I have been chasing for a sub 90mins time in Singapore since 2014 but the best I managed is always 91-92mins locally. Having achieved a PB of 87:39mins at Gifu Half Marathon, Japan in 2016, I thought there was a possibility of meeting this sub 90mins target at Army Half Marathon last year. But, 2017 turned up to be one of the worst years as I struggled with injuries (a bad fall that needed stitches and root canal, high hamstring strain). I was constantly feeling fatigue and running with pain. I knew I was not in the best shape when I raced but still, one could hope. After all, I was still working hard; training consistently albeit at a lower volume. Surely, I should see some improvement in my local half marathon time by now.
I was disappointed again by my sub-par performances last year; May – KL Half Marathon (95:28mins), August – Army Half Marathon (93:34mins) and November – YOLO Run (96:48mins). The last time I ran more than 95mins for half marathon was in 2012, when I just started running competitively. So to get a result of more than 95mins last year was a huge disappointment. It leaves me wondering if the time spent in training is all worthwhile. After all, no one is going to care whether I am a 95mins or 90mins half marathoner. But deep down, I know the time is not to prove to anyone but more for myself. I longed for a good result to validate all the efforts and hours put into training; the assurance that I am still improving and my best days aren’t over yet.
Things started looking up in 2018. I went for my 2nd MRI scan for my hamstrings in April this year and was glad to know that the injury has healed significantly and there was no obvious sign of tear shown in the scan. I was feeling optimistic as it means I’m able to train normally again. It was tough at the start as it took me some time to rebuild my fitness to cope with training.
The Preparation
I signed up for two 10km races in Q2- Income Run 10km in April and Sundown 10k challenge, Team of 4 in May. Though the time achieved was nothing to be excited about, it was decent enough and motivated me to continue doing whatever I was doing. Most of all, I was happy to be running pain free and enjoying my training again.
After the 10km races, I continued with 96s and 100s pace intervals on Mondays and Thursdays. I was progressing well but as the volume gets higher each week, I was not able to cope with the intensity and training load anymore. It was also affecting my morale when I failed to complete my workout for 4 consecutive weeks. I discussed with coach and requested for longer intervals at less intense pace. He listened and planned 100s and 104s pace intervals for me. He even arranged Faith and Sean to do long intervals with me. The new training plan works. Soon, I was progressing to 5x3km albeit at slower pace (104s) on Thursday. It was like a tempo intervals, still a hard workout, but nothing too intense that left me feels like I’m dying at the end. I was able to recover in time to cope with weekend long runs. I continued with shorter 1km intervals at 100s pace on Mondays.
In July, I participated in Oxfitt Run Till Dark, a 15km race as a lead-up run to Army Half Marathon. I was hoping to achieve 4:15”/km for the 15k run as this race pace would give me the confidence for sub 90 mins for 21k, my A target. In the end, I managed average 4:19”/km pace. I was not too worried though, as I have 5 weeks until the Army Half Marathon and training seemed to be on the right track. I am confident that I would be able to do at least a 92min half marathon, which is my B target.
Except for one or two sessions which I struggled and could not complete the workout as planned, the 5 weeks of training went well. Had a good tapering on the final week and when race day came along, I was feeling fit, healthy and fresh.
26 August 2018 – Race Day
Jackie and I booked a hotel to stay near the race venue to save the hassle of finding transport to get to the race site in the wee hours. We reckoned that we need more sleep since we need to wake up at 2.30am to get ready for the 4.30am race.
Both of us got seeded bibs, so we had enough time to visit the loo and warm up (just a 5-10mins jog, some dynamic stretches) before we proceed to the start line.
At the start line where we met up and chatted with Daniel and Zili before the race. The next time I see the guys was at the end point.
1km – 5km
The race started at 4:33am. My plan was to start at 4:20”/km pace for the first two km and gradually eased to 4:15”/km pace. Adrenaline got better of me and I found myself running at 4:10”/km for the first km. However, as it was a down slope from Esplanade Bridge, I thought 4:10 was actually ok. There were many more people coming from behind who overtook me within a few hundred meters into the race. Kata and Lance who started in the general pen caught up with me within the first km and we ran alongside one another.
GPS was not accurate in the CBD area. My 1km distance alert sounded even though I was far from the 2nd km distance marker. I pressed the lap button on my watch to get a more accurate split. By 2nd km, Shenghao found and caught up with us. I pressed the lap button twice again when we ran past 3rd and 4th km distance markers. I was running comfortably and staying relaxed while moving at slightly under 4:15”/km pace. Kata was doing a fantastic job as a pacer; reading aloud the splits, shouting out potential threats like uneven ground; telling me to keep left or right for water points. All I had to do was to follow him closely. By 5km, Lance was gradually pulling away from us and was slightly ahead. I heard Shenghao breathing heavily and said he’s going to stop soon. He dropped out after 6km at Gardens By the Bay. I learnt later that he had developed a fever the night before and was not feeling well.
6km – 10km
My pace dropped after 5km and my splits were hovering around 4:17”/km as we crossed the bridge at Marina Barrage to the other side. It was dark along some stretches of Marina East Drive and I did not realize my splits for 9km and 10km have dropped even further to 4:23”/km. I thought I was still on target when I passed by the 10km distance marker at around 42:xx minutes. In hindsight, I should have been more focused and put in more effort to go under 4:20”/km pace.
11km -15km
Kata and I ran on and entered into East Coast Park. Though I was still hovering at around 4:20-4:24 pace, I was gradually catching up with some runners ahead and overtaking a few guys. Spotted Lance again and I tried to close the gap between us. By the time we u-turn to leave ECP, I could sense that Lance was slowing down. Kata and I caught up with him and we encouraged one another as we overtook him along Fort Road. I was feeling motivated when we passed 14km mark as it means we only had a third of the race to go. However, I also realized that I might be behind my target time now as my average pace now read 4:16”/km. I got a little anxious and sped up a little from this point.
16km – 19km
I managed to bring down the splits to 4:15-4:20 again as we ran past Sports Hub and onto Nicoll Highway. It was nice running on wide, flat and straight road. I saw a few more guys ahead and kicked some more to catch up with them.
20km – 21.1km
As Kata and I turned into Raffles Avenue, we spotted Coach and Mrs Quek near the Esplanade. Coach saw us and shouted for me to chase after Kata who was slightly ahead and picking up pace. His encouragement motivated me to press on as I ran hard up Esplanade Drive.
The last 1km was really painful. I dug deep and gave my all on the Anderson Bridge. At the final 200m, I saw the clock ticking away, reading 1:29:xx. Can I make it in time? I ran my lungs out with the hope of finishing the race before the clock read 1:30. But I was too late; the clock reads 1:30:10 when I crossed the finishing line.
Though I fell short of my target of achieving sub 1hr 30mins for AHM, I was happy and satisfied with the results. It was a local personal best time after all and 3 mins faster than my race result as compared to last year’s AHM. I also had one of the most consistent 1km splits for a half marathon. That being said, I still have much to work on to get the time down to under 90 mins.
Despite a better timing this year, I finished in 5th place for the Open Women’s category behind 4 African runners (I was 4th last year). There were 3 African runners last year. Still, any placing is a bonus and I’m happy to earn some cash and prizes to cover for the race fee and hotel booked the night before.
I got a scare after the race though because my race time was not registered after I crossed the finishing line. There was some problem with my chip as my splits were only captured at the start and at Gardens By the Bay. It failed to capture at ECP even though I was absolutely sure that I crossed the mat on the way out of ECP. I was “penalized” initially for “not putting on the time chip properly”. Luckily and thankfully, the organizers agreed to reinstate my time as there were people who witnessed me running the entire route. The results reinstated, gun time: 1:30:30 and net time: 1:30:21 is different from my actual time (1:30:10) though. Not that I’m complaining cos I think it’s really nice of them to reinstate my time when I was close to being DQ by one of the officials for having a failed chip. I am especially grateful to the army personnel for appealing this for me.
All in all, I enjoyed the run. Weather was to our favour this morning. Cooling and less humid than I thought it would be. The event was very well-organised with plenty of hydration stations along the way. The race route was pretty straight forward and generally flat, no hairpin turns that slow runners down; wide roads and no bottlenecks. Not surprising to hear many PB stories after the race.
It’s a great day for ActiveSg Athletics Club too! Many of us finished in top 10 positions across various categories and some team mates achieved a PB too! Below, group picture with Coach, Mrs Quek and team mates from ActiveSg.
So proud and happy for the husband who ran really well and achieved a PB of 1:26:44 too! =)
Till the next race..
FeelTheWindAndJoy 