sweaty and smelly

i just completed a 18km run, took me about 2 hours to complete it..

it was not easy. this is my 2nd long run, the first was last monday where i clock about 14km...

consider that i have not ran for many many few weeks prior to my last monday session, i consider it an achievement that i endure through.

furthermore, its not like i have run more than 5km from the beginning of the year till now..

so, good job ang. a pat on your own shoulder.


also, i realised that my mental endurance has drop over the years.. i had to really focus hard and keep telling myself to continue through, maintain pace, and look forward to pass by the scenery in front...

after so many marathon (which i lost count), i really came to realised what separate the winners and losers (till the point before you "hit the wall') is mentality. and i meant winners not who came in 1st, but those who fight off the fatigue and persevere through.

that why sometimes i secretly love about the marathon. completing is doable, its just a matter of time. but what makes all the differences is the process through completion. the battle between your brain and  your tired body. sometimes i just need to know that i still got it, still got the mental endurance to fight off challenges, be it for a run or for life.

after 18km of running today, (99% jogged, i walk very very little today), i now have a super aching left calves, some pain in my right knee and ankle. Of course, all my lower body muscles, shoulders and lower back are aching as well.



let me share some of my personal tips to a marathon:

1. mp3 player is your best friend. so long as there battery, it keep talking to you.
2. drink drink and drink, isotonic or water..
3. carry a personal muscle rub. trust me, you are like a saviour when you share yours with others
4. apply vaseline on area where you may get abrasion. its a killer and you need to up your mental 10x just to fight off this pain (if its a major abrasion)
5. wear thighs if you do get abrasion between your legs. it works like magic.
6. wear shades if possible, this is to look cool. haha, the other use is to have less glare when you are running towards the sun, it bearable but still irritating especially when you are tired.
7. banana and me don click well. i get bloated after eating the whole slice. i only eat a quarter, or at most half.


and here are the top secrets which i discover and use personally, i will want to copyright them as ang's method:

1. i use a walk run technique and pace myself using my mp3 player. - i typically hit the wall at around 30+km. But due to lack of training, it has move down to like 27-28km or maybe even 26km this yr. Hitting the wall is very painful and frustrating so i try at best to avoid it. before hitting the wall, i start to use a walk run technique, to help the muscle to be less stressful and allows the occasional must needed break. i personally like a walk run ratio of about 1:3, meaning walk 1 min, run 3 mins.. but it very tiring to keep looking at your watch or count lamp post. Here the interesting part, i pace myself using the music on my MP3. When the music start playing, i start walking, and i will walk till the chorus starts and jog till the song ends. if you know the songs well, which typically we do, this give you time to prepare mentally to start jogging as the chorus is about to start, and you will know exactly the song is ending. this method will approximately gives you a 1:3 ratio.

2. i talk to myself mentally encouraging myself -  at one point in time, i thought i was crazy but hack, it works! i don know what are your motivation trigger are, but i keep telling myself mentally to "keep going", "you are doing good", "keep your best form", "maintain this pace", "well done", "good job", "you can do it" etc etc. use positive trigger like those above instead of negative like "don slow down", "don walk" or "we are almost there yet" etc etc.

3. mentally have a picture of you running in your best form, and project that image mentally in front of you - this is adopted from nlp. the picture of you can be at any angle, the side, the front etc. but it must show you running in your best form effortlessly. it can also be a moving image where it shows that you are running. project that image ahead of you and tell yourself that "you are the picture" and "be that feller!!!" use this when you are feeling fatigue or when the pain in your legs are unbearable.

4. zoom in only on people around you who are running - this is very very powerful. use this during the times when you are most tired and unmotivated to run. typically for me, anytime after the 30km mark i desperately use this. Around you, there will be people walking, looking to be in pain, i wanna give up face and the "WTF did i sign up for a marathon face". don let these strangers who happen to be around you affect you. they will, as you are feeling how they have felt and when you see them walk, you will have the tendency to walk as well. So they best way is to not look to them, and only focus on the few people who are still jogging ahead of you. Really really only just focus on the people jogging, and blur out the rest. this gives you the illusion that the race course is pack with motivated runners who don give up. it keep you going, and when your mp3 starts asking you to run, you will have the motivation to stick to it.


i hope you find these tips helpful, and see if it works for you..