quite spicy, just the way I like it. Hope the stomach won’t get upset.

Had a nice weekend. Ate good meals, had good rest, did my runs. Simple happiness. Can’t ask for more.

December has been a month of consistency. The routine is pretty simple. Wake up early and go do my miles. There is no set schedule, for now. Each day I decide on what type of run to do, based on how the body and the mind feel. Rotating hard, easy, moderate workouts. Finding the balance. Some days are better than the others.

Pain in left foot is still there. Looks like I might have it with me for quite a long time. But it’s okay. Somewhere out there, there are other people who suffer much more. It’s silly to complain about little foot pain.

Just nine more days till 2010 arrives. I have no real goals for the next year. 2009 has been quite nice, so it would probably be wise for me to keep doing what I’ve been doing. Sleep-eat-run, and repeat. Just focusing on becoming a little bit stronger, a little bit better each week.

Quick update about today’s run. I ran about the same distance as yesterday. Felt good until some smoke came out of nowhere. Somebody must have burnt something. It was pretty terrible. I managed to complete my goal distance for the day though.

Had a camera with me today. So I took some pics of Kaset campus. I run here about 5 days a week.

Thought: Don’t take life for granted. One day I won’t be able to do what I love. Today is not that day.

It’s mid-December but the weather seems to be getting warmer already. It’s 24-25c in the early morning and get up to low 30’s in the afternoon. I’ve been running almost exclusively in the mornings these past couple weeks to avoid the heat.

Did a longish run with a fast pace on Sunday. Fastest run in about two months. The session made the pain in my left foot feel worse.

Went for a recovery run yesterday to begin the week. Then today, I did a moderate-effort run around the track. The pain is tolerable. It’s on the top of the foot. Since it’s not structural (the pain doesn’t propagate up the leg), I think I can keep on running.

Haven’t taken a day off so far this month. I feel okay physically. I think that if I don’t push the pace too hard, my body can take the beating of daily runs and recover reasonably well enough.

And there is no reason to push hard, really. No race on the horizon. Thinking about a 10K this Sunday in Nonthaburi. Probably will just do a training run in the park again though. Will just see how things go.

Today is Pygmy’s 18th birthday. Due to old age, his legs aren’t as strong as they used to be and he can’t see or hear very well now. Just made this video of him, mostly for my family and myself:

He’s a great dog. Just want to wish him a happy birthday.

Today is Constitution Day in Thailand which means no work. So I went to run in Kaset in the morning. The temperature was 22C at the start, which was very cool by Bangkok’s standard. Got some good number of miles in, even though not as many as I originally hoped. Legs got wobbly as the temperature rose. Strong sun today. Only had water with me. To do long runs, I need more fuel.

Spent the rest of the day relaxing. Played with one of my dogs. Had nice suki at lunch. Best time to eat is after a hard workout, isn’t it? Did some work on the computer. Watched some SEA Games action on TV. Did some short yoga before bed. My body is really stiff.

Overall, a very good day. Three weeks left in December, which has been a good month so far. Must stay consistent.

My computer has been in a repair shop for about 10 days now; so it has not been convenient to blog.

Still running regularly without major incidents. That’s the most important thing I think. After dedicating one week after the race for recovery, training has gotten back to normal. I’m thankful for having been able to run without any pain for a good stretch now.

Been getting up real early to run before work, and took the evenings off to come home early and rest. Finding time to run is always tough, but one must manage. Life is short. Must do what you love.

a run in KU campus on holiday Monday 7 Dec

These current training sessions are anything but flashy. Just doing steady miles, mostly at slower than marathon pace, one small loop at a time. I looked back at my log, and realized that, except for the race, my pace never dipped under 9 min/mile the whole month of November. Just patiently building my base.

I’m still new to this, having taken up running seriously for less than a year. Still learning things and experimenting with my body. Can’t rush through the process.

This week has been good so far. No complaint (beside the bad shrimp episode on Monday). Solid runs on three straight days. Legs are sore but no sharp pains (fingers crossed). Mostly running around 400m track, while dreaming of being somewhere like this:

Haven’t done much yoga lately. Only quick stretching before and after each run. Legs and back are stiff. Still can’t touch my toes. Should go back to doing it. I’m not doing any weights or other sports, so the muscles could get overused from repeated running. Yoga poses should help us runners become more flexible.

Still no plan for when my next race might be. Might sneak in a 10K soon. This year I’ve run only three races so far (10K, half, and marathon), but that’s still the most I’ve ever raced in one year. Some runners regularly do three races in a month. I am happy just going out each day and train, but the race atmosphere on Sunday mornings can be so nice.

Race or no race, I just hope to keep on running with good health. Just four weeks remain in 2009. Looking to finish off the year strong.

Sunday 22 November 2009. Sanam Chai (สนามไชย), Bangkok. I have survived my second marathon.

Though I tried, I couldn’t sleep on Saturday. Took off early from the house. Since it was quite late (after 10 p.m.), I had to wait for quite a while for public transportation. Took a bus to Sanam Luang. Fell asleep on the bus a little bit. Arrived at the race area before midnight, well ahead of the 2 a.m. start time.

Met Lung Thep, my uncle who helped organize the event. Ate some light snacks and drank water. Then I went to find a quiet spot in Suan Saranrom and tried to nap on a park bench, but couldn’t really sleep due to the mosquitoes. Next time I must remember to bring long sleeve shirts and long pants.

At 1 a.m., I started walking around, jogging lightly, and doing stretches. Rubbed on some analgesic cream (ครีมน้ำมันมวย). Put away my bag at the service tent and walked to the starting line.

At 2 a.m. the runners were in a party mood. Some looked calm. Some looked excited. We were all determined to conquer the 42.195 km in our own ways. I started off conservatively. The hill came early, when we had to get up Pinklao Bridge at about km 2.

I aimed to run a 6min/km pace. The time at 4-km mark was a little bit slow. So I told myself to pick up the pace a bit. The pace was where I wanted it to be by about km 8. Then I just kept on a steady pace.

Throughout most of the first 30 km, we were running on elevated Borommaratchonnani road. We got to view a different side of Bangkok–the dark, cool, and quiet side. There were no people along this highway route, but we runners were constantly cheering each other on. This camaraderie is a beautiful thing.

I spotted Mr. Tam Jatunam (ธรรม จตุนาม), a professor who is blind, near the turnaround point (15 km). People encouraged him and he was smiling. Very inspiring. Try closing your eyes and walking to your kitchen. To me that’s a challenge. Now imagine running a marathon with eyes closed. Incredible!

I felt like I was doing well in the first half of the race. I passed the 15 km mark, the first chip-scanning point, at about 1:28:xx, about 2-3 mins faster than last year. But I was still worried. A marathon does not really begin until km 32 (mile 20). That’s usually when the pain hits and the stored energy is depleted. Last year I was doing fine until a little bit after the halfway mark, where a cramp hit. So I was really careful and mindful with my body this year.

I tried to record a split with my watch when I passed each kilometer mark. In the early part, the marks were placed at every 2 km. But the placements became quite irregular in the second half of the race, so I stopped taking down the splits. Not a big deal. I aimed to better my last year’s time, where I ran 5:41. A fine effort would be to break 5-hr barrier. I knew if I could keep the 6 min/km pace, I would achieve that time goal. I kept reminding myself to be patient. “Don’t chase. Don’t push. Be conservative. Must save the energy for the last 10 km.”

On many occasions, I found groups of runners. If their pace seemed right, I tried to go with them. It’s easier to run with other runners than to be out there alone. Ran with runners from Lann Pho club (ลานโพธิ์) for a good stretch. Once I reached Rama XIII Bridge at km 28, I had to run long stretches alone in the dark though.

The km marks seem to be stretched out farther as the race went on, because the legs became heavier. Thankfully, the cramp, which I feared the most, never came. I had a couple moments of leg weakness, and the knees boggled. I felt a scare each time it happened. But I was able to keep on shuffling my legs. Ate banana along the way. Took three pieces in total. They probably helped in fighting off any imminent cramp. Thank you banana crew!

Hydration-wise, I took a sip of water or Gatorade at each station. Due to the cool weather, I wasn’t feeling too thirsty. I slowed down to drink the water, but never came to a complete stop. Skipped several stations, but never two stations in succession. I also drank lots of water before the race. Though I went to the restroom twice before the start, I felt the urge to use the restroom during the race. I decided not to make a stop at mobile toilet vans/roadside bushes though. I didn’t want to stop and start again. Didn’t get an analgesic cream rub-down this year either. Just wanted to keep the motion going, for fear of cramping up if I stop. “Just keep going” was my mantra.

I often had to train in warm weather, and I knew I don’t do well in such weather. It helped a lot to have a good weather today. Slightly windy and cool. Didn’t sweat much at all.

I was worried about the left hip and the calves before the race. However, the most serious pain I had was in my feet. The pain was excruciating. I tried to simply block it out. I thought, though it hurts, there’s nothing I can do about it so I better suck it up. There was no way I was going to quit. My thought flashed to Paula Radcliffe, battling her injuries during NYC marathon a few weeks ago. Winners don’t quit.

I ran along with a gentleman from Lan Pho during the final few km. When we came upon the walls of Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, we knew the finish was near. He stopped at the last water station but I decided to keep on going. At the final turn–a corner of the Grand Palace–people were yelling encouraging words. I picked up the energy to speed up onto Sanam Chai Road and finished strong. I crossed the line, looked down at my watch and up at the digital timer. The finish time was 3:55:xx.

In the race where I aimed for a sub-5-hr finish, I broke 4! The official time later came out on the website: my chip time is 3:55:05 (gun time 3:55:15). I bettered my last year time (5:41:05 chip) by about 1:45. 1 hour and 45 minutes! This was absolutely amazing to me.

The beautiful thing is, it’s the training that has made this all possible. There is no luck involved. (Well, if there is a luck factor, it’s the weather. The cool weather definitely helped. It’s probably impossible for me to run this fast in typical hot and humid Bangkok weather.) The hard work–all those morning and evening runs–they paid off today. Finishing the marathon last year was very nice, but personally I feel a lot more proud this year, because I really worked for it.

Now my knees, quads, calves, feet are all hurting badly. I probably won’t be able to walk tomorrow but I don’t care. I had a great run. Right now I just want to rest and recover.

Some pictures from Sunday:

great view near the finish line

this year we have the largest participation in Bangkok Marathon history

after 42.195 km

what a great day

Months of training have finally concluded. Did my last run today. Race day is near, just hours away. Got the bib and race singlet from the expo. Laying down things I need before taking off.

Ready or not, it’s time. It has been a learning experience. I had run in two shorter races in 2009. But the focus all year long has always been on this Bangkok Marathon. The training has been less than ideal due to injuries and sickness. It has consisted of ups and downs, just like life, you may say. The 12 weeks till the race look like this:

I have prepared the best I could. Confidence is higher than last year definitely. I’m gonna show up at the starting line relatively healthy, as I had hoped. There are areas of concerns, which are where I still have some discomfort: left hip, both calves, right knee, and both achilles. Other than that, things seem okay .

I won’t be alone at the finish line this year. It means so much to have the support.

My simple goal is to have a better race than last year. Time goal is a sub-5. But you never know what’s gonna happen. Last year, I tried my best but my legs were in so much pain they cramped up. This time around, I might make the time goal or I might not. The important thing is to enjoy the experience and the challenge.

The emotions are high. I’m excited but scared, nervous but happy. Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst.