Just because it’s nice to have goals, I have come up with a set of times I will be shooting for this year:

• Mile: sub 6 min
• 5k: sub 19:30 min
• 10k: sub 40 min
• Half: sub 90 min

Challenging but realistic. Small steps towards bigger goals in the future.

Ran this morning at Nawamin Pirom park. A better than average weather just before 8 am. This park is nice when it’s not too hot. Nevertheless, the run was not easy. Despite having breakfast beforehand, I had no energy in the legs after about 5 km. Still able to keep jogging on and got in 10 km. Good thing I wasn’t racing today. Probably just not enough sleep lately.

Halfway splits: 1:33/1:49. My half marathon PB is 1:36:xx. That right there tells the story. A too ambitious effort.

It was warm at 4 am. 24-25 C, said the announcer.

I wanted to set out around 4:44 min/km pace, which would be sub-3:20 finish. My plan was: if I didn’t feel good, I would ease off. Simple. That pace would better my Tokyo time (3:27), which I ran in a near ideal weather condition. So I thought 3:20 is probably unrealistic. But then, it had been over 300 days since Tokyo. I should be in a better shape. So, a fitter body versus tougher weather, who knew which would win out.

At the end of the first km, I looked at my watch and saw 4:19 min. I knew it was too fast. But I felt good and didn’t want to ease off. This is a marathon, I thought, not a training run. I raced the distance less than once a year. I was not going to cruise it in.

The crowd was good. Though it was early, volunteers, many of them young kids, were out there in the dark to cheer for the runners and hand out water, watermelon, pineapple, and banana. I drank at almost every station and splashed water on my body to try keeping my body cool.

The route was dark in many sections. Could be dangerous as there were potholes.

I didn’t look at the watch again until the finish. I tried to stick with a group of strong and experienced runners. I could hang on for a long while and was on a sub-3:10 pace till the 24-km turning point. Then things went south.

Stomach started cramping at about km 27. (There were no distance markers from km 24 to km 32 so I wasn’t really sure.) Spent last 15 km of the race in pain. The road was under-lit and I was in a dark place, both literally and figuratively. I slowed down. Legs were fine but the stomach pain made it hard to move.

I tried hard to keep moving so that, at least, I can beat my Thailand time of 3:55. That would be a minimum goal. If i were to fail, after over two years of training, it would be quite disappointing. I wasn’t thinking about beating my Tokyo time. Actually I couldn’t think about the time goal or anything in the last 10 km. My thought becomes cloudy and I couldn’t think straight. I just wanted to cross the finish line and stopped running.

The 39-40 km section was my slowest, clocking about 6:15 min. In the last few km, I tried to keep up with a female runner. I thought she was doing marathon but actually she was doing half. When I kicked it in with everything I got left, and saw my time of 3:21:xx I was amazed.

I was handed a piece of paper indicating i finished 9th in my age group, I was happy. I knew the situation was very favorable for me. The race had no cash prize. So the top runners either did not come, or they ran shorter distance and saved themselves for the more lucrative Khonkaen marathon, being held in two weeks. Also there were a lot of trophies—10 for each of the 10 age groups. So 100 trophies for males, and 100 for females. There were about 700 marathon runners. So almost 30% of runners get a trophy. Anyway, I am still happy about my first ever trophy.

I was ecstatic with the time. Even though I struggled mightily in the last part, the strong start was enough to offset that slowdown. An unexpected PB earned from a painful race. That’s how I’ll remember this race. I beat my Tokyo time in a much warmer condition and after dealing with a week of cold. I was just proud to fight through pain and finish. The time was a very nice surprise.

Still I could have done better with this race. What could cause this cramp? On Saturday I ate a normal meal (white rice at Thai soup) at the race expo for dinner. Then only had banana and small piece of fried pork for breakfast. I had been on low carbohydrate diet for months, but reverted back to regular carb intake three days before the race to prevent hitting the wall. I also drank some sweet M-Sport electrolyte drink during the race. Maybe the body wasn’t ready for the high-sugar beverage.

Perhaps a bigger factor of the pain was the too-fast start. Body just protested that it had insufficient training for that kind of pace. Specifically, there probably were not enough long runs. My longest run was 16 miles. Maybe it was a mistake to not check my splits and to chase other strong runners. With better pacing I could have gone under 3:20.

But who knows. Marathons are unpredictable. It’s easy to sit back and analyze. I think I did the best I could and I am happy about it.

Now my quads are super sore and I’m taking days off for the first time since March 2011.

Pics:

Saturday lunch at Baan Plai Garden. Steak, pasta, and warm cocoa.

so glad to finish

9th in 35-39 age group. my first ever trophy.

US Olympics marathon trials will take place this Saturday. It should be a great race. Its time kind of overlaps my own race so I won’t be able to follow it.

The weather in Chom Bueng is still warm, unlike the past years.

Ratchaburi weather forecast

Just some added challenges, as if the marathon is not challenging already. The body is fighting hard to not be knocked out by the cold. At current condition, I believe I can still do the marathon. But if the illness gets worse, I may drop down to a half. It would be disappointing, but I have to be realistic. Running hard while sick would be stupid.

My personal goal is still just to give my best. This seems to be a harder course than Bangkok marathon. Chom Bueng winning time is around 2:40, slow compared to 2:16 of Bangkok. The slow time may be also due to a lack of prize money and the field being almost all Thais.

This has been a good year. I raced five times. One marathon, one half-marathon, and three 10K’s. Would have probably done six were it not for the flood. I achieved two of my goals: PB’s in marathon (3:27) and half marathon (1:36). Also earned 10K PB as a bonus (40:26). Health-wise, it’s been very good. I got one cold all year, back in January.

I managed to log a good number of miles:
Jan: 412 km
Feb: 297 km
Mar: 266 km
Apr: 330 km
May: 326 km
June: 335 km
July: 382 km
Aug: 380 km
Sep: 331 km
Oct: 358 km
Nov: 288 km
Dec: 451 km

total 2011 distance: 4153 km (2580 mi). In 2010 I ran 3922 km; in 2009, 3113 km.

The defining day of the year was probably 27 Feb, Tokyo Marathon. I ran well and had an awesome experience. I became a sub 3:30 marathoner.

Since Tokyo Marathon I took two days off and I ran everyday ever since. Some day just 2 km. No matter what life throws at me, I always make time for running.

Yesterday, the last day of 2011, I got myself a non-running-related injury. Tried a box jump. Got reluctant mid-air and scraped my left shin. Later that night, my wife got a minor burn from launching a sky lantern. Today, I dropped a camera and damaged an expensive lens. A series of unlucky events. Stuff happens. One moment everything is fine, the next, not quite so. You have to move on. Be in the moment.

Got in a morning run to begin 2012 today. The wound didn’t affect my running too much, fortunately. I’m still doing Chom Bueng two weeks from today.

Looking ahead, I have no concrete goals this year. I will take it one day at a time. Enjoy each and every run. I will do my best in every race. If I get PB’s, that’s great. But above all, I just want to keep on finding peace and quiet through running. Live a simple, stress-free life. Minimize materialistic dependence. Continue eating real food (meat, fish, vegetables, nuts, fruits) and stay healthy.

Just booked a room yesterday. It’s difficult to find, as the few places they have seem to be full already.

chom bueng marathon 2012

This is one of the oldest marathon events in Thailand. Born in 1986, it is known for its laid-back but cheerful crowd. January weather should be kind enough to run. Start time is 4 am.

42.195 km, we will meet again.

On Monday and Tuesday I ran in Kaset campus. Tuesday night was when I got a headache which lasted over one day. I think that the fume from the mold caused it. So I don’t think I will be going in there again for a while. At least not without a mask. The university is like my home away from home. I have almost all my lunches there, and run there regularly. So I’ll be packing lunch from home for the time being.

Though I’m not feeling too good health-wise this week, at least I am not injured or having to deal with real illness of any kind. A healthy year. Flood and travel had made the mileage dip in November, going under 300 km for the first time since March. The numbers aren’t that important though. It’s about having fun with the mileage. However, currently I cannot seem to get into a groove. No run seems to be effortless these days. With one month to go in 2012, I hope my running will pick up. It might help to go outside and run in a park (that doesn’t smell). I am training for a January race. I am gearing toward Chombueng Marathon on 15 Jan. It’s closer and cheaper than Khonkaen, which I would like to do one day.

It’s good to commit myself so I have something to train for. Right now I am not in a marathon shape. Maybe a half-marathon shape. There is time to get ready. Six weeks. Maybe 4 weeks of hard training, then 2 of tapering. We will see.

One of my top priorities in any foreign land is to try local food. The sausages were yummy. Since I gave up coffee over a year ago, I didn’t try it. I also missed out on the wiener schnitzel.

Chili bratwurst. perfect for subzero weather.

The city was beautiful. Clean, convenient, and safe. It was cold (sub zero C). No snow or rain though, just freezing temp, enough to make my hands numb with pain. Despite that fact, the weather was great for running. I didn’t have much time to run due to tight meeting schedule. I ran a little bit each morning, wearing two jackets, running gloves, wool hat, and Nike Vapor Quick 2 shoes. It was an experience different than the usual. Running without sweating was quite pleasant.

cold running

Goethe monument

Danube canal

Yesterday I was back to the office for the first time in over a month. Dirty water was gone, but the ground smelled quite bad. Walked inside Kasetsart University to survey the damage. From the stains, it was obvious how high the water level was. The entire campus just stank. I ran on the track in the evening and it was yucky. The college is still closed, but there were some cleanup crews on campus working hard. One can only hope something will be done to ensure this will not happen again.

I lost someone very close to me on Friday. My childhood nanny, who was with me since I was very little, passed away early this morning. My parents were visiting her home in Prae province and learned the news. I knew she hadn’t been well for a long time, but didn’t realize it was that serious. So it was with a shock when I was told. For over thirty years she had been part of our family. We’ll miss her.

Looking ahead, I hope to run a marathon in January. The flood has taken my mind off the race calendar for the past month. But I have been able to run consistently, though unstructured, and should be fit enough to go. I have no time goal. Just want to do my best. There are a couple of nice marathons to choose from, Khonkaen (15 Jan) and Chombueng (29 Jan).