It’s my second half-marathon and third international running event (The first one was Tainan marathon 2009, in which I ran a 10K) in these two years. If someone might have asked me two years ago whether I will run a half-marathon, I might have laughed out loud and passed it on as a joke. But, somehow, an activity that just started as a way out to shed few extra pounds grew up to this level.
Each of these three events is quite unique. The first one, a 10K in Tainan came out as a test to see whether I can push myself to do something which I never tried before. It also helped me to boost my confidence and interest in keeping myself fit. It took me 1 hour and 6 minutes to finish the 10.4 Kilometers.
My next step was to increase the distance slowly while maintaining an average pace of 6minute/K. At the end of the year 2009, I signed up for the Taipei half- marathon (21.097 K). I did quite well and could finish the race distance in 2 hours and 3 minutes. I suffered a bit in the last 5K but felt very much satisfied that I could complete the race well within the cut-off time to get the finisher’s medal.
This year, I couldn’t participate in the Tainan marathon. I did run once a week (atleast most of the time) in a nice cycling path nearby my home where there is no hindrance. It’s really a very nice place to work out and also to relax. It’s also good that this route has distance markers every 0.5K so that I can keep track of the distance and time.
I signed up for the Taipei marathon again this year. The race day was on 19th of December. I woke up around 4:30 AM to get ready and had some breakfast to fuel up. I went to the race venue around 5:45 AM. Weather was around 15 degrees, much higher than last year (It was like 9 degrees last time). There were thousands of runners from 17 to 70+ getting ready for the challenge.
The race started exactly by 7 AM. Since I have run the same route last year, I pretty much know how it will be. The first kilometer mark came very fast and I was just running at a slower pace to warm up. There was not much difficulty till the 5K mark. It was less than 30 minutes when I reached the 5K mark, at a comfortable pace of ~6minute/K. But, somewhere around 6K, I felt some discomfort in my abdomen. I haven’t had this kind of problem during my practice runs. I tried to slow down a bit to see whether I can ease the pain. I couldn’t get rid of it and when I tried to run fast, it became worse.
The pain was not very severe but I had to move slowly to avoid it from becoming worse. I somehow reached the 10K mark and it was like 1 hour and 05 minutes (Last year, I was really doing well in the first half reaching my 10K in around 50 minutes). There was still 11K to go and I felt that I was getting drained both physically and mentally. At the 13K mark, I even thought that I can stop running and go back home. But, I also thought that even if I can’t run like last year, I should try to complete the race atleast.
I tried to focus and thought that there is only 7 more kilometers to run to finish the race. Also, the weather was not so good. Just by 8AM, the sun was on the head and scorching, humidity being an additional factor to aid dehydration. I had some water and sport drink to help me stay hydrated. But, around 17K, I started getting some cramps in my calf muscles. By then, the abdominal cramp eased out a bit. I saw the time and it was above 2 hours. I finally reached the “finish point” in 2 hours and 20 minutes.
I felt a bit upset that I couldn’t do better than last year. I wanted to finish before 2 hours but with the abdominal cramp, it was hard to push myself faster. On the other hand, I was quite happy that I could still complete the race even with all the difficulties.I still could get the completion medal this year as my finishing time was well within the cut-off time. I remember the quote,
"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that."
I think that the abdominal cramp and dehydration were due to some wrong food choices the previous night and before the race because even the week before the race, I could run really well without any difficulty. There are more races to come next year. I will surely try again and I am sure I can do better.
"The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy...It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed."
- Jacqueline Gareau, 1980 Boston Marathon champ
